Asmita of Virgo

Asmita appears as a tall, slender young man with fair skin and light blond hair that extends past his back, except for a few shorter strands that fall to his chest. His bangs hide a small circle tattooed on his forehead, equidistant from his eyes, which, according to Hindu and Buddhist traditions, represents the third eye, focused on the Ajna chakra. Asmita keeps his eyes closed most of the time because he is blind (the main difference between him and Shaka, his later reincarnation, who closes his eyes to improve concentration and contain his cosmos). However, Asmita opens his eyes when he gains the gift of sight, shortly before disappearing, and it is confirmed that they are light blue.

Asmita is a person who, from birth, came to Earth with the purpose of instilling wisdom. He is a wise person due to his religious practices; however, corresponding to his immense power, he is arrogant. His arrogance is noticeable in crushing his adversaries, in his speech, and even in his actions. He tends to become upset quickly when something doesn't go as he wishes; he can even be very proud and stubborn, always faithful to his beliefs and what he considers just. Among all the Saints of Athena, Asmita is considered one of the most enigmatic and unknown, so much so that even the other Golden Saints treat him with suspicion, never fully trusting him. Hasgard himself admitted that he didn't like Asmita and doubted his loyalty to Athena, for bringing strange religious beliefs to the Sanctuary and shutting himself in his house to meditate instead of fighting Hades' army [3]. Truly, Asmita appreciates solitude and is a reserved person who keeps his distance from the other Saints, although when he has been seen interacting with his colleagues he has shown himself to be friendly and very perceptive towards them. In fact, and although Virgo's participation in the series has been reduced compared to other Saints, his actions have profoundly impacted the psychological development of the people with whom he has interacted most. According to Athena, the main reason why Asmita is introverted, skeptical, and even afflicted is due to his blindness, which, in contrast, allows him to feel many things that are forbidden to other people. Similar to his successor, Asmita is very sensitive to the suffering in the world, its lack of mercy, and the prevailing confusion and pain, which make him distrust all people and feel compelled to test them to dispel all his doubts.

Ahimsa remembers being imprisoned for being a thief in the forest of austerity; there he meets Asmita. Asmita presents himself as a wise person despite his young age and is also able to feel the pain of others. Asmita removes his clothing, and it can be seen that he is emaciated with prominent ribs. After talking with Ahimsa, he delivers a sermon to everyone in the forest of austerity, impressing Ahimsa. Later, he is sent to Tibet for training. During his training in Tibet, he has a conversation with Buddha about Asmita's ability to feel the pain and suffering of others above his own. In the end, Buddha tells him that Asmita is a man who could be the closest to God, but he is not God, and that's perfectly fine. When Regulus mistakenly enters the House of Virgo, mistaking Asmita for Ilias at first glance, the Saint of Virgo asks him if he is the new Saint of Leo. Regulus apologizes to Asmita because the Saint of Virgo just reminded him of Ilias, admitting he had confused them. Asmita says it's nothing. Asmita says he's heard rumors about Regulus's natural talent in battle, although he also says he seems a bit foolish. Regulus asks Asmita if he is better than him, to which Asmita replies that he has never been defeated but that divinely he is stronger than the young Saint of Leo. Finally, Asmita tells him that he is in the House of Virgo and that the House of Leo is a little lower. Regulus apologizes for bothering him and greets Asmita, leaving the House of Virgo.

The adventure of the Virgo Saint Asmita begins. An unknown person is walking along a river when he realizes that the river is full of blood and tries to escape as quickly as possible. Suddenly, some Specters appear and tell the stranger that they are in hell. The stranger asks for help, the waterfall stops, it seems like time has stopped, and Asmita of Virgo appears and easily defeats the Specters. The stranger (Ahimsa) recognizes Asmita; in his Buddhist past, Ahimsa was known as The Buddha Thief. Returning to real time, Asmita defeats the Specters and talks to his old friend, explaining that he can no longer return to life but that he somehow managed to preserve his consciousness in the underworld, something impossible for an ordinary person. Suddenly, he encounters the Specter Kageboshi, the earthly star of rest. Kageboshi tells Ahimsa that he will grant him eternal life and that he is one of the warriors chosen by Lord Atavaka. Asmita tells the Specter that he had heard of Atavaka, the specter who has a special rank, does not follow Pandora's orders, and has his own domains in the underworld. Surprised, Kageboshi says he won't let him escape alive, so he attacks him with "Capitulation of Shadows," but Asmita easily defeats him with the "Goma In" technique. The Specter turns to ashes and travels to Atavaka's temple. At the temple, Atavaka collects Kageboshi's ashes and begins to talk about Asmita. Kagaho of Bennu appears and speaks with Atavaka. After a long discussion, Kagaho tells Atavaka not to give him orders.

Asmita wanders through the underworld with Ahimsa, conversing about the underworld and the fate of the dead, as well as the ultimate meaning possessed by few. Suddenly, Kagaho appears and challenges the Virgo Saint to a fight. While Asmita and Kagaho fight, Kageboshi reappears to offer Ahimsa eternal life. At some point, Asmita stops fighting Kagaho and breaks Kageboshi's illusion, revealing him to be Atavaka using his body. He asks the Specter why he wanted to so desperately divert Ahimsa from his path, to which the Specter replies that he was actually going to offer the young man eternal life. Suddenly, Ahimsa emits a bright light, to Atavaka's satisfaction. Atavaka seizes the opportunity to absorb Ahimsa's soul, stating that he will become one with his being, devouring all the souls of the underworld to achieve power superior to Hades and the other gods. Asmita declares this wrong, calling it heresy. Atavaka replies that they have differing opinions and would love to debate the absolute truth. At that moment, Kagaho appears seeking a fight, and Atavaka retreats, leaving Virgo to fight Bennu. Angry with Asmita, Kagaho says he won't leave him alive, calling Asmita and Atavaka's words stupid, claiming that the lost souls will never recover and that eternal life is a sick joke. He attacks Asmita with a burst of the solar crown. Asmita defends himself with the Kan mantra. During the fight, Bennu has a vision of his younger brother, who reproaches him for everything that happened. Slightly dazed, Kagaho tells Asmita it's a dirty trick to attack that way, but Asmita replies that perhaps Kagaho is what he is because of past wounds. Bennu, enraged, prepares to attack, but Virgo strikes first with the Om mantra, sending Kagaho flying far across the underworld.

In the temple of Atavaka, Spectre and Saint, before fighting, discuss the truth each possesses and which is the true one. Virgo prepares to eliminate the Spectre using his ultimate technique, Tenbu Horin, seemingly robbing the Spectre of all his senses. However, he realizes he only destroyed one of the souls Atavaka had absorbed. The Spectre then counterattacks with his Maten Muhorin, robbing Asmita of his senses. When Virgo is thought defeated, the imprisoned souls begin chanting mantras, infuriating Atavaka. Suddenly, the soul of Ahimsa appears, saving Virgo. Ahimsa tells Asmita that all the souls here plead for salvation. Asmita, determined, raises his cosmos and invokes the Riku Dō Rin Ne, destroying Atavaka once and for all. Finally, he has a last conversation with his old friend, discussing Athena and his duty as a Saint of Athena. Ahimsa bids farewell, telling Asmita that if he were reborn, he wants to meet Virgo again. Asmita continues his journey and finds the sacred tree of the underworld. Two years before the height of the Holy War between Hades and Athena, the Golden Saint Aspros of Gemini betrays the Sanctuary and plans the assassination of Pope Sage of Cancer, driven by jealousy at learning that Sage had designated Sisyphus of Sagittarius as his successor, not him. To minimize suspicion, Aspros executes his mind control technique, the Genrōmaōken, on his twin brother, Defteros of Gemini, and sends him to Sage. The Patriarch is already prepared and calmly stops Defteros's fist.

This causes Aspros to reveal himself and offer to kill his twin brother, begging the Patriarch to turn his back so he won't witness the fratricide. Sage agrees, an opportunity Aspros tries to take advantage of to attack him. It is at that precise moment that Asmita of Virgo, whom Sage had summoned suspecting the Gemini Saint's intentions, is forced to intervene. With a protective barrier, Asmita protects Sage and, lamenting that someone like Aspros has fallen so low, prepares to begin a Thousand Days Battle against him. Aspros repels Asmita's attack by placing Deuteros between them and telling him that he will not be his rival, but his twin brother will. Sage asks Virgo to take care of Defteros while he contains Aspros, and it is then that Asmita understands why he has been assigned this task. Through his Tenpō Rin In technique, Asmita enters the tortured mind of Deuteros, sees his true personality, and dispels all his doubts. By making Deuteros realize that, in a way, he is also responsible for his brother's betrayal and that only he can make the differences between them cease to exist, Deuteros attacks Aspros, piercing his chest with his own hands and thus freeing himself from the Genrōmaōken [9]. Before dying, Aspros understands why Asmita's presence was so necessary, as he was the only one capable of bringing his twin to reason, and shortly after performing the Genrōmaōken on himself, he swears to those present that he will return and ascend to the Patriarch's throne that had been denied to him. Asmita appears in the search for the fruits of the Mokurenji tree, when the Virgo Saint appears before Tenma of Pegasus in the Seventh Prison of the Underworld, traversing the waterfall of blood upon which the tree stands, considered the only living thing in that place.

Although Asmita's body is in the Sanctuary, having sunk into deep meditation and through his enormous cosmos, the Golden Saint has moved his spirit in front of Tenma and has stopped his companions, Yato of Unicorn and Yuzuriha of Crane, in time so that no one witnesses their encounter. Upon perceiving Tenma's presence, Asmita states that he is disappointed in him, whom he doesn't hesitate to call an "insect," and wonders if Athena has lost her mind and if perhaps the reason in this Holy War lies with Hades. Tenma is enraged at the belief that Asmita is willing to betray Athena and launches his Pegasus Ryūseiken technique, which the Golden Saint repels without any problem by deploying his cosmos. Using the Tenma Kōfuku, Asmita throws the Pegasus Saint into the lake of blood and reveals to him, to his disbelief, that the Pegasus Saint is closely linked to Hades since mythological times and has been the only one to wound the god of the Underworld, which makes him a heretic, a sinner, and the great enemy of the gods. Tenma refuses to listen to Asmita and tries to attack him again, but again his blows fail to impact his opponent. In response, Asmita concentrates his cosmos again until Tenma sees behind him a huge figure of Buddha, leading him to believe that the Virgo Saint is also a god. Asmita replies that he is only a traveler seeking the Truth, and that is why he wants to know his motivations. Tenma says that, as a Saint of Athena, he fights for Peace on Earth, a justification that Asmita considers very poor while also believing that Hades is right to try to sow death in the world, as it has become an unjust, implacable, and suffering-filled place.

Using his Rikudō Rinne technique, Asmita intends to send Tenma to one of the six worlds existing according to Buddhist philosophy. In the world of the gods, the Virgo Saint shows a vision of the original Hades body fighting the Pegasus Saint of the mythological era. Tenma refuses to believe that his destiny and those of Alone and Sasha are already written and, sure that the promise the three made in the past will prevent the outcome of previous Holy Wars from repeating itself, he launches his meteors at Asmita again. Asmita stops the attack again, smiles slightly, and praises the strength of Tenma's heart, abandoning the lotus position and standing up. After that, Asmita unleashes the most powerful technique a Virgo Saint possesses, the Tenbu Hōrin, with which he begins to remove Tenma's senses while asking him if the motives for his fight are the desire to fight, the instinct of survival, or the lives of his loved ones. Asmita removes Tenma's five senses and, before eliminating his thoughts as well, he shows him in his mind that, just as he has ended his consciousness, he will also end Athena's life. The vision of Asmita murdering Sasha causes Tenma to react with unusual anger, allowing him to deploy his cosmos and briefly reach the Seventh Sense, thanks to which he manages to reach Asmita and hit him. At that precise moment, Asmita disappears, and it is revealed that Virgo was not physically in that place. The body that Tenma has attacked with all his might has been the Mokurenji tree, which drops its fruit before breaking into a thousand pieces. Making his voice resonate in Tenma's ears, Asmita finally recognizes the value of Pegasus's logic and tells him to collect 108 fruits and take them to the old Master of Jamir.

Asmita's spirit returns from the Underworld to the Sanctuary and, after abandoning his meditation, the Saint of Virgo speaks with Sasha under the statue of Athena. There, Asmita apologizes to the goddess for having been rough with her on occasion, as a consequence of the many misfortunes in the world, and confirms that he met Tenma in the Underworld, finding him a stupid and emotional young man, but ultimately endowed with great humanity. Seeing that Sasha stumbles due to the enormous effort it takes to keep a barrier active around the Sanctuary to prevent the resurrection of the Specters of Hades who came closest to their limits, Asmita makes a request that is eventually granted. Back at the Temple of the Virgin, Asmita speaks with Dohko of Libra and also tells him that he met Tenma, his disciple. Dohko remains cautious towards the mysterious Saint of Virgo, but upon hearing his words he asks him where he is going and who he really is. With a smile, Asmita turns to him and tells him that he is simply the Saint of Virgo and is going to the place where all the Saints go. Shortly after Tenma and his friends arrive in Jamir with the 108 fruits collected from the Mokurenji, Asmita appears and with his Tenma Kōfuku kills the five Specters commanded by Edward of Sylph. The Master of Jamir explains to the young warriors that the fruits of the Mokurenji can become an instrument capable of sealing the souls of the 108 Specters of Hades and preventing them from returning to life continuously, something absolutely essential to win the Holy War. Asmita had discovered the existence of the Mokurenji and the possibilities it offered thanks to having sent his spirit to the Underworld.

Furthermore, being the only Athena Saint capable of raising their cosmos beyond the Seventh Sense, only Virgo could complete the transformation of the fruits into a weapon that would seal the souls of Hades' hordes, which is why he had gone to Jamir. Asmita offers her blood to Tenma without hesitation so that the Pegasus Cloth can be repaired, stating that she will no longer need it. Thanks to this, Tenma, Yato, and Yuzuriha can fight Edward and the other Specters who have been reborn and attack Jamir until Asmita raises her cosmos to unsuspected limits and pours it into a Mala rosary of 108 beads formed by the fruits of the Mokurenji, with which they manage to seal the souls of the Specters who die, preventing them from resurrecting. With her most powerful techniques, Asmita definitively kills the Specters who were fighting Tenma's group, after which her body begins to fade. Before disappearing completely, Asmita can see with her own eyes Tenma and the world, appreciating that the former is younger than she thought, and that in the latter there must exist not only suffering, but also joy. In this way, the Virgo Saint sacrifices all her cosmos and herself, achieving in return the prevention of the resurrection of Hades' Specters, and as a reminder of her valiant action remains the Buddhist rosary whose beads change color as the warriors in the service of the god of the Underworld die. This same rosary would be shown some 250 years later by the reincarnation of Asmita, Shaka of Virgo.

•Kān: The Saint of Virgo recites this mantra to protect himself from his enemy's attacks. creating a protective sphere around it, strong enough. •Gōma In: Asmita increases the gravity of opponents through telekinesis, affecting attacks and objects through mere faith. The moment the Gōma is activated, any technique, weapon, armor, person, or soul that opposes the Buddha's faith and therefore Asmita will be affected by gravity, which will double in intervals of time. •Tenkūhaja Chimimōryō: Asmita uses the Ōm to maximize his cosmos, summoning evil spirits to appear. At that moment, several evil spirits appear covering the space above him and finish off the enemy. •Tenma Kōfuku: the cosmos that has been accumulated through the Ōm between his hands to attack his enemies; this attack is represented by images of the Buddhist paradise, which creates a discharge of cosmos accompanied by a large explosion. •Ōm: Asmita expands her cosmos before performing her destructive technique; the energy of Om released directly as an attack is unimaginably destructive. •Tenpō Rin In: makes a gesture with his hands to eliminate any doubt from his mind and thus increase the power of his cosmos without interference, causing the enemy to stop and become immobilized. •Agyō: opens the eyes to release all the cosmos accumulated by depriving oneself of one of the five senses (sight). At that moment, through the use of Agyō (the symbol of the birth of the universe), a powerful light and energy are released, similar to that unleashed at the beginning of the universe, creating a great explosion. •Tenbu Hōrin: The most powerful attack, unleashing a discharge of energy from his hands that destroys the opponent's five or six senses one by one, turning them into a living corpse.

•Riku Dō Rin Ne: Asmita concentrates her cosmos and stands upright, with her left arm extended towards the ground and her right arm raised upwards, both palms facing forward. She then projects a light that strikes the opponent directly across their entire body, aiming to send their soul to one of the six realms of Buddhist reincarnation, the six worlds (wheel of reincarnation), so that they are reborn in one of those worlds, leaving behind their physical body in the world of the living. Each world is worse than the last, and the opponent can fall into any one of them at random (which are: the hellish world, the world of devouring demons, the world of beasts, the world of warriors, the world of humans, and the world of gods).