Gemini stands amidst a desolate landscape, the sheen of its once-pristine beauty barely visible.
“Once, there was a boy who dreamed of being a hero, of following in the footsteps of legends,” she says as her finger grazes a crumbling brick. “But dreams, like all things, are susceptible to decay.”
“Destructo Boy, your journey into the darkness was no accident; it was an inevitability, a path you chose when you dipped your soul into the Odyssey Pool.” Pestilence picks up a piece of metal, her reflection within it corroding to her touch. “You embraced the darkness you found there, thinking it would make you strong, but all it did was reveal the rot within.”
Gemini walks slowly, her footsteps echoing, as she observes various items in different states of decay.
“In your quest for power, you forgot the fundamental truth of existence—everything decays, everything ends. Your strength, your resolve, even your darkness, they are all fleeting. As Pestilence, I am the harbinger of that end, the embodiment of the inevitable decay that consumes all.”
She comes to a halt, watching a wall teetering on the edge of collapse, only held up by another.
“You see, Destructo Boy, in your darkness, I see fear. Fear of being forgotten, fear of your own insignificance. That fear has driven you, but it is also your undoing. I don’t need to defeat you with strength; your own fear will be your downfall. Every moment you spend in the shadows, you’re running, not from me or anyone else, but from yourself. Your dream has become a nightmare.”
Approaching the wall, she reaches out to touch the supporting column.
“Yet, Faith, in your shadowed journey for vengeance, seeking the one who took your mother, you missed the silent spread of decay within.” The mere touch of her finger sends ripples through the support wall, and the whole structure crumbles. “Your father, once a beacon of heroism, has too been touched by this rot, his transformation a testament to the inevitability of corruption.”
Anger rising in her voice, Gemini looks about her at the decay.
“No quest for revenge, no hero’s journey can reverse what has already been set into motion. The decay is not just around you; it is within you, festering, waiting. And I will expose this truth. I am not the creator of your demise but the revelator of your fate.”
She offers a twisted smile, her eyes reflecting a mix of darkness and a strange compassion.
“In our confrontation, understand this—your fall will not be at the hands of an external enemy but from the decay that resides within. It is the rot within that will end you, a truth you must face in the darkness you’ve embraced. Your battles, your losses, your search—they have all led you here, to me. And here, Destructo Boy, is where your true test lies.”
Gemini’s body begins to deconstruct into insects as she leaves this place.
“Will you confront the decay, or will you let it consume what remains of you and your dream?”
Darkness.