Chapter Summaries

Evenson secretly returned to the Sanctum and watched modified Carrigan slaughter the monks who were about to kill Danny. Evenson killed the monk leader and faced Carrigan after the rescue.

• The monk leader believed Evenson and his group had left, unaware their plane had circled back and Evenson had entered the Sanctum through Klayya's portal.
• Melinda spotted an ambulance arriving, and Evenson took a rooftop vantage point to watch the monks prepare to execute Danny.
• As the monk leader swung his blade, the Bringer of Darkness Technique plunged the area into darkness, and Evenson used a Kilrogg's Eye to identify the attacker as Carrigan.
• Modified Carrigan killed the monks one by one, leaving only the monk leader, whose attacks failed to stop him.
• Evenson intervened, killed the monk leader with a burst of purple light, and left Carrigan staring at him in bewilderment.

Evenson stopped Carrigan from killing the monk leader, then tracked down the leader’s room and summoned his soul. He revealed that he had killed the monk leader to question him about God, angels, and his true Lord.

• Evenson drew out the monk leader’s soul and blocked Carrigan when he attacked, forcing Carrigan to flee with Danny.
• Evenson told Melinda to keep tracking Carrigan, while she monitored his ambulance from the plane.
• Evenson searched the Sanctum and found the monk leader’s room after confirming the monks were dead.
• Evenson shattered a Soul Crystal and summoned the monk leader’s soul.
• The monk leader asked why Evenson had killed him, and Evenson said he wanted to talk about God, angels, and his true Lord.

Evenson bargained with the monk leader for answers about the angel, God, and the church’s hidden history. The monk leader revealed that God and the angel had abandoned the world long ago.

• Evenson tortured the monk leader’s soul, but the monk leader refused to cooperate because he feared Mephisto’s punishment in Hell more than Evenson’s methods.
• Evenson offered the monk leader a hundred years of continued existence to delay his final judgment, and the monk leader accepted.
• The monk leader explained that the angel was a single extraterrestrial being whose different forms had been mistaken for ten angels.
• The monk leader said God was distinct from the angel and had neither accepted nor rejected the angel’s proposal to guide humanity, choosing instead a gentler approach.
• The monk leader revealed that God and the angel had abandoned the world long ago.

Evenson questioned the monk leader’s claim that God and the angels had abandoned humanity, then learned they had departed to join a vast alliance of Light against the Burning Legion. He realized Earth’s Naaru had likely left to fight in that war and feared the consequences.

• Evenson considered whether the Naaru had abandoned humanity, been driven away, or left for another reason.
• The monk leader argued that the church’s corruption began because God and the angels were gone and no longer restrained it.
• The monk leader revealed that the final divine message announced their departure to answer the Mother of Light’s call and unite with the light of countless worlds.
• Evenson connected the revelation to the Naaru and concluded they had joined a Holy Light alliance to fight the Burning Legion.

Evenson realized the Naaru and God might return to Earth after the Burning Legion’s defeat, putting him and the Eredar Twins at risk of being purged or forcibly converted to the Holy Light. He resolved to accelerate his plans, then learned why the cult had served Mephisto and offered its leader a possible way to escape the devil’s control.

• Evenson feared that the Holy Light Alliance’s likely victory would leave him and the Eredar Twins vulnerable to the Naaru’s judgment or conversion.
• Evenson decided to accelerate his plans so he could control his own fate, then asked the cult leader why the cult had served the devils.
• The cult leader explained that the cult had appeased Mephisto’s greed to prevent him from seizing things in the human world by force and causing greater harm.
• The cult leader admitted that the cult was finished and could only hope Mephisto would take less interest in humanity.
• Evenson told the cult leader that his soul had been preserved and offered him a plan and technique that might free him from Mephisto and give him the power to refuse.

Evenson revealed that he had used Danny as bait to expose Locke’s people, then prepared to rescue Danny in Skovia. He joined Melinda’s strike team overlooking the ruins where the demons’ human allies had gathered.

• Evenson learned that Danny had been delivered to an abandoned ruin in Skovia, while Melinda reported that a heavily armed force was gathering there.
• Evenson returned to Morrigan, Nadia, and Johnny, who accused him of abandoning Danny and letting the monks die.
• Evenson admitted that he had used Danny to draw out Locke and argued that the monks had accepted the consequences of fighting demons.
• Evenson opened a Demon Portal and led Nadia, Johnny, and Morrigan to the cloaked S.H.I.E.L.D. plane in Skovia.
• Evenson joined Melinda’s concealed strike team as they watched the demons’ influential human allies at the ruins.

Melinda and Evenson watched Locke’s gathering and identified tobacco dealers, political nobodies, and major drug traffickers among the attendees. The arrival of Guler’s armed force and two veiled women left Evenson wondering why Guler’s name sounded familiar.

• Melinda identified several attendees as cigarette sellers, and Evenson explained that smoking was a minor sin rather than a reason to crack down on the trade.
• Melinda spotted a group of minor political figures, and Evenson said Locke could not afford the price demanded by powerful people such as Tony Stark.
• Melinda recognized Caiba and Guler as major drug dealers and decided to report them to Director Fury.
• Guler arrived with more than a dozen trucks, heavily armed troops, and two veiled women whom Melinda suspected were his family.
• Evenson wondered where he had heard Guler’s name before.

The Eredar Twins, Aurelles and Saloras, visited ruins with Three-Eyed Poison Emperor Guler after he reported a new development to them. Saloras spotted Evenson spying on them with Kilrogg’s Eye, and the twins prepared to meet him while insisting he remember his place as their pet.

• Evenson recognized Guler’s name and suspected the red- and blue-clad women beside him were the Eredar Twins, so he sent a Kilrogg’s Eye to watch them.
• Guler tried to reassure Aurelles and Saloras that the ruins would entertain them, while the twins said they wanted to clear their heads after a pet ran off with a wildcat.
• Guler recalled how the twins had killed the Asian group’s leaders, revealed themselves as demons, and forced him to become their servant.
• Saloras noticed and destroyed Evenson’s spying eye, then told Aurelles that he was nearby and that the little wildcat was likely there too.
• Aurelles told Saloras they should maintain appearances when they met Evenson and warned that he should act like a pet rather than expect affection.

Evenson and Melinda assessed the enemy forces guarding Locke’s castle, while Klayya confirmed that black magic might be stronger on the Winter Solstice. As Melinda expected Evenson to attack alone, Klayya volunteered to handle the operation herself.

• Evenson discovered that Saloras had shattered his Kilrogg's Eye, and Klayya realized he had been spying on the Eredar Twins.
• Klayya questioned Evenson about the twins’ arrival, and he denied inviting them.
• Melinda presented a reconnaissance plan showing roughly 260 armed enemies, difficult terrain, and possible black magic among Locke’s followers.
• Klayya confirmed that the Winter Solstice strengthened black magic, while Evenson dismissed the threat.
• Melinda proposed that Evenson attack the enemy forces alone, but Klayya drew a symbol on her hand and said she would handle it.

Klayya summoned Kamar-Taj sorcerers to attack the guards below, pretending they were Heroic Spirits answering her Command Spell. The operation’s leader, Master Olivann, arrived and was revealed to be Klayya’s mentor and adoptive father, prompting Evenson to hastily flatter him.

• Klayya insisted on confronting the guards herself and claimed the red mark on her hand was a Command Spell.
• Klayya chanted a summoning incantation, and Kamar-Taj sorcerers emerged through portals to ambush the guards.
• Klayya joked that the attackers were assassins summoned by her spell, while Evenson recognized them as sorcerers.
• Klayya revealed that London and New York Sanctum forces had joined the operation.
• Master Olivann emerged from a portal, scolded Klayya for her anime-inspired prank, and was introduced as her mentor and adoptive father.
• Evenson learned Olivann was a senior Kamar-Taj master and quickly greeted him with exaggerated respect.

Evenson and Olivann argued over Klayya’s future, while Klayya insisted she could choose her own path. Evenson then watched the mages’ battle below and explained that the attackers were weak compared with a level-one-hundred mage.

• Olivann questioned Evenson about how long he had been in New York, and Evenson said he had lived there all his life.
• Olivann blamed Evenson for taking Klayya away from her future as the New York Sanctum’s leader, while Evenson argued that she would gain greater knowledge and power with him.
• Klayya told Olivann and Evenson that she was an adult and could decide her own future, noting that the Sorcerer Supreme had tacitly accepted the situation.
• Evenson joined Melinda at the cliff’s edge and discussed how the mages below were struggling against armed, organized soldiers.
• Evenson explained that mages varied in strength and claimed a level-one-hundred mage was leading people below level ten.

Evenson watched Kamar-Taj’s mages struggle against modern weapons, then demonstrated overwhelming elemental magic against the mercenaries. He fled when two even more dangerous figures emerged from the castle, and the mages escaped just before lava engulfed the battlefield.

• Kamar-Taj’s mages were pinned down by the mercenaries’ guns and explosives, forcing Olivann to admit they were unprepared for modern warfare.
• Evenson criticized the mages for falling behind and charged into the battle on his Nightmare Steed.
• Evenson used wind, water, fire, and earth magic to annihilate the mercenaries.
• Evenson warned the mages to run after two dangerous figures came out of the castle.
• The mages escaped through portals as lava erupted from the castle, and the two figures called upon flames from atop the molten flow.

Mok’s ritual to possess Danny was interrupted by Saloras and Aurelles, two demon queens serving Guler, and Ancient One arrived to confront him. Mok escaped with Danny, while the demon queens turned to deal with Carrigan and prepared to join the fight outside.

• Saloras and Aurelles laughed at Mok’s ritual, disrupting his attempt to possess Danny.
• Guler revealed that the two women were the demon queens Saloras and Aurelles, who mocked Mok for calling himself the Lord of Darkness.
• Ancient One appeared above Mok, identified the attackers outside as her mages, and ordered him to surrender.
• Mok released poisonous gas to obscure Ancient One’s vision, then seized Danny and escaped in an off-road vehicle.
• Carrigan attacked Saloras with shadow magic, but she broke his neck and smashed him to pieces.
• Saloras sensed that someone outside had made his move, and Aurelles eagerly prepared to teach him a lesson.

The Eredar Twins learned that Evenson had gone away on business and recruited Hubbs to spy on him. Meanwhile, Evenson caught up with Ancient One as she subdued Locke, and they discussed whether the strange events signaled the beginning of the Great Dark Rise.

• Aurelles and Saloras interrogated Hubbs, learned Evenson and Klayya had gone out on business, and enlisted Hubbs to report Evenson's future misbehavior.
• Evenson left the Twins beside the lava lake and contacted Melinda to pursue Locke's vehicle.
• Ancient One used magic to stop Locke, pulled him from the car, and cut off his legs.
• Evenson reached Ancient One after she released her spatial distortion and asked her to withdraw her power.
• Ancient One identified Locke as part of the Great Dark Rise, and Evenson agreed that the unusual events could be caused by its influence.

Ancient One reconsidered the need to train a true disciple after seeing how poorly her apprentices fought, while Evenson urged her to prepare Kamar-Taj for future crises. Evenson explained that he had to send Locke to Hell to fulfill a deal with Mephisto, who had imprisoned the soul of Evenson’s friend.

• Ancient One acknowledged that the recent demonic crisis had confirmed some of Evenson’s warnings about the world becoming more dangerous.
• Evenson criticized the apprentices’ poor performance against a human army and urged Ancient One to find a gifted disciple who could learn her true Magic.
• Ancient One said she would consider the idea but warned that a former talented disciple had fallen after encountering the Dark Dimension’s power.
• Evenson asked Ancient One to open a portal to Hell so he could send Locke there, but she said she could not reach Hell through a portal.
• Evenson revealed that Mephisto had detained his friend’s soul and that the deal required him to send Locke to Hell; he insisted his friend’s body was still alive and that the man should not have died.

Evenson joined forces with Ancient One to return Locke to Hell, but they lacked a way to open a portal. He told Johnny Blaze that he must become a Rider again or Evenson would use Danny as a sacrifice, leaving Johnny to choose between his own safety and the child.

• Ancient One agreed to help Evenson return Locke to Hell so Mephisto would not benefit from the deal.
• Evenson told Ancient One that he had prepared backup plans, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Air Bus arrived with Melinda and the action team.
• Evenson asked Johnny Blaze to become a Rider again and open a gate to Hell, but Johnny refused.
• Evenson explained that Johnny had not recovered his soul and depended on Danny's proximity to the Rider's power to stay alive.
• Evenson threatened to sacrifice Danny to draw a response from Hell and locate its coordinates unless Johnny accepted his proposal.
• Melinda protested, Rumlow restrained Nadia, and Ancient One and Klayya watched Evenson's ultimatum with suspicion.

Evenson convinced Johnny Blaze that dying would leave his soul at Mephisto’s mercy, so Johnny agreed to take the Ghost Rider’s power from Danny. The chapter ended with Evenson preparing a spell and instructing Johnny to suck the power from Danny’s mouth.

• Johnny described the pain and misery of being possessed by the Ghost Rider and said he would welcome death.
• Evenson warned Johnny that dying would let Mephisto claim and torment his soul forever.
• Johnny accepted Evenson’s proposal and knelt to receive the Ghost Rider’s power from Danny.
• Evenson ordered Rumlow to take the unconscious Danny from Nadia and brought him to Johnny.
• Evenson explained that he would use a spell to transfer the power through Danny’s mouth, and Johnny reluctantly agreed.

Evenson helped Johnny Blaze become the redeemed Spirit Knight after Ghost Rider sent Locke to Hell. Johnny learned that his new power could still corrupt him, and Evenson advised him to pass it on before that happened.

• Evenson forced Danny to expel the Hellfire inside him, which Ghost Rider absorbed to return to the mortal world.
• Ghost Rider opened a Hell Gate with a crimson chain and sent Locke into Hell, where Evenson glimpsed a distant pillar of dark light.
• Johnny Blaze’s Ghost Rider flames turned blue, and Ancient One explained that the angel had found redemption as the Spirit Knight.
• Johnny thanked Evenson, but Evenson turned Johnny’s blue flames green with Fel and warned that anger could make him fall again.
• Evenson advised Johnny to pass Hellfire to someone else if it began reigniting, and Melinda considered drafting an Anti-Ghost Rider Proliferation Convention.

After defeating Locke, Evenson removed the power Locke had left inside Danny, while Melinda learned that Coulson had awakened and returned to normal. Evenson went to the castle with Klayya, where the Eredar Twins confronted him over a phone article they had found.

• Evenson extracted Locke's remaining power from Danny, and Ancient One left after warning S.H.I.E.L.D. not to cause trouble.
• Melinda learned that Coulson had awakened and urged Evenson to return with her, but he went to the castle with Klayya instead.
• Evenson and Klayya found General Guler exhausted among the cooled lava rocks, while Saloras and the other Eredar Twin confronted Evenson.
• Saloras showed Evenson a phone displaying the article “Back View” by Zhu Ziqing, leaving him startled.

Evenson defused the Eredar Twins’ anger by claiming he had never seen the article he quoted, but Aurelles and Saloras then confronted Klayya with their theory that he loved her because she embodied the purity he had lost through Sorcerer magic. Klayya began to doubt their claim, and Evenson’s final protest left the conflict unresolved.

• Evenson told Saloras he had only just read the article and had no idea what she wanted him to explain, and Aurelles accepted his excuse as a misunderstanding.
• Saloras questioned Aurelles’s sudden willingness to let the matter go, while Evenson tried to steer everyone toward business.
• Klayya challenged Evenson for planning to meet the Twins in New York without her, and Aurelles and Saloras called her a pet and questioned whether he truly loved her.
• The Eredar Twins claimed Evenson was drawn to Klayya because she represented the purity his soul had lost through Sorcerer magic, leaving Klayya shaken and uncertain.
• Evenson told the Twins they had gone too far.