Saint Seiya: The Legend of Seiya

30 - Gods and Children

The night at the big city is that of a huge crowd on the big avenues, the skyscrapers emptying while the bars and sidewalks are filled with people eager to live their end of the day in a more cheerful way than in their afternoon hours.

The bathers of the beach are no longer there, but the sand now gathers a lot of people interested in the night and in the sound of the sea: couples, friends, bohemians.

Not far away from there was the huge building of a Coliseum, built in the style of the classic Roman arena that had spanned through ages. For this modern Coliseum was also in ruins, stricken by arson.

Half of its building is torn down.

And above that rubble, where warriors once fought to the enormous delight of a passionate audience, are seven silently wounded young kids.

In her young eyes there were shame, confusion, amazement, fear, anxiety or pain. In all of them. They were only children.

Seiya was looking in the sky for his stars, but he couldn't find them. He therefore looked to the side, and saw his friends.

"Protect Athena." Shun said.

Seiya looked at Saori sitting in her white dress. Her feet, shod in a curious sandal, crossed in front of her. She was just a girl.

He was used to the grandeur and the rites of the Sanctuary; the march of the Camerlengo, the sacred ruins full of history, the silent and haughty figure of a fabulous woman above the Pontiff, the rigidness of Marin. Being in that city beside his friends, taking care of orphanages, washing dishes and trying to smile and play was another world for him. A World where Gods would never descend. They couldn't even exist.

Seiya was sure that the day before he had thrown a pillow at Saori. Without a shadow of a doubt he cursed her dozens of times before going to sleep and was barely civilized when they first met at the Mansion. And then he remembered other times they'd almost hit each other when they were much younger.

Protect Athena.

Athena was Saori.

"What's it like to be a Goddess?" Seiya asked honestly.

The question caught everyone off guard, because after that imposing demonstration and the story of Eris being told, there was a tense atmosphere between them all. A lot of doubt and confusion. What should they do? How to go from t here? They were still children. And there were gods among them.

Saori didn't expect the question either, as no one had ever asked her that.

"I don't know." she said. "It's not that different, I think."
"Do you get hurt?" he tried again.
"Yes," she replied. "But I think it gets better sooner than everyone else."
"That's cool." Seiya commented with Shun beside him and his friend nodded.
"Can you heal other people?"
"I still don't control my Cosmo." said Saori. "But... I've already managed to do that." she said, looking at Alice. "Actually, you are much more powerful than I am."

There was a smile on her face as she looked at them all.

"I saw you all fighting incredible battles that I would never be able to withstand or match." She spoke as she looked at each of them there, for she had actually seen them fight bravely in various situations.

Seiya agreed with that and remembered her against the Black Saints; there was absolutely nothing special about her, any preparation, nor knowledge. There was not even a remnant of that huge cosmos she had manifested.

There was still something that bothered Seiya.

"Did you already knew you were a Goddess when you humiliated us, you know, when we were kids?" he asked.
"Seiya!" Shun scolded, and Alice also looked at him crossly.
"Hey, I want to know." he said, and Shiryu tried to smile beside her.
"No," she replied. "I found out after you all left."
"What's your favorite dessert?" Xiaoling asked joining in the joke and everyone looked at her.