.:.

THE TESTAMENT OF MINERVA
By Palabragrís

Note: Thanks for reading this story. This is my second try at translating one of my works into English. I've tried as hard as I can to avoid as many grammatical mistakes as possible, but if you see any that I'm not aware of, I'd be very grateful if you could let me know. Thanks. Please, enjoy the reading!

JUSTICE

Adara taught me everything I know,
but she never prepared me to die…

And now I'm here bleeding, defenseless. But my enemies stand in front of me dazzling me with their magnificence. Their Cosmo invade me as if it was the Universe itself and that's how I comprehend this is my last day in this miserable world. I will fall here.

Pope Shun, the Legendary Bronze Saint who has inherited the Constellation of the Virgin and who gave me hope when I was a child who had lost everything, watches me without blinking. I can see in his face a resolution that's as deep as his sadness. His eyes tell me he won't stop to anything and that when he takes my life he will lament it wholeheartedly, wishing deep inside that everything was different. And I also see the Saints standing alongside him —in times past my comrades-in-arms, even if now they've labeled me a «traitor». And I despise them for that, because I only tried and failed to find justice in this world of waters. I have earned hatred with which they look at me, even if just few days ago I was the most faithful follower of the main desire of Athena, their Goddess: Peace and Justice on this Earth after more than two hundred years of civil war.

To my feet lie the golden pieces of the Cloth of Ballance, who's finally abandoned me. Maybe I'm not of any use for it anymore, maybe it just despises me because of my desertion. It doesn't matter. After all, it was never really mine. Surrounding me are its twelve weapons of gold, damaged and quiet. Something hits me in my bared foot and when I look down I discover the golden mask looking back to me, cracked in the cheek under the eye by a little notch that reminds me of a tear. And I think it's fitting. It's alright a part of me cries for all this. I kneel slowly, aware that any of the Golden Warriors could strike me while I lower my guard in such a fashion, and I take the mask with one hand. With the other I grab one of the Libra Swords. I feel as its Cosmo rejects me, but I press on, even as it burns my hand. It's like a rabid wild animal trying to get rid of its old master.

My rebellion as ended in failure, that's for sure, but if I'm dying here, confronted against those I swore to protect and who I betrayed for a more righteous world, then I'll die my way, under my own discretion, following my own believe of what is Justice. Fuck those Saints! To hell with Athena and the rest of the Gods! If my sisters' blood stain my hands, theirs are soiled by the blood of the entire humanity.

I let go a sigh as I stand up in all my height, every eye watching my every move, and I look back at my former comrades in a last defying act. I give them my best smile as I start to focus. The Universe expands around me. Hundreds of thousands of millions of years since the all-starting Big Bang surround my soul as I burn that Cosmo they are so frighten of. I open my mouth to confront them. I'm not sure of what I say but by the hostility in their eyes and the tension on their bodies tell me I hit the mark. Finally, it's time.

I rise my head looking to all of them directly, as I wish that when I lie death they won't forget my eyes —eyes as blue as the sea that punishes the world we swore to protect; eyes as blue as those of Goddess Athena herself. Thinking of her I fit my mask to my face as in a last ritual of defiance. I feel its coldness when the metal touches my skin and I smell the stellardust as it fills my nostrils. What I don't feel is rejection; it's the only piece of Cloth that keeps its faith in me. I firmly grasp the sword above my head and I hold my breath. I release the air just a moment after I leap towards my enemies. My Cosmo burns. Intense. Deep. Strange. I don't remember if I scream or not. I wish I did, it'd make me seem more savage. Savage to Goddess Athena, who must be watching me from her seat at Mount Olympus. As I jump to my death I wonder if she pities me. Or maybe she thinks that with my blood she will create real Justice…