Shura's footsteps echoed away. One step. Then another. The sound of stone pavement grew fainter and fainter, fading into the distance at a steady rhythm. Seiya couldn't move. His blood-soaked fists pressed against the cold stone ground. His knees trembled. The brilliance of the Gold Cloth was nearly extinguished. The golden light that Saga had entrusted to him with his life was slowly dimming. Shura's words of truth circled endlessly in his mind. ——Signum can't move. Saga is gone. It's all your fault. Every word was correct. Not a single one was wrong. Seiya clenched his back teeth. His blood stains remained on the black surface of the Wall of Lamentation. Despite all those strikes, the wall hadn't even cracked. Not a single fracture. （What am I... for） The thought couldn't continue. Because—— A voice came from the darkness. "[gentle]……Seiya" It was a quiet voice. Not an order. Not an instruction or a command from Athena. Just——a voice calling his name. Seiya looked up. The darkness of the Underworld stretched on unchanged. The voice's source was nowhere to be seen. Yet he heard it clearly. Kido Saori's voice had pierced through the walls of this dimension. From far away in Greece, in the Sanctuary——by combining the Graad Foundation's communication device with a Cosmo amplifier to tear a hole through the dimensional barrier. Seiya immediately understood that Saori had pulled off something impossible. "[gentle]Come back" Just six words. That was all. Not an order. Not a duty or a command for the Holy War. Just——the words of one person. Shura's footsteps stopped. Deep in Seiya's chest, the Cosmo flame that had been dying——flickered, ever so slightly. That flicker called forth something. The night at the orphanage floated into his mind. A dark room. A cold floor. Himself, hugging his knees. The desire to grow stronger——it wasn't because someone told him to. It wasn't because he was ordered. It was simply a wish that welled up from within. Next came Saga's face. A gentle smile. Disappearing into the light, saying "Come back alive." Those words weren't an order. They were the totality of that man's personal feelings. And——the warmth of Signum's hand. With a broken body, trembling fingers gripping his arm again. That sensation. That face, squeezing out the words "I believed in your will and followed you." Blood was seeping. It looked painful. Yet she didn't let go. When she lay down in the rubble, Signum's lips moved. No sound came out. But he could read them.——Go. Shura's logic couldn't overcome the warmth of that hand. "——ッ" Something shattered. Thump. Deep in his chest, his Cosmo pulsed. Once. Again. The rhythm returned. The dying flame stopped flickering——and blazed up. The Gold Cloth began to shine. The tarnished gold regained its brilliance all at once. From within, white light seeped out. Seiya's blood soaked into the Pegasus Cloth——blood from wounds accumulated since before the Poseidon War, even further back. It reacted within the Gold Cloth's interior. The Pegasus silver and gold mixed together, and light of a color never seen before overflowed. Two Cloths were connected. The density of Cosmo changed. Fundamentally different from the Seventh Sense he'd felt until now. The world seemed to slow down. All movements became visible as if held in his hand. The flow of air became visible. The path of Thanatos waves became visible. Eighth Sense——the realm beyond the Seventh Sense, transcending the boundary between life and death. "[serious]……This is" His voice came out. It wasn't trembling. Shura turned around. On his stone face——for the first time, surprise appeared. Seiya stood up. His bones creaked. His right arm screamed. Yet his feet planted firmly on the ground. He clenched his fists again. Blood seeped, but it didn't matter. He looked at the Wall of Lamentation. "There's nothing else to do" He took his stance. Dodododododod!! The moment the first strike hit the wall——a crack appeared. A thin line ran across the surface of the jet-black wall. The wall that hadn't been scratched despite dozens of strikes before. A crack had appeared. Seiya could see Shura's eyes widen. It didn't stop. Second strike. Fifth. Tenth. The cracks spread. Fractures ran. The entire wall began to shake. Twentieth. Fiftieth. "[excited]Pegasus Meteor Fist——!!" Seventieth. Hundredth——!! Zudooooooon!!!! The shockwave filled the stone space. Dust swirled up. The ground trembled. The roar echoed throughout the entire Underworld—— The Wall of Lamentation crumbled. The greatest defensive barrier of the Underworld, which even Gold Saints couldn't scratch, shattered. Massive chunks of black rock crashed to the floor with thunderous impacts. Dust spread. Beyond it, a dark passage opened its mouth. The path to Hades' throne room. Silence fell. As the dust settled, Shura simply stared at where the wall had been. He said nothing. Seiya could tell words wouldn't come. Seiya exhaled without turning around. That's when something fell from above. Thunk. "[sarcastic]Ow!" A small rock fragment hit Seiya's head directly. Debris from the collapsed wall. As Seiya staggered, holding his head——Shura, his face expressionless, began precisely slicing through the wall's remains with his blade-sharp arm, one after another. He flicked away the obstructing stones, widening the passage. "[cold]Don't move. You're in the way" "[angry]It's not me that's in the way, it's the rocks falling!" Shura was already slicing the next rock. He wasn't listening at all. Seiya watched his back for a moment. The man who'd been trying to drag him back to the Sanctuary was now opening a path for him. Without a word. Just silently. An awkward guy. But—— He laughed. In a situation like this, he could laugh a little. Shura finished cutting the path. The passage was open. From beyond it, the concentration of Thanatos waves increased. The Gold Cloth held it back while maintaining its brilliance. But it was only a matter of time. The price of wearing a Gold Cloth as a non-Gold Saint was accumulating from the core of his bones. Seiya took a step toward the passage. He turned back. Shura stood silently, his stone face unchanged. He said nothing. But——he didn't leave. The man who had condemned Seiya's will as self-satisfaction now stood behind him. There were no words. Seiya nodded. Shura nodded back, barely perceptibly. That was enough. Seiya ran into the passage. The darkness deepened. The concentration of Thanatos waves rose sharply. The Gold Cloth groaned. His body felt heavy. But his feet moved. His Cosmo burned. Saga's Cosmo and his own mixed together, keeping this body moving. The warmth of Signum's hand seemed to linger on his arm. （Wait for me. I'm definitely coming back） The words didn't leave his lips. Light appeared at the end of the passage. A dark light. A pale, death-colored light. The throne room of Hades——its entrance. Seiya accelerated. He forced the door open. The massive obsidian door groaned as it swung wide. A circular hall fifty meters in diameter. No ceiling. Instead, eternal darkness spread above. In the center, an obsidian throne. A man sat there. Pale skin. Jet-black long hair. Deep purple eyes that looked at Seiya. Just by sitting, the density of space changed. Thanatos waves——the energy of death——overflowed from this man. The Gold Cloth groaned, approaching its limit. "[cold]……You came" His voice was quiet. Emotionless. A tone that simply confirmed a fact. Seiya took his stance. With a battered body, with a worn Cosmo, he still faced the Lord of the Underworld directly.