I. Literally. Cried when I wrote this chapter. That's all I'm going to say right now, In fact, you are free to lynch me if you want to. Just knock me out first T-T.

I'd usually tell you to enjoy the chapter, but you'll probably not like what I prepared this time. Rather, it's going to break your hearts (sorry!)


He had fallen asleep holding his now-beloved wife close to him, wanting to feel her warmth and her scent of flowers. He had never been so happy before. He wished they could stay like this forever, always together, the two of them. He wanted to make La Muerte happy, be there for her, and form a family someday, perhaps. He dreamt he was with her underneath a tree, the two of them cuddled against one another, watching the setting sun as it lowered to behind the mountains, giving way to the pale blue moon. They were so happy and calm, enjoying their moment.

Then something happened.

Out of sudden all his happy thoughts started to vanish, and for a reason he could not explain he grew dreadful and afraid. He found himself alone, La Muerte was gone, despite him calling out to her. All his thoughts on La Muerte were replaced by memories. Bad memories. Memories of his loneliness, of his traumatic past, of… of Selena. Of his brother. Of him.


The dark godling wailed as he attempted to get free of Lorenzo's hold, reaching out for the door of his mother's room. "MAMÁ! MAMÁ!" he cried.

But there was no reply.


"Z-Zippy?" he had gone to his brother's room after having a bad dream to look for his comfort, only to find him at the window with half-stretched wings. He had a bad feeling about it. "Where are you going?"

Zipacna just stared back at him with glossy eyes. "I'm sorry, hermanito."

His eyes widened as his brother took off and flew away. Instinctively Xibalba ran for the window and cried out for him to take him with him.

But he was gone.


Xibalba tried to crawl away from his father's threathening shadow, but Akrinok dragged him back by the wings, gripping them with such force he nearly broke them. The godling cried out in pain. "I'm sorry, father! I'll behave!"


But that was not the worst. Suddenly more memories returned to him, these were worst than the previous one. He saw La Muerte in it, but it was not one of the pleasant dreams that he had been having ever since he and La Muerte went on that date, and he realized his feelings for her. These were memories of the dark days she hated him, the times she tried to leave him, the times her life was put in danger by his foolishness. He did what he could, he called and reached out for her, but it always had the same conclusion. He could only watch helplessly as she was torn apart by the Forgotten Beasts, or she drowned in the waters of the Nile in the dark chamber, or her skull cracked when she hit her head when Blanca reared and threw her off.

You are a danger to her.

"No…" he whimpered in his sleep, his feathers bristling.

How many times did you put her life at risk? How many times did she nearly die because of your carelessness?

"No…"

You have done nothing but to ruin her life. She had the perfect life until you came into it. Your forced her to marry you through a chantage. You took her away from her family, her loved ones, you caused her conflicts with them. And you have the guts to say you love her? You are not worthy of such a kind, beautiful woman.

"NO!" Finally, Xibalba startled awake, cold sweat trickling down his body, his heart drumming and his eyes moistened. Once he realized he was back in the garden, the dark god let out a sigh of relief and took a hand to his temples. Everything was calm and quiet, with only the sound of the leaves rustling with the early morning breeze; feeling a weight on the crook of his arm, Xibalba glanced down and found La Muerte snuggled against him, a smile on her face. Smiling lightly upon finding the woman he loved safe and sound in his arms, but as he was about to reach out his claw to gently brush a hair away from her face, suddenly he stopped, and his smile faltered.

He remembered all his nightmares, the words he heard. The memories. He tried to discard them as mere senseless fears, but he couldn't. The voice wasn't completely wrong, it was right in many senses. After all, he had practically forced her to marry him thorough blackmailing, threatening to leave her family on the street if she did not agree. He had put her life in danger not once, not even twice, but thrice, all because he failed to properly look after her. He separated her from her loved ones, he snatched her from Paradise and brought her down against her will to this Hell.

Besides, what could he actually offer her? A barren kingdom with nothing but wandering monsters and empty souls for subjects? A filthy, corrupted body of tar to taint her beautiful sugar skin and silky licorice hair? La Muerte was a beautiful woman, she was kind, sweet, compassionate, surely there were many better-looking gods who could offer her the best lands along with riches and many other things he couldn't even think of affording. She deserved the best of everything.

He was nothing but a smudge, an annoyance in her otherwise perfect life.

A while passed before Xibalba reacted. He stood carefully slid his arm off La Muerte and went on his feet, grabbing his purple robe and putting it on before picking his wife up in his arms gently, and walking out of the garden. As he continued down the hall, he thought thoroughly on what he was going to do. He didn't want to, he had hoped there was another way to do this, but he knew La Muerte would never leave on her own accord. He had to give her a little push… He went into her chambers and placed her down unto her bed, grabbing her robe to cover her with it and then headed towards the window to wait until she woke up. He didn't have to wait long.

La Muerte started stirring awake, but then she noticed she was no longer in Xibalba's embrace. She was not even on top of grass anymore; she was on top of a bed. Her bed, to be more specific. Her robe was on top of her.

"You're awake."

La Muerte glanced at Xibalba when he spoke, and found him facing the window, his hands tucked behind his back. Although surprised to find him out of bed, nevertheless she smiled and approached him as she put on her robe. "Buenos días." She whispered, approaching him from behind and sliding her hands up his shoulders. "Did you sleep well…?" But to her confusion, Xibalba shifted away from her and didn't look to see her.

"Save it. I've had enough of it." He said rather harshly and coldly. This further confused La Muerte. What was wrong with him?

"What do you mean?" La Muerte inquired, not understanding what he meant to say.

"Save your sympathy. I don't want it anymore." He retorted, as coldly as before.

She was slightly hurt by his words, and further confused by his attitude. "Xibalba, is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong that I know of."

"Then what's with your attitude?"

A humorless chuckle left his lips. "Well, I am simply sick of acting all emotional and understanding."

La Muerte stepped back from him warily. What did he mean? A part of her had an idea, but she didn't want to think of it. She was hoping he was just playing a prank on her, but the coldness in his voice made her think otherwise. "I don't understand…"

"Of course you don't." He finally turned to look at her; his eyes, once tender and loving, now had the same hostile and distant expression he had the fist days she spent here, and there was no hint of humor in his face. "You are so naïve, La Muerte. All it took was sweet words, a little flirting and lots of 'emotional' talk to get your guard down. I admit, of all the women I've bedded, you were the hardest challenge."

No….

"What…?" she refused to believe what she was saying, she prayed this was just a nightmare, and she'd wake up soon to find herself in her husband's embrace, but something told her this was real.

He circled her like a vulture circling on a dying fawn. "You know, initially I was planning on making you mine whether you wanted it or not. But then you softened up when I was injured, and I decided to take advantage of it. And you caught the bait. Really, and here I thought you were smarter than that."

"I don't… Why are you…" her eyes were swelling up with tears of disbelief. "Why are you telling me these horrible things?"

"What? I thought you didn't like lies." He snickered cruelly. "For the first time I'm actually being truthful with you. I have what I wanted from you. I don't have to keep up all that façade anymore."

Her tears were finally finding their way down her cheeks. Her blood started to boil, and yet she was overcome by sorrow as she felt an oppression in her chest. "I… I thought…"

"That's what I wanted you to think, my dear. Otherwise you would have never accepted me. No wonder why everyone in the pantheon said you were a prize hard to get, you certainly were." He turned around and started to leave the room. "But a prize, nonetheless." Suddenly, before he could move any further, he felt her arms wrap around his waist.

La Muerte, in a fit of desperation and hurt, ran forward and embraced him, sobbing, begging him wordlessly to stop with this cruel joke. "Please, don't do this to me…" her voice was broken, and she managed to speak between sobs. "I love you…! I don't care… I d-don't care what t-they say of you!"

He froze in place when he heard her speak like that, pleadingly, begging, sobbing, but overall when she said 'I love you'. She loved him back… She returned his feelings. A great part of him wanted to return her embrace, take back the horrible things he was saying and brush her tears away. But he hardened his heart, this was for her own good.

Firmly, but reluctantly, the dark god carelessly shoved her against the bed, not even glancing back at her. She looked up at him in shock and disbelief, but overall a great pain.

"Now that I have what I wanted, I have no more use for you. You may do whatever you wish, if you want to leave and go back to your dear old' daddy, go. I don't really care what you do now." With these last words, Xibalba walked out of the room, leaving the door wide open, as if giving he the notion to leave.

La Muerte just stayed there, frozen in shock. A sob escaped her lips. Her eyes swelled up with tears, as she took a hand to her mouth. She couldn't believe it. He had just… The dark god she had come to see as her friend, the one she had come to love… Not only had he rejected her, all that she had tried to avoid form the beginning had happened. He tricked her, he deceived her into thinking he had changed all to strip her of her maidenhood, just like everyone had warned her. He took advantage of her love, when he knew perfectly she held love in a high regard. She had opened her heart to him, only to have it backfire right back in her face.

Her father had been right all this time. Xibalba was truly the cruelest god of all.

La Muerte tore her wedding ring off her finger and threw it against the floor, running out of the room, and running down the halls; she was so desperate and broken-hearted that she didn't care she only had a bathrobe on, she just wanted to get away from this horrible place. She ignored the lizards as they asked her if something was wrong, trying to hide her tears from view. She ran outside, into the stable, opening Blanca's stall, climbing unto the white mare and galloping out; Medianoche didn't understand what was going on, but something told him they were leaving for good, the Friesian neighed angrily and tried in vain to open the door of his stall, bucking and stomping his hooves, calling out for Blanca. She could only let out a neigh in reply. La Muerte was openly crying now, burying her face into Blanca's mane as she abandoned her hus- Lord Xibalba's castle for good.

She did not see a shadow watching from one of the highest towers of the fortress.

He had been reluctant, but Xibalba watched with great sorrow and pain as his beloved wife, the love of his life, his first friend, galloped away not only from his castle, but from his life as well. He wished her to be happy with someone worth of her, but it didn't mean it didn't hurt. His heart had been torn before, but never like this, now the feeling was unbearable, it was as if he had been stabbed in the chest, but his heart still beat. By the time she was but a tiny white spot on the distance, he lifted a trembling hand to the window, his eyes moistened and at the verge of tears.

"Adiós, mi amor…" he whispered in a broken voice, before he couldn't bear it any longer, and the tears now trickled down his cheeks; he took his other hand to his shut eyes, grit his teeth and nearly dug his claws into the glass to the point of cracking it.

"My Lord?!" Emilio had no idea of what had happened when out of sudden La Muerte ran by him, in tears and dressed only in a sleeping robe. Just what had transpired between her and Xibalba that made her leave like that? He doubted it was what others would suspect. "What happened?"

"Leave me alone, Emilio…" Xibalba growled between sobs and grit teeth. "I want to be alone…"

"Why did La Muerte leave like that?! She wasn't even dressed up!"

"I… I d-drove her away... I let her go…"

Emilio's eyes widened in complete shock and disbelief. "You what?" He couldn't imagine how he drove her away, though judging by how the poor thing had simply rushed off in tears without bothering to pack or dress up he could make himself an idea. "Why did you do that?!"

It took the dark god a few seconds to reply, staring at the point where La Muerte had disappeared from view not long ago. "Por que la amo."


"He did WHAT?!"

Emilio stepped back in fright when the rest of the lizards practically yelled the question. He could tell they had not expected this turn of events either. "He made her leave."

"Why did he do that?!" Roberto shrieked in complete disbelief. "What happened?!"

"I don't know, all I could figure out is that Lord Xibalba didn't want her to leave, but he still let her go."

"I can't believe it! They made such a cute couple!" Juarez whined, sighing and looking down.

Regina nodded. "After all this years, he finally felt love."

"Then why would he drive her away like that?" Luis said. "They seemed so happy together."

"I asked him that, and all he said was that he did it because he loved her." Emilio explained.

"I don't get it.

"He drove her away out of insecurity."

The lizards jumped at the familiar, unexpected voice, glancing at Lorenzo as he looked at them solemnly. "We have known Lord Xibalba ever since he came into this world. We know what he has lived, we know what goes on inside his head even if he doesn't say it directly, or at all. We know that despite acting stoic, cruel and strong deep down he is still the insecure, shy little boy we once knew. He probably came to the conclusion he is not good enough for Lady La Muerte, and drove her away to let her be happy with someone else."

The other lizards remained silent for a while, until Emilio spoke. "That does make sense. Don't forget he fears of becoming like Lord Akrinok as well; that could have had something to do with it too, don't you think?"

"Man, I still can't believe he drove her away like that!" Gael sighed, crossing his arms. "Why couldn't he have simply talked with her about it?"

"What did I just said about his insecurity?"

"Whatever happened, she's left!" Roberto snapped. "You know what that means, right? Lord Xibalba will probably go back to the way he was and take out his anger on anything he has in front!"

"No." Lorenzo shook his head. "After what he lived with La Muerte, I doubt he will go back to being the same as before."

"Do you think he will be fine?" Juarez said worriedly.

"He's a strong man. Sure, this will be hard to overcome, but I'm sure he will be okay, don't forget he's had it worse." Regina said. Still, she had the feeling this time it wouldn't be that easy. As if on cue, an inhuman scream of anguish echoed through the castle, and then came the sound of a rampage coming from Xibalba's chambers.


The Remembered souls parted out of the way when a white horse galloped through the streets of the city, heading towards the castle, but most of them recognized the figure on top of them, and the majority was shocked to find the state she was in. La Muerte didn't care that she was technically half-naked nor that everyone was watching her, all she wanted was to get home and run to her family's embrace. Finally, she galloped across the familiar bridge that led to the front courtyard, and went into the stable.

As soon as Blanca stopped inside of the stables, La Muerte immediately got off and ran into the castle, through the halls, for once ignoring the spirits looks of surprise and worried words. She didn't want to see anyone right now, she was too hurt and brokenhearted to even stop and say she was fine, not to mention that would be lying. At long last, the goddess crossed the doors that led into her room, and slammed them shut, running for her bed and letting herself fall on top of it, burying her face into her pillows and crying her heart and eyes out. She cried for what seemed an eternity, Xibalba's words were taunting her and stinging at her heart. She didn't know what she'd say to her father when he found her here, but she guessed the best would be to tell him the truth. It wouldn't take long before he'd be here, wanting to know what had happened.

Her suspicions were confirmed when soon there was an alarmed knock at the door. "La Muerte?" King Sol rushed into his daughter's room, and as soon as he found her in bed with nothing more than a bathrobe and crying her lungs out he immediately rushed to her side of bed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Mija, what's wrong?! W-When did you-?!" he hadn't even finished the sentence when La Muerte threw herself into her father's embrace, burying her face into his robes, weeping. He instantly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"F-Father…!" La Muerte stuttered between sobs, gripping unto his shoulders.

"There, there. It's okay, my child." He realized she had come here without her so-called husband. "Where's Xibalba-?"

She almost immediately snapped. "Don't say his name! I don't want to hear it ever again!"

Sol was surprised when she retorted like that, but at the same time he was partly relieved she did not defend him. Then he saw the state she was in, undressed in only a bathrobe; realization dawned on him. "Did he…?" he grabbed La Muerte by the shoulders and glanced into her eyes. "Did he dare to defile you?! Did he touch you?!"

"No…" La Muerte sobbed, wrapping her bathrobe even tighter around herself. "No, he didn't, but…" she didn't have the heart to tell her father she had given herself to Xibalba, it would break his heart. "You w-were r-right about him, he n-never loved me! He only w-wanted…!"

Sol immediately knew what she meant to say. "There, there, do not weep, my child. What matters now is that you're back home, you're safe from that man and he'll never hurt you again. I promise you." He sealed his promise with a small kiss to his daughter's head, again pulling her close to his chest, comforting her and speaking soothing words to her.

Though she felt assured by his words, they offered little comfort to her. But right now, all she wanted was to rest… and get dressed.