| Synopsis
| - Following the attack of the Crime Syndicate on the Earth, many of the planet's mystics - both good and evil - went missing. What's worse is that some kind of psychic static is preventing John Constantine from finding them. In truth, though, the only one he cares to get back is Zatanna. The few mystics he could gather tried to dispel the psychic block, and in the process accidentally allowed the personification of the evil within the collective unconscious to enter the physical world as an entity called Blight. While John is on no good terms with the divine, some members of his cobbled together team felt it would be a good idea to appeal to God for help - and that is why they are now face to face with the Spectre on the borders of Heaven itself.
There, they are greeted with reprimands from the angel Zauriel. Realizing they weren't invited, the Spectre angrily warns them to leave or face annihilation - and John is only too happy to oblige. But the Spectre has plans for him, grabbing him up violently. Fortunately, the Spectre is shouted down by the Voice, who still retains the form of a small dog. The Voice points out that they are but a small few of a great many who are currently praying for divine intervention, and it remains to be determined what makes them worthy of an answer, where all those others are not.
The Voice looks into the life of John Constantine, seeing all of the guilt and bitterness that stems from every action he has taken in his life. He sacrifices everything while believing in almost nothing. The Voice delves deeper, getting closer to forcing John to admit the feelings he has repressed, and John resists. The Spectre is enraged by his resistance, and begs the Voice to let him consign John to Hell. The Voice reasons that John's resistance is because he is angry; angry with himself because he wishes he believed in God. Even as all this occurs, John contemplates entrapping the Spectre and using him to fight the Blight and get Zatanna back. That is, until he realizes that the Voice can read his thoughts. Unmoved, John points out that he is bound for Hell regardless - but that doesn't mean what he has come for is wrong. Evil should not be winning, and the Voice ought to do something about it.
The Voice responds by giving John a glimpse into the life of the Phantom Stranger. The Stranger has been a pawn of fate for his whole existence, never seeing the force that guides him. He defies the Voice because he does not understand his purpose. He is frustrated by his own ignorance. The Voice suggests that it could give John the power of a saviour - but in that case, the Stranger would turn on him. John claims he can handle it.
The Voice turns their attention to the life of Pandora, explaining how she was cursed for a crime she did not commit, and still has sought to eradicate evil for ten millennia. Does she fight for those who suffer as a result of evil, or merely to end her curse? The Voice then turns to Boston Brand, noting that while Boston is of good heart, it was John who bound him to the body of the genocidal Sea King - and the results will bring horrors.
Angrily, John demands that the Voice stop showing off and simply tell him what he needs to know. When he receives no sign that the Voice is prepared to stop, he becomes agitated, and attempts to rally his companions to leave. Unfortunately, he soon learns that they cannot hear him. All of this has been his answer alone - whether he accepts it or not.
The Voice turns to the Swamp Thing, explaining that as humanity weakens under this stress, The Green grows stronger than before. When the Voice begins speaking of the Nightmare Nurse, John loses patience and speaks a charm to take him away. Angrily, Zauriel vows to retrieve him, launching after John as he tumbles through the astral plane. John wonders why the Voice would send Zauriel and not the Spectre to reclaim him - and so does the Spectre. The Voice assures the spirit of Vengeance that he does not actually want John back. He heard - and he listened.
John emerges from his fall in the House of Mystery, and just as Zauriel makes his landing, John entraps him in a celestial circle. In the meantime, the Voice has sent John's companions back to the House as well, and John explains to them that, seeing as the Voice wasn't much help, he decided to snag one of his lieutenants to help. Angrily, Zauriel accuses John of stealing him from the light, and John quips that he was followed.
Confused, the others wonder what John meant when he said the Voice wasn't helping. The Voice had told each of them that there was goodness and strength in each of them - even John - and it would be enough to defeat Blight. Naturally, John is miffed that he got the downer speech, but Zauriel explains that John is twice blessed. Firstly, he is blessed that he was even allowed to see Heaven. Secondly, despite all of his posturing and callousness, he has been allowed to see the truth: in this war, John Constantine fights for love. He fights for Zatanna. And because that cause is noble, Zauriel has agreed to fight at their side.
Feeling embarrassed, John orders the House to take them to the Blight, so they can finish this war, once and for all.
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