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The first thing Deathmask does upon seeing Aphrodite for the first time in almost a year isn't welcome him back, or tell him he was missed, but stand beside him to measure which of them has grown the most in that time.
"Anyway," Aphrodite says after a scoff, crossing his arms and silently hoping, though he doesn't admit it, that Deathmask isn't taller than him. "I’m glad to see you too…"
"So who wins?" Deathmask asks.
In front of them, Shura shrugs. "You’re exactly the same height."
Deathmask clicks his tongue. "That can't be right. There has to be a winner!" he exclaims, and Aphrodite feels him rise onto his toes.
"No cheating," he says, pushing him back down. "I don't know why I’m wasting my time on this. I have to present the Pisces Cloth to Pope Shion."
Aphrodite moves away from them and continues up the steps of the Sanctuary. Deathmask and Shura follow. Covering his eyes with one hand, rays of sunlight filter through the gaps between his fingers and sting.
"Was it always this bright here?" Aphrodite complains.
He could, if he wished, use his Cosmos to rid himself of the nuisance, but he refuses to use the power of the universe for something so mundane. Pope Shion assured them that such qualms are typical of youth, and that they gradually fade with age.
"That fire ball in the sky is called the Sun. Don't they have one in Greenland?" asks Shura, amused.
"These past few weeks I’ve barely seen any natural light. Sometimes it looks like dawn is coming, but the sun doesn't even rise. The east just lightens for a couple of hours and then it's dark again," Aphrodite replies. "And it's so warm in here…"
"Uh… it's winter," says Deathmask. "Everyone's complaining about the cold, how can you say you're warm?"
With the Box of the Pisces Gold Cloth strapped to his back, Aphrodite still hasn’t taken off the heavy coat he brought from Greenland. Even voices seem louder than usual. He suppresses the urge to complain again, suspecting that after months of silence, his companions' normal speaking volume only feels like shouting.
He’d better get used to it soon.
They pass a temple, and Aphrodite finally lowers his hand from his eyes. Most of the twelve temples are empty. Counting Aphrodite, only five Gold Saints have earned their Cloth and with it the right and duty to inhabit theirs. First was Gemini Saga, of course, and not long after, Sagittarius Aiolos. Then Shura, Deathmask, and now him.
Inside Shura's temple, a statue of Athena stands before a Capricorn Saint kneeling in devotion.
"I'll be right back," Shura says, running toward the door that leads to his private chambers.
Aphrodite follows him. He’s never been inside before, and Shura hasn't invited him in yet, but he takes a look and sees a long hallway lined with swords and other weapons. They seem to come from all eras and parts of the world. Deathmask peers in as well.
"He never lets me in. He thinks I'll touch something and break it," Deathmask says with a pout.
Aphrodite snorts, a little offended.
"And what's the reason for this lack of trust?" he asks disdainfully and strides briskly into the hallway.
Both sides of the corridor are covered with weapons on display. Athena's Saints aren't allowed to use weapons. This is nothing more than a collection, added to by each Capricorn Saint who has lived in the temple.
Deathmask follows Aphrodite, and together they examine them one by one. In the past, Capricorn Saints made a pilgrimage around the world after receiving their Cloth. But the world is no longer as vast or as peaceful. Now, any civilian can travel anywhere by plane, and borders have become far stricter. Shura had been ordered to come directly to the Sanctuary from the Pyrenees once his cloth accepted him. He is the first Capricorn Saint not to make the pilgrimage, and since then, it has remained a sensitive subject.
Aphrodite stops in front of a long, thin weapon, something between a spear and a sword.
"I like this one," he says, pointing at it.
"It looks like a katana attached to a long-ass stick," Deathmask says.
"Pole," Shura corrects, approaching them from the far end of the corridor. He says nothing about their trespassing, but his reproach is clear in his look. "The ‘long-ass stick’ is called a pole. This is one of Master Izo's naginatas. Specifically, a shizuka-type naginata. It was used for thrusting, striking, and slashing, and it was especially effective against cavalry. And this iron piece on the butt end is called an ishizuki. While fighting one enemy, you could bludgeon another from behind with it."
"Ah…" is all Deathmask manages to say after the unexpected lecture in ancient weaponry.
Aphrodite studies the weapon again. "Those who don't know the secrets of the Cosmos really get creative when it comes to killing each other."
But it doesn’t matter how much they improve. Even an atomic bomb, even an entire army, could fall upon a single Bronze Saint of the Sanctuary and still fail to scratch him. That level of power is insurmountable. And always will be.
"That's right. We protect the world so that those who live in it can go on killing and oppressing each other," Shura says, and there is something irritated in his tone. Aphrodite blinks, caught off guard, before remembering that Shura’s homeland is under a dictatorship. Perhaps, that too is a sensitive subject. "But it's our duty. Here, this is for you."
Aphrodite takes what Shura offers him, and when he realizes what it is, Deathmask bursts out laughing.
"Sunglasses?" Aphrodite asks, watching the two of them smirk.
"You were so bothered by the sun, I thought these might help," Shura says. But his voice doesn't sound kind at all.
Rolling his eyes, Aphrodite puts them on. Their laughter only grows louder.
"Thank you, very kind," he replies tightly. "Did you think you'd upset me? You were wrong."
"They suit you. You look like a tourist just off the plane from Stockholm, ready to roast on the beach," Deathmask says.
"I don’t care what I look like, they're my welcome gift," Aphrodite retorts. Then he remembers something. "I have something for you too."
He sets the Pisces Box on the floor beside his luggage and rummages through the many pockets of his thick sealskin coat, like the ones worn by the locals in Greenland.
"Oh! Did you bring us a souvenir?" Deathmask asks eagerly.
"I did. But seeing how much you two enjoy laughing at my expense, I'm not sure you deserve it."
From a small white cloth bag that rattles faintly when he picks it up, Aphrodite produces two carved figures. He hands one to Shura and the other to Deathmask, who both examine them with curiosity.
"What is it? I’ve never seen anything like it," Shura says, turning the strange figure over in his hand.
"One's a terrifying ghost with fangs. And the other's a terrifying rooster with fangs. Obviously," Deathmask says.
"They're called tupilaq. The Inuit make them. They're carved from whale bones and teeth," Aphrodite explains. "Traditionally, shamans used them to ward off evil or exact revenge, but these are just tourist souvenirs."
Deathmask’s eyes light up at the explanation. "Sick! Thanks, Aphro. Master Deathtoll would’ve loved these."
"Although grotesque, they are finely carved," Shura admits. He notices a third object still in Aphrodite's hand and points. "And who is that one for?"
Deathmask snatches up the bone bracelet shaped like a snake biting its tail. It's actually the Tizheruk, a sea monster, half snake, half seal. According to what he heard in Greenland, it devours people and can swallow a polar bear in a single bite. Aphrodite had found the story awesome, and decided that would be the perfect souvenir for Saga.
"This is for Gemini Saga, isn’t it?" Deathmask asks, as though he already knows. "You’re giving him the coolest gift? How unfair."
Aphrodite grabs the bracelet back, trying not to blush.
"It's not for Gemini Saga!" he lies, slipping it back into the bag. "It’s for me. Can't I buy things for myself?"
"And what did you bring him? I don’t believe for a second you didn’t bring something," Shura says.
"I don’t see why you two care so much." Aphrodite hefts the Cloth box and his luggage again. "Anyway, I’m going to report to the Pope. I’ve had enough fun."
Deathmask and Shura trail after him to the Pope's temple. When Pope Shion sees him arrive wearing sunglasses, he chokes on laughter. The three of them look at each other in alarm, half-wondering if he's about to suffocate before finally relaxing when he catches his breath.