The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight. The bright sunlight draped the Sanctuary in a sacred veil. The city, stripped of its usual noise, had its once-crowded masses now gathered on streets, in plazas, and atop buildings, all eyes fixed on the peak of the Holy Mountain.
Within the Sanctuary, Silver and Bronze Saints assembled in the plaza, while the twelve Gold Saints stood guard within their respective temples. Shion and Alex stood side by side in front of the Pope's Palace, facing the temple in unison, waiting with excitent and anticipation.
lin stood before Athena's statue, motionless, yet his eyes brimd with an uncontrollable passion and excitent.
"Finally… five hundred thousand years. Athena, we're about to et again. You must be angry with , right? If I hadn't insisted on that battle back then, I wouldn't have been forced into slumber for half a million years, and you wouldn't have suffered so much. Don't worry, Athena. When the ti cos, I'll make them pay, one by one—and I'll make it up to you," lin thought to himself.
Minute by minute, the appointed ti drew near. A blinding light burst forth from the sky. The golden bell atop the mountain rang out on its own, without anyone to strike it. The resonant sound echoed continuously as the sunlight began to gather into a single beam, descending before lin. Within the gentle pillar of light, sothing seed to be slowly taking form.
"Athena!"
Suddenly, dark clouds rolled in, obscuring the sky. Only the pillar of light remained untouched, now surrounded by ominous black energy. Electric arcs of deep blue crackled and danced ominously.
"This is… alert status! Shion, Alex—Gold Saints, gather at my side imdiately!"
Sensing the unnatural presence of the clouds and the familiar Cosmos hidden within them, lin's expression changed drastically. His anxious command echoed throughout the Sanctuary.
…
…
At his order, none of the Saints dared to delay. Silver and Bronze Saints imdiately took up positions to guard the Sanctuary's periter. Shion and Alex led the twelve Gold Saints and Kanon to lin's side.
"My lord!"
"Use Zodiac Roar to blow these clouds apart!" lin commanded, donning his armor as he spoke. His twin swords sheathed at his waist, his Cosmos rising rapidly.
"My lord, we haven't mastered Zodiac Roar yet!"
"Then use Athena's Exclamation! Or your strongest techniques—whatever it takes to shatter these clouds!"
As he spoke, lin's twin swords were already unleashed.
"Divine Annihilation Slash!" Two brilliant, rainbow-hued sword beams cleaved the dark clouds into four, letting sunlight shine through the gaps.
But it wasn't enough. The clouds didn't disperse. Instead, they showed signs of closing again, and the lightning grew ever more intense.
"Stardust Revolution!"
"Spiritual Light Convergence!"
"Starlight Extinction!"
"Titan Nova!"
"Galactic Explosion!"
"Galactic Explosion!"
"Corpse Gas: Soul Burial Wave!"
"Lightning Plasma!"
"Demonic Subjugation!"
"Lushan Hundred Dragons!"
"Scarlet Storm!"
"Golden Arrow: Infinite Shatter!"
"Sacred Sword Dance!"
"rcy of the Dawn Goddess!"
"Crimson Thorns!"
Fifteen attacks, each brimming with planet-shattering power—brilliant explosions of starlight, upheaved earth, and dinsion-shattering impacts. Any one of them could lay waste to the planet.
And yet, despite their combined power, the attacks only thinned the clouds. They could not wipe them out. Lightning still danced, though its brilliance was no longer blinding.
"Keep going! Don't stop!" lin shouted, his twin blades dancing, slashing the dark clouds into countless pieces with streaks of rainbow-colored energy.
"Yes, my lord! Now's the ti—burn, Gold Cosmos! Haah!!"
Everyone pushed their Cosmos to the limit, pouring everything they had into attacking the clouds without hesitation.
At the mont the clouds were nearly destroyed, perhaps in a last-ditch effort, the mastermind behind them gathered all the remaining clouds into one place.
"No!" lin darted into the center of the light beam, cradling the now almost fully ford infant in his arms, exposing his back to the sky.
A thunderbolt crashed down from the heavens, striking lin squarely. The resulting shockwave and shattered stones flung Shion and the others away, sending them crashing into pillars.
"Ugh… cough, Athena! Are you…"
lin coughed up blood. The divine armor on his back was completely destroyed. A pair of wings lay broken beside him, and his back was charred and blackened.
But he didn't care about his injuries. His focus was entirely on the infant in his arms. Yet before he could finish his sentence, his eyes widened—bloodshot.
The infant was gone. All that remained… was a faint shimr of stardust.
"Ah… ah… AAAHHHH!!!" lin raised his blood-red eyes to the sky, unleashing a roar of pure hatred. "Zeus! Hades! Shakyamuni! I'll never forgive you!!!"
That's right—the Cosmos hidden in the dark clouds had belonged to Zeus, Hades, and Shakyamuni. Though it was unclear where they had hidden themselves to launch this sneak attack, it was clear their combined power, even greatly weakened, had seriously injured lin and scattered Athena's reincarnating soul just before it could fully form.
"My lord! Are you alright?!"
Shion and the others, battered and bruised, rushed to lin's side. Their eyes were full of concern, but also fury and hatred.
"Shion!"
"Here!"
"Deploy everyone! Destroy every Buddhist temple, statue, shrine—leave no trace behind! Hunt down every wandering Buddha! I don't want a single remnant of them left in this world!" lin commanded furiously.
"Yes! Mu, Aldebaran, Saga, Aiolia, Shaka, Milo! Each of you take two Silver Saints and five Bronze Saints to carry out Lord lin's orders!"
"Yes, Your Holiness!"
Despite their injuries, the six Gold Saints obeyed without hesitation, vanishing to carry out lin's command.
"Dohko!"
"My lord."
"Take Kanon and Camus. Return imdiately to Lushan Waterfall and guard the seal. Hades has made his move—the seal may weaken. We're not ready for the Holy War. No matter the cost, protect it!"
"Understood!" Dohko, Kanon, and Camus disappeared on the spot.
Those who remained were Deathmask, Aiolos, Shura, and Aphrodite. Deathmask had been badly injured and couldn't be risked again. The others were essential to defending the Sanctuary. Though furious, lin didn't let rage cloud his judgnt.
"Athena…" lin looked down at the remaining light in his arms, and tears welled in his eyes.
At that mont, the light suddenly flared and ford a faint, translucent figure—Athena herself.
"Athena!"
"lin… wait for …"
That was all she could say. Not even able to touch his face, the figure vanished, dissolving into specks of starlight.
lin, however, had received Athena's final ssage. Overjoyed, he exclaid:
"She's alright… Athena is alright!"
"My lord… Athena, she…" Shion asked anxiously.
"Athena's safe. We weakened Zeus, Hades, and Shakyamuni's attack as much as possible. It only disrupted her reincarnation."
Hearing that, Shion and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But deep inside, they cursed the three gods' cowardice. To attack at such a mont—if their strike hadn't been weakened, what would have happened?
Oblivion. True death.
That was the only outco they could imagine.
"My lord, do you know when Athena will reincarnate again?"
"I don't. The timing was disrupted, and the location is no longer within the Sanctuary." lin tried to sense her presence with his Cosmos but found nothing.
"What should we do?" Shion asked.
"The Sanctuary is well-defended with Deathmask, Aiolos, Shura, and Aphrodite. Send all Saints to search the world for Athena's presence. Inform Steve and Eric—they must assist. Unless I say otherwise, this order stands indefinitely. You'll oversee it personally."
"Yes! I'll make arrangents right away!"
This decision left the Sanctuary at its weakest, but Shion had no objections. lin and Athena were both pillars of the Sanctuary—losing either would spell disaster.
"Alex, I'm leaving the Sanctuary in your hands for now. You must not let chaos erupt."
"My lord—what about you?" Alex was stunned. What did he an by "leaving it to him"?
"Athena is missing. I can't rest until she's found. I'm going to search for her."
"But, my lord! The Sanctuary is at its weakest right now. If you leave too and we're attacked again, we…" Alex panicked. With one pillar of strength missing and the other about to depart, he felt unmoored, directionless.
"It's fine. My Cosmos will be monitoring the Sanctuary at all tis. If a threat arises that you can't handle, I'll return imdiately," said lin.
"But—"
"Also, Mu and the others are injured. Tell them: if they encounter enemies too powerful to defeat, mark the location and withdraw. For Lushan—once Aiolos and Shura recover, send them to relieve Kanon and Camus. Have the Jamir clan repair their Cloths right away," lin instructed.
"…Yes, my lord." Alex knew there was no stopping him. All he could do now was follow lin's orders—and believe in him.
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