Silence.
In the darkness, the boy dreamed of his past: a seven-year-old child, naked and crying on a beach, is found by a woman who raises him as her own and calls him Rodrigo.
Rodrigo grows up, but the children fear him for his strength, so his mother asks her adopted son to try to control it. Suddenly, all these memories fade away, and Rodrigo tries to reach for them, but he can't, they're gone forever...
And again, silence...
In the distance, the voice of a woman is heard, different from the voice of the girl who found Rodrigo in the palace.
—I don't know, Tania. I think he's quite handsome— the mysterious female voice said.
—Is that all you notice, Ana — replied the familiar voice of the woman Rodrigo found.
—Hey, look, it seems like he's waking up—
Rodrigo slowly began to open his eyes and blurry saw a pair of beautiful blue eyes. As his vision cleared, he could see the face of a gorgeous girl with long black hair and fair skin adorned with freckles. The girl smiled as she gazed intently at Rodrigo.
—Hello, hello, welcome to the land of the living, boy. How are you feeling?— the girl with blue eyes asked as Rodrigo lay in bed, and his vision was gradually returning.
Quickly, Rodrigo attempted to touch his right arm, and to his surprise, it was still there, despite being certain that he had lost it.
—My arm, my arm, is it still here? — he asked.
—Hey, calm down. You're fine, nothing happened to you— the black-haired girl responded with a soothing voice.
—Stop flirting with him, Ana. Remember, he's our prisoner— replied the girl Rodrigo had seen before.
The lad could finally get a clearer glimpse of the mysterious woman as she was no longer wearing her veil. She had a tanned skin and fiery red curly hair, a shapely figure, and ample bosom. Her face bore tattoos of symbols commonly seen among the Berbers, leading Rodrigo to assume that she was a native of the vast Sahara Desert.
—Very well— said the red-haired girl as she approached Rodrigo. —If you tell me your name and whom you're working for, we won't harm you, agreed? —
The young man lowered his head and replied:
—My name is Rodrigo, and I don't work for anyone. Almanzor invaded my city while I was traveling with a merchant caravan and killed my mother. I just wanted revenge—
Quickly, he looked up and asked them:
—You don't work for him?—
The redhead woman grew impatient and replied:
—Stop playing dumb, boy—
But Rodrigo's face remained anxious.
—It's the truth, I swear! — the lad responded as he tried to sit up on the bed.
The black-haired girl looked into his eyes and then turned to the Berber girl.
—As strange as it may seem, I believe he's telling the truth. I think he must be a Nephilim who never knew his real parents— she said, while the redhead girl looked up at the ceiling in uncertainty.
—Are there still gods in this day and age who continue to sleep with humans? You must be joking, right?— replied the Berber woman.
Rodrigo stared intently at the girls.
The woman with black hair and blue eyes had very fair skin, even whiter than the blonde people he had once known from the Kingdom of the Franks. She had several freckles on her face and shoulders. Although her hair appeared black, when the sunlight hit it, it had a color he had never seen before: slightly purple with pinkish tones at the ends. She wore a long green dress with a kind of corset on her abdomen. It was a fashion style he had never seen before. Around her neck, she wore a necklace with a greenish stone, which had a spiral design engraved on it. It wasn't a symbol Rodrigo was familiar with.
On the other hand, the Berber girl wore a blue blouse and slightly grayish pants. On her neck, there was an elaborately crafted golden necklace that didn't seem Spanish or Arabic. It looked more like the remnants found in the south of Spain, where people unearthed treasures from a people they called 'Punic', although the existence of such people seemed more like legend than reality. The girl also had her lips painted black. Her amber eyes were beautiful, but they seemed filled with anger.
The woman with blue eyes turned to Rodrigo.
—Was that mother of yours your real mother? Did you happen to meet your father by chance? — the woman asked.
—No— Rodrigo responded as he looked sadly down at his lap. —My mother found me as a child on a beach and adopted me. I don't know my real parents, and I have no memory of what happened before that. That's why my mother was the only family I had—
The freckled girl smiled at him and then turned to the redhead one.
—I don't sense any lies in that. It's certainly not common to see gods still having relationships with humans nowadays, but he could very well have been conceived in such a way and later survived a shipwreck. Don't worry, Tania, I don't think this happened under your jurisdiction— she said.
—Okay, okay, I believe you— the Berber girl responded. —After all, your eyes were so filled with anger that I started to doubt if you were a divine being—
Rodrigo felt like they were speaking in riddles, and his head was spinning. He then asked:
—Excuse me, I don't understand anything you're saying. Are you witches, perhaps?—
The girl with black hair chuckled discreetly.
—No— she replied with a smile, —but I think we need to fill you in on everything. My name is Ana, and that grumpy girl with salamander-like hair is Tania—
—Shut up, Crow face!— Tania retorted, and both girls laughed as they continued their banter.
But then Rodrigo interrupted:
—What are you, then? And... what am I? Do you know?— He was intrigued, as he had always noticed that he had more strength and speed than other people, but his mother had always forced him to hide his powers, though he knew deep down that he was different.
Ana smiled at him and said:
—Well, we are goddesses—
The words made Rodrigo's face twist with uncertainty.