18 — CASTLE OF ILLUSIONS
Leaving the valley and rocks behind, the group reached a flooded area. A swamp that separated them from a huge castle on the horizon.
"What does the compass say?" Shun asked Alice.
"It says the Golden Urn was back there in the Valley of Diamonds."
They were all confused looking at her.
"They must have found the tracker and left it where they wanted us to go."
"A trap." Shiryu guessed while holding Xiaoling.
"We have to be more prepared. This island is full of illusions, but also real threats. We need to be aware and not trust so much what our eyes are seeing. We must trust our cosmos."
Seiya kicked some puddled water.
"This swamp looks like real."
"The chains are tense." Shun said.
"Let's go. Be alert." Alice finished.
And off they were.
They plunged their feet into the swamp, a huge waterlogged region with thin, sparsely plucked trunks. There was also a thick fog that gave a strong ethereal feel to the swamp in the afternoon. Deep in the marsh, they could no longer see the castle in the distance.
The sound of his own footsteps in the pooled water soon gained the company of the noise and the tremor of many clapping hooves. Ahead, a herd of mares seemed to come towards them.
Impossible mares, as some ran through the marsh, dodging trunks, walking on water. Others jumped for an impossible dive into the huge puddles, as there was no depth to hold a full mare. Still, they dove as if they were deep, only to emerge powerfully to the surface a few meters later. That spectacle put themselves on their edges and the Saints began to dodge the mares coming in their direction.
"Seiya. They are only illusions." Alice said noticing that Seiya tried in every way to avoid the mares' advances.
Seiya saw how Alice was absolutely still, the mares emerged from the depths and ran through her without causing any harm. Seiya then finally gave up on dodging and noticed how the figures crossed him causing a cold sensation, but without any pain.
"Keep your guard up, Seiya." Shun said with the chains moving in his arms.
Andromeda then burned his cosmos and released his Chains into the air; they zigzagged like lightning across the swamp, and it wasn't long before it hit one of the mares, knocking her into the water.
But as soon as the mare sank into the swamp, she immediately emerged just below Shiryu, no longer like a mare, but with the Dark Armor of the Warrior that had commanded the action on the ship. Shiryu was hit full in the chin and lost her helmet with the enemy's hook, who hid again in the swamp waters.
"We'll be an easy prey like this." Alice said, lighting up her cosmos.
The water around Alice began to bubble up. She reached out in front of her and her cosmos intensified violently, sucking up the flooded water and creating a typhoon. All she wanted was to dry what she could around her to take advantage of that opponent.
The dark figure appeared inside the typhoon, as if it had been sucked in by Alice's power. The typhoon exploded and from the column of water the Warrior jumped to attack the girl, who was helpless while conjuring her technique. But the Dragon Shield defended her from a terrible blow.
Shiryu's huge hair fluttered along with the water around her, forming a Dragon behind her. Her resolute voice sounded through the swamp sealing that Warrior's fate.
"Rising Dragon!"
The Water Dragon consumed the Warrior in Dark Armor and caused him to break through several naked swamp logs to fall defeated to the bottom.
Shiryu knelt in pain.
"He got me pretty good."
"Now there are two of us." Xiaoling said, holding her friend now. "And you guys should go get that Cloth. The two of us puking all over you won't do any good."
"You two take care here." Alice asked.
"Well, you need to put more faith in them." said a voice from the swamp. "After all, Dragon and Ursa Minor have defeated two enemies already. I'm sure they won't have any problems in this swamp."
"Cygnus!" Shun celebrated. "Are you okay?"
"Of course I am. And they will be too. Now you must go. Carry on as that castle seems to be your destiny."
When they looked back, the fog had cleared and a menacing castle reappeared in the background.
Shun, Seiya and Alice walked together towards the end of the swamp. Soon the flooded land dried up and some large wooden planks began to appear, following a clear path out of that moor.
At the end of the wooden path, there was a monster.
It looked like a monster from afar, but up close, they noticed it was the Medusa Warrior, the one Shun had defeated on the ship without even bothering to look.
"Another illusion?" Seiya asked.
"No," replied Medusa. "It's clear that these tricks don't work on you anymore, so I'll beat you without any tricks."
The Nebula Chains immediately attacked Medusa, but this time he caught them in his fist and grinned.
"Did you think it would work again, little boy? This time I was really hoping you would do this."
And then he delivered a very violent shock to Shun, who saw his entire body twisted, forced to contract in violent ways. His heart sped up and slowed down quickly and Shun fell to the ground breathless.
Seiya and Alice went straight to their friend to help him, when a tentacle of Medusa hooked on Seiya's neck and started to give him shocks. Again the Chain moved and ripped the tentacle, causing Seiya to fall close to Shun, with some spasms in his body. Shun got to his feet with some difficulty and again threw the Chain towards Medusa, who again electrocuted him.
"Now Alice!" Shun asked in the midst of his suffering.
She understood and advanced on Medusa unable to use his fists as he was busy torturing Shun.
She spun masterfully and hit Medusa with a flying kick so violent that he spun in the air as if she had caused a small typhoon with the Warrior's body. He landed sprawling near the beginning of a small stone bridge that led to the entrance to the shadowy castle. Defeated.
Shun was unable to follow.
"Beware of the illusions, Seiya." Alice warned.
He agreed.
They entered the castle through an enormous corridor lined with sculptures of sea monsters, birds, serpents, angel-men, treasure chests, valuable cups, caravels, galleons and other ancient vessels. The corridor ended in a spiral staircase that led to another corridor, this time with only burning torches on either side.
There is no other possible path. They always go ahead and when they reach the end of a corridor, only one option is there: to turn left or right. And so they continue.
"Is it a maze?" Seiya asked.
"It's possible." Alice replied as she turned what appeared to be the fifth or sixth corner.
Another spiral staircase threw them into a corridor again adorned on both sides with crude metal carvings of various mythological figures.
"Pegasus." Seiya guesse when he saw the winged horse made with rough pieces of metal, as he guessed other known and unknown shapes as well. "Swan, Dragon..."
"Seiya…" Alice said, drawing attention to the end of the corridor.
It was the entrance to a large room. And at the end of the room, from the corridor, they could see that the Urn of the Gold Cloth rested.
They looked at each other and quickened their pace. They knew it was a trap, but the mission there was also clear.
When they entered the hall, they noticed that there were a dozen Golden Urns. All identical.
"I can't stand these illusions anymore." Seiya said burning his cosmos.
He unleashed his Meteors angrily at all the Golden Urns before Alice could say anything. All but one broke. The real one.
Clapping behind them.
A figure completely covered by a purple Armor that covered every point of his body, very different from the ones they themselves wore. On the face, the most important thing: a helmet with a mask covering the face. Seiya immediately remembered Marin, his master.
"Who are you?" Alice asked.
"I'm Geist." replied the voice.
"You're the one who controls all these illusions, aren't you? Just so you know that this trick won't work anymore!" Seiya threatened.
"I know. That's why there are no tricks. There you have it: the Urn of the Gold Cloth." she said.
"Who's behind this?" Alice asked. "Who do you fight for?"
Geist walks across the room as she talks.
"Why do you assume I'm fighting for someone? What makes you believe I don't want the Gold Cloth for my own sake?"
"What about us? The Bronze Saints?" Seiya asked.
Geist fell silent.
"Time will tell."
Alice placed herself in front of that opponent and threatened.
"You won't stand a chance against both of us."
"Perhaps."
Seiya yelled for her name warning her and, when Alice looked at him, she realized that Geist was beside Pegasus; when she looked behind her again, where she used to be conversing with that Saint, another twenty of her appeared in the hall.
"Tricks again, Geist?" Alice asked when she was startled by a sharp blow to the face.
Seiya was already getting beaten.
"They're not illusions, Alice!"
And the two began to fight fervently against the many duplicates of Geist. It wasn't easy for both of them, as a sure dodge landed exactly where another fist was. When a kick landed, the body was vulnerable to a trip.
Despite the hardship, after so many punches and kicks taken, the two finally reduced the duplicates to the minimum that was possible. The fighting was intense and stretched across the entire hall.
Alice dropped the last duplicate of Geist that landed in front of her, defeated, and revealed Seiya behind her in guard position and a smile on his face.
"Behind you!" he warned, worried.
And when she turned around, she noticed Seiya dropping his last duplicate across the room as well.
Too late, for when Alice turned to punch the illusionist, Geist already had her fist electrocuted and violent in her stomach, knocking her to the floor of the hall. Seiya called her name and went to her rescue, but Geist got in her way.
"Now it's your turn, boy."
Her Cosmo finally appeared in the hall before she threatened him.
"And for you I have a special treasure."
Seiya could have sworn he heard the hiss of a snake or any other reptile in Geist cosmos. She lifted her right arm which immediately crackled with electricity at her torn voice.
"Thunder Claws!"
Seiya was haunted and his hesitation of surprise was enough for Geist to assert her cosmos, hit him with violence and make him sink a nearby pillar.
Helpless, he began to lash out at Geist against the pillar, until she hit him with a flying kick, knocking him to the side. Finger upraised, she made a very thin column of electricity rip open the ceiling lamp, which fell violently on Seiya. He dodged at the last second, and when he looked up again, she was on top of him to spank him. Seiya again dodged and stood up again to fight. And he fought. Hard.
Alice, still very hurt, opened her eyes to see Seiya fighting the air. There was no one attacking him, but he dodged and attacked with all his might something that only existed in his mind.
In the corner of her eye, the Dolphin Saint noticed the shape of the real Geist walking towards her as Seiya punched the air. She knelt down and placed her armored finger in Alice's mouth, which was still suffering from her technique. She asked for silence. And then she knelt even closer to speak by her ear.
"No mask?!" she muttered menacingly.
She finally got up and left Alice's inert body to end the fight with Seiya.
Taking advantage of Pegasus fighting the wind, Geist hits him with a kick, throwing him against another pillar.
Her cosmos ascends again and electricity runs through her entire body.
"That's Shaina's technique." Seiya commented.
"This is a gift from Shaina." she replied. "Thunder Cl..."
A golden glow.
A bell that rings on the horizon reverberating in the stone room.
Geist's cosmos fades away as she is invaded by an inexplicable sensation. As she looked at the source of the golden glow that had attracted and betrayed her, she realized that the Urn of Gold Cloth was glowing brightly, appeasing Geist cosmos.
The hesitation was her doom. Alice was on her feet again, spun on her axis and landed a powerful kick in Geist's face, destroying her helmet and throwing her mask away.
Without the helmet. Without the mask.
Looking back at Alice is a bruised and fearful face, a dark-haired girl.
"Yes. No mask!" said Alice, swaying and leaning against the table carved into the stone.
Geist tries to hide her face from the light coming in through a shrunken window.
"Get up, Seiya. Get the Urn." Alice said to a shaky Pegasus.
She crawls along the wall to Geist, takes her hand away from the face she's trying to hide so she can look at her.
"You were banned from the Sanctuary." said Alice. "You don't have to follow that stupid rule."
Geist didn't say anything, her eyes were full of confusion.
"Or hide from anyone else." said Alice, determined to see her cowering from the light. "We're taking the Urn."
So she left the castle beside Seiya.
Outside, the two were greeted by everyone: Cygnus, Shun, Shiryu and Xiaoling were full of injuries, but with big smiles on their faces.
Alice placed a hand on Seiya's shoulder, whias he was smaller than she. He looked at her and saw her with a smile on her face, something he had never seen before.
"You fought very well, Seiya. You reminded me of your sister."
He smiled and cried.
ABOUT THE CHAPTER: Still using some Sinbad references to create the environment; this chapter is also important as it introduces Geist and I liked to reflect on the Amazon Mask from the original story, bringing some of Yuna's speech at the Omega about not using it in modern times.
NEXT CHAPTER: THE GOLD CLOTH
With the Gold Cloth recovered, Seiya wants to know: why is the Gold Cloth with Saori?