79 — NIGHT AT THE SANCTUARY
The Sanctuary had cloudy days, but the rain had stopped falling. It had been almost two weeks since the Hope of Athena had set sail and news was very scarce. Rumors spread through Rodório of a possible incomplete mission; that Poseidon would indeed rise again. But some also said that only one or two Relics were still to be sealed, that they trusted Moses, who was known to be an excellent fisherman in the region. Others thought it was absurd to have taken a fisherman as Captain and there was no lack of excellent sailors in the village who protested for not having been taken. Deep down, everyone was still rooting for the beautiful ship to return with peace on Earth.
At the Gigas' Cemetery, Shaina stood before Cassius' tomb.
His death was still too painful for her; she blamed herself for not being able to stop him from doing anything that fateful afternoon. Or forcing him to do any useless task in Rodório, just so he wouldn't throw himself in front of Aioria's fist. And she blamed herself even more for knowing that it was her feelings that had caused her to be unconscious for so long. It wasn't Aioria's fault. Or even Saga. It was hers.
"Corsara." said a voice behind her.
She immediately spun around, furious, for it had been many years since anyone had dared to call her by her jocular nickname. Perhaps it was the worst time to lash out at her. It was Canis Major Sirius, one of the Silver Saints resistant to Athena.
"What are you doing here, Sirius?"
"What's your plan, Shaina?"
"What do you mean by that?
"I remember very well what you were like. The others may pretend to have forgotten, but you were the cruelest of all Master Camerlengo Arles' sentries. What are you up to? I would like to be a part too."
She turned to Cassius' grave and felt as if his memory was being tainted by that imbecile. The rage welling up inside her was terrible and, in fact, her most primal desire at that moment was to be cruel as before and kill Sirius on the spot.
"Get out of here, Sirius." Shaina said through gritted teeth. "I would hate to have to kill you in Cassius's grave."
The Silver Saint let out a smile and withdrew from there, for he could feel the hatred that was inside the Saint; leaving her with as many memories as guilt in her chest. A chest filled with longing.
She finally turned around and also left that Cemetery to ascend the Twelve Temples, which was her almost daily Via Crucis to remember her sins, but also to fulfill her duties.
Master Mu was always alert and accompanied by Kiki, Aldebaran always received her with cordiality, while the Gemini Temple had the heaviest absence of all places in the Sanctuary. The Temple of Cancer still retained its disconcerting sterility, while the Temple of Lion often had visitors other than its owner, as it underwent repairs thanks to the Sanctuary's craftsmen and giants.
Upon entering the Temple of Virgo, however, Shaina hesitated for a moment, for since the departure of Athena's Galleon, she had always felt an enormous pressure whenever she had to cross that temple. Well, it wasn't empty. Virgo Shaka had been sitting in her lotus position for two weeks, or so it seemed to her. Her Cosmos flooded the House of Virgo uninterruptedly, but she didn't oppose the passage of Shaina or anyone who had been summoned to the Temple of Athena.
But she glowed a divine cosmos. Shaina knew the reason very well, as she knew that Shaka applied a distant and terrible training on the Phoenix Saint, Ikki. Who wasn't even in the Sanctuary, but had retired to a lost region in India, where he trained among Shaka's disciples. It was in Shaina's mind that if Phoenix was already a fabulous Saint, that training would make her even more deadly.
The next temple was not very different, as it was not uncommon for Shaina to find Shun in deep meditation, as Shaka did, but he was in the House of Libra. Always seated in front of the golden scales of Libra, which echoed to him a Golden Cosmo. She didn't quite understand why the Old Master of the Five Ancient Peaks had specifically requested Shun to train his Cosmo.
"He asks me to focus my cosmos to keep the scale always in perfect balance. It sounds simple, but it's actually incredibly difficult." he said, once, when he joined Shaina outside of his training hours in that temple.
Miro also always welcomed her with cordiality and, in fact, accompanied her through the House of Scorpio to the interior of the House of Sagittarius, where she noticed that he always felt very thoughtful about Aioros' testament. Mayura insisted on asking the Sanctuary's craftsmen not to touch a stone in that temple.
In the House of Capricorn, in front of the statue of Athena and the deformed warrior, it was not uncommon for her to find Shiryu without her armor using her hands and arms against a massive block of iron, as if trying to split it in half.
"It's not about brute force. You must break it like a sword!" shouted Aioria when he saw Shiryu only manage to manifest a few sparks of fire when touching the block.
In the Aquarius Temple, under the wonderful water light, all Shaina heard at times was Nicol's low-pitched humming and melismas as he studied or wrote. It was of all the smallest of the Zodiac Temples, so Shaina was soon crossing the devastated House of Pisces to the Temple of Athena. It always felt strange to be in such a prominent position, as she had become used to being the head of the most pedestrian guard in the Saga regime. She finally entered that time-eroded Temple.
Alice and Mayura were in Athena's dormitory preparing Saori, who would leave on another short trip; her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, she wore a cute button-down shirt and a long pale skirt. She took the Golden Staff the moment Shaina appeared in the dormitory, as she would escort her.
"Try not to piss off any God." asked Alice.
"I'll try." she replied. "See you soon, Master Mayura."
"See you soon, Athena."
And, next to Mayura, Alice saw Saori disappear with Shaina. She took a deep breath, because she knew that a piece of her was leaving there too.
Then she heard the sound of Mayura's wheelchair rolling out too, but in another direction: to the Altar of Athena.
"I want to show you something." said the Master, whose chair was walking alone around the Temple.
Alice walked behind the Master into where they had never returned: the beautiful altar on which the terrible final battle between Saga and the Bronze Saints had taken place.
As soon as they entered, a beam of sunlight entered through a huge hole in the ceiling, for that place had never been touched by the craftsmen, so that it would always serve as a teaching to the Camerlengos and Pontiffs of the future of the result that greed could bring when combined with those important positions in the Order.
There was still the golden throne split in half, the curtain shattered and fallen at the back, the marble columns toppled and a huge gap in the center of the altar. Alice and Mayura made a huge turn, to go up the stairs that were behind the golden throne. The Master rose from her chair and walked ahead of Alice to the hallway behind the throne.
She then turned left and Alice knew that this was the place where the ancient Saintias had been murdered by Saga, the ancient Owls of Athena. They entered the room at the end of the tower where Saori's life had been attacked; still with the hole in the wall where the hero Aioros had jumped. The dusty, leafy crib was also there in front of them.
"I want to tell you about the lineage of the Owls of Athena." Mayura said to Alice.
"It's the Saintias, isn't it, Master Mayura?"
"Exactly, my dove. The Saintias have always been outstanding women of the Sanctuary since mythological times to take care of Athena's heart."
"Who chose them, Master?"
"Sometimes life chose them. Sometimes they made that choice themselves. Others, an ancient Saintia recruited them. There was no rule. There is no rule. Just as the fact that we are warriors does not mean that they have always been women of war. It is true that there is a great story about four fabulous Owls who were, in addition to Saintias, also the most powerful in the whole Sanctuary, feared even by the Gold Saints of their time, but it was not always so. There were days when none of the Owls knew how to throw even a single kick."
Alice listened to everything very carefully, while Mayura walked through that room touching the dust accumulated on the furniture.
"In my time, I was the only one who knew the art of Cosmo, while the other Owls were incredible women. Sofia was a voracious scholar and was the one who brought together much of little Camus' library. Lara sang and wrote as if enchanted by Apollo, she was the one who always managed to make little Athena sleep when all the others failed. Theresa was the best cook in the entire Sanctuary." she said and Alice couldn't see her smile on her face, but she could almost feel her light cosmos as she remembered her old companions.
"I remember four women in Aioros' memory."
"Anastasia." Mayura spoke immediately. "The oldest among us all. She's the one who recruited us. She was the one who ordered me to stay away from the Temple when Athena was reborn. I didn't understand and neither did she know everything that was going to happen, but she felt that we couldn't all stay together, as that would put the Saintias' secret at risk. I felt left out, but today I understand that this is what gave Athena any chance."
"A secret?" Alice looked at the Master.
"It's not time yet, dove." replied the Master, returning to the corridor.
In the openings that were in that corridor, there were small uninhabited rooms, but Alice found rolls of bandages and bandages, which made her curious.
"Why do they cover the body with the bandages, Master?" she asked, curious, and Mayura smiled.
"As I said, it was more common for the Owls of Athena to be extraordinary women, but not women of war. The first Owls, those of the mythological Athena, decided to cover their entire bodies in bandages so that they could touch, even subtly, the divinity of their Goddess."
"The Cosmos?"
"Yes." Mayura agreed. "They hid one of their senses so they could touch the Cosmos, even if only superficially. Even if it was just a little. For a short time."
"But why?"
Master Mayura removed the blindfolds to look Alice in her curious eyes.
"Because it is the greatest honor there is. To take care of Athena's heart. But to do that, an Owl needs to feel within herself even a small spark of what it means to be a part of everything that exists."
There was so much more to what she was telling her. Master and disciple leaned against the dusty crib and stared out into the Greek night. Stars so many that they spread across the sky, bright; Alice always hoping that Saori was looking at them too.
Cape Sunion also had a wonderful night and the same sky that the Owls looked for strength to take care of Athena, Saori also looked; but even if it was the sky of her land, she was unable to get used to the beauty.
There was no storm in that cape that needed to be parted with its divine cosmos; the sea was also calm and the sky was open. Nicol walked with his torch lit and invited her to follow him up the side stairs to the cells at the Cape, opposite where he had spent the last fifteen years in prison.
Nicol had never been to that side of the stone bridge on which the Temple stood, but Saori felt a huge chill as she looked at those locked cells, for there was a strange familiarity with her. She had never been there, she was absolutely sure. He wondered if they were reminiscences of Athens in the past, but his thoughts were lost as Nicol approached one of the cells with the flaming torch.
"What is it, Nicol?" she asked, and he was a little startled, for he still hadn't gotten used to the Goddess Athena speaking to him.
"The rock formation at the bottom of this cell looks destroyed. he said, squinting his eyes to see better.
"Do you think any prisoners might have escaped?"
"There is no record of escapes from Cape Sunion. It's impossible. The stories tell that, in mythological times, these cells were used by Poseidon himself. It was said that it was only fear of Poseidon that kept the prisoners inside, unable to anger the Earthshaker of the Sea."
"It doesn't seem like a very safe prison against a Saint of Athena."
Nicol looked back to his Goddess after that remark, almost as if apologizing for what he was about to say.
"I would never say not to fear Poseidon, the God of the Seas, but I assure you there is more to these prisons than iron, stone and fear. It really is impossible to escape."
Which made that mystery even more curious, but then those arrests dated from time immemorial and Nicol certainly didn't know all the stories and arrests that unfolded on that Cape.
They returned to the top of the rock, but there was a doubt inside Saori that maybe she could use the knowledge of that Silver Saint to clear her mind. That familiar feeling she had felt before that cell made her travel back many, many years before her existence.
And as soon as they returned to the Temple of Poseidon, Saori called out:
"Nicol." she began, immediately drawing his attention. "Do you know what ancient Athenas were like?"
Nicol's torch fire flickered, as if he'd gasped; had he been more anxious, he would have stuttered for words, but since he was a quiet person, he took a deep breath, calculating the length of that question and the length of that answer. He sat on a fallen column and Saori sat beside him, resting the staff on her lap and looking at him.
Her eyes were very young, Nicol thought, but a few more seconds of getting closer to them, it was already dangerous to sink into the divine immensity inside of her.
"The Sanctuary's records have all been destroyed, unfortunately." he began. "But if I may say so, the Goddess Athena was of great fascination to me when I was studying alongside the former Pope Zion. So I remember some stories."
"And what were they like?" asked Saori, very curious.
"They were all unique. As you are, Athena. Like you, there never was another."
"Were they powerful?"
"All are. Including you, Athena."
"Did they fight?"
"Not all of them. There was a beautiful ballad that sang about an ancient warrior Athena that made her adversaries tremble. As powerful as empty. And found herself defeated by the most foolish mischief of a messenger from Hermes."
"Did they get hurt too?" asked Saori, very curious, and Nicol answered immediately.
"Yes!" as if it were obvious. "Actually, there was a sad story of the Athena-who-did-not-come, as she became to be known. It is said that she fell ill as soon as she appeared at the foot of the statue and died before she was even one year old. The Pontiff of that Age was known as the Cursed Pope, as it had never been heard of or recorded anywhere that Athena could fall ill. But since then, reports of Athena in her most diverse ages were not uncommon injuring herself, sometimes foolishly, but sometimes mortally."
Saori listened very attentively.
"But the Sanctuary hasn't always had the blessing of your presence, Athena. Your presence among us is always much shorter than usual. And so it is a great honor for me to be alive and to serve so closely with you."
She let out a disgruntled smack of her mouth, followed by a deep, disappointed breath.
"I can't believe all these stories were lost because of Saga."
"It's really pitiful." Nicol agreed. "But I've been busy studying what little is left in the Aquarius library, as well as writing up much of what I remember from the old books. And one of my main projects is precisely the Tome of Athena. That knowledge cannot die with me."
Saori looked at him and smiled.
"Thank you, Nicol."
He was absolutely disconcerted, first with that sweet smile of the Goddess Athena, second with that divine thanks.
"At your service always, Athena."
Saori then got up and walked to the pedestal of Poseidon's Trident, because she knew that he was there precisely to do his studies on that Relic. And she would like to be by his side when he did. He also stood up, opening the tome he carried in a backpack, and walked over to her with his torch.
It didn't even need any lighting, because it was obvious that there was something new there.
"See, Goddess Athena. Look!"
Saori approached and saw how the firelight of Nicol's torch made two blue gems inscribed on that pedestal shine. They were like two self-shining stones on that pedestal.
"The Seals of Athena?" she asked, to an excited Nicol.
"Yes. That means they've already managed to seal two Relics of the Seas."
Athena let out a smile and looked at the sky thinking about Seiya, who should be far away again fighting bravely for peace on earth.
For far away, under a sky rolled up in snow and cold, were Hyoga and Jamian in front of a huge mountain range in Northern Europe.
"We're here, Jamian." Hyoga said to him, who was freezing to death. "This is the Way to Asgard."
ABOUT THE CHAPTER: We left the high seas to visit the Sanctuary and see how things are going there, as it is important to show that other things are happening there as well; position Hyoga's journey with Jamian, as well as the training of the other Bronze Saints, Shaina's martyrdom and more importantly, introduce the history of the Saintias through time, as well as Saori's doubt about who she should be. These are things that cannot be abandoned and I would like to play with them to give some breath for our beloved crew. I also created this background for the lineage of the Saintias and I thought it would fit very well with Saori's Athena that her Owls were less warriors and more human.
NEXT CHAPTER: YESTERDAY'S HOPE
A storm at sea hits the Athena's Galleon, when the first-mate Geist notices another all-too-familiar vessel on the edge of a whirlpool of sea.