I killed him just yesterday, and I destroyed his experiment too. Phobos and Deimos said it was a trap, I knew that, but I was curious. I wanted to know what Scorpio really intended to do, what he meant by uniting all the zodiac symbols. Was he planning to merge the Riders' bodies like that absurd monster at the end of that yellow sponge cartoon episode? I don't know, but maybe because I'm an idiot, I went to meet him anyway.
I still brought both of my swords, shrinking them down and slipping them into my pendant. Scorpio said not to tell Ophy, but he didn't say anything about bringing weapons.
"This is a bad idea, Rei," Phobos muttered. "No, this is a great chance to kill Scorpio, he's already lost once. We just need to beat him down again, and we're one step closer to winning all this," Deimos countered with enthusiasm. His constant thirst for battle would get me in trouble sooner or later. But right now, the most important thing was figuring out why Scorpio wanted to meet me.
The old clock tower where he wanted to meet was eerie. The ancient clock tower loomed tall, a pitch-black shadow tearing through the night sky. The city lights far below glowed, but their light couldn't reach this place. A thin veil of night mist floated around its peak, making it look like a silhouette rising above the world.
Its rusted hands were frozen at twelve o'clock. From afar, those hands looked like skinny fingers pointing straight at me. The broken glass windows appeared like dark, empty eyes staring into the void, as if they were watching everything that happened inside.
When the night wind blew, the tower let out a faint whistling sound, like whispers escaping from thousands of cracks. That sound felt like a sad song from the past. I could feel the tower watching me, waiting.
The cold wind swept across my face. The thick night mist made the old clock tower in front of me look like a ghost. Its gloomy walls, covered in moss, seemed to whisper old stories. The giant clock hands above the entrance were rusted, frozen right at twelve. This place felt like time itself had died here.
"This is a bad idea, Rei," Phobos muttered again, his voice laced with worry.
"No, this is a great chance to kill Scorpio. He's already lost once. We just need to beat him down again, and we're one step closer to winning all this," Deimos countered with enthusiasm.
I ignored them both, my focus solely on the door in front of me. The heavy wooden door creaked softly as I pushed it open and closed it behind me with a resounding thud. The air inside was cold and damp, carrying the scent of dust and old iron. The narrow spiral staircase twisted endlessly, like a vortex that would never end.
Each step I took on the fragile wooden stairs made my heart pound harder. The creaks and the fearful voices of Phobos and Deimos mixed in my ears. On each floor, I found strange signs: stacks of books with torn and scattered pages in one corner, a cracked mirror reflecting odd shadows on the next landing. The higher I climbed, the more the tower's aura shifted. The creaks and wind whistles turned into soft whispers calling my name.
I finally reached the top. The whispers vanished, replaced by total silence. An old wooden door with a carved Scorpio symbol on its surface. I reached out, hesitating for a moment, before pushing it open slowly.
The door swung open with a screech of hinges like a stifled scream, as if this old clock tower had just awakened from a long sleep. The air behind it felt even colder, piercing to the bone and leaving my breath ragged. Dim moonlight filtered through the broken window across the room, illuminating the figure I'd recognized from my nightmares: Scorpio.
He stood in the center of the round room, his back to the giant clock hands frozen on the wall. His long white coat swayed gently in the night wind that somehow crept in, even though the door below should have been sealed tight. His body was slender, but a dark power emanated from him, like a coiled serpent ready to strike. In his hand, he held a strange object: a small crystal orb that spun slowly, its surface etched with glowing zodiac symbols like falling stars.
"Rei," his voice echoed, low and smooth like the whisper of wind through clock hands. He didn't turn, but I knew he'd sensed me the moment I entered the tower. "You came. Good. I was worried your famous curiosity had faded after you... ruined my toy yesterday."
I stood in the doorway, my hand instinctively reaching for the pendant around my neck. My swords, Phobos and Deimos, throbbed warmly inside it, like a heart ready to burst. "I doubt you invited me here just to talk, Scorpio," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. "What do you want? Not for a casual chat, right? Phobos says it's a trap, and Deimos... well, he just wants to beat you up again."
A soft chuckle escaped his lips, and then he finally turned. His pale face, with eyes black and deep as bottomless wells, curved into a thin smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "The cowardly Phobos and bloodthirsty Deimos. The perfect pair for a forbidden Rider like you, Rei. But you're right, this isn't a trap. It's... an invitation. You want to know what I aim to do with uniting the zodiac symbols? Sit down. Or stand, whatever. But listen first."
I didn't move, but my legs felt heavy, as if pulled by the room's gravity. Scorpio stepped closer, the crystal orb in his hand stopping its spin, its light bouncing off the walls and casting dancing zodiac shadows around us. "You think I want to merge the Riders' bodies like that absurd monster in that silly cartoon? Too simplistic. No, Rei. I want something bigger. More... eternal."
He raised the crystal orb higher, and suddenly the room filled with illusions. Zodiac shadows materialized in the air: Aries rampaging like wildfire, Taurus standing firm like a mountain, Gemini duplicating into two whispering figures. Scorpio, Deimos, and the others swirled in a circle of light that spun faster and faster. "The Riders are fragments of the ancient zodiac wheel. Each represents an elemental power: fire, earth, air, water. But this world... it's broken. Fractured. I want to unite it again. Not to destroy, but to birth something new. An eternal cycle where the zodiac no longer battles each other, but becomes one entity. Imagine: your power, Aries' courage, fused with Scorpio's sharpness, Leo's ferocity, and Pisces' mystery. We could control time itself, this frozen clock hand is just the beginning."
Phobos screamed in my head, his voice panicked. "Don't listen to him, Rei! It's nonsense! He's lying, he always lies!"
Deimos laughed roughly, his spirit blazing. "Nonsense or not, this is our chance! Grab your swords, stab him now! One slash, and it's over!"
But Scorpio continued, his eyes locked on mine, as if reading my thoughts. "You're curious because you know, Rei. You're not just a forbidden Rider. You're part of this. Ophiuchus, the one you protect, isn't a guardian, he's the key. The missing piece from the zodiac wheel. I didn't say not to bring weapons because I knew you'd need them. Not to fight me... but to join me."
The zodiac illusions drew closer, shadowy hands reaching for me, cold and tempting. My heart pounded, the pendant around my neck burning hot. Was this a trap? Or... the truth I'd been searching for? I gripped the pendant, my swords ready to emerge, but my hand hesitated. Scorpio's smile widened, waiting for my answer.
I stood frozen, caught between the siren song of ultimate power and the screeching warnings in my mind. The pendant around my neck burned, a physical manifestation of the psychic battle waged by my swords.
"Lies! It's all just a shiny illusion, Rei! The only 'eternal cycle' he wants is one where he sits on top!" Phobos's voice was sharp with terror.
"Ignore him, Rei! He just wants to see us fight! If he's telling the truth, we could rule everything! If he's lying, we get to kill him! It's a win-win!" Deimos roared, his spirit a chaotic blaze.
I didn't move my feet, but my gaze shifted from the swirling zodiac illusions to the crystal orb in Scorpio's hand. That was the center of his power, not the talk. I had already destroyed a similar experiment yesterday; maybe the key was still destruction.
"You're right," I said, my voice cutting through the whispers and the wind. "I am curious. And I know you didn't invite me here just for a chat, or to have me join you. You need something from me, Scorpio. You need the forbidden Rider to complete your broken wheel.
Scorpio's smile didn't falter, but a flicker of something, impatience, perhaps, passed through his black eyes. "Such a shame you choose to focus on the trivial details, Rei. Yes, the Ophiuchus Rider, the one born outside the cycle, is the catalyst. But the power I offer is real."
The zodiac shadows reached closer, the image of my own symbol, the Forbidden Snake-Bearer, swirling dark and powerful among the others.