The sky was blue and the sun shone brightly. Leon, wearing a long, round cowboy hat and a hard leather jacket, lay on the lawn in a standard cowboy outfit. He rested his hands behind his head, soaking in the fresh wind and warm sunshine.
Not far away, the sounds of mooing cattle, bleating sheep, and barking dogs could be heard, along with the excited shouts of children.
It was a perfectly leisurely afternoon.
With a dogtail grass in his mouth, a ray of slanted sunlight fell upon his face. His hat cast a shadow over his eyes, blocking the glare. It was a beautiful, quiet day, the kind that makes a person feel drowsy.
But Leon couldn't sleep, because he was preparing to do something big: to once again materialize something from the fantasy crystal.
Since the last time, the continuous accumulation of divine power had surpassed the previous instance. It had to be said that the Athena's blood he had materialized last time gave him significant benefits.
Just one-thousandth of the blood had made his body and soul immortal, and the vast knowledge it contained gave him the foundation to train his guards. The remaining divine blood would naturally be used to upgrade his gold armor into a divine armor. There was no doubt that a divine armor could significantly enhance one's combat power.
It was a moment of anticipation that he couldn't help but feel every time he materialized divine power from the crystal.
Without moving, the space around him suddenly shifted. To the outside world, he was still lying on the lawn, but in reality, his body was completely isolated from the real world, in a parallel dimension.
With a thought, the fantasy divine power began to materialize.
In an instant, the sky changed. The blue heavens blossomed with an even more dazzling array of stars. Countless stars twinkled, forming a series of intricate, brilliant, sacred, and magnificent patterns. Leon stood up abruptly, looking up with a joyful and surprised expression.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The stars transformed into beams of light and descended, ultimately forming bronze, silver, and gold light spheres. Like stars orbiting a sun, they circled him, rotating and creating an inexplicable vibration and resonance. Leon could feel the intimacy these light spheres conveyed.
When the light faded, bronze, silver, and gold boxes quietly floated and rotated before settling on the ground. There were twelve gold boxes closest to him, followed by twenty-four silver boxes, and forty-eight bronze boxes.
"Did the fantasy divine power materialize the remaining eighty-eight Cloths?"
This both surprised and delighted Leon. He was surprised that all the Cloths had been materialized, which meant he could train a complete roster of Bronze, Silver, and Gold Saints. At the same time, he was surprised because this was the third time. The first time, the fantasy power had materialized Senzu Beans. The second time was the Aquarius Gold Cloth. The third time was the Blood of Athena. And now, all the Cloths appeared at once.
Could it be that the materialization wasn't random but had some inexplicable connection? Or was it just a coincidence? If it was the latter, it was too much of a coincidence.
This thought didn't last long, as Leon had yet to fully analyze the properties of the fantasy crystal. It was like something completely disconnected from this universe. Even when he tried to get close to it and analyze it with his consciousness, he couldn't get any results. Simply put, it was an existence he couldn't understand, at least not at his current level.
Regardless of whether it was a coincidence, one thing was for sure: the appearance of the eighty-eight Cloths had saved him a lot of trouble. He had named his legion the Guards instead of the "Saint Seiya Corps" precisely because he lacked the Cloths. A Saint Seiya was so named because they were recognized by both the Cloth and the Goddess. Now, they would be recognized by him.
The knowledge contained in Athena's blood explained how to create the Cloths. The eighty-eight constellations in the sky were conceived and manifested according to Athena's will. Alchemists then used mountain copper, gamma-manium, and silver star sand to forge them based on the constellations.
Therefore, each Cloth has its own exclusive constellation. To obtain a Cloth, one must have the same guardian constellation and be recognized by the goddess. In this universe, those three materials don't exist, but with Athena's knowledge, Leon could find suitable substitutes. However, the materials needed were very rare and difficult to collect.
Only one material he knew of could serve as a substitute: Uru metal from Asgard, a divine metal. Vibranium, or Adamantium, was not worthy of replacing it. Of course, he could use these metals to create a higher-level combat suit, but it wouldn't have the unique sentience and evolutionary function of the Cloths.
In this universe, Leon was a low-key version of Athena. Thanks to the materialization, he possessed Athena's knowledge and would continue to grow. In the future, he could even replace Athena, creating more constellations and Cloths based on his own ideas. By then, there wouldn't just be twelve Gold Saints, but dozens, hundreds, or even thousands. After all, Bronze Saints could also evolve. With the continuous growth of their cosmos, they could eventually be upgraded to Gold Saints or even higher-level Saints. But that was a story for the future.
For now, the materialization of the Cloths solved many of his initial problems. The fantasy crystal was truly considerate. Leon even began to suspect that the fantasy crystal had a mind of its own, from the Senzu Beans and the Aquarius Gold Cloth that perfectly resonated with him to the Divine Blood and now, the eighty-eight Cloths. Was this some kind of conspiracy? Leon quickly dismissed the thought, but he kept the fleeting idea in his mind. He believed that as his life level continued to rise, he would one day be able to understand the essence of this fantasy crystal.
Leon walked among the Cloths, and his eyes finally landed on one of the twelve golden boxes, the most unique one.
He already had a Gold Cloth, so there should have been only eleven in the Gold sequence. But there was one extra—the Ophiuchus Gold Cloth.
The Ophiuchus Gold Cloth was a Cloth that existed outside of the twelve zodiac signs. It was originally a Silver Cloth, but in the age of mythology, there was an Ophiuchus Silver Saint Seiya who was one of ten special people.
Odysseus, the son of the sun god Apollo and Princess Coronis of Thessaly, was a great and compassionate being, almost like a god. He was noble, and used his medical skills to heal the injured, save the sick, and even bring the dead back to life. People eventually began to call him a god. Over time, Odysseus began to believe he was equal to the gods. But his real intention was to become a god, and this challenge to divine authority angered the gods. The Ophiuchus Gold Saint was banished from the Sanctuary, his very existence erased. The golden constellation he represented was removed, and Ophiuchus was reborn as a Silver Cloth.
"Who will you be recognized by?" Leon's eyes flashed with golden light, but he didn't choose to wear the Ophiuchus Cloth. As mentioned before, he was special. Since all the Cloths were materialized by the fantasy crystal, they had a resonance and connection with him from the moment they appeared. He was their master, not a saint who needed their protection.
He was the owner of the Cloths. If necessary, he could wear any of the Gold Cloths present. Because the power of Athena's blood contained all the ultimate knowledge of the Saint Seiya, he could perfectly use the power of any Cloth.
But he was different. He didn't want to treat these Cloths like a Collector. He knew very well that the essence of these Cloths was just armor and weapons. Did Athena care about the Cloths? No, because they were just armor she created for her warriors. He was the same. What he wanted was his own strength. The knowledge in Athena's blood and his cosmos were the foundation of his power. Being stingy with them would be extremely foolish, whether from a human or a god's perspective.
Buzz! Buzz!
As if hearing Leon's thoughts, the Ophiuchus Gold Box trembled slightly in response, making Leon laugh.
"Then go," he said, stretching a finger toward the sky. "Wait for your master's call."
Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
The eighty-eight Bronze, Silver, and Gold boxes turned into three-colored light and shot into the sky, disappearing into the constellations. They would wait there, and when they sensed a suitable master, they would resonate with their small cosmos.
"Leon, what are you doing pointing at the sky? Are you trying to poke a hole in it? Please, leave the poor sky alone! I don't want it to fall down on Earth! Come and help me quickly!"
From a distance, his grandfather's booming voice rang out. He had clearly seen Leon standing on the lawn, his right index finger pointing high into the sky like an arrogant dragon.
"Alright, I'm coming!"
Leon, thick-skinned as he was, didn't care at all. He casually replied and walked toward his grandfather. The space flowed around him, and in an instant, his body transitioned back from the parallel dimension to reality.
"Odin, how is this possible?"
In a high-rise corridor of a magnificent building in Asgard, a large, bearded man looked at Thor with disbelief. He sat on a stone bench, with the city stretching out below them in a picturesque, majestic view.
But no one was enjoying the scenery. Everyone was looking at Thor in shock.
"I don't want to admit it, but believe me, my brothers," Thor said seriously, looking at the group before him: Sif, the Warriors Three—Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun—and his closest brother, Loki.
For countless years, he had led these companions through hundreds of battles. Their relationship was far beyond that of princes and generals. He would not hide anything from his brothers, and he knew that when he needed help, they would give everything without reservation, including their lives.
"Thor, you know this is not a trivial matter. We have never even heard of this Great Serpent." Sif, the only female warrior, frowned. Her heroic and beautiful face showed some hesitation. She wasn't questioning Thor, as she trusted him implicitly, but this matter was far beyond their abilities. According to Thor, this was a disaster and a war that would sweep across all nine realms. It was not a small matter and had to be confirmed.
"I found a description in Asgard's history, but it was very simple and vague," Thor said. "It seems my father intentionally kept it vague." Though Thor was often reckless and arrogant, he had a brain and could deduce things from a few clues.
"The Allfather is in a deep sleep. Perhaps you should ask the Allmother," Sif suggested.
But Thor already had an answer. "I've already spoken to her. My mother told me to believe in myself, that any choice I make will guide my future destiny." It was a vague answer, but everyone present believed it. As Odin's wife, the Allmother Frigga also possessed great power. She was like a goddess who guided destiny. A vague hint was all they needed to find the answer for themselves.
Loki, who had been silent, had beautiful black curly hair and a handsome, pale face. He looked at his brother seriously. "Is there anything else in the dream you had?"
"Other things?" Thor looked at his brother, confused.
Loki shook his head. "You don't think Midgard is simple, do you? Although it was once backward and ignorant, I have been investigating some information recently."
"What information?" asked Fandral, one of the Warriors Three, stroking his neatly trimmed mustache.
(End of Chapter)
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