Chapter 81: Shadows of the Past

Time erases nothing.
It only hides the ruins beneath new memories.
Sometimes, wounds don’t hurt until someone says their name out loud.
And there are names that weigh more than a crime.
Because what once was, never truly ceases to be.
And what is hidden… returns when you least expect it.
A grudge can sleep for a thousand years—
But only a few seconds are enough to make it burn again.
And when it does…
No present is safe from the past.
——————————————————————————————————————————

The air vibrated with unbearable tension.

Before the colossus clad in dark armor — known as Commander Number 60 — Aphrodite and Quetzalcoatl stood firm, though their energies were far from synchronized. The glances they exchanged sparked harder than any divine technique.

We can’t waste any more time, thought Aphrodite, feeling a wave of powerful presences approaching from the edges of the horizon. This situation is getting out of hand.

“Quetzalcoatl…” she tried, breaking the silence.

“Shut your mouth. I don’t want to hear you,” he snapped without even looking at her.

“Idiot,” she muttered, frowning, holding back her anger. “Now’s not the time for grudges. If we don’t fight together, we’ll lose — and you know it.”

“Shut up!” he growled, barely restraining a roar of fury.

Aphrodite narrowed her eyes.
Damn it… if this keeps up, we’ll lose.

And then, without another word, the Feathered Serpent lunged forward. Every strike he threw shook the ground as if thunder itself split the earth — yet the commander didn’t even flinch. He blocked every blow with ease, as though playing with a child.

“No matter what you try,” murmured the commander, his voice calm and incongruous with his brutality, “I stand far above you.”

“Shut up!” Quetzalcoatl roared, unleashing a barrage of blows that ended in a desperate attempt to land a direct punch to the face.

But he was caught off guard.

The enemy seized his arm with inhuman strength and slammed him into the ground like a rag doll.

“Die.”

A pulse of compressed energy formed in the commander’s hands, ready to be unleashed — but a furious, ocean-blue wave burst from the left flank, forcing him to retreat instantly.

Aphrodite descended from the sky, her aura still crackling with divine energy.
“Looks like you’re in a bit of trouble, Feathered Serpent.”

Quetzalcoatl pushed himself up, frowning.
“Keep talking… and I’ll kill you myself.”

“You two,” interrupted a deep voice from behind, “I don’t give a damn about your problems. But you’d better solve them if you don’t want to die.”

Aphrodite turned sharply. Her eyes widened as she recognized the figure.
“Zef?”

The young king advanced. His body bore new scales along his arms, and his fangs — now sharpened — glinted under the fractured light of the battlefield.

The commander watched him with a mix of annoyance and curiosity.
“Well, well… what a surprise. I thought you were knocked out by that hit, Your Majesty.”

Zef narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t underestimate me, Commander Willoc… the Wise.”

That name struck a chord in Aphrodite’s chest.
So that’s why that power felt familiar…

The goddess drew a deep breath.
“Willoc. The most powerful knight of Atlantis. Master of spatial techniques. High-level runologist. A true war mage… and a silent threat.”

Willoc turned his head slightly toward her.
“My, my… seems you remember my name quite well, Your Majesty.”

“Looks like you’ve lost all your honor, Willoc,” Quetzalcoatl spat with disdain. “Now you’re part of a terrorist group? How far you’ve fallen.”

The man smiled.
“So that’s what they call us? Seems we’ve built quite the reputation these years.”

“What did you expect?” Quetzalcoatl growled. “You’ve slaughtered people wherever you go.”

“In the end, we’re not so different… don’t you think?”

“Don’t put us at your level, scum.”

Willoc tilted his head slightly. His voice softened almost to a whisper.
“Is that what you think? Do you really believe we’re that different? I don’t. The only difference is that you kill in the name of peace. But tell me… is it truly peace?”

A brief silence followed.

“Do you think it’s a coincidence that so many prosperous races vanished without a trace? Elves… Hyperboreans… Golds… Atlantis…” — his tone dropped to a bitter whisper — “Do you really believe they disappeared for no reason?”

Aphrodite clenched her jaw.
“What are you talking about?”

Willoc looked at her as if in pity.
“We were part of that group too. The ones who knew too much. That’s why they hunted us down. That’s why they exterminated us.”

“Stop talking nonsense,” Quetzalcoatl muttered — though his voice no longer sounded so firm.

“We’re not the only ones,” Willoc continued. “There are others who know as well: kings, scientists, gods, even ordinary humans. Some stay silent. Others fight. But not everyone is willing to pay the price of truth.”

“Shut your damn mouth!” Quetzalcoatl shouted, trembling. “You’re starting to piss me off—”

And suddenly, a memory flooded his mind.
Blood.
His own hands shaking.
A woman’s figure in his arms, barely alive.

“Why the hell am I remembering this now…?”

Beside him, Aphrodite glanced sideways at him.
He still punishes himself for what happened that day… and it looks like that wound hasn’t healed at all.

An ancient shadow loomed over them both.

Years ago…

“What the hell are you saying?!” Quetzalcóatl roared, eyes wide, his heart pounding like a war drum. “That’s impossible!”

The agent before him did not flinch.
“They’re direct orders from the high command.”

“Bullshit!” He slammed his fist against the metal table, which creaked under the blow. “They’re just spouting nonsense!”

“Believe it or not, the order is clear. We must eliminate Xochiquetzal… for treason.”

Silence fell like a wall. The two men stared at one another—one furious, the other trained into indifference.

“She couldn’t do that,” Quetzalcóatl murmured, his voice trembling as he fought to steady it. “It must be a mistake. A setup.”

“If you have objections,” the agent replied, shrugging, “you can leave.”

Seconds passed.

Then, with a resigned sigh, the god raised his hand and ripped the special-forces badge from his chest. It hit the floor with a dry sound, like a definitive door closing.
“Do whatever the hell you want,” he said without looking at them. “But I will not carry out a mission I do not believe in.”

From a corner, Aphrodite watched him.
“Quetzalcóatl…”

She turned to a third man, whose golden gaze and imposing posture filled the room.
“Gilgamesh… aren’t you going to stop him?”

“No need,” the other answered calmly. “It doesn’t matter what you say. In the end… we’re talking about his wife.”

Aphrodite clenched her fists.
“Yes…”

And then she ran.

The corridors stretched as if time itself tried to slow her. Her feet pounded the marble. Her aura vibrated like an alarm.
“This is impossible… her energy is fading…”

She flung open the last door.

Xochiquetzal’s body lay on the floor, covered in blood.
“I… I arrived… late…”

Her eyes burned. She could still feel a faint heartbeat.
“No, I can still—”

But something was wrong. An overwhelming aura rose from the shadows.
“You can rest easy now,” a mocking voice said behind her. “I handled the trash myself.”

Aphrodite turned. The silhouette of the man who appeared made her bare her teeth.
“What is scum like you doing here?”

“Ouch,” he smiled with sinister theatricality. “It pains me that such a beautiful lady speaks to me that way.”

“Don’t make me repeat myself…”

Her eyes darkened with contained fury.
“You’re scary when you get like this,” the man laughed. “I told you: I came to eliminate the trash. The ones you didn’t dare touch. Or maybe… you didn’t want to.”

Aphrodite’s gaze turned deadly. Both prepared, tense, on the brink of combat.

But the intruder let out a light laugh.
“Well… seems it’s time for me to go. We’ll meet again, Aphrodite.”

And he vanished.

She ran immediately to Xochiquetzal. She placed her hands on her chest and channeled healing energy… but the flow collapsed the moment it touched her interior.
“What…?” she repeated, trying again.

The cycle broke. Again and again.
“Why...? Why...? Why?!”

A soft, barely audible voice came from the bloodied lips of the wound.
“It’s impossible…”

“Xochiquetzal?” Aphrodite leaned over her. “Don’t speak. I’ll heal you.”

“No need…” she coughed blood. “It seems that… in the end… I could not learn the truth…”

“There has to be some way…”

“No… you know very well there isn’t…”

Xochiquetzal turned her face slightly.
“You see them too… don’t you?”

Aphrodite nodded slowly.

The cursed runes covered her friend’s body. Some trembled. Others throbbed. All of them… devoured her from the inside.

“Please… promise me something,” she whispered with the last threads of breath.

“Anything.”

“Take care of the stubborn-headed Quetzalcóatl… please…”

Aphrodite swallowed.
“I will… even if it costs me my life. I promise you.”

“Thank you…”

And then, an overwhelming pressure flooded the room.

Quetzalcoatl’s figure appeared in the doorway, his gaze shattered. His energy trembled. His eyes… were broken.

“Quetzalcoatl, wait,” Aphrodite cried. “I can explain!”

But he didn’t hear her.

A visceral roar erupted from his chest. The blow he threw hurled her violently against the wall, making her bleed from the impact.

“I don’t want to hear a single word!” he thundered. “I will kill you!”

His body exhaled uncontrolled energy, as if a beast had taken possession of him.

“After that…” he thought, with indescribable pain, “…we could never speak again.”

Memories devoured him.
A date beneath the stars.
Xochiquetzal, wearing a sincere smile.

“My love…”
“Yes?”
“Would you still love me if the whole world hated me?”
“Of course. Why do you ask?”
“No… it’s nothing,” she said, smiling once more.

But she asked again. And again.

“Do you really believe what you’re doing is right?”
“Of course,” he answered, convinced. “Anyone who opposes the king must fall. Thanks to him, we live in a time of peace.”
“Ah… yes…”

“Why did you insist so much?” he thought, his gaze lost. “If I had answered differently… would you have told me the truth? Could we have avoided all this?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if what I’m doing now is right either. But the only thing I want is… to kill Aphrodite!”

He snapped back to the present.

He lunged at her in fury. Aphrodite barely managed to dodge the attack. The next blow was aimed straight at her face.

But… it stopped.

Quetzalcoatl’s fist only grazed her cheek, leaving a shallow cut.

“Why…?” he murmured.
“Huh?”

The Feathered Serpent’s face was wet with tears.
“Did she really deserve this…?”

And then… he dropped to his knees.

His cry of sorrow rent the air.

Aphrodite, still trembling, watched him in silence.

Nothing could heal that wound.

Because it wasn’t of the body.
It was of the soul.

Present.

“Since then…” Aphrodite thought, glancing at her former comrade, “…neither of us spoke again. We were both labeled deserters, and perhaps we deserved it.”

But a promise still lived on.
“Even if it costs me my life… I intend to keep it.”

Her body rose with resolve. A burst of energy ran across her skin like liquid fire. Symbols began to darken her cheeks, pulsing with each beat of power: black hearts, floating like marks of the most tragic love.

“I will protect him.”

Aphrodite lifted her gaze.
“Feathered Serpent… you’d better not get in my way.”

Quetzalcoatl frowned, confused.
“Huh?”

There was no time for retorts.

Aphrodite vanished in the blink of an eye and reappeared in front of Willoc. The commander barely had time to raise his arms before a rain of strikes assailed him — punches, kicks, slashes of energy — all in an overwhelming frenzy.

“Damn… she’s only getting faster,” Willoc thought, stepping back — “What has she done…?”

Burst after burst of radiant energy shot from the goddess’s hands. Willoc answered with his own power, but for every shot he fired, he received two more.

“Erotic Attraction,” Aphrodite whispered in a seductive voice.

A dark-rose barrier unfolded around them. Thick clouds, scented with an intoxicating rose perfume, filled the field, obscuring vision and unbalancing the senses.

Inside that veil of perfume, a figure approached. It was Aphrodite herself — radiant, sensual, wrapped in a beguiling aura that made wills waver. She stroked Willoc’s face slowly.

“What would you like to do tonight…?” she murmured, words that seemed to wrap around the mind.

Willoc faltered.
“I—I want to…”

She smiled slyly.
“Oh?”

Then Willoc’s voice turned cold.
“To kill you.”

The spell shattered like glass. The field of attraction vanished at once.

“I’m sorry to inform you,” he said with a mocking curl of his lips, “but I know your nature all too well, enchanting serpent. I will not fall for you.”

Aphrodite staggered back, cursing under her breath.
“I’ll have to beat him in a physical duel. No other option.”

She began focusing energy into her limbs. Her aura condensed in her arms and legs, sharpening like blades.

“This will leave me exposed… but I have no choice.”

Willoc prepared to launch himself when a silhouette cut between them.
“Your Majesty…” he said, seeing Zef block his path.

“I’m sorry. But I can’t let you advance any further.”

Zef’s eyes burned with courage.
“I’m not at her level right now… but maybe she is…”

With a contained roar he lunged at Willoc. The exchange was violent — punches, elbows, clashes of energy. Zef fought with everything he had, but Willoc landed twice as many blows. The young king began bleeding from the nose, then from his side. Still, he held on.

After one last clash, both staggered back.
Zef crouched, gathering energy at his core.
“A little more… just a little more…”

But something stopped him.
He looked at his arm…and saw it covered in tiny bluish spines.
“What…?”

The poison activated within seconds.
Zef collapsed to the ground, gasping.

Willoc approached, towering like an executioner.
“Your time is up!”

But Aphrodite stepped forward, her gaze blazing.
“Thanks, Zef. Now I can beat him up.”

And she did.
One blow was enough to push Willoc back.
The second doubled him over.
The third made him spit blood.
The enemy’s arms darkened to purple, as if each impact resonated with divine poison.

Aphrodite didn’t stop.
Strike after strike connected — knees, elbows, fists wrapped in energy. Everything was speed, precision and rage.

“This is…” Willoc thought, feeling his body give way, “…very…”

A final hit to his leg unbalanced him.
A straight kick to the face sent him flying through the air.

Zef, still on the ground, watched in amazement.
“How fast…”

Willoc rose from the wreckage, blood on his nose…and a smile.
“Exciting…”
“It’s the first time I’ve felt that way. You’d better not disappoint me.”

Then something changed in his body.
The blood running through his veins turned blue. Scales began to spread across his torso.

Zef shouted, “Watch out!”

The blow was brutal.
But it didn’t reach Aphrodite.
Zef, with the last strength he had, intervened. The impact shattered a bone and hurled him against a column.
“What destructive power…” he thought, before collapsing.

Willoc materialized in front of Aphrodite in an instant.
“Don’t get distracted.”

The punch descended like a hammer… but it was stopped by another hand.
“Enough,” said a firm voice.

It was Quetzalcoatl.
His body was covered in serpentine scales. His eyes burned like ancestral fire. He stood like a god.

Aphrodite looked at him in astonishment.
“Quetzalcoatl…”

“I haven’t forgiven you,” he admitted, not taking his eyes off the enemy.

But in his mind, the image of Xochiquetzal smiled once more.
“…she wouldn’t forgive me if I let them hurt you. So… just this once… I’ll fight by your side.”

A few meters away, Zef crawled, bleeding but conscious.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen two gods actually fighting…”
“It’s… terrifying…”

A colossal aura enveloped the field.

And yet…
“Willoc still isn’t fighting for real…” Zef thought, watching the scales continuing to spread across his body —
“That form… it’s not complete yet…”