WILL YOU LOOK INTO THE MIRROR?
This was written for the SaintSeiya Secret Santa event in 2010 for Mulnteor
Disclaimer: Saint Seiya does not belong to me nor does "The Lord of the Rings" of which I took the liberty to inspire myself for the purpose of this tale.
"Where are you taking us, specter?"
For the first time, Saga's exasperated voice rose up from the darkness, echoing throughout the empty corridors. Although he had not said a word since they had left their appointed quarters, Shion could feel the Gemini's patience running thin, which for someone as collected as him was saying a lot. He had been awoken from his sleep in a rather unceremonious way, ripping him away from the most pleasant of dreams only to be met by a nightmarish sight: horned helmet and beastly eyes under bushy blond eyebrows. It had only taken him a second of realization before screaming his lungs out. Then Shion's large hand had rested on his shoulder, reassuring, and he had felt the sudden surge of adrenaline ebb away.
The specter had not been amused and it was without courtesy that he had pulled him to his feet, pushing him forward in front of him while Shion fell in step behind them. Not a single word had been exchanged between the three men until now, and Saga simply could not muster any more patience without knowing at least the destination they were heading to. Was it not the least of politeness to at least answer such a trivial question? They were to fight a battle in a few hours for Athena's sake! What could possibly be of such importance as to raise them in the middle of the night?
For all answer, the specter continued to lead them deeper into the darkness, rolling his eyes to himself. Saga groaned in frustration and Shion tried not to smile as he felt the boiling tension in his companion. It had only been a few hours since the god of death had granted them another life, an offer which they both had readily accepted, seeing in it a chance to fulfill that which they had not during their time on earth.
All had gone as the old pope had expected, Hades was, after all, very predictable. Shion knew their task would not be easy. Deceiving a God and invading Sanctuary in the guise of specters only to pass out a message to Athena, hoping she would understand their purpose and abandon her mortal body to enter the state of the eighth sense and deliver her kamui with her own blood; the whole plan in itself was a fool's gamble. To reach Athena meant to go across the twelve temples and eventually kill those who guarded them, thus diminishing the Goddess's chances to overcome once in hell. There were little chances their former comrades would understand their hidden purpose and they would most likely end up dead before reaching Virgo Temple.
Virgo temple…
Shion had not known Virgo no Shaka too well but he had many memories of who Virgo no Asmita had been; a man whose devotion had gone all the way to giving his life in exchange of ripping Hades's specters of their immortality. He hoped Shaka would have that same wisdom in him to pass out and understand their message. But of course, that meant being able to reach Virgo Temple in the first place.
"You have reached your destination."
The specter's booming voice suddenly cut him out of his brooding and he realized they had reached an old archway carved out of the black rock which seemed to cover all of the underworld land.
"She is waiting," he murmured icily, sending chills down his spine. Behind him, he could hear his comrade stiffen slightly. She? What did he mean by she? Had they not already met the Lady Pandora? Was there something she suddenly wished to share with them alone to call them at such a time of night? He was missing something. Only he could not figure out what it was, and it was unsettling him.
"You are not coming with us?" the elder man asked, slightly apprehensive.
"She has not requested my presence", the judge replied, sparing none of the two men a glance. "She wishes to see you alone."
"But… What…Why has she called for us?"
"Our Lady has her ways," the specter stated simply, his voice subtly filled with pride. "She has her reasons we of the lesser kind are not fit to understand."
He breathed in deeply as if suddenly filled with emotions which rarely came upon him before rapidly containing himself and gesturing harshly for the former saints to enter the archway.
"Now off with you. It is not fit to make a lady wait."
The two of them hurriedly scattered through the dark passageway, tripping on scattered stones in the process, blindly feeling their way out until a fragrance slowly made its way up to their noses. The smell was that of snowdrops and lilies, something they had not expected to find in the underworld.
"Do you smell what I smell, Shion?" Saga asked in a whisper as he caught up with him, clasping his hand on the former pope's shoulder.
"I do," he answered warily. "Let us move on cautiously."
Slowly the slope they were climbing became steeper, forcing them to slow down their pace. Up ahead, the fragrance was becoming stronger and Shion thought he could hear the trickling sounds of water from a spring. He suddenly felt the urge to run and begun fusing up towards the dwindling light in the distance, barely hearing Saga behind him asking him to wait up. The fragrance of the flowers was making him dizzy. He needed to know now what was awaiting him at the end of this corridor.
With a shallow thud, the former pope landed into the open, head first into a deep carpet of silky grass, Gemini Saga, who had been on his heels, unceremoniously landing on him as he too broke into the open air. Although his first reaction was to gasp for air under his companion's heavy weight, his second was to let his head fall into the soft grass, closing his eyes as he took in the rich scent of the flowers which were certainly around him. Judging by the sounds, there was a spring flowing nearby, and trees whose leaves seemed to giggle amongst themselves, perhaps laughing on their expense. He would not blame them. Both he and Saga were probably quite a sight at the moment.
A soft chuckle broke him out of his reverie and he suddenly found himself scrambling to his feet, getting rid of Saga in the process. Taking in his surroundings, he realized he was standing under a canopy of tall trees in what seemed to be an immense garden. The light was dim, suggesting it was night time, and small candles hung in silver lanterns from the branches. A young woman was sitting in a fashionably carved chair of white wood, her long ebony hair encircling a porcelain face with ruby lips and teel blue eyes. A crown of flowers held part of her dark locks in a small bun, in the style of ancient Greece; she was dressed in a simple emerald dress and her feet were bare. She held in her hand a shepard's staff and four branches of seasonal plants were tied to its stem. Her face was calm and serene, a smile grazing her lips. She was not the Lady Pandora, dark as night and heart of stone, he realized; she was the Lady of the living spring and dying winter.
"Your highness Persephone" he huffed in a breath, bowing to the ground before her, both in awe and shame to be face to face with the wife of the very god he had chosen to destroy, despite his gift to him of a new life. The swift mushy sound of crushed grass made him aware that Saga has also sunken to his knees behind him.
There was a long silence which seemed to last an eternity to the former pope, feeling the sweat trickle down his brow. He could feel his own heart beat against his ears and the air, suddenly dry, made his throat unnaturally soar. Silently, he prayed the Goddess would not unravel his plans. He had come so far, he did not wish for it to have been in vain. Could it be that she questioned their loyalty to her husband and had called upon them in the night in order to test them?
A shadow passed over his mind and dark thoughts begun to loom their way around his mind. He could almost feel the accusing finger of his companions upon him; "traitor!" They seemed to say and deep down he knew they couldn't have been less close to the truth.
The soft rustling of silk brought him out of his dark thoughts, slowly feeling the shadows upon him receding, like a storm washed away by the glorious morning sun.
"Rise, Aries no Shion. And you as well, Gemini no Saga." Her voice was soft and melodic yet strong and imperious. "I know all about you and your quest and that is why I have summoned you here, in the secrecy of the night."
Shion swallowed painfully. It felt so wrong to be trusted by one so true that he wished he could have blurted out all the truth, if only it had not meant to destroy all hopes of winning the upcoming war.
The two men hurriedly rose to their feet, facing the dark haired goddess who now stood before them. Her warm teel eyes turned towards the youngest of the two men and Shion felt his comrade slightly tense, before averting his eyes as if in shame. He did not have much time to linger on his companion's reaction for the dark blue eyes were now fixed into his own. The young pope felt his throat tighten again as memories of his past life raced through his mind. He suddenly saw sanctuary as it surely was now, his goddess standing above his dead body, Nike in her hand and a sad expression plastered upon her face. He had failed in his mission and the goddess would now never don her cloth. Hades would stride in and darkness would cover the world for eternity.
Unbeknownst to him, tears had begun to form at the corner of his eyes yet he managed to hold them back, not wishing to display any weakness in front of an enemy. The young goddess's eyes seemed to soften and he thought her heard her voice murmur into his head "There is still hope". But whether it were her words or his own wishes that spoke, he was not sure. For while he hoped to succeed in bringing Athena to Hell through the eighth sense and delivering her Kamui in the process, Persephone's hopes were all the contrary; she simply hoped for him not to die in the upcoming battle.
They stood motionless for a moment longer before the goddess finally released them from her stare. Slowly walking away, she gestured for them to follow her.
Shion waited for Saga to reach up to him and the two men slowly made way to follow her lead.
Small stone stairs which he had not noticed before seemed to lead them down a small slope behind the great tree where the throne had been, entering a covered clearing. Shion noted a small spring came to fall into a little pool on their left, and a round pedestal, its base half covered in ivy, stood in the middle of the small garden.
The goddess took a small pitcher of silver from beside the pool and begun to fill it in silence, never once turning towards them while she did so. Unable to hold back his curiosity, Shion found his footsteps taking him closer to the pedestal. A large silver plate seemed to be set upon it and it suddenly triggered an old memory of a book he once had read. There had been a clearing much like this one and an elven queen whose power was cast upon her lands, revolving in eternal spring, much like Persephone reigned upon a miraculous garden in the deepest pits of hell; and slowly, he began dread what would ensue.
"Will you look into the mirror?" she asked him, her voice calm and steady, devoid of emotions.
"What will I see?" he found himself asking, the words passing his lips before he knew it. He cringed at the sound of his own slightly quavering voice, cursing his own stupidity for he knew already the answer to this question, did he not?
As if in knowing mockery, a faint smile formed on her lips, her eyes shining knowingly. Slowly, she begun to pour the water she had drawn from the spring into the silver basin with an elegant gesture of her arm.
"Even the wisest cannot tell," she mused, "for the mirror shows many things."
She waited a moment before resuming her speech, allowing her words to drain into their minds and quietly, pondering every word she uttered, she added:
"Things that were, things that are, and some things, that have not yet come to pass."
And some things, that have not yet come to pass. He had known it the moment he had seen the silver basin. This was Galadriel's mirror, or more precisely, Persephone's mirror. And now, what was he to do? Would he look into the mirror? And what would he see, what would he bring with him?
"I will look."
Saga's calm and decisive tone caught him off guard but he non the less nodded his agreement. The goddess said nothing, and merrily stood aside, waiting for them to make their decisions.
Saga regally walked up to the pedestal, not wanting to let his underlying apprehension show through but fear flickered faintly in his eyes when he bent down his head.
"I… I only see memories" he muttered, uncertain.
He barely saw hints of a man walking in the depth of hell, blue hair contrasting with his golden armor. For a moment, he thought it was a memory of his past self but something in the way the man moved reminded him of someone else. Someone he had not seen in ages. He felt a shudder run down his spine and suppressed the urge to tear away from the phantomlike visions. It could not be this man; he had killed him many years ago.
A young man with brown curls held back from his eyes by a red head band took over the previous image, a small infant held tightly against his chest. The boy seemed to be looking back at him, eyes filled with horror and disbelief. He instantly recognized the boy as his once best friend, Sagittarius Aiolos and future pope to be; the friend he had murdered himself.
Then he saw Shion, standing before Mu in Aries temple, allowing him and Camus to go through. But it was a short lived victory. Soon the pope again laid dead at his feet, his corpse caked in blood as his goddess hovered over him, sadness plastered upon her delicate features. He noticed his own bloody hand, trying to pry out to her but all he met was his own reflection laughing evilly back at him. He had failed them.
"We failed. I failed!" he cried out, feeling his countenance break. "All of this was in vain. We will all die and it will be for naught."
Behind him, Shion felt his hair prickling against his spine as Saga voiced out his own personal fears: "We failed. I failed!" Yes. The chances that he, Aries no Shion, would fail, were numerous. He knew that should Athena defeat him, it would only delay her own downfall; for a battle won, was not a war won. What if in the end, Hades had it his way?
"I must go back!"
Saga's panicked cries brought him back to the present as he saw his brother in arms staggering away from the mirror.
"I can't go with you, I will only be a threat. You know how my folly once took over me, what if it happened again and I turned against you Shion?"
He started weeping bitterly, his voice now no more than a whimper.
"I can't risk it happening again."
"And what would you do? Cower in fear of your own shadow?"
The goddess' voice cut deep in Saga's soul like a sword through his flesh for he knew they were true.
"You vowed to complete your task at whatever cost it might take. Are you ready to turn against your own decisions and let the darkness within you win? Think again, Gemini Saga. Are you not worth more than this? Do you not wish to redeem yourself?"
How strange it was that a deceived goddess, deceived by his own means, was now encouraging him to continue to do so. And how strange that she should find the correct words to strengthen his soul and give him the will to continue. He suddenly felt even more bitter. His life had only been a continuous lie. He had deceived his brothers and led them to fight against their beloved Goddess; all for the sake of his lust for power. Now, he was lying again, to a true and sincere Goddess who had just given him a new surge of hope and self confidence. That he should deceive and bring pain again to someone who did not seem to deserve it in order to repay his past errors was tearing his heart. Had she not been Hades' wife, how much he would have loved her; truly she was as worthy of praise as Athena herself.
Slumping to the ground in defeat, he let his head hang over his bent knees, dark bangs shielding his glistening eyes.
"I… No. I do not wish to turn back. I will take the long way towards redemption, no matter the cost."
It seemed then to Shion that the Goddess of Hell smiled warmly yet the vision was gone as quickly as it had come, like the mere illusion of the mind.
"And you," she demanded finally turning her attention to the pope again, "do you wish to look into the mirror?"
He knew he could refuse but found it impossible to resist the urge to catch a glimpse of what could be.
"Do you advise me to look?" he asked, still uncertain.
"No," the Goddess asserted, "I am no counselor and the choice lies before you: whether to look and regret what you have seen, or not to look and be tormented by the fantasies of what could have been seen. The choice, in the end, remains yours alone."
"I will look" he affirmed without hesitation," though I do not know what I will see."
Silently, she bowed her head in acceptance and withdrew slightly from the pale and placid surface of the mirror.
Shion slowly bent down his head and took in his reflection: a pale face, purple eyes and two dark spots where eyebrows should have been, a trademark from his people, and pale blond hair. After a moment of contemplation, he wondered if the mirror would indeed show him anything when the face looking back at him slowly began to change. Blond hair became paler, soft features became older and lines started to crease down his cheeks. The older Jamirien had a look of sadness in his eyes but his tight lips spoke of determination. He wondered if it was an older version of himself or his ancient mentor, Akurei looking back at him.
The image withered and showed a beautiful mountain scenery. An odd creature, bent with old age was hiding under a hat too big for its small head, sitting beside a water fall. The lines of his face were strained and sadness seemed to seath through him for one who looked beyond his placid countenance. Shion felt a pang of guilt and remorse surge in his heart and murmured for himself only:
"Oh Dohko," his voice filled with regret, "How I wish I could have told you my plans before it as too late."
For all the secrets he had had to keep, holding this once from his most precious friend had been the hardest of them all. Dohko had laid down his life for Athena, even after Fahn had died, he had not faltered. He had remained true and strong, never once pulling away. How much he had envied his determination, his confidence and his courage. In the end, he had been the one chosen as the pope, but he had had little of the requested qualities in comparison to his long time friend. His lack of diplomacy had led him to his death and had almost caused the end of Athena herself.
Then the image faded and left space for the halls of sanctuary. He was walking down the corridors of Aries temple, Mu kneeling defeated behind him. Somehow, he felt content that he had not been obliged to kill his beloved student. The boy had been like a son to him.
A sharp sting of pain shot through his heart when the features of Athena appeared, facing him. She had come to meet him, alerted by all the ruckus his comrades and himself had caused in sanctuary and she was challenging him to a duel. How could Athena challenge him? There was no way he could overcome a Goddess by himself! Unless… Unless the goddess had understood their message and come to enter the state of the eighth sense by willingly laying down her life. Yet, somehow, he knew it was pointless to imagine other scenarios. He had had the vision of a broken body after this fight all too many times and the corpse had not been hers, but his.
Still, he watched on as the two of them continued to spar, her power strangely weaker than he would have expected. Maybe she had not fully recovered from her previous fights, he mused. Then suddenly, against all odds, he brought her down with one single blast of his starlight extinction. Would she disappear? Would her body dematerialize from this dimension to enter the one of hell?
He felt drops of sweat forming on his brow in excitement at the thought of taking a glimpse into the future, foreshadowing their victory over Hades!
But nothing came. Athena's body laid lifeless at his feet as the saints, who had stood idly watching their fight were now struggling to bring her back to life. They seemed to be yelling at him as the mirror shot back his own face to him, bewilderment, pain and shock mingled into his eyes which could not shed any tears.
A black vale covered the mirror's surface and Shion felt himself being pulled towards it.
"Do not touch the mirror!" Persephone calmly warned from somewhere in front of him.
Trying to resist the mirror's attraction, he continued to watch on, unable to rip his eyes off what he was now seeing. The gardens in which he was now standing were burning, its trees gnarled out by the licking flames of hell. The pool and the spring were dry and Persephone was there, eyes brimmed with tears, hair disheveled and clothes burnt, watching as her sacrd haven turned to ashes. He saw shadow and flame engulfing the world, oceans burning and disappearing into nothingness as darkness slowly engulfed the world, death gnawing at every living thing. Hades stood before him, his placid face filled with fury and hatred, as the world his spouse had so dearly cherished turned to nothingness. He was all powerful. No one could stand against him. Darkness ruled the world and men strived in pain in the deepest pits of Tartarus.
Suddenly gathering what strength he had left, he managed to pull himself away from the mirror's attraction, falling backwards in the process.
There was a long silence during which the pope struggled to regain his breath, his eyes watery with unshed tears and face wet with sweat. Around him, the silent whisper of the wind among the trees and delicate music of the crickets went on, unaware of the deadly visions he had witnessed. He could hear Saga's faint breath and realized the other Saint had probably fallen asleep, strained by the visions he had seen and tired from all the inner demons he had had to fight.
At last, he managed to regain enough composure and stand up, although still slightly wavering. He had to pull himself against a tree trunk in order not to fall, before raising his eyes upon the goddess once more.
"I know what it is you saw," she whispered for him alone, "for it is also in my mind."
His eyes widened in bewilderment.
"This is what will happen, if Hades rules over the world."
He shuddered, reminiscing images from the mirror fleeting past his mind.
"You know it," she continued, her eyes locked with his own. "You must not let this happen."
"Than… What is it you wish?"he asked, confounded. Was it not what she wanted? Was Hades not her husband?
Then he remembered. The mirror had shown him Persephone's devastated garden and the goddess, standing powerless before her dying creations.
She is the Goddess of seasons, the goddess of Earth! He suddenly realized.
As much as Athena was the champion of mankind, Persephone was nature's protector. In his folly to destroy all humanity, Hades would destroy all life and kill that which his own wife stood for. In the end, the Lady of Spring was but an unwilling chess piece on the chess board; an involuntary black queen whose interests laid with the white king. She had been forced into this war, onto this world of hell but for the love the God of death had vowed for her but she had never been asked if she loved him in return or not. In the end, her husband's interests were not forcefully her own.
"All I would wish for," she finally answered, "would be for this world to live in peace, free from all Gods' struggles and petty wars. I am the Goddess of Nature before being the queen of hell and the later is but a title, not a power which I hold. My gift was to help the world flourish and become more beautiful, to help mankind see what beauty the earth possesses, forever embellishing it so the Earth may continue to enrich and renew itself, unscathed by Hades' darkness. Yet it is a wish that cannot be fulfilled for Hades' hate has now tainted my own powers. With the fulfillment of your mission, my powers shall dwindle and earth will never again know mirth and eternal renewal. Slowly it will continue to be marred and men will forget the bliss of Eden lost; but it is a cost I am willing to pay. Long have I struggled against it but it is now clear that only if Athena destroys Hades for eternity that the world shall be free again. I wish Hades had never awoken again nor that this decision should be made but it has come to this and it is without regret nor hate that I accept it. Perhaps if warriors such as the Saints had been by my side, then would I have had enough power to keep Hades at bay and maintain him in eternal sleep forever. Alas, it is not so that the world was set."
"You are wise, Lady Persephone," Shion murmured back, her words having struck the sensible chord within his soul; " and without doubt, I would lay down my power to you and help you keep Hades at bay, forever in his sleep. I would help you destroy is minions if need be; for now I see that passing out our message to Athena will not be a feasible task."
"You would fight for me?" she asked in awe. "You would fight at my side rather than lead Athena to victory, thus enabling me to continue my rule upon the earth? I cannot tell how long I have desired this. In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!"
Shion suddenly had the impression that she had grown in size, suddenly imposing herself to him, beautiful and worshipful beyond enduring, unable to take his eyes off her.
Then she shrunk back again, a small laugh escaping her lips. She was no more than the small frame of a gentle woman, gentle eyes now filled with age and weariness.
"I have passed the test" she laughed softly, her words barely a whisper now. "I will remain Persephone and let my power wane away, as I pass into the Kingdom of Olympus."
A long silence followed, broken only but by the small cries of a nightingale. At length, Shion spoke up again.
"I cannot do this," he murmured, miserably. "The chances we will succeed are scarce and if we fail, Hades will have his reign of utter death and darkness. I am alone in this decision and it could well bring down the whole world to destruction. "
She nodded slowly as he spoke, acknowledging his every word.
"But you are the pope, Shion, and being the pope means to be alone. If you do not succeed to lead your men to success, nor make your former companions understand your mission, no one will. This task was appointed to you and you alone are in the position to fulfill it."
"I… I know", he stuttered sadly. "It is just that… I am frightened to do it."
Compassion made its way over the pale goddess's face as she walked forward, placing a small kiss upon the Jamirian's brow.
"Even a mere mortal can change the course of things."
A small tear trickled down his cheek and for once, he did not try to hold it back. It somehow felt… Right.
Silence fell upon them once more. For the first time in years, Shion felt no fear clinging to his heart. He was finally at peace.
The soft touch of a hand upon his shoulder made him turn around in surprise, for he had not seen the goddess move about. He wondered how long he had stood, gazing away to nowhere, lost in his own thoughts.
She smiled at him knowingly and handed him a small box. Taking it in his two hands, he eyes her questioningly.
"You wonder what this is, do you not? This is Pandora's box. When she opened it, Pandora let out all the evils of this world before closing it in fear. But it was already too late and all she kept imprisoned within this box was hope."
Shion's eyes grew wide with understanding. Persephone was offering him the gift of Hope. Not just any hope; but the original Hope from which all hope was drawn. It was a royal gift and something he would cherish for the few hours he had left to live.
"Come now" she whispered, warmly. "You and your companion need to rest for in a few hours, your battle will begin."
Author's notes:
Persephone's speech to Shion after his proposal to fight for her his directly taken from JRR Tolkien's "Lord of The Rings", chapter 8 Book II, Fellowship of the Ring.
When saga and Shion first meet Persephone, she summons them to a test and give them visions of their greatest fears or/and desires as she looks at them in the eye. What they see was written down but just did not seem to fit in the flow of the story. Should you be interested in knowing what they saw, I will happily send you the text. Just let me know!
The whole idea was inspired from Chapter 8 of Book Two in "Fellowship of the ring".