Beside the silver mirror, Amon's figure materialized from the shadows. He had been observing Arrodes's performance, and it was satisfactory. Arrodes was a unique artifact Amon had recently crafted. While this universe lacked a "spiritual world" in the way he knew it, it was teeming with alternate dimensions, pocket universes, and subspace planes that served a similar purpose—vast, interconnected repositories of information.
If these alien spaces were cosmic databases, Arrodes was the ultimate search engine. It could sift through an incomprehensible amount of data, find the exact information required, and then process and decrypt it, presenting a clear answer. As long as the secret was not protected by power of the highest order or hidden by esoteric means, Arrodes could find it.
There was no price for asking a question, but Amon adhered to the principle of equivalent exchange. Simply answering questions was boring; a mutual interrogation was far more entertaining. As for what questions Arrodes chose to ask, that was entirely its own prerogative. Arrodes's power was focused on divination and the uncovering of secrets. Its offensive capabilities were negligible, but its foundational power level was immense, making it an artifact of incredible significance.
Sensing Amon's presence, the surface of the mirror rippled, and a new line of text appeared. "Creator, how was my performance?"
"Very good," Amon commented. "Very similar to what I remember."
"Arrodes is honored to satisfy you." After making a final adjustment to the mirror's position, Amon departed from the Marvel building.
Amon strolled through the streets of New York, letting his senses guide him. He had detected a major disturbance in the tapestry of fate, a tremor somewhere in the city. He didn't try to pinpoint its exact location; instead, he simply followed the current, allowing the flow of destiny to lead him to its source. Destiny is an illusory concept, a web of threads invisible to ordinary people and nearly impossible to alter. Only world-changing events, moments that could completely rewrite a person's future, could cause the threads to vibrate with such intensity.
If the threads of fate for a normal person's tragedy were like a single stone dropped into a calm pond, this disturbance was a tidal wave, a fundamental shift in the world's narrative that would have massive, far-reaching consequences. The currents of fate led Amon to a small coffee shop. The source was inside. He pushed the door open and walked in.
"Gwen, I found out the spider that bit you was a product of radiation mutation," Peter Parker was saying. "It's completely dead, but I'm friends with Harry Osborn. Through Harry, we might be able to get another living specimen from the lab. We could run a test on mice and see if it's what caused the mutation in you."
Gwen was listening to Peter, but her mind drifted. She had met Peter's friend Harry a few times and remembered him as a rich kid with a messy private life and a string of girlfriends. I hope Peter doesn't learn any bad habits from his friends, she thought, staring at his earnest face.
"Gwen? Gwen, are you distracted?" Peter waved a hand in front of her face. "Did you hear what I said?"
"I'm listening," she said, snapping back to the present. "You said you were going to look for Harry."
Peter nodded. "He gets back next week. We'll go find him then. I know an abandoned factory where no one will bother us. We can test your abilities there."
"If you want to test superpowers, you can come to my company. We have specialized equipment for just that purpose." A shadow fell over their table. Peter looked up to see a well-dressed young man smiling down at them.
"Uh, sir, can I help you?" Peter asked.
Amon smiled. "I overheard you talking about superpowers and was curious. This is my business card."
"Marvel! You're the head of that new superhero company!" After reading the card, Peter Parker was stunned. He had heard about the company; it had become famous almost overnight.
Amon continued, "Could you tell me about your experiences? I'm very curious."
Under the influence of Amon's extraordinary charm and persuasiveness, neither Peter nor Gwen felt any suspicion. They agreed immediately. "Okay!" Amon was a master of persuasion, a fundamental aspect of his very being. His power was such that even the most ordinary sentence he spoke felt deeply reasonable, almost impossibly convincing.
Amon pulled up a chair and listened intently as the two recounted the events of the past few days. When they finished, Amon nodded thoughtfully. "You suspect it was the spider that caused Ms. Stacy's mutation. May I see it?"
Peter took a small glass box from his pocket and handed it to Amon. "Here, but it's dead."
"It doesn't matter. Dead or alive, it's all the same," Amon said casually. He took the spider, gave it a cursory glance, and handed it back. "What a magical little creature." He then made a suggestion. "You want to test Ms. Stacy's abilities? I will take you to the Marvel building to test them properly."
Peter and Gwen looked at each other, and Gwen nodded. "Okay!"
Amon led Gwen and Peter to the testing grounds within the Marvel building and handed them over to one of his clones for processing. He then retreated to a private room. Opening his right hand, a spider emitting a faint, ethereal glow materialized in his palm. This was a historical projection of the spider that had bitten Gwen. Amon considered his next move, and in the next instant, one of his clones appeared in the room.
The clone asked, "Main body, am I needed for one of your unusual experiments?"
"Disguise yourself, then allow this spider to bite you," Amon instructed. "We are going to connect to the 'Great Web' and study the so-called Spider Totem."
Spider-Man's abilities appeared to be a product of science and genetic mutation, but the truth was far more mystical. The power of the Spider-Man was magical in nature. It originated from the Spider Totem, a supernatural, cosmic deity that searched the endless multiverse for suitable hosts, granting them its power. Most who were chosen became their universe's Spider-Man.
Typically, there was only one Spider-Man per universe, and not everyone bitten by a special spider was chosen. However, Amon could leverage his power over "error." He could corrupt the identification process, forcing the Spider Totem to see his clone as a valid host. Once the connection was established, he could trace it back to its source and peer into the secrets of the cosmic being itself.
Amon's clone nodded. Its form wavered and then re-formed, taking on the perfect appearance of Gwen Stacy. A simple physical disguise was the easiest part. Then, the clone reached out with an unseen hand and stole a small, crucial thread from Gwen Stacy's fate. This was the most important step.