Restart, Spider-Man!

In the corner of the room, Takuya Yamashiro and Harry Osborn raised a red-and-blue Spider-Man banner high into the air.

"The man who takes on a hundred Spider-Men!"

Takuya declared triumphantly, striking his signature pose.

Harry waved the banner enthusiastically, echoing, "The invincible Spider-Man!"

Before they could finish shouting their slogan, Scruffy Peter suddenly landed in front of them, hands on his hips, holding a slipper like a weapon.

"The moment we've all been waiting for!" he cackled.

"They're traitors! Get them!"

In an instant, a horde of Spider-Men descended, engulfing the trio in chaos.

"Ahh! Not the face!"

The comical spectacle made Miguel O'Hara lower his head in shame.

"I finally understand why you don't want to join us," he admitted.

Xia Luo stretched his shoulders, speaking casually. "Spider-Man is only truly Spider-Man when he's at his loneliest."

Miguel raised his head. "True. But that doesn't change my conviction. The Web of Life and Destiny must be protected. No one can destroy it."

"You'll regret this," Xia Luo warned.

"No more talking, Xia Luo Parker. Accept your destiny!"

In an instant, Miguel launched himself forward, a crimson whirlwind surrounding his razor-sharp claws. His attack was swift and unstoppable.

Xia Luo's eyes glowed blood-red as he fired himself forward using a web slingshot, his speed surpassing even Miguel's.

"You tell me—what exactly is my destiny?"

BANG!

BOOM!

Xia Luo's voice thundered as the two collided in mid-air. Miguel staggered, the red glow of the spider emblem on his suit dimming.

"You're Spider-Man. Solitude is your fate!"

Before Miguel could recover, a burst of red-and-blue webs exploded at his feet.

"Wake up! That's just an excuse to comfort yourself!"

BOOM!

A surge of magical energy created a violent whirlwind, hurling Miguel into a pristine white wall.

CRASH!

The impact left a human-shaped crater in the wall, spiderweb cracks radiating outward.

In the next moment, a red-and-blue figure shot forward and delivered a knee strike straight to Miguel's chest.

"What made you so weak? Was it the death of your loved ones?"

Xia Luo's voice was cold. "No. It's your own fear and guilt."

He poured even more power into the strike, the crater reverberating with a deafening crack as Miguel was driven deeper into the wall. Blood trickled from the seams of his mask.

"What?"

The surrounding Spider-Men finally realized this wasn't just a sparring match.

"They're serious!"

"Miguel is losing! Xia Luo Parker really is as strong as they said!"

"Oh my God, should we try to stop them?"

"No point. Miguel's about to snap."

Even as they debated, a dazzling red laser beam erupted from the crater, obliterating the wall.

ZAP!

BOOM!

The explosion sent debris flying everywhere as Miguel, claws glowing red, tore through the rubble.

"No! This isn't fear, and I don't feel guilt! This is what Spider-Man is supposed to be!!"

Miguel's desperate roar filled the air, but Xia Luo stood eerily still, his head lowered. He barely moved, like a lifeless puppet.

Yet, even in this strange state, Miguel's lightning-fast claw strikes failed to touch him.

Not even the flying debris managed to graze Xia Luo.

The watching Spider-Men were awestruck.

"His Spider-Sense is incredible!"

"Miguel's speed is insane, but he can't even keep up."

"No, it's not that he's slow—it's that Xia Luo is predicting his moves in advance!"

"How is that even possible? We're all Spider-Men! How is his Spider-Sense this ridiculously good?"

As they whispered in shock, Miguel's mind raced with disbelief.

Since gaining his powers, no opponent had ever been able to evade his attacks so effortlessly.

Xia Luo was the first.

But wait—why wasn't Xia Luo fighting back?

Realization dawned on Miguel, and he quickened his strikes.

"I see now," Miguel muttered. "You've abandoned all conscious thought, letting your Spider-Sense operate at its peak!"

Red laser webs shot from Miguel's hands, encircling Xia Luo in a meticulously constructed trap.

Instead of trying to directly bind Xia Luo, Miguel aimed to confine the space around him.

As expected, the laser webs filled the air around Xia Luo, but Xia Luo didn't react. The webs didn't try to touch him, and he didn't move.

Miguel's eyes glinted with determination. "I'll admit—it's impressive that you mastered such a technique. But without space to move, even your Spider-Sense can't save you."

With a sharp pull, Miguel tightened the web trap around Xia Luo.

SWISH! SWISH!

SNAP! SNAP!

But just as the webs closed in, the glow in Xia Luo's eyes flared brightly. Scarlet tendrils erupted from his back, slamming into the ground with immense force.

BOOM!

CRASH!

The floor caved in under the impact, and Xia Luo dropped to the level below, evading the encroaching webs with ease.

"What?!" Miguel exclaimed, his voice tinged with shock.

Miguel froze, momentarily stunned, as another section of the floor exploded in the distance. A swirling red-and-blue tornado of magical energy tore through a geometric structure.

Crack, crack, crack.

Debris was sucked into the vortex, which grew larger and more menacing by the second. The oppressive aura it exuded sent shivers through the gathered Spider-Men.

"This is bad. Run!"

"This whole place is coming down!"

In a flurry of webs, the Spider-Men swung away as fast as they could.

Under the night sky, countless Spider-Men poured out of the building's windows, swinging through the air in chaotic streams.

Before they could find stable ground, a deafening explosion shook the tower. A surge of brilliant magical energy ripped through the outer walls, propelling Miguel's battered body diagonally toward the street below.

"Oh crap! Look at those Spider-Men—"

"They're fighting each other!"

Pedestrians on the street gawked in horror, screaming as they fled the scene.

"No, Bal!"

A young boy clutching an ice cream cone stood frozen in place, wide-eyed and confused as the black-and-red figure hurtled toward him.

Behind him, his frantic mother raced forward, but it was clear she wouldn't make it in time to save her child from the impending "accident."

Just as Miguel was about to crash, a golden portal opened in front of the boy.

"Go home, do your homework, and cut down on the sweets."

Xia Luo snatched the ice cream from the boy's hands and used his webs to safely send him away.

Taking a bite of the ice cream, Xia Luo casually extended a web line to catch Miguel mid-fall, halting his descent.

Miguel's suit was in tatters, though the nanometal material rapidly repaired itself, covering the blood seeping through his damaged armor.

Before he could process what had happened, Xia Luo's voice, calm yet cutting, reached his ears.

"Let me show you what Spider-Man is supposed to be."

With that, the web slingshot snapped back, flinging Miguel high into the air. His particle cape unfurled, morphing into wings that stabilized his flight.

"Xia Luo Parker, you've forced my hand!"

Furious, Miguel dove down, activating his wrist device.

In an instant, the devices on every Spider-Man in the vicinity began flashing red.

"Oh no, Miguel issued a mission: Capture Xia Luo Parker!"

"What do we do?"

"We have no choice. To protect the Web of Life and Destiny, we have to go after him."

"Let's go. No time to waste!"

Within moments, a swarm of Spider-Men swung toward Xia Luo, their webs blanketing the air like a storm.

Swish, swish, swish!

Xia Luo punched the air, creating a shockwave that sent the incoming webs spiraling back. The redirected webbing ensnared several unlucky Spider-Men, leaving them tangled and suspended.

"Meow!"

Garfield Spider-Man leaped past the trapped group. Mid-air, his fur bristled into needle-like spikes, aiming to skewer Xia Luo.

But Xia Luo merely shifted slightly and used his webbing to pull a nearby Spider-Man into Garfield's path.

"No!!"

Thwack!

"ARGH!!"

The hapless Spider-Man yelped, clutching his rear as Garfield's spiked fur lodged itself firmly in place.

Before Garfield could pull free, the two of them tumbled into a nearby storm drain.

Clang!

The manhole cover spun across the ground until Xia Luo casually stomped it back into place.

Crunch!

The sheer force of his stomp left a distinct footprint in the metal. Using the momentum, Xia Luo launched himself skyward, firing spatial webbing as he ascended.

"Dear God, he can fly!"

"What's so surprising about that?"

A Spider-Man with web wings soared after him. "Xia Luo Parker, surrender! Wait—my wings!"

Xia Luo's magical webbing shredded the Spider-Man's wings into fragments. As the unfortunate Spider-Man plummeted, Xia Luo propelled himself forward, weaving through the chaos. Every few seconds, another Spider-Man was sent hurtling toward the ground with a yelp.

"Nooo!"

"Damn it, you landed on me!"

"Sorry—ahhh, who stepped on my head?!"

The air was filled with the sounds of Spider-Men crashing into one another as they fell.

On a nearby bridge, a white-haired old man snapped a picture of the unprecedented spectacle.

Click!

"Ha! What a delightful bunch of Spider-Men," he chuckled, peering at the screen of his camera. "This is perfect. I've found my inspiration—I'll create a Spider-Man comic series!"

As the old man turned to leave, the night sky erupted in a dazzling display of magical energy. Lightning arcs streaked through the air, scattering more Spider-Men in all directions.

Crackle!

Boom, boom, boom!

More Spider-Men fell, and the crackling arcs closed in on Miguel.

"Take a good look—this is what Spider-Man should be," Xia Luo declared.

"Damn you!"

As the electric arc reached him, Miguel bared his fangs, tearing through his mask as he lunged for Xia Luo's neck.

Zzzap!

The arc vanished, leaving Miguel biting at thin air.

The next moment, a crushing force slammed into his back. The impact drove him like a missile into the street below.

BOOM!

Amid the debris, Miguel's body lay buried under a pile of rubble.

High above, Xia Luo unclasped his fists and wagged a finger at the Spider-Men.

"Your teamwork is a complete disaster!"

"What did he say?"

The mocking tone sent the remaining Spider-Men into a rage.

"You arrogant jerk! I'm not holding back anymore!"

"Me neither—I'll throw dust in your eyes!"

"Get down here!"

Dozens of Spider-Men leaped simultaneously, webs shooting toward Xia Luo in a coordinated attack.

Xia Luo sighed, shaking his head.

"Fine. Let's settle this all at once."

Standing his ground, he caught the incoming webs with both hands.

"Come on, then!"

With a tremendous pull, he yanked the Spider-Men toward him, sending them hurtling through the air.

Miguel, still staggering to his feet amid the street's wreckage, looked up at the scene. His glowing red eyes reflected the chaos in the night sky, his expression a mix of awe and disbelief.

"A lone Spider-Man, defying his fate. Fighting against the world to protect the people he cares about—even against other Spider-Men.

"Have we all misunderstood the destiny of Spider-Man? Is this what it truly means?"

He murmured to himself as the brilliant magical energy in the sky erupted one final time. Spider-Men scattered like meteors, raining down toward the ground.

BOOOOM!

As the thunderous impact subsided, Xia Luo landed gracefully amidst the rubble, locking eyes with Miguel.

"Now, can I take him and go?" he asked, his tone calm but firm.

Miguel hesitated, words caught in his throat. He glanced around at the defeated and disheveled Spider-Men surrounding them. Finally, he sighed in resignation.

"If you do this, you'll only doom Harry. No Spider-Man has ever escaped their fate," Miguel said bitterly.

Gesturing toward the others, he added, "Every one of us lost our Harrys. That's why we understand how you feel. No one truly wants to stop you.

"But it's irresponsible to endanger your entire universe because of this."

One by one, the Spider-Men began to stand, their faces weary and solemn.

"Xia Luo Parker, give up!"

"Give up!"

"We won't succeed."

"Our lives are destined to lose everything."

"Mary Jane, Gwen, Harry, Uncle Ben, Aunt May... The more we resist, the more we lose."

"This is our fate."

"Accept it!"

"No matter how strong we are, we only bring disaster to those around us. That's the truth."

"Join our family. Accept your destiny. It's the best outcome for everyone."

"Heroes are lonely."

"But heroes are necessary."

"Remember what Uncle Ben said: With great power comes great responsibility. To protect the innocent, they'll forgive us."

"Stop fighting it."

"All we have left now is each other..."

The rising cacophony of voices made Xia Luo clutch his head in frustration.

"SHUT UP!"

His roar shook the rubble beneath their feet, silencing the crowd.

Xia Luo took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over the unmasked Spider-Men around him.

Some were young, others old. Some looked haggard, others hollow.

They had fought, struggled, and despaired.

In Xia Luo, they saw a reflection of their former selves—strong, confident, and unrelenting in their fight against fate.

They could already imagine the pain of failure that awaited him.

They wanted to help him, to help the version of themselves he represented.

But they knew they couldn't.

They had learned, through blood and tears, that resistance was futile.

---

T/N: so peak

Ahem! Gather close, esteemed audience! Do you comprehend the privilege of basking in my radiance? Truly, you're witnessing history in the making—a performance unparalleled in the annals of Fontaine!

Ah, but don't get distracted! Let me be clear: this brilliance isn't conjured from thin air. No, no, no! It requires effort, dedication, and… well, a touch of your generosity. If you fancy being part of something truly extraordinary, do step forward here: [patreon.com/WiseTL].

Oh, but wait! You're probably wondering, "Furina, how can someone as magnificent as you need assistance?" To that, I say: why deny mortals the honor of contributing to such greatness? Supporting me is supporting art, and who doesn't want to say they were instrumental in a legend's rise?

Now, off you go. Make your offerings, and perhaps, perhaps, I'll acknowledge you in my next soliloquy!

— Furina ✨