As she climbed up the stairs, the pain was so intense that her forehead was covered in sweats. She was losing her energy as well.
"Saori-san, let's sit," Shaina suggested.
"I told you I'm sitting here waiting for Seiya to save me," Saori insisted and continued her way.
Shaina followed and warned, "Ptolemy's arrow isn't like any other. It is cursed! You pulled it out, but the curse remains! It works slowly and your cosmo and energy are diminishing!"
Saori stopped and lifted up her skirt to glimpse at her wound. To her horror, the skin of her abdomen area had turned black.
"You can't go on!" Shaina said. "Save your energy. You will need it to go to the Sanctuary."
"Sanctuary?"
"That's the only way to stop this curse before it consumes your body."
Now Saori was really scared.
Seiya...
She wanted to see Seiya.
She wanted Seiya to take her by the hand and promise everything will be okay.
Seiya, where did you go? You weren't there when I left in the morning.
A laugh interrupted her thoughts.
"So we met again!"It was Thetis; and she came at a very bad time. "Julian-sama likes to finish his conversation with you."
"About what? His true love Sorrento?" Saori asked, knowing that it hurts.
"Stay back!" Shaina stepped in front of Saori.
Although Ikki refused to fight with them, his words did have an impact on the Bronze Saints, especially Seiya. Now he knew what is important to him and his reason to fight. Love would be the power that enable him to win.
Saori-san, have faith in me! I will come to you!
But as Poseidon had planned, another Mariner was in their way.
"Hyoga, long time no see," he greeted, releasing a cold aura.
Hyoga recognized the Mariner immediately.
"Seiya, Shun, leave him to me," Hyoga said.
The Mariner had no care towards Seiya and Shun. He let them go before he launched his attack at Hyoga. His style of fighting and power were very similar to Hyoga's as well.
"Hyoga!" Shun shouted.
"Go!" Hyoga cried, wiping his eye. The Mariner's attack had only hurt his eyelid. With reluctance, Shun ran after Seiya. He remembered what Ikki had told him - he shouldn't be sentimental in the battlefield. He must believe in Hyoga, who knows how to fight from his training in Siberia.
"Consider we're even," the Mariner said, moving his hair aside to reveal the scar on his right eye.
"Yes, Isaac," Hyoga said, getting back on his feet. "I never forgot you. You saved me from the current, but you were dragged away."
"And became Sea God's Mariner," Mariner Kraken Isaac said evenly. "Kraken Isaac is who I am now. As you have heard in the legends, Kraken devours ships but only attack people with evil intentions. Hyoga, I will not let you walk away alive."
"Why?"
"Your motivation to become a Saint is an evil one," Isaac accused. "I trained with Aquarius Gold Saint Camus to fight under the Goddess for justice and integrity. Had I not been dragged across the ocean by that current, it should've been me who's the Cygnus Saint. You wanted to be a Saint for vengeance. When the Sanctuary gave you the order to assassinate Saori Kido, you went without a hesitation. You hated her because your father had abandoned you and your mother but showered her with love and wealth."
Hyoga didn't deny Isaac's accusations. "Yes, it is true. The day I lost my mother, we were on a ship on our way to Tokyo. Mama told me that my father is a powerful man and that we are to join him. I never met my father and all Mama told me is that he's a Japanese man by the name Kido. After I arrived Japan, I was taken to an orphanage until Miitsumasa Kido took me in. I know he's my father because he has a rosary exactly like the one Mama left me. But he never recognized me and I was treated like a slave by him and Saori-san. Yes, my motivation was vengeance. But after fighting along side with Seiya against Phoenix Ikki, I had a change of heart, because I don't want to be a monster. I saw how Ikki was after he was consumed by hatred. Though I still blame my father for abandoning me and my mother, I am a man of my own will. I'd rather be a righteous Saint than a spoiled rich boy."
"And Saori Kido?" Isaac questioned. "If I were to tell you that she will die in the hands of Sea God, will you still fight me?"
"I will!" Hyoga said. "She is Goddess Athena and as a Saint I must protect her. That is my choice."
"What will our master Camus say?"
Ikki was ahead of Seiya and Shun. He was determined to face the Sea God and defeat him once and for all. No, Seiya, Shun, and Hyoga are too weak and sentimental, he thought. They wouldn't stand a chance against Poseidon.
But then he encountered another Mariner Commander.
"You will not pass," the Mariner Commander said.
Ikki observed the enemy before him. The Mariner's face was covered by the shadow from his helmet. However, his cosmo was very familiar. Had they met before?
"Galaxian Explosion!"
Ikki was hit and his head was wounded by the attack. "Wait...you are familiar. Who are you?"
That Mariner Commander removed his helmet and smiled.
"No..."Ikki couldn't believe his eyes.
"Saga never told you about me, hadn't he, when you worked for him? Phoenix Ikki?" The Mariner Commander said. "I am his twin brother, Kanon. I could've been the Gemini Gold Saint but now I am Mariner Commander Sea Dragon."
Sixteen years ago...
"Saga, why?" Kanon demanded. "You wouldn't be where you are without me! I am your brother!"
"You know too much Kanon," Saga replied. "You have become a threat to my power. There can only be one Pope and one Gemini Gold Saint."
With that said, Saga had the watery prison locked.
"Saga! Brother!"
"May this be our farewell," Saga said. "Maybe Goddess Athena can save you."
Kanon's rage was boiling. "This will not be the end, Saga! One day, you will bow to my feet!"
He knew his time is limited. Water was kept on rising and he must find a way to escape before he was drowned. Finally, he discovered it in the form of a hollow wall in the back of the cave. With one blow, he found his freedom. But it didn't last. He was taken by Sea God Poseidon who's in awe of his power. Soon, he became Sea God's Mariner Commander and vowed one day he will have his vengeance against his twin Saga.
"It was I who found the Sea God a living host," Kanon told Ikki. "I was also I who created the ring that was placed on Athena's finger. Sea God Poseidon has tracked her movement ever since. In the end, the Sanctuary will be under the patronage of Sea God Poseidon and I will be the new Pope and repay Saga the same kindness he bestowed me."
"What does Sea God want from Athena?" Ikki demanded.
"That I leave it to the gods themselves," Kanon said. "Poseidon is King of God Zeus' brother and thus Athena's uncle. Exactly what's going on between them I could've cared less. What I do want is to defeat Saga."
"I have nothing to do with the Sanctuary," Ikki said. "Not anymore. But I will not allow you or Poseidon to harm Athena!"
In this unexpected battle between Sea God Poseidon and Goddess Athena, the Saints were scattered in the building; each fought a different Mariner. Hyoga was facing Kraken Isaac and Ikki was fighting Sea Dragon Kanon. Seiya and Shun continued their way to Poseidon before they were stopped by Sorrento, who unsurprisingly revealed to be a Mariner himself. Shun took on Sorrento and Seiya went on his way.
This battle was also an emotional one.
Hyoga was plagued with guilt over Isaac's loss of an eye and the choices he made in the past. Similarly, Ikki fought against Kanon to prove to himself that he was no longer that monstrous man consumed by hatred. Both Ikki and Hyoga had been sent by the Sanctuary to harm Saori and take back the Sagittarius Gold Cloth. Now, both of them were fighting on Saori's side and utterly convinced it was the right thing to do.
Among the Saints and Mariners, Shun was the only one who believed that this a battle that shouldn't have occurred. Although Sorrento was a powerful Mariner, Shun did not believe that he is evil and that there was more to the story.
As for Seiya, all he wanted was Saori to be safe.
He sensed her cosmo and followed.
He rushed into a ballroom and found Julian sitting there, waiting for him. Not too far away, Saori was down but her hand continued clutching on the golden staff. Shaina and Thetis were both wounded, but neither was willing to back down.
"Welcome Seiya," Julian greeted him. "Saori told me a lot about you."