Shion knew that Aphrodite was the reincarnation of Albafica. It was easy to see their similarities. They were both extremely beautiful with long blue hair and eyes. The small beauty mark was a small enough detail not to be copied but it was there. Perhaps the only thing that was different were their morals.
Albafica was extremely loyal to Athena and had died, sacrificing himself to save one small village. But that may be because he had a kind master. Pisces Lugonis was gentle and patient. Though strict, Albafica had no complaints about unfairness and he never showed more injuries than necessary.
It was a bad choice of his when he chose a Silver Saint to train someone for a Gold Cloth. Unfortunately, he was the only one qualified enough to deal with poisoning. Also unfortunately, the Silver had different ideals than those of the Sanctuary, only thinking that the strongest is the only one fit to rule the world. Jealous of Aphrodite's potential to become a Gold Saint, he had tormented the poor child throughout the duration of the training, trying to discourage him.
It was in one of the Silver's particular bad fits of anger that he had decided to fight the child for the Pisces Cloth when Aphrodite was at the mere age of 7. It was only due to Albafica's previous fighting experience that Aphrodite had managed to win the fight. He had also unknowingly killed his master when the aggression emanating from the elder made his instincts classify him as a threat equivalent to that of a Specter. The poor child was traumatized at the fact that he had actually killed someone and went into depression for weeks afterwards.
With a heavy heart, Shion had announced Aphrodite the new Pisces Gold Saint. At least, he thought, that the child was free from the poisoned blood of the Pisces. Loneliness was not something he wanted to condemn the young one to, after the traumatizing experience of witnessing himself kill his own master with cool detachment. What Shion had overlooked, was the idea that if Aphrodite was Albafica's reincarnation, then perhaps his poisoned blood would had also been passed down along with the experience of being in a fight, something he had brushed off as a natural instinct and the adrenaline rush of fighting for his life.
Pisces Aphrodite stood at the entrance of his temple, looking down at all the other temples in the Sanctuary. It had been a few years since he was named the Pisces Gold Saint and he hadn't left his temple since his visit to the other training camps when Pope Ares ordered it.
Turning back to his temple, he walked to his garden, trying to find something to do. He would usually be asleep by now but for some reason, he was restless tonight. He had books that he could read but he didn't feel like reading. Sighing, he reached down to pick up a rose. Feeling a slight sting, he dropped the rose to inspect a small cut.
Aphrodite froze. Clutching at his chest, he covered his mouth as he felt a cough coming. Pulling his arm back, he dumbly stared at the blood coating his hand. Confused and panicking, he stumbled back to his temple but couldn't make it too far before he collapsed. His body felt like it was on fire and there was more blood bubbling up his throat, drowning him as he tried to get air into his lungs.
Unable to stand the pain, he burned his cosmos unconsciously, asking for help. He felt the cosmoses of the other Golds respond and quickly approaching. The first to reach him was Aquarius Camus who stood horrified at the sight of the once dignified Pisces Saint curled up at the exit of the Pisces Temple and coughing up what seemed to be all the blood in his body. Agonized groans were ripped from the shuddering body as if the Saint was too exhausted to even scream. Camus was reminded that, despite the two-year age difference, Aphrodite was the one of the smallest Saints at the Sanctuary.
The next to reach him was Capricorn Shura, who got over his shock quickly, whipping Camus out of his shocked stupor and into action. They wrapped a cloak around the even more delicate body and carried him to his temple, murmuring reassuring words on the way. Even if they don't like Aphrodite, they can't just let a fellow Saint die like that. With the Holy War approaching, there was no time to train another Gold Saint.
Dimly, Aphrodite registered the voices around him and shuddered as hands tried to get a hold of his body. Every touch brought pain and he fell numb as Camus soothed the burning sensations with his coldness.
It was beautiful night. The sky was clear and the moon was more than half full. Yet the air felt unusual and the wind blew the rose petals around. Master Lugonis was standing in the middle of the garden, staring up at the sky. "Master? What is going on? Why do you want to talk in the middle of the night?"
"Albafica. You were born with natural immunity to poison. Up til now, I have raised you as a warrior."
"Yes?" I answered hesitantly, unsure of what Master Lugonis wanted.
"It's time to progress to the next stage of training." Master looked down. "However, before all, I want you to make a choice." He turned to face me, eyes searching deep into mine. "You can leave this garden and return to the people and the world. Or you can form with me a Red Bond and aim to become the Pisces Saint."
"What are you talking about?" I had so many questions. A Red Bond?
"A ceremony of blood. We would exchange blood from the tips of our fingers through tiny wounds. The ceremony would continue for a few years, until the blood in our bodies intermix completely. Those who can't withstand the poison of the Pisces Blood, dies. It's a dreadful secret art." He reached down to pluck a beautiful red rose, pricking his finger on its thorns. "And if you survive the contact with my blood, a life of loneliness similar to mine awaits you."
Poisoned blood...in my body...
"Your life will become red with poison." He let the rose fall from his hand. "Now choose: the path of men or the path of poison?"
My life will...I hugged my arms. It was suddenly very cold in the garden. Master Lugonis didn't seem disappointed by my silence, looking slightly understanding with a small smile. Then he walked past me.
"Naturally, you're frightened. You should get out of this garden."
That settled it. "No, I am not frightened. Master, for me, an orphan, you and this garden are the whole world to me." I crouched down to pick a rose myself. "I will stay here. If I leave now, you will feel lonely, and would be alone again too, Master."
Master Lugonis turned around with wide eyes and spoke with a bewildered tone. "Albafia!?"
I offered Master my finger, a small cut was dripping blood among many other cuts. "I will gladly form the Red Bond of Pisces with you." We touched fingertips. He was wearing a gentle smile while I was happy. I will become like you and we will live together. In this red garden...
Aphrodite jolted awake from the dream. It had seen so real, like a memory of a past life. Perhaps it was though. When Pope Aries was still alive, he used to accidentally call him Albafica and would correct himself when asked. He knew that Albafica was the Pisces Gold Saint who died in the previous Holy War but perhaps there was more to it? Shuddering, he felt sore all over and closed his eyes again. Perhaps later he was would find out more about the Red Bond of Pisces. Right now, all he wanted to do was sleep.
His dreams of a peaceful sleep was not a reality. Soon, night came again and with it, the same agonizing burns that tormented his whole body. Writhing on his bed, he bit his blanket to stop himself from calling out. Though he was sweating with fever, he clung to his blankets, needing something to vent his pain on. The servants in his temple quickly alerted the Pope who sent for Aquarius to cool him down. Voices came from a distance and everything blurred together. What sickness could he possibly have that could have caused all this pain for a Saint who was immune to every type of poison and illness possible? No virus or bacteria can survive long enough in his body for him to actually fall ill.
The ceremony continued for several years. At first the poison in my master's blood would inflict searing pain in my body. I couldn't count how many times I hanged on the verge of death but somehow, each time, I managed to survive.
It hurt. Every night brought waves of agony and during the day, he was too exhausted to do anything else but to rest, letting the servants feed and clean him. It was also strange, that the cut that started the whole thing on his finger would reopen every night, regardless of who had healed it during the day.
But, eventually my body got accustomed to the poison. Now I shared poisonous blood with my master. We were closer to each other than to anyone else in the world. Closer than father and son.
When everyone was just about to give up and let him die, Aphrodite pulled through the night and seemed even healthier the next morning. Even though the cut on his finger brought along pain every night, he was eventually able to brush it aside. And for some reason, he was happy. Then, one day, the last day the scar opened, he fell once again into depression, worse than the one he had when he found out he killed his own master. The dream that night was not pleasant at all.
Still, as the time went by, I realized how stupid I had been to think that way.
The wind is strong, I thought as I covered my face as it blew hair and petals into my eyes.
"So, Albafica, your finger."
"Yes." I grabbed a rose. Master looked worn out lately. He had been hiding it but I think he'd even been coughing out blood. Is something wrong with him? Dark circles surrounded his eyes and his cheeks seemed hollowed in. We exchanged blood like always.
"Albafica." Master Lugonis stared up at the sky, watching the rose petals.
"Yes?"
"Our garden...seems so beautiful."
I was confused. "Master?" They flooded me together with our mixed blood, the memories of the days we spent together. "Master!" I rushed towards him as he collapsed. "Master! Please hold on, Master! Mas-"
"It's amazing, Albafica. Finally your body had developed a poison that is stronger than me...strong enough to kill me!"
"Kill…" My eyes widened. "What..are you talking about? What are you talking about!?"
He looked serious and proud, smiling even though he was ill. "This is the fate of the Pisces. The law of the ceremony says: the one who in the process of blood exchange develops stronger poison and body more resistant to it, stays alive and replaces the other! One has to kill the other!"
Tears streamed down my face. "This...cannot be! What would I do without you...Why wouldn't you say something! You and I...no! In this world, aren't we the only companions to each other!"
He stopped smiling. "Don't cry Albafica. No doubt you're going to become a Pisces Saint stronger than me. Your ability for resisting poison couldn't escape my eyes. 16 years ago I found you in this deadly garden, alive, crying, beloved by the poisonous roses from your birth! I thought of you as a final gift, a child sent by Heavens to a lonely man." Master Lugonis tried to weakly wipe away my tears with his hand. It was so cold. He started coughing out more blood.
"Master! No! Please don't leave me alone! I have always thought we'll live together! Master!" His eyes closed.
"I will be with you forever."
"Master? My poisonous blood killed you. My blood!" I took a deep breath. "MASTER!" I cried like I have never cried before. I was alone, alone in this garden of poisonous red roses.
Depression filled Aphrodite for months afterwards. Never realizing why he would break down crying after dreaming of a stranger's death, he began to read about the history of the Pisces. The books were something that his master couldn't use, seeing as they were surrounded by poisonous roses in one of the deeper levels of the Pisces Temple but he had full access. He dove inside the books in the archives, searching for anything that had to do with the Red Bond. During that period, he took time to study the books carefully. They contained journals of all previous Pisces Saints about missions and training. Some were about gardening and the oldest ones contained information on how the roses were cultivated. Captivated by the history and experiences of the Pisces Saints before him, he began to skip meals, sleep and training (not that he trained with anyone else anyways), just to read. Soon, everyone who passed by the temple had thought that he was turning into another bookworm like Camus, maybe an even worse case.
It was only a few months later that he finally came across the journals of Pisces Lugonis and Pisces Albafica. Aphrodite was shocked at the striking resemblance between he and Albafica. It was uncanny that two people over two hundred years apart could look so much like each other. Perhaps they were related to each other. Afterall, Albafica was abandoned by his parents. He could be a descendant of a relative. But that did not explain why he had flashbacks of Albafica's life. The time period regarding when he and Albafica formed the Red Bond matched completely.
For once, Aphrodite wished that Gemini Saga had not killed Pope Aries. He could have asked the Pope about these things and when he was sick, the Pope would have known what to do. But maybe not. It's not like Aries Shion was a Pisces. Reading on, he discovered the purpose of the poisoned blood, Crimson Thorn. Aphrodite may have been loyal to Saga, but he still had pride as a Pisces Saint. He was determined to learn the attack.
It was easier than he had expected. Every move felt perfectly natural, as if he had done it before. And throughout the whole process, he could feel a gentle cosmos surrounding him encouragingly. It was so transparent that he knew the person was long dead yet familiar in ways that made it seem like family. There were whispers of advice, soft and gentle, strict and firm, in his ears. It took him a few months but in the end, he mastered Crimson Thorn. He was proud of himself; proud to realize that he was not lacking anything compared to the previous Pisces Saints.
Shion knew that something was different about Aphrodite when he stayed farther away from everyone else at the meeting than he would have usually. After the meeting, when all the Gold Saints were dismissed, he approached the Pisces Temple, hoping for some answers.
"How have you been, Aphrodite?" The Saint gave a slight start.
"Your Highness?" He whispered timidly. Shion walked closer, reaching out and grabbed Aphrodite's delicate wrist. The Saint immediately pulled away though not without stuttering an apology. Obviously plagued by memories of his betrayal, he was quite nervous around Shion. "I'm quite well, thank you."
Obviously, beating around the bush was going to get them nowhere. "And how were you a few years back?" he asked bluntly.
Aphrodite never ceased to look beautiful, even with his mouth gaping open. "I, I-"
"Be honest, Aphrodite," he reprimanded. "As much as you may want to hide it, your blood is poisonous as well, isn't it?" Ashamed and embarrassed, the younger man lowered his head in a nod but Shion only smiled and patted his head lightly. "Try not to close yourself off to the others, alright?"
"I'll try, Your Highness." And that was enough to satisfy him. Aphrodite would not suffer as all the other Pisces Saints had.