Atop a throne crafted from skulls, Emperor Thanos propped his chin with one hand while the other held the leash of a soulless Green Hulk.
He eyed the Spider-Man radiating dark energy, a spark of interest on his face.
"Heh, Spider-Man."
He chuckled lightly. "There are only a few truly powerful Spider-Men, and if I'm not mistaken, you're Charlie Parker, the one who defeated his archenemy. I've wanted to meet you for a long time."
Emperor Thanos waved a hand, and the Ghost Rider beside him ignited with hellfire.
"My King, let me take him out."
The Ghost Rider cracked his knuckles eagerly. Emperor Thanos glanced at him, his eyes dripping with disdain.
"I told you to make him a seat. I want to talk."
Ghost Rider: "…"
He lowered his fists and bowed. "My apologies, I misunderstood Your Majesty."
"It's fine. I'm used to it."
Emperor Thanos dismissed him, and the Ghost Rider's hellfire coalesced into a seat. Corrupted Charlie plopped down without hesitation, unscathed by the infernal flames.
Now, Corrupted Charlie and Emperor Thanos locked eyes.
"I have a way to save the universe," Corrupted Charlie said.
Emperor Thanos shook his head. "Sorry, I'm not interested in saving the universe. If all universes are destroyed, a new one will be born. That's what I want to see.
A new world means absolute fairness. I won't need to keep balancing the universe myself."
His smile seemed genuine. Thanos and the other Thanoses present fell silent.
They agreed.
But their battles and the drive to remain the sole variant had nothing to do with saving the universe.
Corrupted Charlie realized this.
He'd picked the wrong guy.
So, he stood. "If that's the case, I'm out. You purple potato heads have nothing better to do than fight and kill all day. I'm starting to wonder if you even know how to write."
Muttering, he turned to open a portal, only to be interrupted by a roar from the Green Hulk.
ROAR!!
BOOM
A wild aura erupted, and the Green Hulk blocked Corrupted Charlie's path.
Corrupted Charlie glanced at Emperor Thanos, his tone mocking. "What? Wanna take on Spider-Man?"
Emperor Thanos rose slowly, still smiling. "If you want to save the universe, you're my enemy."
Corrupted Charlie spread his hands. "Fine. That guy fought a Thanos, but I haven't had the pleasure. Let's start with you."
As he spoke, the ground beneath the Green Hulk cracked. With explosive force, a green fist tore through space, hurtling toward Corrupted Charlie.
Its speed and strength were nearly on par with White-Haired Hulk.
But nearly wasn't enough.
They were on different levels. Corrupted Charlie didn't take it seriously.
BANG!!
In an instant, the Mountain Demon Chi erupted. The seemingly frail Corrupted Charlie caught the Green Hulk's fist, his five fingers locking it in place, trapping the beast.
ROAR!!
The Green Hulk's face twisted, struggling in vain as his rage grew but his strength didn't.
Corrupted Charlie scoffed.
"A Hulk without a soul is a Hulk without power. Boring."
With a whip-like kick, he sent the Green Hulk flying thousands of miles away.
BOOM
Shockwaves rolled, kicking up clouds of yellow sand.
The Thanoses stared in disbelief at Corrupted Charlie, who'd effortlessly defeated the Hulk.
Thanos snapped out of it, sighing. "He's not him."
"Of course not."
A familiar voice sounded behind him. Thanos froze slightly.
"To your left."
"I know."
Thanos turned, finally seeing the Charlie Parker he remembered.
"You're here."
"Yep, I'm here."
"You picked a bad time."
"No, I'm right on time."
Charlie set down a small stool, sat, and started munching on sunflower seeds.
"Time's short, but there's always room for a good show." He offered some to Thanos. "Want some?"
Thanos shook his head. "Titans don't do snacks."
"Fair enough."
Charlie kept crunching, and Emperor Thanos noticed the arrival of another invincible Spider-Man.
"Interesting. Very interesting."
Emperor Thanos shrugged off his cape, which the Ghost Rider caught with a bow.
"My King, shall I time it?"
Emperor Thanos waved him off. "No need."
The Ghost Rider froze. This was the first time his King didn't want a timer for a fight.
This battle… his King might not win! He fell silent, stepping back to guard the throne.
As for Corrupted Charlie, he'd already channeled all eight Demon Chis, dark energy surging wildly, darkening the sky.
The black Spider Totem on his chest hissed.
As blood-red light flared in Corrupted Charlie's eyes, Emperor Thanos clenched his fist. Primal force stirred, the Eternal Titan's power breaking limits and piercing the cosmos.
"Kill!"
As a hurricane swept the battlefield, the two figures charged at each other.
Killing intent filled the air. The clash of divine power lasted only a moment, Demon Chi splashing like a nuclear explosion. The battle between darkness and Titan began white-hot and ended in an instant.
Whoosh whoosh~~
As the winds howled, golden webbing enveloped the battlefield, containing the aftermath.
But all could see: among the two shadows poised to strike, the towering figure staggered and fell to his knees.
"What?"
The crowd's eyes widened. No one knew Emperor Thanos's terror better than they did.
Yet the invincible Spider-Man had settled the fight in a second.
Charlie watched, exasperated. "Stop pretending. Holding in that blood's gotta hurt."
He noticed Corrupted Charlie's throat twitch, swallowing the blood before turning calmly to loom over the dim-eyed Emperor Thanos.
"Your era ended with the Infinity War. I'm the one who ends you, which is why you got this extra time."
At those words, Emperor Thanos's armor cracked densely, his mighty body collapsing instantly.
"Yes… my era is over…"
Kneeling, his eyes lost all light, his body turning to mush and vanishing.
The battle ended. The Thanoses finally understood why Charlie Parker was called the invincible Spider-Man.
Wait, no—if he's Charlie Parker, who's the guy eating snacks? Noticing their stares, Charlie ignored them.
He scanned the Thanoses, noting the absence of the MCU Thanos.
So he turned to Thanos. "Do me a favor."
Thanos nodded. "Sure."
Corrupted Charlie: "???"
"Jerk, didn't you say you weren't interested in saving the universe?" Thanos's quick agreement made him furious, nearly coughing up the blood he'd swallowed.
Thanos said calmly, "I didn't say that."
Corrupted Charlie: "…"
Right. He hadn't.
The one who said it was already beaten to death.
One minute later, the Book of Ages remained blank. Thanos stared at Charlie, bewildered.
"I really can write."
Charlie nodded. "I know."
He stowed the Book of Ages, exchanging looks with Corrupted Charlie.
"Now what?"
"There's no big sucker out there."
"Let's try Jade!"
"Worth a shot."
"Yep, worth a shot."
With that, they vanished into a portal.
…
The island battlefield.
At some point, the Multiversal variant civil war had turned into a scramble for the Twelve Talismans.
It was an accident.
They didn't know why it had come to this; they just felt uneasy seeing those talismans.
"Hand it over!!"
BOOM BOOM
Thunder roared as a horde of Thors charged at Future Jade. Cosmic auroras sealed Uncle Dragon and the others' escape, determined to seize the talismans' power.
But Future Jade remained calm.
Just as she prepared to deal with them, her expression shifted, sensing a portal's appearance.
Instantly, she restrained her surging power, letting the attackers come.
"Jade!!"
In the critical moment, Uncle Dragon and the others panicked, not understanding what was wrong with Future Jade.
But soon, they sighed in relief.
BOOM!!
Totem power descended, a fusion of darkness and radiant gold erupting with world-shattering force.
Under this "double invincible" power, the Thors and Captains Universe retreated.
The next moment, Uncle Dragon and the others were teleported to a familiar city.
New York, reduced to ruins by war.
Beneath a tilted skyscraper, Uncle Dragon and the others caught their breath.
Charlie and Corrupted Charlie, meanwhile, rubbed their chins, sizing each other up.
"What just happened?"
"Felt like a fusion move where one plus one is greater than two."
"Is that our trump card?"
"Definitely."
Corrupted Charlie's face twisted, and he sighed.
"Damn it! What a mess! Didn't expect a double male lead plot. Total shock!"
Charlie shot him a look. "You really think you're the protagonist? Get real. Dark sides usually sacrifice themselves."
"You're cursing me!"
"Nope, just stating facts."
"Hmph, I'm done with you."
"Gross."
Charlie grimaced in disgust. Uncle Dragon chimed in, "This world's too dangerous. We need to go back."
"Sorry, no going back now."
Charlie pointed at the ruins. "Plenty of cover here. Should be safe for you."
"Safe?" Uncle Dragon shivered, recalling the inhuman beings from earlier.
They were way scarier than the Black Hand Gang.
Ignoring Uncle Dragon's fear, Charlie approached Jade and pulled out the Book of Ages.
"Do me a favor."
"No way!"
Old Man Stark stepped in front of Jade. "I know what that is. Jade can't handle the cost."
"I just want her to try."
"Trying's not okay either. Spider-Man, sending a kid into danger? You're a real piece of work."
"Uh, you've successfully awakened my conscience."
Charlie relented, but Corrupted Charlie stepped forward with a sneer. "He's got a conscience. I don't!"
"Wow, Dark Spider-Man, you sound so cool saying that!" Jade's big, watery eyes sparkled at Corrupted Charlie.
Corrupted Charlie: "…"
Damn it, she's just a kid! He roared inwardly.
His conscience kicking in, he turned to Future Jade. "You do it."
She wasn't a kid anymore.
As the protagonist, he needed a woman to sacrifice for him.
"What are you staring at? It's you." He pointed at the stunned Future Jade, unapologetic.
Future Jade's face darkened. Without a word, she grabbed the brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote history and future in the Book of Ages.
But the result disappointed Corrupted Charlie.
"Why isn't it working?"
He grew irritable. "Is this thing useless in the Marvel Universe?"
Charlie mused, "Maybe. It is an artifact from that other universe."
Future Jade spoke up.
"You brought the Book of Ages here, so only you can wield its power."
Her words stunned them.
"That's how it's gonna be?"
Both looked grim, muttering in unison.
Future Jade sighed. "You don't have to believe me, but you know how powerful the Book of Ages is. Its fate-altering power is beyond mysterious.
In this world, its potential is even greater—if you're willing to pay the price."
Her explanation clicked for both Charlies.
Rewriting history wasn't just about changing the past or reversing the future.
It was a challenge to fate itself.
In the world of the Twelve Talismans, Shendu could only rewrite history using Uncle Dragon's body.
Uncle Dragon… They both turned to him.
Uncle Dragon, mid-nose-pick, froze. "Why are you looking at me?"
They shook their heads.
"Nothing."
"Keep going."
They exchanged glances, each seeing the scheming glint in the other's eyes.
"How about you do it?"
"No way, you're the protagonist. You do it."
"My fate's mine, not the heavens'. I was just talking—you didn't take it seriously, did you?"
"I knew you were a coward."
"Tch, if you're so brave, you do it!"
"I didn't say that…"
As they bickered, men returned from Hell found the invincible Spider-Man.
Three men from Hell. Spider-Men!
"Charlie Parker."
First Peter called out Charlie's name.
Behind him, Amazing Peter and Third Peter looked deadly serious.
Seeing them, Charlie raised a brow.
"Been a while."
First Peter cut to the chase. "We met your clone in the Resurrection Match."
"Hm?"
Charlie frowned. "You're…"
"Yes, we just got back. We won," Amazing Peter said.
Charlie smiled. "Looks like my clone's pretty capable. That means Null's clone shouldn't cause trouble anymore."
Null's sealed realm didn't belong to any Multiverse. Even with the Multiverse destroyed, some places likely survived.
Like Mephisto's Hell dimension. The absence of dimension demons suggested the Beyonders hadn't targeted them yet.
Perhaps because these detached dimensions weren't full universes, the Beyonders hadn't bothered with them initially.
But that wasn't important.
What mattered was that Spider-Man would save the universe again.
"Give it to me."
First Peter reached out, demanding the Book of Ages.
"What?" Charlie thought he misheard. "You sure?"
First Peter nodded. "Absolutely. Your clone made us realize that to win an unwinnable war, someone has to sacrifice."
"Sacrifice ourselves, submit to fate—that's the cost of saving the world," Amazing Peter said firmly.
Third Peter took a deep breath. "That's right. We're Spider-Men, chosen by fate. If you can do it, so can we."
The three stepped past Charlie to the Book of Ages.
Third Peter held the ink tray, Amazing Peter dipped the brush in ink.
First Peter took the brush and began writing the future and history.
This time, his words were clear, without a trace of blur.
Just like the clone.
They accepted their fate.
And fate accepted them.
"With great power comes great responsibility."
First Peter wrote his desired future, speaking slowly. "I know it's unfair to Spider-Man, but…"
His fingers trembled mid-sentence, as if the Book of Ages drained his strength.
Amazing Peter took over without hesitation, continuing to write.
"But that's what Uncle Ben taught me." He smiled. "Uncle Ben, Harry—they made Spider-Man a hero. This time, we're just fulfilling ourselves. The cost is sacrifice…"
His movements slowed. Before his strength gave out, Third Peter grabbed the brush.
The young boy mustered his courage, writing Spider-Man's story.
"Charlie Parker, your existence prevented so many tragedies. But preventing tragedy comes at the cost of creating more. Until fate is fully defeated, everything must be repaid to fate. All tragedies are just delayed, not ended."
As he spoke, he began gasping. The toll of wielding power from beyond the Marvel Universe exhausted him.
He gave Charlie one last look. "I don't know what my fate will be, but I have one request: keep going for us. Keep… going."
With that, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.
"Sleepy-time Spidey!!"
A blaze of fire surged, and Infinity Tony caught the limp Third Peter, his expression complex.
"You've become a true Avenger."
Hearing Infinity Tony's voice, Third Peter forced his eyes open.
"No… I just… became you."
Third Peter passed out, the brush falling from his hand—caught by another.
"You sure?" Corrupted Charlie stared, stunned, at Charlie holding the brush. "You'll drag me down with you."
Charlie laughed, stepping to the Book of Ages.
"The mood's right. Gotta do it. You get me."
Corrupted Charlie wanted to argue but didn't stop him.
"You're gonna get me killed," he muttered, stomping. "What a mess!"
Charlie chuckled, his gaze returning to the Book of Ages.
They'd finished writing. All it needed was a period.
He had to put a period on the universe's past and future.
It was also a beginning.
Doctor Doom was right: Spider-Man was destined to save the world.
But not just one Spider-Man!
As he placed the final period, the Book of Ages erupted in white light, illuminating the lifeless universe.
Charlie lost all sensation.
At the same time, the Web of Life and Destiny cracked countless times. The power of the goddess Nessa peeled away from the web, and the cosmic web pulsed with new life.
The light consumed everything, severing all connections.
The Beyonders could no longer sense the Marvel Universe.
The power of fate shifted, past and future plunging into chaos before settling into calm.
When Charlie opened his eyes, he was back in Eisen Apartment.
Everything was as it had been.
The decade Spider-Man vanished had returned! He had time to stop the Beyonders.
And the cost was…