Chapter Four: Arrival at the Sacred Domain

With the crisis resolved, Yin Seventeen was finally able to properly savor the scenery at supersonic speed. Forests and rivers, snow-capped mountains and barren deserts—all were effortlessly left behind, unable to slow Moses’ pace in the slightest. He even saw Moses leap lightly over a river several hundred meters wide, an awe-inspiring sight.

Yet the power of a Saint, while terrifying, also filled him with longing for such strength. With a hint of envy, he asked, “Lord Moses, what does it take to become one of Athena’s Saints?”

“You wish to become a Saint?” Moses gave him a surprised look.

“Yes! I want to join Sanctuary, become a Saint of the goddess Athena, purge the world of evil, and ensure the tragedy that befell our village never happens again!” Yin Seventeen declared righteously.

To fight for Athena, to battle against evil—such declarations were empty words, but attitude mattered. If he admitted he sought power for revenge, Moses would most likely refuse him outright and reveal nothing more.

“Ambitious, I see!” Moses nodded in approval, continuing as they traveled, “Joining Sanctuary isn’t all that difficult, as Sanctuary is always recruiting warriors.”

“But to become one of the goddess’s Saints—that’s another matter.”

“Why is that?” Yin Seventeen asked eagerly.

Moses shook his head and explained, “To become a Saint of the goddess, you must master the power of the Cosmo. Only those who have mastered the Cosmo are worthy of donning a Cloth.”

“Only such warriors are truly fit to call themselves Athena’s Saints.” Against a warrior wielding Cosmo, ordinary soldiers are meaningless.

Moreover, it is only warriors with Cosmo who can stand against the evil that threatens the world, so mastering the Cosmo is the basic standard for becoming a Saint.

“Is it very difficult to master the Cosmo?” Yin Seventeen pressed on.

At this naïve question, Moses couldn’t help but chuckle. “There are eighty-four Cloths in Sanctuary, meaning Sanctuary can have at least eighty-four Saints.”

“However, since the mythical era when Athena first had the Cloths forged, Sanctuary has never gathered a full eighty-four Saints at once.”

“While part of that is because the Cloths choose their own masters, every year tens of thousands enter Sanctuary to train, yet the number who manage to master the Cosmo in any given year has never exceeded two hundred.”

“Now, do you still think mastering the Cosmo is easy?” He glanced back at Yin Seventeen with a wry smile.

“It’s that difficult?” Yin Seventeen frowned.

But difficulty never meant he would give up.

You never know the result until you try. Only by trying might you become that rare one in ten thousand; if you give up, you’ll only be one of the countless mediocrities cast aside.

Five minutes later, Moses pointed to a small hill in the distance and said, “We’re here!”

“That’s Sanctuary?” Yin Seventeen asked in puzzlement as he gazed at the desolate hill.

This Sanctuary looked nothing like the one in his memories.

Moses, perceiving his doubt, only smiled mysteriously and said, “You’ll see soon enough!”

With that, he quickened his pace, taking Yin Seventeen along.

Suddenly, the instant they neared the hill, the scene before Yin Seventeen’s eyes changed dramatically. The once desolate hill transformed into a towering mountain, upon which several massive stone temples could be seen standing solemnly.

At the summit, a colossal statue stood tall—a goddess holding a shield in her left hand and something cradled in her right.

“Ath...Athena...” Yin Seventeen recognized the statue at once.

Undoubtedly, it was Sanctuary’s special barrier that had just now blocked his senses, preventing him from seeing its true form.

Now, he had arrived at the legendary Greek Sanctuary!

“Whew—”

“I’m exhausted!” Moses, with Yin Seventeen in tow, stopped at the foot of the mountain, outside a vast temple.

“I’ll leave him to you. Take the boy to see the Pope yourself!” Walker panted, addressing his companion.

He was only a Bronze Saint, far less powerful than Moses, a Silver Saint. After so much travel, he no longer had the strength to ascend to the Pope’s Hall.

The Pope’s Hall stood at the mountain’s peak, before the goddess’s throne.

But the entire Sanctuary was protected by the power of the gods; no one could leap directly to the summit—not even a god!

They could only proceed step by step, passing through the twelve temples along the sacred path to reach the Pope’s Hall.

“Alright, go back and rest,” Moses nodded, not pressing him further.

After Walker left, Yin Seventeen curiously pointed at the temple before them and asked, “Is this Athena’s temple?”

“No, this is Aries Temple, one of the twelve temples on the path to the goddess’s sanctuary,” Moses replied, leading Yin Seventeen toward the entrance.

“Why is there no one inside?” Yin Seventeen noticed how empty the grand hall was.

“This temple is usually guarded by the Aries Gold Saint, but he has left Sanctuary, whereabouts unknown,” Moses sighed quietly.

The twelve temples correspond to the twelve zodiac signs and are the twelve barriers protecting the goddess’s throne. The absence of even one means Sanctuary’s defenses are weakened—a grave matter indeed.

But this concerned the exalted Gold Saints, beyond the authority of a mere Silver Saint like himself.

Passing through Aries Temple, they soon arrived at the second temple—Taurus.

“Greetings, Lord Aldebaran!” Moses saluted a man standing at the entrance.

He was an imposing figure clad in brilliant golden armor—clearly a Gold Saint, one of the supreme warriors of the human world.

The golden armor gleamed so brightly that Yin Seventeen was momentarily dazzled before hurriedly bowing as well. “Greetings, Lord Aldebaran!”

At the same time, judging from the Gold Saint’s appearance, Yin Seventeen finally confirmed the era he was in—this was the era of Pegasus Seiya and his generation.

“Moses, where are you taking this child?” Aldebaran stood on the steps, gazing down at them.

“We found him near the meteorite impact site but could not determine his identity. We’re taking him to see the Pope,” Moses replied with a respectful bow.

Aldebaran looked Yin Seventeen up and down. “He’s just an ordinary child, isn’t he? What’s the point?”

He could see at a glance that the boy knew nothing of the Cosmo, just a regular person.

“Better to let the Pope decide,” Moses insisted. Some matters were beyond his authority.

“As you wish,” Aldebaran said, glancing once at the temple entrance and saying no more.