I thought Taiso would appreciate this post, something from another forum where we're also talkin bout 'Vania ('tis the season) and the 1999 Julius Battle:
personally I envision the final act taking place in a Castlevania that has left Earth entirely after Dracula uses a thousand years of chaotic magic he has been storing to reshape it into a giant stone dragon, sending it into the sea of stars to speed unerringly towards the sun, whose role as giver of life and surrogate of God makes it the ultimate target of his desire to end the suffering and injustice of humanity by destroying them forever. He sends it towards the eclipse, hoping to seize the very real power of the Moon, which governs madness, inspires fear of the unknown in humanity and stands as the greatest loss of the Earth, having been torn away and rendered lifeless by the cruel and implacable whims of the cosmos. With this shield of lunacy around him, his great draconic armor would become a true threat to the Sun as it grows impossibly larger and more powerful, it's talons bearing the full enmity that destruction feels for creation.
Julius and his remaining allies would be left to fight as best they can towards the head of the monstrous beast, where Dracula's throne now lies. Only the last Belmont himself would be able to fight off the oppressive effects of the overpowering evil and supreme thirst for entropy that permeates the final set of levels. The player would proceed through 4-5 more sections of the castle and several more difficult bosses, before finally entering the head of the dragon, where a large coliseum-like room would be revealed by hundreds of candles lit against the looming eclipse. In this huge chamber, Julius would fight a long, grueling final duel with Mathias Cronqvist as the dozens of incarnations the latter has previously taken (Dracula and otherwise) sit in thrones atop balconies arranged around the room.
(proper teleport and fire-flinging battles happen multiple times earlier in the game)
Finally, Julius would stand triumphant over the beaten and lamenting Mathias, the many phantoms in the background having faded away in attempts to keep Mathias at full strength. Julius' companions would catch up to him and urge him to strike the final blow, ending the threat of Dracula once again and forcing the dark count to return to his state of un-life in the Abyss. But Julius hesitates, reflecting upon the memories of his ancestors that he was forced to relive in order to inherit their powers. He feels the weight of destiny upon him, and sees how the same has left Dracula a tired, joyless creature with no hope of escaping the constant cycle of chaos, the endless rebirth, living death and eternal destruction. Thinking of how much he himself and his friends and family have lost, realizing the futility of such anger and hatred against someone who longer remembers what it is to truly feel human, he falls upon his knees, lays his hands upon Mathias and forgives his fated enemy for all that he has done.
Shocked and confused, the dying Mathias wonders how he can be forgiven by someone whose entire life was dedicated to fighting and destroying the evil he had created. He realizes that while he cannot truly renounce his hatred of God, it was an injustice equal to God's lack of mercy for Dracula to judge all humanity in such a matter, for life - brief and painful as it is - can learn and grow in ways the emotionless universe never can, surpassing the simple concepts of good and evil, order and chaos. Humbled and truly remorseful, he uses his remaining power to move Castlevania out of the path of the moon and open a path back to Earth. He is too weak, however, to stop the dragon's flight, and as he forsakes the power of chaos before the light of the sun, he begins to suffer a final death.
His eyes lose focus and his voice grows faint. "Elizabeth....no, Lisa...is that you? One and the same....after death, a new birth..."
Mathias Cronqvist dies. The reign of the son of the dragon has ended.
But Julius and his companions have little time to think upon his final words. Castlevania is still heading towards the sun, and their window of escape is closing fast. They know that even if Mathias has found peace, the power that is Dracula - the heir to chaos and the will for destruction - will find a new host as soon as possible. The unknown nature of this host could give rise to a new age of terror should they be more vicious and cruel than Mathias, unleashing the whole of their power upon the world. A ritual was started on Earth to seal Castlevania away by any means possible, and in this brief moment there is a chance to place it where few can reach it - between the sun and the moon, within the eclipse itself. Julius realizes that the vow of his clan to hunt the night is just as much a part of the cycle as the castle itself, and he uses the Vampire Killer to give power to the ritual, knowing that to do so will strip him of his very identity.
Finally, the ritual is complete, and the heroes manage to return to Earth with little time to spare. The player shares their view as their forms are borne magically away from the castle and towards home, and they see Castlevania slowly crumble and fade away to reveal the burning light of the sun.
In the end, the survivors of the ordeal are left standing on a cliff near where the Demon Castle War begun, exhausted from all they have been through. Julius struggles to hold onto his memories, but they fade as the eclipse passes at last. He finds himself confused, surrounded by unfamiliar but grateful faces. He does not know who he is, yet his future is assured. It is a new beginning.
{roll credits}
Some distance away, one small and inconsequential scene plays out. A Christian minister and his pregnant wife have been traveling through rural Europe when she begins to go into labor. Fearing for the life of the baby, they are relieved to find that a village they are passing through has modern and capable midwives. After the child is boy safely and healthy, the pastor gives thanks to god and offers his eternal gratitude to the villagers who take his family in until they can travel again. Realizing he has forgotten to take note of the name of the town in the midst of the emergency, he inquires as to where he now is. As a sign of respect to the kindness of the strangers, the boy is named Graham....
....
....anyway, that's all a bit more elaborate than the idea you had, Sniper. But keeping it simple and classic is pretty cool too.
also, I could've sworn there was some point in a game script or documentation where Simon Belmont was specifically referred to as the greatest/most awesome Belmont (not counting how Juilus Belmont is basically a super-hero). Can't figure out where that is now, if it exists. I had an idea going where Julius would finally collapse as he enters the second-to-last part of the final area (space dragon Castlevania), unable to push himself any further. As he begins to fade into unconsciousness, a voice would speak to him from the Vampire Killer, telling him that he has earned a moment of rest and that another would carry him for a while. His body would then be replaced by Simon, who reveals that he is called "the greatest Belmont" not just for his achievements but because he underwent a ritual to have his life sealed into the Vampire Killer, saving his power for when his descendants are in greatest crisis rather than living out a long and full life as he is due (yeah, it's kind of a dick thing for him to do to his wife/children). "Theme of Simon" would then come in full force as you use him to kick ass and take names until the penultimate boss fight (Death). Oh well, it's pretty obviously a moot issue.