As Christmas drew near, the Western city grew ever colder once night fell.
Especially atop a twenty-one–story skyscraper, where the wind howled with such force it could topple a grown man, carrying with it flurries of frost and snow.
The rooftop entrance had long been locked from the inside. On ordinary days—let alone at night—even at high noon, no one would come up here.
But tonight, on this rooftop—
One figure crouched low on the water tower, while another leaned against the railing. Across ten meters of darkness, the two faced each other.
"Who are you?"
Gwen's eyes widened, her piercing gaze cutting through the mask of her spider-hood as she studied the stranger.
The sight took her aback.
The woman before her didn't look physically imposing. The skin exposed outside her battle armor was fair and delicate, her frame slender and unarmored by muscle—yet she radiated a wild, ancient nobility. The armor, the weapons, the crown and boots she wore all seemed steeped in timeless grandeur.
She stood tall against the bitter night wind, snow dusting the rooftop beneath her boots. Moonlight spilled from above, catching her silver hair as it whipped and danced, glowing as though the heavens themselves had draped her in divine light.
Like a goddess stepping straight out of the pages of ancient Greece.
"So beautiful…" Gwen whispered, unable to hold back.
The woman's face remained hidden—partly turned aside, veiled by the ceaseless flutter of her silver hair, blurred further by darkness and snow.
But even so—so beautiful!
The words came from Gwen's heart. Other than "beautiful," no description seemed enough.
While Gwen took in the stranger, Xi Nian was studying her in turn.
Wrapped head to toe in a tight-fitting suit, Gwen was unmistakably female—unlike him, a "counterfeit." Her frame, her stance, her very movements bore out the truth.
After all, compared to the feminine-styled battle skirt he wore, a skintight suit left far less room for deception. No matter how tightly wrapped, a man could never wear such a suit without some giveaway bulge. The woman before him was flat, seamless, natural.
What caught Xi Nian's eye most was how perfectly the black-and-white spider suit outlined her lithe, supple figure. Like a predator poised to strike, the suit's flowing lines suggested power balanced on the knife's edge: a body not too muscular, not too fragile—an ideal, honed to perfection.
Could this be…the Spider-Man of legend?
But wait. Wasn't Spider-Man supposed to be a guy?
Confusion flickered through Xi Nian. He froze at her question—her voice was cold, sharp, distinctly feminine. He couldn't recall where he'd heard it before, yet it stirred a strange, uncanny familiarity.
Familiar, yet foreign. The dissonance gnawed at him.
Then came her sudden, guileless praise—"So beautiful."
Xi Nian wanted to dig a hole in the roof and jump straight in.
"Who exactly are you? Are you not going to answer?" Gwen leaned forward, bracing her hands on the water tower as she peered down at him.
Xi Nian stayed silent.
"I can sense it—that weapon you're holding is dangerous. If you wanted to fight, those cops earlier, even the helicopter, wouldn't have stopped you. So why just run?" Gwen's voice, muffled under her mask, brimmed with curiosity.
Xi Nian lowered his gaze to the antique longsword in his hand. Even in his frantic escape earlier, he had never once loosened his grip.
This blade had been hidden at home by his aunt. For that reason alone, he could never abandon it.
As for why he hadn't used it—wasn't it obvious?
He didn't know how.
And besides—
Gwen seemed to read his thoughts. "You didn't want to hurt the police. Or the civilians."
Xi Nian gave a small nod. Suddenly it struck him—why not answer without words? He pressed the sword's tip to the rooftop floor and dragged it forward.
The supposedly sturdy surface parted like tofu, leaving a deep scar etched between them.
Gwen's eyes narrowed in understanding. "You're drawing a line. Don't cross it…?"
Xi Nian inclined his head. Planting the sword upright before him, he wordlessly made his resolve clear: if she pushed further, he would strike.
He didn't want to fight someone who might share his strange powers. He only hoped to intimidate her into backing off.
"…Fine."
To his surprise, Gwen agreed easily. But the instant Xi Nian relaxed, mischief flashed in her eyes. Her wrists snapped forward—
Swish! Swish!
Two strands of white webbing shot out. One latched onto Xi Nian's sword, the other glued itself to the railing behind him, pinning him between them.
"Let me see your real face!"
Yanking hard, Gwen couldn't wrench the sword free—but she used the recoil like a springboard, catapulting herself forward like a human cannonball straight at his chest!
Social death—instantaneous!
Xi Nian's instincts roared awake. A flash of insight struck—he released the sword and hurled it forward!
Shhhhk!
The blade sliced the air, a silver streak of light.
Gwen's pupils shrank. She tensed to dodge—but the sword only grazed past her, dragging her own webbing with it!
"No—!"
She gasped, her lithe body yanked violently backward by the tether, flung toward the rooftop's locked iron door. The sword struck first, burying itself to the hilt.
Even then, Gwen's reflexes were superhuman. At the last instant, she seized the other web-line still fixed to the railing, bleeding off momentum. Her body flipped midair, boots landing against the iron door with a sharp clang.
But before she could recover—
A shadow closed in fast behind her.
"Get off me!"
She lashed out with a brutal kick—only for Xi Nian, as if anticipating it, to catch her ankle in one hand. His knee drove forward, pinning her squarely against the iron door.
Fearing she might fire more webs, he wasted no time. He swept her off the door, dumped her onto the rooftop floor, and dropped onto her arched back. One hand clamped her wrist, the other twisted both arms behind her.
The motion flowed with uncanny smoothness, as though he'd practiced it a thousand times. Even Xi Nian himself was startled—he'd barely managed to control his strength before.
But survival had its own genius.
No "social death" today.
Gwen struggled hard, but it was useless. Superhuman against superhuman—and she was losing.
The sheer force pinning her down left her stunned. She knew her strength could lift a car—yet now, with this man astride her, holding her wrists and ankles in an iron grip, she couldn't move an inch.
For the first time since gaining her spider powers, she felt powerless.
-----------------------------
Power me up with your Power Stones!