Symbiotes are derivatives of Knull, and Knull is the personification of the Living Abyss. Naturally, Knull's body can unfold and spread just like a symbiote, expanding to envelop other life forms. The King in Black chose this exact method to attack Peter.
So, what use was it?
The answer: absolutely none.
In an instant, the dazzling light of the Enigma Force radiated in all directions, completely piercing through the covering Living Abyss. But this was exactly the King in Black's plan; he wanted to force Peter into the only viable choice to set up his next strike.
Instead, his attack hit nothing but air.
Spider-Man seemed to vanish entirely in a heartbeat, retreating so quickly he didn't even bother to take the Dragon Fang sword with him.
Sling Ring portals appeared one after another in the surrounding space, but Peter Parker did not emerge from any of them. The King in Black immediately extended a mass of symbiote tentacles, thrusting them into the portals to hunt for the wall-crawler, but he found nothing. On the contrary, the portals snapped shut instantly, severing the tentacles clean off.
The King in Black sensed the locations of those severed appendages and found they were scattered across random corners of the universe with no discernible pattern. It was impossible to pinpoint Peter's location based on the portals alone.
Where did he go?
Finding no trace of Peter anywhere, the King in Black began to contemplate. His first thought was whether the opponent had fled. Theoretically, a Spider-Man endowed with the Captain Universe power could indeed escape. Given that there was no deep-seated blood feud between them, there was no real necessity for the King in Black to intercept him. It would be perfectly logical for Peter to retreat back to Earth-616.
However, the King in Black did not leave with that assumption. He took the sphere compressed from a planet and forced it into further compression, turning it into a miniature black hole. He swept it back and forth through the surrounding space, confirming that nothing remained before finally departing.
After traveling a great distance, he suddenly whipped back in a flash, staring confusedly at the void. "How strange... did he really run away?"
Peter, of course, had not left. He was waiting for his moment—or rather, he had quickly moved into the King in Black's blind spot by using various means to force a reaction. As a "Patriarch," even the King in Black admitted that Peter possessed a significant advantage: he held the potential of every Spider-Man, whether for good or for ill.
"In other words, I have too many cards to play. Plus, I have an assistant here who knows every trait of the symbiotes but refuses to tell me. Are you really not going to talk about the characteristics of the Living Abyss? Knull?"
Knull had nothing to say; he intended to keep his mouth shut.
Soon, the energy Peter was gathering caught the King in Black's attention. The King in Black slammed a heavy fist against the fabric of space, creating cracks in the environment and shattering the Mirror Dimension where Peter had been hiding.
"It's been too long since I fought a sorcerer; I almost forgot that trick..."
The King in Black muttered to himself as he scanned his surroundings. His eyes sharpened. Those portals from earlier weren't just a simple feint to lure him in; they were used by Spider-Man, through the immense power of Captain Universe, to pull in matter from other locations.
The problem arose again: in the anti-matter-filled Negative Zone, what happens when a massive amount of positive matter is suddenly blasted out of the Mirror Dimension by the King in Black's punch?
A violent explosion instantly blanketed the area. Peter, well-prepared, used the Enigma Force to defend himself in advance, stealing a split second of initiative. While the King in Black was deploying his own defenses, Peter drove the Dragon Fang sword—saturated with the Enigma Force—directly into the King in Black's body.
A brilliant burst of intense light erupted. With the dual empowerment of Anti-Venom and the Enigma Force, Peter felt victory was within reach. Everything was being purged; everything was dissipating as if the King in Black had never existed.
"I can't see the future anymore."
He whispered to himself, then swung his sword behind him in a backhand arc. As expected, a large mass of symbiotes was instantly vaporized by the Enigma Force.
He had been counter-plotted by the King in Black once again. As long as the opponent was certain Peter would attack and knew the Dragon Fang was the only way to break his defense, it was enough to prepare a countermeasure. But more importantly, Peter's Spider-Sense had completely vanished, just as it had when he faced Anansi.
"It's not quite the same as Anansi," the King in Black said, stepping out from the absolute darkness. "I've mentioned it a few times, and you should know by now: the symbiote consciousness network and the Web of Destiny share many similarities. It's quite possible that when Neith designed the Web of Destiny, she directly referenced the symbiote hive-mind network. This means that if a symbiote that once hosted a Spider-Totem discovers this similarity in a short time..."
"Those guys can likely shield themselves from the Spider-Sense, right?"
At this, Peter remembered a certain piece of lore: Venom and his offspring symbiotes do not trigger the Spider-Sense because Venom had bonded with Peter, and his children inherited those spider-abilities.
However, in his universe, Venom had always been an ally. He hadn't expected any offspring, and other symbiotes hadn't bonded with other spider-powered individuals. This specific trait had rarely been relevant, so Peter had forgotten it.
Now, the King in Black was reminding him.
"Similarly, as the Lord of the Symbiotes, the King in Black can achieve this even without being a Spider-Totem. So, whether it's Carnage or Knull, they can both block my Spider-Sense."
Peter grasped the key point of the King in Black's explanation and then asked again, "So, you don't actually intend to kill me, do you?"
"I told you, I came for a guarantee. A guarantee that you will never become a King in Black and threaten the symbiote consciousness network," the King in Black said with his usual indifference. He then posed a question to Peter: "Do you wish to continue fighting?"
If Peter were to simply leave, it would mean the Peter Parker of 616 could not provide that guarantee, suggesting he might still choose that path in the future—at which point the two Kings in Black would fight until death. Conversely, this also meant the King in Black Spider-Man truly had no desire for a lethal struggle with Peter; what he needed was an attitude, a commitment.
The problem was: how exactly could Peter prove to him that he would not become a King in Black—or at least, not the kind of King in Black the other believed would destroy the collective consciousness?