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The Pillars
Raziel stumbles upon his first encounter with
Kain inside the now dilapidated and abandoned Pillars; he does not know
that Kain will be waiting for him there. As Raziel enters the room,
Kain is leaning casually on his former throne, the Soul Reaver strapped
to his back. He has clearly been waiting for Raziel...
Kain:
Raziel.
Raziel:
Kain!
Kain:
The abyss has been unkind.
Kain rises and begins to approach Raziel, casually
but menacingly. |
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Raziel:
I am your creation, Kain - now, as before. You criticize
your own work.
What have you done with my clan, degenerate? You have no right--
Kain:
What I have made, I can also destroy, child.
Raziel:
Damn you, Kain! You are not God! This act of genocide is
unconscionable!
Kain:
Conscience...? You dare speak to me of conscience? Only
when you have felt the full gravity of choice should you dare to question
my judgment!
Your life’s span is a flicker compared to the mass of doubt and regret
that I have borne since Mortanius first turned me from the light...
To know that the fate of the world hangs dependent on the advisedness of
my every deed -- can you even begin to conceive what action you
would take, in my position?
Raziel:
I would choose integrity, Kain.
Kain:
Look around you, Raziel - see what has become of our empire.
Witness the end of an age. The clans, scattered to the corners of
Nosgoth...
This place has outlasted its usefulness -- as have you.
As Kain utters this last line, he draws the
Soul Reaver from its scabbard; its energy leaps to life.
Raziel:
The Soul Reaver, Kain’s ancient blade - older than any of us, and a
thousand times more deadly.
The legends claimed that the blade was possessed, and thrived by devouring
the souls of its victims.
For all our bravado, we knew what it meant when Kain drew the Soul
Reaver in anger - it meant you were dead.
If Raziel is defeated in the battle, then upon
his return:
Kain:
My wayward son returns...
The combat ends when the Soul Reaver is destroyed
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Kain:
The blade is vanquished. So it unfolds... and we are a step closer
to our destinies.
When Raziel drops back into spectral, he discovers
that the Soul Reaver - now a wraith blade - is hovering there.
Raziel:
I swore I saw a glint of satisfaction in Kain’s eye when the Soul Reaver
was destroyed. I did not understand the game that Kain was playing.
But I knew the finishing move.
Raziel reaches out and grasps the sword.
The blade flares to life, its energy melding with Raziel’s.
Elder God:
From this moment and ever afterward, you and this blade are inextricably
bound. Soul Reaver and reaver of souls, your destinies are intertwined.
By destroying the sword, you have liberated it from its corporeal prison,
and restored it to its true form - a wraith blade, its energy unbound.
No longer a physical blade, it can only manifest itself in the material
realm when your strength is fully restored. Once manifest, it will sustain
you.
After Raziel grasps the sword, a spirit appears,
drifting toward him from behind the Pillars.
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Ariel:
What are you, little soul? Another of Kain’s creatures, come
to taunt this bound spectre?
Raziel:
I did not intend to disturb your rest.
Ariel:
Rest...? A body is needed for sleep... Flesh and bones are required
to recline. No, child, all I may do is watch, and remember, ceaselessly
conscious as this wretched world’s history unfurls. Ghastly past,
insufferable future, are they one and the same...? Am I always here? |
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Raziel:
How have you come to haunt these Pillars?
Ariel:
Kain refused the sacrifice. The Pillar of Balance, corrupted
to its core, stands as a monument to his blind ambition.
Now these pillars serve only to bind me here -- my prison and eternal
home, thanks to the avarice of your master, Kain...
Raziel:
That bastard can claim no allegiance from me.
Ariel:
Then we share a common foe, Raziel. Return here when you have
need. Ariel remembers what others have forgotten...
As Raziel exits the Sanctuary of the Clans,
the Elder God offers the following guidance:
Elder God:
Your brother Zephon’s keep lies far to the east, beyond the ruins that
greeted your first exit from the Underworld.
He and his brood have cocooned themselves in a derelict cathedral,
having murdered its human guardians.
If Raziel returns to the Elder God’s chamber
in search of a hint/reminder:
Elder God:
Seek out Zephon’s lair, Raziel... beyond the ruins that greet your
exit from the Underworld. Armed with the Soul Reaver, you may gain
entry where your path was previously blocked.
If Raziel visits Ariel before going to the
Silenced Cathedral:
Ariel:
Far in the eastern mountains, a stifled titan stands in mute surrender
- unwilling host to a parasitic swarm. |
