Covenant finds himself miles from Rhyll, and still on the run, when he encounters Shiann, his lost lover. Although Covenant knows she is long dead, he willingly follows her to a clearing in the forest, and discovers too late that he has been led into a trap. A small band of Druids are waiting for him, and perform a ritual that drains Covenant of his Hellspawn powers: his necroplasm. When Spawn realizes he is bleeding red blood, he assumes he has once again become a man. He assumes he is now free from the curse of being a Hellspawn. But nothing could be further from the truth.