Moments earlier, at the pyramid of Cholollan.
Tezcatlipoca waited seated before the temple atop the great pyramid where Rodrigo had entered. Several hours had already passed since the young man went inside and spoke with the Feathered Serpent.
The sun illuminated the gigantic pyramid, its base filled with trees and vegetation. Birds sang, and animals ran around the base of the ancient city’s ruins.
The goddess Tlazolteotl curiously watched the upper part of the structure. Like Tezcatlipoca, she was also anxiously waiting for Rodrigo to come out. However, because of the barrier, she could not get too close.
At that moment, the pressure the Feathered Serpent’s barrier exerted around the entire pyramid disappeared. Tezcatlipoca turned to look at the upper enclosure of the structure, just as the Huastec goddess flew toward the temple entrance.
And right then, Rodrigo came out of the chamber. He no longer carried Ehécatl’s totema, but wore his casual clothes, the ones he had acquired in Xaltocan.
“Did you do it, darling? Did you speak with the Feathered Serpent?” Tlazolteotl asked anxiously when she saw the serenity and calmness on the young tannin’s face.
“Hello, Teem. I had already forgotten about you,” Rodrigo replied, embarrassed.
“How rude you are!” the sensual goddess replied, indignant. “Quetzalcóatl would never say such words before a lady.”
“That is because he is not my brother,” Tezcatlipoca interrupted as he stood again and placed himself before the young tannin. “Or am I wrong, boy?”
Rodrigo shook his head.
“Indeed, I am not his brother, Lord Tezcatlipoca,” the young tannin replied politely.
“However, it could be said that I am your brother’s heir,” the young man continued, looking at Quetzalcóatl’s cross tied around his neck.
“Is that… Quetzalcóatl’s teotonli?” the former king of Tula asked.
Rodrigo nodded.
“Then… will you take it away from this continent?” the Toltec god asked, discouraged.
Rodrigo nodded again and took the totema in his right hand.
“Although I have decided to carry it in order to continue the Feathered Serpent’s legacy, I have no intention of abandoning you,” Rodrigo replied with a determined gaze.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
“That is true. What did Quetzalcóatl tell you?” the Huastec goddess asked, intrigued.
“Did he ask about me?” the Toltec god inquired.
Rodrigo smiled and shook his head.
“I am sorry, Lord Tezcatlipoca, but he did not mention you,” Rodrigo answered kindly.
Tezcatlipoca felt discouraged by those words, but he accepted and understood that he was not his brother’s priority.
“And as for what he told me, I am not authorized to say it,” Rodrigo replied, then turned toward the sky.
“He who sleeps for now, when he awakens, will be able to see and hear everything,” the young man said cryptically. “One person who knows the ancestral wisdom is enough.”
“Ancestral wisdom?” both gods asked, confused.
“The truth is, I do not fully know either, but I will be able to unlock more information as I grow,” the young man replied, embarrassed, while rubbing the back of his neck.
“Yes, that sounds exactly like the way my brother spoke,” Tezcatlipoca replied.
“I understand your point, Tezcatlipoca,” Rodrigo replied, immediately changing the conversation. “Although I do not accept it, I have understood that every civilization reaches its own answers, even if they seem mistaken to others.”
“Are you talking about human sacrifices?” the Toltec god asked.
Rodrigo nodded.
“However, this is not so different from the atrocities Christians and Muslims have committed in Europe. Even my mother told me about the terror of the northern peoples when she was a child. No one is free of blame,” Rodrigo said.
Then the young tannin approached Tezcatlipoca and extended his hand to him.
“I will use this totema to defeat Lel and prevent the arrival of the invaders on this continent. That way, you will no longer have to continue this terrible culture of human sacrifices.”
“Are you certain you can trust me, boy?” the Toltec god asked.
“Of course,” Rodrigo replied. “I will fulfill my promise and change the religion on my continent, so tolerance becomes the priority and not religious supremacy.”
Tezcatlipoca began to laugh while Tlazolteotl looked at the young man with intrigue.
“I lost my mother in a Muslim attack. Muslims who have likewise been persecuted by Christians,” Rodrigo said. “If I end the cycle of hatred from beginning to end, I will be able to protect this region as well, the kingdom of Quetzalcóatl.”
Then the Toltec god shook Rodrigo’s hand.
“Very well. I will place my faith in you, heir of Quetzalcóatl,” Tezcatlipoca replied, also smiling.
Both gods gave each other a firm handshake.
“The Serpent and the Jaguar forge an alliance again after several centuries,” Tlazolteotl thought proudly. “There is no way we will lose.”
Both gods released their hands and nodded.
“All right. I have work to do in Tamoanchan,” Rodrigo said.
“How do you know that world?” Tlazolteotl asked, confused.
“Quetzalcóatl told me that my friends were in that place, and I have to go there,” Rodrigo replied.
“That will be difficult,” Tezcatlipoca said. “You must go to Tula, and from there, search for a temple consecrated to Itzpapálotl.”
“Besides, you will need the blood of a Toltec or Chichimeca god to enter,” Tlazolteotl added.
“That is not necessary,” Rodrigo replied. “I have learned to teleport to places inside my imagination,” the young man answered, and then he looked at them with a smile.
“We will see each other in an instant. I will finish that false king of Tula in seconds,” the young man added with a serious yet confident gaze.
“Wait! Do you not know he is extremely strong?!” Tezcatlipoca protested nervously.
But Rodrigo waved his hand to say goodbye and disappeared from the two gods’ sight.
“Damn it. I hope he will be all right,” Tezcatlipoca said nervously.
“He will be,” Tlazolteotl added. “For the first time, I see a light at the end of this tunnel.”