Late 14th Century
Sanctuary, Libra Temple
Swish!
Swish! Swish!
The sound of air being sliced echoed through the vast halls of the temple.
Golden lights flickered ceaselessly.
Boom!
A trident struck the ground.
Its power was immense, bolstered by Athena's Cosmo within the Sanctuary. The blow pierced the floor, tearing apart the surrounding earth.
"Phew…"
Kaiser let out a long breath.
"Finally, I've reached the peak of the Seventh Sense in my Cosmo."
The trident on the ground transformed into a stream of light, returning to Kaiser's hand.
It then merged back into the Libra Gold Cloth of Doomsday.
Reincarnated into this world, Kaiser was brought to the Sanctuary by the current Pope, Itia, during an inspection of the land.
Eighteen years had passed since then.
Five years ago, Kaiser successfully inherited the Libra Gold Cloth, becoming the Gold Saint guarding the Libra Temple.
Now, five years later, his strength had reached the peak of the Seventh Sense.
Among this generation's Gold Saints, Kaiser's power was undoubtedly in the top three.
Under Pope Itia's meticulous guidance, Kaiser had almost perfectly inherited his mentor's legacy.
"It's already the end of the 14th century. The Holy War has begun."
Recalling the intelligence gathered over the years, a shadow fell over Kaiser's face.
When he first arrived at the Sanctuary, Kaiser already knew what kind of world he was in.
The Pope, Itia, the Sanctuary, and Cosmo.
This was, without a doubt, the world of Saint Seiya.
And he was in the timeline of the generation before The Lost Canvas... arguably the most tragic one.
Aside from the brothers Sage and Hakurei, and possibly the previous Aquarius Saint, Krest, every Saint of this generation... including Athena herself... perished.
Pope Itia, in his old age, witnessed the tragedies of the world.
He came to believe humanity was unworthy of protection.
Deceived by the Twin Gods through the Butterflies of the Underworld, he resolved to purge the earth.
In the Sanctuary, aside from Sage and Hakurei, all other Saints either willingly or unwillingly betrayed their cause.
The Sanctuary nearly fell at the hands of its own Pope.
Kaiser's arrival filled the void of this generation's Libra Gold Saint.
But to say he could achieve great feats in the Holy War might be unrealistic.
After arriving at the Sanctuary, Kaiser spent a long time in its library.
Since the Mythological Era, Holy Wars on Earth had never ceased.
Each one was fiercely intense.
Though they always ended with Athena's victory, the Sanctuary, representing her, achieved only pyrrhic victories.
In his previous life, the Saint Seiya anime never explained the origin of the Holy Wars.
It only stated they were battles continuing since the Mythological Era.
But after 18 years in this world, Kaiser felt there was more to it.
The Earth seemed to hide some secret.
A secret he didn't yet understand.
Tap, tap…
Footsteps broke Kaiser's reverie.
The visitor was, in a sense, his senior.
Sage of Cancer, also the Pope of the Lost Canvas era.
"Going to see the master?" Kaiser asked, glancing at Sage.
The man was formidable, breaking the tradition that Gemini and Virgo were always the strongest.
In this generation, the most powerful were undoubtedly Sage and Hakurei.
Besides them, Aries Gategard was also Kaiser's senior.
But his strength was not particularly impressive.
"Yes. There's been some unrest on the earth." Sage replied.
"It's like a sign of the Specters' revival."
His face grew solemn.
The Holy War had begun, and the Specters showed signs of awakening.
Even Sage, prepared to sacrifice everything, couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry at the thought of the war's brutality.
"The Holy War, huh?" Kaiser murmured.
"Let me know if there's any news."
His tone was calm, almost detached.
"Still so cold." Sage said, unbothered by Kaiser's demeanor.
Raised by Pope Itia, just like Aries Gategard, Kaiser shared a similar upbringing.
But unlike Gategard, Kaiser's personality was remarkably steady.
Sage had a feeling about him.
Kaiser was strong.
At only 18, his strength was among the best of the Gold Saints.
He might even rival Sage himself.
A genius among geniuses.
Kaiser watched Sage's retreating figure and sighed.
Though he had influenced Pope Itia to temper his extreme views, the man's volatile personality and belief in meeting violence with violence remained.
If not for another powerhouse from Itia's era hidden within the Sanctuary, Kaiser wouldn't know how to face this Holy War.
"I need to find a way to break through to the Eighth Sense."
Kaiser closed his eyes, entering a state of meditation.
Unlike the original story, where Virgo Shaka of the Saint Seiya era was said to be the first human to comprehend the Eighth Sense... the man closest to godhood... Kaiser, now in this world, knew that was nonsense.
Every Pope in history had undoubtedly mastered the Eighth Sense.
In the previous Holy War, Pope Itia's "Final Justice" Obliterated 54 Specters in a single strike, wiping out half their forces.
Such a feat was unmatched in the Lost Canvas, Next Dimension, or Saint Seiya eras.
Even the near-divine Ophiuchus Odysseus didn't have such an exaggerated record.
And they called that the Seventh Sense?
Then there were Sage and Hakurei in the Lost Canvas era.
Even more absurd!
In the next Holy War, Hakurei, without even wearing his Cloth, stormed Hades' castle alone and sealed Hypnos, the God of Sleep.
Pope Sage, alongside Cancer Manigoldo, sealed Thanatos, the God of Death.
Sage, too, wore no Cloth.
Was that supposed to be the Seventh Sense?
No one would believe it.
Even accounting for retconned settings.
Great Lion Ilias, the previous generation's Leo Gold Saint and father of Little Lion Regulus.
He single-handedly neutralized a world-destroying artifact, purging its apocalyptic curse.
Though the curse left him weakened and terminally ill, ultimately leading to his death at the hands of one of the Underworld's Three Judges, Rhadamanthys, it was explicitly stated that Great Lion Ilias had comprehended the Eighth Sense.
As Kaiser entered a meditative state...
Ding!
"The Heroic Spirit Summoning System has been bound…"
"The host can respond to summoners as a spiritual entity."
"The host will manifest as a Heroic Spirit, using a spiritual body as an avatar, answering the call of the World's Will."
Ding! "All rewards obtained during manifestations belong to the host."
"Completing Heroic Spirit missions will grant rewards from the World's Will."
"Note: The World's Will rewards can aid the host in comprehending Cosmo and forging their own Divinity!"
***
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