BIOGRAPHY - page 6
In his defeat, Belasco was exiled by the Elder Gods to a plane below even the hellish realms that he knew. Even in this distant point of time and space, Belasco detected something happening in 
the Earth “above.” Through blood magic, he divined the state of the world during the House of M reality warp and saw Illyana Rasputin alive and well. Spurred onwards by this revelation, Belasco began a quest through dimensions to return to Limbo and reclaim it. He made it to the gates of his former abode and was confronted by the forces of Amanda Sefton, the new Magik and Sorceress Supreme of Limbo. Driven and angered by the deception she cast upon himself last time they fought, Belasco was able to overpower Sefton, for she no longer carried the Soulsword.
With Limbo his again, Belasco intended to seek out his lost apprentice. He could no longer sense Illyana in the light realms, but he was undeterred in his quest. Belasco’s magic reached out to summon Illyana to him, calling forth every scrap of her essence that remained in Limbo. What he 
conjured was not Illyana Rasputin, but a Darkchild, a physical reconstruction of Illyana with all her memories, but nothing of her soul. Unsatisfied, Belasco discarded the Darkchild without a thought. Belasco detected mystical traces of Illyana lingering on the students she had been close to in the House of M, so he cast a mighty spell to transport the X-Men and their mansion school into Limbo for his perusal. As he interrogated the students, though, Belasco failed to realize they had no memories of the House of M at all. When David Alleyne told him Illyana Rasputin was dead, Belasco ripped the boy’s heart from his chest. Next, he used hellfire to scorch X-23 down to her bones. He resurrected her and killed her again, just to show what was in store for the others. No one would deny Belasco in his search for his apprentice.
The Darkchild had not been idle, however. Rejected by Belasco and with all the memories of Illyana’s hatred of him, she plotted revenge. Darkchild arranged for several students to be diverted to her in transit as they arrived in Limbo. She coerced an innocent named Pixie to give up a portion of her soul to forge a new Soulsword as a weapon against Belasco. Their arrival left Belasco distracted as the other students freed themselves as well. The Stepford Cuckoos assaulted Belasco’s mind, uncovering that Belasco’s search for Illyana was driven by an 
obsessive form of love underneath it all. As Belasco fought against their telepathy, he still refused to admit Illyana was gone, and threatened to draw all of Earth into Limbo if that was what it took to find her. Pixie finally stepped up and stabbed Belasco in the back with her Soulsword dagger. His power was broken, and the Darkchild used the Bloodstone she forged from Pixie’s soul to banish him from Limbo. She returned the X-Men to their home and claimed Limbo in Belasco’s place. [New X-Men (2nd series) #37-41]
Belasco recovered and attempted to reclaim a place in the hierarchy of Hell for his own pursuits. He and several Hell Lords tried to claim the soul of Satana, making them the heir to the Hell dimension of her father, Marduk Kurios. [Deadpool Team-Up #892] Somehow, Belasco did 
reclaim a portion of Limbo for his own rule, separate from Illyana’s mastery of the main realm. He was convinced by Lilith to join her in a scheme to seize the throne of Hell from its untried usurper, John Blaze. They would then merge Hell and Limbo to rule over the conjoined realms together. [Spirits of Ghost Rider: Mother of Demons #1] In furtherance of their goals, Belasco allowed his minion, the Spirit of Corruption, to merge with Dan Ketch, former Spirit of Vengeance and Blaze’s brother. By pitting the brothers against each other, Belasco and Lilith hoped to clear the path for their own rule. [Ghost Rider (9th series) #4]
Lilith’s schemes failed, and Mephisto returned to the throne of Hell in John Blaze’s place, without the rebels seizing power. Meanwhile, Illyana had finally gotten revenge on the Elder Gods in whose name Belasco abducted and tortured her. She arranged for the Elder Gods’ spell to finally be enacted, only for the reality-warping mutant Legion to absolutely deconstruct them from all forms of existence. [New Mutants (3rd series) #20-21] Belasco’s fortunes fell further when Illyana used her position as ruler of Limbo to renegotiate Ted Sallis’ old deal. With the help of Jennifer Kale, Belasco was summoned to Citrusville, Florida where the Man-Thing could lay claim to his personal devil. Belasco was drawn into the Dreadscape, the personal reality forged of Sallis’ mind and its connection to the Nexus of All Realities. [X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing #1]
Fortunes rose and fell, and Belasco scurried back into Limbo as Illyana passed the reigns of power to Madelyne Pryor, the Goblin Queen. While Madelyne and her ally Chasm conducted another Inferno night in New York, the vibratory attunement of the two planes finally allowed Belasco to pinpoint the Screaming Tower which held his own Soulsword. Others could do the same, however, which meant that S’ym and many factions in Limbo were converging on the Screaming Tower to claim the Soulsword and power over the realm. Belasco had no desire to risk his own neck, so he reached out to Earth and snatched up the thief Black Cat and her friend Mary Jane Watson as his emissaries. In exchange for them recovering the Soulsword for him, Belasco promised to return them to Earth.
During their infiltration of the Screaming Tower, Black Cat and Mary Jane made an alliance of convenience with S’ym. He took a liking to the Earth girls and told them what Belasco had left out – the Soulsword would bond to whoever touched it first, meaning Belasco would have to kill the 
new owner to reclaim the sword as his own. Mary Jane had picked up temporary reality-manipulating powers, and Black Cat had a plan to avoid Belasco’s inevitable betrayal. MJ cleaved the Soulsword in two, creating two blades which allowed the women to share the burden and prevent it from claiming their souls. They returned to Belasco and left (and the Soulsword halves) under the control of S’ym. This allowed S’ym to claim a position in Limbo’s hierarchy and force Belasco under his heel. He demanded his pet sorcerer return Black Cat and Mary Jane safely to Earth, fulfilling their bargain. [Mary Jane & Black Cat #1-5]
Although the Goblin Queen officially ruled Limbo, S’ym had a degree of authority thanks to his Soulsword, and Madelyne treated with him fairly as a high representative in the court of demons. Belasco was last seen under S’ym’s sway, literally being used as a table, completely fallen from his earlier position of prestige and majesty. [Dark X-Men (2nd series) #1]