After flying south for more than two hours, the Toltec gods, together with Tania, Loki, and Tul, crossed the enormous Lake Texcoco completely and reached the city of Xochicalco.
Hidden among the hills near the great city, it did not seem to bear any trace of violence or destruction. The city was intact, yet completely empty.
The great metropolis, protected by an enormous red-and-white wall, possessed sumptuous pyramids and several esplanades. The city had been built upon mountains, so it had many sloping roads throughout the area.
In the central part, the government palace of that city, together with a gigantic pyramid bearing a beautiful feathered serpent sculpted into its base and painted in vivid colors, crowned the highest part of Xochicalco.
However, despite the enormous size of the city and how beautiful it was, it now looked only like a ghost town.
“Well, I don’t see any sign of violence in this area,” Tania said, intrigued, trying to search for some monster or group of soldiers that might have attacked the region.
“I can sense a few presences near here,” Loki said, already having returned to his deity form. “However, I assume they are survivors who fled.”
But neither Tláloc nor Xipe Tótec said anything. They merely stared at the gigantic city.
“What exactly are we supposed to find here?” the Punic goddess asked irritably.
Tul looked at the Toltec gods with uncertainty. Without a doubt, it only seemed like an abandoned city, though cities being deserted in that region was not such a strange thing.
But Tláloc and Xipe Tótec continued saying nothing, as if ignoring Tania’s questions.
“Hello, Toltec gods,” Loki said with an impatient look. “What exactly are we facing?”
At that moment, an eagle flew near the city, and what they saw horrified the gods of Orniskem.
From the city floor, a gigantic mouth full of sharp fangs appeared. Extending a grotesque tongue, it caught the eagle and devoured it. When the mouth closed, the ground from which it had appeared was left completely clean, as if nothing had happened.
“Xochicalco has always been the most independent city in the Toltec Empire,” Tláloc said. “So it is not strange that they refused to recognize Itzpapálotl’s government, and she sent that terrible beast to destroy them completely.”
“What kind of beast is that?” Tul asked nervously.
“It is an ancient earth deity, one that was defeated centuries ago by Quetzalcóatl and Tezcatlipoca. The gigantic demon Tlaltecuhtli,” Xipe Tótec added.
“Do you mean that if we touch the ground, or get close to that city, that creature will devour us?” Tania asked.
“Indeed. The creature is actually hiding beneath the earth, and we must draw it out in order to face it,” the blue Toltec god replied.
“We tried to draw it out of its hiding place, but with our abilities, we could not,” Xipe Tótec said, growling with rage.
Loki then stepped forward and stood at the edge of the hill.
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“It may be a terrifying creature, but it is still nothing more than a stupid beast,” the god explained. “I’ll draw it out, and you, Tul, finish it off,” the Norse god said, looking at the Maya goddess.
Tul was surprised by the confidence with which Loki explained his plan. It was as if he knew he would easily win the fight.
At that moment, clones of Loki surrounded the sky above Xochicalco and began flying through the air, provoking the monstrous creature while insulting it in the divine tongue.
In response to the aggression, countless mouths appeared from the city ground, and with their grotesque tongues, they tried to catch the Norse god. But since they were illusions, they vanished.
Loki made the illusions disappear, then sat on the green hill.
“I can infer that it is a creature whose body is made of countless mouths, which it can use without any restriction,” he said.
“I do not think knowing that helps much,” Tania replied.
“Of course, to simple minds like yours, ebony beauty, it does not seem like an important detail,” Loki answered. “But for a genius like me, it is an entirely different matter.”
“Do you have a plan?” Tláloc asked.
“Of course. Watch and learn,” Loki replied.
At that moment, the god jumped onto the ground. No mouth appeared beneath him.
“Impressive. How did he do that?” Xipe Tótec asked, puzzled.
“Tul, darling, you come down too,” the Norse god ordered the rabbit goddess, shouting.
“Don’t call Tul darling!” Tania shouted furiously at the Norse god, but he merely smiled.
Tul was about to jump, but Tania stopped her.
“Wait, Tul. This looks very dangerous,” the goddess said with a concerned expression.
“Don’t worry, ch’úupal. I’ll be fine,” the rabbit goddess said with a smile, and jumped down to the ground as well.
Tania then remembered what had happened an hour earlier, while they were flying toward Xochicalco.
While Tania and Tul were riding Loki, who had transformed into a dragon, Tul turned to Tania and, with great effort, began to speak in a language the Punic goddess clearly recognized.
“Fatatan. Me Arabic little speak,” Tul said timidly to Tania in Arabic.
The Punic goddess recognized the language, though the rabbit goddess could not speak it very well. She was surprised by the effort Tul had made to learn that language in the short time they had known each other.
“How do you know how to speak Arabic, Tul?” Tania asked, also in Arabic. The goddess spoke as slowly as she could so the Maya goddess could understand the conversation.
Tul looked embarrassedly at Loki’s back.
“Anpiel. Him, common tongue Spain ask,” she replied with difficulty, slowly and somewhat clumsily. But even though she still conjugated verbs as one would in Maya, Tania could understand the intention behind the goddess’s phrases.
“Relax, Tul. I can understand you without difficulty,” the fire-haired goddess replied. “You are amazing!”
Tul was happy, and once again she gave a smile to request that the goddess stroke her head. Tania quickly comforted the rabbit goddess by stroking her temple.
“Arabic speak gods hear not,” Tul continued saying with difficulty in Arabic.
“Do not worry, Tul. What do you want to ask me, then?” Tania replied.
“Barrier break, how?” Tul asked the Punic goddess, embarrassed.
“I broke it when I could only think about destroying the human sacrifices in Cahokia. Do you remember?” Tania asked.
Tul nodded, remembering the moment when she had believed Tania had lost control of her power and was about to burn all of Cahokia.
“Epona told me that she could only think about saving everyone from Coyote. Ana broke it when she admitted that the bond tying her to the group was more important than her selfishness,” the Punic goddess continued explaining in Arabic.
“Friendship and sacrifice?” the rabbit goddess asked.
“I believe, Tul, that it is part of the blessing we received from the deity they called Tawa in Chaco,” Tania replied.
“Somehow, we have been able to transmit that essence to all of you, so I am certain you will be able to break the barrier too,” she added.
“Then, fatatan. My battle interrupt not,” Tul said, looking with her large red eyes at the one she saw as her mentor.
Tania was surprised and nodded.
“What a curious language you are speaking,” Xipe Tótec said cynically. “May we know what you are talking about?”
“I am teaching Tul to speak the language of my homeland, since she will be living with me,” Tania replied defiantly.
“That is all.”
“And now that we are on the subject, what have you come to the territories of Anáhuac for?” Tláloc asked without turning to look at the goddess.
“I knew there was a man identical to Quetzalcóatl. Where is he?” Xipe Tótec also asked.
“I am under no obligation to share that information with you,” Tania replied irritably while embracing Tul.
Tania remembered that conversation at that moment and closed her eyes.
“Loki, please, take care of my little Tul,” she thought.