Peter vigorously shook his head, then forcefully shut his eyes until his eyebrows and eyelids became a single line. When he reopened his eyes, the tears clinging to his eyelashes blurred into a shiny light halo.
Peter waved his own arm in front of his eyes, but it took a few seconds before he regained control over his body. The next second, he sprang up, adopting a defensive posture, only to find that his spider-sense wasn't buzzing.
The faces of three people in front of him were very familiar; these were people who should long have been dead, namely Nick Fury, Coulson, and Doctor Dora.
Even stranger, each of them had a halo over their head, which was now emitting a bright light.
For a moment, Peter felt as if his brain had stopped working. He looked down at his hand, finding it exactly as he remembered.
He opened his mouth and found that his voice was somewhat delayed. As soon as he tried to stand upright and exerted force, he found himself floating. Peter's eyes bulged in shock, but then he was pulled down by a net designed for catching insects.
The three people with haloes on their heads promptly closed in. Nick said, "I knew it, even Spiderman would end up floating when he first comes here. So when I floated, it was normal, right?"
Coulson looked at Peter and said, "Man, I lost again! I thought that with Spiderman's superior limb coordination, he wouldn't make this kind of mistake."
Doctor Dora adjusted her glasses and said, "Instead of wasting time betting here, you guys could help out in the lab. Let's go."
After saying this, Doctor Dora started to walk away. Shiller removed the insect-catching net, and Peter stood up. He looked back at Shiller and asked, "Doctor Shiller, what the heck is going on? Am I dead? Is this heaven?? But... why are you here?!"
"This is indeed heaven," replied Shiller calmly, "But I lent my halo for something else, so I don't quite look like an angel."
"But... but you're not dead! Weren't you in Washington? Oh God, Doctor, did you also sacrifice yourself?!" Peter's brain, having just regained consciousness, was still slightly muddled. He hadn't figured out his present situation and was thus very confused.
Shiller stepped forward, putting an arm around Peter's shoulder, and said, "Don't worry. We treat our visitors with respect here. Let me show you around the place where you will be living from now on—Heaven."
Peter, who was still dazed, was led by Shiller away from the place illuminated by a bright halo, and into a magnificent sanctuary.
The sanctuary was expansive, and they seemed like specks within it, as small as dust particles in the cosmos.
On the two sides of the golden sanctuary stood six giant statues, each with a banner of unique design behind them. At the very center of the sanctuary was a fountain, and at the front, a large door.
Peter's mind was gradually clearing up. He replayed his memories, then said, "Wait a minute, is this really Heaven?? But... this décor kind of reminds me of Kamar-Taj?"
"That's just your perception," replied Shiller quickly. He picked up the pace and led Peter towards the entrance. Once the door was opened, there was a big plaza outside.
The stone pathway, constructed of rocks, possessed a natural charm. There were blooming rose bushes, grapevines and all sorts of creepers growing in the tall shrubs, with butterflies and dragonflies fluttering around them.
Tall stone columns stood on both sides of the road, supporting metal trellises. There were quite a number of plants climbing over them, blooming with cluster after cluster of tiny flowers.
Walking along the path, dappled with shadow and light, the center of the plaza housed a large garden with a fountain at its center. Neatly trimmed shrubs, spreading out from the fountain, divided the whole plaza into several parts.
As he passed by the fountain, Peter took a glance at the statue on top. It wasn't the usual kind seen in New York--small angels or goddesses. Instead, it was a sculpture of a ship sailing amidst stormy waves.
Peter reminisced again, then said, "They used the Nordic style here? Isn't this type of sculpture usually used by fishing and hunting tribes?"
Shiller promptly turned Peter's head in a different direction, saying, "That's just a decoration, let's go this way."
Peter wanted to look back, but Shiller had already pulled him around a bend, guiding him forward along the path. Peter saw an amazing architectural structure—a pyramid with half of it floating in mid-air.
The lower half of the pyramid sat solidly on the ground, and Peter even noticed a sphinx on it. But, the top half of the pyramid was floating. Peter rubbed his eyes, thinking he was hallucinating.
When they arrived at the entrance of the pyramid, Peter looked up at the colossal sphinx, mouth open, and said, "I always wanted to travel to Egypt. I didn't expect the Sphinx to be this huge…"
"Greetings, newcomer. I am indeed this big," said the Sphinx.
Peter jumped right on the spot, then flew into midair. Shiller had to use the bug-catching net to bring him down again, warning, "Peter, until you adapt to your soul status, don't jump around uncontrollably, otherwise, you might end up colliding with Pegasus in the sky."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Peter instantly apologized instinctively, but then exclaimed, "But!!! Why can the Sphinx talk?!!"
"Let me ask you, can spiders fly?" remarked Shiller looking at Peter.
Peter instinctively shook his head. Shiller chimed in, "You're already flying, why not let the Sphinx speak?"
"Sphinx, could you please open the door for us? Our new arrival needs to get registered." Shiller waved at the Sphinx.
The Sphinx nodded with a smile. "Boom!" The pyramid's entrance opened, and once Peter stepped in, he realised this wasn't the narrow tunnel he had imagined - rather, it was a spacious hall.
A Persian-styled carpet extended from the entrance to the end of the hall. Twelve columns held the entire hall up, with candles circling in a ring on each. As the candles flickered, they lent a mysterious air.
Rows of short tables were lined up neatly between the columns. Peter noticed several black dog-headed humanoid creatures bustling about these tables. He didn't understand their language, but he could comprehend their intentions.
"Resurrection of one from the Egyptian Pantheon! Report tomorrow at 2pm! Lord Anubis says this one is his relative, so be polite during reception..."
"Two from the Asgard Hall of Valor resurrected, ah, no, just one, one changed their mind at the last minute, so who is going to greet them? No one? Well, even if you dislike the martial types, it's still your job..."
"One from heaven! Let me see...this afternoon, oh, that's right now. Where's the person? Who was supposed to greet him? Please don't be late again! "
"There recently have been too many resurrections from heaven. The first human to be resurrected was taken to Lord Ambis because he was too darkly complected. Please, don't make that mistake again. Human souls are fragile; if anything goes wrong, it would be disastrous..."
"Peter Parker! Is Peter Parker here?! Human Peter Parker! Are you dead yet? What's the matter? Why aren't you dead yet? Really, he's late again..."
"Peter Parker's here." Shiller raised his hand and called out. The dog-headed man who had been scanning the crowd for targets looked at Shiller and rushed over. "Lord Archangel, so this is New Angel Peter Parker? Come with me. We need to register you, then we'll head next door to prepare offerings ..."
Peter felt as though his brain was mush; he found himself utterly unable to think. Clarity had just come to him but now his thoughts were muddled again. After all, what was happening was beyond his comprehension.
He could do nothing but follow Shiller obediently through a side door of the temple into another room.
Sitting behind the desk was a giant hippo, her plump hands wielding a feather pen, writing. Alerted by the sound of the door, she lifted her head and exclaimed.
"Oh my god! Shiller! There you are! I was just about to ask you. Heaven has taken in many people these past months. Are you really sure you've got enough slots to resurrect them all?"
"Don't forget, human souls are different from ours. They are much more delicate. If they stay here too long they may not adapt well back in their bodies."
"Thanks for your concern, Goddess. As it happens, they still haven't filled up my resurrection slots. As you know, heaven's resurrection business just started. Unlike you all, who have been accumulating for thousands of years yet haven't delivered, so it seems packed.."
"Oh, don't even mention it!" The Hippo Goddess cried out in despair, "Anubis just told me that he missed counting a batch from three thousand years ago. We're stretched even thinner!"
"Hey, this is Peter Parker, right?" The Hippo Goddess gave a wide smile, taking Peter's arm and laughed, "You truly are a fine young man. Shiller mentioned you before, I knew then that you are surely a good boy..."
"Come here, child. I need to register you. How old are you? Where do you study?...New York University? My goodness, you must be an excellent student! I have a son studying there too..."
"What? You live not far from Midtown Forest Street? My daughter lives there too! You have a girlfriend? She must be a good girl too. Come, let me see your soul..."
"Heavenly Amon! Why is your soul so vibrant? Let me look at your kind and evil heart...My dear heavens, there exists someone as benevolent as you in this world. Come here, child, fill out this form..."
The Hippo Goddess led Peter to her desk and handed him a form after seating him, "Don't rush, take your time. I will go fetch you some snacks..."
She laughed and gave Shiller a nod, who returned it with a nod of his own. The exchange had the air of a father and his child's future teacher during a school registration day.
Peter's movements were slightly stiff. As he looked at the form, his expression became even stiffer because the first question on the form was: "How did you die?"
Flicking his eyes down, the next question was about the time of death, followed by the question of which God you believe in, scheduled resurrection timings, expected lifespan post-resurrection, and so on.
Peter's pen-holding hand was trembling slightly. But at that moment, Shiller came over, tilted the paper slightly and pointed to the items on the paper, saying, "I'll show you how to fill this out. Write down the exact time of your death. Bearing God means your religious faith, you are a protestant, yeah? Just write God..."
"For scheduled resurrection time... write immediately, and your expected lifespan after resurrection doesn't matter. You can write down 100 years or 200 years... there's no wrong answer... "
"Didn't we just measure your soul activity? Write 'excellent'. For the good-evil heart section, you don't need to fill that out. Look over here, summarise your life in a few sentences."
"No, there's no need to start from elementary school. Just write about your achievements. This is for your resurrection application. Because there's plenty of room in heaven, you don't need to queue. Write however you like..."