On the other hand, Loki and Epona arrived in a valley filled with bones and skulls, which floated like islets over a sea made of blood. All around them, venomous mountains full of bones and rotting corpses could be seen. The sky was red with purple hues at dusk. It was impossible to see stars or clouds in it.
In the distance, there was a woman with yellowish skin and a white dress. She had her back turned to the two gods and seemed to be eating something. When the woman noticed their presence, she turned to look at them, revealing her face and fang-like teeth as she devoured human corpses. A human eye hung from her mouth.
The woman had red eyes and black hair. Stones like rubies adorned her hair, and her dress was accompanied by a dark red-and-black tilma, which was covered in blood. The goddess’s nails were quite long, and her gaze was terrifying, despite the fact that she was a very beautiful woman.
“Welcome to the eighth world, Nanatzcalóyan, the gates of Mictlán, the underworld,” the goddess said, staring fixedly at the two gods.
“Weren’t we supposed to go to the eleventh world?” Loki asked, puzzled.
“The heavens were reorganized so that Tezcatlipoca’s heaven would be the final one,” the terrifying Toltec goddess replied.
“I assume you are the one who controls this trial,” Epona asked with a defiant look.
“Indeed. My name is Mictecacíhuatl, the Lady of Death,” the woman said as she stood in a chilling posture, like a zombie or a corpse. Her eyes were full of bloodlust, and a macabre smile formed on her face.
“I will not ask whether you wish to take the trial, because if you have reached this place, it is a fact that you have fought my other companions,” the ghostly deity said.
“Before we fight, we would like to know the exit from this world,” Epona asked.
“Oh, there are two paths. One leads to the next Heaven, but the other leads to Mictlán,” the woman replied. “Which path will be the correct one?” she asked cynically.
“Damn it,” Epona said, grinding her teeth as she turned her totema into the form of the Rider of Death and made her scythe appear.
“I’ll force the answer out of you, then,” she threatened the terrifying goddess.
But then Loki began to laugh.
“I have a daughter quite similar to her. This is gonna be an interesting fight,” the Norse god said as his skin turned bluish.
“Will you fight her?” Epona asked.
“Indeed. Though we haven’t found any fire gods, I assume the end of this path must hold that weakness you’re trying to overcome, so I’ll leave that to you,” Loki said.
“All right,” Epona replied.
Loki then prayed:
“Stara í myrkrið (Vision into the darkness).”
Epona then felt her eyes open wider.
“I remember now. It’s the technique you used in Denendeh so we could see the mountain where Yamozha was,” Epona said excitedly. At that moment, she could see a huge hole in the sky.
“Can you see the exit now, Celtic beauty?” Loki asked.
“Yes, I see it!” Epona shouted.
Then Loki took Epona by the hand, and both teleported toward the exit, where the god threw Epona with all his strength just as he turned his cloak into adamantine.
Mictecacíhuatl had teleported behind them and tried to attack Loki with a gigantic bite. Her mouth had taken the form of a grotesque creature with sharp, bloodstained teeth, but thanks to Loki’s shield, the attack failed.
“Relax, gorgeous. We’ll have plenty of time to show each other our powers,” Loki said as he pushed the terrible goddess of death toward the lake of blood below.
On the other side, Menrva arrived in a world full of cold and desolation. The gray sky was heavily clouded, and snow fell fiercely.
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Despite the enormous storm, the goddess realized she was in a mountain gorge. However, when she looked down, she saw in horror that the entire ground was covered in metal spikes, with frozen corpses impaled upon them. The goddess began to see hundreds of impaled skeletons decorating that dark, mountainous area.
The Etruscan goddess continued flying without knowing exactly where to go, since visibility was extremely poor throughout the area. Still, she guessed that if she reached the tallest mountain, she might learn the correct path.
When she climbed what she perceived as the highest point in the region, she saw an anthropomorphic being seated on a throne. Surprised that the being was on the surface of such a cold and desolate place, she approached cautiously. However, the man turned his gaze toward her.
“Welcome to Xoxocuauhco, the seventh Heaven of Ilhuicatl Iohtlatoquiliz,” the man said, making a greeting gesture that produced a metallic, rusty sound as he moved.
The god had a black mask whose eyes could not be seen, but his entire body was composed of white obsidian, which shone with a metallic tint. The god wore a curious conical hat with an arrow pierced through it.
“I assume you are the god guarding this trial, correct?” Menrva asked.
“Indeed. My name is Itztlacoliuhqui, the god of cold,” the man said as he stood. Hundreds of spikes appeared across his peculiar body, and they were so bright that the Etruscan goddess could see herself reflected in them.
“And if you are searching for the exit, there is none,” the god continued explaining. “The only way to reach the sixth world, Yayauhcuauhco, is for you and your companions to defeat all the gods of the trial, including me.”
“Well, then it means this is all or nothing,” Menrva said, smiling. “I accept the challenge.”
The Etruscan goddess then launched a rain of electric sparks at the Toltec god, shouting:
“Pulumchva Luri (Shining Stars)!”
But the god, without even moving, froze Menrva’s electric power.
“Unfortunately for you, I am the second most powerful god in this trial, and with your current level, you will not be able to defeat me,” Itztlacoliuhqui said as he made a bloody knife appear in his left hand and pointed it at the Etruscan goddess.
Then the world began to collapse and change shape. After the strange changes that planet underwent, the goddess realized she was flying above a bed of spikes.
“So you are capable of altering reality? What an interesting power,” Menrva said.
However, when she tried to move, she could not. Then she felt an intense cold in her heart.
“I have frozen your heart, and now you will be unable to move,” the Toltec god said, sitting back on his throne.
Then the goddess saw the bed of spikes begin rising toward her, slowly but continuously.
The Etruscan goddess also heard a noise above her. With the little mobility she still had, she saw that the ceiling had also turned into a bed of spikes, and likewise, it was approaching her to crush her.
“I am also the god of sacrifice and justice,” Itztlacoliuhqui said.
“The only way to cleanse the offenses you have committed in life is through your own sacrifice. Appreciate these brief moments you have before death so you may reflect upon the mistakes of your life,” he said.
At that moment, Epona arrived in a completely volcanic world, with seas of magma instead of oceans. In the distance, the goddess saw hundreds of mountains generating volcanic explosions.
The sky was cloudy, but it could be seen that it was crimson red. While ashes floated through the air, an overwhelming heat could be felt throughout the entire region.
Epona had removed her transformation as the goddess of death so she could withstand the suffocating heat, but she knew that if she did not fight in that transformation, she would never overcome her weakness to fire.
The goddess, who could barely see in that burning hell, finally saw a man with a short white beard, painted yellow, standing before her. Burning flames emanated from his body, while drops of magma dripped down his skin.
On the man’s face, his eyes had a red stripe, and a petate covered his hair, which was grayish and moderately long. His sturdy chest was bare, protected only by a loincloth and a necklace with an obsidian plate.
“Welcome to Teotlacuauhco, the eleventh Heaven, and the final part of the solar route,” the man painted yellow said. “My name is Xiuhtecuhtli, and I am the god of fire.”
Epona, overwhelmed by the gigantic heat, constantly shielded her gaze.
“Shouldn’t your heaven have appeared earlier?” the equine goddess asked.
“Ah, that is because I am the most powerful god of these heavens, surpassed only by great Tezcatlipoca. It would have been unfair to leave my trial in the early stages,” the Toltec god confessed.
Epona, worried, looked everywhere, trying to find an exit.
“Since you have come to my world, I will tell you there is no escape from this Heaven unless you defeat me and your friends defeat my other companions,” the god said.
“Then I have no choice but to defeat you,” Epona said, still overwhelmed by the intense heat of the environment and nervous because of the deity’s words.
“Damn it, why couldn’t Tania or Menrva have taken this trial instead?” the equine goddess said to herself, nervous and pessimistic. She felt she would not be capable of defeating that Toltec god.
The man immediately pointed at Epona with his finger, emitting a small heat shot from it that pierced the equine goddess’s chest. Upon receiving the attack, she felt an uncontrollable burning spread through her entire being.
“That was my technique: Kolotl in techopinilistli (Scorpion Sting). It will cause poisoning throughout your body, making your blood begin to turn into magma and destroy your heart,” he explained.
Epona, in great pain, pressed the wound she had received while feeling her body temperature rise.
This is bad, this is bad, the equine goddess thought as her mind grew more and more clouded, and she began losing consciousness.
The eight battles of the members of Orniskem against the copies of the Toltec gods had begun.