The Reaver Convergence

Raziel (vo): As I neared the Stronghold’s inner sanctum, a strange sensation crept over me - an indescribable feeling of displacement, a sense of vertigo as reality itself appeared to warp and bend around me. The disturbance seemed to emanate from the Sanctuary’s furthest chapel. As I cautiously approached, the sense of dislocation intensified with each step.

So this was the tomb of the beloved King William the Just - beautified here as the martyr and catalyst of Moebius’s crusade.

I was reminded of Kain’s journey as a fledgling vampire - How Moebius coerced him to travel back in history and assassinate William, thus igniting a genocidal hatred of vampires among the citizens of Nosgoth.

And here I discovered the source of the displacement - the Soul Reaver itself, laid out like a holy relic… And broken, apparently in the battle between William and Kain. I had not thought such a thing was possible… Until, of course, Kain shattered the blade against me when he tried to strike me down. Thus the captive spirit inhabiting the Reaver was released - and binding itself to me, became my symbiotic weapon.

And so the Reaver met it’s former self, still imprisoned in this corporeal shell… I watched, mesmerized, as the wraith-blade uncoiled itself, and snaked down the length of the physical blade…

Embracing its twin, its mirror self, the Reaver’s long-dormant spirit was now fully aroused. And for the first time, I felt the true presence of this other entity - wilful, ravenous, and deranged from thousands of years of imprisonment…

Then Reaver was now in command - and I, now merely its helpless host, felt my soul being leeched to restore the blade. But the Reaver knew better than to destroy its host - and just as I neared the brink of oblivion, the blade released its hold on me.

As I recovered, I realized we were now bound together in a fragile alliance - the Reaver no longer merely my symbiotic weapon, but a sentient parasite, competing for control.

Moebius appears behind Raziel…

Raziel: What have you done to me, Moebius?! Is this your trap?!

Moebius: How mine?! Don’t forget it was Kain who led you here, not I! While you curse me - the only soul in Nosgoth ready to guide and assist you - Kain laughs at our folly and revels in your dismay.

Raziel: These blades now coiled in sinister embrace have inspired terror in the hearts of creatures far more durable than you, old man. Bound together as they are, I can only imagine what they could do to your soul’s fragile shell.

Moebius: Raziel, I beg you to stay your hand. This was none of my doing. I have sought only to aid you in your righteous quest.

Raziel: Why, you’re trembling, Moebius. Has your confidence abandoned you? You seem to have made a fatal error by leaving your precious staff behind. Is that where all your courage comes from?

Moebius: Listen to me, Raziel - you don’t know what you’re doing. I have taken an enormous risk by appearing here before you, so defenseless, yet eager to prove my good intentions. If there’s anything left of the Sarafan in you, you won’t do this. While you threaten me, your true enemy eludes you!

Raziel: Don’t concern yourself with Kain, old man. He’ll join you in hell soon enough. As you said, Death comes to us all…

Moebius: Yes… the Wheel of Fate demands it.

Raziel: What did you say?

Moebius: The Wheel of Fate - the inexorable cycle of death and rebirth to which all men are compelled. We serve the same God, Raziel. To strike me down would be striking God’s own attendant, and I don’t believe even you would take that risk.

Raziel: I tire of your games, Moebius. Now that I know you fear me, I needn’t concern myself with you. Kain is waiting for me.

Raziel drops the sword and prepares to leave…

Moebius: Go, then, Raziel. Seek Kain out and destroy him, in the name of the One God we both serve. You, who were once a Sarafan priest - murdered, profaned, destroyed and reborn again from His mercy… You are now most powerfully equipped to be His agent - His instrument of restoration and retribution.

Raziel: My own vengeance is motivation enough.

Moebius closes the doors of William’s tomb and thinks aloud. He then disappears…

Moebius: By my soul, you almost had me, my little blue assassin. But that’ll be the one and only chance you get, I assure you of that.

Raziel (vo): I could now summon the blade at will, regardless of my strength. But once summoned, the blade’s ravenous appetite could not be contained. It devoured the souls of its victims… And if I allowed it to become over-aroused, the Reaver would now turn its hunger on me.