Chapter 41: The Crisis in the Sanctuary of 1743

Half a year had passed, and still there was no word from Shion. This had drawn the attention of the Sanctuary, most of all the Pope, Sage, who was filled with worry.

Meanwhile, evil gods had begun to emerge in various corners of the world. Three months earlier, Gemini Aspros, accompanied by Cancer Manigoldo and Capricorn El Cid, had journeyed to Egypt upon hearing rumors of the evil god Anubis appearing there. A month and a half ago, Sagittarius Sisyphus, along with Libra Dohko and Taurus Hasgard, had set out for Chile, where the evil god Mapuche and his wise serpent had surfaced. Now, unrest had broken out in the Asgardian palace in the North, prompting a plea for help from the Sanctuary. The Pope had no choice but to dispatch Aquarius Degel and Scorpio Cardia to Asgard.

Originally, Feng Zhe had volunteered to go to Asgard, but Pope Sage forbade him, insisting that with the Sanctuary so empty, enough high-level strength had to remain to defend it. Feng Zhe sighed. As things stood, the Sanctuary had already sent out eight Gold Saints. With Shion still missing, and Virgo Asmita, who was always immersed in meditation and would not appear unless it was a matter of utmost importance, there were only two Gold Saints left in the Sanctuary: Pisces Albafica and the five-year-old Leo Regulus.

Pope Sage and Elder Hakurei were always secluded within the Pope’s Palace, involved in mysterious affairs. Thus, the task of seeing Degel and Cardia off fell to Feng Zhe, who had only served as the acting elder for half a year.

Aquarius Degel was famed as a sage, always found with a book in hand, lost in contemplation in some quiet corner. Feng Zhe did not have much contact with Degel, and this task of escorting them out was a rare opportunity for the two to speak alone.

Degel looked at Feng Zhe as if he could see right through him, adjusting his glasses before speaking. “You carry a quality that doesn’t belong to our era. If it weren’t for your absolute loyalty to the Goddess, I’d almost suspect you of being some evil god.”

This statement startled Feng Zhe. Only Pope Sage, Elder Hakurei, and, of course, Manigoldo knew the secret that he did not belong to this era; Degel certainly did not. Feng Zhe smiled. “Oh? In what way am I different from you?”

“It’s a feeling—intuition. We haven’t crossed paths enough for me to make more of it.”

At this moment, Scorpio Cardia ran over, nudging Degel. “Alex, don’t let it bother you. Degel is just a bit neurotic at times.”

Seeing his friend’s jest, Degel said no more, only murmuring in the end, “Perhaps your secret is one that only Asmita, the man closest to divinity in this world, could unravel.”

Cardia leaned in and whispered to Feng Zhe, “That Asmita is beyond human; he’s truly reached the realm of emptiness. Even if he became a god, he’d be a cold, heartless one. I can’t understand why the Sanctuary would allow a heretic like him to exist!”

“Talking behind someone’s back is hardly the conduct of a gentleman!”

“Oh, come on, come on!”

The two close friends left the Sanctuary amidst laughter, yet in that moment, the Sanctuary was emptier than ever before.

When Feng Zhe returned to the Sanctuary, he could immediately sense the tense atmosphere. Even the patrols had doubled in number. True enough, three days later, Pope Sage received two pieces of intelligence that caused him to furrow his brow.

When Feng Zhe arrived at the Pope’s Palace, he saw Elder Hakurei pacing back and forth, while Pope Sage sat with his head tilted, his face clouded with worry.

“Your Holiness, Elder Hakurei, what has happened?”

Sage handed the two reports to Feng Zhe, who was shocked at once. The first was news from Shion, who had sent word through unknown means, requesting the Sanctuary to dispatch someone to the continent of Mu. The second was the emergence of the fallen angel Lucifer, who would soon descend upon the Sanctuary.

“Fallen angel Lucifer?”

In Feng Zhe’s understanding, Lucifer’s appearance signaled the final holy war of the movie: the fallen angel would exploit the powers of Poseidon, Eris, and Apollo to bring about the apocalypse. Yet even before the Holy War of 1743, Lucifer had appeared, and his power must have far surpassed that of deities like Eris.

Were it not for the threat of Lucifer, the Sanctuary would have had the manpower to investigate the Mu continent, but as the situation stood, preparations for battle took precedence.

Feng Zhe seemed to understand and knelt down on one knee. “Your Holiness, I wish to journey to the Mu continent and investigate Shion’s whereabouts.”

Pope Sage said nothing, but Hakurei, well aware of the dangers of the Mu continent, advised, “Since the Cloths were forged, the Mu continent was destroyed by the gods acting together. The places that survived are little more than earthly hells. No one who has gone there has ever returned alive.”

Feng Zhe clearly already knew this. “I have faith I’ll return alive, but I don’t know the location of the lost continent of Mu.”

Seeing his resolve, Hakurei tossed him a notebook, which contained a clear record of Mu’s location.

“So it lies within a temporal rift on the Jamir Plateau…”

Perhaps only the refugees of Mu, the last of the repairers—the Jamir clan—could possess such secrets.

Pope Sage seemed to remember something, then said, “But before you leave, you must learn a secret technique from me.”

“Sekishiki Meikaiha!”

When Sage offered to teach him the ultimate move of the Cancer Gold Cloth, Feng Zhe was visibly shocked.

“Don’t look at me that way. This mission was meant for Manigoldo, but since he hasn’t returned, and since you already know the Ghostly Azure Flame, now’s a good time to learn this technique. It might come in handy.”

So he was merely a substitute. Even so, Feng Zhe had long wished to learn this special technique, an art that directly affected the soul.

To master this technique—of both spatial and spiritual domains—one needed not only a keen sixth sense but also to acquire a ghostly flame and fuse it into their cosmos for cultivation. The soul then had to repeatedly pass through the entrance to Yomotsu Hirasaka, until one attained proficiency.

…

Three days later, at the entrance to Yomotsu Hirasaka, Feng Zhe had explored every corner. Watching the endless procession of souls plunging into the abyss, he was seized by a profound melancholy.

“So this is the end of life—a fate no living being can escape. Yet to live well, to allow people to enjoy a century of peace, is the duty of us Saints.”

The value of a good teacher is in rescuing you from the brink of despair, guiding and enlightening you, pulling you back onto the right path.

This was why, though both were Cancers, Deathmask had no mentor and relied only on the legacy within his Cloth. Though he awakened the Seventh Sense, he always lingered in darkness.

After all, anyone who stayed here too long would be tainted by death, and their character would inevitably become twisted.

“Thank you, master. I will not give in to despair. I will fight for justice, for humanity, and above all, for the faith in my heart!”

Whether intentionally or not, Feng Zhe voiced only his faith of the heart, and not that of the Goddess. It was this subtle difference that would later lead his life to the very edge of despair.

But that is a story for another time.