Saori paced back and forth uneasily. She tried to convince herself that Seiya's voice was only her imagination, but she couldn't lie to herself. No, she knew him too well. He would come to her no matter what he has to go through.
"What is on your mind?" Hades asked. He came into her room and brought pomegranates.
Hades, God of Underworld, was much different from what she had envisioned. By his face, he didn't look older than twenty. His eyes were rather gentle. In fact, he bore some resemblance to Shun. After Shion brought Saori to Underworld, Hades sent him to the Elysion Field, resting place for the wise souls, as a reward for his loyalty. He had Saori settled in his castle with her own suite and servants. She wasn't treated any different than she was in Kido's mansion. Soon, Saori saw Hades as an ally and even a friend.
"I haven't seen you smile since you got here," Hades went on. "Is there something I can do?"
He cut opened the pomegranate.
"What is his name?" He pressed.
In the rubble, the Saints pulled themselves back on their feet. None of them was hurt since their Cloths had protected them. The Bronze Saints looked around for Seiya, but he was nowhere to be seen. The entrance to the Underworld - the gigantic hole blowing green flames - was still there before their eyes. In the middle of the night, the green flames were bright and enticing.
"You...you think he went down there?" Shun asked.
"Yeah," Hyoga replied. "He wants to be with her."
"He will face more battles," Shiryu said.
"Then he needs us," Shun said. "We can't let him do this alone-"
"Over my dead body!" Aiolia said. The Gold Saints - Aiolia, Camus, and Dohko - pulled them back before they could jump into the hole after Seiya.
"Seiya has made his choice," Dohko said. "This is not your battle."
"Roshi, you have taught us to support each other in battle and in life," Shiryu defended their reason.
"When you fight for justice and protect humanity, you should fight together as Saints," Camus said. "But when it's personal, it's a struggle you have to face yourself."
"Seiya is not going to the Underworld for justice or humanity," Aiolia said to them. "If you were to join him, what is it for you to do after Seiya reunites with Athena? I bet the first thing they ask you to do is to leave them alone for a while and close the door. Then comes Hades, and how are you going to explain yourselves? Athena is his niece, Seiya is her boyfriend, and who are you three? Seiya's groomsmen? Guarding the door while they are in there alone?"
He did have a point.
"Let's head back to Sanctuary," Dohko said, before Aiolia could continue.
"Is there more danger coming?" Hyoga asked.
"No, that's what you boys should do when your friend is in a relationship," Dohko replied. "You don't see him anymore because he is seeing her now. All you can do is go home."
He patted Shiryu's shoulder like an old friend.
"Is he a Saint?" Hades asked.
Saori looked away.
"I take it as a yes then," Hades said. "Saint or not, you will never see him again. You have to move on. If he is a Saint, then he shouldn't have loved you. He'd be stepping over the boundary."
"I can't," Saori admitted, blinking tears. "I can't stop thinking of him. But I want the best for him, living happily as any in the mortal world."
"Liar," Hades accused.
"What?"
"That's not what you want," Hades said. "You certainly don't want him living happily on the other side while you are here. You want him to come to you."
"No, that's not true!" Saori denied, wiping her tears away. "I told him to move on."
"Did you tell him that in person?" Hades asked.
"I told him in a letter," Saori said. "I couldn't tell him in person because it's too hard."
The Saints returned to Sanctuary and Aiolia headed to House of Sagittarius, looking for his brother's Gold Cloth. It was nowhere to be seen, which confirmed that the Cloth has chosen Seiya as the new bearer. In one corner of the house, papers were scattered around. Aiolia went to pick them up.
"You shouldn't have done that," Aldebaran said. "That's personal."
"But Seiya left them there," Milo said, joined them with Shura.
"I wasn't reading it," Aiolia said. "I only saw two words."
"How long is it?" Shura asked.
"Looks like fifty pages," Aldebaran guessed.
"It's twenty-two pages," Aiolia said. "Front and back."
"Why don't you finish reading it?" Milo teased. "Since you started."
"Like I have the patience," Aiolia said. "If any girl write me such a long letter, I'd throw it away without a glance."
"You said you only saw two words," Shura said. "Which two?"
"Eighth Sense."
Now rest of the Gold Saints were alerted.
"Eighth Sense? Athena told Seiya about Eighth Sense?" Aldebaran asked. "What did she write?"
Aiolia went through the pages and finally found the part.
"Seiya," he read. "Leaving you is what I have to do. Please be strong. You have overcome so many challenges, and I have faith that you can overcome this one - forget me. Live a life of a happy mortal. Take good care of your sister. No matter what, you must never try to come to the Underworld to see me because you haven't achieved Eighth Sense."
Now he was silent.
"Don't tell me," Milo murmured.
"Seiya did exactly what Athena not want him to do," Aiolia said.
"If that's the case, then she should've mentioned it in the letter's first sentence!" Shura exclaimed.
"Does Seiya know that?" Aldebaran asked. "Maybe Athena wrote it somewhere at the beginning?"
"No," Aiolia replied. "The first ten pages is on how they met and I bet Seiya stopped reading after page two."
"If you want him to move on," Hades said. "Then you shouldn't have left him anything. Just do what you need to do. It'd convince him that you don't care for him. What you did only motivated him to do what you told him not to do."
"What do you mean?" Saori asked, playing dumb.
"You know what I'm talking about," Hades said.
"He won't do that," Saori tried to convince herself otherwise. "Eighth Sense, he doesn't have it in him."
"Athena," Hades's tone suddenly changed. "I agreed to take you in to protect you, but Underworld has rules."
Before sunrise, Dohko found Shiryu at the steps of House of Libra.
"Still thinking of your friend?" Dohko asked. "I'm sorry I couldn't change his mind."
"Roshi," Shiryu was touched by how much Dohko cared for him; not only as a master but also as a friend.
"But that's what love does to you," Dohko went on. "It makes you strong and brings out the best of you. But at times, it can drive you mad."
Shiryu said nothing.
"You should go back to Roshan, Shiryu," Dohko added. "Shunrei is waiting for you. You two are the lucky ones."
"I don't know what you mean," Shiryu said.
"Yes you do," Dohko said. "Being a Saint doesn't mean that you can't love."
"Do you love him?"
Saori said nothing.
"I take your silence as a yes."
"What will you do to him?" Saori asked with fear in her voice. "If he comes here."
"As to any intruder to my realm," Hades answered. "I am your uncle, but I'm the King of Underworld. Even if he dares to enter this realm, he will have to pass gate after gate, each guarded by my specters. If he makes it all the way, then he's a warrior to keep."
"Will you let me see him?"
"Hyoga," Camus approached his disciple. "Would you like to return to Siberia?"
"No, master Camus," Hyoga said. "Not now."
"You believe what Seiya did is wrong?" Camus asked him.
"Yes," Hyoga answered honestly. "Seiya and Saori-san, I know it will not end well."
"Love is never wrong, Hyoga," Camus said. "Have you stopped loving your mother?"
Now Hyoga found himself out of words.
"Love is a strength but you should never lose your mind over it," Camus went on. "I don't mind to see you in a relationship, but don't ever act like Seiya did. I too have loved, but lost her due to an avalanche. I have moved on though I haven't forgotten her and never will."
"As I've told you, Underworld has rules and I do not tolerate any intruder," Hades said to her.
"Please, just one glance!" She pleaded.
"Let me remind you again, you are not a mortal in the mortal world," Hades said. "You are a goddess, act like one. You have no chance being with him!"
Knowing talking to him is useless, Saori bolted towards the door.
"Guards!" Hades ordered as two of his specters took hold of her arms.
"Please, for what my mother had done for you-"
"I have agreed to keep you safe," Hades said. "Which I will, but I never agreed to make you happy."
"No! Seiya!"
Hades walked out of her room and had the door locked.
"Seiya," he chuckled. "So that's his name."