At last, they entered Chaco, where the Talking God led them to the guest house where Ana and Loki had been staying.
Tul gazed at the great city in utter amazement, her mouth hanging slightly open. Of course, she had already seen the majestic cities of Mayapán, such as the recently abandoned Bàak’, or the current capital of Mayapán, Chichén Itzá. But the mere fact of seeing new architectures and cultures filled her with immense joy and excitement. Susanoo looked at her with lovestruck eyes as the rabbit goddess’s delight became more and more obvious.
“Who is that girl?” Rodrigo asked upon entering the room that had been reserved for Ana and Epona, when he saw Loki, transformed into a woman, inside.
Like Ana, Loki was dressed in clothing similar to what the Hisatsinom wore. The difference was that Loki’s hair was tied back in a long ponytail. He had also adjusted the dress so that the neckline would highlight his breasts to their fullest.
The Norse god quickly approached Rodrigo and began stroking the young man’s face with his index finger, while pressing his breasts against Rodrigo’s body.
“Wouldn’t you like to find out who I am in a room alone, boy?” Loki asked, and Rodrigo grew so nervous he did not know what to say.
At that moment, Ana appeared behind them and punched Loki, sending him sprawling face-first onto the floor and slightly cracking it.
“Quit taking advantage of Rodrigo’s innocence, you deviant,” Ana said.
Freyja stepped closer to Loki and looked down at him with contempt.
“Pathetic,” she said.
Then the goddess immediately turned around and left him there, face-down on the floor.
The gods then sat down in the room where Ana and Epona had been staying, forming a circle. In the center of the chamber, warm air flowed from a pipe connected through the whole building so that they could keep warm in the cold desert. The torches were lit as well.
“I’m really glad you’re safe, Ana,” Tania said with a smile. “When Menrva told us you ran into Anat, I feared the worst.”
“We survived because of Thor’s sacrifice. Otherwise, she would have killed us without a doubt,” Ana said sadly, and those words drew a look of pain and sorrow from Freyja.
“But the good news is that we found Odin, and he offered to help us if we had trouble in the future. Freyja is here to help us reach Tula,” Ana continued.
“Freyja, I’m very grateful that you came to help us,” Tania said to the blonde Norse goddess, who dismissed it with a gesture as though it were nothing.
“I’ve decided to help you, not just here. I heard from Ana that the planet where Athena was being held has gone silent, so once my brother reaches Asgard, he’ll give us more information about it,” Freyja said.
“That would be of great help in easing this terrible uncertainty we’ve been living with,” Anpiel said.
“But just like y'all, I want that fucking Anat to pay for Thor’s death; though by now she ought to be rotting in Jotunheumr,” Freyja added.
“One moment, Freyja,” Anpiel interrupted. “Athena told us that it was an eloah who freed Loki from that prison. Couldn’t the same thing happen again for one of her own kind?”
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“We reinforced the dimensional walls of the prison with over a thousand shields this time,” Freyja replied.
“That will be useless,” Loki interrupted mockingly.
“What do you mean, Loki?” Freyja asked in confusion.
“That woman cut through dimensional walls as if they were butter. It was as though her body itself were an enormous sword,” Loki replied.
“Loki is right,” Tania said. “I know that woman. No barrier can hold her.”
“Are you saying that… Asgard and all of Yggdrasil are in danger if that woman helps Anat escape?” Freyja asked in alarm.
“Indeed,” Tania replied bitterly, remembering her encounter with Baalat.
“I have to contact my brother immediately… please excuse me,” Freyja said, springing to her feet and rushing out. A moment later, she leapt up the stairs and vanished from the room.
“I hope Yggdrasil is still standing,” Anpiel said gloomily.
Everyone nodded.
“And by the way,” Ana said after a brief silence, “who is that cute little bunny girl traveling with you?” she asked.
Tul quickly stood up and made a slight bow.
“I’m from the kingdom of Mayapán, and my name is Tu’ul-Uj, but you can call me Tul,” the rabbit goddess said.
“She’s a friend I met in Cahokia, and she decided to come along with us to see the world,” Tania explained.
“And besides, Tul-chan is an expert herbalist and has a great repertoire of magical potions, both offensive and supportive,” Susanoo interrupted abruptly.
“She is a lovely fighter, a great warrior, a most beautiful mage, and furthermore—” Susanoo kept speaking with excited fervor, until Tania smacked him on the head.
“I’ll try to do what I can to help all of you,” Tul said, a little embarrassed by the eastern god’s words.
“She’s Tania’s adopted daughter,” Anpiel said flatly.
“Stop twisting everything, Anpiel!” Tania shouted angrily at the angel.
Then Tania noticed that Tul was still standing.
“Tul, you can sit down now. Your introduction is over,” the Punic goddess said. The rabbit goddess nodded and sat back down.
Everyone let out a discreet laugh at the way Tania was indeed treating her like a daughter. And not just any mother, but a strict one.
But the mood turned sepulchral once more when Anpiel finally spoke.
“Ana, I want you to tell us what happened in the Haida kingdom, and why Epona is currently undergoing treatment.”
“Yes, Ana. What happened to Epona?” Rodrigo asked nervously.
The Irish goddess lowered her head and drew a deep breath.
“All right. I think it’s my duty to talk about it,” Ana said at last.
The Irish goddess recounted what had happened in Haida Gwaii, how they found Anat, and how Epona had died. She also explained the horse goddess’s current condition. Rodrigo could only swallow hard in concern as he finally understood why he had heard Epona’s voice saying goodbye to him.
“Strange voices? A monstrous creature at the moment of death?” Tania asked.
“Yes, that’s more or less how Epona described it,” Ana replied anxiously.
“Then it’s possible Epona saw one of the dwellers Eshmun mentioned to me a long time ago,” Tania said.
“Does that mean Epona wasn’t imagining everything?” Ana asked in surprise.
Tania shook her head.
“They’re only legends about beings that appear when we die. But if we revive before those creatures show up, we do not lose our consciousness. Otherwise, it seems that being feeds on it,” Tania explained.
“So Epona saw that creature, but revived before it could attack her?” Ana asked.
“What disturbs me most here is the fact that all of you are speaking so casually about ‘reviving yourself,’” Menrva interjected.
“Setting aside mythological cases like Jesus Christ, Buddha, or even Heracles, the very idea that someone could revive themselves without the intervention of another Earth or Venus god is almost unbelievable,” Tania said.
“Well, I saw it,” Loki cut in. “The girl was already dead. Her eyes had gone blank, and her body was cold. Then, all of a sudden, I heard her cough, and that was when I gave her mead.”
“That sounds incredible,” Anpiel said.
“But Epona has always been an Earth goddess, correct?” Menrva asked.
“Yes, she is an Earth. Even so, I’ve never heard of an Earth goddess reviving herself. Someone or something did it,” Tania said, intrigued.
“Well, why don’t we ask her about it once she’s healed?” Ana asked.
“I don’t want to be pessimistic, everyone,” Menrva interrupted once again. “But we still do not know what happened to Athena and Palas, and I think reaching Tula must be our highest priority above all else.”
“You’re suggesting we leave Epona here while the rest of us go to Tula?” Tania asked.
“Yes. Rodrigo needs to awaken his power to its fullest, and for that he must find his true totema,” Menrva said. “That was always Athena’s plan: for Rodrigo to recover his maximum power so he can stand against Lel,” she concluded.