Chapter 16: Before the Galaxian Wars
Ikki POV - Death Queen Island - 1986
After he finished talking, I saw Black Swan gathering dirt from the environment while creating cold air around the fist, instantly condensing the surrounding moisture in the form of black ice, which then shatters and manifests itself in the form of countless sharp, cutting black snow crystals, which are hurled at me through a mighty cold wind "Take this! Black Blizzard!!".
Hit attack hits me and as the black snow crystals impact my body, Black Swan says "Ha ha ha! My terrible black snow could freeze even flames!! Feel its full blast, Ikki!!" but I burn my Cosmo even more and easily send the attack back to him, making him crash head first into the ground, and just before he loses his senses and fall unconscious he says "L... Lord Jango is up at the crater, the Cloth is with him... Oh... Ooh..." and as I move toward my objective I hear his voice once again "But along the way, you'll find the rest of the Black Four... It will be impossible to reach lord Jango...".
After that, I'm on the move once again, and on my way to the center of the crater, I met and easily dealt with Black Andromeda, Black Pegasus, and Black Dragon, 'Those four are as strong as a normal Bronze Saint some even stronger, totally different from the other Black Saints here...', and finally, I met with Jango, he has a dark complexion and short, intense purple hair, a characteristic and distinctive feature of the character is a mark or burn he has on his left eye, he wears basic armor, although this armor has some unique features like spikes on his shoulders, and next to him the Pandora Box of the Phoenix Cloth.
(Image Here - Jango, Phoenix Box)
As soon as he sees me he yells "Ha ha ha! You're here Ikki! This is the Phoenix Cloth!! It's your for the taking... But you'll have to beat me to get it", and I simply reply "I intend to", as soon as I say that, Jango burn his Cosmo, gets ready to attack me, and says "Heh... Don't push your luck, you might have managed to handle the others, but I'm not like them... Feel the hellish fires of Death Queen Island!! Death Queen Inferno!!"
Jango concentrates his Cosmos in his right fist, with which he strikes in my direction to project from it multiple spheres of fire, which cover my entire body with fire intending to completely reduce my body to ashes, but he is unable to do so as my Cosmo easily protect me from this kind of attack, but I make my Cosmo explode blowing away all the flames, and with the projection of the phoenix appearing behind me, and I mock him "Huh... Incredible how you conquered the Black Saints with a punch like that! Even the Black Four were tougher than you!".
And surprised and a little afraid he asks "How could you receive the Death Queen Inferno... No way... You really are the Phoenix..." wanting to end this farce, I decide to use the technique taught by my Master "Jango, you have no right to the Phoenix Cloth, I'll show you the punch of the true phoenix...Hoo Genmaken(Phoenix Phantom Fist)!".
And with a quick punch aiming at his head, I send a thin line of Cosmo into his brain, forcibly showing him abominable illusions or hallucinations created directly in his own brain, inspired, in general, by his own life and his subconscious, all this increases the most hidden fears of his soul until destroying his reactive capacity, and as result, Jango is affected by a paralyzing panic, becomes immobile, unable to attack or defend himself, looking at him I say "So what does it feel like to fall into hell?... Although I doubt even hell would want you...".
Then I slap Jango away, sending him flying, and yell "Leave this island...!" and as soon as Jango is defeated, the Pandora Box opens by itself, and the Phoenix Cloth reveals itself in its Constellation Form, and as I feel its call, I answer by burning my Cosmo, and the next instant the Cloth answer to my call by disassembling and equip itself on my body.
(Image Here - Cloth, Phoenix Ikki)
Feeling the power surging all over my body, and learning of the Cloth abilities, I can't help but exclaim exalted by the power coursing through me "I finally have the Phoenix Cloth! I'm invincible! No one on earth can defeat me!!" but right at that moment, a strong light came out of nowhere and I hear an ethereal voice say "Huh... Are you really...?" then I felt a powerful Cosmo, it is immense, even stronger than the one I felt from Jayr, so much that I can only think 'C-Could it be... A God...!?'.
Then I saw him calmly walking toward me, his presence so strong that everything else seems to vanish, a young man with long blond hair, which reaches his knees, his eyes are closed, and one of his most distinctive features is the red Bindi he wears in the center of his forehead, he is donning a lustrous gold armor that covers almost his whole body, the headpiece is a helm with two wings to the sides, and two pair of horns with a ruby in the middle of the forehead, the chest piece, covers the whole upper body, waist included, and it is made of two layers, the first one is simple in design but ornate, the second is a kind of huge plate that surrounds the whole upper body shoulder included with another ruby encased on the stomach, while the arms and legs are also simple in design.
And soon this unknown entity introduces himself and says "My name is Shaka!! You know? The Monkey King Son Goku, thought of himself as the strongest as he ran around the palm of Buddha... Heh... The same could be said of you right now", something about him feels strange, it as if he regards me as an ant, something so weak and small, that he can kill it without even noticing if he isn't careful.
(Image Here - Virgo Shaka)
Raising my guard, I quickly ask "Who are you? Why have you come to this island!?" and Shaka calmly replies "To bury Jango, leader of the Black Saints, of course, I've come all the way from the Ganges River to deliver heavenly punishment on the cruel Black Saints, But I am too late, they were defeated by someone who just became a Saint... It seems the Black Saints were not so fierce after all".
Then he turns his back to me, and as I'm still fueling my Cosmo with hatred to influence my behavior and to not blow my cover, I'm unable to hold back and say "Hey, Wait!! I'm no monkey on the palm of Buddha" and Shaka with his back still turned to me says "Heh, don't be offended, it's only a story".
And too high on the feeling of power that my hatred filled Cosmo, plus the Phoenix Cloth gave me I say "Fine! Then try this... Ho Yoku Ten Sho(Flaming Wings of the Phoenix)!!", I create a tunnel of fire in which I and Shaka are immersed and then project a Phoenix of fire from my hands that flies through the tunnel until impacting with Shaka.
But I'm shocked by the fact that he is totally unaffected by my technique, at the same time Shaka says "Heh... So this is the Ho Yoku Ten Sho...? It's just like a cool breeze... Phoenix! Don't forget that there's always someone stronger on this earth, Bronze and Black Saints will always be like monkeys in comparison to a Gold Saint!".
Then he holds his hands in front of his body and only says "Ōm!" and I only see a flash of light in his hands before feeling many strong impacts on my body and feeling the Cloth cracks in many places as I'm thrown up in the air and crash into the ground, then as I slowly raise my gaze and see him looming over me with his eyes still closed I ask "Ugh... Are you going to kill me...? There's nothing else to do... You've won...".
A few moments pass and his eyes are still closed, but it seems like he is looking straight at my soul, then he says "I would have killed you if your eyes betrayed an evil heart... But I see a purity that ordinary eyes would miss... You want to become the darkness so that your friends are ready for what is to come, without worrying about incurring the hatred of your loved ones... Such a noble goal deserves my respect!"
Then I'm blinded by a strong light once again, and as his silhouette disappears I hear his voice once more as I blackout "You will now forget about this encounter completely, My name and face will vanish from your memories, but if someday you stand before me as an enemy... then these memories will return along with your terror...".
Later that day, after defeating Jango, and finally gaining the Phoenix Cloth, I find myself once again surrounded by the Black Saints and ask "Are you here to avenge Jango? Or are you after the Phoenix Cloth", but Black Dragon replies "Heh... To be honest..." then all the Black Saint kneels and Black Dragon yells "...All the Black Saints have come to revere you as our new leader! The unequaled Lord Ikki is worthy to lead us! All our lives are at your disposal!!".
And once again I immerse myself into my role "Hee... Me, the leader of the Black Saints...? Funny... Maybe it's only appropriate after I've forsaken everything, then I'll return to Japan and wreak havoc on those Galaxian Wars, I'll destroy everything related to the Graad Foundation... And take the Gold Cloth for myself! They say that whoever wears the Cloth will have enough power to take over the world, Maybe that's what I'll do! Hahaha!".
At the same time, I'm thinking 'With this everything is ready... Shun, I'll even become an Asura if it means that you will survive the coming storm, I'll make sure to bring out as much potential in you and the others and at the same time bring you together in front of a common enemy! No matter what, even at the cost of my life!!'.
Jayr POV - Japan - 1986
I just finished my morning training, and while taking a refreshing cold shower, I'm thinking about the upcoming chaos that will begin as soon as the Galaxian Wars start 'In a few days, Saori will send out the news of the tournament, and of the prize for the winner, the Sagittarius Cloth, she also sent the invitation to all the Saints that came from the Graad Foundation... Of course, the Gold Cloth put as a prize is a fake one prepared by Mitsumasa Kido, the real one is still under the control of Aiolos spirit, and will only be donned by those he thinks worthy of it, and when Athena truly needs it... Anyway, we'll soon receive a visit from the other successful Saints, if nothing changed the first to come is the dog... cough... Unicorn Saint Jabu'.
Finished with my shower, I get out of the bathroom with only a towel covering my lower body and sit on the bed, I once again check my copy of Asklepios Imerológio (Diary of Asclepius), studying once again the techniques in it, 'Right now I'm only able to use is Past Injuries to make someone suffer the pain of any injury that they have sustained in the past as though it just happened, a good technique to subdue someone without actually hurting him... But what I don't like about it is that it could also be used as some kind of torture... but better to have it and not using that need it and not be able to...'.
Reading another page I frow and think 'But for the other two, even with my control over the 7th sense, I'm still not able to use them, the first is able to turn my blood into Gold Blood, that has healing powers and can be transfused to all human beings, it is a panacea for humans and with it, I can heal anything without other medicine needed, and the second is Dark Resurrection, with it I can completely regenerate my body, hence, even if I am seriously injured or even destroyed, as long as my soul survive, I can return to perfect health... This way I'll feel a lot safer in this competition! But I'm just unable to use it, am I missing something?'.
As I was thinking that, I hear the sound of someone knocking on my door, and sure of the fact that Tatsumi cam to inform me of something, I say without minding my half-naked status "You can enter, It's open...", and soon with my eyes still on the book, I hear the sound of the door opening, and a feminine gasp, and I raise my gaze just in time to see the figure of Saori blushing and looking away, and without losing a moment, I burn my Cosmo to the max and moving at 300.000 km/s, I quickly dress and appearing in front of her, I say "Sorry, Sorry...! I thought it was Tatsumi outside..."
And with a mocking tone, I add while taking a bodybuilder pose "...But from what I saw, you enjoyed the show... Good to know that my hard work is appreciated" and almost unconsciosly Saori replies "Yeah... Good job, your body is like a masterpiece..." then realizing what she said, both of us cough awakardily and blush.
After a few seconds of embarrassment, both I and Saori calm ourselves, and she says "Anyway... I came to tell you about the fact that my sources tell me that one of the boys we sent to become a Saint is about to return in a few hours, he is coming back from the training ground in Oren, he is the Unicorn Bronze Saint, Jabu, and at the same time are on their way, Bear Geki, Wolf Nachi, Lionet Ban, Hydra Ichi, Dragon Shiryu, Adromeda Shun, and Pegasus Seiya ...Cygnus Hyoga is still in Siberia, he is the only one that hasn't become a Saint yet as he didn't retrive his Cloth...".
Hearing that, I scratch my cheek with my index finger and say "Yeah... He is without doubt a Saint but his Master is really strict, but he will come as soon as the news of the Galaxian War will reach the Sanctuary, and talking about Seiya, I admit, I'm not sure if he'll remain a Saint, the only reason that he pushed himself so much is to reunite once again with his sister... I don't know how he will react when he meets her again... In the timeline I saw, he kept going because she was missing... Now, he'll need something else that will push him to keep being a Saint I did talk about the duty of a Saint with him once but that was before I found Seika, it was only to make him concentrate on his training and get along better with others trainee... I do not know if it will have a positive change or not...".
Saori with a light tone says "Don't worry, I have already talked about this with Seika, and she accepted to help us in making Seiya take part in the tournament, at least until Ikki does his part..." at that I nod and adds "Good enough... It's finally time, I'm nervous, scared and excited at the same time... By the way, how is the Steel Saint project going?".
Saori sits on the chair near my desk and says "It's going well. the Sky, Sea, and Land Steel Cloth prototype are showing good promise, while they aren't as durable as a Bronze Cloth, they can be used even by those who can't use Cosmo, with phisical strength only and thanks to the last technologies they can at least theorically be on par with strong Bronze Saint individually, and with weak Silver Saint together... If successful, we can mass-produce them to arm the trainee, the soldier, and guards of the Sanctuary".
Hearing that reminds me of Cassios, my sister disciple, his talent in Cosmo sucks really bad, but his pure physical strength is ummached, officially only his older brother and Aldebaran are stronger than him, in pure strength, anyway with a Steel Cloth he could become much stronger, maybe even at the level of a Silver Saint.
Of course, unofficially I'm stronger than both as I used my medical knowledge to the max to rebuild my body into something truly superhuman, at least for this world standard, as without Cosmo I can still beat the shit out of a simple Bronze Saint.
I then say to Saori "Well, I just had an idea... Since I have to stay hidden during the Galaxian Wars, what do you say that I go and met with doctor Asamori, and help him, at the same time, I'd like to build a Steel Cloth for my sister's disciple... What do you say?", Saori put her hand on her chin and says "You mean Cassios, the brute who in the future you saw sacrificed himself to save Seiya from the mind-controlled Aiolia... Ok, you have my permission, but do you even know how to build a Steel Cloth?".
And with a confident smile, I reply "I learned how to repair real Cloths from Aries Mu in a few months... What do you think?", at that, she shrugs her shoulders and says "Very well, you are free to move as you please, but be careful...".
Saori POV - Japan - 1986
A few hours passed, since I had my discussion with Jayr, and he left for Dr. Asamori's Laboratory, and I'm about to meet the first Saint that answered my call, it is obiviosly Jabu, 'Poor guy, it seems that my Divine Cosmo unconsciously make him want to follow my every order... And in my foolish youth, I took advantage of this to bully him... Is his willpower too weak? No that can't be it is impossible to be Saint with a weak will, it is just that he recognizes me as his superior, like most of the other kids, now that I think carefully about it, only Seiya, Shiryu, Hyoga, Shun, and Ikki had some rejection toward me, is this the reason why they are able to stand tall and fight the other Gods in the future Jayr saw...?'.
Then I realize another thing 'What about Jayr himself...? Unlike them, he knows that I'm the reincarnation of Athena, but I don't feel any reverence toward me, not even worship, he fights for Athena because is the right thing to do, but he treats me... Athena, like a normal person, even a friend, something I admit enjoys very much, all my life I felt alone, no matter how many people were around me, they always kept their distance from me, my servants, my schoolmates, the kids that were here to train to become Saints... I've always felt very lonely... But in this year, where we practically lived under the same roof, he easily became my first real friend... And I very much enjoy his presence...'.
Then the image of his half-naked body once again appears in my head, but I quickly shake it off 'No, Saori! You are the reincarnation of Goddess Athena! It's your duty to watch over and protect the world and humanity, you don't have the time, nor the right to think about those things...' but my inteenal conflict is stopped by the entrace of Tatsumi, who bowing lightly say "Saori-sama, Unicorn Jabu just returned, and is eagerly waiting for you...", letting out a sigh I say "Very well, lead him to the hall, I'll meet him there, at the same time, prepare a room for him" then after a few seconds I add "Jayr's room is off-limits...".
After a few minutes, I find myself looking at the kneeling figure of a young man with a light brown complexion, dark blond hair, and blue eyes, wearing a sleeveless purple shirt, jeans, boots and fingerless gloves, he has his head lowered, and the Unicorn Pandora Box, next to him, he has already greeted me and I quickly explained to him about the Galaxian Wars, then looking at the Pandora Box I say "So... This is your Cloth, you did well bringing it back and safe... Jabu in the Galaxian Wars, I'm hoping to see all your skill..."
(Image Here - Jabu, Box)
With his head still lowered, he replies "Yes! I, Unicorn Jabu... Will be sure to fulfill your every expectation, Ojou-sama!" and the next moment, Tatsumi returns and says "Saori-sama, Jabu's room is ready..." I nod and say "Jabu... You may leave now" and he only replies "O-Of course!" before following after Tatsumi.
Letting out a sigh, I look outside the window and say in a low tone "And with this, these peaceful days are almost over...".
Tatsumi POV - Japan - 1986
It is finally the day we were waiting for, we are going to reveal the existence of the Saints to the whole world, and at the same time bring out the young miss's enemies and purge the evil hidden in the Sanctuary, and right now, I'm going to her study to inform her of the arrival of Ichi with his Hydra Cloth, 'With this the total number of official Saint gathered around Saori-sama is 7... Basically only, Seiya, Hyoga and Ikki have to return...'.
After informing the young mistress, I go to the conference hall, and make sure that everything is as it should, and also go over my speech makibng sure that I remember everything, as Saori-sama said that I should be the one to start the conference.
A few hours later, I'm standing on the podium, in front of the numerous sports reporters that we called from all over the world, and soon a start the projector, making the images of the aftermath of a Saint blow appears on the screen and say "We would like to thank you all for coming to today's press conference if you could please look at these slides...".
And in an instant some reporters comment "These look like a meteor impact or volcanic eruption sites... Why are you showing us this?" and I continue "Gentleman, I, personally know that these signs of destruction were created by special warriors, called Saints, with only their bodies and minds as weapon".
As the reporters gets more agitated, one of them stood up and asked "Then how are these acts possible? If what you say is true, how do these... Saints... do it? Boxing? Karate?" and I reply "Neither, they are taught a special type of martial arts. and during this training, they are instructed on the use of a type of energy called Cosmo, this energy allows them to create destructive acts at the atomic level, these act may seem superhuman, but they are nothing, what you have seen so far is the lowest power a saint can generate against their foes, their attack have been know to reach Mach 1, the speed of the sound, 1195 km/hr!".
And as they are stunned by the news I continue "Yes, common sense dictates this is not possible, yet it is the truth! Now, Imagine what would happen when the enemy is only 3,4 meters away, and 100 of these punches are thrown... Honored guests, I can see by your face that you do not believe me, all this is true, there have been multiple events in history that the Saints have been involved in... Napoleon's defeat and the fall of the Roman Empire are only two such examples...".
Then another reporter asks "Um... Thank you for telling us this, but... What has all this got to do with us sports reporters?", at this moment I think 'And this is the cue for Saori-ojousama to make an entrance, and right on time she appears and say "That is something I would like to explain" greeting her, I make space for her to make her speech.
And after the reporter calm down after seeing the mistress apparence, she says "Gentlemen, you know that during his lifetime, my grandfather had a tremendous interest in the martial arts and that we, the Graad Foundation, have never lacked partecipating in, nor funding, world martial arts interests... A year after grandfather died, we received a special box from northern europe, and because of that box we knew that Saints and their armors called Cloths, truly existed, grandfather already knew, and had made plans, he took in 100 orphans, after a few year under his care, he sent them to various places around the world, with the objective to become Saints, they were to receive the appropriate training, and told not to return until they had gained a Cloth, these Cloths are the proof of Sainthood"
And with a sad face, Saori-sama continues "Over the last 6 years, we lost contact with 90 of these boys... But the remaining 10 became Saints, and, so far, 7 of the 10 have returned, as evidence of their return, please look at this..." and under her signal, I show the 7 Pandora Box, as she continues with her announcement.
"The remaining 3 will be arriving within days, and among these 10 Saints... We will have a war! Regrettably, grandfather will be unable to witness the culmination of his work... Work he left for me, in his will, when he passed on 5 years ago, gentlemen, I ask for your assistance in making my grandfather's dream a success, perhaps, together, we can make this event as great, or even greater, than the fight once held in the Roman Coliseum" then another reporter asks "Have you considered the possibility of useless bloodshed, like there was in the Coliseum?".
And Saori-ojousama replies "You have no need to worry, they are not required to fight to the death, and, unlike the Coliseum fights, they will have a purpose, they will bet trying to gain the box that my grandfather found" then she starts explaining about the Cloth in few words, roughly telling them their history and levels, then on her cue I reveal the Sagittarius Box as she say "...And what my Saints will be fighting for is... The Sagittarius Gold Cloth!!"
(Image Here - Sagittarius Box)
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Odyin
Odyin Have a Nice Day, Ciao
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone