The Vampire Citadel fell silent. The second the pillars shattered, the feral humans hid in shock, terrified: nobody could have predicted the collapse of the pillars. Kain wandered the remains of the abandoned Citadel quietly, his mind completely silent. For the first time in forever he felt defeated.
What was he to do? Raziel's sacrifice had given him a glimpse of hope but he couldn't force himself to believe in it, not completely. He knew he was reaching the end of his story, he could not escape his fate to restore balance. But how?
The thought had haunted him for centuries. Not a single day passed without Kain wondering about his fate. He had to refuse the sacrifice to set the healing of Nosgoth in motion, no matter how selfish his choice had been back then. His actions were a pure display of arrogance. His vampiric nature was corrupted, his whole existence a mistake of nature. But he had no idea at the time, nor did he care.
As the centuries passed he gained an understanding he didn't have before. He had to make those choices, otherwise Raziel could never have fulfilled his destiny. Was he to sacrifice himself, just like his most faithful lieutenant? He had unanswered questions, and no one left to answer them.
As he wandered through the Citadel he resolved to once again visit the Sarafan Stronghold. Whatever destiny had in store for him, it wasn't in this now useless Citadel, and more importantly, it wasn't in this age. Surely Moebius had a spare time-streaming chamber for him to use. Not that Moebius could complain.
It didn't take long for Kain to go back to the Stronghold. They were short of guards: the time streamer had disappeared and most of the Sarafan army was scattered across the land, searching for their master like the loyal dogs they were. In any case, the few guards left at the Stronghold were no match for the Reaver.
"I have wandered these revolting halls more than I care about" he thought as he kicked a door open "perhaps even more than the Sarafan themselves."
Beyond the door were the caves where Moebius worked his magic. Shortly after entering he found a time-streaming chamber. Luckily its destination wasn't fixed, and he could operate it at will. He put his hands on the commands without hesitation and left for the future.
"At last" he let his voice echo in the chamber "This age has nothing more to offer me. I never wish to see it again."
He was glad to leave this age: every second in it reminded him of his corrupted empire and his long-gone youth. He had more regrets than he cared to admit. For just a couple of seconds, he let himself feel relief as time shift around the chamber.
Once the shift was complete, he went outside. To his pleasure, the Sarafan Stronghold was almost completely destroyed. Half of it was in flames, most of it ravaged. You could hear screams. Mutilated Sarafan corpses were scattered everywhere, and fledgling vampires ran in the halls looking for easy prey. He had indeed come the right age: it had only been some years after he defeated the Hylden Lord in his youth. In this age, humans were nothing more than cattle. His old empire was on the rise, but the vampires still disorganized.
But that was not what he came for. He left the Stronghold for good. He had a plan.