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Chap oo4

Cygnus Hyoga could feel the change of temperature. If outside was hot and dry, inside was even worse with a humidity he never felt before. He could feel his skin was viscous, his armour felt heavier and the breathing wasn't enough to oxygenate himself. He remembered that battle on Asgard, but this was extreme. He bet that Merak Beta Hagen wouldn't stand this. He could see it because Ophiuchus Shaina needed to fix her hair once again and was sweating, Phoenix Ikki had some of his hair adhered on his skin, even if he was the one who looked better.

The path was a tunnel of rocks with a light in the end, but they decided not to make any joke about the death in here. Especially when the earthquakes made them stop and their hearts feel in the same way. All that stress and painful anxiety finished when the three Saints found the exit that was as shinny as the same sun.

"This is... new." Ikki said looking at the scene

There was a whole room under the volcano, as the ceiling was lava moving and spilling its gases, only was on the back that the lava fell down to some kind of pool that made the dangerous liquid flowing around the room. They could see not much as some columns were blocking their vision, they worked as a wall to don't fall, to later found some details as a table, tools and another big pond with some black liquid on it. But the smell was something that they could perceive.

"What's that?" Hyoga asked covering his nose. "It's disgusting."

"Hadn't you smell burnt blood?" Ikki smiled. "Or just blood left outside under the sun for long time?"

"You are scaring me."

"Great, now let's keep walking down there. I can see someone."

The two males didn't wait to keep descending downstairs, as they were close to the walls of that cave or room. But as they moved they could see more of it. For sure was a forge with tools, oven and materials around to create, as they thought, armours. And then Shaina spotted. Between both pools, the one of lava and the one of black liquid there was a throne made of iron with different parts of armours, she could find some similar to those she was wearing and some of the Gold Saints. And there she was, Peacock Shiva sitting there with both arms on the air as if the throne didn't have place to rest them and closed eyes as she was sleeping.

Ophiuchus Saint didn't wait any longer to almost run through the stairs arriving to a platform where the columns weren't anymore, almost on the half of the room. She could see everything now and, for the same reason, was easy to stop.

"Puttana!" Ikki said, this time to let Shaina hear.

Thanks to the use of her language, she turned realising what she did. And wasn't hard to understand why it was a mistake as enemies suddenly appear. More Black Saints to fight against. There was no sense to hide their cosmos anymore, especially for Hyoga who was looking at Shiva as their real being, at least the one that was possessing her body. Hephaestus was smiling greatly as he was waiting on the throne.

"Hō Yoku Ten Shō!" Ikki quickly hit two enemies that were jumping towards Shaina and fell very close to the edge. "You are welcome."

"Shut up and fight!"

Hyoga didn't wait to throw his shield to an enemy, making him fall to the lava and, having his shield back, keep with the fighting. Many enemies were around them, they could kick and hit most of them but they kept coming. The dodge and attacks between Ikki and Hyoga began individual to then finish, once again in a work team that not many had before. But, mostly, Phoenix Ikki could feel how his brother was tired because this wasn't his normal ambient to fight. Shaina kept going downstairs as she fought others, without realising if they were defeating or not. Her anxious movements made her fall once. She was worried as Ikki was for Hyoga, for her friend.

But both birds kept fighting, till Ikki felt how Hyoga fell on the floor, still, somehow, fighting with his legs. The big brother moved as fast as he could to almost jump over Hyoga and hold an enemy that was going to hurt him. Thanks to this he slipped on the edge falling directly to the floor.

"Brother!" the Cygnus Saint moved as fast as he could but Ikki was already falling. "Aurora Thunder Attack!"

The enemies around him that didn't let him move, flied on the air as he jumped directly to watch what happened.

"Fuck you!" Ikki yelled as he, somehow, managed to push the enemy to the lava and use that energy to fall in the floor. "My fucking shoulder!"

He moved rolling on the floor to stand up even if he knew for sure his shoulder wasn't in the place it should be. Thanks to this, Ikki could see how Hephaestus opened his eyes and looked at him. Those eyes were now so different.

As well, he noticed the throne had a rail directly to the black pond.

"Claw Rush!" Ophiuchus Shaina held one of her enemies to smash his body on the floor and fall in better ways than Ikki did.

As she run towards the Phoenix to help him stand up, Hyoga could notice new enemies arriving to them, and these ones were different. Freezing part of the stairs made him slide easy to arrive at the point those two were around.

"What's that?" asked Shaina.

Eight warriors were coming close to them, but they were completely made of gold. They looked as automata, with armours in but no face, something similar to the masks of the Amazons. With the light of the lava and the candles around, their skin was shining.

"Thunder Claw!" The electricity went thru their bodies but didn't go out, they didn't even move as if nothing happened. "What?"

It wasn't till all of them moved their hands and gave all that energy. Now Shaina understood how her enemies felt every time she used that attack. Ikki and Hyoga didn't enjoy either the bolts of electricity around their bodies.

"Are you ok?" Hyoga quickly held Ikki.

"Saori should pay us!"

"Bring them." at least, finally, Shiva's voice could be heard.

The room was divided in three levels. The one of the pool of lava of the back, the throne in the middle and, finally, where these Saints were, just having as division the black pond were the Golden warriors drag them on the floor to be in front of that. The Ophiuchus Saint tried to came close but those automata stopped her pass as they were a wall.

In front of them, the level tall enough to let the Saints observe, the Silver Saint and now vessel of a God stood up, let them saw why the throne was there, why the smell and the trails. Both of his wrist was cut up and letting blood drain drop by drop.

"What are you doing?!" Shaina quickly, once again, run but the warriors didn't let her move more. "Shiva!"

"You must be the Ophiuchus Saint. I see, very close of this man, don't you?"

"She is a woman! She is my friend!"

"Of course, I forgot. Shiva is both, but in the moment is nothing." he smiled. "Now shut up and listen." he said to take some serious face once again. "Sorry for my warriors, they should be more but I used them centuries ago to make a special shield for Athena." He sighed. "It is just amazing how the masks aren't even a law now, you are losing respect to your Goddess. Calling her by a mortal name, now this. Humans are so different than before. I gave my warriors to her, and you are just corrupted."

Shaina couldn't do anything else but give steps backwards to be close to the other Saints. Hyoga placed one hand on her shoulder, which she removed quickly. She didn't want pity or hugs, they were useless now.

"I must admit, you are brave Saints." Hephaestus smiled once again. "Arriving here, to the heart of my forge and inside a volcano, just with a broken shoulder."

"Fuck you, asshole." Ikki chuckled.

"So respectful to your Gods. Anyway, I think you shouldn't die. Not yet, not in this way." he sighed as he was sad and disappointed. "I didn't want to hurt any human, I don't like the war. But you are just being annoying, you are stopping my plan. Don't you understand what I'm doing? We need this army! Athena alone has her own duty, I should be able to help her." Hephaestus looked proud as Shiva would do. "My own army, hand by hand with the Saints. We could bring peace once again."

"Peace?" Hyoga interrupted quickly. "Those Black Saints aren't peaceful at all! They are selfish, they are psychopaths who only care about their death counting. If you give them armours, you will bring war everywhere."

"Yes, for sure you should die. You don't understand anything. They will obey me as I'm their God." Hephaestus was now angry as he moved his hand, showing the blood falling. "I will let you die as what you are. Warriors! Kill them!"

The automata woke up suddenly, coming close to them, as the Peacock Saint took sit once again. Three of them follow the Saints, the other five stood up waiting for their orders.

"Plan?" Hyoga asked to Ikki in Russian, a language hard to understand for the God and even Shaina.

"Yeah." the saint smiled looking at the female warrior.

Ikki said a simple word twice. In two different languages. Hephaestus realised that, because the vessel he chose, didn't have memory of those words. He decided not to show his anxious doubt, trusting on those warriors he did time ago. The movements weren't fast as comparation with the Saints, but they were strong and tall enough to be an enemy hard to destroy. At least, that's what their creator thought.

The Saints were moving backwards, with their arms up as they were defending themselves but, in any moment, would attack. Then the plan was easy. As they were thinking in the same way, as their minds were together, but not mirroring each other as those automata, the three Saints moved quickly enough to jump over their enemies, even using them as platform to push more than once. As the warriors were turning, the Saints were ready.

"Diamond dust!"

"Lighting Rampage!"

"Hō Yoku Ten Shō!"

The mild cold air of Hyoga wasn't enough to freeze the enemy, he was tired and the hot humid scene didn't help him. But, he didn't want to freeze it. The enough energy of the attack made the enemy fly and, in a quickly way, fall on the lava.

Hephaestus opened his eyes as he tried to follow the three attacks.

The female saints didn't use her electricity but an attack so fast with cosmos on her right arm that hit over and over the enemy to push them more and more to finally fly on the air and, with a smile on her face, the Ophiuchus gave a last hit to make him fall as his enemy.

"What?!" Hephaestus didn't wait any longer. "Warriors! Sacrifice!" He quickly stood up.

Only one had problems as his arm couldn't receive a shock of cosmos, he knew the consequences. But the hit was enough to make the automaton be in the edge, so the Phoenix just needed to give a last kick.

The warriors were destroyed, but the other five were running behind the throne. As a bizarre image, one by one jump to the pool of lava that was behind them. The Saints came close once again, perplexed of this weird manoeuvre.

"I know Athena will forgive me, I do it for the peace of this world!" his hands moved quickly towards them. "Anvil call!"

With this attack, the warriors felt a push. The Bird Saints just pushed themselves some steps backwards. But, Ophiuchus Shaina yelled as she fled on the air to finish on one of the walls.

"Phoenix, Cygnus." Shiva's voice called them. "Why don't you move?"

"What do you mean?" Cygnus asked curious.

"Shaina!" Ikki quickly yelled. "Do not remove your armour! You will fall on the lava!"

"Do you think I will do it? Stupid idiot!"

Hephaestus laughed a bit as low his hands.

"So, you know it."

"You created the armours, you can control them." Ikki sighed worried.

"That's impossible." Cygnus looked at his clothes. "Why aren't we moving?"

"Who cares. Let's do it, Hyoga." Ikki smiled to hold his hand. "Let's use your stupid name."

The eyes of the Cygnus Saint sparkled a bit and smiled as both were decided to high their cosmos as they could.

"You will hurt me? To my vessel?" Hephaestus looked a bit happy. "Do it then, do it and kill me."

Cygnus and Phoenix ran towards their enemy, even if he tried once again the 'Anvil Call' attack. This just made them stop a second and, in the next one, remove their cloths from their bodies except for pieces that covered his arms.

"Deneb on Fire!"

The hot air moved on spiral causing a fire ring, on the middle there was a cold air as if was covered by it. Where they meet each other, could be heard the sparkle sound of explosions because the change of temperature.

The hit was impressing. The ice made his body tremble but with the change of something hot around it was a mixture of pain and claustrophobia as Hephaestus couldn't move. He felt the skin burning in two different ways till the end when the cold covered him and freeze parts of his mortal body.

"Something went wrong." Hyoga said worried.

Shiva was now surrounded by ice, and they saw her skin burnt. He had pain, and Shaina could feel the cosmos of Shiva yelling as he felt what was before his body. That was stopped when Hephaestus just looked at them. Phoenix Ikki could notice how the ice began to crack and melt.

"Hōō Genmaken!"

With this last attack, her head went back and kept looking at the nothing as slowly the ice fell down.

"You are hurting Shiva!" Shaina cried. "Stop!"

"In her mind, there is no Shiva. It is that piece of shit God." Ikki turned to look at Shaina. "Don't worry."

"Don't worry." that voice was different now.

The Phoenix Saint didn't believe it as he looked at Shiva's body once again. At least the blood stopped for some seconds, but Hephaestus held the ice on his hand and moved quickly to cut his wrists once again.

"What are you doing? You are hurting yourself, Shiva!" Shaina couldn't understand and that made her stop thinking in what to do for her own safety.

The Bird Saints didn't know what to do, their options were zero and they could see this.

"I'm a God." the voice was a mix of Shiva's and a darker and deeper one, old and rust. "God of fire!" Slowly, the burn marks began to become stronger in some parts of his face and neck and, in the same moment, his hands turned on fire. "You and I can destroy this body without worrying." quickly his hands stood up over the air and his eyes changed to black. "When I finish my duty, this body will not be necessary!"

"Chariot of Fire!"

The cosmos energy was so immense the earthquakes began once again. In the top of his head Hephaestus had a spiral of fire that was turning faster and faster every time, and they could see how it expanded in such way they saw through it, but not to see behind. There was a black spot without light or anything, something strange that the eye could see and in the same time it couldn't. The energy spilling from both sides of this portal, a pitch black in essence, moved towards the two ponds swirling around and making them having some kind of bridge. Such a deep darkness that somehow hypnotised the Saints. Except Shaina, who was yelling for her friend.

That was more than enough. The Ophiuchus armour began to shake as well as Shaina was removing it. Ikki and Hyoga could see her fall to the lava and just ran, knowing their timing was a failure to save her. But, Shaina didn't fall on the sure death.

She closed her eyes feeling the arms around and how they rolled on the floor to be left there, as quickly this new body moved and throw something to the God in front of them. Two seals with the bless of Athena fell on his hands and the spiral of fire began to stop.

"You arrived too fast to this world but looks like I arrived too late to this moment."

Both brothers saw what happened in those seconds. As Shaina was falling, Lotus Aghora arrived levitating to hold her and made both fall on the floor. His quickly movement discovered his face, a cloth was used for protection, as he threw the gifts from the same Athena.

"Too late indeed." said Hephaestus, still with black eyes and smoke on his hands. "That was enough energy."

"You know? I'm used to be the one who calms down Shiva and clean her mess." Aghora smiled as he came close. "So, I will ask once again. Leave the body of my sister, right now."

Hephaestus laughed with this. A mortal giving him orders like this.

The God quickly removed the seals from the hands to throw them and didn't wait to control another armour. This time, Aghora felt the shake around his body in such uncomfortable way he, as simple as that, throw his armour at his side. The beautiful Lotus armour was now just that, a statue of an open flower. The God of fire and metallurgy fell on his knees and looked confused to this man.

"You are using a mortal body, you are draining her blood, which I will never forgive you. Do you expect to have energy?" Aghora looked so sure of himself, he came close to Shaina to help her stand up. "You even forget, right?"

"Forget what?" Hephaestus asked as he tried to sit again on his throne.

"You control only your armours, the ones you created. I guess you fixed once the Lotus Armour, but you didn't create it. There is no Lotus Constellation, you stole it." Aghora sighed. "But will take too much time to explain you. Now, give me my sister back."

The God stood up and moved slowly to downstairs, being in front of the Lotus Saint and at his back the black pond. His eyes were totally black without iris but Aghora could feel Hephaestus was looking at him, he felt the pain as well. With this distraction, as the God let Shiva talk for a second with her cosmos, he took a knife from his clothes and placed it on his arms once again.

Lotus Aghora gave a step forwards, but seeing how the edge touched the skin, stopped. He didn't remove his attention from the sharp weapon.

"If you hurt her more, I will make you suffer."

"You don't understand? She is a sacrifice for everything. Her blood is needed, that's how you repair armours... and bodies." Hephaestus left the knife close to the verge of the pool and smiled. "You will not hurt your sister, do you?"

Cygnus Hyoga, as he was helping to Phoenix Ikki to walk, realised didn't have much energy. But, leaving his brother behind, stood up to come close and help Aghora. He didn't expect the hand of the tall man stopping him. The Silver Saint looked calmed now, Hyoga could feel his already known peaceful cosmos once again.

"Go and rest. Take care of Ikki."

"But, Aghora, you..."

"As I said, I always clean Shiva's mess." he smiled, and Hyoga could just do the same and move quickly to be at side of his brother and Shaina. "Now, looks like you will not stop by your own. Don't worry, I have a better plan."

Hephaestus chuckled as he turned to see the pool of lava. His hand on the air make another earthquake appear, this time making the lava overflow the pool.

"What if I kill them first?"

"You can't! Shiva would never let you." Shaina yelled.

"I'm not your friend!"

The lava began to move as his energy increased and moved as a projectile towards the three Saints. Using the armours wasn't an option for Shaina who couldn't control it again, meanwhile the other two used quickly to hold and protect her with their own. But that wasn't necessary.

"Om!"

Ikki and Hyoga were hugging to Shaina, waiting the hot burn and, as nothing happened, they raised up their heads again. Lotus Aghora was standing in front of them, with his hands as his master would do. Using the Virgo Armour.

"I think Shaka knows you are here." Hyoga said serious.

"Shaka looks better on it!" Ikki yelled as he kept hugging Shaina, to then left her. "And don't you ever say anything about this."

"Thanks anyway." the female sighed and looked at this new Armour.

Hephaestus looked surprised as this happened.

"How did you know I can't control the Gold Armours?!"

"Oh, really?" Aghora smiled. "I didn't, you just told me."

The God showed his fury once again making the lava flood more and a harder earthquake. He never expected to fight against Athena in such way, having warriors like these humans in front of him. His cosmos began to burn in a way that the burn marks appear one by one and the blood began to drip faster. Lotus Aghora couldn't handle this anymore and he tried to move closer to stop his sister, but the God had enough.

The blood dripped quickly over the black pond as Hephaestus opened Shiva's arm as if wasn't more than just a dead body already.

"The healing will be done and you can't stop me, doesn't matter I can't see them. Doesn't matter I can't see my new armours."

"You hurt my sister." Aghora began to burn his cosmos as well as he placed both hands in front of his face in a pray manner. "I will make you pay for everything!"

Hephaestus moved the knife to the other arm ready to open it and let the blood split, but a wave of energy stopped him.

Lotus Aghora, now using the Virgo Cloth, was levitating with both eyes opened and letting his cosmos burn in such way that the same lava began to move away from him, the rocks rose up and the air was dancing around him.

"You took a life as nothing, you say love peace but don't care about pain." Aghora's face looked calmed but something in his voice was with fury. "You had use so much Dark energy that you can't control yourself now. And, after all, you hurt my sister and family. Don't worry, I will put you out of her body... even if I need to use all my cosmos!"

The blue eyes of the Saint blinked to show a yellow energy emanate of them. It was like flames out of his eyes, in the same way that Shiva's, but this was white and stronger.

"You can't do anything against me!" Hephaestus yelled ready to fight once again. "I'm a God!"

Aghora's mouth began to move as fast as he could, reciting mantras and words that mixed in such way that, in some seconds, it heard like thousands of voices. The other saints could feel the energy around and there is where they saw.

"Volcano eruption!"

The hand of the god threw a fist full of fire that kept moving with energy enough to cut the air around it. It was precisely to Aghora's heart, if it wasn't because Phoenix Saint and his armour moved fast enough to receive the whole hit and being throw away.

"Brother!" Hyoga quickly held him as he saw how his armour was broken and there was blood.

"Fuck. Protect Aghora! He need to finish the exorcism!"

"Volcano eruption!"

The Cygnus Saint didn't wait any longer as he run, making the armour paste to his body in every step, towards the same danger.

"Diamond Dust!"

The clash of energy made another earthquake appear, this time winning more time as Hyoga was using his energy. But it was a God and a Silver Saint, so didn't spend more time as the fire reached Hyoga doing the same they did to his brother.

"You are so stubborn!" Hephaestus was ready for a new attack as Shaina was now in front of him. "Volca-" he threw a gasp.

Aghora closed his eyes and, one by one, separated the fingers of the right hand

"This is not your body." he said as he moved the left arm fast, as he was throwing something.

Ophiuchus Shaina could notice there was another wave of energy going out from Hephaestus. This time was different.

"What? No!" he yelled laying on the edge of the black pool trying to hold the knife and stay over his feet. "No! Leave me!"

The Virgo Saint in front of him moved the hand down showing his palm. Then move the right hand in the same way as before.

By that moment the earthquake was so intense, Shaina needed to kick a rock that was falling close to Aghora. He wasn't paying attention to those details, deep into his mission. She looked around to receive her armour once again and, in this way, moved away from them two.

Hephaestus used all his energy to do a last thing. His eyes changed again, his body was shaking, he was leaving thru waves of cosmos that body that didn't belong to him, leaving the cosmos of Shiva going outside of the shell she was.

"It hurts!" yelled Shiva crying with desperation and pain. "Stop! Aghora!"

"Get out!" Aghora lifted his right hand to the air, pointed the sky and making then the karana mudra. "Get out now!"

It was a second when Ophiuchus Shaina saw it. The eyes turned black again, but there was smoke going out of Shiva's mouth and from her wounds that opened even more. The last wave of Hephaestus' cosmos was being throw in front, in such energy and strength, the once vessel of this God, was pushed backwards. To the dark pool full of blood and dark energy.

Virgo Aghora, as he could be called using the armour, fell on his knees and just raised up his head to look this scene. He tried to stood up but his energy was low, he tried once again without being able to catch Shiva's feet.

"Sister!" he quickly felt despair; Aghora wanted to submerge his hand and catch her, but an earthquake interrupted his balance.

"Aghora!" Shaina held his arm. "We need to go!"

The lava on the roof began to fall, the columns were being destroyed and the same floor was cracking.

"I came here for Shiva! I will go inside!"

"You can't! We need to survive and help those who does!" Shaina said with tear on her eyes. "Aghora!"

Her yell shared the same pain as Aghora was feeling now. The same volcano didn't let them be there as a giant rock fell in such way the Lotus Saint needed to push Shaina and the pool was now blocked. The tears couldn't translate all the sadness and pain Aghora felt.

But they were warriors, and Shaina was right. They needed to save those who could survive. The Ophiuchus Saint held Hyoga on her arms, with a strength she didn't know she could have in that moment. At her back was the Virgo Saint following her, holding Ikki on his arms.

Only they four left the room that was in process of destruction.