(ooc: Note that this occurrs after everyone has already left the surface of the planet. Soul Reaver wouldn't have left until then.)

Soul Reaver thanks Asaki when she hands him the staff. He then floats up into the Warp to join the others.

The warp swirls around him, seeming somewhat less stormy than before... but more foreboding. The normally brightly glowing crimson clouds are a deep, bloody red. And beneath the endless roaring and thundering of the Warp is sound of barely-audible screaming.

Looking down from within the Warp, Soul Reaver can see the massive, shimmering black circle that is the Warp Gate. Near its centre lies a sphere of darkness... the cursed world already being consumed by the Warp Lord's will.

But then, to Soul Reaver's horror, sees another, parallel Gate... and another... and another... and another. In the spaceless space of the Warp, there seem to be countless, infinite Gates, all linked together... and through each, there is another Plane, another Universe, each with the same terrible wound as the Mortal Plane. Soul Reaver points down at the sight before him, drawing his companions' attentions to it.

"What?! How can this be?!!"

Soul Reaver's face goes almost white.

"The Warp Lord... he isn't just opening a Warp Gate... he is tearing a hole into the Multiverse itself! It is possible that every Plane is suffering from a Wound just like the Mortal Plane is!"

Soul Reaver points again, eyes wide.

"And there! Look! It is Inferno! There is even a Gate into Inferno... and yet the Daemons are not using it..."

To Soul Reaver's suprise, Blooddrinker speaks up.

"My brethren cannot use these Gates. Normally they tranform themselves into an etherial form to travel through the vast reaches of the Warp, which allows them to avoid most of the dangers associated with such a journey. But the Warp here is so changed, so corrupted, that travelling through it would mean oblivion."

Soul Reaver's brow furrows.

So even Inferno is threatened...

Soul Reaver closes his eyes trying to clear his mind. After opening them again, he looks down at the staff in his hands. It feels cold, even through his gauntlets.

Soul Reaver then looks at Stavarus.

"I still must do this...

Stavarus... you alone know the key for unlocking the powers of the staff.

Tell me the word I must speak to break the seal upon it, so that I may use it."

Stavarus however looks suspiciously at Soul Reaver, his eyes reflecting the eerie red glow of the Warp.

"If I tell you the word to unlock the seal, how do I know that you will still allow me to use the Staff to strike the killing glow to the Warp Lord? I know you do not wish me to do so."

Stavarus' eyes narrow even more.

"If you wish me to tell you, you must swear upon your honour that once the Staff is unlocked to you, you must not use it in my stead to destroy the Warp Lord. I know you will not break your word.

Are we agreed?"

Soul Reaver breathes in deeply.

"Very well then. You have my word... I swear it upon my honour."

Stavarus gives a wan smile.

"Done."

Drawing close to Soul Reaver, he speaks the magical word into his ear. Soul Reaver nods, then holds the Staff out in front of him. One hand hovers over it as he very quietly and deliberatly whispers the word that will unseal the Staff for him and allow him to use it.

"Nihilliathas."

Almost immediately, the Staff seems to warm in his hand, a crackle of yellow power running over its intricate surface.

He looks sideways at his companions...

"So shall we begin?"