Phoenix Ikki (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
uccellodifuoco) wrote2001-09-03 07:33 pm
uccellodifuoco) wrote2001-09-03 07:33 pm
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thewake
Personal Information
Name: Tora
Age: 31
Personal Journal:athenalaureate
Email / AIM / MSN / Plurk:
♦ Email: athena.laureate@gmail.com
♦ AIM: torastellar
♦ Plurk: Serilia
Current Character(s): N/A
Character Information
Character Name: Phoenix Ikki
Fandom: Saint Seiya
Character History: Despite being one of the main characters, Ikki is among the ones with less "screen time" than the rest, yet he's the one about whom more is known regarding his past and childhood.
Orphaned at a young age due his mother's death in childbirth (or shortly thereafter), Ikki lived on the streets taking care of his baby brother Shun for years and running away from those who chased them. As soon as his brother was born, the servants of Hades, the God of the Underworld, began to chase them in order to claim Shun's body as a vessel for Hades' soul. They were also chased by people hired by their father, Mitsumasa Kido, who started to gather the sons he had all around the world around the same time. However, Ikki had no plans of giving in to either group, going as far as to defy death at such a young age already when Pandora, Hades' sister, finally cornered them and electrocuted Ikki in order to have him abandon Shun, despite using enough power to kill even an adult, Ikki kept clinging both to life and to his brother. The show of devotion and strength made Pandora decide to allow Shun to remain with Ikki, as the older brother would surely protect the baby until it was time for Hades to properly possess his body, with that she temporarily erased Ikki's memories regarding their meeting and the chase he had suffered from their group, leaving the brothers to keep living on the streets now only having to worry about one group of people chasing them. Given that Kido's men weren't focused just on catching them, it was easier for Ikki and Shun to live on "peacefully" on their own until, at some point, the brothers finally ended in an orphanage from which Kido eventually took them many years later.
Around the age of 9 years old, Ikki sent to train as a Saint in an island called Death Queen Island, known as a "Hell on Earth" place, there he endured a brutal and almost inhuman training which each day pushed him to the brink of death. However, much like when Pandora tried to kill him, Ikki kept managing to survive each day no matter how badly beaten he had been. He wasn't alone during those harsh times, though, while separated from his brother, Ikki found companionship and solace in the form of Esmeralda, a native girl of the island who had been sold as a slave and who was considered to be worth less than farm animals. Despite her own hard conditions, Esmeralda always managed to be kind and gentle with everyone, wishing to offer Ikki support and even refusing to take the chance to escape the island when offered as that would mean leaving him alone, Ikki bowed to take her out of the island once he became a Saint but that promise was never meant to be. During the last test for the Cloth, Ikki hesitated to kill his master, still respeting the man and resisting to hate the world fully as he was asked to, this gave his master an opening that ended resulting in Esmeralda, who had ran there to cheer for Ikki, dying on the boy's arms. Her death turned out to be the final trigger for Ikki's hate and anger to unleash and soon after he claimed the Phoenix Cloth, effectively becoming the Phoenix Saint. Right after that Ikki fought against the Gold Saint named Shaka only to be easily overpowered, however he wasn't killed as Shaka could see that despite Ikki's attitude and claims there was still goodnes and purity inside of him. Once more, Ikki's memories were messed up as Shaka sealed his memories regarding their meeting and fight, with the intention of those only being unlocked if they faced each other again to remind Ikki of how easily he overpowered him.
When Ikki returned to Japan, his reunion with his brother and half-brothers (as he had discovered that all the orphans Kido had gathered were his sons) was far from emotional as he vowed to kill them all as well as Kido's granddaughter (who actually was the reincarnation of the goddess Athena). Using the Black Saints from Death Queen Island, Ikki fought against his brothers, despite being stronger than them, however, he was ultimately defeated by Pegasus Seiya and when the cavern they were in began to collaps, Ikki chose to stay behind to meet his final end. At that moment he hadn't yet realized how much of a phoenix he really was. Barely a whole day later, Ikki was up on his feet again, alive, unwounded and actually stronger than before. After the discovery that he couldn't die even if he wanted to, and having had part of the anger that lead him to want to kill his brothers placated after his fight with them, Ikki joined forces with them in the battle against the Sanctuary and to protect Athena, though he remained going on his own solitarily claiming that he hated to fight in groups.
After that, Ikki participated in numerous battles, no matter how far he was, he always appeared whenever his brothers and Athena needed him, ready to save and protect them. He fought in the Sanctuary against Shaka once more, getting the memories that had been sealed back but refusing to give in to the fear he had felt the first time they fought, later he would face against Saga, the Gemini Saint who had been controlling the Sanctuary and trying to get Athena killed. Ikki seemed to meet his end at this point, when Saga used his strongest attack on him and Seiya, the phoenix protected his half-brother at the cost of having his own body explode until there was nothing but dust left of him. However, he returned to life once more, weeks later appearing in Poseidon's temple where Athena was held prisoner just in time to save his brothers once more, showing that not even the illusion of Shun was enough to have him drop his guard and fail to kill his opponent. After that he went to fight against Kanon, one of Poseidon's generals and twin brother of Saga, while he was unable to properly defeat the other and kill him, Ikki was able to get the information they needed to seal Poseidon once more allowing them to win.
After the defeat of Poseidon, Ikki vanished once more, only showing up after Hades' Specters woke up and broke their seal, allowing the God of the Underworld to charge against Athena once more. Understanding who the enemy was and what Athena planned better than anyone else, Ikki marched directly to Hell rather than waste time trying to protect a Sanctuary that had already been invaded, aiming to get to Hades and kill him as fast as possible. However, he wasn't able to get to him until the god himself summoned him upon finally noticing his Cosmos as Ikki aided Kanon in a fight, by then, Shun's body had already been claimed by Hades' soul and Pandora restored the memories she had sealed when Ikki was young allowing the phoenix to, hopefully, finally be able to remember everything in his life properly. Shun's soul used all its strength left to paralyze his body and thus Hades, allowing Ikki to kill his body and thus defeat the god, however, Ikki couldn't sacrifice his brother despite all his tough acting and only tried to force Hades' soul out of Shun's body. This proved to be in vain and Ikki was defeated and thrown to a frozen hell reserved to those who raised against the gods, but not even that was able to keep him down for long and he pulled himself out eventually, rushing to help his brothers as the fight against Hades had moved to Elysium, the heaven that Hades had created. Before reaching there he was intercepted by Pandora who was now free from the control that Hades had put her under when she was a child, she gave Ikki a talisman that would allow him to go to Elysium and begged for him to avenge her and her family by killing Hades, for this betrayal she was killed right in front of Ikki who was unable to do anything to help her. The battle against Hades and the two Gods that aided him, Thanatos and Deimos, was long and terrible but it still ended with the victory of Athena and her Saints at the prize of Seiya's life. At Hades' death, however, the whole of Elysium and Hell collapsed and vanished, leaving the fates of Athena and the Bronze Saints that had battled alongside her unknown for several years.
It wasn't until four years later that the group began to reunite again as Athena, who had been taking care of Seiya's wounded body, decided to start a mission to travel to the past and destroy the sword with which Seiya had been wounded, hoping that that would undo the damage he had suffered and save his life. While she started this mission at first only with Shun's aid, Ikki was soon proven to be close by keeping watch on them when he stepped in to protect them from an attack by Artemis' soldiers. This attack made him initially aim to face Artemis himself, but the witch Hécate met him and informed him that upon traveling to the past Athena had been tricked by Chronos and put on a disadvantageous position, judging that Artemis' threat wasn't as dire as whatever Athena would be facing in the past Holy War agains Hades, Ikki jumped into the space-time void, following a chain of flowers that Athena had weaved as a lead for him and the others should they follow Shun and her.
Character Personality: It's not easy to be Ikki, in more than one way. Though he's not the only one among Athena's Saints with a tragic childhood, not many of them have hold on their shoulders the same burdens he has been forced to carry. Though all of the Bronze Saints are siblings by being sons of the same father, only Ikki has always have a younger brother of whom he had to take care since early in his life. For Shun's sake, Ikki has been constantly pushing himself to grow up, to become more mature and strong, capable of taking care of him and protecting him. He has forced himself to keep from his brother many things, in hopes to protect him, always looking out for Shun, always living just for him. Even when he was sent to a living hell in order to win the Phoenix Cloth, Ikki kept moving because of his duty as an older brother, even Esmeralda, his first and probably only love, kept reminding him of Shun by appearance. It's not an exaggeration to say that in a way, Shun's existence trapped Ikki like a perfect jail, even if none of them wanted it to be that way, Ikki's sense of duty made it be. Probably because of that, after being physically and mentally tortured for years, after seeing his loved one die and learn that the man whom he considered the main responsible of all his torture was his father and was already dead... It was easy for Ikki to let the hate an anger devour him to the point in which he vowed to kill even Shun.
Probably, in a way, despite his best intentions, Ikki always felt that Shun's existence dragged him down and was the source of most of his problems. Probably, the fact of learning that the other Bronze Saints were his brothers too angered him because it meant that he would have more burdens, more duties, more siblings to take care of.
It's hard to tell how much anger and hate blinded Ikki, even if most of the people and Shun think that Ikki was totally overcome with it, there are many things that also point towards the fact that he wasn't blind at all. That he was acting consciously and with well thought movements instead of letting himself be dragged by the twister of emotions that built inside him. For starters, many have pointed out that despite turning to work for Athena and with his brothers, Ikki is still as full of hate and anger as always, which shouldn't be possible if he had really overcame it all upon being defeated in fight by his brothers. There's also the fact of how easy he accepted defeat once he couldn't fight anymore, and how he smiled, almost peacefully, upon accepting Seiya and the other Bronze Saints as brothers. Maybe, deep down, what Ikki really wanted was to fight them, not to kill them, but to see if they were strong enough to take care of themselves or if they would be just another burden for him. The fact that, even after he manages to get on friendly terms with the other Saints, he keeps his distance from them and even from his brother, also seems to point to the fact that he still sometimes feels resent against them.
Ikki is perfectly well the type of person who would go through a living hell in order to protect someone even if no one asked him. Despite what his elemental attribute, fire, may suggest, Ikki isn't the most impulsive person in the world, in fact he's often collected and perfectly capable of thinking strategies and planning carefully his actions. This allows him to make a serious and fair judgment of most of the people around him, and even of himself. It's possible that, seeing himself unable to overcome the hate and anger due how deep were the emotional wounds that he had, Ikki himself would choose to keep himself apart from the others, to avoid a situation in which he could end being really devoured by his feelings and hurt them. However, that he keeps himself away from the others has never meant that he left them alone. On the contrary, Ikki is known for keeping a close vigilance over Shun and the others, not hesitating for a second to come in their aid even when he's still badly injured himself and has proved to be more than ready to let himself be killed in order to protect them and Athena.
Bitter and ironical, Ikki is a ruthless warrior who doesn't think twice about killing an opponent. He's also arrogant and proud of himself, and has proved to be quite stubborn several times. He's also said to be emotionless, yet at the same time many say that he's completely driven by his negative emotions. Truth to be told, not even Shun, his own brother, can be sure of how Ikki really is. Though it's true that he's a lone wolf and isn't one to trust anyone easily, Ikki isn't entirely emotionless, neither is actually as proud of himself as he makes others think. In fact, a huge amount of the hate and anger that lives inside him is directed to himself, considering himself a loser and by far the weakest of the Bronze Saints, even when he has a fame that says that he's the strongest one. He cares deeply for Shun and his other brothers, but he rarely shows this to them unless they are unconscious as he considers it a weakness and fears that if they learn how he really feels towards them they will try to reach to him even more than they already do at times. The only people who are allowed to see even a glimpse of his true self are his enemies, and so far none of them has survived a meeting with the Phoenix to be able to tell others about it.
Powers and Abilities:
Trained since he was 9 years old in the use and control of Cosmos, Ikki is physically a strong man, stronger than what it may seem at first glance, even without the use of his powers. He's a skilled warrior capable of adapting to techniques and attacks he has received after doing so once -something all saints are trained for in order to not be caught twice by the same type of attack or technique-. Through the use of his Cosmos, if flared up to the 7th sense, Ikki gains an immense boost to his strength and stamina, allowing him to use light speed and teleport (power that manifests as him being engulfed in flames that form a phoenix bird that flies away at a speed faster than light until he arrives to his destiny, it's not an instant teleporting ability but it takes less very few seconds of time) as well as limited telepathy (understood as capacity to talk to others minds, he's unable to read their minds as an open book, if the person he's communicating to can't do the same then Ikki won't be able to hear their answers), with the 7th sense he can also compensate the loss of the five basic senses. It's suggested that he can also travel across dimensions though this isn't elaborated further than him being able to return alone from having been sent to a different dimension once in canon (and it can be argued whether he was sent to another dimension or just another point of the world). He's also known to be immortal, or close to immortal, possessing a great regeneration capacity and has been declared dead several times (in one occassion his whole body was blown up into dust) only to return in perfect condition some time later, given the irregularity of the time used between the declaration of his death and his return it seems his immortality comes in fact from regeneration powers capable of healing his body or even reconstruct it, the higher the damage the longer it takes for him to return to life. Energy blasts and force fields, both visible as wild flaring flames are also a basic power of his thanks to the Cosmos. Ikki has access to the 8th sense with his Cosmos, while the 7th sense breaks the boundaries and limits of the physical body, the 8th sense does the same to the soul allowing him to travel to the realm of death (and probably and any other realm in which one normally loses their body and full control over their soul) while keeping his body and total control over his soul, thanks to which he was able to fight in the Underworld. It's not known since when exactly Ikki posseses access to the 8th sense but given his "usual escapades" to the realm of dead it's very probable he has had access to it for a long time.
Ikki has showed only two specific battle techniques in the whole run of the series (though given how those techniques have often been one-hit kill he doesn't seem to need more):
Hoo Genma Ken (Phoenix Illusion Demonic Fist): Ikki's mental strike affects directly the brain of the target with his Cosmos. Depending on the strength used in the attack and the mental strength of the target the true attack may delay in taking effect, to the point of people often thinking that Ikki's attack missed or entirely failed. The attack, however, doesn't aim to maim the physical body of the target but their mind and spirit to render them unable to fight or even lead them to an instant death by brain collapse. The target will be thrown to their deepest nightmare and horror, to live through it fully to their very death, if the target's greatest nightmare is actually an event in their past they will relive it in a loop until their spirit is broken. As a side effect the attack also affects the nervous system, paralyzing or slowing down the target and making them more vulnerable even if they manage to withstand the mental strike.
Ho Yoku Tensho (Ascension of the Phoenix Wings): Ikki's strongest blow consists on a powerful fire whirlwind of Cosmos launched forward with his arm and used to sweep anything in front of him. It's range and power can be altered for use against a single enemy or several enemies at once -works wonders as a mob control-.
Strengths:
Mental: Ikki's mental strength is something hard to define. Many would consider him weak on this field, however he has proved several times that that's not the case. Ikki's mental strength is one that feeds on its own weaknesses. He's rather analytical despite not showing it to others and his capacity, or incapacity, of dealing with his brothers in a social positive way is actually born from his analytical mind. Because he's capable of judging others seriously, he is able to know what exactly will trigger them and doesn't hesitate to pull that trigger in order to protect his own emotions. Because if others hate him it'll just make it easier to be alone. Ikki has a strong sense of duty and it's that what drives him on the most in his live, not loyalty or love but the duty he feels he has towards his brothers and Athena. It's basically impossible to shake that sense of duty out of him, not even when he's consumed by his emotions does it vanish entirely, and it's that strong will in completing his duty what allows him to not fall in the temptation of letting his negative feelings take control of himself.
Physical: Fortunately or not, Ikki has been trained for fighting since he was really young (roughly around 6 years old even before he started to learn about Cosmos), this means that despite being just a teenager he has a very well built body and a great strength just by itself. He's also a good fighter even without relying on his rank as an Athena's Saint. However, his natural strength, speed and agility increases exponentially when he starts using his Cosmoss, and even more when he wears is Cloth, which also improves his resistance and the flow of energy in general. While using his Cosmoss, Ikki become a fearsome opponent, with hits capable of cracking craters in the ground and attacks that rival light's speed, back in his world he's known by allies and foes as one of the strongest among the Bronze Saints, in fact many do consider him as the strongest, despite his claims that there are many others stronger than him, Seiya and his own brother, Shun, for example. His connection to the Phoenix Cloth also gives him a great gift, just like the mythological Phoenix, Ikki is capable of resurrecting by himself shortly after being killed, raising from his own ashes and with a boost to his Cosmoss that grants him even more strength. However, this doesn't mean that Ikki will resurrect every time he's killed as there have been times in which it has taken him a long time to be resurrected.
Emotional: Ikki's strength regarding emotions relays in his capacity of not letting them show or control himself. He is really good at this and at sending the wrong signals to fool others about what he's really feeling, only allowing his anger and his hate to be shown clearly but without a specific target for those emotions. Ikki cares a lot about his brothers and Athena, he does appreciate them and loves his brother deeply, he can be caring and gentle, even somewhat sweet if he really allows himself such a moment of weakness. However as he regards those emotions as weaknesses he does his best in blocking them and in not letting others see them, specially the people whom he cares about. This contradiction that he forces in himself allows him to be a difficult person to understand and manipulate through emotions, the only way to do that would be through his anger and hate and even through that he has proved several times that he won't be completely manipulated, only as far as he himself wishes to be manipulated.
Weaknesses:
Mental: Despite Ikki's mental strength, it can't be denied that most of it is born from him trying to use his weaknesses to feed his strengths, what this basically means is that despite all his strong will and wishes, Ikki's mental strength is mostly a facade. Though it's not easy to destroy it totally, it's not impossible to do so or to dig up his deepest fears and use them against him. Ikki is already seriously scarred mentally from his training to become a Saint and those are wounds that will never heal completely, those wounds are his greatest weakness while at the same time feed his strength. They are deeply concealed in his mind and many are fooled into thinking that they don't exist at all unless they search for them really hard, however, once found, Ikki will shatter as easily as crystal.
Physical: Being honest, despite his status as an Athena's Saint, Ikki is normally just as strong as any trained man, same for speed and agility. He can pass up for a normal human at any time and the only give-away in his persona that would tell about his strength would be the fact that he's well trained and thus has his muscles perfectly developed. In the same vein he's as vulnerable as any person, bullets can kill him and punches will hurt him, even when he's actively using his Cosmoss he can still get hurt by the same things as any other human, if only he may be a bit more resistant thanks to the Cosmoss but not by much. Ikki isn't a stranger to exhaustion and in fact he can be found easier to tire out due all the energy he keeps using when fighting.
Emotional: Ikki's emotional weaknesses are closely tied to his mental ones. They almost work as a team, Ikki's mental strengths protect his emotional weaknesses, while his emotional strengths protect his mental weaknesses. Shatter one and both will shatter in small pieces. One has to be careful though as Ikki can get desperate and use his anger and hate as fuel to protect himself further if he feels he's being cornered in either of those areas. At any rate, despite how well he conceals his real emotions it's a given that his love for his brothers is a great weaknesses, however because of how he keeps denying it openly this is not really one easy to exploit as Ikki is quite capable of killing any of them should it be necessary, burying any remorse deep in his heart. It would be his love for Esmeralda, his first love, the one that would prove to be the biggest weakness, as part of Ikki has wished to die and reunite with her in the afterlife since her death. However, as mentioned before, this weakness is deeply hidden and buried, only one person was able to find it by mind reading and he was already almost dead when he found the way to defeat Ikki for sure so the knowledge was passed to no one nor was it ever used.
Samples
Network: When I first arrived many of you told me that this wasn't the work of a God, some you even didn't seem to know what really is a deity or have gods back in your worlds. So now I'm curious as to what is a "god" for you. What deities do you know of? Why do you believe in them? Assuming that you actually do, that is. I may serve a goddess but I wouldn't really call myself a believer.
[After all it's not as if he "believes" in those things, he knows they exist because he has seen them, besides he doesn't really believe they are that great. Not even Athena.]
I also have a question for those who have been here longer and Ascended. I know that going back to our worlds is possible but not so much to affect it, at least not as mere Wakened, but what about you? Those who have become Angelii and higher, have any of you tried to return to your world and influence it even if it's a little?
[He's fine with going back and seeing his own life unfold as if it was a movie in which he has no chance to act into, a lot of it has already been that way for him. But if there's a chance for him to grow stronger and have that strength be of use back in his world, he will take that.]
Third Person: Chronos pulled a prank on Athena.
Hécate's words are the first thing that echoes in his mind as he glares at his new surroundings.
This is the lake where Chronos sleeps... It would be better if you stopped now, Ikki. He may be asleep now again, but he could wake up! If that happens, there's no doubt, this time he'll send you wherever he wants without a chance to return!
Ikki clenches his teeth as he remembers the warning, cursing his luck for it seems that Hécate had been right after all. Chronos had awakened and sent him somewhere else, the place certainly doesn't look anything like the Sanctuary did in the 18th century... Or like any place during that time actually. His eyes fall on his right hand, closed in a tight fist and still holding tightly a fragment of the flower chain that Athena had weaved, now the only trace remaining of her lead and hope that he and the others would eventually follow and join the fight to save Seiya. And for a brief moment, he allows himself to worry about the others. He knows that Hyoga and Shiryuu would follow their steps, he had kept a close eye on them all this time and he knows that their determination hasn't changed, despite the chance at having a peaceful life, specially for Shiryuu who now has a baby to take care of, neither of them had given up on being Saints and even if they didn't know yet about Athena's plan they would eventually go to the Sanctuary and learn of it. They would trace their steps and meet Hécale, they would want to follow Athena and the others, to help Seiya and the witch would lead them to the lake... Only to find that the lead that Athena left is gone, or worse, that it's there but broken which would condemn his brothers to ending in other times and places. Not only that but what if Athena and Shun weren't able to return without the chain? If he was a religious man he would be praying now, for the chain to not be broken despite what the piece of it in his hand may indicate, it's bad enough that he's in this situation, there's no need to make it worse for the rest.
But he's not religious, despite serving a Goddess, he learned long ago that praying serves for nothing except wasting his time. And he's not in a position to be able to just sit and worry about the others, with the way they are it's simply impossible, he knows that his brothers will eventually need him. So he needs to get out of here as soon as possible. He wraps Athena's flower chain around his wrist while surveying the area once more, still frowning, despite his resolution it's not going to be easy to leave this place. He can feel it already, the void around him, or rather, his inability to sense Cosmos. He also feels the lack of the inner flame that has been with him ever since he claimed the Phoenix Cloth, and the weight that his Cloth now has despite feeling almost weightless before. Chronos didn't just send him somewhere and sometime else, he has sealed his Cosmos and without it Ikki has little chance to even find the Temple of the Moon again and the lake where Chronos sleeps to try to get back.
He still has his strength and the years of training and fighting, so he's far from being helpless. It's not the first time he has to work in an unknown area, maybe even an enemy area, without being able to use his Cosmos. Hades' castle had been protected by a field that partially sealed their Cosmo and made them weaker, easy preys for Specters that they would have reduced to dust otherwise. He hadn't fought, sneaking through the thousand of shadows in the palace, using in his favor that which they considered theirs by default. But back then he had had a goal in mind, a clear objective. Right now, while he has a goal, he has little idea on how to achieve it.
"I need information;" the thought is mumbled to himself, just to make it more real and convince himself that there's no way around it. He considers taking off his Cloth as it betrays his identity, if this place is filled with enemies then he should try to not let them know who he is in case they don't know already. But he doesn't have the Pandora box, not even a normal bag to put it in, and its weight is going to make it harder to deal with. While he wears it, the weight is better distributed and even if it can't channel his Cosmos, it still offers some protection even if it may make him stick like a sore thumb. Besides, maybe sticking out isn't a bad idea either, it may get his enemies to get to him faster and then all he will have to do is beat them down before they beat him and get all the information he needs out of them.
Whatever happens, though, it's clear that he needs to get moving. Information won't come to him just by standing there and if there are enemies he definitively doesn't want to get caught in a plaza where he can be surrounded easily, at least not until he finds a way to unseal his Cosmos.
Name: Tora
Age: 31
Personal Journal:
athenalaureateEmail / AIM / MSN / Plurk:
♦ Email: athena.laureate@gmail.com
♦ AIM: torastellar
♦ Plurk: Serilia
Current Character(s): N/A
Character Information
Character Name: Phoenix Ikki
Fandom: Saint Seiya
Character History: Despite being one of the main characters, Ikki is among the ones with less "screen time" than the rest, yet he's the one about whom more is known regarding his past and childhood.
Orphaned at a young age due his mother's death in childbirth (or shortly thereafter), Ikki lived on the streets taking care of his baby brother Shun for years and running away from those who chased them. As soon as his brother was born, the servants of Hades, the God of the Underworld, began to chase them in order to claim Shun's body as a vessel for Hades' soul. They were also chased by people hired by their father, Mitsumasa Kido, who started to gather the sons he had all around the world around the same time. However, Ikki had no plans of giving in to either group, going as far as to defy death at such a young age already when Pandora, Hades' sister, finally cornered them and electrocuted Ikki in order to have him abandon Shun, despite using enough power to kill even an adult, Ikki kept clinging both to life and to his brother. The show of devotion and strength made Pandora decide to allow Shun to remain with Ikki, as the older brother would surely protect the baby until it was time for Hades to properly possess his body, with that she temporarily erased Ikki's memories regarding their meeting and the chase he had suffered from their group, leaving the brothers to keep living on the streets now only having to worry about one group of people chasing them. Given that Kido's men weren't focused just on catching them, it was easier for Ikki and Shun to live on "peacefully" on their own until, at some point, the brothers finally ended in an orphanage from which Kido eventually took them many years later.
Around the age of 9 years old, Ikki sent to train as a Saint in an island called Death Queen Island, known as a "Hell on Earth" place, there he endured a brutal and almost inhuman training which each day pushed him to the brink of death. However, much like when Pandora tried to kill him, Ikki kept managing to survive each day no matter how badly beaten he had been. He wasn't alone during those harsh times, though, while separated from his brother, Ikki found companionship and solace in the form of Esmeralda, a native girl of the island who had been sold as a slave and who was considered to be worth less than farm animals. Despite her own hard conditions, Esmeralda always managed to be kind and gentle with everyone, wishing to offer Ikki support and even refusing to take the chance to escape the island when offered as that would mean leaving him alone, Ikki bowed to take her out of the island once he became a Saint but that promise was never meant to be. During the last test for the Cloth, Ikki hesitated to kill his master, still respeting the man and resisting to hate the world fully as he was asked to, this gave his master an opening that ended resulting in Esmeralda, who had ran there to cheer for Ikki, dying on the boy's arms. Her death turned out to be the final trigger for Ikki's hate and anger to unleash and soon after he claimed the Phoenix Cloth, effectively becoming the Phoenix Saint. Right after that Ikki fought against the Gold Saint named Shaka only to be easily overpowered, however he wasn't killed as Shaka could see that despite Ikki's attitude and claims there was still goodnes and purity inside of him. Once more, Ikki's memories were messed up as Shaka sealed his memories regarding their meeting and fight, with the intention of those only being unlocked if they faced each other again to remind Ikki of how easily he overpowered him.
When Ikki returned to Japan, his reunion with his brother and half-brothers (as he had discovered that all the orphans Kido had gathered were his sons) was far from emotional as he vowed to kill them all as well as Kido's granddaughter (who actually was the reincarnation of the goddess Athena). Using the Black Saints from Death Queen Island, Ikki fought against his brothers, despite being stronger than them, however, he was ultimately defeated by Pegasus Seiya and when the cavern they were in began to collaps, Ikki chose to stay behind to meet his final end. At that moment he hadn't yet realized how much of a phoenix he really was. Barely a whole day later, Ikki was up on his feet again, alive, unwounded and actually stronger than before. After the discovery that he couldn't die even if he wanted to, and having had part of the anger that lead him to want to kill his brothers placated after his fight with them, Ikki joined forces with them in the battle against the Sanctuary and to protect Athena, though he remained going on his own solitarily claiming that he hated to fight in groups.
After that, Ikki participated in numerous battles, no matter how far he was, he always appeared whenever his brothers and Athena needed him, ready to save and protect them. He fought in the Sanctuary against Shaka once more, getting the memories that had been sealed back but refusing to give in to the fear he had felt the first time they fought, later he would face against Saga, the Gemini Saint who had been controlling the Sanctuary and trying to get Athena killed. Ikki seemed to meet his end at this point, when Saga used his strongest attack on him and Seiya, the phoenix protected his half-brother at the cost of having his own body explode until there was nothing but dust left of him. However, he returned to life once more, weeks later appearing in Poseidon's temple where Athena was held prisoner just in time to save his brothers once more, showing that not even the illusion of Shun was enough to have him drop his guard and fail to kill his opponent. After that he went to fight against Kanon, one of Poseidon's generals and twin brother of Saga, while he was unable to properly defeat the other and kill him, Ikki was able to get the information they needed to seal Poseidon once more allowing them to win.
After the defeat of Poseidon, Ikki vanished once more, only showing up after Hades' Specters woke up and broke their seal, allowing the God of the Underworld to charge against Athena once more. Understanding who the enemy was and what Athena planned better than anyone else, Ikki marched directly to Hell rather than waste time trying to protect a Sanctuary that had already been invaded, aiming to get to Hades and kill him as fast as possible. However, he wasn't able to get to him until the god himself summoned him upon finally noticing his Cosmos as Ikki aided Kanon in a fight, by then, Shun's body had already been claimed by Hades' soul and Pandora restored the memories she had sealed when Ikki was young allowing the phoenix to, hopefully, finally be able to remember everything in his life properly. Shun's soul used all its strength left to paralyze his body and thus Hades, allowing Ikki to kill his body and thus defeat the god, however, Ikki couldn't sacrifice his brother despite all his tough acting and only tried to force Hades' soul out of Shun's body. This proved to be in vain and Ikki was defeated and thrown to a frozen hell reserved to those who raised against the gods, but not even that was able to keep him down for long and he pulled himself out eventually, rushing to help his brothers as the fight against Hades had moved to Elysium, the heaven that Hades had created. Before reaching there he was intercepted by Pandora who was now free from the control that Hades had put her under when she was a child, she gave Ikki a talisman that would allow him to go to Elysium and begged for him to avenge her and her family by killing Hades, for this betrayal she was killed right in front of Ikki who was unable to do anything to help her. The battle against Hades and the two Gods that aided him, Thanatos and Deimos, was long and terrible but it still ended with the victory of Athena and her Saints at the prize of Seiya's life. At Hades' death, however, the whole of Elysium and Hell collapsed and vanished, leaving the fates of Athena and the Bronze Saints that had battled alongside her unknown for several years.
It wasn't until four years later that the group began to reunite again as Athena, who had been taking care of Seiya's wounded body, decided to start a mission to travel to the past and destroy the sword with which Seiya had been wounded, hoping that that would undo the damage he had suffered and save his life. While she started this mission at first only with Shun's aid, Ikki was soon proven to be close by keeping watch on them when he stepped in to protect them from an attack by Artemis' soldiers. This attack made him initially aim to face Artemis himself, but the witch Hécate met him and informed him that upon traveling to the past Athena had been tricked by Chronos and put on a disadvantageous position, judging that Artemis' threat wasn't as dire as whatever Athena would be facing in the past Holy War agains Hades, Ikki jumped into the space-time void, following a chain of flowers that Athena had weaved as a lead for him and the others should they follow Shun and her.
Character Personality: It's not easy to be Ikki, in more than one way. Though he's not the only one among Athena's Saints with a tragic childhood, not many of them have hold on their shoulders the same burdens he has been forced to carry. Though all of the Bronze Saints are siblings by being sons of the same father, only Ikki has always have a younger brother of whom he had to take care since early in his life. For Shun's sake, Ikki has been constantly pushing himself to grow up, to become more mature and strong, capable of taking care of him and protecting him. He has forced himself to keep from his brother many things, in hopes to protect him, always looking out for Shun, always living just for him. Even when he was sent to a living hell in order to win the Phoenix Cloth, Ikki kept moving because of his duty as an older brother, even Esmeralda, his first and probably only love, kept reminding him of Shun by appearance. It's not an exaggeration to say that in a way, Shun's existence trapped Ikki like a perfect jail, even if none of them wanted it to be that way, Ikki's sense of duty made it be. Probably because of that, after being physically and mentally tortured for years, after seeing his loved one die and learn that the man whom he considered the main responsible of all his torture was his father and was already dead... It was easy for Ikki to let the hate an anger devour him to the point in which he vowed to kill even Shun.
Probably, in a way, despite his best intentions, Ikki always felt that Shun's existence dragged him down and was the source of most of his problems. Probably, the fact of learning that the other Bronze Saints were his brothers too angered him because it meant that he would have more burdens, more duties, more siblings to take care of.
It's hard to tell how much anger and hate blinded Ikki, even if most of the people and Shun think that Ikki was totally overcome with it, there are many things that also point towards the fact that he wasn't blind at all. That he was acting consciously and with well thought movements instead of letting himself be dragged by the twister of emotions that built inside him. For starters, many have pointed out that despite turning to work for Athena and with his brothers, Ikki is still as full of hate and anger as always, which shouldn't be possible if he had really overcame it all upon being defeated in fight by his brothers. There's also the fact of how easy he accepted defeat once he couldn't fight anymore, and how he smiled, almost peacefully, upon accepting Seiya and the other Bronze Saints as brothers. Maybe, deep down, what Ikki really wanted was to fight them, not to kill them, but to see if they were strong enough to take care of themselves or if they would be just another burden for him. The fact that, even after he manages to get on friendly terms with the other Saints, he keeps his distance from them and even from his brother, also seems to point to the fact that he still sometimes feels resent against them.
Ikki is perfectly well the type of person who would go through a living hell in order to protect someone even if no one asked him. Despite what his elemental attribute, fire, may suggest, Ikki isn't the most impulsive person in the world, in fact he's often collected and perfectly capable of thinking strategies and planning carefully his actions. This allows him to make a serious and fair judgment of most of the people around him, and even of himself. It's possible that, seeing himself unable to overcome the hate and anger due how deep were the emotional wounds that he had, Ikki himself would choose to keep himself apart from the others, to avoid a situation in which he could end being really devoured by his feelings and hurt them. However, that he keeps himself away from the others has never meant that he left them alone. On the contrary, Ikki is known for keeping a close vigilance over Shun and the others, not hesitating for a second to come in their aid even when he's still badly injured himself and has proved to be more than ready to let himself be killed in order to protect them and Athena.
Bitter and ironical, Ikki is a ruthless warrior who doesn't think twice about killing an opponent. He's also arrogant and proud of himself, and has proved to be quite stubborn several times. He's also said to be emotionless, yet at the same time many say that he's completely driven by his negative emotions. Truth to be told, not even Shun, his own brother, can be sure of how Ikki really is. Though it's true that he's a lone wolf and isn't one to trust anyone easily, Ikki isn't entirely emotionless, neither is actually as proud of himself as he makes others think. In fact, a huge amount of the hate and anger that lives inside him is directed to himself, considering himself a loser and by far the weakest of the Bronze Saints, even when he has a fame that says that he's the strongest one. He cares deeply for Shun and his other brothers, but he rarely shows this to them unless they are unconscious as he considers it a weakness and fears that if they learn how he really feels towards them they will try to reach to him even more than they already do at times. The only people who are allowed to see even a glimpse of his true self are his enemies, and so far none of them has survived a meeting with the Phoenix to be able to tell others about it.
Powers and Abilities:
Trained since he was 9 years old in the use and control of Cosmos, Ikki is physically a strong man, stronger than what it may seem at first glance, even without the use of his powers. He's a skilled warrior capable of adapting to techniques and attacks he has received after doing so once -something all saints are trained for in order to not be caught twice by the same type of attack or technique-. Through the use of his Cosmos, if flared up to the 7th sense, Ikki gains an immense boost to his strength and stamina, allowing him to use light speed and teleport (power that manifests as him being engulfed in flames that form a phoenix bird that flies away at a speed faster than light until he arrives to his destiny, it's not an instant teleporting ability but it takes less very few seconds of time) as well as limited telepathy (understood as capacity to talk to others minds, he's unable to read their minds as an open book, if the person he's communicating to can't do the same then Ikki won't be able to hear their answers), with the 7th sense he can also compensate the loss of the five basic senses. It's suggested that he can also travel across dimensions though this isn't elaborated further than him being able to return alone from having been sent to a different dimension once in canon (and it can be argued whether he was sent to another dimension or just another point of the world). He's also known to be immortal, or close to immortal, possessing a great regeneration capacity and has been declared dead several times (in one occassion his whole body was blown up into dust) only to return in perfect condition some time later, given the irregularity of the time used between the declaration of his death and his return it seems his immortality comes in fact from regeneration powers capable of healing his body or even reconstruct it, the higher the damage the longer it takes for him to return to life. Energy blasts and force fields, both visible as wild flaring flames are also a basic power of his thanks to the Cosmos. Ikki has access to the 8th sense with his Cosmos, while the 7th sense breaks the boundaries and limits of the physical body, the 8th sense does the same to the soul allowing him to travel to the realm of death (and probably and any other realm in which one normally loses their body and full control over their soul) while keeping his body and total control over his soul, thanks to which he was able to fight in the Underworld. It's not known since when exactly Ikki posseses access to the 8th sense but given his "usual escapades" to the realm of dead it's very probable he has had access to it for a long time.
Ikki has showed only two specific battle techniques in the whole run of the series (though given how those techniques have often been one-hit kill he doesn't seem to need more):
Hoo Genma Ken (Phoenix Illusion Demonic Fist): Ikki's mental strike affects directly the brain of the target with his Cosmos. Depending on the strength used in the attack and the mental strength of the target the true attack may delay in taking effect, to the point of people often thinking that Ikki's attack missed or entirely failed. The attack, however, doesn't aim to maim the physical body of the target but their mind and spirit to render them unable to fight or even lead them to an instant death by brain collapse. The target will be thrown to their deepest nightmare and horror, to live through it fully to their very death, if the target's greatest nightmare is actually an event in their past they will relive it in a loop until their spirit is broken. As a side effect the attack also affects the nervous system, paralyzing or slowing down the target and making them more vulnerable even if they manage to withstand the mental strike.
Ho Yoku Tensho (Ascension of the Phoenix Wings): Ikki's strongest blow consists on a powerful fire whirlwind of Cosmos launched forward with his arm and used to sweep anything in front of him. It's range and power can be altered for use against a single enemy or several enemies at once -works wonders as a mob control-.
Strengths:
Mental: Ikki's mental strength is something hard to define. Many would consider him weak on this field, however he has proved several times that that's not the case. Ikki's mental strength is one that feeds on its own weaknesses. He's rather analytical despite not showing it to others and his capacity, or incapacity, of dealing with his brothers in a social positive way is actually born from his analytical mind. Because he's capable of judging others seriously, he is able to know what exactly will trigger them and doesn't hesitate to pull that trigger in order to protect his own emotions. Because if others hate him it'll just make it easier to be alone. Ikki has a strong sense of duty and it's that what drives him on the most in his live, not loyalty or love but the duty he feels he has towards his brothers and Athena. It's basically impossible to shake that sense of duty out of him, not even when he's consumed by his emotions does it vanish entirely, and it's that strong will in completing his duty what allows him to not fall in the temptation of letting his negative feelings take control of himself.
Physical: Fortunately or not, Ikki has been trained for fighting since he was really young (roughly around 6 years old even before he started to learn about Cosmos), this means that despite being just a teenager he has a very well built body and a great strength just by itself. He's also a good fighter even without relying on his rank as an Athena's Saint. However, his natural strength, speed and agility increases exponentially when he starts using his Cosmoss, and even more when he wears is Cloth, which also improves his resistance and the flow of energy in general. While using his Cosmoss, Ikki become a fearsome opponent, with hits capable of cracking craters in the ground and attacks that rival light's speed, back in his world he's known by allies and foes as one of the strongest among the Bronze Saints, in fact many do consider him as the strongest, despite his claims that there are many others stronger than him, Seiya and his own brother, Shun, for example. His connection to the Phoenix Cloth also gives him a great gift, just like the mythological Phoenix, Ikki is capable of resurrecting by himself shortly after being killed, raising from his own ashes and with a boost to his Cosmoss that grants him even more strength. However, this doesn't mean that Ikki will resurrect every time he's killed as there have been times in which it has taken him a long time to be resurrected.
Emotional: Ikki's strength regarding emotions relays in his capacity of not letting them show or control himself. He is really good at this and at sending the wrong signals to fool others about what he's really feeling, only allowing his anger and his hate to be shown clearly but without a specific target for those emotions. Ikki cares a lot about his brothers and Athena, he does appreciate them and loves his brother deeply, he can be caring and gentle, even somewhat sweet if he really allows himself such a moment of weakness. However as he regards those emotions as weaknesses he does his best in blocking them and in not letting others see them, specially the people whom he cares about. This contradiction that he forces in himself allows him to be a difficult person to understand and manipulate through emotions, the only way to do that would be through his anger and hate and even through that he has proved several times that he won't be completely manipulated, only as far as he himself wishes to be manipulated.
Weaknesses:
Mental: Despite Ikki's mental strength, it can't be denied that most of it is born from him trying to use his weaknesses to feed his strengths, what this basically means is that despite all his strong will and wishes, Ikki's mental strength is mostly a facade. Though it's not easy to destroy it totally, it's not impossible to do so or to dig up his deepest fears and use them against him. Ikki is already seriously scarred mentally from his training to become a Saint and those are wounds that will never heal completely, those wounds are his greatest weakness while at the same time feed his strength. They are deeply concealed in his mind and many are fooled into thinking that they don't exist at all unless they search for them really hard, however, once found, Ikki will shatter as easily as crystal.
Physical: Being honest, despite his status as an Athena's Saint, Ikki is normally just as strong as any trained man, same for speed and agility. He can pass up for a normal human at any time and the only give-away in his persona that would tell about his strength would be the fact that he's well trained and thus has his muscles perfectly developed. In the same vein he's as vulnerable as any person, bullets can kill him and punches will hurt him, even when he's actively using his Cosmoss he can still get hurt by the same things as any other human, if only he may be a bit more resistant thanks to the Cosmoss but not by much. Ikki isn't a stranger to exhaustion and in fact he can be found easier to tire out due all the energy he keeps using when fighting.
Emotional: Ikki's emotional weaknesses are closely tied to his mental ones. They almost work as a team, Ikki's mental strengths protect his emotional weaknesses, while his emotional strengths protect his mental weaknesses. Shatter one and both will shatter in small pieces. One has to be careful though as Ikki can get desperate and use his anger and hate as fuel to protect himself further if he feels he's being cornered in either of those areas. At any rate, despite how well he conceals his real emotions it's a given that his love for his brothers is a great weaknesses, however because of how he keeps denying it openly this is not really one easy to exploit as Ikki is quite capable of killing any of them should it be necessary, burying any remorse deep in his heart. It would be his love for Esmeralda, his first love, the one that would prove to be the biggest weakness, as part of Ikki has wished to die and reunite with her in the afterlife since her death. However, as mentioned before, this weakness is deeply hidden and buried, only one person was able to find it by mind reading and he was already almost dead when he found the way to defeat Ikki for sure so the knowledge was passed to no one nor was it ever used.
Samples
Network: When I first arrived many of you told me that this wasn't the work of a God, some you even didn't seem to know what really is a deity or have gods back in your worlds. So now I'm curious as to what is a "god" for you. What deities do you know of? Why do you believe in them? Assuming that you actually do, that is. I may serve a goddess but I wouldn't really call myself a believer.
[After all it's not as if he "believes" in those things, he knows they exist because he has seen them, besides he doesn't really believe they are that great. Not even Athena.]
I also have a question for those who have been here longer and Ascended. I know that going back to our worlds is possible but not so much to affect it, at least not as mere Wakened, but what about you? Those who have become Angelii and higher, have any of you tried to return to your world and influence it even if it's a little?
[He's fine with going back and seeing his own life unfold as if it was a movie in which he has no chance to act into, a lot of it has already been that way for him. But if there's a chance for him to grow stronger and have that strength be of use back in his world, he will take that.]
Third Person: Chronos pulled a prank on Athena.
Hécate's words are the first thing that echoes in his mind as he glares at his new surroundings.
This is the lake where Chronos sleeps... It would be better if you stopped now, Ikki. He may be asleep now again, but he could wake up! If that happens, there's no doubt, this time he'll send you wherever he wants without a chance to return!
Ikki clenches his teeth as he remembers the warning, cursing his luck for it seems that Hécate had been right after all. Chronos had awakened and sent him somewhere else, the place certainly doesn't look anything like the Sanctuary did in the 18th century... Or like any place during that time actually. His eyes fall on his right hand, closed in a tight fist and still holding tightly a fragment of the flower chain that Athena had weaved, now the only trace remaining of her lead and hope that he and the others would eventually follow and join the fight to save Seiya. And for a brief moment, he allows himself to worry about the others. He knows that Hyoga and Shiryuu would follow their steps, he had kept a close eye on them all this time and he knows that their determination hasn't changed, despite the chance at having a peaceful life, specially for Shiryuu who now has a baby to take care of, neither of them had given up on being Saints and even if they didn't know yet about Athena's plan they would eventually go to the Sanctuary and learn of it. They would trace their steps and meet Hécale, they would want to follow Athena and the others, to help Seiya and the witch would lead them to the lake... Only to find that the lead that Athena left is gone, or worse, that it's there but broken which would condemn his brothers to ending in other times and places. Not only that but what if Athena and Shun weren't able to return without the chain? If he was a religious man he would be praying now, for the chain to not be broken despite what the piece of it in his hand may indicate, it's bad enough that he's in this situation, there's no need to make it worse for the rest.
But he's not religious, despite serving a Goddess, he learned long ago that praying serves for nothing except wasting his time. And he's not in a position to be able to just sit and worry about the others, with the way they are it's simply impossible, he knows that his brothers will eventually need him. So he needs to get out of here as soon as possible. He wraps Athena's flower chain around his wrist while surveying the area once more, still frowning, despite his resolution it's not going to be easy to leave this place. He can feel it already, the void around him, or rather, his inability to sense Cosmos. He also feels the lack of the inner flame that has been with him ever since he claimed the Phoenix Cloth, and the weight that his Cloth now has despite feeling almost weightless before. Chronos didn't just send him somewhere and sometime else, he has sealed his Cosmos and without it Ikki has little chance to even find the Temple of the Moon again and the lake where Chronos sleeps to try to get back.
He still has his strength and the years of training and fighting, so he's far from being helpless. It's not the first time he has to work in an unknown area, maybe even an enemy area, without being able to use his Cosmos. Hades' castle had been protected by a field that partially sealed their Cosmo and made them weaker, easy preys for Specters that they would have reduced to dust otherwise. He hadn't fought, sneaking through the thousand of shadows in the palace, using in his favor that which they considered theirs by default. But back then he had had a goal in mind, a clear objective. Right now, while he has a goal, he has little idea on how to achieve it.
"I need information;" the thought is mumbled to himself, just to make it more real and convince himself that there's no way around it. He considers taking off his Cloth as it betrays his identity, if this place is filled with enemies then he should try to not let them know who he is in case they don't know already. But he doesn't have the Pandora box, not even a normal bag to put it in, and its weight is going to make it harder to deal with. While he wears it, the weight is better distributed and even if it can't channel his Cosmos, it still offers some protection even if it may make him stick like a sore thumb. Besides, maybe sticking out isn't a bad idea either, it may get his enemies to get to him faster and then all he will have to do is beat them down before they beat him and get all the information he needs out of them.
Whatever happens, though, it's clear that he needs to get moving. Information won't come to him just by standing there and if there are enemies he definitively doesn't want to get caught in a plaza where he can be surrounded easily, at least not until he finds a way to unseal his Cosmos.