Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #5 (2024)

Slade survives the fall into the chasm, but is badly injured. A horde of Draugr charge towards him and he attempts to escape, but soon collapses near a ridge. Suddenly, an armoured figure appears on the ridge and sprays fire down on the Draugr, burning them to nothing. He thanks the man, who removes his helmet to reveal that he is Slade's old friend William Wintergreen. Slade passes out from exhaustion and his injuries, and Wintergreen carries him away. Slade wakes up fully recovered in a vast cavern full of machinery. Wintergreen, who he has not seen in fifteen years, comes in and Slade asks what the place is. Wintergreen says that he will show him and takes Slade to his main workshop. Slade tells Wintergreen that Rose, who Wintergreen raised in Slade's stead, is now working for Savage and killed Adeline. Wintergreen replies that it is Slade's fault, as he ignored and neglected Rose her entire life, saying that all Rose ever needed was for Slade to be proud of her. Slade grabs and threatens Wintergreen, but then admits he is probably right and lets him go. Wintergreen then points out a book on a workbench nearby and tells Slade that he recorded the truth about Viktor, King Maxwell, Nora and the Allwinter. Wintergreen asks Slade if he ever wishes that they hadn't done what they did, but Slade slams the book shut and says that wishing or writing down the truth won't change what happened. William says that someone needs to know the truth about how it all started and how it ends. Slade asks how it will end and Wintergreen replies that they are going to kill Viktor, revealing that he has spent the last ten years tunnelling under the Everstorm to reach Gyllenhjem. He says that he is almost through, but he can't defeat Viktor and his Draugr hordes, so Slade has arrived just in time. Slade replies that even he can't defeat Viktor and they need a more powerful magic. Wintergreen asks where they will find something like that and Slade smiles. Back at the tower; Rose, Killer Frost and Alec have been trapped for three days waiting for the storm to end. Rose is irritated and Killer Frost tells her she should be happy as they have won, but Rose replies that it won't be over until Alec is in Savage's hands. Frost asks Rose to predict when the storm will end but she says her foresight doesn't work like that, it will only allow her to predict her opponent in battle. She suddenly senses danger and tells Frost to get up. Wintergreen smashes through the roof and grabs Alec. Killer Frost blasts him with her magic; but just as she has him pinned down Rose sense incoming danger. She yells at Frost to get down but Slade shoots Caitlin dead with a crossbow from on top of the tower wall before she can move. Slade jumps down and Rose squares off to him, but Slade throws down his axe and tosses her Wintergreen's book. William asks her to read it, telling her that he wrote it for her. In the book, Wintergreen confesses that Viktor did not kill Maxwell and Nora; he and Slade did. They were hired by Savage to assassinate the king, and Slade shot at Maxwell with a powerful crossbow from across Gyllenhjem as he was embracing Nora. Just as the arrow was about to hit, Viktor walked into the room and Nora jumped away from Maxwell, putting herself in the arrow's path. The arrow passed through Maxwell's neck and hit Nora in the chest, killing them both instantly in front of Viktor. In Viktor's rage and grief, he conjured the Allwinter. Rose is furious that Slade is responsible for the Allwinter and Slade tells her that he is a villain, which is why Adeline hated him and he never wanted Rose near him. Wintergreen says that they are all villains and Alec agrees he is right, but that they now have the chance to be heroes. Slade and Wintergreen tell Rose that they have a way into Gyllenhjem and to end the Allwinter. She agrees to help, but tells Slade she is doing it for William, not him.