“I won’t go as far as to say I feel sympathy for you, Jackson Cade, for that would be a lie. You made your choices, as we have made ours. There is something though… What would people call it? Compassion? No, that’s not it… It sure as hell isn’t respect… Ah! Pity! That’s the one.”

“The sole representative of the Uprising amongst a swarm of Preservationists. You are but a man, faced down by a five-headed behemoth… Dwarfed by the shadow of the Hydra Of Lerna. You were called to challenge us as one of your labours of contrition, to atone for your failures. This beast before you has terrorised the neighbouring town, polluting all around with poisonous breath and devouring the people and livestock with ravenous maws, before retreating to its lake.”

“The story goes that Heracles, armed with a magical sword granted by Athena and with the assistance of his nephew Iolaus, eventually cut off the heads and cauterised them with flame so they could not grow back, until one by one the heads -and the hydra – fell, the one immortal head taken for a trophy. You may draw heart from this tale, Perseus, but you should not – The gods of Arcadia smile on us, not you, and there is no assistant by your side.”

“Half of your allies are scattered and in hiding. The other half are scattered… For the worms. you stand alone against an insurmountable foe, from which any wise man would run. You have never been a wise man – Ask your dead officers. Ask your dead comrades. Ask your dead brother. Iolaus’s blood stains the pavement of Agora, and that is a fate that will be far more merciful than yours.”

“And then… Act II. The aftermath. When the intrepid hero falls and the village loses all hope, the toxic waters of the Lerna will spread… And the Hydra will hunger. When all animal life has abated, there is only thing to do – the strong must devour the weak. We must feed upon one another for supremacy, but there is only one way it can go – As mentioned before, one head is immortal, and this time it is no mere hunter’s trophy.”

“I have long stared Death in the face and laughed. More recently, I have taken Death by the mouth and kissed him, drank of him deep and slow… And I live. Make no mistake, Jackson’s downfall is my priority, but I have no intention of laying down once the deed is done. You see, there is one thing that Nox, Narcissa, Anton, Redgrave and even Cade have in common – I have defeated you all… And my lust for violence, for conquest, for a feast, remains unabated.”

“I shall exhale venom, I will bite and claw, I will hunt and slither and constrict and do whatever I must to do what the one true head of the Hydra has always done… Survive. Thrive. Annihilate. Consider this your only warning, because things are always darkest before the death.”