Disclaimer: I don't own LOK or POP. Elizabeth was a stock sue-type until she lost her grip on reality.
20060612 - I went ahead and published chapters 6, 7, and 8 together because they were akwardly short.
Raziel's dreams were filled with hordes of clingy fan girls. They clambered over each other, each fighting for his attention. He was wearing his own armor, but his shoulder drape was torn away by their grasping hands. Raziel was holding the Reaver, but it was a blood-stealing weapon. As he sliced through swathes of fan girls, Raziel's hunger grew.
The scene shifted until Raziel was a wraith with his luminous sword bound to his arm. The fan girls decayed until they were a pack of hylden-possessed corpses, but still they clawed at him. As Raziel struck his attackers down, his anger grew. Raziel awoke as a howl of rage escaped his throat.
Raziel lay still for a moment, collecting his thoughts and letting himself grow calm. He sat up and took stock of his surroundings. Raziel swallowed, he had almost forgot what it was to have a raw feeling in his throat. With cold dread, he realized that he was alone and unarmed.
Remembering that he was likely to need protection from the sand, Raziel grabbed the necklace and looped it around his belt. He ran from the tomb as sand creatures began to appear.
Raziel found a sword in the next room, but he did not stop to think about what sort of sword would have such defenses. His only thought as he fought with the puzzle to release it was that the sand creatures were too strong for him to fight with his bare claws.
Raziel was surprised at his new sword's power. The sand creatures usually exploded after just one hit. After a few moments, he found Elizabeth. "Eliza!" Raziel called. "What do you think you're doing?"
Elizabeth simply gave Raziel a knowing look before she disappeared into a crack in the tower. Raziel wasn't sure whether to be angry or worried. He didn't have time to ponder, as the stone beneath his feet crumbled away, leaving him trapped with a pack of sand creatures. A glimpse of the path upward was the only clue that the sands would provide.
As Raziel climbed outer walls of the Tower of Dawn, he cursed at how difficult it was to traverse the ruined and crumbling structure. Before he was through, he also cursed the architect, the sand creatures, even the bats, but most of all Elizabeth and the Gamester. Eventually, he found an opening near the top that allowed him inside.
Raziel watched as Eliza defended herself against a sand creature. If he had known that she could handle a sword at all, he would have given her one of his castoffs. Even though he was running, he still couldn't reach her before a sand creature knocked her into a hole in the floor. Not knowing what would happen to him if Elizabeth died, Raziel lunged forward and tried to grab her. He hissed as he caught the dagger instead.
Elizabeth stared up at Raziel, fear burning in her eyes. "It will be all right," she said before letting go.
Raziel stared in shock at the dead girl, then glanced at the dagger. He could almost guess that she had purposely emptied the dagger of its sand. He was still filled with cold shock at Elizabeth's faith in the game as he fought off the sand creatures.
Raziel accidentally backed into the last sand cloud, but the visions did not shed any light on his lack of understanding. He was still wondering how a person could die so calmly when he stood over Elizabeth's body.
"Here we are again," the Gamester remarked as he gazed at the body and then regarded Raziel with a cool stare.
"I want to be left alone," Raziel told the Gamester.
The Gamester did not answer, only pursed his lips in thought. Finally, he said, "The game is still not over." Calmly, he indicated the hourglass.