Chapter Summaries

Kav and the other children were taken from a war zone, cleaned, and transported beneath the sea to the City of Immortals. The chapter ended with the train arriving in the luminous underground city.

• Kav woke among the captured children and feared that their captors intended to harm them.
• Tatyana and the Artificial Human entered the room, and the Artificial Human ordered the children to stand and separated the girls for bathing and new clothes.
• The Artificial Human told Kav that the children would be fed, housed, and educated, and that some might become scholars, warriors, clerks, or Artificial Humans.
• The Helicarrier descended into a sea whirlpool and passed through gates that sealed it underwater.
• The children were cleaned, given simple clothes, and taken by vacuum train through a dark tunnel.
• Kav saw the City of Immortals through the train window as the broadcast welcomed the children with “Hallelujah.”

Salomon defended the City of Immortals’ plan to erase rescued children’s individuality and train them through a strict academy, insisting that an impending disaster required humanity to win by any means necessary. Natasha Romanoff remained troubled by his methods, while Salomon concealed that the children’s genetic tests were meant to identify candidates for creating more Praetorian Guards.

• Salomon showed little Lorna footage of the rescued children and explained that sedative gas had been released to calm them.
• Natasha Romanoff confronted Salomon about abducting children, and Salomon described his plan to erase their pasts and train them for service to humanity.
• Salomon gave Natasha the academy curriculum and argued that the Avengers had no right to surrender on humanity’s behalf.
• Natasha questioned a sheet of genetic test results, and Salomon claimed they were routine medical examinations before taking it away.
• The narration revealed that Maya Hand’s laboratory had traced the children’s ancestry to find candidates for Gene Alchemy and the Praetorian Guard.

Kav and Badiya struggled to understand their new life in a guarded underground city, where rules were enforced harshly despite the plentiful food and safe shelter. Salomon explained the academy’s plans to Natasha and Romanoff, but he had not yet decided what to call it.

• Kav woke from another dream about his lost past and spoke with Badiya about their captors and uncertain future.
• Kav recalled that five children had been whipped for breaking the rules and sent to the hospital.
• Salomon welcomed Natasha’s inspection and described how the children would be educated and trained at the academy.
• Salomon outlined the academy’s departments, specializations, and military training requirements.
• Romanoff asked Salomon what the academy would be called, and he hesitated.

Natasha Romanoff investigated the City of Immortals’ archives and warned Salomon that the Avengers might fracture over a United Nations effort to use them as a weapon. After she left, Salomon pushed Tony Stark to begin their agreed work while allowing Malphas to pursue secret Artificial Intelligence research under safeguards.

• Stephanie used a Rome trading company and staged shipments of gravel to conceal the City of Immortals’ supply operations and its slow-moving offshore amusement park project.
• Natasha Romanoff traveled through the guarded elevator shaft to Rome, claiming she was researching the Avengers’ mission and accessing Hydra intelligence in the archives.
• Natasha warned Salomon and Lorna that conflict between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark could divide the Avengers, then connected energy-industry moves to Salomon’s involvement in delaying the project.
• Salomon called Tony Stark after Natasha left and demanded that he begin work without Friday, Vision, or other outside Artificial Intelligence.
• Salomon allowed Malphas to develop Artificial Intelligence privately under monitoring and countermeasures, hoping to keep the Fifth Demon Pillar from siding with the First Demon Pillar.

Natasha Romanoff prepared to hunt the Winter Soldier alone, while Salomon moved to counter the effort to control the Avengers and revealed little concern about the political threat. Athena explained to Lorna that Salomon’s harsh methods were meant to prepare people to survive the coming dark age.

• Natasha Romanoff gathered weapons and equipment from the City of Immortals and set out to track down the Winter Soldier before Steve Rogers arrived in Europe.
• Natasha warned Salomon that Maria Hill knew his identity as the Silver Knight and might reveal it if the Avengers split.
• Salomon called Mr. Malik to ask for help countering the political maneuvering against the Avengers.
• Lorna complained to Athena about Salomon’s cruel methods, and Athena explained his plans to educate orphans and build the City of Immortals’ future core.
• Athena told Lorna that Salomon’s brutality was meant to urge people to survive the coming dark age.

Salomon reflected on how to balance humanity with making necessary sacrifices, while the Venerable One warned him against bearing too much. Outside, Constantine supervised the construction of a secure dungeon to conceal Salomon’s dangerous designs, and the chapter ended with the Venerable One forbidding Salomon from probing the circumstances of her retirement.

• Salomon examined his belief in choosing the optimal solution and reaffirmed that his humanity still mattered, even as he prepared to make sacrifices.
• The Venerable One praised Salomon’s spiritual cultivation and warned that carrying such burdens with a mortal mind could ruin him.
• Constantine and Andrew oversaw the First Secret Regiment unloading dangerous supplies for the guarded transformation of Kamar-Taj’s dungeons.
• Salomon asked the Venerable One why she would not let him divine when she would die, and she warned him that thinking further about it was dangerous.

Salomon accepted The Venerable One’s secrecy and oversaw preparations to strengthen Kamar-Taj against threats from within and beyond the Veiled World. The Venerable One pressed Mordo to support Salomon’s strict rule as his succession approached, while she chose to keep observing Cassilius’s dreams about Odin.

• Salomon stopped questioning The Venerable One about her secret and accepted her arrangements, then emerged as Fimbulwinter and the Sisterhood assault teams arrived to begin work on the dungeon.
• Salomon’s constructs, powered by contracted spirits and equipped with experimental weapons, were installed in the Kamar-Taj Library despite Mordo’s objections.
• The Venerable One summoned Mordo and told him to support Salomon’s ideals and take his requests seriously as Kamar-Taj prepared for more frequent and dangerous incursions.
• The Venerable One decided not to confront Cassilius yet, instead asking him to submit more dream records as she investigated Ragnarok’s effects and Odin’s influence.

Salomon, Bayonetta, and Jeanne visited Cassilius and met his new partner, Mrs. Jacob, while Salomon considered Cassilius’s emotional health and the risks of loving someone with a much shorter lifespan. The Witches took Mrs. Jacob aside to help her feel at ease, leaving Salomon to join Cassilius in the kitchen.

• Bayonetta and Jeanne spent a long time choosing outfits while Salomon waited and tried to hurry them along.
• Salomon reflected on his task of observing Cassilius’s dreams and mental state, and considered offering ways to extend Mrs. Jacob’s life if their relationship became serious.
• Salomon and the Witches arrived at Cassilius’s home, where Mrs. Jacob nervously greeted them and received Salomon’s bottle of wine.
• Salomon used a spell to calm Mrs. Jacob, while Bayonetta and Jeanne began to warm to her.
• Bayonetta told Salomon to let the men handle the kitchen while she and Jeanne talked with Mrs. Jacob.

Salomon helped Cassilius prepare dinner while they discussed the All-Father’s intentions, Frigga’s efforts to delay an approaching catastrophe, and whether Salomon should demonstrate the City of Immortals’ power. The conversation ended with Salomon rejecting any needless risk to his people, and Mrs. Jacob came to check on the meal.

• Salomon joined Cassilius in the kitchen, corrected his handling of the tomatoes, and hid several failed dishes before Mrs. Jacob could see them.
• Cassilius advised Salomon to show the All-Father the City of Immortals’ capabilities and suggested the Asgardians hoped Salomon could avert or alter an apocalypse.
• Cassilius suspected Frigga was using precious alchemical materials and Vanir prophecy magic to buy time because she had foreseen a terrible outcome.
• Salomon refused to risk his people merely to win the All-Father’s approval and said he valued everyone according to their contribution to humanity.
• Mrs. Jacob entered after hearing the oven chime and asked whether the two needed help.

After a tense but pleasant family dinner, Salomon and the Witches left Cassilius and Mrs. Jacob, while Salomon avoided a raven watching him from a streetlamp. Elsewhere, Constantine attacked a gathering of Mafia leaders, intending to bring their organizations under the City of Immortals’ control.

• Salomon and the Witches maintained the cover story about his life and business while dining with Cassilius and Mrs. Jacob.
• Salomon urged Cassilius to tell Mrs. Jacob the truth soon, and Cassilius agreed to speak privately with him another day.
• Salomon noticed a raven watching him but chose not to draw his pistol or cast a spell before leaving under heavy protection.
• Constantine entered a castle where Cosa Nostra and Ndrangheta leaders were negotiating, after luring them there with fabricated intelligence.
• Constantine aimed his halberd at the Mafia leaders and prepared to kill everyone present before attempting to absorb their organizations.

Constantine led a sweeping crackdown on the Mafia and then reported that the Biological Gene Laboratory had identified ten Suitable Candidates for the Praetorian Guard. Salomon ordered the search to continue and planned to meet the children that night.

• Andrew received Constantine’s orders and began taking over the Mafia families’ intelligence and operations through the Fimbulwinter First Secret Regiment.
• Constantine launched a continent-wide campaign against Mafia leaders and members, sparing only those who surrendered.
• Constantine joined Salomon for breakfast and presented a list of ten Suitable Candidates, mostly war orphans, child soldiers, and Mafia descendants.
• Salomon questioned the candidates’ survival prospects, then ordered Constantine to keep finding and testing candidates and asked Stephanie to prepare a place where he could speak with the children.

Salomon discussed tracing the bloodlines of Suitable Candidates and planned to strengthen humanity by creating more Praetorian Guard. After Constantine left, Salomon considered the threat posed by alien powers and prepared a divine weapon for Constantine and a tactical codex for the Guard, before turning to his vacation.

• Salomon reminded Constantine to trace Suitable Candidate bloodlines and search for more candidates, including descendants of settlements scattered by war.
• Constantine said he expected a candidate with Cyrus the Great's bloodline and believed candidates with similar temperaments were more likely to survive ascension.
• Salomon reflected that Constantine had the highest compatibility with the Holy Marks and hoped humanity would eventually grow stronger without forced Gene Alchemy.
• Salomon dismissed Thanos's population theory and resolved to prepare humanity to resist alien invasions, using the Praetorian Guard as his weapon.
• Salomon planned to give Constantine a divine weapon and draft a tactical codex for the Praetorian Guard, but postponed the work for his vacation.

Salomon approved a proposal by Stephanie and Maya Hansen to use divination spells to find suitable candidates for Praetorian Guard experiments. He and Stephanie then argued over her plan to expand the City of Immortals’ influence in Italy, and he told her to coordinate with Constantine while pursuing influence indirectly.

• After spending his vacation with Bayonetta, Salomon arrived at work exhausted and reviewed documents brought by Stephanie.
• Salomon approved Stephanie and Maya Hansen’s proposal to use divination to locate genetically suitable candidates for Praetorian Guard experiments.
• Stephanie showed Salomon the Mafia’s ledger and connections, explaining that she wanted the City of Immortals to gain control over Italy through political influence.
• Salomon urged Stephanie to prioritize military strength and patiently use indirect methods to influence Italy’s politics.
• Salomon told Stephanie to bring Constantine into the discussion, and she angrily left his office.

Salomon returned to school and advanced his Gauss Weapon research while preparing for Laura Croft’s expedition in South America. After Kamar-Taj’s warnings and Father Morlu’s prophetic dream pointed to the Feathered Serpent God’s imminent awakening, Salomon ordered the City of Immortals to prepare for war.

• Salomon balanced school and research with managing political relationships, while leaving the City of Immortals’ work in Italy to Stephanie and Constantine.
• Laura Croft visited Salomon after her successful Middle East expedition and asked him to fund a South American expedition.
• Salomon gave Laura plans for the Croft Family Museum, advanced equipment, and his support for her next expedition.
• Salomon ordered Malphas to maintain the Power Armor and prepare for war, then told Stephanie to arrange logistics and survey the South American rainforest.
• Constantine shared Kamar-Taj’s prophecy and reports of an earthquake, warning that the Feathered Serpent God’s awakening was approaching.
• Salomon learned Laura had already departed on his private jet with a teleportation beacon and announced that they would kill a god again.

Salomon prepared Wanda Maximoff to join the operation against the Feathered Serpent God and arranged to seek South American knowledge from the Drum Brothers. He planned to meet the family’s twin mages at the No-Door Bar and ask them about the god.

• Salomon warned Wanda about the Feathered Serpent God and invited her to join the mission in South America.
• Wanda agreed to participate and set aside an unreliable alchemical potion she had found in a grimoire.
• Salomon explained that a contact connected to Sanctuary Guardian Daniel Drum could provide clues about South American magic.
• Salomon wrote to the Drum Brothers and arranged to meet them at the No-Door Bar to ask about the Feathered Serpent God.

Salomon met the Drum Brothers, who asked him to investigate a curse that had plagued their family for generations, and collected their blood for analysis without promising to lift it. Back at the Sanctum, Lady of Calamity revealed a vision of the ritual needed to kill the Feathered Serpent God, leaving Salomon to witness what she had seen.

• Salomon accepted the Drum Brothers’ request to investigate their family curse and took blood samples from both brothers.
• Salomon told Wanda he would not lift the curse if doing so demanded a greater price than dealing with the Feathered Serpent God.
• Salomon booked the Drum Brothers a room at an inn and sent them to wait for news.
• Lady of Calamity stopped old Master Daniel from approaching Salomon and warned that his brother was still wailing inside him.
• Lady of Calamity told Salomon that killing the great serpent required plunging a ritual knife into a woman’s chest and taking her heart, then showed him her vision.

After Lady of Calamity showed Salomon a disturbing vision involving Laura Croft and the Feathered Serpent God, he investigated the god’s myths and sacrificial rites. He concluded that Laura might hold an honored role in the ritual, but remained troubled and began considering how to prevent the vision.

• Lady of Calamity touched Salomon’s forehead, leaving him shaken by a vision of a blood sacrifice involving Laura Croft and the Feathered Serpent God.
• Wanda supported Salomon as he recovered, and he reassured the sanctuary’s Arcanists before leaving to investigate the vision.
• Salomon told Wanda that prophecy was only a possibility and that he needed to find a way to deal with what he had seen.
• Salomon searched Kamar-Taj’s books for accounts of the Feathered Serpent God sacrificing itself and studied the legends surrounding Topiltzin and blood offerings.
• Salomon reasoned that Laura might represent the divine-human in the ritual rather than a human sacrifice, but he still felt he had not done enough.

Wanda visited Lady of Calamity in the New York Sanctum and fainted when she saw her clearly. Meanwhile, Salomon brought an armed force to Nick Fury’s space station and confronted him over Skrulls secretly reaching Earth.

• Wanda entered Lady of Calamity’s room, and Lady of Calamity’s clear gaze overwhelmed her, causing her to faint onto the sofa.
• Salomon spoke with Master Daniel about the Drum Brothers’ curse, then ended the call after exposing Daniel’s scheme.
• Salomon brought the Helicarrier, a Sky Battleship, and escort transports to Nick Fury’s space station to force a negotiation.
• Nick Fury opened the station’s landing hangar after Salomon threatened to destroy it, and Salomon confronted him with a dead Skrull found at his base.
• Salomon accused Nick Fury of breaking his promise to keep Skrulls off Earth and demanded a private discussion about how many had been sent there and where they were.

Salomon and the Sisterhood seized the S.W.O.R.D. Space Station from Nick Fury to investigate the Skrull presence on Earth. Salomon ordered the Skrulls imprisoned and interrogated as the City of Immortals began taking over the facility.

• Nick Fury led Salomon and the Sisterhood escort to his office while arguing that the Skrulls could be trusted.
• Salomon told Nick Fury that he would hunt down Skrulls on Earth and imprison and interrogate those aboard the station.
• City of Immortals administrators began cracking the station's firewall and searching its intelligence files.
• Salomon confronted Nick Fury about missing Skrull agents and made him his subordinate while claiming control of the station.
• Aura reported that the City of Immortals had received the station's data, though its encryption was incompatible with Earth's systems.
• Salomon ordered the Skrulls restrained and interrogated, the station taken over, and the conversion plan begun.

Salomon’s forces defeated Nick Fury’s hidden defenders and seized control of the S.W.O.R.D. Space Station. He planned to interrogate the Skrull prisoners and ordered Aura to bring Stephanie and her administrative staff to secure the station, while warning her to protect Tita and the troops.

• Tita led the Sisterhood through the Space Station as Salomon’s forces destroyed its defenses and intercepted fleeing craft.
• Tatyana timed an explosive assault and led her squad through the burning combat zone while other teams advanced through the station.
• Nick Fury surrendered and was escorted in handcuffs through the battle-damaged station as Salomon criticized his inability to defend against threats.
• Salomon told Fury that human captives would be screened and trained while Skrulls would be imprisoned and interrogated over a possible invasion plot.
• Salomon ordered Aura to bring Stephanie and her administrative staff to the station and told her to warn Tita not to risk her troops’ lives.