Tannit vs Tláloc

Tlalocan trembled from the impact of the fight between Tania and Tláloc. Chalchiuhtlicue, meanwhile, watched the battle from a distance, still hidden beneath the electric shield that Menrva had created.

The light rain from the skies of Tlalocan had ceased; now, all marine bodies boiled, and the bushes and trees of the region began to show signs of drying up.

—No, don't fight with such power or you'll destroy this paradise— Chalchiuhtlicue said with concern, but there was nothing she could do.

Yet, despite Tania's powerful heat, Tláloc remained uninjured. Conversely, Tania had been struck by several electric bolts from the Toltec god. She wasn't severely hurt, but she was concerned.

Tania's attacks had proven ineffective against Tláloc. His immense water-controlling power nullified her blows, regardless of their strength. It was evident that without the anti-deity bracelet, she would have ended the fight easily, but with it, her fire simply didn't burn hot enough to nullify the water power of the Toltec god.

Floating in the sky, Tláloc pointed to the ground with his staff and chanted: —Niquin notsa: Tlalohkeh— From the earth, he summoned four dwarf-like creatures with faces resembling his horrifying mask. They were blue, with bulging eyes and cleft mouths, fangs peeking out. Each held a vessel.

The small monsters then smashed their vessels on the ground. The sound was so loud and powerful that a sonic shockwave emanated across the entire planet.

Tania covered her ears against the infernal noise, noticing electricity emanating from where the creatures had shattered the vessels. The lightning formed a massive square net, covering the entire planet, trapping Tania instantly. She suffered electric shocks as she tried to break free. At that moment, she saw Tláloc raise his staff to the sky and recite: —Ojtlatekuinalotl—

A torrential downpour began over Tlalocan, causing the electric net to short-circuit. Tania felt a powerful electric shock, screaming in pain from the horrific attack.

—The combination of Water and Thunder: Conduction— said Chalchiuhtlicue. —That's the greatest terror of the mighty Tláloc—

The net vanished, and a charred Tania fell to the ground, nearly unconscious, while Tláloc and the grotesque creatures merely watched.

Yet, Tania wasn't defeated. She attacked the creatures in front of her with her flaming claws, yelling: —Uph-arimat Eshar—. However, her attacks, like the ones she attempted on Tláloc, were in vain, as the tiny monsters were unharmed. It was as if their skin was made of water.

Tláloc then lifted his staff in front of him, and a massive water cyclone erupted from the marshes as the deity intoned: —Ejekanamiktilistli—

Tania didn't have time to react when the powerful atmospheric phenomenon struck her directly, sending her thousands of kilometers away from the now-ruined city. She collided with the wall of the dimensional shield in the exosphere and split her head, covering her face in blood. The goddess, with little energy left, plummeted to the ground like a meteor and submerged herself in the waters of Tlalocan.

—It's a pity— Chalchiuhtlicue commented. —But she had no hope of winning—

Tania, somewhat unconscious, began to remember that Epona had encouraged her to use water with her fire attacks to generate steam.

—Is it a good idea to use it? But my water power is too weak— the goddess thought as she continued to sink deeper into the eternal ocean of the first Heaven.

—Are you a Moon?— Tania began to hear in her mind. She remembered one of her encounters with Sekhmet in the Land of Manu.

Facing a vast body of water, Sekhmet stood beside a teenage Tania, gazing at the enormous ocean before them. The two goddesses were on one of the docks in the Egyptian paradise. The city behind them was so white that it appeared to be made of pearls. Within its thousands of buildings were several silver pyramids and golden obelisks. The sunlight that illuminated this place made the city shine, and instead of walls, the city was covered in thousands of trees forming a forest around it.

Tania, raising her hand, conjured water droplets from the sea and hurled them like bullets toward one of the nearby islands. The bullets, upon impact with the islet, exploded like water bombs, causing its palm trees to sway violently.

—It was pretty powerful, right?— the Phoenician goddess asked with a smile. However, Sekhmet only chuckled discreetly.

—Water powers aren't useful for fighting, Tannit— the Egyptian goddess commented with a gesture of denial.

Then, Sejmet raised her left hand and shot a fireball at the island. Upon impact, a massive explosion obliterated the islet, sending a powerful wave from the destructive force. The water reached the dock, soaking both goddesses. Although neither of them moved, Tania didn't do so because she was absorbed in Sejmet's immense power.

—That's the power of fire— the Egyptian goddess said. —As a Sun, I am destined to be a warrior, but you, as a Moon, are destined to be a healer or an assistant—

—No!— Tania responded furiously. —I want to be a warrior too!—

—Didn't you say you dislike fighting and only want to cook and heal people?— Sekhmet asked Tania.

—Yes, I do— the Punic goddess replied. —But I also want to be respected for being strong. I want to create explosions as beautiful as yours—

—Then train hard to emit fire, because with water, you'll never earn respect in this world— Sekhmet commented, laughing, to which Tania nodded.

—That damn bastard— Tania thought in the present moment while she continued to descend. —She planted these ideas of inferiority of water to fire in me, because of her myopic view of the world—

Tania opened her eyes and saw the water she was sinking into.

—It's so pure, so crystal clear...— she said to herself. —I must reconcile with my element; accept who I am, above all, in order to win—

Tláloc had remained motionless, floating in the sky, as his program stopped when the threat disappeared. But quickly, he moved again when he saw that the water throughout Tlalocan was boiling and emitting a great deal of steam.

—Is she still alive?— Chalchiuhtlicue wondered. —That's impossible!— she exclaimed.

The steam filled the Tlalocan chamber with mist, and Tláloc responded quickly by causing a rain of lightning to fall upon the ocean while saying: —Kiauitlatomitl—

But Tania didn't emerge. This prompted the Tlaloques to approach the ocean to see where the goddess was. However, when one of them got closer, they were quickly decapitated. The small monster's body disintegrated and fused back with the earth, while the other Tlaloques looked at their comrade's corpse.

The creatures turned toward the ocean in rage and summoned their jugs again.

—I thought they couldn't express emotions— Tania's voice came from behind the Tlaloques. They turned to see the Punic goddess, who had not transformed into her Manticore form but was entirely surrounded by —.

The three Tlaloques threw their jugs to the ground, but the mist that covered the planet stopped them.

—That's dangerous— Tania said. —I won't allow you to do that again—

Then, Tania launched an attack into the air, saying: —Regesn qepu— From the mist, hundreds of steam claws emerged and swiftly dismembered the creatures, causing them to lose their lives and turn back into earth.

—I see— Chalchiuhtlicue said to herself. —She's combining fire with water. That's why she could cut through the wet skin of the Tlaloques—

The Punic goddess then turned to face Tláloc. The god floated above her, enveloped in the thick mist she had generated with her smoke.

Two branches appeared on Tláloc's staff, forming it into a cross shape. At that moment, Tláloc began generating a powerful electric attack, with his whole body emitting golden sparks. However, before he could do anything, steam claws emerged from the mist and dismembered the Toltec god's body. Despite the damage, the god maintained his composure and continued floating above Tania.

Tania then felt a chill on her cheek. She touched her face and saw a snowflake. At that moment, the sky began to snow more heavily. The land started to cool and harden, the water that had been boiling began to cool and calm down. However, Tania's steam attacks, created by the dense mist, ceased as the steam began to settle in the lower part of the sky.

—I see, she has cooled the sky to make my steam descend due to its weight against his freezing air— Tania said, worried, as she looked again at Tláloc pointing his electric staff at her.

Tania flew toward the formidable Toltec god, emitting steam from her body. But at a certain distance, she began to notice that the steam dissipated when it entered the center of Tláloc's freezing air.

—Iluikatloayan— Tláloc yelled, and the skies opened entirely, displaying terrifying images of death and destruction. Images of drowned children appeared, while other images of lightning destroying people and entire cities flashed through the eyes of the Punic goddess. Tania tried not to pay attention to these horrifying images, which took the form of relief engravings. But before the goddess could do anything, a glare emanated from the large celestial hole Tláloc had invoked, shattering Tania's totem and causing her to fall to the ground, riddled with injuries and vomiting blood.

—Her water and fire powers are not balanced— Chalchiuhtlicue said. —That's why she can't overcome Tláloc's icy wind—

Tania crashed to the ground, creating a massive crater upon impact, which destroyed a significant portion of the city of Tlalocan. Nevertheless, despite the damage and her shattered totema, Ana rose again, surrounded by steam.

—My water power can't match my fire power— Tania thought as she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. —I've never been able to use my water powers properly because I listened to that idiot—

Tláloc once again pointed his staff at Tania and this time shouted: —Tlatekuinalohuey— The god conjured a gigantic electrical sphere at the tip of his staff.

Tania then created a fire sphere in her left hand and a water sphere in her right hand, merging them with great effort. The collision of energy gave rise to the figure of a lioness made of steam. The goddess then shouted: —Regesn lvya Malikta—

With a sweeping motion, Tania sent the steam lioness towards Tláloc's attack. The two attacks collided, causing Tlalocan to tremble and the sky to darken. However, Tláloc's freezing air descended further, and Tania's steam lioness began to distort.

—Balance, I must find balance— Tania told herself. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help but remember Sejmet's words, and her water power weakened.

Tláloc's enormous thunder began to destroy Tania's attack, gradually advancing toward the goddess who watched with growing concern.

—Hey you!— Chalchiuhtlicue shouted to Tania. —That attack will destroy Tlalocan. You must stop it!—

—That's what I'm trying to do!— Tania shouted back.

—Normally, the power of these illusions is sufficiently blocked to prevent them from destroying their planets— the Toltec water goddess explained.—But you are forcing it to take these measures. If you don't stop it, we'll both die here—

—Then let me concentrate! Damn it!— Tania screamed angrily as she attempted to stop Tláloc's attack. For a brief moment, her power increased, temporarily halting the massive electrical sphere.

Tania fell into deep thought as she observed this momentary surge in power.

—My water power is instinctive— Tania said.—What limits it is overthinking it because I can't stop thinking about that idiot who put these ideas in my head—

At that moment, the Punic goddess struck her own forehead with her fist, and her brow was covered in blood.

—What's wrong with you? Are you nuts?— Chalchiuhtlicue wondered.

But it wasn't enough. Tania began to strike her forehead repeatedly. Streams of blood dripped to the ground and evaporated due to the immense heat she was generating on the lower surface of the planet.

—Stop doing that! Idiot!— Chalchiuhtlicue shouted.

However, at that moment, Tania turned toward Tláloc. The feeble steam holding back the massive electrical sphere began to grow stronger. Suddenly, the steam covering the lower portion began to rise rapidly towards where Tláloc was.

The electrical sphere was then enveloped by a layer of steam, which crushed it. At that very moment, Ana's bracelet shone intensely and shattered completely.

Tania's eyes shone, and the steam that had enclosed Tláloc in a sort of smoke sphere formed a drill inside and impaled the Toltec god. Simultaneously, the steam created multiple knives that dismembered the deity.

All the smoke concentrated within the sphere that imprisoned Tláloc and exploded, causing the illusion of the Toltec god to disappear. The heat ceased, and Tania reverted her transformation, falling to her knees on the ground.

A small blue sphere fell in front of the Punic goddess, and she picked it up.

—That's the proof that you succeeded in this Heaven— Chalchiuhtlicue commented, still surprised and emerging from her hiding place.

—Are you not an illusion as well?— Tania asked, her gaze wary as she prepared her claw with steam.

—No, no. I'm the only goddess who remained in Ilhuicatl Iohtlatoquiliz— the Toltec goddess replied. —I couldn't defeat you even if I wanted to—

Tania then noticed that Tul's bracelet had broken, something Chalchiuhtlicue also observed.

—That bracelet had the power of the barrier in Anáhuac, right?— the Toltec goddess asked.

—That's what Tul told me— Tania replied.

—This is the first time in my life that I've seen a god destroy those with their divine power— the goddess responded. —I'm sure the barrier in the human world no longer affects you—

Tania then smiled. —That was always the idea from the beginning— she replied.