Look! Another Celestial Weapon! Introducing Phantom Blades, wielded by our POV character, Suzuka Shibuya-Preece. With the reveal of another weapon comes the chance to talk more about weapon lore, as well!
In the last weapon lore drop I talked about how the Celestial Quartz, also called Sori-kaina, functions in Celestial Weapons. Today I’m going to go into a little more detail about that, as well as touch on more of the psychic power of Sori-kaina.
Sori-kaina are rarer in population than Xuaci, as they cannot reproduce. However many Sori-kaina the Xuaci brought with them to Earth, that’s all there is. They cannot return to Xua to get more. Since they are a finite resource, sometimes the same crystal cluster is used to make different weapons. When a piece of the core cluster is broken off and forged into a weapon, one of two things can happen: they either choose to change and become a different “person” based on the experiences they have as that new entity, or they endeavor to stay the same “person” as they are in their core cluster. Phantom Blades and Hakuryū no Hōkō are perfect examples of this phenomenon. Both weapons are made from the same cluster, but Phantom Blades because a unique entity, while Hakuryū no Hōkō remained connected to the core cluster and maintains the personality of their origin point. They do still share some similarities, such as having similar “voices” and demeanor, but their experiences have molded them into separate beings. Victorie (the Sori-kaina within Phantom Blades) and Chihiro now view each other as good friends and siblings instead of the same being.
Sori-kaina are malleable in more ways than that, though. When an Angel is confirmed as the new permanent wielder of a Celestial Weapon, they have a smooth, polished piece of the crystal used to forge their weapon implanted into them, usually in their arm or leg. This ensures that they maintain a psychic connection to their weapon 100% of the time. It also triggers their own latent psychic abilities– or heightens what they already possess, in the case of Xuaci Angels, which allows them to connect to beings who have weaker psychic powers, like humans– and allows them to telepathically communicate with other Angels who have received their implants. The piece of the Sori-kaina used for this implant starts as a facet of the crystal it was taken from, but continued exposure to the mind of their wielder melds that small piece with them and remakes that piece of the Sori-kaina into part of their own personality. This is an agreed upon outcome of the implantation, as the Sori-kaina the implanted piece comes from chooses to let that piece go and become part of their wielder. It is proof of the bond they’ve agreed to forge.
Phantom Blades is a much newer weapon than Hakuryū no Hōkō, and forged by a different designer, hence why they look so aesthetically different from Tsuki’s weapon. But, being a sibling weapon to Hakuryū no Hōkō, it is still a pair of swords. Where Hakuryū no Hōkō are katana, though, Phantom Blades are laser sabers. The Sori-kaina within Phantom Blades produces the laser, which follows along the retractable hollow frame of the sabers to create the “blade.” When not in use, the “blade” winds up into the circular compartment of the hilt, leaving only the handles. It makes them easier to carry around when out of combat– and hide, if necessary.
Phantom Blades has a bit of a reputation. Not for being a bad weapon, but for being bad luck. In the eight years it’s been in rotation, it’s had three wielders. Their first wielder died in a combat training accident, their second wielder was forced to retire due to a work-related injury, and now Suzuka is wielder #3. Rumors have spread all across the Forces that anyone who wields Phantom Blades is doomed to an unfortunate fate, but Suzuka doesn’t believe that nonsense. Will that come back to bite them? We’ll see…
And that’s all for this lore drop! Until next time. ♥
Art by Xaika.
LINN FOSTER 