"Eleven hours?" Saori asked with fear in her heart. "What happens after eleven hours?"
"Your cosmo is diminishing," Mu told her. "If your cosmo is gone, then..."
I die?
She tried to find her strength but could barely move her feet. It was probably side effect from the pills she took for motion sickness. "I'm need to go after Seiya. He can't leave me here. This is my realm."
"Athena," Mu tried to stop her. "Pegasus didn't leave you here. It was my mistake. I wouldn't have told him...had I anticipated his reaction."
"What did you tell him?"
"Same thing I told you." He then added, "He will have eleven Houses to pass. Each House is guarded by a Gold Saint. If he doesn't master the Seventh Sense, then he doesn't stand a chance."
"What is Seventh sense?"
"Mortals have five senses: hearing, smell, sight, taste, and touch. The Sixth Sense is intuition - it represents the strength of Saints. With the Six Sense, Saints can awake the cosmo within themselves. The Seventh Sense is the true cosmoenergy. It brings about what is considered impossible."
"You mean like a miracle?"
"Yes, and only Gold Saints have mastered the Seventh Sense. The power of Gold Saints is incredible enough to go against nature."
"Mu," Saori changed the subject. "You have been here long enough, haven't you? Do you know what happened sixteen years ago?"
"Not much," Mu replied. "I was suspicious of the new Pope and I don't agree with him so I retreated to the Jamir. I took Kiki as my disciple there."
"And my mother? Goddess Thetis?" Saori asked eagerly. "Do you know what happened to her?"
"That is for you to find out," Mu said, much to Saori's disappointment.
"Sea God Poseidon had vied my mother for the patronage of the Sanctuary," Saori went on, pressing him for answer. "And he had battled against me with his Mariners. "
"I am a Gold Saint but also a mortal," Mu said. "It's all in the family and I do not comment."
Saori didn't asked more. "Mu, since you don't agree with the Pope, I trust that you are an ally. You are loyal and faithful to me like Seiya, aren't you?"
"Athena, I am on your side," Mu responded.
"Then take me to Seiya," Saori said. "That is an order from me."
"But Athena-"
"You told me that I only have eleven hours left," Saori said. "If that's all the time I have left, I'm not going to waste it by hanging out here."
She sounded heroic when she ordered Mu to take her to Seiya. But the first problem was that she had to move her limbs. She waited a long while until she could finally move her feet.
Gentlemanly, Mu offered to carry her to the next palace - House of Taurus.
As he walked out of House of Aries, Saori saw a clock tower with blue flames lit; each flame represented an hour. Only eleven flames were still lit and the second one just dimmed out. She didn't ask Mu what that clock tower meant because she already guessed it.
It was counting down the last hours of her life.
"You can put me down now," she said.
The House of Taurus wasn't far. In fact it was right before her eyes. Still, there was a flight of stairs she had to climb. She was nearly out of breath when she reached to the door. A smell of grill came to her.
"Something smells really delicious," she muttered.
Only now she remembered she hadn't eaten at all since she got on the plane.
Inside the House of Taurus sat a large Gold Saints eating his meal. On his table were fruits, vegetable, bread, butter, and grilled meat. He gave her a friendly smile and waved to Mu.
"Welcome!" He greeted them. "Sit down and join me."
Saori was hungry. She sat and ate, one bite after another.
"My name is Aldebaran," he introduced himself. "I am the Taurus Gold Saint. At your service, Goddess Athena."
"Thanks!" Saori replied. "Ketchup?"
Laughing, Aldebaran handed her a bottle of ketchup and pepper.
"That boy Seiya is really something," Aldebaran commented.
"Seiya? He's been here?"
"Oh yes," Aldebaran replied, showing her a piece of his armor. It was a gold horn, part of his helmet. "As a Gold Saint, I allow no one to pass this palace. Seiya asked for it when he challenged me. At first I thought he was mad. He was beaten down, and so were his friends..."
With one punch, Seiya was flicked away like a fly and crushed into the wall. Hyoga, Shun, and Shiryu stepped up and were ready to battle him.
"Wait," Seiya pulled himself up and got back onto his feet. "I can take him."
"I like your ambition," Aldebaran said.
Seiya launched his attack. "Pegasus Meteor Punch!"
"Great horn!"
"Seiya!" The Bronze Saints watched as Seiya was crushed down and buried in the rumbles.
"Which one of you like to fight me next?" Aldebaran asked them. "If I were you, I'd run."
"Not so fast," Seiya mumbled, climbing back on his feet. "I'm not done with you yet."
Aldebaran was more than surprised. "You still have the energy to talk?"
"No, it's you who talk too much."
Again, he launched his attack and Aldebaran countered with his. However, this time Seiya managed to dodge his attack. He launched Pegasus Meteor Punch again but it was only to distract him. Instead, he was aiming at his helmet.
And one of his horns broke off.
"I'll break the rest of you if I have to," Seiya said. "But I have broke off your Golden Horn. Even if I lose, you will bear the shame of being beaten by a Bronze Saint."
Laughing heartily, Aldebaran said, "I never thought he could break my horn. This kid got impressive cosmo, but still far from mastering the Seventh Sense. He still got ten Houses ahead of him and I warned him the power of Gold Saint."
Saori stopped eating.
Aldebaran was in awe of Seiya as a Saint and a warrior, but he didn't know that Seiya was willing to endure all these because of her. She remembered what she put him through after he returned from Greece, like pitting him against Bear Geki and Dragon Shiryu. Now she felt really guilty.
Aldebaran paid no attention to her facial expression and continued to talk. "...but I am confident that he will accomplish what he is looking for. He never gives up and never stayed down. I really like that boy."
"What do you know about rest of the Gold Saints?" Saori asked him.
"I know Libra Dohko. The old man is 200 years old and lives in the Five Peak Mountain in China."
Shiryu's master.
"And Mu here is also my friend. Aiolia...life wasn't easy for him since his brother died; it still isn't. But regardless, whether they are good or evil, they are bounded to the duty of not allowing anyone to go pass their House, even if it means to kill."
"Thanks for the food," Saori said, considering it her probably last meal. She turned to Mu and said, "I'm going to find Seiya. You can come with me or go back to House of Aries - your choice."