The heroes spread out across the city, each taking a differeor to search for any remnants of Miles' maations. Peter also wao make sure everything was alright. He swung from building to building, his eyes sing the streets below for anything out of pce.

  He nded on top of a skyscraper and surveyed the surrounding area. The streets were quiet ay, tonight due to the evacuation drill. All civilians were either hiding in their homes or waiting in the designated shelters. There wasn't much activity. Peter took a deep breath and closed his eyes, fog his senses. He spread out his chi and magic all around, enhang his seo the maximum. Nothing. No traces of cybs, nor any sign of danger. Everything was calm.

  "Good," Peter muttered softly and opened his eyes. "Huh?!" His senses detected a life signature a few blocks away from his location, on a rooftop, but he couldn't get a read on it. Something was interfering with his chi, blog his senses. He leaped off the building and swung towards the source of the energy reading, curiosity getting the better of him.

  He arrived at the rooftop where the unknown energy signature was ing from. As he got he figure stepped into the light—a tall, elderly man with a lean build, dressed in simple clothing. There was nothing particurly menag about him, yet Peter couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this man thahe eye.

  "Hey there, old-timer," Peter called out, trying to keep his tone light. "It's not safe to be up here. You should head baside."

  The man looked up at Peter, his expression calm and unreadable. "I'm just out for a walk," he replied, his voice steady and deep. "But I should be the oelling you that, young man. The city is dangerous tonight."

  Before Peter could respond, the man turned and leaped from the rooftop, nding on the side of a building with ease.

  Peter's eyes widened as the man began to run, not on the ground, but along the vertical surface of the building. He moved with a speed and agility that rivaled Peter's own, his footsteps light and precise. Without a sed thought, Peter unched himself after the man, his webs shooting out to pull him along. "Hey! Wait up!" he called out, but the man didn't slow down. If anything, he sped up, darting around ers and leaping from one building to the with an ease that defied logic.

  Peter pushed himself to keep up, his mind rag with questions.

  'Who was this man? How was he able to move like that? How is he crawling and walking on the wall like him?'

  The chase led them through the byrinth of New York's skylihe two figures darting through the air like shadows in the night. Peter could feel his frustration growing. No matter how fast he went, the man always seemed to be oep ahead, effortlessly evading every web and every attempt to cut him off.

  Finally, after what felt like ay, the man stopped on a rooftop overlookiral Park. As soon as Spidey nded on the rooftop, he made sure to surround the entire area with magic traps. The old man turoeter.

  "Who are you?" Peter demanded, his voice ced with suspi. "And where did you get that spider power?"

  "Yoing to die soon," The old man replied, ign Peter's questions. "I've been watg you. You're strong, but not strong enough to defeat what's ing." He flipped over toeter and nded on his feet, theended his hand toward him. "o meet you Spider-Man. Or should I say, Peter Parker?"

  Peter stared at the man in shock, his eyes wide behind his mask. He threunch, aiming to bst the old man's face, but the old man dodged it with ease. "How do you know my name?!" He growled. "You better e , oldie. Or else-"

  "Or else what?" The man asked, his voice calm and unwavering. "Will you kill me? Beat me to death? No, Peter. I know your power and your weakness and I'm far more superior than you. It would take more than brute strength to beat me. Besides, I've been crawling around long before your birth. So, show some respect, boy."

  Peter shook his head with a sigh, "Superior you say, huh?!" He pointed his fi the pce where the old man was standing. Multiple s shot out from uhe old man's feet, ensnaring his body iight grip. "You see... Things have been too dangerous tely. First wizards from the Dark Dimension, then these freaking cybs, and now you pop up out of nowhere. And since you know my weakness, I think I'll just kill you. Problem solved. Right? So, wanna talk?"

  The old man chuckled, "I'm about to yank your like nobody else ever has before, and nobody ever will again. So listen carefully. Ever wondered how you got your power? How many spider abilities do you have? How many you have yet to unlock? Why did you get that many abilities? Why did the Great Weaver want to save you? How did those useless chumps mao steal those spiders from a highly secured facility with their pea-sized brains? Did the radiation ehe spider to give you those powers? Or was the spider trying to give you those powers before the radiation killed it? Which came first? The radiation? Or the power? The chi or the egg or the power?"

  Peter remained silent for a few minutes, processing everything that he just heard. Finally, he spoke up, "So... I'm guessing you had a hand in this? Me getting bitten by multiple spiders and gaining my spider powers?"

  The old man nodded. "It was a necessary precaution to throw off that bloodsucker."

  "Ok. Stht there. What's your name? You know mine, so... Care to share yours?"

  "My name is Ezekiel Sims. And I'm here to give you a ce to save your own life," Ezekiel replied, his tone serious. "You have a lot to learer Parker. There are forces beyond your prehension at work here."

  'Ah! Sims, huh?! I know all about you..." Peter smirked under his mask as he remembered Ezekiel Sims from ics that he read in his real world before these rebirth shits.

  Ezekiel Sims, a recipient of Spider-Totem powers through a mysterious ritual, sought fortune following his newfound abilities simir to Spider-Man's. Reizing his totemiature and the threat from higher-order beings, Ezekiel took measures to protect future Spider-Totems from entities like Morlun. He joihe Spider Society, aiding in the formation of WebCorps as a front. He mentored dy Moon, another bitten by a Radioactive Spider, training her until realizing Morlun was trag her. To safeguard her, Ezekiel secluded dy in a special room.

  Monit Peter Parker's development as Spider-Man, Ezekiel warned him of Morlun's pursuit. Despite urgier to hide, he faced Morlun himself to prevent casualties.

  In a frontation with Morlun, Ezekiel saved Spider-Man's life but disappeared after a subsequent fight. He ter aided Spider-Man against Shathra, guiding him to a sacred temple in Ghana and warning him of immihreats beyond Morlun. As the Gatekeeper targeted Ezekiel for his actal acquisition of powers, their flict escated. Ezekiel, deemed unworthy by the Gatekeeper, plotted against Spider-Man, ultimately sacrifig himself to save Peter, realizing his life pursuit of wealth was misguided.

  "Where is dy Moon?" Peter asked. His question seemed to have taken Ezekiel by surprise as he saw the old man stiffened. "I know about you. You trapped dy Moon in a special chamber for years to protect her from Morlun. Now, you wao go inside a simir room like that and hide in there? Nah! I'll take my ces."

  Ezekiel regained his posure and sighed, "Did the A Oell you?"

  "Doesn't matter. But now that I think of those questions... You tried to do something new, huh?! You tried to give me multiple totem powers to throw off Morlun and use me against him as a on he would never expect, didn't you? If that was the case... You aren't from this reality, right? You dimension travel like Morlun and you collected all those totem spiders and created a sario where Fsh would stumble upon them and the rest you already know..." Peter said as he summoned another batch of restraining s, ing Ezekiel tightly as he began to increase the pressure.

  He tinued...

  "That 0X-Serum. It just happeo be there, right in front of my eyes when I the most. You knew what Osborn was experimenting on, didn't you? So, ihat I might die due to those multiple spider bites, you made sure I got that serum that has insane healing properties and much more. That brings me to my wo questions- How did you know I'd take that particur serum? 0X-Serum... Your voice... It's so familiar. It's like I've heard your voice for years. You were there... in the b..." Peter grabbed his throat and pulled him up in the air.

  "Sacrifices have to be made to keep our world safe," Ezekiel gasped as he felt the air leaving his lungs. "I chose you because you have the potential to surpass Morlun a him."

  "You know who I am and my seutation that I'm still trying to figure out. You knew about it. Is it soul transfer or rebirth like Phoenix Force? You fug piece of shit!" Peter punched his stomach.

  Ezekiel coughed up blood but kept his mouth shut.

  "All this time... It was you. I thought I killed everyoed to that matter. But who would have thought... You escaped. All those years of pain and suffering. Even now, I feel it... Pain... Suffering... Anger... Hatred... Desperation... Loneliness..." Peter ughed hysterically. "The endless experiments and toxins... Hahahahaha! You... I'll rip your skin and flesh off your bones... And yoing to suffer and scream to your heart's tent. I'm gonna make you feel the same pain... No, pain isn't enough. I'm gonna make you experience hell!"

  Peter increased the pressure of the s, slowly crushing Ezekiel's body. Blood dripped from the old man's mouth as he struggled to breathe, his face torted in agony.

  "But before that, you'll tell me the secret behind your powers and the coordinates of my reality..."

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