Can Saints create miracles? Strike down the dark garden!

(聖闘士は奇跡を作れますか？暗黒の庭を討つ)

"Can you imagine? Being able to do nothing Miss Yuna?"

As Amor persist in his taunts, Aquila Yuna stood befuddled by her surroundings, which were suddenly warped into a deep, dark abyss. If the sun was still out, its light could not be perceived by anyone's eyes; it could not touch the ground nor illuminate the air.

"How is that, you wonder?" As this was all this doing, Amor held an air of complete confidence. "It's like a dumb theatrical interpretation of a Greek epic. The light must defeat the darkness. It's all silly since darkness cannot exist without obscuring the light, and light can't exist without sight and substance to live on. In the end, whether dark or light, it'll be the strongest who wins."

Yuna could only register that despite the situation, and Amor's blathering, she was still alive. She could still breathe, she could see and she could hear the wind. She could also feel the cold chill of the frozen ocean and the fog surrounding Cyclades. She ascertained that she was not in space or some other location, a dimension, but still on the island that she was fighting on. However, the Cosmos resonating from her Shining Blaster had disappeared. She felt it slip away.

"Sorry Miss Yuna, my prattle is relevant, I promise., Amor said. "Dark, light. My Garden is named after a guy who hypothesized that the sky is dark at night because we can't observe the various stars sitting among an endless space. We can't "eye touch" them per se. However, because stars and surface brightness indeed exist, there is the possibility that much more light exists and can illuminate the space. That's the simple way of putting it."

My Cosmos disappeared because I lost sense of it? Yuna took a moment to make sense of Amor's description, considering her next words carefully. All Saints drew their powers from the constellations, which fed the entire universe. Therefore, an infinite universe was within the Saints' own bodies, harnessed for battle. Yuna thought back at when her Shine Blaster faded, and it felt that her own inner universe had reached the end of its life. However, she was still standing.

"Amor, if your garden is about tucking energy away to a distance, then it's very possible that Cosmos can still reach somewhere or someone right? By how you describe it, it is not completely gone."

"Indeed, but there is no way for a Bronze Saint like you to ignite your Cosmos in my Garden. The idea about unable to see extraplanetary light is true, but the part that more light should be visual is the theory. The night sky is quite real, thus your Cosmos cannot be discerned by you within this space. It's like a black hole sucking in all the explosive stars and there is no trace. My amazing dark curtain can even defeat a Gold Saint. Heck, I have every intention for this technique to destroy even Gods - for I am the strongest Gold Saint! Enough! Ready for the bite of my roses?"

Despite what's been said, Yuna posed and prepared herself. She still valued her close combat skills and speed of a bird. If she pummeled Amor, would she break the garden? Amor's smile stretched into a more devious form, his eyes flashing a glint of viper venom as he lifted a black rose to his face. A twirl of his fingers, a swing of his arm, and it was launched.

Yuna jumped right, but the rose's stem was transfixed into her heart. The touch was slight; Yuna hardly remember the speed of Pisces's strikes.

"Not the type of kiss that I hoped for." Amor laughed.

The Universe can never be completely wiped out, Yuna harbored no fear for the Garden or the rose's threat, reaching Amor with her eagle speed. With one bound, she launched a swinging high kick to his neck. Amor lifted his hand and the sole of Yuna's foot slapped the petals of another rose in hand. The flower felt like steel, unbending, and used like a knight's shield against Yuna.

"Did you think you stood a chance against my God destroying technique Miss Yuna?" As Amor continued to gloat, Yuna was becoming aware of weakness. Her leg slid off Amor's rose and she completely collapsed onto her back.

"Within Olbers, even though my Cosmos have to be a bit compressed, my Demon roses become a bit more…chilling. My rose will slowly, agonizingly, suck out the color of your skin and then impede you of your senses, quite quickly. Within minutes, your life will end."

It was not a jest. Aqulia Yuna felt her consciousness fading.

"You will feel the fear of darkness before you die. But don't worry, I have a sofa waiting for you and I in the next world, Miss Yuna. We'll be together just like I promised!"

Yuna's hearing was leaving first, silence drowning out Amor's boasts and laugh into a cave of echoes. Her eyes dimmed; she would not see her bright skin sipping into a gray color. If there was pain, she could not feel it; the cool scent of the island's moisture slipped away. It was a despairing circumstance that was void of definition. Yuna only imagined that death would arrive the moment she lost her sight. Her own thoughts twirled in confusion, clashing at not giving up, what to do, and the prospect of death.

The moment Yuna lost her vision, a man's voice reached her.

"Hello Aqulia." A man, but it was unlike Amor, soothing and friendly like a close companion. She couldn't move, but somehow heard footsteps. They came closer, and above her was a familiar face.

"You are. Virgo Fudo!" Yuna's lips moved by instinct.

A Gold Saint of green hair, discolored eyes and dark skin appeared. He smiled as his spoke. "In my practice, living things must follow Sanmitsu. The Three Densities."

Yuna was honestly fed up with the cryptic speaking, but she wouldn't say that out loud. Compared to Amor, she could have faith that the words of this Gold Saint could offer her reprieve and solution. Out of fear of loss, did she desperately seek help? Her eyes showed life and curiosity. Having the sense of feeling in her face, was she now able to move? Was she in another space?

"It's a term associating with the conjunction of your body, your mouth and your heart. The three basics of prayer form, speech, and sacred space. Within all living things, Sanmitsu exploits your true nature. With that in mind, impurities can be defeated and sealed away. Aquila, did you and the others reach Omega again?"

Yuna could not hide her surprise. She has not heard that term since the Saturn war; it was a word that could be compared to a miracle. It was something she thought that she would never witness again, and its presence was without comprehension. Her silence to the question made Fudo chuckle.

"What do I mean? Sanmitsu is still a bit mysterious, but I speak of it because you always show your strength and cleanliness. Omega only touches though when there is a strong connection to one another."

"Mister Fudo, why or how are you here?"

"Maybe because you and a few others are nearly dead? At this moment, I am evaluating the gate to the Underworld." Seeing Yuna's expression of obvious shock, Fudo continued. "But I carry no worry. You Bronze Saints have already achieved the Seventh Sense in previous battles by being pushed to the edge. You have defeated darkness before."

"Mister Fudo, my Cosmos has left me."

"I think not."

"Why? How?"

"In this darkness, you're losing what makes you whole. But that's not possible because everything exists, happens, and changes. Amor's technique is not an illusion, but this is where you have to reach what belongs to you. Can you feel it?"

"You mean my Cosmos?"

"Amor should've learned more as a Gold Saint. If only he had lived longer, would he have let go of this admiration of darkness? Your Cosmos has never left you or anyone, Aquila. Now it is time for you to decide on what to do next."

Fudou would not define it directly, but to give his speech onto the Bronze Saints sent on a grueling mission, it meant that he had complete faith and respect in them and Athena's precept of humanity. It was a turn around since he was under Mars' command and his friend.

"Buddha walks to serve the sick and suffering, chains form and we look after one another. Omega only answers the call of those not of oneself." Once Fudou disappeared, Yuna made the decision to concentrate on turning around her despair and defeating the blindness towards the Cosmos. To cultivate her Saint abilities and instincts – it's what she always knew and promised. Her heart and voice were sent out, and a surge formed. Her body began to glow in Amor's garden of darkness.

Form, speech, intimate space. My Cosmos is there, she thought to herself. Before long, Pisces Amor returned to Yuna's view.

"Hah? Miss Yuna?!" He looked absolutely surprised. He was still standing in his garden of darkness. "Is that Cosmos?!"

Aquila Yuna, amidst Olbers Garden, stood on her own two feet with her Cosmos making her body shine as bright as the sun. Her challenging glare pierced Amor.

"Heh, you continue to amaze me." Pisces's praise came out of a mouth that bent into a wry smile. He felt a bead of sweat down his face. Being a Saint, he could sense the level of ethereal power pulsing from Yuna. To compare, her life excelled beyond the expected; he probably had the same stormy feeling when facing Mars, if not more. Was it beyond the viciousness of Abzu, which Amor felt personally?

Amor lifted his hands and the petals of his Royal Demon Rose fluttered across the surroundings, extending towards Yuna. Like before, they'll land on her and a vivid poison will enter her skin, nose and lungs. The petals lithely land on her only to be swatted away by her aura's pulsing power. Amor clicked his tongue. Not only did she regain awareness of her Cosmos, she multiplied it to an enormous level, leaving Amor baffled.

Pisces's pause was enough for Yuna to make a move. Amor lost all of his words, his face warping into pain when Yuna shoved a knee into his gut.

My sweet Yuna, where did you get all this power?

The strike was loud like a blow to a wall of bricks, and pulverized it completely. It was enough to disperse the Olbers Garden and to release one devastating hit on Pisces. The atmosphere of the Cyclades returned to view, as did Yuna's senses. Her aura disappeared. Realizing that she could progress, she began to limp towards the frozen ocean, leaving behind the defeated.

Still in one piece Amor, splayed flat on his back and immobile, mumbled low to himself.

"No, I can't be defeated yet. I got to…"

When Yuna reached Eden, after nearly slipping off balance a few times on the ice, she fell next to him. On her knees, she lifted him gently and pulled out Amor's rose from his chest. It was nearly decorated in red; Eden was unconscious and his Cosmos was dwindling, but Yuna sensed that he wasn't in total danger. At this point, both Orion and Aquila were too exhausted to rush to Naxos.

It wasn't Yuna's power that defeated Amor. The circumstances that led to this was the defeat of Ryuho, Souma, Eden and Sonia shortly before.

After the Saturn War, there was a theory as to how Pegasus Kouga defeated a God with his companions. A phenomenon known as Omega gave him the ability to stand partially toe to toe with a God, but that was only after he collected many galaxies within his body. In other words, the infinite constellations of his companions. There was Kamui (God Robe), crafted by the Olympians like Athena and Demeter, the tears and blood of Gods, and there seemed to be other parallels; Omega was possibly a new discovery. According to Fudo, who was most curious about Omega's nature after the war, he hypothesized that mass despair, death and the disabling of the senses caused mortal lives to realize and grasp the celestial dimensions. Was it a gap in the balance?

"Pegasus particularly. The Cloth seemed to have crossed even Elysium," Virgo said. "That's what Sagittarius said. Also, Saturn froze the world into stone; before that, Kouga defeated a primeval god like Abzu of the Abyssal Sea."

But the question was when can it be triggered? Why? As the Bronze Saints from the Saturn War had unleashed it before, the "key" may still be lingering among them. Athena said that she was pleased by the theory, indicating that there was an emotional bond between her and Earth's inhabitants, including her Saints.

While they were strong, Sonia and Amor were not Gods, and therefore, were easily vanquished.

"Pf-fah!" Elsewhere, Pegasus Kouga fell on his face and a dry feeling entered his mouth, causing him to spit out in reflex. Sand was not too appetizing; before that, he actually thrashed through some ocean water. Compared to before, the sky was clear. Looking around, he realized the stacks of ivory buildings and the tall green hills ascending over the ocean. He was kneeling on a sandy coast lined by floral.

"I made it?" It was his first achievement for today, but he desperately looked back out to the ocean. The fog still lingered in the distance. After leaving Ryuho to fight Genbu, he felt some guilt. It was his high expectation to see his companions break out of the fog and reunite with him. All the way to Naxos, he felt everyone's Cosmos clash and undulate, and a few times he had to stop himself from going back.

And now, there was another sensation.

Koga panted, looked up, and howled in anger.

"It's a lie!"