The Emergence of Lupe Antumbra

Life, Identity

The weakest and most empathetic of Sinister's Schemata emerges, both to help the heroes and uncover the mystery of his existence.

Following Hybris' destruction at the hands of Apollo's heroes, the Archipelago experienced a time of both victory and mourning. With the first attempt at the cataclysmic Samsara stopped, the heroes went to work at restoring the islands and becoming accustomed to their new Aether capabilities. Given Sinister Maharana's penchant for regeneration and returning with a new avatar after just one week of death, everyone in the Archipelago prepared for the tyrant to return, bracing themselves for whatever new chaos he would unleash. However, instead, they were introduced to the weakest and, oddly enough, most empathetic of Sinister's Schemata, Lupe Antumbra.   The Enclave of Dusk underwent a transformation that was not just limited to the usually chilling forest shifting to Mediterranean fields of olive trees and rolling hills. Lupe initially believed that, in his limited time, he had to ensure that all of Sinister's secrets and the true story behind the Greek Pantheon were communicated to those who had the power to end his rule. Because of this, and due to the fact that both Sinister and Hybris trained the Cult of Achlys to be obedient, bloodthirsty slaves of the mind, Lupe started living two lives - One of the cult's wise apostle and one of an informant. Lupe met with multiple heroes in his first weeks in the Archipelago, informing them that Sinister has the mentality of a traumatized child, giving them details about where his true body rests, The Thetaspace, and even hinting that Sinister may be involved in the murder and subsequent replication of his victims as perfect, corrupted clones. However, this single-minded endeavor soon developed into a complex identity crisis that not even Lupe could resolve.   Over time, Lupe started to question what his true purpose was and relented in the fact that, no matter what he seemed to do to help the heroes, he would primarily be defined as a fragment of Sinister. This frustration only grew when he met a young villain named Jack Spicer, who was elated to join the cult and be infused with the primordial element of the Nether. Reluctantly indulging in the sexual ritual required for his entry into the cult, Lupe felt as though he was giving in to the same vices that Sinister did, further cementing the fact that, no matter how much he wanted to separate himself from the supervillain, he would always commit the same carnal sins. Following this, Lupe visited the Nemesis Graveyard with Jack, feeling even more depressed that he shared responsibility for the deaths of so many and the creation of the wandering spirits that lingered there. From speaking to cultists who experienced trauma to the cold requests of information he perceived from some of the heroes, Lupe broke down.   It wasn't until he met with Spider-Gwen on Poseidon's Crest that he was genuinely pardoned for whatever actions Sinister had done to them. Though he questioned this numerous times, the brief embrace he experienced with her after divulging more information, Lupe felt that, for the first time, he was being seen as an individual rather than a shadow of Sinister. Though dim, this feeling was something he chased and was validated for when Trevor Jacobs and Nick Acer personally requested his help to keep another great evil, The Void, at bay. In his subsequent meetings with Snowy, who helped him understand that he could choose to be human and step out of Sinister's shadow, and Duras, who helped him understand that his sexuality was nothing to fear or be ashamed of, Lupe began to step into the human experience with a renewed enthusiasm. Though, the thought still lingered in his mind --- When would his time run out?