Part 26

If you'll recall, when we left Kain, he had just flown from Moebius's tower in the Sarafan Stronghold, heading for the Vampire Citadel. Looks like he didn't make it that far, yet.

Like BO1, we actually get to see Kain flying to wherever he's going - unfortunately, however, it's somewhat less cinematic.

This doesn't look like the Vampire Citadel! Let's see what the problem is.

Like Raziel, Kain can expend a fully charged Reaver to produce effects. Unlike Raziel, Kain's are interesting. Raziel's (with the exception of the Dark Reaver) are all essentially the same animation with different colors. Kain's are more fun. Here, he raises the Reaver above his head, gathers a red glow about it, and slams it into the ground, causing the air around him to shimmer.

Nearby, we find this simplistic puzzle. We light the braziers by the door with Kain's telekinetic powers, and... actually, this doesn't open the door. There must be more to this after all. We'll come back later.

Heading in the other direction, we come to...

Watch it here:

Video - Kain comes to the Pillars

Kain:
"How strange to see this place long before my birth..."

Kain:
"...centuries before the corruption set in that would poison the land, and put me on the treacherous path I still followed."

Kain:
"In the future, these edifices would be condemned to darkness and decay."

Kain:
"I would cause their fall, and build my empire upon their ruins."

Kain:
"Was it still possible that with the right knowledge, the right moves, I might one day see Nosgoth restored, the Pillars pure once more?"

Kain:
"My answer - according to Moebius - lay somewhere to the west of this place."

Kain:
"I could restore the world, perhaps. But never again could I give Nosgoth back her innocence."

Funny how Kain's realization over the games of just how much he's been played, has evolved his personality from "We are gods. Dark gods. And it is our duty to cull the herd." to "Was it still possible that I might one day see Nosgoth restored, the pillars pure once more?"

We proceed past the pillars, and mist through this door.

We come to these ruins which, while interesting looking, actually contain only a whole mess of Sarafan.

This is really a simple jump up the ruins then across a gap - it's made increasingly irritating by the fact that a bunch of Sarafan are waiting on the other side, and love to shoot you while you jump (knocking you down) or knock you off once you get there. Easiest just to telekinetically throw them off beforehand.

Past the ruins...

Kain:
"My path ended here, offering only this empty vista. Was this another of Moebius's little jokes? ...or a puzzle for which I had not yet found the answer?"

Kain:
"This symbol seemed familiar. Perhaps I needed to recover another fragment of the Balance emblem before I could proceed."

We find a no-doubt priceless relic lying atop a platform to the right of this - doubtless this opens a door somewhere, so we'd better take it. (All of this sort of thing is worthy of a place in the 'Things that just don't make sense in games' thread!)

We proceed back to where we came in.

Using the relic we just acquired with this previously impassible piece of stonework, we find that it's...

...actually a pillar. We set it on fire.

Then we turn it to face the door, and miraculously, it opens.

Beyond, we find this simple area, with a telekinetically activatable switch which opens the face of the ruin and reveals another section of the Balance Emblem.

While heading up to get it, we pass this interesting looking door - looks like something Raziel would use. Too bad he's not here.

Kain:
"Another fragment of the Balance Emblem, this one endowed with the properties of Dimension."

Kain:
"Perhaps this would reveal the mystery that lay west of the Pillars... if Moebius spoke the truth, and there was indeed something there to find."

As we head back towards the vista, we get a chance to try it out. This is by far one of my favorite weapons available. Not only does it produce a very satisfying thunderclap type sound when you charge it and hit things, it's special ability is great.

Using it, Kain phases out of existance, and phases back in again next to one of his opponents, whom he slashes with the reaver.

He then proceeds to repeat the feat for each nearby opponent...

...and finally teleports back to his original location, while his enemies still bleed and moan around him. Beautiful.

We arrive momentarilly back at the vista...

...where Kain fits the Emblem into the appropriate place.

Afterwards, we're given a view of the Citadel in the distance (which I somehow managed to not get a screenshot of! ) and Kain proclaims:

"The mists that shrouded this lake miraculously now cleared away, revealing an ancient citadel. So Moebius had not lied. Or perhaps this was simply another of the Time Streamer's illusions, meant to slow my true endeavor."

Next time: Raziel arrives at these pillars, 500 years afterwards. (See? I kept the timelines strait this time!)

Before anyone complains, yes, the dialog in the first half of the game (with the exception of the first level for each character) is fairly boring. This is the case for about 5 or 6 levels, at which point we finish off the stupid "collect reavers, collect balance emblem sections" portion and get into the "startling revelations about the storyline" section. Bare with me!