Universe 001, this is a World completely shrouded by a gloomy, blood-red sky.
In the center of this Universe, a Gothic castle so grand it was almost eerie stood in the middle of the land.
This was the base of the Inheritor Family, and hidden beneath the castle was the family's greatest secret—the Clone Factory.
The cold alloy corridors of the factory extended into endless darkness, with large amber petri dishes lining both sides.
It was unknown how many years these petri dishes had remained unopened, their surfaces covered in a thick layer of dust.
But if one looked closely, they could still vaguely see figures soaking inside the containers—all of them clones of the Inheritor Family members.
These clones had their eyes tightly shut, like sleeping specimens, quietly waiting for the day they would be awakened.
Suddenly, one of the petri dishes labeled "Deimos" emitted a piercing alarm.
The nutrient fluid was rapidly drained, and immediately following that, a blood-red crystal was sent into the petri dish via a conveyor belt and roughly inserted into the back of the clone's head.
After an unknown amount of time, the clone's crimson eyes slowly opened.
Ping!
The protective shield of the petri dish was shattered by a punch; the clone... no, he should now be called the reborn Deimos.
Deimos tumbled out, gasping for air as if he were a drowning man granted new life.
Once he caught his breath, a look of ecstasy appeared on his plain yet terrifying face:
"the other... 'the other'!"
Deimos didn't even have time to put on clothes before he stumbled out of the cloning room and headed straight for the dining room.
In the luxurious yet sinister dining room, Deimos's family members were gathered around a long table enjoying dinner.
Their dinner was very simple: various Spider-Men who had died in different ways!
Some Spider-Men had their throats pierced by a wooden stake.
Some Spider-Men had all their joints crushed, slumped on the plates like limp mud.
Some Spider-Men were completely chewed into a meat soup, with only a head morbidly hanging off the edge of the soup bowl.
And Deimos's family members were feasting greedily on these "delicacies"!
"Oh? Look who it is. Isn't this my dear brother?"
Seeing Deimos stumble into the dining room, the man sitting in the first seat to the left of the head of the table couldn't help but stop his knife and fork.
The man was much thinner than Deimos, but the dangerous aura emanating from him was far greater.
He was the eldest son of the Inheritor Family and the most powerful hunter under his father, Solus—Morlun.
Morlun looked at the unclothed Deimos, a look of interest appearing in his eyes.
He casually set down his knife and fork and teased Deimos in a mocking tone:
"How many years has it been? How many years has it been since anyone in this family crawled out of that cold jar?"
"Tell us so your brothers and sisters can hear—exactly what kind of spider could make a useless dog like you unable to even find a chance to escape?"
Hearing this, a burst of laughter erupted from the surroundings.
Clearly, the atmosphere of the Inheritor Family wasn't exactly loving; it was more like mutual hostility!
Hearing the mockery from his eldest brother Morlun, Deimos, who had always been at odds with him, couldn't help but retort:
"You fool, what do you know? If you ran into that guy, you'd only die faster than me!"
After snapping back at Morlun, Deimos respectfully knelt and bowed to the man at the head of the table who had remained calm throughout, speaking respectfully yet excitedly:
"My Lord father, I found him! I finally found that guy!"
"Found what? A particularly delicious spider?" A sexy female Inheritor subconsciously licked her lips, her eyes full of intense hunger.
"No! Something ten thousand times more important than that!" Deimos was trembling with excitement: "It's 'the other'! The most crucial 'the other' from the prophecy!"
As soon as the term "the other" was spoken, the scene fell into a deathly silence.
The contempt and mockery on the faces of all the Inheritors vanished without a trace, replaced by a complex expression mixed with shock, doubt, and greed.
Morlun couldn't help but slam the table, his face turning terrifyingly grim:
"Deimos, don't talk nonsense. the other's whereabouts are elusive; even father has never seen him. Why are you so sure the one you met is the other?"
"There's no mistake!" Deimos roared, "He doesn't have the aura of a spider totem, yet he is closely connected to the entire Web of Destiny! He is like... the center of the web! The absolute ruler!"
Still trembling, he recounted the entire process of his brief clash with Peter.
"I couldn't even make him move a single step! That power! That power that crushes everything! There's absolutely no mistake! He is 'the other'!"
Hearing Deimos say this, Morlun's expression was grim, but he could no longer find a reason to refute him.
Meanwhile, the other brothers and sisters in the family had all fallen into a frenzy.
Hundreds of years of hunting and countless disappointments had almost made them believe the prophecy was just an ethereal legend.
But now, "the other" had truly appeared!
Only after hearing Deimos's account did the expression of the elder sitting at the head of the table finally change:
"Have the gears of fate finally begun to turn!"
He was the father of all Inheritors—Solus.
After eating the last piece of meat on his plate, Solus stood up abruptly and turned to enter a secret room.
The secret room was filled with dense spider webs.
At the very center of the webs, a figure with a human upper body and a lower body firmly trapped in a spider-like mechanical device hung his head half-dead—it was the Master Weaver.
Solus grabbed the man's hair and whispered a few words into his ear.
Before long, the Master Weaver began to work like a living corpse, displaying a massive projection.
"It's right here." Solus let out an excited shout, then turned back to look at Morlun and the others:
"My children! The appearance of the other is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This time, we must sever that damned prophecy!"
At this, Solus's gaze swept across everyone, and he spoke with an incredibly solemn tone:
"This time, you will all move out! You must bring the other back alive!"
Hearing this, Morlun hesitated for a moment, then asked tentatively:
"My Lord father, should we also call Karn back?"
Hearing that long-forgotten name, Solus's brow furrowed slightly.
But after a moment of hesitation, he finally spoke:
"Very well, Morlun. You go and bring that waste back."
"To ensure the plan is foolproof, I must also head out. I'll leave the castle in the hands of Jennix and that waste!"
After hearing Solus's arrangements, the members of the Inheritor Family rubbed their hands together, full of anticipation for launching this cross-Universe surprise hunting war.
Only... what they would never imagine is.
Their so-called surprise hunt, in Peter's eyes, no longer held the slightest secret!