I'm not really back, I just got inspired.

Sacrifice 20051212

After long trials and hardship, it all came down to this. Kain grinned sadistically as he strode through the viscera that slicked the floor. The great squid that served as Nosgoth's puppet master now lay wounded all around him. The battle had been difficult, but now Kain was victorious. He brushed a gore-slicked strand of hair out of his face and readied himself for the final blow that would destroy the manipulator for good.

"Wait," it said. Its voice was still confident and commanding even now, when it should have been whining piteously for its life. "We can both co-exist if we are only willing to endure each other's existence. I can give you what you truly desire."

Kain hesitated, his curiosity drove him to give this squid a final say. "You cannot possibly give me what I want. Your destruction is the key to everything."

The squid rolled its massive eye at Kain. "I am the engine of life, the wheel of fate. There is nothing that is beyond my power." At this, it softened its voice to a more gentle tone. "It was my desire for your destruction that drove the world into darkness and decay. Spare me, and I shall make things right again."

"You've had your chance," Kain spat as he tightened his grip on the Soul Reaver in readiness for the finishing blow.

A moment of disorientation, and Kain found himself striding to the edge of the Abyss to gaze at the endlessly churning waters down below.

"Kain," a voice called from the depths. "Do not destroy him."

Kain had no memories of anything that happened after this point, nor did he recognize the voice that called to him. Was this his conscience finally speaking to him after all this time?

Kain risked a small glance at the broken and blood-smeared form of Raziel as he stepped away from the precipice. Again, that voice spoke to him, but softer now. "This is not the way."

Sneering, Kain strengthened his resolve and commanded, "Cast him in."

Kain could not bear to look, but Raziel's angry yell echoed in his ears. Suddenly, the vision dissolved in a wash of blinding light, and Kain found himself once again facing the manipulator.

Angered beyond all reasoning at having to relive that day, Kain launched himself as the huge, pulsating eye. Slime and viscera cascaded in sheets around him as he slashed with the Reaver. His enemy was dead, but still he hacked at it until darkness overcame him.

Kain awoke slowly, lying in a cold pool of slime. He stood, bracing himself on the Reaver and trying to clear the viscous ooze from his face. Idly, Kain wiped some of the gunk from the hilt of the Reaver and wondered if Raziel was aware of what had happened. As always, the Reaver gave no outward sign of being aware of anything.

Kain slowly trudged from the gooey chamber, a chill suffusing his spirit. He had not known anything when he ignored that voice. He threw away that chance to spare Raziel on a simple whim. Kain trusted that he had still made the right decision, but that did not ease his pain.

This was based off of a Joan Baez song that was based off of a bible story. For some reason, people were sacrificing their own children to God. One of them was about to, but didn't, and claimed that God had told him not to.