level_main_11-15_beg

Bloody hell, these new lads are tough!

We'll charge together! Ready... set...

Grab me!

No! Stay back! Get away from the dead...

*cough* *cough* W-What's going on...?

A strange aura permeates the battlefield around the fallen soldiers.

Something seeps out from their skin, their eyes, their ears, their noses. It is not blood; it is nothing tangible.

Perhaps it is fear, the fear of what comes after death, an unsurmountable fear that is rapidly draining their lifeforce.

Get back!

Argh... *gasp*...

I can breathe again... thanks! You're from Rhodes Island... a doctor? Closure called you a doctor... right?

Everyone, get behind me.

This is... witchcraft?;The smell reminds me of the Wendigo altar.

All ancient Sarkaz witchcraft comes from the same place.

'Death.'

Wendigo, Nachzehrer, Vampire, Gargoyle, Lich, even the Banshees... death is the end for most living things, but the source of power for many Sarkaz.

Your sword stopped the corruption from spreading?

Life and death have always been two sides of the same coin.

But there's only so much time I can buy. We can't stop the armies of the Nachzehrer, even if it's only his vanguard here.

The ancient Sarkaz slithers on the battlefield, driving death and decay before him. I've only heard legends.

We must hurry.

I know.;......;Kal'tsit gave the signal to retreat.

(Urgent screech)

Recall the drones, Closure.

Sigh... guess there's no other way?

Transmitted data... 70%. It'll have to do.

Feist, go find Clovisia.

Alright, Doctor.

Everyone, follow me!

Rhodes Island, follow Mon3tr!;Rhodes Island, cover Corps' retreat!

Yes, Doctor.

And Amiya's group.;Inform Amiya, Ascalon and Logos.

No response.

Your call goes unanswered.

Something is not right. Amiya is not in the habit of ignoring you, even in the middle of fierce fighting.

PRTS does not show the status of operators, but you realize that she is in great danger.

Amiya?!

Argh...

The Nachzehrer arrived early.

Time to move.

Dr. Kal'tsit was quick enough. Delaying the Lich is all she can do.

The Nachzehrer army is far more organized than any other Sarkaz faction. They will move quickly.

Amiya?

Retreat?

No.

They cannot. The Vampire's blood shackles can be cut, the Nachzehrer's deadly corruption can be resisted, but there is no way to avert the dark cloud's gaze as long as they remain on this land.

There is no place untouched by the anguish and wrath of the Sarkaz.

Countless voices rush into her head.

She hears children who lost their parents to war sobbing as they walk amongst the ruins.

She hears the dull clunk of a young soldier's sword as it meets the head of an enemy for the first time.

She hears a Banshee, facing a deformed city, chanting incantations that he has just learned in the silver moonlight.

She hears a Vampire chuckle alone in a canyon, turning the enemies charging towards the Sarkaz settlement into a sea of blood.

She hears the dead souls in the sky, screaming towards the earth.

Why did we have to die?

Because we were Sarkaz?

Black lines surge uncontrollably from her eyes, ears and mouth, stretching and entwining.

For an instant, all the Sarkaz feel their hearts grasped by the black strings.

Don't be affected, Amiya.

What happened, Doctor? I thought... I thought I heard a sound...

*Muffled Sarkaz Tribal Language*

(The earth is filled with darkness.)

(Darkness gives birth to evil.)

(Evil brings pain.)

*Muffled Sarkaz Tribal Language*

What's Closure saying? I don't understand...

I don't... know...

I feel... dizzy... what's happening in... my head?

Is this Sarkaz witchcraft, Doctor?

But I don't feel anything... hey, look at the enemy...

Darkness... pain...

Share...

I've heard these words before.;I've heard a similar language before.

It's a kind of hypnotic suggestion.;It's unorthodox Arts.

Doctor, retreat with the Corps and the other operators immediately.

But Amiya...

Shining...;You're affected too?

A rampant power is eating away at the souls of all Sarkaz.

Not even a Confessarius can repel it... even if I can resist it for a while.

Rampant power?;Could it be...?

Only the sovereign of the Sarkaz can use the hope of her men as consolation, and punish traitors with their deepest fears.

Only the 'King of Sarkaz.'

I know what you're thinking, Doctor.

You're wondering which King is attacking all of the Sarkaz indiscriminately.

Amiya is in danger.

That's what I'm most worried about.;Whether Theresa is responsible for it or not.

The power of the King of Sarkaz...

How can an untrained vessel contain millennia of our racial memories?

I see... I see.

You cannot contain it.

The rings you wear on your hand came from Theresa.

You thought it would trap both the blessing and the curse, but you forgot that what was given, can be taken back.

You must have noticed, Ascalon.

His Highness is affecting Amiya.

We can't afford any delay. The Nachzehrer and Theresis may appear at any moment.

We must take Amiya away. By force, if necessary.

Amiya...

The rings do not crack or change color.

They are trembling because she is.

Cautus, you are not worthy of the crown that Theresa bestowed upon you.

Not because you are not Sarkaz, but because you have never tried to understand the nature of the Sarkaz.

Like Theresa, you have been blinded by the creature that calls itself Kal'tsit.

You thought the Sarkaz a race linked by blood, like the Felines.

You thought our wrath resistance to injustice. You thought our struggle a conflict between nations.

But are they truly so?

Look my vengeance in the eye, 'King of Sarkaz'.

Listen to the lamentations in the clouds above your head.

They will tell you that the Sarkaz were never the same people as the shameful invaders... the Elders and the Ancients were never the same people.

Kazdel was never a city, nor a nation.

When the Sarkaz were known as Teekaz, when they still had a home, Kazdel meant the entire world that we saw before our eyes.

Kazdel was Terra.

Infinite sorrow engulfs her, binding her, suffocating her.

Dark clouds fill her vision, no matter where she turns.

How can she escape? What would it take?

She can only listen.

A Sarkaz scales the city walls.

Behind him, a city of gray iron. Above his head, a black banner.

Wounded warriors line up before him. Young Sarkaz, about his age but untrained, guard the city walls with rusty swords in their hands.

Countless compatriots stand behind him, some old, some young, many with nothing more than bows and arrows for hunting.

The enemy has tread the barrens and come before their city.

They hear the staves of the Spire Casters cut through air.

They hear the Gaulish gunners directing their Originium guns.

They hear the heavy footsteps of steam armor, and the gushing of steam as they charge.

They hear the wind blowing the commander's robes, and the cold and dull sound it makes when it hits armor.

Who is the Feline? Steam Knights stand before her. Is she a Victorian general? But the Spire casters and Gaulish gunners obey her call.

They hear her pass judgment upon the Sarkaz.

'I know all that the Sarkaz are planning. Hatred is a sickness that cannot be cured. Your vengeance will bring wounds to the land that can never be healed.'

'Ambition must be culled while in the bud, for the peace of the world for the next two hundred years.'

Fire rushes towards Kazdel from all directions. Another Kazdel is reduced to ruin. Countless Sarkaz die in the conflagration, but a worse fate awaits those who survive it.

Why did I have to die?

Because our origin was different? Must we be eradicated, simply because the land could not stand our hatred anymore?

Six heroes rise from the ruins. They charge the great army before them, carrying the burning banner of Kazdel.

No Sarkaz dies willingly. The screams of the tens of thousands of Sarkaz who fell become war drums for the heroes as they charge the enemy.

Answer me, Enemy!

Who are you to decide that Kazdel must be destroyed?

Who are you to judge the Sarkaz?

Why do you not speak?

Why do you not answer?

Kal'tsit... Kal'tsit. Kal'tsit!

The walls of Kazdel are falling. So are the dead Sarkaz, with ash and rubble.

She is falling.

Alright, it's beginning to clear... I can see again...

Wait, on the tower!

Amiya!!

Closure, your drone!

The Assassin delays the Vampire.

The Caster slows the falling.

You fly across the battlefield on the zipline, pulled along by the drone.

You grab Amiya's hand and pull her into your arms, just before she hits the ground.

Kal'tsit... Doctor...

Doctor... why is Amiya saying Kal'tsit's name?

You see tears of sorrow in the corners of Amiya's eyes, and fury in her furrowed brow.

What did she see? What did she hear?

Crap, Doctor. Something's coming up fast—what the heck? It's so close! Where is it?!

N-No...

It... it was there all along...

A silhouette.

A Sarkaz, watching you silently.

He lacks the thick malice of the Vampire, the proud contempt of the Confessarius, or the fearsome aura of the Nachzehrer. He even lacks the Wendigo's imposing stature.

Just one Sarkaz, no army, no servants. He rose from his throne, laid down the authority that he never truly cared for, and walked here.

With a cold gaze not seen for two centuries.

His sword is right before your eyes, you see it before you see his face clearly.

Amiya will die. So will you, if you do not let her go.

He came here with one goal, to kill the King of Sarkaz in your arms.

<color=#000000>A familiar silhouette cuts in front of you and Amiya.</color>

(Pained howling)

<color=#000000>Red, warm liquid splashes onto your face, and your hands, which are still holding Amiya.</color>

Kal'tsit!

You cry without even thinking.

She is dying. She may die this instant.

You have never felt this possibility so clearly before.

Dr. {@nickname}...

Take Amiya... go.

(Furious roar)

Kal'tsit!

All the effort could only deflect the unremarkable sword by inches.

Closure pulls on you desperately, while you continue to hold Amiya in your arms.

The drone rapidly pulls you back, while a bloodied Kal'tsit remains in front of you.

Theresis...

(Weak struggle)

You've decided to stand against the Sarkaz again.

I saw you reborn by Theresa's side two hundred years ago. The culprit responsible for Kazdel's destruction, the immortal who tamed history.

You did many things for her, told stories of fantastic realms that we could never see...

It is a shame.

*cough*... *cough* *cough*...

You... you're just accelerating destruction.

Dr. Kal'tsit, you can't—

—Ugh!

I know. Better for Sarkaz to head toward destruction one step faster, than to be robbed of the right to exist by your cruel machinations.

...No!

You don't have the strength to talk. It was impressive that you intercepted the Lich's messenger. Not even the Military Commission has found any trace.

But it's clear that it was not an amicable conversation.

As I warned you once—

I'll kill you again, Kal'tsit.