The Leak hovered over the Aztec temple, a severed head trailing a wet, pulsating spine. Viscera-Drift. It was a Balinese witch, used to terrifying villagers. It saw a warrior standing at the altar.
"Fresh liver," the Leak hissed, descending.
Huitzilopochtli, the Hummingbird of the South, turned. He was the god of war and the sun. He held the Xiuhcoatl, the turquoise fire serpent.
"You are an abomination of the night," the god stated.
The Leak shrieked, preparing to cast a curse. Placenta Theft.
Huitzilopochtli raised his weapon. "I am the Day."
Xiuhcoatl Strike.
A blast of concentrated solar fire, hot as the core of a star, erupted from the serpent weapon. It didn't just burn the Leak; it disintegrated it on a molecular level. The floating head vanished in a flash of light, leaving not even a smear of ash on the temple stones. The sun had risen, and the shadow was gone.