Web of the Multiverse - 180 (Patreon)

Chapter 180: Moonstar’s Potential, A Warp Demon God?

Moonstar’s unique form of psychic power was extremely complex to use and exceptionally difficult to control.

Unlike Cyclops, who could unleash endless energy shockwaves simply by opening his eyes, Moonstar needed to perform a series of highly precise mental manipulations before she could turn her power into effective combat strength.

Without proper control, however, it became exactly what Peter was seeing now. Chaotic psychic energy contaminated the entire surrounding space, producing an effect similar to the Warp.

The so-called Warp was essentially a dimension within the physical universe that reflected emotions and souls. It was also known as the Immaterium or the Sea of Souls.

No setting was more famous for the concept of the Warp than the Warhammer 40,000 Universe.

Within the Warhammer 40,000 Universe resided the Four Chaos Gods, each corresponding to a different emotional force in the cosmos.

Khorne represented anger, war, violence, and hatred.

Tzeentch represented change, conspiracy, knowledge, and hope.

Nurgle represented decay, pathogens, disease, and despair.

Slaanesh represented debauchery, ecstasy, pleasure, and lust.

Because of that, Peter felt that Moonstar, at her current stage, could almost be regarded as a super-miniature Chaos God, one corresponding to the emotion of fear.

The problem was that Moonstar herself had no idea she possessed such terrifying power.

That was precisely why Peter had to guide her even more carefully and help her adapt to her abilities as quickly as possible. Otherwise, she could easily cause a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions.

She might even create a permanent miniature Warp on Krakoa.

“These guys just keep getting harder to deal with. There’s always another problem waiting to be solved.”

Peter shook his head helplessly, then raised a hand to open the window.

He needed to find out just how powerful the giant monster hidden within the thick fog actually was.

As a physical entity projected through psychic energy, judging its strength based solely on its appearance would be incredibly foolish.

So Peter decided to test it himself.

But before he could fully push the window open, the thick fog had already begun to disperse.

Its edges rapidly grew thinner as huge swaths of mist receded.

It looked like the tide pulling back at many times its normal speed.

Within the fog, the gigantic monster slowly turned around. After taking one final look at the villa, it disappeared completely along with the retreating mist.

Peter could not make out the monster’s eyes, but he could clearly sense the unwillingness it conveyed.

Before long, everything returned to normal. Outside the window, only the moonlit lawn and trees remained, so peaceful that it was as if nothing had ever happened.

Peter stood motionless by the window.

He knew this was a sign that Moonstar’s abilities were gradually awakening.

And as her awakening progressed, the giant monster within the fog would become clearer and more tangible, until it eventually descended into this world.

If that moment truly came, Moonstar would face the giant monster’s relentless pursuit.

Only by defeating it and overcoming the fear buried deep within her heart could she stop the monster from devouring her instead.

“Looks like I’ll have to find some time tomorrow to talk to Moonstar.”

Peter returned to bed, closed his eyes, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

...

At eight o’clock the next morning, all five young mutants were already awake and eating breakfast as they prepared for another day of training.

Partway through breakfast, however, Peter called Moonstar outside the villa alone, leaving the other four inside to finish eating.

Moonstar was clearly caught off guard by being singled out for a private conversation.

She kept her head lowered, her fingers unconsciously playing with the zipper on her jacket.

Moonstar’s full name was Danielle Moonstar.

That was right. Moonstar was her surname.

The name came from one of the oldest Native American tribes, the Cheyenne.

According to legend, this particular Native American tribe was descended from the bloodline of high priests who worshiped the gods.

Because of this, individuals with unusual powers were said to appear frequently among the descendants of the Cheyenne.

And Danielle Moonstar was clearly one of them.

She might even be the most powerful among them.

“How did you sleep last night?”

As Peter approached Moonstar, the first thing he asked about was how she had slept.

“Pretty well.”

Moonstar’s gaze shifted slightly as she answered in a low voice.

“Hmm. Did anything strange happen last night?”

“...No.”

There was obvious hesitation in Moonstar’s voice.

Peter had been carefully watching her expression the entire time.

In that brief instant, he clearly caught a flicker of hesitation and uncertainty in her eyes.

It seemed there was something she wanted to tell him, but she could not bring herself to say it.

“Relax, Danielle.”

Peter deliberately softened his voice, not wanting to put too much pressure on her.

“You can tell me anything. We’re friends now, and friends are supposed to help each other, right?”

Moonstar’s hand stopped fiddling with the zipper.

She remained silent for a moment, so nervous that she pressed her lips tightly together.

Peter stayed silent with her, showing no intention of rushing her.

Finally, Moonstar took a deep breath, as though she had made a difficult decision.

“Last night... I had another nightmare.”

Moonstar told him everything about the nightmare she had experienced the night before.

“In the dream, there was a huge black bear chasing me. I kept running through the forest, but it wouldn’t stop following me. Luckily, I woke up before it could catch me.”

“But I’ve had the same kind of nightmare many times. That black bear keeps getting closer and closer. At first, it was so far away that I could only hear it. Later, I could see its shape. And then... it was almost close enough to catch me!”

By the end, Moonstar’s voice was trembling uncontrollably.

The fear brought on by those dreams had clearly pushed her mind close to its limit.

Now that she had finally told someone about it, the tension in her nerves seemed to ease considerably.

Her deep brown eyes finally lifted to meet Peter’s, the panic hidden within them plainly visible.

“I’m scared. If I dream about it again, I’m afraid I won’t wake up in time. If it catches me, I have this feeling... something terrible is going to happen.”

Peter reached out and patted Moonstar on the shoulder.

“I understand. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”

Peter gave her a confident smile.

“I’ll help you with this, but today’s training is still going ahead as planned.”

Moonstar froze for a moment.

She clearly had not expected a teacher she had only known for a single day to offer her that kind of help.

She gave him a firm, grateful nod.

Peter waved her back inside the villa to finish her breakfast.

...

The morning training session went smoothly.

During the lunch break, Peter let everyone spend their time as they pleased, then headed to West Academy to find Pixie Megan.

Pixie Megan’s office was on the first floor of West Academy.

The office was simply decorated, with plenty of butterfly-themed ornaments.

When Peter knocked on the door, Pixie Megan was hovering in midair, her wings fluttering behind her as she trained.

She was using a rather unusual thrusting sword.

The blade had no cutting edge and could only inflict piercing damage through extremely rapid thrusts.

With the crisis brought about by the Poisons hanging over them, every mutant on Krakoa was taking advantage of every spare moment to train and improve their strength.

Even someone like Pixie Megan, who was clearly part of Krakoa’s middle management, was no exception.

“What brings you here? Have those kids been giving you trouble?”

Pixie Megan assumed the students had been refusing to follow instructions and making it difficult for Peter to conduct their training.

“No. They’re all smart and hardworking. They learn quickly.”

Peter’s answer made Pixie Megan visibly relax.

“That’s good. They’re some of our most talented kids. With your guidance, I’m sure they’ll make quite an impact on the battlefield.”

Peter then explained why he had come.

When Pixie Megan heard that he wanted to know more about Moonstar’s background, a knowing expression appeared on her face, as though she had expected this sooner or later.

“You noticed something unusual too? I do know a little about Moonstar’s situation.”

Pixie Megan folded the translucent wings on her back completely away.

Then she sat down across from Peter and began explaining Moonstar’s circumstances.

“Moonstar comes from a single-parent family. Her mother raised her alone. When she was little, her mother would go out to work and leave her locked inside the house by herself.”

“Her mother used to frighten her into staying indoors. She would tell Moonstar that there were black bears outside, and that if she went out, they would catch her and eat her.”

Pixie Megan sighed.

“That kind of thing might sound like a common scare tactic to an adult, but to a child only a few years old, it can leave a psychological scar that never really goes away.”

“About half a year ago, Moonstar started telling us that she was having nightmares. We also noticed that whenever she had one, thick fog would spread through the surrounding area, and every living creature within it would feel an inexplicable sense of fear.”

“However, after the White Queen personally examined her, she determined that Moonstar simply possessed abnormally powerful mental abilities. They created a strong mental suggestion in nearby creatures, causing them to feel afraid.”

“So you don’t need to worry. Moonstar won’t hurt anyone.”

Peter’s expression did not change after hearing Pixie Megan’s explanation.

Clearly, no one, including the White Queen, had yet realized just how terrifying Moonstar’s abilities truly were.

“I understand. I’ll take care of it.”

After leaving Pixie Megan’s office, Peter did not immediately return to the detached villa where he was staying.

Instead, he went to the dock where he had arrived the day before and retrieved his Spider-Cycle from the cargo bay of his Quinjet.

He then rode the Spider-Cycle toward the place where Venom Rocket Raccoon was staying.

Venom Rocket Raccoon was in much the same situation as Peter. He had also been assigned a group of highly talented young mutants as students.

Venom Rocket Raccoon and his students were living together in a villa.

It was not far from Peter’s own villa, only about two kilometers away.

When Peter descended from the sky on his Spider-Cycle, Venom Rocket Raccoon was in the middle of firearms training with his students.

This was Venom Rocket Raccoon’s greatest area of expertise.

When it came purely to shooting accuracy, Venom Rocket Raccoon’s marksmanship was even better than Star-Lord’s.

“That’s enough. Everyone, take a break.”

The moment Venom Rocket Raccoon saw Peter arrive, he stopped the training.

He activated his jetpack and shot straight over to Peter with a whoosh.

“How come you’ve got time to ride your motorcycle over here? Don’t tell me you want me to service it for you. I don’t have time for something that annoying.”

Venom Rocket Raccoon had grown completely comfortable around Peter, so he no longer bothered holding back when he spoke.

After spending so much time with the Star-Lord from his universe, Venom Rocket Raccoon had developed quite a talent for sharp-tongued banter himself.

He still fell a little short of Marvel’s top-tier wisecrackers like Spider-Man and Deadpool, but not by much.

“I really did come to ask for your help, but it’s not about maintaining the motorcycle. It’s something else.”

Peter’s words immediately caught Venom Rocket Raccoon’s interest.

“What is it? Let’s hear it. Maybe it’ll be interesting.”

Peter briefly explained what had been happening on his side, focusing especially on the thick fog and the giant monster that had appeared the previous night.

Venom Rocket Raccoon’s curiosity immediately went through the roof.

“Something that weird is happening? Now that sounds interesting. Still, every fear comes down to not having enough firepower. Next time that monster shows up, I’ll just blast it and see whether it can take the hit.”

Venom Rocket Raccoon assumed Peter had come to ask for help fighting the monster.

In reality, Peter had no intention of attacking it himself, nor did he plan to let Venom Rocket Raccoon do so.

Defeating the giant monster would not be difficult for either of them.

The real challenge was helping Moonstar overcome the fear buried deep inside her.

If her fear could not be completely eliminated, even more terrifying nightmare monsters would appear in the future.

“You don’t want to fight it directly? Then what exactly are you planning?”

Venom Rocket Raccoon stared at Peter in confusion.

Peter gestured for him to come closer, then whispered a few words into Venom Rocket Raccoon’s ear.

The next moment, Venom Rocket Raccoon’s eyes widened as though he had just heard something fascinating.

“Now that is an interesting idea. Count me in. I want to see exactly how this turns out.”