Written for Galaxian in the Saint Seiya Secret Santa of 2009. Saint Seiya and Saint Seiya the Lost Canvas do not belong to me.
"MY NEMESIS"
By Kamiya Sama
The Halls of Hades' palace stood high and clear against the dark shrouded sky, its dark cold columns like tombs rising their hands in an hopeless prayer to Gods who no longer headed to their calls. All stood silent as in a perfect personification of death, something which suited the desolated plains of hell to the perfection. There, standing motionless as a statue stood a lone shrouded figure, facing the dark marble steps beyond the threshold of the palace's gates. No wind came to wrinkle the fabric of his clothes, dark wings protruding from his back: a fallen angel in a dead and breathless world.
The specter knew he ought not to have been standing before these gates; to go beyond them was forbidden to those of his kind, even to him: Lord Hades' favorite. But the fallen angel had felt the call of his master, it flowed through his veins like the waves of the river Stix itself. He was like his shadow: the one who looked over his safety, who kept away those who disturbed and tried to seduce his Master to their own will. He had been the chosen one; the incorruptible soul entrusted with the deepest of revelations. He was Kagaho: Lord Hades' favorite. His loyalty for Him would never falter. For the God of Hell's War was one worth to be fought, even if many were those who ignored its very reasons; Hades was after all, a God of secrecy… Except for him: because he had offered Him his Loyalty, and received his God's trust in return.
The winged specter took in a deep breath and cast a long glance across the empty Halls of Hades' home as he crossed the last remaining meters leading him under the castle's towering ceilings. Closing his eyes, he tried to imagine how things must have been in the times when silence was not the only thing present amidst these halls. He tried to gather the memories he had of what his Lord had entrusted to him of these days long past.
Hades had spoken of songs, feasts and balls to remember. Aphrodite herself, in all her splendor and beauty had seated around his marble table, alongside fair Hera and slender Amphitrite. Even the Goddess of War and Wisdom had stood amongst them, long before the war had been declared. The three most beautiful Goddesses of Olympus, he had told him, bemused: Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena. Beautiful… Yes… Fair?... True… But the purest and fairest of all? No. There, seated around the table, there had been one whom had always caught his attention, her long ebony hair braided with pale flowers of Nymphredil and lilies white. She had always worn the most beautiful of colors which the Olympians themselves had never seen before, a gift of creating colors which she had, and had chosen to offer the earth every year, yet seldom doing thus in his dark and empty halls. Still, He had always had eyes only for her: the other Gods had been fools not to notice it; he had been utterly smitten with her since he first had cast his eyes upon her.
Everything he had, he had given to her, allowing her to fulfill all her wishes and desires whenever it pleased her. He had treated her as a princess, setting her upon a pedestal, admiring her and protecting her as though she were but a precious and fragile jewel when all other Olympians had simply disregarded her. Yet, she had not been happy; he had seen it in the glint of her eyes and it had saddened Him. She, the giver of colors and brightness had had the grimmest eyes of all he had ever been given to see. Albeit all the brightness and colors emanating from her, she had been but a shadow to them all, forgotten and unnoticed save by himself. He had been the only one to consider her above all others and her pain had profoundly wounded him. True, the God of Hell had taken her away from earth, he had ensnared her in his own world without her consent, but he had truly loved her. And somehow, he had never doubted the Goddess herself had shared these feelings albeit the sadness which she bore within her heart and soul.
Every day, the Emperor of Hell had asked her what so deeply troubled her. Why was she not happy in his presence? He had asked of her. Weren't his Halls welcoming enough to satisfy her heart and wishes? He had offered her a world of colors, He whom in the underworld seldom allowed such things to happen. Elysium had been a gift to her, allowing her to transform it to her heart's desire. Had He not even offered for her to perform her powers across the many prisons which divided his Kingdom? He loved her beyond measure; surely she must have known it as well. Did she not love Him in return? What was there which he could offer to give her back the sparkle of life in her eyes which had so much charmed him on their first encounter?
But never had she given him an answer, sparing him only one short glance of sadness before retrieving into her apartments, leaving him alone with his unanswered questions in the darkness of his rooms.
It was during the days following Odysseus' return to Ithaca and Athena's victory over Poseidon's wrath that the Goddess of Spring had finally given him an answer. As usual, he had asked her the same ritual of questions and had expected her to turn away from him once more; but she had instead faced him, to his utter surprise.
"Oh Hades," she had then answered in distress, her eyes gazing down his own distraught ones, "Where, in your world is there any true color?"
"But…" he had answered, "you are the one who brings colors to my world. You have made this Kingdom to your image like I promised I would let you do so. Aren't these colors true to your eyes?"
"They are mine, Hades. Where are yours?"
"I…"
She had stared at him mournfully as he struggled in search of words to offer, but he had had no answer to give her. Slowly, he had cast down his eyes and she had turned her back upon him, disappointment shining in the midst of her clear grey orbs. Her dark hair had swayed behind her as the lilies braided in her hair fell from her tresses and withered into nothingness at his feet.
"The world I bring you here is but one of illusions. The brightness I bring lasts but because of my presence. Even your fair Elysium is nothing but a pale copy of that I desire. Your world is not mine, Hades. It never was… And never will be. That is why no matter how many of the seeds of Hell I would have eaten, never would I have stayed by your side for eternity."
A long silence had followed her declaration as Hades had let his head fall between his hands, his dark hair disheveled about his prostrate form.
"Then… Our love… Was but an illusion." He had whispered bitterly back.
" Hades, what have you ever done to show me your love? You stole me away from the land I loved and deceived me with your cursed pomegranate of Hell. You did not even give me the chance to know you, to trust you, nor to love you before our wedding."
"I gave you everything!" he had shot back, his hands trembling with hanger. "My world became your world. Do you believe my kingdom was meant to be a garden? It has only been so because I wanted to offer you a second home similar to the one you loved. Whatever is it that you want of me? What do I have to do to prove my love to you?"
"Hades, I only desire to live in a world which corresponds to what I am. A world where I should find my perfect color; and a world of freedom."
He had shaken his head in despair and hearing no answer pass his lips she had sighed and begun to leave.
"Until you can offer me this, we shall not meet again."
Her light steps had slowly faded in the distance until finally all had grown quiet and the God left alone to his gloomiest thoughts. Gone…She had gone… Gone from his life since that fatal day when the lilies from her hair had withered to his feet. He had not understood her words then, just as he never had been able to decipher her enigmatic phrases all along those long years of common life.
Since that fatal day, he had hated the Earth, this Earth which the one he loved had chosen over him, this Earth whose colors she seemingly could not create to the perfection in his own world. Then, if it was earth she loved, Earth would become his and he would cover it with his own perfect color once he would find it: a color that even She would not be bound to create. He would charm her, cast a spell upon her by his abilities and take the Earth away from between them. Earth would need to die as it was and be reborn to their image: that of Hell and Spring, mingled as one.
Kagaho, beholder of his Emperor's trust had learned all this and even more. He reopened his eyes and continued his walk across the empty and silent halls. If Earth had needed to perish because she stood in the way between Hades and Persephone, he continued to think, she now needed to die with all the humanity in Athena's service for the crimes they had committed; for the death of Persephone they had caused in the first Holly War. He knew that Hades, then although wounded by a Saint of Athena had begged for his almighty brother Zeus in Olympus to give him back his Persephone, but the God of gods had refused, choosing to retrieve himself away from the matters of this world. These wars, he had said, were none of his affairs.
"You, Poseidon and Athena have broken the long lasting peace of the Olympians. If you were not my brothers, and she my favorite daughter, I would have long punished you for your follies. You have now plunged us into an eternity of everlasting 'Holly Wars'. As if it had not been enough with the titans, the giants, Typhoon… I congratulate you brother. It seems that peace is not part of any of your wishes."
"All I want," Hades had growled back, "is my wife back!"
"Through the destruction of her body, she has now entered the cycle of reincarnation. Her soul will be born again in the body of a mortal but it will only be up to you to win her back."
Hades had then swirled around to face the one who had pronounced such words and found himself glaring into the fiery eyes of his own prophesying nephew: Apollo.
"Your wars will last for thousands of years," the sun god continued, "and only end when Persephone's soul will return upon the Earth. The outcome of your foolish quarrels will only depend on the side she will choose to take. Yours, or that of the Earth from whence she came."
"And when, pray tell," he had questioned gritting his teeth, "will that day come, oh Apollo Prophet of Olympus?"
"When she will deem her time his ripe," the sun God had answered sharply, before striding away from his uncle.
Kagaho knew this was the last of the Olympians his Master had seen and though he had not taken Apollo's words lightly, Hades' hate for Earth could not be drenched. Eternal cycle of wars or not, the Lord of Hell would continue to strive to break this Earth which had brought upon him so many miseries. What the specter now wondered was whether the God of Hell still wished to regain the love and presence of his wife or simply accomplish his vengeance over that which had destroyed all his chances of happiness and ideals: Athena and her Saints who now forever stood in his way. But either way, the Fallen Angel of Hell prayed for the victory of his Ruler over the Spring Goddess's heart whence she returned. Not only to assure their victory, but because he deemed the Goddess was the only one capable of bringing back the spark of life to Hades' true charnel envelope lying safely enclosed in its marble tomb in Elysium.
Still walking amongst the marble halls lost in his dark thoughts, he did not yet realize the presence of voices ahead of him. Suddenly slowing down his pace, he made way towards where the noises seemed to be coming from, forgetting suddenly all of his worries. He found himself surprised to find his steps leading him closer and closer to Lord Hades' private apartments. Giggles and whispers; things which never had been heard in these halls for over a thousand years. Could it be that his ears were tricking him? No, such a thing would be impossible … And yet… The soft whispers grew suddenly more persistent, threatening his own sanity. He knew, and would have sworn upon the head of Hades himself had it not been a blasphemy altogether that such a thing would and could not be possible in these halls dedicated to silence. Not unless…
He suddenly felt his heart skip a beat. Could it be then that she …? He shook his head. No. Such a thing was impossible. Her return… Should it ever come to be, was not meant for this war. They all knew it, he and Gods alike that this war would not be the last, should they even become victorious of this fight. The ultimate war would not be until 247 years still to come and only then would She, the Goddess of Seasons and queen of Hell, bless this ravaged world of her presence and the last war finally be fought for the greatest glory of their Lord and blessed God. Apollo had given no dates, but the Specter had learned to read the stars in his younger years and he knew the time was not yet ripe. He had informed his Master of this, of course, but then again, he thought, rationally, prophecies were never correct. What if, by any chance, this was the sign of their last war and ultimate victory? Suddenly feeling the urge to break the mystery with his own eyes, he discretely slid the door open, just largely enough so to peer into Hades' chamber without being seen.
Ah, yes, there she was, standing beside the one he honored above all else, her dark ebony hair encircling her pale porcelain complexion. His blood began to run cold through his veins, feeling all little colors he had forsaking his long and chiseled face. Her exquisite features covered in clothes of darkness contrasted with the paleness of her skin and ruby of her lips. Yes, it would have been a lie not to consider her as a beautiful woman: a woman whose beauty he had once known and mistook for a mortal; a woman he had so shamefully loved in secret in his childhood years.
He watched as she spoke to him, smiling with a look of condescendence as she stroke his hand in compassion, plunging her dark orbs into the darkness of his own. He simply gazed back at her, a faint smile grazing his perfect lips; she, lying upon her knees, her small hand reverently placed upon his knee; he, regally seated upon his throne, his head casually resting upon his arm, in a movement of earnest contentment.
As awkward as the situation was , Kagaho felt suddenly as though to have just disturbed two lovers lingering in each other's company, content to plunge their eyes in each others. But, if hers were full of fire and longing, Hades' seemed bleak, dark and empty of any form of compassion or feelings. His lips were merry, but his eyes declared otherwise, much to the winged specter's relief, he guiltily admitted. For the one beside the God of Hell was not the long awaited immortal and beautiful Goddess of spring, but a deceitful and mortal woman beholding the Lord of Hell under her grasp: the cursed woman they all here called Pandora. Oh, he had never been given the chance to meet the Priestess of Hell in person before but it suddenly made no doubt that the woman now standing before his Lord was but Pandora herself: the same woman whom in the past had seduced him in his early years as a specter.
He gritted his teeth and cursed himself silently. This woman had almost been his downfall in his early years, when believing she was a mortal, he had been on the brink of assassinating one of his fellow wraiths in order to prevent him from killing the girl and this, only to find out she had been one of his Lord's closest servants. Even then, she had not revealed her true nature as the Priestess of Hell and Kagaho had simply believed her to be a specter in training. This woman, he thought, was a curse to them all. Who knew how far her deceitful and seemingly ambitious nature would lead her to?
Not standing to watch this scene any longer, the specter lingered but a few seconds longer before finally deciding it wiser to leave the two to their own privacy, no matter how much such a situation displeased him. His secrecy though, turned out to be less promising than he had hoped for, as Hades called out his name, making him jerk slightly back in surprise.
"Kagaho! My most beloved wraith!" the Prince of Hell called out, casually, motioning for the door beyond which the young man had been hiding to open with a mere wave of his hand. "What brings you here, in my private halls?"
The God of Hell, his serene and inviting smile upon his lips, gestured for him to come closer, but the specter did not dare, preferring to kneel down on the spot in a sign of submission and worship, swallowing back his uneasiness.
"Forgive me, oh my God of Gods, I did not wish to intrude," he declared, albeit too stiffly for his satisfaction. The truth was, he found himself quite uncomfortable to be in such a disgraceful situation. Spying upon one's master was not something a most respectful and trusted specter ought to have done under any circumstances.
"Intrude? Why, know that you shall never intrude my loyal servant. You are welcome to visit whenever it pleases you, for you are the one of all your pairs in which I pour all my trust. Now," he continued, rising slightly in his seat as Pandora removed her hand from his knee albeit reluctantly, "Please, rise to your feet and pray tell: what brings you here in my company?"
Gesturing for the young specter to raise to his feet, Kagaho slowly shifted his head in one final bow before regaining his full stature, graceful for his master to not have taken any offence in his unexpected visit.
"Nothing serious, my Lord," he begun, his voice steady and professional, "I only wished to check on your well being is all. It would have pained me to find you disturbed by unwanted company."
He had not meant for his words to be insulting, yet he found himself incapable of not setting his eyes upon the woman the moment his words had left his mouth. If she felt any outrage or pain upon this phrase, she simply answered with a glare of disdain and utter superiority.
"Not at all, my loyal Kagaho. Lady Pandora was just entertaining me is all," Hades answered as he removed a strand of dark hair from the priestess' face. "In fact," he continued, addressing her directly, " I believe I have not yet introduced you my dear, to my most trusted servant: Kagaho, the specter of Bennu. He has been by my side for countless years and I trust him with my own life. Kagaho," he continued, switching his attention back upon the young specter, "here is Lady Pandora of which I know you have already much heard of. It seems as though this day was made for my two favorite servants to meet." He gave the specter a slight grin to which Kagaho answered with one of his own. "But", the Lord of Hell finally added wearily, " it is true that I must now attend to my duties. I assume it shall not bother you to escort Lady Pandora to her apartments I suppose?"
"Not at all, my lord," the specter answered, hiding his contempt behind the professionalism of his voice. "It will be my pleasure to serve you as you wish, my Master."
At this, Hades smiled back to him and nodded in contentment.
"I do not regret putting my trust in you, young one. And for your great and loyal services you have offered me up to now, I shall reveal you this: my masterpiece will soon be completed and the cycle of wars come to an end."
He smiled brightly and stooped slightly to pick a glass of whine which had been set upon the nearby table before him.
Kagaho stiffened slightly, his gesture not escaping the shrewd eyes of the mortal woman, making her smile secretly to herself in triumph.
"You do not seem pleased by these news, Kagaho. Might there be something troubling you which you might wish to share with us?" she asked casually, yet the specter felt she had done so as to put him in a situation of uneasiness purposely.
"Not at all," he answered sharply before focusing his attention again upon his sovereign. "My surprise is great is all. I was awaiting actually the coming of someone else for this victory to be utterly complete, but if my Lord has found a way to counter this, I can only satisfy myself of his victory."
Hades slowly sat down his glass back upon the table and scrutinized longly the pale and expressionless face of his specter, as Pandora narrowed her eyes, a cold threat emanating from them in silence. The god of Hell pondered these words for a while and the specter suddenly feared to have out passed his rights in secretly implying the missing presence of his lord's rightful queen.
"Things may change indeed, Kagaho," Hades finally answered in an even tone. "But others do not. An utter victory sometimes demands of us profound sacrifices of which the wounds never heel. The Lord of Hell shall remain a God void of emotions, nor good, nor bad; simply delivered of passions. I shall then be the pure image of perfection."
Kagaho simply bowed his head in acceptance, understanding the hidden message behind his Lord's words. For if the earth was finally destroyed and deprived of all living forms, there would be no mortal for Persephone to reincarnate into. And the Goddess of Spring would never return. He had not expected his Lord to take such a radical decision, not after all which his Lord had revealed to him about the Goddess of Earth and his feelings for her. He could not believe Hades would have chosen to discard all hopes of regaining his lost wife's love after having even begged his own brother for her return. There was something behind all this, something he did not like. Destroying Athena's powers and kingdom upon earth was one thing, to destroy it altogether and turn it into dust was another.
Hades suddenly sighed and waved his hand in a sign of dismissal.
"Go, now, the two of you. I wish to be left alone. My mind is deeply troubled and needs some rest. My art cannot risk imperfection because of my lack of rest."
"As you wish, my Lord. As always, I remain at your command," Kagaho replied, bowing again low before his lord.
"My lady," he added coolly as he offered the priestess his hand so to help her rise to her feet. Taking it albeit reluctantly, she gave one last smile of affection to the Lord of Hell and let herself be guided out of his apartments, a feigned smile upon her lips until the doors finally closed softly behind her.
The specter led her on, feeling her hand slip away from his own as they moved on until they finally lost all contact, remaining silent in their shared contempt.
"The Bennu Specter, you, Hades' most trusted and loyal servant?" the woman finally sneered as they continued to walk along the corridors towards her apartments. "I must say it was quite a surprise."
"It does not please you, doesn't it, Pandora, that our Lord has chosen to settle his trust into someone other than you?" he mocked her, speeding up his walk. "I will not let you have it your way, Pandora. Hades is not your puppet."
At this, the woman stopped dead in her tracks, ceasing the specter's wrist firmly, forcing him to face her, her eyes flashing with hanger.
"I will not let you say such things nor even dare imagine them, specter," she uttered, her voice trembling with barely contained wrath.
"But isn't it what you are doing?" he sneered. "Enclosing him in this room, forcing him to work on this canvas… "
"Speak not of things you do not understand. It is his Majesty's will to cover the world of his art! The Earth will finally be destroyed!"
She began to laugh enraging even more the specter who, not standing it any longer, slapped her across the face. She yelped in surprise, caressing her swollen cheek as a drip of blood escaped her lips.
"The more I see my King, the less I find him the same. What have you been doing to him?" He growled, grabbing her forearms and shaking her without mercy.
"Stop it! You are hurting me!" she protested, freeing herself of his grasp.
Harshly, he released her, sending her flying against the nearby wall. She gasped at the contact, slowly catching her breath as she leaned herself against the cold columns to regain her balance.
"You are a brute, do you know that?" she spat, wiping the blood away from the corner of her mouth. "I could have you punished for this."
"And under what accusations?" he asked, casually, as he approached her menacingly, his hot breath coming into contact with the skin of her bare neck.
" I despise you," she whispered back, her voice heavy with contempt.
"Humpf! You did not always think so! In those days… Do you not remember?" He smiled grimly as he grasped one strand of her hair and twisted it around his finger.
"I have always hated you!" she yelled, pulling herself away from him. "Already as a child, you strived to bring me away from his Majesty Hades. You have always done everything in your power to keep us apart. What do you think I should make of this then? Aren't you the one trying to make our Lord as your puppet, by choosing his relations yourself?"
"I was not aware, back then, whom you were to become, you made me believe you were but a mortal" he answered back, stiffly, slowly regaining his composure. "Nor had I known you to be charged of finding Hades' reincarnation upon this Earth. I have always worked solely for the purpose of my Master, I serve him alone and no one else. And I do it in no search of favors nor in interests."
"Then I believe this makes us equal," she answered, coldly. "I too only live to serve our Lord and it is my duty to see him succeed in the completion of his masterpiece. I want this war to be his last. Is it not what you wish for as well?"
"Of course," the specter sighed in exasperation. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Because," she continued, halfway bemused as she moved closer to her enemy, " the news of this work's completion did not seem to please you as much as it should have. What is it that troubles you in Hades' victory?"
"Some things, I believe, I am in no position to reveal to you," he answered harshly and cautiously.
"I see." She smiled back at him in amusement and turned her back to him.
Something suddenly caught the specter's attention which he had not noticed before in the woman's hair. What was it, this glint of white; lilies? His mind suddenly went into accelerated motion as he ran to catch up with the priestess of Hell, grabbing her wrist in the process, stopping her in her assurance.
Glaring at her now in utter fury, it took him all the patience he could muster not to beat the woman to her death on the instant.
"How can you do this, Pandora?" he spat, trembling with hanger and for the first time, the young woman felt fear in the presence of someone other than a God.
"What do you mean?" she asked her voice betraying her growing fear.
"I speak of this:" the specter yelled back in her face as he ripped away the lilies braided in the girl's long ebony hair, ripping away a cry of pain from her in the process. "Did you think I would not notice?" he continued, as the lilies fell to the ground, slowly decaying to the specter's feet. " That I would not see through your little game? What do you think you are doing, trying to resemble the Goddess of Spring?" He could feel now his voice quavering with profound hanger. "When my Lord spoke of this war being his last, I felt something was amiss, just as I particularly disliked your presence by his side when I arrived. You know perfectly well, as all those close to our Lord Hades, that this War is not meant to be the last, shall Hades even manage to win over Athena's forces and bring down his despicable niece. The Earth cannot be destroyed during our time, it would…"
"What would it do?" she cut in, slowly regaining her composure. "Unable Her to return? Is that what you fear?"
Kagaho's eyes narrowed as he slowly began to guess what Pandora's next words would be.
"Persephone abandoned Hades. She did not choose to return after over a thousand of years, I doubt she will return in future wars to come. She is not worthy to reincarnate. Let her remain a wandering shadow amidst the clouds of Olympus and may Hades finally bring his rule over this despicable place humans call earth."
"You manipulate him," Kagaho snapped at her, "you are trying to erase Persephone away from his heart! Don't you know all of these wars have been fought but for the very reason he has wished to reconquer her love and presence?"
"It is not Persephone, it is his queen he wishes to have by his side," she answered triumphantly. "And this love he needs, he shall receive from me!"
"Braiding lilies in your hair and mimicking all of Persephone's ways will not make you take her place."
"Oh really?" she mocked him, raising her chin in condescendence. "Do not forget I was the one to steal away Hades' first kiss."
"The first kiss of a mere reincarnation," he replied in disdain. "Though that boy is now utterly possessed by my Lord's spirit, it is not his true lips which you have kissed."
"Aaaah…." She smiled before letting out a small laugh. "But it is his soul which I have touched. Face it Kagaho, it is not Persephone he loves any longer, it is I, I and I alone! For I am the one who will bring him his victory!"
"Keep your illusions Pandora," he sneered, "if believing he is smitten with you helps you to support him in his achievements, I shall be fine with it. But to see you mingle with his mind and heart, I will not tolerate it."
"Tolerate whatever you want, specter, soon you will learn to show me more respect. I love him and I shall become his queen once this war will be won."
"And should you succeed in erasing Persephone forever away from his heart and soul, what then will become of you Pandora?" he shot back in hanger. "You will remain a mortal, doomed to die, even more so now that the Virgo Saint has created the sacred Mala* which seals away our immortality. You have no essence of a Goddess whatsoever."
"I am not stupid, Kagaho," she whispered softly, her voice bringing chills up his spine as she continued to speak. "Once I will have drunk at the cup of Ambrosia, I shall become his equal and if ever you came into my way…" she went on, bringing her lips up to his ear," I would have your head served to me on a silver plate."
She moved away from him, savoring the glint of doubt which now shone deep into the Bennu's charcoal orbs.
"All along you have been scheming to gain this power," he murmured bitterly.
"Not entirely," she answered, firmly setting her eyes into his own in a mere move of intimidation. "I chose this also because I love him and no little forgotten, useless and abandoning little Goddess of clammy grass and withering reeds now gone for over a thousand of years will come into my way."
Kagaho suddenly felt all his tension and hanger fly away from his body as he leaned against one of the walls in resignation, still gazing at the woman in sheer horror and disgust.
"When I think I tried, long ago, to keep you away from those poppy fields, believing you were a mere harmless and kind hearted child…," he said incredulously. "I had tried to prevent you from meeting Hades' reincarnation believing I was saving the life of a young girl that had caught my heart. Already then you had played with me, knowing you were to find Hades' host on the twin gods' orders. You lured me with your charms so that I might not be present on your first encounter with him… so you would be able to try and steal his heart away. And to think I had thought to love you…"
"Love me?" The woman began to laugh frantically before finally answering the specter's declaration. "And what would you have had to offer, even if I had then told you who I was? Hades will make me a Goddess. You, would have simply left me to my human condition."
"You are truly a monster," he murmured in disgust.
"We are all monsters, Kagaho, we are in the world of Hell," she smirked, mocking him openly.
Slowly she walked up to his face and stroke his cheek with one of her pale and frigid fingers.
"You were so easy to deceive," she mused, lurking into his angry eyes. "Too bad I had not known you would become so important for my Lord Hades. I would have then thought of a better use for you."
An evil grin came to graze her fair lips before she finally chose to release him from her cold and paralyzing stare. Lightly, she strode away, her dark robes floating behind her as a dark shroud of night foaming about the cold marble floor of the halls.
"Soon, I will be your goddess Kagaho, and you will have no other choice but to obey me. Only one last obstacle lies in my way and he shall soon be gone!" she gave out a small laugh of triumph, not even offering him one last glance before disappearing into the corridors which led to her private apartments.
The specter slowly felt his heart beat again and realized he must have stopped breathing all the while of Pandora's last words of doom. Clenching his fists, he yelled out in rage before embedding his two hands in the nearest wall he could find. She was manipulating him. She was using him. She was not meant to be his trusted servant. For all her treacheries, she should have been punished, worse: condemned to certain death. She was abusing of his Lord's broken heart, trying to take the place of a Goddess meant only to return in a little more than two centuries from now. A Goddess for whose love Hades had first started these wars thousands of years ago. Obstructing Persephone from Hades' world would be condemning these Holly Wars to an utter nonsense. If victory there was in this War, at no cost had Pandora to survive or she would have it her way and Hades, his beloved lord, would be consumed by this woman's poison and ambition. He could not allow her to bring his Lord to destroy earth's entire surface, thus condemning Persephone to an eternal sleep in the depth of Oblivion. He knew this was not what his Master truly wanted, deep down in his heart.
He sighed in frustration, raising his eyes to the barely perceptible high ceilings towering over him. Oh Hades, he thought… How could you let her ensnare you in such a way?
Slowly, he walked towards the balcony towering over the barren fields of Elysium and leaned himself against the balustrade. Things were getting complicated. Too complicated. And if he wanted to save his lord from this harpy, he would perhaps have no other choice but to act against his own pairs and give those damned saints of Athena the possibility to stop this canvas from being fulfilled. He knew once the paintings finished, Pandora would do everything to have it her way in the new and perfect world of his beloved master. But it would be Her world… Not his…
" Pardon me, my lord Hades", he murmured into the void emptiness of the air about him. "I will only act for the love I have for you. I know, by this choice of opposing myself to the completion of your canvas, I shall be punished in the next life that shall be mine. But I will endure my pains, even through eternity, knowing that my actions will have been led by my love and loyalty to you only."
He took in a deep breath and suddenly found himself crying. That Taurus bastard had been right: he had been different from all those other specters in Hades' service. Because he had known these wars were fought because of Hades' love for Persephone. His heart had not been ruled by deceit and ambition and will of power like the others. Yes, he had been different because he knew this war was a war for love.
Slowly, the tears ceased to spill down from his eyes and the young specter began to ponder over which decision was now the wisest to take. Perhaps, he thought, was it time to pay another visit to Sanctuary. Pandora had spoken of one last obstacle which stood in her way before she could fully obtain Lord Hades' heart and no doubt this obstacle was no other than Lord Hades' past childhood friend known under the name of Tenma. Surely enough, Pandora would try to kill this pathetic Pegasus Saint but without Persephone's presence, this pitiful human, though he ought to have been his enemy, was perhaps the only one which might maintain a feeble glint of love in Hades' heart. And only a feeble glint of love was necessary for his Master to be reminded of his love for the fair Goddess of Seasons. That despicable human needed to live in order to save his master's true soul!
He shook his head in rage, cursing himself for what he was about to be doing. Curse you, Pandora, he thought. I loved you, and you fooled me; I who had taken you then for a mere human and suffered all forms of guilt for this unnatural feeling. I almost killed a brother of arms for you!
He banged his fist strongly against the dark stone parapet, leaving a small hole in its place as he removed his hands before passing them wearily over his tired face. This, all of it, was her fault. How much he hoped she would pay for her treachery and deceit should Hades uncover her true nature.
Just one last war, he thought, one last little war and Persephone would return. Smiling evilly as he raised his head towards the heavens, he silently prayed to the Goddess to return soon by his master's side. Please, he thought, do not make my abilities to read the stars lie to me. For I know, he pursued, that once upon your return, Pandora shall know her downfall and suffer for all the ill she will have caused during this life.
As if the Goddess of Seasons had heard him from beyond the boundaries of this world, he felt a sudden surge of peace and serenity, confirming to his mind that what he was about to do was the right decision. Gracefully, he climbed upon the stone railing of the balcony and taking in one last breath, took his flight away from Lord Hades' Palace into the direction of Athena's Sanctuary. I thank thee, Persephone, if you can hear me, he thought serenely, please through whatever power you may muster from where you now dwell, help my Lord's heart to remain incorruptible to this witches' powers.
As he slowly begun to notice the first houses of Athens in the rising light, his thoughts began to wonder back to his encounter there with the Gold Saint of the second house. Taurus Bastard, he thought, apart from your fighting skills, at least in this also I honor you. For you have revealed to me that my loyalty for my Master goes beyond any of those specters you will be given to fight, for I alone answer to Lord Hades' true will and wishes. You, Taurus Aldebaran, have made me realize our true enemy lies not amongst your troops, no matter how much I may hate Libra Doko for what he has done, my Lord's true enemy lies within our own troops. Yes, he continued to muse as he flew across the morning sky, it was you Pandora, since ever the war was declared. You are… My Nemesis.
*a mala : a chapelet or Buddhist set of prayer beads.
Merry Christmas to you Galaxian and I hope this story will meet your expectations! The title is of course a reference to Kagaho's last words which don't refer to the goddess of vengeance but to the synonym of "Archenemy" ;) I know you had asked for a bit of humor but I'm afraid my muse out passed my will and brought me more into the universe of angst and drama. Hope I did not go against your own vision of the characters and still offer you a story worthy of your interest for those two fabulous characters which are Kagaho and Pandora!:) It was a real challenge for me to write this story (I was in the hospital when I wrote it XD but that wasn't the only reason) because I had had a few things in mind regarding these two characters' relationship already as I wanted to speak of them in my ongoing story I am still writing on FanFiction. I was really happy to give a chance to show why Kagaho was so different from the other specters and at giving a hint of the reason why we do not see this specter appear in the next and final Holly War, as well as why Pandora met such a tragic fate in this final war when she was clearly someone very close to Hades in the Lost Canvas. :) Once again, merry Christmas under the sign of Saint Seiya! ^^
Kamiya Sama (aka Lady Susan on DA)