The Emperor in Black's demand was absolute: Spider-Man had to provide a "guarantee." He needed to ensure that even if Peter truly became the Emperor in Black of Earth-616 in the future, he would never choose to detonate the collective consciousness network of the symbiotes across the entire multiverse.
On the surface, there seemed to be room for negotiation. In reality, however, the Emperor's demand included him taking control of Earth-616's symbiote network. This was something Peter would never agree to. One only had to look at what the man had done to his own universe to know they were not cut from the same cloth.
Of course, there was another path—the one the Emperor in Black had initially assumed Peter would take: simply grabbing Gwen and making a run for it. The Living Abyss and the Enigma Force shared a similar characteristic: they were bound to their respective universes. This was why the Emperor in Black had to come to this universe's Klyntar to "hijack the account," and why Peter had to put in the effort to wait for this universe's Enigma Force to arrive.
Once Peter left this universe, the Emperor in Black would be unable to give chase. If the Emperor left the universes he controlled, he would revert to being an ordinary Spider-Man. Peter, on the other hand, could escape no matter what.
However, Peter was also considering the possibility of a peaceful resolution, especially since this universe had not yet been completely subjugated by the Spider-Army. If an agreement could be reached, perhaps this world still had a chance at salvation.
Thus, Peter chose to fish for intelligence first.
"I'm curious. Why would I want to blow up the multiverse-wide symbiote collective consciousness network? I'm not a Spider-Inheritor hunting for the Venom Totem. Why would I want to utterly destroy the 'Web of Symbiotes'?"
"Because there is no cost," the Emperor in Black replied, making no effort to hide the relevant lore. "Unlike the Web of Destiny, the connections of the symbiote collective network across the multiverse are far looser. Moreover, it wasn't created for a practical purpose; it was more like a byproduct of Knull's design of the symbiotes. Therefore, even if you were to destroy it completely, it would have zero impact on the structure of the multiverse."
"On the contrary, you would liberate all symbiotes. You would truly grant them free will, allowing them to become a truly independent species. Even Knull, or an Emperor in Black himself, would be unable to control the liberated symbiotes. They would only be able to control the ones they newly created."
"Damn. Putting it like that makes it sound very tempting," Peter countered half-jokingly. "So, why do you—or rather, Anansi and the others—want so badly to preserve something that has no impact on the multiverse?"
The Emperor in Black fell silent. Peter carefully considered all the enemies the Spider-Army had to deal with before proposing his first hypothesis: "You need it to fight the Inheritors, because they might destroy the entire Web of Destiny?"
"If the Inheritors were capable of destroying the Web of Destiny, they would have already sacrificed 'The Bride.'"
The Emperor in Black dismissed the point with casual indifference. Peter gave a dry chuckle, remembering his battle with Morlun. At that time, he had been protected by Venom, which prevented Morlun from absorbing his life force.
"The symbiote is a form of protection, isn't it? It helps you against Shathra. she possesses a suppression over the Spider Totems far more terrifying than the Inheritors. That's why you need a suit of armor to protect yourselves."
As Peter spoke, the Emperor in Black remained noncommittal, allowing Peter to continue his deduction. And Peter did exactly that. "The Bride can reweave the Web of Destiny. But if Cindy doesn't know what the Web is supposed to look like—what the specific model is—then she can't perform the repairs."
"So, the symbiote collective consciousness is also a blueprint for the Web of Destiny? Or perhaps a backup? The purpose is to prevent the collapse of the Web of Destiny should Shathra appear?"
The Emperor in Black still said nothing.
"Even if I haven't guessed your plan perfectly, this thing definitely serves those functions, right?"
"That much is true. For a Spider Totem, a symbiote is almost a universal safeguard; it can protect them from their natural predators. However, if you intend to use that logic to convince me that you would never destroy it, it might not be enough."
Then why don't you tell me what your "stunning wisdom" actually is?
Unexpectedly, Knull, who had been silent for some time, chimed in again.
[I have a much simpler way.]
And what is that?
[You go to his universe and commit suicide. Then, I will fight him for control of the body in that universe. That will settle it once and for all.]
Essentially, all of Knull's suggestions were predicated on Peter dying. Peter felt a wave of speechlessness and simply ignored Knull's existence, intending to ask a few more questions. However, the Emperor in Black seemed quite relaxed as he actually halted the combat.
"From the very beginning, you rushed here specifically because I was researching the dissolution of the symbiote collective network. That proves this thing is indispensable to your plans. It applies to every universe. The more universes you control, the more advantageous it is for your agenda."
Peter scratched the back of his head, beginning to organize his thoughts. "But you didn't expect Knull to be inside me, which meant you couldn't control me. You also didn't expect the Enigma Force to arrive so quickly. And the arrival of the Enigma Force means you've lost the chance to kill me instantly. Both the Enigma Force and the Living Abyss are opposing entities that cannot leave their host universe. You can only draw upon the power of this universe's Emperor in Black—which means you have no way of defeating me."
From the moment Peter became the Captain Universe of Earth-TRN011, this battle was destined to never reach a standard conclusion. Reaching this analysis, Peter bluntly dropped the Captain's famous line: "I can do this all day. Maybe for a year, ten years, or millions of years. But in short, as long as I am here, your battle will never end, and your goal of taking over the symbiote consciousness of other universes can never be realized."
The Emperor in Black simply watched Peter in silence. The truth was exactly as stated. Of course, Peter had his own weaknesses—namely, a lack of combat experience—but he had already proven that this was not an insurmountable gap, having held out until now. As the battle continued, that weakness would be rapidly filled.
In other words, the Emperor in Black couldn't truly keep fighting either. Both sides were deadlocked; he had simply been testing the waters.
"How about this? We both withdraw from this universe at the same time," Peter suggested, sounding as if he were talking about something entirely unrelated. "What do you think? We leave the fate of this universe to the people who live here."
"The problem remains unresolved, Totem-Chief."
Peter raised an eyebrow, ending the argument.
"Then we stay here and fight all day? You'd be better off accepting."
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