Chapter Summaries

Xi Nian broke through the Phoenix Force consuming Qin and reached her to try to awaken her. Through their mental connection, he discovered that the cosmic fire phoenix was only an incomplete fragment of its inheritance.

• Phoenix Jean's awakened power erased the ruins and burned away Professor X Charles's mental reach, leaving the X-Men unable to approach.
• Xi Nian recognized Qin's golden flames as the Phoenix Force and struggled against its destructive power as he flew toward her.
• Xi Nian sent his Dimensional Ring and cloak out of the ruins, then charged into the flames after removing his Scarlet Magic protection.
• Using his Mind Immunity, Xi Nian reached Qin unharmed and placed his hand on her shoulder to use Emotion Control.
• Xi Nian sensed Qin's pain and confusion, then met the Phoenix Force in their mental space and realized its fire phoenix form was missing one wing and half its body.

Xi Nian unleashed Phoenix’s overflowing power into the sky, saving her but revealing a blackened region beyond the desert ruins. Wolverine recognized it as the mutant apocalypse he remembered, and a strange aircraft arrived as he warned Beast Hank to run.

• Xi Nian turned Phoenix’s emotions to rage and urged her to unleash the out-of-control Phoenix Force into the sky.
• Xi Nian caught the unconscious Phoenix as the flames faded, and Professor X Charles and Beast Hank believed he had stopped the crisis.
• Nightcrawler spotted a black mist-covered region where the sky and desert appeared burned away, and Wolverine rushed into it.
• Wolverine found ruined pyramids, human remains, and mutant-detection signal towers, then demanded that Beast Hank tell him the year.
• Beast Hank answered that it was 1983 and spotted a coffin-shaped aircraft approaching; Wolverine recognized the place as the mutant apocalypse and told Hank to run.
• The aircraft crossed into the black region and dropped two unknown objects as Wolverine faced the return of the apocalypse.

Two advanced Sentinel Robots appeared in the desert, and one attacked Magneto and Mystique while the other killed Archangel. Charles recognized them as Sentinels from another time and space, leaving the X-Men facing the return of a threat they had once stopped.

• A strange aircraft dropped two objects into the desert, and one Sentinel Robot burst out of the mountain near Magneto and Mystique.
• Magneto discovered that his metal attacks could not harm the Sentinel, which heated its body and melted the fragments before stabbing at him.
• A Sentinel Robot found Archangel crawling from a sand pit, killed him, and unfolded a pair of black wings.
• Nightcrawler hid behind Professor X as Charles identified the machine as a Sentinel Robot.
• Charles explained that the Sentinel Program had been shut down only in their current time and space.

Storm, Psylocke, Havok, Wolverine, Beast Hank, and the other X-Men fought two Sentinel Robots in the desert, but the machines’ strength and regeneration put them in danger. A silver-haired young man arrived with a red-haired woman, crushed one Sentinel and destroyed the other with scarlet lightning.

• Storm attacked the winged Sentinel Robot with repeated lightning strikes, but it shielded itself with its wings and counterattacked with metal feathers.
• Psylocke protected Storm from the feathers, while Havok, Wolverine, and Beast Hank attacked the Sentinel and nearly tore it apart.
• A second Sentinel Robot descended, but Quicksilver pulled Wolverine and Beast Hank away from the impact.
• The damaged Sentinel regenerated and faced the X-Men alongside the second Sentinel, while Professor X confirmed he could not control the robots.
• A silver-haired young man arrived carrying a red-haired woman, punched one Sentinel into the desert, then destroyed the other with scarlet lightning.

Xi Nian destroyed the second Sentinel Robot, and Wolverine revealed that he came from a 2023 timeline where Sentinel Robots had nearly wiped out mutants and humanity. He explained that his journey into the past had created a parallel timeline, and the two worlds had now connected.

• Xi Nian destroyed the second Sentinel Robot with a scarlet lightning strike and asked Wolverine what he had recognized.
• Wolverine told the X-Men that the starry sky marked the boundary of his former world and began describing its future.
• Wolverine explained that second-generation Sentinel Robots had killed nearly all mutants and devastated humanity by 2023.
• Wolverine revealed that Shadowcat had sent his consciousness fifty years into the past to stop the original Sentinel Program.
• Wolverine said his mission had created a parallel timeline, and he and Beast identified the dark desert world as Wolverine’s original 2023 timeline.

After Xi Nian destroyed the second-generation Sentinel Robots, Wolverine realized he might be able to save the apocalyptic future and told him about a green-haired woman who could control metal. Xi Nian agreed to travel to 2023 to find her, where a mutant group was already abandoning its base as Sentinel forces approached.

• The mutants recognized that the second-generation Sentinel Robots could devastate the present, and Beast Hank credited Xi Nian with stopping them.
• Xi Nian suggested the Sentinel Robots ignored him because he lacked mutant genes, prompting Wolverine to believe Xi Nian could defeat them in the future.
• Wolverine told Xi Nian he had seen a green-haired young woman who controlled metal in 2023, and Xi Nian agreed to go there.
• In late 2023, Sentinel aircraft dropped three objects near a Moscow factory, and the mutants in its underground base began evacuating.

In 2023, a mutant refuge prepared to flee as Sentinel Robots closed in, but the attack suddenly stopped when the silver-haired Xi Nian arrived. The mutants’ attempts to stop him failed, and he continued toward the base’s deepest room.

• The mutants learned that Sentinel Robots had found their factory base and prepared to hold them off while Shadowcat began the evacuation procedure.
• Sunspot, Iceman, Colossus, and Blink waited for the robots to break through, ready to buy time for the others.
• The drilling and tremors abruptly stopped, and footsteps descended into the base.
• Xi Nian entered, ignored Colossus’s warning, and knocked him flat with an unseen force.
• Sunspot and Iceman attacked Xi Nian with lava and frost, but his Scarlet Flames annihilated both attacks.
• Blink tried to divert Xi Nian with her power, but he passed through the displaced space and continued toward the deepest room.

Xi Nian entered the underground base and stopped Kitty Pryde from sending a mutant’s consciousness back in time. He learned that Kitty had known Lorna, but she did not know where her sister had gone, leaving Xi Nian to seek more details from her.

• Wolverine, a young Professor X, and Beast Hank arrived and told the mutants that Xi Nian was the only one who could save the world.
• Xi Nian entered the sealed chamber and interrupted Kitty Pryde as she tried to send the Indian mutant’s consciousness back to the previous week.
• The Indian mutant was thrown aside, and Kitty tried to escape through Xi Nian using her phasing ability, but crashed into him instead.
• Kitty recognized Xi Nian and told him that her sister Lorna had vanished from the chamber without any sign of a battle.
• Xi Nian asked Kitty to tell him everything she knew about Lorna, then emerged from the chamber with Kitty holding his arm.

Xi Nian and Kitty Pryde returned to the underground factory, where they learned that at least ten Sentinel Robots had surrounded the base. Xi Nian destroyed the machines in moments, leaving the mutants to wonder if he was truly the savior Wolverine had promised.

• Xi Nian emerged from the deepest basement with Kitty Pryde clinging to his arm, and Iceman Robert and the others apologized for trying to stop him earlier.
• Xi Nian and Professor X sensed that Sentinel Robots had returned, and a mutant warned that at least ten machines had surrounded the base.
• Iceman Robert and the others prepared to stay behind so Wolverine, Professor X, and Kitty Pryde could escape, but Xi Nian said there was no need to run.
• The Sentinel Robots broke into the factory, and Wolverine told everyone to stay still as Xi Nian struck down the machines with scarlet lightning and Scarlet Flame.
• Iceman Robert and the other mutants stared at Xi Nian in stunned silence and recalled Wolverine calling him their world's savior.

Xi Nian brought Kitty Pryde to New York, the Sentinel Robots’ headquarters, and prepared to end their rule. As thousands of second-generation Sentinels swarmed them, Xi Nian began cutting through them with the Omega Effect Ray.

• Xi Nian destroyed ten Sentinel Robots and assured Kitty Pryde that she would no longer have to run.
• Xi Nian opened a portal to New York and left Wolverine and the other mutants behind.
• Xi Nian and Kitty Pryde arrived in ruined New York, where the Sentinel Robots’ headquarters produced and dispatched more Sentinels.
• Kitty Pryde chose to keep her eyes open and watch the war end instead of fleeing.
• Thousands of Sentinel Robots swarmed Xi Nian and Kitty Pryde, and Xi Nian sliced through dozens with crimson rays from his eyes.

Professor X Charles and Magneto Erik planned to send Wolverine Logan back in time to stop the Sentinel Program, but Sentinel Robots worldwide suddenly converged on New York. Mutants in a French base believed the deployment was connected to Xi Nian, whose side appeared to be under attack.

• Professor X Charles told Magneto Erik about Shadowcat’s ability and proposed sending Wolverine Logan fifty years into the past to prevent the Sentinel Program.
• Professor X Charles sensed Sentinel Robots across the country withdrawing and discovered they were heading to New York.
• Sentinel Robots around the world abandoned their patrols and rushed toward the New York headquarters where they were manufactured.
• Sentinel Robots surrounding a factory in France turned toward a red glow in the sky and flew toward it.
• A mutant at the French base reported that the local Sentinel Robots were leaving for New York, and Iceman Robert said they were responding to Mr. Xi Nian’s side.

Xi Nian in Crimson Mode destroyed the Sentinel forces threatening the mutant survivors and took Kitty Pryde to her former home. In the sealed basement, he found a vibranium plate linked to his old ally, the boss, with a photograph that explained why Kitty had recognized him.

• Xi Nian in Crimson Mode slaughtered the Sentinel Robots swarming New York and shrank their headquarters into a miniature fortress.
• Xi Nian told Kitty Pryde that he had disabled the mutant-scanning equipment, and Kitty cried in his arms before asking him to visit her former home.
• Survivors emerged from their underground shelters after the Sentinel Robots vanished.
• Kitty Pryde led Xi Nian to the ruins of her California town, where he opened a portal into her blocked-off basement.
• Xi Nian found a vibranium plate from the boss, turned it over, and saw a photograph of himself as a young boy.

Xi Nian learned that Lorna had lived with Kitty Pryde as a baby before mysteriously vanishing, then prepared to leave the mutant world with Kitty. Back in the Energy Absorption Space, he told the Destiny Alliance that Lorna’s disappearance may have been caused by something beyond her control.

• Kitty Pryde told Xi Nian that Lorna had lived with her in the basement for a month, caring for a baby called Little Moon, whose surname was Prince.
• Xi Nian invited Kitty to leave with him, and she agreed, asking him to bring her friends as well.
• Xi Nian brought Kitty to the underground base so she could say farewell; Wolverine Logan stayed behind to help rebuild, while Professor X asked Xi Nian to look after Qin.
• Xi Nian returned to the Energy Absorption Space and briefed the Destiny Alliance on Lorna’s time in the 2023 mutant world and her sudden disappearance.
• Xi Nian and the Alliance members concluded that Lorna’s multiverse travel may have depended on a factor that was not part of her.

After Phoenix recovered from losing control of her power, Xi Nian invited her to leave the Mutant World with him, and she accepted. Xi Nian departed with his allies for the multiverse, leaving a small portal between the timelines behind and promising to find Lorna.

• In 1700, the newly appointed Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One met a little girl on Mount Everest who said she was looking for Prince Xi Nian.
• Phoenix woke in Xi Nian’s headquarters and learned that her power had linked the two Mutant Timelines.
• Xi Nian asked Phoenix to leave the outside world with him, and she agreed.
• Phoenix noticed the fourteenth Dimensional Ring, then met a blonde little maid whose telepathic powers connected with hers.
• Xi Nian settled Phoenix’s parents in the Energy Absorption Space and left the shrinking portal between the timelines concealed beneath the desert.
• Xi Nian said goodbye to the Mutant World and vowed to find Lorna before departing with his allies.

On the night before resuming his multiversal travels, Xi Nian went looking for somewhere to sleep in the Destiny Alliance headquarters. After several members turned him away or urged him elsewhere, he stopped outside a room he had never visited.

• Xi Nian left his own room and asked to stay with Diana, who refused him, then privately regretted turning him away.
• Xi Nian entered Gwen's room and found Gwen and Kara playfully wrestling; they told him their girls' game night was for women only.
• Xi Nian went to Wanda's room, but she offered to sleep with Little Qin instead, so he left without staying.
• Poison Ivy welcomed Xi Nian but suggested that somewhere else needed him more.
• Xi Nian passed over Mera's and Susan's rooms and went to the room of a Destiny Alliance member he had never visited.

Xi Nian crossed the multiverse with Little Huang, but Dormammu and a scarlet lightning bolt interrupted his journey. He crashed into a New York intersection in an unknown universe and realized his Energy Immunity had protected him from the attack.

• Xi Nian used the Space Necklace and Mind Stone Necklace to begin his third crossing with Little Huang.
• Dormammu pursued Xi Nian through the multiversal gap, but his power weakened as he moved farther from the Dark Dimension.
• A scarlet bolt of lightning struck Xi Nian and knocked him out of the blue-and-yellow crossing light.
• Xi Nian fell into a New York intersection and survived the crash, recognizing that his Energy Immunity had nullified the energy attack.

After surviving an Omega Effect attack, Xi Nian landed in a Marvel universe and investigated its unfamiliar heroes and history. As he watched Spider-Man appear on the news, the hero suddenly vanished from the intersection.

• Xi Nian escaped the crater and left the intersection with Little Huang before Spider-Man arrived.
• Xi Nian created money, rented an internet café room, and learned that this 2020 world had the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, King Doom, and Galactus, but no Invisible Woman or Justice League.
• Xi Nian decided to rest for a day or two before continuing his journey through the multiverse.
• Xi Nian watched Spider-Man joke about the crater on a live news broadcast.
• Spider-Man vanished from the intersection without warning while speaking to the camera.

Xi Nian realized a mysterious force was destroying superhumans and threatening Earth, then entered Scarlet Mode as the planet was annihilated. Spider-Man and heroes from different timelines appeared aboard a spacecraft beyond the Milky Way, while a red-haired stranger quietly joined them.

• Xi Nian sent Little Huang to the Energy Absorption Space after Spider-Man vanished and his Spider-Sense detected a terrifying force.
• A mysterious energy disintegrated superhumans in Xi Nian's Earth and erased people with powerful mutant genes in the 1983 Mutant Timeline.
• Xi Nian saw death mist surrounding everyone in New York and chose to remain rather than hide or flee to another multiverse.
• Xi Nian entered Scarlet Mode as a white flash annihilated Earth.
• Spider-Man and more than a hundred heroes appeared aboard a spacecraft, and Professor X Charles realized they came from different timelines.
• A red-haired young man in a baseball cap and trench coat slipped aboard unnoticed.

Xi Nian secretly joined a white spaceship where extraordinary beings from different universes and timelines had been gathered and reconstructed. A second spaceship appeared carrying their enemies, leaving the heroes and villains facing one another while the purpose of their mysterious captor remained unknown.

• Xi Nian used the Mirror Dimension and a portal to reach the spaceship before the others and concealed his identity among the gathered beings.
• Xi Nian recognized Professor X Charles and the X-Men, and realized the gathered heroes came from two major timelines: one with the Avengers and one with mutants.
• The extraordinary beings grouped with counterparts from their own universes, while Xi Nian stayed disguised and confirmed that the people aboard were not his acquaintances from other timelines.
• A second white spaceship appeared, carrying nearly a hundred supervillains, including Magneto, Doctor Doom, and enemies of the Avengers and Fantastic Four.
• Doctor Doom demanded an explanation, and Mister Fantastic replied that the heroes had no idea what was happening.

The Beyonder erased the Milky Way, rebuilt its fragments into Battle World, and challenged the assembled superhumans to fight for a wish. Xi Nian rejected the offer and tried to escape with Little Huang, but found that the Beyonder’s white light had reached the Mirror Dimension too.

• Ultron tried to take control of the spacecraft, but Galactus blasted him down.
• The Beyonder’s white light erased the Milky Way and formed Battle World from planetary debris.
• The Beyonder announced that the final victor on Battle World would receive one wish, and confirmed that even the dead could be revived.
• Xi Nian considered using the wish to find Lorna, but decided he would not trust the Beyonder or enter the contest.
• Xi Nian entered the Mirror Dimension to take Little Huang out of the universe, but found it flooded with the Beyonder’s white light.