"So you're saying you are travellers seeking refuge after your nation's leaders discriminated against you?"

"Yes."

Xochutl chewed on her lip, mulling over their thoughts, suddenly guilty. Did Kazi lie? Yeah, for sure. But it was for a good reason.

"If I wanted to really harm you or your friend, you know I'm more than capable of doing so. No offence, of course." Kazi avoided the word kill, which reminded him of someone else that could have done it. "Actually, we have a friend, Ms. Sun-young. If your friends encounter her, please don't fight her. They will most certainly die." He opened up the party info screen and messaged her. Hopefully he wasn't too late.

[ > Kazi Hossain: if you encounter a witch, don't fight them. They're nice people. Natives of the land.

> Yoon Sun-young: Ok.

> Kazi Hossain: Tell them that you're a friend of Xochutl! She's the lady with shiny smooth long hair

> Yoon Sun-young: Ok. ]

'Phew, so she didn't fight them yet.'

Cruelty wasn't in Sun-young and William's nature. However, due to the tunnel vision-like circumstances of the Heavenly Games, they sometimes didn't think critically. It was fight-first, think-later for them.

"How many of you are there?" Kazi asked.

"Besides the Kaloomte'…five," Xochutl answered.

The term Kaloomte' translated to superior warrior, a rare position of power bestowed to leaders in the Mayan community. It was gender-neutral, but judging by the pattern of witches, it likely referred to a woman.

"Lines up with the main objective," William whispered. "The leader is probably the boss."

"Maybe. Where is the Kaloomte'?"

"At the Temple of Warriors, north-east of here."

"We'd like to meet her, if at all possible. And as a gesture of good will…" Raising his hands up, Kazi approached and knelt down to the unconscious Itzel. A hand hovering over her burned face, he muttered, "Healing Waters."

Because of his training with Marta, Kazi decided to learn a healing spell. The best element for that seemed to water, which granted a healing spell at the second skill. From his fingertips dripped an oceanic blue water. Each drop healed the woman of her wounds and she groaned from the sudden coldness. Her eyes opened and Itzel leapt back in panic.

"Y-you're—"

A hand gently set down on Itzel's shoulder. "Calm down. They are not our enemy."

"Xochutl, what are you—are they not the ones who invaded us?"

"I do not know. But, dialogue has been reached and rather than continue to die, we should hear them out."

"Continue to die? What are you talking about?" William asked.

Xochutl did not look at them, checking to see if her comrade was okay as she casually said, "Us witches have been blessed by the gods. No matter what you or the invaders do, as long as we stay on this land, we will continue to rise from the dead."

William went agape.

'They won't die as long as they're here.' Then it dawned on him. 'A cycle of life and death. Don't tell me—'

Now it all made sense. Brows furrowed, Kazi said, "This really is a misunderstanding. Take us to your leader."

Xochutl helped Itzel to her feet and remarked, "Fine. It is not as if you people can kill us regardless."

***

The Temple of the Warriors complex comprised a substantial stepped pyramid, with rows of intricately carved columns adorned with warrior depictions both in front of and on the sides. Getting through the statues to reach the pyramid temple should have been a hassle. It wasn't, when Kazi became thrilled at the mere touch of them.

"You know, we wouldn't be able to touch these back then—"

"We know," William said, sighing.

At the peak of the temple sat a lone individual. A woman, whose back faced them, who sat with a peculiar aura. She was not as powerful as Drona's, something he could visibly confirm through her level and class.

[ Warning! Mini Boss in vicinity! ]

[ Name: Kaloomte' Yuritzi

Level: 25

Class: Priestess ]

'So this is the Kaloomte'. I can feel the magic rolling off of her.' Kazi squared his shoulders and worked a warm smile.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Hi there."

Ignored.

"Who have you brought me, my daughters." She did not turn as the two witches sat beside her, cross-legged. Itzel on the right side and Xochutl on the left.

"This is Kazi Hossain and his younger brother, William. They claim to come from a faraway land," Xochutl explained.

"So they are not the same as that intruder?"

"They are not." Xochutl paused and leaned in to whisper in Kaloomte' Yuritzi's ear. William couldn't hear, but Kazi could. "I believe Kazi in particular could be of use to us. He wields magic like no other."

Kaloomte' Yuritzi side-eyed her. "You believe you can help us slay the beasts?"

Xochutl nodded, full of confidence. The Kaloomteʼ went over to Itzel to ask for her opinion.

"He defeated me with ease, so I will not deny his strength," said Itzel. "We should still be weary, of course, but for the sake of the greater good…"

"Understood."

Her decision seemingly made, she rose and turned to face them. Unexpectedly, she was quite average in height for a woman, and therefore much shorter than Kazi and William, two giants in their own right.

High cheekbones, rich golden skin, and striking, almond-shaped grey eyes that seem to hold the power of the stone below them. Her huipil, a traditional Maya tunic, was tightened by a belt made of finely braided quetzal feathers and ornate jade beads signifying her position. Her ears bore large, finely carved jade ear flares and her fingers and wrist were fitted with accessories.

On the back of her neck was a cut. A straight line of red. Flawless, almost.

"I am Yuritzi. I welcome you, Kazi Hossain, William Martin." Her accent was far and away the thickest he had ever heard. The other witches were the same, but somehow with the Kaloomte', it was significantly worse. Beside him, William tensed, finding her words barely intelligible. "You did not kill my sisters like the other intruders did. For that, you have my thanks."

Their surroundings lacked a roof, though there were walls and paintings. Vague inscriptions of rituals and designs of weapons. Kazi didn't recall the existence of such on their Earth.

"We heard a lot about Chichen Itza, or should I call it Uuc Yabnal?"

Kaloomte' Yuritzi was almost startled by Kazi's remark. "Your complexion is familiar but your features are not. Are you perhaps a descendent of a family that left our beloved Chichen Itza?"

"Something like that," Kazi lied. "You're the last of this city. What happened?"

The Kaloomte' did not immediately answer him. "Do not misunderstand. We do not trust you, but because of Kukulcán's blessing, betrayal does not matter to us. You can hurt us, we can die, but we will always live on." The Kaloomte' paused to let her words sink in, then continued, "Within the Temple of Kukulcán, the temple you rashly were attempting to climb, is a great beast. A servant of the Smoking God, the king of the jungle, Balam."

"A jaguar? Well, that figures." Kazi curled his fingers around his chin. "How big?"

"Twice as big as any human could hope to be," the Kaloomte' answered.

"Damn, imagine the claws on that thing," William commented. "Is it stronger than you?"

"Much stronger. My sisters and I have fought it many times and failed. We believe unless the Balam is killed, the gift granted to us will remain."

"Wait, once the jaguar dies, you won't be immortal. Then why kill it? It's not hurting anyone since, well, literally no one is here," William said.

The glare Kaloomte' Yuritzi gave him was nasty and merciless. "Perhaps to you, foreigner, it means nothing, but to us it is a task we must complete. We must liberate our home so that someday it may be alive again. Maybe not today, maybe not with us, but it must happen. For the sake of those before us, it must. I, as the Kaloomte', WILL make it happen."

"We have lived for a decade with that beast," Itzel continued. "It is an unnatural being that feeds on death. If it lives any longer, hope to rebuild will be gone."

William bobbed his head like a boy talking to his strict parents. "U-understood."

"So will you join us?" asked Xochutl. "I believe with your strength, we can defeat the Balam."

"I would join you, but I'm not an idiot. You haven't told the whole story," said Kazi. He put a hand on his neck and smiled. "I doubt you noticed, Kaloomte', but you have a scar on your neck. A recent scar. Care to tell where you got a knife mark?"

The woman blinked and touched the matching spot, wincing at the slight contact. "There is…" She swallowed. "Another beast. A darker beast. The worst of them all: a dark child of Tlaltecuhtli."

Shivers visibly ran through their spines and Itzel crossed her arms and grabbed her elbows, afraid. "I…he…that thing…" Her eyes darted left and right, as if thinking he could pop out at any moment. "He killed us. H-he killed us so many times. He—"

Itzel cut herself off and shut her eyes.

Xochutl stood with greater strength. "He was a warrior wielding magic like you. Darkness coated him and only darkness. He…he killed us like we were animals. So many times," she muttered. "So many times…"

"I lost my life twelve times before I managed to escape." Kaloomte' Yuritzi inhaled. "I am ashamed to say that…that I—" She glanced at her sisters and closed her eyes. "No, it is my sisters that cannot fight him. I must stand. I will."

Neither Xochutl or Itzel contested her. Despite Xochutl's resilience, which Kazi and William had personally experienced, she did not want to fight this man.

William gathered up his courage and asked nervously, "What did he do?"

"He slashed our throats and then would keep stabbing o-our bowels with a knife. No, n-no, a staff. A sharp staff that—!" The bridle fear in Itzel's words took William aback. "He just…he just wouldn't stop! He wouldn't! He—"

"Itzel…!"

Itzel dropped down to her knees, palms covering her face. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I just…I can't! I don't want to—I can't…!" She was nose diving into a panic attack and Xochotl quickly kneeled down to her.

"Itzel! Itzel! Please! Deep breaths! Deep breaths!"

The rapid breathing and trembling hands. Whatever that man did to her, it traumatized her so much that she couldn't talk about it without breaking down in tears.

'No…that player. Because what they're claiming could only have been done by a player. A staff with a blade isn't a Mesoamerican invention, not to mention Kaloomte' is the mini boss and the giant jaguar is likely the actual boss. We didn't even get a hidden objective pop-up yet. That means everything we're doing right now isn't supposed to be happening. We were supposed to kill the witches, kill the Kaloomte', and eventually the Balam, all by just exploring the city.'

Kazi could hardly believe it. Everyone, regardless of if they were a player, monster or an NPC, possessed a particular aura. A certain shade of mana. Drona came to the front of his memory as possessing an unfathomably powerful aura, alongside the Wendigo. There was Azrael too, though back then, he didn't have a proper grasp on magic and couldn't say for sure how strong she was. And Kalmoote' Yuritzi? Her aura was NOT weak.

'Yet someone already killed her. Her and all five witches at the same time.' His internal clock was telling him that Gate 7 had been open for three and a half hours. Three hours and a player had horrifically scarred these women.

Despite the generous breaks they took, Kazi thought he was making headway in terms of levels. The extra XP he received from completing hidden objectives on top of being the first to do it should have put him on a pedestal amongst the strongest.

Was he wrong? No, no, logically speaking, he wasn't. Kazi HAD to contend amongst the strongest. It wouldn't make sense otherwise. He completed special and hidden objectives. He killed the Wendigo, some sort of monstrous glitch in the system. That left one explanation: the player the witches encountered was the strongest, period.

'And the strongest player apparently has something against women—or worse, he might be psycho towards everyone he encounters—and nobody noticed.'