It was quite hard to convince the others to let me go to Mictlán on my own, but in the end, I did manage to convince them. That's why I'm in front of the pot where I was, hours ago, no one is here beside me. The sun is about to set.

Hindi sa ayokong may kasama, o sa wala akong tiwala sa kanila. They are demigods. But bringing someone to Mictlán with me might be our disadvantage. Hindi pa sila nakapupunta roon.

I don't know about Izel, but I assume he hasn't crossed the gate yet. Lalo na si Celi na bago pa lang. Jairo did, once. But only on the first level.

The Aztec underworld has 9 levels. Even I, only managed to last until the 7th.

Nilamon na ng langit ang araw, tuluyang nawala ang liwanag na siyang kabaliktaran ng paglitaw ng usok sa harapan ko. 

I smirked, my hand on my waist as the wind coming from the smoke blew my hair away. The emerald between my collarbones gleamed. A huge skull emerged from the ground with bright-colored feathers on its head.

I can already hear the voices of the creatures and the long-dead before the skull could open its mouth, the gate.

"¡Si no es la hija de Quetzalcóatl! ¡No tienes permitido aquí, perra! (If it isn't the daughter of Quetzalcoatl! You're not allowed here, you bitch!)"

"¡Únete a nosotros, Quetzalli! Tenemos un lugar especial para ti jijiji. (Join us, Quetzalli! We have a special place for you hihihi.)"

"¡Quetzalli! ¡Tú eres la razón por la que estoy aquí! ¡Te mataré! (Quetzalli! You're the reason why I'm here! I'll kill you!)"

I smiled at them, waiting for the mouth to fully open. I couldn't see them lurking in the shadows, but I could feel them. Their bloodlust.

"Lo siento amigos. (I'm sorry, my friends) I'm not here to play with you all just yet. I have an appointment you see." I chuckled. "no te preocupes (don't worry), we will see each other very soon. For now, let me pass, hmm?"

I glanced at my side. Other than the creatures from the land of the dead . . . "It seems like there's another alive soul here." Ngumisi ako.

Inaasahan ko ang paglabas niya mula sa pagtatago sa likod ng puno. Sumalubong sa akin ang malaking tao na kahanga-hangang nakakatago pa sa puno.

"What are you doing here, Jairo?" I asked with a smirk that made him click his tongue. "I thought we agreed that I'll go alone? Did you change your mind?"

Sinamaan niya 'ko ng tingin. "They agreed. I didn't. I'll come with you."

"Why? You know better than them that I could go alone."

Hindi niya 'ko tinignan, bagkus ay lumapit na siya sa gate papuntang Mictlán. "And you should also know better than them that I would never follow your orders," sagot niya bago ako daanan at pumasok sa lagusan.

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. "Hmm, okay." I followed him inside. As soon as we entered, the skull's mouth closed.

We were greeted by the smell of something burning, and countless bones scattered around. Bungad kaagad pagkaapak sa lagusan ang unang lebel ng Mictlán.

It's a whole new world, no one could see the end of this place. Sobrang lawak pero walang araw o kahit anong nabubuhay na halaman, napupuno lang ng usok at makulimlim ang kalangitan. It's the waste land. The whole place is gloomy.

"Feels like home, don't you think?" I chuckled on my joke, Jairo didn't. "Let's go." Pag-aya ko bago maunang maglakad. He followed me.

Tuyong lupa at matutulis na mga bato ang inaapakan namin, nahahalo pa rito ang mga buto-buto.

"Say, Jairo. You're not here because of my story, right?" I casually blurted out while walking. He was taken aback, for some reason he was abashed.

"H-Huh? que demonios, (what the heck,) Zalli? I wouldn't care less." Sumeryoso ang ekspresyon niya at nauna siyang maglakad. "I just want to go. That's it."

He stopped for a second and gave me a side look. "But for the record, my feelings for you didn't change. I hate you. After everything you did, I still very do." He looked in front. "But . . . I understand you now."

"Hmm?"

"L-Let's go!" he answered in a hurry.

Humabol ako sa kaniya, inaalala ang sinabi niya. Tumabi ako sa kaniya sa paglalakad at mariin siyang tinignan na kinaiwas niya ng tingin. "I still don't understand you, Jairo. Hmmm, you're unique. Mind if you help me study emotions?"

He gritted his sharp teeth, irritated. "Shut up! Let's go before they know we're here," giit niya habang naglalakad. Inis niya 'kong tinignan. "Why are you banned anyway? Aren't you like, have connections to Mictlán?" he changed the subject.

I closed my eyes as we walked and crossed my arms. "Hmmm, I don't know. The queen was overreacting . . ."

Jairo winced. "What? You also tricked her?"

"I did not." Umiwas ako ng tingin. "It's just that . . . there's a defect to the item she bought . . ."

"Huh?!-"

He stopped reacting when we heard the water flowing. Pareho kaming napaharap sa hindi kalayuan kung saan nasisilayan na namin ang pag-agos nang malakas ng tubig.

"Oh . . . we're here at Itzcuintlan," I mumbled. "The place of the dogs."

In front of us are hundreds, even thousands of souls, struggling to cross the huge river. Malakas ang agos, walang ordinaryong kaluluwa ang kayang umapak diyan nang hindi inaanod kasabay ng tubig.

The only way to cross . . . is to get help.

I looked at some of the souls, holding and patting a creature.

From the dogs.

"If you're a huge ass to the animals when you were alive, you won't pass the first level," Jairo commented.

"Yeah, that's why you didn't, right?"

His forehead furrowed. "Perra (bitch). Hindi ako nakalagpas ng ilog dahil pinauwi ako. Kaya kong tumawid mag-isa, kahit walang tulong ng aso." He scoffed. "How about you? Boasting as Xolotl's favorite niece, but not one dog is wagging their tail to you."

Now that he mentioned it, not one dog is even looking in our direction. Kung mapagmahal ka talaga sa kanila, sila ang sasalubong sa 'yo para tulungan kang tumawid.

I smirked, walking towards the river. "They're not looking at me as Xolotl's niece. . . but as Quetzalcoatl's daughter."

Tumapak ako sa dumaragasang tubig, na kayang anudin ang kahit sino. Pero imbis na may tumamang basa sa mga paa ko, ang bato mismo sa ilog ang naapakan ko. The water flow changed. It avoided me.

Mictlantecuhtli, you hate my father so much that you wouldn't even let a drop of water from your land touch his kin?

I smirked. So petty.

"What the-"

"What are you waiting for, Jairo?" Nilahad ko ang kamay ko sa kaniya. "Hurry up, we might disturb the dead."

Natauhan siya sa sinabi ko at napansin na rin ang mga kaluluwang parang nakahanap ng tulay at nagmamadaling lumapit sa akin. He clicked his tongue before walking with me. As soon as I step forward, the position I was seconds ago was submerged by the strong current.

"What is this?" Jairo asked as he walked with me.

"I guess a cheat?" I chuckled.

He gave me weird looks as we crossed the river without a sweat. "See? Easy peasy," I said as soon as the last step was within reach.

"I think Azti's parents are already on the second level, knowing they're devotees." I looked back at him. "We should go to monamictlan-"

"ARGH. THAT WHY IT STINKS IN HERE."

I automatically stopped when I heard a voice.

"El descaro de venir aquí, hija de Quetzalcóatl. (The nerve to come here, daughter of Quetzalcoatl.)"

I slowly looked in front of me, to see a familiar face with a familiar expression on. 

Ah. We got caught too early . . .

"Hehe. Hola Mictecacíhuatl."

𓆚𓆚𓆚