章 114: The great blackout.
-Billie's POV-
An insurmountable problem loomed before me, its dark tendrils reaching into the very core of my being. I knew that soon, I would be forcibly ripped from my body, my essence shackled within the cold, unyielding confines of the gem. Noctarion, the embodiment of darkness itself, would finally claim my physical form as his vessel. The thought of him using my hands, my voice, to commit unspeakable atrocities upon this world sent shivers down my spine.
Noctarion's goal was simple, yet terrifying in its scope: to blind the world and strip it of all warmth. In his twisted vision, no living being could survive unless they evolved to thrive in perpetual darkness or perished in the attempt. The choice was as brutal as it was final.
He had once told me, in a voice that seemed to echo from the void itself, that he had simply come into existence one day. The true horror lay in the fact that he had no purpose beyond extinguishing every light in our world. It wasn't a desire or an ambition - it was an instinct, primal and unrelenting, like a starving beast finally unleashed after eons of captivity.
Reason held no sway over Noctarion. His logic, if it could be called that, operated on a plane far removed from our earthly understanding. In his unfathomable arrogance, he believed himself to be the only entity worthy of existence in the universe. I couldn't help but think that if Death were a conscious being, she would pale in comparison to Noctarion's towering hubris. Power, it seemed, was a fickle and dangerous thing.
For some, power breeds a false sense of invincibility. For others, like Noctarion, it fosters a belief in their own inevitability. But then there was Peter - dear, brave Peter - who viewed his powers as a solemn responsibility. His heart was stronger than anyone else's I had ever known, but even that strength seemed pitiful in the face of the impending apocalypse.
I was positioned before a single candle, its flame casting eerie, dancing shadows across the room. All around me, I could make out the silhouettes of kneeling figures, their silence more unsettling than any scream could have been. Among them stood the woman I had once called mother, before she revealed her true nature as a fanatical cultist and allowed Noctarion to violate my soul. Now, she was nothing more than a lunatic, hellbent on my destruction.
She turned to address the assembled crowd, her voice ringing out with a fervor that bordered on madness. "OUR LORD HAS DEIGNED TO GRACE US WITH HIS PRESENCE BY TAKING THE VESSEL OF ONE OF US!" The crowd murmured in agreement, as if this revelation was somehow new to them. I would have rolled my eyes if the situation weren't so dire.
"BUT SHE HAS DENIED OUR LORD ENTRANCE INTO HER HEART, AND FOR THIS, SHE SHALL BE PUNISHED!" The crowd's response was immediate and terrifying - a cacophony of outraged screams and death threats that chilled me to the bone. Even Noctarion seemed amused by their fervor, a cold, mirthless laugh echoing in the recesses of my mind. As the crowd finally quieted, I regarded them all with icy detachment. They were fighting for a monstrous entity whose sole purpose was universal annihilation, and they didn't even realize it.
Suddenly, a searing pain lanced through my chest as Noctarion once again gripped my heart in his ethereal grasp. I clutched at my chest, gasping for air, as 'Mother' continued her tirade. "OUR LORD WILL PUSH HER INSUFFERABLE SOUL OUT OF THE VOID AND LET HER LIE IN ETERNAL DAMNATION INSIDE THE GEM OF DEROVAN!" She held up the gem, its facets glinting malevolently in the candlelight, before approaching me with predatory grace.
Her hand closed around my throat, forcing my head to the ground. With my last ounce of defiance, I screamed at her, spittle flying from my mouth, "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" But my words were cut short as she placed the gem against the back of my head, her hand poised to strike.
A cold dread filled my heart as I realized what was about to happen. Noctarion, ever the opportunist, took this moment to offer one final chance at mercy. His voice, like oil on water, slithered through my mind. "I wouldn't want a damaged vessel, girl. There is still time left. Allow me inside."
Even with fear threatening to overwhelm me, I thought of Peter - his warmth, his kindness, his unwavering spirit. I clung to the hope that we would meet again in whatever lay beyond this life. Closing my eyes, I spoke through gritted teeth, my voice barely above a whisper but filled with unshakeable resolve, "Go to hell."
-Peter Parker's POV-
The Ancient One's words hung in the air, heavy with foreboding. "The gem is already in the hands of those who seek it," she said, her back turned to me as she continued weaving intricate orange constructs in the air. The patterns seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy, both beautiful and terrifying in their complexity.
I fought to keep my voice steady, though a growing sense of dread threatened to overwhelm me. "What will they do with it?" I asked, dreading the answer but knowing I needed to hear it.
She didn't pause in her work, her fingers dancing through the air with practiced precision. "They will empty the vessel for the darkness," she replied, her tone maddeningly calm given the gravity of her words.
I frowned, frustration seeping into my voice. "That doesn't say a lot about what's happening." The cryptic nature of her responses was beginning to wear on my already frayed nerves.
Silence stretched between us, broken only by the soft humming of her magical constructs. Unable to bear it any longer, I asked, my patience wearing thin, "What are you doing then?"
At last, she paused in her work, though she still didn't turn to face me. "Making a barrier against him," she said, her voice tinged with an urgency I hadn't heard before.
My brow furrowed in confusion. "Who is he-" I began, but my words died in my throat as I caught sight of something in the distance. Far beyond where we stood, I saw the telltale signs of a massive power outage. Lights in homes and buildings began to flicker and die, plunging entire neighborhoods into darkness.
As I watched, horror growing with each passing second, I realized that this was no ordinary blackout. A shadow, darker than the deepest night, was spreading across the horizon. It seemed to devour everything in its path, hiding buildings, streets, and even the very sky from view. The inky blackness climbed higher and higher, blotting out the stars and the moon itself.
The wave of darkness grew, transforming the world around us into a void of nothingness. As it approached our position, I braced myself for the end, certain that we too would be swallowed by this all-consuming shadow. But at the last moment, one of the Ancient One's constructs flared to life, bathing our rooftop in a warm, orange glow.
The sudden illumination was a stark contrast to the absolute darkness that now surrounded us. I turned to the Ancient One, who stood motionless, her eyes fixed on the inky abyss beyond our protective barrier. "What was that?" I demanded, unable to keep the fear and anger from my voice.
She turned to me then, her eyes filled with a sadness so profound it made my heart ache. "The end of the world," she said, her casual tone belying the weight of her words.
Rage bubbled up inside me, threatening to spill over. "What do you mean, the end of the-" I began, but before I could finish, she was suddenly before me, her finger pointed accusingly at my chin.
"It means exactly what it means!" she shouted, her composure finally cracking. "It means you failed to bring me the Gem when I emphasized quite clearly how valuable IT WAS!" I stumbled back, shocked by the heat in her voice and the intensity of her gaze.
In all our interactions, I had never seen her this stressed, this close to losing control. It scared me more than I cared to admit. "What's the problem?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
She turned on me again, jabbing her finger into my chest. "You. You are the problem," she hissed. "Because of you, I don't know what the future might hold. You are a wrench in the plan set by the universe itself."
I looked around at the impenetrable darkness surrounding our small island of light. The weight of what had happened - what I had allowed to happen - threatened to crush me. "What is happening?" I asked, dreading the answer but knowing I needed to hear it.
The Ancient One's shoulders sagged, exhaustion clear in every line of her body. "The world doesn't exist anymore," she explained, her voice hollow. "It belongs to Noctarion now. The only reason we can still exist is because I have created a domain of non-existence."
Her words hit me like a physical blow. "We don't exist here, there, when, where? There is nothing left to exist anymore." The implications of what she was saying began to sink in, and I felt my heart constrict painfully in my chest.
I thought of all the people who must have perished in an instant - Aunt May, Uncle Ben, V, MJ... and Billie. All of them gone because I hadn't been fast enough, smart enough, strong enough.
I turned back to the Ancient One, fury and determination warring within me. "Let me fight whoever is responsible for this," I demanded, my fists clenched at my sides.
But she shook her head, her refusal swift and absolute. "You will not be able to fight them."
"WHY?" I roared, my frustration and grief finally boiling over. The world had ended, and here I was, powerless to do anything about it.
Little did I know, the true horror of the situation was yet to be revealed, and my world was about to shatter in ways I could never have imagined.
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