The Witches' Underworld, where Wanda Maximoff the Scarlet Witch is in agony, having been possessed by the ancient being called Moridun. Her skin is now a sickly green, and tentacles writhe around her body. 'Why fight, Wanda? Most would beg to be my vessel...a soul upon which I will ride at last into the light? To the overripe world's above... lands that cry out for Mor-i-dun! For the Old Devourer!'
Wanda tears at her face as the ancient being infects the last living part of her. He has dug in deep – but unfortunately for Moridun, this is not Wanda Maximoff's first possession and she is able to tear Moridun apart from within, screaming as she breaks through the ancient being who has taken over her body like she is a snake shedding her unwanted skin. There is a ghastly tearing noise, and Wanda collapses to shore of a cavern within the underwater realm.
'You sad mare... are you so stubborn, so spiteful... that you refuse to see?' Ghastly though you find my possession... you are too weak... as am I. Only together could we make the climb' Moridun utters, only part of his face remains, held in Wanda's hands. 'In expelling me... you have doomed us both' Moridun warns Wanda – who responds by squashing his face within one of her hands. 'None may possess me, Moridun. Consider that...as you put yourself back together' Wanda frowns. The Underworld is as claustrophobic as grief and vast as despair. Without her mortal flesh, each handhold is an act of will – but Wanda continues to climb up toward the Witches' Road – the path to life. But here no path is obligated to lead to the same place twice, and as Wanda reaches up through a crevice, a voice calls out to her: 'A pity you couldn't fly. I'd fancy a clay pigeon'. The sound of this voice causes Wanda some distress: 'No. No... it can't be you... LORE?!'
Wanda reaches the top of the crevice and looks up, where she sees her double from another reality – like Wanda, a Nexus being, but twisted, driven to kill all other nexi and consume their power – but long thought dead – by Wanda's own hand. Lore wears a dark costume with bright red hair flowing behind her. Horrid demons scamper around Lore, as a wide-eyed Wanda recalls that she watched Lore die. 'We necromancers are notoriously hard to keep down, especially here' Lore responds, boasting that she rules the Land of the Dead, that she curates its hells, and none may pass above – without going through her.
Meanwhile, in Lotkill, New York, USA, where Wanda's sister, the mutant Polaris, hovers above the troubled town and uses her magnetic might to destroy several spires that do not belong here. Wanda and Polaris' brother, Pietro Maximoff a.k.a. Quicksilver speeds about on the ground, avoiding the attacks of the Griever at the End of All Things. 'You shortsighted germ! You're damning this place to oblivion!' the Griever shouts, to which Quicksilver responds 'And here I thought I was dodging' as he avoids the cosmic menace once more. There is an explosion behind the Griever, which shunts her forward towards Quicksilver, who begins slamming his fist against her head and smiles: 'That will be my sister, Polaris. She's dismantled your spires. I intend to focus on your head'.
Half a world away, in Gratzia, the Balkans, southerastern Europe, where Darcy Lewis, Wanda's shop assistant, finds herself in a cabin, nestled within a snowy mountain range. 'What are you really doing here, intern?' Hexfinder asks as she sits on a throne within the cabin. 'Saving lives I hope. Wanda got merc'd by some old evil in a weird hat' Darcy explains, adding that they need Wanda back, or thousands will die. 'That calls for a body, and that calls for alchemy' Darcy adds. Darcy holds up some objects on a table and points out that Hexfinder has done it before, having rebuilt Joseph's body and put his soul back inside. 'You could do it for Wanda. You know witches'.
'Indeed, Darcy Lewis... in fact, you're holding one now... Dorian Murdstone...transmuted into gold not two years past. You see, I contain witches. I don't kill' Hexfinder claims as Darcy anxiously places the gold object that is now Dorian Murdstone down on the table. 'Death would free them to their underworld. I allow them no such release' Hexfinder declares. 'Right. Cool. Look – I know you don't cry for Wanda. But I remember your story' Darcy begins, turning her attention to Hexfinder, she recalls that when Hexfinder's village was in danger, left to dead by witches, the village was abandoned. 'If you do the same for Lotkill, are you any better than them?' Darcy asks. Hexfinder scowls, before asking Darcy how she imagined this would go. 'You'd just slip into my home and ask me to resurrect my enemy? Wanda incinerated me. Only the Philosopher's Staff – only alchemy – saved my life. Lotkill welcomed her. Why should I lift a finger for her?' Hexfinder asks, standing up and slamming the base of her staff into the floor, which creates several ice spikes that rise up towards Darcy.
'Because your beef is with witches. You're no destroyer, lady. You're messed up, yeah... but you don't want innocent people to die' Darcy responds, holding up a piece of steel as a weapon to defend herself. 'Hell, the Hexfinders got started to defend against darkness, right? Against death? Honor that' Darcy suggests. Hexfinder falls silent, as Darcy tells her that if she saves Wanda, then they will all be in her debt – event the Scarlet Witch.
Back in the Witches' Underworld, Wanda and Lore have clashed, with Lore grabbing Wanda be her wrist, their respective magics countering each other. 'I will not be held back, Lore – not by you! Not by anyone!' Wanda exclaims. 'You so will, Hex Witch. In the land of the dead...the Nexus Necromancer is queen!' Lore responds, adding that she makes the rules, sets the locks and bars the road. 'At what cost? The Griever is the end of all things – all things! If she's not stopped, your kingdom's time will come, like any other! Your time will come!' Wanda retorts. 'What is dead cannot die, pedant!' Lore snaps as a black snake-like substance emerges from her mouth and bites Wanda's neck. 'She – she is the end of everything, Lore...even death – even you!' Wanda exclaims. 'Please. You can barely face yourself' Lore responds as she hurls Wanda away.
Lore has laid the path out for Wanda, and watches, delighted, as Wanda is confronted by claustrophobic grief, vast despair and dynamic regret. The land confronts her with demons born of her own dread, as a mob of mad scientists – the High Evolutionary – derides Wanda as a failed experiment. But her success proves them wrong, and she escapes their grasp. An old tormentor mocks the Scarlet Witch as a poor vessel. His name is Master Pandemonium, and he is the prisoner – Wanda's freedom humiliates him. The ghastly creature reaches out for Wanda, but she evades his attack, and begins to freeze her next foe, the Prince of Lies, Mephisto, who promises Wanda unending punishment. But her drive withers his threats, leading her to the next – a mechanical tyrant called Ultron labels her faulty technology. But Wanda defines her worth, not this crude haunting, and not its hidden author. Her will renders it all to slab, but as she has learned... there is always something dwelling beneath.
But what awaits the Scarlet Witch next is a fiery manifestation of the Phoenix, who shouts 'Hear me, Scarlet Witch! No longer do you face some pale shade of your sad misdeeds! I am fire! I am the shepherd of death and rebirth! I am PHOENIX – and you shall pass no further!' Wanda goes wide-eyed: 'No... this is a witch's realm, and you... you are not Jean Grey!' Wanda exclaims. Indeed, the manifestation of the Phoenix moves closer, and the Scarlet Witch sees a reflection of herself. 'But I am cosmic destruction – the death of billions. A primal power turned sick... leaving countless lives in my wake. I am the deadly way you took for so long... from which you will never truly be free!' the Phoenix exclaims as fire rages around her.
'You have no idea how many times I've heard that!' the Scarlet Witch responds as she begins to cast multiple hexes, which surge towards the cosmic entity. 'Once for evey life you've ruined, hex witch – twice for every life you've snuffed out!' the Phoenix responds. The Scarlet Witch declares that she has done this, that she has knelt in contrition, died to show people that she has changed. '...and you know what? That was me. But I don't fear it. Fear gives those thoughts power' Wanda points out. The Phoenix hovers before her, warning the Scarlet Witch that it is power enough to blaze her to ash. 'Or pass over me. That's what you don't understand, what's changed since we last met' Wanda responds, calmly. She closes her eyes as she admits that she mourns, she learns, but she does not fear herself. 'So drop your glamour. Let's finish this' Wanda tells Lore.
The Phoenix melts away and Lore appears, smirking, 'This old thing' she asks, before noting that she has changed, too. 'Forget my quest, forget nexus beings...forget the ultimate nexus. It's better to reign in hell than hunt for heaven. This is my domain' Lore announces, releasing evil energies towards Wanda, who screams as they overwhelm her. 'You will never reach the light – never climb free. Above, you were great. Here I hold the cards. I can rot tour soul. I cannot be beaten!' Lore smirks. As the evil energies crawl across the Scarlet Witch, they begin to infect her. Wanda's voice is shaky, struggling against the infection, she tells Lore that perhaps she is right, maybe she is power unhinged, maybe she really is everything the world fears Wanda is. 'Maybe necromancy can't be overcome in the Land of the Dead... any maybe I should accept that' Wanda supposes.
Suddenly, Lore grins as she clenches her fist, and the Scarlet Witch seems to explode. 'Ha! Gone to seed, have you? A last gasping play for escape?' Lore asks, warning Wanda that there will be no escape – however, she notes that there is art in this, but no salvation. 'As I turned your flesh to loam, I can burn your achenes to ash. All you've done is offer thousands of match heads for me to strike.' But, Lore looks concerned, reaching up, she declares 'And I will, Wanda... I will.... Wanda?' as she seems to sink downwards, while the remains of Wanda, appearing as spores or seeds, float around. Wanda knows that Lore may be unstoppable in her realm – but Wanda seeks only passage, not victory, and she floats above, her body reforming. But she knows that the Land of the Dead has taken its toll. She sees her brother and sister calling out to her as they appear bloodied from battle. Wanda knows that she cannot stop, she is one stop closer to life, to her family. It is her fist step on the Witches' Road, as she rises up through the ground and finds herself surrounded by glowing trees.
Back in Lotkill,: 'I'll bisect you, germ! Send half of you cascading out between dimensions!' the Griever threatens as she lashes out at Quicksilver, who narrowly dodges her weapon. 'And it will be the half that talks!' the Griever adds. Suddenly, 'Not with a metal sword, you won't!' Polaris declares from above, as she supposes that the Griever really is the end of everything – including intelligence. The Griever's sword glows as Polaris takes control of it, to which the snarls 'No. You mayflies don't even see what you've done! The monocle. The conduits...they were prevision. Mercies, even. Tools to help me focus on something as small as a settlement. Without them...I have no choice but to release my power in full!' the Griever shouts as she lashes out at Polaris, who drops down and collects Quicksilver, before returning to the air. 'The chaos must die! The ultime nexus must be undone! The end still comes, fools! And now it comes for your entire planet!' the Griever boasts as she releases some energy that tears up the ground around her. 'This... has taken a turn' Quicksilver tells Polaris, before a voice calls out 'Ready for another, Quickie?'
It's Darcy, and she announces that she is back – and armed. She fires a cannon-like weapon at the Griever, energy washes over her after there is a loud BANG. 'Now nice...the apprentice. The germ's germs' the Griever scowls. 'Keep talking and you'll be grieving your own ass, Elphaba' Darcy exclaims, adding that they are weaponsfire are complete combustion hellfire rounds, on loand from the enemy of her enemy. Indeed, at the ruins of the Emporium, Hexfinder casts her magics and thinks to herself 'If only the Seven Founders could see me now. A hexfinder, restoring our order's worst enemy. But defending this world...has always been our mandate'.
Wanda looks concerned as she stares down the Witches' Road. She can hear Hexfinder's thoughts: 'The intern thinks it's simple, but it is only simply said. A trace of the witch lingers. In her terms, a shadow left from this Griever's attack. In my terms, alchemical information – smaller than science can detect'. Wood begins to re-form from the rubble of the Emporium, and Hexfinder recalls that Joseph had a body when she raised him, but decides that restoring Wanda from this eldritch mess is like pulling sand from a hurricane. Wanda looks through some trees and sees a red door begin to form. Indeed, in the ruins of the Emporium, the Last Door is being re-formed by Hexfinder, who realizes that to return, Wanda needs more than just reconstructed flesh – but to restore her, the means of her restoration must be made.
'A needle through which to thread herself. A portal. One woven with seeking magic. One that can find and father what's left of Wanda Maximoff' Hexfinder thinks to herself as Wanda pushes her way towards the glowing red door ahead of herself. In Lotkill, the Last Door is nearly fully reconstructed, as Hexfinder thinks 'One that can find and gather what's left of Wanda Maximoff. One that can deliver her to the one place she must be. A door. The only one she has left'. Wanda collapses in front of the glowing door, as, in Lotkill, the door completely re-forms. 'The Last Door!'
At the same moment, the Griever steps forward, closer to Darcy, while Quicksilver and Polaris look on from nearby. 'You have been lightly amusing. So I offer you a choice. Be undone now. Or run... and steal yourselves a precious few seconds more' the Griever warns the others as she uses some sort of energy to dissolve Darcy's weapon. 'Wanda didn't run, Griever. Neither will I. I refuse you the satisfaction' the now shirtless Quicksilver tells his foe. 'I am not moving an inch' Polaris declares. 'Ye-yeah. You wanna kill us? You'll have to look us in the eye!' Darcy exclaims. A geyser of energy rises up behind Griever, responds 'Many kill, girl. Only I end. And there is no human number for how many I've ended. Three... will fail to move me' the Griever boasts.
Wanda suddenly slams the Last Door open from the Witches' Road. 'Welcome back to the flesh, betrayer. Be sure to note who supplied it -' Hexfinder begins, to which Wanda gets to her feet and glances at her enemy: 'Later' Wanda responds.
The Griever holds a blade towards Quicksilver, Polaris and Darcy, who stand defiantly against her. 'If Earth isn't your target, why destroy it? What about your grand plan?' Polaris enquires. 'Oh, this terribly upsets the design. But forcing my hand only proves your danger. It makes clear just how deeply chaotic this place has become because of her' the Griever responds, when, suddenly: 'Her? She has a name, Griever' the Scarlet Witch calls out as she appears, and snaps her fingers, shutting down the geyser of power. 'No...you were undone! You cannot be remade! It cannot be!' the Griever exclaims, furious, while Polaris, Quicksilver and Darcy look on, pleased at Wanda's return. 'It's like your sister said. Like I've told many others before you. When it comes to the Scarlet Witch...anything's possible!' Wanda exclaims as she glows with energy and prepares to cast a hex.
