Gai smiled grimly. Where am I? I must be dead. I have to be. And I've freed Mana. Mana. The image of her flashed in his head and his heart cracked. Mana. My plan has to work. Shu would be the hero, and Mana would be at peace.

"What kind of hell is this?" He swore. Hell. I belong there, don't I. It's for the best. Mana will be free. My demise is worth it. Worth. What is worth anything anymore. Mana's free from it all. All my love will set her free. No matter what.

"It was time for his funeral song. He was of the selected. A sinner, his sin of omission. He didn't do enough. He wasn't worth the lives lost for him. He couldn't save those lives. He thought back to Kyo. How she smiled as she died, happy to have died in his place. A little girl, yet a strong soldier. Yet he killed her, to end her misery, wordlessly without a tear shed.

"Triton." A whisper echoed in the nothingness where he was. Gai jerked his head up.

"Mana?!" He whispered. Mana slowly appeared, floating in front of him smiling her usual mischievous, vicious smirk that could only mean trouble. She descended slowly, wearing an elegant white gown.

"You're a bad boy Triton." She whispered.

"Mana." He whispered back hopefully.

"You aren't Adam." She noted dully.

"I can be." Gai choked out desperately. He reached out for her, to touch her, to hold her, to protect her. She laughed cruelly.

"Oh, silly Triton. I saved your life." She giggled at the memory. "You belong to me."

"I will save your life." He promised. "Soon."

Mana giggled again and reached out to touch his face. A flash of the old Mana, the kind, sweet, sisterly Mana, reappeared in her eyes for a second. As she held his face in her hands for a full minute, they stared into each other's eyes. She released her hands and slapped him.

"Fool." She giggled. "You are not Adam. Shu is."

Gai grimaced. His heart stung. She chose Shu. Inori chose Shu. No matter how much he tried, he could never surpass Shu. Everyone chose Shu. As that last thought passed his mind Yuu appeared the same way, in his usual uniform and descends, at the worst possible moment. Perfect timing.

"You." Gai growled as he pushed Mana behind him as gently as possible.

"Me" He snickered. "Yours Truly, Yuu, the Envoy of Death."

"Oh, Yuu. How kind of you to pay a visit!" Mana brushed passed him, as she ran to hug Yuu. Yuu smirked victoriously at Gai. Gai cleared his face of emotion and looked directly at Yuu.

"What do you want?" Gai's voice hardened. He sounded more stronger than felt.

"Do you want to be Adam?" Yuu asked delicately. "Would you give up humanity, for your love?"

"Yes." Gai whispered, knowing he had spoken the truth, and exactly what Yuu wanted to hear.

"Mana has already awoken." Yuu said cheerfully. Gai recoiled in shock. Yuu was not lying. Shu set both of them free, free from the burden of the lives that rested on their shoulders. He paid the price with his life. He paid with Shu's heart. Shu would forever remember how he began the Lost Christmas. He would remember killing him, and his sister.

"They will resurrect you soon. I'll give you a chance at kinghood. The highest honor." Yuu said, changing his cheerful tone to one of disgust. His face contorted, an ugly sneer on his face, his eyes with a malicious glint.

"Humanity must evolve. There is no choice." Yuu started to fade. His wicked smile was the last that Gai saw of him.

"Triton?" Mana asked confused. "Are you Adam?"

Gai was silent. He deserved to die. Lost Christmas was his fault. He worked so hard to free her. And calculated, putting the burden of the world on Shu. What was it all for? How bad was he? Saving the one he loved the most from eternal punishment, the curse of never being able to rest in peace, was all a lie. What was all the lives gone for? All the guilt of his friends left behind. All the sacrifices borne because of his sin. It was all for Mana.

"Triton?" Mana tiptoed to him cautiously.

"Yes." He repeated. Eternity with Mana. Bearer of the new race. He accepted it. And he was sure, that someone will set them free once and for all. Mana, too faded away, and as he stared at the empty space, a new body emerged. Gai embraced it, and he vowed, that he would become a villain worthy of defeat. And he would start by taking the guilty crown.