"No, Lord Death was a Shinigami. Back in the Dark Ages he was called the Grim Reaper. He is, was, immortal. But he decided that his time was coming to an end, so from himself he made two other shinigami's, his sons. But one, the oldest, became madness incarnate and the youngest took on the mantel of a true Shinigami when Lord Death chose to leave the world of the living." Maka got a look of sadness as she talked about that, obviously still mourning the old Lord Death, even if she had in the end begun to question his orders.