The Lion and The Scale 1

"Finally the last piece of the stone..." I said and sighed then held up the complete Leo Zodiac Crystal.

"That took way too long...we basically had to time skip for this because no one would want to read 90 more chapters of us mindlessly running around." Hinari said.

"Uhm, fourth wall break much?" I looked at Hinari.

"You know it's true. If I was the reader and I saw all these filler chapters of pointless nonsense that's doesn't even help the story-"

"Whatever! Let's go to the Cave of Leo." I put the Crystal away.

We made our way towards the Cave of Leo. We walked a great distance towards the cave. It's been 4 months after that power surge from Arcane, the surge that either killed off the Hell Borns or scared the Demons and Demon Hunters back to their homes. I walked to the entrance of the cave.

"Only you can enter, Yufumi. You are the only one compatible with my power. After you obtain my strength, the Goddess of Leo will be revived and I will disappear." The Ancient Hero said.

"Wait what? Why will you disappear?" I asked.

"Because we will become one. My spirit will be with you and my part will be completed. I was only alive for this purpose. I had no other purpose to be alive." The Ancient Hero said.

"I see.." I nodded. I placed the Crystal in the hole and the door shined and the doors opened. I walked in and the door began closing then flames lit up on the walls and made a path towards my goal.

"Allow me to share the truth of the Zodiacs." The Ancient Hero's spirit became visible and we walked towards the end of the path.

"Okay." I nodded.

"The Zodiacs are ultra powerful beings. True Guardians of the Human Realm. Not everything was good between the Zodiacs at first though. The First 12 Zodiacs didn't use to have elements of their own. They had one element called Neutral. Soon battles for power broke out and Nymphira, the first Goddess of the Human Realm, separated them into four elements the Original Elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Air." The Ancient Hero continued.

"Right." I nodded.

"The Element of Passion, Desire, Eternity, Hope...Fire contains Leo, Aries, and Sagittarius. The Element of Birth, Fertility, Refreshment...Water contains Pisces, Cancer, and Scorpio. The Great Mother...The Element of Nourishment, Fertility, Infinite Creativity...Earth contains Taurus, Capricorn, Virgo. The Element of Intellect, Mental Intention, Connection to Universal Life Force...Air contains Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra. As punishment for their behavior in nearly endangering human life, they were separated into four different planets. They were prohibited to fight and were forced to pick knights to fight for them creating the first 12 Guardians of the Human Realm." The Ancient Hero said.

"Were you one of them?" I asked.

"No, I am a part of the 3rd Generation of Guardians. The Guardians fought in the place of the Zodiac Gods and Champions. The only time they can fight is when the Guardians can not defeat the opponent through normal means. Those who had Zodiac Power were considered the Children of the Heavens. Not anyone could be chosen. To be chosen, you either have to have a desire, a goal, a pure heart, or some connection to a Zodiac. This lead into unnecessary wars between the humans that wanted to be chosen. This lead into a brutal bloodbath amongst the Human Race. This created the first line of demons, angels, and spirits. Those who fought became corrupted by their own selfish desires and their hearts turned black, turning them into demons. Those who refused to fight, their hearts remain pure and white turning them into angels. Those who died in war, but their souls still linger made the spirit race. Only 12 Humans survived and those 12 were chosen by the Zodiacs."

"The Zodiacs were that important?" I asked.

"Zodiacs came before Dark Lords so at the time if you had Zodiac Power, you were unbeatable. That all changed when Hades, the First Demon attacked the Human Realm. His army of demons had powers no Zodiac knew about and were able to thrash on the Zodiac Knights. This lead into the Angels helping the Humans and thus the creation of Demon Hunters aka Purifiers. The Zodiacs basically shaped the Realms. Three Generations later, I'm born. My Generation was the Generation of Hybrids, Fallen Legends, and Dark Lords. I was born in the Dark Ages of the Human Realm when the Demons overpowered the Human Realm and Dark Lords were born." The Ancient Hero nodded.

"Zodiacs at that time were extremely important?" I asked.

"Extremely as the Zodiacs were the only ones who could deal with the Fallen and Dark Lords...I was chosen along with 3 of my friends were chosen to be a Zodiac. I created a team that forever will be known called Team Z. A team of four that protected the Human Realm. Those times wouldn't last...My partner Andrew betrayed Team Z and joined Chaos's side and Mollee and Ariel were killed by my first wife in the Third Zodiac War. I went solo for a while to try to convince Andrew that his purpose was not to be with the Demons, yet he didn't listen. This lead into the Final Zodiac War...I killed Andrew and saved Earth, and the Zodiacs from annihlation.." The Ancient Hero said.

"You saved everyone, but this war still persists?" I asked.

"Because of Chaos. There's a fifth Realm called the Phantom Realm. This Realm was a Realm where Chaos hid and sabotaged my scientist's experiment and caused a deadly virus to kill half the population of the Human Realm. The virus got to me and I was on the brink of death until I sacrificed my powers to live. My work was far from over...Chaos had to be stopped. This virus still persists and that was the start of the Phantom Curse. The Dark Phantom is the virus that either kills you or curses you into a demon. If you are cursed...you can't be purified. You either give into the curse and obtain the full powers of the Phantom or die." The Ancient Hero said.

"Dark Phantom...I've heard that somewhere before..." I said.

We were halfway to the end of the cave. The Ancient Hero decided to keep explaining the events up till his death.

"I lost my vision and powers, yet my Indomitable Will kept me going. Met the first Dark Phantom who's name was Sarah. She was an interesting case. Usually Dark Phantoms have the need to kill, but she used her power to protect. We travelled through Europe searching for Chaos with her best friend John. He was half angel, half human. I had to fight Chaos's first wife, Ayass. My Indomitable Will allowed me to fight blind and even come to a tie with her. That night we both died, while John and Sarah were only able to seal away Chaos at the cost of their life." The Ancient Hero said.

"There were no winners that day huh.." I looked at the Ancient Hero.

"Nope. Only death. A year later I was revived by this Organization named N.O.V.A. Their goals was to revive Chaos in hopes of controlling the Zodiacs and the Human Realm. I broke out of their laboratory and became what I'm most remembered by, Cipher." The Ancient Hero said.

"I have a question." I said.

"Yeah?" He looked at me.

"I used to be a human woman...a woman who was a Fashion Model who lived on Earth. Am I still in the same Universe?" I asked.

"Yes. There are rare occurrences where those who die will Reincarnate in a different world, but in the same Universe. Most commonly people Reincarnate in a different Universe. Same goes with Stella who's a Reincarnation." The Ancient Hero said.

"She's also a Reincarnation..." I looked at the ground. "You can continue the story."

"I formed the team named Cipher, who still exists on Earth in America. We stopped the organization, but was too late. Chaos had been revived as a Perfect Demon. The only other Perfect Demon to be known was Hades. I along with my Zodiac Champion, put an end to Chaos...we thought we ended him once and for all, but we paid no mind as we saved the Universe officially or we thought we did. Flash forward 18 years later, I'm married and have a daughter and I myself become a Zodiac God...we enter Phase Two of the Phantom Curse. The Phantom Eyes corrupted my student and I went to save her from her curse. I didn't want to kill her, I ended up using a Forbidden Fire Move...Immolation Inferno. Only people with Fire Elements can use this attack, but it's a last resort. If you use this power you will burn out and use up all of your life force and die seconds after the move is finished." The Ancient Hero said.

"You died to save your student..." I said.

"Yeah...any time I was revived, I was a puppet because some how the Phantom God found my body. I was revived, but soon I died again because I was revived from a Necromancy Technique. I only had a time limit...I was able to say my final goodbye to my Godmother, Arcane...my wife, Rinka, and my daughter, Masaki. Now I'm only here to serve this purpose. I choose you...as my Knight." The Ancient Hero said and we reached the end of the cave.

He opened the doors to the Temple of Leo. We entered and there was a magic circle inside and we walked towards it and I stepped in the middle of the circle. The magic circle glowed and began spinning.

"We may not have spent much time together...but I've learned so much about you. A demon with a pure heart. A desire. A dream." The Ancient Hero said and turned to face me. "You will carry out that dream with my power..."

"Right." I nodded.

"Say these words. Absolute Resonate." He closed his eyes.

Learning about his history...he's lost so much in his life and yet continued to be a hero. I couldn't have the same will power has he did, but I have to prove that I have what it takes!

"Absolute Resonate!" I said.

I have what it takes to protect what is dear to me!

A white pillar of light shined and The Ancient Hero turned into a white ball of energy and merges with my body. I felt my power increase drastically. The Leo Symbol didn't appear, but something much more significant did. The letter Z appeared on my hand. The Mark of Cipher. My Demon Code shattered and a Z appeared in its place also. I opened my eyes and saw a woman appear in front of me and float around my body. She had silver hair and golden eyes. She wore a white dress and white stockings. She wore a necklace with the Leo Birthstone on it and had the Leo Symbol on her left shoulder.

"Resonation Complete." The woman said and I looked at her while she stared at me. "My Knight...I am Leona..The Leo of Indifference. I am pleased that we get to work together."