Welcome back! So I've always kind of wondered what it's like to be one of the only survivors of one Holy War, and to live for over two hundred years waiting for the next war to start. This is me, writing that. I hope it comes out okay.
Concept: Two hundred years is a long time. As the Cosmos of his old comrades return one by one to the world of the living, an aging Pope Shion reflects on the past and future. On the pasts of the Saints just born into the world, and the future of those young lives.
Disclaimer: I do not own Saint Seiya or any of the included characters. They all belong to Masami Kurumada.
It's strange, the thought that Shion was once one of the youngest of the Gold Saints of Athena, and yet he has outlived all but one of his comrades. Of the twelve-thirteen, technically-Gold Saints, only Shion and Dohko remain after the Holy War of two hundred years ago. Even Regulus, who was younger than both of them, gave his life in the fight to stop Hades and his Spectres.
It's hard, sometimes. Shion misses his old comrades-in-arms. From Yuzuriha and Albafica, who he would consider some of his closest friends, to Asmita and El Cid, who he rarely interacted with. He misses them all.
Some days, Shion almost wishes he'd had the chance to join them. Not that he wants to die, because Saints don't fight to die, but because living without them is painful. Even Dohko, who is still alive, is out of his reach. They still talk often, almost every day in fact, but it's not the same. They haven't seen each other face-to-face since the end of the Holy War, when Shion took up the position of Pope and Dohko left for Lushan to guard the seal containing Hades's Spectres.
Even little Atla, who took up the position of Master of Jamir following the death of Master Hakurei during the war, has been dead for some decades now.
Now, Shion is one of only a few Lemurians left, and the only person left who knows the techniques of the Cloth Repairers.
This, Shion reflects as he stands on Star Hill. Staring up at the stars, the helm of the Pope removed for once and resting in his hands, Shion doesn't even try to hide the smile that curls his lips as he watches the constellation of Gemini light up the night sky.
Who would have thought that you two would be the first to come back, Aspros, Defteros? Shion thinks.
He hadn't known the Gemini twins very well. He had known of Aspros, of course. One of the older Gold Saints and a candidate for Pope alongside Sisyphus, Aspros had been known as one of the strongest of Athena's Saints, but had also been something of a mystery to many of his fellows.
And of course Defteros had been a completely unknown quantity, someone the Saints of Athena were only peripherally aware of, and did not actually meet or get to know.
Shion can still remember his early days as a Saint, when he was just Sculptor Shion, and not Aries Shion. He remembers the day the news had come from Sanctuary that Pope Sage had chosen Sagittarius Sisyphus as his successor. And then, mere days later, there was much worse news.
Aspros's betrayal and indirect attempt on the Pope's life using his younger twin brother, and his subsequent death at the hands of that same brother. Defteros's self-exile to Kanon Island.
Then Aspros had reappeared as a Spectre. He had fought Defteros, and the younger twin had given up his life to save his brother's soul.
Master Hakurei had told him about the story of the Gemini Twins. Of how, in every generation, there was one evil twin and one good twin. Yet Shion couldn't help but wonder.
Did Pope Sage choose Sisyphus as his successor because of the story of Gemini? Did he make that choice because he couldn't be sure which twin was going to be "evil"? Did Aspros try to kill Pope Sage because he was evil already, or did he turn on us because he was angry he was passed over in favor of Sisyphus? Is it possible that the story of the Gemini Twins is a self-fulfilling prophecy? Could that tragedy have been averted?
Of course, there is no way for the former Aries Saint to know for sure. There is no one who could answer that question.
I can only hope that I'm never faced with such a situation myself. And that if I am, it doesn't end in such tragedy again.
Sagittarius Sisyphus had quite possibly been the most respected of the Gold Saints. If Aspros was known for his strength as a warrior, Sisyphus had been know for his dedication and loyalty to Athena. He was righteous, wise, and fair, a model of Sainthood that everyone from the low-ranking Bronze Saints to the other Gold Saints had aspired to. He really would have made a splendid Pope.
Shion had looked up to the older Gold almost as much as he had looked up to Master Hakurei. At the time, Sisyphus was the kind of person Shion could only hope he could one day become like himself.
In his early days as Pope, when he was still unsure of himself, learning how to rule over Sanctuary in Athena's absence, Shion's thoughts often drifted to the Sagittarius Saint.
What would Sisyphus do?
Not that he ever really had an answer. For all he looked up to Sisyphus, Shion hadn't know the man all that well on a personal level.
Soon enough, Shion had given up that train of thought. He could only to rule to the best of his abilities and hope that it was enough.
Of course, for all he had been the role model for so many Saints, Sisyphus had borne his own burdens. He had been the one tasked with locating and retrieving the reincarnated Athena, and Shion had more than once seen the Sagittarius Saint look at their goddess with no small amount of guilt. Knowing of the peaceful life that Lady Sasha had lived before being brought to Sanctuary, Shion didn't blame the older man for feeling guilty.
Just because something is necessary, doesn't mean it isn't painful.
Shion is alone when he feels Sisyphus's Cosmo for the brief moment that tells him the dead Saint has been reborn. It doesn't last long. Infants don't have access to their Cosmo, and it can take years for them to gain that access. Shion won't even be able to locate his reincarnated comrades for quite a while yet.
But he has waited this long, the few years it will take for him to be able to find the children who will become the Gold Saints is nothing compared to the two hundred years he has already waited.
The next time he feels a Cosmo return, Shion is not alone.
It's early in the evening, and Shion is caught up in his duties as Pope. He is in the middle of a meeting with Silver Saint Commander Lizard Myron, the leader of the Amazons, Camelopardalis Helene, and a few others who also serve as advisors.
(The irony of a man with over two hundred years of life experience having advisors is not lost on Shion, but he knows perfectly well that he can't exactly rule from the Pope's Chambers if he doesn't know what's going on in the Sanctuary proper.)
The sudden feeling of El Cid's Cosmo slipping back into the world catches Shion off-guard and he instinctively latches onto the feeling.
Shion hadn't known El Cid very well. Sure he had respected the Capricorn Saint much like he looked up to Sisyphus, but El Cid's near-single-minded focus on honing his Excalibur into the ultimate blade had left very little time for the dark-haired man to spend with others.
In fact, the only person Shion is at all sure El Cid might have called a friend was Sisyphus, and sometimes he wonders if that friendship was as much a product of the amount of time the Capricorn and Sagittarius Saints spent working together as it was of actual affection.
Not that it made a difference. El Cid had never strayed from his duty as a Saint, even giving up his own life to keep Pegasus Tenma alive so that they still had a chance of winning the Holy War.
Shion occasionally wonders if El Cid would have survived the Holy War if he hadn't had to sacrifice himself the way he did, or if he simply would have died later on.
Who will you be, this time? Shion wonders. Will you the same dedicated man from two centuries ago? Or will you, perhaps, learn to find joy in life outside of your duties as a Saint?
It's not that there is anything wrong with being wholly focused on one's duty as a Saint, but that kind of focus can lead to a very lonely existence. Shion supposes, quietly, that he can only wait and see what kind of person the new Capricorn Saint will be.
"Pope Shion?" Myron's voice draws Shion out of his train of thought, and he quickly backtracks through the last few moments of the conversation, suddenly very grateful for his ability to absorb information without fully focusing on the source.
"I'm afraid I have to agree with Camelopardalis Helene on this matter." Shion says, temporarily brushing all thoughts of his old comrades away.
The time to find them will come later. For now, Shion has a job to do.
Manigoldo's return to the world of the living catches Shion quite off-guard. He wakes up with a soft, startled yelp, sitting up in his bed in the Pope's Chambers and looking around frantically for a moment before his sleep-muddled thoughts clear.
In a moment, he is up and dressed in a simple robe, teleporting straight from his chambers to Star Hill, where he quickly locates the constellation of Cancer where it shines in the night sky.
A faint chuckle escapes Shion as the stars of Cancer seem to flicker and dance, much like the spirits of the Cancer Saint's primary attack. Normally the burst of Cosmo that signals a person's rebirth only lasts a few precious moments, but Manigoldo's seems determined to stick around.
Manigoldo had been Pope Sage's personal student. Lively, untamable, and far from willing to bow to authority of any kind, Manigoldo had still be a remarkably loyal Saint. He had just done things in his own way. With great gusto.
To Shion, it's really no wonder that the wild Saint of Cancer was partially responsible for sealing away one of the Twin Gods, even if it resulted in his death. In fact, he's fairly sure that Manigoldo would not willingly go out any other way. That was just the sort of person Manigoldo was.
Somehow Shion gets the feeling that this new Cancer Saint will not be very different from the man he was two hundred years ago. He can't really say that he'll complain if that feeling turns out to be right.
Manigoldo could be exceedingly infuriating when he wanted to be-much to Pope Sage's chagrin-but he brought a sort of life to the Twelve Houses that was quite welcome in the years leading up to Hades's awakening.
Shion nearly cries when Albafica's Cosmo crosses his senses.
In his younger years, after he became the Aries Saint and was sent to Sanctuary, Shion had been rather intrigued by the reclusive Pisces Saint.
It would be a lie to claim that his interest wasn't at least partially related to Albafica's appearance. The bluenette had been absolutely stunning. But Shion had always been more curious about the guardian of the Twelfth House as a person.
It had taken months of work, of trip after trip after trip up to the top of the Twelve Houses, but Shion had eventually persuaded Albafica to talk to him. It had been across the hedge that bordered Albafica's garden, with Shion using his psychokinesis to avoid being poisoned by the roses, yet it had been completely worth it.
Underneath the Pisces Saint's distant exterior was a gentle personality with a subtle-if rather sharp-sense of humor. The two Saints had spent many days talking while Albafica tended his gardens. Dohko had also taken to joining them after Shion befriended the unruly Libra Saint purely by accident, and Shion considered the other two men to be his closest friends among the Gold Saints.
When the time came, it had made Albafica's death even more painful. The Pisces Saint had served Athena faithfully, sacrificed so much of himself in the name of the goddess, and had been rewarded with death at the hands of one of Hades's Judges.
Shion knows he shouldn't be bitter about it-every Saint goes into battle knowing they might not make it out alive-but Shion has always thought that Albafica, out of everyone who died in the Holy War, deserved a chance to live normally, or at least to live a full life. It's not fair to the other Saints who sacrificed themselves for the sake of victory, but a tiny, spiteful part of Shion doesn't care. A tiny, angry part of Shion still wishes that Albafica was still standing beside him.
Staring out over the gardens of the House of Pisces, Shion knows he can't be the friend to this new Pisces Saint that he tried to be to Albafica-he must be a master first and a friend second-but he hopes that someone else will see now what he saw two hundred years ago.
I'm gonna leave it here for now, and probably write the rest another time.
See you next time.
