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.

And then, just when all seemed hopeless, the first God of Death in Mictlan’s history appeared before them…

“You are… Meshulam?!” Eduardus was astonished.

“You mean that Meshulam?” Luna wondered.

Lied stared at each aztec. On the face of it, he was the only one who did not know him. And for some reason, Meshulam guessed his name.

“Who is he?” Lied sent a telepathic message to Zaccharias.

“Remember when I told you about how Adam and his gang defeated the Guardians of God in the First Spiritual War? He was one of the Hero’s companions. History says that he settled in Mictlan after the war was over with the duty to watchdog Nachash, the Underworld’s first prisoner” the talking crow enlightened him.

“Are you sure this isn’t a dream?” Hector shuddered at the presence of the notable man.

“Haha, is it so hard to believe?” Meshulam let out a shy laugh and met the boy’s eyes again “What about you, Lied? You look totally confused.”

“How… do you know my name?” Lied said.

Meshulam reached out for a handshake as a red-headed, crimson-eyed male slightly older than him manifested himself spiritually next to Lied.

“Yo, Mesh” the man shook the Shinigami’s hand.

“It’s good to see you again” Meshulam smiled kindly at him.

Lied suddenly noticed that the spirit was gone and found himself grasping the God of Death’s hand in his place. The teenager looked at Zaccharias and the others, yet, oddly enough, no one else bore witness to their meeting.

“In a jam, I see” Meshulam beheld the mountain range.

“You came here to tell us that?” Luna asked.

“No, I came to congratulate everyone as you will be able to reincarnate” the Shinigami shook his head.

“Huh?!” Luna, Eduardus, Hector and Liana said at the same time.

“We don’t have to get through this trial?” Hector seeked clarification from him.

“Technically yes, although the hardest thing is done” the God of Death said vaguely.

“The hardest?” Eduardus asked.

“Weren’t you told beforehand that the main condition lies in your will to live? Throughout the course of these two trials, each one of you acquired a strong volition. From a moral position, nothing stands in your way anymore” Meshulam said.

“Indeed, that’s what the psychopomp said” the crow corroborated.

“But they still need to move forward” Lied stated.

The Shinigami nodded in response.

“If I had awakened the Spirit Mode…!”, Lied thought.

“Get some rest, Lied” the God of Death said as if he had read his thoughts “Now it’s up to the ones facing the trial.”

“What do we have to do?” Luna came forth.

“It’s very simple” Meshulam pointed to the mountain range “You just have to open the passage with your own hands.”

“O-Ourselves…?” Liana was reluctant.

“How do you expect us to open it when even Lied couldn’t?!” Hector got hot under the collar.

Luna clenched her fists as she started walking towards the series of giant mountains, followed by Eduardus and Liana.

“Whatever!” Hector joined them.

The four spirits pushed the mountains with all their strength. Lied and Zaccharias merely watched their team effort together with the Shinigami. In the end, the aztecs managed to open the passage without difficulty, as if it were already open.

“Why…?” Lied, a bystander for a change, could not believe his eyes.

“Because you’re not one of them” the God of Death answered him.

“W-We did it…” Liana shed tears of joy.

“It really opened” Hector was feeling thrilled.

“I’ll have another chance…!” Eduardus beamed with happiness.

“Yes…!” Luna tried holding back her tears, but to no avail.

[END OF CHAPTER]