Raziel at the Underworld

Raziel aparece en el inframundo, postrado ante el dios antiguo.

Elder god: Surrender, Raziel. Abandon this petty rebellion. It was I who made you. Your life had played out, and in my grace, I spared you.

You are my reaper of souls. You have no other purpose, no higher destiny - just this. Accept your calling, Raziel. Let go of these vain hopes. Relinquish your will, and feed.

Raziel: No!

Elder god: What do you profit from this defiance?

Raziel: There’s some grim satisfaction in infuriating you.

Elder god: My patience is eternal, Raziel. How many eons can you bear to languish here? The Wheel of Fate must turn; all are redeemed in the cleansing agony of birth, death and rebirth.

This is the Engine of life - the purifying rhythm of the universe - to which all souls are irresistibly drawn. Yours is a necessary and noble function, Raziel.

Raziel: Enough of your sermonizing - are you trying to bore me into submission? Why must this game go on? We both know what you are. You’re no better than the vampires you so despise – a voracious parasite cloaking its appetite in a shroud of righteousness. I refuse to do your will.

Elder god: I can see into your heart, Raziel. It is not your will, but cowardice that keeps you here.

Raziel: How so?

Elder god: You know what fate awaits you when you leave the underworld. That phantom weapon you bear is a constant reminder, isn’t it? The Sword is waiting for you out there somewhere, and you tarry so as not to meet it.

Raziel (vo): I could not deny it. As long as I lingered here, defying my captor, I was able to postpone what I feared was my inevitable doom: to become the ravenous spirit imprisoned in the Reaver blade.

But that sentence was no worse than the stalemate I now endured. Better to face one’s destiny than cower from it.

Elder god: Harvester of souls I created you, and to this function, my angel of death, you will return.

Raziel: Enough. Yes. I submit.

Elder god: Very good. Indulge your hunger.

El dios antiguo hace aparece ante Raziel un alma para que éste la devore…

Raziel: Aaaaahhh, aaaahh, aaahh…

Elder god: Yes… embrace your calling, Raziel. You will find that, just as defiance has its price, so obedience has its rewards.

Raziel (vo): And submission is not always what it seems.

Raziel accede a una nueva cámara con un profundo abismo en el que flota una niebla blanquecina…

Raziel (vo): Below me swirled an ominous-looking mist. I knew that if I fell, it would mean my peril.

Antes de abandonar esta cámara, el dios antiguo detiene a Raziel…

Elder god: Do you believe your worthiness is so easily proved? Your way is sealed until you have offered further evidence of your obedience.

Raziel: I must feed you before I depart this place.

Elder god: You must feed yourself, Raziel.

Raziel: “The Wheel must turn…”

Elder god: Ah - now you understand.

Tras consumir las almas de esa habitación, el dios antiguo permite a Raziel proseguir…

Elder god: You may go, but remember - you are mine. You can no more escape from me than you can escape yourself.

En la siguiente estancia, Raziel vuelve a encontrar su paso detenido por el dios antiguo y es instigado a luchar con Sluaghs…

Raziel: You want this room cleared of its vermin.

Elder god: If you wish to leave it.

Raziel: Your will be done.

Elder god: My good servant.

Una vez que Raziel acaba con ellos…

Elder god: You see? Obedience brings prompt rewards.

Raziel entra en una nueva parte de la cueva en la que hay una abertura en la parte superior. Comienza a caminar sigilosamente pero el dios antiguo descubre sus intenciones y hace que la niebla comience a subir. Raziel entonces intenta alcanzar el agujero del techo…

Elder god: Where do you think you’re going, little soul?

You can’t escape!

Run faster!

Raziel…

Embrace your destiny.

You will never escape.

Clever, Raziel. Clever, indeed.

I’ve endured your game long enough.

I grow tired of this, Raziel.

Raziel consigue agarrarse a un saliente y escapar justo a tiempo antes de que el dios antiguo provoque un desprendimiento que deje tapada la salida de la cueva…

Elder god: No!

Raziel (vo): Clearly my escape had not been anticipated, or my ‘benevolent’ master would not have expended such efforts to prevent me from going. And if my departure displeased him, then that was a victory, however small, for me.

Raziel descubre una salida sólo accesible en el Mundo Material…

Raziel (vo): In the spectral realm, water is as thin as air, putting this opening far beyond my reach. But once I found my way into the material world, I might to able to swim up there…

Raziel encuentra una puerta cerrada mediante un mecanismo…

Raziel (vo): This door would only open when fitted with an appropriate artifact. But to use such an object, I would first have to find my way back into the material realm.

Avanzando, Raziel halla un portal para entrar en el mundo Físico…

Raziel (vo): At last, I discovered a conduit into the material realm. I would finally escape the spirit world, and take one step farther from my tormentor…

Elder god: Did you think to receive the same favors after your rebellion as before? No, Raziel. I have no need for you to enter the physical world, so no conduit will be granted. You serve me adequately as a wraith, and a wraith you will remain.

Raziel (vo): So my restraints had not been removed, only loosened. I would not be held prisoner in the spectral realm - there had to be another way.

Saliendo de la habitación, Raziel aparece en el exterior y encuentra dos arcontes…

Raziel (vo): As I emerged, I was granted a vision of what I would become, if I did not escape the spectral realm. For these too were agents of my master, hunting the lost souls that struggled to escape the endless twilight of the underworld.

Después de eliminarlos, Raziel continúa su búsqueda de un medio alternativo para entrar en el Reino Material…

Raziel (vo): My master’s plan for me was ominously clear. Like these mindless hunters, I existed only to fuel him with souls, siphoning their energy to feed him and his Wheel of Fate. I had to break these bonds, while I still possessed my own will.