This is a story that goes back to a time when the fruits of chaos are still being formed, the cruel fates yet to be revealed.
In another volume of his journey through the Underworld, the "Adam's Heir" will fight memorable battles and meet people who might have the answers he is looking for.
Origins, convictions, and duties. Everything will be put to the test once more.
The 5-Kai Unda struck home and brought an end to the exciting fight between the Adam's Heir and the Mad Snake. Hitoshi fell down and the prince deactivated his Spirit Mode before quickly running toward his friend.
"Hito!" the Lost Prince knelt on the ground and exclaimed as he worried himself sick over Hitoshi.
"Lied… thank you for saving me…" the snake, which appeared to have regained consciousness for good, said between gasping breaths.
Lied gazed fixedly upon Hitoshi's body and frowned as he noticed that it was slowly dissolving into spiritual particles, a process that was not unfamiliar to him. Yes, with the desire to be "saved" fulfilled, nothing else was binding the snake to the Underworld. Having atoned for his actions in Mictlan, Hitoshi's soul could finally reincarnate.
"No" the Adam's Heir muttered, his worried frown indicated a deep sadness.
"Don't be sad. I'm a spirit of Mictlan; I no longer belong to the world of the living" the Mad Snake said with the smile of someone resigned to his fate.
"And the fact that you're imprisoned here means…" Lied said as he sought to confirm Hitoshi's circumstances.
"I murdered innocent people" the snake owned up, crestfallen.
"…I see. Back to your memories, the group that abducted you and the man who killed you were really…" the Lost Prince said as the most terrifying moments of that film kept replaying in his head.
"Yes, the Talking Serpent Cult and its leader, Nachash. Lied, those people are dangerous. Don't pick a fight you can't win. Not only will you not be able to beat them, but you'll also fall into their trap" Hitoshi said, his heavy tone of voice conveyed the urgency of the situation.
Susumu, accompanied by Mare, walked up to his congeners after questioning Blasius and ironing out some plot points. Regarding the latter, and unlike the Mad Snake, the corrupt policeman wouldn't reincarnate because he had to confess his sins beforehand.
"Blasius told me that he was bribed, and then killed, by that cult" Susumu, who had overheard part of the conversation, approached them and said.
"It's you, Susumu" the snake recognized the boy and greeted him with a gentle smile.
"You remember me?" the detective fell to his knees and asked with a slightly surprised look.
"Of course I do! I remember all my brothers and sisters" Hitoshi grinned and replied.
"'Brothers'…" the blue-haired teenager said in a low voice, certainly curious.
"Yep, the orphans at Regenbogen are all one big family" the Mad Snake said proudly.
"Mm, you were always saying that" Susumu smiled and nodded, letting himself be surrounded with the positive energy that he was emanating.
Not even this unexpected reunion could be a coincidence.
Mare preferred to remain silent as she thought it would be insensitive of her to butt in on their conversation. At that moment, the girl was practically an outsider.
Hitoshi gazed tenderly at Lied and Susumu; they didn't change a bit, even after all those years. The snake felt nostalgic.
"So you two became friends. I'm happy for you, Lied" Hitoshi, whose body was half gone, fixed his gaze on the Lost Prince and said.
"Please hear me out, Hito!" Lied was saying, feeling desperate as he didn't have much time left "On that day, there was something I wasn't able to tell you. I actually wanted to go play with you guys, but my heart was very confused, and I felt like I couldn't trust anyone in the world" the prince vented to him.
"I know" Hitoshi murmured, smiling even on the brink of oblivion.
"I'm sorry. And thank you. The more I distanced myself, the closer you drew to me. You were always there with an outstretched hand. In the past I couldn't admit it, but today I can say with all sincerity that you were my first friend" Lied said.
The Mad Snake slightly opened his mouth in amazement, and before he knew it the trace of a tear appeared in the corner of his eye. The snake gave a fleeting smile as he did not hide the fact that he was tremendously proud of him.
"You have truly changed. But it's not fair… I'm the one who owes you an apology" Hitoshi said and wiped away the tear, then his mug darkened "Lied, you'll be better off without your lost memories" he said, way more aware of his friend's circumstances than Lied himself.
"W-What?" the Adam's Heir said as he was taken completely by surprise.
Lied couldn't question him about his sudden declaration as the Mad Snake had run out of time. The young man's hands were disintegrating at the same pace as the sand flowing through an hourglass from the upper bulb to the lower one.
Mare, who was witnessing the phenomenon of reincarnation for the first time, covered her mouth with her hand as she felt emotional. Susumu simply watched, serene in the face of the second human death.
"I wanted to talk to you more, but it seems I won't have that privilege" Hitoshi checked his body from head to toe and said, disheartened.
Lied couldn't hold back his tears any longer as they started streaming down his face. Perhaps a rare moment of weakness from the youth, but his emotions got the better of him. It was okay, after all, crying is what made Lied human too.
"So these are your tears" the snake admired him and nodded to Susumu "Please send my regards to Aki and Kenta when you see them" he looked at Lied again and made one last request.
"Hito!!" the Lost Prince cried out in inconsolable grief.
Hitoshi smiled gently, stood up as straight as he could and hugged Lied before disappearing completely. Strangely enough, despite being embraced by an immaterial body, the youngster could sense him exuding an immense warmth that warmed his soul.
"It's all right. Within your spirit, I will live forever" the Mad Snake said, as if trying to console him.
It was then that a part of Hitoshi's teotl voluntarily left its vessel and entered Lied's body, taking refuge within him. A multitude of emotions and memories belonging to the snake, which constituted Hitoshi's legacy, were transferred to the Lost Prince, and a recollection of life events, depicted like a brief movie, played in his mind. The cinematic record covered everything, ranging from the moment the lad was placed in the orphanage to the sinister afternoon when he was kidnapped by the Talking Serpent Cult. The Adam's Heir committed everything he saw to memory. The Mad Snake was gone.
"Unforgivable, Nachash…!" Lied clenched his fists and said as he felt his heart pounding "Sorry Hito, but if they aren't coming to get me, then I'm coming to get them" the enraged prince rose from the ground, surprising both Susumu and Mare, and faced Pantera, the hunter's smile just stuck carelessly on.
No one could restrain him now, and it just so happened that Pantera was the only person there on whom Lied could unleash all that fury. His mind seesawed between sadness and anger. It was time to release everything.
"WHERE IS MARTYR?!" the human exploded as the mystical aura enveloped him.
[END OF CHAPTER]