With My Dying Breath I Summon You
It's been a long, hard journey. Our heroes have fought through hordes of monsters and mooks. They've finally reached the enemy fortress, and it's time to take out the Big Bad before he can release the Sealed Evil in a Can! But wait, what's this? As they strike him down, with his dying breath he manages to finish the incantation! Watch out heroes, the Sealed Evil lives again!
This trope thrives in stories where the entire plot has revolved around reviving some ancient evil, and the summoner is at the very end of the journey. This summoner dies, but shouts the trope name (or something similar to it), and the Ancient Evil springs to life so the heroes can crush it forever. It's often used as a ticket to a great climactic Final Boss, when a development team is unable to reach a more fluid transition. Also avoids a very anticlimactic conclusion; how wimpy the ending would be if the heroes reached the end after hearing so much about the Sealed Evil, fought the summoner, and never fought the real villain!
As a Death Trope, Spoilers ahead may be unmarked. Beware.
Film
- In the first Hellboy movie, Rasputin summons the Ogdru Jahad this way - if it wasn't a case of Ogdru Jahad simply being released by Rasputin's death, in which case Nice Job Breaking It, Hero.
- Khan did this Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan before activating the Genesis device. It's not technically a summoning, but it follows pretty much the same form.
Literature
- A dwarf, betrayed, abandoned, and left to die does this in Thud!! Fortunately for Sam Vimes, he harbors an even more powerful entity than the Summoning Dark.
Video Games
- Shining Force revolves around the story of Darksol, an evil sorcerer, trying to revive Dark Dragon to take over the world. The heroes fight him in Dark Dragon's lair, and as he's about to die, Darksol shouts the trope namer and Dark Dragon is brought to life as the Final Boss.
- The King of Fighters '97. The plot revolves around three young adults trying to revive Orochi of Japanese folklore since their leader was defeated in the last game (KOF '96). After you defeat the 3 characters, it is discovered that one of the characters is in fact the vessel that Orochi is being summoned through and with their final strength, the remaining two give their energy and their lives to the character so that he transforms. Thus the final boss battle begins.
- In Silent Hill 3, in the final confrontation against Dahlia Gillespie, Dahlia takes the fetus that Heather rejected... and eats it herself, killing her in the process but summoning the demon god for the final battle.
- In Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, if following the Light Side, Jaden has to fight against Tavion, the leader of the Disciples of Ragnos who are trying to resurrect the old Sith Lord. When she loses to Jaden, she leaps on top of the statue of Ragnos, thrusts in his reviving scepter, and then gives up her body so he can possess it and get revenge.
- In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, at the end of a linked game, You fight Koume and Kotake before they can sacrifice Zelda to revive Ganon. So, they sacrifice themselves instead, and Ganon comes back without his mind.
- Halfway through Shadow Hearts Dehuai attempts to do this after his defeat, only to fail as the last bit of his energy isn't quite enough. Then Roger Bacon pops in and finishes the ritual in his stead.
- Barlowe does this to revive Dracula in Castlevania: Order Of Ecclesia.