55 — THE BATTLE OF A THOUSAND DAYS
The House of Aries was still well lit by the sunlight that filtered into the temple through the wonderful crystal dome at its center. Guarding the entrance to the temple is the huge body of the Golden Taurus, arms crossed, looking up at the empty stairs that descended ahead.
"Damn you, Mu. Ever since she went to the Temple of Eris, no more Ghosts have appeared around here and I can't even leave the Aries temple to help Seiya and his friends."
The disappointment was real.
Aldebaran heard the moans of pain that Saori let out behind him and ran towards her small body. Her eyes twitched, as if some of her consciousness had returned to her body; with amazement, the huge Aldebaran saw the reason why she was suffering: the golden arrow embedded in her chest slowly penetrated a few more inches into her skin.
The huge Gold Saint despaired with an enormous desire to pull that arrow and solve the problem at once, but he knew that if he did, maybe he would kill her for good. It was terrible not being able to do anything. He wished he could do something.
Saori's face slowly returned to its full and calm state again.
He glanced at the entrance to the House of Aries and ran to the rocks beside the temple steps. He brought from there a couple of beautiful flowers that had survived in that place, growing where they could never grow, but persevering and doing the impossible that was to bloom through the cracks in the stones.
He brought it back and put one in Saori's ear and one in Alice's ear.
"Fight, girls."
He closed his eyes as if praying for them, but then his concentration was cut off by a powerful sensation that made him stand up and look toward the exit of the House of Aries.
"But what the hell does that mean?" he said to himself. "Two Gold Saints are about to fight."
Aldebaran was a little in shock.
"Again."
The thunder that reverberated in the House of Virgo was not the harbinger of a storm but the roar of an enraged Lion.
"What is the traitor's brother doing here in the House of Virgo?" asked Shaka. "This is not your temple. Return to the Leo temple that you so poorly defended, Aioria."
Aioria, however, if he wasn't possessed by the Demon Emperor, without a doubt he had anger in his eyes and he didn't budge from there. On the contrary, he walked in the direction to place himself in front of the Virgo Saint.
"What do you want here anyway? Have you come to plead for the lives of these useless Bronze Saints, surrendering at last to be a traitor like your brother?
"No, Virgo Shaka. I came here so I could save your life."
Shaka immediately let out an incomprehensible laugh.
"Maybe it's true that there's an evil placed in the Sanctuary, because you are all acting like crazy fools, like the damned Hungry Spirits of Hell."
"Think carefully, Shaka." said Aioria. "Taking hold of your giant confidence, you didn't realize what the Phoenix Saint was really up to."
The Virgo Saint looked at Ikki who, in her eyes, was nothing but the shell of a warrior who had once been brave. And then she looked back at Aioria as if she were facing a person far from his mental faculties.
"The Seventh Sense, Shaka." Aioria spoke to her.
Again Shaka looked at Ikki, who had her head down with some spasms throughout her body that she couldn't feel.
"She sacrificed her senses and would lose them all in order to touch the Essence of the Cosmos."
"This is ridiculous, she can't even stand up."
"You trapped her inside her own cosmos. And within she would explode her own life if it took you to die with it."
"Are you saying Phoenix would kill herself just to beat me?"
"Exactly, Shaka."
"And what good is a victory like that? It's not even a victory." said the Virgo Saint.
Aioria pointed to the unconscious bodies of the Bronze Saints.
"It would give them a chance to move on."
"This is ridiculous."
"That's what the Athena Saints do."
They finally faced each other in that darkness.
"You're delusional." accused Shaka. "Now go back to your temple, Saint Aioria. You shouldn't abuse the Camerlengo's trust in you."
"The Camerlengo is the very reincarnation of evil."
Aioria's voice reverberated again there like thunder, so shocking that Shaka felt breathless with such an enormous sacrilege being said under her temple.
"Tread lightly, Leo," Shaka spoke softly. "There is no one under this sky who is as kind as the Camerlengo is, and you should know that very well."
Aioria let out a laugh.
"It's ridiculous and ironic that you're so blind, Virgo Shaka." he walked to the side looking at the bodies of the Bronze Saints. "But you are not the only one, as we were all as blind as you, for that one is a terrible man and I do not know how many years he has been deceiving us."
"The one who doesn't deceive us anymore is you, Aioria, brother of Aioros." accused Shaka. "The Camerlengo was the one who guided us in the terrible battle against the Titans, it was he who prevented Athena from being killed by your brother, the Traitor of the Sanctuary, and he was also the one who led us to victory against the Giants in the War that raged after the Sad Night. Always beside Athena. And under all the suspicions and misfortunes you've made all your life, he still accepted you as a Gold Saint. Yet he forgave you mistakes after mistakes you made. And here you are cursing his name."
"He's a demon!" roared Aioria.
"Leo Aioria, I am tired of your delusions and although the Camerlengo has given you his most precious trust, now that the invasion of the Sanctuary is over I will have no reason not to punish you for such sins uttered in my temple."
"Will you fight me, Virgo Shaka?"
"Let's finish what the Camerlengo's benevolence prevented from ending."
"So be it."
Their Cosmos rose, illuminating that House of Virgo with gold. Two Gold Saints would really fight.
Far from the mountain of the Twelve Temples, Aries Mu shone her Cosmo and Gold Cloth at the Temple of Eris, fighting alone against a profusely marching horde of Ghosts from within a seemingly abandoned sanctuary. But she was brilliant and magnanimous, so that not even an army like that could stop her.
"What is this?"
Mu looked across the horizon towards the mountain of the Twelve Temples.
"Two Gold Saints will fight each other?" she wondered, feeling the wind ruffle her hair.
It was terrible if it was really true, but her heart was there on another mission. That unfortunate fact was one more reason for her to hurry to finish her mission as soon as possible. She turned her eyes towards the entrance to that main sanctuary of the Temple of Eris complex and for an instant was confused, for the army of Ghosts she had had to bravely face thus far and which had prevented her from going forward seemed to have disappeared. Not one more Ghost came from those stairs.
"Two Gold Saints fighting in the Twelve Temples. The Ghosts of Discord rising from the Temple of Eris. This Crisis only seems to get worse."
She took advantage of that moment of peace when no other ghosts seemed to come towards her and finally entered the abandoned main shrine of Eris. She climbed some stairs and finally emerged into a section of the temple where only the columns were left standing, as its roof had long since been gone.
At the end of a corridor, in front of an altar, floating on a stone plinth, Mu found a beautiful marble apple. A purple aura subtly trickled from the apple, but she no longer felt the cosmos of any Ghosts around her.
She sought stored in her Cloth a gold cylinder that she found as soon as she stepped into that Temple, still in the common areas near the road. It was none other than the cylinder with the Seal of Athena that Seiya had dropped in his terrible battle with Shaina, the day Shiryu had lost her sight.
Mu took the Seal of Athena out of the cylinder, but was amazed to see that there was a huge tear in the papyrus, so the seal would have no effect. She was disappointed and then placed both hands beside the plinth, looking deep into that bright purple marble apple subtly.
She needed to do something.
"Mu."
The apple called to her.
She pulled away, initially afraid of being taken by some Eris seed.
"Mu."
Called the voice again, but then the Aries Saint seemed to recognize that tone.
"Aries Mu." spoke the voice at last.
She approached the plinth again and made sure the voice was not coming from anywhere else in that Temple. She was sure: it really came from inside that apple, if that was possible.
"Is that you, Death Mask?" Mu asked the apple.
"I see you haven't forgotten me, Mu." replied the voice.
"What does this means?" Mu asked, not understanding what she was doing inside that terrible artifact.
"I feel your Cosmo near the Well of Spirits. Where are you, Aries Mu?"
Mu looked around and then understood everything.
"I'm in the Chamber of Eris in front of the Apple of Discord."
"Ah, as I imagined. So Eris is not really sealed."
"No," she replied simply.
"Don't falter, Aries Mu." said the woman's seductive voice. "Know that I found the source of Eris' seeds near the Underworld. No one else will pass into the Living World while I'm here."
Mu hesitated to listen to that voice.
"Should I really trust you, Death Mask?"
"You do what you want, Mu. But even here in Hell, I can feel that two Gold Saints are about to fight for a thousand days and a thousand nights."
Mu then looked back to the mountain of the Twelve Temples where she could feel those two mighty Cosmos colliding; even far away it was a catastrophic event for the Gold Saints to face.
"I can't do anything about it and if I'm being honest, I would love for the two idiots to blow up together and end up here by my side." she let out a deathly laugh. "I'm not interested in that, what interests me is to rid the Threshold of those rotten seeds that litter my garden."
The truth was that, as bad as it was, Death Mask was much better able to deal with that crisis than she was, thought Mu.
"Damn you, Death Mask, I'll be on alert and as soon as we have the Seal of Athena, I'll be right back."
"Do not worry." she said from Hell. "It's not like there's anything else to do here."
Mu wasn't exactly sure what she was doing, and in her heart of hearts, she wanted to ask her a thousand things to make sure which side she was on, but the timing was urgent, so she had to trust Death Mask's word.
She turned her back on the Temple of Eris and returned to the Sanctuary of Athena.
There was no one under that starry sky more wretched in anger.
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.
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.
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.
Days ago, Aioria had faced the Camerlengo unloading his fifteen years of anguish for a crime his brother had not committed, but was interrupted by the presence of Virgo Shaka in the Temple. She who, no doubt, had found the wrath with which the Leo Saint had crossed her temple that fateful night to meet the Camerlengo very strange.
Two Golden Cosmos that rose in front of Athena's live representative ready to face each other, as Aioria demanded to unravel the lies of that Camerlengo and Shaka was there to ensure that Aioria behaved.
Everything got out of hand when Athena appeared between them.
Two Golden Cosmos dotted the altar and Shaka changed her body posture so that she concentrated her huge cosmos in the middle of her chest. Aioria focused his rays on his right fist and, with violence, the two attacked each other.
"Heavenly Judgement!"
"Lightning Plasma!"
Shaka was sliced through the air by Aioria's beams of light and Aioria was hurled away by Shaka's enlightened cosmos.
By luck or bad luck, Aioria was thrown exactly in Athena's direction and simply crossed her austere figure, as if she were made of air. His body slammed against a column and he fell to the ground.
"Damn it, Shaka. You didn't attack me with all your might." Aioria mumbled, with enormous difficulties in getting up, because he had certainly used all his anger against her.
He saw across the hall the body of the Gold Saint lying on the floor; if she had really used all her strength, the two of them would now be trapped for so many days and nights in an impossible battle. Still, he couldn't get up.
He narrowed his eyes and saw, with her back to him and very close to him, the back of Athena's dress, which remained motionless in the face of events. He tried at least to sit up, and when he did, he realized that across the hall the Camerlengo had finally risen from his throne.
The Camerlengo, with his golden helmet and perfect cassock, descended the few steps of his throne and walked slowly towards Aioria; and with each step that holy man took, his cosmos rose more and more in an incredible way. A golden aura surrounded his huge figure, to Aioria's surprise.
"The Seventh Sense?" he muttered as he saw him come closer.
The Camerlengo approached and Aioria saw, with amazement, how it simply passed through the figure of Athena, as if it were really just an incorporeal hologram. The huge Camerlengo lifted Aioria by his Leo cloth necklace so that he could look at him more closely.
Even though he was hidden in the shadows of his helmet, Aioria saw his terrible eyes for the first time and felt fear.
The Camerlengo seemed to tremble slowly, a demonic laugh that echoed off the altar stone.
The huge man placed his right hand on Aioria's head, without his helmet, and mumbled unheard-of words.
It was the Demon Emperor.
"Guard the House of Leo and kill anyone who tries to pass through it. Your spell will only end with the death of your invader."
And then he released Aioria's head and stood up, leaving Leo's body behind to return to the throne.
It would be impossible to describe the pain that erupted in Aioria's mind and the clouds of doubt and dread that gathered in his vision. Until everything settled down in his mind. He scrambled to his feet, replaced his helmet on his head, knelt before the Camerlengo, and left the Altar back to the House of Leo.
Thrown into his thoughts, the Camerlengo was silent for a long time yet, when he finally descended from his throne and walked over to Shaka's still unconscious body. He knelt beside her and hugged her, manifesting a beautiful golden cosmos.
Shaka woke up and felt that she was in the arms of Athena's representative, and that he was tending to her wounds. She immediately felt disconcerted and wanted to get up as fast as she could.
"Don't worry, Shaka." said the Camerlengo's sweet voice. "You're very hurt. Let me take care of you."
"Master Camerlengo Arles." she began. "Where is Athena?"
The Camerlengo seemed to hesitate and only then spoke in a deep but kind voice.
"She is resting."
Shaka then finally got to her feet freeing herself from the Camerlengo and there was a certain anger inside of her. The Camerlengo, however, remained kneeling, prostrate in front of her.
"Calm your heart, Shaka." the man seemed to plead with her. "Remember your own teachings. Aioria realized the serious mistake he made."
"I can't believe the brother of a traitor like that is capable of something like this."
"Seeing your unconscious body brought him to his senses. He apologized to Athena and returned to the House of Leo to do his penance."
"Master Camerlengo Arles, I cannot understand how you can trust Aioria so much." said Shaka resolutely. "I sometimes wonder how far your enormous benevolence and mercy can go."
The House of Virgo trembled. The foundations, the columns, the floor, the ceiling threatened to give way with the violence with which both Leo Aioria and Virgo Shaka now struggled without giving an inch.
"Seiya, Seiya! Wake up, Seiya."
Shun shook his friends to the side, who gradually were finally regaining consciousness thanks to the earthquake that shook that entire mountain.
"Shun, what's going on?" asked Shiryu, finally awake.
"I think there are two Gold Saints fighting with all their strength." Shun commented.
"Two Gold Saints?" Seiya asked, also opening his eyes.
"Ah, where is Ikki?" Shun remembered that his sister was also in the House of Virgo.
He saw her body lying on the ground without her Cloth; Shun yelled for her name and went to her dodging pieces of the house that fell around him while two invisible and terrible forces fought out of their sights. He turned Ikki's body towards him and immediately her eyes widened in despair at the sight of her dear brother.
She tried to hug him, but very awkwardly. Ikki called for Shun, but his voice was slurred.
"Ikki, what happened to you?"
But she didn't listen.
"She can't hear us." Seiya finally concluded.
A golden glow then blinded them where they were and, panting, the Gold Saints finally appeared, shaking the entire Sanctuary. It was Leo Aioria on one side and Virgo Shaka on the other.
"Move on, Bronze Saints. Get up and go to the next temple!" he ordered.
"Aioria! What's happening?" Seiya asked.
"I will keep Shaka here, now get up and go at once, for Athena has little time to live."
"Damn, how long were we out of it?" Shiryu asked herself.
"Leave Phoenix here, Andromeda." Aioria said when he saw that Shun wanted to carry his sister on his shoulders out of that place. "Shaka has removed her Senses, you will have to climb the Twelve Temples alone. Don't waste any more time!"
Seiya looked at Shun, who looked at Ikki and understood in her eyes and in her slurred speech what they needed to do.
"Go, Shun!" — she said with difficulty.
"Okay, sister."
"Come on, Shun." Seiya pulled, already standing.
"Seiya, before you leave, there's something you need to know. Please pay close attention to what I am about to say." called Aioria one last time with his back to him. "The Camerlengo is not the kind person you think he is. If he really is the only one who can help Athena, then maybe you will have to convince him by force."
"What are you saying?" Seiya asked not understanding.
"The Camerlengo is none other than the one that represents the evil that is placed in the Sanctuary."
That information fell like an explosion of hopelessness among the Bronze Saints. For if only the Camerlengo could help Athena, who was injured in the House of Aries, what chance would they have if he, too, was the one who had caused her curse in the first place.
"Go, Seiya!" cried Aioria. "I can't promise I'll be right behind you, but if a miracle happens and Shaka comes to reason, I will soon be by your side and together we can save Athena, but for now, you must leave!"
"Right."
And they left.
Shaka tried to prevent them from going forward, but Aioria stood in front of her with his huge Golden Cosmo.
"Are you really going to side with the traitors like your brother, Aioria?"
"It's past time you realize that you're on the wrong side, Shaka. Wake up!"
The Bronze Saints finally exited the House of Virgo and saw how the sunlight had moved enormously, and as they climbed the stairs to the next temple, they saw with amazement on the fire clock that both the Virgo fire and that of Libra had already died out.
The Scorpio flame was already burning with half intensity.
ABOUT THE CHAPTER: Various Gold Saints at work; it was a difficult chapter as I needed to show the reasons why they weren't engaging in battle, but at the same time I couldn't release them across the 12 Temples so as not to disrupt the epic Bronze Saints battles. Very complex.
NEXT CHAPTER: HOUSE OF LIBRA
The Bronze Saints arrive at the House of Libra to find Hyoga frozen in an ice casket.