41 — FURY
There was no one under that starry sky more wretched in anger.
Blood dyeing the gold of the Sagittarius Cloth a deep crimson red in a terrible night.
Aioria marched with his Gold Cloth to the heart of the Temple of Athena. His footsteps echoed thunderously against the opulent columns of the temple's central nave. His white cape fluttered with each firm step of the man against the millenary rugs of the ancient decoration of those halls pressing of history.
Two golden figures on top of a hill cursing his brother. One of them carrying a child on her lap. Sucked into the universe.
His face distorted in fury. Teeth clenched, such force in his jaw to keep from devouring his anger. Such was his wrath that, arriving at last before the huge white portico carved from a thousand ancient battles that preceded the sacred altar, he opened it without even touching it.
Moved by the force of his furious eyes.
Waiting for death in a recess, his chest open, a baby crying and a Golden Urn beside him.
The altar was entirely of marble, silver columns rose up on both sides, and beyond that, a red curtain with gold details was half-open to a huge sculpture of the Goddess Athena. Below her, seated on a tall golden throne, the Master Camerlengo.
An unknown face. A man out of legend. Two presents for the future.
"You knew!" Aioria accused, immediately, in fury.
Black and gold cassock splayed across the throne, a golden helmet hiding his features in shadow. The unshakable presence of the highest ruler of the Sanctuary of Athena.
"Leo Aioria." he made his voice very deep for him.
"My brother was never a traitor!" Aioria spoke, as if he were actually roaring. Loud, so that his voice echoed through the entire altar.
"Leo Aioria," repeated the Camerlengo. "You're in front of me again. And I see that you didn't accomplished your mission."
Aioria walked from one side to the other.
"Fifteen years of this hell!" cried Aioria.
The Camerlengo did not respond, but remained unruffled on his golden throne.
"I demand to see Athena." asked Aioria then.
"Athena sees no one." replied the Camerlengo.
"I demand to see Athena!" cried the golden lion then.
"Aioria." replied the man under his cassock, disappointedly. "It's unfortunate that you raise your voice in front of me. I suggest leaving if you don't want to be punished. Your bloodline is disgraced and no one considers you worthy to even set foot in this place. But I acknowledge my old brother's value and kind heart to you. And so I regard you as much as my brother did. Please return to the Lion Temple."
"My brother was never a traitor!" he roared again, this time standing before the golden throne. "Say, Camerlengo Master Arles, by the memory of Supreme Pontiff Zion, once and for all: where is Athena?"
The question hung ominously in the air.
There was a low bass sound, which was the breath of the wind in that basilica built in a precise way to guide the oscillations of the air like a divine and eternal breath. Audible and serious.
"Well, she's not here." Aioria finally concluded. "Athena was saved by Aioros fifteen years ago and was never near the Sanctuary. Athena is far away, but she will march to eradicate the evil that is placed in this Sanctuary. Well then tell me, Camerlengo. Which side are you on?"
"Beside Athena." said a voice behind him.
Aioria turned to understand who would have the courage to interrupt that mass, when he noticed the closed eyes of a woman dressed in a Gold Cloth. Her long black hair behind her, flowing beneath a wonderful golden helmet.
"Virgo Shaka." Aioria said, guessing that figure.
"Aioria." she said in her calm voice. "How dare you doubt which side the Camerlengo is on? Doubting his loyalty is like doubting Athena. As a Gold Saint, you should know this."
"Athena hasn't even been in the Sanctuary all these years, Virgo Saint. We've all been deceived."
"For here it seems to me that you are the one who is mistaken and covered with doubts. Your anger clearly shows that the fears of your past have finally driven you mad."
"Silence!" Aioria snapped at her. "We all lived a terrible lie. Athena has never been in the Sanctuary! And the Camerlengo always knew the truth."
His accusation, however, again fell into deep silence.
Broken by the fabric of the curtain moving behind the golden throne so that the Camerlengo himself, for the first time, rose with a start and looked at who might be there.
For there appeared in the light of the altar a girl with beautiful eyes and an imposing white dress.
The Camerlengo immediately knelt before her, followed by the Virgo Saint.
Dazed, Aioria looked that figure in the eye, unable to believe what could be happening; but it was empty eyes that stared back at him. It was strictly forbidden to look at Athena in her glaucous eyes, so Aioria was always kneeling before her presence. As did the Camerlengo and Shaka at that moment.
Confused and carrying fifteen years of anguish, however, Aioria for the first time looked into Athena's eyes. And there he saw nothing. He also did not see the Golden Staff that had guided him to victory through so many battles. That wasn't Athena.
He walked towards her, but Shaka jumped up and placed herself between Aioria and the Goddess-girl, using her palm to throw Aioria away from her. He flew and crashed against a marble column.
Shaka knelt again, this time closer to Athena.
"Forgive me, Athena. Forgive me." she asked.
"It's a farse!" Aioria accused from a distance.
Shaka got up decisively and marched to Aioria.
"What are you doing, Aioria? Get down on your knees!" she ordered.
"No. It's a lie, that's not Athena. My brother is not a traitor!" he repeated, exhausted.
Shaka then placed himself in front of Aioria, his hands taking the form of mudras.
"You leave me no choice, Aioria."
"Are you going to fight me, Shaka?"
"We are both Gold Saints. If we fight, we can destroy ourselves or last a thousand days and a thousand nights in battle."
Their two Cosmos burned and spread across the altar.
Under that starry sky there was no one more empty.
The news had taken everyone's spirits.
Palaestra had been mercilessly attacked by a Gold Saint.
And Xiaoling had been snuffed out of her short life.
Along with some allies that were already gathering at the fort, like the remaining Black Saints and some refugees from the Isle of Andromeda.
Jab lay in a coma and Ichi, the Hydra Saint, was the one who told of the terrible events of Palaestra that morning and how they were alive thanks to Xiaoling's sacrifice.
Dead.
Seiya destroyed the common room absolutely filled with wrath, vowing revenge and destruction; Shun was crying, his chest absolutely crushed. Hyoga observed the imbalance around him. Alice had an enormous anger inside her, which seemed to pour her tears into flames.
Saori, who then looked lifeless from so many tears shed, got up beside Alice, took a bust on a plinth that Seiya had left intact and hurled it at the wall, destroying the sculpture. She was panting and had something in her eyes that Seiya knew very well, but that maybe Alice had never seen.
The wrath.
And, in effect, she turned over a wooden table and threw a chair at another glass table in the center.
Alice had never seen her friend like that.
She stopped in front of everyone, breathing hard, fists clenched.
Her voice was shaky, not with fear but with fury.
"I'm going to the Sanctuary." she announced it. "This ends today." she said.
And thunder rumbled across the sky at that moment, though the morning was not cloudy.
Athena was ready to march.
She made a thousand phone calls and forced the Foundation to provide an aircraft immediately, no matter how or what the cost. It was an order. It was for now. She dismissed the escort. She dismissed everyone who insisted on advising her.
She marched resolutely in her white dress, tight around her body, her legs bandaged and her hair tied back. She wouldn't just march, she would fight if she had to.
They took all their Urns of Cloths and followed the girl.
They flew in silence, each harboring a particular hatred.
The speedy aircraft arrived in Greece bypassing all air controls in the region, invading borders and landing where it wasn't even possible.
They descended in the middle of a crowded Arena, interrupting a fight between lesser warriors in the exact place where Seiya had dueled for his Pegasus Cloth. The four young bloods descended to an astonished audience. Saori ordered the crew to stay there, as they would not delay.
"Hey, what is this? Who are you?"
All Saints immediately put themselves on guard to beat that entire crowd if need be. And they needed.
With Saori in the center brandishing her Golden Staff, they were attacked from all sides, but Seiya, Shun, Hyoga and Alice simply beat up every one of those who dared to get close to them in an absolutely stunning choreography. The anger they carried in their chests, they used it back so they wouldn't take a scratch.
Within minutes, there were dozens of warriors unconscious and suffering on the ground.
From the top of the theater's bleachers, however, someone finally appeared. Someone different.
A dark tunic and purple mask hiding the face.
He descended the stairs and, in front of Saori, knelt down.
"You are expected by the Camerlengo." said his voice.
"Good." returned Saori.
And they walked after this figure out of the Arena and into the citadel that Seiya knew so well; the people were all outside, on the bank of the main avenue, watching that girl march with the Golden Staff, a sacred treasure of the Sanctuary, alongside her four friends.
Some old bastards spat on the ground while Soari marched, but she didn't flinched at all. Her haughty face stared only at the top of the mountain looming before them. Seiya recognized a few henchmen who had been chasing him from childhood and had to hold back not to beat them when he saw them spitting in Saori's way.
Finally, they left the citadel along a road that Seiya knew was completely forbidden to everyone. A road that climbed up to a portico guarded by two Bronze Saints, who allowed passage for all of them.
The road wound around the mountain until they came to a stop in front of a high boulder, where a figure hid in the sunlight.
"Who's there?" asked the emissary.
The figure came down to them.
"An ally."
It was Shiryu, and everyone was surprised by her arrival, but the time was not for lightness or joy. Seiya pulled her friend into a heavy hug, but not very festive. She spoke Xiaoling's name in her ear sadly.
"I know…" she said ruefully.
"Shiryu, your eyes." Saori lamented when she saw that she still couldn't see.
"Don't worry about it." she said.
"Very well." said Saori. "Let's get this over with."
And even before the emissary moved on, the five followed their paths.
The road's ascent stopped at the beginning of a beautiful, wide and sweeping staircase to a temple higher up.
"I think we're here." Seiya said, but the emissary behind them let out a smile.
"Forgive me, but this is the House of Aries." he began. "The Temple where the Camerlengo is located is at the top of the mountain, so you will need to cross the 12 Zodiac Temples. From Aries to Pisces."
"Twelve Temples?" marveled Seiya, who had never been there on that face of the mountain.
"Yes. This is the last bastion of defense for the Sanctuary of Athena." continued the emissary. "But you don't need to worry about that, as you won't even make it to the House of Aries."
They looked at him, confused, when they saw that the robed emissary had thrown it away, revealing a Silver Cloth beneath the disguise. It was a threat. For that Silver Saint threatened the wrong group. His voice, however, tore the air before them.
"Ghost Arrows!"
The Silver Saint distorted perception in that area, as if the colors and hues of the mountain were negated in their eyes; Seiya saw how, from his hilt, thousands of translucent arrows zoomed towards them. They tried to dodge, but noticed right away that those arrows conjured by the Silver Saint were mere illusions. A distraction, they thought, for what was likely to be his real intent.
By then, however, they all flew towards the Silver Saint, and he found himself obliterated by the fist of everyone there. Pegasus Meteors, Diamond Dust, Nebuls Chains and Rising Dragon destroyed that Silver Cloth into a thousand pieces and cursed that poor fellow for choosing the worst day to revolt against those Bronze Saints.
"Saori!"
Alice yelled for Saori.
When Seiya looked back, he saw that she was in Alice's arms.
One of the arrows was not a ghost.
Everyone called her name and approached to see, with amazement, a golden arrow stuck in her chest. Red blood staining the white of her dress.
Alice fell to the ground with Saori in her arms, calling her name as her face twisted in pain. The hem of her dress was also stained with blood, for Alice had also been stabbed by the golden arrow.
"My mission is done." said the Silver Saint, coughing up blood. "The girl will die."
"Not all of them were fake." said Seiya, desperate. "Mii, you…"
"I threw myself in front of her, but I wasn't fast enough." said Alice.
"You're hurt, Mii." Shun said when he saw that Alice had a punctured spleen.
The golden arrow had gone through her body before hitting Saori.
"I couldn't save her." cried Alice.
"That's not true, Alice." Hyoga spoke. "If it weren't for you, perhaps Athena would have received the full power of the arrow and now she would be dead."
Saori opened her eyes with difficulty and everyone called her name. Alice placed her gently on the ground for fear that she would go out altogether.
"It might be possible to remove the arrow." Shun pondered.
Behind them, however, the Silver Saint let out a laugh.
"You will not be able to remove that arrow." he said. "This is a gift from the Camerlengo Master Arles and the Golden Arrow can only be removed by its owner. In other words, only the Camerlengo has the power to remove it."
His voice failed, as he was still very injured, but Seiya went to him to force him to speak.
"It's very unfortunate for her, for the Golden Arrow would have killed her at once. And now she will have to suffer until her final breath. And you will all be able to see Athena die before your eyes, helpless."
"You knew she was Athena and you still attacked her?" Hyoga asked, desperate, and the man let out a smile.
A smile that closed with his death.
"Saori." called Alice.
Her bruised eyes opened and she saw around her those young boys and girls who had sworn to protect her. Her lips trembled with words, but Alice asked her to be silent.
"We can't leave her here." Shun said.
"I'll stay here with her." said Alice. "What you need to do now is get to the Camerlengo and bring him here."
"But Mii… You're also very hurt." said Seiya.
"I will stay as well." Hyoga spoke.
"No!" she protested firmly. "I can be by her side. You must go! Don't waste any more time."
The four looked at each other and had two hearts inside them; the hardship of leaving them both out in the open like that, but the need to leave soon to reach the top of that mountain as soon as possible.
"Don't worry." she finally spoke, Saori's voice trembling. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine if I have Mii by my side. Trust me."
Seiya crouched down beside her, taking her hand.
"Seiya..." she said. "This is my destiny. You have already faced many trials in your lives. The time has come for me to face mine."
"Saori…" he lamented.
Her eyes then closed slowly, erasing herself from her awareness.
Alice put her hand on Seiya's shoulder and her eyes asked them to leave soon.
He got up and looked around at his friends.
"Let's go." he said. "Let's get to the Twelve Temples."
ABOUT THE CHAPTER: Xiaoling's death is very abrupt in the story and maybe it wasn't fair to her, but it works as a trigger to enrage Saori out of her own personality, throwing her into a trap. It ends up fitting well. Alice sacrificing herself for Saori is also within her personality and in all honesty, I needed to 'take' them out of the picture so as not to alter so much the classic events of the Twelve Temples, which are already almost perfect by themselves.
NEXT CHAPTER: THE SEVENTH SENSE
Master Mu, Aries Saint, realizes the ruse that unfolds on that fateful day and asks the Bronze Saints to climb the Twelve Temples behind the Camerlengo.