When Robbie Reyes woke up, it was already light. Early morning light filtered in through the window, illuminating a boxy area on the dim floor.

He sat up groggily and found that this was the workshop where he worked, and the alarm clock ticking on the wall told him that it was just after five o'clock. Then he noticed the old man, dressed in black, with a wrinkled face, his hands folded in black leather gloves and a cane, looking at him with a smile, but the smiling eyes showed a chilling light.

The old man smiled and asked, "Awake?" How does it feel? ”

It's a little dizzy. Robbie thought, holding on to the handrail and trying to stand up, but felt that his legs and feet were weak for a while and he almost couldn't stand firmly. He patted his head to try to sober himself up, and at the same time said to the old man, "Well, as you can see, I'm not in a good state now...... Hell, it's only five o'clock, and we haven't opened yet. If you want to fix the car, you should ...... later."

At this point, he unconsciously stopped. He suddenly felt that this old man must not have come to find him a job, but for something else. His vague consciousness was not sure for a moment, but his head was surprisingly dizzy whenever he tried to concentrate on the old man.

"You should already know that I'm not looking for you for your work on the surface. No, no, not to fix the car. But I did come for business. The old man paused, his squinted eyes opened slightly, and a light as sharp as a knife shone out from his eyes, "I'm here for your night's work." ”

Robbie was full of excitement.

"I don't understand what you're saying." He wanted to look the old man in the eye to prove that he had nothing to hide, but he found that he couldn't. Under the old man's gaze, he felt as if his flesh had been stripped clean, and his soul was unabashedly exposed.

Nothing can hide from those thief-like eyes.

"Of course you do, Mr. Robbie. But if you're still reluctant to admit it, it might help. ”

He didn't see the old man do anything, he didn't see him move, but suddenly he felt as if a huge mountain was pressing down on his back. He fell to his knees uncontrollably, as if he were being bound in chains. He tried to break free, but felt like his muscles and bones were resisting his will. He could feel the thing in his body stirring, the roar ringing in his ears.

A thought popped into his mind, and it came so naturally.

His pupils briefly turned demonic red, and then he raised his head in surprise: "You...... Are you the owner of that thing? ”

"Ghost Rider, yes." The old man said in a light tone, "The knight is designed to erase the soul of sin, and is also my agent in the world. In general, I will directly assign you to do tasks when there is a task that needs to be completed. But this time, you're going to be faced with a job that you might not be able to do on your own. And this time the goal is special to me, so I will help you ......"

"Wait, wait," Robbie said, looking up at him as hard as he could, "I've never wanted to be a knight, I've never longed for that power. Take it away, it's not for me. I can't do your job......"

"But you agreed to the contract, didn't you?"

"I ......"

Robbie closed his mouth and swallowed heavily.

Yes, he accepted the contract, from the previous Ghost Rider. At that time, he was desperate for power, even if it was to give his soul for it. So he sold his soul to the demon in exchange for this curse that could not be removed.

The old man tapped the ground three times with his cane.

"If you promise a contract, you must fulfill your duties, and even if God himself comes, he cannot change this contract." He continued, "Your depletion is a bit severe, so rest well and let your energy recover a little. I have some special arrangements, and when I can use you later, I will naturally summon you again. ”

The old man began to step back.

"Wait!"

Robbie tried to stop him. He stretched out his hand as hard as he could, but his body was pressed to the ground and he couldn't move. He watched as the old man floated backwards like a ghost, out the door, his black figure blending into the shadows until he was completely gone.

The pressure is finally lifted. Robbie found himself sweating profusely, and he was panting violently with one hand on the ground.

He subconsciously glanced at his dusty palm.

What the hell am I ...... What has become of it?

***

Wanda Maximov stood at the experimental table, staring intently at the ancient book spread out on the table, the legendary Dark Divine Book. Lines of extremely ancient words appeared on the blank pages, all of which were ultra-ancient words that had long been extinct on the earth with the passage of time, and it was reasonable to say that no one in the world could understand them anymore.

But Wanda doesn't know why, she just can understand.

She read carefully for a long time, occasionally turning the pages with her long, snow-white fingers. The pretty red eyebrows, sometimes frowning, sometimes stretched, seem to be quite fascinating to read.

She tentatively raised her hand, her fingertips flipping into a cloud of red. The energy burst out, the light churned, and a moment later it turned into a charred black stone.

Carbon.

Like Eli Morrow, she created elements out of thin air, and she succeeded the first time.

"How?" Michael, who had been watching quietly from the sidelines, asked.

"Hmm...... There are a lot of interesting spells out there, some of which are actually quite powerful, and some of which are ...... It's kind of scary. Wanda said, "But with the method here, it seems to be fairly simple to create elements or something......

If she says this, the ghosts who hung up (and didn't even succeed in the end) to achieve this goal will be heard, and I am afraid that they will be angry and come back to life.

“...... Overall, it seems that all of this is chaos magic. Wanda said, suddenly thinking of rumors that everyone sees differently in the Dark Divine Book, and adds, "At least that's what I've seen." ”

Michael's eyes flickered, and he didn't speak for a moment.

With the help of this book, Eli Morrow successfully gained the ability to harness the magic of chaos. Since he can do it, Michael believes he can do it too.

When Wanda was first recruited and instructed in exploring the power of chaos magic, Michael said that he hoped that one day she would help him find a way to harness it.

Now this book seems to be the answer.

"How are you feeling?" He suddenly asked, "Have you read the Book of Darkness and do you feel any changes in your mood or thinking?" ”

The power of the Book of Darkness seems to have a significant corrosive effect on most people, but anyone who comes into contact with the book eventually seems to be unable to escape its temptation, and finally succumb to its temptation and change their temperament.

But from the moment she opened the book to the present, Wanda's eyes seemed to be quite calm, without any violent emotional ups and downs such as excitement, surprise or madness.

She tilted her head and thought for a moment, "Hmm...... It doesn't seem to be. It's just that some of the spells are interesting to see, and there are some spells related to chaos magic that I really never thought of, and it feels very new...... It seems like nothing else. ”

So the side effects of the book don't seem to work for her, which is good news.

Michael took the Book of Darkness from her hand and closed the cover.

"Let's stop here for now." He put the book into a magic circle, his gaze fluctuated for a rare moment, and then turned to her seriously, "But there's one more thing I want to talk to you about......" He hesitated again, his tone becoming a little strange, "...... It's a private matter. ”