Chasing light

Nanahuatzin was not the hero they wanted. His skin blistered and bubbled with sores, and when he spoke, his voice cracked like dry earth. But he was the one who stepped forward, not with pride, but because no one else would. He looked at the gods around him—polished, jade-like, untouched by time—and he knew what they thought of him. His ugliness, his deformity. But none of that mattered. It was his body that would become the sun. His sacrifice would birth the Fifth Sun, and for a moment, as the flames engulfed him, there was silence. No cheering, no applause—just a quiet, reluctant flicker of light.

Ra had seen sacrifices before, but this one felt different. As he sailed his barque across the celestial river, the new sun’s light flickered like a candle in the wind. Ra, old and tired, felt the weight of every journey across the underworld. Each night, the serpent Apep waited for him, and each night, Ra fought to survive. It wasn’t about winning anymore. It was about endurance. Apep was growing stronger, and Ra knew that one day the beast would devour him. The thought of it no longer scared him—it was almost a relief. But today, as he felt the pull of a new darkness on the horizon, Ra gripped the oar a little tighter.

Skoll, the wolf that chased the sun, had always been content with the chase. It wasn’t about catching the sun—it was about keeping the gods on their toes. His pursuit was eternal, a reminder that no light was safe, that even the gods had reason to fear. But when his brother, Fenrir, devoured Odin, something in Skoll shifted. The balance was broken. Fenrir’s hunger was not like his. It was final, consuming, absolute. Skoll had chased the sun for eternity, but Fenrir wanted to destroy it. When the wolves crossed paths in the cosmic void, Skoll knew that the sun was no longer just a light to chase. It was prey.

Māui watched the sun race across the sky, frustrated. His people had no time—no time to plant, no time to fish, no time to live. He had tried to slow the sun with snares and ropes, using the jawbone of his ancestors to hold it in place. But now, it moved even faster, as if running from something greater than him. Māui squinted at the sky, listening to the distant howl of wolves he had never heard before. The sun wasn’t just slipping away from his grasp; it was running for its life. He gripped the jawbone tighter, knowing that if he didn’t act, the sun wouldn’t just leave for a few hours—it would be gone forever.

Ra felt it first, the tremble of the sun in the sky. He looked over the edge of his barque and saw the void beneath him—darker than he had ever seen it. Apep slithered closer, more confident, more eager. But this wasn’t Apep’s doing. Ra knew this darkness. It was older, hungrier, more absolute. The wolves had come for the sun. He looked at his hands, trembling from age and exhaustion, and wondered if he had the strength to fight them. Ra was tired of fighting. Tired of holding back the darkness. But he couldn’t stop. Not yet.

When Fenrir bit into the sun, the world shuddered. Skoll turned away, his role complete. He had chased the sun for eternity, but this was no longer his hunt. Fenrir’s jaws closed around the light, and for a brief moment, the sky went black. Māui stood on the edge of his island, watching as the eclipse swallowed the sun. His heart pounded in his chest, knowing that this was the moment. This was the sacrifice the universe needed. Fenrir would take his bite, and the sun would be reborn. It had to be.

In the void, Ra gripped the oar tighter, feeling the pull of the underworld beneath him. He could see Apep waiting, coiled and ready to strike. But something else stirred—a light, faint at first, but growing. It wasn’t the old sun. This was something new, something born from the bite of Fenrir’s jaws. Ra felt it before he saw it—the warmth on his face, the flicker of light in the darkness. It wasn’t over. Not yet.

The sun erupted from the darkness, not with a roar, but with a quiet, determined light. It wasn’t the same sun as before. It was stronger, fiercer, tempered by the bite of Fenrir and the fire of Nanahuatzin. Māui watched as the light spread across the sky, and for the first time, he smiled. The sun wasn’t running anymore. It was ready to fight.

Skoll watched from the shadows as the new sun rose, brighter than before. He had chased it for eternity, but now, he felt something different. Respect. The sun was no longer prey. It was something more. And as Skoll turned to leave, he knew that the chase would begin again, but it would be different. This time, the sun wouldn’t run. It would burn.

Fenrir licked the blood from his jaws, satisfied. The bite had been enough. For now. He slunk back into the void, knowing that the time would come again. The sun was stronger, but so was he. The darkness was never far behind.

Ra let out a long, tired sigh. The sun had been reborn, but the battle wasn’t over. It never was. He would sail again tomorrow, fight again tomorrow, endure again tomorrow. But for now, he let the warmth of the new sun wash over him, a small, quiet victory in the endless fight against the dark.