Notable OCs: Pegasus Lance's Saint Generation, Civil War Saint Generation, World War Saint Generation, Daemon Lucifer's Specters, Maiden Elisa, Priam's Black Saints; Cyrulian Refugees

Notable Original Concepts: Mount Olympus Training Ground, Sanctuary Court, Teos Cloth, Athenian Empire mythology, Isle of Gardens, Stardust Prison, Hades' Dark Princes; Desert Beyond, Sanctuary Town Layout & Buildings

Recurring/Cameo OCs of Jenny DeVic: Mrs. Schafurwatt, Cyrus

Recurring/Cameo Concepts of Jenny DeVic: Great Bodyguard Legend, Golden Line Heritage, Sanctuary Orphanages, Andromeda Island's Geography & Tests, Sanctuary Nobility, 88 Knights Festival

Author Notes:

-I apologise for the short delay publishing this, but IRL family meetings made me forget about my twitter promise to do it in the weekend.

-Story has gone past the 950k hallmark \owo/

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Please enjoy and don't forget to share and review (^_^

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"My first week as a Pope has officially ended. It was far longer than I had imagined it would be. Now only nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine weeks are left until Athena returns to relieve me. This will be… difficult.

Everything in Sanctuary is in ruin. I do mean 'everything'. Minos ravaged Rodario, Dark Angel burned down Jamir, the Coliseum was wrecked when Rasgado used his final Titan Nova, the Specter attack burned down everything else still standing and, as if the Gods themselves were mocking me,… the temples of the Lost Canvas fortress came tumbling down from the sky right on top of us after Alone's defeat.

To compound everything, Dohko even created a whole new river now flowing out of Sanctuary into the Gulf of Corinth when he and Hyoga went to fetch the Argo. The water vein was named Ladon by Teneo, in honor of the Dragon constellation technique that punched its birth out. I would be light-hearted about it too if this didn't increase the risk of explorers and cartographers poking their nose into Rodario by following it upstream.

But, worst of all,… nearly all of them are gone. My friends... everyone from Ox to Cardinale, from Rasgado to Albafica… two whole generations of dear brothers at arms murdered one after the other. Except for Dohko, there's no one of our generation left to confide with. How we survived such a cruel double massacre is still beyond me.

One bright spot remains, though, akin to the Cloth of Hope, Teos itself. The refugees from the camp that Shun built after Minos' attack began organizing as if inspired by Andromeda's gesture, and began building houses around the Golden Zodiac out of the rubble of the Lost Canvas temples. A whole new town nestled between the mountains is rising, fed by Dohko's new river.

I was against it at first, as even our people have been forbidden from settling around the temples since the dawn of Sanctuary, but if this war has proven anything is that the security argument has been upside down the whole time.

It's a historical moment, perhaps. A 'Sanctuary Town'… Maybe nurturing this new capital and seeing it thrive will heal my wounds from the final battle and give me the confidence I need to remain the Pope, despite all the ache the Princes have caused to m… to us."

-Shion's thoughts regarding the birth of Sanctuary Town

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Turkey, Aegean Coast

False Specter army frontline camp

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The night was still young at the Aegean Sea, climbing over Europe after crossing Asia.

At the coast in the Turkish province of Aydin, nestled between the forested hills of its less developed parts, a mysterious temporary encampment was hidden, with several men in black armor surrounded by crates of equipment moving back and forth in the dark, using their senses used to the Underworld to stay organized and awaiting for new commands from their master, the Celestial Pride Star.

Twelve False Specters were with them, including almost every single elite member except for Nasu Erika, who had stayed behind in Romania to literally hold the fort. It was still the brunt of their forces, bolstered further by about one hundred Skeletons who acted as auxiliaries and future occupation numbers for their lords. These were the men picked by Lucifer to form the army that would attack the heart of Sanctuary and when the time was right, they would collectively cross the Aegean with their sub-light super speed and enact their commander's battleplan. For now, though, they awaited the results of their offensives into Asia and Africa, which had just returned.

Many of them waited by the main tent in anticipation. Papillion Ainsel and Bat Brune had gone inside to report to Daemon, which caught the attention of the men. He had departed to Andromeda Island with Deep Amphion after all, but why did he return empty-handed?

Everyone's suspicions were confirmed when a loud punching sound was heard and Bat came flying out of the tent's entrance with a scream, falling and rolling in the ground. The green-armored winged Specter shook in terror, bleeding from the mouth, and drew everyone's attention as Daemon Lucifer, Papillion Ainsel, and Alraune Lemon came following out.

The Bat looked up and held his hand high. "N-no! Have m-mercy, Prince! PLEASE!"

The army surrounded the scene, seeing the pathetic failure grovel at Pride Star's feet. Behemoth Torak folded arms and shook his head apprehensively. Sphinx held her instrument close, asking the Prince with a look if she should punish the Bat herself. The red-eyed Prince denied her offer with a head shake.

"I sent you with a simple mission, Brune," Lucifer growled, his knuckles tensing. "You took two of my men, including a strategic False Specter, to go fetch a Bronze Cloth in a deserted island. And what do you do?"

Brune crawled back pitifully trembling like a leaf. "I…I failed you! I know this, Prince. Please give me anoth-"

Lucifer's metal boot stomped on his leg harshly, pinning Bat and nearly breaking his femur. The ensuing shout chilled the army. "You RETURN ALONE! WITHOUT ANDROMEDA!" the Prince roared. "AND WITHOUT TWO OF MY MEN! Who would give a second chance to a miserable fucking blunderbuss like YOURSELF?!"

The old-fashioned insult did little to break the tension. Nervous glances were exchanged throughout the army. After everything they had gone through with the Prince, this setback wouldn't demoralize them, but it was still a bad omen. It was the second time in little more than a year that a mission to Andromeda Island had ended in disaster and now they were about to attack Sanctuary itself, to which they would need everything to go as perfectly as the Dark Exodus.

Fortunately, despite Gauromydas and Samuel being gone, if their delay was anything to go by, these two and Papillion Ainsel had accomplished their strategic goals. These were, respectively, putting Elder Yuzuriha's attention toward her home so she wouldn't come to Shion's aid and destroying the Jamir tower which repaired the Cloths. The presence of the Elites, two of which had assisted in the early attacks, also helped keep their confidence up.

Watching their comrade cowardly return from his failure without Amphion, though, was still a bit of an undeniable blow. The only thing offsetting it was that watching Lucifer punish Bat for it was more than enough of a visual lash to keep them disciplined and focused on their task

A ball of electrical cosmos formed in Lucifer's hand, illuminating his angry face. Brune began to breathe panickily, fully believing the Pride Star wouldn't hesitate to blast his head off for abandoning Amphion to his death.

As such, he started babbling out. "P-please, please! I was a coward! I know that, Prince! But I can be of use to you! I can avenge Amph-"

"What?! You think that's all you DID?!" Pride Star asked, infuriated. "The only reason the whole of Sanctuary isn't now alert to my attack is because we've been casting jamming barriers everywhere! I have men all over Asia and Arabia projecting signal barriers to make sure the Saints can't communicate what's happening across the continents! You weren't supposed to put their work to the test!"

More and more, Brune believed nothing would stop the Prince from killing him now and not bothering to bring him back later."PLEASE! P-Please don't kill me! I will fight! I will FIGHT until there's nothing left in m-me!"

The enraged Prince aimed his hand at his head, the lightning orb growing larger, brighter, and with a more furious whirring! "You should have thought of that on the way to that blasted island!"

Brune closed his eyes, screaming. The trainer pants beneath his faulds became rapidly humid.

*THOOM*

The ground shook with the blast's force, cratering the ground, and the entire army flinched and gasped with the sudden shooting flash, including the elite Neferti.

Brune breathed out in a hyperventilating manner, eyes closed. He opened them slowly to find himself still alive, the ground beneath his head blasted apart and his armor covered in the ensuing dirt and dust.

Lucifer stepped off of him. "Remember, Brune…the only reason I'm letting you go is that I want your Nightmare Sonar all over Sanctuary Town by midnight! As far as I'm concerned you're a despicable piece of milksop shit who doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as the rest of your False Specter brothers!" He then turned to Torak. "Get him out of my sight!"

The tall Behemoth nodded. "Get up, Brune! Now face the men!" He grabbed Brune by the collar and harshly lifted him to push him toward their direction. Hearing his cowardice, they all jeered, spat, and struck him with the blunt side of their weapons.

"Fucking COWARD!" one shouted, punching the Bat along.

"AMPHION WAS COUNTING ON YOU! We were counting on you!" another Skeleton added, bashing the False Specter's head with the back of his scythe.

"You deserve this, you blood-drinking FREAK!" Dullahan Hedron dared, encouraged by the common wrath of the crowd. "The Prince should have blasted your fucking head off!"

The last shout was heard among the jeers as Bat disappeared into the lynching. "YOU FAILED US! The Prince should have LEFT YOU BACK IN THE UNDERWORLD!"

Standing by the Alraune Specter, Golem Treble noticed the plantoid elite bothered by the sight of this. "Are you scared, Lemon?"

While the man did sweat, he growled at the suggestion made by the round-helmeted giant. "Scared of what, you rock-lifting dolt?! Of Lucifer's little personality cult?! Don't make me laugh!"

The large Specter folded arms. "Just remember to not get any stupid ideas anymore."

The Elite then glared at the Golem. "Stupid ideas?... If you want to talk 'stupid ideas', I suggest you ask your Prince about what he wants out of this attack, because I assure you that it isn't just the Pope's throne!"

The Golem raised a brow. "…What do you mean?"

"Now-now, Lemon," Ainsel intervened. "You know the Prince doesn't want you talking about nonsense, so why do you insist on doing it?"

The plantoid was incensed at this. "Fuck you, Ainsel!" he spat. "You think I haven't figured out you sent me to Rozan as a trap?! I can't believe I was stupid enough to believe you wanted to help me!"

The butterfly feigned shocked, covering his mouth. "… Lemon, the mission was yours, truly. Lucifer would have been forced to greatly reward you if you had taken Dohko's life before he did."

The red-haired elite stepped towards the winged, blue-haired man menacingly, his battle tendrils tensing. "And where, do pray tell, did a giant dragon god fit into the details?!"

The huge golem stepped between the two of them. "HEY, hold on a minute, what's this about?!" he demanded to know. The Elite False Specters were inspiring to the men for the strength they gained in the Underworld but weren't always honest with the lesser ones like him. "Lemon, what did you mean with the Prince's objective?!"

Ainsel sighed and patted Golem reassuringly. "Don't listen to him, Treble. The Prince has multiple objectives with this battle, but his primary one is and always has been to conquer Sanctuary as our new abode." He then smirked at Alraune. "Lemon just disagrees with some of his side goals."

The plantoid was outraged. "Side goal? You call trying to impress a fairy tale God Cloth a side goal?!"

But a shaking of the head was all that was given. "I refuse to, Lemon, because it's just so fatally reductive."

The tall man in horned armor stood aback. "That… didn't sound like a 'no'."

Alraune scoffed. "Go ahead, tell him, Ainsel! Tell everyone that Lucifer wants to throw us all into a meat grinder so he can 'summon the Teos Cloth'! Tell him that's the reason he just sent Troll Grendel with another group of men into a suicidal mission to Death Queen Island!"

Left standing there, the Golem False Specter was jaw dropped. "What?... Teos? Death Queen Island?" he looked at Ainsel. "Lord Ainsel, what did he mean?"

The psychic rolled his eyes. "Troll is heading to the Pacific to neutralize the Phoenix Cloth, Treble. It's a dangerous Bronze Armor with the ability to resurrect itself." He then smirked right at Alraune's face. "Investigating the rumor Lord Lucifer got that Teos might be in one of the volcanoes is just a bonus. But you know that Lemon, don't you? Why do you say things in such bad faith?"

The armored fist of the Alraune curled tensely. Ainsel was a treacherous snake who had stabbed him in the back once too many times. "… I will conserve my strength, Ainsel because my part in Lucifer's suicidal attack is to take Virgo's head, but afterwards-" he then walked off with a poisonous glance. "-yours is the next that will smear my guillotine!"

The False Specters stared at each other. Ainsel shrugged, assuring Treble with this gesture that this was just another one of Lemon's jealousy episodes, but the Golem warrior stood there in preoccupation, scratching his chin in concern about whether or not Lord Lucifer knew what he had in his hands as Elites.

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(?)

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Lance walked through the path amidst the strange inferno of black fire consuming the trees all around him, wearing the Pegasus Bronze Cloth and hurting all over. He held a bleeding arm, wounded, and as far as he could see, everything was burning and the road he was on didn't seem to have any particular destination. He kept on going, though. He felt like if he stopped, some terrible shadow with red eyes and bat wings would catch up with him. He had no idea how he got here or why he felt this way.

His cursed eyes looked up and saw the path widening into a clearing in the black forest fire. A man with long black hair and a dragon tattoo on his back stood there, facing the other way. He looked taller than Lance and with an impressive physique, sporting eastern training pants and emanating a soothing green cosmos that seemed to keep the black fires away.

Suspicious, Lance approaching him carefully. "At least it's not Guilty." He found himself thinking for some reason, too wrapped up in the irrationality of a fever dream to question anything else. "Who are you? Do you know where I am?"

The man turned to Lance, but his face was covered in shadow, leaving only his shining yellow eyes with reptilian slits visible.

The Pegasus Saint irked in recognition. "I know you… you're Seiryu, aren't you?" he accused, rattled by the deity showing up in mortal form. Usually, he would see the god in the form of a snake, crocodilian, or lizard form, if not in his terrifying true shape.

"You seem surprised to see me like this. Had I shown up as my true self, your mind would enter a fight-or-flight response so quickly that you'd likely wake up with the panic and let our little window to talk go to waste," Seiryu explained himself. While his voice wasn't the booming baritone sound that Lance was used to, it echoed strangely, like that of a supernatural creature whose throat wasn't of this world. "Don't worry, I've been absent for a while, but those other two won't show up anymore. I'll make sure of it."

"Other two?" the Pegasus wondered. He could only think of Guilty. Maybe some other ghost-like Elisa or the Compass Saint haunted him. Seiryu's earlier explanation made sense, but maybe Lance was too unconscious to question anything more complex than an identity, so he focused on it. He rubbed his own eyes in confusion. "I'm… dreaming?"

Seiryu sat down Chinese-style, offering a calming aura. "Don't lose focus now. It's hard enough to make you remember I was even here after you woke up," he urged.

With some effort, the dazed Bronze Saint refocused on the young warrior. "What happened? I don't remember anything…"

"You lost an important battle and Dohko knocked you out afterward, that's all you need to know. The rest will return to your mind after you wake up." the dragon-man assured.

Lance nodded along. Were he awake, he would probably protest harder for explanations, but as he was it was hard enough to even recognize himself as dreaming, he just went with it.

A fear crept up his heart, though. "Are you here to eat me?" he asked. The question sounded silly, but it harkened back to their first encounter at Lake Rozan, when Lance first demanded to be granted the dragon's blessing, to which Seiryu had justly responded that Lance was just a pissant who already had the support of the Pegasus constellation. "I lost the important fight, right? You must think I'm unworthy."

The man almost seemed disappointed in Lance's narrow-minded take, if the lowering of his chin was anything to judge by. "What do you consider a 'fight' to be, Gold Saint?" he questioned. "If you're referring to winning battles, then I'm afraid all of Dohko's teachings have fallen on deaf ears and you need to pay more attention to that conceited brat of a human."

Walking up to Seiryu, Lance mimicked his sitting. "Alright, then…"

The god chuckled. Dreaming allowed complex animals like bears and humans to restore their mental energies, allowing entire new kingdoms of land life to evolve and thrive, but they left their users so woozy that it genuinely amused the deity. "Your mind is awfully suggestible right now and I have much to do, so I will be brief. I want to offer you my acknowledgement."

Lance blinked. "Ac…knowledgement?"

Seiryu nodded. Even this up close, his facial features were indistinguishable. "On separate occasions, you have been proving yourself in a number of ways since our contract was signed. Your fight against my recreation of Tenma was the first time I learned you had a bit of value to you, but now you proved it again against the Celestial Star of Pride."

All these names sounded familiar, but in the state that he was, the Pegasus was just bewildered and confused by them, so he rubbed his temples.

Seeing this, Seiryu continued. "I have decided to prolong our arrangement, Pegasus. I will continue to protect you from your nightmares and offer you my cosmos as a conduit for performing my techniques. In return, you will continue to adopt my teachings through Dohko and become a deserving member of Mount Rozan's family."

"Umm… thank you?" Lance questioned. He genuinely could barely tell what any of this meant.

Seiryu then looked away. "Or, at least this would be all I would say, if circumstances hadn't changed for Sanctuary."

Red eyes blinked. "What do you mean?"

The divine gaze met him once more. "I don't particularly care for Athena's success, in fact I benefit from her believing she does not have the guarantee of my support. However, my disdain for Hades pushed me into an alliance with her, so I have some stake in Sanctuary's survival." He prefaced. "As it stands, it is likely that Daemon Lucifer and his Specter Army will conquer Greece…. And that will make life on Earth as a whole be in far worse hands. Since I wish to preserve life, I am forced to do something."

Lance rubbed his face once more, feeling his head spiraling. "I… don't understand. This is all very confusing."

The martial artist with the shadowed face stood up, serious. His aura began to burn slightly more and his right arm tensed. "As it stands you don't have a chance to defeat that Specter, Pegasus Lance. You won't for several years, if ever. Your only option is to get your Gold Cloth and fight together with your Gold Saint compatriots… but that human, Lucian, has dished out far too much damage to you." Seiryu argued. "So, if Dohko sent you back there, even with the entire Zodiac assisting you, you would certainly repeat tonight's failure and die."

While his head still hurt, the Saint could tell this was going nowhere. "Alright then, if so… what is the point of this?"

The burning eyes narrowed. "Something tells me you're the kind to lay out your life for what you think is important. Am I correct?"

Lance blinked. "My life?... I… I don't know." The Saint confessed. "I'm not like the other Saints, Seiryu. I don't believe in Athena like that. I don't want to die…"

"Of course you don't, you're part of my grand creation, life itself!...All life fears dying. But whether you are willing to die on the spot at my beck and call for no good reason isn't what I asked you." Seiryu confronted. "Something tells me, Pegasus, that your real answer is 'yes', should the situation arise. I see it not in your pathetic words, but your actions. However, that sad little mind of yours probably doesn't understand itself nearly enough to recognize the merit of your own actions, gripped by your failures like you are."

Lance pondered what the God said. It wasn't that he didn't understand this time, he just didn't agree with it. From his perspective, Lance had always made decisions with a selfish pragmatism to them, decisions that made the most sense to him. Sure, he had rescued some people, but that was his job, right?

The black fires around them were getting taller. Seiryu seemed to notice this. "Your spirit is in disarray. Encountering the Pride Star seems to have done this. Was this the humiliation of your defeat… or something else, Pegasus?"

Lance stood up to him literally and figuratively. "How the heck would I know? Would you please talk straight for once?" he snapped, the fires around them dancing in accordance to his tone. "If you're here to preach at me, then fine, but don't give me this cryptic cyclical speech you feed Roshi wit-" A sudden invisible force then constricted his neck, silencing the saint. It rose him from the floor and made him grab hold of his neck. "Gah-… uck! St.. op!"

Seiryu's aura burned brighter and he made Lance float so his chest would be at the dragon's eye height. "You're right, Saint, we shouldn't waste time right now chatting. I watched how you battled the Daemon Specter and risked your life over and over honorably. But you still failed to beat him."

"W-…at are you DOING?!" he barely spoke, feeling the pressure in his body increasing.

Seiryu took his own finger, which focused the power of lifeforce itself. "I'm giving you a gift. It should put you back into fighting shape." he then shoved it right in Lance's chest, triggering his central star point and unleashing a jolt of energy across the Saint's body. "Make use of this energy well. You'll need it to go after my waters of life."

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Mount Rozan

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It was dark by the waterfall of Mount Rozan, midnight being high. Iaso had been restoring the patient's wounds for an hour.

Beheld by a curious Mu, who had teleported him to Rozan, and a concerned Andromeda Shinta who joined them in the meantime, Ophiuchus Iaso charged his armored hands with the Golden Touch once more, taking the form of a bright non-elemental aura over his hands, and reapplied it, making wounds in Lance's body gradually lose size and severity as well as stabilize his vitals.

While this went on, the Lemurian kid took the broken piece of the horse helmet. "Boy, they did a real number on the Pegasus Cloth."

"Can it be fixed?" Shinta asked.

Mu sweated. "No, I don't think so. The Cloth is not responsive to cosmos, which means it's been 'killed'," the secret Aries Saint explained. His teacher Shion would be able to tell just by trying to talk to the armor, but Mu had to resort to cosmic resonations to detect the status of the Cloth. "Lance won't be able to fight with it until it's revived by blood."

"He won't be doing any fighting for now. Now hold the damn light right, kid." Iaso ordered, snapping the distracted Lemurian into action. There was only so much Iaso could do before he had to get the Pegasus carted to a hospital with real supplies. Once the more serious superficial wounds were taken care of, he looked at Shinta. "Okay, take off his cuirass, Andromeda."

The green-head nodded and took the white plate off his friend's body while the Lemurian hung the lamplight over them in the dark night outdoors. It made the wounds and scratches on Lance's body really stand out.

"Is he going to be alright, doctor?" Mu asked, pouting concernedly.

Iaso irked. "I'm not going to lie, kids. He doesn't look too good. I have no idea why Pegasus is here, but he looks like a Judge beat the crap out of him."

Shinta's head lowered sadly. "I'm sure he'll wake up."

"He will, alright. I can stabilize him by closing his wounds and lessening the damage to his head," Iaso affirmed, confident in his own abilities. "It just might take a while for him to get back up on his feet. Let's to it, then."

Iaso then pressed them down his hands on the body like a defibrillator. There was barely an outburst of white light from the doctor's hands before Lance's red eyes opened wide and he gasped loudly, launching upwards and startling the Silver Saint.

"Whow! Already?!" the doctor gasped.

"Lance, you're alright!" Shinta shouted, holding his friend.

The panicked Bronze Saint breathed out loudly as if he had been shocked awake for real, his red eyes surveying the place. "W… Where am I?! What happened?! Agh!" he held the spot Seiryu had struck in his chest, the central star point of Pegasus on his body, feeling a painful surge like a hundred worms were coursing out of his heart into the rest of his body.

Mu ran screaming inside the hut past the masked guards. "ROSHI, Lance is awake! Dr. Iaso healed him!"

The cacophony of reactions wasn't registered by the Bronze Saint, who tried to get his bearings together as his friend held him and the doctor looked at him like a miracle had just happened. He saw the waterfall roaring and the jungle trees in the night and rational thoughts slowly returned to his head, as well as memories of how he ended up like this.

The presence of his friends bewildered him, though. "Shinta? What… What are you all doing here? How long was I asleep?"

Before the green head could say anything, the brown-haired medic interjected. "I could ask you the same thing, Pegasus! What in the Goddess' name are you doing here in China?!" the doctor questioned, smelling another load of bull-crap secrecy from the Golden Zodiac. "More importantly, how the hell are you awake already?! I barely used the Golden Touch!"

The other two were just as amazed. In fact, Lance's more grievous wounds seemed suddenly lessened into cuts and the swellings on his face had subtly lowered. Carefully, the Saint was helped back up to his feet by his Andromeda friend and he found himself able to with just a bit of dizziness. "I… don't know."

"Saint Dohko says you were out for about two hours, Lance." Shinta confirmed. He sensed the strength in his friend strangely intact, though. "He said you went through a ferocious battle, but now you're awake and fine… I wish he wouldn't kid about these things."

Someone walked up to them in heavy metallic steps. "I'm not surprised." A new voice announced, turning everyone's attention to none other than the Gemini Gold Saint, who was patiently awaiting there in the grove for Iaso to do his work, his face covered by a black mask sock. "This isn't the first time I've seen Pegasus recover well from a big battle."

Lance's eyes widened. "Sag-….. Lord Gemini?!" he stopped himself, shocked to see Saga in Rozan and nearly blurting his name in front of the Ophiuchus Silver Saint.

The Gold Saint nodded. "Hello, Pegasus. We meet again. I haven't seen you and Andromeda since… Arcadia, I believe?" Saga asked, making Shinta smile with the coyness of his act.

In fact, the Andromeda made sure to play into it. "Lance, I encountered Saint Gemini on the way here. Lord Mu's apprentice and Saint Iaso were already at Rozan. I got so worried when I saw you beaten, but Roshi said you'd be fine so long as you got help."

The Pegasus, however, couldn't make heads or tails of all this. He remembered battling Lucifer and then he remembered the provocations the Specter made about sending attacks to Andromeda Island and Tibet. "You mean… you guys really were attacked as well?"

There was a collective nod. "We have prevailed in our individual battles, but unfortunately it seems the Jamir tower was burned down and you had less luck in yours," Saga explained, folding his arms. "My plan was to gather our efforts immediately, but Saint Libra insisted on talking with all of us first before we made any move."

The alarm was raised in Lance's face. "But we should warn Sanctuary! They are heading there right now!" he demanded, startling Shinta and Iaso but not even making Saga budge. "Lord Gemini, everyone is in grave danger in Greece! The guy who attacked us here talked about a mass assault tonight! We have to go!"

A strong adult hand grabbed Lance's shoulder and held him down. "You're not going anywhere, Pegasus!" Iaso ordered. "I don't care how fast you woke up from that beating, you're a silver rank like me so you're not going to battle a Specter invasion!"

While Lance gritted his teeth at the doctor, he realized it would be stupid to protest and give Iaso any inkling he was a gold ranker, so he hesitated how to rebut this.

Mu came out of the hut. "Lord Gemini, Roshi and Lady Yuzuriha say they will see you now," the child called. "Shinta, Dr. Iaso, unfortunately you'll have to stay out here. Lance, you can come inside, though."

The doctor was bewildered. "What?!"

"Don't fret, Saint Ophiuchus, Saint Lance is a protégé of the Cancer House," Saga lied. "Saint Dohko likely wants him to transmit something to the Fourth House, since communications are down. It's the same with our little Lemurian friend and Lord Mu."

The doctor, however, didn't buy this. "Lord Gemini, with all due respect…I'm afraid I can't let you keep me out of the conversation, either. I'm a medic and Sanctuary lives are at stake with this attack!"

Saga nodded. "I understand that."

It didn't sound like the Gold Saint did, so Ophiuchus insisted. "If anyone dies because of the Golden Zodiac's secrecy, you will have blood on your hands! I need to know what's going on or I can't help!" he argued. It gave Shinta pause, from the looks of it, but the Gemini Saint seemed impassive, so the adult doctor pressed onwards. "If you're going to discuss strategy or the identity of these attackers, then I need to know. The person who struck Jamir had incredible powers. He's likely not the only one that could cause unexpected collateral damage."

The masked, cloaked guards brought by Yuzuriha, however, seemed to have something to say about this. "You will stay here with us and Andromeda, Silver Saint. These affairs surpass the Golden Zodiac," one of them defended. "We are already being patient by accommodating Saint Dohko's desire to have Pegasus and the alchemist boy inside, but we will not risk our affairs or Lady Elder's safety over anyone else."

This new perspective gave the Ophiuchus pause. He was willing to bite at Sanctuary's deceptions as hard as he could, but these guys were from Shamballa and, from the looks of it, Saint Gemini just had to help them fight off Specter invaders, so their Lemurian patience was probably unusually thin that night.

The Silver Saint was hesitant, however. "I don't like this… We're the ones being the most attacked." He told himself out loud. The fact that it was Specters made it all the worse to him.

Saga nodded at Iaso. "Don't worry, Saint Ophiuchus, I will be sure to keep you informed of anything vital. Let's go, Pegasus."

Watching the two Saints head inside with the lilac-haired boy, the doctor scoffed, shoving hands into his brown coat pockets. "Typical…"

Shinta sweated, feeling for the doctor. He had risked his life to save Mu at Jamir, so the Japanese boy understood why he felt like Saga was ungrateful. "Don't worry, Saint Iaso, I won't know anything either. The Gold Saints never tell me anything about the Zodiac and I trained at the Taurus House for a while."

Taking a bamboo piece off the grass and biting down on it in frustration. "That's not the problem, Bronze Saint. I can go without the Pope's dirt." The superior argued. "The problem is that a massive large-scale invasion has just begun and many in Sanctuary might not live to see the sunrise…and Sanctuary still thinks protecting it's stupid secrets comes before avoiding deaths and maiming. It's always like this."

The Andromeda blinked. "What do you mean?"

The brown-haired doctor scoffed. "You're too young to have been there, but they did the same nonsense during the Civil War. People rolled into the healing beds every day and the Pope still refused to explain exactly what the hell he did to piss off Sagittarius Priam so much." he recalled. "We don't know what fights Sanctuary is picking so we don't know how to be prepared for it either. Now it's an unforeseen full-scale Specter invasion. I just wonder how many wars they have in store for us in the future after this one, is all."

While his first instinct was to try to counter the jaded adult and make him feel better, the conversation with Saint Cynthia back at Andromeda Island about the line separating the life Shinta had in Sanctuary and its true, darker face came to mind.

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Accompanying Lance and Mu inside the house, Lance was greeted by the brightly lit and soothing air of Roshi's waiting room, where the old purple Master already sat against Ma Chao's large furry body at the far end of the short table, cups of sake before him. Lance was more surprised to see on the opposite end the elderly woman of long, white, pinned hair and Lemurian dots. She was dressed in a rich, elegant Tibetan robe with a red sash over it and wore two earrings, one shaped like a silver crane and the other like a unicorn.

The master chuckled. "Yo-oh-oh, good to see you two! Come, sit!"

Mu giggled and instantly accepted, rushing to next to the lady. "Can I sit here?"

Yuzuriha smiled gently. Mu was such a cute kid and he looked so much like Atla, her old classmate under Master Hakurei, that she just felt like pinching his cheek. "Of course, Saint Aries," she petted his head and scooched over to give him space next to her, which the boy happily took.

Lance frowned. "You're that lady that showed up at the festival," he recognized. "Yuzuriha, right? Are you here to feed me and Saga more bullshit lines about why the Pope is being attacked?"

She lost her smile as her hand petted Mu's hair like a happy little cat. Years earlier, the former Silver Saint of Crane had learned that someone had conquered the Cloth of Pegasus. As an old comrade of Tenma, she had an active interest in the fate of the armor and in who took the war hero's place, but her delight was quickly quenched like fire under water by the stories of the new Pegasus attacking Saint Kastiel and having a suspicious adventure to Death Queen Island, where the last good thing to come out of it had been Sage Haisaku, more than two centuries earlier.

Upon seeing the broken pieces of white armor on the floor tonight, Yuzuriha was shocked to learn that the rude Cancer Saint had been this Pegasus. It made sense in some ways since the modern Pegasus had risen quickly to his place as a Cancer Saint and being under Dohko's wing surely would help with that. But while Lance's predecessor was also deferent to authority, it came from a place of passion to defend Sasha that had often inspired the Elder during the war to fight harder herself.

This one, on the other hand, seemed to actively distrust other Saints, often refusing to work with anyone but Andromeda and Dohko and didn't focus on worshiping Athena. While Yuzuriha had her issues with Shion nowadays, she still deeply believed in Athena and her ways, having personally met Sasha and seen her philosophy in triumphant action. While the Elder wasn't naïve enough to think youths would blindly accept such things, it disheartened her a bit that the modern Pegasus wasn't a better reflection of Tenma.

If anything, the boy reminded her more of Kagaho; a deeply troubled ruffian who couldn't get over his own seriousness but had the unadmitted openness of heart to click with what Dohko had to say, if not Athena's words themselves.

Dispelling these thoughts, the wise Elder answered the Gold Saint. "Not exactly, Saint Cancer. I'm actually here to demand answers from your Master myself." she admitted, surprising the two.

Saga accompanied Lance to the table, sitting across its longer side. "Lady Yuzuriha accompanied me here, Lance. We defeated a group of Specters together near Shamballa and she wanted to come straight here. I too, have lots of questions."

"And unfortunately, we have little time to answer all of them," Dohko announced. "Considering the circumstances, however, it would be folly to not at least try to, given four of the twelve gold Saints are gathered here."

Lance felt the need to interject. "Roshi, before that, I-"

The purple dwarf gestured to him to be quiet. "(I know you have a lot of questions, Lance. Before I start answering them, though, we have to get through this. All of your friends are just as confused as you, after all. I know I am of no particularly clear mind.)" the master assured, shielding his message. He then sighed. "(I do want to admit, though, that I'm happy to see you well. After what Lucifer did to you… I'm glad Seiryu hasn't lost his sense of justice. I should thank Saint Iaso as well, for helping heal you back.)"

The red-eyed Saint obeyed, staying quiet, but the memory of the battle with Lucifer assailed him, though. He wanted to lash out, demanding answers, but Roshi was right; everyone in the room was just as startled and messed up about what was going on. In fact, now that he looked carefully, both Mu and Saga had light bruises on them here and there, indicating they had been through something bad as well.

The only intact person was the Elder, who took the initiative. "Well, Dohko, now that we've shared some drinks and your student is awake, then perhaps we can dash the formalities. You know I've never been the type for those," her eyes then sterned. "So I wanted to ask you, Libra, why did you falsely report Daemon Lucifer's death?"

The room went tense and even Mu felt like it wasn't safe to stand so close to the Elder after all. Lance and Saga exchanged glances with the name, being the big topic which they expected to be discussed, but the way Yuzuriha put it indicated there was a lot more going on than they imagined.

The purple dwarf tugged his collar self-consciously. "Um, well, you see… I did most definitely kill him, or so I thought!" he defended himself, visibly nervous with the woman's stare. "I certainly don't think he'd let me get away with Shion from the Underworld if I hadn't, so it's not that I falsely reported it…"

The woman, however, would have none of it. The lights in the room suddenly flickered, as if frustration in one of them was telekinetically expressed.

Her eyes now straightly narrowed like spears at the Libra Saint. "Many of my people were murdered tonight, Dohko, by someone you vowed to destroy that day. I'm not in the mood for jokes and evasion," she pinned. "I don't tolerate it from Shion, and certainly will not from you!"

Dohko took the handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Oof, ferocious like always, Yuzuriha? Shion and Yato always loved that about you, but it gives me the willies. It's not how you address a superior, you know?"

"I'm not a Silver Saint anymore."

The Master nodded, "Yes, yes! And you're right, I agree that the situation isn't for joking." Dohko admitted, perking Lance's interest. Would this be one of the rare times he would see his teacher speak openly about his past? "Let's get to it then, Saints Aries, Gemini, and Cancer… I was hoping that, in all the rest of my life, I would never have to delve into these memories again, but it's time to tell you about Daemon Lucifer, the Celestial Star of Pride, and perhaps the Dark Princes of Hades as a whole."

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Chapter 47

Second Arc

Episode 12

Memories of Pain

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Meanwhile,

Hades' Earthly Castle

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

In central Europe, the night was just arriving and immersing the surroundings of Hades' castle in darkness. Besieging the massive structure, the former Gold Saints of Aquarius and Capricorn ordered their men to split into night guards and rest groups, keeping the electrical lamps alight throughout the tents to minimize the risk of Specters raiding them during the night. With the two massively powerful Gold Saints present, few truly feared any such attack, but Kirin and Malta were cautious, something they had learned from years of fighting Priam's guerrilla tactics.

From the black battlements, the True Skeletons and Specters watched and pondered their next move. The Saints were making sure to cut off their communications with the outside, wrongly believing the men of Hades to be in cahoots with Lucifer's army. It was difficult for the Specters to understand the surface situation past the tents and counter-ditches surrounding them, but the ambiance was still one of silent teeth-gritting and cursing among the black-armored men.

Perched on one of the towers, Harpy Valentine, the Celestial Wailing Star, sensed this anxiety among them. The men now hated their former Prince as much as they would Athena herself and wished to sally out and punish their new enemy for his transgression. He couldn't blame them. Valentine himself felt the hot coal of anger in his belly, but attacking the Civil War Gold Saints to get to Lucifer was suicide.

When it looked like none of the Saints would try anything foolish that day, Valentine dropped from the tower ceiling and glided down to Pandora's harp room balcony, entering the abode.

Inside, a group of Skeletons spoke to Pandora. "We dragged him out of the Styx, Lady Pandora, in full Surplice. Lord Phlegyas is still in the dark about what happened, but he seems to remember his previous life up until the point he was defeated by a Bronze Saint."

The raven-haired girl nodded. Her fingers rested on the harp strings in a way that made the messengers nervous. They had hoped this would constitute good news for the Sister of Hades, but clearly the woman was still ready to punish the first to displease her with more bad news.

Seeing that she wasn't relaxing, one of the skeletons elbowed the leading one so as to say the rest. "Um, we think this is a reliable confirmation that his corresponding False Specter has been terminated. Your theory was correct in that, as they die, the Surplices will return to us, making us stronger as they grow weaker."

The lady nodded. "As I suspected. Anything else?"

The Skeletons breathed a sigh of relief, sensing a better mood from the harper. "Alright, just have to make sure not to mention Lucifer and we'll be in the clear. What else would she like to hear?" The messenger thought. "The repairs of the Circles are ongoing well. We project to be finished in two mont-"

Her hand phased through the strings.

The messenger was instantly engulfed in an eruption of electric shock that illuminated the room like daylight for a second, making him scream. The others gasped in horror and caught him as the shocks ended, his body smoking.

Pandora stood up. "You have one!" she warned, before gesturing to them to leave. The terrified soldiers dragged their friend away down the Underworld stairs and Pandora saw Valentine approaching her. "How long until those Gold Saints are gone, Valentine? Pick your answer carefully."

The Wailing Star gulped. Lady Pandora just hadn't been the same since the Exodus. Her fury was now more feared in the Underworld than Rhadamanthys' and she wasn't even a Specter herself. Unlike the meek attendant of old who only occasionally allowed matters to rest in incompetent hands, the Sister of Hades now made sure to be on top of every issue in the Underworld, demanding the absolute best of the army, feasible or not. Admittedly, it was hurrying the repairs along, as the men were snapped out of the pain of Lucifer's betrayal by the poisonous lash of Pandora's trident.

But sometimes fury wasn't enough to circumvent reality. "It's unforeseeable, Milady. The Saints are determined to hold their position and they will not step inside our barrier. I don't entirely think they want to assault us, but rather keep us here for the time being."

The liaison calculated the enemy's intentions. "I see. They just want to control two fronts at once. It's impressive that they would think themselves strong enough to do so. This would be an excellent opportunity to prove to them how wrong they are…" she mused.

Beads of sweat fell down Harpy's head. "With all due respect, Milady, I advise against that."

Tension instantly rose and the room became darker as her eyes met his with an arrowhead's sharpness.

Feeling the horror of the risk he was facing creep up his heart; Valentine picked his words like his life depended on it. "Most of our high-rankers are still recovering from the insurgence. Gordon and Sylphid in particular are very hurt." he framed. If he blamed it on Lucifer, Pandora was more unlikely to turn her wrath against her own. "I believe that biding our time and letting the Gold Saints wear themselves out is more advisable. We have too little information on what's going on, too, so it's riskier than usual to take the initiative, and if the Surplices are indeed returning to us, then it means Chronos is smiling on us right now and we should wait."

While she didn't touch the harp, after a moment of reflection, Pandora still turned her back to him with a snort. "Coward…" she muttered, frustrated.

Harpy breathed a sigh of relief. He would take any insult over the volts of that cursed trident of hers, especially now that the Dark Knight ring was on his hand.

Suddenly, the doors to the Underworld's staircase opened up, allowing Balrog Rune, the Celestial Wise Star, in. "Lady Pandora, there you are! I have the most urgent message!"

The lady tensed her hands. "What is it now?! Did you fools spill the blood cauldrons on top of yourselves?! Or is Cerberus loose again?!" she snapped, pinning the Balrog to the wall with her look. She was so fed up that she immediately summoned her weapon and aimed it at the Balrog. "What setback are you here to inform me of now?! Go on! Tell me!"

The Balrog's eyes widened. "No, Milady, it's… Lord Hades!" he gasped out, surprising her. "He has awakened!"

Pandora gasped, dropping her trident to the floor.

Harpy was also agape with happiness. "Oh, thank the Gods! The Emperor is back to his senses!" he celebrated. "Rune, has he said anything?! Does he know what's going on here?"

The Balrog shook his head. "Not that I've been told of. Lord Hypnos is keeping a tight lip around Giudecca. No one but the Judges goes in and out. Aiacos was taking Phlegyas to see the Palace when he got the word of this."

Valentine smiled triumphantly. "Ah, ah, yes! With the Emperor on our side, it's only a matter of time till we are back at full strength! Isn't this great, Lady Pandora?!"

The woman, however, was hesitant to respond. The two Specters looked at her expecting this great change of mood after the furious few days they had gone through with her, but the pale woman found herself unable to, even conflicted on how to feel. Her little brother was awake and he called to her. She should be happy.

But instead, a great fear gripped her stomach. It was like a dazed dream after a day of great pain had ended, and a morning of uncertainty had arrived. What if he was changed, like a Caligula? What if the traitor had inflicted upon him such a great mental wound with Eternal Darkness that her brother just wasn't the same anymore, like herself? What if he was angry, furious at her, even, for letting Daemon's betrayal fester among them without her detecting it?

She suddenly felt the shadows of the twin gods over her. Hypnos and Thanatos had told her from day one that her duty was to care for the Emperor, to ensure his mental fortitude and that he correctly possessed his vessel on Earth. Now that she thought of it… would they insist on blaming her for letting Lucifer escape after gravely wounding all of them? Would they argue she could have zapped him into submission when he led the False Specters past her castle?

What awaited her at Giudecca? Relief or punishment?

Holding her weapon back up, Pandora calmed herself with a deep breath. "Rune, send more men up the stairs to guard the castle against the Saints while I'm gone. Valentine, come with me," she commanded, determined. "I want to go see my brother."

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Mount Rozan

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

The Gold Saints and Elder Yuzuriha beheld each other at Roshi's table.

Patiently sitting at the table for Dohko to start speaking, Lance's mind slowly ran through everything that had happened. While he felt strangely rejuvenated, likely a consequence of whatever Seiryu did to him in his weirdly vivid dream, the memories of the battle he went through began to terrify him. Within the space of a few dozen minutes, he went from thinking everything was fine and peaceful to battling what perhaps felt like the most unsurmountable opponent he had ever seen, a man cursed with red eyes just like himself and Tenma.

Sitting right by his side, Saga sensed the tension emanating off the Cancer easily. His fingers were drumming on his leg and his red eyes shifted between Dohko and the table like he was unsure what to do. This wasn't the first time the Gemini had seen him like this, and it was never a good sign. "How strong was he?"

Lance seemed surprised the Gemini would ask him this suddenly, but he guessed the perceptive blue-haired boy sensed something off him. What answer could he give, though? "I don't think I can even classify him." He confessed, intriguing Saga. "Nothing that I did seemed to work for more than a fraction of a second. I know I didn't have my Cancer Cloth, but the other guy with him, an Alraune Specter, was much easier to deal with."

Saga didn't want to come off as if he was underestimating his comrade, but this was a bit too much. Lance was a Gold Saint after all. "You probably aren't remembering it right."

The older Greek was a bit disgruntled by this. This was one of those lines that just couldn't come off right with anyone. "I remember it fine, Saga. I'm telling you; the guy was a monster!"

Saga blinked, taken aback. He wasn't entirely sure if it was just pride motivating Lance's angry thoughts. He looked too spooked for it.

Seeing that the Gemini wasn't convinced, Lance ended the conversation. "Just listen to Roshi, he'll tell you! Apparently the two go way back!" he frustratedly bit.

And so did Roshi speak. "Daemon Lucifer is a Specter of Hades. He is known as the Celestial Star of Pride."

Immediately, Saga saw something wrong with this. "Star of Pride? Saint Dohko, with all due respect… there's no such star." He questioned. "You also said earlier he was a Dark Prince, but there's no such rank in Hades' army. I've studied holy wars intensively and everyone knows the Judges are the most powerful warriors in the Underworld."

Elder Yuzuriha's expression darkened. She had once shared this belief too until she was proven horribly wrong.

In contrast, Roshi cackled out loud, finding the coincidence of thinking particularly amusing. "Hye, hye, hye! I remember me and Shion thinking that exact thing until two hundred and twenty-five years ago!" he confessed. "The reality is, Saint Saga, that there isn't much we know about the Underworld, even to this day. Despite our long history of fighting Hades… we have only invaded the actual domain of Athena's uncle once or twice. We haven't had many opportunities to research the enemy."

"And unfortunately, of the little we learned, not much of it was noted." Elder Yuzuriha interjected, the irony in her tone implying that she was especially at odds with this. "Most Saints don't know the names and stars of the more obscure Specters, only of the Judges and Celestial Stars. Even you Saint Saga, one of the more educated of the Zodiac, only learned what Sanctuary has allowed you to learn." Yuzuriha spoke, stunning the Gemini.

She continued. "The discovery of the Dark Princes was a shocking swerve to Sanctuary's war morale during the Lost Canvas War… until then it was faithfully believed that despite a large number of Gold ranks in Hades' army, the Gold Saints and the Godslayer had him ultimately outmatched. How many lullabies have you heard in orphanage telling you about the terror of the Specters, only for them to end with a Saint in shining armor smiting them?"

Lance sweated. "(Shinta, are you getting this?)"

"(Yeah.)" The green-haired teenager outside responded, receiving relays from both him and Dohko. "(I think your Master wants me in the loop as well because I can hear the conversation from both of you two. It's crazy… so there's a Specter we've never heard about until the very last war we had?)"

"(I think there's way more into this. It sounds from what the crazy lady is saying that Sanctuary wanted this quieted down.)" Lance argued.

"(Why would they do that? That's incredibly dangerous!)"

Lance found himself shrugging his shoulders in front of everyone. "(Why does the Pope do anything? I'd be angrier, but… Shion has a history of keeping everyone out of his business. That asshole Specter said that Priam was involved, too. That must have something to do with all this secrecy.)"

The Andromeda Saint paused for a second. "(I hate to admit it, but that makes sense…)"

Lance blinked. "(You're not gonna say it's morally wrong or anything?)"

"(Well, yeah, I do believe that! It's just… recently I've been noticing stuff, too, on my own.)"

The Pegasus was stunned. So Shinta was wising up about Shion, too, huh? This explained the weird conversation they had at Andromeda Island when Shinta announced his intention to run for the Virgo Cloth.

Roshi looked up. "No matter what you might think of Sanctuary's history, the foes you fought throughout Tibet were real, and I'm sure you sensed a bit of Lucifer's power through all the jamming fields… He is heading to Sanctuary as we speak, and I fear for the lives of everyone in Greece."

This seemed more than enough to appeal to Saga's reason. "I understand, Saint Dohko… but you have to be clearer about this. The men that attacked me… they said strange things." he recalled. "Deadly Beetle said they were fighting on their own crusade against us as if Hades didn't know they were up here on the surface. If I recall correctly, the Bennu and Shaman Specters spoke in similar terms during their attack in Austria and Germany."

"And now Lucifer resurfaces with an army…" Yuzuriha concluded. "Dohko, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

The master rubbed his beard in reflection. "Specters… are revived, not recruited, which is why they typically carry the same name across generations and even have memories of previous Holy Wars. While there have been exceptions, these were few and far between, owed mostly to purifications like the Celestial Violent Star, Bennu Kagaho."

"Or your teacher, Haisaku." Yuzuriha added.

The room was once again stunned, especially Lance. "Haisaku?... Roshi, your teacher used to be a Specter?!"

"A Skeleton, actually." the former Crane Saint corrected.

Mu's eyes widened. "Whooow! That's kinda cool! Roshi, what was she like? Did she have an armor that was eternal like a Surplice?!"

Dohko felt the eyes in the room focused on him. "Umm, we're all getting a bit off-track here! The important point is that…from what Saint Saga and Mu reported to me, all the Specters they encountered announced themselves with off-record names. We have never seen such a large-scale deviation of the rule since the Suikyo incident. It's curious, to say the least."

Of a practical mind, Saga helped the old master get back on topic. "You were explaining who Lucifer is to us."

"Right, right! The Celestial Star of Pride!" Dohko reiterated. "As you all are aware, yours truly, Yuzuriha here and Pope Arles are all three of us veterans from the previous Holy War."

"Ohh, I know this, it's the Lost Canvas War, right?!" Mu asked, raising his hand.

Dohko applauded. "Yes, correct, Saint Mu. We were Gold Saints of that war, except for Yuzuriha, of course. She was a Silver Saint brat back then who respected her superiors very much and never called them arrogant old farts." He pointed out, earning a dejected glare from the woman. "We fought many battles across three separate war phases, from the tragic Suikyo Incident to the bloody Lost Canvas War itself to the epic, final confrontation with Hades in our definitive invasion to the Underworld."

"Back then our understanding of the Specters was as you know it now, Saint Saga," Yuzuriha assured. "One hundred and eight deluded nihilists with a chosen people complex, all brainwashed into a death cult that ironically revives them over and over. One for every star of the Chinese Zodiac."

Gemini Saga nodded. "Yes, thirty-six Celestial Stars with Gold Rank power levels, including three Judges and seventy-two Terrestrial Stars, all headed by the liaison of Hades, Pandora." He resumed, demonstrating his knowledge. "Are you saying that perception is incomplete, then?"

Burning his cosmos lightly, Dohko raised his hand, creating an illusion of exactly one hundred and eight stars shining above the table. Mu reached out to one of them and smiled in amusement at the way his hand phased through the light.

With this visual aid, Dohko continued. "As I said, our knowledge of the identity of every Specter has always been very sketchy. During the last war, through my teacher Haisaku, we learned that it was possible even for Skeletons and Specters to cease to be such and that in all likelihood across the eras, many Specters were converted or destroyed out of Hades' grip, only to be replaced."

With this, Dohko then made many of the stars in the illusion go out, extinguished, only to be replaced with new ones of different shine and color, creating a different collective.

"Another discovery we made, however… was of two stars appearing in the last war that shined brighter than most." Dohko then made two particular spots, previously unremarkable, shine out like exploding supernovas. "These were the Celestial Stars of Absolutism and the Celestial Star of Pride. Dark Angel Michael and Daemon Lucifer. The Right and Left Arms of Hades."

Lance grumbled. "Well, that's a mouthful."

Dohko cackled. "YO-OH-OH! I always thought the exact same!"

It checked out, however, with how Lucifer presented himself to Lance. "You're saying these were two high-rankers we had never had any knowledge of?"

"Yes, and we still know very little about them." Elder Yuzuriha added. "Michael and Lucifer appeared during the Lost Canvas War like out of a fever nightmare. They began slaughtering our Gold Saints and conducting attacks on Sanctuary with efficiency and cruelty that the Underworld had never displayed before. It was as if Hades had grown tired of the incompetence of Judges, or of going easy on us, and put these two new monsters on the helm of his army."

Dohko rubbed his beard in reflection. "Yes, yes, I always believed the same, especially with how they first showed themselves immediately after Judge Minos' failed assault on Rodario. At the time, losing a single Pisces Gold Saint to take out a Judge and his minions felt like an incredible victory… too good, even. And then everything went down the toilet! Hye, hye."

Lance felt his head hurt already. "Roshi, with all due respect, I'm not like Saga here. I don't know Sanctuary's history or any of these events," he confessed, rather embarrassed at being out of the loop. "Can you please keep it simple and straightforward?"

Saga closed his eyes and shook his head. "Quite frankly, I'm starting to think I never really knew it, either."

"Our encounters with the Dark Princes first began with the burning of Jamir of 1751," Dohko recalled. "If you look back in your history books, the Specter Sylph Edward is blamed for it."

"Yes, that's right!" Saga enforced. "So why the change, Saint Dohko? How come we have no records of these two?!"

Dohko and Yuzuriha shared a complicit glance, tensing both the Cancer and Gemini Saints. While Mu on the other hand didn't really care about this and just hoped his friends were going to be okay, his older comrades looked truly upset, like his master had backstabbed them again. He started feeling self-conscious about it, looking up to Master so much and yet seeing him treat Saga unfairly.

The Elder tensed her stare. "You tell them. I've always been against this."

Roshi sweated again and shifted his eyes. "Well, you've always been a better storyteller, Yuzuriha. Maybe you could do it?"

Her arms folded. "Don't forget I have my own questions to ask, Dohko. Now tell them what Sasha said. Now!"

The eyes of the younger Gold saints focused back on Roshi, recognizing the name. "Sasha? That was the name of the previous incarnation of Athena." Saga recollected. "She ordered this censorship? Why?"

Lance wasn't happy about this either. "Yeah, I'd like the know why the fuck why, too!"

The master shifted in his seat, uncomfortable.

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

"Dohko, Shion, I must leave things as they were when we arrived, or many more people could suffer the consequences of it in the future. While not even the Gods like me can see what is to come, everything we fought for could in fact be eliminated if we do not finish the war with this difficult choice. We tried to save Tenma, and instead, we condemned him to a much more painful death than he should have had. Imagine what could happen as the wheel of fate keeps turning?"

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Dohko practically had to clean his forehead. How could he possibly explain Sasha's words? He never understood them himself. Sasha always spoke with a weird contradiction; like she knew what awaited in the future, but also was unsure how her actions would change it. It was something she shared with Hyoga, Shun, Shiryu, and Ikki, actually.

"Oh, so much pressure. You're all so angry at me, but it really isn't my fault. I mean, she's Athena, after all… if Shion wasn't going to protest this, I sure as hell wasn't." He stored his handkerchief and cleared his throat. "At the end of the war, before she departed, Athena really did order the censorship of the war's details, but it wasn't just about the Princes. The Godslayers were struck off record as well, as was my teacher, Haisaku."

They blinked. "So it's true… Sanctuary has been lying to us." Saga concluded.

"Well, it's an omission, not a lie." Dohko specified.

Lance shook his head. "Roshi, that guy almost killed me and Ma Chao! He nearly blew up this side of Asia!"

"Not only that, but we have been at war all this time and the Pope didn't even tell us!" Saga added on top of it.

"I understand that!" Dohko finally asserted himself, raising his tone. "And believe me, Saints of Athena, when I say it cost me greatly to have to accept Athena's orders! These two Specters caused a lot of destruction and pain, both to body, mind, and heart. Me, Arles and Yuzuriha lost friends to them right in front of us, but all three of us accepted that there was wisdom in burying what they had done!"

This outburst silenced the two young Gold Saints, who could barely believe their ears with this self-justification. "Roshi, you can't be serious! You hid this from all of us!" Lance appealed. "And just because Athena told you?! That's insane!"

Dohko then looked him square in the eyes. "I am serious, Lance, I truly am. Athena may not mean much to you, but I saw that Specter standing over you with my own two eyes and I maintain we did the correct thing because as Saints, we had reason to believe these two monsters to be truly gone."

The red-eyed student was appalled. "You…" He found himself unsure what to think. On one hand, it was Roshi, someone who had shown to truly care about him on more than one occasion, but on the other, he couldn't believe his wise teacher was so blindly obedient of something so outrageous just because it came out of, once again, that stupid Goddess' mouth.

His best friend must have sensed his shock from the conversation transmitted to him. "(Think about this carefully, Lance. It's Roshi. He cares about you. He would never in a million years hurt you.)"

But the Cancer Saint was too revolted by this. "(Didn't you hear him?! Shinta, you were attacked too! Elda and Al were put in danger because of some bullshit command from Virgin freaking Mary from two hundred years ago!)"

But his pacifist friend had a completely different take. "(If Master Guardnia had told me to do something in my home that was difficult to accept, I would listen anyway, even if I had my doubts. I think that to Roshi back then, questioning Athena would have been just as difficult as you questioning Roshi. Just give him a chance to explain himself, Lance.)"

As if on cue with Shinta's messages, Yuzuriha spoke. "Saint Cancer, you should believe your Master. As angry as I am with him and Athena's decision, he is correct in saying we had reason to think that, despite the revival cycle of the Specters, we firmly believed that the Dark Princes were a thing of the past."

Split between the two aged warriors, Lance didn't know what to think. He rubbed his eyes. "What do you mean, you two?"

Yuzuriha recalled the old battles. "Dark Angel Michael, dead or alive, earth or the Underworld, wherever he might be, isn't a Specter anymore."

"The Elder is right, and Lucifer has confirmed it to me himself," Dohko added. "The Celestial Absolute Star, much like Bennu Kagaho, my teacher Haisaku and others, no longer serves Hades. He betrayed the Emperor's cause and Hades isn't the type to give second chances to anyone but his fanatics."

Despite the current situation, Saga found himself breathing a sigh of relief. "Oh… so we only have this Lucifer character to deal with?"

"Yes, and even Lucifer was supposed to have been eliminated," Yuzuriha added. "At the end of the Holy War, Pope Arles and Saint Dohko fought the war's final battle against him in the 3rd Prison of the Underworld. They did so to buy me time to board the rest of the group on the Argo and sail out of the inferno through River Acheron."

Saga scratched his head. "Why did you believe defeating him would destroy him definitively?"

"At that point in time, Hades had already been sealed. Lucifer was the last Specter standing in the Underworld." Dohko explained, unaware that Acheron Charon had escaped the war's conflict. "If we killed Lucifer then and there, his body would rot away in the Underworld and his spirit would be lost in the cycle of reincarnation before Hades could ever rescue him."

Yuzuriha folded arms. "But clearly, the reports of his death were highly exaggerated."

Dohko felt personally slighted, scoffing "Pah, well, I buried him deep into the Underworld's crust with the force of one hundred dragons of Rozan. The entire Prison was collapsing around him at that point! Should I have poked him with a stick, too?!"

"YES!" Yuzuriha affirmed, raising her tone for the first time. "If you wanted to avoid the same mistake Capricorn Saints usually make, you should have poked him with a Hades' sword to make extra sure! This is the cruelest Specter in all of Hades' army and you didn't make sure he was dead!"

"Well, I chose to save Shion!" Roshi reminded her, defensive. "Your boat was already half-way up the Acheron, the Underworld was breaking apart and my friend was comatose on the ground! Time was running out and I wasn't going to leave him there!"

"Okay, okay, we can figure out who to blame later!" Saga interceded, feeling the two old warriors were getting lost in this. It made him a bit self-conscious because he wondered if this was what him and Aiolos sounded like to others? "From what I understand, Athena thought we would never have to worry about these two again, is that correct?"

Roshi nodded, rather embarrassed that the thirteen-year old bluehead had to be the voice of reason between him and Yuzuriha. "Yes, Michael was converted and Lucifer was thought destroyed, so by Athena's order they were removed from Sanctuary's history so that the legacy of their terror would stay in their graves."

There was a tired sigh from the aged lady. "Pope Arles' argument at the time was that people needed to feel safe if they wanted to rebuild. He said that the prosperity of Sanctuary Town, which was founded after the war, proved that Athena was right and that hope was more important than war records." Yuzuriha hissed, as if this personally disgusted her. "That old coward… I can't believe I was forced to go along with it."

Lance stared in conflicted thoughts at the two veterans. Just like Shinta suggested, it seemed like even they weren't sure about how correct the call was and that it had been a dilemma at the time of making it for then, too. While this calmed some of his more rebellious impulses, as it no longer was as if Dohko was putting Athena's words over everyone's well-being, everything was just so new and confusing that he was having a hard time digesting it.

It felt like their generation was dumping a problem on his shoulders and now he had to deal with this monster because of their mistakes from the last war. It wasn't dissimilar to the way Akassius spoke to him at the end of the 88 Festival.

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

"Aren't so many of us forced into awful situations like that in search of who we are?"

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

At the time, Akassius seemed to be talking about the Cancer Saint preceding Lance, but now these words echoed back to him as if the Gemini had guessed that sooner or later Arles would dump a whole mess of problems on top of him, Saga, and Aiolos like this.

While these thoughts haunted the Cancer, Saga continued the conversation. "Alright… so all we have to do is do our best to solve this, and then we can have a long conversation with His Holiness about what went wrong." the Gemini rationalized. "So what do we know about the situation? How much time do we have? How many are there of them?"

Just as Saga asked this, one of Yuzuriha's guards standing outside poked his head inside the room. "Milady, I'm sorry to intrude, but we have discovered the enemy's encampment."

Everyone's attention was captured, especially Saga and Lance's. "What? Already?! How?!"

"As soon as I learned an attack was going on, I sent scouts of mine ahead," Yuzuriha explained. Her smirk denounced pride in her people. "Lemurian warriors are used to make use of telepathic coordination to be vigilant over vast stretches of land, communicate lightspeed movements, and so on. The rest was a matter of approximation."

"The forward scouts spotted them in Turkey, at the Aegean Coast." The guard continued. "They won't get any closer, though, because they detect the enemy has similar detachments watching out for intruders, including a powerful psychic."

Mu gasped and tugged Yuzuriha's sash. "Ms. Yuzuriha, that must be the one that attacked me! He's a gross butterfly armored jerk that puts silk all over the place! He tried to put eggs inside me, ew!"

Saga rubbed his chin. "That sounds like the Papillion Specter. What else can you tell us about them?" he asked the guard.

The Lemurian man shook his head. "I'm afraid not much more, but judging by the visual counts, footprints, and cosmos trails… the scout captain says we might be dealing with over at least a dozen Specters, not counting the Skeletons. They are standing by to communicate any movements."

Yuzuriha snorted. "Hmm, typical, Pride Star is on to how we do things. Thank you, you may go now," she told the guard, who nodded humbly and went outside again. "At least we know we are in time to stop him."

Perceptive, Lance noticed this wasn't the first time she and Roshi implied that Lucifer was savvy of Sanctuary's methods. "Roshi, this guy is powerful… but it sounds like there's more to it. You two talk of him like he knows everything about Sanctuary."

Saga concurred. "Hmm, that's true. Is there something more to him? The men I fought seemed to practically worship him, thinking he was taking them to a new age." He recalled. "They also spoke like he would conquer Sanctuary, rather than exterminate it… What is truly going on? Why is he attacking us at this precise moment and with what objective?"

Roshi chuckled a bit. "Good eyes are on you two. Yes, the Dark Prince Daemon Lucifer has a rather unique motivation to him. Throughout the Lost Canvas War, we quickly learned that these two particular Specters held different behavior patterns from the Judges… but that is likely to be expected, considering that unlike most Specters, Lucifer hails from Sanctuary."

Once more, there was a collective widening of eyes from the young Gold Saints.

Elder Yuzuriha only added to the shock. "This might be a bit hard to swallow, but we are not up against a simple man of Hades. The Celestial Pride Star, Daemon Lucifer, was once a normal man, a youth of Athena even… and as such, he lived as one of the last descendants of Arles I, otherwise known as the Athenian Emperor."

While the three of them were distant from such history, the idea of a powerful Specter with ties to such a figure existing still hit them like a sledgehammer, especially to Saga. "Wait, what? No, that can't be right!" he protested. "Arles I was a Pope of the 11th century, he couldn't have had children!"

"He was also a conqueror, a revolutionary and an eventual usurper of Athena's authority. Arles I wasn't therefore particularly concerned about chastity," Yuzuriha argued, being more versed in history. "He was far closer to being a monarch than a Pope. Athena herself crowned him with a laurel of gold blessed with her blood, legitimizing his rule, before he eventually pushed her aside entirely. While his rule was short-lived, it has impacted generations to come, radically transforming not only Sanctuary, but kingdoms like Asgard and Shamballa as well."

"And Daemon Lucifer sees himself as his descendant, at the very least. He will tell you himself every chance he gets," Roshi continued. "As such, he views Shion as the real usurper and himself as not just the Pope, but the rightful ruler of mankind, leader of all societies that Arles I once conquered." He then chuckled. "Yo-oh-oh, I wonder if Shion picking 'Arles' as a name makes Lucifer even sorer about it."

"Is that how he's so savvy about us?! He was once some sort of weird prince of Sanctuary?" Lance asked, to which Dohko nodded. "But that's completely ridiculous! I've always been told that Sanctuary is owned by Popes and Athena, so what is this guy doing in Hades' army, then?!"

Yuzuriha then sighed melancholically, reminded of her little brother Tokusa. "Hades has a cruel sense of humor… and a taste for corrupting people. He did the same to a sibling of mine once. I'm not surprised he thought the idea of making a pretender to Sanctuary's throne a slave of his." She retold. "That God preys on people's deepest sadness, driving them over the edge with their loneliness and then tempting them with offers of immortality, power, the twisted comradeship of Specters and cleansing the ugliness of Earth. You probably know people in Sanctuary like that, Saint Lance, who think it isn't worth hoping for the world to get better anymore."

The red-eyed Saint gritted teeth, being immediately reminded of Aphrodite who often spoke of how ugly he felt the world and people's behavior was. Could he be the same type of person who was vulnerable to a devil deal from Hades? Could Lance himself be of that type?

Guessing his thoughts, Dohko elaborated on Yuzuriha's explanation. "You shouldn't compare yourself to him, Lance."

He looked up at his teacher. "Roshi?"

The purple dwarf patted his hand. "Lucifer has cursed eyes and detests Athena but he is far different from you. He's a supremacist with a convenient excuse to see himself in power. Sure, his great, great, great, great grandfather may have been a king of sorts in Sanctuary,… but if Daemon Lucifer sat on that throne tonight, no one would change their minds at how gross what he's doing for it would be, and he would care little for how you recognize him as an emperor or king. Rather he will simply murder anyone who disobeys him, backed by an army of thugs. That's no King that Athena would put a laurel over."

Saga narrowed his eyes. "I also cannot allow a man with such silly pretensions to attack His Holiness and destroy everything we worked for, no matter what he sees himself as. The descendant of a Pope or not, he is murdering innocent people and will be stopped."

Mu folded arms on the table. This was all too confusing to him. He could synthesize Uranium 238 in a garage, but political stuff always bored his mind. "To me, it just sounds like a bad guy."

The simplicity of this conclusion made Dohko laugh out loud. "HEE, HEE, HEE! Yes, you're absolutely right, Mu!"

Saga resumed their thoughts. "Alright, so we know who we're up against, how many, where and why…" but something important escaped them. "How dangerous is he, though, Saint Dohko? How should we approach this problem?"

The mood got noticeably more uncomfortable between the two older members of the table talk. Roshi once more shifted around and Yuzuriha went quiet, looking away. Maybe they were thinking of a way to put their answer simply, or perhaps more insidiously, the answer truly frightened them.

Knowing that the young kids usually saw things in battle more directly, Roshi put it in a way they could understand it. "All three of you are Gold Saints. If one of you faces him, you will die. If two of you flank him, you will probably die after a little while longer…Should all three attack at once, you might stand a chance at tiring him before help arrives," he worded, implying this last scenario also ended with death, already stunning the young Gold Saints. "If he was on his own, perhaps the entire Zodiac could amass unto him and defeat him, but Lucifer came with an army, which is concerning."

Saga sweated. "What?!"

Lance folded arms disgruntledly, already knowing this. "I told you so."

The Gemini, however, felt this inconceivable. "But it can't be! We are all warriors of light speed who work hard everyday to earn our Cloths! Sure, some of us are stronger than the others but… surely, it's simply a matter of experience, age, abilities, and discipline?! This single man can't possibly be so far beyond anyone else, much less multiple Gold Saints?!"

"Well, I would be lying if I wasn't factoring in how young you all are in this calculation. When I battled Lucifer, I was already older and more seasoned than any of you." Dohko added. He then chuckled. "He still beat the daylight out of me the first few times, though, yo-oh-oh!"

"We are also assuming he is at full power, unhindered by Virgo Asmita's seal." Yuzuriha contributed. She was there when the 108 beads were originally fashioned. "However, this is a mystery in and of itself, since the seal is still active. This makes all the more important that you Gold Saints reach Saint Shaka and determine the status of the seal."

"And the sooner, the better. To add to their power and savviness of Sanctuary tactics, the Dark Princes are also unrepentantly cruel with the Gold Saints, believing us to be their direct ideological opposites." Dohko added. "Lucifer won't seek to just physically destroy your friends… if he can punish the Pope and the Gold Saints through the spirit, he will."

This kept getting scarier. "How so, Saint Dohko?" Mu asked.

Dohko and Yuzuriha shared another complicit look, reminiscent of the pain caused by the Princes.

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

18th Century

Lost Canvas War

Author Note: For the sake of simplicity of formatting, from now on these TLC flashback scenes will be only centered and not in italics. This will avoid conflicting information.

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Still rattled by the demonstration of power from the Godslayers, who tried to freeze Michael with their God Cloths to give Sisyphus an opening to shoot down Alone, Daemon Lucifer considered Michael's words carefully. "You want us to fall back?!"

The blonde, red-eyed Dark Angel nodded. "I was only barely able to catch that arrow. If these Bronze Saints surprise us further, something catastrophic could happen to Alone."

Though proud, he recognized the reason in Michael's words. "Alright, fine!... We will rethink our strategy back in Giudecca! Maybe put those useless Judges to work!" he conceded, tightening fist and turning back on the Saints.

Dohko was incessant. "Where do you think you're going?!"

Michael signaled Pride Star to join the others. "The battle is over, Libra. Unless you want more bloodshed, I suggest you accept this truce." The winged Specter advised. He then squinted. "Though knowing you Saints, you probably would be bloodthirsty enough to want more violence. Well, we are ready to dish it back out if you-"

"No, you're wrong!" Andromeda countered, standing up. "We accept it! We'll take the truce!"

Dohko turned to him in outrage. "SHUN! We can't do this!"

"We've had enough for tonight, Roshi! Think of Shiryu and Rasgado!" Andromeda urged through a mental message, instantly silencing the Libra. "We will mourn our dead and heal our wounded. You may go, Princes."

Tenma was hesitant, but he also accepted the inevitability of the situation, lowering his arms. "I'll see you later, Alone. Don't think I'm giving up on you…"

Sisyphus patted Dohko's shoulder. "I know you're angry, and so am I… but this is the right thing. Tomorrow will be better."

Dohko gawked at his friends, but, outnumbered and with the Dragon Saint in mind, his anger subsided. "… Fine. This isn't the end of it, though."

Taking a guarding position by the platform's edge, the two Princes watched as the carriage took off, manned by Cheshire. "Make sure Alone is back in his studio."

"Yes, Prince Michael, right away, nyao!" Cheshire vowed, reigning the headless horses.

Lucifer scoffed. "Gah, I always hated that cat freak's noises."

Dark Angel Michael spared Shun an acknowledging nod. Since he met the boy at Jamir, the Prince thought he felt an affinity with the peace in his cosmos, but now he had proof of his personality. "You're wiser than your friends, Andromeda. It shocks me you're on their side. However, as a Prince of Hades, I must cleanse the Earth of all of the Emperor's ill-intenders, especially Godslayers like you."

The mystery of these two princes still eluded Andromeda, but he accepted their difficult position. "I'm not a slayer of Gods, I'm a defender of those I love, a Saint of Athena," he argued. "It saddens me that you murdered Asmita, but even so I wouldn't wish harm on you just for the sake of it, especially if you're willing to stop fighting like this."

Sisyphus saw that the Dark Angel seemed continuously impressed by Andromeda, so he stepped up to confront how misguided he's been. "As you can see, Specter…despite all the pain you caused, there are those on the surface who wouldn't even wish harm upon you for it. This is why Athena has blessed us."

The Celestial Absolute Star squinted. The image of Alone almost getting skewered in the head by this man's arrow burned in his protective mind. "Lucifer, head on for me, I'll wrap things up."

But the Pride Star scoffed, knowing his rival. "You're joking, right? I'm not gonna miss this! I can see your blood boiling off your wounds from here, mm, mm, mm."

Dark Angel ignored Daemon's provocation and laughter. He had two centuries of experience at it. "Fine, do as you want." and stepped towards Sisyphus, picking up the golden arrow he had tossed to the ground. "I've heard, Sagittarius, that you are the most gallant of the twelve Gold Saints, and that your Cloth is the mightiest of the twelve, too. I assume there is a connection between the two ideas?"

Sagittarius nodded, unsure what the Dark Angel intended with this. "No. Unlike with Surplices, our strength isn't passed down by resurrection. We train for it, sacrifice for it, and endure hardship after hardship to become Saints."

"So you fought and trained to earn your place as one of her twelve sledgehammers, but you spoke of being blessed by Athena." Michael pointed out. "Isn't that ironic?"

"What's ironic about it?!" Cygnus asked.

The Daemon Prince cut to the chase. "Don't you get it, you simpleton? You're all hypocrites!"

The Sagittarius sterned himself. "How are we hypocrites?"

"Please don't speak for me, Lucifer. We see differently on this; you would just stomp down your problems under your boot, too." Michael demanded, before addressing Sisyphus. "Saint Sagittarius, you say your Goddess blesses you, but you reward those among you that go against her creeds the most. She speaks of peace, of living together with mortals, of standing arms down, but your Pope elects Gold Saints who thrive on violence and isolate themselves to live in these palatial temples, one more vicious than the next."

The Gold Saint scoffed. This type of argument trap from Athena's enemies was typical. "We elect those that can protect others best, Specter." he clarified. "Gold Saints are the shields of Athena's message, not her idealized humans. For as long as there are those, like yourself, who will invade Sanctuary because you don't want peace, there will be Gold Saints guarding its doors."

The Dark Angel Prince then uttered something that truly surprised him. "Do you think I disagree with Sanctuary?"

Sisyphus blinked, taken aback. "You don't?"

And Michael shook his head. "No. In fact, I think what Athena believes in is quite beautiful." He confessed, glancing at Sasha. "A world void of greed, violence, and despair… it's everything I've ever dreamed of."

"Is that true, Prince?" Phoenix Haisaku spoke.

The Celestial Pride Star turned to her, having not even noticed the Bronze Saint till now. "Mm? What do you care, you old hag?" snided Lucifer.

"I may be an old hag, but I'm no stranger to Hades' testaments. Prince Michael, I truly wish to know from you, though; do you fight for a better world, a world you hope all of us can have?" Phoenix Haisaku suddenly asked. "A long time ago, I used to wish for Gods like Hades to wipe the slate clean and start over. Do you think the same Prince Michael? What do you believe in?"

The blond, red-eyed adult took notice of her tact with him. "What is your name, Saint?"

Her head humbly lowered. "I am Saint Haisaku of Phoenix, a Sage of Rozan." She introduced herself. "A long time ago, however, I was a servant of you, a Skeleton of Hades."

This revelation stunned the Pride Star. "What?!" he stepped forward but was stopped by Michael's arm. "You're a traitor, then! Why shouldn't I blast your head off here and now?!"

Michael pushed him back. "Enough, Lucifer! We're at a truce, remember?"

The Pride Star pointed at her. "Fuck the truce! Do you want to let her go?! She could tell the Saints half our secrets!"

The Dark Angel sighed. "What secrets? Skeletons are barely privy to how the Prisons work, much less our personal affairs." He eyed the woman again. "Let me guess, you lost hope with Hades, and found it with Athena?"

Memories of the Phoenix's burning rejuvenation came to Haisaku's mind. Her story was more painful and complicated than this. "In short, yes."

Resting a hand on his black faulds, the winged Prince guessed the rest. "It's a shame. Had you been there during our rise to power as Princes, you would not have defected. Since you were honest with us, however, I will answer your question, Phoenix." he conceded. He then eyed Sasha directly and smirked. "I believe everything should come to an end."

While this answer didn't surprise any of the Saints, as they were used to regard Specters as the nihilists they were, Sasha, being of a nurturing nature, was instead curious. "What do you mean, Prince? I know I'm your enemy, but please explain to me?"

"Sasha, he means he's a death cultist!" Dohko roared. His fists clenched so hard that his gauntlet cringed. "Just like all the other Specters! They've given up on life, on hope, on everything that made them human, so they want everyone to die!"

Michael sighed, prompting a chuckle from his rival. "You're so wrong that I don't even know where to begin with that, Libra."

Dohko smirked, feeling he had the higher ground. "Why don't you wipe the smirk off your face and try?"

The poisonous stare the prince spared him gave him pause, though. Even his tiger bravado relented, sensing from this man's cursed eyes a strange dampening melancholy which ate away at Dohko's spirit as if his very black fire was burning away at his soul with a mere look.

For a moment, Dohko felt a pain in his heart, as if whatever caused this Specter to lose hope was suddenly transmitted without words.

But soon enough, it was given ease. "Alright… Perhaps I misspoke, Libra. What I meant is that I believe everything must end here in this world," he corrected himself. None of the Saints felt it was a particularly improved presentation, but the Celestial Absolute Star went on. "Let's start with your concept of death, Libra. You see it as a punishment Hades is inflicting on humans, correct?"

Dohko nodded hesitantly. This smelled like a trap.

"But given that you hail from Rozan, I ask you… what animal does not die to feed the mighty tiger?" he questioned. "Furthermore, what tree does not die to make room for new plants? If death is all around us, and therefore natural, then what is its purpose? Just to make way for a new life?"

While the Libra hesitated, he didn't buy into this bullshit. "Are you trying to get me to say that death is positive?" he mocked. "Is that your way to convince me Hades is better?!"

"No, I'm saying that my perspective on it is different. These things, this suffering that living creatures go through, animal or human, this endless death… used to bother me immensely. I wanted very much to change things, to help create a better world, just like Athena wants." Michael elucidated.

"Then what changed?" Sasha asked, sensing true humanity in the Specter.

Lucifer's shoulders shook. "He stopped being a pussy, mm-mm!"

"I already asked you to be quiet." Michael reminded him, promising the Daemon fire with his glare. "What changed, Athena… is that I realized that death, and Hades' judgment is special and isn't a punishment. They're a gift."

This notion was so abhorrent to the Saints they barely could process it. Some of them, like Andromeda and Cygnus, had seen the Underworld for themselves. There was no way they could see what Specters did to the dead as benevolent.

But this silence gave the Dark Angel Prince room to explain himself. "You are probably thinking together with your goddess that it's an unfair assessment, that mankind has proven time and time again its capacity to evolve and that its increasing adaptation against us Specters is proof of it." The blond snorted. "It's a hopeful perspective that isn't strange to me. I've lost count of how many times I've heard these lines. Even Asmita had them under his tongue. I've also lost count of how many times I've tried to believe in them… only to be proven wrong."

If the earlier statement was abhorrent, this one was outright disgusting. "What?! Proven wrong?! How full of yourself are you?!" Pegasus Tenma gasped.

Michael then sighed sadly, as if reminded of a past mistake. "The truth is, Godslayer, that it doesn't matter how many times Athena preaches peace over us, or wins her Holy Wars or has a grand triumphant moment of standing over the ruins of her vicious enemies. Mankind still won't change. Not fast enough, at the very least. Alone understood that."

The Pegasus was outraged, stepping up to the angel. "How could you say that?! You people turned Alone into a murderer. Even innocent children like our friends from the orphanage back home were killed by him! You think that's a positive change?!"

Michael's glare alone warned him to keep his distance. "…Pegasus, do you know how many children I see falling from the Presepe Well every day? Do you think you came to this earth without countless dying before you? How many generations of men and women do you think have fallen this night? How many parents and grandparents labored all their lives, dying meaninglessly, to give rise to you and your friends?" he confronted. "Then add to those deaths of those who die alone, unloved, uncared for… often in the greatest of miseries. The death of your friends was painful, I'm certain of it!... But that pain is over for them."

Observing all of this, the Andromeda Saint was once again reminded of the whispers that Hades would say to his ears when in control of him, back home. It was a very similar point of view, only coming from a human who truly seemed to believe it, and not a cruel god trying to lull the Andromeda Bronze Saint to sleep.

"The reality is, in the grand scheme of things that we Specters are forced to witness every day –" Michael continued "-the death of your friends is regrettable, but it's also one tiny droplet next to what we helplessly have to see go by on an hourly basis. The only thing we can do, as humans who labor in the Underworld, is to strive to make this stop, to create a better tomorrow where the cacophony of violence is ground to a halt."

While she already knew his answer, being a former Skeleton, Haisaku still asked "And how will you strive for that?"

The answer came as resolute as it was predictable. "Through death. The Godslayer and Sanctuary say death is a cruel punishment on your loved ones, but I say it's a beautiful tool of regeneration, especially if the wheel of fate is greased by the blood of the violent, and the tool for a greater, happier future for humans all over the world."

It was Andromeda's turn to join Sasha in her morbid curiosity about the Angel's motivation, not because he entirely shared her nature as an overlord deity, but because he had felt these thoughts before, long ago, when his hair had been suddenly turned red and his eyes made pale. "You're saying… that Hades will make a new mankind, aren't you?"

Tenma turned to him. "SHUN! Don't feed his spiel!"

The green head shook. "I know what I'm doing Tenma, don't worry." He then readdressed Michael. "I know this argument. It was whispered to my ear a long time ago. I'm sure right now Alone hears it too, the voice of Hades telling you about a quiet world, a pacified world."

The two Princes were taken aback. More and more, they were amazed by this Andromeda Saint's perception of them. The two rivals exchanged a complicit look as if planning what to do about this. Daemon just gestured to Michael to continue.

And so did Dark Angel. "Yes, that is what I'm saying, Andromeda. The Emperor is harsh, but his judgment will expiate us all of our sins," he argued, horrifying half the present souls. "Much like the Specters themselves, mankind will be uplifted; the Lost Canvas will cleanse it of its broken machine and send our souls through the Underworld, where we will all learn the errors of our ways… and when we do…"

Lucifer completed his sentence, smirking. "A new brave world will arise, prosperous under imperial oversight, with humankind cleansed of its darker nature. A clean slate!" he enunciated. "Personally, I could do without the pacifist bullshit… but it's true this filthy world needs to be reset. At the very least a better version of ourselves would be welcome."

"SO, THIS IS YOUR ANSWER?! TO MURDER EVERYONE AND START OVER?!" Tenma shouted, held back by Andromeda.

The pink-armored Saint pulled him back. "It's no use, Tenma. If you get upset, you'll just prove them right."

The Pope, familiar with Dark Angel's nihilism, intervened. "You said you believed that everything should come to an end, Dark Angel. Is this what it stems from? You lost faith in our current world?"

"Yes." Michael bluntly put.

Sage, however, was unmoved. He recognized this state of mind, not from other humans, but from Hypnos and Thanatos themselves. His Lemurian cogs began turning. "I see. This must be why you were named the 'Absolute' Star, because of your complete faith in Hades' nihilism?"

Daemon chuckled. "That's a bit of an oxymoron, isn't it?"

"It's also incorrect," Michael added. He eyed the Pope piercingly. "Pope Sage, in the previous war you rose to the top of Sanctuary's food chain and were blessed with the Colchian Dragon. Was it your faith or your power that gave you that position?"

The white-haired Lemurian chuckled. "Mm, mm, well, it was more like a situation where I was the only one around left."

Michael's hand rose as if to appeal to them. "You hold incredible power through it, though, do you not? With one word from you, all of Athena's Saints stand at the ready to enforce her creeds. It's a mighty position to be just handed to whoever's left, is it not?"

Sage nodded, interested in where this was going. "True."

Lucifer squinted at his rival. "This better not be going where I think it's going!"

But the Absolute Star cared little for reminding him of this. "I'm afraid, your Holiness, that in the Underworld I didn't have that luxury. Not all of my brothers are as… idealistic like me. Especially not Lucifer here." He explained, already making the Daemon Prince cringe his fist "I had to become stronger, more educated, more determined to do whatever it took to lead the Specters to a brighter future. More than anyone else in the army."

Lucifer roared, stepping up to him, his electric cosmos sparking in his fist. "You are NOT stronger than me!"

But Michael's wings spread warningly, spreading loose black feathers and making the temperature in the air rise to frightening levels. The Daemon Specter stopped, hesitant, already sweating under the glare of his rival at the prospect of being beaten down once more. The sight of this made the Saints who had been fighting Lucifer truly startled; was the difference between the two that incredible?

Slowly, as he saw that Lucifer would behave, Michael's wings relaxed and he spoke to the Pope again. "As you can see, your Holiness… in order to see my dream come true, I had to become the absolute Specter, one that none of my brothers would dare to question. Especially Lucifer here." He explained. "Needless to say… it took sacrifice."

Sage hummed to himself. "I'll be damned if this man isn't under Hypnos' wing…"

With the control of the conversation in his hands, the Dark Angel moved on. "Obviously, I wish things were better, that I could have this position without force and that we could solve our problems without the blood cauldrons and rolling boulders, but I ask this of you, Saints –" he premised, pointing at them. "If you don't believe in Judgement, why do you tolerate people like Virgo Asmita among your ranks?"

This took them frankly by surprise. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"Asmita is not the first Virgo Saint I've battled, but today's confrontation with him confirmed to me what I already suspected; the most virtuous and peaceful of the Gold Saints attacks his foes by punishing them with their sins, sending them to a Buddhist inferno befitting their impulses," Michael recalled. "The Transmigration of the Six Paths, I believe it's called. How is that different from what Hades wants to do in the Prisons?"

Pope Sage rubbed his chin, intrigued. "An interesting perspective." More and more, his suspicion regarding these two seemed more valid. Perhaps the battle he planned to have with Thanatos would elucidate on this. "However, they are not the same for Asmita. He would never blindly use his technique on the entire world."

Lucifer scoffed. "You're joking, right? Your Cancer Saints weaponize the Underworld and your Scorpios gleefully inflict their torturous needles in the name of Athena and Sanctuary. I don't exactly dislike the idea, but you speak of Specters as if what we do is any different. The reality is, only the scale is different, and our method will actually achieve something!"

Michael then lowered his head regretfully. "Once upon a time, I thought Athena's path was better, too. I truly did… but deep down she knows that her belief in mankind's goodness holds no water, which is why she allows into her army people who adopt the same methods as Hades. She sees the world ravaged by cannons, sabers, fire, and raping… and knows every single one of her men has the potential for it," he then eyed the Goddess directly. "So you accept the presence of these Virgos, Cancers, Scorpios, and so on, isn't that right, Athena?"

Attention was put collectively on the Goddess. Sage interjected. "Don't dignify him, Sasha. He won't listen to you as he is now."

Her head shook. "No, Sage, it's fine. I want to try anyway." She then shocked everyone with her response. "You're right, Prince. All my Saints are flawed, however, so is your response. One does not drain the ocean and refill it because a sailing ship has stolen its fish, nor assume those same sailors are killing such creatures for personal cruelty."

Lucifer rested his hand on his hip, containing his anger. "Bullshit!" he hissed, feeling his imperial blood boiling. "This is the exact kind of reasoning that brought my family down! We could be fixing the planet, building a civilization worthy of the GODS… and yet she insists on letting the disease fester! What is hard about that?! That's passiveness!"

Eyeing the Prince's silver hair and taking his words into account, Sasha reasoned his origins. Hades was cruel indeed to bring a descendant of Arles I into his ranks. "My Saints are flawed, for they are not stripped of their humanity. However, that is why I think humanity should be saved. Sometimes it is ugly and difficult to forgive,… but at times they also do something so wondrous that I still can't believe half my family would have them wiped out."

Lucifer scoffed mockingly. "Something wondrous?! Like what?!"

Sasha smiled at the Daemon. "Like you. Humans spared your family, even though so many wished it destroyed, Lucian. You are alive today because humans once tortured by your ancestor understood his evil shouldn't be emulated."

Michael saw Lucifer be suddenly silenced and made agape. "Lucifer?"

The Left Arm of Hades gritted teeth, captured by her gaze. "You know NOTHING of me!"

"But I know of my old memories, from previous wars, and of the shameful mistake I made in crowning Arles." She argued. "Yet, even though I was so ashamed of what I had done, even though so many had suffered, even though they were so angry…humans were the first to tell me they did not want to end his children."

Dark Angel saw his rival completely paralyzed. Deducing that Athena was bewitching him somehow, he continued. "Athena, you call it a reason that humanity is worth saving, but how many of those wondrous things happen amidst all the terrible ones?! It's just an excuse to let the world keep burning. As we speak, even the Oceans of Poseidon has ceased to stop our species from brutalizing each other. Humans are enslaved from their cradle and brought west, toiling under conditions worthy of the Circles, while others are massacred for the simple crime of being different, making way for those who want to steal their homes."

The Daemon had more to add this, folding his arms. "Even more so, entire nations close themselves off, afraid of the new age of war that is building up, and the corpses of the planet are beginning to be burned to feed machines. The emperor, however, sees that he can cleanse mankind of their sins, making them proper subjects!" he worded, seeing himself as destined to rule. His finger then pointed at the Goddess. "And you stand in his way. Just like you stood in my family's way. Where was that kindness of yours, Athena, when Sanctuary Lords enslaved their own and invaded Egypt and Asgard? How can you stand by all of that when the whole world is clearly void of virtue?"

The question hung in the air for a bit, almost making the Gold Saints think Sasha had no answer for this.

Indeed she lamented upon this, but her belief in humanity cannot be so easily brushed off by words. "You distrust humanity, but are you not human too?"

The Pride Star then proudly inflated his chest. "Pah, we are the chosen of Hades; they whom he has deemed worthy to carry out his judgment!"

"Nonsense!" the woman declared, startling them with the sudden sternness in her soft voice. "There is no flawless being, no human who has not stepped on a flower! You speak of hypocrisy, then answer me this? Why is Hades so cruel and blames the humans for their sin, when Cronus, his Titan father, devoured him in jealousy long before Prometheus could craft the first man and woman from clay?"

Lucifer gritted teeth. "How dare you insult the Emperor!"

But Sasha stood up to the Daemon. "An even greater insult is to selfishly wish to enslave your own out of a false sense of supremacy. Every sinner you say you'll punish, a sin will be added to you. Cleanse the world, see it purified expecting perfection, but you will discover you will find none. You start again, kill the sinner and add a sin, cleanse the world, over and over foolishly until you are no mighty Prince but a lap dog chasing its own tail, only to discover this truth that I speak of after you bite yourself, " she pointed out, knowing fully well now where the Pride Star's sense of entitlement was coming from, namely the long-ended ambitions of Arles the Conqueror.

She then turned to Michael. "But perhaps even worse, Prince Michael is you… who wishes to silence all the violence you seem so sensitive to… with your own. I sense a true desire to help others in you, but you've allowed my uncle to twist your perspective and make you think there was no earthly tool you could use to fix what saddens you. Not because you want to merely subjugate…but because you've simply completely lost faith."

Michael stepped up and raised a brow. "A lost soul am I? A lapdog is he? Very well. Tell me, Goddess, if you believe in humanity, would you forgive us in front of the very Golds who worship you?" he challenged, waving his hand at the Saints behind her. "The very ones whose friends we have slaughtered as well as hundreds more with the intention of decimating millions?!"

Sasha took a deep breath. "If your heart truly changes, then yes, yes I would."

The blonde Prince eyed her tensely, his own heart so lost that her earnest words struck him like a wave against a rocky shore, seen as nothing more than shallow appeasement. "You…!"

Michael's hand raised, his face incensed, intending on laying hands upon the Goddess! All the Saints instinctively stepped closer to her, wordlessly warning the Prince to respect the truce he himself called.

Dark Angel, however, relaxed his tense expression and showed her his palm; an orb of pure black cosmos he had been charging hovered on it, alerting the Saints.

"SASHA, STAND BACK!" Tenma urged. Her staff held him back, though. "No! What are you doing?! Let me help you!"

Athena's head shook, though, calming the Pegasus with a warm smile. Lucifer smirked, recognizing the technique in his rival's hand.

"Wingless shades of death, I beseech thee!" Michael chanted. "Hear my Ill COMMAND!"

Sasha watched, unafraid, as the orb spiraled furiously in the Specter's hand, attracting specks of his black fire to it. The Saints urged her with their stares to do something, but the Goddess refused.

The orb was lifted on his two fingers to the air. "Mark thyself with the scar of shadows! Rise and corrupt! Capture the consciousness and summon its greatest FRIGHT up on the stage!"

The orb then suddenly supercharged to the size of a basketball, burning like a black sun above Michael's head. The skies reacted, casting forth furious gusts that waved their hairs and riled the orb of fire. The goddess remained impassive, despite knowing the Specter's intentions.

Michael lowered it, presenting it like a flower. "You know this hex, do you not, Athena? My Master Hypnos crafted it himself!" he revealed, confirming Sage's suspicions. "So even an Olympian like you wouldn't just shrug it off!"

Sasha's hair waved around, caught in the tempest caused by the spell. "I know what it does, yes… but if seeing what I fear is what will take for you to understand the side I've picked, then so be it."

Lucifer cackled. "AH, AH, AH! How appeasing! Perhaps we should have asked if we could cut off her head, instead!"

Sage was in a panic. "SASHA, DON'T! You'll be at their mercy!" As Pope, he could not allow this. He had seen the cruel God of Sleep use this in the past war, of which he and Hakurei were the only survivors of.

Sasha merely closed her eyes. "I'm ready, Prince."

Michael lowered his fingers on her. "Etern-" but his wrist was then grabbed harshly by the Sagittarius Saint. "What?!"

Sisyphus struggled against the Dark Angel. "Don't you dare touch her! If you want to see what drives the defenders of humanity, use me INSTEAD!"

Tenma and the other Bronze Saints stepped forward, wanting to help, but Lucifer gave them a warning glare. "Stay off this, you lot!" he then smirked at his rival. "This has gotten interesting, hasn't it?"

"Sisyphus, stay back!" Sasha appealed. "This is my show of faith!"

But the winged Gold Saint put his foot down. "I refuse!... I don't know what this technique is, but not only will I not let any harm on you, but seeing your fears won't show them anything about their own humanity, only what a God laments!" he eyed the Prince directly. "So, Celestial Absolute Star… use me!"

The Dark Angel was decisively paused, in doubt. First the Andromeda Saint, and now this guy. They were all either completely brainwashed by Sanctuary, or just plain stupid. In either case, however, he couldn't refuse someone's desire to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. "Very well, then, Sagittarius… If you wish to show me 'sacrifice', I will grant you that wish, just like I did with Asmita." Released by the Sagittarius, he then aimed his fingers at him. "ETERNAL DARKNESS!"

The orb shattered into countless shrouds of darkness which showered the winged Gold Saint, horrifying Sasha. "SISYPHUS!"

The shrouds silenced the struggling Gold Saint, who got encompassed in a terrifying dome of crackling black energy on the ground, trapped in a world of nightmares. "Sisyphus, NO!" Dohko screamed.

Haisaku observed, knowing there was nothing to be done anymore. The horrors of Hypnos were now at play. "His cosmos… it's completely gone from this world."

As Lucifer laughed, Michael lowered his hand on the dome, sensing Sisyphus' nightmares through it. "Ah, so those are your fears? Being wrapped in the guilt of dooming this girl and Pegasus to a life of Holy War?" Michael remarked. He could feel Sisyphus thrashing inside Eternal Darkness, screaming against the weight of his guilt. "All this time, all this gallantry… and you're yet another man who knows deep inside he's part of what's wrong with humanity!"

Andromeda protested this. "How could you think that of him?! How could you do this?!" he demanded to know, earning Michael's stare. "Is that your way of being against the pain and sadness in life, to punish others for it?!"

Red eyes stared menacingly at him. "It was his choice… and I will want to see how much devoutness to this decadent violator of a Goddess he will still have after this!" he then showed disdain in his stare. "Though I thought that if any of you Saints would volunteer for this, to endure Eternal Darkness and prove me wrong…it would have been you, Andromeda, with all your strong beliefs. Where was your courage for sacrifice just now?"

Andromeda gulped, silenced.

Michael shook his head lamentingly. "I thought as much. Goodbye, Andromeda Shun." He then turned his winged back on them. "Let's go, Lucifer."

The Daemon chuckled and spared Libra a last remark. "And I'll see you again later, Libra." Before accompanying his comrade.

The crowd of Saints then watched the two Princes leave, one dashing off the platform and the other taking to the skies, leaving black plumes everywhere.

The headless horse carriage passed by once more, picking the Princes, and Alone's voice boomed in the sky. "Athena, Pope, Saints of Gold… return to Sanctuary and relay this message to everyone," he announced. "I, Emperor Hades, shall paint this picture in the sky, and bestow upon the Earth as my gift. It is my Lost Canvas."

The Saints looked upwards, seeing already the images of angels filling the stars like a cathedral painting. Sasha's eyes widened. "It's the lives of everyone on Earth… he's painting them?"

"And when it's done… all life on Earth shall disappear."

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Present

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

"Asides from their strength, the Dark Princes have always been particularly cruel," spoke Libra Dohko, the memories of Sisyphus' ordeal and Tenma's death reeling in his head. "In that regard, they are much like the Judges in the sense that they will pursue breaking your spirit along with your body. Should you face Daemon Lucifer on the battlefield, he will seek to humiliate and crush you with as much determination as he would put into getting the victory."

"In our battles with him, he would engage Rasgado so as to show he couldn't protect his students," Yuzuriha enumerated. "He tortured Dohko by murdering Tenma and then he tried to brainwash the Pope with a dark hex in the final battle of the Holy War. Attacking him recklessly could cost you far more than just your lives."

Absorbing this, Saga reevaluated their own vulnerabilities. "Alright then, then what strategy do you suggest against him?"

"He will be gunning for the Pope as soon as he can." the Elder reminded. "His men back at Crow's Nest probably can't afford to waste too much time undefended. This means he will likely be true on his word and attack the Twelve Temples before midnight hits Greece. My men are watching his army from afar and the first temple is unguarded. My suggestion is,… that you should time your strike on his forces when he's already past your House."

Saga's eyes widened. "What? Do you want to let them through all the way to Cancer?! What about Aldebaran?!"

The older woman looked away regretfully. "Attacking Lucifer in the open is suicide. Bottlenecking his forces in the Twelve Temples is the only choice. It might be too late for Aldebaran already."

Mu and Saga gasped. "W-what?! No!" the Lemurian child protested.

"Can't you people help?!" Lance demanded, reminded of her status. "You and the other guys, the Allies or whatever! Can't you send an army to help us stop this bastard?!"

"It's not that simple," Yuzuriha interjected, a member of the seven groups allied to Sanctuary. "Most of the seven factions are not ready at all times to intervene in such short notice. There are others, like the Atlantean families, who are integrated parts of Sanctuary society, which means they are likely going to be engaged anyway. Besides…" she then paused for a moment, thinking of Asgard. "Pope Arles has already called for us. King Thorkell was the first to respond."

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Romania,

Crow's Nest siege

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Making way for the Nasu Specter, the many Skeletons and False Specters left behind by Lucifer to guard the fortress of Crow's Nest watched as Erika stood on the higher inner wall with a small, uncorked urn in her hand, seemingly in deep concentration. Many of them already knew what she was doing, but it was still an interesting ritual to behold. Aided by the Necromancer False Specter, her mind locked onto the fleeing spirits of the fallen warriors of Lucifer and called them back to her, causing the spectral matter to invisibly fly across continents straight to them.

Upon reaching their location, they slowly became visible in the form of pale blue will-o-wisps which were sucked into the urn. "One, two, three, four…" Necromancer Kuro counted. "The Prince must be furious right now."

The blonde, curly-haired woman took the cork and closed the urn once all the spirits were collected. "Worm, Beetle, Deep, and Sylph. These were strong ones." she acknowledged. Her hand then burned with purple cosmos. "Zombification!"

Before the eyes of the men, the ground from the castle bailey shook and erupted with arms and wails. The Skeletons stood back and allowed the corpses to rise from the ground, belonging to the hoplites they had sacrificed to curse the fortress into its new dark shape. Nasu then opened the urn again and the spirits inside flew down to them, infiltrating the four animated bodies and giving them new vigor, their eyes becoming black as the nymph Eurydice's after Hades cursed her.

She pointed at her armory. "Have them dressed with Skeleton protection and man the walls. The more enemy bodies the Saints see in our battlements, the better," she ordered, to which they nodded in obedience and left to carry out. Followed by Necromancer, she walked down to the lower, outer walls through the connecting overpasses. "How is the Saint encampment?"

The Skeleton watches saluted her. "Completely still. The hoplites are in their tents, save for their guards."

She smiled with satisfaction. "Good, we just need to hold out for the night. When they get the news that the Prince is sitting at their throne, they will be forced to go home to try to get him out. Not that they'll be able to." She then noticed a commotion by the far-off main enemy tent, where they believed the retired Gold Saints to be at. "Mm? What's going on over there?"

The Skeletons took their binoculars. "Looks like discord, Lady Erika."

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Leaving the main tent, Herakles Aguilon put on his Silver Cloth and was followed by his elite guard, drawing the attention of several of the besiegers. He had an incensed look on his face so the witnesses stood out of his way.

Daniel rushed out of the tent. "Aguilon, stop!" he ordered, getting his friend to wait. "This isn't the time to rush to judgment!"

The Silver Saint couldn't believe him. "Iaso's call just vanished off the air while climbing up the Himalayas! I know he's no weakling and that kid Mu isn't the type to play pranks with communications, either!" he argued. "The Specters could be burning Jamir down with the two of them inside as we speak!"

The former Taurus Saint understood this, but he had serious concerns. "And what if you're wrong? What if none of the Specters left the castle?" he pointed out. "Also, you heard Akassius, the Pope wants this siege quieted down and contained, so we need all the trustworthy hands we can get to keep these bastards here and if you go booming across Asia, they could send men after you to ambush you!"

His head shook lamentingly. "AH! Let them try! I feel sorry for whatever death cultist I'll get to lariat to a rock!"

The blonde giant held his friend by the shoulders. "Look, I know you're mad because this isn't our way to handle things! This isn't how I like it either, but think!" he urged. "If you take all your men and leave, the Specters in that fortress could see it as a sign of weakness, that we are underestimating them! You felt the cosmos of that leader of theirs and what he's been doing to our guys! Are you really that confident in taking the Herculean Guard out of here?!"

The Herakles Saint hesitated. "No… I'm not! Which is why I told you a lot to stay here!" he yelled out loud to make sure his twelve personal soldiers heard it.

Daniel looked them over. "Do you twelve just follow him everywhere?"

The Erymanthian hoplite, whose legionnaire helmet had tusks, the cape was brown like boar fur, and his shield was engraved with the carving of a mad wild pig on a mountain, shrugged his shoulders. "We find that he gets in less trouble with us around."

"Oh horseshit!" their leader Aguilon called, still stern. "They just think they can rescue ladies if I go off somewhere on my own!"

"No offense, captain-" the Stymphalian hoplite added in "-but you did save those two ones from that Judge. I still regret not following you to that adventure."

The aged warrior's eyes rolled. "See, Daniel? They're just a bunch of cocky shits who ride on my coattails for glory. I would order them to stay, but they would just use some excuse to follow me up Tibet anyway. But what am I supposed to do, huh?!" he questioned. "Just leave Iaso and Mu to their luck?!"

The retired Gold Saints eyed the group. "Don't they also guard his Herculean Arsenal for him?" he wondered. People didn't realize this about the Herakles Cloth, but it was far more powerful than most Saints imagined, being able to unlock incredible weaponry from the Greek Hero himself should it be mastered, weaponry that Aguilon usually stubbornly refused to use. "I'm not saying that Aguilon, but maybe we can communicate the situation to Saint Sagitta and he'll direct someone else."

Aguilon scratched his grey beard, unsure. "Well,… I don't know."

The Taurus folded his arms. "If you can look in the faces of all our men here and tell them they have to handle this siege on their own, I will le-"

Too-toro-roo!

A loud trumpet sound from the camp's edge was heard, interrupting their conversation. Everyone turned to the western edge of their controlled field and saw the patrol hoplites rush up to them. "LORD DANIEL, LORD DANIEL!" he called.

The aged blonde man rubbed his head. "What is it now?! More Specters?! Or did Priam decide to show up?!"

The hoplite panted. "No… it's someone else! He's here!"

"Who, man?!" Aguilon asked.

The Greek soldier pointed at the contingent of warriors at the entrance of their camp. "Commander Folken!"

The two giants exchanged glances. "Tell Akassius right now!" Daniel ordered.

Aguilon paced down the field to go see Folken. "Ah, son of a bitch! About time!"

Following their captain, the twelve Herculean Guards saw the group of men being greeted by their hoplite comrades. "Whow, that's a big group!"

"You idiots, don't you know who Nidhogg Folken is?!" Aguilon lambasted as he approached the arriving leader.

Headed by a horseback, a warrior of dark blue hair, enviable mustache, a smooth bronze cuirass and an impressive cape tied to his collar by a brooch marked with a white tree, a large battalion of warriors dressed in horned, fur-lined armor stood, carrying swords, shields, axes, and spears. Even Akassius came out of the tent to see them arrive, sporting a satisfied smile of a man finally getting good news.

The two giants walked up to the horseback commander. While his men were wary of their large threatening presence, Folken's arm raised to appease them. Daniel let out a hearty laugh and clasped palms with him. "Folken, long time no see!"

The mustached warrior nodded, surveying the Greek encampment and the fortress. "Good evening, Saint Taurus, Saint Herakles. I apologize for the tardiness."

Daniel shook his head. Folken was by far the politest of Asgard's warriors. "Ha, ha, you no longer get to call me that, buddy! Save that for Aldebaran!"

The northern warrior nodded in understanding. "Ah, you must really be who his majesty went to give his farewell to, those months ago. It's a shame you've retired… I thought Saint Malta might have been the only one."

"This guy doesn't leave his house much, does he?" the Nemean guard asked.

Aguilon immediately slapped his lion-dressed helmet. "You idiot! Bow your head, you stand before the mightiest warrior in the north, the commander of King Thorkell's forces, Folken of Asgard!" he criticized. "So, Folken, you came here to lend a hand? About damn time!"

The dignant warrior remained stoic. "His majesty does not appreciate being rushed, I'm afraid, especially to shed blood for Sanctuary. We will happily honor our oath and welcome battle for the sake of it, however, if it brings us one step closer to Valhalla."

With this line there was a massive, unison shout of support from the Asgardian foot soldiers, who either praised Odin, the commander or their king himself, but never Athena or the Pope.

Aguilon chuckled. "Eh, eh, better than nothing, I suppose." He then noticed a distinctive lack of God Warriors among them. "…Did your Robes get stuck in the snow or something, though? Where's that giant of yours, Rung?"

Folken closed his eyes regretfully. "High Priest Durbal has recommended the king to keep the God Warriors at his side and watch the Well of Urd, given that this is a Specter invasion we have in our hands." he told. Something about the way he then tugged his horse's reins for no reason implied to them that Folken was not happy about it. "I am all he has spared to retake Crow's Nest."

The two giant saints exchanged another complicit look. Because it had a different church, Asgard's religious leader was a man separate from Arles III, namely a sort-of-pope known as Durbal who quickly rose to prominence due to both his zealot dedication to Odin and his xenophobia towards Sanctuary. While King Thorkell was a hotblooded warrior himself and not the type to listen to clergymen on a whim, he had to offer the high priest his ear if he wanted the support of the people, which in Asgard was as fickle as a coin flip due to their heavily martial culture and propensity to challenge royal dynasties for the chair.

Many warriors in Asgard admired Thorkell for fighting his way into being the new King, but they also detested Sanctuary and the Hellenes, seeing them as overlords from the time of the Athenian Empire, back when their Viking kingdom was simply known as Midgard.

It was a millennial-long feud. If King Thorkell wished to keep stability in Asgard after sitting on the throne and not be toppled by Poseidon's Mariners, which was a serious uncertainty now that the prediction of his return in the 18th century didn't come true, Thorkell had to ensure Sanctuary's support, which in return required balancing it with the pride of a culture that hated Sanctuary almost as much as Poseidon himself.

It was a difficult position to be in, so the two Sanctuary giants understood why Thorkell was hedging his bets. "Well, in any case it's great to have extra hands here." Daniel assured.

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

The Skeletons and False Specters saw from atop the wall as the arrivers moved into the encampment and set up their tents in their own area, bringing in crates of supplies and siege weaponry, like ladders and light battery rams. "What the hell is this?! Who are those people?!"

"Asgardians, from the looks of it." Necromancer Kuro responded, apathetic.

The Skeletons were enraged. "What the hell are those horn-hatted snow-pissers doing down here?!"

"Sanctuary must have called them. The God Odin is an ally of Athena. They both like passages to the Underworld and Atlantis closely guarded." The elite Nasu Erika explained. "Mm, mm, this is fantastic news."

"What? How so?!" a grunt asked, not happy about the prospect of being surrounded by more enemies.

She shook her head at his short-sightedness. "Because if they are here, then they are not after where the Prince really is. Now keep the night watch! And make sure the zombies don't fall off the walls or anything."

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Mount Rozan

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Mu, Saga, and Lance all stood incredulous at all this new information. A fortress had been taken by the enemy, and none of them were told by Arles?

The Elder sensed the shock in them easily. "As soon as the fortress of Crow's Nest was besieged, Shion called everyone privy to it, including the Civil War veterans. Thorkell said he wouldn't sacrifice any of his men to take a fortress Shion lost, but he would help staff the siege efforts." Yuzuriha revealed. "I myself was only out of Shamballa tonight because I was gathering support for Arles' cause, so we have been helping. I'm afraid not everyone in our countries is anxious about helping the Pope."

The Saints of Cancer and Gemini were equally shocked. "Siege? Crow's Nest?!" Lance asked. He recognized the name from his conversation with the Papal Guard captain.

"Why weren't we told of this?!" Saga demanded to know, resisting the urge to disrespect Dohko by standing up in revolt. "We are the Gold Saints! We have been under attack for days as of now and the Pope didn't tell us?!"

The Elder, however, was intransigent. "You will have to take that up with Arles. I'm not happy about the way he does things either," she lamented, then looked away. "I haven't been for a long time."

Sensing the sadness in his older compatriot, Mu pouted. He didn't like it either when Master Shion acted in secret. It always made everyone around him mad, especially Saga and Lance. Worst of all it made him feel like sometimes Master Shion wasn't direct with him, either. Mu was attacked too, after all.

"This is the fear that the Black Saint Priam has inspired in Arles," Dohko concluded for them. Despite their long friendship, he wasn't privy to Shion's thoughts anymore either and had to guess just like them. "The association between him and these Specters of Lucifer must have been a cocktail of horror for him. He likely tried to keep the information about it between himself and Gemini Akassius."

"That doesn't make it right! All of our friends are in danger because of this!" Saga protested, hands tensing on the low table. This was humiliating. He felt like asking Arles why shouldn't he just let Akassius solve this invasion, too. "No, I have to think of the others…Aiolos and Aiolia have no idea what's coming their way."

The red-eyed Cancer Saint thought the Elder's words over. "Well, if we can't count on timely help then… and we have to do this ourselves, then the best strategy might really be to let that Specter into the Zodiac, tire his men out, and surround him when he's somewhere between my House and Shaka's."

Saga brought up another concern. "Aiolia will be there."

Lance looked away. "I know…"

Mu stared at them in distraught. "You… really don't have an alternative? Saga, Aldebaran is a fighter, but Aiolia has barely had any training, like me! He hasn't even earned the Leo Cloth yet!"

The two older Gold Saints looked truly conflicted about this themselves. They looked around as if to check if anyone had a better idea.

"(There must be some other way.)" Shinta appealed.

"(I'm all ears.)" Lance responded, genuine.

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Standing outside, Shinta took a pause, considering all the alternatives. "(What if we send everyone upwards and collapse the temples to stall for time? We could avoid disadvantageous battles, pin them at Shaka's Temple and then surround the Specters with all our forces?)"

His friend, however, immediately pointed out the problem. "(Even if communications weren't down, they would blast through whatever we put in their way just as easily. The Gold Cloths are also at their most powerful when in their Houses. Sending Aldebaran upwards could be just as dangerous to him and the rest of us. Objectively speaking…)" the Cancer then hesitated to say this as if he knew it would upset Shinta "(…Aldebaran will take more out of the enemy if he stands his ground and buys time for the rest of the kids to respond. The rest is up to Aiolos.)"

The Andromeda Saint gulped. Aldebaran was a good friend of his among the kids. He had trained together with Shinta. Their teacher had defended him from Cetus at Andromeda Island. Putting him in danger felt just as horrible as when that Skeleton held Al and El hostage. "(Alright, Lance… make the call you feel is best…)"

"(I'm sorry.)"

Shinta shook his head lamentingly and didn't respond. He didn't know what to say. He did know, however, that Lance has always been the better strategist and decision-maker of the two while in missions. He could stand there and suggest more ideas, but something told the green-head that his friend was already considering those options and more.

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Seeing the Lemurian kid expecting a different answer from him, Lance sighed. "This is what the temples are meant for, Mu… and this is our job." Lance pointed out. "And this is also why I hate that the Pope elected so many young ones to the Temples."

Seeing the others were upset, Dohko grumbled and made one last appeal. "Yuzuriha, once again I have to ask you if there's nothing more you can really do. Arles is in danger, you know that."

But the Elder stood her ground. "I would if I could, Dohko, but save for going there myself and leaving my people vulnerable to attack, there's not much more I can contribute. The problem is that this war is of a larger scale than just Lucifer's attack on the Zodiac. If I work on keeping your other fronts secure, though… you kids will be able to focus on beating him at the Temples," she reasoned. "I can't imagine Cetus lifting a finger to help other than taking in Shinta's students, though, but you'll have to take it up with him."

Lance frowned. "So that's his contribution, huh?" he hissed, not really expecting much.

Her eyes glanced away. "I don't like Cetus, either, Pegasus. Not a lot of people do. However, he does guard the Indic Ocean against Specters and Mariners, not to mention the tombs of the Priests of Ra are right beneath his city. It's frustrating, but as terrible as Lucifer is, dropping our guard in other areas to amass strength against him could be even more catastrophic."

"It's politics, you can just say it!" Lance confronted.

The Gemini Saint, however, reassured him. "We'll take care of that later, Lance. I refuse to believe we need help against this foe, anyway." he declared, standing up. "Well, Roshi, Lady Yuzuriha, it's a plan then. I will head an attack on the rear of the enemy's army as they make their way up the Temples. I will take Saint Shinta with me."

"I'm going too, Saga," Lance interjected.

"Me too!" Mu demanded. "Aldebaran and Master are in danger, I want to make sure they will be alright!"

The two older Gold Saints were immediately opposed to this. "No, you're not, Mu!" Lance lambasted.

The Muvian raised his arms "What?! Yes, I am!"

Saga joined Lance's denial. "You're not stepping inside those Houses, Mu. You're not a trained fighter. Even if you put your armor on, the three of us won't be able to protect you if the enemy elites target you," he argued. "And from the looks of it, the enemy is very well aware they should target Cloth fixers."

But the pouting kid immediately teleported over to the table. "I'm not just an artisan, I can warp around like the Black Saint Priam and cast reflection walls! You won't need to help me! In fact, I'll be helping you guys!" he argued. "Besides, what else am I supposed to do?! I'm still the Saint of Aries."

"Don't worry, young Mu, I have an important task for you." Libra Dohko said, before turning to his student. "Because I'm afraid I won't let Lance go with Saint Saga either."

Red eyes widened. "WHAT?!"

Taking his cane, the Master stood up from Ma Chao's furry side and pointed the object at him. "You are not ready. Lucifer will kill you if you show up. I won't have that."

"Roshi, we don't have a CHOICE!" Lance yelled. It was so loud that heads outside turned to the hut. "I'm the oldest Saint, the Patron, and I'm the only one with an idea of how the enemy boss fights. I have to be there!"

But the purple dwarf shook his head, chuckling. "Hee, hee, and you think that's enough for me to let you go? You have a lot to learn yet. If you show yourself up in front of Daemon as you are, Cancer Cloth or not, he will splat the wall with your blood in a second especially if he knows that you're my student."

The others were stunned at this, even Yuzuriha. Lance dropped his jaw in revolt.

"Why are you doing this right now?!" he asked, bewildered. "Don't you think I'm scared enough too?! Do you think that I want to go and fight a guy that scared the shit out of me with how strong he was?!"

"Dohko, he's right, you can't pull this right now." Yuzuriha agreed. "No matter how you feel about Lucifer's cruelty, this is his sacred duty."

His anger subsiding to give place to a sinking disappointment, Lance gulped. "… Ah, I see. This is about Tenma, isn't it?" he asked, eyeing the Master.

"Who?" Saga questioned. "What's going on, Saint Dohko? Why can't Lance go?"

Lance's fist clenched at Roshi's lack of response. "You don't have to hide it, Roshi. Lucifer told me all about it. He said he killed Pegasus Tenma... and that he was much stronger than me."

Measuring the tension in the air, both Saga and Mu deduced more or less what was going on. Not a lot was public about the history of Saint Dohko of Libra. Most people knew him in Sanctuary as the 'other survivor' of the Lost Canvas War, a legendary martial artist, and the biggest promotion blocker in all of Sanctuary, being utterly detested by many ambitious Saints born under Libra who wished to advance in their careers to the Libra Temple.

Dohko saw that the room was decisively against him.

He walked up to Lance and kicked his leg. "OW! Roshi, what the hell!"

Dohko narrowed his gentle eyes and raised his cane at him. "Don't you dare slander your teacher!" he ranted. "I'll be damned if I'm made to look like an unreasonable old fool by my students! That's my prerogative! By Athena and Seiryu, is this what I've come to? Do people think me as a sentimental old fool who will put the Zodiac at stake for something that happened two hundred years ago?!"

Lance got on his knee and rubbed his hurt chin. "Then what the hell?! What's the problem?!"

Taking advantage of the Pegasus lowering himself to grab him by the ear. "The problem is that you're not ready! You have training to do before you go fight that lunatic!"

"TRAINING?!"

Saga was equally affronted. "Roshi, with all due respect, we don't have time for that! They are attacking tonight!"

"Yes we do, we'll make time!" Roshi asserted. "Mu, call everyone outside, it's time to move out!"

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Iaso and Shinta turned to the hut when its doors opened up, letting the occupants out.

The guards immediately grouped around Elder Yuzuriha, who distanced herself from the rest of the Saints. "Alright, Dohko, keep me in touch. I want updates on everything."

The two lower Saints stood alert. "Oh, are you people finally done?" Iaso asked.

The Gold Saint of Gemini presented himself gallantly. "Yes, Saint Ophiuchus, and we have a plan for how to move forward. Saint Shinta of Andromeda, you're joining me in the primary counter-offensive." He called. "I will explain the details on the way."

Shinta nodded. "Of course! I'll help with what I can!"

Iaso folded his arms, a bit relieved that the Golds hadn't decided on something insane, as per usual. "Oh good, that makes sense. Now please tell me that the rest of us are doing something useful and not just standing by the First Temple with our hands in our pants."

"We will be splitting into two groups. The first, obviously, will be me and Saint Shinta." Gemini confirmed.

The Andromeda blinked. He saw Mu and Lance come out. "Wait, what about Saint Lance?"

The red-eyed Pegasus sweated. "I won't be going with you, Shinta. It's too dangerous. Instead…" he explained. "Roshi has decided that I and Saint Iaso are going with Lord Mu's student back to Tibet."

Both the Ophiuchus and Andromeda were confused by this. "What the hell for?" asked the doctor.

Saint Libra himself then revealed it. "To go fetch something you were after yourself, Saint Iaso. You will teleport to the Himalayas and retrieve the Waters of Life, the blood of Seiryu himself. The fate of this Holy War might depend on it."

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Chapter End

Don't forget to review (^_^

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Next Chapter: Chapter 48 - Second Arc – Episode 13 - The Waters of Life

Description: The armies of the False Specters move out, with Saints Gemini and Andromeda in their tail. Meanwhile, Mu, Lance, and Iaso climb Twin Peaks Mountain in search of the mystical waters of Seiryu, the Dragon.

Writing Deadline: i will try to get it done either by the end of July or mid August, it's a more difficult chapter than expected

Author's Note:

Necromancer Kuro, despite what you may think, is not named after the author of the franchise Masami Kuromada, but rather a combination of a mistake on my part and being in contrast with the True Specter from TLC named Necromancer Byako; You see, I was under the impression that byako meant 'white' in Japanese, but I can't really be sure anymore because I've been told in the meantime it actually means other things, so I named the Necromancer False Specter as Kuro (black) in style of other False Specters being named as opposites of their True counterparts.

As for the Asgard characters, believe it or not they are all characters from the franchise. Folken, for those of you who may not remember, is Mimir's adoptive dad, described by the series as the greatest general of his time, while Rung and Durbal are characters from the second Saint Seiya movie, namely the Thrym God Warrior (big guy with boomerangs) and the Pope of Asgard.

Finally, make sure to check out Hitagi Gahara's SKD scanlations of Next Dimension, Saintia Sho, and others. The writer of this fanfic is proofreader of Saint Seiya Next Dimension's English releases and they're your current top source for high-quality scanlations in English. Also, if you're interested, contact me through PM and get an invitation to the new SKD Discord server or the Saint Seiya Reddit server, where you can get updates on Sho and ND directly, not to mention chat with me and many other English-speaking SS fans.

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