Spirit and body become one.
A miraculous phenomenon, the manifestation of a personâs 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 Mictlanâs trials.
And then, just when all seemed hopeless, the first God of Death in Mictlanâs history appeared before themâ¦
âYou are⦠Meshulam?!â Eduardus was astonished.
âYou mean that Meshulam?â 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.
âWho is he?â Lied sent a telepathic message to Zaccharias.
âRemember 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 Heroâs companions. History says that he settled in Mictlan after the war was over with the duty to watchdog Nachash, the Underworldâs first prisonerâ the talking crow enlightened him.
âAre you sure this isnât a dream?â Hector shuddered at the presence of the notable man.
âHaha, is it so hard to believe?â Meshulam let out a shy laugh and met the boyâs eyes again âWhat about you, Lied? You look totally confused.â
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âHow⦠do you know my name?â 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.
âYo, Meshâ the man shook the Shinigamiâs hand.
âItâs good to see you againâ Meshulam smiled kindly at him.
Lied suddenly noticed that the spirit was gone and found himself grasping the God of Deathâs hand in his place. The teenager looked at Zaccharias and the others, yet, oddly enough, no one else bore witness to their meeting.
âIn a jam, I seeâ Meshulam beheld the mountain range.
âYou came here to tell us that?â Luna asked.
âNo, I came to congratulate everyone as you will be able to reincarnateâ the Shinigami shook his head.
âHuh?!â Luna, Eduardus, Hector and Liana said at the same time.
âWe donât have to get through this trial?â Hector seeked clarification from him.
âTechnically yes, although the hardest thing is doneâ the God of Death said vaguely.
âThe hardest?â Eduardus asked.
âWerenât 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 anymoreâ Meshulam said.
âIndeed, thatâs what the psychopomp saidâ the crow corroborated.
âBut they still need to move forwardâ Lied stated.
The Shinigami nodded in response.
âIf I had awakened the Spirit Modeâ¦!â, Lied thought.
âGet some rest, Liedâ the God of Death said as if he had read his thoughts âNow itâs up to the ones facing the trial.â
âWhat do we have to do?â Luna came forth.
âItâs very simpleâ Meshulam pointed to the mountain range âYou just have to open the passage with your own hands.â
âO-Ourselvesâ¦?â Liana was reluctant.
âHow do you expect us to open it when even Lied couldnât?!â 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.
âWhatever!â 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.
âWhyâ¦?â Lied, a bystander for a change, could not believe his eyes.
âBecause youâre not one of themâ the God of Death answered him.
âW-We did itâ¦â Liana shed tears of joy.
âIt really openedâ Hector was feeling thrilled.
âIâll have another chanceâ¦!â Eduardus beamed with happiness.
âYesâ¦!â Luna tried holding back her tears, but to no avail.
[END OF CHAPTER]