Chapter Summaries

Salomon questioned Natasha Romanoff about corruption in the Soviet Union and S.H.I.E.L.D. while trying to get her help with a political editorial, then they teased each other over his old-fashioned taste in music. Meanwhile, Samun Shaw met ROOT, who brought her a classified document from their Common Friend and said he was helping limit Samaritan’s actions.

• Salomon told Natasha Romanoff that her move from the Red Room to S.H.I.E.L.D. had taken her from one corrupt system into another, and asked her to help with his editorial.
• Natasha Romanoff challenged Salomon’s claim that he was not a nerd by quizzing him on popular music, and they laughed together.
• Samun Shaw complained that Always Vigilant had become an indiscriminate terrorist group while intelligence agencies were distracted by Hydra’s rebellion and the conflict between Samaritan and The Machine.
• ROOT gave Samun Shaw a classified document from their Common Friend and said he aimed to steer the conflict between The Machine and Samaritan by limiting Samaritan’s rule-breaking actions.
• Samun Shaw rejected ROOT’s teasing as ROOT tickled her while she was driving.

Salomon explained his plan to pit two Artificial Intelligences against each other to secure control of the Mars Foundry, while The Venerable One accepted the plan despite its violation of Kamar-Taj rules. After S.H.I.E.L.D. records exposed his quiet lifestyle, Salomon discussed the Avengers’ uncertain future with Natasha Romanoff, who offered to introduce him to Clint.

• Salomon planned to use the Time Stone to accelerate construction of the Mars Foundry and later a Space Battleship, while keeping the Artificial Intelligences from taking complete control.
• The Venerable One approved Salomon’s plan and dismissed his objections as she prepared for a dangerous skydive with Odin and Frigga.
• Natasha Romanoff’s online post revealed Salomon’s regimented habits, prompting Stark and Steve Rogers to tease each other in their classified group chat.
• Natasha warned Salomon that the Avengers had lost S.H.I.E.L.D.’s official backing and might face government suppression.
• Salomon asked whether the Avengers would serve justice or politicians, and Natasha admitted she was uncertain about their future.
• Natasha told Salomon that Clint had been absent and offered to take him to meet the clear-headed Avenger.

Salomon offered Hawkeye a way to protect his family and a role training and advising Salomon’s forces, while revealing his growing arsenal and Victoria Hand’s return from the dead. Meanwhile, Salomon continued plotting against T’Chaka as T’Challa worried that his father was growing old.

• Clint told Salomon and Natasha that he believed Nick Fury was alive and that the Avengers would eventually be forced to flee from Congress.
• Salomon offered Clint a place for his family in his secret base, new identities, and work training field personnel or directing operations; Clint agreed to a temporary understanding.
• Salomon revealed that Victoria Hand was alive and working for him, and that his forces had seized nuclear missiles, aircraft carriers, Quinjets, and fighter jets from Hydra.
• Salomon gave Clint a golf bag as a gift and explained that he needed more agents for his growing forces.
• T’Challa told Salomon that T’Chaka felt too old to rule, and Salomon concealed his role in the danger closing in on Wakanda.

Salomon cared for Bastet’s unusually powerful kitten, rewarded the Cheshire Cat with a medal, and agreed to fund Laura Croft’s archaeological work because she was tied to his prophecy. After discovering a horrifying secret beneath Kamar-Taj, he prepared Wanda to leave and chose to teach her safer spells from the Necronomicon rather than let her touch the Darkhold.

• Salomon watched Bastet’s kitten destroy his Invisible Servants and scratch through his magical defenses, then arranged to trim its claws.
• Salomon dressed the Cheshire Cat in a trench coat and peaked cap and awarded it a gilded medal, while Laura Croft visited and secured his support for her archaeological work.
• Salomon recalled discovering Atlantis’s connection to another universe and a functioning ancient seal in Kamar-Taj’s deepest dungeon, a secret the Venerable One had forbidden him to reveal.
• Salomon told Wanda that she would leave soon and said he would teach her less harmful spells from Abdul Alhazred’s Necronomicon, warning her against the rules and dangers of Dark Magic.

Salomon taught Wanda defensive Dark Magic and Old Seals while warning her that magical power came with danger and a price. Wanda accepted his guidance without pressing him about his secrets, and their fragile bond remained intact.

• Salomon sent Pietro away and taught Wanda spells for exposing demons, banishing devils, and making magical barriers.
• Wanda objected to the disturbing ingredients required by some protective spells, and Salomon warned her about the dangers of using instinct and Dark Magic.
• Salomon explained that Wanda's talent came from a magical entity and urged her to remain vigilant about magic and its costs.
• Salomon taught Wanda Volvadus's Purifying Fire, Summoned Servant Return, and how to inscribe and activate Old Seals.
• Wanda recognized that Salomon kept secrets but chose to trust him as a mentor rather than risk their fragile relationship.

Salomon praised Wanda’s improved Hellish Illusion but urged her to focus on coercion magic and keep learning how to recognize Dark Magic. Wanda refused to visit a graveyard to study zombies, and Salomon concluded that her restraint showed Chthon’s corruption had not taken hold; he hoped Gaia would reward him with help for his biological laboratory.

• Wanda showed Salomon her Hellish Illusion, which made a corridor appear filled with shambling corpses.
• Salomon saw through the illusion and explained its flaws, then praised Wanda’s talent and advised her to focus on coercion magic.
• Salomon offered to show Wanda zombies in a graveyard, but she declined because she considered the magic evil.
• Salomon was relieved by Wanda’s aversion to Dark Magic and decided to teach her more about what she must avoid.
• Salomon believed Wanda’s clear mind would prevent Chthon from fully corrupting her and hoped Gaia would help him with the biological laboratory.

After Wanda described a disturbing dream brought on by using the Ouija Board, Salomon reassured her and prepared to teach her a communication spell. Merlin, who had secretly protected her from Chthon and corrected her incantation, appeared at the end of the chapter.

• Wanda told Salomon about her dream of a towering tree, a serpent, and a golden giant, and worried that she had contacted a demon.
• Salomon assured Wanda that she had used the Ouija Board correctly and decided to teach her the Candlelight Communication Technique.
• Salomon told Wanda and Pietro to prepare for a meal in Paris, then left to tell The Venerable One that he was ready to meet Gaia through Merlin.
• Merlin appeared in the siblings' room disguised as a Hydra agent, revealing that he had guarded Wanda's dream from Chthon and corrected her incantation.

The Venerable One agreed to tell Merlin that Salomon wanted the Earth Mother Goddess’s help decoding knowledge about life. Meanwhile, Merlin’s prank trapped Dave in a nightclub, where Dave spotted the magical old man responsible and prepared to confront him.

• Salomon told The Venerable One he needed the Earth Mother Goddess to help organize Yog-Sothoth’s and the Black Goat of the Woods’ knowledge, and she agreed to pass his request to Merlin.
• The Venerable One invited Salomon and the Witch to lunch with Frigga in Finland.
• Dave repeatedly encountered a magical old man at school before losing consciousness and waking in a nightclub dressed as a wealthy man.
• Dave panicked when he realized he had no wallet or phone and could not pay for the drinks, then spotted the old man across the nightclub.
• Dave decided to find out who the old man was and considered calling Salomon for help.

An old man entertained a nightclub crowd with tales of alchemy and introduced Dave as his student, while Odin and Frigga discussed Merlin, Agamotto, and Salomon over dinner. Salomon’s conversation with Odin let Stephanie glimpse the hidden ties between Kamar-Taj and Asgard, and she learned more about Earth’s vulnerability to the Bifrost.

• The old man captivated nightclub guests with stories of art, alchemy, and the Philosopher’s Stone before interrupting his discussion of Rosicrucianism to introduce Dave as his student.
• The old man teased Dave as a bookworm, pushed him toward the women, and gave him a glass of strong liquor.
• Odin criticized Merlin as a troublesome Nightmare who fed on emotions and recalled that Merlin had tricked him into lending out Gungnir.
• Frigga noticed that Stephanie wore a disease-immunity charm made by Salomon, while Stephanie realized that Salomon had allowed her to encounter hidden truths.
• Stephanie recalled Nick Fury’s warning that the Bifrost was an unstoppable, Star-slaying weapon and rejected people who wanted Asgard to rule Earth.

Stephanie listened as Odin and Frigga discussed secrets and Salomon’s abilities, while Salomon described Kamar-Taj’s mission to protect humanity. After Nick Fury ordered efforts to stabilize Salomon, Salomon decided to locate him before Fury could bring the green shapeshifters to Earth.

• Stephanie listened silently to Odin and Frigga’s private conversations and valued Salomon’s promise to show her the wider universe.
• Salomon told Stephanie that Kamar-Taj would stand as humanity’s last defense against future disasters.
• Odin reflected on the coming catastrophe facing Salomon and Thor and on the preparations he had made for Asgard’s survival.
• Nick Fury received Natasha Romanoff’s report about Salomon’s resources and ordered a secret response to stabilize him.
• Natasha showed Salomon Fury’s order, and Salomon instructed Shuri to trace its source without giving Artificial Intelligence access to military satellites.
• Salomon ordered a search for Nick Fury and planned to use divination to find him, saying he would prevent Fury from bringing green shapeshifters to Earth.

Salomon confronted Nick Fury about the Skrulls and bargained for S.H.I.E.L.D. files in exchange for letting Fury take them away from Earth. Fury arranged to leave and put Agent Hill in command, while Salomon revealed that the outcome served his plans and that his maid was away on an errand.

• Salomon confronted Nick Fury and demanded to know where he had hidden the Skrulls, arguing that they were fanatics who could not coexist peacefully with other races.
• Nick Fury offered Salomon S.H.I.E.L.D. base locations and files in exchange for permission to take the Skrulls away from Earth, and Salomon accepted.
• Salomon rode Dickens through a portal, telling Nick Fury that he had delayed his death and urging him to gather the Skrulls.
• Nick Fury called Agent Romanoff, said Agent Hill would take command, and announced that he would disappear for a while.
• Natasha Romanoff told Salomon that Nick Fury was leaving Earth, and Salomon said he knew where Fury was going and that Fury's actions served his plan.
• Natasha asked where Salomon's maid had gone, and Salomon said she was handling something and would return in two hours.

Natasha Romanoff questioned Salomon about Tita’s secret mission, then learned that a magical threat had arrived on Earth. Salomon demonstrated magical communication devices and discussed how magic combined with scientific reasoning, leaving Wanda and Pietro with an introduction to astronomy and magical theories of the universe.

• Natasha Romanoff asked Salomon where Tita had gone, but he kept her mission secret and said it would barely affect Nick Fury’s plans.
• Salomon revealed that Tita had Steel Wings and explained that a troublesome figure had come to Earth, as his teacher had warned him that day.
• Salomon showed Natasha a device that received Mind Communication messages and described how it worked.
• Salomon used illusions to show Wanda magical devices and explained that magic could combine with science.
• Salomon discussed astrology and three views of the universe with Wanda and Pietro, urging mages to treat Aether as objectively existing energy.

Tita captured Merlin after he tried to take the drunken Dave away, but Merlin escaped his escorts and appeared in Salomon’s office. Salomon destroyed a Chaos-tainted beast Merlin had left as a prank, while Merlin warned that Chthon’s Great Shadow Demon threatened the universe.

• Tita refused to let Merlin take Dave home and had Artificial Humans restrain Merlin and escort him aboard an Assault Transport.
• Merlin admired Salomon’s Philosopher’s Stone creations as the Artificial Humans took him away in restraints.
• Salomon explained the Philosopher’s Stone to Wanda and answered Pietro’s questions about King Arthur’s legends while Merlin listened.
• Salomon returned to the landing pad after Tita reported Merlin captured, but found only Dave asleep because Merlin had escaped through an illusion.
• Salomon found a Chaos-tainted beast in his office, killed it with a spell, and destroyed part of the office in the process.
• Merlin explained that Chthon’s Chaos Magic could corrupt even Atum and warned that the Great Shadow Demon could bring about the universe’s heat death.

Salomon traveled to Kamar-Taj with Merlin, who used a prophecy to show him a series of disturbing visions tied to his Holy Marks. The Venerable One stopped Merlin from explaining more and insisted that Salomon was human, leaving the truth about his nature for another time.

• Salomon escorted Merlin aboard the Assault Transport and demanded that Merlin explain how to meet the Earth Mother Goddess.
• Merlin touched Salomon's forehead and showed him visions of executions, burning cities, a ghostly wilderness, and crowds of the dead.
• Salomon woke shaken and learned that Merlin's protective spell had concealed information from his Holy Marks.
• The Venerable One interrupted Merlin's explanation and declared that Salomon was human, then told him to leave the meditation room.
• Salomon found apprentices gathered around the Assault Transport and suggested that Arcanists should carry guns or gunfiring metal staffs, but Mordo dismissed him.

Salomon and Maya Hansen completed the preliminary autopsy of a Chthonian kin corpse while continuing their demanding Gene Alchemy work. He gave Laura a weapons-equipped Gulfstream G550 for her expeditions and promised to join her in exploring historical ruins after finishing his research.

• Salomon and Maya Hansen completed the preliminary autopsy and preserved the Chthonian kin corpse for further dissection.
• Salomon kept Marcus Daniel sedated and gave him only water at Maya Hansen's request.
• Salomon supported Maya Hansen's Gene Alchemy research and its broader work with the Druids.
• Salomon took Laura to Chiroth Airport and lent her a Gulfstream G550 equipped with weapons, medical supplies, and alchemical potions.
• Laura agreed to take Salomon exploring historical ruins after he finished his research on the Crusades.

Laura left for Syria to research archaeological sites while Salomon returned to the City of Immortals and continued conditioning Lorelei. Odin summoned Salomon to bury hundreds of human remains and gave him unfamiliar devices, prompting Salomon to involve Shuri and prepare the city against an intruder.

• Laura boarded a plane equipped by Salomon with weapons and tracking beacons before departing for Syria.
• Salomon returned to the City of Immortals and trained Lorelei, whose mission was to help advance the city's technology.
• Odin summoned Salomon, ordered him to bury bodies in black armor, and told him to keep the matter secret.
• Salomon found strange devices among Odin's belongings and recognized a holographic image of Frigga on one of the computers.
• Salomon contacted Shuri to examine the devices and warned that they needed an anti-portal array because something was trying to enter the City of Immortals.

After learning that the Time Variance Authority had attacked Odin, Salomon prepared the City of Immortals for a possible assault by agents from other timelines. He sought Hank Pym’s help analyzing their equipment, but Pym angrily rejected him and came back with a shotgun.

• Salomon concluded that the Time Variance Authority had previously tried to target him and that the Venerable One had stopped them.
• Salomon planned to destroy the Authority after Shuri analyzed its equipment, and ordered defenses around Maya Hansen and key facilities in the City of Immortals.
• Salomon ordered Tita to raise the city’s security level and told Shuri to suspend other research while she studied the equipment and developed countermeasures.
• Salomon explained to Shuri that enemies from a parallel universe wanted to preserve identical fates across timelines and would oppose their plans.
• Salomon visited Hank Pym to ask for help, but Pym shoved him out the door and returned carrying a shotgun.

Salomon persuaded Hank Pym to work with him by explaining that Pym Particles drew their power from the pocket dimension Kosmos. After returning home, Salomon was greeted by Bayonetta and Jeanne, whose teasing turned into an argument over his closeness with Bayonetta.

• Salomon explained that Pym Particles came from Kosmos and that their effects on size displaced energy and matter into that dimension.
• Salomon offered Hank Pym a mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and help against enemies from across the universe, and Hank agreed to work with him.
• Salomon returned home, where Bayonetta guessed that he had been near a red-haired woman and he blamed his new consultant, Hank Pym.
• Salomon embraced Bayonetta, and Jeanne complained that they were disturbing her sleep.
• Bayonetta teased Jeanne about secretly watching them, and Jeanne angrily drew her magical pistols at Salomon for laughing.

Dave woke in the hospital after nearly drinking himself to death and learned Balthazar had covered his medical bills and fabricated an academic exchange to explain his absence to his girlfriend. Salomon reviewed Tita’s report before Agent Victoria Hand offered Coulson’s team help capturing Grant Ward, while criticizing their decision to protect a hostage.

• Dave woke in a hospital after a severe alcohol binge, and the doctor told him his blood alcohol level had reached 0.9% without causing alcohol poisoning.
• Balthazar visited Dave, explained that Salomon had arranged his hospital care, and said he had told Dave’s girlfriend he was in Oxford for an academic exchange.
• Salomon reviewed Tita’s detailed report on Dave’s hospitalization and medical bills.
• Agent Hill, Coulson, and Victoria Hand discussed Grant Ward’s escape and Coulson’s refusal to abandon a captured agent.
• Victoria Hand agreed to help catch Grant Ward if Coulson’s team stopped crashing flying cars and posting the crashes online.

Bayonetta comforted Salomon as he read a report about Agent Hand’s mission, then the report described Coulson’s team tracing Hydra’s Centipede project to Cybertek. Agent Hand secured authority and forces for an infiltration, but her ruthless priorities alarmed the team.

• Bayonetta asked Salomon about his frustration, and he explained that Agent Hand had taken his anger with her on a mission.
• Coulson’s team connected Cybertek to Deathlok, Quinn, Garrett, and the Centipede Serum, while Skye explained that her Trojan Virus could expose the stolen research data.
• May proposed infiltrating Cybertek to activate Skye’s virus, and Hand revealed she had authority and former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to lead the operation.
• Hand said Salomon had united forces against rising threats and promised to help Coulson recover the Airbus before continuing her Hydra hunt.
• Hand declared she would disregard casualties to eradicate Hydra, and Simmons questioned whether Grant Ward’s attack had affected her mental state.