Previously:

After the events of the Borderland, Maria and her children left towards Tapatio in order to start a new life. They headed towards the Order of the Holy Maiden´s Ministry of Jalisco. However, Uriel couldn’t step into the church due to his cursed power…Maria, feeling guilt for not stopping Uriel, let’s her fear towards him take control…Maria rejected Uriel and accepted Juan’s request to take him to his Hacienda…The hate and fear in her heart increased to the point that she started to reject her child…Meanwhile, Roberto started to train Uriel as his successor….Only 2 more days before Uriel dies…A slowly, invisible menace approaches Uriel…an evil spirit who wants to devour her prey…

During the night…Ministry Of Jalisco

Near the lake…

Uriel sits by the lake looking at the stars; he is sitting next to a fire that he made. He is eating some fish that he caught in the lake:

“Man…this sure is delicious…good thing that I learn how to fish from papa…”

As he was about to eat another bite, Uriel remembers his father; “Papa…”

He slowly eats it as he begins to remember the times he spent with his family. He begins to shed tears thinking; “Mama, I want to be with you…”

(SSSLLLAAPPP)

Uriel slaps himself; “No, a man shouldn’t cry, come one Uriel, you must be brave…”

Suddenly, Uriel hears a noise from the trees, Uriel stands up and sees a shadow approaching him; “Who’s there? Show yourself”

Uriel grabs a stick with fire preparing to attack.

From a tree, a beautiful woman dressed in a nun’s attire approaches Uriel. Uriel lowers his guard and lets go of the stick.

The woman has black hair and brown eyes. She has brown skin and she has a well developed body.

“I’m sorry did I scare you?” The woman smiles, Uriel with a suspicious expression replies:

“No, who are you?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, I am sister Nala, and I’m a new member of the Ministry of Jalisco. I was walking in the jungle when I got lost. I walked in circles until I saw a light in the trees. What a surprise to see a young boy in these parts, do you live by yourself?”

“No, I live with my uncle, but he is away right now…”

(GGRRRRRR)

Nala’s face turns red as she looks away; “Dear me, I’m sorry, it seems that I’m hungry…”

Uriel looks at her and smiles, he takes a fish and offers her; “Would you like to join me?”

Nala smiles and nods in agreement, she sits next to Uriel, Uriel feels uncomfortable and moves away.

“Oh dear, I see you’re a smart boy, not to trust strangers, am I right…”

“That’s right, sorry about that…”

“Don’t worry about it, just eat that fish, because it will get cold…”

Uriel finishes eating, Nala also eats as she looks at the sky; “Oh my, the sky sure is lovely, thank God for this night…Say you mentioned you lived with your uncle right? Do you have any parents?”

“Well, I had a father but he passed away a couple of days ago…and my mother….” Uriel looks down and doesn’t answer, Nala smiles and gets closer to him; “I understand, well I must give you an advice”

Uriel looks at Nala as she continues to speak:

“Mothers will always love their children, and yours loves you, even if she doesn’t demonstrate it…Now I don’t know if you fought with her…but she will always love you…”

Uriel smiles and replies; “I know that, but thank you.”

“Well, I guess it’s time for me to go, can you please show me the way to the Ministry?”

“Sure, no problem” Uriel puts out the fire, he and Nala walk down the road heading towards the Ministry, Nala looks at Uriel:

“Hey boy, I feel some doubt in your heart, is everything okay, it seems that you are afraid of going to the ministry…”

“No it’s not that, don’t worry about me, and what about you Nala? Where are you from?”

“Well, I lived in Puebla until now, I used to travel all over Mexico, the world is huge, Uriel, I recommend you to explore it…”

* Note; Puebla is a city in the eastern central area of Mexico, southeast of Mexico City. It is known for its culinary history, colonial architecture and ceramics.

“Well I was planning on going there myself one day…”

“I never got your name young man, could you tell me…”

“My name is Uriel Di Fiore, nice to meet you…”

“Di Fiore? That name is Maria´s last name…”

Uriel opens his eyes wider and sees that they arrive to the Ministry; “Oh it appears we've arrived, I need to go now… sorry…”

“Thank you so much Uriel, I hope we can see each other again someday…”

“Sure, I´ll give more fish, goodbye…” Uriel runs to the jungle before anyone notices him, Nala continues to walk, she makes a sinister smile as she thinks; “So tasty, your soul will be mine…”

Uriel walks in the jungle as he thinks; “Who was that woman, something seemed a little off about her…”

***************************************************************************

In the Ministry…

Maria walks down the hallway to her room, she walks thinking; “What should I do? I know that Uriel knows what I said that night, should I just ask him? No, I don't want him to hate me…”

Maria suddenly feels chills going down her spine, “Who's there?” She turns around and sees Nala, “Ahh, it's just you, what are you doing so late, Sister Nala?”

“I´m sorry Maria, I just wanted to speak with you a little, I hope you don’t mind…”

“Sure, no problem, what do you need to talk about?”

Nala makes a worried expression; “I met your son Maria…”

Maria opens her eyes wider and gets mad; “Wait, what do you mean, how do you know that?”

“Well, I got lost in the woods and found him alone, he then told me his name. I knew from his appearance that he is your son, now tell me, why isn’t he here with you?”

“That's none of your business…” Maria turns around and begins to walk away; Nala makes a sinister smile:

“Are you that afraid of him? Is it because he is El Charro Negro?”

Maria stops and turns around with a worried expression; “How do you know that?”

“Well, I know who Juan de la Trinidad is and let's say that he is an acquaintance. Judging from your expression and how your mana is altered, I´d say that I am correct right?”

-TCH- “You are correct, he is my son and he is El Charro Negro, now tell me about your real intentions here…”

“I am a nun; I just came here to learn about God, AND TO EAT YOUR SON´S SOUL!”

(BBBBOOOMMMM)

Nala begins to release mana in the shape of a black cloak, “WHAT'S HAPPENING!”

Maria tries to escape but the mana grabs her, tying her arms and legs, and suddenly the whole room turns black.

“MMMMMPPPHH” Griselda wakes up and stands up thinking; “What's this strange presence, and it's here in the Ministry?”

Griselda begins to walk towards the strange mana, “It can’t be…”

***************************************************************************

Inside the Dark manna:

“Where am I?” Maria opens her eyes and sees darkness everywhere she turns around.

“Your trap inside your mind, welcome Maria…”

Maria tries to release mana but it's no use; “What do you want with me? Why are you after Uriel?”

“First let me tell you my first name, I am called La Nahuala. The ancient spirit that was sealed in Puebla 300 years ago. I freed myself 100 years ago, ever since then; I have needed the souls of young children to replenish my youth. That's where your son enters the game, with his special soul, I can obtain immortality and you´re going to help me…”

“And why do you think I would help you kill my own son?” Maria says as she moves around.

“Because of your doubt towards him that's why…”

Maria sees herself in front of her like a mirror however, she has yellow eyes. The Maria with yellow eyes begins to speak:

“Maria, I can see the doubt in your heart, you´re afraid that Uriel will one day turn evil and kill your other children right? You're afraid that he will betray you and kill you…”

“No that's not true, I love my son…”

“You love him, however you also blame him for Roberto´s death, if only Uriel didn’t accept Juan´s offer. Yet, he did and Roberto died…”

“Stop it, stop it please….”

“No Maria, you´re the one who needs to stop, face the reality, you hate your son…”

“No, I don’t hate him…” Maria begins to cry, she looks up and sees the other Maria with blood all over her body, next to her.

Valerie and Daniel lay dead on the ground. Suddenly, another figure appears behind her.

“Hello mother, I came here to kill you…” A grown up Uriel with crimson hair and a black armor appears with a black sword.

Uriel slowly lifts his sword and decapitates the other Maria.

(SSSLLLAASSHHH)

“GYYYAHHH NOOOOO” Maria screams as she falls on her back, the head of the other Maria rolls over and stops in front of her.

The head opens its eyes and smiles:

“This is your reality, your son will be a demon and he will end up killing you, you must stop him before he makes the worst decision…”

“That's right mother, you need to kill me, before I kill you…”

(SSSLLLAASSHH)

Uriel stabs Maria in her chest with his sword, Maria cries as her eyes lose light:

“I must stop him, I must stop Uriel…”

“THAT´S RIGHT MARIA, YOU WILL HELP ME, YOU WLL HELP ME STOP EL CHARRO NEGRO…”

“Yes…I will help you…” Maria´s eyes turn to yellow, and all the dark mana gets absorbed by her.

Nahuala stands next to her and smiles:

“Very well, Maria tomorrow the ritual of the full moon will begin and you will help me stop Uriel...tomorrow…before the clock strikes midnight…Uriel’s soul will be mine…”

Maria turns slowly and sees Nahuala; “Yes ma´am…”

La Nahuala slowly fades away as “Good now I have Maria under my control…tomorrow, I will consume his soul…someone is coming…”

Griselda arrives in the hallway and sees Maria standing at her door facing it:

“Maria are you alright?”

Maria smiles at her, acting normal; “Yes, I'm alright…is something the matter Sister?”

Sister Griselda looks with suspicion; “Maria, I felt a strange mana coming from here, did you see anything?”

“No, I haven’t, well good night, I am very tired...” Maria goes inside her room.

Sister Griselda tries to stop her; “Wait…”

(PPUUUMMM)

Griselda looks at the door as she thinks; “That's weird, Maria didn’t see like her usual self… something is happening here, but how could something get past my barrier?”

“Is something wrong sister?” Nala appears behind her asking Griselda, Griselda looks at Nala with suspicion:

“No, nothing's wrong, what are you doing here so late?”

“I was just patrolling like you ask me, remember?”

“Oh that's right, well be careful, there is something off tonight”

“I will, good night sister…” Nala walks away, “Good night” Griselda also heads to her room thinking:

“I have a bad feeling about this…”

***************************************************************************

The next day…

Valerie and Daniel run to their mother’s room, with excitement, Valerie opens the door:

“Good morning mama!”

Maria, looking at the window does not respond, Valerie and Daniel look at each other not knowing what was happening, they walk towards her and see her only looking at the window, Valerie touches the sleeve of her dress and asks:

“Mama, are you alright?”

Maria looks at them without any expression causing both of them to feel fear; however, she smiles:

“Good morning my children, I’m sorry, I couldn’t sleep last night, and how are you doing?”

“W-w-we’re fine mama, we just wanted to tell you that today is Sunday and that today Uriel is coming to visit us…”

“Is that so? Very well, I need to change, go to the dining room to have some breakfast, I’ll be right there…” Maria says with a smile.

Valerie and Daniel look at her with suspicion and fear. Both of them walk out of her bedroom. As they walk, Valerie asks Daniel:

“Hey brother, did you feel that something was strange with mama?”

“I don’t know Valerie, but I’m hungry…” Daniel replies as he runs to the dining room, Valerie looks outside a window as she thinks; “Big Brother, please come soon…”

Maria changes her clothes and puts on a black dress, red lipstick and combs her hair. As she looks at the mirror, she begins to think:

“That demon is coming, I must dispose of him quickly…”

“No, Maria, you must wait; I need him for my ritual…”

The mirror darkens and a silhouette of a woman appears in the mirror, she has black aura surrounding her and all that could be seen is her eyes, red as an apple.

“Maria, you need to act normal, once the day is finished he will come to me…then you can kill him…”

“Alright, I understand” Maria stands up and heads to the door, she opens the door and a lance points towards her.

“Sister Griselda, why are you pointing that to me?” Maria says with a fake smile, Griselda looks at her with rage:

“Maria, I knew that I felt a stage presence last night, and it’s inside you, stay calm and let me help you…”

Maria smiles, her eyes turn yellow and wind begins to assemble; “Oh, you think you can stop me? I must tell you, I am not alone…”

“What are you…”

(PPPUUMMM)

Nala appears and hits Griselda’s back, Griselda falls to the ground as she looks at Nala, Nala with a demonic smile, laughs at her:

“Griselda, you let your guard down, you see not all bad people get judged when passing through the barrier.”

Griselda gets mad and releases silver mana, Maria grabs Griselda’s hands together and chants:

“Atadura Divina” (Divine Attachment)

“NOOO” Griselda stops charging mana, Maria knocks her unconscious:

“Rest Sister, you are too old and tired for this…”

“Excellent Maria, now put her in your room so no one can find her, I will leave now to avoid any suspicion.”

“Understood” Maria drags Griselda into her room and locks the door shut, she walks towards the dining hall as if nothing ever happened.

***************************************************************************

In the Hacienda…

(BBBAAADDUUUMMMPPP)

Uriel opens his eyes and immediately lifts his body. He is sweating as he breathes heavily:

“What is that feeling?”

Uriel gets out of bed and immediately runs to the mirror. Terror invades him as he sees that he has red eyes. Uriel takes a few steps back:

“This can’t be…I must be dreaming…”

Uriel rubs his eyes and sees that his eyes are back to normal. He smiles feeling that everything went back to normal:

“Good…it was just a dream…I thought that I was turning into…”

Uriel stops talking as he feels strange; “That’s weird…I can’t remember what I did 2 days ago…I can’t remember what I did 1 year ago…oh no…”

Uriel runs looking for Juan; “TIO…TIO…” (Uncle).

“Young master…” A servant appears behind Uriel. She gives him a letter; “This is for you…”

Uriel grabs the letter, he thanks the servant and runs to his room. He opens the letter and reads it:

“Hey muchacho…sorry, but I have to go to Spain for some business…let me tell you something…this is your last day alive…when the clock strikes midnight…you will no longer exist…so, I suggest that you enjoy this last day to the fullest…It’s been a pleasure knowing you…Uriel Vazquez…”

Tears come out of his eyes as Uriel falls to his knees; “So it’s true then…I will really die…” Uriel feels devastated and filled with fear.

Uriel takes a deep breath and remembers his father’s words:

“I will always be with you…”

Uriel stands up and smiles:

“That’s right…I am not alone…I still have my family…if this is my last day…then, I will enjoy this last day to the fullest…”

Uriel prepares to enjoy his last day…with his family…

Without knowing…Uriel heads towards danger…his last day approaches as he heads towards the Ministry of Jalisco where La Nahuala awaits for him…to eat his soul…

To be Continued…

Next Volume…