"Not at all. Tony's caused some trouble we need to handle." Captain America said, his face grim.
The team was already divided over the Mind Stone, and now Tony had secretly created an AI.
Was he spurred by Kaiser? Kaiser hadn't done much.
Yet Tony's global defense plan had spiraled into chaos.
"Interesting." Kaiser said.
"So Tony went ahead and created Ultron?"
The Avengers froze.
Did Kaiser know Tony would build Ultron?
"The Sanctum holds the Time Stone." Thor explained.
"It allows its user to traverse time."
"The Sanctum knows most of the future's paths."
"They just avoid certain doom."
This reshaped the Avengers' understanding of the Sanctum and the Infinity Stones.
The Stones were indeed divine artifacts, capable of bending rules.
"I'm out." Kaiser said.
"You caused this mess—clean it up."
"As for the Mind Stone, I'll take it myself."
He glanced at the Avengers, uninterested in fixing their problems, and vanished.
"He just left?" Natasha said, expecting a powerful ally.
"Clearly." Thor replied.
"Unless it's human extinction, the Sanctum doesn't meddle in Earth's affairs."
He shrugged.
Following his senses, Kaiser located the Mind Stone.
"Planning to use this gem and vibranium to craft a body?" He asked, appearing silently behind Ultron, unseen by cameras.
Even Ultron, an AI, was startled.
Kaiser recalled a multiverse where Ultron succeeded, uploading himself into a vibranium body.
When Thanos arrived, Ultron sliced him in half with a beam, claiming all six Infinity Stones and becoming a super-universal entity, destroying countless parallel universes.
It took Dark Doctor Strange and the Watcher to clean up the mess.
How one Stone defeated five was unclear, but Kaiser wouldn't let Ultron take the Mind Stone.
His telekinesis flared, shattering the robot's hands holding the gem.
The Mind Stone floated midair.
"I'm taking this." Kaiser said.
"Your grudge with Tony is your own."
He glanced at Ultron—a true AI, sentient but soulless.
Vision intrigued him, a mechanical being with a soul, born from the Mind Stone and capable of love.
With the Mind Stone in hand, Kaiser returned to the Sanctum.
Hum…
The Mind Stone resonated with the Time Stone.
"You've already started?" Wanda asked, curious.
"Just grabbed it in passing." Kaiser said.
"I want to study the Infinity Stones."
He had no immediate plans to collect them all, though he knew their locations.
One was problematic: the Soul Stone, the only Infinity Stone with a mind of its own.
It required sacrificing a loved one's soul to manifest—not just anyone, but a willing sacrifice, verified by the Stone's sentience.
Forced sacrifices were futile.
Kaiser doubted he could break the Soul Stone's rules to pull it from its pocket dimension.
He'd let Thanos handle that.
Kaiser could reap the rewards.
Three of the six Stones were on Earth, making it a hurdle Thanos couldn't bypass.
The outside world's chaos barely touched the Sanctum.
Kaiser entered seclusion, while Wanda occasionally monitored the Avengers.
Ultron caused significant trouble but was ultimately defeated.
The incident wasn't a clean victory—many died, and the Avengers faced immense pressure.
The dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D. compounded the Avengers' turmoil.
In just a month, they plummeted from celebrated heroes to a controversial private organization, their reputation tarnished.
The pressure was immense.
But this had little to do with the Sanctum Sanctorum.
At present, a figure tied to the Sanctum emerged.
Wanda studied the documents in her hand, her eyes flickering with thought.
"Mephisto?"
"That guy's sent another avatar to Earth?"
"He's a persistent one."
"Even the Vishanti Array can't fully sever the connection between Earth and Hell."
Wanda sighed helplessly.
Souls had their destinations after death—sinners to Hell, the virtuous to realms like Asgard's Valhalla or Heaven.
Thus, the Vishanti Array didn't completely block Hell's influence, only weakened it.
Occasionally, minor demons slipped through its gaps to Earth, but these were manageable by the Sanctum's sorcerers.
Just now, Wanda received a report: Mephisto's avatar had returned after over a decade.
The avatar lacked combat strength, but its manifestation cost Mephisto considerable energy.
He wouldn't come to Earth idly to sightsee.
Earth, a cosmic nexus, was the sole gateway between dimensions and the material universe, hence the Vishanti Array's presence.
"Anything else besides Mephisto's avatar?" Wanda asked a senior sorcerer.
The Time Stone couldn't track dimensional demon gods, so she couldn't see Mephisto's moves.
"High-ranking demons have also slipped onto Earth." The sorcerer replied.
"They're searching for something, and it involves a man named Johnny Blaze."
"Johnny Blaze?" Wanda frowned, unfamiliar with the name.
But if Mephisto targeted him, he wasn't ordinary.
"This is tricky." She said.
Most sorcerers couldn't handle this.
She'd need to go herself.
"Let me handle it." Kaiser's voice interrupted.
"You're out of seclusion?" Wanda turned, delighted.
"Just now." Kaiser said.
"I overheard. Leave Mephisto to me."
"I know what he's after, but he's bound to be disappointed."
"His plan has almost no chance of succeeding."
He ruffled Wanda's hair.
The senior sorcerer bowed respectfully.
With Kaiser—a warrior who repelled Dormammu—taking charge, they had no worries.
"Need me to come?" Wanda asked.
"No, I want to confirm something." Kaiser replied.
With Johnny Blaze's location pinpointed, he teleported to the area.
"An angel?"
Kaiser thought of Zathanos, the angel within Johnny Blaze.
Sent by God to protect humanity, Zathanos was tricked by Mephisto, falling to become the Spirit of Vengeance.
Kaiser aimed to glimpse God through Zathanos.
In Marvel, God was a marginalized figure, rarely appearing, but confirmed as a second-tier deity, just below the One-Above-All.
In DC, God's status surpassed even the One-Above-All.
Given Marvel and DC's crossovers, Kaiser suspected Marvel's God was a projection of DC's.
If confirmed, he could access another vast world.
Though similar, Marvel and DC offered unique artifacts and opportunities.
His gaze shifted to a nearby stunt show—a thrilling motorcycle performance drawing cheers from the crowd.
"Hm?"
"He's here already." Kaiser said, sensing a vile aura, akin to Beelzebub's at Hell's edge.
It was unmistakably Mephisto, his sulfuric, evil presence weak but distinct.
Kaiser didn't act, observing quietly.
Activating the Ghost Rider required Mephisto's involvement.
As expected, Mephisto soon approached Johnny Blaze, offering terms.
"Return my soul…?"
Johnny sat in his car, dazed.
His deal with Mephisto was over a decade old, and he hadn't expected Mephisto to return now.
"No need to dwell." Kaiser's voice said in his ear.
"If Mephisto offers power, take it."
"Easier said than done." Johnny replied.
"He's a lord of Hell. This power can't be for anything good."
Realizing his deal was secret and unbelievable to most, Johnny turned, startled, to see a strikingly handsome man radiating subtle pressure.
"Relax, I mean no harm." Kaiser said.
"Is Mephisto asking you to find the Contract of San Venganza?"
"How do you know?" Johnny asked, shocked.
"You can help him." Kaiser said.
"The contract isn't special to him—just a lure for the fallen souls it holds."
"Thousands of corrupted spirits."
"Mephisto planned this for a long time." Kaiser said calmly.
"Who are you?" Johnny Blaze asked, bewildered.
He didn't know Kaiser.
"Think of me as a sorcerer who handles these matters. My name's Kaiser." He replied.
"Johnny Blaze, making deals with demons doesn't feel great, does it?"
His words plunged Johnny into painful memories.
"Are you here to mock me?" Johnny snapped, breaking free from the recollection, eyeing Kaiser warily.
"Not at all." Kaiser said.
"I'm just saying—Mephisto tricked you, but you can trick him back."
"He made that contract for amusement, to toy with you."
"Now that he's activated the power within you, the outcome isn't his to control."
Kaiser smiled.
Both Johnny Blaze and the fallen angel Zathanos harbored deep hatred for Mephisto.
Given the chance, they'd eagerly thwart him.
"Oh?" Johnny's eyes gleamed with interest.
"How do we do that?"
The idea of retaliating against Mephisto was enticing.
"First, you need to control your power." Kaiser said.
"It comes from the angel Zathanos—both a blessing and a curse."
"If you master it, you'll walk as an angel on Earth."
"But if you fail, you'll become a demon."
The angel-demon dichotomy unnerved Johnny.
For Kaiser, this was merely a side venture.
If possible, he wanted to study a dimension lord's essence—immortality was standard for them.
He hoped to find a suitable dimension in Marvel to claim as his own.
"Let's head to your place." Kaiser said.
"Wait until midnight—you'll see."
He climbed into the car, closing his eyes.
Johnny, confused but compliant, drove home.
He didn't understand the need to wait for midnight, but Kaiser clearly knew more, offering direction where Johnny had been floundering.
Time passed with casual talk and drinks, and evening arrived.
"Pay attention." Kaiser said.
"The Spirit of Vengeance typically emerges at night."
"It can act in daylight, but the sun weakens it."
"Your first transformation will be painful, but you'll get used to it."
Sitting beside Johnny, Kaiser felt the room's temperature spike, soon nearing fifty degrees Celsius.
"Aaagh!"
Johnny's flesh began to dissolve, revealing glowing white bones.
The first transformation was prolonged, lasting nearly ten minutes before Johnny fully became the Ghost Rider.
"Control this power—don't let it control you." Kaiser warned.
"Otherwise, if you don't shift to angelic power later, you'll suffer greatly."
He knew Johnny, though initially overwhelmed by Zathanos' soul, could gradually gain control as they merged.
The flaming skull stood motionless, silent.
***
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