Quietly, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu stood alone on the station platform and watched as the train rumbled away down the tracks. In another moment the sound of its wheels clacking on the rails faded away completely leaving only the sound of a few songbirds in the trees nearby. They had traveled a great distance from the crowded downtown of Maashan City and where now in a very rural area. On the Eastern side of the rail line, wooded mountains rose steeply up above them. "The information terminal at the hotel said that the shrine was located up in the mountains, so this looks like the right place." Fuu commented. "But I can't see it up there Fuu-chan." Hikaru said while looking up at the hills. "Yes, you are right Hikaru-san, it could be anywhere up there." Fuu acknowledged with dismay, however Umi had an answer. "We should go into the station and ask someone if they know how to get there. If they live in this area they should know how to get to the shrine." She suggested helpfully. Both Hikaru and Fuu nodded in agreement, then Hikaru turned and led the way to the station house and went inside.
Evidently this station was not a very popular stop, since no one else was there inside except for a short and weathered looking old woman behind the ticket counter. Hikaru walked up to her and asked her politely "Excuse me ma'am …" but upon hearing Hikaru's voice, the old woman jumped with a start as if she'd been suddenly awoken from a nap. Her sudden reaction caused Hikaru to also jump. "Oh, sorry to scare you like that little missy." the ticket lady apologized and then asked "where are you headed to today?" Hikaru hesitated to collect her thoughts again and then answered "Oh, we're already here, we don't need a ticket." The ticket lady frowned slightly and asked. "Well, is there something else that I can help you with?" This time Fuu answered "Oh, we read about a shrine that is here in the mountains someplace. Could you please tell us how to get to it?" she asked very politely and with a warm smile. This seemed to have softened up the crusty old ticket lady somewhat. "Ahh, the Mountain Shrine. It's not far from here. When you go out of the station, turn right and go south on the main road for about a mile. Then you should see the bottom of the stairway that leads to the shrine on the left side of the road." She explained. Hikaru was about to thank the ticket lady when the old woman continued on. "You young ladies better be careful going up there. The old priest that runs the shrine is a right nutty old fart, so you'd be wise to watch yourselves." The faces of Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu all turned concerned if not frightened by the old lady's last remark. Umi found her voice first and inquired with concern "Nutty? In what way? Why should we be afraid of him?" The old woman squinted a little as she looked at Umi and answered her. "If you've ever heard him go on about the Legend of the Magic Knights, you'd know why. Everyone knows that legend is just an old children's fairy tale, but the old priest talks about it like he was there himself. Completely lost it he has, I mean even if the legend really was true, he'd have to be over a thousand years old to have seen it for himself. Quite senile … quite …" The ticket lady finished explaining. However, Umi, Hikaru, and Fuu didn't reply because all three of them were all staring at each other, wide eyed with amazement.
After they'd stared at each other for a moment, Umi remembered that they weren't alone and turned back to the ticket lady. "Oh, thank you very much." Umi said to her with an anxious smile and bowed, having quite forgotten that she wasn't in Japan anymore. Then all three of them went out of the station to the street outside. Actually it wasn't really a street, more like a mostly deserted parking area, but beyond that was the main road that the old ticket lady had mentioned. The three of them followed the directions they had received and began to follow the road. For a while neither Hikaru, Umi nor Fuu said anything. Instead they listened to the sound of the light wind in the trees and the sound of songbirds both near and far from where they were. Even the road was mostly devoid of traffic, with only a single car coming and going about every five minutes or so. Fuu was the first to make any noise as she took a deep breath that the other could hear. "I can't believe how much cleaner it is here than it was in the city." She commented with pleasure. "It's the first time since I had gotten on that bus that my head has felt clear and normal again." Fuu finished. "Yes, you are so right Fuu." Umi answered her "This is how Cephiro is supposed to be, the way it was when we first come here all of those years ago." Umi remembered aloud. However Hikaru remained quiet with a concerned look on her face. Only a few moments later, just like the ticket lady had told them, a stairway appeared on the other side of the road, leading up into the hills.
They crossed the road and went to the base of the stairs. An aged and weathered sign was also posted there. "It says 'Welcome to the Eternal Mountain Shrine.'" Fuu read the sign aloud. "I don't suppose that there's an elevator, huh?" Umi asked sardonically as she peered up through the trees at the apparently endless staircase. Again, Hikaru said nothing and just went over to the stairway, placed her foot on the first step and began to ascend. The steps were made of a finely cut whitish stone, like marble. They seemed to be very old and many of the stones were cracked, however, no weeds or vegetation grew between them, so this place was very well kept up. Being the smallest and lightest, and the most physically fit of the three Hikaru had no trouble with the steep climb. Umi complained a number of times about how long the stairway was and if they would ever get to the top. However, she was determined to not be defeated by something as basic as a staircase. Fuu on the other hand became winded after about ten minutes of steady climbing, so Hikaru and Umi held up while she took a rest. At that point Umi decided to ask Hikaru about something "Erm, Hikaru, ever since we left the train station, you haven't said a word, and I know that means something is bothering you. Are you okay? If something is wrong please tell me, I don't want to get all worried about you again." Umi asked her with concern, but also with the genuine openness that had come to be part of their friendship. Fuu hadn't quite caught her breath yet, but when Hikaru looked at her she knew that Fuu was a little worried too.
Hikaru seemed to have been expecting this, so she answered rather quickly. "I'm sorry Umi-chan, I didn't mean to worry you, I've just been thinking about Cephiro. It's like you said Umi-chan, Cephiro should be like it is here in this place, not paved over with highways or huge cities. All that the people do now is take things away from Cephiro and give nothing back. I'm beginning to better understand Cephiro's feelings now and why it feels so lonely, so unloved." She paused to let out a small gasp, but when Umi and Fuu looked at her, they saw that Hikaru's eyes were starting to fill with tears, almost as if Cephiro's feelings were becoming her own. Fuu leaned over and gave Hikaru an affectionate hug to comfort her and tried to reassure Hikaru "Try not to worry so much Hikaru-san. Cephiro will never be unloved as long as it has you, its Pillar, to look after it, and myself and Umi-chan, it's Magic Knights to protect it." "That's right Hikaru." Umi added "we will complete our mission and rescue Cephiro again, even if her enemy is her own people this time." She finished. Hikaru let go of Fuu and looked back at both of her friends. Her eyes were still full of tears, but there was a bright smile on her face now. "Oh Fuu-chan, Umi-chan I'm so glad that you understand. Whenever I'm with you guys, things seem to be so less impossible and so more hopeful." Hikaru said as she dried her tears. Turning back to the stairway, Umi instructed "Come on Magic Knights, let's see how much that crazy old man knows about the history of Cephiro!" and started going up again. Hikaru let Umi go one ahead so that Fuu could stay with her at a slower pace.
After what seemed like a marathon, first Umi, then Hikaru and Fuu arrived at the shrine at the top of the stairs. There was a young man there dressed in traditional Cephiran robes and with a broom he was cleaning the front steps of the shrine building. When he looked up and saw them, an odd expression came over his face, like unexpected guests were coming or dinner. "He doesn't look like a crazy old man." Umi whispered to Fuu, but unfortunately he had heard her anyways. The man scowled and put down his broom. He walked straight up to them and addressed Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu, like a man very much offended. "The shrine master is NOT crazy!" he shouted at them. Hikaru winced, but the young man continued "If you city girls have nothing better to do than come up here to ridicule us, then go back to where you came from, go back to your lives of ignorance!" he demanded quite vehemently. Umi's face went white and was unable to respond, quite humiliated at her own gaff. Fuu was also speechless with shock, so Hikaru had to say something quickly otherwise this whole opportunity was going to slip away. "No … sir … I'm sorry about what my friend said, we didn't come here to make fun of you. Please don't be upset with us." Hikaru apologized. He turned to stare at Hikaru, with a mean look almost as if he was challenging her to a fight. Fortunately Hikaru's experience with Kendo enabled her to recognize this and returned his stare with equal sincerity. For a moment he didn't respond, so Hikaru spoke up again "You're right sir. We are ignorant. All that we know about the history of Cephiro is what is in the library and what is in the public information databases. But we want to learn more, that is why we came here to this shrine, where the recorded history of Cephiro has been kept through the ages. I'm really sorry that Umi-chan said something stupid, please don't turn us away." She pleaded with him. The young man listened to her, but didn't flinch, but after a few more minutes of Hikaru's earnest gaze, his face began to soften from and angry scowl to a distrusting frown. Umi and Fuu remained silent because it wasn't often that Hikaru was a diplomatic genius and they didn't dare undermine her efforts now. Slowly the young man came around. "Alright you seem sincere with your apology Miss Redhead, so I'll go and see if the Shrine Master wishes to speak with you, but don't get your hopes up. Who might I say is calling?" He asked her. "My name is Hikaru Shiidou and … thank you for your forgiveness." She answered and bowed politely to him.
The man went off, not to the shrine itself, but to a smaller building, like a house, off to the side of the shrine. As she watched him go, Hikaru was very affectionately tackled by Umi and Fuu. "Oh my goodness, Hikaru-san! I can't believe that you just saved us!" Fuu exclaimed and Umi added "Gah! I can be such and idiot sometimes! I almost ruined everything and for a moment I thought that guy was going to kill us. You were awesome Hikaru, I really owe you one for saving my neck just now." She finished with a smile and gave Hikaru a pat on the back. Several minutes later the fellow returned with a reply. "Today is your lucky day it seems, the Shrine Master will see you now Miss Hikaru Shiidou." He turned and looked dolefully at Umi and Fuu "Your friends can come too. This way please." He said a little curtly and led the way towards the house. Inside it was quite different from the modern Cephiran architecture that Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu had seen so far on their mission in Cephiro. In fact the natural wood and crystal white materials combined with a Baroque styling reminded them very much of the Castle of Cephiro that was their home during their second mission to Cephiro. In an inner room they found the Shrine Master. He was seated behind a table on which was stacked towering heaps of books, most of them very old by appearances. In fact the entire room including floor to ceiling shelves were filled with similar looking books. The shrine master had one of these books open and was poring over it. When he did look up, they were shocked to see that he was rather good looking for a person whom they had expected to be a crazy old man. His hair was straight, but short and completely gray, his face was lined, but angular and gave him a powerfully strong appearance. However, what really caught Hikaru's attention was his eyes, dark and serious, yet also gentle and kind and she could swear that she had seen them somewhere before. And like the young man that they had already met, the Shrine Master also wore the same traditional Cephiran robes.
When the Shrine Master spoke, to everyone's surprise, he addressed the young man, who happened to be his apprentice. "Toya, I wish to speak privately with our guests." He asked calmly, but with an authoritative voice. Toya was taken aback "But, sir I …" he started but the Shrine Master cut him off "Please leave us Toya, I will not ask again." With a silent swallow, Toya turned and left, closing the door behind him. When he was sure that they were alone, The Shrine Master stood up giving Hikaru, Umi and Fuu yet another surprise, he was very tall and strongly built, more like a warrior than a priest. He walked around the table as if to greet them with a handshake, but he did not. In fact he did something very odd. The Shrine Master went and knelt down on the floor and bowed his head before Hikaru. Astonished by this, Hikaru stepped back. "All of the time that I have waited … it has not been in vain." He started speaking with his head still bowed down. "For more than two centuries I have awaited this day. The day that you would return to us … Princess Hikaru, Pillar of Cephiro." He acknowledged quite seriously.
Umi and Fuu both gasped with shock at the old priest's unexpected recognition of Hikaru's identity. Hikaru herself gritted her teeth slightly with anxiety over this unplanned event. "This was supposed to be a research project, to learn about Cephiro's past, but what is happening? Who is this man … how does he know who I am?" she thought pensively. After a moment of silence in which neither Hikaru, Umi, or Fuu had responded the Shrine Master spoke again. "I do not think that I am mistaken, my heart tells me that you are the Pillar of Cephiro. Am I not correct?" he asked with his head still bowed low. He could not have asked more directly and Hikaru had to say something and as always her first instinct was to tell him the truth. "Yes … yes, you are correct. I am Hikaru the Pillar of Cephiro" she answered, but immediately asked him "But how? How did you recognize me? How do you know who I am?" After she had asked him her question, the Shrine Master remained kneeling, but turned his head up to look at Hikaru to respond "It has been such a long time and so many years have passed since we fought together at each other's side. I know that I have changed a lot and I am old and aged now, but do you not recognize who I am?" She bit on her lower lip slightly as she gazed into his bottomless eyes. So strong they were, but where had she seen them before in the past? Then without hint or warning it came to her and Hikaru slowly uttered a name "Lan … tis?" The sound of the name brought a warm smile to the old Shrine Master's face. He stood up and bent over to embrace Hikaru with an affectionate hug. "Yes, it is me Hikaru, the same Lantis that you knew so many years ago." He replied and then Hikaru returned his embrace. At last Umi found her voice to respond too "Oh my goodness! Lantis, I can't believe it! It feels so good to finally see one of our old friends from Cephiro!" He let go of Hikaru and when to embrace Umi too. "Not as good as it feels for me to see you again Magic Knight of the Sea Umi." And finally he went to hug Fuu as well "and you too Magic Knight of the Sky Fuu."
After finishing their brief, but warm reunion, Fuu asked Lantis "When we saw you last in Cephiro, you were Cephiro's Magic Swordsman Lantis-san, but how did you wind up here, a priest in a shrine way up in the mountains?" Lantis replied "For now, I'll give you a simple answer Miss Fuu. Like my brother before me who was High Priest to the Pillar of Cephiro, so too am I High Priest to the Pillar of Cephiro, to you Princess Hikaru." He said as he turned to her. In her stomach, Hikaru again felt briefly that awful knot of pain that always accompanied any mention of Lantis' brother Zagato. It quickly passed however, as Lantis continued "I have done everything that I could to preserve what's left of Cephiro for the day that you and the Magic Knights would return to us, but with great regrets I must inform you Princess Hikaru, that this Shrine and its grounds are all that is left of the Cephiro that you once knew." The last statement by Lantis brought a look of worry to Hikaru's face and she asked him "I don't quite understand, what does that mean Lantis-san?" Lantis sighed and closed his eyes for a moment as if to prepare himself for an ordeal. "It is a long story Princess, very long. More than a thousand years have passed since yourself and the Magic Knights departed Cephiro, taking the Pillar with you. All of that history I have kept preserved here in these books because I've always known that one day you would return to us … and save the people of Cephiro from their own foolishness. Now the time has come for the books to be opened, and for you to learn everything that has happened since we had last seen each other." He paused for a moment, but then Lantis smiled slightly "But before we start that, please come with me. I have something that I'd like to show you." He went around them to the door and opened it. Then Lantis motioned for Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu to follow him.
They left the small house and crossed the courtyard. Umi looked around for the apprentice Toya just to be sure that he wasn't still mad at her, but he was nowhere to be seen. They followed Lantis up the steps to the main shrine building and went inside. The building itself was designed much like the house in traditional Cephiran architecture, but that's not what had caught the attention of Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu. The ceiling had a raised center section lined with windows that permitted the interior of the shrine to be lighted naturally, and upon the walls were great, huge paintings, each one covering one of the sides of the shrine. The one directly ahead of them as they entered depicted a warrior, a woman in armor wielding a great sword of flame riding upon a great winged beast, like a griffin with the head of a wolf or lion. Her hair and eyes were of flame, she wore a golden circlet on her forehead, and she had a stern expression on her face. The painting on the left wall depicted a similar warrior, a woman in armor, wielding a razor sharp sword of ice and riding upon a ferocious looking winged dragon. Her long hair flowed in endless waves like the sea and her eyes were of piercing blue, sharp and deep as the ocean's depth. She too bore a stern expression on her face. The painting to the right depicted a third warrior, a woman in armor wielding a great sword of immeasurable power riding upon a great bird very much like an eagle. Her hair was wild and her eyes as untamed as the wind and she too gazed down upon the four of them sternly. Upon closer examination, they could see that these weren't paintings at all, but very fine mosaics made of tiny, innumerable colored tiles. For many minutes, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu silently gazed up at the magnificent works of art. "These pictures are us!" Fuu finally blurted out, her voice quavering. "Yeah" Umi acknowledged and then added "If only my mom and dad could see this, I could've probably gotten out of all of those university entrance exams." Hikaru stifled a little laugh at Umi's remark and then turned to Lantis "Who made these pictures Lantis, why are they here?" He answered "They were made by many of Cephiro's finest artisans when this shrine was built more than six hundred years ago. This place is called 'The Mountain Shrine' because the government will no longer allow me to call it by its proper name which is 'The Shrine of the Magic Knights of Cephiro.'"