Paralyzed, Xtabay plummeted down and landed back-first into the ground with a wet thud. The rank smell of the mud brought her back to her senses. She opened her eyes to the sight of the dark Xibalban sky lit up by the flames she'd poured over the area. "I studied your brothers' bodies extensively. The data I gathered from them allowed me to create a spell that forces things like you to change form." The voice came from behind her but she still couldn't move to see who it belonged to. A few moments later a woman with long black hair and a pair of antlers protruding from her head stood over and looked down at her. "But you're a living one so imagine what I could learn from you." Livia bent down and poked Xtabay's forehead. "You killed my brothers?" Xtabay struggled to get the words out. "Oh you can speak? You are strong. But to answer your question yes I did." Livia was now standing at Xtabay's feet. A white hot rage boiled up inside Xtabay. Now that the rage and pain she felt had a face it was more focused, more intense. She closed her eyes in frustration and when she opened them again she no longer saw the burning Xibalban countryside or felt the damp rancid mud under her. Instead she looked out over a sea of golden sand that stretched infinitely in every direction. The clouds and smoke were replaced by a pitch black sky. Although there was no source of light in the sky, it was still bright enough that she could see. She looked around and spotted two columns standing in the distance. There appeared to be a person standing in front of each one. She decided to make her way to the columns but with each step she took they seemed to move further and further away until they had vanished completely. Confused, she looked around but saw nothing but a vast landscape of shifting golden dunes. Suddenly a voice boomed shifting the sands under her feet. "Chhiiiiillllldddd, your rage equates to my ooooowwwwwwnnnnn. Let Chhhhaaaaooooossss light the pyre of your haaaaatttteeeee and feed the fffflllaaaammmeeessss with your wwwrrrraaattthhh!"

Livia stood barefoot in the mud staring at Xtabay's paralyzed body twirling her hair around her finger. "It seems she's clocked out." She said to herself in a disappointed tone. It was then a diabolic wail rang out over the smoldering remains of Livia's army. Livia turned to survey the area but saw nothing. "Hmm, that doesn't sound like one of mine." As she turned back to Xtabay the princess planted a hard kick into the witch's ribs that ignited her body with scarlet flames and launched her screaming across the field. Livia slid to a stop writhing in agony as the flames burned her skin away. Between the screams she managed to utter a spell that doused the flames and let her skin begin to regenerate. But her reprieve was short lived. Xtabay had caught up with her and began to rain blows down on her. Each time Xtabay's fists struck Livia they reignited the witches body eventually making the flames so intense they began to burn Xtabay, but that didn't stop her she didn't even seem to notice. Another harrowing scream sounded out across the battlefield. It was closer this time and filled with enough malice to persuade Xtabay to stop her assault. Not that there was much left for her to attack, what was left of Livia was a smoldering husk of meat and bones. The flames extinguished when Xtabay stopped punching to turn around. What she saw standing in front of her were the charred mangled remains of the Bahn sisters' army that she had incinerated earlier. Another scream echoed through the dank air and the platoon of corpses rushed towards the princess, their limbs snapping and popping as they were bent in unnatural ways like marionettes on strings. Xtabay welcomed the fray charging straight at her assailants, her eyes still burning with rage. She danced gracefully through the crowd of corpses each time her fist or a kick struck an opponent they would burst into flames in a small explosion, immolating the already dead soldiers to her rage. Xtabay stood amongst the once again inanimate bodies and turned her attention back to Livia just in time to watch her remains sink into a bubbling black puddle. "No!" Growled Xtabay as she ran towards the puddle. A feeling of dread washed over her and the image of a shadowy hand reaching for her from behind flooded into her mind. She spun around just in time to avoid a black mist in the shape of a large hand grasping at her. The moment the mist failed to wrap itself around the princess it dissipated and Xtabay's eyes focused on the source. A long, twisted, pale, faceless humanoid stood amongst the corpses, its tall frame crooked and bent. Impetigo let out another inhuman screech from a gaping maw that seemed to form across his previously blank face. Xtabay's rage swelled once more. "You let her get away!" She screamed as her serpent body coiled into existence. Her serpent form seemed to have doubled in size and where her feathers once were, scarlet red flames adorned her white scales. Impetigo's grotesque grin melted back into a blank face as he crouched down on all fours to prepare for Xtabay's attack. The serpent princess spewed a torrent of red flames at Impetigo but he was shielded by a wall of the same golden sand she had encountered in her mind earlier. Impetigo took advantage of his luck and scurried on all fours northward. Xtabay's flaming wings began to flap as she prepared to give chase before being stopped by a familiar voice. "Tabs!" Mul called out to her. Xtabay's enormous head turned to see where the familiar voice had originated. Mul and Lukohé stood next to each other and looked in awe at her new form. "Did you get bigger Tabs?" Mul asked surveying the length of her body. Lukohé looked around at the burnt bodies his brother had manipulated. "I'm sorry," he said softly as the golden sand washed over the corpses and absorbed them into itself. "I'll give them a proper burial when this is all over." Xtabay's eyes locked onto Lukohé and a black smoke poured out of her nostrils. "Woah woah woah Tabs this is Lukohé. He's cool, he helped me out back there." Mul explained jumping in front of Lukohé. Xtabay shifted back to her human form. "I killed her but her body is gone." She said, Mul could still see the rage burning behind her eyes. "Same with Corrina. We took care of her but her body sank into some black mud or something." "It's tar." Lukohé added. "It's what was left over from when the material plane was created. It works similarly to my sand but it has an altering effect on living things. Somehow they managed to tap into it." Lukohé noticed that Xtabay and Mul's faces were painted with confusion. "Nevermind. Kaba was headed north, we should follow him." "That's where my mother is." Xtabay added, her voice worried. The two of them chased after Impetigo but Mul remained in place. The crow's words echoed in his head. "Mul! Hurry up!" Xtabay's voice snapped him out of his trance and he quickly followed after them.

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