The form on the ground looked like it was draped in a blanket but on closer inspection, Kain came to the startling realization that it was wings. He reached out and, hand almost shaking, brushed the membrane stretched between the long fingers of bone. As his talons touched the wing, its owner started and twisted an arm up in defense.

"Raziel?" Kain asked softly again, slowly pulling his hand back.

The vampire on the floor stared at him. "Kain?" His voice was rough and made him sound completely exhausted. Thinking about it, Kain would have wagered that he was; being pulled from a prison not made to release its victim had to be taxing.

"Yes." The empty, heartless part of his chest still twisted in a combination of hope, relief, and, although Kain would be hard pressed to say it, fear. Would there be any side effects from being pulled out of the Soul Reaver? What would this mean to history?

Raziel, for it was Raziel despite the total impossibility of the situation, sat up a little, limp wings falling away from his body a little. He was impossibly pale, skin transparent, and his golden eyes were unfocused but he could still distinguish that it was Kain in front of him but barely. "How? What happened? The last thing I remember was … the Spirit Forge…" he asked as he struggled to sit, seemingly unaware of his wings.

Kain grabbed his arm and helped his still favorite son into a stable sitting position as he tried to answer. "Baal. It had to be him. But I still have no idea how or even why." Kain noticed that his own voice was coming out oddly. Instead of his normally powerful voice, the words that came out of his mouth sounded tiny to even his ears.

"Who?" Raziel seemed to be having trouble seeing in the dark of the tomb. Kain hoped that all of his seemingly fragility was only passing for he needed Raziel to be at the top of his game as soon as possible. As he lifted a hand to shield his weakened eyes from the feeble light of the fire, a wing shifted and, not expecting the sensation, he flinched. "How?" The firstborn's gold eyes suddenly seemed to focus as he realized just what it was he was looking at. What it was he was feeling. "But… How?"

"Baal."

The second time Kain spoke the name, he heard a soft scuffle near the Tomb's entrance. It was Baal. The Ancient was rocking back and forth, a strange keening sound emitting from him. As he watched, the keening grew in volume and Baal's rocking became erratic. He was no longer just moving back and forth but side to side until he tossed his head back, long hair flying in an arc as an echo of the motion, mouth wide in a silent scream. Set against the relative light of the starry sky outside, the motion seemed to stick and skip.

Dimensional distortion.

"Baal?" Kain called, standing and taking a tentative step towards the suddenly still man.

The light from the fire let Kain see the massive arcs of Baal's too many wings and the strange curve of his stomach as it swooped up to meet his chest. Baal flung his arms out and made a bizarre guttural sound; the distortion around him pulsed violently.

Kain made to grab the man's arm when –

He stumbled and hissed at the unexpected bright light. Kain looked around at his new environment. White marble with the faintest crystal veins spider webs reflected the purest light he had ever seen. The space seemed to be circular with a smooth stone floor. He laid a hand on a wall and concluded the wall was made of the small stone as the Pillars.

It is above us. Look up, Scion.

Kain did and inhaled sharply. The white light and perfect stone faded in its majesty as it traveled upward, becoming corrupt and dark until all was absorbed by a convulsing brown mass.

The thing that afflicts this place is the same that crumbles the rest of Nosgoth. Baal's voice told him as Kain realized what he was staring at.

"We are standing under the belly of the …" The very idea seemed overwhelming and Kain found himself unable to say it aloud. A hand touched his arm and he turned to see Baal, one hand on his arm. He followed his companion's gaze and for the first time looked at the floor. "This is …"

Yes. This is the Wheel of Fate. And that, Baal told him, looking up at the thing above them, is a parasite that claims to be the Wheel. And this is how he shall be ruined.

"What do you mean?" But the scene was already faded and Kain was standing, arm extended, before Baal, head down with his face hidden behind a veil of hair. Baal looked up at him, hair slowly showing Kain his faintly glowing eyes, and he promptly collapsed. Kain caught him before Baal could hurt himself and found himself staring at the Ancient.

"What was that?"