It took them three tries before they found a passageway that led them deep underground where they found themselves within the superstructure that the once heavenly city had been built upon. Casting her magic into a ball of light, Sera followed as the three of them continued down the dark tunnels. After what felt like an eternity, as they passed a junction, a light could be seen on the far end to their left.
“Look.” Cabrin called, relieved to see the faded yet distinct glow of daylight. “The way out.”
“It will be dark soon.” Akane, commented. “We should hurry.”
And they did. The three of them quickened their pace as they headed down the tunnel towards the welcoming beckoning glow, but as they did so, Sera noticed the familiarity in the expansive tunnels around them. She remembered that time when she touched the crystal in the Great Chamber back in the Heavenfall of Rivera’s valley. She had been filled with ancient knowledge.
That knowledge had contained a memory of Celeste’s life, there had been more to it, but the memory was all that made sense. Now that she stood here, seeing the architecture around her, some of that latent knowledge inside of her came alive within her mind. It was like remembering something in response to a familiar experience. It was remembering something in response to a familiar experience.
“Wait.” She said, calling her friends to stop. “I recognize this place.”
Cabrin and Akane stared at her, confused as Sera looked around them. Suddenly it all made sense. Suddenly she knew the way to get to anywhere within the city as if she had been there herself in days long past, but it was muddy. Though she couldn’t quite recall everything that the ruins held secret, there was one place in particular that she did know. Someplace that she wanted to find.
“Follow me.” She said.
Cabrin and Akane shared a look. With a shrug, Akane skipped ahead to join her friend with Cabrin in tow, a look of hesitant confusion on his face as Sera led them deeper within the ruins of the Ancestor gods.
Sera led them down the tunnel toward the opening, but at about fifty paces away, she made a right. Up a flight of stairs. Left turn. Down past three crumbling doors and another left. Cabrin and Akane walked behind her in silence as they traversed the labyrinth that the gods had constructed before coming, at last, to a corridor over which artistically organic shaped arches spanned the ceiling. Black, tangled vines and roots crossed overhead as they walked towards a familiar radiant glow at the end of the corridor. Beyond that, Sera knew what she would find.
As they stepped into the Great Chamber, Cabrin and Akane stared dumbfounded at the find. It was exactly like the one they had found before, following Damien’s journal, with the exception being that this place was in more of a state of disrepair.
Chunks of fallen ceiling rested on the floor and dark vines and roots hung from the voids above. The black walls had given way in places where thick roots protruded, but as Sera approached the chamber’s center, the familiar silver column gracefully sprang from the floor, and at its peak was the same translucent black crystal.
“Sera-san.” Akane said in awe. “How did you…?”
“I can’t be sure.” Sera answered as she tentatively touched a finger to the glassy surface of the crystal. “Last time I did this, I was shown things that I couldn’t understand. I think I may know things without knowing them. Does that make sense?”
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Cabrin and Akane only stared.
“I don’t know how else to explain it.” Sera said, finally.
“Hold on.” Cabrin said. “Last time you did this, you passed out. You were asleep for hours.”
Sera bit her lip as she considered his words. She didn’t want to delay their trek any longer. She longed to complete her journey to Bastion and finally have a moment or two of rest, but the crystal she had interacted with before had shown her so much.
“Before, I didn’t know what would happen when I did this.” Sera finally said to him. “I think I may be able to withstand it, now.”
“I think you should do it.” Akane chimed in. “Kaburin-kun, think about it. Think about what it could teach us.”
As Cabrin pondered on that, Sera did as well. If she was truly destined to defeat Sephra, how could she possibly do that? She didn’t know what it took to kill a demon. Perhaps the scholars at the college did but what if they didn’t? If these crystals could give her knowledge and even give her the memories of Celeste herself, perhaps in that, Sera could find the key to ending Sephra as her predecessor once tried to do.
Cabrin remained silent as Sera came to her own conclusion before nodding, agreeing with both her and Akane. “It could be advantageous for us to know what it has to reveal.”
And with that, Sera touched the crystal. Tendrils snaked out towards her fingertips as runes lit up the black walls that circled them. The mystical symbols danced, distorted where the roots left them ruined, but still they retained their wondrous effect on the three of them.
“I don’t know if I could ever get used to this.” Cabrin said as a grin crossed his face, despite his best efforts.
But Sera didn’t hear him. She had already been raptured in the flow of ancient knowledge that filled her as she touched both hands to the crystal.
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Celeste coughed violently, spewing blood as she did so. Worried faces surrounded her as her soldiers had gathered around their fallen leader, tears leaving clear streaks down their dirty faces.
Looking down, she could see Sephra’s blade protruding from her breast, the angle at which it did so told her all she needed to know about the damage that she had sustained. Her lung burned, her heartbeat spasmed out of control, and as her thoughts were becoming sluggish, she knew it wouldn’t be long now.
She had failed! Sephra had been right there! If only she could have been a little bit faster…a little bit better!
As she stared, blinking away her tears of frustration, she could see the hope draining from her soldiers’ eyes as they watched the life drain from hers. How could she have failed them? How could she have let them down? They had hunted the Chimera nearly to extinction, this final battle saw to the end of their kind, but Sephra had managed to escape. As long as she remained, the Chimera would come again.
These people had served her well, but they could not reach Sephra on their own. Even if they could, they would not know how to put an end to her permanently. It was a task only Celeste was suited for.
“I will come again. Wait for me-.” Her body spasmed, the pain was unbearable. Her thoughts were muddled as her mind wavered from the loss of blood. Her plan, what was her plan? Oh yes, a new body. she needed a new body, this one was quickly fading. She needed a new body if she was to finish what she started, and she needed these people to hold on to hope until then.
“When my body is ready…Bastion.” She managed to say, but there was more! She strained every fiber of her fading mind to force her lips to move but they just wouldn’t!
Speak! She thought. Speak!
But it was too late. As her heart beat one last frantic time, her body was gone and Celeste was returned to the solitude of her retreat.