Nine the Phantom

""I'll roast you until not even ashes remain.""

Nine the Phantom (ナイン＝ザ＝ファントム), born Konoe Ayatsuki Mercury (コノエ＝アヤツキ＝マーキュリー) and historically known as the Great Magister Nine, was one of the Six Heroes, the creator of Ars Magus, the Nox Nyctores and a hailed figure across the world. She was the older sister of Celica A. Mercury, wife to Jubei and mother of Kokonoe. Nine was known for her incredible talent with both magic and sorcery which she used in great efforts to keep her family safe.

Nine, as "Me" ("わたし"), is one of the main protagonists of XBlaze Lost: Memories and first appeared as Phantom (ファントム) in BlazBlue: Continuum Shift. Nine was finally made playable in BlazBlue: Central Fiction where she is the final boss of Arcade's Act I. Her Phase Shift appearance was revealed as a playable character for BlazBlue Alternative: Dark War on the 23rd of June, 2021.

Appearance
Nine is a woman with a voluptuous figure, yellow eyes, and long vibrant pink hair that covers her left eye. As a child, her hair was in a side ponytail, and as Nine the Phantom, her sclera turns black.

As a child, Nine wore a white button up shirt with purple cuffs along with a purple vest dress with gold accents and two black braces that hung from the bottom. Along with this uniform she wore brown tights and purple shoes. As an adult, she wore a big purple witch hat and a Mage's Guild uniform, while during the Dark War, she wore a white button up sleeveless top with a purple tie, a black coat which was loosened at the shoulders and had one green strap on each sleeve, and black and gold stockings with black high heels.

As Phantom, she wore a high collar purple cloak with a red zig-zag pattern, a white to red gradient scarf, and a new designed purple witch hat that concealed any immediately recognizable feature of her. Finally, as Nine the Phantom, she wore a witch hat similar to that of her hat as Phantom, but with a magenta accented slit in it, a purple, magenta, and pink dress with detatched sleeves, a purple cloak with red on the inner side, black tights, and black heels. Also, her fingers are longer and her nails have become sharper.

Personality
"Harboring burning fury at the knowledge of the truth of the world and using that power to end the world, she is the owner of a fearsome will and stormy temper. With her exceptional intellect and magical power, she created the "Nox Nyctores" and "Ars Magus." She dotes upon her younger sister Celica, and won't forgive anyone who would harm her."

Belligerent, openly hostile to anyone except those closest to her. Nine is an openly rebellious woman who defies authority while expecting others to recognize hers. Her temper is always on the verge of exploding, and she is ready to let anyone know her feelings, unable to hide her explosive rage and sharp tongue. Nine has a habit of letting others know her superiority, and she openly demonstrates her power without thinking of the consequences.

Yet despite her temper, Nine has a mind sharper than many would initially believe. She is a thorough academic who has dedicated her life to sorcery, magic, Ars Magus, alchemy, and the creation of the Nox Nyctores'. Few can match both her intellect and cunning, and she is a revolutionary scientist whose discoveries, theories, and techniques have had a permanent change on the world. As a child, Nine was already considered a genius. She demonstrated a lot of patience and kindness towards Nobody and Es, going far out of her way to make their lives better even though they had not known each other for long.

Nine was unusually cruel to Kazuma Kval and judges people based on her initial perception of them. Although she has a good intuition of people, Nine does not readily change her opinion of anyone. Celica is one of the most important people in Nine's life, and she dotes on her young sister whenever she can. Nine will defy everyone and everything for those she loves, although for Celica, she will defy even her own daughter. She does not appreciate men approaching her little sister, thinking that they would manipulate her, and Nine has to keep a constant eye over Celica to make sure she is not in danger. Nine's relationship with her father, Shuichiro Ayatsuki, is strained - she hates him, blaming him for the death of her Mother, and knew even from a young age that he had plans for Celica in his experiments. Hatred does little to describe how intense her feelings towards him are.

Outside of her family Nine also deeply cares for one more individual - Trinity Glassfille, her best friend. Trinity is perhaps the only person that Nine will ever listen to, and at times, will even concede her own will to Trinity's. Throughout their friendship, Nine and Trinity have protected one another, but in recent years, this friendship has ended because of Nine's willingness to burn down the world for her family.

Nine feels as if the world is wrong because of the Amaterasu Unit and The Origin resetting time. Everything that Nine and her comrades fought for in the Dark War means nothing because it will all be reset. Upon learning this truth, she went so far as to begin creating a replacement "God". Knowing that Celica would meet her fate at the hands of Yuuki Terumi, her father unleashing the Black Beast, and the suffering of her family and humanity would all be repeated for eternity sent Nine on her mission to destroy The Origin and create a new world. Although her methods were questionable, Nine was ultimately trying to save the world once more, even though her true reasons were to save her family, and she did not care much for the rest of humanity.

Powers & Techniques
Arguably not just one of the most powerful witches of her time, but one of the strongest sorcerers in history. Nine's sorcery is as aggressive as her personality as she focuses on delivering powerful spells with little casting time. Her arsenal of spells is vast, only being limited by her imagination. Nine furthermore has a unique yet deadly ability which she has no control over: she attracts seithr. This ability is only suppressed by her imitation of the Origin of the Grimoire which is her left eye, and absorbs the seithr around her.

In combat, Nine is able to rapidly deploy spells with casting time so tiny it almost seems like an instinctive reflex. She can fire a ball of light that explodes into a rain of bullets or fire gusts of wind so powerful that they can rend bone. If an opponent comes too close, Nine can generate lightning around her body to prevent them from coming closer. Teleportation is one of Nine's signature abilities although she initially struggled with using it at first, eventually mastering it over time and being able to teleport herself and others great distances. One of her other spells allows her to heighten her senses to the levels of beastkin, giving her excellent hearing and vision which far surpasses most humans. Although she seldom fights physically, Nine has enough strength to break doors with single kicks and lift fully grown men by their collars.

At the height of her power, Nine was capable of not just fighting Seven and Eight, two other accomplished members of the Ten Sages, but was also able to seemingly best them at the same time. She is capable of short-range teleportation in battle as well as ability to dispel other's spells cast upon her. Due to her natural ability to draw seithr towards her, Nine is never short of the ability to throw Ars Magus or Magic towards her opponent. Even when short of mana, Nine can steal swathes of it from the air around her for further fuel. Even Seven has remarked that among the Ten Sages in the Dark War, Nine is a "monster" in the application of offensive sorcery. In the final battle against the Black Beast, Nine was able to evaporate one of its heads with lightning strikes alone. When in a disadvantageous state, she can use sorcery to remove her ability to feel pain.

Mastery over many spells is not just Nine's only strength in sorcery. She is keenly aware of its application in combat and outside of it. Freezing her opponent's legs, ricocheting spells off multiple surfaces to meet a target, and even using electricity to fry circuits in electric locks.

Although famously known for her belligerent sorcery, Nine is also an extremely capable scientist who created Ars Magus, Ars Armegis, and the Nox Nyctores class weapons. She was on the verge of creating the Burning Red Grimoire which would have allowed humanity access to sorcery, but it was never completed in her lifetime. Alongside her gifts with sorcery and science, Nine was accomplished with alchemy and magic, both being required for her recognition into the Ten Sages. The only Art which Nine is stated to have no mastery over is a Drive. This is reflected in gameplay where her Drive is  but is not a reflection of her soul, instead being another way for her to cast numerous spells. In gameplay her spell arsenal gives her the most options of any playable character. Her spells here include summoning water, fire, and wind at basic levels, but her advanced spells include gravity manipulation, creating balls of electricity, creating reflecting mirrors, and summoning large tree roots to name only a few.

Nine's willpower has allowed her to endure the agonizing nature of the Boundary and still retain her sanity. On top of her myriad of offensive spells, Nine is capable of others such as the Mind Eater, giving her complete control over a person's free will, something she used in great effect over Yuuki Terumi in the Dark War. She also has a contract with a demonic being called Hino Kagutsuchi which is seemingly under her complete dominion. Kagutsuchi is capable of being summoned to throw powerful kicks, punches, and generate large beams of energy.

Yet despite her incredible strengths, Nine is not immortal. Her love of Celica means that she is easily manipulated whenever her sister is involved, and can be distracted by Celica's presence; she is also easily irritable, and her rage can lead to mistakes. Furthermore, Nine's strength in her body created by Relius Clover severely restricts the magical and sorcery based abilities she possesses, and pales in comparison with her original body's power.

BlazBlue: Central Fiction Official Site Profile
''The true form of "Phantom" who dissolved the spell binding her to Izanami's will. She was once known as Nine, one of the Six Heroes. ''
 * Story

''Harboring burning fury at the knowledge of the truth of the world and using that power to end the world, she is the owner of a fearsome will and stormy temper. With her exceptional intellect and magical power, she created the "Nox Nyctores" and "Ars Magus." She dotes upon her younger sister Celica, and won't forgive anyone who would harm her. ''
 * Personality

BlazBlue: Central Fiction Library Entry
A close associate to the Imperator.
 * Phantom

''Nine's temporary form after she was sealed by Terumi in the Boundary... upon the Black Beast's defeat. Why she stays by the Imperator's side and does her bidding is unknown.''

Celica's older sister, and one of the Six Heroes.
 * Nine

''She taught magic to the world, and helped develop its scientific hybrid, Ars Magus. Jubei is her husband, and between them, they have one very strong and powerful daughter: Kokonoe.''

''Like her belligerent personality, her magic is quite offensive and aggressive in its nature. She is determined in her ways, and loves her sister, which can sometime result in extremely reckless behavior. Her coffee's texture is said to change by the amount of sugar she puts in it. She also loves cats.''

''She can magic in its most pure form, which does not require the use of seithr. During the Dark War, she was admitted into the Mage's Guild as one of the Ten Sages at a very young age - a genius at her craft. She developed the Causality Weapons, Nox Nyctores, and led mankind to victory during the Dark War.''

After the Dark War came to a close, she was killed by Terumi for 'knowing too much.' As of 2200AD, she been seen doing the Imperator's bidding as the mysterious figure, Phantom.

''Celica A. Mercury's older sister, Nine. She's also one of the Six Heroes.''
 * Konoe A. Mercury

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle Official Site Profile
''Once one of the, known as the. Possessing an incredible intellect as well as immense magical power, she is created both the and .''

''She is an individualistic character possessing all kinds of magic. When attacks hit the opponent, the accumulates, unlocking even stronger magic. ''

BlazBlue 10th Anniversary Official Site Profile
''One of the Six Heroes, the "." The owner of a fearsome will and stormy temper. Possessing an exceptional intellect and extraordinary magical power, she is the creator of the "Nox Nyctores" and "Ars Magus."''
 * Nine the Phantom

''Protagonist of XBlaze Lost:Memories. While searching for her missing younger sister, she was swallowed by a mysterious azure light and brought into the Phantom Field. There, she met a strange girl named Nobody. She hates Father, who used herself and Mother as test subjects.''
 * Myself

BlazBlue Alternative: Dark War Official Profile

 * Nine (PS)

''A genius mage who went through Ishana's academy and was chosen as one of their Ten Sages. She's stubborn and intensely temperamental. Possessing both an unusual level of smarts and powerful magical power, she's also called the "Red Lotus Witch." She dotes on her younger sister, Celica, and has no mercy for anyone that would harm her.''

Appearances in other Media

 * The mobile game Mabinogi Duel stars Nine as a playable card.
 * Nine is a playable unit in the mobile game Sapphire Sphere.
 * Nine is a playable character in the mobile Narrative CCG (Collectable Character Game) Destiny Child.
 * The action-RPG Fallen Legion Revenants features a DLC in which the Exemplar Evania receives an outfit based on Nine. This collaboration was likely made possible due to Arc System Works publishing the Japanese version.

Trivia

 * In the BlazBlue 10th Anniversary Character Poll, Nine placed 18th out of the 84 candidates. She scored one place above Naoto Kurogane and one place below Hakumen. She had 1,376 votes.
 * As Myself, Nine placed 64th in the poll, being one place above Chachakaka and one place below Acht. She had 25 votes.
 * Nine's birthday is April 30th, which is the date for the festival of Walpurgisnacht, a German festival in dedication to Saint Walpurgis, who is said to battled against witchcraft. Nine's main theme shares the name of this festival.
 * Nine's moveset has a naming theme which is a combination of numerous colors and types of crystals.
 * In an interview in ARC Live!, Daisuke Ishiwatari, creator of the Guilty Gear franchise, stated that Nine is one of his favorite characters alongside Taokaka and Hakumen.
 * In XBlaze Lost: Memories, Nine is unable to be named certain names at the beginning of the game.
 * Attempting to name her 'Konoe' will show the text: "After checking the database, you cannot use the inputted name. Sorry…".
 * Attempting to name her 'Nine' will show the text: "It isn’t quite time yet…".
 * Alternatively, the player is unable to name her on the Steam version of the game. Nobody will automatically name her '***'.
 * The internal files for Nine in Lost: Memories list her as 'kn', possibly short for Konoe.
 * Nine's dislike of shiitake mushrooms is shared with Kuon Glamred Stroheim, another mage.
 * Nine is the only character who's hobby is officially listed as unknown.
 * Like Celica, Nine also has a bad sense of direction, although it is not as terrible as her younger sister's.
 * Like her daughter, Kokonoe, Nine consumes a phenomenal amount of sugar.
 * Nine has used the most names and aliases across the series: "Konoe Mercury", "Myself", "Nine", "Great Magister Nine", "Fire Empress", "Red Lotus Witch", "Phantom", and "Nine the Phantom" are all the names she has employed during her lifetime.
 * Nine is illustrated in the following Grimoires for BlazBlue Alternative: Dark War:
 * フラックスナーチャー (Flax Nurture).
 * ようこそ！イシャナ祭へ！ (Welcome to Ishana Fest!).
 * バニングレッド (Burning Red).
 * ティーパーティ (Tea Party).
 * やわらかい時間(ナインVer.) (A Tender Moment (Nine)).
 * 結ぶ誓いの眼差し (Oath Bound Within a Gaze).
 * 最強と最高の夫婦 (Strongest Husband, Most Supreme Wife).