Chapter Summaries

Aaron discovered that the seemingly unkillable black-robed man was controlled by a sand-manipulating parasite and used Demon Hunter to threaten it. When the portal opened, the parasite ignored their warning and pursued the Magic Carpet, so Aaron fired a magically enhanced bullet at it.

• Aaron shot the black-robed man and used Demon Hunter’s scope to discover a parasite controlled his decayed body.
• After the parasite repaired the man’s shattered limbs with sand, Aaron warned it that he could see and kill it.
• Coulson prepared Simmons and Will to fight as the portal’s opening approached, while Aaron tried to keep the parasite from moving.
• The black-robed man pursued the Magic Carpet despite their gunfire and grenades, and Aaron fired a burning, magically enhanced bullet at it.

Aaron returned Jemma Simmons safely to Earth, and Coulson destroyed the Monolith after learning the danger on its other side. At the Divination Shop, Wanda told Aaron she felt excluded from the family's extraordinary life, prompting him to give her freedom to choose her path; she then revealed that Vision had asked her to join the Avengers reserve team.

• Aaron burned the black-robed man with an incendiary round but deliberately left him alive, and a worm crawled from the corpse after Aaron and the others escaped through the portal.
• Skye stopped sending waves into the Monolith, and Fitz reunited with Simmons while Coulson had Will taken to the plane for observation.
• Coulson destroyed the Monolith and told Nick Fury about the monster, while Fury suspected Aaron had another way to reach the other world and questioned why he had spared it.
• Aaron claimed the completed mission's 600 Magic Points and discussed his gains with Hela at the Divination Shop.
• Wanda told Aaron she felt unfairly kept apart from the family's secrets and extraordinary life, so Aaron offered her a long vacation and said she could return whenever she wanted.
• Wanda admitted that Vision had asked her to join the Avengers reserve team, after Natasha, Steve, and Hawkeye had also approached her.

Wanda left Aaron’s home to join the Avengers, taking his gifts and leaving after Gaius’s Compass pointed toward him. The next day, Aaron traveled with Jane to Afterlife to collect interest from the Inhumans.

• Hela explained that the Mind Stone had influenced Wanda’s decision to accept Vision’s invitation, and Aaron agreed to let her join the Avengers.
• Aaron advised Wanda to avoid dangerous field assignments, gave her Felix Felicis and protective supplies, and lent her a transformed Divine Artifact coat.
• Wanda used Gaius’s Compass, whose needle pointed toward Aaron, then left for a café to meet Natasha and say goodbye to Pietro.
• The next morning, Aaron summoned Gordon and asked him to take Aaron and Jane to Afterlife to meet Jiaying.

Aaron learned that Hive, the first Inhuman, remained alive in another world and bargained with Jiaying for information about him and other Inhuman settlements. Jiaying secretly kept a piece of the Monolith and considered using Aaron’s help to restrain Hive if disaster threatened the Inhumans, while Aaron and Jane found the entrance to Ta Lo Secret Realm.

• Aaron told Jiaying that Hive was alive and demanded Hive’s identity and information about Inhuman settlements in exchange for revealing how to open a portal.
• Jiaying identified Hive as the first successful Inhuman experiment and explained that he could control Inhumans’ bodies and minds.
• Jiaying gave Aaron a file about Ta Lo Village, and Aaron decided to search its secret realm for rare alchemy materials.
• After Aaron and Jane left, Jiaying revealed that the Inhumans had secretly retained a fragment of the Monolith and hoped to secure Aaron’s help against Hive if catastrophe struck.
• Gordon brought Aaron and Jane to a bamboo forest, where Jane found the waterfall entrance to Ta Lo Secret Realm.
• Aaron summoned the Magic Carpet and flew with Jane toward the waterfall.

Aaron and Jane entered Ta Lo and sought to trade with its people for materials from the rare beasts, offering a Rainbow Fruit in exchange. After the guardians revealed that the Divine Dragon had to approve the deal, Aaron summoned the dragon and turned his attention to trading with it directly.

• Aaron and Jane explored Ta Lo and found that its Qilin, Phoenix, Dijiang, Nine-tailed Fox, Dragon Horse, and Suanni had little divine power.
• Guang Bo and the Ta Lo guardians confronted Aaron after he said he wanted Mythical Beast materials, but he clarified that he would use naturally shed feathers, scales, fur, and small amounts of blood rather than harm the beasts.
• Aaron offered the beasts a Rainbow Fruit, and Guang Bo said he would discuss the trade with the Divine Dragon.
• Aaron spoke to the Divine Dragon in Dragon Language, prompting the white dragon to rise from the lake and address him as a Dragon Speaker.
• Aaron told the Divine Dragon he wanted to trade with it directly, noting that Ta Lo's weapons, arrows, and armor appeared to be made from its scales.

Aaron forced the Divine Dragon to negotiate a steady supply of materials in exchange for potions and provisions for Ta Lo. The Divine Dragon explained that Dragon Scales were needed to protect the village from the Soul Devourer, and the chapter ended with it saying Ta Lo could provide only twenty scales per month.

• Aaron demanded Dragon Scales from the Divine Dragon, and Jane tried to restrain it when it attacked him.
• Aaron punched the Divine Dragon into a mountain, then redirected its water dragon through a portal and slammed it into the lake.
• Aaron shocked the lake with Borsat's Lightning, forcing the Divine Dragon to emerge and agree to negotiate.
• Aaron offered Ta Lo Dream Ingredients and potions in exchange for a steady supply of materials, including Dragon Scales.
• The Divine Dragon revealed that Dragon Scales helped seal the Soul Devourer in a cave and said Ta Lo could provide only twenty scales per month.

Aaron punished the Soul Devourer for using Hermione’s voice to tempt him, then continued Rogue’s combat training by teaching her to expect dangerous enemies and armed attacks. The chapter left Aaron preparing to have a Shadow Ninja help Rogue train.

• Aaron refused to establish a Teleportation Array in Ta Lo and arranged for Jane to trade for twenty Dragon Scales each month.
• After the Soul Devourer mimicked Hermione’s voice, Aaron attacked it with Fiendfyre and poison, leaving it badly injured and forced to hibernate.
• Aaron sparred with Rogue, criticizing her technique and teaching her to treat training as real combat.
• Rogue improved her attacks, but Aaron repeatedly defeated her and warned that Mutants might face soldiers, Super Soldiers, and armed civilians.
• Aaron demonstrated the danger of gunfire, told Rogue to keep practicing her Energy Whip and Patronus Charm, and summoned a Shadow Ninja.

Rogue defeated Aaron’s Shadow Ninja trial but learned she had been struck by hidden darts before landing her winning blow, then began studying the Ring of Lagadool. Aaron introduced her as his student and future agent to his followers, who reported their progress and current affairs.

• Rogue fought Aaron’s Shadow Ninja with Energy Whips and appeared to defeat him, but Aaron revealed the Ninja’s hidden darts would have killed her first.
• Aaron kept his promise and taught Rogue the Ring of Lagadool, telling her to practice its magic array and keep it secret.
• Rogue met Aaron’s followers at the Long Table and introduced herself as Anna Marie, a Mutant who could absorb powers or life force through touch.
• Aaron explained that Rogue would not receive a Divine Pathway because she was unsuited to its long, difficult progression, and announced that he would train her as his agent and student.
• Aaron’s followers reported their Sequences, Slytherin described developments on Bohart Star, and Geer said the canon Aaron requested would be ready before their next meeting.

Aaron held a meeting where his followers discussed a new religious codex, Sentinel Services’ pursuit of a magnetism-wielding Mutant, and vampire and Ghost Rider searches for Gaius. He offered Banner a way to help Natasha regenerate her lost reproductive organs, discussed Bucky’s missing arm, and left Rogue to continue studying magic while she attended the Mutant Academy.

• Geer explained that he had created a logical, benevolent codex for Aaron’s Mind Dimension, and Aaron planned to publish it on Bohart Star to attract believers and establish order.
• Bucky reported that Sentinel Services was targeting a Mutant group led by a woman with a weaker version of Magneto’s ability, and Aaron asked him to investigate her family background.
• Frank reported that vampires from the Dracula Family and a Ghost Rider in Cairo were searching for Gaius, and Aaron decided not to hide for now.
• Banner asked Aaron how Natasha could recover from sterilization surgery, and Aaron offered him a fragile Regeneration Seed that required careful handling and substantial nutrition.
• Bucky asked whether the seed could restore his arm, but Aaron advised him to wait until his Sequence was higher; afterward, Rogue realized she was an agent among the Mutants and asked Aaron to teach her the Ring of Lagadool.

Aaron learned that his soul had drawn Hell’s attention and that the Son of Hell would seek the Saint Vangansa Contract, so he decided to avoid Ghost Rider. Meanwhile, Witchcraft Demon gathered the Earth, Water, and Wind Demons to find the Contract, while Ghost Rider’s search for Gaius alarmed S.H.I.E.L.D.

• The Book of Prophecy revealed that the Son of Hell would seek the Saint Vangansa Contract, open the Gates of Hell, and bring demons to the mortal world.
• Hela explained that Aaron’s immortal, pure soul was valuable to demons, and Aaron chose to stay away from Ghost Rider rather than interfere with the prophecy.
• Witchcraft Demon killed people in a Texas bar and summoned Earth Demon, Water Demon, and Wind Demon to help him find the Saint Vangansa Contract and rule Earth.
• Ghost Rider escaped a police pursuit by riding his Soul Chariot over water and up a building, then dragged a helicopter closer and hurled it away.
• Nick Fury and Hill reported that Ghost Rider had searched for seventy-four Gaiuses and warned that S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to prepare for Hell and demons.

Nick Fury arranged for Ghost Rider to find Aaron, hoping to make Aaron deal with him and confirm whether Aaron was truly a Gaius. After learning the plan, Aaron accepted that he could not evade Ghost Rider without worsening suspicion and explained to Hela why he could not risk a direct fight.

• Nick Fury told Hill that he would let Ghost Rider reach Aaron rather than notify the Avengers, since Aaron might handle the threat and S.H.I.E.L.D. could verify his identity.
• Aaron learned from Frank that Nick Fury had ordered him to lure Ghost Rider to Aaron, who was expected to arrive that night.
• Aaron angrily realized that fleeing would make S.H.I.E.L.D. more suspicious and agreed to follow Nick Fury's plan.
• Hela urged Aaron to fight Ghost Rider, but Aaron explained that his limited strength, dangerous ancestry, and family obligations made taking risks unacceptable.
• Hela suggested that Aaron leave Earth if he could not avoid Ghost Rider.

Aaron created a memory-wiped, ordinary-seeming double named Gaius to fool Ghost Rider, who was expected to arrive that night. As Aaron and his companions watched Gaius’s virtuous performance from the Secret Chamber, Witchcraft Demon’s group reached an old cemetery’s former site and encountered Mephisto.

• Aaron used the Rat Talisman to bring a marble likeness of himself to life, then erased Gaius’s memories and gave him an invented, magic-free past.
• Aaron arranged for Gaius to live as an ordinary person while he and Hela, Jane, and Abei hid in the Secret Chamber until Ghost Rider inspected him.
• Gaius spent the afternoon helping vulnerable people, fighting criminals, volunteering at a nursing home, and cooking for children, while Aaron watched through Mirror Projection.
• Aaron accepted a System Mission to fool Mephisto’s agent for a reward of 800 Magic Points.
• Witchcraft Demon questioned a station guard about the cemetery’s relocated graves, and the guard directed him to St. Michael’s Church before dying as Mephisto approached.
• Wind Demon, Earth Demon, and Water Demon hid behind Witchcraft Demon when they recognized their former master Mephisto.

Mephisto sent Ghost Rider to find Gaius, who drew the Rider away from an orphanage to protect its children. Gaius defeated him with alchemical weapons and a heavily armed flying motorcycle, then prepared to bury him.

• Witchcraft Demon confronted Mephisto, who sent Ghost Rider to fight him.
• Ghost Rider entered the orphanage seeking Gaius, but the children's distress made him hesitate while Gaius evacuated them inside.
• Gaius left with Ghost Rider and led him to a forest clearing, where he fought back with Shore Flower and alchemical bullets.
• Ghost Rider recovered from Gaius's attacks and pursued him when he tried to escape on his motorcycle.
• Gaius activated the motorcycle's cannons and bombarded Ghost Rider until his Hellfire went out and his head was separated from his body.
• Gaius apologized to Ghost Rider and promised to bury him and arrange for the church to cleanse his sins.

Ghost Rider confirmed that Gaius was innocent and not the person Mephisto sought, while Aaron's deception earned him 800 Magic Points. Mephisto assigned Johnny Blaze a new mission, and Aaron revealed to Gaius that he had created him and now had to destroy him.

• Ghost Rider destroyed Gaius's motorcycle, used his Judgment Eye to inspect Gaius's memories, and confirmed that Gaius was innocent and not the Gaius he sought.
• Aaron celebrated completing his mission to deceive Mephisto's messenger, warned Frank to watch Nick Fury, and ordered him to find a way to occupy Fury.
• Nick Fury and Hill reviewed the surveillance footage and concluded that Ghost Rider had been searching for someone else.
• Mephisto met Johnny Blaze, demanded that he keep searching for Gaius, and ordered him to find and destroy Mephisto's rebellious son, Witchcraft Demon.
• Gaius returned to the Divination Shop, where Aaron restored his memories and revealed that he had created him and would have to destroy him.
• Aaron asked Gaius whether he had any final wishes, and Gaius said there were a few things he could not let go of.

Aaron fulfilled Gaius’s final wishes, then learned a prophecy said Ghost Rider would become his retainer and received a mission to subdue him. He decided to risk using his Thoughtform and prepared to confront Ghost Rider, while Witchcraft Demon and the other demons searched for the Saint Vangansa Contract.

• Aaron promised to visit Gaius’s orphanage, torment Nick Fury without killing him, and do his best to teach Ghost Rider a lesson.
• Gaius returned his Spatial Ring to Aaron, who reclaimed his power and shattered the statue Gaius became.
• The Book of Prophecy revealed that Ghost Rider would become Aaron’s new retainer, and Hela suggested Aaron help him break free of Mephisto’s contract.
• Aaron accepted the System Mission to subdue Ghost Rider and decided to risk sending his Thoughtform, then prepared Holy Water and exorcism bullets.
• Witchcraft Demon and the Earth, Water, and Wind Demons slaughtered clergy at St. Michael’s Church while searching for the Saint Vangansa Contract.

Witchcraft Demon tortured a bishop into revealing that the Saint Vangansa Contract was kept by cemetery groundskeeper Carter Slade, while Ghost Rider killed Wind Demon and chased the surviving demons. The next morning, Johnny Blaze met Carter Slade and Aaron, who joined them as Carter began explaining the Ghost Riders and the contract before Aaron revealed a prophecy about the coming conflict.

• Witchcraft Demon broke the bishop's barrier, tortured him, and learned that Carter Slade guarded the Saint Vangansa Contract in the church cemetery.
• Ghost Rider entered the church and killed Wind Demon with a Hellfire chain after the other demons abandoned him.
• Johnny Blaze woke in the cemetery and met the old groundskeeper Carter Slade, who offered to explain the Ghost Rider's fate.
• Aaron arrived and joined Johnny and Carter, claiming Johnny owed him for destroying his motorcycle and offering his knowledge as a Seer.
• Carter explained the Ghost Riders and the Saint Vangansa village, then identified Witchcraft Demon and his allies as Banishment Demons.
• Aaron prophesied that the Son of Hell would seek the contract, open the Gate of Hell, and bring demons into the world as Heaven prepared to respond.

Carter Slade revealed that the Saint Vangansa Contract could open the Gate of Hell, and Witchcraft Demon arrived to seize it. Aaron, Johnny, and Slade fought off the demons, but Witchcraft Demon escaped and left Earth Demon and Water Demon to face them.

• Carter Slade explained the contract’s power and revealed that he had once been a Ghost Rider who outwitted Mephisto by escaping with it.
• Aaron realized Slade had hidden the contract in his own grave, just as Witchcraft Demon entered and attacked Johnny.
• Slade transformed into a Ghost Rider and blasted Earth Demon and Water Demon with Hellfire while Aaron wounded Witchcraft Demon with Holy Water and enchanted bullets.
• Aaron taunted Witchcraft Demon by invoking S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury, then forced him to retreat before he could reveal his Demon True Form.
• Witchcraft Demon ordered the injured Earth Demon and Water Demon to hold off Aaron, Johnny, and Slade, and Water Demon lunged at Aaron.

Aaron, Carter Slade, and Johnny Blaze faced Witchcraft Demon after Abei and Carter killed the Water Demon and Earth Demon. Witchcraft Demon attacked Carter for the Saint Vangansa Contract, but Abei joined the fight and left him confronting a dangerous three-on-one battle.

• Abei burned the Water Demon to ashes, and Carter Slade killed the Earth Demon with Hellfire.
• Johnny Blaze warned that Witchcraft Demon had gone to dig up Carter Slade’s grave for the Saint Vangansa Contract, but Carter revealed the grave was a decoy.
• Witchcraft Demon returned empty-handed, and Carter Slade attacked him with Hellfire while Aaron explained that his stolen Hell Dimension energy sustained his life.
• Witchcraft Demon resisted Carter’s Judgment Eye and offered to recruit him, but Carter refused and Witchcraft Demon seized him to demand the contract.
• Aaron intervened with his gun, and Abei grew to enormous size, knocked Witchcraft Demon through tombstones, and attacked him with Dragon Breath.
• Witchcraft Demon escaped the Dragon Fire as mist and realized he faced Aaron, Carter Slade, and Johnny Blaze, with another Ghost Rider potentially joining them at nightfall.

Aaron, Carter Slade, and Johnny Blaze battled Witchcraft Demon, who was seeking the Saint Vangansa Contract. After failing to defeat them, Witchcraft Demon threatened Johnny’s girlfriend and Aaron’s loved ones, then gave them two days to bring the contract to Saint Vangansa.

• Aaron and Abei burned Witchcraft Demon to ashes, but he reformed after Carter Slade shot him with a bullet.
• Witchcraft Demon attacked Aaron, but Aaron struck him with a Holy Water-coated knuckle duster and sent him crashing into a tree.
• Witchcraft Demon grabbed Johnny Blaze and demanded the Saint Vangansa Contract, but Carter Slade refused to reveal its location.
• Witchcraft Demon threatened to capture someone Johnny cared about and gave him two days to bring the contract to Saint Vangansa; he also threatened Aaron’s family.
• Johnny worried about Roxanne, and Carter Slade advised him to send her to the Vatican; Johnny called her and warned her to go there.

Aaron warned Nick Fury that Witchcraft Demon, the Son of Hell, sought the Saint Vangansa Contract and could open the gates of Hell, then used the threat to lure him into preparing a trap. As Johnny learned how to control the Spirit of Vengeance, Nick Fury mobilized S.H.I.E.L.D. and planned to shelter at the Avengers Compound.

• Johnny told Aaron that Roxanne had agreed to go to the Vatican and expected him to visit a psychiatric hospital afterward.
• Aaron warned Nick Fury that Ghost Rider was seeking Gaius, then revealed the prophecy about Witchcraft Demon and the Saint Vangansa Contract.
• Aaron told Nick Fury that Witchcraft Demon had been driven back but might target Roxanne and him, and urged Fury to prepare a trap at S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Carter Slade began teaching Johnny to control the Hellfire and Spirit of Vengeance within him.
• Nick Fury ordered Hill to summon S.H.I.E.L.D.'s exorcists, alert the Holy See, and send Hill to monitor the Tree of Omniscience.
• Nick Fury decided to relocate to the Avengers Compound, where Wanda Maximoff was training.