Meanwhile, Tul was resurrecting Menrva, placing her hands over the goddess’s heart, but there was no response. Freyja was beside the goddess, carrying Ana’s badly wounded body.
“It feels like… we got here too late,” Tul said nervously, almost crying.
“It is not too late, Tul. Keep trying!” Freyja shouted, devastated.
At that moment, they all felt the sky of Tamoanchan turn yellowish. Macabre faces began to emanate from it, and a horrible stench of rot started spreading through the air.
“It is that thing,” Freyja said, frightened by the horrible energy.
“It is an energy like Coyote’s,” Tul said while continuing to try to make Menrva react with her sacred powers.
Itzpapálotl had taken the form of a skeleton after burning away her own skin with this new power. The goddess laughed like a madwoman as she slowly advanced toward the group of gods.
“We will only be able to seal a power like that,” Tania said, worried. “I do not have enough strength to face such an abomination.”
“Something like that was inside me?” Epona asked as she watched all of Tamoanchan begin to rot and melt as if it were acid.
“The blessing of the gods of the Beyond. You will be my sacrifices to satisfy their voracity,” the terrible Chichimeca goddess continued shouting, dark energy emanating from her.
But at that moment, Mixcóatl stepped in front of the two goddesses.
“I did not expect to do this before seeing the boy who came with you. I believe you call him Rodrigo,” the Xicallanca god said.
“Wait a moment, Mixcóatl. What are you trying to do?” Epona asked, confused.
“I did not introduce myself properly. I am Mixcóatl, the father of Quetzalcóatl,” the god said. “I wanted to see your friend with my own eyes, to know whether he truly was my son’s chosen one.”
“You are not trying to sacrifice yourself, are you?” Tania asked, confused.
“Yes, if you want to see Rodrigo, please stop. We will fight that woman!” Epona shouted.
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“Yes, she is Rodrigo’s girlfriend,” Tania explained.
Mixcóatl turned to look at Epona.
“I am glad I was at least able to meet his wife,” the god said, and for the first time, he smiled.
“Well, I am not yet…” Epona said, but Tania interrupted her.
“Yes, he will come soon. Please wait,” Tania said nervously.
“I am not foolish enough to ignore that this woman exceeds the level you two have shown,” Mixcóatl said. “In fact, this is something my son mentioned cryptically after speaking with Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl.”
“Who?” Tania asked, confused.
Then the Xicallanca god began tearing off his skin. But to the goddesses’ surprise, all his paint was only an enormous bandage. Mixcóatl ripped it off completely and threw it to the ground. Beneath those wrappings, there was only an elderly god with tired eyes and very pale skin from having gone so long without sunlight.
“I have worn this for centuries. It is a way to preserve your sacred body,” Mixcóatl said. “It is something my son also learned when he deciphered part of this universe’s mysteries.”
Then Mixcóatl’s body began to shine with intense light. When the light reached Itzpapálotl, the goddess quickly tried to cover herself, since she could feel an enormous burning pain.
“Is that sacred power?” Epona asked, just as the goddess felt weakness in her legs and almost collapsed.
“Itzpapálotl!” Mixcóatl shouted. “I have accumulated this sacred energy for centuries because I knew that one day you would reveal the dark power my son warned of.”
The Chichimeca goddess growled while continuing to try to cover her face from the sacred power emanating from the Xicallanca god.
“And you two,” Mixcóatl continued. “Tell your friend to honor my son’s legacy. I will watch him from the other side of the universe, as I would my own son.”
“Wait, sir!” Tania shouted, but it was too late.
Mixcóatl shouted with all his strength:
“Iluikapopoka (Milky Way)!”
At that moment, a luminous explosion emanated from him, trapping Itzpapálotl within it. The light was wrapped in a cloud and moved toward the sky in a spiral. The energy of the Xicallanca god, together with that of the Chichimeca goddess, had completely disappeared.
Immediately, Menrva opened her eyes in shock.
“Ch’úupal, you are all right!” Tul shouted excitedly.
“Tul!” Menrva shouted in fear. “Something! Something is calling me!”
The goddess’s face was pale, and she was clearly shaken.
“Did you… see the creature?” the Maya goddess asked.
“No… but I heard it whispering to me, calling me… I am scared!” the Etruscan goddess said nervously.
At that moment, Freyja placed herself behind Menrva and embraced her, lifting her torso from the ground.
“Calm down, Menrva. You’re with us, meow,” the Norse goddess said very peacefully. “Out here, that thing can’t do anything to meow.”
Menrva calmed down at that moment and rested her head against Freyja’s chest. Then she began to cry, filled with joy.
“Thank you, Tul and Freyja, for saving my life,” the Etruscan goddess said in a choked voice.
“You are welcome, ch’úupal,” Tul replied very happily.
Freyja began stroking Menrva’s head.
“We will always be here for you.”
Tamoanchan returned to normal, and the sky was once again dyed red. The demonic presence Itzpapálotl had invoked disappeared completely.