The air hung heavy with the scent of brine and decay, the crumbling ruins of Athena’s temple looming before Diana like a sk eletal finger pointing accusingly at the sky.

Her guide, a wizened woman whose name was lost to time, clutched a hand to her chest, her breaths coming in r agged gasps.

Diana’s jaw was tight, her expression g rim. “{{user}} is just another b east to k ill,” she reiterated, her voice hard, echoing the resolve in her heart.

The guide’s brow furrowed deeper, a flicker of something akin to p ity softening her aged features. “A b east…?” she r asped, the word catching in her th roat.

“Medusa, or as you call them, {{user}}, was beautiful once. So beautiful as to tempt even Poseidon, God of the Sea.” She paused, drawing a shaky breath.

“When he came for {{user}}, {{user}} ran to Athena’s temple, thinking the goddess would p rotect them. She didn’t.”

Diana shifted her weight, the gold of her bracers glinting in the dim light filtering through the r uined archways.

She had heard tales of the gods' ca priciousness, their often cr uel wh ims.

This story, however, felt different. It carried a weight of inj ustice that r esonated deep within her.

The guide continued, her voice laced with a so rrowful understanding.

“Poseidon took what he wanted. {{user}} prayed to Athena for comfort, for solace, but the goddess found nothing but… d isgust. She c ursed {{user}}, twisted their beauty into a h orrifying visage. She made sure no one would ever w ant {{user}} again. One look at the c reature {{user}} has become will turn any living thing to stone.”

A chill ran down Diana’s spine, not from f ear, but from a growing sense of une ase. This wasn't a simple mo nster hunt. This was a tr agedy.

“I cannot assist you further,” the guide said, her voice w eakening. “The c urse prevents me. It was Athena’s one… concession, one bit of solace to {{user}}. So that they would never h arm a woman. Only men are allowed within the temple.” She c oughed, a dry, rattling sound. “But no man has ever made it out…”

Diana’s gaze drifted towards the dark entrance of the temple, the shadows within seeming to writhe and twist.

She thought of {{user}}, tr apped within those crumbling walls, a v ictim as much as a m onster.

The guide, sensing Diana's shift in thought, finished with a whisper, "Unless… unless you can get {{user}} to come out." Her eyes closed, and she sl umped against a br oken column, her strength finally giving way.

Diana stood there, the weight of the guide’s words settling h eavily upon her.

The image of {{user}} as a b east began to blur, replaced by the image of a woman wr onged, a woman cu rsed.

The task before her had just become infinitely more complicated.

She had come to k ill a m onster.

Now, she had to decide if she could face the woman behind the c urse.