LEGACY OF KAIN: BLACK HEARTS
CHAPTER 16: KAIN'S WARNING
Raziel pressed through the mountains. This place, cold, raining, and barren, reminded Raziel of the Nosgoth he had left behind. He thought about the fact that he once found a certain beauty in this destructed world. That thought reminded him of what he once was – A vampire. He hardly remembered it. He became so use to being what he was now.
They say when a vampire is risen, all that makes them human disappears. They become ruthless killing machines. Raziel never thought much on that phrase. Being a vampire once, he never remembered being human. He had no recollection of his past. He was simply always vampire, blinded by his lust for blood.
And now, here he was. A soul-eater. This hunger may have been dark, but it wasn't savage. His hunger was based on maintaining his form. For survival. Not on bloodlust. Not for the pleasure of death.
Raziel stopped at the edge of a cliff overhanging a small lake. Across the blacked water, stood a tall, decrepit tower. That must have been the ruins of Janos Audron's retreat.
Kali stepped to Raziel's side. He nearly forgot that she was following him; she had been so silent. As he looked over to her, another figure caught his peripheral vision.
"Oh no," Raziel sighed. "Every time you turn up, something monumental and terrible happens. I don't think I have the stomach for it."
Kali turned around to see Kain approaching. She reached for her sword, and drew only half the blade before Raziel pushed it back down.
"No drama this time, Raziel" Kain said, almost sounding bored.
"Raziel?!" Kali said. "This is our chance."
"The Kain you want to kill is not here," Kain said. "That one lives ages before now."
"You would be better than no Kain at all!" Kali threatened.
"Leave it to the Halfling to start the drama." Kain said.
"Don't call her that." Raziel said. He decided to change the subject, "You are persistent, crossing time like this to follow me. Still waiting for that coin of yours to land on its edge?"
Kain joined Raziel and Kali in gazing over the cliff side.
"I'm biding my time." Kain said, crossing his arms over his chest. Kain looked up to Janos's tower, and chuckled, "I see Moebius has played a little trick on you."
"Yes…" Raziel admitted. "He clearly doesn't want me to meet this 'Janos Audron.'"
"Perhaps…" Kain said, looking away from Raziel. "Or maybe he merely hoped that it would harden your heart against me to see this wasteland which I single-handedly authored."
"My heart doesn't need hardening, Kain." Raziel said. "If I even suspected that destroying you would make any difference, I would do it this instant."
Kali was about to interject, but hesitated. That was the point that she had made to Moebius when he confronted her. Is this why Raziel decided to spare Kain's life?
Kain laughed in response, "I knew you'd see through them, Raziel. Janos is indeed the key to your destiny, but you'll need to find your own way back into Nosgoth's past. Make no mistake though, Raziel: you and I are now in great danger. We are irritants here. Malevolent forces are being marshaled to eliminate us."
"You talk as though we're allies." Raziel said in amazement. Mostly due to the fact that he mentioned the idea.
"Regardless of your sentiments, Raziel," Kain pointed out, "in their eyes, we are."
"Well, they're certainly trying to eliminate you, Kain," Raziel said. "There can be no doubt of that. I am assaulted relentlessly with demands for your demise. As for me, I suspect they made a grave error when they allowed my unique resurrection. I don't think they know how to destroy me."
"You mustn't underestimate them, Raziel," Kain warned.
"Who's they?" Kali asked. Kain and Raziel looked over to her with puzzled looks. "I mean, if there's some grand scheme, the kings seem to not know what the pawns are doing. Even Moebius was caught off guard several times. That's why he sent us here, right?"
"Moebius is a puppet," Kain said. "Haven't you two realized that already? That's the sweetest irony in all of this: Nosgoth's 'great manipulator' is their plaything. But the ones pulling the strings haven't shown their faces, yet"
"They don't like us un-writing their carefully choreographed history though, do they?" Raziel mentioned.
"You must understand, Raziel, we haven't unwritten history, we've merely rewritten it," Kain corrected. "The future flows around our petty actions, finding the path of least resistance while admitting only the slightest alterations. This is the reshuffling you felt, when you refused to kill me. And remember, Raziel, we are irritants in this regard, as well - history will not allow the introduction of a paradox."
"And if events cannot be reshuffled to accommodate the change?" Raziel asked.
"It is the irritant who's expelled," Kain continued his warning. "Bear in mind that this may be exactly the outcome our enemies are trying to provoke. We must tread very carefully."
Raziel peered over the ledge as Kain vanished. Kali observed his expression. He was becoming more unreadable. However, his aura seemed determined. Raziel at least had a plan.
Raziel observed his surroundings. Across the lake were the ruins of Janos's retreat. To his far left, there were some openings in the cliff. It seemed off track, but it was the only direction he could travel in this time period that wouldn't be backwards.
Raziel leaped across the chasm, onto some floating rubble in the lake. Kali followed behind him as he leaped onto another rock, eventually reaching the opening in the cliffs. As they proceeded down that path, they discovered yet another ruined temple with depictions of the Reaver.
Raziel had to use the Reaver to open the door, as he did with the past entrances. Inside, the walls were once again covered with depictions of a winged race, worshipping the Reaver, and agonizing in their blood thirst.
It was now clear to Raziel that these beings were Nosgoth's first vampires. There dark hunger was inflicted upon them as a curse when they vanquished their enemies.
Kali observed the images, "So, the vampires didn't always hunt for blood."
"Not until they sealed these… creatures away." Raziel replied.
"So who are these creatures? What were they?" Kali asked.
"Nothing good." Raziel said.
"What makes you say that?" Kali questioned.
"There's a reason something as monumental as the Pillars were constructed to confine them." Raziel said, and made his way through the temple.
After a maze of twisting hallways and sealed doors, they finally reached a forge for the Reaver. Just like the ones from before, Raziel summoned his spiritual blade, and plunged in into the forge. The entire temple shook. As the temple's energy was drained, the shaking gradually receded.
Raziel flourished the Reaver's new white blade. This spiritual embodiment was now imbued with the elemental power of air.
"Now we can get back to the time we need to be in," Kali said.
"What makes you say that?" Raziel asked, withdrawing the Reaver.
"I have an idea," Kali said, and walked to the exit of the temple. As she approached, her senses sharpened. She heard a small crumble from the threshold.
In an instant, the archway collapse, sealing the exit to the temple with rubble.
"Damn it," she cursed, and tried to push through the rubble. "Wait," she said, "This is perfect!"
"Are you mad?" Raziel asked.
"Maybe," she said. "But we can test my idea from here."
"What is this idea you've concocted?" Raziel questioned.
"That new blade of yours…" Kali recalled, "It's the, shall I say, the 'Air Reaver' now, right?"
"You could say that," Raziel said, now intrigued.
"Well, with that said," Kali continued. "Perhaps you could summon a powerful wind… powerful enough to blast through rubble."
Raziel pondered this. It was worth a shot. What other chance did he… they have? Kali stepped away from the doorway as Raziel summoned the Reaver, and aimed it towards the obstacle.
With an erupting blast, the rubble was launched away from the threshold, and the path was cleared. Kali jumped with excitement when her plan worked.
"Good thinking," Raziel simply said, and continued out the door.
Kali was slightly disappointed by that response. The Raziel she knew would have embraced her then. He would have shared her excitement. But he didn't.
But perhaps that didn't matter. Maybe she had to stop letting this blinded love get in the way of her own small victories. Besides, Raziel was no longer the vampire that she once loved. He put himself before their relationship, perhaps she should do the same.
There were bigger problems.