Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Ancient One in less than three years?
This confident statement made Tony, Harry, and the others so envious that even Jiru turned purple.
Who wouldn't drool over Sorcerer Ancient One's magic, which looked incredibly expensive to cast?
To master such cool magic in just three years—if it were them, they would definitely agree without a second thought.
But Gwen fell into deep hesitation after hearing this.
Of course, she craved power. She yearned to truly fight alongside Peter instead of always hiding behind him, watching him face World-ending crises alone.
But... becoming the Sorcerer Supreme?
That would mean leaving her current life behind, leaving New York, leaving Peter, and leaving her identity as Ghost-Spider, which she loved—swinging between the city's skyscrapers to help ordinary people in need.
"But..." Gwen opened her mouth, her voice a bit dry, "New York needs Ghost..."
Before Gwen could finish, Felicia suddenly spoke up. Holding her wine glass, she walked gracefully to Gwen's side, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.
"My dear, face reality... In New York right now, there are almost more heroes than villains."
"Peter's Shadow Fist, and the girls of the Black Rose... Do you know how long it's been since they last had any work?"
"I heard Mr. Murdock has already given up his identity as Daredevil and is content being a blind lawyer."
This remark drew a burst of laughter from everyone, diluting much of the originally tense atmosphere.
Harry, deeply agreeing, leaned in as well. Spreading the wings on his back, he looked at Gwen with a face full of grief and indignation, saying:
"Felicia is right, Gwen! Please retire quickly and give me a chance to show off... ah, no, a chance to uphold justice!"
Their words made Gwen both annoyed and amused, and the heavy pressure in her heart unknowingly dissipated by half.
Her gaze then turned to Peter.
In the end, the one she was most reluctant to leave... was still Peter!
Facing Gwen's gaze, Peter responded with an equally tender look:
"I won't make any decisions for you, but I will always be your strongest supporter."
No matter how reluctant he was to part with Gwen, Peter had no reason to hold her back from becoming better just for his own selfish desires.
Hearing this, the female heroes present looked at Peter with gazes that were almost melting.
Meanwhile, the male heroes grimaced one by one. Harry even quietly leaned over to Tony and said:
"Did you learn something? Why don't you try saying that to Pepper when you go back?"
Tony glanced sideways at him and let out a sneer:
"At least I have Pepper. What about you?"
Harry: Are you insulting me again?!
Returning to the main topic, meeting Peter's sincere and gentle gaze, Gwen took a deep breath and finally made up her mind.
She bowed deeply to the Ancient One.
"Teacher, I am willing to learn supreme magic with you."
Hearing this, a heartfelt smile of relief appeared on the Ancient One's face.
She gently embraced Gwen and whispered in her ear:
"Good child, Kamar-Taj welcomes you anytime."
"But before that, you can say a proper farewell to your boyfriend."
...
Over the next few days, Peter canceled all his work and dates, leaving all of his time for Gwen.
As if the end of the World were coming, the two of them tirelessly explored every corner of the city, trying to leave behind more memories of each other.
And on every quiet night, they passionately drained each other's energy at Parker Manor.
The day of parting arrived after all.
On this day, Peter personally held Gwen's hand and sent her to Kamar-Taj using the Eye of Aurora.
Standing at the entrance of Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One spoke with some helplessness to Peter, who was looking back with every step:
"Don't worry, I will take good care of her. We agreed that during Gwen's studies, you cannot come to disturb her often."
Peter nodded with some sadness:
"I promise I won't just drop by, but you can't refuse my request to bring her back to stay for at least two—no, three days every month!"
"Don't worry." The Ancient One rarely showed a down-to-earth smile:
"I'm not some kind of demon, so of course I wouldn't do something to keep you two from seeing each other."
...
The light of the Eye of Aurora flashed, and Peter returned to Parker Manor all by himself.
The streets of New York were still bustling, and the lights of the Avengers Tower were still brilliant.
But for Peter, it felt as if a piece of his heart had gone missing.
The first day without Gwen—miss her.
While he was feeling emo all by himself, the doorbell rang outside.
Opening the door with some annoyance, he saw that the visitor was actually Captain America.
The super soldier, once as steadfast as a rock, was now unshaven and looked extremely haggard, the light in his eyes significantly dimmed.
"What happened, Captain?" Peter was startled by his appearance, swallowing back the words of dismissal that were on the tip of his tongue.
Captain America remained silent for a long time, as if organizing his words, or perhaps making a difficult decision.
After a long while, he finally raised his head, his eyes filled with pleading.
"Carter... she's not going to make it."
Peter's heart jolted slightly.
Of course he knew who the Carter Captain America spoke of was.
Peggy Carter, one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America's lover.
Counting the years, she was now in her nineties.
"I know this request is selfish and out of line," Steve's voice carried a deep pain,
"I shouldn't have disturbed you with this. You've already done enough for this World. But... Peter, I really have no other choice."
He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white from the exertion.
"I missed her whole life. I failed to stay by her side, to watch her marry and have children, to watch her grow old. Now, I even have to watch her leave me again with my own eyes... I..."
This superhero, who had never shown fear even when facing Thanos, now had red eyes, his voice choking up completely.
"I just... just want to spend a little more time with her, even if it's only for a day, or an hour."
Now that he was separated from Gwen, Peter could well understand Captain America's emotions.
But some things were impossible even for him to achieve.
Even the invincible Old Horse couldn't fight against time.
Aging is a normal law of life, not an "abnormal status."
Even if Peter immediately used the Horse Talisman to cure all the ailments on Carter's body and repair her failing organs, she would still be a ninety-something-year-old elder.
Her brain, her bones, and her bodily functions had already reached their end.
Perhaps she could live for a few more years, and perhaps achieving that much would already be enough for Captain America.
But Peter did not want to stop at just that.
He hoped Captain America and Carter could finish that unfinished dance.
He hoped Carter could still walk happily alongside Captain America.
And even more, he hoped... Uncle Ben, Aunt May, George, and the confidantes he cherished would never leave him.
A crazy idea that had once flashed through his mind resurfaced:
Horse Talisman + dog talisman + Ten Rings = reversing the electric meter, turning back the clock on aging!
But there was still that same problem: he didn't have the dog talisman in his hands!
Just as he was agonizing over how to solve this problem, a long-awaited system notification sounded in Peter's ears.
[The System Shop has refreshed. Welcome to browse and purchase, Host!]
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