Hellfire.
The place where the eternal flame burns.
Even here, there is a sky.
But that sky is never blue, never calm. It is always shrouded in waves of blazing fire, like a blood-red sky at sunset.
Only here, fire is no metaphor. It is everything that exists.
"This…"
"Is this hell?"
Robbie, who had stepped into this dimension for the first time, was shocked by the sight.
As far as the eye could see, everything burned. Flames devoured every surface.
Even the air distorted before his eyes, and every breath carried a sharp stinging sensation in the lungs, as if every particle of air cut from the inside.
But Hellfire was not just a desert of fire. It was filled with shadows of collapsed buildings.
In the distance loomed fallen viaducts, pillars, and half-destroyed skyscrapers. Remnants of once-standing structures, now consumed by fire, resembled a ghostly ruined city.
Robbie swallowed hard. The image before his eyes was clear.
Judgment Day.
"Like a city after a nuclear explosion," he uttered.
Even Johnny Blaze had to admit the boy's description was accurate. His face, lit by flickering flames, showed no surprise.
"Kid, you noticed well," he muttered. "But be careful. Don't act like a rookie who's just landed in hell."
Johnny's voice was heavy, serious. He knew well this place was not what it seemed at first glance. Hellish creatures were never friendly.
Never. Especially not toward the living, who in their eyes looked fragile, like a "soft target."
"Johnny," Robbie was impatient. "Where will we find Mephisto?"
His eyes burned with determination. Inside, he kept repeating the mission Aron had entrusted to him. He had to save his uncle.
Johnny didn't move. He only answered calmly:
"We won't go anywhere. He is coming to us."
From his pocket, he pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes. He placed one in his mouth and lit it with a match, but didn't even get to take a drag. A wave of hot wind swept past them.
The flame of the match flared up to the sky, and the cigarette burned to ash in an instant. Only a trace of smoke lingered in the air.
Johnny flicked the stub away, letting it vanish into the ash. "That's why I hate this place," he muttered.
"But you still came."
The voice echoed from nowhere. It was deep, calm, but carried a cold undertone that pressed upon the soul.
At that very moment, the hellish winds fell silent. The fiery vortices that had howled until then froze as if locked in place. Even the particles of ash suspended in the air stayed frozen mid-flight.
"Johnny. Robbie."
"You should not have come empty-handed."
From the flames slowly stepped an old man. He was dressed in a black suit, holding a cane in hand.
His walk was calm, dignified, even courteous at first glance.
But his eyes… his eyes shone with something far from human. In them lurked cunning and sinister power, older than time.
"Mephisto."
Johnny clenched his jaw and inhaled deeply. He had to calm down. Every time he faced this being, the spirit of vengeance inside him raged, demanding to be freed. To let the Ghost Rider out.
But he knew this was a trap. That was Mephisto's power. He provoked rage, forced transformation.
"What about the soul I want?" Johnny spoke through gritted teeth.
Mephisto smiled and turned his gaze toward Robbie. The young man immediately felt his heart leap, as if that gaze pierced right through his soul.
"Robbie…" he pronounced slowly, as if saying a child's name. "I see a spark in you. But also doubt. And souls with doubt… they are easily shaped."
Robbie took a step back, but didn't have the courage to avert his gaze.
"He was taken by your son!" Johnny raised his voice. Determined to break Mephisto's game.
Mephisto fell silent for a moment. His eyes narrowed.
"My son?" His voice was quiet, but chilling. "Blackheart?"
It was a moment of true surprise. Mephisto looked bewildered.
"Impossible… I locked him away…" he muttered. But as he spoke, his own words cut off. He suddenly stopped.
He couldn't feel the presence. His son, his shadow, his rebellious heir—was not here. There was no trace of Blackheart in all of Hellfire.
Mephisto's face twisted.
"Damned… rebellious son!!"
His voice thundered like lightning. The wind returned. Flames exploded and the celestial fire blazed once again, shaking the ruins of the city.
...
The other side.
Inside the Temple in New York.
The new member Gwen quickly blended in with the others. Only then did she truly realize which team she had joined.
"Hm!?"
"Really!?"
Gwen, who had learned the truth, was stunned. She looked at Wanda, who blushed and nodded.
Then she shifted her gaze to Felicia.
"I don't care. If he dares to ask, I dare to give."
Felicia lazily leaned back on the sofa. To provide them with a little more comfort, they had removed several artifacts from the temple hall and set up a few sofas. Aron had nothing against it. He too wanted to lie down.
"…"
Felicia's answer silenced Gwen. In despair, she turned to Elektra, hoping to get at least a different answer from her.
"I act under orders."
Elektra's words were brief, but they clearly revealed her stance.
"I…"
Gwen was left speechless. She felt her idea of love collapsing before her eyes.
Moreover… Wasn't she the one who had volunteered to join the team?
I…
She touched her slightly flushed cheeks. Was it already too late to back out?
"You think you can leave now that you're already here!?"
"Up, up, up!"
"Skye, I've got him under control, this kill is yours!"
Just as Gwen began to retreat, nearby she heard Aron's and Skye's voices while they played a game.
"…"
Gwen was struck dumb.
...
"That combo just now was perfect, Skye."
"If we win this match, we'll be in the top three on the American server."
On the sofa across the temple hall, Aron and Skye sat side by side. Their faces leaned toward the screens, fingers moving swiftly across them.
But Aron didn't consider it just playing all day. At least, that's not how he saw it.
"Aron, it's pretty chaotic outside, and you're still gaming every day?" Skye asked.
Outside, even though the Ultron crisis was over, its negative impact was still felt. The public blamed the Avengers, and most of all Tony Stark, the creator of Ultron.
"First, that chaos outside doesn't interest me at all."
"Second, Skye, you need to understand that I don't play games without a reason."
"As for the game itself, it seems like I'm just having fun."
"But in reality, I'm only waiting for Johnny and the others to lure Mephisto."
"An adult must always think of the deeper meaning of his actions."
Aron spoke in a serious tone, pretending to be completely convinced of his own words.
But before he finished, a familiar voice suddenly rang in his ears through sound-transmission magic.
"Come to Kamar-Taj."
It was the voice of the Ancient One.
"I'm busy here."
Aron glanced at the game in which their team was already pressing the enemy base. But in truth, his thoughts were elsewhere.
He was worried that he had gone to Kamar-Taj only one way, while Johnny and the others were left to deal with Mephisto.
...…
"I'm busy here."
Kamar-Taj.
The Ancient One carefully listened to the reply that returned through magical transmission. She inhaled deeply.
She wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling as if her children were growing up and becoming disobedient, as if their wings had strengthened and they wanted to fly on their own.
"How do ordinary parents deal with their disobedient children?" she asked herself.
She had never started a family. Never had children of her own.
But… she knew enough of the world that the experience was not unfamiliar to her.
—–
50 Power Stone – 1 Chapter
100PS – 1 Chapter
150PS – 1 Chapter
200PS – 1 Chapter
400PS – 1 Chapter
–––
Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/_BlackRose
For $3, you get 20+ advanced chapters.