"Tell me, how can I get to her?" Seiya pressed as he was ready to attack Shaina again.
"Defeat me first!" Shaina dared him.
Without a hesitation, Seiya continued his attack; and Shaina fought back. It was hard to tell if she wanted him to be back on his feet again or that she only wanted to play him. Or that she was merely enjoying the moment since it is when Seiya actually paid some attention to her.
"Stop!" A gold light flashed, and Seiya and Shaina was separated. "Us saints should never fight among ourselves."
A small old man with a cane appeared before them.
"Roshi," Shiryu greeted with a bow.
Roshi approached Seiya; he was only half of Seiya's height. He looked at Seiya and the Bronze Saints. "You are Saints. You knew each other since you were children. You fought for Athena and endured many hardships together. You are not only friends but brothers too. Hundred years ago, after our war against Sea God Poseidon, Shion and I were the only survivors. When he died to protect Athena, I felt it as if the dagger stabbed me in the heart as well. Athena and Metis cared for us as much as we care for them. They wanted us to live in peace, not fighting among ourselves. Remember, as brothers, we are not only fighting together in battlefield, but also supporting each other in life." He then turned to Seiya and said, "Come Seiya, let's have a chat."
Roshi invited him to the House of Libra.
"I haven't been here for years," Roshi muttered. "You really want to see Athena?"
"Yes," Seiya replied.
"But she's in the Underworld."
"I can get to her."
"Is that what she wants too?" Roshi questioned. "You two are not Romeo and Juliet."
Seiya had heard the tale of Romeo and Juliet back at the orphanage when his sister Seika read him the story. The two ill-fated lovers committed suicide together.
"Romeo and Juliet were mortals," Roshi pointed out. "It was their families who couldn't accept their relationship. Had they ran away, they could still live happily ever after. They could have children and grow old together. You are a mortal, Seiya, but Athena is a goddess. Once, there was a Saint who fell in love with a goddess. He married her and they were happy. She gave him eternal life so death would never part them. Unfortunately, she couldn't give him eternal youth. Years went by and that Saint became a small old man. That goddess couldn't accept so she left him."
"And that Saint was you?" Seiya asked.
"No!" Roshi rebuked. "But the story is true! You are a mortal and Athena is a goddess. She may have been raised a mortal and wanted to live as one, but not even she can escape from her real identity. She's in the Underworld, ruled by Hades. Among the gods, Hades is one of the most powerful, even Zeus feared him. He is not evil, but very strict and will not tolerate anyone who breaks his rules. If you go to the Underworld after your natural death, you will probably end up in the Mourning Fields. Athena will not be there."
"What's the Mourning Fields?" Seiya asked, never heard of that before.
"Mourning Fields is reserved for the souls who wasted their lives on unrequited love," Roshi told him. "But if you were to go to the Underworld just to see her - then the only place you can end up is the Tartarus, where you will be subject to eternal punishment. Is that what Athena would want? She wants you to live happily as a mortal."
"How would you know?" Seiya questioned.
"You can find out yourself," Roshi handed him a package. "This is from Athena herself. She asked me to hand them to you."
On the next day, Aiolia went to House of Sagittarius to check on Seiya. To his surprise, Seiya wasn't there.
"Seiya?" He yelled but got no response.
He went to House of Aries and then House of Taurus, but Seiya wasn't there either. He then headed to House of Libra where he assumed Shiryu would be. Knowing the strong bond among the Bronze Saints, Shiryu probably knew where Seiya went. But Shiryu wasn't at the House of Libra.
And neither was Hyoga at House of Aquarius.
Shun was nowhere seen too.
"Where could they gone to?" Aiolia asked, concerning.
He headed back to House of Sagittarius and spotted some papers on the floor. He picked them up and found it written in Greek. It was a letter, a very long one.
In fact, it was 22 pages.
Front and back.
And he spotted the words "ógdoi énnoia".
Born and raised in Greece, Greek was Aiolia's native language. Immediately, he bolted out of House of Sagittarius.
"Trouble," he said after seeing Mu and Aldebaran.
"Seiya wait up!" Shun ran after him. "You are not serious, are you?"
"Positive," Seiya replied.
"Do you know where are you are heading to?" Hyoga asked.
"Shaina told me," Seiya said. During their battle, Shaina once over powered him. Before she could attack, she actually whispered into his ear the place he could find the entrance to the Underworld. It was a place called Taenarus.
"But what about Saori-san? Would she want you to do this?" Shiryu asked.
"She wants to see me as much as I want to see her," Seiya said. "My happiness is hers. She isn't happy because I'm not."
The three other Bronze Saints followed him as he walked on. None of them agreed with his choice but as Roshi had said, they should've support each other. They certainly didn't want to see him the way he was after Saori went to the Underworld. Now he seemed to be like his old self again, only with less sense.
Following the direction Shaina told him, Seiya became suspicious when he arrived before a beautiful scene. The mountain was green surrounded by the sea. It was almost too beautiful to be the entrance to the World of Dead.
"Is this the place?" Shun quesiton.
"I...I don't know," Seiya answered honestly.
"Wait," Shiryu pointed to a cave. At the first glance, one could easily miss it.
"It must be it then," Seiya said, moving on and the other three followed. The cave was dark and gloomy with a series of narrow steps that led them to a gigantic hole burning with green flame. Without a doubt, this was the entrance to the World of Dead.
"Jump?" Shun said uneasily.
"Not so fast!"
The four turned and found the Gold Saints behind them.
"Aiolia," Seiya muttered.
"Mu," Shun blushed.
"Master Camus," Hyoga knew there would be long talk afterwards.
"Roshi," Shiryu said, knowing that Roshi would not approve.