Sage, especially, felt a sudden surge of anger and agitation, though he quickly forced it down.
"Your Holiness… In terms of character, Sage may actually be more suitable than I. There's still a significant gap between us." Aiolos spoke respectfully, still shocked.
"No! Aiolos, you are far too modest! You are the one I believe is most suitable!"
"Sage..."
"For the sake of Sanctuary and for Athena, I hope you will wholeheartedly support Aiolos, help him to train a new generation of qualified Saints. Together, you must protect this land once more... and protect Athena."
Alex shook his head gently, then turned to Sage, his voice firm.
"Yes, Your Holiness. For the goddess and the Earth, I will do everything I can to support Aiolos, even if it costs me my life." Sage's voice was calm as he spoke. But within him, the darkness was spreading, expanding bit by bit—
Attempting to engulf his entire being.
"Good. Return to your respective palace halls. Tomorrow, I will announce this decision to all of Sanctuary. From now on, Aiolos is the designated successor to the Papacy!" Alex gave a small nod, unaware of Sage's internal change.
But just as he finished speaking, and as Aiolos and Sage were rising—
"Buzz!"
A terrifying Cosmo suddenly erupted from somewhere within Sanctuary. The once clear sky darkened in an instant.
"What a terrifying Cosmo?!" Alex, Aiolos, and Sage all visibly changed expression.
"Shua!"
"Shua!"
"Shua!"
All three vanished from where they stood almost simultaneously.
When they reappeared—
They were already in outer space.
"That is—?" Their pupils shrank as they quickly noticed a massive disturbance in the skies. Countless stars dotted the heavens, and the Twelve Zodiac Temples reappeared in the sky once more.
And alongside them, a constellation that had vanished for over a year—
The Ophiuchus (Snake Bearer) Constellation suddenly began to shine once more.
"This is—?" Seeing this, Aiolos suddenly thought of something. His gaze instantly turned toward the border of Sagittarius and Scorpio Temples.
"The Snake Bearer?" Sage muttered to himself, quickly understanding, and looked in the same direction.
As the two locked eyes—
Alex, after a brief pause, followed suit.
And the moment their gazes aligned—
The three of them sensed an enormous change between the Sagittarius and Scorpio Temples.
"Buzz!"
A ripple spread out as a phantom Palace Hall began to flicker into view, just like before. At that moment, all three wore looks of surprise.
Then, Aiolos and Sage both showed hints of joy. Jiang Chen's disappearance had been buried in their hearts all this time. Now, with the Ophiuchus Temple reappearing, they couldn't help but feel excited.
"The Snake Bearer! It's Chen!" Aiolos instinctively began to move closer—
Sage did the same.
"Don't approach yet!" Alex raised his voice firmly with a grave expression on his face and both Aiolos and Sage froze mid-step.
"Your Holiness!" The two turned to look at Alex.
"Wait and observe first. Something doesn't feel right here." Alex spoke in a low and serious tone, a worried look on his face.
The Snake Bearer Temple… Even he couldn't fully comprehend it.
Right now, he didn't want anything to happen to Aiolos or Sage.
If anything did—
Sanctuary would truly be in deep trouble.
…
"Shua!"
Amidst everyone's shock, more figures appeared one after another.
Theey were- Taurus Aldebaran, Virgo Shaka, Aquarius Camus, Aries Mu, Scorpio Milo, and Capricorn Shura.
"Your Holiness? What is this?" Aries Mu looked toward the Pope and asked with a trace of hesitation.
"Not clear. Wait a moment." Alex shook his head as hee spoke, at this moment, even he couldn't understand what this change truly meant.
Hearing Alex's words, one by one the Gold Saints fixed their curious gazes on the golden palace hall in front of them, which hovered between illusion and reality.
"Your Holiness. Chen should still be inside." Aiolos spoke, his gaze naturally shifting toward Alex.
"Yes, Your Holiness. We should—" Sage also nodded in agreement.
"Don't approach for now!" Alex shook his head again.
The Holy War was about to begin, the Sanctuary couldn't afford to lose any more high-level warriors.
Hearing Alex's firm tone, Sage and Aiolos both fell silent.
"That's enough. For now, we only need to monitor this place. You can all return." Oh, and tomorrow, I will announce the new candidate for Pope." With a wave of his hand, Alex's figure vanished from the scene.
"Yes, Your Holiness." Each of the Gold Saints responded respectfully and quickly disappeared as well.
In the end, only Sagittarius Aiolos and Gemini Sage remained.
"Let's go. This isn't something we can be involved in right now." Sage spoke softly before vanishing himself.
Aiolos glanced in his direction, sighed softly, and followed.
The Next Day
Pope Alex officially announced an important matter to all of Sanctuary:
Aiolos, the most outstanding Saint of this generation, Praised for possessing the highest virtues of a Saint: wisdom, compassion, and courage, would inherit the position of the next Pope, becoming the official Pope Candidate.
The moment the news was made public, all of Sanctuary was shaken.
And Aiolos's status instantly soared—
Elevated above all other Gold Saints.
Inside the Gemini Temple
"Heh heh… Sage, stop hesitating. That old man never intended to choose you. He only called you over to assist Aiolos, nothing more. Kill him. Then kill Athena. You'll become the ruler of this land."
"Shut up, you bastard! We are the most loyal warriors who protect Athena!"
"Loyal? Sage, do you even believe that yourself? Kanon has already said it, just be honest with yourself! Yes, you've always grown up like a god, kind and virtuous. While your twin brother has always done evil. You two may be twins, but one is like an angel, the other like a demon. And yet… even within you, there's a demon."
"Hahaha! You're the demon! I'll eliminate you!"
"Don't kid yourself. I am you and you are me. How will you eliminate me? Go. Kill that old man. Why should the land of humans be ruled by the whims of the gods? Once you obtain Athena's blood, you'll gain the Shield of Athena and the Divine Tools of Athena. Then you'll be the master of this world."
Two voices roared inside Sage's mind.
His hair gradually turned silver-white.
Unknowingly, his body began to walk out of the Gemini Temple and he walked towards the Pope's Hall.
Before long, Sage silently arrived at the Pope's Hall. Since Alex had become Pope, there were no longer any Silver Saints stationed here as guards.
Most Silver Saints had already been sent out by Sage, assigned to monitor Specters around the world.
This time was no different.
Soon, Sage reached the deepest part of the Pope's Hall.
And just then, Alex noticed Sage's arrival.
"Sage?" Alex asked with slight surprise.
"Your Holiness, I have something important to report." Sage spoke calmly, his figure steadily approaching Alex.
"What is it?" Alex, slightly puzzled, retracted his curiosity.
At this point, he didn't notice anything unusual about Sage. Even though he hadn't chosen Sage as the Pope's successor, he was still very satisfied with him. Sage was one of the rare Saints in Sanctuary who had both great strength and noble character.
The Pope's Hall was completely silent.
Sage's footsteps drew closer. Alex's eyes were locked on him.
But then—
Alex suddenly noticed something was off ans his pupils narrowed sharply.
(To Be Continued…)
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