Don't Black Out.
As his muscles screamed in agony with every step, as his breath became more and more strained, as his vision blurred in exhaustion, and as blood trickled down the wounds of his body while his heart continued to will his tired body into functioning, the only thing that kept Andromeda Shun's mind from hazing into unconsciousness was that mental chant.
Don't Black Out.
While the upgrades and adjustments Aries Mu gave Shun and his fellow Bronze Saints in regards to sacred cloths did their job in ensuring that the armor remained mostly intact during the gauntlet of the 12 Houses, the survival of his soul and flesh were entirely up to them, and it each passing minute brought them closer to absolute failure. But Shun knew that if he withdrew his Cloth back into its container and give his body even a minor respite without the mystic weight of the Andromeda Cloth impeding his ascent, it would guarantee death. Besides, it wasn't as if Shun could just let one of his comrades take over.
After the previous house, the other Bronze Saints were left completely exhausted. Despite how awful shape Shun himself was in, he was able to hide his critical condition enough to volunteer to clear the final house and for the other Saints to believe that he could do it. His body was telling him it was a bad call, especially since he had no idea what awaited him, but at the very least Shun believed he could at least by the others time to recuperate. Saori only had an hour before her fate was sealed, and the only way to rescue her was to clear the 12 houses. Therefore, Shun stepped into the house and prepared for what was to likely be his final battle. As long as he didn't get slaughtered into seconds, Shun could pass knowing that he bought the time needed for the others to recover and avenge his death.
"My my...I had heard that a bunch of Bronze neophytes were running a train across my Gold comrades...but I suppose there's a limit to how long a miracle can be drawn out."
Shun was lauded by his peers for his complete mastery of Cosmo manipulation and sensitivity, but it didn't take a master to sense the overwhelming aura of sinister intent beating down upon him like a monsoon. His pupils dilated as his struggles against exhaustion allowed him to assess the temple where he would face his opponent. The temple floor had the appearance of a rose garden, with black, white and red blooms emerging from the pavement like beautiful weeds. There was a strange aroma coming from the garden, but it wasn't anything poisonous: Shun's training included being able to identity and protect himself from toxins, and he couldn't detect any shifts in his cosmo that weren't happening already due to fatigue. But that scene...copper...blood? Why did the roses smell like blood?
It was a faintest flicker of murderous intent approaching him from his left that caused Shun to lunge into action and twist counter-clockwise, hurling the blunt end of his Cloth's inherent chain weapon at where the intent approached him. The source of the intent vanished for only an instant, but it was enough for Shun to lock onto his position and finally gaze upon his foe as he landed on his feet with his arms folded. Seiya mentioned something en route to the Zodiac Houses' secret location in the mountain ranges of Greece about tales he heard from other Saints during his time training in Sanctuary: the Pope's final guardian before his stronghold at Athena's main temple past the House of Pisces, stood a lethal yet beautiful warrior, his physical attractiveness directly contrasting the blackness of his heart. It was no surprise that upon asking Mu about this figure, that he confirmed that Deathmask was a close personal friend of the Pisces Saint that stared at Shun with the eyes of a violent predator.
"Aphrodite…"
"Oh...you've heard of me?" the lavender haired Gold Saint with the beauty mark and violet lips said with a grin. "How flattering...you know I've had eyes on you for a while, Andromeda. You could imagine how interested a Gold Saint would be when his Pope told him that the current avatar of Sanctuary's sworn enemy Hades was a Bronze Saint chosen by fate to serve the house he was born to destroy. It made the bounty he put on your head all the more enticing."
Shun's secrets were somehow lay before this man he had only heard of through reputation. Shun's beloved elder brother, Phoenix Ikki, confessed to him before the trek up the 12 Houses that he rebelled against the Graude Foundation that adopted them when he heard rumors that they intended to breed Shun into being Hades' next body so that they could kill the both of them while trapped in flesh. But Shun told Ikki that his master, the late headmaster of Andromeda Island, was immediately aware of his fate and instead taught him meditation techniques that allowed him to properly channel and vent the dark wave of unholy murderous intent. It sounded cool, but for Shun, his meditation technique was quite simple. As long as he focused on that which he treasured most, the killing intent would remain dormant, and Shun could fight with a clear conscience.
Still, no time to be tilted by Aphrodite's knowledge. Don't black out.
"I need to clear this temple to save Athena," Shun said quietly, keeping his eyes upon Aphrodite as he stalked his prey, walking a circle around Shun as the Andromeda Saint lay his chain upon the ground and prepared for the worst. "Surrender now, and let me pass. If you don't-ACK!"
The fatigue was even worse than Shun initially thought. Even though a Gold Saint could move at light speed at a minimum, Shun knew that his ability to track Cosmo allowed him to react and protect himself when that speed was used against him. Moreover, the chains he lay at his feet were supposed to protect all angles around him. Aphrodite was fast, but while Shun's eyes could follow him, his body could no longer keep up. What a terrible time to reach his limit.
"Your threats have no effect on me, neophyte. Like I said, a miracle can only last so long. That is exactly why the 12 Houses are structured like a gauntlet: even if an enemy were to defeat one of us, in the end we will prevail. And the role of Pisces is to clean up the trash that climbs up this mountain that wasn't put to the landfill by the other houses...and that's what you are, you know? Trash."
While Aphrodite appeared lithe, his grip was tighter than a steel clamp, and Shun could only gurgle. Don't black out...black...black…
Aphrodite hurled Shun to the floor where he rolled over onto this back. As he willed his body to climb back to his feet, the most he could do was roll over onto his stomach and struggle to push himself up. Shun knew he was about to die, and his body was in such terrible shape that he couldn't even damage his enemy. A Gold Saint would have been a life-or-death struggle even if Shun was completely healthy, but in his eagerness to be a hero, instead he would just be a helpless victim. But it appeared Aphrodite was a sadist: all he had to do was not black out, keep pretending to believe he stood a chance, and Aphrodite would try and break him rather than realize that his friends were in even worse shape. He could still buy time for his friends, and hope that they could avenge him in the afterlife.
Aphrodite wiped his gold boot on Shun's face before kicking his temple and forcing him back onto his back, placing his foot on Shun's chest and looking into his blurred eyes. "...I know what you're trying to do, pretty one," Aphrodite hummed as he leaned down and slapped Shun on his cheek to keep him from losing conscious. "You're probably thinking I'm going to play with you thinking that I'll be so busy making your last moments agonizing ones, that I'll forget about your friends at the house below...sadly I'm going to disappoint you. The Pope has entrusted me to clean up the trash, and he has given me a deadline. But don't worry, I'm not going to kill you immediately. I want you to savor your death, especially as I drop the heads of your friends next to your broken body just before you pass."
It was bad enough that Shun could not even defend himself. It was bad enough that his decision prove his heroism looked like a worse and worse call. But Aphrodite seeing through his choice to die in humiliating agony as a ploy to buy his friends time was almost too much to bear. He wanted to cry as he sometimes would as a child, fitting his reckless decision to ignore common sense. But he wasn't going to allow this man the satisfaction. He needed to face his death with courage. And hope that even the minimal minutes he bought his friends would be enough
Aphrodite waved his hand and a white rose uprooted itself from the ground to float between his fingers. A slight spray of red emerged from its root as it did so…blood. "You saw the blood. It's as bad as you think. The roses here grow not from dirt and water, but from the blood of my victims. And once I plant this white rose into your body, it's pedals will turn red with the dye of your blood. Once it blooms fully red, your death will be confirmed. This entire garden is the unmarked grave of those I had to dispose of...like I said, you're trash, and like trash at the compost heap you're going to be used as fertilizer for my garden."
What a terrible way to die. A wave of regret washed over Shun as he cursed his fate. If he had only been a little more patient, maybe this wouldn't be how everything ended. The fragrance of the garden further sapped his strength, so perhaps it was poisonous after all and he just couldn't tell due to his fatigue. Why did he have to act so macho...no, it wasn't macho. He needed to be brave and venture into the unknown for the sake of his friends. Sometimes it paid off, and this time it didn't, and it would prove to be fatal. At least with this slow agonizing death Aphrodite was about to cast upon him, lowering himself to plant the stem of the white rose within Shun's flesh, Shun could mull over what apology he'd tell the others when he met them in the afterlife…
"HCK!"
...the terrible pain of being seeded with the Bloody Rose did not come. At first Shun thought it was because his body was too numb to feel it, and it was only when Aphrodite stumbled off of him that Shun noticed that something was wrapped around the Gold Saint's neck. And with his extra moment's respite, Shun regained enough of his wits to feel that familiar Cosmo. It was a signature that he held dear to him, even closer than his beloved brother Ikki and his fellow Bronze Saints. It was the same signature that kept him from succumbing to the boundless killer instinct that lay within him, for his memory of that signature kept him serene.
Aphrodite tossed a black rose at the direction of the rope that coiled around his neck, and the rope loosened immediately as the aggressor loosened her hold to evade the attack. He wasn't so much shocked as he was agitated, as a Gold Saint should have been able to sense a Cosmo so close to him. Following the signature of the Cosmo as he locked onto it, he found a cloaked figure with the material of the cloak mirroring the environment around it. He went through his memory to figure out why it was a familiar garment...and then the hood of the cloak fell to reveal long blonde locks and steel mask with stylized lining around the eyes and lips. "It's you...the survivor of the purge…"
"J...June!"
Shun willed himself to raise his voice as his longtime sparring partner, comrade and friend tossed her cloak aside to reveal her Cloth: a revealing bikini of metal and spikes that clearly emphasized freedom of movement and agility over brute force. "...Shun," the woman said solemnly beneath the steel mask before slowly removing it, revealing her strikingly beautiful face that so appropriately complimented the rest of her gorgeous figure. As June turned back to Shun, she allowed herself a nervous smile as a tear from her eye. "...I love you."
A simple phrase, and one Shun swore that he would repeat to her again and again when the civil war that had engulfed Sanctuary finally ended. But now that phrase frightened him, for it meant that June was going to do something drastic that likely meant he wouldn't have the chance to say it to her. With a sniff, June turned back to Aphrodite and lifted her wrist to reveal a pulsating device embedded into her soft skin. "And as for you...you know what this means, right? You've seen my face, and I have already chosen my husband. I can't let you leave here alive, murderer!"
Crushing her steel mask in her hand until it shattered into pieces, June screamed in desperate rage as the device hummed to life and activated at her behest. "CLOTH BOOSTER!" Oozing from the bracelet was molten liquid, and it sizzled across her accordingly as she grit her teeth and allowed the liquid to spread around her. Within seconds seconds, the liquid took shape and hardened into a light shealth of pine green armor that covered her body from head to toe, with coral lights flickering at the joints and chest, and her nose and mouth wrapped in a muzzle with a design that vaguely resembled the jawline of the Chameleon avatar from which she drew strength.
Prior to leaving Japan, Shun overhead Mu discuss with Saori's retainers about an artificial Cloth with a potential entirely dependent on the wearer's Cosmo. No longer would Silver and Gold Saints be able to coast on rank and be able to look down upon the Bronze Saints that had abilities that outstripped them despite the "lower" ranks: Mu wanted the next generation of Saints to be rewarded according to their merits rather than their constellations upon which they were destined to represent. But upon doing a brief private investigation, Shun saw the dangers of Mu's plan: the prototype he had created by fusing his knowledge of Cloth repair with modern technology and smithing was as dangerous to its user as it was to their enemies.
By making a Cloth that fed upon the wearer's Cosmo, the strain it put on the Saint wearing it was tremendous, and required the Saint's blood to continue fueling power into the rest of the armor. But in return, the Cloth itself would grant the user tremendous power that exceeded that of the rank of their Cloth should they be worthy. Aphrodite immediately tested the woman's transformation by taking a single step forward, only to instantly appear in her face despite being several yards away when his step first touched the ground. Shun was able to track his movement enough to see that he meant to plant one of those white roses between June's eyes, let the flower leech off the juices of her skull and laugh as she experienced total neurological failure, but June stepped behind Aphrodite as he lifted his hand.
With her whip becoming sharped with the scale of the divine alloy that composed her Steel Cloth Booster, June quite literally lashed out at Aphrodite, and within seconds they became flashes of light and steel, evading each other's death blows at the speed of light. But Shun knew that it was only delaying the inevitable: apart from being aware of the limits of the prototype Steel Cloth, and the demand for its wearer's cosmo and blood, he already knew June didn't have the experience and refinement in her Cosmo that Aphrodite had. At best she would have only seconds before Aphrodite adjusted her approach and slew her.
"G...get...up…"
The fragrance of the roses that lay next to him were absolutely poisonous: he was sure of it now. Lying on his back was doing nothing to aid his recovery, and his senses were becoming numb. He could only curse himself as his will faded...no, it wasn't his will. It was only his flesh failing him, dying when he needed to survive to protect June. Because June was the one who he focused on when he meditated to contain the eternal darkness that lay within him. Without June, he would be hollow, and all that would exist within him would be…
"Rage."
"...brother?"
Shun heard a voice echo within him, keeping him conscious enough to watch June and Aphrodite's battle slow. It was as Shun feared: Aphrodite's experience with his immense Cosmo and Seventh Sense gave him a clear edge over June who was relying on dangerous performance enhancers to keep up. All June had was courage and love, but she was gentle like Shun. She didn't yet have the killer instinct to back her claims to slay Aphrodite. Her deadly whip shots only struck Aphrodite's joints to try and slow him down: she was too worried about deterring his assault and not enough about ending his life. Aphrodite was used to pain, and even has the whip clearly hobbled him, it did not slow him down enough to drive painful strikes in June's body. The divine steel could only do so much to protect her, especially since it leeched upon her blood to protect her body from the Pisces Saint's strikes.
And yet...her whip was emanating a strange cosmo...no, that's not right. It was absorbing cosmo, from the flowers. She was trying to eliminate the garden so that the air could be safe to breathe, but in doing so she was focusing the fumes onto herself. That's why Aphrodite was able to play with her so much even though the Steel Cloth put them on equal footing in cosmo sense. He was playing with her...her, the woman Shun cared about. Her, the woman who confessed her undying love for Shun. Her, who Shun wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Her, that he needed to protect at all costs.
"Let it burn, Shun."
"...brother," Shun regained enough of his strength to summon tears. His connection with his elder brother went beyond the physical realm, and although he last left Ikki in the house below where he was either dying or even dead (with the Phoenix Saint even certain dead wasn't a guarantee that he was going to stay down for long), his cosmo still beckoned to Shun in spirit. Or at lest, he thought it was Ikki...it was cruel, like Hades' voice when Shun was early in his training as a Saint. Who was who…?
"Brother...whoever you are...please…"
"She is going to die, Shun. The last wall between you and genocidal madness is going to die."
"N...no. She won't...not if I can…"
"You are broken, Shun. She is trying to save you and yet you are broken...but being broken is a choice. You know what you have to do…"
"But...I'm scared if I do then-"
"IYAAAAAAA!"
June's shrieks snapped Shun out of his musings as June's Cloth Booster reached its limit, exploding on her wrist and with it the consitency of the molten divine metal. Before she was willing to endure the pain, but keeping the Steel Cloth consistent drained her endurance and having the superheated liquid steel fall across her body in a puddle. And yet, Aphrodite used that as his cue to toss his black roses at her body, not really picky if he hit a fatal spot as long as it amplified her pain. Those roses were as lethal as any sniper round, and watching the roses tear through her suddenly gave Shun a surge of energy that he desperately needed to pay attention to what that voice in his soul was telling him.
"Shun...your master taught you well how to contain your rage. But do not be afraid of what you're feeling...of what you need to do to save the people close to you...of what you need to do to this vile filth that is trying to take away who makes you happy."
"N...no...yes."
"Shun...there are those who cannot be reasoned with. Like you, this man has made his choice, and he has chosen the path of the villain. Respect his resolve: that is the only mercy and empathy you need to grant him. Your friends love you, your brother loves you...and she loves you. The pain she feels, she welcomes, as long as you get to live to see yourself the victor."
Somehow, June did not immediately fall to the ground. Despite the lethal hail of roses that battered her, despite the wounds that oozed from her body, despite her only tool to keep herself from being overwhelmed by a Gold Saint's wrath rendered useless, despite her blood being drained to its limit, her eyes remained defiant as Aphrodite walked over to her and cupped her chin between his hands.
"You know...I'm actually angered and smitten at the same time with you. My rose garden wilting into nothingness is quite unfortunate...but for you to figure out how to even the playing field so quickly and step so far above your station to keep me from carrying out my duty on my preferred schedule is just intoxicating. You deserve a special escort to Judecca, someone so beautiful...let me kiss you…"
Shun felt his cosmo explode...no, it wasn't just his cosmo. It was his darkness, or what he always thought was darkness. The voice in his head continued to goad him onward, but Shun wasn't listening anymore. He saw the red mist escape from Aphrodite's lips as he neared June's face: he was going to poison her with that terrible fragrance that was coming from the flowers. Even though he made the garden to ensure he had an endless supply of roses so that he didn't need to expend his cosmo, Aphrodite was still a Gold Saint and could have ended this already...but he wanted to make June's last moments humiliating ones.
This was something Shun could not forgive.
"Beneath the veil of civility lies a murderous hatred in the hearts of all mankind. Do not be afraid of it, for this darkness is within us for a reason. It is not because we are doomed to original sin, but because we as humans are entrusted with the Earth's justice. Let this darkness swirl together with your cosmo...and in that friction, let the flint give birth to the spark of retribution! Let that righteous fury flicker until your enemy is reduced to a smoldering pile of fried flesh and melted gold slag! SHUN...YOUR RAGE, YOU NEED TO LET YOUR COSMO'S RAGE IGNITE!"
The Kiss of Death was delayed, at least denied by Aphrodite's action, as the blunt end of Shun's Nebula Chain struck him in the jaw, forcing him to let go of June and stumble backwards. He mumbled something about having his senses dulled from having too much to drink the night before, but Shun wasn't interested in his excuses. He only needed to make sure June fell into his arms, into his protection.
Her eyes fluttered as she realized Shun was holding her, as she always wished for him to. Looking into his eyes, she saw the fury burning within them, and his face contort trying to keep hold of his reasoning just long enough to be aware of her state. She was wounded terribly: the window of her allotted lifespan was rapidly closing and needed immediate medical attention. But in Shun's fury, June could only smile warmly, for it was a fury she knew that was summoned out of concern for her. Using the last bit of her strength, she reached up to pull Shun's face closer to hers, and Shun reluctantly obliged to plant a soft kiss on her lips.
And then, she fell into unconscious and her pulse became dangerously slow. Her chances of surviving her wounds were very slim, but the doubt was gone now. Shun gently placed her down to rest and glared at Aphrodite with his eyes of fury bordering on absolute madness. He was so angry, so bloodthirsty that he felt as if he was on fire, and that fire wasn't going to be quenched with water.
Blood. Murder. Eviscerate. Impale. Screams. Pain Pain Pain Pain. You can kill him quickly and still make it a very agonizing death. Not all agonizing deaths are slow. She needs you to kill him, brutally. No mercy, no warning, no regrets.
"Kill you…"
"Those eyes…" Aphrodite' expression hardened before a vine sprouted from his fingernails, and from that vine quickly grew a long staff of sharp vines. "What are you muttering about with those eyes. I heard Hades' eyes were calming...but your eyes are anything but…"
With useless handicaps like fatigue pushed to the wayside of his consciousness, Shun summoned the rest of his Andromeda Cloth's mask and let the helmet and muzzle close around his head, exposing only his eyes that widened in bloodlust and need for carnage. The last words he would say before clasping onto his Nebula Chain so tightly that his hands bled, gripping the sharp end of his weapon with the intent to slice out Aphrodite's throat, were a frighteningly simple phase.
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
For so many years, his master told him that his gentleness was a blessing to have in the world of Sainthood, that so many of his comrades accepted the burden of Athena because they felt the world had no other outlet for them as warriors who desired combat, both righteous and selfish. Of course, his master was immediately made aware of Shun's unfortunate destiny as the death god Hades' mortal vessel, but he also knew that Hades enjoyed emerging from the purest, gentlest souls mankind had to offer. He only needed to strengthen that gentleness further and temper it with honor and pride. Shun would not allow himself to be a lamb: he was a shepherd who cared for those he was charged with protecting.
And having accepted that anger within him came not from selfish ambition, but an overwhelming need to protect those closest to him, Andromeda Shun had completed his training. Aphrodite was a selfish killer who supported a heretic that used Sanctuary as a tool for subjugation of the common people, and so his strikes were always true from the very beginning. His staff was as sharp as any spear, and he was hoping Shun would get too caught up in his rage so he could impale him through his Cloth. But Shun's rage focused him, not made him sloppy: Aphrodite cursed under his breath as he watched Shun catch the staff between the hooks of his chain and yank it out of Aphrodite's grap.
The Pisces Saint backflipped away from Shun before he could shank him with the sharp end of the chain and tossed an array of black roses at him with the confidence that at least one of them would hit. Without halting his advance, Shun rapidly spiraled his chain in front of him to allow his Rolling Defense to deflect the hail before hurling the sharp end in Aphrodite's direction. The Nebula Chain honed in a target's cosmo to ensure that it would not whiff, and Aphrodite knew this after the Pope briefed him on his targets that evening. Therefore, he made no attempts to evade, and caught the chain between his hands mere centimeters away from his head.
With a strong yank, Aphrodite pulled Shun forward and then let go of the chain so that he could have a free hand to summon a white rose: it wouldn't kill him instantly but it would at least guarantee his death if he could focus his Cosmo enough to get it home in on his heart. The only problem with that was any Cosmo he could divert to the rose was needed in more pressing matters, like Shun actually using the momentum of the tug to make his armored knee to Aphrodite's face the more painful. The Gold Saint felt something went drip down his face, and for the first time in a long time he remembered what it was like to be in a life-or-death struggle where the outcome wasn't entirely clear.
With a spinning backhand, Aphrodite fired back at Shun and felt his fist rattle against the Andromeda Saint's helmet, and in less in a second their fight became one of physical acumen instead of mastery of cosmo. Their punches, chops, elbows, knees and kicks created shockwaves around the aged architecture of the Pisces House, and the foundations of the house shuddered while eroded chunks finally fell from their millenia-long resting places and onto the ground while their battle reached light speed. Achieving light speed was the hallmark of Cosmo mastery reserved for Gold Saints, yet today the 12 Houses were invaded and humbled by a group of Bronze neophytes. But in that uncertainty, Aphrodite could only grin with maddened pleasure as his sparring partner collided his forearm with his own and the two became deadlocked so they could stare into each other's eyes if only for a moment.
The pretty Andromeda Saint's eyes were not one of a rabid animal, but more like a dog that had shed its collar to embrace his true nature. He was not trash, but a diamond in the rough that Aphrodite polished with his cruelty. For the first time in his career, Aphrodite would be entrusted with worthy prey, and a bounty that would earn him great favors and accolades with the Pope.
Shun pushed off of his enemy and again readied his Nebula Chain, but it was a feint that Aphrodite immediately recognized and took advantage of. Throwing another hail of black roses, Aphrodite focused his attack on the chain itself, and with no time to erect his Rolling Defense, Shun had no choice but to lift the chains and allow Aphrodite to crack and ultimately break it within only a couple of seconds. "It's over," Aphrodite shouted as he again prepared his white rose for the killing blow.
Sadly for him, he didn't account for the long time his treacherous Gold Saint comrade Aries Mu, the greatest blacksmith among the Saints and the world's leading expert in Cloth creation and repair, had with the Andromeda Cloth. Throughout Sanctuary's campaign to take back the avatar of Athena and carry out the Pope's plan to sacrifice her soul to permanently end the cycle of the Holy War, Mu had fully cooperated with the mighty Graude Foundation in order to provide those Saints loyal to Athena with the arsenal needed to overcome the drastic numbers disadvantage. And since Saints were forbidden to use weapons not inherent to the Cloth without Athena's blessing, Mu adjusted the Cloths' themselves to make their native attributes more effective in times of crisis. For Dragon Shiryu, should his default shield be shattered in battle, he had the option summoning an auxiliary shield with even greater durability and offensive capability at the expense of additional Cosmo: the Dragon Buckler.
For Shun, he had something else With his right wrist flickering with green cosmo, Shun let out a shout as another chain erupted out of his gauntlet like a harpoon, again forcing Aphrodite on the defensive. "NEBULA FLAIL!"
This chain not only had a pointed end for impalement, but a sharp hook attached to the point that allowed for both impalement and dismemberment. The Pisces Saint watched Shun retract the whiffed Nebula Flail and begin spinning it around him with cyclonic speed. It was time to start wrapping this up, because clearly whatever second wind Shun found was turning this into an even battle. Once more, Shun hurled his chain at Aphrodite knowing full well that it would not miss thanks to locking onto his Cosmo, but Aphrodite chose not to evade it but purposely let it pierce his shoulder.
As blood trickled from his wound, Aphrodite let out a wild laugh as he pulled the hook out of his armor and flesh and yanked on the chain not only to bring Shun to him, but also propel himself towards Shun. With aerial momentum on his side, Aphrodite twisted his body and stabbed the stem of his white rose directly in Shun's heart. He heard him cry out as Aphrodite forced Shun onto his back with his knee planted on his chest. The stem definitely hit its mark: he could see the crack in Shun's Cloth and the pedals slowly turning from white to red. "Hhh...hhh...there. Get sucked on, neophyte." Aphrodite panted out with a cruel smile as rivers of sweat dripped from his brow.
But Shun's eyes didn't stop burning, and he wasn't crying out in pain. Instead his mind was trying to figure out how he could still make Aphrodite die: he had already resolved that he was likely going to die when he stepped into the house, but now he was hellbent and taking Aphrodite with him. And that's when the faintest squiggle caught the corner of his eye: June's whip still had all of the cosmo absorbed from the garden within it. And that cosmo along with the psychic attachment it had to its fallen owner clamored for something that made Shun its ally.
Taking a sharp breath, Shun grabbed onto Aphrodite's ankle before letting his Cosmo spark and draw June's pulsating whip into his other hand. Then once the whip was in his hand, Shun used it to wrap around his enemy's neck and force his enemy to stumble off of him. This gave Shun the opportunity to hurl him into the tall end of the temple's pillar, and then summon what remained of his Cosmo for his last stand. Even though the Bloody Rose was embedded into his chest leeching his life away, Shun knew that if could kill Aphrodite then anything attached to his Cosmos would lose their potency.
Not all agonizing deaths were slow.
"NEBULA STORM"
Thrusting his free hand outwards, Shun yanked Aphrodite free from the pillar and used the deadly buffeting winds of his Cosmo to hurl the Gold Saint from structure to structure, letting the sound of his body hitting the marble architecture be his funeral dirge. After seven collisions, Shun pulled Aphrodite towards the floor with the storm reaching its conclusion, and letting the broken pieces of his Nebula Chain beat against his body like hail with such speed that they became as deadly as his black roses. The sharp end of the broken chain embedded itself in Aphrodite's body, and the blunt end clashed against his kneecap with such force that something broke within it. The other pieces cut past and throw the Gold Saint before being embedded in the wall behind it.
And yet, even as the storm subsided, Aphrodite remained suspended in the air: even in Shun's desperate bid for a finale, he had enough wits about him to know the terrain: there was an awning within the ceiling of the temple, and he angled his whips mostly to get a hook on that awning, and thus Aphrodite was now hanging by neck as Shun pulled down the whip as tight as he could. It wasn't enough to break Aphrodite's neck, and he still had enough breath to pull out another white rose to speed up the process the first Bloody Rose was taking. This time he was going to aim for Shun's skull: neurological failure via the Bloody Rose sucking the juices of his brain sounded like a fitting end.
But it was the pause that Shun was waiting for so Aphrodite could stop squirming. For as Aphrodite was hanged, Shun had been preparing his Nebula Flail for the finishing blow, and , and that finishing blow struck true in the form of the hook end of the chain piercing and fully breaching Aphrodite's armor, entering through his chest and emerging from his back before anchoring into the temple's wall behind him. Death was imminent, but the Pisces Saint could only keep grinning as Shun focused the last reserves of his Cosmo into the chain and whip and prepared finish Aphrodite's execution.
"Deathmask...you were right...these Bronze Saints really are too good…"
He wasn't dying fast enough. The Bloody Rose in Shun's chest was almost fully red, and his vision was blurring. Moreover, there was a smile on Aphrodite's face. This was totally unacceptable.
With enough voltage to power a modern metropolis, Shun screamed in defiant rage as he let his cosmo surge through his chain and June's whip to fry his enemy. The smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils, and he heard Aphrodite's screams suddenly cut short even though his body continued to convulse wildly. That wasn't good enough. He could still be alive. He could still be smiling, laughing at him, mocking him. This was totally unacceptable.
The entire temple flickered with awful light as Shun summoned even greater bolts, his adrenaline surge giving him another wind. This vile filth hurt June, maybe even killed her. There was no guarantee she was still alive, but Shun wasn't going to let her sacrifice be in vain. She wasn't going to let her death be unavenged. He laughed at him, at his compassion. He is a willing villain who needed to meet justice. And he smiled at him when Shun said he was going to kill him. This was totally unacceptable.
"SHUN!"
Snapping Shun out of his trance was someone shouting his name with aggression, grabbing onto him and hurling him to the floor. This forced Shun to let go of June's whip, and it fell to the ground and unwrapped itself around his enemy. His next opponent had been decided, and so Shun yanked his Nebula flail free from the wall and allowed it to retract out of Aphrodite and back into his gauntlet. The sparks of rage still flickered within him, and it rejuvenated him. He could do this all night if he had to, as long as retribution was achieved.
"WHO'S NEXT!?" Shun shrieked as he stood back up and turned to his enemy.
But when he gazed upon his enemy who roared in defiance and summoned the fiery avatar of his Cloth's motif, the angered Phoenix, Shun felt his own flame dwindle back to a quiet candle. His eyes dilated, and the tension dropped in his body. As it did so, the Phoenix inhaled to disperse the image of the bird, and walked up to his brother and embraced him tightly. "You did good...you won. You bought us the time we needed. I have never been more proud of you in my life...but calm down. The battle's over, and I need my little brother to come back now."
"B...brother," Shun whispered as he looked down to see what was left of the Bloody Rose leeching his life lying dried and withered on the ground, indicating that Aphrodite had died. Glancing to his fallen enemy a few meters away, Shun noticed that his enemy was now roasted beyond recognition, with his flash cracked and distorted and his Cloth reduced to slag. The smell of death filled his nostrils once more, and Shun realized the awful weight of what he needed to do to survive.
"Kiki is tending to June: we came here just in time. Another couple of minutes and there would have been no saving her," Ikki continued to keep his embrace tight and Shun held onto him and felt his body hiccup with sobs. "Listen to me, Shun...do not think for an instant that you are damned because of this. Do you think Hyoga enjoys the fact that he needed to outright murder his old master Camus to make him pay for his crimes? Do you think Shiryu enjoys the fact that needed to resort to killing Deathmask after he threatened to take Shunrei? Do you think Seiya enjoys the fact that he was fully prepared to rip apart Aiolia when he attacked Shaina? Do you think Mu is looking forward to how he's going to feel when we step into Athena's temple to put an end to this madness, and he's forced to do what he needs to do to avenge the people Saga has taken from him? Do you think I enjoy what I needed to become in order to kill my master...to kill our enemies who try and hurt us?"
"But...it felt so good. Oh...oh brother, I feel awful because it felt so good!"
"Victory feels good, Shun...and you killed because you had to, not because you wanted to. Now you know the lure of murder...but I know you are strong enough to not make my mistakes and become enamored with it," Ikki whispered while Shun broke down into full tears. "I'm going to let you cry like this because it means you have chosen the right path, unlike me...go back to the little brother I care for and envy for his ability to remain pure in ways I cannot, even though we both felt the lure of murder."
Shun opened his eyes and saw that his friends were gathering around him, offering comforting smile as Aries Mu stepped among them to remind them that there was only one enemy left that would require all of them be ready. For now, Shun would be allowed to step to where June rested and feel her cosmo slowly increase in luminance. The chains of his rage bound together once more to restrain the murderous intent within him, and love again became the driving force in his reason to fight.
"...everyone...thank you, for your love and support. I'm ready to return the favor."