Synopsis / Summary / Plot
The Twilight Court have attacked the Avengers in their new orbiting base the Impossible City. But it's only a misdirection while their wizard boss Myrddin goes to kill Kang The Conqueror comatose in the med bay.
His touch awakens Kang who he congratulates on warning the Avengers about the 1st Tribulation Event, the Ashen Combine. (The team defeated them in #3-6, and their AI base willingly became the Avengers new HQ.) Myrddin holds Kang down with his wooden staff as he reminds his foe of their last encounter (the 2022 Timeless 1-shot) where his Twilight Court fought him until Myrddin himself dealt a fatal blow, causing the Conqueror to flee through time to 'his' Avengers. Myrrdin calls them that because he believes they are Kang's unwitting pawns.
Myrddin reminds him (and us) of their rivalry (as described in Timeless). They both seek the missing moment that no chrononaut like themselves can access. They both believe that moment is a locked door behind which lies a prize they call the Grail. And they both want it for themselves. Kang reminds *him* that the Tribulation Events bar the way to the missing moment and only heroes can win through them and unlock the moment. And that is why the wizard created his Twilight Court. Myrddin suggests that this is what Kang wants the Avengers for.
He decides not to kill Kang after all because he likes the challenge of an opponent. But he's still going to tilt the scales by handicapping him. He uses the mystical/electrical emanation from his hand again, this time to delete from Kang's mind everything he knows about the missing moment and the Tribulation Events (helpfully explaining to his foe and us what he's doing). And he magically takes his leave just as Captain Marvel and Iron Man arrive at high speed (because they realised at the end of last issue that Myrddin wasn't in the battle).
They're surprised to find Kang awake and angry at their failure to protect him. He tells them about the stolen knowledge. (He possibly only remembers that it *existed* because Myrddin told him what he was taking.) He calls for a status report from his armour which says it is fully repaired. So he causes it to envelop him and timejumps away declaring that the Avengers are once more his enemies.
Later we see Scarlet Witch and Thor visiting Nightmare in his Dream Realm. He reminds them how he had the team at his mercy (#8) and only let them go because the Thunder God admitted defeat and surrendered. Wanda Maximoff says that she is the Living Darkhold and Thor is the All-Father of Asgard and as such they are easily the equal of a Fear Lord. Nightmare denies being in league with Myrddin, claiming that the wizard just took advantage of his attack on them.
Wanda then claims to know that rather than being the Lord of Nightmares he is instead addicted to the fear they cause, and she asks what would happen to him if there were no more dreamers to prey on. Thor suggests that the dream he trapped them in (#7-8) was in fact *his* nightmare - the end of the universe. And his move wasn't an attack but a cry for help against that end. Nighty admits that someone is planning to murder the 8th Cosmos but he can't detect who they are. But 1 thing he does know is that the Avengers will either prevent it or cause it.