The city was in absolute chaos.

Half of the city of Manhattan suffered from a major outage; the city authorities detected a massive disturbance at Oscorp's power grid, and they speculated that was what caused the blackout. Terror and panic quickly spread across the many streets; people feared they were facing something similar to last year's attack. Hayek had accomplished something, and that was for people to have a glimpse of what her world was like, dark and cold, with no sign of hope or source of warmth.

But that wasn't even half of her goal. Tonight, Hayek wasn't just going to try and swallow the land of the living into complete oblivion. Tonight, Hayek was going to tilt the scales to her favor; she was going to force the universe to favor death over life. To choose her over generations of witches of life.

This is no vengeance or the story of a villain's point of view. This was retaliation. Years of oppression are coming to light in a single night. A desperate cry from a victim who did nothing to deserve such cold punishment.

Because here's a harsh truth from the circle of life and that's that nobody likes the cold and harsh reality of things, people love to be told lies, to live in a makeshift fantasy. Nobody favored reality over fantasy because that's what this is about. For eons, they treated her (death) as the villain and all because people refused to see death as part of the gift of life.

Eternity isn't a blessing; it's a curse, and what saved humans from that? Death.

Hayek stood by the clock inside the tower, dressed in the same black attire. She stared through Finn's blue orbs. Electro was near her, he was messing with the power grid, Oscorp security tried fighting him, but they all died electrocuted. Green Goblin was flying around Times Square's block; he was terrorizing civilians and blowing things up with his pumpkin bombs. Hayek wasn't thrilled by the unnecessary deaths they were causing, but the only way to get Spider-Man's attention was by hurting civilians until he intervened.

"Whatever it is you're planning on doing," Gwen spoke from behind the Witch of the Afterlife, Hayek continued to stare at the landscape of destruction. "It won't work. You'll lose."

Hayek let out a long, tired sigh before turning away from the window and facing Gwen and Ivanna Walker. "Has it ever occurred to you that my intent isn't to win or to lose?"

Gwen was handcuffed against the railing, a product of Hayek's making. Ivanna was passed out against the circular metal catwalk they were on; her hands were handcuffed as well.

"Contrary to my actions, my purpose in doing all of this is not for the simple fact of becoming a villain." Hayek continued while making her way towards her hostages. "I do not seek to be one. My anger is not towards you," she shook her head as Finn's arms spread open, "but towards the universe, towards life and its stupid balance."

"And how exactly do we fit into your not-so-evil plan?" Gwen fiercely asked Hayek, staring into Finn's light blue orbs and bouncy golden locks. "Because the handcuffs are giving me we're-holding-you-hostage kind of vibe."

Hayek stopped once she was near the blonde scientist. Finn's body leaned against the security railings. "Well, I must admit your position doesn't look at all promising. And if I'm being completely honest with you, there is a purpose in which you're here."

"Which is?"

Hayek smiled at her; dimples appeared on Finn's synthezoid body. "A glimpse of my origin." Gwen frowned, not understanding what the Witch meant. "Pardon me, I must get ready for- well, the end of the world."

Hayek made her way towards the stairs. "Enjoy the view while you're up here, but be careful not to lean too close to the edge." Her voice echoed as she descended, lips curled into a smirk. "It's a long way down."

Meanwhile, in Hecate's Vault Souvenir Shop, Ramsey Bianchi found Elias treating his own wound. A black knife lay on the ground, drops and smeared blood stained the floor, and Elias' whole left side, his brown shirt, was soaked in blood from the shoulder area. He had taken off his shirt and was cleaning the wound, though his efforts were futile since the pain made him want to pass out. His pain tolerance ran low, Elias Magnuson wasn't a fighter; he could pull off being a strategist because his strength lay in knowledge. Regardless of this, Blade still trained him to at least know proper self-defense for his safety in case he couldn't be there to save him.

After receiving the phone call from Elias, Ramsey dropped everything and made her way toward his work. She found her friend sitting on the ground against the register counter; he was trying to clean his wound, but he barely managed to do anything. Ramsey was already an expert at cleaning wounds after boxing for years and causing splinters on her knuckles. Sure, a stab and splinters weren't the same things, but they were still wounds.

"Elias, I need you to do something for me." Ramsey began as she bandaged his shoulder tightly.

The Romanian shook his hand, somehow knowing what she was thinking. He placed a bloody hand against Ramsey's. "Don't. Please, don't ask me to lose a friend." The brunette slowly met his tired eyes and took notice of how pale his face was. Despite looking like he's just been shot, there was still fire in those ebony eyes. "We just... We can just stick to my plan. Throw her into the dungeon dimension-"

"No." Ramsey shook her head.

"It doesn't have to be you, Ramsey," Elias argued, desperately trying to change her mind. "Let the next one deal with her."

Ramsey leaned back, using the heels of her feet for support as she knelt beside Elias on the floor. "You're asking me to wash my hands on this. To pass the burden onto the next person, and I can't do that, Elias. I can't."

"Ramsey." Elias tried to speak.

"What if the next person isn't brave enough?" Her eyebrows were furrowed as she listed all the reasons why she wouldn't go with his plan. "What if Hayek keeps on coming back? What if this cycle of violence never ends?"

"Ramsey, hey." Elias squeezed her hand, forcing her to stop talking. "All I'm asking is for you to see tomorrow."

And she would, but her tomorrow will be different from his. "But tomorrow has a price, Elias, one I'm willing to pay. This is my choice." She removed her hands from his already bandaged shoulder. "This ends with me. It has to."

The doors to the shop burst open, and Peter rushes in, his eyes finding Ramsey's almost instantly. Their feet carry them to each other before embracing them. Peter holds her eyes squeezed shut as he feels a wave of relief wash over him. After that impromptu voicemail, she left him; he feared the worst. Ramsey held him just as tight. She indulged in his warmth and strength; she loved him. She really did; the promise she made him to never sacrifice him, she meant it.

"Thank God you're alright," Peter mumbled against the nape of her neck. "I got your voicemail. What was that about?"

Ramsey frowned, leaning away from the hug; her hands remained on his shoulder. "What voicemail? I didn't send you anything."

"Yes, you did." Peter insisted, eyebrows furrowed. "You told me a bunch of things about doing something you didn't want to do and for me to stay out of it, which you know I will do anything but that."

The brunette knew what he meant with those words, but she hadn't spoken them to him; Peter had no clue. He couldn't find out; Ramsey couldn't risk having him change her mind. "Peter... it wasn't me. I never called you. I was busy studying, and then I got Elias call, that's why I'm here."

Elias stood up from the floor, ebony eyes wide with realization. "Damn. It's a set-up." The couple stared at him in confusion, but it soon morphed into realization; this was all Hayek. "We've been-"

The sound of glass shattering caught their attention, an explosive the size of a baseball had penetrated the shop window of Hecate's Vault Souvenir Shop. The light was going off from the explosive; they blinked rapidly, and the last thing they heard before it exploded was the sound of cynical laughter. Ramsey was frozen in place; her brain was too slow to comprehend the grave danger she was in. Luckily for her, Peter reacted instantly. He turned around and lunged at Ramsey, the impulse of his jump was enough to move them away from the explosive, his arms wrapped around her, and before they fell on the ground Peter switched position and received the impact of the fall. The explosive detonated and a cloud of fire spread across the old souvenir shop, fire devour everything leaving ashes behind.

"Ow." Ramsey groaned as she hit the floor. Peter landed on top of her, shielding her from the fire or flying objects that might harm her.

"Are you hurt?" Peter asked his girlfriend; she only shook her head.

Elias had managed to take cover behind the checkout counter; he crawled halfway through the threshold that would lead him to the basement when the explosion occurred. His arms covered his head as he laid on the ground, eyes squeezed shut and heart racing against his rib cage. Every time he heard glass exploding he flinched, he began to drag himself across the floor until he was safe behind the wall, he pushed himself to his feet and ran toward the door that led to the basement.

Once in the basement, Elias grabbed a duffle bag and ran to the sword case where he kept his electric staff. he fell on one knee and opened the case. He got the staff out and placed it beside him, he took out the prison sphere that Blade's friend had sent him days ago and stuffed it inside the bag along with the small notebook that contain the spell of imprisonment. He zipped the bag close and got up from the floor. He took off his bloody shirt and winced; his shoulder would definitely be an issue. Once he changes into a black fitness shirt and puts on a bulletproof vest, he runs up the stairs and enters the still burning shop.

"We have to get the hell out of here, or we'll burn alive." Ramsey squinted; her eyes were watery due to the smoke, she would occasionally cough. She pulled her shirt up and covered her nose with it; she kept on coughing. "We need... To find... Elias." She told Peter in between coughs.

Peter quickly changed out of his regular clothes to reveal his Spider-Man suit underneath; he coughed a few times as well before putting on the mask.

"Get out of here, now. I'll get Elias." He told her, she shook her head as she coughs. "The person who-"

"No, I'll get Elias out of here." She argued, and Peter was about to object when she added. "I can protect him with my powers; you get out there and kick- whoever threw us that bomb- ass."

Pieces of the roof started to fall, shelves toppled and turned into ash in mere seconds, and all the merchandise from the shop was lost. Whoever was out there surely wanted them dead, and Ramsey couldn't figure out who, she knew it couldn't be Hayek, not even once did she never hinted that she wanted to kill Ramsey. Weirdly, Hayek was more polite even if she meant ill; she always showed herself and chatted a bit before doing the actual damage, that's why Ramsey couldn't figure out who it could be.

"Okay, fine." Peter agreed reluctantly, Ramsey nodded, preparing herself to run. "But you have to hurry up; the fire is devouring everything, and it's too dangerous to be here."

"Roger." He goes to move when Ramsey straps her hand around his wrist, stopping him. "Wait," she pulled half of his mask up, revealing his thin lips and kissed him hurriedly. "Please, be careful."

She pulls down his mask, and he nods. "You too." Ramsey stared into his Spider-Man eyes; she gnawed at her bottom lip and nodded. "Please. I'll see you when this is all over."

"Don't worry about me." She reassured him. "I'll be safe." She lied.

"Come out, come out! You, itsy bitsy spider." A disembodied voice sneered from outside, followed by its cynical laughter.

A shiver ran down Ramsey's spine; she looked at him worriedly, and all Peter did was caress her cheek before leaving her behind. She watched him run out of the shop, her heart ached terribly, and her eyes water, now that he was gone, she felt afraid and the weight of her decision all too vividly. She sucked in a sharp breath and hurriedly made her way across the fire toward the checkout counter. She found Elias hiding behind the counter, holding his wounded shoulder; his hand was covered in blood.

"Oh, my god. Elias, your arm." The Romanian flinched, not expecting Ramsey to be there. The brunette witch crouch down beside Elias hurriedly and moved his hand away. She pressed his hand against his wound, and the man yelp. "Hold still, I'll heal it. I should've done it sooner, but I'm still growing used to having these types of powers."

She closed her eyes and focused for a second. Elias observed everything. A luminous white light came off from the palm of her hand, and Elias felt the aching stop almost instantly before feeling a tingly warmth on his wound. The light died down, and Ramsey opened her eyes, beads of sweat were rolling down their faces from the heat. "That was so cool. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Now, let's go." She helped him up and shared her telekinetic force field with him; she held his hand as they ran across the flames.

Elias flinched and was reluctant, but Ramsey dragged him along with her. He gasped and expected excruciating pain, though it never came. "Holy mother of... "

Ramsey's powers kept them safe till the end. Once they were out of the burning shop, they entered a new hell; the telekinetic force vanished out of shock due to what Ramsey's eyes were seeing. Police cars, firefighters, and ambulances had arrived at the scene; people were screaming and running away in terror. Elias shared the same look of horror as Ramsey; they were frozen on the spot, struggling to do something as they witness fire devouring police cars and half of Times Square.

"This... This kind of does feel like hell on earth." Elias murmur.

The reflection of fire flickered on Ramsey's hazel eyes as she stares at the destruction, but soon, her attention was driven away by her boyfriend trying to escape a man on a glider. "Who the hell is that?"

Elias squinted his eyes as he saw a dark figure laughing maniacally as it chased Spider-Man in the air. "I don't know. Do you think he's working for Hayek?"

"I don't know. I don't think so, not sure." Ramsey's mind was blank as she watched her boyfriend fight the mysterious villain. "But one thing is clear, we have to find Hayek; if we get to her, this might as well all be over."

Elias nodded, snapping out of his shock and turning his head to her. His hand gripped his staff, and electricity sizzled from it. "Okay, let's do this. Let's get Gwen."

Spider-Man was swinging around Times Square, occasionally stopping to save a civilian in danger before continuing to fight a cynical villain. His arms were sore, but he forces himself to not think of the pain and just focus on his breathing, he glanced back and saw the figure growing closer to him, he laughed malevolently before tossing another explosive in the air near the masked hero. Spider-Man skillfully dodges the explosive, and instead of hitting the hero, it collided against an LED board. The explosion happened near them both, so they were knocked down. The mysterious figure was thrown off his glider and fell to the ground leaving a dent on the asphalt due to the military-grade suit he wore, Spider-Man managed to catch himself on time using his faithful webs, he landed on his feet and stare at the man on the ground.

The person was laughing and coughing, clearly winded up, but instead of saving his breath, he was willing to waste it. They were apart by six meters, the villain got up slowly, and that's when Peter was able to see the monster of his making. "What have you done... Harry?"

Green Goblin hissed at the name. "Harry is dead. It was you killed him." Spider-Man shook his head, behind Green Goblin, Ramsey and Elias were quietly exiting the wrecked shop.

"That's not true," Peter denied, "Harry lives. He's still in there, I just need to find him."

Green Goblin rose to his full height, tilting his head to the side as if to say, 'you're being pathetic.' Ramsey and Elias were hiding somewhere by the shop, they were discussing something and Peter saw them.

"Harry Osborn was killed the day you left him for dead." Spider-Man shook his head, disagreeing. "You didn't just kill that pathetic boy, you also killed his hope and his chance at being different from his monster of a father. And in its place," he boasted a sardonic smile and extended his arms sideways, gesturing at himself, "The Green Goblin was born."

Spider-Man took a cautious step forward. "I never wanted any of this to happen, and you know that. I was trying to keep you from killing yourself," he tried to reason as he closed the distance between them step by step, "you wanted to use my blood regardless of whether it was compatible or not. You were acting recklessly." Harry tutted at Spider-Man, almost glancing to where Ramsey and Elias were escaping. "There was just no guarantee of its success. I couldn't risk you like that."

"Stop. Lying!" Green Goblin spat through gritted teeth, Spider-Man saw his jaw clenching and his eyes glowed green for a second before fading. "You weren't willing to try and save him. You are a fraud, Spider-Man. You are no real hero. Not only that, but you don't give people hope, you take it from them!"

Green Goblin's glider was charging at full speed toward a distracted Spider-Man, Ramsey saw this and was unable to remain quiet. "Watch out!" She screamed.

His spidey senses tingle, Spider-Man jumped and did a backflip before landing on his classical Spider-Man pose. Green Goblin got into his glider but this time he was aware of the extra witnesses, his wild eyes stared at Ramsey and suddenly everything clicked. He remembered when they were strolling in a park by the Hudson River, he had asked Peter if there was a special lady in his life, and the smile that appeared on his face as he pulled out his phone and showed him his lock screen is unforgettable.

"Harry..." Spider-Man said his name, his heart was beating fast, knowing he would lose his pumpkins.

Ramsey sucked in a deep breath, Elias bravely stepped a bit in front of her, forming a protective barrier even though she didn't need protection. Green Goblin slowly glanced at Spider-Man before averting his eyes back to the brunette Latina, she raised her chin defiantly, unafraid of the horrendous-looking man.

"Ah, I see... I realized what she wanted me to see." The Green Goblin mumbled to himself before angling his body toward Spider-Man. "I never scored a chance at salvation, did I, Peter? I should've known... I should've known that when Spider-Man said no, it was you who said no." He accused him. Peter's heart was racing with dread. "Oh, you will pay for this with your heart!"

"Ramsey, run!" Spider-Man was already leaping into the air after Harry.

Green Goblin turned around in his glider and flew straight for Ramsey, but she was pushed to the side, and instead, he grabbed Elias by the neck. From the shock, Elias had dropped his staff as the Green Goblin squeezed his throat and flew away with him. Ramsey gasped and sprang to her feet quickly, Spider-Man landed next to her and was quick to examine her for any fatal injuries, luckily for her all she had was a scraped cheek and right elbow.

"Are you okay?" Peter carefully held her uninjured cheek and examined the injured one.

"I'm fine. I know where he's taking him." Ramsey told him. "We have to go."

Peter stopped her from flying out. "Where?"

"Oscorp power center." She told him, Peter nodded and joined their foreheads. Ramsey was about to protest when she felt something sticky on her feet, she glanced down and noticed a web trapping her feet to the ground. "No no no no!"

"I'm sorry, but I have to keep you safe." He told her, Ramsey looked at him with panic as he shot a web at Elias staff and yanked it towards him. She tried to grab him, but he moved out of the way, resulting in her losing her balance and falling on her butt. "I love you!"

"Peter!" She screamed before quickly covering her mouth with her hand. "Ay, hijo de su madre."

Ramsey tried pulling the web, but it was too sticky, she sighed sharply before summoning her magical rings and using their sharpness to cut through the web.

Green Goblin let go of an almost passed-out Elias Magnuson, the boy fell from a certain height, one which he could survive. Harry flew towards Electro and warned him that Spider-Man was coming. Elias landed harshly against the floor of Oscorp center, the Romanian coughed loudly and rolled to his side before slowly getting up on his knees. Electro was messing around the power grid, the familiar Spider-Man tune caught Elias attention, the boy rose to his full height and curled his fists.

"To be honest, this was not how I expected my night to end," Elias spoke to no one in particular, he heard someone landing behind him and the Romanian glanced back, it was Spider-Man.

He handed him his staff, the man smirk when he saw it. "Think you dropped this."

Green Goblin and Electro made an appearance when they saw Spider-Man joining the fight, the masked hero and the vampire apprentice stood side by side. "Who will you attack?"

"You've spun your last web, Spider-Man!" The Green Goblin shouted as he hovered next to a levitating Electro. "And now you'll die like all bugs do, ... squashed," Electro added. "Or, in this case, electrified."

Elias and Spider stared at them, the brunet had made his decision. "Yeah... I think I'll take Goblin. You can have sparkles."

"Thanks, friend."

Elias got into a fighting stance. "Yeah, don't mention it."

"Mmm," Ivanna Walker moaned as she was finally coming to her senses, she blinked a few times trying to get rid of her blurry vision.

"Ms. Walker, hey?" A familiar voice called out for her, Ivanna groaned and tried rolling on her back, but her handcuffed hands stopped her. "Can you hear me? Are you hurt?"

She nodded, her eyes found Gwen's wide orbs. "Yes- no." she was still drowsy, the drug Hayek used to knock her out was still in her system. "Where- where are we? What happened?" She let out a sigh. "God, I can't remember anything. Feels like I'm hungover."

"It's okay. It's going to be okay." Gwen reassured Ramsey's Aunt, scooting closer to her. "Try and keep still, let the drowsiness wear off."

At the bottom of the clock tower, Hayek had painted a symbol that would allow her to cast her destructive spell. She was going to create a black hole that would swallow the souls of all living creatures of this earth, Hayek wasn't looking to get the hero's attention, she wanted the universe to intervene instead and kill her off. This time forever. She was tired of eternity, even more so when her immortal years were spent in a magical prison. Hayek couldn't take it being a marionette anymore, the witch of the afterlife had grown weary of being used only when the universe needed death and then cast aside when they had no use for her.

She had reached her limit.

This was her retaliation.

The witch stood in the center of the tower, her palms were facing each other, leveled to the chest area. Hayek closed her eyes and open her soul to the universe, taking in a breath of air she channeled all her energy and concentrated the energy in between her palms creating a black ball of pure mist and lighting. In such a small ball Hayek was able to channel all her darkness, the key to opening the portal that was just forming above the tower, she opened her eyes and stared at her creation.

"Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo." The Latin rolled off Finn's tongue effortlessly, the ball of energy grew darker and the lightning angrier. "Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo."

The wind started to pick up and blew harder, similar to the winds of a tornado, it circled Hayek and the white painting on the ground started to glow. She repeated the words over and over before thrusting the black ball of energy in her hands up into the sky, it pierced the glass and shards rained down on them. Gwen and Ivanna screamed as they tried to protect themselves from being cut. The wind around Hayek dispersed abruptly out of the tower. The sky was now covered in storm clouds, thunder and lightning rolled across the sky loudly.

"What is happening?" Ivanna asked Gwen in a shaky voice, the blonde scientist only shook her head as if lamenting something.

"I don't know." She confessed. "But nothing good."

Ivanna used her elbows to prop herself up into a sitting position, she gazed up into the sky and noticed the thunderstorm threatening to erupt. "Who is causing all this? Why are we even here?"

Gwen sigh exasperatedly. "I tried asking her that, but she wouldn't say. Something about a glimpse of her origin," Ivanna frowned, "Whatever that's supposed to mean. But whatever Hayek has planned, it can't be good."

"Wait," her eyes sparkled with recognition, "Hayek?"

"Yeah, she's a Celtic witch of death," Gwen explained. "She came back to life in a body that Dr. Connors built, based on the image of his late son, Finn Connors. I know this all sounds crazy, but I swear I'm not lying to you."

Ivanna Walker was no stranger to the name, after all, she was a Walker. Stories about The Witch of the Afterlife had been told through generations and generations, all Walker women. Ivanna remembered how her grandmother would tell her stories about the age-old war between good and evil and how their predecessors won battle after battle. Sure, that sounded like a cool bedtime story in Ivanna's head, but it turns out it was far from being a fantasy. Their grandmother was sharing an anecdote, a war only a few spoke of.

Then she thought of her little sister, EvaLuna. She, unlike Ivanna, blindly believed in those stories and Ivanna would always find her digging deeper into the myth and learning about a witch called Hayek. Her grandmother taught her everything, EvaLuna wrote all of that knowledge in a journal, Ivanna always wondered why she had taken a bedtime story so seriously. Now she knows why. Their grandmother was preparing EvaLuna, so she could prepare her daughter, another Walker woman.

"I... I believe you- or at least I know what you're talking about." Ivanna confessed to her. Gwen frowned as she took notice of the shocked look on her face. "I just can't believe she's real. I thought she was just a child's story, a character created to spook kids and get them to brush their teeth and so on."

Gwen blinked. "You know about her?"

"Just about her tragic story," Ivanna admitted, swallowing thickly. "But nothing that can help us out of this situation, only the Witch of Life can help us, according to the tale."

The temperature had dropped gradually, shivers ran down Ivanna and Gwen's spine as they huddled, trying to keep themselves warm. Their eyes stare at the sky, what they were seeing was a resemblance of what hell could be, instead of warmth and ashes they saw cold and mist. Hayek breathed in and invited the coldness, blue orbs stared at the lightning scintillating above her as the portal was starting to open. Once it opens, the earth would become hollow, hell would rise and feast on the souls that the universe loved so dearly.

A fair punishment.

"Now they will see..." She trailed off as she stared at the black turmoil appearing at the very center of the tower. "They'll see what it feels like to be forgotten, and wrongfully punished."

HOLA!

Theories, I know you got yourtheories!! Let's hear them, I wanna know what you guys areexpecting to happen next chapter.Tbh, writing these two chapters werebrain-wracking because I wanted it tobe original. But I kept rushing it and Imade a mess. It took me a week to finishwriting them and proofreading it, so I hopeyou guys will like the ending of this book.

Stay safe mis amores 🤍