Note from the author: I do not own Saint Seiya. Though this is an Alternate Universe, I'll do my best to stay true to the original story by Masami Kurumada. I do own Lance, Heracles Aguilon, Cerberus Kastiel, Sagitta Nam and all OC that will be presented in my fanfictions. I apologize in advance for any writing mistake.
OCs up until now, which, by the way, I own: Pegasus, Centaur, Cancer Lance; Kerberus Kastiel; Heracles Aguilon;
Sagitta Nam; Andromeda, Cepheus Shinta; Daemon Lucifer; Taurus Daniel; Capricorn Kirin; Acquarius Malta; Bellephoron
Original aspects: Teos Cloth, Daemon Surplice; Pegasus Temple;
PLEASE READ THIS BELOW
In account for any future incoherence with the actual story by Masami Kurumada (mainly the characters age, specially those of the Saints of Gold, and amount of time between the Arcs), there WILL BE a few modifications to coincide with the facts in my fanfics!
Title: Thoughts of the Phoenix
Three months after Saga's death, Location unknown...
Phoenix Ikki analyzed the landscape surrounding the old, decayed temple...Obviously, a brutal battle took place right in front of it, as there was nothing but rubbled ground, elevated cliffs and opened-up fissures within half a mile radius, decorated here and there by random stripes of grass and old roots, the trees themselves having died years before his arrival...He was in the northeastern part of an island whose existence he found out about through Shun, who told him that the Sanctuary, while it had files that proved it's existence, they where strangely unclear and incomplete, as if someone important had censored them somehow...
As a result, the history that the island told was a complete mystery and Ikki, intrigued by it, decided to scout the area in search for any clue of Black Saint activity...He wasn't doing it for the Sanctuary, but rather due to a feeling of obligation he had to wipe out as many Black Saints as he could find, as he has witnessed in first hand the destruction that they could cause...There was also the possibility that Saga was the one who censored the files, and, if true, it could mean that he could still be hiding something within the island...The trip had proven to be a completely waste, as there was nothing on that island except for the shattered territory around him, a beautiful forest to the west and southwest, large mountains to the north, northeast, east and southeast, separating the temple's area from the Atlantic waves, and a huge lake to the south, turning the place into a natural, though empty, wonder to the senses.
The battle that had ocurred before the temple obviously envolved Saints as, as hard it was to believe for Ikki, he could still detect some scarce remnants of static cosmos in the area with his recently awakened 7th sense, leading him to believe that it was either recent or it envolved many powerful men. The temple before him was made of a dark-grey stone, giving it a eerie feeling, and it was small and simple, reminding him of the Phoenix Cloth's shrine back in the now-sunken Death Queen Island. Ikki had a strong suspicion that it's sudden destruction was provoked, perhaps by Saga, but the idea didn't bother him a bit since Esmeralda was the only good memory he had of the infernal land...
Yet, for some reason, gazing upon the rubble around him, that contrasted with the immaculate beauty in the horizon, Ikki couldn't help but think of the Island, Esmeralda and Guilty, his master...A sudden hate invaded his soul when he remembered the wicked mask the man wore at all times, causing him to narrow his eyes and grunt...Ikki then realized that he was once again succumbing to the Hate, and decided to think of something else...to think of his brother, Shun, who he loved so much...He focused, and started feeling the cosmos of the area around him...He focused harder and the cosmos around him seemed to vanish, his mind's eye looking further into the distance...He then detected Athena back in the Sanctuary, her huge cosmos acting like a lighthouse when his 7th sense acted like a lost ship trying to find the shore, and Ikki searched even further, soon finding Shun's cosmos along with those of Hyoga and Shiryu...Ikki smiled, eyes closed...His brother was okay...probably hanging out with the other two Saints of Bronze he detected near him...looking out for his little brother had become a much easier task after the Battle for the Sanctuary, since now he had the power to check on his brother even if thousands of miles of distance...
Ikki relaxed, the Hate slowly falling back into the abyss inside his soul...But then, he couldn't help but feel guilty...When he took the Death Queen Island's challenge for his brother, Ikki promised Shun that, as soon as he was done, he would go look for him...Not only he didn't keep his promise, as obtained his cloth months before the Galaxian tournament, and, yet, didn't go to look for Shun in Andromeda Island, but he threatened Shun upon their first encounter in years, stealing the Sagittarius Gold Cloth and almost dying at the hands of the Saints of Bronze. Ikki wished that he could be with his brother, but, quite simply, he wasn't willing to follow around Saori's commands, as he was used to do his own bidding...Plus, ikki knew that, as long as Shun knew his Nissan was okay and that he had his friends to count on when he wasn't there for him, Shun would be happy, and, hence, so would the Phoenix... But the sin was still there, and it was one of the reasons for his isolation, rather than just his personality as, otherwise, he would act the same way back in the orphanage.
Ikki tried to analyze the traces of cosmos that floated around the place, taking the opportunity to train his 7th sense but, even though he managed to isolate and study a single remnance...he couldn't identify it. He deduced that it was powerful and it belonged to a vary powerful person, but, even so, he couldn't recognize it from anywhere... Ikki never met many people with this level of power, and he only had the chance to meet Shaka and Saga's power out of the whole bunch of the Saints of Gold that were considered the most powerful men in the world, so he deduced that it probably belonged to one of the others, perhaps Mu, who upgraded his Cloth...
And he did a very good job! Ikki could feel it just by wearing it! It was much lighter, sporting a far sleeker and less dense-looking design, though it was partially due to the damage it suffered during the battle. According to the Saint of Aries, he only managed to restore 78% of their cloths's original total mass, meaning that, during the repairs, he had to focus on speed and cosmos concentration to compensate for the lack of materials. Ikki's cloth was the exception, as it had limitless regeneration powers, coming back more powerful after every regeneration, but Mu said that he wanted to offer him the same upgrades he offered the other Saints, so he altered the Cloth's total mass as well. there was only a small dissapontment that he felt upon receiving his upgraded Cloth...After hearing that they would receive the blood of the Saints of Gold themselves, Ikki expected them to gain some kind of Gold Cloth related special power, when, apparently, it only suffered a quality boost without any kind of new abilities.
The dissapointment didn't bother him for long, as Ikki wasn't the kind of person to rely on the power of others, and the Phoenix Saint left the Sanctuary as soon as he received the armor from Mu, much to Shun's complaints.
...Shun...
Thinking about his little brother made Ikki a little happier, knowing that he had come a long way and was no longer as dependent on the older Saint as he was back in the orphanage. This happiness was quickly cut short by the associated thought of Esmeralda, who resembled his little brother so much, and had such an unfortunate fate...
...Esmeralda...
Ikki shook his head, nostalgic about the girl but unwilling to trip into sadness. He entered the dark insides of the temple and stumbled across a large room inside after walking just a few meters inside the building. It was decorated by unlit torches and the rocks that composed the walls had a slight tone of dark-blue, making the place even more ghastly. He then approached the large object pushed against the wall, studying it:
-"A tomb...?"- he thought, stoic.
Yes, a tomb, laying in front of him, long side facing the Saint's legs. It was imposing, it's size reaching his waist despite lying on the ground without any kind of elevation or support table. It was made completely of stone, was covered in old vines like the rest of the temple, and the rock that it was crafted from seemed bery heavy, even for a Saint of Bronze. Various runes seemed to run along the edge of the lid and, on top of it, a pentagonical star within a circle seemed to have been carved on. Ikki then noticed something strange...air was squeezing through the closed lid of the coffin from it's inside and crashing against his waist...Ikki narrowed his eyes, suspicious, put his fingers beneath the heavy lid and rose it slightly to find it...empty...
-"What the hell?"- he thought.
His finger ran across it's bottom, as if trying to make sure there was nothing inside, finding only dust and must climbing into his fingertips. Dusting his hands, Ikki then closed the lid and walked away from the tomb, tired of creepy nonsense, and had to cover his eyes from the sun when he left the temple... As Ikki made his way through the rough terrain, he deduced that the tomb must have been made for someone who never had a chance to use it, or maybe Saga was hiding something within the temple that now was lost forever...There was the chance that it once must have contained the body of Aries Shion and Ikki made a disguted frown, realizing he just poked around the insides of the former Pope's resting place...
His mind went elsewhere when he saw, at the distance, the forests covering half of the horizon...He wanted so much to show Esmeralda this kind of thing...to show her a world much better than that of his master and her father...but it was now nothing more than a past desire, impossible to grant...Closing his eyes, Ikki let the wind batter in his face anf think of the girl, hoping that she was in a paradise where she could enjoy all these beautiful things...just like that scarred island he was leaving...