When he let go, and the flask shattered, the reunion was something John did not expect. He anticipated something destructive, and something violent, or at the very least, he expected pain. Instead, the essence of his true soul became a rainbow mist and invigorated everything incorporeal about him. The broken glass turned to dust. He began to feel solid and secure—he felt the promise of flesh and bone, blood and guts. His electronic signal in the CRDCS and his spectre in Oxxad's Underworld had both felt the same; it was cereal in the milk too long, it was a soggy noodle.

"How do you feel?" Gum asked him.

"I... feel like... I'd forgotten how much I sacrificed," he replied, tears swelling in his eyes.

"It is time to be reborn, my friend."

Do Mugu's wrinkled old eyes smiled sadly, and he placed his withered hand on John's shoulder.