and the final, triumphant act of Moebius' cold-blooded mob. Vorador, the last of the era's vampires, is guillotined and his head held aloft for a cheering bloodthirsty crowd- leaving Kain the soul surviving vampire in Nosgoth

Fateful Dilemma

As his quest brought him full-circle, Kain confronted the destiny that Mortanius and Ariel had hidden from him- that he was the Balance Guardian, and that only by sacrificing himself could he restore the Pillars. Ariel presented him with a final, climatic decision- sacrifice himself to heal the land, but ensure the extinction of the vampires; or refuse the sacrifice, and seal the worlds corruption.
Revolted by the machinations of the human sorcerers and alienated from his former humanity, Kain chose the latter path- opting to the world in damnation rather than commit himself to oblivion. This apocolyptic act completed the Pillar's destruction- the mighty columns toppled as Kain sealed their ruinous fate- and damned Ariel to ceaselessly haunt the dilapidated Pillars she once served. Until balance is restored she can never be released.

Kain's Empire
Kain concluded with the epiphany that Vorador was right- that vampirism is not a curse but a blessing. That vampires are dark gods whose duty it is to this the human herd.
With intentional irony, Kain established the ruined Pillars as the symbolic seat of his new empire, and the unrestored Balance Pillar as the base of his throne. In an act of calculated blasphemy, Kain raided the ancient tomb of the Sarafan, a fanatical order of warrior priests once sworn to eradicate the vampires plaguing Nosgoth. From the desiccated corpses of these long dead knights, Kain raised six vampiric "sons" to become the Lieutenants of his fledgling empire.
But the Pillars. Kain ultimately realised, were more than just a human edifice- the health of the Pillars was tied inextricably into the health of the land. With the Pillars left unrestored, corruption seeped slowly into the land like a poison, turning his empire into an irredeemable wasteland.

Condemned
Rather than evolving slowly over time, vampires experience periods of accelerated metamorphosis, entering dormant states from which they emerge transformed.
When Raziel, first among Kain's lieutenants, revealed his latest evolution- a pair of bat-like wings- Kain responded with an act of seemingly egotistical sadism. Tearing Raziels newly fledged wings from his back, he ordered Raziel to be cast into the lake of the Dead, where he would burn forever in the roiling Abyss
Raziel tumbled endlessly into the murky depths, his flesh dissolving as he burned with white-hot fire. After an eternity of torment, Raziels ruined body came to rest- and as the pain receded, he realised that he had not only survived the descent, but had been delivered to the very seat of the Underworld.
Like Kain before him, Raziel was saved from the brink of oblivion by a mysterious benefactor- a preternaturally ancient god dwelling  the depths of the Abyss, who transformed Raziel into a devourer of souls, and released him back into the world to take his revenge.

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