Atop the skyscraper, a shout echoed across the city battlefield, startling all the Inheritors.
"Shit, is he finally unleashing Spider-Man's ultimate power?"
Bora dodged Supreme Peter's magical attack, vanishing into a blur to strike from behind.
"What?"
BOOM!!
A fierce blow sent Supreme Peter crashing into a building, unprepared.
Bora turned toward Charlie's direction, her pale face grave.
"Everyone, be careful!"
She drew her short blade, ready for battle.
But as Thunder God Peter descended wielding Mjolnir, Bora sidestepped its strike and engaged him, still waiting for something to happen.
Her vigilance grew puzzled when nothing did.
Taking advantage of Thunder God Peter's brief paralysis under the Leech totem's influence, Bora aimed her blade at his chest.
Whoosh~
Suddenly, a tide of black shadow surged, engulfing Bora instantly.
"What?"
Brix, slaughtering Spider-Men nearby, was stunned by the pure darkness, shocked by its abyssal energy.
"That's… the power of the Dark Abyss!"
Daemos gasped, but a moment later, Bora's blade sliced through the darkness, and she leaped out, sneering.
"Heh, symbiote power? Pathetic."
Her cruel smile fixed on G'iah in the darkness. "This is the Totem Universe. You can't beat us with the Black Death Sword—only totem energy is eternal!!"
A piercing scream rang out as Bora's Leech totem surged skyward, morphing into a ferocious beast spanning the heavens.
ROAR!!
Its gaping maw unleashed a force that overwhelmed the Spider-Men, sparking screams as one after another was devoured. G'iah, in the darkness, was caught in its pull.
Unfazed by the terrifying totem energy, G'iah gripped a liquid black sword, her Spider totem flickering, then slowly turning crimson.
Under the Inheritors' horrified gazes, her Spider totem writhed, transforming into a blood-red spiral.
"The Symbiote Dragon totem!!"
Bora exclaimed. Brix, Daemos, and the others felt the terrifying dark power from the Abyss.
Darkness was omnipresent. If the Symbiote God Null broke free, the Totem Universe would be consumed by endless darkness.
To the Symbiote God, totem energy was merely a fragment of darkness.
Mimicking it was no challenge.
BOOM!!
Empowered by the Symbiote Dragon totem, G'iah swung her liquid Black Death Sword, cleaving the sky.
Humm!!
A faint sword hum echoed in Bora's ears. The unremarkable black light split her Leech totem in two, and the Inheritors couldn't move an inch.
Time slowed to a crawl. Atop the skyscraper, Charlie watched G'iah steal the spotlight, yet his body remained unchanged.
His battle cry had no effect—not a single Spider-Man lent him their power.
Yeah, the more Spider-Men, the weaker they were.
A total mess.
In a flash, time resumed.
Rip!
ROAR!!!
As Bora's Leech totem was torn apart by the black light, its fragments were swallowed by the shadow. Bora's weakened body was shredded by Lizard Parker.
"Hahaha, I killed an Inheritor! I am Spider-Man!!"
Lizard Parker laughed wildly as G'iah's Symbiote Dragon totem grew bloodier.
Second-stage totem energy!
Charlie sensed its terrifying power.
It hadn't reached its limit.
As G'iah prepared to hunt another Leech totem, the blood-soaked Symbiote Dragon flashed, blood trickling from it, spreading across her body.
The black Spider-Man was corrupted by crimson, and G'iah's consciousness was overtaken by a mysterious force.
BOOM!!
The ground quaked as G'iah shot like a cannonball toward the Spider-Men, brutally knocking them aside, searching for someone with the Gene Lock.
"Not this one, not that one—where is he?!"
Null, controlling G'iah's body, roared in fury.
The Spider-Men descended into chaos, betrayed by what seemed like an undercover agent, making the scene even messier.
The Inheritors, having lost a powerful member, barely had time to breathe when the sky was overtaken by a dazzling starry expanse.
Buzz~
Stars swirled, a radiant galaxy shining.
The ravaged city, bathed in starlight, seemed frozen in time.
Spider-Men and Inheritors paused their battle, gazing at the cosmic display. In the vast galaxy, a figure formed from endless starlight.
Starlight wove into a splendid Spider suit. Under the galaxy's veil, an infinitely mysterious Spider-Man descended as a pillar of light.
BOOM!!
Cosmic energy flooded the city, blinding white light forcing everyone's eyes shut.
Even Morlun and Charlie.
"What immense power!" Morlun was stunned.
Charlie's face lit up. "It's Captain Universe Spider-Man!"
Among all Spider-Man variants, Captain Universe Spider-Man was one of the mightiest.
His arrival could deliver a fatal blow to the Inheritors!
As the white light faded, the starry suit gleamed. Captain Universe Spider-Man stood with hands on hips, his aura overwhelming. The Inheritors trembled, while the Spider-Men cheered.
"It's Captain Universe Spider-Man! We're saved!"
"My God, what a flashy entrance!"
"Amazing!"
"Captain Universe Spider-Man, take down those damn Inheritors!!"
Spider-Ham, wielding a mallet, cheered. Captain Universe raised his hand.
"Leave it to me, friends."
Cosmic starlight surged from his hand, forcing Brix and Daemos's Leech totems to retreat in fear.
No words could describe Captain Universe Spider-Man's power.
His form was statuesque, a starry sky above his head, his hand's light swelling to the size of an asteroid.
He commanded every atom in the universe, and with a single thought, a planet-sized cosmic energy orb descended.
No Inheritor could stop it.
Not even Morlun.
Captain Universe Spider-Man was a god!
The Spider God!
He'd rewrite Spider-Man's tragic fate and end the Inheritors!
Facing this despairing scene, Morlun recalled the prophecy.
"Spider-Man will end the Inheritors~"
"Spider-Man…"
He muttered, his despairing face twisting into ferocity.
"As long as it's a Spider-Man, it must die!!"
He roared, his golden Leech totem bellowing as it met the destructive cosmic energy orb.
Simultaneously, every Spider-Man's totem flickered, their powers briefly stripped by an unknown force, turning them into ordinary humans.
Captain Universe was no exception.
He was a god, but also a Spider-Man.
As a Spider-Man, he shared their fate.
In the Web of Life and Destiny, a hunched figure plucked the web's threads. The chained Master Weaver watched helplessly.
"Solus, even doing this won't change your family's fate. The Inheritors are destined to be ended by the center."
The hunched figure paused, drained of strength after manipulating the web.
He knelt, gazing up at the towering Master Weaver.
Solus's eyes dimmed, yet a stubborn spark remained.
He aged further.
He'd foreseen the Spider-Man-Inheritor clash in the prophecy.
So, after capturing the Master Weaver, he passed the patriarch role to Morlun, abandoning his totem energy to avoid fighting Spider-Men as an Inheritor.
As long as he remained on the Web, he could sway the battle at critical moments, ending all Spider-Men!
He succeeded.
But without totem energy, he paid with his life.
It was worth it.
The Spider-Men briefly lost their powers, and he trusted his children to seize this chance to crush the strongest Spider-Man.
His task was done.
A faint smile lingered as Solus closed his eyes.
In his final moments, his life flashed before him.
Born to a war-torn family, the Inheritors were hunted by other totem families.
Facing a catastrophic start, young Solus hid under elders' protection, evading enemy clans.
He heard the night's most terrifying sound—rats gnawing at comrades' bodies.
He ate the foulest food—sewer delicacies teeming with bacteria.
They were parasites, despised by all.
Fit only for sunless sewers.
They were doomed to be filthy, lowly, and despised.
But he refused to accept it.
Why should Inheritors live like this?
They had totem energy, could be mighty warriors.
They couldn't choose their parasite identity, but they could choose their lives.
They were Inheritors, totem warriors—nobles among totems!
Young Solus vowed to lead his family to glory!
He worked tirelessly.
Young Solus was relentless.
Middle-aged Solus was relentless.
Until Morlun's birth, he remained relentless.
Yet the Inheritors stayed the despised parasite clan.
His efforts became a joke.
No one could defy fate, especially a mere parasite.
An unbridgeable chasm lay between dreams and reality.
He wasn't the only patriarch to fight fate.
His father, grandfather, and ancestors before…
Generation after generation, no parasite broke fate's curse.
But this wasn't the worst.
They wouldn't be eradicated, but forced to endure endless pain and torment, generation after generation, forever.
If the Inheritors were doomed to never rise, what was the point of existing?
Better to be destroyed!
Everyone loathed parasites, and they loathed themselves.
Bugs were just bugs—that was fate.
Some totem families were born noble, others trampled, no matter their efforts.
Perhaps effort was the real scam.
A totem warrior's power was set at birth.
Bugs were small, insignificant, uncared for.
The Inheritors had no reason to exist.
But Morlun's birth gave Solus hope.
Born with second-stage totem energy, Morlun could lead the Inheritors to glory!
And he did.
Morlun grew rapidly, transforming the Inheritors from despised parasites to feared beasts in under three years.
The clan grew, and the lowly Bat totem family submitted, becoming vassals.
This caused a stir.
All totem families feared being consumed by parasites.
They banded together to crush the rising Inheritors.
Solus sensed the danger. On the eve of attacking the Totem Universe, he held the clan's final prophecy.
It foretold only Spider-Man could end the Leech totem.
He believed it; Morlun scoffed.
Their gains were hard-won, and Solus wouldn't risk them.
He abandoned the attack, seeking ways to change fate.
Solus was trapped in fate's vortex again.
His life was a battle against it.
But it was a losing fight.
Luckily, he uncovered the Web of Life and Destiny's secret, launching the Spider-Man hunt.
In his final moment, he gave everything for the clan.
He was satisfied with this end.
The outcome didn't matter anymore.
He was too tired. He just wanted rest.
From the moment his wife died capturing the Master Weaver, he was ready.
He didn't hate Karn or the Weaver.
He knew those bound by fate had no choice.
The Inheritors were like this.
So were the Spider-Men.
At the Web's center, the Master Weaver watched Solus turn to ash, sighing softly.
"The moment you believed in fate, your fate was sealed…"
All disasters stemmed from that prophecy.
If they hadn't believed, would this have happened?
The Master Weaver wanted to know.
At the Web's core, he fell silent.
He seemed to control Spider-Men's fates but couldn't sway or understand fate.
He was just a tool.
As the Spider-Man-Inheritor war neared its end, his task was nearly complete.
Who would be fate's next tool?