Arcadia

Calm Before the Storm

The group proceeded down a flight of stairs, lit on the side by lights which flicker on and off. The continuous set of steps continued all the way down, and as the group journeyed further into the subway, the stairs start turning blacker and dirtier. The lights start getting dimmer as well. When the group reached the end of the stairs, they found themselves in an abandoned station.

The three spread out a bit, each trying to get a feel of the environment. Yura and Jet went ahead and stopped in front of the station's ticketing counter. There's nothing notworthy besides the broken glass and poor condition of the counter.

Jet sniffed the air and looked around. 

"I wanted to ask for that habit of yours for quite a long time now, but I guess I don't have to anymore," mentioned Yura. 

"Really now."

Meanwhile, Ren sat down and closed his eyes whilst holding his fan-like device. He mouthed some words, resulting in a faint glow from the device. 

"Yes. This is indeed it."

"What is?" asked Yura.

"The spiritual energy I detected near the cathedral. Traces of it is present here. No, it's even stronger here. I feel an even larger concentration of that energy somewhere down there."

"Down there?" Yura looked down, then around, looking past the barricades which contain the gates to the main terminal. "But, where do we go from here? There doesn't seem to be any way to go further down."

Jet, having scouted the nearby area, leaned on the ticketing counter and looked on. Ren lightly touched the floor with his open palm and began moving it in circles. 

"I don't see one either. Maybe I can find something here to help us."

Jet interrupted Ren's concentration.

"We don't have time to waste with your magic magic senses and all. Let's just keep going."

He proceeded to break the worn-down barricade down and walk towards the train terminals.

"Wait, I'm sensing another presence." Ren slowly moved towards his other two companions. Stopping in front of the broken barricade, he pointed forward. "It's coming from deeper into the subway."

"Another one?" asked Yura.

"Someone else is here. I'm sensing a person's presence."

"Bah, of course someone else is here! Vega's probably doing something with that wing and his magic."

Jet ran forward towards the terminal and jumped down to the tracks. "Come on, just tell us where it is coming from."

Yura and Ren followed Jet, who was busy waving his arms around trying to get everyone moving. 

Soon, the group walked the tracks for minutes. They have been following Ren's guide, and have been getting closer and closer to the presence he felt. Normally, what they are doing would not be possible due to the quick rotation of the metro trains, but the station has been closed down and abandoned for a while now. 

"Hey, how long are we going to keep going like this? This is taking forever?" 

Yura, carefully walking behind Jet and Ren, remained quiet, letting the two guys lead the way. She observed the ever-darkening tunnel that the three of them are currently traversing. Faint glows from white streaks of light slowly became visible around the tunnel. Just as she noticed them, Ren stopped.

"Stop."

He placed his device near the wall and began another chant. As he chanted, light began shining at the base of his feet. The light began spreading and expanding on the ground.