Tony Stark had accepted death.
That was the truth of it.
His life had become an endless darkness with no visible exit. There was no path forward, no solution left to pursue, only an inevitable end creeping closer each day.
So he stopped fighting.
Not because he wanted to die.
Because he no longer knew what he was fighting for.
That was why he had never seriously discussed Evenson’s life-prolonging magic. Stretching out the inevitable meant little when there was no hope beyond it.
Instead, Tony chose to spend his remaining time putting his affairs in order.
Entrust Stark Industries to people he believed in.
Pass one of the Iron Man suits to someone worthy.
Live recklessly while he still could.
Then disappear quietly, with as few regrets as possible.
In the face of death, even the world’s richest genius wasn’t all that different from anyone else.
But resignation wasn’t the same as surrender.
If someone offered Tony even the smallest sliver of hope, he would seize it with both hands and throw every ounce of his brilliance behind turning that hope into reality.
Nick Fury and Natasha were on their way to give him exactly that.
Evenson wasn’t.
Once he’d explained his reasoning to Fury, he’d requested a leave of absence and gone his own way.
As far as he was concerned, Tony finally had a direction.
There was no reason to keep hovering over him.
Besides...
Spending weeks around Tony Stark had been exhausting.
The man generated chaos almost as efficiently as he generated electricity.
Fury, meanwhile, had been relying on Evenson’s sinister-sounding magic only because there hadn’t been another option. Now S.H.I.E.L.D. had lithium dioxide to temporarily suppress the palladium poisoning, a treatment grounded in science rather than sorcery.
As long as that bought them time, Fury had no intention of asking Evenson to keep Tony alive through demonic magic.
Granting him leave had been an easy decision.
It was only a little after ten that evening, and New York traffic was still thick enough to turn every street into a parking lot.
By the time Evenson reached his destination, nearly half an hour had passed.
He wasn’t heading back to his occult shop.
Ever since he’d begun working with Tony and Sarah had left on her assignment, the little storefront had remained closed.
Leaving Tyler to run it alone would’ve been irresponsible.
Not that it mattered much.
The place rarely had customers anyway.
Instead, Evenson parked outside a small motel.
Its only remarkable feature was its location.
Right beside an absurdly luxurious hotel.
Compared to its glamorous neighbor, the shabby little motel looked like a bargain, which probably explained why it managed to stay in business.
Ignoring several heavily made-up women lingering outside, Evenson walked directly to a familiar room and knocked.
The door opened.
A shirtless man he’d never seen before glared at him.
Behind him, a scantily dressed woman reclined on the bed, smoking a cigarette.
Evenson froze.
"...Sorry."
"I’ve got the wrong room."
"What the hell’s wrong with you?"
The man slammed the door so hard it nearly clipped Evenson’s nose.
"...Damn."
His expression darkened.
Not because of the rude reception.
Because something had gone very, very wrong.
He hurried downstairs to the front desk.
"I’m looking for the two women who were staying in that room."
The clerk smiled politely.
"I’m sorry, sir. We don’t disclose guest information."
Evenson sighed.
"What if Mr. Hamilton here convinced you otherwise?"
He slid a ten-dollar bill across the counter.
He briefly considered flashing his S.H.I.E.L.D. credentials.
Then decided there was little chance a budget motel clerk would recognize them.
The clerk discreetly pocketed the bill.
"Well... if you’re their friend..."
"They checked out about two weeks ago."
"I have no idea where they went."
Evenson’s stomach dropped.
Two weeks.
They’d vanished almost immediately after he’d left them there.
Then the clerk suddenly leaned to one side, looking past him through the front window.
"...Wait."
"You’re the guy who brought them here, aren’t you?"
Evenson glanced toward the parking lot.
His customized sports car was impossible to miss.
"Yeah."
"That was me."
"In that case..." the clerk said cheerfully as he tucked away the cash, "there’s something else you should know."
"What?"
"The two ladies withdrew the prepaid balance on your two months’ rent before they left."
...
For several seconds, Evenson simply stood there.
A thousand dollars.
Gone.
He suddenly felt lightheaded.
The clerk offered him a sympathetic smile.
"Don’t take it too hard."
"Happens all the time."
"You’ll move on."
His face radiated professional compassion.
Inside, however...
He was practically celebrating.
I knew it was you.
The guy who checked in with three gorgeous women.
I still remember that sports car.
Watching you get dumped and robbed?
Best shift I’ve worked all month.
Evenson stared at him.
Then silently walked out.
Forget the money.
Losing a thousand dollars already hurt.
But compared to the real problem...
That barely registered.
If he had to summarize the situation in one sentence, it would be:
The Eredar Twins have disappeared.
This motel had been their temporary home.
Evenson had come intending to give the sisters something productive to do.
After all, he’d left them locked inside a motel room for over half a month.
Even ordinary people would’ve gone stir-crazy.
Demons?
Especially those demons?
Not a chance.
He’d hoped to occupy them before boredom convinced them to start causing trouble.
Instead...
They’d vanished days after he’d left.
And taken his prepaid rent with them.
Figures.
Even after crossing worlds, they still remembered to loot everything before leaving.
That wasn’t remotely funny.
Fortunately, there was little danger of them opening a Dark Portal and inviting the Burning Legion to perform planetary redevelopment.
Too many conditions prevented anything that catastrophic.
Unfortunately...
Each of them still possessed the strength of a demon lord.
Leveling a city block would be effortless.
Granted, Eredar weren’t creatures ruled by impulse.
They were patient.
Calculating.
Which somehow made the situation even worse.
Evenson rubbed his temples.
"Please don’t let me wake up tomorrow to headlines about some ’Church of Argus Reborn.’"
It wasn’t paranoia.
The sisters had once served as Kil’jaeden’s lieutenants.
Given two weeks, they could easily gather followers and build a cult around themselves.
They probably wouldn’t start mass-producing warlocks...
But attracting the attention of Earth’s hidden magical community?
That seemed inevitable.
Especially after the deaths of two members of the New York Sanctum not long ago.
Still muttering to himself, Evenson climbed back into his car.
His first plan was simple.
Go home.
Use the demonic contracts linking them together and try to establish contact.
He started the engine.
Then casually glanced into the rearview mirror.
His hands froze on the steering wheel.
"...Wait."
He twisted around and looked through the rear window.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"I think I know where they are."
Across the street stood a bar.
He remembered it.
The Blue Flame Bar, headquarters of the Blue Flame Riders motorcycle gang.
After S.H.I.E.L.D. had dismantled the Dead End Gang, most of the local criminal groups had scattered in panic.
Some dissolved entirely.
Others fled the city.
But when it became clear S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn’t launching an endless crusade against organized crime...
Several gangs quietly resurfaced.
The Blue Flame Riders were among them.
They weren’t particularly dangerous.
Mostly small-time operators.
Illegal gambling.
Drug dealing.
The occasional street fight.
Reckless motorcycle races.
Noise complaints.
Nothing on the scale of the syndicates Evenson had encountered before.
He knew more about them than most.
After all...
He’d once shared a holding cell with several of their members after getting arrested for driving without a license.
Not one of his finer memories.
None of that mattered now.
Only one thing caught his attention.
The bar’s sign had changed.
The old name was gone.
In its place hung a freshly painted sign.
Legacy of the Void Bar.
Evenson stared at it.
Then sighed.
"...Of course."
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