Disclaimer: If only I owned Legacy of Kain, there would have already been another game and a movie NOT by Uwe Boll. But seeing as such things are currently non-existant, it only means that I own moot.

A/N:Sorry, this was late... again. I've had a lot on my hands lately but I didn't want this to stagnate in my Documents.

As you may have noticed, I have changed the title to "Subjugators of the Flesh:Rise of Legion." After my complete overhaul of the direction of the story, I saw that the original title, "Vampires and Shadow Wolves just don't mix" had no significance in the plot anymore and was downright crappy, not to mention grossly unoriginal. Hopefully, after the last chapter, you will also have noticed that the main conflict is no longer between Vampires and Shadow Wolves but between Vampires and the Hylden.

Btw, the Boaia Muzzle is completely fictional and is pronounced Boo - Wah - Yah. Vector Hooks are also fictional.

Also, I will occasionally give recommended listenings to accompany my chapter. For this chapter, I would suggest listening to "Vermillion part 2" by "Slipknot" while reading. Feel free to look it up in youtube.

Lastly, sorry if some of the dialogue in this chapter sounds like the deleted dialogue from Blood Omen 2. It was definitely influenced by it. Anyway, without any further ado, I give you Chapter 14: Shades of Gray.

Chapter 14: Shades of Gray

Hash'Ak'Gik

Hash'Ak'Gik

Like a child stirred by a sombre lullaby, the Ninth Erebus came to and ever so slowly took in her surroundings. The dismal caverns emanated an aura of the vilest manners of sorcery imaginable. Black Operations, necromancy, demonic worship and possession; these were merely a few of the malevolent deeds the telltale walls whispered of.

Feebly, Valwique rose up on all fours. She found it most excruciating to try to stand on two. The world reeled sickeningly around her but something was wrong. It was not merely caused by nausea. No. Something was certainly missing in her surroundings, a quality of sorts though she could not lay her hand upon the elusive aspect.

For now, it mattered little. The miasma that slithered past the archaic walls and crevices obscured her view enough to make her skin crawl. If malice could take on a physical form, it would certainly be this nebula that clawed at everything it touched. "Mist" or "fog" could certainly not be used to describe this thing. It was the very breath of evil and it had taken the minds of what appeared to be religiously blind worshippers that paid tribute to some Ungodly creature.

Yes, as she gained hold of her bearings, she could hear the voices resounding throughout the caverns. "Hash'Ak'Gik… Hash'Ak'Gik," they chanted. Without emotion, without end, they chanted on and on, laboriously. They wore ornate Death's Head masks that hid their faces. They wore them to appear identical. Here and now, individuality did not exist. It was like a fragmented shadow wilting in the presence of a tremendous and devastating light. These humans had no souls or minds to call their own, only one purpose; to do the will of the entity that bound them.

"Great Hash'Ak'Gik, We hear you!" said the voice of a man who was more than a man. He was a Necromancer, one who divined with the aid of those who had passed from the mortal realm. Precisely how Val knew this information was beyond her, but it was not he who caught the Erebus' unwavering attention.

Upon closer observation, Val was overwhelmed by a sense of urgency when she saw the two beings who flanked the sides of the Diviner. They wore no masks and Val recognized them in an instant, despite barely knowing them at all in her childhood. Against all odds, it was Val's own parents who followed the authoritative Necromancer's footsteps deploringly, as sheep to be slaughtered.

It felt like an eternity since the Val last saw her Mother and Father and now there they were, standing at the threshold of a raised platform that hung precariously over the edge of some abysmal pit. "We tremble and we obey," they spoke in unison. Mindless drones now, they too were bereft of free will.

Valwique called out to her parents but the miasma killed her voice before it left her mouth. They wore empty eyes, glazed and clouded over. She was dust and they saw right through her. Val willed herself to move towards them but the immense pain that racked her body kept her at a pitiful crawl.

"We offer You this sacrifice upon the Altar of the World," said the Necromancer.

"The blood of our Firstborn do we sacrifice to You." The blind worshippers sang in chorus, though a new voice stood above the rest. Val did not need to look up to know that it was none other than that dreaded Eidolon. She wore the same ornate butterfly mask that covered only half her face, as always, but in her hand was a ceremonial dagger, certainly not a weapon meant for combat. Curiosity got the better of Val when she risked a glance up at the spiteful wench just in time to see her slit her parent's throats. The lacerations were made with nearly surgical precision but seeing as the ruptured vessel was the jugular, the blood that flowed out was akin to a dam bursting.

Valwique wailed like a banshee upon this macabre sight. But as before, her voice died the moment it took flight. A supressed gurgle was all that could be heard.

"May this blood nourish You for all eternity!" said the Necromancer and with that he signaled to his apprentice. Eidolon wasted no time in giving Val's parents a gentle push over the edge. They did not resist in the slightest. Throats cut, blood gouting, they plummeted into the chasm.

"Avert Your wrath from us Great God," the throng chanted in response. The miasma was growing now. Creeping steadily in all directions, it threatened to engulf the Erebus completely.

"The wrath of Hash'Ak'Gik has once more been averted. Depart now, as ever, in His service..." The Necromancer commanded his servants. These were the last words Val heard before the miasma stretched itself and covered the entirety of Val's afflicted corpse. No inch of skin was left untouched. It strangled her, threatening to crush her completely. Paralyzed once more, she was at the mercy of oblivion.

The Ninth Erebus struggled against this arcane grip as shadows invaded her body. However, she recoiled at the sound of a thousand menacing voices that came with a plethora of glowering pairs of eyes. Some were Demonic in nature, she could tell. But the others, the empty green fiery ones, they belonged to something else entirely.

The slightest movement Val made tore her skin open. Even so much as cringing was enough to rupture her flesh. All she could do was stay perfectly still and hope for it to pass. Val shivered slightly as she felt a hand gently caress her spine as she heard the words "StarSkin, I command you! Awaken!"

Sight returned to her but not in a way she expected. Now without the decadent miasma, she could see her surroundings perfectly and it was with unveiled eyes that she saw the quality in her vision that appeared to be "missing" in her surroundings. Color. She now saw the world in monochrome, in hues of black and white. Somehow, perhaps as an effect of the Baptism of Fire, Val had become color-blind.

The room she was trapped in was gave off grayish tones and from wall to wall, it was dripping with a curious liquid. It could have very well been recently painted red with the uncoagulated blood of a Vampire. But now that Val no longer saw shades of red, it might as well have been her own blood. Silver and red both looked similarly faded now in the light of the single torch that lit up the room.

Disregarding the presumed blood, she took notice of an infinitely more significant detail. All around her were chains and not just any chains. These were Vector Hooks. When inserted properly into one's flesh, the captive would feel no pain. However, they were specifically designed to stay that way. The Hooks would latch on to the flesh and any attempt to extricate them from the captive would be in vain. On the other hand, if enough force were applied, the hooks could be detached but not without ripping out chunks of flesh along with them. The price of freedom. The ultimate sacrifice.

Val looked down at her body and noted Vector Hooks were inserted at key pressure points, ensuring utmost pain should they be pulled out. Her attention then shifted to the strange device that encompassed her head. She lowered herself and allowed her pierced hands to explore the surface of this dreaded manacle.

'Oh God! No!' She thought to herself. 'Not The Muzzle. Anything but the Muzzle.'

The Boaia Muzzle was one of the most heinous torture devices the Wolves had ever fabricated. It rendered any Vampire permanently incapable of feeding and they would thus be condemned to decay till insanity inevitably took hold of them but this was the least of Val's worries. The infamous nature of this device lay in the Vector Hooks located on the inside of the Muzzle, Vector Hooks that had no doubt already been inserted into her cranium. The Hooks attached to the chains on her body could easily be dealt with. However, there was no known way of disengaging the Muzzle. Even if Val could somehow open the Muzzle, she could not do so without first obliterating her own skull, splattering about the bloody entrails of her brain in the process. The muzzle was permanent.

The Ninth Erebus then decided to take her chances. If she didn't do anything, she would die anyway. Her first move was done by pure instinct. She tried turning into her mist form but to no avail. Some unknown force was keeping her changing into that form. Her shadow form also resulted in the same effect and wolf probably wouldn't fare any better. Val knew then that there was only one way to do this. Gingerly, she grasped the first Vector Hook attached to her left shoulder. She plucked it out with all her might while her shoulder consequently spewed out tendons and ligaments. Pain shot throughout the entire length of her arm before going limp. A scream welled up inside of her but she could do was clench her teeth in anguish as the damned Muzzle kept her mouth firmly clamped shut. But this greatly surprised Val for it meant that something was terribly wrong. She was not healing.

Silver blood continued to pour out as if she were human. Still, with iron resolve, Val resumed plucking out the Vector Hooks, wincing each time another was free from her flesh. She had taken off half of the number of Hooks when she felt another presence in the same cell she was in. Val did not have to look up to know that it was the despicable Eidolon.

'You!' She tried to scream at the Spirit.'You killed my parents!' But her effort was in vain. The Muzzle effectively silenced her speech, producing only a muffled "mmmrrrrgg".

Reading her thoughts, Eidolon responded. "Fool! What you saw was merely a vision of your own twisted and broken mind. Do you really think I would have even still been alive when your parents were born at the very least? No, I did not kill them. But what do you remember of your parent's deaths? You needn't speak. Just remember."

Val mentally summoned the image of her parents being slaughtered by vampires. It used to be so clear back then. Now however, it seemed so vague. The details were rather hazy and indistinct, perhaps emphasized by her color-blindness. It was like imagining herself in a watercolor painting. With the low-quality paint running on everything, the whole world looked smudged.

"Your memory isn't as clear as it once was. Isn't it?" Val heard the intruding voice of the Spirit.

In response to this, Val merely shrugged in annoyance.

"The imprint is fading then. So tell me now. Did you actually witness your parent's deaths or were you simply informed of their demise?"

Val banished the memory and looked straight up into Eidolon's piercing gaze. 'I never saw them die. I... I...' Val did not know how to continue her train of thought.

"Precisely!" Eidolon suddenly exclaimed without warning. "You never saw them die because you were never born. You never had parents."

'I don't even know why I should trust you and why you are even telling me all this!'

"Believe me, Child. There are only two possible options. Either you live or you die. If you live, then you will need all this information I am so generously providing. If you die, then you might as well know the truth because it won't matter in the end."

'How do you know so much about me? And how could I have not been born?'

"Dear Child, you've been unconscious for hours, more than enough time for me to learn from the Wolves all that is necessary about you."

'All right then but I still don't understand what you mean by never being born?'

"You were simply created; molded and given form like clay in a potter's hands. You were never born, thus you were never alive to begin with."

'I detest riddles so tell me now, what does it all mean?'

"That is a question I cannot answer. What matters is what you think it means. Don't worry, you'll understand... eventually."

'Eventually? Look here, Spirit. I don't care about the future. Only the present. Now will you answer my questions or not?' Val tried to grab Eidolon with her free hand but only succeeded in passing right through her.

"I cannot give you all the answers, Child. You have to figure some of them out on your own. I will however tell you one this, that all you need to escape from here, not to mention certain death, can all be found here in this room."

'And what if I fail to escape? What if I die? What then?'

"Don't make me laugh Child. Should you fail, there will always be others. Do you think you are the first to be subjected to all this? You're just another one of Their experiments. But if you want to escape, you'd better hurry. Already your body is decaying."

'Decaying? What d...?'

"Quickly now, Child. Quickly." Eidolon cut her off."You haven't much time. You have to get out of here and find a way to stop the process before you completely rot from the inside out."

In fear and desperation, Val hastily looked about the room. She did not know why she believed Eidolon's words but she would not dying here, considering she no longer had her healing capabilities. 'Something in this room... a key... a weapon... there must be something...' she thought to herself.

"I'll give you a hint, if you are so oblivious. Under normal circumstances, one would say that the answer is at the back of your head. In this case, however, it is in fact your very dilemma."

'To free myself, I must find a way to get this Muzzle off my head.'

"Not necessarily. The Muzzle is especially made of a nigh indestructible material. That would be suicide. Just find a way to detach it from the wall." With that, Eidolon calmly flitted away and phased through the door, leaving Val alone in the room to figure out her method of escape.

'That woman irks me to no end. Fine... there must be something here.' Val quickly scanned her surroundings and first noticed the fire from the torch. Perhaps it could be of some use. Without thinking, she quickly reached out toward the lit torch, only to be held back short by a whole foot. The chains attached to the Muzzle held her back. 'Of course, the Wolves would be fools to allow a prisoner that much leash-range.'

A mere twelve inches of air separated her from the tantalizing flame but still she reached out in the vain hope that perhaps her coaxing would coerce the flame to reach out to her in response. Beyond all expectation, that was precisely what it did. Like a living serpent, the flame uncoiled itself from the wooden torch and lovingly stretched out toward her open arm. In boundless fear, Val retracted her right arm as though she had been bitten by the serpent of fire. When she looked up again at the fire, it had returned its grip to the wooden torch in the pretense that nothing had happened. Val couldn't believe what had just occurred. Tentatively, she reached out again to awaken the serpent. This time, she stayed her hand and allowed the fire to wind itself around her arm. To her surprise, it did not burn her. It completely left the torch and curled around itself in Val's hand.

To say the least, Val was fascinated. But that was a gross understatement. Her boundless wonder at this newfound ability kept her from moving so much as an inch for the next three minutes, three minutes of wasted time. It took her awhile to realize that the fire was beginning to fade. A few stray sparks were already falling to the ground.

With newfound resolve, she willed the fire to intensify so as to keep it from going out. As the flames grew in her bloodied hand, she thought she saw the flickering image of a most inopportune figure. Sure enough, peering through the miniscule eye holes in the Boaia Muzzle, she confirmed the figure to be the same demented demon who so recently catapulted her into the events that brought her to her current situation.

'Gamin, I found her for you. Are you happy now?' She attempted to hiss at the Demon.

"Patience, My Pet, patience." Gamin spoke in a calm manner. "Those loyal to me are not so easily discarded. Even now I have gifted you with one of my properties."

'Properties? What is it this time Gamin? The Power of the Holy Cross of Semper Fidelis? The Unholy Snake Staff of Kodor? Or perhaps the Sword of Ignus? Indulge me. I'm hoping for something that can aid me in escaping this cell.'

"Physical weapons? Primitive instruments? Do you think me so crude? All the power you need already resides in you, My Pet. You give yourself too little credit than you think. Even now, do you not have the ability to manipulate fire?"

'This... pyrokineses. Is it your doing?' Val said as she closely examined the flame in her hand.

"I commanded one of my minions to infuse itself with you."

'The Salamander?' Val's eyes flashed momentarily.

"That is correct. Now, do I have your allegiance?"

'Fair enough. My Soul is yours to command, Lord Gamin'

Though she did not know it, Val's eyes began to have an inexplicable green glow around them. This eerie radiance infected the fire and so it turned green as well. The flames engulfed her body completely. The Demon's grip on her mind was too strong though she was not even vaguely aware of it.

"Good. Now, leave your cell. Eidolon is waiting for you."

'As you wish, Lord Gamin.'

Once Gamin's figure had disappeared from the flames, Val was alone again. She felt as though the key to her escape lay somewhere in this room but she had not the slightest idea where. Precious time was ticking away. Already, bits of her flesh were falling off. Val had to find a way out of the cell before she rotted away to a decayed husk grappling at the essence of "life."

Val thought she was alone but another voice intruded her thoughts. It sounded hoarse, almost gasping, but its intonation was very gentle.

"Poor... Creature. Why... do they hurt you... so? Why... do they use you?"

'Who and what are you, phantasm?' Val snapped back at the voice as she narrowed her eyes.

"Why... I... am the Servant... the Serpent... Bekonwa. I am Legion... The Unspoken... The Accuser... The Truth... The Ninth. I am the Hylden's Erebus... The Subjugator of the Flesh... and I am you... and you are me. We are One and We are more than One."

'And what, pray tell, do you wish to do with me now?'

"Poor Creature. Spirit broken... so easily. Submits... to the Demon without any struggle... Defeated by your Elders... without even... fighting back. The Spirit... She uses you so terribly... terribly. You... have been wronged and have... suffered much and now you surrender... Is that it?"

'What use is the will to live when you are not alive?'

"Poor... poor Creature. "

'And I don't want your pity' Val was on the verge of tears now. She felt so dejected, so hopeless, so used.

"What is it... you want then, Creature?"

In confusion, Val replied. 'I don't know? To escape from this hellhole? To have Free Will? To... I don't know!' She really didn't.

"I think... I know... what it is... you desire, Creature. You wish... to be real."

'Real? But I am real... as real as the Vector Hooks that bind me... as real as this muzzle... as real...' Her thoughts trailed off and she was unable to continue.

"As real... as color? Or... as real... as shadow? Or perhaps... as real... as I am? See now... Creature, you... are not real."

'But I am real! I am real! My eyes are real! My hands are real! My blood is real! My flesh is real! My bones are real! My skin...'

"Your skin... is no more." The Voice abruptly cut her off to make a point. Val looked down at herself and indeed, what the Voice had said was true. Most, if not all, of Val's skin had peeled off, leaving only pulsing silver flesh in wake. "See? Very soon Creature, very soon, you will be nothing."

'I'm going to die, aren't I?'

"Yes... Yes, you must die. But you must also... understand, Creature. You have nothing to fear... any more. You will not know... pain... and despair... It will be... a fleeting thing... Death is release. It is Reality. The more... you struggle, the more... you will suffer. I do not want you... to suffer. I want to help you, Creature." The Voice seemed quite anxious in hastening Val's imminent demise.

'Why do you insist on calling me 'Creature'? I have a name and my name is Valwique!' She protested.

"And that... is your dilemma, Creature. You do not have... a name... for you... do not have... a soul. You have... no identity. You... are Nothing!"

'Perhaps you are right! Perhaps I am nothing after all and perhaps I don't really matter to any one or any thing.' It finally seemed as though Val finally accepted her fate.

"Yes, yes, Creature. I am right. I am... always right!" The Voice responded smugly.

...

There was an awkward moment of silence.

'So I am not real?' Val continued.

"Yes, you are... a lie. Your whole life... is a lie. Your... entire existence... was a lie. All... that you... have become, all that you could ever be... is a complete... and utter lie."

'If I am not real, then all of my fears are not real. All of my pain is not real.' Val was coming to a catharsis now.

"Yes, yes, Creature. Now... you understand."

'And if my pain is not real and I have nothing to fear, then this should not hurt at all.' With renewed strength and vigor, Val firmly grasped the remaining Vector Hooks and attempted to pull them out. Just as she told herself it would not hurt, the Hooks obeyed her mind and left only a slight prickling sensation from where they were detached.

"That is it, Creature. Liberate yourself!" goaded the Voice.

'I am not afraid! I will be free! For I am not real!' One by one, the Vector Hooks were disengaged and fell to the floor with a clang.

"Free! Free! We shall all be... Free!"

'I am not real! I am not real! I am not real!' Val repeated the mantra to herself, keeping to the beat of her extractions.

"Yes, Creature! Faster! Faster! Lest They catch you and string you high upon a glass cage for all the Their Eyes to see."

All the Vector Hooks were gone now. They lay on the floor, glaring with malice at their captive. Val was panting, exhausted from the gruesome deed. Now, there was only one thing left for her to do.

'I am not real! And if I am not real and my pain is not real and I should not be afraid, then I shall break this muzzle from my head and shatter it into a million pieces!'

"No, Creature! No! NOOOOO!!"

And so it came to pass that Valwique, the Ninth Erebus, just as all previous Erebus, succumbed to her own self-inflicted madness...