When they left the House of Virgo, which was trembling with the power of the Gold Saints that shook it, the first thing Seiya did was stand outside and give his friend Shun a strong hug. He hugged back, understanding what was going on in his friend's chest, because he knew that, deep down, he also had a huge sadness for Seiya not having found his sister yet.
"It couldn't have been easy to leave Ikki like that, Shun." Seiya said looking at the boy's teary eyes.
"It wasn't, but we are Athena Saints and we need to move on." he said.
"I'm sure she'll find a way to get back to her old self, Shun, after all she's the Phoenix, an immortal bird, and we've seen her coming back from Hell other times." Shiryu spoke confidently, and Shun let out a smile that her friend couldn't see, but she certainly felt it.
"Thank you, Shiryu." he replied, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Let's go now! I'm sure Ikki wouldn't want me to be crying here. We need to save Saori!"
They agreed among themselves and set off at a run. As soon as they rounded the first curve up the stairs, Seiya and Shun saw with amazement that it was less than five hours before the Fire Clock's flames were completely extinguished. They had wasted too much time in the House of Virgo, Shaka was really the one closest to the gods and her power was unparalleled; lucky for them that Aioria had finally regained his consciousness and allowed them a chance to move forward.
"We're super late." Shiryu lamented when he learned from his friends the situation of the clock. "We have less than five hours."
"No, Shiryu." Seiya corrected. "We still have five hours and we'll make it. Aioria is now on our side!"
"You're right, Seiya, I'm sorry."
"Don't feel sorry, Shiryu." soothed Shun. "I bet it wasn't easey to see Saori when you were at the Threshold of the Underworld as you've said."
"You're right." Seiya agreed.
"Hyoga and Xiaoling were there as well." she remembered. "I feel like we can still save them if we can get to the Camerlengo."
"And that's what we're going to do, Shiryu!" Seiya's excitement filled the girl.
"I wonder how is the situation with the army of Eris." Shun remembered.
"I'm sure Master Mu won't let anyone get to Saori."
"Yes, I know. You're probably right, Shiryu. Anyway, Eris isn't the one who really worries me in this whole story."
Shun and Shiryu felt like their friend had become very mysterious before he continued.
"It's the Camerlengo." he finally said. "Aioria said that he is the evil soul inside the Sanctuary."
"At the same time, he's Saori's only chance of being saved."
"What kind of person is this Camerlengo?" Shun wondered.
They did not know. Few actually knew what kind of person the Camerlengo was. Aioria was one of those people, but the Leo Saint had stayed in the House of Virgo and, ahead of them, they had one more temple to cross.
"Look! It's the House of Libra." Seiya announced to his friends.
"Libra!" exclaimed Shiryu. "Seiya, the House of Libra is the ancient temple of the Old Master of the Five Old Peaks."
"Is that so, Shiryu?" Shun and Seiya were startled.
"Yes, he was the former Libra Saint and no one has taken his place since then. So we shouldn't have any problems as it will be empty. So we should save time and soon we'll be in Scorpio."
YOU ARE READING
Saint Seiya: The Legend of Seiya
FanfictionThe novelization of Saint Seiya. The story of Seiya reimagined, written and told with some important alterations on the story. Cover Artwork: Tiago Fernandes (@tfernandes)