"Departure of an enemy and friend"

"Athena!"

"Miss Saori?"

Back at the Sanctuary, no one, especially Kouga and Seiya, could ignore the distressing face of Athena. She gazed at the sky as if she was realizing something. The Pope gave out a disgruntled growl; Demeter's lips curved into a smile, her plan now put into motion.

"Now then." The Goddess of Harvest reached out for the fallen Shaina, and her hand stopped. Her fingers trembled from a spasm. Through dilated eyes, she saw the illusion of a viper biting through her skin. It froze her in shock; digging into Demeter's hand like fangs from a threatened animal were fingernails.

"A key huh?" The body of Ophiuchus Shaina shuddered, and despite a rough beating, she let out a light laugh. No one could see the snide smile behind her metal mask. She grasped Demeter's hand tightly.

"Are you truly that interested in me? Surely, you wouldn't go that far. Or maybe you would. So far, you desecrated the dead. If you go along with this, don't think for a second that Athena will stand for it, nor the other Gods."

Shaina would not avert her eyes from the Goddess. Her words, impertinent and true, elicited Demeter's rage clearly. Divine green irises flashed.

"You Saints of Athena keep interfering with me. You will face a pain that'll singe more than being bathed in Phlegethon!" Then, the Goddess withdrew. Her head swung upward, her voice roaring with that fury.

"Pan!" It sounded like nonsense. The word left Shaina confused; before deliberating the meaning, she began to lift her body. There was the sound of metal smashing open again. Shaina quickly froze, and her mask suddenly split apart, revealing her fraught face. Her hair rippled. Cosmos swift as light shafted through her and out her back.

"Miss Shaina!" A panicked Koga dashed towards his mentor, but tiny sparks entered in between him and her, dancing in midair. Kouga held himself in place. From a sharper look, he realized that what was standing in his way was a honeycomb-like barrier made of long, translucent strands.

"A web?" He then posed himself to launch at the barrier. No matter what he was getting through to Shaina. Suddenly, a female shrouded in a mantle appeared behind the web. Her body was covered, but her face delineated her youth. She was more or less younger than Kouga, her large hazel eyes staring at the Pegasus Saint in a bold manner.

"Who are you?" Koga's defiant attitude didn't wane.

"I am the Terrae of Dancing Fibre, Loom Pan. Stay away from mother or else." Her voice was nearly a whisper. She raised her hand, and the Ophiuchus Cloth was abruptly stripped from its owner. The Cloth's pieces were lifted above ground while entwined in strands, and then connected together in its complete form – a plated human coiled with snakes.

In her ordinary cold poise, Demeter strode next to the girl. "I have no patience for any more of your badgering, Pegasus," she said, her voice returning to its calm cadence. Her eyes slid towards the girl. "Come, Pan."

"But Mother, did he try to harm you? I will punish him," said the girl. As she spoke, she didn't look directly at her Goddess. She was focused on Kouga and lifted both hands, tweaking her fingers as if playing an instrument. The Ophiuchus Cloth drifted in another direction. The web in front of Kouga suddenly dispersed, and the threads form a tall wall, erecting above the Bronze Saint and swinging around like cobras. Pan's eyes narrowed, and it signaled a threat. One move and Kouga would get skewered.

"Before long. Come, to Naxos." Demeter's tone was soft and patient, like a mother to a child. There was no other talk. To prevent any more tragedies, and since everyone's intents were transparent, Athena allowed Demeter and the child to leave with the Ophiuchus Cloth. They departed from the Temple with a chariot drawn by winged reptiles.

"Miss Shaina, get up please!" Finally, Kouga was able to embrace his mentor. He lifted Shaina by her upper body, seeing her wounds. There was Miguel's punch that scorched through her chest; the last attack punctured a hole clean through her heart. She trembled; her face showed she was writhing in pain.

"Kouga." Unlike their reunion from moments before, Shaina's voice lacked vitality. Kouga cracked into hysterical whimpers. He could not believe that this suddenly happened.

"Miss Shaina, are you okay?! Please hang in there!"

"Kouga, you and the others, you must stop her. Please. Get the Cloth back before it's too late."

"Why did Demeter want your Cloth, Miss Shaina?"

"There's a secret behind it. It's to prevent breaking a divine rule in order for a God to not upset others Gods. " Even through ragged breathing, Shaina managed a smile. "I guess that's a little pointless isn't it? Gods would go leaps and bounds for what they want. In order for her to use the Cloth, I must die."

Kouga shook his head. "Don't say that!"

Shaina breathing slowed. She felt her consciousness slipping away. Despite that, and the feeling of water hitting her face, she maintained her smile. With her mask broken, it was a beauty to behold. Her face softened; her eyes were closed, but she knew that the Pegasus youth was crying.

"Kouga, you've grown so much. I have much faith in you. Everyone does." She passed a minuscule bit of life into her hand to raise it and touch Kouga's cheek.

"Why?" she continued. "Your Cosmos burn brightly for that purpose. Your destiny is for Athena. Your wings soar for her, and the planet that she loves. For Demeter to harm that for her selfish reasons, isn't it unforgivable? Kouga, please. No matter what, don't forget. In this massive universe, you shine bright for everyone to see."

"Miss Shaina!" Kouga's scream would not have a response in return. Shaina slumped softly; Kouga remained on his knees, holding his mentor.

"Shaina," Athena's melodious voice could not conceal sorrow. "Her Cosmos has disappeared." At those words, her tears flowed. Sagittarius Seiya was shaking. Eden and The Pope stood quietly.

Before Kouga was born as a Saint, while meeting the god Mars for the first time, he remembered his heart beating quickly. He remembered his mentor's words anew and understood them clearly. Now, it was an engraved memory for him to take, to leave the nest once more as his mentor drifted apart from the world eternally.

Her voice. Kouga suddenly remembered.

"Feel the explosion of the Big Bang within your body! It's the same as the creation of the universe, which is your Cosmo. As a Saint, you must protect Athena. Burn your Cosmos!"