Editing BlazBlue:Calamity Trigger Part 2 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 2===

'''December 31, 2199 - 21:00'''

The Novus Orbis Librarium's Kagutsuchi branch is entered by crossing a bridge-shaped passage illuminated by pale lights, and passing through the front entrance located beyond. 

In front of the front entrance, barrier magic was set up to keep out outsiders, and its power was such that it would turn anyone unrelated to ashes in an instant. Therefore, in order to enter, even a soldier had to state their identity in front of it.

But for some reason, there were no guards on watch at the branch tonight, and the barrier magic had also disappeared. Even if one entered, there wasn't a single soldier to be found.

There was no damage to the front entrance door, and there was no sign that someone had forced it open and broken through. It wasn't attacked by anyone.

What showed this more than the disappeared barrier and the undamaged door was the inside of the branch. There were no scratches on the floor or walls. The furniture was in its usual position, and not a single tear was on the carpet or curtains. Even so, the inside of the branch was completely deserted.

No one was there. There wasn't even a faint murmur or a slight trace of human presence. Not even a single corpse.

If this abnormal situation was caused by an attack, how meticulous and obsessively persistent would the attacker be? It would be comically thorough to eliminate people from the branch and then disappear themselves.

But so what? Such a thing was trivial.

For Jin Kisaragi, who had infiltrated the branch with the intent to kill anyone who got in his way, the unexplained disappearance of the soldiers was of no concern. It was rather fortunate that troublesome things were taken care of without him knowing.

Now he could wait without worrying about anything.

He could fight without being disturbed by anything.

He could kill.

That man.

Going further into the entrance, the view opened up dazzlingly, and he came to a place called the sanctuary, a high ceilinged atrium. Circular passages stacked several floors high uniformly surrounded and faced a huge and solemn statue of a goddess.

The white, immaculate figure was radiant and beautiful, attracting the worship of many soldiers.

The entire area, including the sanctuary, never sank into darkness like the city at night. This was because countless magic circles deployed above the goddess statue constantly cast light in a white, divine color on the goddess statue and on each floor of the branch overlooked by the goddess.

The soft, veil-like light alone made the place look extremely divine... it must have dazzled many eyes.

Jin looked down at the space provided straight ahead from the entrance, where such light poured down from directly in front, from the top of a staircase one step up. 

The top of the stairs was in the shadow of a thick pillar, and the light-filled space viewed from there looked even more brilliant.

He was waiting for someone to appear in that light.

Red jacket, white hair, wielding a sword and carrying a grimoire around his neck, his eyes red on the right and green on the left. The one Jin waited an eternity for, who he could imagine in much finer detail than the NOL's ridiculous information network.

Ragna the Bloodedge.

It would be soon. A little later than him, he would appear here... yes, he should appear in that stage of light.

He was so impatient, so impatient for that moment.

Ah, look. Conveniently, there was no one in the branch, so there was no unnecessary noise. That's why he could hear it well.

The sound of a man's footsteps echoing from the entrance down the corridor, making the deserted branch feel eerie, walking towards here with large strides. 

How many more steps? Shall we count? Look, a little more, just a little more. He's getting closer. Six more steps and his toes will be visible. Four more steps and his whole body will be visible.

Two steps. One step.

There, he found him.

The eye-catching red jacket and pure white hair.

"Brother..." The moment he caught sight of that figure, a large tremor shook the depths of his body. Only the impulse from within his stomach seemed to leap out and slash. But no, that's not right. Because the one who would kill him...

"It's me!" He swayed forward, his heel clicking on the cold floor. The hard sound echoed, and Ragna turned around at that sound. 

At the same time, Jin kicked the floor and leapt down from the top of the stairs, drawing Yukianesa in his hand—




The memories of the dazzling sunlight are like a deeply thrust knife.

Jin doesn't remember much about his childhood.

He only remembered fragments of it, like an album with only parts of scenes cut out and arranged. Happy memories, kind memories... sad memories, scary memories. Painful memories, agonizing memories, bitter memories. None of which he really wanted to see, so he kept them securely in a box deep within his brain and locked it.

Even so, the memories insist from inside the box. They whisper not to his consciousness but to his unconsciousness, distorting his emotions as if running extra horizontal threads. 

Because they are lonely memories. Every single one of them, they were always lonely memories.

The high-pitched sound of a ''kaan'' was the sound of the wooden branches they clashed with, repelled by the force.

The branch he gripped in his hand was of a moderate length and moderate weight. It was something he found and picked up in the forest, and while it was in the hands of the still young boys, it was not just a branch but a famous sword.

On a fine noon, the sun warmly watched over the fruitful forest and the meadow that spread next to it, and the 'Church of the Ark' that stood there.

The space between the church and the forest was the perfect match field for the two boys living in the church. Once they finished their daily task of picking up firewood, they would take the special sword they found along the way and have a mock sword fight. They had never learned swordsmanship, so they imagined the many brave warriors and heroes that appeared in the many stories they heard from the sister, and acted like them.

Sometimes they were a hero who defeated a giant dragon with a magic sword, sometimes they were a knight who galloped through the battlefield fighting against a large army, sometimes they were a warrior who saved a country with his bravery, sometimes they were six heroes who fought through a giant monster to save the world.

But always, it was the older brother who ultimately won.

"Ugh!"

The vibration of the strongly repelled branch... or rather, his beloved sword, traveled through his arm, and Jin, who was still only ten years old or so at this time, staggered backward as if tripping. Before he could take even a few steps back, his feet got tangled, and he fell over.

The ground was a soft carpet of grass, so it didn't hurt much. Even so, while he rubbed his bottom that had hit the ground and pretended to be in pain, his brother hurriedly threw away his sword and rushed over, calling out "Brother."

Even though it was Jin who got carried away and forgot to control his strength, his brother would give a wry smile, saying "What are you falling down for?" and then reach out his hand to Jin, who was still flipped over.

"My foot got stuck." Happy at the hand and gaze directed straight at him, Jin tried to grab his brother's hand with a shy smile.

But at that moment...

"''Cough''... " 

A little distance away, a girl who had been sitting near the church, watching the match between his brother and Jin, suddenly hunched over and started coughing. 

"''Cough, cough''... haa, haa..." Shaking her chest and shrinking her small body, the girl hunched over as if holding down her chest.

His brother, who had turned back at the sound of the first cough, hurriedly ran towards the girl, noticing her abnormality.

"Saya! Are you okay?!"

His brother rushed to the girl, supporting her slender shoulders and rubbing her thin back. Not with the roughness he had when he repelled the wooden sword, but with a gentle touch, as if handling something very precious.

"''Cough''... it hurts... brother... ''cough cough''..."

"It's okay, breathe slowly. Here... breathe in... breathe out. That's right. I'll carry you to bed right away." Saying that, his brother easily picked up the girl's small body and went back into the church. Soon, the hurried voice of the sister could be heard from inside.

"Oh my, that's terrible. I was careless because her fever had gone down. Let her sleep in her room, Ragna. I'll get a towel and water right away."

"Yeah, I understand... Here, don't cry, Saya. It'll be okay. Me and the sister are here." The sound of the sister's footsteps rushing around busily. The sound of his brother's footsteps walking carefully to the children's room, being careful not to drop her.

Jin had been watching that scene all along. Jin had been listening to that sound all along. On the soft grassland, he had been sitting flipped over, listening all along.

After staying like that silently for a while, and eventually getting up without anyone's help, Jin returned to the church alone.

When he entered from the back door, the kitchen was right there. In the kitchen, the sister was making something warm. While he was peeking secretly from the shadows, the sister noticed Jin, perhaps hearing some sound, turned around and smiled at him, saying:

"Welcome back, Jin. Lunch will be ready soon, so can you call Ragna? I think he's with Saya."

"...Yeah." He didn't really want to go. But since the sister asked him, he couldn't refuse, so Jin nodded meekly and headed to the children's room.

The children's room was close by. So Jin quickly reached his destination, and secretly peeked inside through the gap in the half-open door. 

Warm light from outside was shining through the window with white curtains, and the room was bright. On the bed by the window, his sister was lying down with a blanket and comforter up to her shoulders. Beside her, his brother was sitting on a chair, watching over her.

"Don't worry, you'll get better soon. I'm here, so rest assured and get some sleep, okay?"

"Yeah... brother." 

A gentle voice and a spoiled voice.

His brother was stroking his sister's head. His sister narrowed her eyes happily at that hand, and smiled blissfully.

Jin looked at his own hand beyond the door. The hand that was reached out and was supposed to be held back and helped up… was cold.

It was cold.




The high-pitched ''kiin'' was the sound of clashing swords, repelled by the weak force. 

In Jin's hand was the ice sword, Yukianesa. Facing him was the man with the red jacket and white hair, Ragna, holding his beloved sword with its wide, thick blade. Orange sparks scattered between them as they clashed, mixing with the light pouring down from the high ceiling and disappearing.

Jin's slashing attacks, unleashed in quick succession, were one, two, three. Diagonally, diagonally, horizontally. Ragna's sword blocked and parried each of them, repelling them with a seemingly waning strength.

How long had they been repeating this exchange? From the very first blow, Jin, wielding his sword, shouted gleefully as he pressed towards Ragna, evaded the counterattacks, retreated again, and then rushed in again.

"Hahaha! What's wrong, brother? Come at me more seriously. Otherwise... it won't be fun!"

Ragna used his sword as a shield to withstand Jin's continuous slashes, which intended to cut him to pieces. Matching the last strike, he parried the sword and repelled it strongly, then retreated to create distance. He couldn't keep taking those attacks endlessly.

"Jin... you'd better stop messing around!" Ragna roared, his body trembling with anger. Closing the distance with a growl and a light leap, Ragna swung his sword high and brought it down towards Jin with all his might. 

Even the sound of it cutting through the air was violent. If he took it head-on, his arm would be numbed.

Jin evaded the heavy slash with minimal movement. But he was too close. The wind pressure shook his golden hair along with his head, causing a slight dizziness. Despite this, he kicked high towards Ragna's head.

Ragna's head was also shaken greatly by the tip of the colliding boot, and Ragna and Jin both staggered back a few steps, holding their heads.

"Tch... kuku... it hurts. I'm dizzy even though it didn't hit... You really are amazing, brother." While shaking his head to clear his blurred vision, Jin moved his shoulder as if shaking it off, letting out a twisted laugh. Ragna, also shaking his head to regain his senses, glared at him.

"Don't laugh, you bastard." The voice he spat out was hot, as if it was about to burn from inside his stomach. He thought that if it did burn, he would just burn him to death as he was. While tightly gripping his sword, he left it to his instincts.

The root of Ragna's loss was his younger brother in front of him, wearing blue and white clothes and laughing. The madness that befell this man had distorted everything.

But Ragna's anger didn't reach him at all, and Jin laughed as innocently as ever.

The root of Jin's establishment was his older brother in front of him, wearing red and black clothes and raging. Only this man's existence gave everything to Jin.

"Ah, it's fun, brother... let's play more... let's kill each other more! Here, no one can disturb us... no one is here! Brother is my only brother! Only mine...!" Jin's scream, tearing his throat, had a terrible sound of madness. "Haha... that's right, my only brother... That's why I'll kill you, kill you, kill you... I'm the only one who can kill you, brother!!"

The disturbingly chaotic voice, no matter how many times it was repeated, only sounded to Ragna's ears like the sad ramblings of his crazed younger brother. He only became more and more angry, thinking that this madness had destroyed everything.

"Quit acting like a childish brat! Stop spouting nonsense and just drop dead already!" 

Jin jumped in, kicked with his knee, and then desperately swung his sword at Ragna. Glaring down at Jin from a slightly higher position, Ragna angrily swung his sword.

"Tch!" The shock that ran through his body made Jin's arm numb. At that moment, Jin's face twisted into an insane grimace... yet, for some reason, it also seemed to hold a hint of a joyful smile.

In an instant, the scenery of the past flashed through Ragna's mind. He thought he heard his brother's voice, calling him sweetly.

"This..."

Hateful. Hateful. Hatred ran through Ragna's body. He hadn't forgotten the pain and despair when he was stabbed by his brother's sword, lying next to the burning church.

It was foul play to make such a brotherly face.

"You idiot!!"

Instead of swinging the sword he'd pulled back with all his might, Ragna dropped it. In its place, Ragna slammed his fist into Jin's stomach. A large amount of air escaped from Jin's throat with a dull impact. The force probably reached his bones. Ragna felt something hard break along with the flesh in his fist. He then struck Jin's face with the same arm, sending him flying.

"Gah!" Jin let out a crushed scream, his body flying away. He was violently slammed against the mirror-like polished corridor of the NOL's branch, bouncing twice before collapsing onto the floor. The impact caused Yukianesa to leave Jin's hand and roll to Ragna's feet.

"Gu... hah... geh..." The fallen Jin coughed distortedly. He was trying to get up, supporting himself with his arms. Beyond his disheveled golden hair, his green eyes were wide open with manic glee, staring at Ragna.

"S-still... not... not going to kill... me... I... have to... kill... you, brother..." He said breathlessly, putting his hand on the wall and dragging himself up. Leaning his back against the wall, Jin somehow managed to stand, and he wore a smile on his face, which was cut and covered in blood.

"Brother... I've always wanted to see you... I've been searching all this time." 

If these words weren't heard in this place... with this expression, with this tone of voice, Ragna might have felt different emotions. But even at this point, the deranged aura from Jin's face didn't disappear, and his voice trembled with a small, cackling laugh.

"All this time... I've wanted... to kill you. Again, again and again, I'll kill you, kill you... Only I can liberate you, brother..." Jin spoke somewhat ecstatically and somewhat in agony. Even though he hadn't received any slashes, there was no doubt that he couldn't even breathe properly. The breath he inhaled trying to laugh didn't circulate well, and Jin coughed violently, spitting blood from his mouth.

Even so, Jin took a step forward, trying to approach him. As if to stop him, Ragna quickly walked towards Jin.

"Liberate me from what?" Ragna's voice was sharp with irritation. He felt like they'd had this kind of exchange before. In the same place, in the same way. What was this feeling? What was this emotion that remained somewhere in his head?

It was irritating. Perhaps he didn't understand anything. Perhaps he was just venting his anger on what was in front of him without understanding anything.

Following his instincts, Ragna grabbed Jin's swaying collar. Roughly pulling him closer, he forcefully slammed his forehead against his brother's forehead.

"Don't get cocky, you damn brat!"

"Ugh..." The sound of bones colliding shook Jin's consciousness greatly and made him dizzy.

Jin's green eyes, which had been fixed on Ragna until then, even while contorting in pain, became dark and clouded. His body lost its strength as if collapsing, and he fell to the ground when Ragna released him.

Ragna stared down at Jin, who was like a puppet with its strings cut, for a while. He could kill him now. He could stop his breath. Just like Jin had done to him once in the church, he could just stab him once in the back. He could even cut off his head.

Even if his head and body were connected, this brother would not experience the same hatred and sense of loss that Ragna had experienced. He wouldn't yearn for those days and lament that he wanted to protect them. He might not even regain his sanity and feel the slightest regret.

But... for some reason he hesitated.

''(...Hey, Sister.)''

Ragna kicked the Yukianesa that was rolling around, sending it far away. The forceful gesture was clearly an act of anger.

''(What should I do? What would you do...)''

Remembering the Sister who always strictly told him to always get along with his brothers, he picked up his own sword this time.

''(What would you do...)''

Ragna looked at Jin once more.

If he killed Jin here, the Sister would be angry. That person had a strange fixation on what a brother should be.

"...How ridiculous." It was ridiculous to think about it. "If you want to play, come again."

If he wasn't in such a hurry, he might have been able to give him a proper fight. With that thought in mind, Ragna returned his sword to his waist and left Jin there, heading for the stairs further back. Deep into the underground of the branch, to head to the cauldron.

Jin heard the sound of Ragna's footsteps moving away,  his consciousness already fading and disappearing.

''(No... Brother, don't go.)''

Something instinctive whispered to him that he had to stop him. He must not go. Otherwise, everything would be the same as before.

''(Before? Before what... when...?)''

His thoughts sank. He couldn't understand anything anymore.

In the darkness of his falling consciousness, Jin muttered.

''(Your hands are cold... brother.)''

Just like that, Jin lost all his strength on the cold floor.