WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 4 of Onyx Equinox "The Stranger," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Since the twin Ulama players, K'in and Yun, joined Izel's quest last week, the group has been doing their best to stay out of each other's way. Izel's meant to lead, it is his mission, after all, but with Izel being...himself, the other three are contributing way more than they'd prefer. Between his awkwardness and his cursed green eyes, the group's doubts begin to pile up. However, when their journey to an underworld gate crosses finally paths with Zyanya, the Danibaan survivor, Izel might have finally found a sympathetic soul.
The episode opens on Zyanya in the wilderness. The last time Zyanya appeared was in episode 1, where her home city, Danibaan, was destroyed by the god of the underworld, Mictlantecuhtli. Zyanya survived his onslaught thanks to an obelisk of god-burning Olmec obsidian, a piece of which she's carved into a talisman and now wears on her neck. The young warrior is following the same path as Izel and Yaotl, tracing their steps all the way up to Ox Te’Tuun, where she comes across the bloodbath from last episode.
Meanwhile, Izel, Yaotl and the twins also trek through the wilderness, though their journey is much less peaceful than Zyanya's. Despite Yun's peacekeeping efforts, the three boys don't get along at all, which is likely made worse by their empty stomachs and aching feet. Yaotl refuses to let them rest, though, and directs K'in and Yun to use their ball — which only responds when both twins use it — to point the way to the next gate. However, as the group moves on, the ground begins to quake. Yaotl points them to the cause: Mictlantecuhtli's obliteration of Ox Te’Tuun, the twins' home.
The pair are clearly hurting, especially since their guardian, Maak, was still in the city. They try not to show it, though, distracting themselves by catching fish and pushing Izel away when he tries to check in. Izel himself struggles with all the bloodshed he's seen thus far and his own glowing green eyes. As he tries to clear his head, he notices Zyanya spying on him. Yaotl attacks and, though Zyanya puts up a great fight, the jaguar emissary pins her and forces her to talk. Zyanya is seeking monster hunters to rescue Danibaan survivors and Izel's group fits the bill, especially after seeing what they did in Ox Te’Tuun. The group refuses to help, though, and Zyanya escapes after Yaotl lets his guard down to scold Izel. Again.
The next morning, they arrive at the temple housing the underworld gate. Despite being Maya-built, it's still made of Olmec obsidian, which means Yaotl has to stay behind. Upon entering the temple, the boys are separated, boxed in by a mechanism seemingly triggered by Izel's eyes. Meanwhile, outside the temple Yaotl offers his own blood at an altar, summoning Quetzalcoatl. He's concerned about Izel — the boy's been touched by underworld energy, causing Yaotl to suspect divine interference from that realm. Quetzalcoatl, bemused that his rival's emissary has summoned him, is coy about the involvement of his brother (an underworld god), and teases Yaotl that maybe Izel's curse is his fault.
The god goes on to discuss the fates of humanity's first through fourth incarnations, and assures Yaotl that he was as afraid of the gods as they, back when he was a human. Before he leaves, Quetzalcoatl tells Yaotl not to worry about the underworld beacon Izel's cursed with and warns him to care a little less. Back in the temple, K'in, Yun and Izel hang in boxes over a lava-filled cavern, trapped. Izel sees another vision of Nelli, who tells him to "trust them." Yun manages to get everyone back together, just before they all go plummeting to the bottom of the pit. The boys survive the fall, only to be met with giant crab monsters. Helpless, they're saved by Zyanya, who will only keep helping them if they agree to go to Danibaan with her.
They do and, after disposing of the monsters by working together and following Izel's plan, the group works together again to close the underworld gate. Despite Izel being the only one chosen for this mission, the gate mysteriously has five levers — meaning it needs five souls — that must be pushed at the same time to close it. Was Izel not meant to be alone? But, by tying Ki'ik to the fifth lever, they're able to pull them all and destroy the gate regardless. True to their word, the group sets course for Danibaan, though Yaotl only agrees because the city houses another gate. He berates Izel again but, surprisingly, Zyanya sticks up for him, saying he's not as useless as Yaotl thinks.
As the group camps out for the night, though, Zyanya might be more dangerous than they think. Saying she's going for firewood, Zyanya actually goes to be alone so she can transform into a monster — one made of the same god-flesh Olmec obsidian burns. Zyanya's beastly transformation raises a metric ton of questions but, hopefully, none of them spell the end for the one of the few sympathetic faces Izel's met thus far.
