"O undying sun, grant me your shining steed."
The correct incantation was the key to unlocking the White Horse. After experiencing the radiance of the solar halo with his own body, the Saint Seiya had already come to a preliminary understanding of the essence of this power.
But the energy required to propel this ultimate power was already more than his ruined body could supply. The moment his Cosmo had burned through his life, the supply of power still did not stop. It was the burning of something even more intrinsic that sparked the chance for a new beginning.
After burning his universe and burning his life, Seiya now burned his soul.
Just as Mr. Mu had said, the strength of a Saint is not determined solely by their Cloth. What is most important is that whoever can burn their own Cosmo and make it explode will be victorious!
At this moment, the Cloth, supported only by an illusory soul, shone with an even more dazzling brilliance, its overflowing Cosmo propelling the light of the sun, weaving it into the combat techniques of Pegasus.
"O Athena, please bear witness to this body. This sincerity of mine, this faith of mine, all that I am capable of!"
The moment the prayer ended, the final radiance arrived.
Now, it was the war god's turn to choose, just as He had questioned Seiya before. Would He forsake his essence as a god of combat and try to use his last divine power to flee with the Phoenix, or would he rise to the challenge?
For the war god, there was also only one choice.
The instant the Pegasus Corona Punch was launched, it was met by the shining Phoenix. The brilliance swallowed the Phoenix without any resistance.
The God War, which had lasted for ten days, finally came to a close. A golden meteor streaking across the sky was the symbol of its peace.
This was a mythological scene that would be passed down by word of mouth on the island of Sardinia for decades to come, perhaps even for centuries.
The stream of golden light tore through the sandstorm, tore through the low-altitude typhoon that stretched for a hundred kilometers, and carved a beautiful, tragic arc across the horizon, advancing endlessly towards an unknown world.
The radiance crossed Sardinia and shone out over the sea. The Emperor of the Sword, who had come across the sea on foot, looked up at the golden light of the corona. He knew he no longer needed to go.
The radiance crossed Italy. The Grand Master of the society, holding court in Milan, seemed to sense something and looked out his window. It crossed the Royal Factory in Britain, crossed the Balkan Peninsula in Eastern Europe, and even in the deep mountains of Fujian in the distant Eastern Continent, a pinnacle martial artist who was in seclusion looked up.
In this moment, Seiya could no longer hear the war god's final words. If He had another trump card for resurrection, perhaps the story would have ended.
His remaining consciousness felt a warm current, similar to when he had been revived before. It was the ritual of Epimetheus and Pandora, the most fundamental spell of this world. The Dark Christmas Festival, which gives birth to the child of a fool and a witch, was now using the war god as a sacrifice, transferring His power into his own ruined body.
And that radiant, revitalized body was a miracle that everyone recognized.
Erica leaped up from the side of the scrying pool with joy. The king she had sworn to follow had won. This was like investing in the future king Yiren in the state of Zhao, like Hu Xueyan betting on Zuo Zongtang, like Hillhouse Capital's Zhang Lei investing heavily in JD.com, like the Rothschild family's speculation on intelligence during the Battle of Waterloo. Her angel round investment was a massive success!
She should immediately go to Seiya's side and protect him. Just as Erica was biting her finger, her brain racing to figure out the next step, she saw the witch beside her vanish with a swoosh.
The moment she realized what had happened, she was already running, dashing towards the vast, sandy battlefield. That old hag witch is a shameless bitch!
Seiya no longer knew what happened on the surface afterward, because his consciousness was now continuously descending until it appeared in the spirit world.
"The ritual left behind by Epimetheus and me, the Dark Christmas Festival that gives birth to the child of a fool and a witch. A secret rite that can only succeed by using a god as a sacrifice. To think it would call forth a warrior like you. I am looking forward to this."
A soft voice echoed endlessly in the pure white space. Seiya, his feet once again on solid ground, looked around and then fixed his gaze on the woman before him.
Although... he still couldn't help but wonder. Why were there so many loli goddesses in Greece? Was there something wrong with you people?
"You are Pandora, who bestows all things." Although Seiya phrased it as a question, his tone was one of certainty.
Long before the Olympian gods took root in Greece, Pandora was the goddess of the Earth, the goddess who bestowed all grace upon gods and humans. Unlike the Heretic Gods, as a true goddess, she was a resident of the realm of immortality.
Before him was a girl who looked far too young. Rather than describing her as beautiful, it was more fitting to say she had a cute, child-like face and physique. Her long golden hair was parted on both sides, and she wore a thin, white dress. She was short, giving the first impression of a child, but she was a woman more bewitching than anyone Seiya had ever met.
But for some reason, he was reminded of the Divine Ancestor Guinevere, who had taken care of him for three years and whom he had mistaken for Marin.
Occasionally, a beauty that could topple nations would emanate from her. And that beauty was closer to a conceptual charm that could captivate all things.
"It seems that witch (Erica) has told you quite a lot about me. But your attitude should be a little more polite. After all, in terms of status, I am your mother, you know," Pandora said with dissatisfaction, her hands on her hips.
Seiya looked at her with a blank expression. They stared at each other for a long time, and in the end, it was Pandora who first quit this childish game of "staring contest."
"Your body possesses an extremely strong adaptability. Or rather, your body was naturally born to accommodate this forbidden power of the gods. Within the multiverse that I am in charge of, even in those divine realms, there is no body as outstanding as yours. Even without the god-slaying ritual, you probably could have grown to the level of a god on your own."
Pandora smiled as she looked at her young child. Although he didn't admit it, through this ritual, she had already become his mother in the eyes of the law.
"Your body has already completed its sublimation. As for the talents and powers you have obtained, you can study them carefully when you return to the mortal world. However, the Authority you usurped after your god-slaying is very interesting. Even in the many worlds I have observed, there has never been a special case like yours."
At this moment, Seiya could already feel a pulling force from above, coming from his own body.
Pandora clearly sensed this as well. She showed a helpless smile and looked at the youth before her. "It can't be helped. Your body is simply too resilient, which makes our time to talk far too short. It's a pity that you won't be able to take the memories of this place back with you. But I still look forward to our next meeting, my child."
In that month, two major events occurred in the hidden world.
First, the King of Swords, Salvatore Doni, defeated the Heretic God Vulcan during his expedition in South America.
Second, the seventh Godslayer was born. He was the warrior who defeated the Eastern war god Verethragna. His name was Seiya.
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