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Kain stood there in what could only be described as a stunned state of paralysis, lowering the sword at his side until its point connected with the ground with a sharp echoing clanking sound. His eyes were wide in his face, lips pulled down to expose his fangs and his expression one of almost slack jawed baffled astonishment. Silently he gazed at the faintly luminous apparition before him, kept in that frozen state as time stretched out. The apparition stared back with an answering steady, expectant gaze.
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"Moebius the Time Streamer. Moebius the meddler. Moebius the deceiver. Moebius the dead man."
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Stretching across the centuries, the legacy of Moebius could still be felt. It had been he who had orchestrated the first human uprising against Vampire kind. It had been he who had tricked Kain into traveling back in time to murder William the Just. It had been he who had taken advantage of William's death to galvanise the outraged masses. It had been this man, this scheming sorcerer, who had manipulated both Raziel and himself across the voyage of the timelines to accomplish the death of Janos Audron and Kain's own seeming downfall at Avernus Cathedral.
The last time Kain had seen the face of this man it had been just before his first confrontation with the false God, in the bowels of the Spirit forge. There he had found the old sorcerer, summoned to speak to his master and finally dispatched him from this mortal coil. But a few moments later his body had arise and acting purely on instinct, Kain had run the cadaver through only to realise a moment later it had been Raziel reanimating the corpse as a vessel. Too late to correct his mistake, he had been forced to watch as Raziel's soul had been drawn into the Reaver.
To face Moebius again, even his shade, was something which had no so much as crossed his mind. He had been so sure that finally he had seen the last of the ancient manipulator that he had been quite prepared to forget the repulsive man ever existed. Now that comfortable little mental bubble had been well and truly popped. Gazing at the flickering, insubstantial ghostly figure, the Emperor of Nosgoth felt all the bubbling resentment and bitter hatred come boiling back to the surface.
"I'd have thought you'd have something you say, after all this time, Kain." The ghost began, breaking the stretching silence at all, head tilting to one side speculatively. "You're not just going to stand there gawking at me, are you?"
The sound of that voice, that hated voice so often heard in mockery for his attempts to defy the machinations of time, broke the spell. Kain's face went flat with anger, the grip of his hand around the handle of the Reaver tightening and his lips pulling back in a snarl.
"By all the fires of Hell, can I never just be rid of you?!" The Vampire demanded with his angry voice echoing through the dark caverns around them. Moebius' spectre stood his ground, a smile tugging at the lips on that translucent face. It wasn't a smug, confident smile. The kind of smile Kain was all to used to on that face whenever the sorcerer had managed to pull one over on him. It was a very different kind of smile, a warm comforted smile. The kind of smile one would make at being greeted with something pleasant, or at the very least familiar.
"No, it would seem not." He agreed, his tone having a tinge of joviality to it. The ghost raised the lantern he carrier, its radiance seeming to brighten slightly and illuminate the cavern with greater strength. Pausing, he looked Kain over from head to toe in a very appraising way, before continuing. "I wonder, Kain. How long has it been for you since you saw me last? Judging from your familiar appearance, I doubt that long. But for me it has been an eternity, locked away in this dark place. I haven't seen the sun in centuries." The ghostly face turned then from joviality to bitterness so quickly it was as if a switch had been thrown, brows furrowing deeply."So congratulations Kain. You wanted to send me to Hell and this perpetual gloom seems Hell enough."
"Don't flatter yourself!" The Vampire simply snapped back, his sharp tone bouncing off the walls in the echo. "You deserve far worse than simply being lost in the dark!" Firmly he marched over, crossing the distance between them in an instant. Firmly he thrust his free hand directly forward, talons spread wide. It was a lunge which had it connected with actual flesh, would have ripped a human's face from its skull. Instead his arm passed right Moebius' head. He didn't even feel any resistance. It was like punching mist.
"You certainly seem dead." The Vampire admitted, sounding almost disappointed, with his face creased in a suspicious frown. When dealing with this man nothing was to be taken at face value.
Moebius' expression had become one of profound irritation, at both the statement and the attempt to validate his physical being.
"Thrice over I am dead." He stated with acrimony, the arm carrying the lantern aloft slowly lowering "First by your younger self, decapitated." Kain grinned slightly at the distant memory. It had been so many centuries ago now but that moment was quite vivid still. It had been shortly after he had witnessed Vorador's execution at Stahlberg. He had repaid the guillotining of the ancient Vampire by giving his executioner the same treatment.
"Once again when I was resurrected to meet my Master at the Citadel, only to meet you there again." Moebius continued and Kain found himself grinning all the wider, remembering the unconcealed expression of utter terrified bafflement on his enemies face when he had appeared after his supposed death.
"And a final time when Raziel was waiting for me when my spirit left my mortal form." The old ghost concluded with ancient, almost impotent bitterness. Kain had not been witness to that death, but given Raziel had almost immediately used the old man's corpse as a vessel to manifest he did not doubt the story. Grunting he sheathed the Soul Reaver back across his shoulder and then folded his arms over his chest, his brow brought down to knit into a supremely unimpressed and disdainful frown. For the moment at least it seemed as if this was indeed the spectre of the old time streamer.
"So then, is this your reward for so devotedly serving your God? To remain an eternal wanderer in this forgotten, black maze?" The Vampire asked, nodding to the cavern about them. Moebius' ghost image seemed to flinch and flicker like a reflection cast on the surface of disturbed water. Those pale luminous eyes reflected mixed and conflicting sides of ancient apathy and bitterness.
"My body was destroyed. You and Raziel saw to that." The ghost muttered and Kain could hear both resentment and tired resignation in his tone. He raised his arm with the lantern pulsing brightly with its ethereal, sickly glow. "I could not be resurrected again. The master could have sent my soul back into the wheel to be reincarnated somewhere amongst the masses, but instead He gave me a new purpose. I am the keeper of the Lost City. Carrying this spiritual flame before me, my task is to patrol and maintain this domain until the Master releases me from my duty." He spoke with the an attempt at gracious elegance and religious reverence, the kind of display Kain remembered him all too vividly for, one arm gesturing wildly to the dankness all about
However something was different about it. A great deal of the energy and force had been drained from the oration and the old man seemed lacklustre. He had the appearance, poise and manner of an actor who had played the same role on stage for too long. Staring at this ghostly image of a man who had been dead for centuries, attempting to carry on the same zest and passion he had had in his long lost life, inspired something in Kain that he never thought he'd feel towards Moebius. Something that when it's made its presence known filled him with reflexive anger.
But he simply could not help himself. No matter how angry he was about it, he could not deny that what Moebius inspired in him now was pity.
"Moebius; you were a repugnant, despicable worm of a man. You were devoid of even the merest shred of decency and honour." The Vampire began, eyes narrowed, staring directly into the image of the ghost's face. "But I never thought of you as stupid. Surely even you in your idolatry can see just how low he has brought you. Just how pathetic he has left you. You, once Guardian of the Pillar of Time. Now merely a groundskeeper."
Moebius straightened, his expression indignant but his eyes betrayed him. In those eyes Kain could see a bubbling cauldron of mixed emotions.
"My entire existence has been devoted to Him. It has been since I was a thirteen year old, scared little boy. The moment I accepted Him as my Master everything else was inconsequential." He replied harshly but then paused, taking a moment to collect himself. He raised his spectral lantern and held it at chest level. "But of course we really don't have the time for long conversation on my state of being. As you no doubt surmised, I was leading you somewhere and it's time we got going."
The abrupt switch of topic made Kain blink. His brows furrowed and he firmly stood his ground, feet firmly planted where he was.
"Why by all the demons of Hell would I go anywhere with you?" The Vampire asked bluntly. Moebius smiled again, regaining some of his smug superiority for a moment.
"Because you've been summoned. The Master wishes to speak with you." He replied with some amusement. Kain stared back, expression frozen as once more he was left frozen, not from shock this time but from sheer incredulous disbelief.
"Pardon?" Kain asked, his expression an unguarded display of confusion. Moebius continued to smile that familiarly oily smile.
"My God has requested your presence. I believe the term is a 'parley'." He said.
"He wants to bargain with me?!" Kain had trouble even grasping the idea of such a thing. If this were intended to be a trick or trap then it was a poor one. If intended as a joke then it was in very poor taste. But if this was real then clearly the false god had gone insane. Why would else would it be willing to conference with its enemy in the middle of a war? Especially a war that for the moment it was winning.
"I do not presume to guess His reason for the invitation." Moebius stated, stepping back and gesturing with his free hand down the passageway he had been leading them. The darkness was impenetrable beyond a few feet, a dark yawning mouth welcoming him to oblivion. "You have been summoned and you will come. It is as simple as that."
Kain glanced to the tunnel mouth, then back to Moebius and then to the tunnel again. His forehead ridges were raised in a frozen expression of disbelief for a long moment. Then slowly an answering smile began to tug at the corner of his mouth.
"And I am willing to wager the fact you've been reduced to ferrying invitations to me causes you pain the likes of which I can't even fathom." He said and instantly Moebius' expression turned sour. Kain's own smile broke then into an evil grin. "Well congratulations. You've managed to arouse my curiosity. And I suppose it is time I had a word or two with your Master. So by all means, little messenger, lead on."
Moebius glared at him with some measure of that smoldering hatred returning to his eyes, but then he turned sharply and started off again. Holding the lantern to illuminate the way before him, the spectre of the time guardian moved down the tunnel. Kain watched him go with a sly smile on his face before he stepped after him.
The tunnel lead down, an opening no more than a few feet wide at most created by a recess between two lodged pieces of fallen masonry. It twisted back and forth inregulary, rising and falling sharply before descending down a deep incline down further into the bowls of the earth. Kain could almost feel the weight of all the earth and rock about them pressing in the further they went. Moebius however lead on unerringly, holding his ghostly lantern aloft. Not once did the spectre hesitate, knowing his way with seeming infallible knowledge.
Presuming this wasn't some sick joke or trap, Kain found himself wondering just what set of circumstances could have forced his enemy, a being who considered itself divine and above all others, to request a parley. Perhaps the destruction of Fanum-Divus had been more of a blow to its plans then he had first thought? Where the Divus at some disadvantage that was not immediately clear? Or was this simply an attempt to waste his time for some other nefarious purpose?
And what was he to make of Moebius? His enemy, trapped in the ancient city, forced to be its custodian for all eternity; was certainly not the fate he had envisioned for him. And certainly not the fate he deserved. If Kain had had his way, Moebius would have been placed directly into the deepest, darkest and most depraved pit of Hell. There he would suffer untold agonies in payment for every Vampire he had slaughtered throughout his long and treacherous life.
"How long have I been in here?" The spectre suddenly asked as they came to the bottom of a inclined shaft, the tunnel opening up into another larger cavern. A long section of wall, unblemished from damage or tarnish, was spread across the far side. A bright collection of murals was spread out across that wall, their outline only vaguely seen in the ghostly lantern light. The air down here was stale and hung still, a putrid stench coming from somewhere down towards the left. A truly offensive, nose wrinkling odour.
Kain hesitated, startled by both the sudden sound in the silent darkness as well as the question itself.
"What?" He asked reflexively.
Moebius was looking at him with an intense, tight expression on his ghostly face. It was a look Kain had never seen him use before. There was fear there, but not fear of immediate physical harm but rather of the abstract. A fear of what the answer to the question might be.
"It's a simple question. How long has it been?" The spectre's voice was intent but around the edges it was coarse with fear.
The Vampire paused, regarding him with a furrowed brow.
"Do you truly not know?" He asked skeptically. The ghost gestured with an incline of his head to the shadowy caverns all about.
"There are no days, no nights, no months or years down here. Just one continual blackness. I exist in a perpetual state of 'now' that never ends." He replied and there in his voice was a weariness and stressed pain that came only from a being who had existed too long, deprived of all sustaining life and sensation. "Indulge me in this, Kain."
Kain was silent for perhaps an entire minute, staring at his enemy in the darkness of that forgotten ancient city.
"Over two thousand years." He finally replied in a very neutral, controlled voice. "The time of my Empire came and went."
Moebius had been a master of managing his expression, body language and tone of voice in his life. This skill, borne of long practise, had helped the old man to manipulate many people down the centuries. Kain had only ever seen his expression unguarded a small handful of times, during rare moments of great shock. When confronted by the uniquely unexpected, Moebius' mask fell away and his true feelings were exposed. This was one of those times. The Vampire's statement caused the spectre of the old man to visible recoil, rearing back with eyes widening in startled dismay.
"I've been down here two millennia?" The ghost demanded in a hoarse voice, the lines of his translucent face going taut.
"Probably closer to three." Kain admitted glibly, watching the spectre of his old enemy with curiosity.
Moebius stared at him with so naked a look of stunned panic that it was clearly sincere. Kain could see not so much hint of deception. The old man was like an open book and every chapter of that book spoke of paranoia, fear, hopelessness and dread. Gone was the zeal and the self righteous determination. Any sign of that was simply part of the mask, an illusion meant to convince others and himself he was still the same passionate man he had once been. The feeling of pity swelled up unbidden once more in Kain's breast at the sight of all this. Firmly he forced it back down.
"No that can't be…" Moebius was muttered to himself, lowering the lantern causing the shadows all about to lengthen ominously. "It has been long but THAT long?" Kain could see him working the incredibly possibilities through his mind as the expression on his face morphed as slow as the flow of treacle. "Impossible!"
The Vampire simple shrugged at the accusation, indifferent to it. His expression however was impish and impudent.
"The Time Guardian losing track of time?" He asked, a wry grin parting his lips. "And I thought you were slipping badly before."
Moebius opened and shut his mouth several times not unlike a gasping fish. His eyes were wide with all sorts of emotions as he struggled to deal with the concept of existing in this dark prison for that long. Clearly he had not perceived the passage of time correctly, or perhaps his mind had forced itself to forget whole passages of time in order to save its own sanity.
"I cannot accept that…" The ghost muttered, his shoulder slumping. His words were denial but his tone and body language spoke of weary, reluctant acceptance of an unpleasant truth. Kain grunted and gestured dismissively with one hand,
"Yours is hardly the worst of fates, Moebius." He pointed out sternly. "Have you spent eternity trapped inside a weapon and treated like an object? No. Have you been condemned to eternal unlife with the fate of Nosgoth on your shoulders? No. Have you been forced to watch as your kind were all destroyed one by one before you yourself are dragged to a guillotine? No. These were all fates that you helped push on others." His tone was scolding, his glare fierce. "So perhaps you might gain some perspective and cease complaining."
Moebius glared right back, his ghostly form stiffening with angry indignation for the listed examples. Their gazes met with clashing hostility, the air between them seeming to spark with the colliding cold rages. Finally Kain smirked and turned away, stepping down the rest of the incline to the base of the new tunnel
"Besides, you at least have a wealth of enthralling ancient artwork upon which to feast your ghostly eyes." He announced, gesturing up towards the mural spread across the wall.
The image spread out before him, just visible in the soft glow of Moebius' spectral lantern, was a wide expanse of complex coloration. Unlike the murals of the Ancient Vampires or even the Hylden, the Dragons literally baked colour into the wall so the stone itself changed its aspect to suit the image.
Depicted before him were two large masses to both right and left. On the right he recognised the sprawling, hideous mass that was the Dragon's depiction of his ultimate enemy. To the left was a curling snake like creature which looped about itself several times, sprouting green flippers either side of its body before ending in a massive tusked head with five symmetrically arranged eyes. This also he recognised, for he had seen the Keeper's gargantuan serpent like form before. Two gods, each opposing the other.
Between the two of them was a large blue circle and upon that circle, shown in green, were land masses which Kain recognised easily enough as the coastline of Nosgoth. Although there were differences from this image and most modern maps. There was a lot more land in the south west here, a long curving peninsula which landed out from the south coast before turning eastward. No doubt when this image had been made it had been quite accurate, but changes due to various natural phenomenon such as earthquakes and floods had changed the land since. No doubt this peninsula was the origin of the islets upon which the Hylden had constructed their city and gateway, eons ago now.
Each God was shown reacting to the world before them in different ways. His enemy was shown spreading massive curving tentacles forward like an outreaching hand, threatening to grasp the entire planet as if it were a simple child's ball. The Keeper however was facing him with mouth open and tusks lower, curling one loop of its body around the world protectively. Each one coveted the world they had discovered, each one turning on their travelling companion when they finally had the ultimate prize before them. Neither could learn to share. Was one more altruistic than the other? Kain honestly could not say.
Directly below this ancient depiction of Nosgoth was shown the image of a Dragon. Kain recognised the form easily enough from his conflicts with Thanatos. It sat on its haunches with neck and head raised high and wings extended like the sails of a ship. The creature seemed to be basking in radiant light emitted by the two God like beings, soaking it up and absorbing it into its body. Its eyes were open wide, a sparking with energy and from its open maw came forth a thick torrent of flames which joined with the Keeper's coiled and encircled the entire world of Nosgoth in a vibrant halo.
The events depicted were easy enough to decipher for Kain had heard the tale already from the shade of Kothar itself. Shown here was a artistic representation of the origin of the Dragon race itself, for before the arrival of these entities upon Nosgoth they had been little more than powerful animals. Then, after bathing in the energies radiated by the new arrivals, their minds and powers had expanded until they became the great race of Uni; as they called themselves. The image showed that moment as epic in scope, an awakening to possibilities and the understanding of their power they wielded.
"I find no entertainment value in primitive scribbles made by winged beasts too powerful and arrogant for their own good." Moebius said however, grunting in dismissive annoyance.
"Nonsense." Kain scoffed, turning back to him. "I cannot believe, even for a moment, that you would not have intensely studied every scrap of informative mural throughout this labyrinth. Especially if you've been here for so long." When Moebius did not immediately respond, the Vampire turned back to face the mural "The first race of Nosgoth. Predating Humans, Vampires and Hylden alike. Were you never tempted to use your various streaming devices to peer back through time to witness their age?"
"My master forbade me from doing so." Moebius stated, so dour and reluctantly that it sounded like he was chewing on his own tongue while speaking.
"Because of course he did." Kain chuckled, almost to himself.
"Theirs was an age of barbarity, cruelty, savagery and chaos." The time streamer went on darkly, not even raising his head to look at the image. "It was before the coming of divine purpose and order. It is a chapter of this world best left forgotten."
Kain laughed in response to this. "And you know this, how?" He asked skeptical and with high amusement. Moebius straightened.
"The master told me all I needed to know about them. His design is all I needed to concern myself with." The ghost of the old man replied and in his voice was a mere reflection of the zeal he had once had. It was shallow and without the venomous bite it had once possessed. Kain shook his head slowly and turned away from the mural.
"Oh you haven't changed at all, have you?" He remarked, walking towards the ghostly old figure. Moebius stood his ground, features indignant.
"I am who I am." He said.
"As am I." Kain walked up to him and then without pausing stepped right through the ghostly form as if it were mist; striding without pause towards the dark end of the tunnel from which came the increasing offensive smell. Now he was close the Vampire could feel a strange sensation coming from down that tunnel, a sense of pressure as if the air itself was bearing a weight being pressed down upon it from above.
"As long as we both understand that." Moebius fumed, looking irritated was his personal space was so casually violated.
The dark tunnel yawned ahead of them and from the depths of the concealing shadows the smell was overpowering. It was like the stench of open infected sores all full of puss only many times more acute. It was the smell of rot, of unhealthy flesh, the miasma given off by the body as it tried desperate to fight off an invading disease. The air itself tightened like a muscle, seeming to vibrate like a taught ready spring.
"Here...the master awaits." Kain's ghostly guide stated with grim finality, raising his lantern to illuminate the shadows and reveal that a short ways ahead there was a large stone doorway set on its side. It was a plain door with its only elaborate piece being a handle delicate carved out of iron to resemble a serpent curled about and biting its own tail. In proportion the handle was intended for use by a creature many times their size and as such as so large that its ring was larger than Kain's entire torso.
The Vampire paused, staring at that colossal door before he smiled darkly.
"Well then, let's not keep him waiting."