108 — ASGARDIAN TALES
The bottom of the abyss of the Odin Colossus was so deserted and its walls so enormous that even a distant leak from a rock echoed almost throughout the entire length of that valley where the defeated Athena Saints now lay. Defeated by Polaris Hilda, who was already far away by then. Perhaps halfway to the surface where other Athena Saints were fighting against Dubhe Siegfried, the last God Warrior.
For at the bottom of that abyss, June opened her eyes little by little, still very wounded by the enormous power of the Nibelungen Ring, which had hit her and everyone else. But among everyone there she was the one in the best condition, after all she had not fought any battle in Asgard, it was natural that she would be the first to come to her senses.
And the first thing she managed to make out when she opened her eyes, such darkness they were in, was the faint glow of the golden cylinder broken in half in front of them. June crawled across the stone to the cylinder and took it in her hands; of the two parts, she took what was left of the papyrus that was inside the cylinder. The paper no longer even had the Greek letters of Athena's name, which had disappeared along with the spell that made it so precious. It was just an ordinary papyrus now, she recognized.
June took a deep breath and finally tried to get to her feet.
Her eyes gradually got used to the dim light of the distant white sky of Asgard, as well as the precious stones of the Corridor of Old, which reached that depth. And that's how she noticed behind her the other three bodies that had also been beaten by the representative of that land and her cursed Golden Ring.
"Shun!"
She exclaimed when she saw her friend's body and, next to him, also the bodies of Hyoga and Shaina. Both Andromeda and Cygnus, still badly wounded in the leg, looked faint after so many terrible battles, but Shaina seemed to respond to June's calls, even if it was just to open her eyes, confused from where she was. The Master-at-Arms of the Sanctuary had fought no less until then, but Shaina was indeed known as the most spirited and headstrong Saint of the Sanctuary, not only among women; her hunger for the duty that now chained her to Sanctuary functions was such that, deep down, she recognized that there was a huge stain she still needed to erase from her record. And so she opened her eyes and sat up with June's help.
"We are in the Corridor of Old. Hilda hit us and looks like she left us for dead."
"Chameleon." Shaina asked with difficulty. "Go to the Cave. Find the Relic and seal it."
"The Athena's Seal is destroyed." June replied ruefully.
Shaina let her shoulders slump in dismay as she still gasped for breath.
"Still go, June. At least find the Relic."
She nodded and, taking a deep breath, let Shaina rest against the stone wall where the immense staircase that the lady of Asgard had taken a long time ago began. Shaina pushed her lightly, urging her to follow her mission.
The girl turned to the bodies spread on the floor of Shun and Hyoga and looked ahead of them, to the Corridor of Old, where she remembered having seen the figure of the valkyrie Hilda that put them in that state appear with great splendor. For if before the Cave had an indescribable glow reflecting the strength of that Valkyrie, now the precious stones that ornamented the Corridor had only a faint glow, unable to illuminate that abyss as it had done before.
Still, June knew that the way to the Relic was in that deep Cave of Surtr, where all the treasures of Asgard were kept, as well as those that its former rulers had plundered from the World. She walked, bracing herself against the uneven wall of that Corridor, where many precious stones pulsed very subtly with shimmers of different colors along the walls and ceiling as well, some inlaid and others hanging by filigrees of silver or gold.
The Chameleon Saint, medical officer of the Hope of Athena, walked determined to find the Relic of the Seas and at least pave the way so that Seiya and the others, who were fighting on the surface, could complete the mission for them. And for Captain Meko Kaire. That was what pounded in her chest, her duty to Athena, but most of all to her fallen Captain.
When June found herself a few steps further down that Corridor, she heard a deep, distant rumble that made her stop for a minute. At the end of what felt like a cave yawn, she resumed walking with her hand on her heart. And the gems, which had only ever so dimly glowed, a light that seemed more to die than to shine, finally lit up one by one as she walked, as if the light followed her down the Corridor of Old.
Illuminated by its stones, the Corridor of Old revealed not only an irregular path and apparently untouched by Asgard's worksmiths, but also a part of the history of that Northernlan. June watched and noted, with curiosity, how the story of Asgard seemed to be told by the lights and the many murals, stained glass, artwork and artifacts scattered along the edges of the Corridor. To delve into that Corridor of Old was to traverse the history of Asgard.
Many keels and flags of ancient ships soon gave way to rotten, blackened roots that sprouted from the stone; June had to walk through them to get to the end of that Corridor. And the end of that place was an amazingly wide cave.
The glow of the precious stones that had lit her way there reflected in the sparkling shine of some treasures that were closer to her. To her right, on the wall, there was a torch of blue fire that never seemed to go out. She picked it up and noticed that there was a gutter in the wall just below the bracket, which she soon guessed the purpose of. She touched the fire of the torch to the gutter and, from that point, a wonderful blue fire flowed, illuminating the Cave of Surtr from end to end.
Such were the ancient workings of Valhalla that the fire not only illuminated the entire cavern, but also triggered any device hidden in that place that roared like dragging stone and June watched, with amazement, as two cascades of magma surged into that cavern bringing even more light and heat to the place.
And what the lights revealed left her mouth open.
There was a world of treasures, swords, armors, items, spheres, energy cubes, ancient jewels, silverware and a thousand other unknown trinkets that glittered in that Cave.
"By Athena." the girl was surprised.
Among the heaps of treasures, she crossed some paths marked out on the floor by beautiful stone mosaics, which June followed curiously, looking for what had been her mission since she left for the Seven Seas aboard the Hope of Athena.
The Relic of the Sea.
And she walked along the path to the right, remembering Hyoga's words as they went down the mountain; and as she passed through corridors filled with treasure, she remembered Geist and her fellow Caribbean pirates who would have a fever at the sight of such a place. The girl inspected every shelf or table set with antique silverware to make sure she didn't miss a detail and miss the Relic of the Seas.
The gemstones that sparkled there and in the distance gradually gave her the bad impression that she was being watched, as two points illuminated in the distance actually looked, at times, like pairs of eyes, only to reveal themselves as two precious gems when she got closer. Still, the impression that she wasn't alone in that cave didn't go away. In addition to the history of Asgard, she had the feeling that there was also someone watching over her.
She followed in any case, for nothing would deter her from her duty. The blue fire of her torch illuminated a number of corridors along which she walked along tapestries and ancient scimitars, until the path in front of her did not seem to go around that jewel-stuffed chamber, but plunged further into the cave along a narrow path and edged with torches of low orange flame.
The path led to a small cave illuminated by the reflections of a lake of light; or at least that's how it seemed, because its crystalline and shallow water let one see, at the bottom of the lake, the illuminated earth that shone impossibly through cracks and points of light at the bottom of the lake. And right in the middle of that lake, on top of a small rock formation, was a beautiful golden bracelet. That chamber was very small, so that at the end of the grotto, June could see very well how there was a mosaic in which the unmistakable trident of the Lord of the Seas was found.
There it was the Relic.
But she lacked the Seal of Athena.
June took a deep breath and entered the lake to see, more closely, the details of that artifact that was the end of her mission.
"Damn it, Captain." she said, so close yet so far from completing her mission. "Should I take the Relic to the surface?"
June wondered and reached out to touch the bracelet, when she clearly heard something metallic shatter in the great chamber of Surtr's Cave. She was definitely not alone and withdrew her arm; in any case it didn't seem right to remove the Sea Relic from its pedestal, since she and the Athena's Hope crew had sealed all the Relics in their proper places. It couldn't be otherwise.
She went back to the big chamber, looking out for anyone there, but she didn't find anyone because, whoever it was, they had hidden themselves very well. What she found brought an unexpected smile to her face, as the clang of metal that had shattered in one of the hallways finally revealed a wondrous Bronze Urn, which she recognized immediately on one of the shelves: the Urn of the Chameleon Cloth.
"It returned to its original form." June mused, seeing it there in its splendor.
June pulled the Urn's chain, causing an impressive light and sound spetacle in that Cave of Surtr, so that the girl did not hesitate to dress in her Bronze Cloth, no matter who was in the shadows. It was indeed a warning and her whip cracked furiously in that stone corridor. And so, bright, she finally left the main chamber out of Surtr's Cave with her blue-fire torch and back into the Corridor of Old, to once again check on her friends. Now she already knew where the Relic was, but without the Seal, she could only hope that Seiya and the others managed to get down there.
Near the exit of the Corridor of Old, June noticed something that had escaped her attention when she entered it, for then there was no light whatsoever for her to see, but there was a large ring drawn on a tapestry leaning towards the end of the Corridor. If that Corridor told the story of Asgard from its beginnings to forever, that could only be an indication of one thing.
"The Nibelungen Ring."
Asgard's future in a golden ring.
Phoenix Ikki had been hit decisively and, when trying to get back on her feet, she was forced to fall to her knees, letting the blood dripping from her mouth drip onto the ground. Still, she held the pain inside her and scrambled to her feet, but then there was someone else near her.
"Now it's my turn, Ikki." said Shiryu in front of her.
"Do you think I can't keep fighting? Don't underestimate me, Shiryu.
"Never, Ikki. But it's time for the Dragon of the North to face the Dragon of Rozan."
Even if Phoenix put on that show, she knew she would only get hurt even more in that state if she kept fighting. To the point that she fell to her knees again, but alerted her friend who was leaving for battle.
"Be careful, Shiryu. He is incredible."
"Yes." agreed the girl, seriously. "Unlike the other enemies we've faced, he doesn't seem to underestimate us."
"Listen to me, Shiryu." pulled Ikki her friend one last time. "Dragon Bravest Blizzard, Siegfried's ultimate technique, looks a lot like yours. Be very careful with Siegfried's fist."
"Siegfried's Fist?" asked Shiryu, confused.
"Yes." she agreed, fading.
Shiryu finally left Ikki to her pain and walked a few flights of stairs ahead to stand before Dubhe Siegfried, the Last God Warrior.
"I will be your opponent." she announced.
"Shiryu, the Bronze Dragon Saint."
"I see you already know me."
"I know that it was you who defeated all the palace guards of Asgard, opening the way so that your friends could reach Valhalla without being disturbed."
"They wouldn't have been a match for any of my friends, I did them a favor."
"Such confidence, Dragon."
"Not as much as yours, God Warrior."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I heard that you are an immortal warrior."
Siegfried let out a mocking smile, but didn't answer her.
"I want to see what kind of immortal warrior you are."
Her emerald cosmos illuminated her entire body and made her hair fly by the force of that energy that precipitated from her skin. The Dragon of Rozan had even been reincarnated in the body and skin of Shiryu, the Bronze Dragon Saint. She was the only warrior of Athena who still had her Cloth completely unharmed from the battles, as she had faced Hyoga under the spell of the Sapphire many hours ago and, since then, she dedicated herself to the inners of Asgard until saving the Cygnus Saint himself from the Alberich's tricks. So she was there in her Cloth full and shining; the portentous Bronze Dragon Cloth with its impenetrable Shield and under the diadem that simulated the elegant whiskers of the Chinese dragon fell his long black hair. Her blind eyes were always blindfolded by a dark pink sash, which was a gift from Shunrei so that she would never forget her, even in battle.
On the other side, there was also another Dragon. The Dragon of Asgard, the Dragon of the North, in the tall, strong and imposing figure of Dubhe Siegfried, protected by the Alpha Star of the constellation Ursa Major, who guided and blessed the inhabitants of that suffering land. A man cursed by the sadness of Asgard and tormented by his brother's sins and the death of so many friends on that fateful day.
The outer courtyard of the Valhalla Palace was witness to the mythological clash between those two ancient figures.
And when the battle began, it took place on the ground, because unlike Ikki, Shiryu chose to root that fight instead of fighting it in the skies; thus an exchange of attacks ensued between both sides towards the last power, as if they were trying to understand each other's body. They faced each other with courage. The battle was absolutely even between the two; two immeasurable forces from opposite sides.
"You are much stronger than I thought." he remarked to her.
"What do you mean by that, Siegfried? Perhaps you think someone like me, that can't see, couldn't stand up to you? Is that what you mean?"
"No, not at all. I don't care which sense you lack, Shiryu. What I want to say is that you are much further and more prepared than your friends who came here to fight."
"Do not underestimate them, Siegfried. I won't let you talk like that about my friends who sacrificed their own lives so that I might have a chance to live. And for all that time they were able to perform miracles that you can't even imagine."
"I don't do it to belittle your friends, Shiryu, but to recognize your enormous strength. Why, can't you just admit you're stronger than them all, Dragon?" asked Siegfried, putting himself on guard. "There's no shame in being the strongest."
"I suppose you believe yourself to be the strongest among the God Warriors."
"It is what I am." confirmed Siegfried. "It's what I decided to be a long time ago."
Siegfried thrusted towards the girl, but she skillfully defended herself with her powerful shield. The state of equality between the two seemed absolute. Shiryu remembered Ikki's words and tried to test something against that opponent: she raised her emerald Cosmo, her hair opened to the icy wind and her voice poured all her energy into the tip of her fist in the form of a beautiful dragon.
"Rising Dragon!"
The cosmic gust tore the air, cracking the ground above where it passed, but Siegfried tried to stop that force with just one hand, only to conclude that he had made a terrible mistake and had to dodge the blow, not before seeing that his arm was much hurt by the vain attempt. He didn't have time to review his steps, because he realized almost too late that a crack was opened on his side and he just wasn't sliced in the air because he reacted quickly, jumping away from there; a few strands of his hair passed through his eyes, sliced by an extraordinary force.
He got up, possessed and shocked, looking at Shiryu in guard.
"What was this?" asked Siegfried. "What did you do?"
Shiryu remained silent as the God Warrior was fully convinced that whatever it was Shiryu had tried and almost sliced his head off his body, he had not seen it. The God Warrior chose to move forward to prevent Shiryu from attacking, but Rozan's Dragon leaped into the air and opened a gap between the two, forcing Siegfried to stop his run; as he was now an easy prey for Shiryu, who shouted her Rising Dragon through the air and fell like a shooting star to land a powerful flying blow to the God Warrior's face.
The immortal Siegfried was finally hit.
His helm in the shape of a dragon's skull rolled across the outer courtyard, and his body dragged the stone, clearing a path almost to the mouth of the chasm below the Colossus of Odin.
Shiryu landed on guard again.
A few steps away from that battle, lay the bodies of Seiya and Geist, who got up with Ikki's help.
"Are you okay, Ikki?" asked Geist, approaching.
"I'm better than you two." she replied, seeing that Seiya looked like a pauper with those clothes.
"Shiryu is amazing." said the boy, looking at her right after hitting Siegfried for the first time.
"What does she have on that right arm?" asked Ikki to both of them.
"I don't know, but it's unbelievable." replied Seiya. "When I was trapped in Alberich's Amethyst Shield I also saw her using it against that God Warrior. I could only see a flash of light and in the next instant something happens that we cannot see."
"It's the Speed of Light."
"The Speed of Light?" asked Seiya to Geist.
"Yes. It's a strike at the Speed of Light." she confirmed.
"So that means Shiryu can control the Seventh Sense." observed Ikki, amazed.
"The Seventh Sense, the essence of the cosmos." Seiya repeated, reflecting on lessons far from his memory. "We need to perform miracles and pray that we can reach the Seventh Sense for a second and here it looks like Shiryu is able to control it however she wants. She is amazing."
"This must be the result of her training with Aioria, the Lion Saint."
"I remember now that you were all trained in the Twelve Temples while Geist and I left for the Seven Seas."
"Shun also acquired a control of his Cosmos far beyond his capabilities." observed Ikki on his brother, who was now lying at the bottom of the abyss of Asgard.
"What about you, Phoenix?" Geist asked.
There was no time for her to respond, as before them the battle restarted with Siegfried going on the attack, but stopping at the Dragon Shield, which Shiryu skillfully used to escape the kicks, punches and techniques of that accomplished God Warrior.
"You are brilliant, Shiryu." commented the God Warrior. "It is worthy of a warrior who challenges the Dragon of the North."
"You must not forget that I also represent a raging Dragon who lives in the rivers of Rozan."
"There is truth in your words. Destiny wanted that, under this white sky of Asgard, two Dragons faced each other to the last consequences."
"There's still time for you to give me your Odin Sapphire." Shiryu said.
"No, that time no longer exists. Defend yourself, Dragon Shiryu!"
The Dragon of the North made his seidr burn around him, and his arms outstretched at his sides seemed to converge all the energy of Asgard, crackling electricity and charging the fist of his fury. His two fists finally ripped through the air along with his powerful voice:
"Dragon Bravest Blizzard!"
Shiryu did not counterattack, on the contrary, she supported the Dragon Shield in front of her and withstood that immeasurable strength of Siegfried, pressing his technique against Shiryu's Shield, which looked like a concrete wall against which that purple energy was stopped, but trying to break it.
Until it broke.
The Dragon's Shield cracked and then broke completely, hurling Shiryu decisively against a pillar that broke in two before she fell to the floor of the outer courtyard.
"Shiryu!"
Ikki ran towards her and saw, with amazement, that the Dragon Shield on her left arm was shattered.
"How stupid, Shiryu, Siegfried is as strong as a Gold Saint, you shouldn't have relied only on your Shield if you could dodge that!"
"You're right, Ikki." she said, getting up with difficulty.
"What are you doing?"
"Watch it carefully!" Shiryu called. "Since I can't see, you all will be my eyes in my next move."
Shiryu got up, Siegfried approached.
"Now you don't have your shield to protect yourself, Shiryu."
"But I have something even more important, Siegfried."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Thanks to my teachings with my master in the Five Ancient Peaks, I now have a small chance of defeating you, immortal warrior."
"A small chance?" Siegfried was confused.
Both of them ignited the energy that burned within them, facing each other in battle. The Dragon of Rozan rested her fist close to her chest and her hair fluttered at the command of her Cosmo, while on the other side the Dragon of the North extended his arms, converging the timeless energy of Asgard to use his technique again.
Both Ikki and Seiya screamed her name, desperate that Shiryu might do something stupid. Again their voices mingled in the air.
"Rising…!"
"Dragon Bravest Blizzard"
The two Dragons appeared to collide in the sky of Asgard, while in the courtyard Shiryu hit Siegfried's chest with her glowing fist and Siegfried hit Shiryu's chest with his icy fist. Both were thrown away, badly injured, with Shiryu falling next to her friends. Seiya ran towards her while Ikki observed how Siegfried didn't immediately got up like he always did when he was hit. He was also on his knees, with blood pouring from his mouth. Shiryu had hit him decisively.
"Damn it, Shiryu!" Seiya exclaimed when seeing his friend in a pitiful condition, because he knew better than anyone else that Siegfried had hit her in her weak point.
In the Dragon's Claw. The protection on her torso was shredded.
"Listen well, Seiya." she began to speak, stretched out on the floor. "Do you remember when you first fought me?"
"What?"
"Listen, Seiya. On that occasion, you discovered my weakness, the Rising Dragon weakness."
"I remember, Shiryu. You will die if you don't receive the same blow..."
"No, Seiya. Listen to me." interrupted Shiryu, with difficulties. "Just listen to me. It turns out that Siegfried's weak point..."
"What, Shiryu!?" Seiya tried.
"Ikki is right." she said, with great difficulty. "Siegfried's technique is really similar to mine. This means that…"
"Oh, damn it, I got it, Shiryu!" Seiya finally understood, looking at Geist.
"The weak point…" she stammered.
"Siegfried's weak point is also the dragon's claw. And his heart." finally concluded Seiya when remembering his battle against his friend so long ago in the infamous tournament of the Galactic War. "Siegfried has the same weakness as Shiryu."
Geist got up, looking at Siegfried's body, which was also slowly recovering, but which had undoubtedly been badly hit. They could never imagine that it was possible for that man to suffer so much.
"I can't believe I didn't realize this sooner." said Geist to them, placing herself next to Shiryu to help her. "Everything makes sense. Siegfried represents the Dragon of the North, also known as Fafnir. Legend has it that a hero, named Sigurd, was the one able to defeat Fafnir in battle; and after doing so he bathed in the blood of the beast, thus becoming immortal."
"Sigurd?" asked Seiya.
"Yes." Geist confirmed. "It is said in Asgard that it was Sigurd who vanquished Fafnir. But as with all legends, it can be told differently. And among the Germanic peoples, this hero is given another name."
"Siegfried." guessed Ikki between them.
"Exactly."
"So Siegfried really is immortal." concluded Seiya.
"No, Seiya. And the Rising Dragon was the answer to that." Geist continued. "As in the legend of Sigurd, it is said that the hero became immortal and incapable of harm by bathing himself completely in the blood of the Dragon Fafnir. His entire body was protected, with the exception of a single point on his body. An exact spot on his back, which is where his heart is, but on the opposite side. As Sigurd bathed in the blood he had expelled from the Dragon's neck, a leaf detached itself from a nearby birch tree and stuck to his skin, preventing that spot from being bathed in the beast's blood."
"A single point?"
"Times later, Sigurd was caught by warriors who envied his fame and, although he defeated many of them, the immortal hero fell when he was hit by a spear in the exact spot where the leaf had stuck years before. And so the immortal hero died. For he was not immortal."
"The legendary hero's weakness lay in Siegfried, the Dubhe God Warrior, protected by the Alpha Star and representative of the Dragon Fafnir." said Seiya.
"Like karma." Ikki stammered.
"As when I use my Rising Dragon, he also leaves his heart dangerously unprotected for a brief moment so that his technique can be used to its fullest potential. The opposite side of the birch leaf."
"That's where we need to hit him." concluded Seiya.
"Hit him, Seiya." asked her friend, Shiryu.
And then her body finally collapsed, for her heart had been hit in its weak spot by a terrible fist; Seiya despaired, at first afraid that she had been killed, as had happened in the Galactic War. But her pulse was still steady, if tenuous. She would not die. Of course not, the boy thought. Shiryu was amazing.
He finally got up and looked at his friend resting on that floor, and then he looked into Ikki's hard eyes, and the wise eyes of Geist. The Dragon Saint had left the three of them with a mission to accomplish: to defeat the immortal Siegfried.
ABOUT THE CHAPTER: The opening scene was to give some importance to June who was left out until then; make her feel part of Captain Meko Kaire's mission. The inspiration for the cave has to do with all the movies and stories about treasure caves. The battle between Shiryu and Siegfried is very similar to that of the Anime, but putting a little more power and mystery in Shiryu with her mysterious right arm. I love that Siegfried has the same weakness as Shiryu, it's a genius take on Anime.
NEXT CHAPTER: HOPE AND IMMORTALITY
The climax of the battle between the Athena Saints and the Last God Warrior, Dubhe Siegfried.