Ariel's Lament

Raziel (vo): These were the Pillars so familiar to my blighted eyes. But now that I had begun to learn their true significance, I regarded the Pillars’ destruction with a new, enlightened sense of horror.

And I questioned now whether Kain’s simple refusal - his mere ambition - could truly have caused such devastation. I felt that some darker influence was at work here.

As I approached, I discerned the spirit of Ariel - bound here now for more than a century.

Ariel: Forever am I bound, hope abandoned, my spirit tethered to this place… What destroyed the Circle could not touch me. For I was newly dead, and beyond harm’s reach. I alone was spared the descent into madness, and Kain alone was spared the pain of death.

When Nupraptor’s poison seized Kain even in the safety of the womb, much more than just his destiny was lost. All of Nosgoth lost Balance. Consider us now… both of us less than we once were. I, pure but insubstantial; and Kain, terribly real, but corrupted.

Raziel: You imprisonment here has deranged you, spirit. You fixate on Kain because you believe he is the tether that binds you here. But we both know he is not the author of your agony. The Pillars were subverted by dark forces, invited by the Guardians themselves. The more I learn of your Circle, the more I see a tangle of nested manipulations.

Ariel: Kain handed them their victory. They sought to topple the Pillars, and he was their willing instrument.

Raziel: Or was he their unwilling pawn? Would it blunt your wrath to know that Kain’s dilemma was calculated to bring the Pillars down, regardless of the choice he made? And that the devastation would have been even greater had he chosen the path you would prescribe for him?

Ariel: You are a subtle, deceitful creature. But your clever arguments do not absolve Kain. He must die for the Pillars to be restored; there is no other way.

Raziel: Then consider this more ominous possibility - what if Kain’s death does not restore the Pillars? Consider that it may simply be too late. That this world may be beyond redemption. And that you may be bound here eternally.

Ariel desaparece en el reino espectral y Raziel la persigue…

Ariel: Why do you hound me, demon? You can see that I am captive here. Show me some mercy.

Raziel: Like the mercy you showed your fellow Guardians when you set Kain on them? Or the mercy you showed Kain when you kept him ignorant of his destiny while you used him as the scourge of the Circle? Or perhaps like the mercy you showed your beloved Nupraptor when you made him Kain’s first kill?

Ariel: You are cruel. Why do you torment me?

Raziel: I’m merely looking for answers, Ariel. Very well - I’ll leave you in peace.

But know this - about you, and this purgatory from which you long to escape… you’re merely at the threshold.