BlazBlue:Phase 0 Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Promised Azure

Part 1

Deep underground, the Cauldron with its mouth opened had its somewhat cool heat went upward. Presently, an unexpectedly solemn mood enveloped it.

Even if the illuminations from the connected metals the people had especially made weren't turned on, the overwhelming red flame was enough to get a good view.

Just how deep was the Sheol Gate burrowed within it?

With the flame being projected around the vicinity of his vision, Ragna stopped the feet that had been slowly moving forward.

He looked around. Looking for the owner of the voice from before.

He knew whose voice it was. A sweet voice with youth and bewitchment mixed in.

"You're here, right...? Rachel!"

Ragna's voice vanished as it was absorbed by the tall ceilings. An existence that had surpassed mankind was looking down from somewhere, probably digging up for some entertainment.

As the air flowed, a sweet aroma tickled Ragna's nose. It was the fragrance of rose.

Ragna looked over his shoulder with his mouth distorted. His sharp canines stood out like bare fangs.

"There, huh. Don't look down on people."

On a part of bare bedrock with the wallboards peeled off, as if she was sitting, she had her small legs crossed. A young girl clad in black dress was floating.

"It has been a long time."

With an innocent voice, she smiled. The young girl was surrounded by winds that had rose fragrance. Then she elegantly stood up.

The Cauldron's illumination, enriched with bright red light, carved a shadow from the young girl's ribbons. The silhouette looked like a rabbit.

Ragna felt that something was out of place in her appearance.

2106 AD. The Rachel Alucard in this period should still be a child and hadn't got acquainted with Ragna yet. But young appearance or not, did she have an unusual know-it-all airs like the Rachel Alucard who stood before Ragna now had?

"Fufu," said her as fingertip touched the small lips. Rachel had revealed a grown up laughter that felt inappropriate.

"You are such a fool. Where do you think we are? ...We are currently near the Boundary."

With just that, she spoke as if it contained all the reasons for it. But surely it wasn't convincing enough for him.

This location was closer to the Boundary compared to any other places.

As if dragging out Ragna's lost memories, Rachel's existence must have made all information he had obtained flowing into him again.

Basically, the 'Rachel' Ragna confronted right now was the 'Rachel' from his period. She was the same as the one in the information which his memories carried.

"What kind of business bothered you to call me? You know this already, but I'm kinda busy right now."

"Of course. I'm confident that it's about Kushinada's Lynchpin. The mankind in this era certainly makes something intriguing."

"You saw everything, huh?"

She probably watched the arguing when Shuuichirou Ayatsuki passed away and the encounter with Hakumen before it. It didn't feel too nice being constantly monitored from somewhere.

"Good timing. Since you're the Rachel Alucard I know, I got something for you to hear."

Her bright red eyes urged him to proceed.

"During the Dark War, there should be a time when Black Beast didn't appear for about a year."

If Ragna's knowledge wasn't wrong, it was in 2107 AD. Just in a year, humanity had been given a recess.

"Was that... the Kushinada's Lynchpin's doing?"

Carefully, Ragna deliberately examined Rachel's facial expression.

The elegant little girl swiped her bangs with her fingers and looked at a distance. It was difficult to look for her real motive and intention from her plain, expressionless face.

"I wonder that myself."

"Anyhow, you know it, ain't you? Don't be such a stuck-up."

Unable to hide his irritation, Ragna drew closer. At that, Rachel's young eyes looked at him as she smiled.

"You are surprisingly desperate about it. What could be the reason?"

"Huh? I'm not talking about that right now."

"Do you feel bothered regarding the child that's about to become a sacrifice of the lynchpin? What a devotion."

Rachel's tone of voice which contained amazement had tiny thorns like what a rose had.

Ragna drew his eyebrows close. Her mocking attitude ticked his irritation.

"I said, it doesn't matter now!"

"Naturally, you should not exist in this period. Even without you doing anything, this period will turn the history by its choices."

As If pouring cold water to the impatient Ragna, Rachel coldly told him. Her overseeing red pupils that were looking up at him made Ragna took a deep breath as he reflexively extinguished his vigor.

"...And yet, are you still denying it?"

The whisper penetrated the gap within his heart like it was nothing.

It was as if her eyes were testing him.

Ragna held his breath for a moment. He stared at the young vampire, challenging her.

"What can I do?"

There should be something. He recalled Clavis' words.

There must be a duty he had to accomplish in this period, guided by fate. It wasn't to feign romanticism, but he couldn't help thinking that those words were a truth which couldn't be mistaken.

And if the duty really existed... he felt that it would be now.

He wanted it to be now.

Dropping her cynical gaze from that sort of Ragna, Rachel slowly had her feet hovered from the ground. She then nimbly approached the Cauldron.

"First, I will show you the possibility."

With the floating tiptoes facing the Boundary, Rachel stood as if she was a needle of a clock. She held her small hand above the swirling lava complexion and looked down on it silently.

"This is the year of 2106 AD, the period which will be called as the Dark War by the life to come. It was the era when humanity had to confront a downfall crisis since Black Beast had appeared from the Boundary."

Rachel's fingertip moved smoothly as if she was tracing something.

"Thus the time flowed, and it became 2200 AD, the time when you lived in. The Black Beast had been felled in the past, and it became the period when people were safe and prospering."

The black dress fluttered above the Cauldron. Rachel turned around to face Ragna.

Either the soaring magic or the wind she had manipulated made the golden hair and big ribbons swayed.

"This is the tale of the beginning, Phase 0. No one is able to intervene with this tale. ...But for one thing, it is an exception for the existence that had slipped in. As an indispensable existence in this period, if that outsider comes into a contact with the Black Beast, what do you think will happen?"

When that kind of situation really happened, what would occur? Nobody knew. Of course, so was Rachel.

Therefore, it was not an answer. It was no more than a possibility.

"You are not a person of this period. Therefore, it is fine for you to remain a spectator while the history is being drawn. You know that your intervention is unnecessary, yet you can still challenge it. ...The choice is yours to choose. However... please remember well the time when you received that sword."

While listening to Rachel's words, Ragna moved his glance around him, as if pulling something to himself. What he was staring was the direction of the dark, solid bedrock. What couldn't be seen from here was the hidden room where a lynchpin slept in.

What was there was the figure of a girl. It floated within his mind.

A girl who had never doubted people, and never considering about the consequences. She helped a suspicious person who was collapsed and dying. She helped the wild animals which were attacked by him.

She said that she was searching for her father. She confidently bragged about her family members.

Indeed, it didn't mean that the family members' humanity wasn't questionable, but he felt that they were a great family.

To unhesitatingly call that family as her family with affection, he felt jealous about it.

"Aah, that's right."

Returning his gaze from the hidden room back to Rachel who was above the Cauldron, Ragna curled his lips into a fearless smile.

"No need to choose. You knew it even if I didn't say it, you wicked rabbit."

"As usual, your etiquette is unbecoming."

Retorting back with sarcasm thrown, Rachel dropped her gaze once again. The expression that floated on her for an instant resembled a pouting child displaying her disappointment.

As Ragna had said, she knew it from the beginning. And then...

"...And then I will only observe as always."

She dropped a faint murmur.

The choice that Ragna would choose when thinking about that single girl. Although she knew it without needing to hear it, it didn't feel interesting for a bit.

But she wasn't childish enough to be unhappy. Rachel had enigmatic light within her red pupils again. Slowly, her chin rose.

"...It seems I can't stay for too long. It will arrive soon."

Like descending from a stage, Rachel got down from above the Cauldron to in front of Ragna.

The impression from the manner of her words made Ragna lowered his eyebrows.

"Arrive? What will?"

"It will be clear before long."

With a graceful smile was carved on the red lips, Rachel once again kicked the floor. Like flower petals dancing in the wind, she soared. She floated to the same place where she was in the beginning and looked down on Ragna.

"...Until the end, please do well to keep me entertained while I'm at my own place."

Shaking the halted time, a wind carrying rose fragrance danced. Taking along the fragrance that induced dizziness, the little figure of Rachel disappeared.

Part 2

From the warm tea Trinity brewed, slight, thin white steam rose.

After she drank the tea that was poured into a small cup by half, Celica raised her hips after it had been sitting on the cold floor. She put the cup down.

Ahead of where her feet were facing was Kushinada's Lynchpin. On its cold, silver body there were green patterns engraved on it. Her palm touched and stroked it gently.

Near a wall bit away from her, Nine, who was still reluctant to drink her tea, quickly got on her feet.

"You know."

The agitated Mitsuyoshi had desired to activate the lynchpin right away. Toward the older sister who held back him back, calmly began to talk.

"I love Onee-chan very much. ...I can't talk to him anymore, but I also love Father. Also to Mitsuyoshi-san and Trinity. Not to forget everyone in the Magic Guild and the neighbors who had helped me in the past. ...Ragna, too. I love them all."

Putting the affections from the bottom of her heart, Celica talked as if she was speaking to the lynchpin. As her other hand accompanying the previous hand, her eyebrows drew close together.

"Not only humans. Also to the house where I live together with Onee-chan and the cake shop where I sometimes go out for a tea there. Even if it's no longer a country, Japan is a special place. The seashore promenade where I talked together with Ragna was also a pretty place. The sky and the sea, too. I also love the trees, grass, and flowers very much. Even for the stray dogs which were living inside the forest with their might, I'd surely love them if we had been together."

What Celica was trying to say was somehow conveyed to Nine, Mitsuyoshi, and Trinity.

For Nine, her speech made her very unhappy. But she couldn't figure out a good way to interrupt Celica's voice that was really gentle.

As if humming a love song, Celica continued.

"As I thought, I don't want to get anyone hurt. I don't want everything that I love get wounded even if it's only one of them. If I have a way that I can do to at least save many lives... I want to do it."

"Do you realize what you're saying?!"

Once it became unbearable, Nine spoke to shake it off.

"Once you become a part of that lump of metal, you'll be alone forever within the Boundary which has no one there. However, your consciousness won't cease. With that condition, you will endlessly continue to feel your life being shaved away...!"

Even that was nothing but a guess. Nobody had done experimentation or anything resembling it. There might be a pain. It might be unbelievably painful. But when that time came, it would be completely impossible to stop it midway in order to free her.

"Once you assimilated with the lynchpin, you cannot return to your original form again. You will cease to be a human being. Come on, do you really understand it!?"

"I think I do."

Nine's desperation was futile as Celica easily nodded.

And then a bit of sadness clouded her eyes.

"...I'm sorry, Onee-chan. I'm sure Onee-chan is really sad."

"Of course I am..."

Nine's voice flickered. "How could this happen..." said Nine as her lament resounded.

Presently, Nine's heart was drowning in regret. If only she didn't get moved by her younger sister's disobedience and bring her over to the First District, something like Kushinada's Lynchpin wouldn't be noticed by anyone's eyes. No matter what happened, it wouldn't be noticed by Celica's eyes.

She would have been relieved even if she had to bring her back forcibly.

With her skirt's hem waved, Celica turned around. Leaning her back to the lynchpin, she faced her older sister. Her expression was a mess, she seemed to be laughing and crying at the same time.

"It's not that I'm not scared. While I'm hanging on, people around the world will get a full sleep and eat plenty of meals. I think it'll be good if everyone can have a lot of discussion and do their best together. ...If that's the case, even the Black Beast will surely be defeated."

It wasn't a prayer or a wish. Celica believed it.

If she could help to reach it, then it would be wonderful for Celica.

"That's why I want to activate Kushinada's Lynchpin."

"'———I did think you'll say something like that."

Immediately after Celica nodded to ensure herself, as if brushing away her words, an amazed sigh came at the same time with the voice.

Celica turned her face. She discovered Ragna at the room's entrance as he got back unnoticed. Her face became a bit awkward.

"If only you came back just a little later, I might have finished talking..."

"What? You can't finish it if I'm here?"

"That's not it. But if Ragna's nearby... My determination will grow dull."

As she complained by sighing, Celica revealed her real motive.

"You're surprisingly not that resolved, ain't you?"

"Ahaha. It will be lonely when I can't be together with Ragna."

Ragna's cheeks spontaneously slackened.

No matter how many times Celica thought about it, she herself must be troubled about the hard decision. An emotion welled up within Ragna's existence because she looked like a helplessly naïve girl.

Ragna walked to where Celica was.

While he was on his way, he pushed the listlessly standing Nine's shoulder, entrusting the girl with her head hung to Trinity.

As expected, the gigantic lynchpin looked quite majestic by looking at the proximity. With that sort of magnificent design, the atmosphere it put on was overwhelming. For that very reason, he couldn’t be certain if it was really created by the hands of man.

"Sorry for the determination you've built up, but it's already no use to talk about Kushinada's Lynchpin."

While looking up at the lynchpin, Ragna spoke like it was nothing.

Since his tone was too light, Celica couldn't comprehend what he said right away.

"Huh...? Eh, wait, what? What do you mean?"

"Like I said, it's no use to talk about stopping Black Beast using this stuff. And isn't it weird? Let's say you become a sacrifice and protect the world for the sake of people valuable to you. But on the other hand, will that really be a happy world for the people you feel important?"

Since the people she protected wouldn't actually be delighted with the peace, would it be meaningless? At the very least, Nine wouldn't welcome a future without Celica. With Celica already gone, perhaps peace wouldn't ever visit her.

Besides, at any rate, Celica wanted to smile in relief seeing the world she loved so much being peaceful.

Ragna began to speak as natural as possible.

"There's another way to stop the Black Beast. And we don't have to use Kushinada's Lynchpin."

"What's wrong all of a sudden? You found something outside?"

"Nah. ...I just remembered."

Ragna dodged the question from the dumbfounded Celica by scratching his head. He had found a way from his lost memory by chance. Since it was going to be complicated talking about his conversation with Rachel that was in front of the Cauldron, he wanted to leave it behind if he could.

"What's the other way?"

It seemed Celica was still not fully satisfied. With an examining gaze, she looked up at Ragna while she asked him.

"Aah... I can't tell too much of the details. Anyway, I just have to get close to the Black Beast."

He had no idea about what he should do specifically.

Just by being directly near the Black Beast, some kind of phenomenon should occur. After all, like the Black Beast, the Ragna in this period was an existence that had come from the Boundary.

But since his words were ambiguous, the anxious Celica looked up at him with her eyebrows raised up in a miserable look.

"Does that mean Ragna will become a sacrifice on my behalf?"

"Not like that. I'll charge in, and then get back. Only that."

He really didn't have the slightest idea of it, so he would just leave it at that.

But Celica's face grew more anxious. She took a step closer to Ragna and tightly gripped the sleeve of Ragna's jacket.

"You'll never be able to get close to the Black Beast! You won't leave unscathed... If you're careless...! "

He would die.

The Black Beast was a symbol of destruction. Those who approached it had been destroyed entirely.

"I'm fine. I'll do it properly. I don't want Ragna get exposed to danger again!"

"You're absolutely idiot."

Toward Celica who looked up at him as if she was clinging on him, Ragna lightly hit her head. A clunk noise could be heard.

"Ouch."

"I, Nine, and everyone else are all the same. Nobody feels like sacrificing you. That's why I came up with an alternate plan."

Compared to the Kushinada's Lynchpin Shuuichirou had left behind, the alternate plan felt uncertain as it had no theory backing on it. But if it went smoothly, it would be for the best. No, it had to go smoothly.

Squinting his dazed eye, Ragna looked at Celica. In fact, Celica was sparkling. She didn't have any ill will. She never learned about hostility. She didn't embrace malice. She was pure, foolish, and innocent. That was why...

"...I got a younger brother and sister."

Ragna spoke with a whisper-like voice.

Every time he exchanged glance between Celica and Nine, some part on his head ached. After he remembered something, it became all the more painful.

"Both of them said they love me. There's a time when I thought they're troublesome. But just like you to your big sis, they're still important to me. ...But I couldn't protect them."

As if he chewed on it, a bitter taste spread within his mouth. He recalled it clearly. It was a memory of beginning that shouldn't be forgotten.

"So that's why, let me protect you this time."

He wanted to believe that he got enough strength to protect the people he wished to protect. He was different from his absolutely powerless self during that time. What would be the consequence was less important.

He had enough of getting down on his knees, unable to do anything.

Ragna put his hand on Celica's head.

"One other thing. You take it lightly, but losing the brother and sister you're supposed to protect was pretty hard. Something like bond that's left within yourself will pull you apart forever."

"..."

Just as her pupils became wet, Celica saw her older sister.

Cuddling close together with Trinity, Nine motionlessly watched over Celica and Ragna's conversation.

She was a big sister who always looked dignified and powerful, attractive, strong-willed while also beautiful. But only now her shoulders looked thin. Moreover, the girl appeared to be fragile.

"Celica, didn't you also say it back then? If you have a power to do something, then you'll use it protect... And so am I. I want you to smile."

"I also..."

Since her throat chocked, Celica strained it to bring her voice out.

"I also want Ragna to smile."

"Then it's decided. I'll do something to that monster. And since I'll return later, everything will be settled, won't it?"

"Ragna..."

Transparent drops of water floated on Celica's big eyes.

But Ragna ruffled Celica's head and disturbed her hair. Wiping the drops from the corner of her eyes with her fingertips, Celica did a big nod with a cheerful smile that was similar to the time when he first saw it.

Part 5

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