| Johnny, daydreaming as he rides, crashes, knocking himself cold because he refuses to release the Ghost Rider. "Old Adam" discovers him and takes him to a campsite, where Johnny recovers - and then a mysterious man appears. He seizes old Adam and overpowers Johnny. Meanwhile, the Quentin Carnival struggles to recover from the attack of the Circus of Crime, but without insurance this will be difficult. Awakening again later, Johnny follows a trail of dead vegetation to a crumbling manor, discovering a catatonic man. Within he discovers more such victims - and Centurious! Centurious has stolen their souls, and he means to do the same to Johnny. But the attempt unleashes Ghost Rider! They battle, and Centurious flees to retrieve his Soul Crystal. Then... Red Fowler appears, and Centurious tries to use him as a hostage. Ghost Rider is unmoved, which surprises Centurious, allowing Ghost Rider the upper hand. He tries to burn Centurious' soul, but only punishes the souls imprisoned inside the wizard - Centurious HAS no soul of his own! Adam seizes his moment, setting the house on fire. Johnny and Red flee. Much later in the ashen ruins, an old man seems to sob into the silence, and a trail of dead vegetation leads away... |
