Gwen stared intently at the two Peters standing before her, her mind racing with anxiety.
She seriously doubted whether the power of this splitting technique had somehow warped Peter's personality. Or worse... had the real Peter been covertly suppressed and controlled by these two split personas without anyone noticing?
Just as she was nervously plotting a way to "awaken" the true Peter without alerting the two entities in front of her, Peter—who was observing everything from his unified cognitive perspective—metaphorically slapped his forehead, finding the situation both helpless and deeply amusing.
He had completely forgotten that, since acquiring the power of the Tiger Talisman, he hadn't actually shown Gwen this specific ability to divide his core balance into separate entities.
It was entirely natural for her to grow suspicious given his seemingly uncharacteristic, callous-sounding strategy.
With that thought, Peter didn't hesitate. He immediately channeled the Tiger Talisman to merge his halves back into one true self.
Stepping forward, he gently wrapped his arms around Gwen, pulling her into a warm embrace. Gwen hesitated for a fraction of a second, but ultimately didn't resist.
She buried her face into his chest, deeply inhaling his familiar scent to ensure he hadn't been replaced by an impostor, before whispering softly:
"The Peter I know would never make a reckless proposal like that."
"Don't worry, I'm me. One hundred percent authentic," Peter murmured, gently stroking her hair to soothe her anxieties.
He began to explain: "I know exactly what you're worried about. But it is precisely because this battle carries such catastrophic risk that I must anchor the primary battlefield in our universe."
Gwen looked up, her beautiful eyes clouded with complete incomprehension.
What kind of logic is that? Because the bomb is too destructive, it has to be detonated right inside our own living room?
Peter smiled and gave her cheek a tender kiss before leaning down to murmur right into her ear:
"Remember the 'Canon Events' Miguel mentioned before? Those predetermined tragedies that supposedly every Spider-Man is forced to endure."
"Didn't you already prove that whole theory was just a massive misunderstanding?" Gwen's brow furrowed tightly. "You said he just happened to witness the collapse of an unstable universe and drew a completely far-fetched conclusion."
"I did believe that initially. But after thoroughly harvesting Daemos's memories, I realized I was being a bit too naive." Peter's expression turned incredibly solemn. "The 'Web of Life and Destiny' is a tangible, absolute reality.
The imprisoned Master Weaver's literal divine function is to weave and maintain the fabric of the web. In a sense, he is a lesser deity explicitly charged with that duty."
The revelation sent a sharp jolt through Gwen's heart. "Are you saying... that you, my father, and everyone else are still fundamentally targeted by destiny?"
"Exactly. It's precisely like Final Destination," Peter noted, using a well-known Hollywood franchise as an immediate analogy. "We, who were originally destined to perish in those targeted tragedies, are essentially the passengers who cheated death by not getting on the doomed plane.
Even if we dodged that initial incident, destiny will continuously orchestrate a sequence of bizarre 'accidents' to harvest our lives and balance the cosmic ledger."
"As long as I exist in our universe, an endless torrent of targeted catastrophes will continuously knock on our door. Today it's the Inheritors; tomorrow it will be something even worse."
"And if things play out naturally, to ensure my absolute termination, the crises we face will only grow exponentially more exaggerated each time!"
Gwen possessed an intellect that easily rivaled Peter's, and she instantly grasped the profound underlying strategy of his words:
"You realized this... so you want to turn a passive vulnerability into an active, controlled campaign? You want to use this inevitable invasion by the Inheritor family to give everyone in our universe... a massive wake-up call?"
"Bingo!"
Peter kissed her lips in absolute approval, leaning his face against hers as he continued:
"My thoughts exactly. Since the scale of these threats is destined to escalate, we must establish a comprehensive protection infrastructure—like massive underground shelters and large-scale planetary energy shielding systems—to prevent innocent casualties.
But as you know, even though I can pressure the President, I am not the Commander-in-Chief. I cannot simply snap my fingers and convince the entire population of New York to immediately disrupt their lives to build massive defensive structures."
"If I try to blast that warning out right now, society will simply label me a lunatic. The massive momentum and public reverence I've built would vanish overnight."
"Worse, the political factions who view me as a permanent thorn in their side would seize the opportunity to systematically tear me down.
George and the family would be placed in immediate jeopardy, and when the true cosmic threats arrive, far more innocent lives would be lost because of the bureaucratic stalling of fools."
"Therefore, to circumvent that catastrophic timeline, I must launch a controlled, proactive strike!"
A flash of absolute clarity illuminated Gwen's deep blue eyes. She understood his overarching masterpiece of a blueprint. "You want to..."
"Shh."
Peter raised a finger, gently pressing it against her soft lips. Leaning exceptionally close, he outlined his bold, incredibly ambitious strategy in a whisper meant exclusively for her ears.
"We will do precisely this, execute it exactly like that..."
As Peter unfolded the details, Gwen's eyes widened progressively further—shifting from absolute shock, to utter disbelief, and finally to a state of profound awe and admiration.
When she looked back at Peter, her gaze had undergone a fundamental transformation. It was a complex cocktail of deep tenderness, fierce love, and unadulterated reverence.
The man she loved was far grander than she had ever imagined. He was truly, consistently exhausting his cognitive limits to secure the safety of the common people.
After a long silence, Gwen finally managed to steady her racing heart.
"This plan... is an absolute masterpiece," she whispered, her voice carrying a faint, uncontrollable tremor. "But... if we actually commit to this path, you are going to have to endure an immense amount of public grievance and slander."
Faced with her deeply protective, sorrowful gaze, Peter simply offered a warm, incredibly serene smile.
"As long as it successfully shields you all and secures our home, what does a temporary wave of public misunderstanding matter?"
"Besides, reality will provide the ultimate vindication, won't it?"
"When the dust settles, not only will the entire socio-political landscape completely invert in our favor, but we will have effectively structured things to a point where, quite literally, there will be no rivals left capable of opposing us in the entire nation!"
Seeing the unshakeable resolve blazing in his eyes, Gwen took a deep, steadying breath and nodded firmly:
"I completely understand! Tell me, what do you need me to do?"
Peter gently caressed her hair, his expression radiating absolute confidence. "I need you to head back first and brief George and the inner circle on the precise operational parameters. Furthermore, tell George to drop a direct line to J. Jonah Jameson. Tell him... to get his cameras ready, because the Big One is officially coming!"
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