Memories IV: The Vampire King of a Corrupt and Falling Empire
Return to the Sanctuary of the Clans, Raziel.
Melchiah’s soul has endowed you with the means to gain entry.
Beware, however - this hollow derelict is abandoned, but not uninhabited...
As the ponies started to gather once again, a few days after the first session seeing Raziel's memories, the Soul Reaver, knowing Kain was coming next, was looking for a proper way to explain them who was the kind of vampire they were about to see. Meanwhile, the ponies were already discussing their thoughts after witnessing Raziel's journey through the Necropolis.
"That was awesome!" - Exclaimed Rainbow Dash after cleaning her mouth from the disgust made by her stomach. - "I never thought zombie vampires could be a thing, but they are and it was awesome to see Raziel beating them."
"Well, I have to disagree, Rainbow dear" -, responded a Rarity with her stomach still twisting, - "but I think I had enough of those dreadful creatures" -. She then turned to Raziel and almost pleaded. - "We won't see them again, correct?"
Raziel gave it a thought, and remembered encountering more Melchahim during his explorations of Nosgoth, but since he was going to focus mainly on his encounters with his brothers, and Kain, he found no need to tell those parts of his tale.
"I have encountered Melchiah's sons during my explorations of Nosgoth" -, as he saw Rarity gasping in abject terror, he quickly clarified, - "but I won't talk about it."
Rarity quickly relaxed as Rainbow Dash lost some of her excitement.
"So what's the next part of yer tale then?"
Raziel saw Applejack's face and how it looked like she wasn't with enough strenght to see something like Melchiah again.
"After obtaining Melchiah's power to move through barriers, I realized that there was a place I could move through that was impeding my progress before."
All the ponies tilted their heads, not understanding what he was trying to say.
"Back when I was at the entrance of the Sanctuary of the Clans, I was restricted from reaching beyond its entrance due to the bars locking me out, a limitation that was no longer now that I had Melchiah's ability to move through bars on the Spectral Realm."
As the ponies started to make a silent 'oh', Celestia decided to understand more of Raziel.
"And why did you choose to return to the place where your life's end begun? Was it for the advice, or something else?"
Raziel took a moment to think, trying to remember what was it that drove him back to the Sanctuary, back then he was fueled by hatred and desires of revenge, clouding his judgement and guiding his actions as the parasitic creature manipulated his decitions effortlessly.
"Perhaps..." - he concluded after reflecting back for a little bit, - "I wanted to see how had time eroded the one building that represented the empire's golden age."
Luna stared at Raziel for a brief moment before asking.
"Are you sure that was the reason why you returned there?"
Raziel stared back at Luna before responding.
"No, but it's the only explanation I can find to my own actions."
Twilight got closer to Raziel as she tried to know more about his land.
"But you would have returned there, regardless of who told you, right?"
"Certainly, the Sanctuary was the epicenter of Kain's empire and where we would all talk about how to rule. Even for curiosity, I had to see how it had decayed."
"And what did you find?"
Raziel looked at Twilight for a brief while and, when he was about to answer, the doors were knocked twice. All the ponies (and wraith) turned around, wondering who it might be when a familiar voice came in.
"He.. hello... is anyone in there...?"
Raziel turned to the ponies.
"I was not expecting new visitors."
Celestia smiled.
"Well, after some deliberation, Luna and I agreed that we needed more ponies involved, so we tried to talk with Captain Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and see if they were willing to join us" -. Celestia then gave a saddened frown. - "Sadly, only Princess Mi Amore managed to have time to come here with us, I hope you don't mind."
The doors opened to reveal a pink alicorn with heart as a Cutie Mark and a few strands of wine-like colors on her mane, Raziel recognized her as the alicorn that spotted him twice on his travels through Canterlot and it seemed as the sentiment was mutual, since the alicorn stood in shock after seeing Raziel.
"Princess Cadenza" -, Said Celestia in a diplomatic tone of voice, - "this is the special guest I mentioned you recently."
The Pink Alicorn looked at Raziel for some time, tension building in the room, as Twilight started to squint her eyes at the newcomer, she seemed familiar to her. Raziel, meanwhile, tried to remain diplomatic as well.
"Greetings, young lady" -, Raziel said as he stretched out his claws, which were thoroughly examined by the still in shock pink alicorn, - "Considering the conditions under which we met last time, I hope we can turn that around and become better acquiantences."
The pink alicorn remained transfixed watching Raziel, nothing outside of shock, trying to deduce what to say when, out of nowhere, Twilight spoke.
"Cadence? Is that you?"
The pink alicorn looked at Twilight with a puzzled look, as if trying to identify her.
"It's me, Twilight"
The pink alicorn looked at Twilight with confusion, as if trying to recognize her.
"Twilight...?"
Twilight tried to suppress herself from flinching as Celestia intervened.
"Yes, it is Twilight, she has grown a lot since the last time you saw her, right?"
"Oh, yeah, she has..."
Twilight then got close to Cadance and started to sing something Raziel found too childish for his memory to retain. Cadence probably thought so as well, since she didn't recognize the moves Twilight was doing.
"What are you doing?"
Twilight flinched at that, a bit of sadness going through her heart.
"We used to sing this when we were younger, don't you remember?"
Cadence flinched as she heard this, a quick stammer coming to her.
"Oh, yes, sorry, it's just that I was a bit in shock with the guest auntie told me about, I wasn't expecting him to be so... so...."
"Oh, do not worry darling" -. Interrupted Rarity. - "We all get that impression from Raziel, you later learn of the chivalrous knight inside that ghastly form... no offenses dear Raziel."
"None taken" -. Responded the wraith. - "Compared to other ponies, she has been one of the most receptives."
Many mares blushed at that remark, remembering their first official encounter with Raziel, and decided to move on.
"Anyways" -, said Princess Luna, - "We believe that it's time to continue with our tale, Raziel, you said that you decided to move back towards the remains of the Sanctuary of the Clans, what did you find?"
Raziel looked back at the ponies and solemnly said
"I found the culprit of my demise."
All the mares got shocked by this, knowing who Raziel was talking about.
"Really?" - Asked Twilight Sparkle. - "You found King Kain?"
Raziel looked at Twilight pensively before answering.
"Emperor Kain would be more like it, he ruled over many clans and each clan was ruled like a kingdom, but he always preferred to be called King."
"And this Kain fella" -, asked Applejack, - "is the one that chose to condemn his own land jus' so he could rule it?"
Raziel nodded.
"And he was the one who ordered you into the abyss?"
Raziel nodded once more.
"And how was that encounter?"
Raziel remained silent for a while before, finally, he decided to respond.
"I better show you."
And the red gem started to engulf everyone in the same, familiar, light that brought them back to Raziel's memories. When the light ended blinding the ponies, they all were now with Raziel, passing the lake of the death and moving back to where the Sanctuary of the Clans was originally located.
As he got closer, Raziel faced the rusted shut gate he couldn't move last time he was here. Without even showing signs of thought, he quickly shifted the the spirit realm, an experience that left Cadence quite shocked.
"What is this!?" - She shouted. - "What is going on!?"
"Do not worry, Princess" -. Said Twilight in a calm tone of voice.- "This is what happens when the realms are shifted."
"The realms?" - Asked a curious Cadence. - "What does that mean?"
Raziel, started to see the distorted entrance, searching for a portal to shift, as Twilight started to explain Princess Cadence about the Spiritual Realm and her experience through it.
"So you can't do magic and time is practically none existent here?" - Asked Cadence with complete wonder. - "It sounds like a unique type of prison to me."
Twilight's ears folded, not paying attention to Raziel shifting the realms once more, just to be greeted by Dumahim, which were quickly dispached by Raziel, fight that didn't go unnoticed by Cadence.
"Yeah, it's a form of prison" -. Answered Twilight. - "Which is why I've been trying to search for a way to help him shift through the realms with more ease."
Cadence looked at Twilight with curiosity.
"Really? How?"
Before Twilight could explain, both mares were distracted by the sound of the Dumahim being destroyed by Raziel and having their souls eaten. As this happened, with Cadence showing signs of horror at the view of Raziel consuming that which gives one's magic. She looked around to see how could the Elements of Harmony (or the other princesses) watch this behavior unfolds and she noticed, to her shock, of how all but Fluttershy and Rarity were showing no horror or disgust for what Raziel was doing, and even then, Rarity only showed mild dislike while Fluttershy just looked to another side whenever Raziel opened his scarf.
Cadence would have commented or asked why they weren't terrified of what he just did, but the Soul Reaver decided to move first towards the next chamber, which were barred shut, forcing him once more to shift and cross the barriers through the Spirit Realm, distracting Cadence from what she wanted to ask as a conversation made between Twilight's friends caught her attention.
"Huh, girls..." - Everypony turned towards Rainbow Dash with curiosity when they saw Raziel shifting planes to enter the sanctuary. - "What do you think this Kain guy have turned into?"
"What do you mean?" - Asked Rarity.
"Well" -, commented Rainbow Dash, - "you remember how Melchiah turned into a bipedal vampire into that disgusting thing?"
All the mares, except Cadence, nodded while trying to not remember Melchiah's digusting appearence.
"Ok, so, if Melchiah was turned into that after so many years, what do you think Kain has turned into?"
Everypony blinked when they heard that, not actually giving it a thought until know.
"Well" -, commented Princess Luna, - "considering Nightmare Moon was a result of my own falling from grace, I wouldn't be surprised if Kain also fell into a similar fate."
Everypony's curiosity got increased as they heard this, now wanting to see if Kain actually transformed into something as Raziel shifted back into the physical realm, right in front of the door leading to the chamber where Kain resided before destroying Raziel's wings.
As Raziel entered, the ponies could see how the chamber remained relatively the same. The walls, looked clean, the carpet looked wore down but still very red, the floor showed it could still go for more years to come, it was amazing for all the ponies and Reaver that the sanctuary had managed to remain so well conserved, distracting them from the door behind Raziel closing suddenly, scaring everyone in the room. Raziel was going to inspect the door but then...
"Raziel."
Raziel, along the ponies, turned to see, to their surprise, a very familiar vampire that had managed to remain the same through the ages.
"Kain!"
Hearing Raziel's words brought some sort of unattended concern for Twilight, as much as she could feel disgust and despise towards Kain, just hearing the hatred on Raziel's words, for a brief moment, brought high concerns to her, as she was worried for Raziel's state of being at that moment. Yet again, Kain's words didn't help to disuade the situation towards the source of Raziel's anger.
"The abyss has been unkind."
Sitting on his Pillar of Balance throne, magnanimous, foreboding and menacing, the one who destroyed Raziel's life in the blink of an eye by sending him to one of the most torturous experiences Twilight and her friends have ever seen in their life, a figure whose sole view made both Princesses look in a comptemtous disdain.
Still, Raziel started to move closer towards the Vampire King, not afraid of him, an eager to enact his vengance on him.
"I am your creation Kain - now, as before. You criticize your own work."
As Raziel moved closer, Twilight and her friends couldn't feel anything different but contempt at the sight of someone so cruel, especially the princesses. For Celestia, to see a king like Kain, dooming his own land for the sake of power was something she found vile and repulsing, the opposite epitome of what she always tried to teach Twilight and all her little ponies when it came to live in harmony. Luna, meanwhile, saw Kain as the creator of what could have been had the nightmare managed to rule over Equestria for enough time, a destroyed land with its citizens fearing to live on the end of days while its monarch ruled sit on its throne, ignorant or indolent of the end of times.
Twilight, as she remembered how Raziel was now, started to wonder what happened for Raziel to no longer hate Kain in the present. She noticed how now Raziel speak about Kain neutrally but, here on his past, there was a distinct hatred of him, a complete desire to harm him, what happened to Raziel to change his demeanor? This is why she paid special attention to the interactions between Kain and Raziel.
"What have you done to my clan, degenerate? You have no right."
Kain's words sent a chill down the spine of Twilight and her friends.
"What I have made, I can also destroy child."
To hear him saying that without a hint of remorse or guilt was one of the scariest things Twilight and her friends ever heard in their life, with some of them, like Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, being unable to comprehend what kind of thoughts were crossing his mind. Celestia and Luna, meanwhile, were feeling complete and utter disgust as they heard this words, unable to even consider how could a monarch erase a whole clan on a whim on the sole basis of being capable of doing so.
"Damn you, Kain!" - Shouted Raziel with complete anger. - "You are not God! This act of genocide is unconscionable!"
After hearing Raziel's words, Kain dropped his smile and scowled at Raziel, a look that scared Twilight and Rarity, terrified Fluttershy and brought fear to Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, for they could feel the same commanding power that they would usually feel from the benevolents Celestia and Luna, now turned into despondence and rage.
"Conscience...?" - He said with rage. - "You dare to speak to me of conscience? Only when you felt the full gravity of choice should you dare question my judgment!"
Those words, while had little meaning for those like Applejack and Rainbow Dash, brought some thought to those of more literate basis such as Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy, for they understood what he meant, but only Celestia and Luna could fully comprehend what Kain was talking about as he moved closer to Raziel, demeaning him for his foolish response.
"Your lifespan is a flicker compared to mass of doubt and regret that I have borne since Mortanious first turned me from the light... To know that the fate of the world hangs on the advisedness of my every deed-- Can you even begin to conceive what action you would take, in my position?"
Both Celestia and Luna knew perfectly what Kain was talking about, as they have felt that that burden and, in more ways than one, been consumed by it. As clever as it may sound, Celestia and Luna could only see innocence in Raziel's response.
"I would choose integrity Kain."
Twilight and her friends would see that as a great comeback line, but the monarchs in the room perfectly knew that Raziel's response came from someone who has never felt such pressure under the weight of choice, neither felt the burning consequences of it. And Kain's laugh indicated he thought the same, as he moved his arms around the sanctuary and responded to Raziel as if his power has never been put into question at all.
"Look around you Raziel -- see what has become of our empire" -. As Kain said this, Twilight, Celestia and Luna couldn't stop themselves from noticing something on Kain's speech. - "Witness the end of an age. The clans scattered to the corners of Nosgoth..."
He was saying something that any normal being should feel sadness for, but Kain didn't sound sad or even dissapointed, he sounded as if he got tired of a broken toy and now wanted a new one.
"This place has outlasted its usefulness -- as have you."
He then looked at Raziel with the same look Nightmare Moon gave Twilight when she tried to challenge the Nightmare Princess, the look of a pitiful creature challenging a god, reflected even more as Kain started to wield the blade he held on his back, a blade Twilight found very familiar.
"The Soul Reaver, Kain's ancient blade - older than any of us and a thousand times more deadly."
Both Luna and Twilight remembered that name, it was how Raziel presented himself the first time they met, how could this blade have the same title as him?
"The legends claim that the blade was possessed and thrived by devouring the soul of its victims."
And then all the figures in the room saw something that they never expected to ever see, Raziel moving backwards, fear and concern clear on his eyes.
"For all our bravado, we all knew what it meant when Kain drew his Soul Reaver in anger - it meant you were dead."
And before the battle could even begin, Kain disappeared out of everyone's sight. Raziel tried to search for him but, by the time he finally managed to find Kain, he had already sent a magical attack, making Raziel to contort himself in pain before being plunged back into the Spiritual Realm in one swift move, scaring all the non-royals watching the fight unfold.
"He s-sent Raziel back to the spirit realm in one blow" -, said a shocked Rainbow Dash, - "how can you beat that?"
Applejack, along Rarity and Twilight, lost all confidence she had, no longer feeling even confident she could say anything to Kain without getting blasted.
"I-I've never seen that kind of destructive magic" -. Said Twilight, as she tried to remember any kind of combat spell she knew and see if there was any equastrian equivalent of that as Raziel managed to shift between the realms. - "I suppose it's a good thing Raziel cannot be completely destroyed by those kinds of attacks."
"Perhaps" -, Celestia added, - "but it's still concerning to know said power is controlled by a creature as evil as Kain."
All the ponies started to look at Kain, teleporting away from Raziel as he got hit, and how his eyes showed no mercy during the fight. Twilight felt fear as she tried to imagine the idea of ever confronting him, an emotion corresponded by Rainbow Dash.
"I'm surprised Raziel is brave enough to fight such a powerful monster, not as brave as me, but that makes him closer to me in coolness."
As Rainbow said that, Raziel managed to get another hit on Kain but, unlike the first time, it didn't seem as if Kain was harmed and more like he was annoyed, something that the royals noticed as the battle progressed.
"I do wonder" -, added Celestia, - "what are Kain's intentions right now...?"
This brought the interest of her fellow royals and the other ponies.
"If what we understand of him is correct, Kain is egocentric, who rules only for his own pleasure and entertainment but hearing him saying that his empire lost its usefulness, it means he must have something planned."
They payed attention to Kain's face, confident and composed, and how he didn't seem to be concerned with Raziel's attacks. No matter how close Raziel got to Kain, his attacks blasted Raziel back the Spirit Realm, no matter how fast Raziel was, Kain simply teleported away from him before renewing his attacks and no matter how furius were Raziel's resolve, Kain simply laughed at his attacks.
It was something hard to ignore by Celestia and it worried Twilight and her friends, especially as Raziel was attacking Kain once more as he was charging another attack. The ponies got worried for a brief moment but, surprisingly, Raziel managed to dodge the attack with jumping to the side right as Kain's attack was about to hit, much to Kain's surprise, and giving Raziel an opening big enough to hit Kain once more.
It looked like a victory for Raziel, but Kain moved his arm back, releasing a huge lightning bolt that paralized Raziel on the ground, much to the horror of Twilight. All the pnoies saw in horror as Kain then started to raise the Soul Reaver into the air and furiously attacked Raziel with it, just to see something completely unexpected.
The Soul Reaver shattered in pieces, releasing large amounts of energy that reverberated through the chamber. To Twilight's eyes, space itself looked like it was being distorted as pieces of the reaver were flying through the chamber while massive spikes of energy licked everything around them.
As Twilight and Celestia saw this, they watched the vampire king, wondering how would he react to see his blade destroyed and, to their shock, it didn't seem like Kain was bothered at all, in fact, he started to smile.
"The blade is vanquished. So it unfolds, we move one step closer to our destinies..."
As Raziel shifted from the Physical Realm to the Spectral Realm, all it could be heard was Kain's maniacal laughter, even even after completely shifting into the Spectral Realm, his voice could still be heard for a while. This brought a sense of sadness in the ponies as they realized how Raziel's efforts to defeat Kain weren't enough to defeat him, but then they all saw something unexpected, something none of them saw coming even though it made sense if you thought about it: the spectre of the Soul Reaver appeared in front of Raziel who, filled with a careful curiosity, started to move towards it.
"I swore I saw a glint of satisfaction on Kain's eyes as the Soul Reaver was destroyed, I did not understand the game he was playing,. But I knew the finishing move."
And before anyone could realize what was going on, Raziel touched the blade, immediately causing it to merge with Raziel in a seemingly painful way, as if the blade was fighting with Raziel for control over the wraith's arm. All the while the Elder God explained to Raziel what was happening to him, with no concern or worry on Raziel's wellbeing resounding in its voice.
From this moment, and ever afterward, you and this blade are inextricably bound
Soul Reaver and Reaver of Souls, your destinies are intertwined
By destroying the sword, you have liberated it from its corporeal prison and liberated its true form -
A wraith blade, it's energy unbound
As he said that, Raziel managed to raise his arm in victory, Reaver Blade manifesting on his right arm, just as Twilight, Luna, Celestia and Rarity saw the spectral blade they've seen Raziel wielding, for them to see how Raziel earn that weapon gave them a feeling of awe at the knowledge of the kind of powerful weapon he has been using this whole time, and how poweful he might actually be. At the same time, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Cadence were all speechless as the blade seen in the memory, even if it was just a figment of the real blade, made their fur shake as they could feel the power that almost murder Princess Celestia.
It can only manifest itself in the material real when your strenght is fully restored
Once manifest, it will sustain you
Many thoughts would have cross the ponies' mind, after seeing how Raziel got his strongest power, butTwilight and her friends didn't have much time to assimilate what they just saw when they heard a ghostly, yet calm, feminine voice interrrupting their thoughts.
"What are you little soul? Another of Kain's creatures come to taunt this bound specter?"
They all turned and saw, to their shock, a floating ghost, it looked, at least physiologically speaking, like Raziel, but it lacked legs, its arms were extremely thin, it had a blonde, straight mane, a really long, black and fine piece of clothe covering it and, what left all the ponies speechless half of its face was just bones, while the other half of her face showed a seemingly beautiful female.
If it weren't because they were all already used to Raziel's ghastly sight, many of them wouild've screamed in fear towards this apparition, as of now, all they felt was just a mild shock, as for Raziel himself (the memory one at least) he seemed unfazed by her presence.
"I did not intend to disturb your rest."
The ghost's face didn't show an expression, but her tone of voice indicated all Raziel needed to know about how the ghost felt with that response.
"Rest...? A body is needed for sleep, flesh and bone are required to recline... No, child, all I may do is watch and remember, ceaslessly conscious, as this wretched world's history unfurls. Ghastly past, inssuferable future. Are they one and the same? Am I always here?"
Seeing this ghost made many ponies, including the princesses, wonder what kind of torture it would be to live so long in such place, but for Twilight, who already experience the unlife of the Spectral Realm, hearing her felt more of a warning for what could happen to her, should she try to experiment with traveling to the Spectral Realm with no backup plan.
"How have you come to haunt this pillars?" - Asked a curious Raziel.
"Kain refused the sacrifice" -, responded the ghost, the ponies remembering Raziel mentioned something about it, - "the pillar of Balance, corrupted to its core, stands as a monument to his blind ambition. Now this pillars serve only to bind me here -- my prison and eternal home, thanks to the avarice of your master Kain."
"That bastard can claim no allegiance with me."
"Then we share a common foe, return here when you have need, Raziel; Ariel remembers what others have forgotten."
As she said that, Ariel disappeared from Raziel's sight while some strange points with energy started to show up in the center of the room. A few seconds afterwards, the memory ended and everyone went back to the room.
At the beginning, everypony was trying to process what they just saw, with Rainbow making the first question:
"Ok, who was that ghost who showed up at the end?"
Raziel stood there for a brief moment before answering, almost cryptically.
"Ariel, previous Guardian of Balance before Kain, and now specter haunting the Pillars of Nosgoth until they were purified once again."
Rainbow Dash stood there motionless, her face indicating she clearly didn't understood what Raziel meant.
"The Pillars of Nosgoth, in order to keep the land pure, are embedded to someone from birth to be a guardian of said pillar. The nine pillars together, with their respective guardians, create what's needed to keep Nosgoth pure. Ariel was the guardian of the Pillar of Balance, the most important one of all, and her death caused the rest of the guardians to become corrupt, in turn, Nosgoth started to become a corrupt land" -. Raziel looked at the ponies to see if they were following him, some of them didn't seem like they were getting the whole picture, but enough of it, so he proceeded. - "When Kain became a vampire, he was given the task, by Ariel, to eliminate the other guardians, hoping that their death would purify the pillars once more, but to purify all the pillars it was needed for Kain to sacrifice himself, for he was the Guardian of Balance, but Kain refused it, comdemning Nosgoth to become the wretched land you have seen in my memories."
Once more, the ponies felt indignation an anger towards Kain, but Twilight was quick to remember something crucial about Kain.
"But you don't hate Kain, right?" - Added Twilight. - "You have mentioned that he may have his reasons."
Raziel looked at Twilight and nodded.
"Yes, reasons that beneffitted him but, in the end, it also beneffitted Nosgoth."
"How so?" - Asked Rarity. - "How can someone act for his own benefit and have said actions help others?"
Raziel looked at the bearer of the Element of Generosity and tried to give his best explanation possible.
"It has to do with Kain's overall goals. He has always wanted to rule Nosgoth for as long as he can, that is why he decided to reject the sacrifice."
"But that lead to his land being corrupted" -, interjected Fluttershy, - "couldn't he try to search for a way to rule his land without sacrificing it?"
"Yes, he could and, surprisingly, he did."
All the ponies got surprised at this, with Cadence asking for all of them.
"And what did he do to save his land?"
Raziel looked at all of them, knowing fully well how contrived and complex were Kain's ideas. The best way to explain it would be by going step by step, but he wasn't sure they would all get it. Still, it were those ideas and machinations what helped to stop the Elder God, even if by accident, and he would have to explain it all if he wanted to help them.
"I was thrown to the abyss."
The ponies didn't understand what he meant, and Raziel didn't seem too eager to give a simple explanation, but he did give something to explain.
"The Elder God harmed Nosgoth to such unthinkable levels, that it was by mere chance that Kain's plans were the exact measure to stop him and it all started with me being thrown to the abyss."
He knew it was more complicated than that, but it would be a start, so he decided to move-
"Wait a minute!"
They all looked at Pinkie Pie, her mane disheveled and her eyes moving at unnatural directions.
"But what was that weird thingy that came out of the blade when it exploded into tiny fragments? I've been trying to wrap my head around it, but my head isn't long and flexible enough for that."
It took a moment for Raziel to realize what she was talking about and he was even more surprised to realize that nopony else even gave it a thought.
"That was the sign of a paradox transpiring in front of you."
"A paradox?" - Asked Twilight. - "As in, a time paradox?" - Raziel simply nodded, making Twilight's head get even more confused. - "But how is that possible? Last time I did a time travel, it was a looped, with no way to change its course, no matter what."
Raziel gave it a thought, wondering if his enemy would try to change that soon enough.
"It's the same for Nosgoth. Time is fixed, with no way to change it, no matter what you try to do, unless you create an impossible situation that forces the flow of time fix itself in order to adapt."
Seeing that the other ponies couldn't understand what Raziel just said, Princess Luna decided to explain.
"In other words, to change the passage of time, you would have to do something that contradicts history, like how the wendigos can be defeated, or how I was corrupted to become Nightmare Moon, in order to make a change, is that correct?"
Raziel, despite not knowing what the wendigos are, nodded and, although it seemed that the ponies didn't understood it completely, they did seem to understand just enough.
"So" -, Pinkie tried to explain, - "the reason why the blade exploded was because it couldn't destroy you?" - Once more, Raziel only nodded. - "Why? It doesn't make any sense."
Raziel gave it a thought and, sure, it made no sense when it came to the small details, but it was what it was.
"Perhaps, but the reaver blade cannot destroy me. That is all you need to know for the time being."
Twilight gave it a thought and remembered something the Elder God said to Raziel.
"'You and this blade are inextricably bound', does it have something to do with that?"
Raziel nodded.
"Yes, and I will explain when the time comes."
Twilight nodded as she tried to theorize what Raziel meant with that, but a shiver quickly passed through her as she remembered something else the Elder God said.
'Soul Reaver and Reaver of Souls, your destinies are intertwined'
She really had a bad feeling about it as Raziel's memories started to play again, as she heard Ariel's voice giving Raziel advice of where to go next.
"Far in the eastern mountains, a stiffled giant stands in mute surrender - unwilling host to a parasitic swarn"
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Uh-oh! Why is Chrysalis here?!
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I think she was already dealt with a while ago? It's been a while.
Whoo! The story continues!
I wonder... Would the Equestrians get to see Kain's story at some point? Might fill in some gaps for them. (Like how Ariel's death contributed to the tainting of the Pillars, for example.)
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Really? But "Cadence" didn't remember Twilight, or even their own silly singing number. And that is a obvious red flag.
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Like I said. It's been a while since I read the entire story.
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Second season was just starting AND, I'll explain now, all the "Memories" Chapters (Raziel retelling his adventures) happened between Season 1 and Season 2. Take note that in the chapter where Discord starts appearing they all already have a mindset of his adventures.
realm
I buy and play from Soul Reaver one to Legacy of Kain!
The hole collection is one mind blowing experience.
Guess you will leave out the bonus stuff?
The Glyphe are mostly optional after all and help Raziel but help him massively.
Should help also show how sompel Celestias puzzle lock was after all...
To be continued... I am always sad to hit that point...
If Chrysalis plays Cadance she learns of The Elder true nature. If it is Cadance? Guess Raziel sure put her mind in a headlock...
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I'll answer to the best of my abilities, yes, he has those powers. Gameplay-wise, it makes sense to lose them from game to game, but in practise, he should still have them unless the writers find a solid reason to lose them. In that case, I would have to do a massive rewriting.
It's been a while, but I think the reason is because he wanted to look for the Elder God and to bide his time. I would have to reread the story though.
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Fixed.
I think I never made it well implied, but Discord was talking to the Elder God, basically rejecting his offer of help. As for those two... spoiliers.
I thought making an earthquake would be sufficient but I suppose I'll have to review this chapter, I've gotten multiple complaints about it. The best I can say, for now, is that we know the Elder God is bad, but Celestia doesn't and she builds herself (and her nation) on the idea of friendship and trust, so...
It's not Raziel himself, Rarity (based on Twilight) thinks the actual Raziel is dead (noone knows he cannot die) and, for all she knows, this is an impersonator that, according to Sweetie and Applebloom, has the power to kill monsters. For all she knows, this creature may take her sister away at any moment.
The thing is that, by saying all of that, Raziel may try to force the friendship and create something artificial, but by first meeting and knowing Twilight and her friends, Raziel is actually building the ways of actual friendship. Raziel may have been betrayed and may be distrustful, but he wasn't stupid, he knows friendship takes time.
Make contrast with the Elder God, who has done basically the opposite of Raziel with Celestia and is manipulating her (I skipped any conversation and things the Elder God may have said to her, but think about how it would be to have a voice that can talk to you at any moment and has proven to say the truth, as far as you know) to do his bidding. The results are seen in the Gala, where Celestia's already existing trust and friendship with Twilight and Luna, along with finally hearing someone else's voice managed to break the manipulation.
If the Elder God never did that in the games then I'll take it he never wanted to do it, so this won't happen. The Spectral Realm is where his food gather.
For all Celestia knows by this point is that Raziel tried to kill Luna, is manipulating Twilight (so her good words do nothing) and Raziel himself is too blinded in his own ideas to think his own path is wrong.
Just an excuse to not invite him.
By this point her mind isn't focusing on Twilight.
No, I just wanted to take Spike out (since he wasn't even there) and a way for Raziel to not be able to avoid Twilight's invitation.
Mind too gone and, to make it clear, Celestia and Luna are stronger. Raziel only managed to harm Nightmare Moon by hiding his real powers and applying strategy, if the alicorns went with full powers and knowing all of Raziel's abilities, he would have either a really hard time or it would be a losing battle.
In the games he had multiple spots, he had one at the pillars (SR2), one under the abyss (SR1) and one in the Vampire Citadel (Defiance) so he can have multiple points for growth.
The glyphs are canon, but I don't know if show it because it would make this much longer and I barely have time to write the main story, especially now that we're in the second arc, where things will start to get hectic.
As for Chrysalis, it will be harder to write than Celestia falling for the Elder God, wish me luck.
EDIT: thank for the grammar
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Thanks for your time.
Your welcome.
If you need basic proofread I can help. But as german that is all I can offer. My own storys show how... Second or third grade my own grammar is
Maybe this channel can help you to add more content. Like in this video:
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I know that guy, love his content. Especially the one of the deleted material form the OG Soul Reaver.
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Maybe a video link when Raziel give his story overview to the Ponys?
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I'll think about it
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Well, you go back to the abyss in the original game as a de-facto respawn point in case you get busted in the Spectral Realm. IDK where you go if you lose in SR2 and I never lost in the Spectral Realm in Defiance, so IDK where do you spawn and the story will go as if Raziel NEVER gets his body disintegrated in the Spectral Realm.
As for what keeps him, I don't think I'll ever have to adress it, so I'll leave it as "a part of him is still in the OG Reaver" and leave it at that.
disgusting
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Fair enough I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I wonder if the Vampires had lovers... The only females killed in the games are Slaves for feeding on blood and mercenarys.
When Insomnia or boredom take over:
Perhaps this can help you a bit:
Or maybe this:
https://youtube.com/shorts/cJ2_qHL46Gk?feature=share
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Thanks
I gotta admit, this is pretty great. I'd love for you to finish this at some point
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Thanks
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I love reading crossovers that includes franchises that I know nothing about. It makes me feel as if I'm in the same position that the ponies are in.
"Who's this new creature?"
"Is he friend, foe or a weird combination of both?"
"Which pony will he bond with the most?"
Absolutely thrilling
Just re-read and replayed the games, awesome time sink
How is the next chapter going?