Part 17

Watch it here:

Video - Raziel meets Vorador

Vorador:
"I see my reputation precedes me."

Raziel:
"It does."

Vorador:
"All good, I hope?"

Vorador:
"I've been watching you since you emerged from that accursed stronghold."

Vorador:
"Strange that your arrival coincides with the corruption of the Pillars. But I'm wondering - are you the catalyst of these events, or the answer to them?"

Raziel:
"I don't know what you mean."

Vorador:
"I will speak plainly, then. I distrust your origins, stranger. Seeing you crawl from the putrid depths of Moebius's Keep makes me question your purpose here."

Vorador:
"And what should I make of your appearance? Not human, clearly - and more demon than vampire.
And the Pillars - it is no mere coincidence that your arrival in that clearing heralded the Pillars' decay.
And so I ask you plainly: are you the instrument of the Pillars' destruction, or their salvation?"

Raziel:
"Neither.

Vorador:
"Very well, let us look at the other side of the coin -
I have followed your journey, and watched as you blithely unlocked secrets that have been sealed and forbidden for thousands of years."

Vorador:
"The path you have been treading is open to only one being..."

Vorador trails off, as he realizes...

Vorador:
"You don't know what you are, do you?"

Raziel:
"I have been many things... If you find me ignorant, enlighten me."

Vorador:
"What's the point - this world is beyond redemption. Let the human cattle have it."

Raziel:
"I would expect better that meek capitulation from you."

Vorador:
"Centuries of persecution have taught me well."

Vorador:
"Five hundred years ago, our race was almost exterminated by the fanatical crusades of the Sarafan."

Vorador:
"And now the same sick drama unfolds again. In merely a decade, Moebius's cutthroat citizen army has nearly accomplished what the Sarafan could not."

Vorador, to himself:
"Vampires meddling in the affairs of men... Look where it has brought us."

Raziel:
"What am I to make of these secrets I've uncovered, then? The depictions of the winged race, the Pillars, and the Reaver?"

Vorador:
"Fairy tales, boy. The delusions of an ancient culture, clinging to hope long after the world had discarded them."

Vorador:
"Their bloodline trickled away, until only one of the Ancients remained - sustained solely by obligation and his unfaltering faith in the old prophesies."

Vorador:
"But you see, even if you are who you appear to be, it no longer matters..."

Vorador:
"You're simply too late."

Vorador:
"Janos Audron - the Reaver Guardian, the last of the Ancients, and my maker - was murdered by the Sarafan nearly five centuries ago."

Vorador:
"He alone would have the answers you seek, but his secrets died with him. I don't know how you've come even this far without his guidance - or without the Reaver, stolen these five hundred years ago by the Sarafan."

Vorador:
"I am afraid, my friend, that you - and all of us - are out of luck."

Vorador teleports away from the ledge.

Raziel:
"I had no less reason to trust Vorador than anyone else I had met. In fact, the ancient vampire was the most forthright being I had encountered thus far. If Janos Audron was the key to all this, then I would find him, and Moebius' Time Streaming device would provide me passage."

Raziel:
"But first I had to find a way back into the Stronghold, and I suspected I would find the means within the lake's mysterious shrine."

Raziel returns the way he came, and upon reaching the chamber below the Pillars...

Elder God:
"Ah, my wayward child returns..."

Raziel:
"Having unearthed more than you'd like, I suspect. What am I to make of these ruins that litter the land, and these images here in this chamber?"

Elder God:
"Merely the deceits of a failed civilization. You are being mislead, Raziel.
This ancient race hoped to manipulate the future with these scrawled misdirections.
You must tread carefully. There are dark forces at work in this world, bent on subverting your true destiny."

Raziel:
"I have no doubt of that. The question is: am I in their presence right now?"

Elder God:
"Your arrogance will spell your demise, Raziel. Deny my will, and the arc of your destiny will reach a sudden conclusion."

Raziel:
"Your threats are unmoving. Even now I'm beyond your reach."

Elder God:
"My reach is longer than you realize. This is a very dangerous game you're playing, Raziel."

We continue on, past the Pillars (This is actually one of only two times in all of the games combined when we're in the presence of the pillars, and it doesn't trigger a cutscene) and through the lake...

...and use the Dark Reaver to open a door previously sealed to us.

We find ourselves in another forge chamber, this one significantly brighter then the last.

Raziel:
"These murals left no room for doubt."

Raziel:
"These creatures were indeed the architects of the Pillars, and while the images were difficult to decipher, the Pillars appeared to banish or diminish their enemies somehow."

Once again, I'm not going to go through all the details of the puzzle, but this, too, revolves around the manipulation of light. This time, we want to light these two crystals.

Doing so opens the door...

...causes this enormous statue to raise it's arms...

...causes a beam of light to course between them...

...which galvanizes the forge.

Raziel:
"I plunged the Reaver into the forge and imbued the blade with the elemental power of light."

Ooh, pretty!

Raziel:
"Thus armed, I now had the means to re-enter the Stronghold and finally use Moebius's Time Streaming device to accomplish my own ends."

So, with that, we return to the lake, and find that we can activate this crystal by firing a bolt from the Light Reaver at it.

The door ominously creeks open...

Vampire hunters:
"To arms!"

Oh hell, them again.

Dispatching the guards easilly, we proceed into the chapel once more. Our journey keeps bringing us back here...

Even if you haven't watched any other movies in this entire thread, watch this one. The music and voices and expressions really make the scene awesome.

Watch it here:

Video - Raziel meets Kain once more

Raziel discovers a dead body in the chamber when he arrives. Clearly someone else is here as well.

Raziel:
"Show yourself, Kain."

Kain:
"Here, Raziel."

Raziel begins to experience the same distortion he felt before in this chamber.

Kain:
"Everything is decided here..."

Kain:
"You cannot comprehend the magnitude - the rapture and the tragedy - of this moment..."

Kain:
"And yet you must, if Nosgoth is to be dragged from the wreckage of its damnation."

Raziel:
"I understand only this, Kain - that you and Moebius have impelled me to this moment, simply means that I can trust neither of you."

Raziel:
"I don't know who's pulling the strings, but it no longer matters - because I'm cutting them. I set my own course from here."

Raziel turns and begins to walk from the chamber. After a moment, Kain interupts his departure.

Kain:
"If it were only that simple."

Raziel:
"Your fatalism is tiresome, Kain."

Kain:
"...and profoundly ingrained, Raziel."

Kain:
"You must understand, our presence here doesn't alter history."

Kain:
"You and I meet here because we are compelled to - we have always met here. History is irredeemable."

Kain:
"Drop a stone into a rushing river - the current simple courses around it and flows on as if the obstruction were never there."

Kain:
"You and I are pebbles, Raziel, and have even less hope of disrupting the time-stream. The continuum of history is simply too strong, too resilient."

Kain:
"Except... then how do we explain William, here?"

Kain:
"The beloved boy-king turned tyrant."

Kain:
"In my youth, I witnessed William's rise to power, and his transformation into the 'Nemesis' who laid waste to Nosgoth."

Kain picks up the Reaver, and Raziel backs away slightly.

Raziel:
"Keep your distance, Kain."

Kain:
"Years later, I stumble upon a chance to journey back in history, unaware that the entire affair has been orchestrated by Moebius."

Kain:
"In my wisdom, I seize this opportunity to murder the young king before he can ravage Nosgoth... and thereby provide the catalyst Moebius needs to ignite a genocidal war against our race."

Raziel grows visibly aggitated, raising his arm equipped with the Wraith Blade, but does not manifest it.

Raziel:
"I warn you - no further!"

Kain:
"This one reckless act unravels the skein of history."

Kain:
"The Nemesis never becomes the Nemesis; William dies a martyred saint. I, the vampire assassin, become the author of my own species' destruction. And Moebius profits from it all."

Kain:
"I destroyed a tyrant only to create one far worse."

Kain:
"But how can it be so? How, if history is immutable?"

Kain continues advancing on Raziel, brandishing the Reaver. As he does so, the displacement Raziel feels intensifies.

Kain:
"The answer is here in this room, Raziel."

Kain:
"Moebius propelled William and me together - but ensured first that we were both armed with the Soul Reaver."

Kain:
"The Reaver is the key."

Kain:
"Two incarnations of the blade meet in time and space... a paradox is created, a temporal distortion powerful enough to derail history."

Kain moves even closer, within arms length of Raziel, and as the distortion reaches it's peak, the Wraith Blade begins to uncoil itself once again of it's own volition.

Raziel tries to fight it, but can clearly feel it tugging at his soul.

Raziel (shouting):
"Is this your sorcery?"

Kain:
"Not mine, Raziel - yours."

Kain:
"You have nothing to fear from me, Raziel. You hold all the cards."

Kain turns the Reaver and offers the hilt to Raziel.

Raziel reaches, of his own will, for the reaver...

Once he takes it, the Wraith Blade uncoils itself and snakes down the physical blade once more, but does not try to consume Raziel's soul a second time.

Raziel:
"Then perhaps I should test your sincerity."

Raziel is emboldened by this new development.

Raziel:
"If what you say is true, you should be terrified. I could kill you here and now."

Kain:
"And so you do, Raziel."

Suddenly, the Reaver begins to take control, and leaps for Kain's throat. Raziel, surprised, recoils, trying to pull it away, but the Reaver's will is strong, and he has a difficult time fighting it.

Raziel:
"What's happening?!"

Kain:
"We are hurtling toward our destinies, Raziel. What you feel is the pull of history rushing to meet us. This is where history and destiny collide."

Kain:
"If you truly believe in free will, Raziel, now is the time to prove it."

Kain:
"Kill me now, and we both become pawns of history, dragged down the path of an artificial destiny."

Kain:
"I was ordained to assume the role of Balance Guardian in Nosgoth, while you were destined to be its savior. But the map of my fate was redrawn by Moebius, and so in turn was yours..."

Raziel:
"This is madness!"

Kain:
"Fight it, Raziel... This moment does not have to be an ending - it can become a prelude."

The pull of the Reaver is too strong, and Raziel's strength is failing.

Raziel:
"I can't..."

Kain:
"You can, Raziel - look inside and see that it is so. You have the power to reshape our inevitable futures."

Raziel brings the Reaver above his head to strike Kain down.

...and instead, in a final, monumental excercise in willpower, diverts the Reaver's path ever so slightly, driving it instead into the casket of King William.

Kain stands up, very slowly.

Kain:
"...poor William..."

The room begins to tremble and the lighting flickers.

Raziel:
"What is this?"

Kain:
"History abhors a paradox, Raziel."

Kain:
"Even now, the time-stream strains to divert itself, finding its old course blocked by your refusal to destroy me."

Kain:
"The future is reshuffling itself to accommodate your monumental decision."

Kain:
"This is where we restore ourselves, Raziel, and reclaim our intended destinies."

Kain:
"It may yet be possible for me to assume my role as Balance Guardian and return the Pillars to their rightful inheritors-"

Raziel:
"-to the vampires."

Raziel:
"And this is the destiny you urged me to discover?"

Raziel:
"I don't know what game you and Moebius are playing, Kain - but I refuse to be your pawn. Unlike you, I still revere whatever shred of humanity I've managed to preserve. You will not use me as the instrument of your messianic delusions."

Raziel turns and walks away.

Kain:
"Very well, Raziel. I'll not ask you to trust me - your truths are for you to discover alone."

Raziel:
"Humble words for one who presumes to teach me a lesson at every turn."

Kain:
"Then continue your journey and learn your own lessons, Raziel."

Kain:
"Remember - Moebius led you here, but you walk away unfettered. A champion of free will, and conqueror of false histories."

Raziel continues to stalk away, without looking back.

Kain:
"There is much more for you to unearth, if you have the heart for the truth and the will to see it..."

As Kain teleports out, Raziel continues walking away, thinking Kain's words over.

Watch it here:

Video - Raziel returns to the Time Streaming Chamber

Equipped now with the Light Reaver, Raziel is able to open the second Time Streaming Chamber that he encountered when he arrived in this time.

As he does so, Moebius rushes in, clearly surprised and alarmed.

Raziel:
"Ah, yes - I like that look on your face, Moebius. You really don't know what to do now, do you, old man?"

Raziel:
"Here you are - caught without your damned staff - and I suspect things aren't progressing quite as you'd hoped."

Raziel:
"You're not used to the fly turning to confront you in your web, are you?"

Moebius struggles to retain his composure, as he tries to regain control of the situation.

Moebius:
"Kain's devious influence has poisoned your mind, Raziel."

Moebius:
"Now you see betrayal everywhere, even in your closest allies."

Raziel:
"We were never allies, Moebius. Conspirators, perhaps. Briefly."

Moebius:
"Why did you not kill Kain when you had the chance? He was at your mercy!"

Raziel:
"Precisely. I had a choice, and I chose mercy."

Raziel:
"And now I know your sordid little secret - the significance of that displacement I felt when the two Reavers came together. Strangely enough, I was enlightened by the 'devious' Kain, not by you."

Raziel:
"In fact, I've learned much more than you counted on - I understand now how you've tried to manipulate all of history for your own personal gain."

Raziel:
"But now all your little schemes are whirling in ruin around you, aren't they?"

"All because I decided to exert my will for once, rather than obey the demands of sorcerers and spirits and demons all singing the same tiresome refrain: 'kill Kain!'"

Raziel:
"I am setting my own path from here, Moebius."

Raziel:
"I intend to discover the truth behind all of this."

Moebius:
"But you condemn us all with this impetuous act!"

Raziel:
"Hardly impetuous; it took all the will I could muster."

Raziel:
"Has my refusal to kill Kain reshuffled your carefully stacked deck of cards?"

Moebius:
"You really think that you're exercising your free will, Raziel?
You're simply Kain's servant-"

Raziel:
"I do not serve Kain. I merely did not kill him."

Moebius:
"Raziel, do not forget your purpose here - you are destined to be the savior of Nosgoth!"

Raziel:
"Oh, I'm sick of hearing that particular phrase."

Raziel:
"As for saving Nosgoth, so far I see precious little reason to bother."

Raziel:
"And I'll choose my own 'purpose' from here on out, Time-Streamer. Right now, I choose to manipulate you, for a change."

Raziel gestures towards the Time Streaming Chamber with the Reaver.

Raziel:
"Go - in there."

Moebius:
"What are you doing?"

Moebius:
"Come now, Moebius - you're a cunning serpent... you'll piece it together, I imagine."

Raziel:
"This era is of no further use to me. You will operate this device to provide me passage."

Raziel:
"I want to see the world in a simpler time - before the Sarafan began their crusade."

Moebius:
"And what about Kain? You're leaving your quarry behind!"

Raziel:
"You kill him, if it's so damned important."

Moebius:
"You need only touch the two poles of the switch, and the device will transport you. But I urge you to reconsider-"

Raziel:
"You've lost your powers of persuasion, old man. Rot here, and forget me."

Moebius sulks in the corner as Raziel moves to use the device...

...but can't seem to conceal a devious grin to himself.

Next time: 500 years into Nosgoth's past?