Harlem, New York.
The once-bustling streets had been reduced to ruins.
Just one night earlier, the devastating battle between the Hulk and the Abomination had completely destroyed 125th Street, leaving behind nothing but shattered buildings and mountains of debris.
An elderly sanitation worker with gray hair slowly made his way through the wreckage, swinging his broom as he cleared a path across the broken pavement.
Completely unaware, he was only a single step away from a splintered wooden plank with a rusted nail jutting out of it.
Swoosh!
A strand of white web shot through the air like an arrow.
It latched onto the broken plank with perfect precision before instantly yanking it away.
Not far away, standing atop the remains of a half-collapsed apartment building, a figure dressed in a red-and-blue suit caught the plank with one hand.
He calmly pulled the rusty nail free before tossing both pieces into a nearby trash bin.
“Sir, be a little more careful next time, okay?”
“It’s not every day Spider-Man happens to be nearby.”
He paused for a second before scratching the side of his mask.
“Then again…
don’t sanitation workers wear puncture-proof boots?”
“So…
maybe I just wasted my time.”
He shrugged.
“Whatever.”
“I’m Spider-Man.”
“I can’t just stand by and watch someone get hurt.”
The masked hero casually flicked the rusty nail into the trash before looking over the ruined streets below.
His name was Peter Parker.
Three months ago, he had awakened in this world as a transmigrator.
Then, after being bitten by a genetically mutated spider, he gained another identity.
Spider-Man.
Super strength.
Super agility.
Super endurance.
Spider-Sense.
Wall-crawling.
Every ability that Spider-Man was supposed to possess belonged to him.
A genuine Spider-Man.
Not some watered-down imitation.
Buzz…
Buzz…
A vibration interrupted his thoughts.
Peter reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his phone.
After all, Spider-Man suits didn’t have pockets.
That was simply common knowledge.
Anyone who had ever been Spider-Man would understand.
The screen displayed nothing more than a dinner reminder.
Peter laughed.
“Oh.”
“Dinner time already.”
“Aunt May made Buffalo spicy chicken wings tonight.”
“I guess the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will have to clock out for a while.”
He pressed the trigger on the web shooter attached to his wrist.
Swoosh!
A fresh strand of web shot across the street and attached itself to the side of a nearby skyscraper.
As the evening sun dipped below the horizon, Spider-Man leaped into the air.
His red-and-blue figure became a blur as he swung effortlessly through New York’s endless forest of steel and glass.
Even on the way home, Peter couldn’t ignore people in need.
He rescued a frightened kitten trapped high in a tree.
Stopped a runaway police car before it could crash.
Then happily posed for a photo with a little boy proudly wearing an Iron Man mask.
After three months of nonstop patrols, Peter had grown from a rookie superhero into an experienced veteran.
If he didn’t have to keep his identity secret…
He seriously considered writing a book.
*The Beginner’s Guide to Becoming a Superhero.*
It would probably become a bestseller.
…Probably.
Still, things hadn’t always been this easy.
When Peter first became Spider-Man, he struggled with doubt.
As someone who had transmigrated from another world, he had read plenty of Marvel comics.
Maybe he wasn’t an expert.
But he knew one undeniable truth.
Spider-Man was a tragic hero.
His entire life revolved around one sentence.
*With great power comes great responsibility.*
But responsibility always came with a terrible price.
Family.
Friends.
The people he loved.
Again and again, they became victims simply because Spider-Man existed.
Loneliness was a burden every Spider-Man eventually learned to carry.
*But…*
*I’m never accepting that kind of fate.*
That conviction had never changed.
Fortunately…
His efforts seemed to be paying off.
On the night Uncle Ben was supposed to die, Peter had captured the robber himself.
He wrapped the criminal in webbing and left him hanging outside the local police station.
Then he returned home carrying Uncle Ben’s favorite Margherita pizza as a late-night surprise.
Since then…
Nothing bad had happened.
Uncle Ben was alive.
Aunt May was healthy.
Mary Jane was safe.
Gwen Stacy was doing well.
Harry Osborn remained exactly as he remembered.
It was as though the cruel curse surrounding Spider-Man had completely disappeared in this parallel universe.
*Could I actually become the luckiest Spider-Man in the entire multiverse?*
Even Peter found the idea difficult to believe.
Yet deep down…
He couldn’t help hoping it was true.
After all…
No one wanted to watch the people they loved suffer because of them.
*”As long as I keep making the right choices…”*
*”No tragedy will ever happen.”*
That belief gradually became the foundation of Peter Parker’s resolve.
Half an hour later…
Peter arrived home just before dinner.
The familiar house at **20 Ingram Street** welcomed him with the comforting aroma of freshly cooked food.
As expected, Aunt May had prepared Buffalo spicy chicken wings.
The three of them enjoyed a warm, lively dinner together, chatting about school, neighbors, and the usual everyday things.
For Peter, moments like these were priceless.
After dinner, he stretched lazily before flashing Aunt May a smile.
“I’m heading upstairs.”
“I need to get ready for school tomorrow.”
“Don’t stay up too late,” Aunt May reminded him with a gentle smile.
“I won’t.”
Peter waved before disappearing upstairs.
The moment he closed his bedroom door…
His peaceful student persona vanished.
In one swift motion, he opened his wardrobe, pulled out the neatly folded Spider-Man suit, and slipped into it with practiced ease.
Click.
The web shooters locked securely around his wrists.
A second later…
Swoosh!
A strand of web shot through the open window.
Peter leaped into the night sky.
New York’s dazzling skyline stretched endlessly before him.
Countless lights illuminated the streets below as traffic continued to flow beneath towering skyscrapers.
While most people prepared for bed…
Spider-Man’s real work had only just begun.
He swung across the city for hours.
Stopping robberies.
Helping stranded civilians.
Guiding lost children back to their parents.
Even rescuing a frightened dog trapped on the roof of a burning apartment building.
Time slipped away unnoticed.
Before he realized it…
It was already three o’clock in the morning.
Peter finally returned home, exhausted.
He quietly climbed through his bedroom window before carefully removing his mask.
After stuffing the suit into his already overflowing wardrobe, he collapsed onto the soft mattress.
Only then did he notice the untouched tuna sandwich sitting on his desk.
It had gone completely cold.
Peter picked it up and took a few lazy bites.
“It’ll do.”
With a full stomach and aching muscles, every worry slowly drifted away.
Within minutes…
His breathing became slow and steady.
He fell into a deep sleep.
Then…
He dreamed.
It wasn’t an ordinary dream.
He found himself floating in the endless darkness of space.
Silence surrounded him.
No stars.
No planets.
Only an incomprehensibly vast golden spider.
Its body was so enormous that it rivaled an entire planet.
The colossal creature lay perfectly still, as though it had been sleeping for countless ages.
Beneath it stretched an even larger golden spider web.
Countless glowing threads spread outward in every direction.
They extended beyond the edge of the universe itself…
Piercing endless layers of reality.
Each thread connected to another universe.
Another world.
Another possibility.
Peter stared in silent amazement.
*What…
is this place?*
Drawn by an invisible force, his gaze followed one of the glowing threads toward another universe.
Then another.
And another.
What he saw left him speechless.
Spider-Men.
Countless Spider-Men.
Each one different.
Each one familiar.
Some were men.
Some were women.
Some weren’t even human.
There were teenagers.
Adults.
Elderly Spider-Men.
Even children who had inherited the power of the spider.
Each existed in a completely different world.
Each carried a different destiny.
The endless sea of Spider-Men filled the multiverse like glittering stars.
The sight was so magnificent…
It hardly felt real.
It was more like an impossible dream.
Ring!
Ring!
Ring!
The sharp sound of an alarm suddenly shattered the silence.
Peter’s eyes snapped open.
Without even thinking, he instinctively fired a strand of web.
Swoosh!
The alarm clock was instantly wrapped inside a ball of webbing.
Its annoying ringing stopped at once.
Peter blinked a few times before letting out a long sigh.
“Whew…”
“What a weird dream.”
“Do people who get bitten by radioactive spiders always dream about giant spiders?”
“Or did the spider leave me with some permanent psychological trauma?”
He rubbed his face vigorously, trying to chase away the last traces of sleep.
Then…
His movements froze.
Peter slowly lowered his hands.
His eyes narrowed.
“What…”
“What is this?”
At the center of his right palm…
A delicate golden spider web had appeared.
The intricate pattern looked almost identical to the colossal web he had seen in his dream.
A strange warmth spread through his hand.
It wasn’t painful.
Instead…
It felt as though the mark had always been there.
As though it had become part of his body.
Bone.
Blood.
Flesh.
Everything had fused together into one.
Peter gently traced the golden pattern with his fingertip.
No matter how carefully he touched it…
He couldn’t feel even the slightest bump.
It was perfectly smooth.
Like living skin.
A chill slowly crept down his spine.
*”I have a very bad feeling about this…”*
He stared silently at the mysterious symbol.
Then a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
*”Could this…
be the Web of Life and Destiny?”*