Note: This chapter features a description of the interior of the Arms Altar and what it would look like to Pit. It's a hit-and-miss description, because we as the player don't know what it actually looks like, and obviously what we see in the menu isn't exactly what Pit would see, so please forgive me if anything seems a little off.
Having been born as a loner, Millie had seen the inside of man-made structures before, but never had she seen anything like Palutena's Temple.
It was built of white and gold stone, with intricate designs carved into the trims of the walls. Statues of angels and griffins carved from white stone stood guard in the entrances of hallways, and flowerbeds encircled the base of some pillars throughout the temple. Much of it was lit by the natural sunlight, but where it wasn't, ornate light fixtures on the walls provided illumination. Some smaller rooms were lit by the warm glow emitted from what looked to be pools of hot water that was oddly tinted yellow.
"Those are hot springs," Pit explained to her once as he was showing her around.
"Oh. Is there a reason for the color of the water?"
The angel shrugged.
"I don't know, that never struck me as unusual. Though I will tell you that they have magical properties that allows them to heal wounds, which is usually what they're used for. They also make for pretty good bathtubs. But more often than not, I'll get in them for comfort. Really, it feels good being in that warm water."
"I bet so."
The last thing Pit showed her was a huge, brightly lit room. Glowing steps led up to a pair of doors where a light shone through a sliver of a crack between them. On either side of the steps was a door. A pair of light fixtures shone down on either side of both doors, though the ones on the right were higher up on the wall, and on the floor in the middle of the room was a symbol that Millie couldn't quite make out.
"This room is fairly new. It's where I arm myself and head out on missions."
"Where do the two doors on the side go?"
"The one on the left goes to the practice range, where I can work on my skills. The one on the right..."
He hesitated for a second.
"...I think it's easier if I just showed you."
Millie followed him through the door.
It led to a smaller room lit by a light fixture above the door. Along the back wall was ten pedestals neatly lined up, each with a different symbol projected above them. On either side of them were doors.
"This is called the Arms Altar, and it's where I arm myself for battle. Those symbols are representing different kinds of weapons. I've been using a bow as a weapon for a while now, but recently, others have been crafted that I can use."
Millie just nodded once to show she was listening.
Pit walked up to one of the pedestals, and brushed his hand across its surface. The symbol above the pedestal pulsed, and seemed to fly up into the air as it faded away. A familiar form was projected in its place. Pit reached up like he was going to grab it, at the same time it materialized into an actual object. The symbol reappeared as he grabbed it.
What he was holding now was the same thing she'd seen him with a few days ago. It was shaped like what some humans used for hunting, only held differently. It was blue and white except for the handle and the tip, which were blackish in color. Three arcs of pure light circled the outer point where it dramatically curved.
"I saw you carrying something like that the other day," Millie remarked. "What is it?"
"It's a blade, one of the new kinds of weapons I can use in battle. Specifically, it's called a First Blade. There are others."
"Oh. It's sort of shaped like these things I've seen humans use to hunt deer."
Pit shrugged, not entirely sure of what she was talking about.
"I suppose. Except a blade can be used for both up close and long distance fighting. Most human weapons can't be used for both."
"That's true. At least as far as I know."
He went up to the pedestal and made the motion like he was going to set it down on top of the pedestal. The symbol flew up into the air and the blade began to glow and hovered above the pedestal for a second before it went up in a shaft of light and the symbol reappeared.
As the two left the Arms Altar, Millie reflected on everything she'd learned from him, and realized that Pit really was alone most of the time. Even with Palutena around, she rarely was in the same place as him, and was usually busy taking care of her own responsibilities, leaving Pit on his own. The last few days had given her an idea of just how lonesome and almost meaningless of a life he led.
I can imagine things were much different when the others were around, she thought.
Oh yes, things were very different, a dark figure muttered from his place up in the shadows of the rafters, his icy blue eyes gazing down at the magical fountain in the room below. Medusa stood gazing into it as well, her eyes glittering with frustration. She did not seem to be aware of the figure's presence.
"You think you killed us all," the figure whispered, smirking at the dark goddess. "but you are wrong. We are tougher than you think. Julia and the other purebloods may be gone, but we who have lived down here for so long shall rejoin with the surface world someday, and start a new. Bring back our species from the brink of extinction. You just wait."
That last statement made Medusa look up, but then a Syren flew by squawking, and she shook it off as nothing. The figure left the fortress and took off for home, his tawny wings becoming dappled orange and red by the fiery glow of lava flowing down below.