The train ride was uneventful, a repeat of the drive, Axel asking questions and Serif ignoring him, until eventually he gave up.
Now they were here at Pendle Station, Nova Yoren, yet they didn't leave the platform. Serif simply sat on a bench and said nothing, Axel asked what was up, but he told him to wait.
And so they waited on the cold metal bench, a few fluorescent tubes buzzing above, their flicker painting the tiled walls in sterile white, occasional shimmer of a rats eye from the opposite platform.
Axel sighed and looked at the far end of the platform, a digital clock glowing red through a layer of grime, displaying 2:30 a.m.
Almost two hours have passed since we have been here, he thought tapping his feet.
Axel took a deep breath, the smell of old rain, rust, and something electrical, the smell of the platform, wafted into his nose causing him to grimace, I shouldn't have done that.
Axel stood up and started pacing around, serif glanced at him, then ignored him returning back to his book. And he says we don't have time, "yet you can read," he muttered.
After a few minutes of pacing around, Axel stopped in front of Serif, "look man, I don't know what's going on with you or why you can't tell me shit, it's a secret code or something," Axel said and shrugged, " but this." He lifted the katana, holding it in front of him.
"This is important according to you right," Axel asked, his tone higher, "and those guys are after us right, can you atleast tell me how to activate its power, so I can at least defend myself, or at least tell me what you're waiting for yeah?" he said, his voice laced with frustration.
Silence, then a woman's voice echoed from a speaker overhead, warped by static: "Next downtown train in… ten minutes." Then silence again, save for the steady drip of water hitting concrete.
Serif looked at Axel, then the katana, he took a deep breath, then leaned back resting on the bench.
Axel scoffed and lowered the katana, and sat back down, slouching on the bench, he clicked his tongue and put the hood over his head.
At least I do know how to use a sword, all thanks to that annoying program, Axel smiled at the irony, I always hated those.
"You can't really use it," Serif's voice broke the silence.
Axel smirked under the hood, I should do that more often, he thought, turning to face Serif.
"It chose you but you are not its wielder," Serif paused, "an anima can only be wielded by one wielder, only one, if anyone else tried nothing would happen, at worst rejection in cases of high incompatibility."
Serif stopped, letting his words sink in, "although there are theories of high enough compatibility, overriding that rule, but that has never happened." He continued.
Axel eyes narrowed, that should be it right, it's not a theory.
"But as I have said before, Gishiki is a unique case," Serif said, drawing Axel's attention, "It has been reported that it allows those it chose to use its ability, but only when it sees their resolve and initiative, approves of it, and at its whim."
That makes sense, Axel thought, every time it had worked was when he decided or when he was actively trying to do something.
Thinking back to when he made up his mind to attack the man at the door, just taking the katana with him could be considered taking initiative.
But how about when he attacked the Zoran, perhaps it wasn't impressed, but there was initiative, how about when it worked, what did he do different, he wasn't just blindly attacking, he had a plan, perhaps that was the answer, or it was just whim, Axel sighed, definitely whim.
"But I'll advise against depending on it," Serif said.
"Does its power have anything to do with time," Axel asked, pushing his luck since Serif was talking now.
"Not that I know of," Serif answered dismissively and looked at his wrist watch.
Serif stood up, "let's go." He approached the edge of the platform and stepped off, his boots hitting the gravel with a dull crunch.
Axel looked at him with an incredulous expression, where to now, he watched him heading towards the tunnel mouth — a black maw ringed with dim amber lights.
Definitely not my first choice for places to be night, but well, he stepped off the platform, following the vague figure of Serif being swallowed by the darkness of the tunnel.
They moved forward, deeper into the tunnel, the light behind him shrinking to a thin slit of yellow.
Every footstep echoed like a secret being whispered back to him.
The further he went, the more the city's pulse seemed to merge with his own, the low hum of power lines, the tremor of trains above, the breath of a city that never truly slept.
Down here, it felt alive… ancient… and waiting.
Serif suddenly stopped and moved towards a wall, the wall sweating with condensation, streaked with black grime and decades of graffiti.
Axel's eyes narrowed as Serif hand glided over the graffiti, gross, he thought, "what are you doing?" He asked.
Then click, a sound came from the wall, followed by a rumbling for a second, a thump from it, then silence, Axel looked around for anything, he squinted his eyes looking at the wall which looked absolutely normal.
"Follow me," Serif muttered and walked towards the wall, prompting Axel to question his sanity, but his eyes widened as the wall rippled, producing a faint hum, Serif passing through.
Axel rubbed his eyes and looked at the wall, the water like ripples dying down, yet there was no sign of Serif, he warily walked to the wall and scanned it, tags scrawled in silver, reds, and acid green, words half-faded but defiant against time, a faint chemical tang still stung to the wall.
There was nothing off, it looked totally like a normal wall, except for the graffiti, yet as Axel's hand slowly touched it, it passed through, a force pulling it in, a small ripple spreading from the point of contact, a hollow sound resembling dropping a pebble in the water echoed.
Axel pulled out his hand and looked at it, scanning for any abnormality, yet there was none, he put his hand again, static crawling over his skin before the wall rippled and pulled him in.
A warm feeling enveloped him, it felt like floating through a thick viscous liquid, a force pulling him forward, slightly disorienting.
Axel exhaled as he came out on the other end, his feet stepping on solid ground, His eyes widened as he looked up.
He sharply turned back, a wall with graffiti of a hallway behind him, no sign of the tracks, just a huge wall, stretching as far as his eye could see.
He turned to the side, Serif leaning against a rail, he turned back to the view again, his jaw dropping with unbelief, for in front of him was a town, a literal bustling town.
And I thought I couldn't be more surprised, Axel moved closer to the railing, to get a better look of the town, fortunately he was on some elevated platform, overlooking the town.
Upon looking closer, it wasn't a town, more like a settlement or perhaps a market, multiple buildings stacked in two neat rows, a big space between them, multiple stalls at the edge, neon lights illuminating the town, people all around as far as he could see going about their business, chattering and bustling noise coming from the market, the smell of smoke and fish along with other smells he couldn't explain wafted into his nose.
A faint and rare smile appeared on Serif's lips as he saw Axel's reaction, the smile disappearing as quickly as it appeared, like ripples on water.
Axel looked up wondering if the place had sort of a ceiling considering he could see a similar wall at the opposite end of the town.
He saw multiple small lights, they were so small they reminded him of stars, the night sky.
Looking directly at them, they seemed small, not enough to illuminate the place, yet as he tried looking beyond he found the light too intense, obscuring whatever was beyond.
"Weird," Axel muttered, he looked at the light again and saw it clearly but oddly it seemed like something glued his attention to them, unable to see around, yet when his attention moved from them, the light was blinding again, too much for his eye.
"What are those," he pointed up to the lights.
"Artificial stars, one of the council's creations, " Serif answered aloud with a hint of rare respect in his voice, catching Axel off guard.
Axel looked at him with an incredulous expression, as if asking what do you mean artificial stars, but Serif was already going down the stairs.
Axel stayed up for a few seconds, absorbing the view. I wonder if this is like a pocket dimension, he thought, taking a deep breath and hurried after Serif.
"By the way, where are we," Axel asked, considering Serif had been responsive so far.
"E, the market town."
Axel stopped and raised a brow, "E," he said, his voice laced with sarcasm.
"What lazy naming, who names a place like that, does it mean something?" Axel questioned as they descended into the town.
***
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, they weren't the only new arrivals to E town.
Multiple men came through the same portal they followed, rugged men, dressed in black, an oppressive aura around them.
"Good old E, how I missed you." A sonorous voice resounded as a huge bald man stepped in front of the rails, spreading his hands, a wide grin between his beards plastered on his face.
"Don't even start Zero, restrain yourself, we have a goal this time." A smaller man muttered, the wind ruffling his blue hair which matched his blue cloak, a spear poking out of the cloak behind him.
The bigger man, Zero glanced back at the smaller man, still grinning, he clenched his massive fist heat shimmered off it, the air warping, causing the other men to move away from him, except for the blue haired man.
"Of course I know that, but with that Serif," Zero looked back at the town, "I doubt I'll afford to do that, right."
The other man simply clicked his tongue and started going down the stairs, the other men following.
Zero dropped his hands, his grin disappeared, a frown replacing it, though I do wonder if that's still true, "or you're weaker, Serif the cleaner," he muttered the grin returning, as he leapt over the rail.