Chapter Summaries

Michael considered the newly emerged Source Universe and Lucifer’s intentions, then enlisted The Spectre to stop Lucifer from reaching it. The chapter ended with Destiny of the Endless stunned by events unfolding in God’s Domain.

• Michael watched Hell from the Pearly Gates and wondered what Lucifer intended to do with the Source Universe.
• Michael summoned The Spectre and said Lucifer could not be allowed to get what he wanted.
• The Spectre agreed to Michael’s plan to preserve the balance between good and evil.
• Michael proposed that The Spectre enter an Olympian God’s divine body, follow the avatar through causality, and stop Lucifer from reaching the Source Universe.
• Destiny of the Endless reacted with greater shock than the other powerful beings in God’s Domain.

Destiny discovered that He-El’s emergence as the new Source Universe had erased the future from the Book of Destiny, leaving He-El without a recorded fate. Unable to observe or guide what would happen, Destiny gathered the other Endless to discuss the crisis.

• Destiny found that the future concerning Dream had changed after the Source Universe appeared, and the Book of Destiny contained no future for He-El.
• Destiny realized that even the record identifying He-El as the new Source Universe was gradually vanishing from the book.
• Destiny questioned what he should do, unable to determine whether He-El’s role would begin a new multiverse or become a threat within it.
• Destiny decided to summon the other Endless, and they gathered in their great hall in the Dreaming.
• Destiny told the assembled Endless that the matter was very serious.

The Endless discovered that the new Source Universe lay beyond their concepts and outside Destiny’s Book, leaving its future unpredictable. They decided to observe it up close and see what might exist beyond their usual order.

• Morpheus, Destruction, Despair, Desire, and Delirium said they could not sense their respective concepts in the new Source Universe.
• Destiny told the Endless that the new Source Universe was not within his Book, shocking them with the prospect of an unpredictable future.
• Death asked whether they should interfere, and the Endless considered whether the new universe should contain concepts like theirs.
• Delirium suggested that the new Source Universe might exist without the Endless, and Destiny said it would have its own versions of their concepts.
• Death welcomed the new universe as a sign that the multiverse was no longer completely lifeless, and Destiny proposed observing it up close.

He-El’s new universe attracted the attention of powerful beings, and Doctor Manhattan tried to seize it before it could draw more notice. He-El recovered the universe after it absorbed part of Doctor Manhattan, but Doctor Manhattan warned that beings across God’s Domain had fixed their eyes on him.

• The Monitors, Doctor Manhattan, Darkseid, Father Izaya, Lucifer, The Spectre, and the Endless reacted to the emergence of He-El’s new Source Universe.
• Doctor Manhattan concealed the universe’s location from the other Source Universes, then appeared before He-El and reached for it.
• He-El pulled his universe back, and it absorbed part of Doctor Manhattan’s will and azure energy, including his left wrist.
• Darkseid and Father Izaya found that the new Source Universe’s aura had vanished, while Lucifer left Raven’s office and the Endless observed He-El.
• Doctor Manhattan told He-El that his universe was a Source Universe and warned him that powerful beings in God’s Domain had noticed it.

He-El learned from Doctor Manhattan that powerful beings across the Blood Domain may seek his unusual Source Universe, and that it has disrupted the balance of the fifty-two Source Universes. Doctor Manhattan asked to study it, but He-El refused and said he might reconsider after the Parallel Universes had been restored and he had observed Manhattan's actions.

• He-El asked Doctor Manhattan whether the powerful beings interested in him were dangerous, and Manhattan warned that even ancient or conceptual entities might come looking for him.
• Doctor Manhattan explained that the fifty-two Source Universes maintained the Blood Domain's balance and that powerful beings wanted a new Source Universe to become stronger and more perfect.
• Doctor Manhattan revealed that He-El's Source Universe had absorbed the fundamental connective force in his severed wrist, something no other Source Universe had managed to do.
• Doctor Manhattan asked to enter He-El's Source Universe and learn about it, but He-El refused because he did not yet trust him.
• He-El said he might reconsider after they restored all Parallel Universes to the fifty-two Source Universes and he had observed Doctor Manhattan's actions.

He-El learned that the Monitors were watching the fifty-two Source Universes and wanted to locate and destroy his. Doctor Manhattan gave him a vast collection of his knowledge, and He-El planned to study it before converging the Parallel Universes with him.

• Doctor Manhattan told He-El that the Monitors intended to find and destroy He-El's Source Universe while converging the Parallel Universes.
• He-El asked about the Monitors, and Doctor Manhattan described their surveillance of the Source Universes and their ability to consume Heavenly Blood.
• He-El suspected that the Monitors were themselves universes because they could consume Heavenly Blood.
• Doctor Manhattan condensed his knowledge and observations into an azure sphere and offered it to He-El.
• He-El drew the information sphere into his universe and said he would process it before converging the Parallel Universes with Doctor Manhattan.

He-El absorbed Doctor Manhattan’s knowledge and discovered that Doctor Manhattan’s energy was part of the DC Universe’s underlying framework. After integrating Anti-Crisis Energy into his universe, He-El left the Zero Mothership’s command room seeking more universal operational logic.

• He-El entered his universe and absorbed the knowledge Doctor Manhattan had given him.
• He-El combined that knowledge with energy from Doctor Manhattan’s severed hand and discovered it was part of the DC Universe’s framework.
• He-El learned that Anti-Crisis Energy consisted of seven cosmic forces that helped maintain the DC Universe.
• He-El integrated the framework energy into his universe, strengthening its developing DC structure alongside its Marvel structure.
• He-El returned to the Zero Mothership’s command room and decided he still needed more universal operational logic.

He-El connected New Krypton with The Three-Body Problem and Bleach universes so Zero could study and model their underlying operational logic. After checking on his son in Hell, He-El returned to the imperial palace and prepared to travel to a universe whose logic would be easy to observe.

• He-El ordered Zero to notify the Zeroers and study the operational logic of The Three-Body Problem and Bleach universes, while keeping watch for hidden powerful beings in New Krypton.
• He-El opened a traversal passage to The Three-Body Problem universe, where the Zeroers resumed work on the Dark Universe Highway and prepared to share their universe's operational logic.
• He-El traveled to Venus and opened a passage to the Bleach universe so its energy systems could be researched.
• He-El saw his son repeatedly die while trying to defeat a Hell monster and dismissed him as foolish for relying on brute force and empty declarations.
• He-El ordered Zero to model the Bleach universe's underlying logic, returned to the imperial palace, and began preparing to traverse to a universe whose logic could be easily seen.

He-El examined how the DC Universe and other universes operated, then sought a universe whose underlying logic he could observe. His universe located a target, but resistance from beyond the Traversal Vortex warned him that the other universe was intelligent or controlled by a living being.

• He-El compared the DC Universe’s seven paired cosmic forces with the operating logic of the Marvel and Bleach universes.
• He-El concluded that his universe could unite the logic of endless universes and let beings from them use their full powers.
• He-El ordered his universe to search for a universe with easily observed underlying logic, and a Traversal Vortex appeared.
• He-El sensed that the universe beyond the vortex resisted his crossing and might attack him with the power of the entire universe.
• He-El inferred that the universe possessed intelligence or that a living being had become or controlled it.

He-El found that a conscious universe fiercely resisted his attempt to enter, making his main body too vulnerable to cross safely. He created an ordinary-strength body from a drop of blood and sent it through the Traversal Vortex to seek the universe’s consciousness or controller.

• He-El sensed the conscious universe preparing to destroy him if he entered through the Traversal Vortex.
• He-El considered how different kinds of universes could transform or destroy an intruder and judged the resistance a sign that the universe might be able to negotiate.
• He-El made the Traversal Vortex invisible and decided not to send his main body through it.
• He-El formed an ordinary-strength duplicate from a drop of blood, focused his thoughts into it, and sent it through the Traversal Vortex.

He-El fell into the Indian Ocean in an ordinary adult body and struggled to swim toward a distant cargo ship as the cold and exhaustion took their toll. The ship’s crew spotted him and sent a speedboat to rescue him, intending to keep him alive because they considered him valuable cargo.

• He-El plunged into the sea and surfaced, realizing he was stranded in the Indian Ocean with only an ordinary adult body.
• He-El spotted a distant vessel and began swimming toward it, using what he knew to conserve energy and regulate his breathing.
• After an hour, He-El was dehydrated, injured, and exhausted, but he continued toward the vessel, which he recognized as a cargo ship.
• A scout on the cargo ship spotted He-El swimming and reported him to the captain.
• The captain ordered a speedboat to rescue He-El and told the crew to keep him alive.

He-El was rescued from the sea by Somali pirates who mistook him for valuable salvage. Deputy Commander Kundi ordered the crew to feed him and question him about his family’s assets, leaving He-El captive aboard their freighter.

• He-El stopped paddling when a speedboat approached, and the pirates hauled him aboard after he grabbed a life ring.
• He-El recognized the armed rescuers as Somali pirates and identified their weapons and language while pretending to be near death.
• Bao Mo slapped He-El, but another pirate warned him that the captain wanted the hostage kept alive.
• The pirates returned He-El to their modified freighter, warmed him with hot water, and gave him water to drink.
• Deputy Commander Kundi ordered the crew to feed He-El and later interrogate him about his family’s wealth.

He-El was locked in a foul-smelling cabin aboard a pirate ship, where he pretended to be weak while recovering from an hour in the seawater. He understood the Somali guards discussing his value as a hostage and their feud with the Merka faction, and quietly analyzed his situation.

• Two armed soldiers shoved He-El into a cabin and warned him to stay there.
• The soldiers tossed He-El two compressed ration biscuits, locked the door, and assumed he could not understand Somali.
• He-El ate the ration while regulating his breathing and muscles to recover his strength.
• The guards discussed how Young Marshal Kundi considered He-El valuable and how they might ransom or sell him.
• One guard complained that the Merka faction had stolen a fishing boat and extorted a 1.5 million dollar ransom.
• He-El listened to the guards and analyzed what he had learned about the pirates and their rival factions.

He-El was held captive by Somali pirates and tried to understand where he had landed, while the pirates demanded a ransom. He-El claimed his family controlled vast wealth and power, leaving the finance officer and translator stunned.

• He-El considered whether the universe had discovered his entry and sent him far from anything familiar.
• Yi Bao arrived with Bao Mo and ordered the terrified female university student to ask He-El whether his family could pay a ransom.
• He-El calmly claimed his family owned trillions in assets, had powerful government and military connections, and commanded a mercenary corps with cruise missiles.
• The female university student translated He-El’s claims, and Yi Bao and the others reacted in shock.

After He-El claimed to belong to a powerful, wealthy family, Bao Mo became fixated on the potential ransom while Finance Officer Yi Bao feared the pirates would face retaliation. Yi Bao went to seek Kundi’s instructions, and the chapter ended with Kundi arriving as Bao Mo brought He-El clean clothes.

• He-El’s claims about his family’s wealth and armed forces shocked Finance Officer Yi Bao and made Bao Mo imagine a huge ransom and commission.
• Finance Officer Yi Bao considered how the family or Somalia’s warlords could destroy the pirates and decided to ask Kundi what to do.
• Bao Mo asked He-El when he could pay the ransom, and He-El instead demanded clean clothes.
• Bao Mo fetched He-El a green field uniform, while Banner remained with He-El in the room.
• Finance Officer Yi Bao returned with Kundi.

He-El convinced Young Marshal Kundi that his family was powerful and agreed to pay the pirates’ demanded ten million dollars. As Bao Mo handed him a satellite phone, He-El snatched Bao Mo’s Browning HP pistol and prepared to kill.

• He-El put on the clothes Bao Mo had brought while Young Marshal Kundi arrived to question him.
• He-El asked Kundi how much money he wanted in exchange for better service.
• Young Marshal Kundi demanded ten million dollars, and He-El calmly agreed to pay.
• Kundi ordered payment arranged and Bao Mo handed He-El a satellite phone.
• He-El grabbed Bao Mo’s Browning HP pistol and aimed it at him.

He-El killed Bao Mo, Yi Bao, Young Marshal Kundi, and two soldiers, then armed himself with their weapons. He left the terrified girl alive and ordered her to pick up Bao Mo’s AK47.

• He-El shot Bao Mo and Yi Bao, then killed two soldiers who came to investigate the gunfire.
• He-El shot Young Marshal Kundi in the wrist and, after Kundi pleaded and offered ransom, killed him.
• He-El took the soldiers’ AK47s and a combat knife, preparing for more soldiers to arrive.
• He-El kicked Bao Mo’s AK47 toward the screaming girl and ordered her to pick it up.

He-El tried to turn a terrified captive into an armed ally as he fought through the Somali pirates’ cargo ship. The girl began suppressing the pirates with frantic gunfire while He-El dragged her onward.

• He-El ordered the shit-faced girl to take an AK47 and help free the hostages, but she was too terrified to move.
• He-El left her behind and killed six pirates who rushed around a corridor corner.
• When more pirates approached from behind, the girl blindly fired an empty magazine, frightening them into retreating while He-El shot them down.
• He-El gave the girl another AK47 and directed her to suppress pirates around the next bend.
• The girl screamed and sprayed gunfire at approaching pirates, driving them into cover as He-El killed enemies ahead and dragged her onward.

He-El rescued Zhang Huihui from the armed soldiers aboard the tanker and led her through the corridors. After she remembered where the other captives were held, they set out to fight their way back and save them.

• He-El used Zhang Huihui and an empty AK47 to lure soldiers around a corner, then killed six soldiers and asked her name.
• Zhang Huihui introduced herself, and He-El threw grenades at the soldiers gathering near the room where Young Marshal Kundi and Yi Bao had died.
• He-El led Zhang Huihui through the tanker while avoiding more armed soldiers, then stopped to ask where the hostages were being held.
• Zhang Huihui recalled the route to The Jail and told He-El that her friends and the fishermen were in the third cargo hold.
• He-El ordered Zhang Huihui to watch his back and shoot when needed, then led her toward the captives.

He-El and Zhang Huihui fought through the oil tanker’s corridors, killing armed men and reaching the cargo hold jail. Zhang Huihui armed the prisoners and her fellow students, then led them in battle, but recognized they had to retreat into the corridors to avoid being overwhelmed.

• He-El and Zhang Huihui fought through armed men in the corridors, collecting weapons and grenades as they advanced toward the cargo hold.
• Zhang Huihui reunited with Liao Chaomin and the imprisoned fishermen and students, then ordered them to take up AK47s.
• He-El and Zhang Huihui’s group suppressed the pirates with gunfire and grenades, while He-El killed attackers and destroyed a machine gun position.
• Zhang Huihui judged that their exposed position and limited ammunition would leave them vulnerable, and urged the group to fight from the narrow corridors instead.