Marvel Comics: The Sentinel(Sentry) Chapter 178: Ghost Rider

"My na is Johnny Blaze. I used to be a motorcycle stunt rider. Maybe you've heard of , or maybe you know nothing about . I'm on the run... from one end of the world to the other. But no matter how far I go, so demons can never be escaped..."

"This not-so-glorious story began many years ago. Back then, I had everything good in the world; family, loved ones, a future... I once perford three consecutive backflips on my motorcycle in front of 22 000 people. Yeah, there's probably still footage online if you wanna look it up. People called 'Johnny Blaze, the Burning Man'..."

"Then my father got sick. And I did sothing so insane that I still can't believe it. A demon ca to . He called himself phisto... a liar, a bastard, a scher who lures souls into damnation."

"Yeah, you guessed it. I took that stupid deal. Signed a contract with the devil. Turns out, anyone trying to cheat fate never cos out ahead."

"I got bonded with a Spirit of Vengeance. Now, whenever I sense evil, I turn into a monster... hunting down criminals and scum, devouring their filthy, damned souls. But who hasn't ssed up at least once? The world isn't just good guys and bad guys, most people are sowhere in between. They might not be killers, but they've lied, pirated movies, tricked their families, or pulled so stupid prank."

"Maybe they deserve punishnt, but not death, right? So I fight it. I stay away from people. Ride my bike to the ends of the earth just to keep it locked down... It hasn't co out in a long ti."

"But tonight... I feel it. A new Ghost Rider is born. Soon, phisto is gonna co knocking. I don't know how much longer I can run."

"My na is Johnny Blaze. The idiot who made a deal with the devil."

"It's screaming. Roaring. Howling... Ghost Rider. Hunt the darkness!"

Johnny jolted awake again, drenched in sweat. The angel driven mad by the world's sins (now a monstrous Spirit of Vengeance) lived inside him.

Nearly every night, he heard its furious cries. It hungered for wicked souls. But Johnny fought it, he stayed isolated and hid in remote places... anything to keep the burning fury at bay.

Splashing cold water on his face, he stared at his gaunt reflection in the mirror. This curse was his to bear... He was forever bound to phisto, forced to feed on the souls of the damned.

*Knock* *Knock*

"Anyone ho?" A stranger pushed open the rusted tal door, "Sorry to bother you."

A Black man in a leather duster stepped inside, only to get slamd against the wall before he could even steady himself.

"Who are you?" Years of solitude had made the forr stunt rider paranoid.

He kept everyone at arm's length because truly sinless saints were rare. The mont he sensed corruption, the Spirit would claw its way out, eager to claim another soul.

"Na's Moreau. I ca for you..." The man studied Johnny with an odd look, "...Johnny Blaze."

Watching Johnny pack his ager belongings, Moreau casually grabbed a beer bottle from the table and smashed it through the window. Sunlight flooded in.

Johnny instinctively shrank back. The Spirit hated daylight, that's why it only erged at night. His life had beco a cycle of dayti movent and nightti isolation.

"Ghost Rider. I know your story." Moreau's voice carried an eerie certainty, "You think you can control it? Bend it to your will? You really think you're stronger than sothing that hungers like this? It's a curse, Johnny. And it's eating you alive."

Johnny ignored the rambling stranger and pushed past him toward his Yamaha VMAX. If this place had been found, it was ti to move on. His life had been nothing but rootless wandering for years now.

"I need your help!" Moreau chased after him, "Let's make a deal, you're familiar with those, right?"

He pulled a crumpled photo from his pocket, and slapped it onto the bike's fuel tank, "This kid. His life, his soul... is in danger. You have to save him."

Johnny smirked bitterly, "I punish sinners. Don't know shit about saving people."

"Then why are you here, Johnny Blaze?" Moreau laughed, his eyes gleaming with dark amusent, "You ran halfway across the damn planet because you're terrified of becoming the Ghost Rider forever. This is divine providence. Your curse, this child... it all traces back to that contract you signed..."

"...He's phisto's kid. And Ghost Riders? They're great at sniffing out demons. You're the only one who can find him."

At the demon's na, Johnny's eye twitched. He picked up the photo, "What kind of deal are you offering?"

"My order is ancient. Centuries ago, demons like phisto, lesser lords of Hell, ravaged Europe. Witches burned. The occult was condemned as heresy. It wasn't until the Sorcerers of Kamar-Taj established their mystical defenses that these soul-hungry bastards were driven back."

Moreau belonged to that tradition... though he had chosen the path of a knight, not a sorcerer.

"We've studied demonic pacts for generations. We can free you, Johnny. Break the curse. Save your soul. All you have to do is bring us the boy."

Johnny stared at the photo, temptation gnawing at him. He was sick of running. Sick of the isolation. To keep the Spirit caged, he had left behind the woman he loved and rode endlessly down empty highways...

No friends. No family. Just a nightly battle against the thing inside him.

"The Sorcerers are searching too. But as the Ghost Rider? You've got an edge."

Moreau had read the texts. phisto's first Rider was a corrupt Texas Ranger nad Carter Slade, a man who had traded his soul for freedom. Johnny was the second. And now, according to Kamar-Taj's seers, a third had erged.

The sorcerers had also detected a surge of demonic energy in New York. It was brief, but unmistakable.

In his desperation to walk the Earth unshackled, phisto had chosen a new vessel... A child. A perfect vessel for his rebirth...

Johnny's voice deepened, as if two people spoke at once, "I'll find him."