Dark Magic was a very discussed topic among all the pantheons of the world. Though each had their own opinions about the use of the Dark Arts, most forbad its use to most, the only exception being Death and Darkness deities. However, in the Aztec Pantheon the use of Dark Magic was strictly forbidden even for the little Death Gods that still remained, since its use was that condemned most of the Lords of the Underworld back in their day. Any use of dark magic could be severely punished by the Kings should they catch anyone use it.

Because of this, the Candlemaker grew worried when suddenly he felt a dark disturbance in the Cave of Souls coming from waterfall that led to the Land of the Forgotten. His first reaction was to go to the secluded chamber where the Gods' candles were located, apart from the mortals' candles. Each was kept on a special lantern, all carved and made from materials according to said God or Goddess's power and personalities. The Candlemaker immediately headed to a lantern made of black obsidian with green swirl; inside it, the black candle's normally green fire had turned into a deep bluish purple, the hue the fire acquired whenever its owner used dark magic. A few moments later it changed back into green.

"Xibalba, what did you do now…?!" the Candlemaker hissed nervously, heading out of the room and back towards the Waterfall Chamber. The Book of Life flew towards the Candlemaker, flapping its pages in worry.

"Okay, don't panic! Thankfully it'll be just a misunderstanding, I mean, I know Xibalba's reckless, a bit arrogant and he doesn't kind of care for the rules that much, but he'd never use dark magic without permission… would he?" True, he and Xibalba weren't exactly close friends, but this didn't mean he didn't care for him. "Then again, it wouldn't hurt to take a peek, would it?"

The Book of Life opened its pages and skipped them to Xibalba's Story. The Candlemaker started to read the dark pages.

'As he lay dormant in his dark castle, Xibalba felt a new presence in his realm. And it didn't take him long to realize that the auras belonged to the woman he loved and carried his unborn child…'

Wait, what?! La Muerte was with him?! The Candlemaker quickly turned the pages to La Muerte's story and took a quick read.

'La Muerte couldn't bear to be apart from the man she loved any longer, and feared for the safety of her child. She set out to return to Xibalba's castle, and to him.'

The Candlemaker sighed in dismay. Sol wasn't going to be happy when he found out about this. He returned the pages back to Xibalba's Story to find out why he had used Forbidden Arts.

'Xibalba saved their lives in the last moment, only to find out the child's live was in danger. Though the unborn child survived, Xibalba decided he would make sure no one would take neither La Muerte or the baby away from him, and searched among the pages of the Book of Death to find for a spell that would keep everyone away for the time being as a way to protect his wife as well.

Oh, no. Not the Book of Death!

This was very serious. The Kings would find out about this sooner or later, and when they did, they would not be pleased.

"Candlemaker."

The wax man yelped in panic when he heard Tezcatlipoca's voice behind him, and quickly shut the Book of Life closed before the deity could take a peek at it before turning to him. "L-Lord T-Tezcatlipoca! How g-good to see you! W-What brings you here?" He stuttered, hoping he wasn't here for the reason he thought.

"My brother and I felt a dark magic disturbance." He said with a very serious expression on his face. "We felt it coming from the Land of the Forgotten."

"Oh, you know how that place is! Since Lord Akrinok was always using it, it's natural that there's always dark energy overflowing from there!"

"But Akrinok had long passed on, and as you know the only person who could have cast a spell that powerful is Lord Xibalba, his son. Have you seen if his candle changed into blue?"

"Oh, I just came from there, precisely! And everything's…" The Candlemaker shivered at Tezcatlipoca's serious expression, and realized he would only make things worse if he tried to avoid the inevitable. "Xibalba used a Sealing Spell."

Frowning, Tezcatlipoca approached the great stone mouth that led to the Land of the Forgotten, but as he placed his hand on the portal to make it open, a green cackling reacted to the touch and sent a burning sensation to the God's hand. The jaguar god let out a painful hiss as he glared at the dark stone.

"Majesty, it's no use. It was cast from the…" the Candlemaker closed his eyes shut nervously. "Book of Death."

"Qué?!" Tezcatlipoca was instantly in front of the Candlemaker with an angry face, his whole fur bristling. "Xibalba used the Book of Death?! He perfectly knows those spells are strictly forbidden! Do you have any idea of why he could have used it?!"

"To keep someone out?"

"I mean if you know why he'd want to keep anyone out!"

"Well… Let's say he had a very good reason… "

"And what would be?"

"La Muerte returned to him!"

Tezcatlipoca's angry expression changed into one of shock. "La Muerte?"

The Candlemaker gave a sigh to calm himself down. "Santa chihuahua… Well, let's say La Muerte decided she wanted to go back with him, and she went down to the Land of the Forgotten."

"So he's trying to keep her in."

"Don't misunderstand him. I mean, we know Xibalba isn't a saint, but he's not an evil person!"

"Whatever may be the reason he cast the Sealing Spell, it doesn't change the fact he broke the Blood Oath he made when he was crowned! He will have to respond for this sooner or later!" Tezcatlipoca was beyond furious. Of the two Kings, he was known to be the less compassionate one, he took oaths and promises very seriously, to the point he carried out the punishments personally. He didn't care if Xibalba was the Last of the Ancient Ones, this was another reason of why he should have been more careful on what magic he used. "Candlemaker, you are to inform me if Xibalba leaves his realm. Understood?"

"A la orden, capitán!" the Candlemaker blurted out, momentarily forgetting he was before his King (again), but apparently Tezcatlipoca was so concerned about the Sealing Spell he didn't mind letting the comment slip this once. As Tezcatlipoca disappeared in a flash of light, the Candlemaker glanced at the sealed entrance of the Land of the Forgotten in worry. As much as he supported the dark god in wanting to protect his wife, he knew the Kings wouldn't take that into consideration, nor would they accept it as a justification for the use of Dark Arts.

"Xibalba, what have you done…?"


The cold wind and the heavy snow of the mountains were sending shivers down his spine.

Xibalba didn't know why in tarnation he was going to see that woman of all people, but this was a serious matter. If having used a Forbidden Spell wasn't enough, he felt his dark energy was starting to get out of control again. It usually wasn't something to worry about, but the leakages had become more frequent since he realized he loved La Muerte, he had barely contained it while disguised as Osvaldo, and now that he had used it to cast a spell from the Book of Death he was certain he wouldn't be able to control it at all now. He needed her help again.

Shortly after managing to buy the very last batch of papanas of the day from the best bakery, he tucked them carefully in the saddlebag to keep them warm before heading out towards Mount Ahkká in Sweden. For a human it would take weeks or even months to reach all the way to Sweden, if a bear or a pack of starving wolves on the way didn't eat them, that is. However, his Godly status gave him the advantage of teleportation. If one second he was in Romania, in merely five seconds he could find himself at the feet of Mount Ahkká. However, the rest of the way was in sacred territory and he'd have to make the rest of the way on horseback.

It wasn't that long way up, thankfully.

Xibalba pulled his hood up again when the wind blew it back once again, pulling his scarf over his nose to keep the cold air out as well. He led Medianoche through the narrow rocky path covered in snow, but he could tell Medianoche didn't like it very much. He better finish this quickly before the papanas froze in this climate.

Finally, he arrived to his destination. An old manor in the heart of the mountain range, surprisingly spared by the cold climate and harsh conditions, though most of the structure itself already gave a dark feeling to it. Xibalba felt a shiver run down his spine when he was before the structure, leading his horse to the stables to the sides. Dismounting, he patted Medianoche's neck and whispered a few words of comfort as he took a sugar cube out of his cloak's pocket and gave it to his horse.

Turning into a blob of tar and zipping all the way to the doors, he knocked loudly before one of the doors opened by itself. The first time he came he had been taken by surprise by the action, but by now he knew it was another of her tricks. Taking a deep breath, Xibalba stepped into the manor and the doors closed behind him, making his cloak and feathers sway a bit with the wind caused by the force he pushed the door with.

Her voice resounded in the dark hall. "Come in, Xibalba."

Xibalba walked down the dark but elegant and surprisingly neat corridor towards one of the nearby rooms, the one he heard the voice coming from, as he pulled back his hood and his scarf down, releasing his cold breath as he sighed in dismay. The room he entered was a lugubrious looking-place, but there were silver swirls on the walls that in its own way gave it a homely feeling. Old portraits of Scandinavian landscapes hung from the walls, and the windows overlooked the mountain range, while the glass was slightly frosted. There was a tea table in the middle of the room, made of ebony, with black-colored glass cups and plates.

The mistress of the castle was enjoying a cup of tea with some pastries when she glanced to her visitor. "Xibalba, it's been a long while." Her voice was cold and stoic.

The goddess was all dressed in black, but her dress was sparkling like the night sky, just like her dark hair. Her skin was a very pale silver hue, but her eyelids and lips were a deep black, which contrasted her lavender eyes as she lifted her cup in greetings at her guest.

Approaching the table, Xibalba took a hand to his chest and bowed his head in respect. "Lady Nótt."

Nótt's expression remained cold. "Would you like some tea?"

He had been dreading that question, but he didn't feel in the position to reject her offer. After all, he was literally freezing to the bone. "Thank you." He sat down on the opposite side, shifting his wings as he pulled his cloak aside for the time being. The tea pot levitated in a blue glow and poured a generous amount of warm tea into the cub.

"What brings you this far?" Nótt inquired, taking a sip from her cup. She knew why he was here, but she wanted him to say it out loud.

"It's my… dark energy." Xibalba said hesitatingly, adding two sugar cubes to his cup to keep himself distracted.

"You sound uncertain."

"I didn't manifest it willingly. It just came out of me…"

"When did it happen?"

"The first when Zipacna and I… well, when we made up. And the second when I protected La Muerte from Forgotten Beasts."

"You made peace with Zipacna?" Nótt sounded unconvinced, though her expression remained unchanged. "I thought you 'hated his picture', as you put it the last time you were here."

"Yeah, well…"

"And didn't La Muerte leave you?"

This statement stung. "She didn't leave, I let her go."

"Then how come you had to save her?" Nótt continued to question him. "I guess it had something to do with her carrying your child, didn't it?"

"I tried to earn her forgiveness because I love her, happy?!"

"You? Love? Are you sure you are the same Xibalba?"

Xibalba thought the grip on his staff was so tight it would snap in two at any moment. "Would you knock it off?!" He wasn't aware that dark energy had been leaking out of him until Nótt snapped her fingers and it dissipated. He was confused. "What…?"

"When you become emotionally unstable, the dark energy leaks out." Nótt explained, taking a sip of her tea. "You didn't have this problem before because you bottled everything up and refused to feel anything. Now that you're 'opening up', as mrotals say, the barrier that kept your dark energy flow on check is weakening considerably."

"Is that supposed to be bad news?"

"Depends on your perspective. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you want me to help you contain the excessive flow again, don't you?"

"You are correct…" Xibalba said, gentler this time as he stirred the drink with the spoon. "I don't want to risk hurting my wife and child." Nót's indifferent cold expression was giving him the willies.

"That woman must be really something if she changed you this much, I must say."

"Are you going to help me or not?"

Nótt shook her head in annoyance. "Okay, you're in a hurry, I get it."

Xibalba took a quick but long sip from the tea to warm himself up before leaving his seat and going to the center of the room. Nótt was famous for her dominion over the Dark Arts, which was not so forbidden in the Nordic Pantheon. He had not done this in a long time, but he recalled the basic of it; it was a sort of sealing spell that would keep his dark flow at bay and prevent it from leaking, but like Nótt said, his emotional state affected it deeply.

Nótt snapped her fingers, making two pieces of white chalk levitate from one of the boxes on a table near the wall. She directed the chalks with her finger as they drew a circle surrounded by symbols on the ground, all written in a language Xibalba miraculously didn't understand. Once it was all done, she snapped her fingers, making the worn down pieces of chalk disappear, then she glanced at Xibalba and motioned him to step into the circle.

"Just to warn you, it's not going to be pleasant this time."

"It never was…" Xibalba muttered as he placed his cloak on his chair and walked to the center of the circle. He wasn't looking forward to this, but he wanted to make sure his family could be safe from his dark power.

When he was in the center of the circle, Nótt snapped her fingers, and green glowing chains sprouted from the symbols, wrapping around Xibalba's wrists, ankles and wings, pinning him down to the ground. The chains started to burn, making Xibalba scream in pain as suddenly the room grew dark; Nótt chanted incantations as a dark aura emanated from the dark god, and his form started changing into that of a draconic entity. Her voice grew louder as she extended out her arm, her nails growing longer and her eyes glowing of the same green hue as the chains.

Xibalba felt like his body was being split into two as the dark aura was forcefully directed back into him, forcing his transformation to recede as the green markings on his face glowed brightly like the chains. It felt like an eternity, but a few minutes later the aura and the chains disappeared, releasing Xibalba and letting him fall to the ground in exhaustion as his green markings went back to normal.

"It's done." Nótt said, stepping back.

"Thank heaven…" Xibalba barely managed to get back on his feet, telekinetically pulling his staff to his hand to keep himself standing.

"There's something off about your aura…"

"What do you mean? It has always been dark-aligned."

"It's not only that. You had never transformed like that before."

That caught his attention. "Wait, what transformation?"

"You didn't notice? You were turning into a…. dragon."

"I don't…" He didn't like how it sounded. "How?"

"You have to be careful when you use dark-aligned spells. From what I could see, something external caused the overflowing in your aura; the transformation will come forth everytime you use dark magic, and everytime you do It'll be harder for you to change back into normal until…"

"I got the message." Xibalba sighed in irritation at his newfound problem as he headed to put his cloak back on. "No dark magic unless it's an emergency."

"How is your wife, by the way?"

Xibalba froze at the door, his feathers bristling in discomfort. "La Muerte's fine, thankfully…" his voice softened considerably as he spoke about her. "I have to go and see if she's okay…"

"How curious, I never imagined you could actually love someone."

Xibalba grunted at Nótt's indifferent attitude as he pulled his hood and scarf up. "Thanks for your help."

As he disappeared through the door, Nótt went back to the tea table to continue with her tea before it got cold.