//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9: A Meeting In The Dark 
// Story: Legacy of Kain: Harmony's Rise 
// by Time Reaper 
//------------------------------//

Canterlot Castle, Celestia's Room/Physical Realm


I've seen your pledge Celestia! I will aid you!


Princess Celestia was abashed as she heard the voice in her room. She tried to locate it with her magic but, as hard as she tried to find the voice's source, she couldn't find it. It was just like the other creature, whatever it was the source of their magic, it was completely foreign to her senses and that scared her. As she searched around, she tried to show her power in command against this invader intruding into her abodes.

"Who are you! Show yourself and state your businesses here!"

The voice remained with the same tone, impassive towards Celestia's ire and with an air that made her feel like if she was being seen as a foal compared to it.


Do not fear, Celestia. I've heard your plea and decided to aid you on your quest against Raziel


Celestia's mood calmed down a bit as she heard the name.

"Raziel?"


Yes. Raziel, the one both you and your sister encountered today. I know him and I've come to warn you about his presence in Equestria


Now Celestia was starting to get nervous, what was so important about this Raziel that this thing decided to talk to her? Before she could answer back, her doors were knocked and a soldier's voice was heard outside of it with a worried tone.

"Princess Celestia? We've heard you from the outside, is something wrong?"

Celestia was now trying to see how she could explain to her royal guard about how she was hearing a voice in her room without sounding like a mad mare  when, the already mentioned voice, decided to intervene.


Do not worry, I can only be heard by those I allow to hear me, Celestia. They cannot hear me if I don't want them to and, unless you want so, we can keep our conversation a secret


Celestia weighted her options, which included the possibility of going insane. She really wanted to have more ponies helping her, but she wasn't sure who was this thing talking to her or what was she starting to get involved with, so she decided to deny the intrusion of her guards.

"Nothing!" - She said with a forced smile, even though they weren't there to see it. - "It was a... thing I was rehearsing... nothing to worry about. You can go to your post again."

Celestia waited a little while until she started to hear the hooves marching away, allowing her to breath out her relaxation. As she let her guards go, she hoped that the voice hadn't leave the place while she tried to keep other ponies out but, her fears were proven wrong when the voice came out once again from whatever location it was hiding.


I see that you've chosen to be the only pony who knows about myself. A wise decision, considering that you're getting into a dangerous territory


What the voice said reminded Celestia a few questions that she made a while ago.

"That reminds me, you haven't told me who are you and why you decided to aide me with this... Raziel" -. She, once again, tried to look composed and ready. - "It is a great misbehavior to not introduce yourself when meeting somepony else."

The voice hummed for a brief moment before it responded, this time with authority and power.


I am The Engine of Life, The Souls Purifier, The Eternal Wheel of Life that grabs the souls of those deceased and rejuvenates them into a new body. I come from the very same universe Raziel comes from to save you from the danger that he poses


That answer was something that would give Celestia some insomnia for a while but, she was sure that this voice was aiming at provide her help and a potentially good explanation regarding Raziel.

"Raziel a danger?" - Celestia mulled over this. - "Does that mean that he's evil? Then why I didn't feel bad intentions on him when I met him early today?"


That is because Raziel isn't evil on itself, he acts based on what he thinks is right and aims on helping others, which is why he's so dangerous


Celestia could only answer to this oxymoron with a simple message.

"Excuse me?"

The Engine of Life answered to her immediately, something that Celestia wondered if it was because the voice rehearsed this conversation or if it was because it had the answer right away.


Both Raziel and I come from a world where vice and sin are prosperous, where evil is as common as air and treason as usual as breathing. Raziel, on his quest from purifying the world of this dreaded and vile disease, ended up destroying our land by eliminating those he thought were the cause of the evil invading our world when, in actuality, where they were the ones helping it


Celestia, for a moment, fell in shock to the idea that a creature destroyed the world when it actually wanted to save it but there was something strange on this story.

"My apologies but, if you are so powerful as you make yourself sound, then why you didn't try to stop him from destroying the world?"

Silence was her answer. She wasn't sure if it was because it was thinking on an answer or if it was because her mind couldn't come up with one. Thankfully, before she could really think about the insane possibility, the voice answered back.


To answer that, I would first have to explain Raziel's history

Raziel once were a common human, a species known for being predictable and easy to control through their emotions and greed but, most of them, are still willing to do good for their world. In fact, Raziel belonged to the Sarafan Priest, an army known for being dedicated to scourge the world from its greatest plague: Vampires


Celestia couldn't stop from noticing how it said those words with vile and hatred. She would try to analyze it a bit more later, once she felt safe and in private again.


Vampires, are a parasite species known for having eternal life, being unable of having a descendant and from living at the cost of the vital force from other living beings, in this particular case, their blood. Raziel, being a Sarafan Priest, fought this monster and hunted them down until they were no longer. Raziel, along his brethren, was so successful that he managed to murder the most infamous and eldest Vampire of all, Janos Audron, who brought nightmares and terror to mankind for centuries without anyone being able to stop him until Raziel went to his lair and brought an end to him

But, alas, it was for naught, as Janos Audron's apprentice, a vampire under the name of Vorador, decided to blindly attack the Seraphan strongest bastion and kill six of the leaders from the Sarafan Order, bringing them to an end along the vampire purge


As much as Celestia didn't like the idea of interrupting, she really wanted the details regarding this era.

"But, what does the vampires have in relation to you and what happened to Raziel during all of this?"

The answer made Celestia feel terrible on her insides.


As I said, I am The Wheel of Life, the engine needed to make everything move on the world but my strength only comes as far as the livings decay so I can purify their souls. Vampires, being immortal beings, cannot go through the process of purification, making them a living sin that must be destroyed so I can purify their souls and bring them into a new body capable of become part of the cycle of life once again. That is why the defeat of The Sarafan Order was a tragedy. The very few vampires that were left alive, including Vorador himself, started to repopulate the world over the course of the centuries, weakening me over the course of time

Even though there was a new revival in humanity's desire for salvation, reducing the vampire population to a single individual, with not even Vorador surviving that purge, that one vampire that survived managed to murder the Circle of Nine that took care of the world for so long and decided to create his own empire of vampires. In just a millennia, my power was reduced to unfathomable levels, making it impossible for me to fix the world in any possible way

And Raziel had an even worse fate, the once faithful sarafan priest, the scourge and terror of vampires, was murdered the same day Vorador attacked the Circle of Nine by a monster that was close to Janos and wanted revenge on the one that took his life... only to be resurrected by the vampire emperor, a thousand years later, and turned him into a vampire, and made him his first lieutenant no less


The more Celestia heard of this story, the more sorry she felt for Raziel. She started to hope if there was some way to reform him but she then heard the rest of the story, and the rest of it left her mind in shock, unable to know what to do next.


Raziel lived loyal to his vampire emperor, reducing humanity's population to a pulp and using the rest of the humans as blood cattle ready to serve his brethren, all the while still thinking that he was doing good, until the day when his lord decided he was too dangerous to keep around


Celestia tried to think what he meant by that but she then remembered those wings, those limb wings that looked as if a piece of clothe was stitched on him. Had those wings been the reason why Raziel was found dangerous? Why?


Even though Raziel was the most loyal vampire to his emperor and never dared to betray him, all that loyalty was paid with treason as the vampire emperor would never allow anybody that have more power than him. So the emperor stripped Raziel from the cause of his sin and cast him into an abyss that would torture him for all eternity, sadly for him, I was living under that abyss

As Raziel's body was falling into the abyss, I decided to take pity on him and separated his soul from The Wheel of Life just so he could take his revenge on those who sent him into an eternal hell. Even though I separated him from purification for all eternity, he took his occurrence as an opportunity to have his revenge on his emperor and those he once called brothers, now thinking, once again, that Vampires were a curse that should be exterminated from the face of the earth

On his quest for revenge, Raziel saw how the vampire's corruption destroyed, not only, his home world, but also his clan. Not happy enough with destroying his most loyal lieutenant, the vampire emperor decided to destroy Raziel's clan, making him the last of his kind and leaving what once were green and fertile lands into wastelands hoping for a quick end in an apocalypse that would never come to fruition. Now determined even more to cleanse the vampire species from his beloved land, Raziel sought and killed the vampires that supported the emperor into his demise as a mean to enact his revenge and purify the land of the creatures that destroyed what he loved the most


The more Celestia heard about Raziel, the more she wanted to cry for the injustice he suffered. She wanted to talk to him, she wanted to make Equestria his new home so he could rest from his curse and she wanted to punish the vampire king that caused so much harm for pure selfishness.


As for the vampire king, Raziel chased him down to his personal refuge and killed him in a sword duel. Sadly, his land was too lost to be recovered, so Raziel decided to go to the past and caused a series to events that culminated on the complete destruction of life on the planet. As much as I tried to disuade him from his new decision, he was blind on rage and a desire for justice that made him unable to realize what he was about to do, I sent my messengers to stop him but he just saw them as evil beings trying to stop him from saving his land. And while I have incredible powers, by separating him from the Wheel of Like, Raziel became inmune to my influence and there was nothing I could personally do to stop him

Not too long after that, he decided to go to other worlds deciding that they should all be cleanse from evil at all cost and here's where we meet. I decided to use the last specks of power I had under my command to come here and warn you so you can stop Raziel before it's too late. I've come to you to provide all the information I have for you to stop him from destroying not only Equestria, but all life on the world


Celestia took the information with care, she understood what all of this meant and what she would have to do to stop this new threat. She was very sure that the elements were unable to stop him if he wasn't even connected to life but, before she could take any action, she decided to make sure how real was her information.

"How do I know that you're not a machination made by mind? How can I tell that you are an actual being with the power to help me on this new danger facing Equestria?"

As Celestia said this, an earthquake started to happen around her, she was startled, Canterlot wasn't known for having earthquakes and they weren't too usual in the kingdom but, before she could do or say anything about it, the earthquake stopped, leaving her perplexed and worried about her subjects.

She looked around her room and saw that her books and personal belongings were moved but none of them didn't fell, not too long after it, a maid came to her room, asking if something wrong happened in her room as the whole castle felt the earthquake and the royal guard was moving around the city to check on the citizens. Realizing that Ponyville could've felt the earthquake as well, she decided to send a letter to Twilight Sparkle as soon as she could. Once the maid was gone, the voice came back to Celestia.


Does that convince you, Celestia? My powers may be too small now, but I can still have some influence on this land. Sadly, it will be a while before I gain enough power to bring you a substantial aid against Raziel but, for now, you can have as much knowledge about Raziel as you want


Celestia gave this a thought. She was really worried about her subjects and about the harm Raziel could bring to her little ponies, but, hearing Raziel's backstory made Celestia feel conflicted on the idea of fighting someone who thought was doing the right thing. She didn't wanted to fight him but she also was aware that, if he wasn't stopped, he could bring death on all her world, not even Discord would try that.

"I thank you, powerful being, for warning me about this threat, but I need to know what do you mean by 'stopping' Raziel. As much as I would like to banish him, I would like to talk to him first and see if I can bring him back to those that seek justice."

Celestia waited for a while for the answer, she was aware that it could have left her alone for all she knew but it would be rude to do that and his speech was telling Celestia that this entity wasn't capable of such things. After waiting for a few seconds, the voice answered.


Ah, Celestia, your innocence only proves why this world must be saved from Raziel. I've already tried to speak to him, Celestia, and he decided to ignore me long ago. Many has tried to reason with him, but Raziel decided too long ago that his quest was the only right one and he's the type that hardly listen when it has decided its new path


"But, this isn't his world. This world is different, I'm sure that Raziel would listen if I, Luna, Twilight or her friends decided to show him how this place is filled with harmony."

Celestia was really trying to bring up a case to redeem Raziel, her sister was just redeemed not too long ago and she really wanted to believe that he wouldn't be an exception to the case.


I truly understand your plea but I doubt he will listen

You already saw Luna's reaction towards Raziel. She fears him and I doubt she could be of any help for your cause, it's more likely that she will hide from him instead of standing against him

And, regarding your apprentice, she would try to speak to him but, do you really think someone who barely understands the concepts of friendship and trust to be capable of changing a creature that has only felt betrayal for all of its life? No Celestia, she would either fail or join him once she falls for his fiery spirit of justice. Even under the case of her deciding to aid you with the usage of The Elements of Harmony, Raziel doesn't belong to this world and, thus, he wouldn't be affected by them. That's what he was researching just today when he decided to embark to your vault and experiment on the elements's powers

That is why I came to you, Celestia, you're the only one with experience enough to understand the threat coming to this land and what must be done to save this land. If Raziel isn't stopped, life will be plunged into chaos, anarchy will become the norm, it will be the end of life and civilization as you know and Equestria would be doomed to die on the same slow and painful death that my world went through not too long ago

Accept my help, Celestia, before its too late


Celestia was feeling more and more bounded towards this being, she wasn't sure that she should trust it, but it was right about everything. Luna didn't help her in the Tower, Twilight was new on friendship and it would be risky to endanger the other elements as well. No, Celestia had to do this on her own. So, sadly and with an abnegation worthy of a princess, she decided to respond to the being.

"Alright, I accept your word but, I ask you to give me a time to ponder on your words so I can prepare myself more appropriately for this new encounter that will change the balance of Equestria."

She hoped that this... god... would listen to her plea. She hoped that, at least, she would be able to think of a way to change all of this or to make sure that none of the ponies she loved could get trapped on this mess and for her to prepare herself for the fight of her life.


Sounds fair
I will wait for you


As Celestia breathed for the calm that was coming to her being, she remembered to ask about something that was just as important but that never came to the conversation.

"Wait, how can I call you? What is your name?"

And, before finally leaving (or that's what Celestia was thinking) the being responded to her in a tone that only meant power and authority.


I am known by many names, but you can call me The Elder God, for I am as old as time itself


And that was the last thing that Celestia heard about The Elder God, for now, and she was wondering how much deep in problems she was into now. She was starting to get anxious on the idea of failing to her apprentice and her ponies, she needed to know what to do regarding Raziel but, she couldn't take a wrong step, she had to asses the situation and see what she had at her disposal before asking him for advise.

That way, over the course of time, Celestia's paranoia would grow. This would go to the point that she would personally go to Ponyville to make sure that nothing wrong could happen there, letting her see The Running of The Leaves and even picking Twilight's Friendship Lesson directly from Spike (talking about how she started to believe more on Pinkie Pie and her Pinkie Sense even though there was no evidence for it) as time went on.

For many it would be a mystery why The Elder God went to Celestia and told her those things for a while, until Raziel became aware of it, and his answer would be one that would terrify those who heard it:

"He didn't need for Celestia to win against me. He only needed her to fight against me and fail on the attempt."