Chapter 4: Seraphina
The next morning, Camus showed up on the Siberian plain where they had their training grounds; Anya was waiting for him, cape in hand. Wordlessly, she gave it to her teacher when he held out a hand. Her eyes avoided his in shame; she had guessed the garment was his when she awoke in the forest clearing. She knew that, of all the Saints, only those of Gold rank were allowed the billowing white capes.
"Prepare yourself," he warned, raising his cosmos. "I am not wearing the Aquarius Cloth because it would not be fair to you—but that does not mean my techniques are any less!"
The attack came immediately as the last words left his lips, and she quickly learned that he was serious. However, she had a few surprises of her own for him. The techniques Hyoga had taught her proved to be useless against the Aquarius; Camus reminded her grimly that the same technique didn't work twice on a Saint.
"Flash Blizzard!" The Aquarius Saint blinked and dodged at light speed as the deadly blades of ice sliced the air where he had been standing. A single strand of turquoise hair fell to the snow as proof of her focus and intent. He didn't have time to do much in the way of analysis, though, because her attacks came relentlessly.
"Crystalline Whip!" A delicate but immensely strong whip of crystalline structure arced through the air, binding his arms and legs together. His cosmos flared, and the whip shattered. "Diamond Dust!"
"Wall of Ice!" Well, she did learn a thing or two from watching Mu, he supposed…these were new techniques he'd never seen before. He ended up overwhelming her with his sheer quantity of cosmos; he was a master of the Seventh Sense, and could move at the speed of light—she was still learning those techniques and therefore held the disadvantage. Plus, the growth of her cosmos was still draining her stamina more quickly than she could recover.
As she lay collapsed in the snow, panting, Camus finally decided she'd had enough. The Aquarius Saint strode over to his student and offered her a hand up, wearily, she accepted it, and they began the trek back to the Sanctuary at a thoughtful pace. The two didn't speak for a time, lost in their musings, until finally, the young man spoke.
"You are doing very well," he said quietly. Anya slid him a sideways glance, only to meet his own scrutinizing gaze. "There are three other techniques you will need to learn to be a true Ice Saint—Freezing Shield, Freezing Coffin, and the most powerful—Aurora Execution."
"Thank you, Camus-sensei. I feel that I am improving, but…there is still something wrong within me."
"Unfortunately, there is little that can be done about that. Not until a pattern is determined. Until then, you must deal with whatever comes. The next time we spar, I will fight you with my true strength; I intend to push you to your utmost limits. Prepare yourself." His face looked grim and expectant. I hope that she finds her barrier and shatters it; otherwise, she will not survive. I have been holding back my full strength, just as I did with Hyoga. Anya simply nodded and cast her eyes down. Her eyes had grown more determined, he thought; good. She would become strong, or she would be defeated and die. He had no doubt in his mind that she would give him a good challenge; her will was strong, and she did not easily give up. However…if she died in the attempt…he didn't know how he would react. He hoped it wouldn't come to that.
They walked in silence for some time, lost in their own thoughts. Anya was thinking hard about her progress and how far she'd come; she'd never beaten Camus in training, no matter how hard she pushed. Thankfully, the blue flares hadn't shown up yet; she had no desire to lose control in front of him. She would do whatever it took to complete her training; if becoming a Saint would help cure her sickness, then a Saint she would become. Saints all bear armor—Cloths. That means I will have to have a Cloth. I wonder which one I will have to earn? I was born under the sign of Aquarius, but I would never dream of trying to take my teacher's Cloth. I have no desire to fight Camus for it. I will succeed in finding my destiny—both for myself, and for Grandmama. Then I can return home and live a normal life again…but…I….Camus….
Camus was thinking on something else entirely. Her intellect is refreshing—I can speak with her as an equal now—and her raw potential is vast. Very vast. She may eventually surpass me, even at my maximum strength. His train of thought was broken when he realized she had stopped in her tracks and was looking at him with a frank and open gaze. Those eyes…those eyes remind me of home, of the grey skies swirling before a snowstorm. Dègel…you were a very lucky man to have known Lady Seraphina. He raised an eyebrow, prompting her to speak.
"Camus-sensei? If I cannot obtain one of the current Cloths—then what will I do?"
The turquoise-haired man looked thoughtful. "You will have to venture out to find one of the Four Hidden Cloths, or remain to serve in Sanctuary in another, non-Saint role."
"Hidden Cloths?"
"There are four cloths which have become lost to time, as their owners disappeared without a trace. We don't know the names of these Cloths, or their constellations anymore. Even Dègel had no records of them, and he was probably the most meticulous of the recent Saints."
"You feel very close to him, don't you?"
A distant look entered Camus' eyes. "You might say that." He began walking again towards the Sanctuary, and nothing more was said.
That evening, Anya didn't go straight to sleep. As the Aquarius Saint passed by her room on the way to his own, he noted she was staring at the ceiling, clearly deep in thought. Curiously, he stood in the doorway until she nodded permission to enter. To her utter surprise, he came and sat on a chair beside her bed. "You look like you want to speak about something. Or, at the very least, something is on your mind preventing you from sleeping before training tomorrow."
Anya nodded again. "Who was Seraphina? I noticed Dègel mentioned her a lot in his book, but didn't say much about her."
Camus blinked in surprise; he hadn't expected that question. "Seraphina was…" He felt a thrill run through him and immediately tamped it down. "She was the love of Dègel's life. She died of an incurable illness, and her brother Unity wanted to use her body as the vessel for the god Poseidon. He wanted to restore the glory of Bluegaard by unleashing the power of the ocean deity. Dègel refused to permit that, and sealed himself, the god-possessed Seraphina, and all of Atlantis in his Freezing Coffin after sending Unity to the Sanctuary with sacred Orihalcum." His eyes were filled with sadness, but Anya smiled.
"He must have cared for her very much, to sacrifice his own life that way. Very noble."
Camus nodded. Anya's eyes looked wistful for a moment, then cleared.
"Good night, Camus-sensei." She turned over and went to sleep. Camus watched her for a few moments longer, then got up as carefully and quietly as he could and walked outside to find Shaka waiting for him.
"How goes it with the girl?"
"Anya," the other corrected automatically. Shaka would have rolled his eyes had they been open. The Aquarius Saint always took things so literally—and insisted on formalities!
"You know who I meant."
"She will be a strong Saint, I believe. Possibly stronger than myself, given enough time. She could qualify for a Silver Cloth, if one were available."
Shaka looked impressed. "You are among the strongest of us, so that is saying something—I would be curious to see her spar with Saga, then. Congratulations on your disciple and success."
Camus looked troubled. "She will not be able to spar with Saga for some time. Shaka…you are someone who knows about reincarnation and souls. Is she the reincarnation of Seraphina?" Shaka shook his head.
"It's possible…but impossible to prove. Why do you ask?"
"I have a theory…I feel a very strong bond with her, though I have only known her a short time. I now firmly believe that she is the reincarnation of Seraphina, and the part of my soul that is—was—Dègel is reaching out and communing with the part of her that is Seraphina. It would also explain why her power level is fluctuating so badly, and why she is seeing a divine energy periodically in the form of blue flares…she would have been possessed by a god in her past."
"That makes sense. What would you do if this was the truth? What of the part of your soul that is Camus of Aquarius?" When Camus didn't answer, Shaka cracked an eye to look at him, then opened both eyes in shock. The Aquarius Saint was blushing a pale rose color, eyes downcast. The blonde man couldn't tell if it was in shame or something else, but he didn't want to rudely invade his fellow Saint's mind to find out.
"I'm not sure. I would prefer not to have these strange feelings in the first place."
"Have you seen her in your dreams?" He knew what kind of dreams Shaka meant—past life dreams. All of the Saints had them, eventually. Camus had dreamed many times of Dègel, even before he had become a Saint; back then, he had not known who the strange seafoam-green-haired man was.
"I believe so, but they are always dreams of the distant past, during his time—my time, when I was Dègel of Aquarius, and she may have been Seraphina of Bluegaard—"
"Well. Dreams are powerful things, and from what you are telling me of your dreams, your theory is sound and correct. At the same time, that was the distant past—this is the present, and I know the value you place on the present. You must decide what to do with this knowledge; you are Camus, not Dègel, and you are not bound by his life and his choices. Remember that." Shaka looked at him solemnly.
"One other thing before I go—something that Buddha taught me. People are only reincarnated when it is needful—when they are required for some important task. If Anya has entered your life at this time, then it is possible that she is needed somehow here and now. Perhaps, even, you are the one that needs her, though the reason might not seem apparent." Camus nodded and turned to leave for his private room, politely bidding his guest good evening; the Virgo Saint briefly turned his face towards Anya, eyes closed.
I hope you heard what you wished to hear, child.
Anya cracked an eye open. She didn't bother to ask Shaka how he knew she wasn't actually sleeping. He was the Virgo Gold Saint, of course, and could read minds.
I heard all of what I wanted to hear, and more. I also have a hundred more questions now.
That is natural. However, it is unwise to spy on a Gold Saint, especially one known as the Spy of the Sanctuary, no matter how well intentioned. Remember that. There are consequences you do not even know about yet.
Yes, Shaka. I won't do it again.
The golden-haired man gracefully turned away and left. Anya finally went to sleep in reality.