Fic: we won all the battles (11 and 12 -the end-)
Title: we won all the battles (parts 11, 12)
Link to the whole thing in ari's labyrinth here
disclaimer: Kurumada, Toei, Shueisha own.
Part 11] (10) The last day
Mu was tossed aside like a broken doll. His eyes remained the same, but now there was no life in them. It seemed there would be only two options in this new world, madness or oblivion. Shura dropped to his knees waiting for death to open the door to the only option he would ever accept.
- Not so easy, Capricorn. Things are never so easy.
Chaos approached, and Athena’s gloating and bright smile forced Shura’s eyes to the floor. Death would take that pain away, also.
Chaos’ body took a firmer shape a few inches away from him, Shura could feel its firmness. He wasn’t a nightmare or the projection of an alien force; his power was real and solid. But solid things can be broken. There was no doubt in his mind as he jumped up and at Chaos that he had a chance, a small chance maybe, but still a possibility of turning it all back. As Excalibur bit deep into Chaos’ body, a scream filled the Temple. Terrible and overpowering, the voice cut into Shura’s own flesh and sent him crushing on his stomach, at Chaos’ feet.
No blood, not a single drop. Athena could just as well have saved her voice; Chaos was not even slightly hurt. The body was real, though, as was the hand that patted Shura’s head softly.
- I didn’t expect less of you. Of course you’d have to fight to save your Goddess and your world. It’s just that your Goddess is fine, and your world would spit your saving efforts back at you. What I bring them is freedom, and to her, relieve of her responsibilities. I will rule supreme, Capricorn, and there is nothing more to it. I mean no evil to this world, or to the people who live in it. In a way, I just want to have fun. We all just want to have fun. There are three types of people on this world: the easily convinced, who soon see things under my … swirl of view, you may call it. Those whose minds are geared so they cannot live with me, either because their beliefs in a God or Goddess are too rooted in their rational minds, because they are not fully human…or for whatever other reason, I don’t really care.
Chaos kicked Aiolia’s body, and Athena giggled. The swirls in her eyes spinned as she run around the temple kicking the bodies of her fallen Saints.
- And then there is your kind, those who refuse chaos. Not because they think order will keep their privileges or maintain some revolution at bay. They refuse chaos because order is the very core of the universe to them. People like you. Eons ago, I was furious towards your type, but I’ve become… curious, you may say. Curiosity keeps the world rolling.
Rolling. The word hit a cord in his numbed brain and Shura rolled away from Chaos and staggered to his feet. Whatever. The damned thing could say whatever he wanted. He, Shura, was still a Saint of Athena and he would see to it that she was restored to her own senses or he’d die trying.
- Will you remain by my side, Capricorn?
The surprise was so great that he actually dropped his cosmos and interrupted the mounting of his attack.
- What? What did you say, Chaos? You surely don’t… I’ll never!
- Never is an absolute and I don’t like absolutes, Capricorn. They’re boring.
Chaos turned and smiled sweetly to Athena, who was still kicking Aiolia’s body.
- Athena, dearest, what’s this Saint’s name?
Athena looked up and smiled back. “Shura” Her answer complete, she went back to her kicking, as if she had never been interrupted.
- So, Shura, what do you say? I’ve always wanted to know what’s with your kind, and during my conquest of this world I’ve tried to attract some. But they’re mostly too weak, physically or mentally. I had high hopes for that Dragon Saint, but he crumbled all too fast. He’s being tended to right now, and maybe he will recover enough to join you by my side. It has to be out of your own free will, though, I won’t have it otherwise. Will you have me as your master?
Shura could not believe his ears. He wasn’t being serious; he could not possibly believe he would accept. But Chaos wanted an answer.
- My master? I serve Athena and I will never, hear me? NEVER have another master.
- I see… have I mentioned you will not die? I can keep you alive for as long as I remain in this world, isn’t that something you would want?
The surprise gone, Shura gathered his power to launch another attack.
- You’re not listening, Chaos. I won’t serve you, I owe my life to Athena.
With her image in his mind, her voice sounding in his ears, Shura threw himself at Chaos with all his might. He would get her back, he may die trying but he would not fail. With the others gone, failure was the one thing he could not afford. He readied himself to put all his power in this last attack.
With a speed no human could imagine, Shura closed the few meters between him and his prey. He raised his right hand and again used his most powerful attack… on Athena. Shura was fast, but she was a goddess and he hadn’t even sensed her moving when she put her body in front of Chaos’.
She fell and Shura could only watch as Chaos took her in his arms. There was blood everywhere, and Athena paled rapidly. Capricorn realized he had actually managed to surpass his own technique and Athena’s blood escaped from dozens of cuts made by Excalibur, and not just one. She looked up at him and her eyes were as they always had been, then she smiled to Shura and blinked when realizing she didn’t know who was holding her. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but passed out before saying anything.
Chaos caressed her cheek like he would a small child, cooing her. When she closed her eyes, he turned his to Shura and asked again:
- She’s going to die, Shura.
Shura wanted to scream he hadn’t meant to harm her; he just wanted to do the right thing, the thing any Saint would do. But no words would come out of his mouth. He just stood there, watching as Chaos stroked Athena’s hair and touched her pale arms.
And where his hands landed, a cut would close.
- If she dies, she will die for good. With me here, the cycles of the Gods are broken; the wheel that brings them back has stopped. Only I can save her, but I won’t do it for nothing.
Shura stood, dumbstruck, seeing his goddess bleed to death by his hand. And then he knew. All this time he had been wrong.
- And what good will it do to have her back, Chaos? What does it matter, if she will only be a puppet in your hands? Athena wouldn’t want to live in a world where there is no hope for the human race.
He crumbled again to his knees. The sight of his lady not only wounded, but irrevocably beyond her senses, was more painful than the wounds on his own body.
- And there is truly no hope. Athena is done for, and so is this world.
He didn’t remember the last time he had cried. It was probably the night he had killed Aioros, the night in which his whole world had been pending on a thread. Back then he had convinced himself his devotion to his goddess justified the blood on his hands, and the tears had been the door to peace. There would be no such consolation today. He was the last of Athena’s faithful, and there was nothing he could do. Still… still he was a saint. Saints did not give up, he wouldn’t give up.
Chaos looked on, interested. The flight of thoughts in Shura’s mind appeared as a fast-moving picture for him. This is what he had been looking for so long. A mind where even the greatest pain and disturbance would not alter rationality and firmness, a mind that could withstand his presence without crumbling.
He touched the human’s mind, softly. The chaos in him blended in the mortal mind and opened the doorways to thousands of possibilities, most of them so unreal that no imagination would ever conceive them. He left his presence there, and withdrew. This would be the test that would settle matters, at least on his side.
Shura’s head jerked up, and his black eyes widened as Chaos had seen innumerable times before. The essence that was Shura didn’t alter as humans’ always did, though. The Capricorn Saint was himself, immutably and beyond the chaos that existed within him now.
- Say yes, Shura, become mine and accept what I am in you. Out of your own free will, put yourself in my service and swear I won’t need to control you out of force, because you will obey willingly. I in turn will promise to save your goddess, unhurt and unchanged, so she will wake up when my time to leave arrives and the cycle resumes on this world.
~~~~~
Part 12] (30) A promised made many years ago
Shura’s eyes swept the valley at his feet. This used to be a city, but now trees and greenery covered everything. That was something he liked in his new master: Chaos favored life in every form and shape. And he kept his promises.
He heard a noise at his back, and in a moment Siryu was by his side. It had taken Chaos helpers years, but the former Dragon Saint had been brought back from the verge of collapse. And then it had taken Shura days to convince the furious youngster that this was the best course. Chaos put a stop to the cycles, but he wouldn’t stay forever. And when he was gone, the gods would awake and Athena would need hands to help her rebuild he realm before any other god got the upper hand and secured any part of the world as his own.
It wasn’t defeat, and it wasn’t cowardice. And if they both felt like it was every time the sun rose and they paid a visit to their sleeping goddess before starting their duties to their new master, it was that feeling that made them precious to Chaos and useful to the unconscious Athena. They could stand by Chaos’ side and see things for what they were, down at their core, non-blurred by a swirl of possibilities. Chaos’ presence could multiply the shadows of gray to infinity, but they would continue to live a life of blacks and whites.
Shura repeated this under his breath, as they headed back to the castle of their lord. They would have to lose all the battles, but in the end -as Chaos had promised many years ago- they would win the war.
Link to the whole thing in ari's labyrinth here
disclaimer: Kurumada, Toei, Shueisha own.
Part 11] (10) The last day
Mu was tossed aside like a broken doll. His eyes remained the same, but now there was no life in them. It seemed there would be only two options in this new world, madness or oblivion. Shura dropped to his knees waiting for death to open the door to the only option he would ever accept.
- Not so easy, Capricorn. Things are never so easy.
Chaos approached, and Athena’s gloating and bright smile forced Shura’s eyes to the floor. Death would take that pain away, also.
Chaos’ body took a firmer shape a few inches away from him, Shura could feel its firmness. He wasn’t a nightmare or the projection of an alien force; his power was real and solid. But solid things can be broken. There was no doubt in his mind as he jumped up and at Chaos that he had a chance, a small chance maybe, but still a possibility of turning it all back. As Excalibur bit deep into Chaos’ body, a scream filled the Temple. Terrible and overpowering, the voice cut into Shura’s own flesh and sent him crushing on his stomach, at Chaos’ feet.
No blood, not a single drop. Athena could just as well have saved her voice; Chaos was not even slightly hurt. The body was real, though, as was the hand that patted Shura’s head softly.
- I didn’t expect less of you. Of course you’d have to fight to save your Goddess and your world. It’s just that your Goddess is fine, and your world would spit your saving efforts back at you. What I bring them is freedom, and to her, relieve of her responsibilities. I will rule supreme, Capricorn, and there is nothing more to it. I mean no evil to this world, or to the people who live in it. In a way, I just want to have fun. We all just want to have fun. There are three types of people on this world: the easily convinced, who soon see things under my … swirl of view, you may call it. Those whose minds are geared so they cannot live with me, either because their beliefs in a God or Goddess are too rooted in their rational minds, because they are not fully human…or for whatever other reason, I don’t really care.
Chaos kicked Aiolia’s body, and Athena giggled. The swirls in her eyes spinned as she run around the temple kicking the bodies of her fallen Saints.
- And then there is your kind, those who refuse chaos. Not because they think order will keep their privileges or maintain some revolution at bay. They refuse chaos because order is the very core of the universe to them. People like you. Eons ago, I was furious towards your type, but I’ve become… curious, you may say. Curiosity keeps the world rolling.
Rolling. The word hit a cord in his numbed brain and Shura rolled away from Chaos and staggered to his feet. Whatever. The damned thing could say whatever he wanted. He, Shura, was still a Saint of Athena and he would see to it that she was restored to her own senses or he’d die trying.
- Will you remain by my side, Capricorn?
The surprise was so great that he actually dropped his cosmos and interrupted the mounting of his attack.
- What? What did you say, Chaos? You surely don’t… I’ll never!
- Never is an absolute and I don’t like absolutes, Capricorn. They’re boring.
Chaos turned and smiled sweetly to Athena, who was still kicking Aiolia’s body.
- Athena, dearest, what’s this Saint’s name?
Athena looked up and smiled back. “Shura” Her answer complete, she went back to her kicking, as if she had never been interrupted.
- So, Shura, what do you say? I’ve always wanted to know what’s with your kind, and during my conquest of this world I’ve tried to attract some. But they’re mostly too weak, physically or mentally. I had high hopes for that Dragon Saint, but he crumbled all too fast. He’s being tended to right now, and maybe he will recover enough to join you by my side. It has to be out of your own free will, though, I won’t have it otherwise. Will you have me as your master?
Shura could not believe his ears. He wasn’t being serious; he could not possibly believe he would accept. But Chaos wanted an answer.
- My master? I serve Athena and I will never, hear me? NEVER have another master.
- I see… have I mentioned you will not die? I can keep you alive for as long as I remain in this world, isn’t that something you would want?
The surprise gone, Shura gathered his power to launch another attack.
- You’re not listening, Chaos. I won’t serve you, I owe my life to Athena.
With her image in his mind, her voice sounding in his ears, Shura threw himself at Chaos with all his might. He would get her back, he may die trying but he would not fail. With the others gone, failure was the one thing he could not afford. He readied himself to put all his power in this last attack.
With a speed no human could imagine, Shura closed the few meters between him and his prey. He raised his right hand and again used his most powerful attack… on Athena. Shura was fast, but she was a goddess and he hadn’t even sensed her moving when she put her body in front of Chaos’.
She fell and Shura could only watch as Chaos took her in his arms. There was blood everywhere, and Athena paled rapidly. Capricorn realized he had actually managed to surpass his own technique and Athena’s blood escaped from dozens of cuts made by Excalibur, and not just one. She looked up at him and her eyes were as they always had been, then she smiled to Shura and blinked when realizing she didn’t know who was holding her. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but passed out before saying anything.
Chaos caressed her cheek like he would a small child, cooing her. When she closed her eyes, he turned his to Shura and asked again:
- She’s going to die, Shura.
Shura wanted to scream he hadn’t meant to harm her; he just wanted to do the right thing, the thing any Saint would do. But no words would come out of his mouth. He just stood there, watching as Chaos stroked Athena’s hair and touched her pale arms.
And where his hands landed, a cut would close.
- If she dies, she will die for good. With me here, the cycles of the Gods are broken; the wheel that brings them back has stopped. Only I can save her, but I won’t do it for nothing.
Shura stood, dumbstruck, seeing his goddess bleed to death by his hand. And then he knew. All this time he had been wrong.
- And what good will it do to have her back, Chaos? What does it matter, if she will only be a puppet in your hands? Athena wouldn’t want to live in a world where there is no hope for the human race.
He crumbled again to his knees. The sight of his lady not only wounded, but irrevocably beyond her senses, was more painful than the wounds on his own body.
- And there is truly no hope. Athena is done for, and so is this world.
He didn’t remember the last time he had cried. It was probably the night he had killed Aioros, the night in which his whole world had been pending on a thread. Back then he had convinced himself his devotion to his goddess justified the blood on his hands, and the tears had been the door to peace. There would be no such consolation today. He was the last of Athena’s faithful, and there was nothing he could do. Still… still he was a saint. Saints did not give up, he wouldn’t give up.
Chaos looked on, interested. The flight of thoughts in Shura’s mind appeared as a fast-moving picture for him. This is what he had been looking for so long. A mind where even the greatest pain and disturbance would not alter rationality and firmness, a mind that could withstand his presence without crumbling.
He touched the human’s mind, softly. The chaos in him blended in the mortal mind and opened the doorways to thousands of possibilities, most of them so unreal that no imagination would ever conceive them. He left his presence there, and withdrew. This would be the test that would settle matters, at least on his side.
Shura’s head jerked up, and his black eyes widened as Chaos had seen innumerable times before. The essence that was Shura didn’t alter as humans’ always did, though. The Capricorn Saint was himself, immutably and beyond the chaos that existed within him now.
- Say yes, Shura, become mine and accept what I am in you. Out of your own free will, put yourself in my service and swear I won’t need to control you out of force, because you will obey willingly. I in turn will promise to save your goddess, unhurt and unchanged, so she will wake up when my time to leave arrives and the cycle resumes on this world.
~~~~~
Part 12] (30) A promised made many years ago
Shura’s eyes swept the valley at his feet. This used to be a city, but now trees and greenery covered everything. That was something he liked in his new master: Chaos favored life in every form and shape. And he kept his promises.
He heard a noise at his back, and in a moment Siryu was by his side. It had taken Chaos helpers years, but the former Dragon Saint had been brought back from the verge of collapse. And then it had taken Shura days to convince the furious youngster that this was the best course. Chaos put a stop to the cycles, but he wouldn’t stay forever. And when he was gone, the gods would awake and Athena would need hands to help her rebuild he realm before any other god got the upper hand and secured any part of the world as his own.
It wasn’t defeat, and it wasn’t cowardice. And if they both felt like it was every time the sun rose and they paid a visit to their sleeping goddess before starting their duties to their new master, it was that feeling that made them precious to Chaos and useful to the unconscious Athena. They could stand by Chaos’ side and see things for what they were, down at their core, non-blurred by a swirl of possibilities. Chaos’ presence could multiply the shadows of gray to infinity, but they would continue to live a life of blacks and whites.
Shura repeated this under his breath, as they headed back to the castle of their lord. They would have to lose all the battles, but in the end -as Chaos had promised many years ago- they would win the war.