Editing BlazBlue:Phase Shift 3 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 5===
Walking down the stairs she had found, Celica soon discovered they led to an old subway station.

There were still vestiges of the station platform, long decayed — except for the train tracks, which were well-preserved.


She could only think about how this place used to be: thriving with people. The thought brought an eerie sadness to her mind.

Meanwhile, no light from the surface would reach them.


Nine had a white light glowing from her hand to illuminate the front, while she walked with Hakumen; Celica was between them both.

In the middle was Trinity, who conjured an orange light to light their surroundings. Jubei, Suzukaka, and Totokaka went behind Nine; and Terumi behind Trinity. Valkenhayn stayed far behind.

The tracks were unbroken and almost spotless. With a little repair, they could be used right away. Here and there, were scorched remnants of human life from only a few years ago, now extinct.

Before they could even pass the arch in the underground passageway, everyone noticed something unusual.


Jubei was the first to speak up.

— “There’s no seithr here at all…!”

The rubble-covered surface was unusually pure, with little seithr — the subway wasn’t empty of it, but somehow had even less than on the surface.

Meanwhile, Suzukaka spun around in place with Totokaka on her head.

— “It’s real thin with that… it’s kinda creepy.”

The Kaka always lived directly exposed to seithr, so they were not used to this chilly feeling.


With her light floating over her head, Trinity put up her hands like dishes and summoned a small magic circle above her. The sigil rotated loosely in response to the surrounding seithr, like a measuring instrument.

— “The deeper we go, the weaker it gets… maybe there’s something neutralizing it?”

Other than Celica?

Celica herself, Nirvana and the Kaka girls were the only ones able to think of that question — but no one had a good answer.

Countless footsteps turned a gentle curve, traveling further down the rail tracks.


Before they could go any further, there was a gaping hole in the road, and it did not look like a train tunnel.

The track continued to curve in the wrong direction, with no other tracks in the “tunnel”. There were no concrete or brick pavements; it looked more like an uneven side-road built to dig out something in the depths.

— “Here…” Celica widened her eyes, looking into the tunnel.

She saw something like a hollow room in the back. The air from there was pure, even relaxing, with no traces of seithr in the air. It was so pure, she wondered if this was how the world breathed before the Black Beast came.


— “Can I go in there?” Celica asked.

— “Of course.” Hakumen answered with a nod, “it’s what we’re here for.”

— “Time out! TIME OUT!!” — Just as the crew started walking in the direction of the clear air, Terumi interrupted them in a panic. “Sorry… I’m gonna stay here and wait. Just bear with me a bit. Damn, I’m beat…!” Terumi grimaced and slowly backed away, while Nine looked on with suspicion.

— “Are you trying to set me up?” Nine spat at him.

— “I don’t joke about this shit. I mean it!” Terumi answered, sighing out.


He shook his head with a bitter expression. Before Terumi knew it, a bead of sweat was on his neck. Trinity noticed this, and her face grew pale.

— “He looks really sick…” Trinity said, “Nine! I’ll watch him!”

— “Yeah, yeah.” Terumi huffed out, “You can go on without me. I need some rest.” He waved Nine away, then sat back on the ground, resting against the subway wall. — “I’m serious… I’m gonna stay put.”

Nine could not take Terumi seriously, seeing him so suddenly leaned against the wall. She didn't believe that was he was in poor health — but there was no point in thinking about his condition then.

— “Okay, then. Stay right where you are.”

— “Got it, boss…” Terumi weakly waved Nine and Hakumen away.

Still looking at them suspiciously, Jubei and Valkenhayn followed, with Suzukaka and Totokaka behind. Finally, the concerned Trinity and Celica stepped into the hole, feeling like they were being pulled back.

— “If anything happens, call me right away, Mr. Terumi!” Celica waved in the air as she left, but Terumi did not respond while everyone disappeared into the back.

Then Terumi bent over and spat out all the tea he had drunk along the way.


The side passage was short; it wasn't long before the crew reached the end.

At the end of the dark, uneven pass was a breathtakingly tall, spacious hall in a slightly crooked circular shape. Straight walls led upward to what most drew everyone's eyes: while the floor, walls, and ceiling were all bare dirt, the ceiling had been carved into a domed shape, studded with sparkling pale blue lights.


— “So pretty…!” Celica spoke first, utterly enchanted by the sight; like a starry sky.

— Anyone looking closer could see the light came from small crystals protruding from the soil. But that didn't deter the wonder that came from this hall, a spectacle that could touch into the soul.

— “What is this?” Valkenhayn gasped, more stunned than amazed.

— “It’s gorgeous!”


While on Suzukaka's shoulders, Totokaka looked up and opened her mouth in awe.

Trinity also conjured a small measuring circle from her palm; the circle had a weak response.

— “There’s almost no seithr here. I don’t think I’ve been anywhere this clean — not even in Ishana!”

— “Is it that light…?” Jubei asked.

— “Pretty sure it is.” Nine answered, “that light… might have the same power as Celica.”

The power to neutralize seithr.

— “Is this what you were looking for, Lord Hakumen…?” Valkenhayn asked, but instead of answering, Hakumen looked on at the ceiling.


The lights of the crystals began glowing and dimming in a rhythm; expanding and contracting, like they were breathing. In response to those “breaths”, Celica became enveloped in a pale light.

— “Huh…? What’s going on?”

While Nine immediately braced herself, Nirvana showed no reaction. She seemed to know this was not harmful to Celica.

The light surrounding Celica slowly synchronized to the rhythm of the lights on the ceiling, breathing in the same cadence. She looked at her own hands wide-eyed, while the light covered her body down to the fingertips. It made her feel at ease.


— “Hakumen, what’s going on?” Nine stepped closer, asking impatiently. “What’s that light doing?”

— “It’s… an antibody.”

— “Antibody?” Celica said, tilting her head while still wreathed in light.

— “This power was created by the planet, to counter the seithr eroding it… just like yours, Celica A. Mercury.” Hakumen explained, turning towards the glowing Celica. — “This entire planet has the same power as you do, naturally.” — He sounded unusually distant and soft-spoken. It wasn’t a tone anyone would expect from Hakumen. — “It’s called… the Power of Order.”


Even if no one else understood what Hakumen meant, he said it with so much conviction behind his expressionless mask that they still found it intriguing. It was how the lights on the ceiling resonated and synchronized with Celica.


And then…

From the end of the railroad tracks, footsteps approached with enough force to suck the air out of the place. It was one from the Kaka Clan, who’d followed their scent and trail.


— “'''LORD MITSUYOSHI!!'''”

Covered in dust, she rushed into the crystalline hall, stopping right in front of Jubei. She soon raised her face with an impatient look, rare among the Kaka Clan.

— “It’s an emergency! The OLN... and the Ten Sages of Ishana… are planning a secret operation!”

— “The Ten Sages…” Soon, it dawned on Jubei. “Oh, no! ''Seven and Eight!''”

— “What’s going on?” Nine stepped closer and asked.


Seeing the sharp look on Nine’s face, the Kaka liaison’s tail twitched briefly. But she immediately spoke up, flapping her hands at Jubei.

— “I heard they moved a brickload of refugees somewhere… tens of thousands of them!”

— “Understood. We’ll look into this hall another day. Right, Hakumen?” Jubei nodded sternly and turned to Hakumen.


Hakumen then took one look at Celica, who was still bathed in light; he nodded with urgency and followed Jubei out.