A/N: Here is a newly added prologue. Also, the usual disclaimer applies. Lastly, with dialogues, I shall no longer stay entirely truthful to the games. This time, I improvise.

Prologue: Thine is the Kingdom

The Vampire Kain stood by the Pillars of Nosgoth, ready to make the monumental decision that would either condemn or redeem the already poisoned land. He beheld the Pillar of Balance and saw that it was blackened as ash and darker than his undead heart yet still it remained unbroken. Still it stood, hopelessly waiting for that final chance to be restored to its immaculate state before Nupraptor's Madness occurred.

It seemed to Kain that all eyes were on him now. Even the mighty Pillars towering to the heavens appeared to gaze down on the accursed Vampire. Two choices: To die and purify the final and most crucial Pillar or to continue this macabre existence of living death and ultimately sentence the land of Nosgoth to irreversible decay and corruption. Two choices; simple as that. But then again, choices were never simple to begin with.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kain looked up at Ariel to speak his verdict. "I have made my decision, Spirit."

"I do hope you understand the repercussions of whatever fate you decide. Have you thought about it well?"

"Indeed I have." Kain tightened his claws on the Reaver Blade. The apprehension was overwhelming.

"Do you wish to save Nosgoth?

"Save it?" He asked aloud and laughed as the madman he truly was. Why would a demented creature of the night have even the slightest desire to save the land when it could all be his for the taking? "Save this contemptible and unworthy realm?" He asked again out of sheer spite. "Nay, Spirit! I wish to rule it!"

"No!" Ariel gasped helplessly. She put her hand to her mouth and backed away horrified at Kain's final decision. After all that had transpired, the slaying of all her fellow guardians, the re-shuffling of events, the conspiracy of Moebius and Mortanius, everything had gone to naught.

Already the Pillar of Balance began to crack and erode as though time and the elements had worn away its very foundations. Chunks of rock and marble fell from the corrupted edifice. It was swaying this way and that, making warped creaking noises, uncertain of where most of it would collapse.

But before it fell, a challenge appeared.

Out of nowhere, a womanly figure materialized. She had the unblemished face of Ariel and the madness of Nupraptor in her eyes. She was garbed in clothing similar to that of Mortanius with one major distinction. Atop her head, instead of a Death's Head Mask, she wore an ornate black and white butterfly mask. It had been pulled up to show Kain her face, to show him that she harbored no fear. But her most noteworthy assets were the weapons she possessed. Twin Cryse blades with serpentine undulations not unlike that of the Soul Reaver. It was probably looted from Vorador's mansion upon the ancient Vampire's demise. They were mere butter knives in comparison to the Reaver Blade. But still, if they were of Vorador's craftsmanship, they would not be that easy to break.

"If you do not choose death, Vampire, then I shall make the choice for you." She pointed the sword in her right hand at Kain. A fight to the death was what she wanted. Death was what she would receive.

"And who are you to decide my fate, creature?" Kain sneered. What being in all Nosgoth would now have the audacity to challenge him? This meager skirmish would be over before it even started.

"I am Eidolon, Daughter of Ariel and Nupraptor and a mere Pet of the Circle. I am the Dog they have chained for too long. With Mortanius out of the way, no one has a hold on me any longer. Now that my masters are dead, I hunger for fresh meat."

"Even the most rabid of dogs may be gentled if you know the right method."

"Don't underestimate me, Vampire. I had a hand in Vorador's demise. These trinkets you see are merely my reward for doing my duty." She said, motioning to her swords.

"And let me guess. You are here now because you seek vengeance on behalf of the Circle. Am I correct?"

"Nothing so noble. In fact, I should thank you for relieving me of my captors."

"This is a most peculiar manner of expressing your gratitude. Do you think not?"

"You see, Kain, there is only one way to end this. As the daughter of Ariel, I hold but a strand of influence over the Pillar of Balance. I am no Guardian of the Circle but I am the only reason it still stands."

"Then you shall be joining your Mother soon enough."

"Good. Perhaps I shall grace her with my presence for the rest of eternity in her prison here."

At this, Ariel spoke up. "I shall have none of this, Child. You have your Father's taint of madness in you."

Eidolon turned to Ariel with a snide look on her face. "Then I guess the apple never falls far from the tree, now does it? Don't try to argue, Mother. I know you want him dead." She then turned back to Kain, knowing full well that it was dangerous to keep one's eyes off the enemy. "Are we so different, Kain? We are both afflicted by this dementia. We both want each other dead and should either one of us live through this battle, then all Nosgoth is doomed."

"What are you saying, whelp?"

"Should you kill me, the Pillars fall and by now I trust you know of its calculated repercussions. However, should I kill you, all Nosgoth shall be mine."

With this said, Kain perceived a change in Eidolon's face. There was something about her eyes. Yes, an intense green flame burned within them. He did not know what this foreboded. But whatever it was, he would not allow this insolent creature to take what was rightfully his.

Eidolon pulled her butterfly mask down to commence the duel. They began to circle each other, eyes locked on each other. Their form was perfect; their stances flawless. Both opponents held their weapons at the ready should either one of them attack first.

Due to pent up rage, Kain lunged at Eidolon before she had the chance to deal an opening strike. This she dodged effortlessly. Kain struck at her again with the intention of pushing her on the defensive side. To a certain degree, he seemed to succeed. Eidolon did not lay a single blow on him. However, it was not because she could not, but because she refused to do so. She avoided and parried his blows with bewildering ease. Not even once did she miss her step.

To Kain, it did not even seem as though she were fighting with him. The fashion of her movements, her grace and her agility hinted at something far more aesthetic. She twirled the swords in her hands and performed a parasol gesture. The blades sang through the air with great as though they moved of their own volition, carrying their wielder along with them. To Kain, it seemed as though she was merely dancing.

True, she had not dealt Kain a single blow. But neither could he land the slightest laceration on her delicate flesh. Twist and stab, thrust and parry; it was all a complicated but perfectly executed ballet.

Was she tiring him out to win the battle? Was that her strategy? Perhaps, he too should adapt a new strategy. He backed away cautiously, the Reaver still pointed at his opponent. Calmly, he pointed the blade to the ground and closed his eyes. He would let her strike him for once. He only hoped she was foolish enough to take the bait.

He opened his other senses and visualized where his attacker would land. Kain sensed her leap through the air and just when she was about to lop off his head, he turned the Reaver back up into the air perfectly catching his assailant. The clang of her swords on the floor was enough to confirm this.

Kain opened his eyes to see that she had been skewered through, as he had expected. Her weakness it seemed was that she did not appear to deviate from her attack patterns, making her far too predictable. Also she viewed this duel as a mere game, a playful sparring match, a dance. But then again, Kain had this odd feeling at the back of his mind that she came here to die and that she threw herself upon the Soul Reaver on purpose. He felt as though this was simply a small part of some grand underlying scheme. Though, the plot had yet to mature.

He allowed her body to simply slide off the blade when he inexplicably noticed her blood. It was not crimson, as he so often expected from a human. It was not green, venomous as the flame in her eyes. Not the black of his heart, with its weakening properties. Nor was it blue, infused with magic. No. It was the color of silver, blood unlike that of any creature he had ever seen before. There was no telling what the effects of this blood would do to his system. He also had no desire of trying; it was too suspicious. That might have been what she wanted him to do this entire time. Neither did he have the opportunity to do so. Her blood seeped out and was absorbed completely by the marble flooring, leaving neither trace nor stain.

Kain looked down at the near corpse. She was not yet entirely dead, still clinging to what little life that remained, such were necromancers. They studied death and death they became. What were once flames in her eyes were mere smoldering embers now, soon to be extinguished.

With her dying breath, she spoke in a barely audible voice. But due to Kain's vampiric hearing, he heard her every last word. "This is not my end, Vampire. Nor is it yours. For thine is the Kingdom," she gasped. "And the power… and the glory…"

"Now and forever. Amen." Kain continued what she was unable to say. The poor wench had expired before finishing.

Upon her death, something strange occurred. Her body began to glow with a fiery white light, swords and mask aflame. She transformed into a santelmo of pure energy. This raw power split into 9 distinct streams, attaching themselves to the 9 Pillars at the same time. As the torrents of energy struck the Pillars, they crumbled into decay, like a house made of cards with one of them forcefully plucked out.

And thus the Pillars were no more. Ariel was perpetually fettered to the tombstones of Nosgoth. And what became of her child, Kain never knew. At last Nosgoth was his to conquer.

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Chapter 1: The Dream

It was the dead of night and a young fifteen year old girl was running away from 3 bloodthirsty vampires. Val had trusted them to be her friends. She had trusted them with her secret, that she was a Shadow Wolf, a very rare breed of werewolf. She hated vampires more than anything. And now there they were. Her closest friends were baring their fangs as they came closer.

She hated vampires for what they were: maniacal, bloodthirsty killers without the slightest trace of humanity left in them. They had tried to kill her so many times, tried to drink her blood, so much she had already lost count. And in those countless thousands of times, none of them had ever succeeded. She never killed the vampires though, simply evading their grasp every single time. She could sense when a vampire was near. Her Wolf blood gave her a very acute sense of smell. She was used to it by now. She never went anywhere without her trusty Hydro Hyper Blaster 9000 full of holy water and two spare refills in her blue Illustrazio backpack, which often carried items such as a satchel of garlic, a medium-sized silver crucifix, a small dagger, a lighter, a sling shot, a bottle of tear gas or pepper spray and other such objects.

Now however, she did not have her backpack or her water gun. She could not find anything to stop or repel the vampires that were heading her way. The vampires were not even running after her. They were walking at a leisurely state, taking all the time in the world, while Val was running pell-mell in the opposite direction in a state of imminent panic.

She changed into her Wolf form hoping to outrun them, but it was no use. No matter how fast she ran they were still coming closer.

"Yrouna! Jack! Kim! Snap out of it! It's me for goodness sake!" cried Val. "I thought you were my friends! I trusted you guys!"

Can't believe I was so blind. Can't believe they'd turn on me. Can't believe they'd do this to me. Can't believe ANYTHING! Her thoughts were racing in her mind faster than she could comprehend them. They were vampires all along. Vampires for heaven's sake! I hate vampires! They've turned my friends against me.

She ran for what seemed like miles without stopping. At last, she had slackened her pace. She couldn't keep it up forever. She collapsed on the ground and let exhaustion overwhelm her. She looked up and saw a few feet from her another figure. Her senses told her it was also a vampire and the figure's claws and fangs confirmed that. Upon this new vampire's back was a set of elegant bat wings.

"Blasted killer vampires!" she said to herself in utter disgust.

Suddenly, the new Vampire was swallowed in the darkness. Val didn't know what happened to him but she could hear deafening howls of agony and excruciating pain.

Val was suddenly overcome by her sadistically morbid nature and had to stop herself from saying something like "Cooooooooolll!" because she knew this was not the time and place for that sort of stuff. It was true she never killed any vampires but that didn't mean she didn't torture them.

The new Vampire suddenly reappeared, hideously deformed and skinless. His magnificent wings were ripped to shreds and he didn't have a lower jaw. This sight, in any other situation, probably would have left Val rolling on the ground, laughing her head off. Now though, she merely let out a suppressed chuckle. What she was wondering about however was how could this vampire still stand up when it was clearly missing several major organs and why was it now entirely blue?

Val was not the least bit disturbed by this image. In fact she gazed upon the vampire with the sinister fascination of a naughty child watching a butterfly come out of its cocoon only to become lunch for a hungry frog. Once again she strained not to say something like "Interesting" with the tone of someone watching the hungry frog dissected and the poor partially digested butterfly taken out. She had other things to worry about right now.

The blue vampire "thing" or whatever it was took a brown piece of cloth hanging from is shoulder and wrapped it around its neck to hide its face. Then as suddenly as it appeared, it vanished, again.

By now Jack, Kim and Yrouna had already caught up with her. In one final desperate attempt to save her life, she called upon her powers to repel them. Nothing. Her outstretched hands gave not the desired effect. Her glare; perhaps her evil eyes could stop them, albeit momentarily. There was always something about her eyes that agitated Vampires and at the same time harmed them. She looked directly into the windows of her attackers souls. Did they even have souls? Again nothing happened. Why were her powers failing her?

She knew it was pointless to run away again. She was simply too tired. She was going to be bitten. She knew it.

She waited for the burning sensation to hit her neck. She waited and waited and waited and when she didn't feel it, she opened her eyes and suddenly…

BAM!! It hit her. She bolted upright only to find herself in her own bed back at home. And there it was: the tingling burning sensation on the right side of her neck. Instinctively, she put her right hand to her neck only to find…nothing.

It had all been just a dream… or nightmare. Or was it really just a dream?

A/N: Should you find any errors or loopholes, please tell me.

Shortie: In a completely unrelated incident, Vorador begins to put down several of the Circle's hapless Guardians.

Guardian # 1: Malek!!

Malek: I'm coming!

Guardian #2: MALEK!!

Malek: I'm coming!

Guardian # 3: MALEEEEEEEEEEEK!!

Malek: Oh wait, I have to go use the bathroom. Where's the nearest bathroom?

Random Sarafan Warrior: What's a bathroom?