Chapter Summaries

Lake investigated the rent and ownership history of a long-vacant antique shop, then visited Abraham Morgan’s store, Time, to question him. Before Lake could ask about the other shop, Joe called with news about Adam at the hospital.

• Red Queen traced the antique shop’s rent payments to Abraham Morgan, an immigrant who ran Time in the Twenty-Third District.
• Joe explained that she needed time to process Henry Morgan’s immortality and his continuing attachment to his late wife, then learned that someone had arrived at New Amsterdam Hospital to take Adam away.
• Joe and Henry hurried toward the hospital after learning Adam was being moved.
• Lake entered Time and questioned Abraham, who suspected Homeland Security was investigating Henry until Lake explained his connection to Joe.
• Lake revealed that he had come to ask about the antique shop in the Nineteenth District, but Joe called before he could begin.

Lake investigated the conflict over Adam, the vegetative patient, and learned that Henry Morgan was immortal because a witch transferred her curse to him underwater. Henry wanted to lose his immortality to grow old with Joe, but Lake warned that removing it would make him rapidly age to death, then killed Adam with his Sixth Sense.

• Lake ordered Joe and Andy’s officers out of the hospital room and questioned Henry about his connection to an antique shop and his unusual resurrection.
• Lake revealed that Henry revived in water and asked Andy whether she had encountered anyone with that kind of immortality.
• After Andy showed Henry video evidence of Midgardian immortality, Henry described how he had gained his ability, and Andy recognized the location as the place where her witch companion had been trapped in an iron coffin.
• Andy explained that her companion had transferred her immortality to Henry through Witch Secret Arts, leaving him with a water-based resurrection.
• Henry asked whether his immortality could be removed and said he wanted to grow old with Joe, but Lake warned that removing it would make Henry age to death instantly.
• Lake used his Sixth Sense on Adam, and the patient’s monitor showed a flat line.

Lake questioned Henry Morgan about Balthazar, the missing mage tied to the Supreme Dragon Ring, and learned how Henry had cared for him before he disappeared. At Balthazar’s stored collection, Hermione found the Book of Merlin, which recorded the spells of every Supreme Merlin.

• Lake asked Henry whether he still wanted to die, then promised Joe he would have her transformed and sent her away with Andy and Henry.
• Lake asked Henry about Balthazar’s antique shop, and Henry recounted how he had met the confused mage and cared for him until he vanished after September 11, 2001.
• Henry explained that he had moved the shop’s contents to his warehouse and kept renewing the shop’s rent; Lake asked where Balthazar’s belongings were stored.
• Henry took Lake and Joe to his Brooklyn warehouse, where they found Balthazar’s antiques and magical artifacts.
• Hermione joined them and discovered the Book of Merlin, which she identified as a record of every Supreme Merlin’s spells.

Hermione and Lake found the Book of Merlin and traced the Supreme Dragon Ring to David Harkness, a high school student in Brooklyn. Lake brought David to his home and offered his parents one hundred thousand dollars for the ring, while Hermione questioned whether taking it from its chosen bearer was right.

• Hermione found the Book of Merlin in the warehouse, but neither she nor Lake could open it, so Lake told her to keep it until they found the Supreme Dragon Ring.
• Red Queen found David Harkness’s Facebook post about receiving a ring on September 11, 2001, and Lake sent Jack to bring David to his home.
• Lake recognized that David lived near Peter Parker’s house and argued to Hermione that she would be a more suitable Supreme Merlin than David.
• Jack brought David to his parents’ home, where Lake identified himself as a Department of Homeland Security agent and asked David to hand over the ring.
• Lake offered David’s parents one hundred thousand dollars as compensation for the ring, subject to confidentiality requirements.

Lake bought the Supreme Dragon Ring from David Harkness’s family for one hundred thousand dollars, then contained and battled the awakened dragon spirit inside his Chaos Universe. When the spirit refused to submit, Lake brought Hermione before it and proposed her as a more suitable heir to Supreme Merlin’s legacy.

• Lake paid the Harkness couple one hundred thousand dollars for David Harkness’s Supreme Dragon Ring and took it into the Chaos Universe before its awakened dragon spirit could escape.
• Lake told Hermione that the ring had awakened with the remnants of past Supreme Merlins and showed her the dark dragon trapped inside the Chaos Universe.
• Lake wore the Gemini Gold Cloth and fought the dragon with Galaxy Explosion, but the weakened spirit still refused to submit or let him plunder the power of the Supreme Merlins.
• Lake returned with Hermione and introduced her to the Supreme Dragon Ring as a better heir to Supreme Merlin’s glory than David Harkness.

Lake confronted the Supreme Dragon Ring over Hermione becoming the next Supreme Merlin, and the Ring revealed that it wanted to join the Chaos Universe as its law of magic. After Lake threatened it, the Ring transformed into Mistra and pledged herself as the Goddess of Magic, while the Fates explained the risks of her merging into the universe.

• The Supreme Dragon Ring explained that Supreme Merlins had to be ordinary humans because a mage from the Magic Dimension could endanger its growing dimension.
• Lake promised to protect the Ring from the Magic Dimension and urged it to choose Hermione over David Harkness.
• The Fates revealed that the Ring wanted to become the Chaos Universe's second law, governing magic.
• Lake demanded to know whether the Ring wanted to become the god of magic and threatened to destroy the Magic Dimension if it resisted.
• The Ring transformed into Mistra, offered its crown and wisdom to the Goddess of Wisdom, and pledged to become the Goddess of Magic under Lake.
• The Fates explained that Mistra sought the Chaos Universe's protection because growing into a dimension would leave her vulnerable to the established Magic Dimension.

Lake accepted Mistra’s submission and promised her the future position of Goddess of Magic, while the Magic Source began merging with the Chaos Universe and its Force Tree. After Hermione questioned Lake’s motives and reassured Mistra that he would not harm her, Mistra revealed that she had asked Hermione for protection because she was only about six years old.

• Mistra offered Lake her submission and proposed transforming the Magic Source into a magical spring in his Chaos Universe.
• Lake promised Mistra an eternal divine position so long as she did not oppose him, and accepted the Crown of Wisdom and Supreme Dragon Ring.
• Mistra entered the Magic Source, which embedded itself in the void as the Force Tree began moving its roots toward the magical spring; the fusion was expected to take ten days.
• On Long Island the next morning, Hermione questioned Lake’s unusually generous agreement, and he explained that the arrangement benefited all three of them.
• Hermione warned Lake that she would know if he harmed Mistra, and later told Mistra that he would not make a move on her.
• Mistra thanked Hermione for protecting her, having earlier asked for help because she was only about six years old.

Lake reflected on Mystra’s choice of Hermione and settled into his work, while Joe began a new life as an immortal on Midgard Island. The chapter ended with George reporting a gruesome murder and the kidnapping of a couple’s son.

• Mystra’s origin and decision to choose Hermione over David were explained, and Hermione began reading the Book of Merlin after inheriting the Supreme Dragon Ring.
• Lake left Hermione and drove to the Supervisory Bureau, where Tiffany briefed him on Midgard Island and handed him documents to sign.
• Emilia told Lake that Joe had chosen immortality, joined the Croft Group as Midgard Island’s energy plant security director, and planned to visit friends.
• Lake called George, who reported that a married couple had been executed and their son appeared to have been kidnapped.

George investigated the gruesome murder of David Harkness’s family and let Peter Parker join because Peter knew the boy. After Lake arrived, George confronted him about Homeland Security’s contact with the Harknesses and the $100,000 paid to them, and Lake admitted they had been informants.

• George learned that Peter knew David Harkness and allowed him into the crime scene, where Peter saw the blood-soaked living room.
• George reviewed surveillance footage, then called Lake after learning the Harkness couple had been murdered.
• Lake arrived at the scene and learned that the killings occurred between three and four in the morning, though none of the neighbors heard anything.
• George told Lake that the Harknesses had received $100,000 from an account linked to Homeland Security and challenged him to explain it.
• Lake admitted that the Harkness couple had been his informants and that the payment was an informant fee.

Lake and George investigated two brutal cases that might have involved rival magical factions, and Lake concluded that New York City was about to become a battleground. At the burned Chinatown scene, he found blank Russian nesting dolls and realized that Balthazar’s stolen antiques were tied to the unfolding events.

• George offered Lake the Hacklis family murder case because it might involve Homeland Security, and Lake ordered the evidence sent to the Supervisory Bureau on Gardiners Island.
• Lake considered Voldemort and Maximus as possible culprits behind the Hacklis family’s deaths, then learned that Beckett’s team was investigating a separate case in Chinatown.
• Lake called Olivia to prepare for two arrivals and drove to Chinatown with George to check whether the fire there was connected to the Supervisory Bureau.
• Lake found the Chinatown building charred and identified Maximus and Ghost Claw Fire Dragon Sino as likely causes, while suspecting Balthazar had rescued David from Voldemort.
• Lake spotted several blank Russian nesting dolls at the scene and wondered how many stolen dolls from Balthazar’s shop remained unaccounted for.

Lake brought Hermione to Gardiners Island after learning that the Supreme Dragon Ring had put her in danger, then decided to head to Atlanta rather than let supernatural conflict erupt in New York. The chapter ended with David telling Balthazar that Lake and Hermione had gone to Atlanta.

• Lake brought Hermione to Gardiners Island and discussed the threat to her Supreme Dragon Ring with her.
• Hermione warned Lake that S.H.I.E.L.D. already knew about the magical world, undermining his plan to use the agency as a scapegoat.
• Lake learned from Red Queen that Atlanta had the largest concentrated African American population outside New York State and ordered Tiffany to prepare the Kwon Fighter Jet.
• Lake and Hermione flew toward Atlanta as a hawk-nosed man watched them leave Gardiners Island.
• David told the wounded Balthazar in the New York sewers that Lake and Hermione had gone to Atlanta.

As Hell Monarch Mephisto’s death chains tightened around him, Balthazar sent David to seek protection from the witches at Chloe’s Bar and urged him to reclaim the Supreme Dragon Ring. Balthazar sacrificed himself to curse Mephisto, while David was left falling through shattered space toward his unknown relatives.

• David learned through Peter Parker, Gwen, and Skye that Lake had gone to Atlanta, while Balthazar’s wound continued to worsen.
• Balthazar explained that Voldemort had pierced his chest after Merlin’s magic vanished, and warned David that Voldemort and Maximus could still threaten him.
• Balthazar told David to go to Chloe’s Bar at 123 Houston Street, claim descent from Agatha Harkness, and ask the witches for protection.
• As Mephisto’s power drew near, Balthazar shoved David through shattered space and sent him away.
• Balthazar tore out his heart and cursed Mephisto, who vowed to kill the Supreme Merlin lineage and every mage on Earth.

After Balthazar died, Lake abandoned his plan to draw the battle to Atlanta and used the Supreme Dragon Ring to lure his enemies to New Jersey. Voldemort and Demon Insect King Maximus both sensed the magic and moved to claim the ring, while Hermione went to search for David Harkness.

• Mephisto's attempt to reach Earth failed when Balthazar's heart shattered, and he went looking for Witchcraft Demon to vent his fury.
• Lake learned from Skye that Peter Parker had asked Gwen about his whereabouts and traced the clue to Balthazar's sewer hideout in Brooklyn.
• Lake found Balthazar dead and the shattered heart nearby, then sent Hermione to the Chaos Universe to ask Mistra to find David Harkness.
• Lake transformed into Saga, went to Jersey City, and activated the Supreme Dragon Ring to broadcast Merlin's magic power.
• Mephisto ordered Voldemort to retrieve the ring and kill its holder, while Demon Insect King Maximus also headed toward New Jersey hoping to free Veronica.

Morgana broke free of Veronica’s sealed body and joined Maximus on the way to London, while Mephisto’s allies targeted the Supreme Dragon Ring and the magical world. Lake used a clone to lure Voldemort, then appeared as Saga after the Gemini stars manifested, leaving Mephisto furious at his arrival.

• Morgana shattered the puppet cage, revealed herself to Maximus, and said they had to go to London because Balthazar was dead and the Supreme Merlin lineage had weakened.
• Morgana told Maximus that Mephisto’s envoy was retrieving the Supreme Dragon Ring while they were to attack London’s magical world and send wizards’ souls to Hell.
• Lake left a clone with the Supreme Dragon Ring as bait after his Sixth Sense warned him, then watched Voldemort attack it while Maximus and Morgana headed toward London.
• Voldemort tried to wear down the ring’s protection with Killing Curses as Lake realized Mephisto’s forces were acting on two fronts.
• The Gemini stars appeared, and Lake arrived in Saga’s form to confront Voldemort and taunt Mephisto.

Lake rejected Mephisto’s offer to share Hell and fought the demon after Mephisto descended to Earth in a projection possessing Harry Potter’s body. Their battle devastated Jersey City, and Mephisto turned the victims’ souls against Lake.

• Mephisto offered to rule Hell with Lake, but Lake demanded that Mephisto surrender and refused to spare him.
• Mephisto sacrificed tens of thousands of souls to descend to Earth as a projection, possessing Harry Potter’s body; Lake prepared the Gemini Cloth and challenged him.
• Lake and Mephisto clashed with their powers in Jersey City, destroying buildings and killing people caught in the battle.
• Mephisto released more than two hundred victims’ souls and sent them to accuse and attack Lake over his supposed love and justice.

Lake rejected Mephisto’s offer to rule Hell together and defeated his projection in Jersey City. He challenged Mephisto to a fight to the death and sent him back to Hell, promising to pursue him.

• Mephisto used the souls of more than two hundred dead civilians to condemn Lake and tried to recruit him with an offer to share control of Hell.
• Lake invoked Hell’s laws and used Hell’s Grinding Wheel to grind the souls that had accused him.
• Mephisto teleported among the Jersey City crowd, but Lake attacked him with Galaxy Starburst and beat him through the air and into the ground.
• Lake seized Mephisto and declared a challenge to the Hell Monarch, announcing that they would fight until one of them died.
• Lake sent Mephisto back to Hell and vowed to find and erase him.

Lake defeated Mephisto’s avatar in Jersey City, consumed part of his origin, and returned to Starlight Tower after the city was devastated. Mephisto raged in Hell and punished Witchcraft Demon, while Skye questioned Lake about the explosion and Hermione’s whereabouts.

• Mephisto realized Lake’s growing claim to Hell’s origin had made their conflict a fight to the death, while the Hell dimension’s contract kept Mephisto from taking the initiative on Earth.
• Voldemort offered Witchcraft Demon a way to escape Mephisto’s punishment, then vanished before explaining it; Mephisto tore open the palace roof and began beating Witchcraft Demon.
• After Mephisto’s avatar returned to Earth, Harry Potter’s battered body became an ordinary corpse, and Lake teleported away as law enforcement and the National Guard approached the ruined Jersey City scene.
• Lake returned to Starlight Tower, reflected on how Mephisto had helped him understand Hell’s power, and drank bourbon.
• Skye came downstairs and asked Lake about the Jersey City explosion and Hermione; Lake said he had been with Hermione, then paused when Skye asked where she was.

Lake returned to the Chaos Universe when Hermione went into labor, discovering that four months had passed there because time accelerated whenever he used its power. As Hermione gave birth beneath the Force Tree, the Fates explained why Lake shared her pain and wrote their daughter’s fate; Pallas Edwin was born, and Hermione asked Lake how Athena had been born in the story he once told.

• Skye realized Lake had left Hermione in the Chaos Universe, and Lake set out to find her but was struck by intense pain and vanished from the doorway.
• Lake found Hermione in labor beneath the Force Tree and learned that four months had passed in the Chaos Universe while less than two hours had passed outside.
• The Fates explained that the Chaos Universe lacked time and that Lake felt Hermione’s labor because the universe also lacked a law of life.
• Hermione refused to go to a hospital and insisted on giving birth beneath the Force Tree so Lake would remember Pallas and the Fates would weave her fate.
• After half an hour of labor, Hermione gave birth to Pallas Edwin, and Clotho cast a magnificent strand of fate for her.
• Hermione held Pallas and asked Lake to tell her again how Athena had been born in the story he had once told.

Lake discussed the Chaos Universe’s growing power with Hermione, who urged him to stop the magical world from being destroyed because Earth’s instability could draw Odin’s attention. The chapter ended with Hermione warning that Odin might target Lake as a Midgardian if he noticed the Chaos Universe.

• Lake rejected Hermione’s comparison of their family to Zeus, Metis, and Athena, insisting that Hermione was the Goddess of Wisdom and their daughter was Pallas.
• Lake told Hermione that the Chaos Universe had gained a second magic law, but he still lacked the Four Spirits of Creation needed to manifest its fundamental elements.
• Hermione questioned why the King of Magic Bugs’ Merlin mana had not returned to Merlin’s Spring, and Lake explained that the King and the World-Destroying Witch had gone to London to attack the magical world.
• Lake argued that the magical world’s destruction could benefit the Merlin mages, but Hermione said Earth needed to remain stable and warned that Odin might act if the Chaos Universe entered the conflict.
• Hermione explained that Odin could try to reclaim Earth as Midgard, then warned Lake that Odin might target him because he was a Midgardian.

Lake decided that confronting Odin before Ragnarok would be pointless and agreed that Hermione would reclaim Supreme Merlin’s protection over the magical world. Hermione also discovered that David was alive and had been sent to Chloe’s Bar, where Agatha Harkness might be involved; she suspected Lake had a backup plan.

• Lake reasoned that Odin would treat him as a genuine threat and decided not to fight the Aesir before Ragnarok.
• Lake agreed with Hermione that she would go reclaim Supreme Merlin’s protection over the magical world.
• Hermione recalled that Balthazar’s memories showed David had been teleported to Chloe’s Bar at 123 Hoxton Street.
• Hermione identified Agatha Harkness as David’s possible witch ancestor and recounted her history of dark magic and betrayal.
• Hermione questioned Lake’s lack of concern about David finding Agatha, and Lake admitted nothing but shrugged when she guessed he had another plan.