Chapter Text
Waverly had been kidnapped by the Cult of Bulshar. The cult believed Waverly was the key to fulfilling an ancient prophecy—that she was the Scion who would release the snake god Bulshar.
Tucker Gardner, working with the succubus demon Jolene and others, abducted her when she had snuck out of the palace to visit the royal blacksmith, Mattie. Tucker was captured by the royal guard, although he was later released to a group of mercenaries who were secretly led by Robin, a shapeshifting spellcaster, and John Henry, a high-ranking, trusted soldier in the royal guard.
Waverly found herself in the hands of her oldest sister, Willa, who was believed to be dead. Willa took her to the ancient ruins of the Temple of Bulshar in the Forlorn Peaks. There, she met Bulshar Clootie, named for the snake god, who ruled the cult with his wife Constance. Waverly also learned that Clootie had promised her to Tucker, once her purpose to the cult had been fulfilled. Tucker would, instead, meet a gruesome end at Rosita’s hands.
Jolene's enchantment had clouded everyone's minds, making Waverly a mere afterthought, even to those who loved her most. When the spell finally broke, panic spread through the palace. Waverly had been missing for day.
In a shocking revelation involving a prophecy and myths about Bulshar, Nicole and Wynonna learned that Ward wasn't actually Waverly's father. Jeremy, a scholar and Waverly’s teacher, suspected that her real father was a member of a powerful race of celestial beings and that this heritage made Waverly vulnerable to the cult's dark purposes. It led Nicole to recall stories Waverly had told her about a guardian angel.
Queen Gus had authorized multiple rescue teams: one led by John Henry following Tucker Gardner's "escape" from the dungeon, and another team of adventurers led by Quinn. Against orders, Wynonna and Nicole launched their own rescue mission.
The rescue parties converged on the ruins. Wynonna led a small strike team, sneaking into the temple through secret passages Kate had learned. They navigated corridors filled with death and decay. Kate warned them before they entered: “The Waverly we find may not be the Waverly you know and love.” Her tarot cards had shown darkness, angels and demons, a metamorphosis.
Inside the ruins, Waverly endured unspeakable torment at the hands of Jolene and Eve. Jolene, the succubus, whispered poison into her mind, exploiting her deepest insecurities and fears of abandonment. Then Eve arrived, her methods far more brutal. The demons methodically broke Waverly's body and spirit through excruciating torture, draining her celestial essence while forcing her to confront the darkness within her own angelic heritage.
Wynonna and Nicole found Waverly restrained in Eve's torture chamber, barely conscious. As Nicole and Wynonna tried to rescue her, Eve struck them down with dark magic. Waverly watched, helpless and restrained, as the two people she loved most appeared to die right in front of her.
The anguish and rage shattered something inside Waverly. As Jolene mocked her, a scream tore from her throat as power erupted from within.
The transformation had been completed.The Dark Angel fully awakened. Obsidian wings unfurled from her back, crackling with dark energy.
They obliterated Jolene in seconds, then turned and walked away, leaving carnage in their wake.
Unbeknownst to Waverly, Nicole and Wynonna were alive—Kate's protective amulets had saved them from death. But the Dark Angel didn't see, or care. With black wings spread wide and eyes devoid of warmth, the Dark Angel began her journey toward an ancient throne on a frozen otherworldly plane where Bulshar waited to be released.
Nicole and Wynonna rushed back to the room where Waverly had been held, only to find it destroyed. While there, Nicole spotted a metallic scepter with a golden serpent, which she and Wynonna freed from the rubble.
As Nicole and Wynonna pursued the Dark Angel through the ruins, they were intercepted. Wynonna confronted Willa, her older sister who had been presumed dead. Willa wasn't just alive—she had joined the cult willingly, consumed by jealousy and rage toward Waverly.
Their confrontation ended in a throne room where Eve, now fully transformed into a serpentine demon, had just killed Clootie by wrapping her snake body around him and crushing the life from him. Eve commanded Willa to kill Wynonna. Outside the throne room, Nicole had her own encounter with Robert Svane, also known as Bobo del Rey. He stepped aside and let her pass, cryptically warning that Waverly wasn't what Nicole thought her to be and that she might need to use the Scepter of Bulshar against her.
Nicole arrived in the throne room just in time to see Clootie’s death. She took up a defensive position to protect Wynonna as she and Willa fought. Wynonna was determined not to hurt Willa, instead trying to reason with her while defending against her attacks. The fight ended when Eve poisoned Willa, transforming her into a reptilian creature. Wynonna was forced to deliver the killing blow with Peacemaker to spare her sister a worse fate.
***
Meanwhile, Quinn's team had blasted through rubble blocking heavy doors deep in the ruins. When they entered the chamber beyond, they found themselves in a hidden inner sanctum within the Temple of Bulshar. A massive idol stood behind a stone altar—taller than any man, carved from glistening green-grey stone, its form a grotesque fusion of human and serpent. The Scepter of Bulshar was missing from its grasp. Ancient frescoes covered the walls, telling a story Robin recognized. John Henry and Shae arrived just as Robin began interpreting the images for Quinn's crew.
The frescoes depicted the cult's prophecy. The first wall showed Bulshar and his army of serpentine creatures and demons conquering the world, burning cities and slaughtering armies. The second wall told of humanity's betrayal. A powerful Angel who once protected them was attacked and bound in chains, paraded before jeering crowds while Bulshar stood triumphant in the shadows. A corrupt king held both the chains and the Scepter of Bulshar, wearing a crown shaped like a coiled serpent. The Angel's pristine white wings darkened, their face twisted from divine grace into something broken and dark. They didn't just defeat the Angel—they corrupted them. The final wall showed the Dark Angel seated on a massive stone throne with angled wings, Bulshar standing beside them in triumph. The world lay in darkness and ruin, people kneeling in forced obedience beneath a sky carved as if the light itself had been snuffed out.
But Shae noticed something—a newer fresco hidden in an alcove behind the altar. Instead of the Dark Angel ruling with Bulshar, a humble human figure sat on the throne, hands resting lightly on the arms in acceptance rather than domination. Above him, Bulshar writhed in agony as unseen forces dragged him toward a portal. Robin found an incantation hidden in the design and used it to open a secret passageway that led to the Angel's altar, where Kate, Mattie, Gretta, and Maeve were preparing a ritual.
With the ritual completed, Kate cast a spell that sent Shae, Jeremy, and Robin to the corridor where the Dark Angel had seemingly disappeared, and instructed Quinn’s team to follow on foot. Shae found Nicole and Wynonna and ushered them into the corridor where Jeremy and Robin had opened a portal. Nicole and Wynonna plunged through without waiting for the others.
***
They emerged into a frozen wasteland. Ice and snow stretched endlessly in every direction under a pale, cloud-obscured sun. After searching the barren landscape, they found a path carved into the ice, flanked by six red doors framed in weathered stone and ancient obelisks. The path led to a massive stone throne perched on a wide platform, with two great wing-shaped structures angled upward from its back.
The Dark Angel stood before the throne, motionless. Her shoulders were hunched, her wings partially unfurled. She stared at the throne as if it called to her.
"Waverly!" Wynonna called out, but the Dark Angel didn't turn.
Inside, buried beneath the possession, Waverly fought to resist. But her voice was barely a whisper.
The prophecy was nearly complete.