Chapter Summaries

Wanda and Pietro worried about their uncertain future after Wanda questioned Salomon’s knowledge, motives, and claims about magic and the multiverse. Meanwhile, Salomon struggled to manage the City of Immortals’ expanding research and responsibilities while studying powerful spells, until Bayonetta and Jeanne invited him to take a break.

• Wanda lay in a Hydra cell and feared that Salomon had anticipated her actions, while Pietro also fell asleep anxious and exhausted.
• Salomon copied costly spells into his spellbook and studied them alongside his growing responsibilities at Merton College and the City of Immortals.
• Salomon reviewed the Sisterhood’s training records and directed Wakandan research into advanced weapons, armor, and protective technology.
• Salomon described the dangerous biological laboratory, where he had killed researchers driven mad by their studies and used a scarce drug to suppress other researchers’ emotions.
• Salomon continued coordinating the City of Immortals’ projects despite limited resources, cargo access, and ventilation capacity.
• Bayonetta invited Salomon to join her and Jeanne for champagne, snacks, and old films in his study.

Salomon continued teaching Wanda Maximoff to control her magic and made her confront its cost, warning that a demon might one day claim payment. He left her with a demanding plan for her training—and a roasted rabbit.

• Bayonetta, Salomon, and Jeanne watched Breakfast at Tiffany's while the Witch and Salomon shared chocolate and champagne.
• Salomon found that Wanda had failed to control her magic and had crushed the building block he had assigned her.
• Salomon explained that Wanda’s magic required payment and had her strangle a rabbit while forcing her to watch its suffering.
• Wanda asked who would collect the debt, but Salomon refused to tell her and began teaching her to shape and control her energy.
• Salomon outlined the skills Wanda would learn and ended the lesson by suggesting they eat roasted rabbit.

Salomon devised a way for Wanda Maximoff to use her Chaos Magic without accumulating debts to Chthon, while training her as a psion capable of resisting the magic’s backlash. The chapter ended with him assigning her a first test: obtain an Ouija Board and science books by using her mind-control talent.

• Salomon explained that Wanda’s Chaos Magic could not cast White Magic and that Kamar-Taj monitored her as a possible vessel for Chthon.
• Salomon revealed his plan to teach Wanda Psionic Magic, letting her draw on her connection to Chthon without repaying the power.
• Salomon added physical training, enchantments, illusions, and Spirit Summoning to Wanda’s lessons so she could develop her abilities and endure their effects.
• Salomon ordered Wanda to complete more push-ups, and she struggled through the exercise in her cell.
• Salomon told Wanda to use her mind-control talent to obtain an Ouija Board and science books as her first test.

Salomon helped Wanda confront her anger by questioning who was truly responsible for her parents’ deaths, then answered her questions about his life and his work. He revealed that he was preparing to collect a suit of armor for a future conflict with alien threats.

• Wanda angrily accused Salomon of being too busy and compared him to wealthy Americans involved in her hometown’s war.
• Salomon used snacks and blunt talk about revenge to help Wanda calm down and reconsider whom she blamed for her parents’ deaths.
• Salomon questioned how Stark Industries weapons had reached the rebels in Sokovia and urged Wanda to learn who had actually destroyed her family.
• Wanda asked about Salomon’s wealth, his daily work, and Lorna Dane; he explained that Lorna was his adopted sister from a parallel world.
• Salomon told Wanda that dwarven craftsmen had reforged his teacher’s armor and that he was going to collect its masterpiece for future wars.
• Wanda guessed that Salomon was King Arthur or an Avenger, and Salomon said he had never joined the Avengers.

Salomon traveled to Nidavellir to claim his reforged armor, where Eitri and the dwarves presented the suit forged from Uru Metal. After the Venerable One inspected it, Salomon was pleased with the armor’s craftsmanship, though she still disliked its gold color.

• Salomon activated the Holy Marks and arrived at Nidavellir, where he felt the forge’s heat and watched the dwarves work.
• Salomon invoked the ancient contract, and Eitri bowed and offered him the prepared armor.
• At the Venerable One’s request, Salomon put on the heavy, reforged armor for her inspection.
• The Venerable One criticized the armor’s gold color, while Salomon admired its intricate carvings and protective design.

Salomon ordered Shuri to turn ornate armor into high-tech Power Armor and expand Wakanda’s preparations for an approaching war, persuading her to work overtime by warning her of the threats facing humanity. He later defended the sacrifices of researchers and test subjects, promising that their names would be remembered by the warriors they helped create.

• Salomon instructed Shuri to upgrade his golden armor and a hundred other suits with advanced technology, including Wakandan electromagnetic shields.
• Shuri criticized the armor’s impractical design, but Salomon insisted its craftsmanship and symbolism mattered and demanded more weapons, vehicles, and research.
• Salomon warned Shuri that humanity faced demons, monsters, and alien enemies, and told her that her father had cooperated with him to protect civilization.
• Shuri agreed to work overtime in exchange for Salomon sharing more knowledge from the City of Immortals, including controlled nuclear fusion technology.
• Stephanie questioned Salomon about the researchers’ lack of informed consent and the test subjects’ deaths, while Salomon promised to honor their names and sacrifices.

Stephanie’s vital role in the City of Immortals and Gideon Malick’s instinct to place his own people around her were explained as Salomon agreed to join her on a vacation. The chapter ended with Stephanie teasing Salomon about bikini tan lines and asking what he wanted to see.

• Stephanie’s administrative work made her indispensable to Salomon, who valued her more than the Malik family and planned to give her a force under her command.
• Gideon Malick prepared elite Hydra operatives to accompany Stephanie, while Stephanie had already exposed the spies among the researchers to Salomon.
• Salomon left the spies’ list locked away and let Stephanie decide what to do about it.
• Stephanie asked Salomon to have dinner and go swimming with her, and he agreed to meet her during her week of vacation.
• Salomon teased Stephanie about bikini tan lines, and Stephanie asked what kind he wanted to see.

Salomon met with Nick Fury at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, where Fury revealed plans for an AI that could predict crime and showed Salomon Project Insight. Salomon left excited by the prospect of acquiring the Helicarriers and their resources.

• Salomon investigated leads from The Machine and secretly checked on Mr. Finch's old classmate while Nick Fury repeatedly summoned him to S.H.I.E.L.D.
• The Sisterhood aimed a Macro Cannon at Nick Fury's office as Salomon entered Triskelion Headquarters.
• Nick Fury gave Salomon documents about Samaritan and asked his opinion on an AI designed to predict and prevent crime.
• Salomon criticized the idea as unable to solve the social problems behind crime, then guessed that Fury wanted to show him Project Insight's Helicarriers.
• Salomon left headquarters eager to take the Helicarriers and their resources, telling Tita that they were about to have an aircraft carrier and perhaps some planes.

Salomon visited Tieflings during the winter solstice to check for signs of devilish corruption, then went with Anna Hellstrom to see her brother Damon and his pregnant partner, Gabby. He secretly prepared Anna for a scheme against Marduk, with her identity as Satana central to the plan.

• Salomon rejected Stephanie's proposal to use Project Insight to seize S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technology and decided to wait until the Helicarrier program was complete.
• Salomon examined Danny for signs of spiritual or physical corruption and recorded his findings.
• Anna Hellstrom accepted Salomon's examination and gave him a plastic voodoo skull as a Christmas gift.
• Anna asked to accompany Salomon to visit Damon, and he agreed so he could examine Gabby's unborn child for possible demonic tampering.
• On the way to Damon and Gabby's apartment, Anna told Salomon she had learned most of the magic he taught her, and he warned her to keep their lessons secret.

Salomon discovered that Gabby’s pregnancy and mental collapse might be connected to Marduk’s possession, and arranged to take her and her unborn child to the City of Immortals for close monitoring. Damon was left unconscious and destined for Kamar-Taj’s prison while Anna worried over her family.

• Anna subdued Damon and scolded him for keeping pregnant Gabby in a filthy, freezing apartment.
• Salomon examined Gabby and her fetus with magic while she clung to his sleeve and begged forgiveness.
• Salomon suspected Marduk had possessed Gabby and deliberately conceived Damon’s child, and he drove away the spiders to prevent Marduk from listening.
• Salomon ordered Sisterhood members to take Gabby to the City of Immortals under special surveillance and said Damon needed Kamar-Taj’s prison.
• Damon struggled as Gabby was carried away, so Salomon knocked him unconscious and promised Anna he would monitor Gabby and the unborn child.

Salomon managed the aftermath of Gabby’s possession and pregnancy while keeping her under heavy guard and assigning Shuri to examine her. He also directed Shuri’s research and the Artificial Humans’ preparations, then ordered Tita to give the girls a Christmas holiday despite her concerns about their training.

• Salomon kept Damon in a sunlit cell at Kamar-Taj and had Gabby confined in a heavily guarded facility for examinations.
• Salomon considered whether to terminate Gabby’s pregnancy or use the unborn child as leverage, and waited for Shuri’s examination results.
• Salomon refused to explain the danger to Shuri and directed her to advance the Artificial Humans’ weapons research and solve the transport aircraft’s engine overheating problem.
• Salomon told Tita to give the girls a Christmas holiday in Rome, and Tita worried that some might try to escape during the trip.
• Salomon told Tita that unwilling recruits could have their memories erased and be sent home, while Tita resolved to strengthen their personal worship of him.

Salomon celebrated his birthday with gifts, received a rare arcane art from the Venerable One, and spent a peaceful Christmas gathering with friends and family. The chapter ended with everyone enjoying the feast at the Witch Apartment.

• Salomon sent gifts to his friends and gave the Venerable One a magical scroll, while she passed him an arcane art tied to the Akashic Records and the Living Tribunal.
• The Venerable One approved Salomon's plans to enlist Strange and pursue secret projects, then urged him to enjoy the peaceful time he had left.
• Samun Shaw, Ms. Groves, and Maya Hansen joined Salomon's gathering at the Witch Apartment, while Bruce Banner received an amulet and other absent friends received gifts.
• Salomon introduced the guests and shared a feast of turkey, roast goose, and dim sum with them.
• Bayonetta teased Salomon about drinking before the legal age, while Master Hamir scolded Master Wong over his dim sum order.
• Samun Shaw eagerly ate the food and asked ROOT what the others were saying, but ROOT admitted she did not know.

Salomon gave Bayonetta and Jeanne custom watches, then discussed Laura Croft’s search for immortality and invested in her next expedition. He planned to investigate the expedition’s connection to his own fate, while suspecting Laura’s survival in Yamatai was itself unusual.

• Salomon gave Bayonetta and Jeanne custom Blancpain watches themed to their respective magical traditions.
• Bayonetta transformed into a Black Panther and affectionately pounced on Salomon, while the Cheshire Cat tried to reclaim its place on the sofa.
• Salomon showed Bayonetta and Jeanne a newspaper report about Laura Croft announcing another expedition and explained that she had asked him about immortality.
• Salomon shared legends and evidence Laura had sent him, including accounts of an immortal Prophet in Syria, and said he sensed a connection to his fate.
• Salomon transferred money to Laura and invested in her expedition, expecting antiques in return.
• Salomon said he would seek to examine the matter’s causality with the Cauldron of the Cosmos and wondered how Laura had survived a fatal wound in Yamatai.

Salomon trained Wanda Maximoff in magic while monitoring her troubling dreams and concealing her connection to Chthon. He shifted the lesson to vampires, Tarot, and mathematics, insisting that she would need an education even after getting revenge.

• Salomon gave Wanda Christmas gifts and reviewed her progress in mental manipulation and energy control.
• Wanda described dreams of blue shadows and suffocating tentacles, and Salomon reassured her while keeping Chthon's danger secret.
• Salomon introduced a Kamar-Taj textbook on vampires and explained the education he had received as a child.
• Wanda said she wanted revenge rather than university, but Salomon insisted that she study mathematics and complete a middle-school exam.
• Wanda questioned Salomon about numerology and showed him the Tarot Cards he had given her.

Salomon took Wanda to Mars to distract her after refusing to teach her necromancy, which could drive her mad. He showed her his advanced prospecting rover and explained that he planned to use it to build an automated factory, while hinting that his broader plans involved preparing humanity for powerful enemies.

• Salomon refused Wanda's request to learn necromancy because he feared the forbidden knowledge would drive her into madness.
• He brought Wanda to Mars, where she watched a probe burn through the atmosphere and was cheered up by his cats and the Martian rover.
• Wanda accidentally knocked a solar panel off the rover, and Salomon told her he had launched it to search for a mining site.
• Salomon explained that the rover would become an automated factory and destroy other rovers that might discover its work.
• Wanda asked why Salomon had not taken her and Pietro away, and he said prophecy showed she would get her revenge if she waited for an opportunity.
• Salomon said humanity needed to learn how dangerous the planet was and hinted that his plans were aimed at one goal.

Salomon visited Tony Stark to investigate who had received the missile used in the attack on Wanda’s home, suspecting Obadiah had arranged its sale through military channels. Stark gave him access to old sales records and promised to compensate the victims if they were found, while Salomon left the results unresolved and joked with Stark about capitalism and cryptocurrency.

• Wanda resumed her studies at Salomon’s request and continued to restrain her anger toward Tony Stark.
• Salomon went to Stark Industries to obtain records of military equipment sales linked to the missile that had been used against Wanda’s family.
• Salomon disabled Stark’s laboratory countermeasures and secured Tony Stark’s permission to search the old records through J.A.R.V.I.S.
• Tony Stark accepted responsibility for the victims and promised to compensate them if Salomon found them.
• Salomon criticized Stark’s limited conscience as a capitalist, then joked that he had joined Wall Street and urged Stark to hype cryptocurrency.

Salomon spent Christmas in London, balancing college obligations and holiday errands before sharing an intimate moment with Bayonetta. He set off with Bayonetta and Jeanne for their planned Christmas outing, while Nick Fury’s angry call about Salomon’s gifts to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents went unanswered.

• Salomon saved Stark’s data, changed clothes, and prepared to attend Merton College’s Christmas dinner and visit his friends and professors.
• Salomon invited Bayonetta and Jeanne to Covent Garden and Winter Wonderland, arranging treats for Phoenix and Pegasus as well.
• Bayonetta pulled Salomon into the bedroom, postponing their carefully planned date, while Jeanne and Salomon exchanged disapproving looks over breakfast.
• Nick Fury called to demand how Salomon had found S.H.I.E.L.D. agents’ classified locations, and Salomon hung up after sending the agents Christmas cards by pigeon.
• Salomon turned off his phone, joined Bayonetta and Jeanne for their outing, and kissed Bayonetta as they walked through the Christmas market.

Salomon continued psychological and biological experiments on Lorelei, hoping to use her Asgardian biology to develop powerful super-soldiers, and planned to seek Gaia with Merlin’s help. Meanwhile, Stephanie organized the City of Immortals’ administration and surprised Salomon in his office by reminding him of his comment about her tan lines.

• Salomon kept Lorelei emotionally dependent on him while testing ways to break down her psychological defenses and secure her loyalty.
• Salomon studied genetic engineering failures and requested more test subjects from Gideon Malick, while considering Lorelei a source of Asgardian stem cells.
• Salomon decided that his remaining option was to meet Earth Mother Goddess Gaia with Merlin’s help.
• Stephanie Malik recruited Hydra office workers to manage the City of Immortals’ administration and cleared its document backlog.
• Stephanie entered Salomon’s office and said he had wanted to see her tan lines, leaving him surprised.

Tatyana and Vera, rescued girls training with the Sisterhood, prayed and talked about wanting to see their Savior. After sneaking away, they met Salomon, who sent them back to the training base and trusted Tita to guide them.

• Tatyana woke in the Sisterhood dormitory, grateful to be safe from the abuse and hunger of her past.
• Tatyana and the other girls washed, prayed to the shrine, and prepared for breakfast and training.
• Vera told Tatyana she wanted to see the Savior and suggested sneaking away to find Him.
• Tatyana and Vera reached Salomon, who patted their heads and sent them back to the training base before Tita could add to their assignments.
• Salomon reflected that Tita had helped the girls regain their confidence and chose not to interfere if Tita punished them.

Tatyana and Vera returned to the Sisterhood after sneaking out to look for the god they worshipped, while the Artificial Humans trained for Salomon’s coming mission. Tita began the girls’ swordsmanship training by correcting Tatyana’s uniform and leading the trainees through their daily litany.

• Tatyana and Vera slipped back to the dormitory without being caught and agreed to look for Him again during swordsmanship training.
• The Artificial Humans practiced vehicle piloting and airborne insertion in simulations of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarrier and Quinjet.
• Tita returned to the base with the Artificial Humans and summoned the waiting trainees to begin training.
• Tita corrected Tatyana’s loose uniform straps and checked that her weapons were positioned according to regulations.
• Tita led the girls through their faith litany before swordsmanship training and noted Tatyana, Vera, Daria, and Ekaterina for special attention.