Spirit and body become one.

A miraculous phenomenon, the manifestation of a person’s inner strength.

Such union grants an extraordinary power, one that knows no bounds: the Spirit Mode.

In order to quickly awaken the Spirit Mode, Lied together with Zaccharias joined a cluster of dead people seeking reincarnation by passing Mictlan’s trials.

Could Lied dodge the remaining knives before he runs out of stamina?!

Lied took three steps forward and was once more within the knives’ range as he predicted a thousand metal blades with Sensitivity. The young man bent down in order to dodge the knives ahead and right after leapt up so as to avoid those coming from the sides and behind. However, Lied did not manage to completely dodge the last knife and got a tear on his left sleeve. 7994 knives were left.

The relentless teenager kept going as another thousand knives hurled at him. He had a rip on his right sleeve and a scratch on his face. 6994 knives were left. Lied fell back to the safe zone and there stretched his numb legs and arms.

“M-Move. I’m not done yet…!” Lied clicked his tongue, frustrated.

“I don’t get it…” Luna said.

…

Aqua, Aztecorum, ten years ago

It was a wonderful emerald clad classroom where each student sat at his or her own table. Luna was sitting at the farthest seat by the window.

“The color of our sky is turquoise blue because it symbolizes Eve, while the reddish color at dawn represents Adam. There are still many things we don’t know, ancient arts and science that hark back to the Original World” the teacher explained.

“Boring” Luna clicked her tongue.

The last lesson of the day was over, everyone but Luna hung out with their friends.

Aztecorum was the capital of Aqua, a top destination for thousands of travelers due to its enormous diversity of tourist facilities and goods that could only be found there. Luna was on her way home, in a sparsely populated area on the outskirts of Aztecorum, when she came across a large silver carved figure of a man in his twenties standing in the city center. He was the greatest historical personality, a depiction of hope and faith: Adam, “the Hero”.

As she walked along the statue, two male children around her age hurtled down the cobbled street.

“Hurry up, Klaus! Everybody’s waiting for us!” the black-haired boy spoke to the one right behind him.

“Yeah!” the blond-haired lad nodded at him.

In his haste, the first kid accidentally shoved Luna. The blond boy named Klaus apologized on his behalf.

“I haven’t seen them before. Did they just move here?” Luna thought.

The purple-haired girl stared again at Adam’s statue.

“Heroes, huh? Maybe I do have two…”

…

Back to the present.

“…Why is he trying so hard when it doesn’t concern him?” Luna asked.

That question chiefly surprised Hector and Liana. Eduardus had his suspicions.

“Yes, he’s alive” Zaccharias admitted.

“Hold on! What is he doing here then?” Hector asked.

“Lied is attempting to awaken the Spirit Mode to protect an important thing” the talking crow answered.

Spirit Mode users were actually common in Aqua. Unfortunately, none of them, save for Zaccharias, learned it.

“So that’s what he meant by ‘surpass myself’” Hector reasoned.

“A user should be able to beat these trials easily” Eduardus said.

“To protect an important thing…” Luna spoke very quietly, crestfallen.

Lied made one last effort as a batch of one thousand knives went towards him. The onslaught ceased almost immediately; Lied did not manage to escape unscathed. He lay down on the ground with his eyes bulging while losing his senses. 5994 knives were left.

Lied remembered that cruel late afternoon when his parents were murdered by Zechariah before he fell into the immensity of his spirit. It appears this journey in search of meaning to his existence was too short.

Lied found himself in his seldom lively soul. Next to the Adam’s Apple basket stood a male wearing ancient clothing between the ages of eighteen and nineteen years, who showed his face until now dressed in a red hood. He had crimson hair and bright scarlet eyes through which he emanated positive energy. His outer aura was truly befitting a hero.

“Y-You are…!”

“Hi, Lied.”

Lied’s current SSL: 12%

Number of knives left: 5994

[END OF CHAPTER]