“Stay out of matters that do not concern you, Sekhmet! She is my rival!” Ishtar continued to shout.

  “Very well—let’s do this,” Sekhmet replied.

  “I’ll kill the girl who’s turning this planet into a volcano. And if I do it before you kill that girl, then I’ll be the one who kills her,” the lioness goddess said with a laugh.

  Ana seized the opportunity and flew toward Tania while the two goddesses argued, neither paying attention to her.

  “No, you fool! That girl is accelerating the flow of time!” Ishtar shouted angrily.

  “Why wait, when we can kill them both right here?” Sekhmet snapped back.

  “Because that way, when the girl awakens, she will feel remorse for having caused her ally’s death,” Ishtar replied.

  Sekhmet sat down, attempting to analyze the situation.

  “But if we kill her, then no one will feel remorse,” she countered.

  “The great Ares told me something before we came here. Anat has just informed him that Lel wants that girl alive,” the Mesopotamian goddess replied.

  “That’s boring,” Sekhmet said flatly.

  “She is Lord El’s daughter,” Ishtar insisted.

  “El who? I don’t give a damn who that god is,” the Egyptian goddess replied indifferently.

  “I already told you, Sekhmet—stay out of this. I can control the situation perfectly. So wait here and do not kill the fire goddess,” Ishtar said irritably.

  “Have you noticed that Morrigan just fled?” Sekhmet asked.

  Ishtar turned around—and indeed, Ana was no longer there.

  “Damn it! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Ishtar snapped.

  “Very simple,” Sekhmet replied.

  “Because I told you I would kill them both,” the lioness goddess said as she rose and looked toward where Tania was releasing her power.

  “No, wait, Sekhmet! You can’t kill Tannit! Stop!” Ishtar shouted.

  “If you can stop me, then do so,” Sekhmet answered coldly.

  “You will be punished by Lord Ares!” Ishtar screamed.

  “To hell with Lord Ares! Neither you nor I care. You’re here to have fun, and so am I—but my fun is far more sadistic than yours, you spoiled child,” Sekhmet shouted, watching Ana attempt to enter the field of fire Tania had created with her power.

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  The lioness goddess lowered herself into a runner’s stance, her eyes glowing with bloodlust, and hurled herself at full speed toward Tania.

  Ana tried to enter Tania’s field of fire, but it was far too strong.

  “Tania! Tania! You must wake up or we’ll all die here!” she screamed.

  But Tania could not hear her. In her mind, she was being suffocated by hundreds of people piled atop her body. The goddess had closed her eyes and resigned herself to death.

  “I killed you all. I allowed the genocide of the people I was meant to protect. I deserve to die,” she thought.

  Yet, faintly, from very far away, she heard Ana’s voice.

  “Ana? What are you doing here?” Tania asked.

  Still enduring the burning flames, Ana began crawling forward. Her skin burned away, exposing muscle beneath the heat. Then the Irish goddess struck Tania with all her strength, knocking her to the ground. The flames receded.

  “You damn coward, Tania! Stop playing the victim!” Ana shouted.

  Tania felt the blow echo through her mind and opened her eyes. Through the hundreds of children covering her, she saw Ana’s face burned by fire—unable to shed tears, her tear glands dried out.

  “I’m sick of you, Tania. I tried the peaceful way—listening to you, understanding you—and nothing worked. Rodrigo made you smile, tried to be kind to you, and you repaid him by trying to kill him. I’m sick of you, Tania. You’re a coward!” Ana screamed, trying to cry, though she couldn’t—yet her face slowly began to heal.

  “You don’t understand what I’ve suffered!” Tania screamed in fury.

  “We’ve all suffered, Tania! All of us! But we get back up and move forward. You made terrible decisions—apologize and keep going. Do you not remember who pulled you out of the filthy alleys of Barcelona and recommended you in Lel so you could get a job? Do you not remember me telling you that you had to keep going?” Ana shouted angrily.

  Sekhmet, closing in at full speed, ignited fire in her left hand, shaping it into a claw—just as Tania once fought.

  “They’re within my range now!” she roared.

  “I killed children for power. I allowed the genocide of my people!” Tania screamed, sobbing.

  “I am a sinner!”

  “So am I!” Ana shouted. “Do you think those idiot Irish didn’t sacrifice humans in my name? Do you think I’m happy about betraying my own people and allowing my sisters to be captured by Dagda? Damn it, Tania—I’ve suffered too. But I’m still here, standing. You didn’t personally kill those children. You didn’t take your sword and slaughter the people of Carthage. Even with your terrible decisions, stand up and move forward to atone for your mistakes. Give those children’s souls inside you a future. They will support you if you create a world where no child ever suffers as they did—just as I do with the souls within me!”

  Ana screamed as she finally began to cry, her skin and tear glands fully restored.

  “Now, die!” Sekhmet shouted.

  Ana turned toward the lioness goddess and froze.

  “She’s too fast. I won’t be able to stop her,” she thought.

  But in that instant, Tania was gripping Sekhmet’s hand, halting her attack. Everything had happened so fast that Ana hadn’t even seen it.

  “Of all the people I had to meet today, it had to be you… Master Sekhmet,” Tania said coldly.

  “Do I know you from somewhere?” the Egyptian lioness goddess asked—but before she could finish, Tania hurled her into the remaining ruins of the Martian city.

  “Incredible… I didn’t see anything. Tania is monstrously stronger than I am,” Ana thought in awe.

  “That hit hurt,” the Punic goddess muttered.

  “Sorry—I was desperate,” Ana replied.

  Tania began to laugh.

  “I think that was exactly what I needed. I can still feel those children within me—and you’re right. For their souls to rest in peace, I must create a world where none of them will ever suffer such a cruel fate again. And today, they will help me defeat these wretches and restore peace to the world,” Tania said.

  “And rescue Anpiel,” Ana added as she stood again.

  “Of course,” Tania replied with a smile, watching Sekhmet rise from the rubble, her fiery claw ready once more.

  Exactly four hours remained.

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  The next part will be released at Monday.