Chapter Text
The moon gently glowed in the dark sky, the stars shining full of life.
And yet the smell of smoke lingered as screams filled the air "Please! No!" Shouted the man and yet it was in vein as the searing red chain split the man in half turning him to dust. The flaming skeleton turned sharply to the last gamg member and with no hesitation the skeleton pressed on the trigger of a shotgun, a torrent of hellfire being shot out which left nothing of the gang member. The skeleton exhaled flames as he whistled for his bike which immediately came to his side. The skeleton wasted no time as he rod up the wall of the alley, leaving a burning trail as he went up.
The bikes engines went silent as the flames surrounding it faded away, in turn the skeleton himself sighed while his flames faded and flickered away, muscle, skin, and hair returning as the skull returned to a normal human head, the head of Johnny Blaze.
"Well, that's it for tonight." Is all he said as a disembodied voiced growled "It's never enough! I sense them all...so many sinners..." it muttered as Johnny merely chuckled as he drove away. "Come on Zarathos. It's already been the eighth hours." He replied as the sun began to rise. Johnny recalled how his first night had gone a year ago, he had so little control, the transformation was painful as he felt his skin melt off and then return to him when the sun had risen.
Now he had more control, transforming back and forward was painless and easy but, there were still parts that he and the spirit of vengeance, Zarathos, disagreed on. One of those aspects were a part of the spirits original form, angelic blue flames that he had only managed to use once with heavy focus. But Zarathos had made it cleared that it didn't want Johnny trying to reawaken its origins, that it had abandoned it's angelic purposes when it was corrupted and turned into a tool for the devil.
Regardless Johnny knew to not press his partner too much on the subject, considering the fact that Johnny had nothing but hellfire and Zarathos for a soul meant that he did his best to bond with the spirit that used his body as a vessel for its power.
Johnny drove around the city aimlessly, despite the people he targeted at night when he transformed, murder was still murder at the end of the day, no matter how noble, at least that's what the law said. Regardless Johnny yawned before suddenly stopping, his body no longer in his control as he was forced to take a turn into an empty ally. "What Zarathos?" Asked Johnny as the spirit in question growled "I sense a man, no...a demon calling itself a king with so many sins, sins accumulated over a thousand years."
Johnny nodded as he understood, a year ago he would question the reality of a thousand year old being, however he had seen the devil firsthand years ago, the devil was the reason he had Zarathos, why he could turn into the flaming skeleton known as the Ghost Rider.
"Where?" Is all he asked as the spirit replied. "Not in this dimension." Is all the spirit replied as Johnny's eyes widened "Not in this dimension? Can we travel through dimensions?" Asked Johnny as he heard the sound of a low growl as a reply. "Well, let's ride then." He said as he performed a quick check, his chain was wrapped around his jacket and his shotgun was holdtered securely on his waist. Once he was sure he turned himself into the Rider, his bike transforming as well as he built up speed.
The speed built up until he rode forward, disappearing into a portal of hellfire as his hands gripped tightened, the demon king Zarathos mentioned would fall to him.