"We need to stay on course." he said, coldly.

"Yeah, remember that we need to save the realms." Yoh said. Everyone nodded in agreement. "So where to next, Exile?" Exile scanned the area.

"We need to find the Great Spirit." Everyone gasped.

"The Great Spirit?!" they all said.

"I originally fought Yoh to get the power of the Shaman King. Without them, we can’t gain the assistance of the Great Spirit. That’s where you come in, Yoh. Use your powers as Shaman King to talk to the Great Spirit. Ask him how to seal the tear." Yoh nodded.

"Okay. I’ll give it a shot." Yoh said, smiling.

"So, where do we go?" Ryu asked.

"Follow me." Exile said as he walked away. Everyone began to follow him toward a bright light. Everybody shielded their eyes, except Exile. The light began to clear away, and a huge building was in front of them.

"Wow." Tamao said in astonishment.

"Exile, how did you know?" Kirol asked. Exile flushed a bit and stammered into a sentence.

"I...uh...just did some research...and it said that it was here."

"You’re so smart, Exile." she cheerfully replied.

"Uh, yeah." he said. "I know." Exile smiled to hide his secret further. As they approached the building, the huge doors opened. The stone trembled the platforms and stairs, allowing the group inside. Inside was a huge room with small doorways on the sides. An altar was at the end of a long hall in front of them. "Yoh." Exile said, signaling Yoh to go to the altar. Yoh nodded and walked to the altar. Small inscriptions were on the altar in a language many of them could not interpret. Yoh placed his hand on the altar, despite him not knowing what to do. A pillar of light sprung forth from the altar. A cloud of brightness filled the room.

"Great Spirit." Yoh said. A figure seemingly made of only light burst from the altar. No features appeared to be visible. The light then began to emit a somewhat haunting sound, like the eerie shrieks that the Distorted Spirits made, only more soothing. Yoh turned around.

"It says that the key to closing the door doesn’t lie here in heaven. It’s saying to go below. Way below." Yoh said.

"Into hell?" Kirol asked. Yoh nodded again. He turned around and bowed to the light figure as it disappeared back into the altar.

"The Great Spirit is a bit odd, don’t you think?" Pirika said. "I didn’t think it’d look like that."

"It doesn’t. The Great Spirit would never show itself to anyone but the Shaman King. It’s just how it all works." Exile said. "But we shouldn’t be talking about that. The Great Spirit says that the key to sealing the tear is in hell. So, we must travel there." Exile could tell everyone was nervous. They looked away and were distracted by the wall designs. But, they had no choice.

They traveled back to the doorway which they came in and back to the colorful abyss. Distorted Spirits did not appear this time.

"Why aren’t there any Distorted Spirits?" Lyserg asked.

"I don’t know." Exile said. He was fixated on his goal and did not get distracted.

"So, how do we get to hell?" Yoh asked.

"Same way we got to heaven." Exile said. "We find the other area where the furyoku slips through." They continued to walk until Exile stopped again. Another pillar of spirit energy shot up, but this one was black. Pitch black. Like last time, the pillar seeped into his palm, then opened a portal. Everyone followed Exile in. Unlike the last area, this one was dark. Small flickers of red fire appeared.

"I thought hell was a big fire pit." Ryu said.

"It is. But, the hellion spirits give it the fire. So many have escaped, there’s no fire to light." Exile said.

"So with no spirits, there’s no light?" Tamao asked.

"Right." Exile said. He lit up his oversoul. "Everyone, light up your oversouls." Yoh, Horo Horo, Ren, Ryu, and Lyserg lit their oversouls up. Their field of vision increased and the view was significantly better.

"So, which way?" Ren asked. Exile scanned through the light and walked toward one of the small red flickers of fire.

"This fire shows signs of spirits present in here. It’s best that we follow them. The more life we see, the more clues we may get to finding the key." Exile followed a thin nearly-invisible path of red fire. Everyone followed him. The fire eventually began to grow bigger and more visible, and then becoming one huge flame. "This is it. We should be able to seal it here."

"How do you know?" Kirol asked. Exile did not answer. He just raised his hand, creating a huge light, which showed all of the realm. The realm, after being shown in the light, was barren and empty. No spirit was existent in the area. But, in front of Exile, stood a gigantic Distorted Spirit, shrieking and flailing like a dying animal. It’s eyes were low and its mouth was drooling. It wore a black uniform, one could barely tell.

"What is this thing doing here?" Exile questioned. "No Distorted Spirits can be in hell. It’s just not possible." The spirit pierced everyone’s ears with its screeching. Its jagged arm slashed toward Exile, but he dodged the attack and rushed in with a lit oversoul. Yoh and the other battlers rushed in as well. They bludgeoned the figure with repeated attacks. The spirit shrieked more and swung its disfigure everywhere, causing the fighters to be pushed back. Then, something happened which surprised everyone. A clear voice could be heard from the ghost. It clearly began to speak.

"Do not fight me." Exile stood confused, as with the others. "I have suffered so much." Exile and the others disintegrated their oversouls.

"Why are you here?" Exile asked it.

"I have come to find the source of the break." it said. "I have traveled over the barrier for years, and wish the planes to be safe."

"Did you vanquish all of the hellion spirits?" Exile asked.

"Yes. They planned to take advantage of the tear and escape. I could not let that happen." A pause ran through.

"Listen to me." Exile replied. "I can repair this."

"You can?" it asked. Exile took a deep breath, preparing to reveal his secret. But, before he could, the ground began to shake. Exile cringed.

"What’s happening?" Yoh asked.

"It’s time." Exile quietly said.

"What do you mean?" Kirol called.

"It must be completed. The key is so close, it’s causing ruptures in the planes. If the door is not closed, everything will be gone. The spirit plane, the human plane, everything." He walked toward Kirol and the others. "I must tell you all something. I am a half-spirit."

"A half-what?!" Horo Horo yelled.

"A half-spirit. My father was a human and my mother a spirit. I am of both planes. I am the cause of the tear." Kirol gasped. "I am what is needed to make the portal disappear."

"Why didn’t you tell me?" Kirol asked.

"Because if I seal the hole, I will not have any energy to live. I’m sorry." Kirol’s eyes began to fill with tears.

"You promised..." she said. Exile looked away.

"Kirol..." he quietly said. "You know I don’t want to. I’d rather not. But, you almost got killed because of the break. Hellion spirits almost killed you. You know...that it’s for the best." Exile reached out and hugged her. Kirol could not stop crying. Exile then kissed her lightly on the cheek and walked to the flame.

"No!" she yelled. She tried to run to the flame, but Yoh held her back. "Let me go, Yoh!"

"You know he has to." he calmly said. Exile’s image began to weaken. His body disappeared into the fire, and the shaking stopped. "Everyone! The portal is closing! Let’s go!" Everyone, including Kirol ran through the portal, and eventually, back into the human world. Kirol was still crying and getting comfort from Tamao and Pirika.

"Please stop crying, Kirol." Pirika said. But, she couldn’t. Kirol just kept crying. She cried the whole way back to the inn. Eventually, Pirika and Tamao just let her cry. They all sat in the living room, watching her cry. Yoh then spoke up.

"Before we left heaven, Exile told me something." Kirol looked up.

"What?"

"He told me that you would want it that way."

"I don’t!"

"Yes, you do." Ryu said. "I can tell."

"Yeah, I don’t think you want a world full of demons and hellions." Lyserg said.

"But, Exile sacrificed himself for me..." Kirol said. "I just can’t live with that."

"Exile knew you’d say that." Yoh said.

"Then, why did he have to die?" Kirol’s tears ran onto her kimono. A creak could be heard from the door.

"Stop crying." a voice said. A figure stood at the door. It was Exile. "Just stop crying." Kirol slowly turned around. She gazed at Exile’s body; it was tattered a bit. She immediately wrapped him in a hug.

"How did you get back?" Yoh asked.

"Let’s just say that the Great Spirit said that he didn’t know where to put me." he said, smiling.

"You big idiot!" Kirol screamed. "You scared me!" She was still crying, but this time, out of happiness.

"Like I said, everything will work out." Yoh said, smiling.

"Yup." Exile replied.

"This calls for a celebration!" Ryu said.

"Do we get food?" Horo Horo asked, anxious to eat. Everyone then went into the kitchen. Exile and Kirol stayed in the living room.

"Why did you have to do that?" Kirol asked.

"I’m alive, aren’t I? The point is I kept my promise to you. It’s best not to tell you of past sorrows. Let’s have fun with the others, okay?" Exile cracked one of his rare smiles. Kirol continued to hug him.

"Thank you, Exile." she said. Exile wrapped his arm around her as they went into the room with the others.