Under the assault of those two forces, Peter Parker's consciousness could be torn apart at any moment.
He watched his memories being altered bit by bit, stained with darkness.
He saw Uncle Ben lying in a pool of blood, but what he felt was no longer grief. It was indifference toward the death of the weak.
He saw memories that did not belong to him.
In them, Gwen Stacy fell from a tower, but what he felt was no longer heartbreak. It was the satisfaction of breaking something beautiful with his own hands.
He was losing himself.
The name Peter Parker, his identity, and everything he stood for were being erased at terrifying speed.
He was about to become a monster ruled by hunger and Void.
"No!"
Just as his consciousness was about to sink away for good, an image lit up deep in his mind, holding fast like the only lighthouse on a dark sea.
It was a little girl.
She was hiding behind the control console. Her eyes were full of fear, but she still trusted him.
She was waiting for him.
Waiting for him to take her home.
Responsibility.
A voice almost swallowed by darkness sounded deep within Peter's soul.
With great power comes great responsibility.
Those words were Uncle Ben's last gift to him, the foundation of his identity as Spider-Man.
That's right.
I'm Spider-Man.
I'm Peter Parker.
His rekindled will set his fading soul ablaze!
"ROAR!!!"
A roar of pain and struggle burst from the black fluid!
The pitch-black Symbiote churned and twisted violently!
Black tendrils lashed wildly at everything around them, gouging furrows through the solid walls and floor!
The Divine Particles trapped at the core also sensed his defiance.
They unleashed an even stronger surge of destructive energy!
They would erase the insignificant