Eight Years Ago (Three Years after Aiolos and Athena left Sanctuary)
The Throne Room of the Pope was busier today than usual. Saga, wearing the robes of a dead man as well as the helmet and mask, sat reluctantly on the throne as several men with colorful costumes while twice the amount of women in thin strips of silk were dancing and laughing away.
Goddess, it was the game of: what has Cursed Saga done this time during the blackout and why did he have one in the first place. His eyes trailed to one woman, staring at the curve of her exposed back where a tattooed outline of a swan was featured. His eyes shifted at the others and they too shared the same sign. At that moment, he deduced that they were all from the same brothel since they typically would wear the mark of one of many creatures that Zeus would disguise himself as.
The Gemini drew his hand to his face. Goddess, it felt like every time he thought he had the curse under control, something happened and it all blew away like a house of cards.
Not only that, but a centuries-old-evil curse combined with being a horny eighteen-year-old teenager was not a good combination.
He turned his masked head toward a female server, with red hair that stretched from a large ponytail to the middle of her back, carrying a silver tray, her chest teasing him with large diamond flowers on the tips of her chest. "Your ouzo, Your Holiness," she whispered before she took a leg and straddled over his lap. She was clearly not wearing underwear, and neither was he, with only the thin silk robe separating the two of them. "This one is special. I customized it just for you, strong...endless…. I named after our big finish last night…" She wrapped an arm around his neck and brought her lips near his mask, "...your….galaxian explosion…"
Saga stared into her face that was covered in so much make-up that it would honestly pass as a mask among Amazons. He searched his memories of the day before, but all he could recall was eating Shion's favorite spicy curry and reading the morning news. "I don't remember you."
She pouted her lips. "What a shame...I will never forget you…" she took her hand and parted his, robes exposing him. Their eyes turned to him, not in shame but with hunger, some reaching out their hands as if they wanted to touch him like the World Cup Trophy.
The Gemini should have felt shame now that his sex, hard and proud, was now exposed to everyone. He was supposed to be Shion. While he was not very good at running the business of Sanctuary, he was kind and noble. Nobody ever called Shion out on the way he ran Sanctuary, because his gentle nature made such a task difficult. He, on the other hand, ran Sanctuary like a machine. But in terms of nobility, that had run out a long time ago.
How many can honestly say that before their morning bath and brushing their teeth, they would go to every closet to make sure there isn't a dead body inside?
Why bother with honor at this point? He wasn't going to The Collective with all the other Golds of the past. When judgment comes, Athena will reject him and his soul will certainly be damned. Like all traitors to the Goddess, he will be tossed powerlessly into the River Cocytus where the Specters of the past will torment him for eternity.
He slides his hand behind her back and took her in and a roar of cheers and whistling erupted.
Physically it felt like heaven. Beneath his mask, he felt drunk at her expression and her cries for more. The louder the crowds, the faster he went.
Suddenly, Saga's blue eyes traveled as he spotted a commissioned painting of a little five-year-old with purple hair and a white dress sitting in a chair smiling.
Everyone saw Athena, but he knew it was Paz.
Everyone thinks it is Athena since she is known to smile all the time.
But he knew it was Paz because it was the first time she smiled knowing she wasn't an orphan. She had a home and he told her that children should not be so sad and she will be sad no more!
But now, it was like her haunting blue eyes were staring at him.
It was like she was watching the whore grinding the stripper.
What the hell has he become?
It was too much.
Saga tossed the woman aside and everyone went silent as she fell with froth between her legs. The Gemini closed his robes, the middle soaked with sex. "The party is over!"
Everyone mumbled to each other until a voice called out.
"But Your Holiness, what about the play?"
Saga went silent, recognizing it instantly. It was deep, but slightly cheerful, with a bit of a slight country dialect.
Is he back?
The masked Gemini turned toward the corner and gasped. "Aiolos?" he muttered. He watched as the tall man approached, wearing his typical light blue trainer with his typical thick foot soldier leather armor chest, arm guards and leg guards. Saga stared at the chestnut curls and the silk red headband that seemed to wave endlessly in the air. He felt almost paralyzed as if this was all a dream. But then the man came closer and when the soft brown eyes began to come into view. The initial tinge of joy slipped away, his hand that wished to caress his cheek fell. "Oh...you're not him."
The young man's pearly white teeth gleamed. "Of course not, Your Holiness. I am just an actor," Fake-Aiolos spoke.
Saga took off his glove and reached over and touched the tail of his headband. "You are," he swallowed hard, "very good." For a brief moment, it managed to fool him. He knew because his pathetic heart actually skipped a beat when he came into view. "This is the same material he always used-"
Fake-Aiolos nodded. "-he always hand-sewed the edges to prevent fraying. He likes adding lemon to his water and food because his family had a lemon tree and that was the way they flavored everything. Oh yes, I know. I studied him quite a bit. Of course, I think I did too good of a job. I have the others remind me to take this off just to avoid getting killed," the Fake-Aiolos laughed as he took his thumb and lifted the chestnut-colored wig to reveal his long black hair that was carefully braided. "So how about it, would you at least allow us to perform our play? It is our most requested and half the time, we are asked to do an encore performance later," Fake Aiolos grinned. "I think you'll like it. Why you are the hero after all! Come on, it will be fun! " his voice altered, mimicking the playful gusto of the archer with an added inflicted growl toward the end.
The Gemini gasped, amazed that the man was able to copy his smile so perfectly, right down to the slight way Aiolos' brow rose when he did so. The voice too. Goddess, how did this man even managed to make it up here without the villagers throwing him in a fire? His curiosity at its peak, he agreed. "Alright, go on. Let's see this play. What is it called?"
"It is called: Our Savior Capricorn!" He took his hands and clapped twice. Within a few minutes, a set was assembled with a small wooden bassinet in the middle.
.
.
.
.
.
The light turns off and a bassinet is shown with a busty redhead maiden holding a plastic purple-haired doll. "There there, beautiful Athena. Do not cry. I know it makes you sad that our beloved Pope is not here to comfort you."
Suddenly, a black-short-haired man came out with yellow cardboard armor. "Was our Goddess crying!"
The redheaded Maiden turned her head. "Oh Capricorn, she was just so upset that I had to put her to bed. Must you always come whenever she is sad?"
The Capricorn rested his proud hands upon his hips. "Of course! She is my Goddess and the idea of any bit of sorrow tears my heart!" He reached his hands out. "Here, perhaps I shall soothe her?"
The Maiden placed the baby in his arms and immediately she calmed down. "Oh Capricorn, how gentle you are with babies! It seemed like no matter how upset Athena is, as long as she is in your sacred arms, she is always lulled by your presence! You are truly her guardian angel!"
The Capricorn laughed. "I do my best," he looked down at the plastic doll. "Goodnight, Athena. Know that I will always watch and protect you with every beat of my heart." He leaned down and kissed the plastic head before he placed her in the wooden bassinet before he exited the scene.
The Maiden sat in a chair and gently rocked the bassinet, singing sweetly until an ominous shadow appeared at the window.
Fake Aiolos appeared, a flashlight flickered on and off while a piece of metal was waved in the back to simulate thunder and lightning. "Why hello there, how are you?" he cackled.
The Maiden rolled her eyes. "Aiolos, how dare you come in here. You disgust me you perverted freak! Nobody likes you in the Zodiac! You are hated among them, especially by the noble and valiant Capricorn and our most Holy Pope! I can't believe you even became a Saint! You are unworthy and you know it!"
Fake Aiolos laughed heartily as he slipped a hand into his pants and masturbated in front of her. "I shall let you in on a secret. I became a Saint because I cheated!"
The Maiden gasped. "That is horrible! How dishonorable!"
"I don't care about honor! Now that I am a Gold Saint I can kill whoever I want, fuck who I want! The power of Sagittarius is mine to use as I please!" Fake Aiolos let out a roar of laughter as more thunder and lightning appeared. "Speaking of which get out that chair, I was going to go fuck a few villagers of Rodario, but they were all filthy and smelly. I HATE RODARIO! I require something cleaner to fuck!"
The Maiden grasped her hands upon her cheeks. "NO! Don't you dare touch me! I am a Maiden of Athena! My body is sacred and never to be defiled!"
The fake archer shook his head. "Oh, I'm not talking about you. I want something more refined. Nothing can surely satisfy my tastes, then the Goddess herself!"
The Maiden clutched the plastic baby. "How dare you! This is Athena! She is to remain a virgin! CAPRICORN! OH CAPRICORN! PLEASE SAVE US!"
"Don't worry. I have another fake Athena right here!" Fake Aiolos spoke as he pulled out another plastic doll from behind, holding it up by its plastic leg. "Nobody will ever notice-"
.
.
.
A huge dimensional space tear flashed in the room before nearly everyone in the room vanished.
Cursed Saga sat on the throne, his eyes dark red, his hair as grey as ash. It was all so quiet now with nobody there. He leaned back, casually gazing at the various silver trays with scattered meats and cheeses, broken wine glasses, and various pieces of silk all over.
Now he realized why he blacked out in the first place. Today was the anniversary of the day Aiolos ran away with Athena.
Gigars walked inside the room, his eye and the diamond that covered the other gleaming brightly. "Your Holiness, what happened? I thought you had a party?" He gasped when he saw the bright red glare, knowing that he must keep his distance.
Cursed Saga stared at him. "Gigars, find every copy of Our Savior Capricorn and make sure it is never performed again. There is a fine line between calling him a traitor and declaring he wanted to rape the Goddess." He growled as he snapped his fingers before Another Dimension opened back up, dumping all the frozen bodies back down, shattering them against the marble.
O|==========|O
PRESENT (DELPHI)
Saga's eyes shot open before he pulled his currently blond head of hair away from the bus window. How strange. He expected that with him being cured, all the nightmares that the curse would cause would vanish too. Instead, it seemed like that all the times he blacked out, were coming back and revealing what happened. The worst is when he found himself divulging in women and men, reliving the pleasure, only to find out he had discarded most of them afterward.
He shrank a bit. As much as he wanted to blame the curse, the truth was that over time, he slowly began to divulge in it too even without it affecting his perception. The curse reads his heart and slowly but surely, the line between his true self and his cursed side began to blur, seeping into his own moral grounds.
He was a Gemini
Twenty minutes of feeling like he was on top of the world.
Twenty hours spent feeling like absolute shit afterward.
As the Pope, there was no shortage of people wanting to give in to his whims. He was certain he didn't wind up with any bastard children since it seemed like anyone he encountered would eventually be tossed in Aphrodite's rose gardens to serve as fertilizer.
He was damned.
Why not indulge?
Maybe perhaps he did it because he wanted the same happiness he had before...
...before he locked him up.
...before he stabbed him.
...before he declared him a traitor.
A bright light flashed over Saga before a roar of laughter followed. The Gemini turned his head over his shoulder to see a trio of teenagers with the crest of the Delphi School of Music was on the left pockets of their dark blue dress coats.
The middle-aged driver turned her head. "Knock it off! No cosmos when we're in the downtown area!" she screamed.
The blond one rolled his eyes before he dropped his cosmos ball of light. "Whatever!" he shouted before he took a picture of her angry face with their Tele-Cam. "Crazy bitch…" he muttered under his breath.
Saga reluctantly ignored the group. He had to since he was forced to keep a low profile.
The Delphi School of Music was one of the top training grounds of Sanctuary. Five centuries ago, it's focus was for the Saints who used Music since such techniques required a very different approach to mastery. However, what made it unique was that it also took in those who didn't desire the path of Sainthood. After all, the difference between a regular musician and a musician Saint was that one could move the hearts of its audience while the other had the option of ripping it out with a crescendo.
It had a nice combination of traditional methods of learning the cosmos while modernizing it at the same time. Because of this, The Delphi School of Music had a .5% fatality rate which was a dream compared to over fifty percent in some training grounds in Sanctuary. Because of its prestige, many nobles would send their children there so they too could learn the cosmos, without fear that, heaven forbid, they would be forced to contribute in a Holy War.
These children were infamously known as "Cruisers," since unlike trainees for Cloths, learning the Cosmos was not a matter of life or death nor was it a spiritual experience. Instead, they use it to pass their classes, show off to friends, and do stupid shit.
Saga sighed. The sad fact was if things played differently, he wondered if he would have ended up like the teens over there. He and Kanon, since their parents didn't make enough to live in the main city, commuted on a bus to get to the Kido International School here. He actually had dreams of playing the violin like his mother and she always encouraged him that if he did well in school, practiced his cosmos, he could transfer over.
Ironically, here he was, dressed in Orphee's old Delphi school uniform, a backpack and carrying around a violin case and sitting on a bus as if he was finally living out his dream. But he was a Gemini and like many things he did, it was all just an illusion.
He reached his stop and could see the gold-covered dome of the archive building from a distance. He pulled out a map and looked up at the street signs. He didn't really need it to find his way. The tricky thing about being on the run and that he had to frequently alter his route in order to remain unpredictable, taking care not to use the same paths twice in a row.
A sharp pain followed in his chest causing him to grasp at it, while a bit of sweat dotted his forehead.
"Look at that, a map? So that's your way of trying to avoid us?"
Saga turned his head at a pair of Papel guards, one with a hole in their chest, the other's head rolled back as if the neck supporting it was shattered. He swallowed hard, remembering the same thing happening back by the bus stop when he first arrived there and saw Maiden Leto.
The two dead guards stared grimly. "We're you so afraid of being discovered that you had to kill us? Why didn't you just keep your helmet and mask on, and pretend to be Shion?" Spoke the one with the broken neck.
"Funny, you were willing to do everything in your power to help the people of Rodario, yet when it came to us, you just smashed us to pieces. You know, all the money I made as a Papel Guard went to my children. I could never see them, but I knew they were taken care of. That was until I wasn't around to send them anything. Good thing you were such a benevolent Pope who increased the amount of money to the orphans. They're going to need it now that you reduced them to begging on the streets and selling themselves just to have a roof on their heads," the man with the hole rasped, blood spitting out of his mouth with every word.
Saga drew his hand to his face and clutched it.
"Are you lost?"
The Gemini looked up to see a pair of Delphi guards standing before him, smiling with their pressed uniforms that looked to be a mix of the Army of Greece and police. He folded the map and shook his head no. "I was trying to find...somewhere new to eat out at…" he could see the two giving him a strange look. "...and I ran out of power on my Tele-Cam."
The soldiers merrily laughed. "Oh, I hate that. The worst is when my kids use it to play games and I'm going to work and I notice the power is in the red. Are we all good then? You look a little pale. Perhaps we can help you over to the clinic?"
Saga shook his head. "I can take care of myself. It's not like this someplace backward like Rodario." He hated to make fun of the village that he went from hating to a place he grew to appreciate and care for. But this was Delphi, and it seemed like everyone took jabs at it, even when it wasn't warranted.
"Not anymore!" spoke one of the men.
"What do you mean? Are you telling me that nobody got killed or raped?"
"Not exactly. There was some of that going on at the beginning of the month, but ever since they stopped the tourists from entering, violent crime just dropped off a cliff."
"We were shocked too. Never thought the day when Rodario's statistics made us look like the cesspool of Greece. I may actually visit once they have the tourist busses running again. Have a good day, young man. We're just walking around helping a little girl find her lost dog," he spoke as he and the other soldier waved their hands and turned the other direction.
Saga waved back, his heart racing a bit. He knew the hidden soldier slang. Aiolos taught him that from his father. Anytime a guard referred to a little girl, they always meant Athena. Lost dogs were criminals. He shouldn't be surprised. He noticed that the amount of patrolling guards was quietly doubling.
O|=========================================|O
Gemini: Defying Gravity
6B: Remember Me
O|=========================================|O
RODARIO INN
An elderly innkeeper sat in a chair, whittling away with a knife. His grey eyes shifted upwards as the bell that was hung on the door jingled. He sat his art project aside and slowly stood up, every joint aching being sedentary for so long. He turned and noticed a gold emblem of Athena upon his helmet. "Are you the Commander of the Army?"
Shura took a step forward and removed his round brown helmet, revealing his sweaty black locks. "I am."
"Aren't you typically dressed in a white uniform like all the other door guards of Sanctuary?"
"I do, but I prefer the leather browns around here. They are much more comfortable to travel around," while Shura enjoyed the white dress uniform with its long coat and silver saber on the side, unfortunately, they were easy to get dirty when he had to move around the village due to the dusty roads. "I appreciate you allowing Sanctuary to reserve your rooms here."
The man let out an awkward sound that seemed like an abrupt laugh, but it was held back in heavy discomfort. "You say it as if I am doing you a favor. Right now: No tourists. No income."
"Sir, Sanctuary has paid you."
The innkeeper snorted. "Normally every room is booked for weeks at this time. Sanctuary is keeping me afloat, but for how long? What will I do after that? What exactly is going on to have Rodario closed off this long?"
"I'm sorry, but I do not make that call, nor can I disclose why we have done so."
The innkeeper glared but softened afterward. It wasn't that he was less angry, but because the Commander looked extremely young in an Army where the officers below him had grey hair. Experience had taught him that the only way to see someone this young in a position this high was if
A) It was peacetime and he was a Saint
B) It was wartime and all his elders were dead.
The Innkeeper returned back to his chair. "As long as Sanctuary pays up, that's all that matters. At least the side business is at least busy as ever."
Shura, not wanting to end the conversation so negatively, seized upon a chance to speak of something on a lighter note. "Is it your carving over there? It looks quite nice."
The man looked down at his unfinished work. "Would you like one?"
Shura nodded. Nothing delighted the locals than for the higher-ups to purchase their wares. He saw the price and pulled out twenty euros and handed them over."I'll take five. One for myself and a few for my friends."
The old man's face expanded in delight. "Thank you. It was an idea that my grandson thought of. He was always quite sharp despite being three years old." He picked up one of the finished wooden figurines of a person with wings and a red headband. "It is hollow on the inside so if one chooses to burn the traitor, they can slip some fat inside so he can sizzle. But, here is the beauty, if you slip a cork inside when it is wintertime, you toss it in the afternoon in the waters for it to float and by nighttime, the traitor will freeze in the lake just like the River Cocytus. WHETHER THE TRAITOR IS DEAD OR ALIVE, HE WILL ALWAYS SUFFER AND NEVER ESCAPE THE DESERVED JUDGEMENT FOR HIS TREACHEROUS ACT AGAINST THE GODDESS OR THE POPE!" He placed the wooden objects in a paper bag. "There you go. I appreciate your support. Here, have a free postcard and a coupon that will take ten percent off a muffin at the bakery! May the Goddess Keep You."
Sickness overwhelmed the Capricorn as he held the sack. "And to you," he muttered before he turned away. "I need to go. Where is everyone at?"
"The entire top floor. By the way, how come Sanctuary needs my rooms?"
Shura sighed before he grabbed his purchase and turned away, "because we're all out of space in the jail cells," he spoke as he hurried up the stairs.
The Capricorn could see his destination, but instead of going inside, he instead takes a seat on the bench. He hasn't spoken with Aiolos in person since he took up his position as the Pope, for there was just too much shame. Any exchange they've had was purely Sanctuary/Army related, a huge downgrade from how things used to be between the two.
Shura knew that Aiolos could easily arrange a meeting between the two in person, but he suspected that the archer was going to allow him to make the first step. He was grateful for it, but at the same time, it made it more agonizing since it felt like every time he woke up, the passage of time seemed to make his guilt weigh heavier upon him.
It didn't help that anytime he was out and about in his Gold Cloth, he was seen as a hero by everyone.
The mighty Capricorn who saved the Goddess.
How many mothers would joyfully boast about their children being born under his sign while those who would be reduced to tears if they were under Sagittarius?
Perhaps part of him was just nervous in the fact that he had no means of making it up to Aiolos. He can't heal the paralysis in Aiolos' legs and if he went out and admitted his guilt, it would throw Sanctuary in absolute chaos, something that the new Pope didn't want. He supposed that he could just arrange a meeting and simply apologize, but it just felt so pitiful considering everything that happened. This wasn't his old primary school where if a wrong was committed, two words later would make them friends.
The real world was much colder than that. His little bag of sacrificial traitors was proof of how deep the hate ran for Aiolos. The Pope of Sanctuary could not just simply decry to the people that Aiolos wasn't a traitor anymore than the Pope of Rome couldn't just walk up before his balcony and tell the world that Judas didn't really betray Jesus.
Goddess, he wished he was given the order to hunt Saga down, instead of Aiolia. He would gladly forgo food and sleep to search for that bastard's head.
After about a minute of regaining a bit of composure, the Capricorn stood up. His head turned from side to side. The jails were packed right now. Out of nowhere, the patrolling foot soldiers went from being so lax that it felt like he couldn't walk through the village without yelling at a few to do their job, to being so highly disciplined that it made him look like the grunt among them.
The murder was nonexistent by week two as well as rape. At first, when he saw the numbers, he thought it was some grand joke, but when it turned out to be true, he was so proud he summoned up the courage to request Aiolos to add a modest one-time bonus, which the archer quite happily agreed upon.
But the jail was not meant to hold so many criminals at once along with those that were still being reviewed because Saga hired them during his false reign as Pope. The result was that the Capricorn was forced to get a little creative. The nicer holding cells were converted to hold more people and door guards of Sanctuary, due to them being a low threat were placed here.
Shura approached the first door and gave it a couple of knocks before calling out his name. He waited a moment before Midas XIV opened it.
"Commander! Oh, it is so good to see you!" the young door guard of the House of Aries chimed. "Are we free to go yet?"
The Capricorn was about to answer when five other door guards came up. "Woah take it easy." Shura's Spanish eyes could see their heavy anxiety. "I'm sorry, not yet. I'm sorry that reviewing everyone is taking so long." Saga hired so many people during his five years. But, he couldn't blame him since the Holy War was approaching.
Midas XIV turned his head. "Sir, Hercules XX, and Pathos were allowed to leave! Why can't we? Why are we here and not at the holding cells? We're not in trouble, are we?"
Shura shook his head no. "You're not in trouble. Those that are going first are due to either health concerns or those that either has family or someone they are caring for."
Argo looked up. "So you're saying we're stuck because we're all healthy and single? Sounds like you turned this inn into a giant bachelor pad? How about you join us then, Sir." Argo noticed a rare mixture of a smile and embarrassment. "Oh...did the Commander actually find someone who will tolerate his tight ass nature." He gazed at him further and while Shura's lips were sealed, he could tell. "He did! What shall we do, everyone?"
Jason waved his hand. "Let's kick him out! Singles only!" he shouted and laughed.
Midas XIV shook his head. "How about we celebrate! Let's all have a drink," he spoke before everyone cheered in agreement.
Shura folded his arms. "Midas, I don't drink alcohol. I'm not old enough yet."
Argo pointed his hand. "We know, Sir. We're the best in the Army and we are always prepared."
Shura turned his head toward another table before he burst into laughter. Stacks and stacks of unopened bottles of beer were there, arranged perfectly like a wedding cake. Right on top of the center was a lone can of diet coke with a note taped on it: Don't touch or the Commander will Excalibur your ass.
O|=================|O
Saga walked alongside the grey stone exterior before pausing in front of a small inconspicuous scratch he made to mark where he should enter. His hands glowed with his cosmos, his eyes shifting back and forth to ensure he wasn't seen.
Everyone, including Aiolos, ever wondered how he was able to use Another Dimension so seamlessly in Sanctuary since it was built with a type of stone that had prevented previous Gemini in the past. The truth was that it wasn't magic, but rather the addition of indoor plumbing. The old stones that prevented dimensional tearing were destroyed and after the pipes were installed, regular concrete and thin slabs of marble were placed to allow maintenance while hiding the flaw in security. Did it occur to them? Of course. But they knew that if someone was to do it, they would need to know where the pipes were so they didn't get stuck deep underground.
But what happens when a little boy begins to experiment and happens to have access to the Pope's library? What if this little boy takes an interest in something as boring as plumbing diagrams?
Everything has a loophole.
The same concept still applied over here as well. Saga carefully summoned Another Dimension, slicing through reality one way and forming the exit past the wall, thus allowing him to move through inside the Archive building without breaking a single stone or having to go through all the security in the front of the building.
Saga had always been a neat freak who strived for organization and cleanliness. He expected someplace as important as the Archive to be in pristine condition. Little did he know that going inside was like stepping on the moon.
There were so many cobwebs that he always carried a broomstick to fend and wave the silk strands just to avoid eating a mouthful of it.
The dust! Every step he took, left footprints upon the wood like a thin layer of snow. The dust bunnies were so large and thick that he was certain that he could shape them like goblets and serve a drink in them.
Goddess, he was certain that lung cancer shall consume him before the curse devours the archer.
Delphi was supposed to be the place where if Sanctuary fell, it would provide a secondary location to regroup at. The Archive Building would also serve to preserve history, books, tomes, and records. None of the information was the original. There were no delicate scrolls written in the blood of the goddess, but instead, sheets of numbered papers in a manilla folder. That is alright, for the words were what was important. At the same time, he could tell who whoever was in charge of this place didn't tend to it with the care it deserves. At the same time, he felt fortunate since he could work in peace. But still, precautions were in place.
Saga walked down the aisle toward a room that he had shoved three cabinets in front of the door. Since the building was made of the same material of Sanctuary, he was free to use his cosmos without fear of detection. With a simple wave, Another Dimension appeared under the trio of cabinets, causing them to sink until the tops were as level as the floor. The Gemini opened the door and strutted over the cabinets with the same amount of pride as if he crossed the Styx without tossing a single piece of silver to Charon. He closed the door and allowed the three cabinets to float back up, thus ensuring his privacy.
It was a nice little room. It was a bit stuffy with no windows or air conditioning and horribly musty but he liked it. After he cleared it of all the broken outdated electronics and appliances, it was secluded enough to ensure that he could leave most of his books in one spot saving him time.
There was also enough room to store food and drinks, which included lots of canned coffee. After all, the longer he stayed there, the less traveling he did outside. He stayed for a week, send a list to Galan of things he needed, headed back to Orphee's. Eurydice would always insist he stay for dinner, but time was too important.
Saga would take the time to walk into Athena's room. She was always asleep due to Orphee using his lyre to prevent her from speaking or doing any major movements around her neck to ensure proper healing. It was a very tricky injury, one that required Orphee, Eurydice, and Galan to work in shifts to keep an eye on her and tend to her needs.
It is strange, for when he sees the Goddess, he sees Paz. He hoped Aiolos was keeping his promise to never harm her. Then again, the curse caused him to break his vow to protect the Goddess.
After he checks on Athena, he would refill his supplies, and restart his studying once more.
Unfortunately, while his search started off with much gusto, the pile of tomes that he was certain about had little tidbits, but nothing solid. Those that he felt were useful, he wrote on a piece of paper and taped it on a wall as if he was solving some grand mystery.
One important breakthrough was the red stones on the box that the dagger was always linked to Ares. He was always depicted with his helmet on, but a brief testament actually featured a description of him with hair that was always growing and burning into ash and bright red eyes. It was definitely legit since the person's description also included details of the Pope's Inner Chambers. He was so hopeful, but the problem was that there were mountains of information about Ares with probably three-fourths of it being false. It wouldn't surprise him if there was a book that featured the God sitting on a unicorn.
Uggh, Greek Mythology...the original fan fiction of the ancient world.
There was absolutely no time to just dig up everything on him. He must find clues to narrow it down.
In the beginning, there was a list of books that he and Kanon came up with, and while he diligently went through it all and was down to one last one. He took his seat on a squeaky office chair with a missing backrest and pulled the book close.
"The Parazonium," he spoke, reading the title. It was the only book that Sanctuary owned that was completely dedicated to the history of daggers. A sense of joy filled his heart when the first page he opened up featured a triangular-shaped dagger that was very similar to the Golden Dagger but not quite. However, the fact that it had diagrams was good. He opened it up and started off with history. "...shit... Roman Mythology…" he cursed since it meant having to take the time that he didn't have much of, to figure out which of the Roman figures was the Greek equivalent. It wasn't hard, but it can be a pain in the ass when dealing with the minor gods and mythological figures.
Saga sat there, one hand digging deeper in his blond scalp, the other sucking down a giant can of coffee that tastes like shit, but kept him awake. Hours passed, his eyes were aching. A growing numbness in his brain followed. The only break he gave himself was to go piss out a gallon of canned coffee before he returned back to his broken chair to continue reading.
As time passed, he set out a few balls of cosmos to light up the room in the growing darkness.
After several hours, he turned toward the old dusty clock that he got working again after changing the battery. It was evening now. He read about a third of the book, and while it at least discussed the purpose of a parazonium, it didn't tell him anything new.
Exhausted, he walked over toward a corner of the floor. He promised Dr. Krios that he would get proper sleep and take care of his physical needs. He pulled off the old school uniform, down to his underwear. He braided his hair and grabbed an old rubber band only for it to snap in his hands. He passed a breath and used the broken rubber to tie it up.
A year ago, he would always wake up and a fresh large breakfast greeted him.
A year ago, there was always a large bath, the water nice and hot. Once in the morning and once at night. Twice a week, he would add lavender flowers and fragrant oils.
Feeling a bit hungry, he didn't have the time or room in his bag to have prepared meals. Besides the room was too hot and anything Eurydice made went bad in a day. Instead, he had Galan go purchase several cans of fish since they carried a lot of nutrients while not taking a great deal of room. He peeled the top off and used his cosmos to heat it up before he picked each one and ate it.
Afterward, he discarded the tin and grabbed a bottle of water and an off-color rag. His fingers carefully opened the flimsy plastic top. A little spilled out before he slowly poured it on the piece of cloth and began to wipe his filthy dusty skin. He pulled out his toothbrush and toothpaste, used a little water to clean off the bristles before he brushed his teeth.
When that was done, he turned to a corner in the room.
A year ago, he would be sleeping in a soft bed with a large silk canopy that could easily fit five people. He knew because once a week he would wake up and find them there.
Now he was a nameless soul and he was sleeping with borrowed sheets that had several holes, a pillow that had lost its fluffy, under a large dusty table.
Goddess, how far he had fallen, but surely this is what he deserved. Not a life of being pampered, but hiding like a miserable rat, before his time comes and Hades becomes his new Master and tosses him in the frozen river.
The next day, he got dressed and resumed his reading. It was a quicker pace, but still hundreds of pages and barely anything useful.
That was another frustrating aspect. Daggers were so prevalent in the royal class, but because of that, nobody would write anything deep about them other than their families would pass it down. It was the equivalent of asking someone to write something detailed about their own set of car keys.
His mind was mushier than anytime Aiolos shot him in the head with a dummy arrow.
Saga turned to one side full of the books he had gone through and laid the book on the parazonium on top. His eyes scanned passed the small pile of translation dictionaries before he stared at the empty corner.
He drew a hand to his head. There were no more books. He was hoping that the ones he had would send him in the right direction, but he had no clue what to do next. He can't even just browse around!
This place was huge.
In fact, while many believe the collection from the Library of Alexandria was all burned down, not realizing much of it was stored here. Without a new lead, Even if he moves at lightspeed and scanned every book he touched, he'll be older than Shion by the time he finds something.
Goddess, it felt like everyone he encounters, he failed and he can feel it overwhelming him once more.
Saga sat for a moment and took his finger and traced the invisible glyph upon his forehead to enter the Room of the Golden Orb. "Time for another appointment."
DING DING
ROOM OF THE GOLDEN ORB LOBBY
"Welcome back, Saga!" called Secretary Not-Crane-Yuzuriha. "How is the search going?"
The Gemini sighed heavily. "Not well...not as well as I was hoping."
The Amazon reached over and grabbed his hand. "You'll find it. I know you can. Don't forget, when you are sad, this is a safe place. Know you can always speak freely about your doubts here. We care about you, Saga."
Saga looked up and stared at her mask. "You don't have to wear that around me. You look much better without it. I didn't do anything to you before, I won't do anything after."
She raised a finger. "It's a part of protocol, Saga!"
"I know, but...you didn't have it on before… and besides, I know I don't say this, but I like seeing your face. It's always so pure and chipper." He shrugged. "You are here to help me feel better, and your smile always brightens me up a little. I'll take that over the money." He spoke as he pushed the big bag of money back towards her.
She took her hand and pulled it off, revealing her bright blue eyes, and her cheerful grin. "How is this?"
Saga reciprocated with a smile back. "Thank you, that is much better." He looked up. "I feel like a jerk. I keep comparing you to Crane Yuzuriha. What is your real name?"
"Oh, my name? It is Quon." She laughed. "Do not feel bad. I just never told you because you calling me Secretary-Not-Crane-Yuzuriha always made me laugh even now!"
Her laughter began to feed off him for a moment, "alright Secretary-Not-Crane-Yuzuriya...Quon...thank you for always staying cheerful."
Dr. Krios opened the door, as he saw the Gemini standing there. "Good morning, Saga. How is everything going?"
Suddenly, the brief amount of joy he had vanished and reality came. The Gemini walked inside as his head suddenly weighed like a hundred pounds, "not good," he muttered as he headed toward the blue couch and halted. "Wait, why are you still here Mr. R?"
The Brit held his clipboard as he sat from his seat in the corner. "Oh please, do you think that I can judge Mr. Krios on whether he deserves to be a psychologist based on you begging on whether you can sleep in this place? I need some real angst." Mr. R scoffed. "By the way, you look like shit," he punched through his chest and pulled out his flask and a couple of shot glasses. "Want a drink before you start?" he asked as he poured himself a large cup of amber whiskey.
Saga came over and took his spot on the couch. "Do you have something else? I spent two years giving up drinking and like hell will I go back through the process of sobering up."
"Fine, have some bloody grape juice," he spoke as he tipped his same flask over and filled it with the purple and passed it over. "By Hades how the hell did we lose against an Army full of wimps? I even heard in the last war, one of you Golds had to have their heart replaced with a lion. Everyone knows that if your heart gets punched out, a real man would simply walk it off."
Dr. Krios turned his head. "Excuse me, can we get started?"
"Fine, but I am taking away ten points. A real psychologist would allow meandering to continue whenever he is paid by the hour."
The Lemurian took a deep breath. As annoying as Mr. R's presence was, he was definitely one of Saga's mental guards and all he could do was put up with it for the time being. "So Saga, you mentioned your search not going well. Tell me about it. As I said, you can't bring materials here, but perhaps a bit of perspective can help."
Saga sat there and talked about the large stack of books. To his surprise, Dr. Krios was actually far more interested in the results than an unpaid-college-intern should be. After he was done, he gave a shrug. "I-can't think…I've been reading book after book for a month and my mind is like jelly right now… not only that, but I have a few things on my mind..."
Dr. Krios nodded. "Alright, it sounds like you are overwhelmed. Sometimes, when we spend so much time in solitude and quiet, our thoughts can drift off toward other things, perhaps we bring up things that have been on our chest and we just need to release them. Perhaps you can tell me what is on your mind to alleviate that?"
Saga took his cup and took a sip of grape juice. "Alright." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes to think of what has been troubling him.
The door flew open and several people began to walk in.
Athena: My throat hurts.
Paz: I'm scared!
Orphee: I'm allergic to cats.
Deathmask: I'm in prison.
Aldebaran: Nobody wants to talk to each other.
Shaka: That's okay when I choose to talk to no one.
Mu: My Master is dead!
Dohko: My friend is dead!
Camus: Milo hates me because of you.
Milo: I hate Camus because of you.
Geist: Come on Milo, let's do it right behind his back again?
Aiolia: Everyone hates me because they don't know my brother is a hero!
Shura: Everyone should hate me because everyone thinks I'm a hero!
Galan: I miss Aiolia.
Aiolos: I miss being able to walk.
Cursed Aiolos: And my firing arm is getting sore.
Aphrodite: I can take care of that. *Produces white rose
Kanon: I'm still missing!
Dr. Krios stood up and rushed over to see the lobby was filled with hundreds of others. The Lemurian turns around and raises his hands. "SAGA! What are you doing?"
The Gemini's hands covered his head. "I can't help it. I must repent, but there are so many people I've wrong! So much I must fix!"
The Lemurian's lip pinched together. "Yes, but not all at once! There are too many problems!"
Suddenly a loud groan echoes and the room sinks, causing the view of the sun in the window to be hidden by layers of earth. Everyone turns toward the door where Secretary Not-Crane-Yuzuriha poked her head before the room sank revealing a flat mixture of dirt and roots.
Mr. R looks up. "Hmm, lack of any emergency exits.*tsk tsk* This is a major fire code violation. -20 points."
The Lemurian took a deep breath. "Saga, the problem with depression is that sometimes we become overwhelmed and so we unleash a flurry of problems and blame upon ourselves. We think that shooting out all our fears and guilt that we are freeing ourselves, but instead all we do is merely pile them upon ourselves expecting a breakthrough...when all we do is merely digging ourselves deeper."
"I am running out of time! Two months are left!"
"I know, you must still take care of yourself too! But if we take things slowly, one or two problems at a time, we can get out. "
The Gemini drew his hands to his head. He stood up, everyone's eyes staring at him. "I'm done! Fuck this, I am done!"
The Lemurian gasped as Saga took his finger and began to trace over the glyph on his forehead. "SAGA DON'T!" The Gemini faded away before the room turned dark, with only the light glow from the Golden Orb in the center as a source of light. Dr. Krios was alone now. He turned his head over toward the door where a shovel began breaking through the dirt until the Secretary tunneled her way down.
She dusted her clothes and turned toward the window. "What's going on?"
The Lemurian turned toward the window where the dirt had mostly blocked off most of his view. He grabbed the shovel and began to break through the dirt and gasped when he saw several passing feet of people dragging themselves like zombies."Oh no," he muttered. He had seen a few earlier like Maiden Leto and a couple of the deceased Papel guards. But now that Saga had buried him deeper in his thoughts, it seemed like something evil was taking advantage of the vulnerability of the Gemini. "SAGA!" The Lemurian called out. "SAGA PLEASE! COME BACK!"
DING DING
Saga raised his head, before banging it under the table, as he found himself back in his little room on top of his blankets. The Gemini laid back down silently, placing pressure on the bridge of his nose. Goddess, what a terrible session that was. Part of him felt guilty for taking off like that, but at the same time, it felt too overwhelming. The room was so dark. His guess was that during his trip to the Room of the Golden Orb, he had dropped his balls of cosmos.
"Hey."
Saga's eyes widened at the familiar voice with a subtle growl. He rolled over as the outline of Aiolos laid there next to him, his head resting in his hand. "Lucas?" he muttered before he rolled away from the blanket and stood up. But then, his breath stilled when the archer began to crawl toward him. "What the? I thought you can't-"
"Aren't you happy I'm here, Saga?"
Saga gasped as the archer stood straight up on his two feet. How was he doing this? He saw the scarring on his back and it was very clear that he was paralyzed. "Are you dead?"
The shaded figure laughed jollily before he stepped forward. "Of course I am, Saga. You killed me. Remember the play, Our Savior Capricorn?"
At that moment, the false archer's brown eyes came into view. Now everything made sense. "You were the actor? You intended to put on that disgusting play!"
Fake Aiolos shrugged. "Yes, I did. The truth is, I know it is disgusting, but before I started acting, I used to do a lot of classical theater from The Frogs by Aristophanes to Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. I was from Delphi and I thought how wonderful it would be if Rodario was into the arts as much as my home?"
"Well, why didn't you do that? Why would you allow yourself to perform that trash!"
"Oh please, you've hung out in Rodario long enough to know they don't quite appreciate the Arts like Delphi. Within a year, I was broke and had to work in the brothel, getting as many tips as I could in 'overtime' heh heh. But then my big break came! Aiolos betrays the world and a few patrons noticed I looked a lot like him. So I became him."
The Gemini gritted his teeth. "You are nothing like him! Do you think he went around like raping others? It is people like you who keep the hatred toward him alive! Villainizing not just his name, but his appearance and sign. I've seen mothers cut their children's hair if it is brown and curly out of fear. I've also heard how they would even delay or hide their baby's birth so they can avoid being under Sagittarius."
Fake Aiolos shrugged his shoulders. "You're wrong. I am Aiolos. I am the Aiolos that the villagers think about when they hear his name. I am the Aiolos that their imaginations interpret to be true. If the real Aiolos was next to me, the villagers would conclude that he was the false one. I don't know if he really did it or not. I don't even know if the stories of him trying to kill Athena are true. But frankly, I don't care. Playing him and doing scandalous things made me more money in a month than it had in a year."
"Who would pay for that!?"
"Mmm, you would be surprised. These people are not loud. They are the ones who would denounce an execution, yet they would not turn their eyes from it. They wear gold rings on their fingers and slip it off when with strangers. True I had to be careful when walking around since I didn't want to be accidentally lynched, but trust me, there are many in the shadows of their heart who find it quite the turn on..." his brown eyes seductively narrowed as he stepped forward and began to twist a lock of blond-dyed Gemini hair.. "...perhaps even you as well?"
Saga pounced upon him, knocking fake Aiolos to the ground. His blue eyes stared at how the doppelganger grew transparent for a moment and solidified before him. "How dare you say that!"
Fake Aiolos laughed as his brown curls pressed against the wooden floor. "Oh please...I saw the way you looked at me when I first came in. You knew I wasn't real. You knew I was from the brothel… why the hell would I honor the name of that traitor?" Fake Aiolos eyes narrowed like a cat. "But you were just so curious...and you were the one who allowed us to perform. I saw that gaze of yours, devoid of any curse...it wasn't hate...it was definitely something else. Hey…" He raised his head up slightly with a hungry look upon his face...
...Wanna make out :) ?"
"YOU ARE NOT REAL!" Saga screamed as he grabbed the Fake Aiolos by his neck and wrung him back and forth. Fake Aiolos laughed as his head repeatedly struck the floor until his body shattered into pieces.
Saga heaved as he shook his head and turned toward the ground to realize his bloody hands were holding a tall lamp with a now cracked crystal pole. He backed away speechless, grasping the edge of a table and smearing scarlet patterns across it.
This couldn't be happening.
At that moment, his nerves felt like they were on fire as it seemed like every inconspicuous gust of the wind outside or slight groan in the wood caused him to flinch. He couldn't stay here, not like this. It tore at him on the fact that he could have another five hours to figure out what the hell he should do next, but considering he nearly made out with a lamp, he knew he couldn't stay like this.
He grabbed an old rag, cleaned off the blood before he grabbed a blank piece of paper. "I'm coming back," he wrote and tossed it in a small miniature Another Dimension portal where it should land on the kitchen counter at Orphee's house. He shoved his things in his bag and used Another Dimension to leave the room. His feet slammed to a stop as the once empty aisles were filled with women and men, wearing thin pieces of silk to cover their bodies. They were the exact same from that party that night. The difference was that they didn't move and flow with the grace of water, but in haphazard jerks, their limbs cracking at the joints as if they were previously frozen from the depths of space.
An ice-cold hand grabbed his cheek and jerked his head at her cracked face, her long red hair so ridged and covered in ice it was like plastic.
"Your Holiness… come here… you didn't have a chance to 'finish'..." she muttered seductively as she raised a frost-covered leg that immediately broke off and shattered into a pile of frozen blood, bone, and flesh.
The Gemini held back his scream before he tore Another Dimension once more and jumped inside one way before landing on his back in the large flower field of Orphee's backyard. His chest heaved up and down. He felt like kicking himself for using his technique. The last thing he wants to do is endanger everyone, but if he didn't leave the Archives with Another Dimension, he was going to do so with Galaxian Explosion.
His body relaxed for a moment. It was quiet. Wonderful, peaceful quiet.
Yet...his chest felt so tight.
The tall wildflowers and grass that would reach up to his waist swayed back and forth. Saga stared at the stars in the sky, watching a plane move through the sky.
"They are so beautiful, aren't they? I suppose if you had to leave my body somewhere, you could've placed it in the other room in Star Hill so I had a better view of it. "
"...no…" was all Saga could murmur as he heard that frail gentle voice that cracked with every wise word. With every slain person that appeared before him...there was one that he feared the most to meet.
"Stand up, Saga. Is that how you should greet the true Master of Sanctuary?"
His mouth went dry as his chest began to tighten once more. He knew he wasn't real and still, he pulled himself up and stared at the Lemurian that he had slain five years ago. Saga stared at the familiar strands of thin milky green strands of hair, the soft heavy wrinkles, and the blood-stained white robes. Even the large sunspot upon his hand was there too. Saga quietly shook his head, as if it affirmed that what he saw was another strange illusion. "You're dead."
Shion tilted his head and produced a lighthearted chuckle. "Yes I am, thanks to you. I survived Specters and Gods, all the while dragging myself up and down Sanctuary to the deepest darkest corners of the Underworld itself. With a little bit of skill and some luck, somehow I managed to survive...only to be killed by a tiny knife held by a bratty fifteen-year-old who never stepped on the battlefield in his life. All because he was 'runner-up.'"
Saga frowned. "I am so sick of this. The real Shion would never say anything like that! You are not here!" he spoke as he felt his head grow unusually sweaty.
"Then what am I? Explain that?"
The Gemini was silent as frustration was building upon his face. "I have no clue. I don't know! But you are just a part of my imagination!"
"It is true. I am not real! Maybe I am a tree? Maybe I am one of your friends? Perhaps I am just a stranger? All in your twisted sick little head."
Saga continued to shake his head. "NO! There's something strange going on! I know it! The curse is making me crazy!"
Suddenly, around the field, dozens of figures began to stand up. The Gemini darted his head as he began to recognize their disfigured faces and bodies. Some he had punched holes through. Others were tossed into space. A few were covered in dirt from being crushed underground. Many had burnt marks and missing limbs from the heat of Galaxian Explosion.
All of them were killed by his hand.
Shion let out a laugh. "Oh, the curse… if something is wrong, blame the curse. If you have a temper, blame the curse. Can't you see, the problem is 'you'.
Do not blame curse for making you crazy,
the truth is that you're just barking mad the old fashion way."
Saga shook his head back and forth. He didn't know what to do as the dead surrounded him in the field. "This is not real! None of you are!" he screamed out loud as they slowly began to encircle him.
The Lemurian rested his hands in front of him. "Give up, Saga. You have no leads, you have no clue. You have doomed Aiolos. He hasn't killed anyone yet… but once the curse has him under its grip, he too will do the same as you have done in 'my' name: mindlessly fucking whores and killing anyone who sees his face. Behold the dead that you had reaped. You seek redemption...here is your path. You've killed them...now let them kill you."
"NO!"
Everyone turned their heads as a bright light illuminated the darkness. Standing there and softly glowing her mighty cosmos was Athena as she spoke for the first time since losing her voice a month ago.
Saga sat there stunned. "Athena, you can talk!"
The six-year-old Goddess, nodded as she pulled off her cap that hid her violet hair and allowed it to fall upon her shoulders. "Saga, you know that man out there isn't the real Shion." She raised one hand and produced her staff in one hand while reaching out with another. "Saga, open your heart, and hear his words," she spoke as she touched her hand in the center of where the invisible glyph was on his forehead.
"Saga. That is not me. I would never resort to using such harsh words."
The Gemini froze as he heard the familiar voice in his head. Was Shion's spirit speaking to him from The Collective or Elysium? At that moment, he speaks the words he had been meaning to tell him for a long time. "I'm sorry! I was angry! But I would never attempt or try to kill-"
"Saga...I already forgave you with my dying breath. Must I say it once more in the afterlife before you accept it? Just like before, I am sorry for setting you on this dreadful path that you must take."
"If you are truly sorry… then answer me this? Why did you allow the curse to happen? Why me?"
There was a long pause, as if unsure what to do. But Athena, listening to everything that was being spoken, closed her eyes. "Shion, go ahead. The bronze Saints have entered their paths and the stones that must be laid have been secured."
"Saga. Remember the words I told you: A Gemini must be first, A Gemini must be last. That is the only solid clue to ending the curse for good. You asked why Kanon never received the curse, and that is because the first thing he would do would be to kill you. If you weren't cursed at age nine, you would've been dead at age nine. I knew that if you were cursed, you would live and thus seal my fate, even if I didn't know how."
The words struck him like a rock to the head. "Why didn't you tell me that! What was the need for all that secrecy! If I would've known that you allowed this to happen to save my life..." His eyes began to well up. How odd that he was always begging for death, yet he was horrified at how much he would've missed if he was killed as a child. "...if I would've known, I would've never killed you! Why hide that? Why allow me to hate you for so long?"
"Because the future is fragile and the butterfly effect is real. If you knew the truth, you would simply sulk and allow Sanctuary to completely fall apart. Instead, you were angry and determined to be 'better' than the man that ruined your life."
"And look at how many lives I've ruined in return? What about Mu? He would've never left Sanctuary if you were there!"
"No, he wouldn't and you wouldn't have allowed a Japanese Entrepreneur to come to Sanctuary for a meeting, let alone bargain with him. The butterfly effect is very real, Saga even if you don't realize it yet."
The Gemini still didn't understand why he seemed so interested in his deal with Kido. Everyone called it another of his crazy plans. The nobles were waving their fists. For the first time, they openly decried to him: YOU ARE A MAD MAN! JUST RECRUIT ANOTHER LEMURIAN AND HAVE THEM REPAIR THE CLOTHS!
Yes, Lemurians were skilled but Lemurians won't be around forever. Even Shion understood that decrying that they will all be gone in a century or two. Besides, he was quite impressed with what Kido showed him. He actually had proof that technology had finally caught up to the point that humans could truly duplicate some of their advanced blacksmith techniques. Despite the protests and how insane it was, he just thought "fuck it. They aren't wearing the Cloths nor are they fighting anything," before he signed the line and began sending broken Cloths over to Kido while nobles cry and moan at how he put a sledgehammer toward tradition.
"What about all these people I've killed?" Saga muttered as he stared at all of his victims that encircled him, including the dead Lemurian.
"The curse did that...not you.
If you want proof, look at yourself now?
Not a murderer nor one of indulgence.
This is the real you.
Saga, I am running out of time. Take care of yourself tonight. But tomorrow, go back to the Archive. Find the bookshelf labeled 88-7-108."
The Gemini raised a hand. "Wait! I have a question? Do you know a pair of Lemurians named Dr. Krios and a crazy blond that looks exactly like Crane Yuzuriha?" He waited there, instead of receiving silence before collapsing upon his knees, as a burning in his chest filled him. But when he looked down, it was then he spotted the end end of a transparent glowing purple arrow, the fletch sticking out like a flower from his chest. He looked up as the dead began to approach him closer before trying to grab it and pull it out. He felt his mind grow dizzy as he could see it sinking further.
Athena stepped forward and placed the staff near it causing it to solidify. "Saga, Try again. You have to pull it out!"
The Gemini reached and pulled, his face growing a dark red, the pain excruciating as if he was being disemboweled by a fishhook, his heart beating so hard it felt like it was going to burst.
But then he relaxed. Panic will get him killed. He relaxed for a moment to gather his strength before he put it all in one yank to get it out an extremely long glowing purple arrow. He knew Aiolos shot a second arrow into him back when he and Athena were on their run. "Oh Lucas….you were always good about sliding in that hidden knight before the checkmate…" he muttered.
O|===========|O
ROOM OF THE GOLDEN ORB
Slowly but surely, the room began to float back up until it was level once more. While Athena connecting him directly to Saga was the right decision, it also came at a great price. Speaking as himself directly had drained three-fourths of the energy of the Golden Orb. Its glow was pitiful now. The room could not support itself as-is thus non-essential functions were cut off, including one very precious one.
"Did you do it? Did you help him?" Quon spoke as Shion held her in his arms, her body slowly growing more transparent and smaller as if the years were draining away.
Shion nodded in assurance. "Shhh, don't speak. You are burning the last of your energy...and once you do…"
Her weak blue eyes shifted over to him. "But...I want to talk. I will miss it when I die." Everything she did felt so laborious, but still, she smiled. "Where will I go when I disappear? Is there a place for me?"
The Lemurian felt his eyes well up. She was never real. Just another illusion produced in the Golden Orb. When he leaves here, he will go back to where he came from, but for her, there was nothing but darkness and it broke his heart and caused him to sob even harder.
She turned her head, her face now the age of a five-year-old. She hated watching him cry. So she did what she did best and tried to cheer him up. "Daddy, I'm glad I got to do this. It was so much fun being your secretary and I got to spend a little more time with you." The more she spoke the younger she became. She was two years old. "I don't feel good, Daddy. I wuv you, Daddy. I so...happ-" before she could finish, she became a tiny baby. She gurgled and let out a burst of large laughter that only something so tiny and innocent could give before her body vanished.
Shion sat so silently.
His arms felt so eerily light.
Finally, he threw them on his face, his tears pouring like rain upon his hands. His girl! His precious little girl! He knew she was a creation of a life that never was to be, but he spent a lifetime with her and now she was gone! "Oh, Quon. My sweet Quon! I don't know where I shall go either, but I wish I could go with you to the void so you would not be so lonely."
O|===========|O
Orphee examined the purple arrow, turning it into the light to examine the faintest of marks. He then closed his eyes, sending mental messages back and forth before he opened them and walked over toward the couch where Eurydice sat next to the Gemini, pressing a cold towel against his sweaty head.
The nymph turned her eyes downward and pushed the Gemini to keep him laying down. "Saga, rest, your blood pressure is really high."
The Gemini groaned but obeyed. Hopefully, it was due to a hidden foot long invisible purple arrow sticking in him this entire time. He shifted his eyes over toward the musician. "So, were you able to get Ptolemy to say anything about cursed arrows without any suspicion?"
The musician raised a brow. "You're friends with an archer. You should know better. Once you ask them about the finer mechanics of archery-"
"-they never want to shut up about it," Saga mused. Aiolos could spend all day talking about the best ways to grab and hold an arrow without drawing attention from an animal.
Orphee looked downwards toward the object. "Anyways, when did you say you were shot with this?"
"A month ago."
A near whistle escaped Orphee's lips. "According to Ptolomy, the lines on this arrow indicate the number of hours or days it takes before an arrow would do someone in. Saga, there are ten marks! It should have killed you twenty days ago! How did you repel it for so long?"
Saga took a deep breath as he felt like he was sinking further into the couch. It was further proof of the final words of the Old Man. "I'm a Gemini...and Gemini Saints have the highest resistance to curses," he muttered with a heavy amount of sorrow.
Eurydice turned to the cloth and carried it over toward the sink before Athena came over and took her spot.
Saga stared at the off-color circular scar tissue on her neck. It was the first action Aiolos made when the curse first took hold. If only he was awake before Aiolos did what he did. He would still be okay, and Athena wouldn't have been so badly injured. "He shouldn't have done it. I could have had years. The fool only has two months left."
Athena looked down. "We did have years. You and Kanon started your search when you were nine years old. You know the curse intimately, Saga. If you held the curse, how will we ever gain the information you have learned so far? Maybe you were able to speak with him, but how long would that last? He believes in you. Shion believed in you. So do I...Saga…no matter what you did before, no matter if you succeed in this or not...
...you are still one of my Saints. I would never turn my back on you and allow you to fester in the River Cocytus with Hades."
At that moment, the Gemini lost it. How did she know of such a thing? It was always on his mind but he never spoke about it to anyone. "Oh my….I-I…" he swallowed hard as he could feel his tears fall and choke the back of his throat. The curse flooded his dreams of images of Hades and his Specters tormenting him as he remained frozen and powerless in the river while Athena would have her back toward him. Then again, he always wrote about it in his prayer journal… or at least he used to write it in before he just gave up all hope for salvation and left it untouched for the last three years. "I-I-thought my soul was damned when I killed Shion...do you…"
She nodded. "It's like he said, that wasn't you."
"But I nearly stabbed you!" he cried out.
"And Aiolos actually did so," she spoke as she delicately touched the spot where the arrow struck. "He's not going to Cocytus either," she smiled and laughed a little.
But Saga just continued to cry on the sofa. His hands were soaking wet with his tears. For five years he felt like a lost soul and one undeserving of his Cloth. The truth was, other than her cries as a baby or her scream from the arrow, he had never heard her talk.
Tonight was the first time he heard her and it was to defend him from his own demons in the field despite how much he deserved to be consumed by the dead. And in a way, it seemed like at that moment, he felt a familiar connection that he once had before the curse. A long spiritual that he had thought was severed after indulging in death and endless debauchery. "Athena...I've killed so many. I cannot bring them back, but I would like to pray for them, to see that they find comfort in the afterlife."
"Of course. Let us go outside to the backyard and we can go pray for them together."
It was the ultimate honor and a sign that even someone as pitiful as him, could be saved.
"Athena, I'm so glad I can hear your voice again."
60 Days Until Aiolos Goes Permanently Insane
O|===============|O
Coming Between August 2-5
Side Story: Kronicles of Khris and Kallen
Saga finds his brother's journal in the Archive.
Coming about August 9
Aiolia is trying to figure out what to do about his brother.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Heavy delay with the chapter here. Originally Aiolos and Aiolia's drama was going to be in, but with there being so many fake/dead characters in this as well as them appearing in the Golden Orb room, I felt it was best to leave the brothers out. Besides, if you think about it, we have Fake Aiolos, Dead Fake Aiolos, Golden Orb Aiolos and Golden Orb Cursed Aiolos. The real one will have to wait for the next chapter or it may confuse some people.
Athena finally gets to talk and that is no accident either. When I first started Saga's redemption, I kind of divided the different aspects of him and one was his spiritual side as a Saint of Athena. So the first thing he does when he wakes up is that he's angry at her, next he sees her as mere duty, and now the two come full circle with him embracing her once more.
Now throughout this, I am always thinking how the heck can I get Kanon's story in it while still making sense. Originally, he had a side story named after him, but the problem with that was there was so much set up that the parts with Kanon got buried in it. When I was writing this part and slowly but surely, Kanon's part got bigger and I decided to take that out and I'll be having a section where it features Kanon and Saga's background.
Hope you enjoy, and leave a review to show support.