"This is the fourth door already! Just one more to go!" Ben said while running alongside Peter.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm *you*, you have to trust yourself, right?"
"…Okay, you have a point."
Then, right in front of them, stood 1st Prize — it seemed like he'd been waiting there all along.
"Do you love me?" he said, preparing to ram into them.
Ben instantly leapt up, clinging to the ceiling with ease.
But I couldn't.
"What's wrong, Peter? Get on the ceiling!"
"Dude… I lost my powers the moment I got here."
"What?! Why didn't you say so sooner?!"
"If I told you, you'd have to take on everything by yourself. Besides, you're still me."
"…I forgot you never put yourself first."
Ben grabbed Peter and held him tight. 1st Prize charged past, slamming straight into Baldi instead.
When they landed, Ben looked at Peter.
"Love yourself a little. It won't kill you."
Without another word, Ben walked ahead, leaving Peter speechless.
\[*What's wrong? Mad that your knockoff just lectured you?*]
"No… but it made me realize something. Even if he's me, he's not *me*… because I'd never say that to myself."
Peter chased after him.
After a while, they reached the final exit door.
Baldi was right on their tail — just a few steps away from catching them.
Ben looked at the door, then at Baldi, and made his choice. He stopped.
"What are you doing?! Why are you stopping?!" I shouted when I saw him halt.
"Just go! These entities… they're still my kinds. If you take those notebooks outside, maybe everyone can be saved!"
"Nah, bro! I can't leave anyone behind! I'd regret it forever!"
Baldi was almost there. Ben suddenly shoved me hard toward the door.
"Wha—?!" My eyes widened as Ben smiled at me.
"Take care of Uncle Ben and Aunt May, Peter Parker."
The moment my head touched the door, darkness swallowed everything.
I fell, my mind still unable to keep up with what had just happened.
Now… it was just me. Alone, in this darkness.
"Where… where am I? Hey, Nya, do you know where this is?"
No answer.
"…" I got up and looked around.
Behind me all this time was a white door.
I walked over, grabbed the doorknob, and opened it.
"…?"
I stepped inside, taking in everything.
…It was a hospital room.
The room was softly lit. A hospital bed. A wheelchair. A lamp on a small wooden cabinet. A wide window. And lastly… dozens of photographs laid out on the table.
Outside the window was the city of New York.
Although it says New York... But there's something different about it besides the Statue of Liberty.
It feels like this place is fresher somehow? I don't know how to describe it...
After that, I approached the table and looked at the photos.
Beaches, schools, parks, Disneyland, arcades, offices...
Even... There's a photo of... Me in it.
No, more accurately, it should be Spider-Man.
"...What's going on here?"
The last photo, the one that caught my attention the most,
was a couple's shot: a blonde girl with long, messy hair, wearing glasses and smiling.
...Next to her was me, but without glasses.
When did this happen?
I don't remember this... I don't recall taking a photo with any girl, and I'm still wearing glasses, right?
Just as I was confused, everything started shaking violently.
The photo in my hand glitched like it was lagging nonstop.
In an instant... I was back...
"Peter?!"
I looked at Ben, who was still confused since I hadn't left yet.
"Open the door and go already! Why are you still sitting there?!" Ben said, but I saw something behind him distorting horribly.
"Hey... What's that behind you?"
"Huh?"
Ben turned his head and saw Baldi, who was standing still.
Gradually, its jaw opened wide, revealing thousands of eyes, with black liquid dripping down.
Its neck elongated, sprouting multiple arms.
If there's one word to describe the creature in front of us... It looks like a spider...
"W-What is that?!"
The two of us watched as it grew so large it touched the ceiling, which immediately shattered.
Honestly, this thing is as disgusting as the monster I encountered before with Harry.
It swung its hand and slapped Ben hard, sending him crashing into the nearby wall.
"BEN!"
Then I felt the door behind me disappear, and the thing glanced at me for a moment before walking away.
"Huh?!"
I followed it and saw it heading toward Ben.
"Hey, you monster! Don't hurt him!"
I yelled, jumped up, and clung tightly to its head.
Crack!
I twisted with all my strength and successfully snapped its neck.
But its neck immediately healed back to normal, and it turned its head to look at me.
"!!"
It spat black liquid at me, pinning me to the wall.
"What is this?! Let go!"
I tried to move, but the black liquid was like spider webs, only thicker and stickier.
It looked at me, then turned to Ben, approaching slowly like it was stalking prey.
Ben tried to stand up, sweat dripping from his face.
He looked up and saw the thing staring straight into his eyes.
Its hands transformed into sharp spikes, preparing to stab him.
Ben's spider sense went off continuously, forcing his body to dodge the attack.
...Only for his entire body to then ring with warnings everywhere, to the point he didn't know what to do.
The thing unleashed an attack at terrifying speed, even leaving afterimages, stabbing repeatedly into Ben's body.
"AGHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
His whole body was riddled with stab wounds, spurting black blood nonstop.
Then the final stab pierced through his abdomen; it lifted him up and opened its disgusting mouth.
Peter watched everything unfold before him, unable to do anything.
No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't move.
"Don't..."
What should I do? This thing is about to eat Ben; what can I do?
He looked into Ben's eyes, which were gradually losing their light.
...I don't know him that well; why should I care about him?
He's even the reason my loved ones were brought here.
...
...
'Take care of Uncle Ben and Aunt May, Peter Parker'
...I have to save him; I definitely have to save him.
If not, I'll regret it for the rest of my life!
[Well, do you want to use my power? Just ask, and I'll lend it to you right away.]
"...Is there a price for using it?"
[Of course, I'm an Outer God, and you're human. Using an Outer God's power will drive humans insane.]
[But for you, I'll try to minimize the damage as much as possible. Instead of going mad, you'll lose your humanity.]
"So what if I overuse it?"
[...Then you'll completely become a part of me.]
"...Deal."
[Good! Right now, your body can only handle one billionth of my power, maybe even less. After all, you're human; using too much will kill you.]
[Let's begin!]
Badum!
A strong heartbeat; I suddenly felt my body tingling all over.
"GAHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Black and red liquid oozed from my navel, enveloping my entire body.
"?!"
The thing sensed a powerful force nearby and turned to look at Peter.
Peter now... Was covered in a very familiar suit, with red and black as the main colors.
And a spider emblem in the center of his chest.
"If fate has forced me to fight, then I'll do it twice as well as usual." Peter stared straight at the thing, speaking with a threatening tone.