WARNING: Blood, violence, death, depiction of a corpse, and autopsy.
Signs
Once again Minos visited the chamber in the depths of the Cenotaph, where the husk set to house Hades' soul temporarily reposed. His two peers beside him, the three led Pandora, who carried that most valuable jar in arms. Therein was not only the decrepit body, but a Persephone in longing, and a handful of high-ranking cultists, who bowed in the presence of the entrants.
The Judges stopped and observed the state of the flesh, whereas Pandora continued her path around the makeshift vessel, walking over or around the tubes of flesh that tethered it to the walls. Trembling as vividly as they did before, it was clear that much essence was used to upkeep the being's health. However, soon it would no longer require such assets to tread its own ground.
As she tipped the jar forward, the High Priestess slipped off the lid, so the chamber echoed the booming cruelty of their god's spirit. With hearing assaulted, the cultists flinched and covered their ears, yet the others had expected this, and went unfazed. A scarlet aura outlined Pandora's arms as the soul was poured into the back of the husk's skull, quietening Hades' howl. In a matter of seconds, the corpse's elongated fingers quaked, so it was a corpse no more.
Hades sat up upon regaining command over flesh, and thus cried out with a failing voice. The ducts that tethered him to the walls were revealed to be fragile, for they ripped from the skin with the slightest tension. Using a free hand, Pandora supported him to a stand, and Rhadamanthys did the same from the other side. Even as he was now, the husk had none of its dark drapes removed, so most of the skin was coated, including eyes and face.
It was right outside the Cenotaph that an army of men and women — themselves also bearing signs of the building's corruptive influence — stood in anxious wait. About them were several ranks of the Cult of Hades, from the lowly ones who did hard labor, to the higher ones who managed the treatment of passing souls. Nonetheless, it was the ones composing the core of the crowd, these people in dark armor of many sorts, who raised a cheer upon seeing Hades walk to the edge of the floor above.
Held by the Judges, Hades tried staring down at those present, though he could barely see by virtue of how olden his eyes were. He turned to Minos in particular, whispering with that deathly throat. His subordinate turned to his ear, responding: "This generation's Specters are right before you, my Lord, and they lust to serve you."
Turning forth again, the god gifted them with a taste of his wicked energy, and soon that whole section of the surface of Tartarus had been clouded by black plasma. Fleeting plumes grew from one another, containing in them screeches of suffering, as if stored in his very self. The Specters watched with awe the tormented visages he spawned, the blurred visions of those who were about to meet a cold demise. Instead of being oppressed by this ambiance, they were riled up, chanting louder than they did prior.
As an experiment, the Judges let him go briefly, though he nigh tumbled back, so they had to support him once more. The energy declined as quickly as it sparked, and so the Cenotaph fell quiet, and Hades dropped on Aiacos' arms, visibly convulsing. They pulled him further back into the hands of his wife and the bearer of the jar; both leaned him to the ground and tended for him.
It was Minos who replaced him up front. The Judge forced the voice to have it echo beyond the surroundings. "Men and women, be at the ready. Neither Sanctuary nor Heaven may threaten the Underworld's independence," he proclaimed. "We shall stand strong, to remind them that no life arises without death, and no death is accomplished without our Lord's blessing." The Specters variably raised fists, shouts, and chants, but Minos could speak louder than they made a ruckus. "Let no Saint, no Satellite, no Angel, no god frustrate our purpose! Pure vessels sure walk the Earth, so let us find one among them, that our Lord's might is no longer constricted by that unworthy husk. Thereon, victory is assured!"
The voices of those hellish warriors went on reverberating throughout the planes they called home, and they went as far as the blocked portals that would otherwise lead one to the surface of Earth. Were one to cross one of such portals, fashioned in a room far into their god's temple, a way to an island fort would've been revealed, one somewhere between Greece and Turkey.
This had been the same abandoned fort which Pandora and Thanatos once used as the exit point of their search for Shun, that being a building with a pond in the center of its yard. Though it was not well kept, it had fruit trees — in particular apple — growing solidly from fertile ground, and much of the place served as an unkempt orchard as a result.
In a late afternoon, the sun yet shone brightly, though it rared to set in but an hour. The people who scoured through the open sections of the structure weren't priests of Hades, nor Specters, more Saints and other military people of Sanctuary. Soldiers and amazons turned heavy blocks that had been removed from the medieval walls, purported to find something hidden beneath them. There was naught but insects, snails, and more dirt.
Within the buildings, a handful of rustic furniture had been left, sure to fall apart. Chairs, corner tables, and more were strewn without a sense to their placement. The rugs and carpets were expensively made, but with time and lack of care, they were chewed in the edges, caked with dust, meaning they lost the bright colors that once painted them.
Moreover, no sign of food, electricity, and drinking water existed inside. Indeed, it appeared the island never encountered the slightest amount of modern technology, meaning that, if it served in any way, it surely wasn't as a house to any ordinary Earthling. Because this wasn't what the soldiers sought, they didn't mind, and they left back to the open yard, where they were to meet the Silver Saint that gave them orders.
A man came to the same one that once led Aleka, Deathmask, and Shaina from Italy to Greece, and who was known to scout the outer side of Sanctuary, Crater Karim. He was much older, though, by the looks of it, held a job one and the same, a sign of his importance.
"It's ruined," the subordinate told him, "there's no way they use this as a base."
Karim was busy throwing things onto the pond, curiously watching leaves, fruit, rocks, and stones either float or sink. This may have appeared random, but he had good reason for it. "That's the point, they don't need one," he replied. "The Underworld is their base, and this would be a road stop."
"What do you mean by a road stop?"
So the Saint waved to the lake, crouching by its shore. "Just a safe place to pass before they wander elsewhere. I bet they come out of these waters," he told.
"Uh… really?"
"Many lakes can turn into portals to hell, you just got to learn how to open them."
The one who walked closer was an amazon, and she spoke up next: "Heard guides call this 'the Maiden's Fort'. Something about a duke trapping his daughter away from prophecy."
"I doubt you'll find a Specter that fits the definition of a maiden," Karim said with a snicker. He got up and looked to the Greek coast. "Let's go back. Andromeda's people might make something out of this."
Unlike Pandora and Thanatos, Sanctuary's people took a boat off the island's very coast, rather than from one of the water gates, and they rowed straight to Greece, a shorter trip. Even before they reached land, Karim did not take his focus out of the fort's direction, since what caught their attention pointed to it being oft used in the latest days.
At the shore, the folk spread into a loose formation; they started to travel back to the outskirts of Athens by means of Cosmos, but Crater was alerted by a small hint of energy that echoed whence they came. As he followed the rest, he counted those he came with, knowing this would be crucial if his theory was proven right.
The trip was long, but for the likes of them, it did not take several hours. Still, evening started to fall, the sky once blue turned golden, then orange, and then red, and the lit distances fell to mere penumbrae. This would've been a nightmare otherwise, yet for a Saint, it helped one focus on the peculiar pressure caused by the usage of Cosmos.
Surely, as his colleagues went forth, there was a source of power unaccounted for. This number stood odd from the rest, and its position was inconvenient were it of an ally. Now Karim more carefully kept track of it, till they flew above the fences, past the acropoli, and into the treacherous mountain range. The stranger's energy went further or closer without explanation, yet it never vanished. Surely they were being followed, but the others were none the wiser.
The Silver Saint landed atop a tall hill, near where some of his company had stopped, and they were already having a conversation. "… so if we dig a path right there, it would be safe for smaller groups, travel would take less time…" a scout spoke, gesturing to a section of the range that was too steep then.
"Karim!" one of his men called. "We're talking about what that merchant complained about earlier." However, Karim did not look to them; he raised a hand as to ask for quiet, and the few who walked with him were inquisitive. "Is there a problem?"
The Saint looked into the distance, but not to see with eyes, for the horizon was too dark to be made out. His focus related to a filtering of noise; the area was brimming with Sanctuary's people, leaping left and right with power, and it was difficult to make out the Cosmos of the one who chased them.
"He's feeling something," another soldier noticed.
Following seconds of silence, the odd source became clear again. It moved in ways atypical to the average warrior, and no one had informed them of other patrols. Karim told them: "There's vermin about."
Alarmed, the others scanned the area. "Where?"
The Saint's hand wandered as he tried to identify it more exactly. Its movements were more chaotic in the midst of so many who could uncover it. A shadow cut afar, like fabric swept by strong wind. Karim's index pointed to it, so he yelled: "There!" He did not tarry and blasted himself that way with a grand amount of Cosmos.
A puff of dirt spread with this, yet the soldiers weren't afraid to give chase too. "Invader!" an amazon screamed over and over. Several meters away, a whistle was blown, stringent and loud, reflected by the mountains and caverns. Following this came more similar whistles, and the whole of those scouting the entrance to Sanctuary was made aware.
Karim was the only capable of following this individual closely, as they were similar in speed. No less, with the large shadows cast between the hills, the one hiding was better off than the one seeking. Bundles of light sliced the heights as dozens of combatants attempted to keep up, and a line of dirt rose from where the Silver Saint ran alongside a mountain, careening past a depression.
He came down with the mounds that rolled, deformed by his ability. Somehow the source of Cosmos had spread itself thin, as if occupying multiple places at once, which he took to be an illusion. After all, as much as it had grown in area, it had decreased in intensity.
Walking in the darkness that deep, he whispered: "Where are you?" Only the glow of his allies approaching from above could help him see, though he knew not to rely much on sights.
An amazon was the first to slide nearby. "Sir, any sign of them?" she asked.
Karim kept sensing the Cosmos, and he nodded. He realized the alien energy thus seeped along the rocks and systems, and rather than spreading, it convened in the direction of where one would find the very portal to Sanctuary. "Damn it…" he grunted to himself, but then complained more loudly "… damn it! It's going for the entrance!"
Thus he leapt straight to a cave, and the chase continued. By virtue of how complex the systems were, and with how unideal the ground had become, the others were slowed down and stayed behind, and only Crater was able to stay hither. Doubtlessly the invader's energy had recollected in a single point, and this worried him as to how he would evade within Sanctuary, with so many civilians and buildings to hide behind.
Upon finding the portal, Karim slowed the pace as one ought to. He marched steadily, albeit without hurry, and his fears were made concrete in the distance of that sparkling display of the tunnel. The Cosmos died down for those instants, yet a small, blackened shape moved far from where he was, and this foe would be in the city soon enough.
He reached the pavilion, and noticed the curtains flow with recent movement, proof that the infiltrator was already outside. The Saint ran out, staring straight through the crowd, a deft and smart attempt at identifying the one he followed by an uncommon demeanor. Many people walked back from work, and the center was crowded with those who stopped to chat with vendors, or with those who offered services at the plaza.
A suspicious shadow slipped its way behind the wooden beams of a tent, undoubtedly his target. Karim did not cease his steps; he pressed faster, avoiding a tumult. After crossing some people, and going around the nook of a house, a minuscule flicker of Cosmos came from an alleyway not too far. This could've been many things, but in such circumstances, he didn't fathom much else.
He slipped faster to clear himself of civilians, walked past the alleyway, saw thanks to the shine of torches that it was empty, and leapt over the roofs. Of course, people noticed the movement, meaning the chase restarted with a similar gravity as prior, sure to involve Saints stationed there.
Nonetheless, since no more people stood between them, and no cave systems could slow him down, Karim was absolute in his ability to chase this intruder till the end of time. Eventually it seemed the same dawned on the runaway, who dropped in another alleyway, this one a bit farther from the city's center.
Crater stopped nearby to analyze the place. There was nowhere for the invader to safely leave to, but another source of Cosmos flared. The Saint traversed to that place without wasting time, for with this, a struggle resounded from the position, and it was clear some fighting was in course.
He hurried into the depths and found an open storage, boxes with sacks of grain piled up against the walls. One source went dark, and the other — the intruder's — spread itself out thin like last time. It pervaded the room as if seeking to swallow it whole. A pained groan came as a tiny hint from beside Karim, and there he met the sight of a soldier whose breastplate had been split to shards.
Thinking of running to rescue him, he thought twice. The victim had a huge, deep wound dug in the exposed chest, which crashed past bone as much as it did past metal. His limbs had signs of battle too, albeit nowhere as serious as the first one, which could be fatal if left untreated. "S-sir…" the man whimpered "… watch out… he's still here… he…"
"I know," Karim laconically affirmed. He walked with slow steps to the soldier, yet his focus was on how the enemy's Cosmos shifted beneath the boots.
He knelt near the recruit, raised some pale splendor around him, and blew air into his own cupped hand. Some strange, glowing plasma dripped onto the skin, and therewith it turned to a bright liquid, which went freely down to the injury. This energy went from a blinding whiteness, then to a diffuse blue, and then it was pristine, no different from water. The elixir washed the blood as if it were much heavier, and it also eased the searing pain. Looking down bemused, the soldier felt that this would somehow aid in scarring.
"You'll still have to get it cared for, but this should keep you from fainting," said the Silver Saint.
"Y-yes, thank you, sir," the victim stammered.
Slowly standing, Karim sensed the target's Cosmos coalesce back and forth around them, then near the storage's exit, seeking an escape. However, he turned and strolled in the room, raging with power such that a glimmering aura outlined his semblance.
"I won't let you leave," he assured the infiltrator.
Suddenly they heard the revolting sound of slithering organs in the ground. The soldier, afraid as he was, stumbled back to the wall near him; he watched a dark ooze run in the finest depressions of the stone flooring. This slithering became rhythmic, like many beating hearts, and then it became a series of incongruous squelches, which in turn gave way to more recognizable sound, like the hums of many broken voices. Soon the timbre was vocalic enough that it could be made out as a single person's, and the whole discordance was revealed to be a hoarse laugh.
The form of a man in long dark robes was built before them at the storage's exit. This one's Cosmos was wicked, with the same intent of a god like Hades, and though he had come alone, he displayed no fear in facing the Saint ahead of him.
Karim frowned at the display. "Who are you?" he asked, and the intruder refused to answer, instead taking tiny steps in the perimeter. Stopping his own walk, the Silver Saint prepared for what would inevitably turn into a fight, since the shadow had leaned in to sprint. He was fast in crossing the hands, arms lowered to the height of his waist, and shouted: "WHITE LOTUS BLOSSOM!"
As quickly as the arms came down, the form of lotus petals crowned the warrior's head, and just as immediately spread out towards the invader like lances of light. This crashed through much of the storage, so grain was sent flying, blown to tinier pieces. Protecting his face, the soldier could no longer see what happened, yet the intruder was struck by such unexpected speed of Karim's technique.
Rips of black fabric separated from the long robes, and when they touched the floor, so did he; what followed was the true nature of the enemy's spreading of Cosmos. Unlike what the Saint imagined, this was no illusion, but a proof of monstrosity. Like a repulsive mass, the invader melted back to the ground. He could deform in ways no human ever should.
Lips parted, Crater gazed in shock. Not only did that happen, the movements of the man's Cosmos were aggressive, unlike the past occasions when he did this, and he was intent on attacking in some way. Ignorant of what to expect, the Saint just raised the elbows to defend himself.
Indeed the adversary reformed with that filthy sound, and swung from behind the robes that reformed with him. Karim was relieved to see the slowness in this ordeal, so he was able to dodge. Despite that, when he swung back with an arm at the speed of sound, the enemy broke to pieces, which dripped aground and disappeared like before.
"What is this?" he asked himself, swinging around once another bout of energy erupted behind.
Yet again, Karim was made to miss, with the enemy breaking to pieces like prior. At first it seemed neither would be able to ever hit the other, no matter how differently the Saint tried to swing at the enemy, but the trespasser's tactic was another, concentrating the many parts which composed him closer to a single point. What he had done so far was well within his plan.
Whenever a punch was thrown, the enemy splattered himself against the man's gauntlet, breaking to worm-like parts that slithered along plate or exposed skin. Crater pulled the arm back and swung the other, ridding himself of it, since the creatures gnawed on the surface and caused a bit of burning. The harder the punch he sent, the rougher were the patches of reddened skin left by that freakish foe.
There came a point where the intruder no longer awaited his punches to take a grasp of him; he had embraced a quarter of the Saint's body, half molten, half solid, and for an instant one could've witnessed some hint of a face. An eyeball drooped along the gooey side of that man's form, engulfed by it all as soon as it was pushed inward.
Desperate, Karim struggled more wildly, breaking the edges of the stone walls, and sending more grain to cloud the view. This worsened his state; physically exhausted, only Cosmos could've saved him, yet Cosmos couldn't do much for him, immobilized as he ended up. He was about to be surrounded by the very body of the one he fought when he exploded with his bright, white shine, ceasing all strikes.
Brownish, rotten teeth floated to a pale tongue slithering among the thousands of vermin. With a grotesque croak, the creatures formed a sort of limit around this, which the invader used as lips; then its viscous flesh vibrated to serve as vocal cords, and he murmured: "Peristaltic Swarm."
The Crater Saint's light was eclipsed by the veils of his enemy's swarms, and, as the weakened soldier finally got a glimpse of what took place, he elicited the man's disgusting laugh. A handful of maggots fell on the storage's floor, and thereon a collection of Cosmoi started to arrive as to learn what was taking place. By the time they had come, however, the intruder vanished once more.
In a matter of a few minutes, a throng formed about the alleyway where the battle arose. Karim's subordinates had warned of infiltration, and so Sanctuary was in high alert, despite some initial chaos. The occurrence was so sudden, that soldiers yet came to the location without knowledge of what went on.
"What happened?" someone asked in the multitude.
"A Silver Saint was murdered!" another citizen replied, and this kept being repeated in the many conversations had, inviting more curious eyes.
Of course, this was to reach Athena's intelligence, and Wolf Nachi was the closest and first to respond to the call. Upon landing on the street, he pushed people's shoulders and yelled: "Open up, let me through!"
People obliged, especially once soldiers and amazons recognized the Cloth, then aided him in crossing through. "It's Wolf!" someone remarked.
"They killed Karim!" a voice lamented from within the alley. "Some worthless Specter killed Karim!"
Pushing passersby, Nachi realized there were chaste white robes amid them, and he thought this was a place too far from the headquarters for a cultist to be. Knowing how helpful these women had been in the civil war, he looked past the heads to see what was their purpose there, and recognized this to be Zamira, who then served as Athena's right hand at the summit.
"Lady Zamira?" he called, and she turned with eyes wide, cheeks pale.
"N-Nachi!" the girl babbled. "Is it true what they speak?"
Nachi encroached and turned to the alley, hearing the same man cry over Crater's death. "I'm not sure, I'm about to see it," he said, but his curiosity also lied elsewhere. "Shouldn't you be in the temple?"
"Our Lady has been giving me rest while Heaven eases their pressure," she spoke, the tone in her voice good evidence of how scared she must've felt. "So… less work remains, and while I returned, I heard this…"
An armored hand tapped and pulled on Wolf's shoulder pad, pressuring him to come quicker. "You should leave now, it might not be safe down here," the Saint told her, and so he was pushed nearer the site of the crime.
"Aye, but…" she gulped before speaking louder "… Nachi! If it really was Crater, the High Priestess was good friends with him!"
"What? Wait a minute," he insisted for the others to let him go, watching the priestess closely. "Say that again."
"Lady Aleka was good friends with him, since before I joined the Cult," she revealed. "He was a loyalist in the war, and, as you know, loyalists have been…"
Nachi promptly understood what she meant, and interrupted that worry, saying: "I don't think this was a suicide."
"At least…" The Saint was pulled away once more, so Zamira almost shouted her words next "… at least warn the High Priestess!"
"I will once I'm done!"
Finally he made his way into the alley, and a soldier was held by colleagues; he wept and attempted to push a way in, to see past the storage's passage and at the corpse. "He was my friend! Karim was like my brother! I deserve to see him!" he yelled.
The others had to put a great amount of strength to hold him. "My apologies, sir, but we can't let you in yet," said one among them. "They need to evaluate what happened in there."
"Let me see my friend!"
"Please…"
The men nodded to Nachi, who nodded in response, freely entering the place instead. Seeing that intelligence had come to check, the mourning fellow appeared to settle somewhat, though his frustration yet compelled him to go in.
Almost at once, Wolf's face twisted to a wince, and he took the helmet off. He walked closer to the one lying flat on the stone tiles, but he didn't analyze the body much; rather, his attention was caught by some slithering nearby. Upon careful examination, those were maggots, which made no sense to him.
"Maggots already?" he whispered and crouched beside the fallen Karim. "But the body hasn't even started to smell."
Another armored man walked behind him, and by the looks of it, this was an officer who was allowed inside. "A recruit survived the ordeal, said the killer escaped," the man said. "He's getting medical attention now."
Nachi shook the head, saying: "Make sure he's under lock down."
"Yes, sir."
As this one left, he nodded at another entrant, this time Shun, followed by Anka, the first of which took off the helmet at the first sight of the scene. Piscis scoured the place in account of some instinct of hers, whereas Andromeda came to process the misfortune of Karim's state, so he knelt next to his colleague.
"Have you learned anything?" he asked.
"Other than the fact that this is extremely odd, not much," said Nachi.
Shun slid a boot slowly forward, leaning his face to the corpse. He studied the patterns on the skin, the nature of the injuries, and the marks sure to be left by struggle. "Blood from the nostrils, mouth, under the eyes…" he cited as he found them, then reached with the back of a hand to lift Crater's dirtied hair, finding a similar story there "… even the ears. What attack could do this?"
"Maybe it has got something to do with the maggots," Wolf conjectured.
"Hm?"
The two turned to where Nachi had seen them beforehand, though Anka pointed to the lot of the vermin spilled betwixt the bits of grain. "Th… there's a handful, look!" she said.
"Near a fresh body," Shun went on.
"Surely they relate to the killer!"
Thus Shun looked back to his other friend, confirming: "Of course, they must." He sighed and stared at the corpse some more, deep in thought about how to proceed. "We should send the corpse for deeper analysis at once, yet, come to think of it, I do not trust anyone to do it."
The two got up, with Andromeda flapping the free hand to rid it of some blood. "Why is that?" Nachi asked.
"Anka, do you remember what I said regarding Saga and Shion?"
Anka nodded positively, reminding: "That… that you felt there was corruption in Sanctuary still, I do!"
"A killer so simply enters Sanctuary, and goes on to kill a veteran Silver Saint… who knows where else the well has been poisoned?"
"B-but then… how… how do we investigate?"
"Only with those whom we know to trust."
Nachi said the first obvious answer: "The High Priestess."
"Perhaps," Shun said, brow raised.
"Lady Zamira said she was old friends with Karim."
"Then it might be no good," he that instantly discarded the idea. "She has a personal attachment to him."
"What about… uhm…" Piscis hummed a bit longer, unable to come up with the name "… the one she teaches, what did they call her?"
"The aspiring Cancer Saint!" Shun spoke enlightened.
"That could do it," Nachi commented.
"Someone who lives to deal with the dead should be a perfect fit."
The trio exchanged looks, nods, and so Wolf went over to the entrance. "Let's take Karim to the House of Cancer then," he said.
Shun pulled a nearby sheet, and threw it over Karim to cover the body. He and Piscis carried him outside while their peer mobilized troops to open way towards the Temple of Aries. When this was done, a group of men and women helped with carrying the corpse, including the one who demanded to be let in prior, who cried more onto the sheet.
Nachi came back to join them, then spoke to Anka: "You go on and find where they're treating the soldier who saw Karim be murdered. Squeeze any information you can from him."
"Ah… understood!" she said before leaving to her new duty. Many blocked way to intelligence, so they smoothly walked past the people, and Nachi was able to see that Zamira was still there despite his warnings, her expression preoccupied.
By the time they reached Aries, Mu was busy working on Cloths and instructing Kiki, who had healed enough to return. He didn't allow anyone but Andromeda and Wolf to go on, so the rest of the crowd stayed back to focus on shutting down all exits from Sanctuary. Going through Taurus, Aldebaran had noticed the mess, and initially believed Hades was attacking so early. The truth tranquilized him, yet didn't leave him any happier, for he was acquainted with Crater also.
Gemini was only a time-consuming crossing by virtue of its darkness and length, yet, inactive as it was, no obstacles were presented to any passers. Of course, upon reaching the Temple of Cancer, the cry of souls welcomed them to its nave. They exchanged a fast word with the two who resided there, and so they were allowed to bring the body inside.
The Saints rested Karim on one of the empty altars, which Deathmask used to take advantage of to lull troubled souls. They were surprised to see that his wax work still hanged from a handful of statues and pillars, as if passionately kept by his former master.
Despite the bad news, Aleka kept on doing Cancer's work near the Hellmouth till the Aspirant returned from her quarters, a roll in her veiled arms. Thus she followed the teen to the body; the girl unrolled the fabric, which carried a collection of mortuary supplies.
"We had no one else trustworthy, if not you," Shun said to the girl under the black drapes.
The Aspirant bowed subtly and peeled off the sheet, revealing Crater's ghastly face. Aleka sighed and teared up, looking away at once. "Oh, Karim, it really is you," she said, wiping tears. "How foolish of me to entertain the thought that you were mistaken, that it had been someone else who was killed…"
"I'm very sorry for your loss, Lady Aleka," said Nachi.
"It was the nature of his work, nonetheless, it pains me deeply," the priestess spoke in melancholy, but she couldn't stand being there, so she walked back over to the Hellmouth. "I would better focus on my duty. No good will come from seeing him so hurt."
Once more, the girl bowed to her master, who, instead of continuing the work, rather leaned by a statue far enough, recomposing her emotions. "Sirs, are you certain that I should be the one to do this?" Cancer's Aspirant asked with that overtly proper tone of hers.
"You are our best bet," Shun told her.
"I shall do my utmost for his sake. Excuse me." Therewith the teenager pulled on one of her thin gloves, daring expose the dark skin of a hand. Her nails were long, sharp, and tapered into dagger-like ends even on the thumb; below the fabric that always covered her entire appearance, it was impossible to tell how dangerous they looked; despite a lack of polish, those nails seemed awfully tough.
The girl raised a calm Cosmos, fledgling for an aspiring Gold Saint, but impressive for one so young. The edge of her hand glowed with this, then she lightly touched the very center of the corpse's chest.
"Cover your noses, sirs," she recommended upon cutting into flesh. The Saints did so, so she pulled carefully on the skin with the gloved hand, keeping it out of the way, which soon revealed more and more of the dead's organs.
That soon she noted the stomach was swollen, so she touched it with the tip of a bare finger, pulling back upon feeling something strange. The others stared curiously at the attitude, yet she raised energy and cut into it; even as a small slit appeared, dozens of vermin burst out, expectant of a release. They were all undeniably alive, and had somehow made their home in the Silver Saint's insides.
"More maggots," Nachi said.
The girl stopped the cut before making a greater mess, and studied the creatures freely slithering now. "More?" she questioned.
"There were maggots on the scene as well, on the floor beside him," Shun explained.
She stirred them without repulse, then pressured the stomach to confirm that, certainly, it was drowning in such things. In that moment she believed to have observed something they hadn't. "But these are not only maggots, sirs," she told them, and both frowned. When the Aspirant took a handful of those who had erupted from the organ, lying helpless on exposed tissue, she raised it with all the fluids that they were stained on, revealing among them also worms and leeches. "There is a variety in here alone."
The Saints could not make out any greater sense for this; even Shun felt perplexed for the time being, though he imagined that, with deeper deliberations, they could brainstorm likely answers. Nonetheless, the Aspirant was not sated, and she continued to split the stomach open, allowing many of the pests to come out.
"So many…" Andromeda whispered.
But she spoke of another sign, one the investigator had already mentioned: "The blood on his face suggests forceful entry points."
"I suppose the killer forced these things into him," Shun said in response.
"Indeed. Actually, may I make an assumption?"
Nachi and Shun traded a brief stare, as if requesting each other's permission. They thus allowed her by signaling with the heads. "Please, go ahead."
"Did this happen in the city limits?"
Wolf was quick to reply: "Somewhat near the center."
"Then I suspect these are not just carried by the culprit. These are part of the culprit," were the outrageous words that came from the Aspirant's hidden lips.
"What?" the two furled the brows more intensely this time.
"Sirs, I would argue we are looking at pieces of the killer, left behind in a hurry."
"What in hell makes you think that?" Nachi asked.
The girl looked back down at the exposed flesh, letting go of the vermin she grasped in her fingers. "No one lacking godhood is capable of creation. We may only transform. To turn dead matter into a living organism, it is like finding life in stone. Transforming organic matter, in the other hand, may be troublesome, but within reach of us who are far from the gods."
Shun confirmed what she implied, only to be certain: "So you mean that the killer can turn into maggots?"
"It is my assumption," she bowed as she said.
"It would be unbelievable in any other situation," Nachi commented.
"I hope to not have spoken beyond my rank, sirs."
"No, no," Shun calmed her. "You are fine, and I believe you might be right."
Therewith the teen grasped a medium-sized ceramic pot she brought with her things, then scooped some of the animals in the covered hand; she let them make their way into the container, and said: "I shall examine the rest and prepare his body for burial."
"Ah, yes," Andromeda stepped away from the altar. "Thank you for your work, you have been of great aid to us."
"Thank you for your trust, sirs."
For the remainder of that day, Sanctuary passed an array of emergency measures to blockade every path out. Ensuring that no one left was more important than finding the attacker at once, seeing that, one way or the other, he wouldn't be able to reveal himself safely. The troops stationed on Earth all took positions in the range, such that no new invasions could occur. As safer as this rendered them, civilian traffic became even more troublesome than before.
By the next day, the watch hadn't ended, and Karim's murderer hadn't been unveiled. The possibility that he somehow escaped did not go unnoticed, albeit, with how quickly the Saints were to respond, people deemed it unlikely. The premises turned too busy to continue the usual training, and the atmosphere felt at the brink of war, much like the hours preceding the push to Atlantis.
Only a handful of recruits among soldiers and amazons went on being instructed, a large batch among them overseen by Jabu, in the platform near the foot of the Ecliptic. He and a couple officers watched the young men spar, a glimmer in their eyes showing their newfound lust for war against Hades. At the time, the area seemed covered in a true army of youths.
Armored as was their ally — a demand since the threat from the Underworld — Seiya, Ichi, and Geki walked to that place. The latter two sat by the sides to watch, somewhat proud of their childhood friend; Pegasus, in the other hand, stepped on the platform, crossed the arms, and stood in judgment.
Eventually Unicorn noticed the trio, lending them a haughty smile ere coming over. The officers stayed behind to continue directing their light sparring, despite how disciplined the fighters appeared to be.
"How did vacation go?" Jabu jokingly asked.
Seiya looked away and tilted his head left and right in mockery, saying: "Vacation, yeah, yeah — it went well, man. I'm glad you kept yourself busy."
"Jabu is going big places now!" Ichi spoke up with a chuckle.
So the other raised both hands and eyebrows. "Someone has got to keep the fresh bloods sharp, Specters are about," he said, then signaled with the head to Seiya. "Where's Hyoga and that Shaina girl?"
"Upstairs," Seiya spoke of the first, "and she went to see Marin."
"Ah, right," Jabu sighed after nodding. "Marin was here just now, but with the recent murder business, they keep calling her for stuff. I don't quite get it."
"Is that why you were left with the new kids?" Geki questioned next.
"Nah," Unicorn quickly responded. "Marin only trains the girls now. They left the guys to me full-time." Once more, Ichi chuckled; Geki nodded, visibly impressed.
However, Seiya untwined the arms, more cynical than the rest; thereon he strolled towards the sparring recruits, studying their moves and modest usage of Cosmos. He walked awhile till Jabu reached him, wondering his opinion.
"Saw something?" he said.
"Seems you're doing a good job," Pegasus quietly admitted.
With a grin, the other asked: "Would you be able to tell it apart from a bad job?" To that Seiya turned without words, just giving him a serious stare. To break the ice, Jabu spat a laid-back laugh, but this didn't seem to undo the damage. "Hey, never mind, I was just joking around!"
"Got it, got it," a grumpy Pegasus continued walking, still satisfied with what he saw in the soldiers.
Jabu continued near him, and spoke up once more: "You know, Seiya, while you guys were away, I think I got really close with the Seventh Sense."
Not expecting this, Seiya lifted an eyebrow at him. "Really?"
"I swear." Nonetheless, Seiya puffed through the nose and looked back to the trainees, shaking the head left and right, which prompted a complaint from his friend. "Come on, quit being childish! We let go of that rivalry thing long ago."
"Man, that's not even it," said Seiya, not only because he had no intent of abandoning their rivalry, but also because it was less important than what actually bothered him. "I mean, I'm really happy for you, but that's not necessarily a good thing."
"It sounds great to me."
"No, look…" once more the two stopped moving and eyed one another "… ever since I got the Seventh Sense, I've been powerful in a way I didn't know was possible. It's really like being able to do miracles, but I've also seen bad things I wish I'd never seen." Seiya landed a hand heavily on Jabu's shoulder pad, to catch his undivided attention. "The stronger you are, the stronger the enemy you face, and mistakes are always fatal. It's a tough responsibility to have, and I'm not sure I was the right guy to have it, but, well…" he shrugged during a pause "… here I am now."
After thinking for a few seconds, Unicorn subtly shook the head, saying: "I get it. I can assure you I'm willing to take that responsibility."
"Cool," Seiya said with a conclusive pout. "If you feel that way, then go for it. I sure hope you're right."
So the group observed the sparring for a while after, going as far as aiding Jabu in instructing soldiers how to better use the Cosmos in combat. While this took place, investigations surrounding Crater and his murderer didn't end, although the Gold Saints were thus left excluded from much of these affairs. Word of it had, of course, reached them, and gone as far as Athena, yet much of the debate surrounding it remained intelligence's task.
Far up into the reformed House of Aquarius, Hyoga had already organized his personal belongings in the bedroom, and so he came back out to admire the new hall. Despite the original structure being imitated as best as possible, he found it unfortunate that it was not the same as stepping whereupon Camus once stepped.
Even still, when the golden box of the Aquarius Cloth came into view, resting peaceful in the midst of pillars, cleaned to a shine by the Cult of Athena, he felt undeniably emotive. Disregarding all the suffering and loss that preceded such day, he had at last reached the position of his late master.
He resurfaced from that pensive state thanks to a landing from upstairs. The one who entered, Gold Cloth largely hidden under long, white robes, was the beauteous Aphrodite, eager to see his new peer.
After smiling at his presence, he softly asked: "Have you already settled in your new home, Aquarius?"
Hyoga could also not help but smile, hearing himself be called that, as strange as it was initially. "Just a couple more touches, and I'll have no issue calling it home," he answered.
"It's the same with all of us. Before I hanged my paintings on the walls, my temple felt like someone else's house," Pisces came hither, first studying the rework done by the builders, then the care given to the box. "Were I no Saint, I would be a florist for the profession, and a painter for the passion."
"I didn't know you painted," Hyoga remarked.
Aphrodite hummed and interviewed him some more: "What of you, Mister Hyoga? Any hobbies?"
"Me? I…" as if caught by surprise, he idly scratched the jaw and thought back to his days in Siberia, when he had much more free time between training. "Boating and fishing, yet it has been years since I did that."
"You must miss it so. It is a fine hobby that you won't see much of here in Sanctuary."
"We're not here as tourists, so I don't mind," said Hyoga.
Aphrodite appealed for him to think otherwise: "Saints are people too. Find a manner to occupy your brain, Mister Hyoga, as it will do you wonders while stuck here."
So the other nodded slowly. "I will try."
"Oh, I got lost in our conversation!" Aphrodite laughed at himself after realizing. "I have come here as per our Lady. We are required in her temple."
"Only the two of us?"
"And Miss Milo too," he said. "If I were to guess, we will be tasked with delivering word to others afterwards."
"Then let's not waste any time," Hyoga conclusively said, and he was ready to walk up to the summit, though Pisces revealed one of his manicured hands from beneath the robes, interrupting him.
The delicate nail of his index aimed at the Cloth box, and he told: "A Gold Saint mustn't face his Lady if not adorned as a Gold Saint should."
Therefore Hyoga stopped and turned back to it. He walked over and touched the metal, feeling how smooth it was; his reflection could be perfectly made out on the flatter sections of the surface, those not raised to the shape of jar bearers and spilling water. Raising a welcoming Cosmos, the hall was flooded by yellowish light, which originated from him as much as it did from the Aquarius Cloth.
It would take several minutes for the duo to warn Milo, and then to walk back up to the Temple of Athena, where she was engrossed in debate with two of her highest-ranking priestesses. Sitting on the throne, she lazily crossed both legs in her pale dress, the side of the head leaned against two fingers. It was uncommon to see her in such a casual position while holding court, yet, with how few people she saw that day, she saw no point in acting too formal.
The first to speak among her cultists was the older Thalia, who oft led the clean-up in her quarters: "But what does such an investigation entail, my Lady?"
"Only my father knows," the goddess said, referring to the outcome of Poseidon's aggression. "The Angels have surely been sent, and haply they sneak amid us."
"That would be rather heavy-handed of him," the second cultist spoke, and this was Zamira, now back to attending her.
"Heaven has an authority unparalleled, and nowadays I do my best not to challenge it."
"But this has been done time and time again! Pushing back the Marina, striking Poseidon down, locking his soul…" Thalia argued. "It should be expected."
"This has not happened in succession of diplomatic failure, that I know of," Zamira said, reminded of Aleka's confrontation with Hebe and the Atlantean convoy.
"Talks were had — talks we know naught of — and thus he has procured investigation. It is wiser than the alternative," Athena told them.
Zamira agreed with a nod, yet the double door to the hall was opened, and in came the three Gold Saints the goddess requested. First was Aphrodite, second the armored and masked Milo, whose injuries looked much better beneath the plates. Third was Hyoga donned as Aquarius for the first time, and the gold of his locks contrasted well with the white-gold of the metal, apart from the red trims.
"Excuse me, my Lady," Thalia bowed upon exiting to Athena's quarters, and Zamira offered her a bit of privacy by opening distance herself.
The goddess got up, perhaps in respect to the recently inaugurated Gold Saint, from whom she could not hide an excited smile, which he corresponded. She bowed the head once the three were close enough, whereas they fully knelt ahead of the stairs.
"Aquarius, the Gold Cloth wears you finely," she complimented him.
Upon raising his face, Hyoga grinned openly. "I'm grateful, Lady Athena," he said.
Finally the Saints stood to their feet, and Milo was prompt in clearing up the reason for their call. "Is this regarding Crater's murder?" she asked.
Athena looked to the windows, as if the answer weren't so obvious. No less, she said: "Let us frame it as such."
Stepping in, Scorpio inquired deeper, since they had been left in darkness: "It was a Specter, was it not?"
The goddess' eyes returned to them suspicious, and, rather than replying, she gently waved for them to follow her from the throne. They went nearer one of the wings, the stars and city lights visible from an opening. Apart from military activity, civilians yet walked the streets like no battle could break out at any instant.
"I have no doubt that it was," Athena spoke her mind, and her tone was equally secretive, "and though we have no evidence from Libra, the ravens sure sing for Hades' release."
"I saw a strange star in the Praesepe while in Siberia," Hyoga informed her.
Athena turned to him, somewhat alert, something she wished not to make so obvious. "Was it red?" she merely sought confirmation.
"It was. Occasionally dim, occasionally brighter than anything else in the sky," he said.
Thus she looked back out. "To await the sentinel's confirmation is unneeded, we are to act at once," she said.
"Yes, there's no time to lose," Milo concurred.
"What do you need of us, my Lady?" Aphrodite said next.
Athena breathed slow before proceeding with an explanation. "There are Specters who are capable of affecting beyond matter; those may affect a soul itself, as much as its connection to the mind," she told them.
"As Deathmask could," Pisces observed.
"No different from him," she assured. "Most of you possess no resistance against such, which means, in their hands, you would not survive. There are some who possess this resistance — Shaka and Mu, if I understand correctly — yet the rest of you remain defenseless."
Milo said: "I'll learn whatever I need to face the Specters, my Lady."
"Were you not to learn this, you would fall, and so would Sanctuary and Earth without you," the goddess made the urgency of their situation obvious. "You are proficient with the Seventh Sense, though that itself is not enough. This resistance is known by my kind as the sight of gods, which I have heard the likes of Shaka refer to as the Alaya-vijnana. In Sanctuary's history, however, it has come to be known as the Eighth Sense."