The gods of Orniskem then flew toward the esplanade where the pyramid stood together with other temples. The pyramid had five levels, and on the lower floor there was a gigantic corridor with columns shaped like Toltec soldiers.
To the left of the great esplanade, there was an enormous altar with a statue of a jaguar man lying on his back on the ground, serving as a table for human sacrifices. So many had been sacrificed that the entire structure was stained with blood, and the smell was nauseating. The organic remains of the victims could still be seen rotting out in the open.
“Well, if you wanted to know where that smell was coming from,” Anpiel said with a look of contempt.
Epona vomited.
“Come on, Epona. You must not lose your composure so easily,” Anpiel protested when he saw his companion vomiting.
“It brings back memories… from when humans sacrificed horses to me, and I can’t help feeling this way,” the equine goddess replied with a sickened expression.
Tul then apologized to the group.
“I am going to look for my kaansaj,” the rabbit goddess said.
Susanoo immediately stood beside the Maya goddess and gave a slight bow.
“I wish thee the greatest fortune,” he told his companions.
“Yes, me too,” Tul added, also giving a slight bow. “Reach ch’úupal Tania and defeat Itzpapálotl.”
Everyone nodded and wished Susanoo and Tul luck. Then both groups split up. Epona’s group continued advancing toward the great pyramid, while Tul and Susanoo marched to the right side of the esplanade to search for the entrance to the city’s dungeons.
In front of the pyramid, there were traces of violence, so the gods assumed a fight had occurred there earlier.
At that moment, arrows flew from inside the great pyramid toward the group of gods. They avoided the arrows easily.
At the same time, the entire esplanade turned into a lake of blood. Disgusted, the gods leapt away so they would not continue staining themselves with the nauseating liquid. Then spears began emanating from the blood, intending to impale the gods, but they avoided them without trouble.
However, it was not over. Enormous fireballs fell from the sky, but the gods evaded them. When the fire collided with the blood, it evaporated immediately.
“Motherfucker, they’re pretty damn strong,” a man’s voice was heard. It was a hurried and angry voice.
“That is why Itzpapálotl specifically ordered us to finish them quickly,” said a somewhat arrogant woman’s voice.
“But if all they know how to do is avoid attacks, that does not mean they are strong,” another lazy male voice was heard.
“Well, then let us finish them quickly,” said the final voice, which was female, but ominous and cruel.
Before Epona, Anpiel, Freyja, and Loki appeared the four general gods of Huitzilopochtli. They had been inside the great pyramid, waiting for the gods to arrive.
“I am Camaxtli, god of the hunt,” said the deity with the aggressive voice. He had a gigantic red bow and was eating a human arm, so his mouth was full of blood. His face and body were painted with black and white stripes. He wore a red conical helmet and was dressed only in a loincloth and sandals.
“I am Chantico, goddess of fire,” said the woman, who had a kind of red veil with feathers covering her head. Volcanic fire emanated from her body. She wore a yellow huipil with red decorations and a black skirt. She was also adorned with volcanic gems and had a grotesque ornament on her nose.
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“I am Mayáhuel, goddess of maguey,” said the deity with the cruel voice. The lower part of her face was painted black, and the rest had yellow dots. She wore a curious headdress shaped like an agave. The goddess was completely naked, covering only her private parts with leaves of that plant.
“And I am Uichilat, god of the waters,” said the deity with the drowsy voice. His entire body was painted black. He had a blue headdress and a yellow skirt. In his hand, he carried a small scepter shaped like a harpoon.
“We’re four against four, meow,” Freyja said. “Best let ’em choose their rivals.”
“Let me handle the girl with the fire flames,” Epona said.
“I will take care of the god painted black,” Anpiel said.
“Well, I’ll handle the naked girl,” Freyja added, knowing that Loki would choose her.
“Bah, then I’ll take care of the cannibal over there,” the dark god replied, disappointed and annoyed.
The four gods nodded and prepared to fight.
Anpiel made his wings appear and entered a combat stance.
Epona changed into her death-deity transformation.
Freyja became her hybrid cat-woman version.
Finally, Loki turned his skin blue.
Then the eight gods began their confrontation, while the sky over Tollan darkened under their power.
While the gods fought, Tul and Susanoo had entered the dungeons beneath the great city of Tollan. It was cavernous, and the smell of blood and rot was even worse there. Rats, bats, and insects abounded throughout the caves, while strange drawings and glyphs adorned the walls.
“It looks like they use these caves for divination rituals,” Tul said while walking through the underground passage.
“Divination?” Susanoo asked.
“Yes. The priests cut their veins, and when they have almost no blood left, they lock themselves in caves like this,” the Maya goddess said. “That way, they see visions they interpret as messages from the future.”
“Wakata, wakata,” Susanoo said while crossing his arms and nodding.
Then light appeared at the end of the corridors, as if a torch were lit.
“That must be the end of the corridors,” Tul said excitedly. Then she ran ahead to get closer.
“Wait, Tul-chan. We must be cautious!” the eastern god tried to stop her, but without success.
Indeed, there was an area full of cages and symbols meant to eliminate divine power. Despite Ana’s alternate dimension, those seals continued to function.
Gods and men were all locked inside the cells. It was an entire gallery with hundreds of them. However, the captured people did not seem excited. In fact, they remained motionless and impassive at the arrival of the gods. That was because there was a Chichimeca god guarding the entrance.
It was that deity’s head that shone like a star, illuminating the prison as if it were daytime. The deity had a mocking face, with his tongue out and a macabre smile. His hair was blond, something unusual among the natives of that region. His skin was completely red, and he wore an elegant golden headdress, as well as Toltec armor of the same color.
“Visitors at this hour? Who are you, little ones?” the Chichimeca deity asked, almost laughing.
“Are you one of Huitzilopochtli’s generals?” Tul asked furiously.
“Indeed. I am the beautiful Tonatiuh, god of the sun,” the man replied.
“I see. Are you a sun god, similar to Nanahuatzin?” Susanoo asked.
“Similar? No!” Tonatiuh replied. “He was the Fourth Sun, an incomplete sun, since that power was divided between him and that loser Tecuciztécatl.”
“What dost thou mean?” Susanoo asked.
“That when the gods realized their failure, they decided to create a Fifth Sun… and that is me,” the radiant god replied, moving the blond fringe from his forehead while making a mocking smile with his tongue out.
“I assume, then, that thou art far stronger than Nanahuatzin,” Susanoo inquired.
“Stronger? That is like comparing an ant to a god,” the solar deity replied mockingly.
Then Susanoo drew his sword and entered his electric transformation.
“Yuum… You could already do it without needing to use my electric abilities!” the Maya goddess shouted excitedly.
Susanoo nodded.
“It is all thanks to thee, my kawaii Tul-chan,” the deity replied with a smile. Although his smile looked somewhat strange on such a serious face. Tul could not help feeling a little afraid at that odd gesture.
Immediately, the eastern god remembered that he had a fight, and turned his gaze back to the Chichimeca sun god.
“Tul-chan,” Susanoo said. “Go seek thy shisho. I shall deal with this fellow.”
“Are you sure, yuum?” Tul asked, a little worried.
“Sonotori,” Susanoo replied, preparing to fight. “Last time, I could not protect thine honor when Nanahuatzin offended thee, so I shall take this as vengeance for that day.”
“You could not defeat that disgusting Nanahuatzin?” Tonatiuh asked. “Then you will not defeat me, not even in your wildest fantasy.”
Susanoo then smiled.
“Losers always shout before they fight,” Susanoo replied.
The two gods began to fight while Tul nodded and decided to search for her teacher.
The battles in Tollan had begun.