Chapter Summaries

After his body enhancement, Leo discovered that his Source Body let him see and gather energy particles, absorb metal, and passively draw in energy. He tested the Space Stone against the Golden Light Orb and found that its power overwhelmed the orb while stirring the surrounding spatial energy.

• Leo saw multicolored energy particles in the air and gathered golden particles into a glowing orb, though he could not break the orb apart.
• Leo used his enhanced Metal Control to open the Stone Skull and Tricolor Void Gold Ore, then entered the ore and began absorbing the orb's energy and metal orbs from the walls.
• As Leo absorbed the metal, the surrounding ore vanished and impurities fell away, while particles formed a protective layer around his body and continued seeping into him.
• Leo summoned the Space Stone, whose energy suppressed the Golden Light Orb and caused the surrounding Spatial Energy to run wild.

Leo uncovered a strange dark gold orb inside the Celestial Skull and revealed a tiny bead that strongly attracted him and Red Whale. Red Whale vanished toward Leo, while the Milan’s crew sobered up and prepared to defend themselves until he returned.

• Leo found that Beck Stone released gentle energy that could strengthen an ordinary person’s body.
• Leo removed the Beck Stone and revealed a dark gold sphere whose patterns caused severe mental distortion.
• Leo twisted apart the sphere’s patterns, then unfolded its metal shell into a ten-meter cord and exposed a tiny dark gold bead.
• Red Whale sensed the bead in Leo’s hand, called it delicious, and vanished toward the Celestial Skull.
• Quill and Rocket ordered everyone aboard the Milan to stop drinking and stay alert near the Warp Point.

Ronan arrived near the Void Land aboard the Dark Star, and the Milan fled toward the settlement with his ship following. As Difan prepared to meet Ronan, the Milan’s crew realized they had been targeted and were in danger.

• Quill turned the Milan toward the Void Land at full power after Rocket spotted the Dark Star, and Gamora identified it as Ronan’s ship.
• Rocket told Quill that Ronan had reportedly lost several flagships after encountering the Red Whale.
• Ronan ordered his crew to track the Milan and watched it head toward the Void Land while wondering what secrets the Orb of Power held.
• Difan learned that Ronan had arrived and sent Bloomer with two warships to welcome him and discuss the situation.
• Rocket saw that the Dark Star was following the Milan, and the crew grew tense without Leo or the Red Whale to protect them.

After gaining finer control over spatial energy and testing a powerful blast underground, Leo continued absorbing Void Gold Ore with Red Whale. Meanwhile, Quill’s crew fled Ronan toward the Void Land, hoping to draw the Devan Group into the pursuit.

• Leo used the Space Stone’s evolved power to freeze, shatter, and manipulate space, turning his Space Prison into a weapon he could shape at will.
• Leo fired a Golden Light Orb through the Stone Skull, causing an explosion that triggered a tremor and alarmed the Devan Group Security Forces above.
• The Devan Group’s experts estimated the underground blast’s location, while the Captain ordered them to investigate and went to report the incident.
• Leo absorbed more Void Gold Ore to strengthen his physique as Red Whale gnawed through the Celestial Skull beside him.
• Rocket urged Quill to contact Leo while the Milan fled the Dark Star, and Quill proposed using the Devan Group to turn the pursuit against Ronan.
• Ronan tracked the Milan’s systems aboard the Dark Star and suspected Difan had the Orb of Power.

Leo awoke after absorbing a Golden Core, pulled the folded space back into the normal space-time, and saw major increases in his abilities and the emergence of an Intermediate Origin Body. He realized his body had evolved beyond humanity and said that finding the last two Golden Cores would let him go home.

• Red Whale sensed something was wrong, returned to Leo, and released Spatial Energy that resonated with his and shook the folded space.
• The trembling space jolted Leo awake, and he used Spatial Energy to restore the surrounding region to the current space-time.
• Red Whale rushed into Leo's arms, and Leo regretted that the Golden Core's power could not also help it evolve.
• Leo checked his attribute panel and found that his Control Points and Skills had increased and that he had gained an Intermediate Origin Body.
• Leo concluded that his evolved body no longer belonged to humanity, and the Golden Core fully merged with him, letting him sense an entirely different world.

Leo arrived aboard the ship and healed Jason’s thigh, then stopped Howard the Duck after Howard escaped his chains using a short-range spatial flicker. Howard fought the crew with remarkable skill, and the chapter ended with him facing Leo and the others in a martial-arts stance.

• Leo healed Jason’s thigh and joked with the crew about their bloody method of contacting him.
• Howard the Duck broke free of his chains by flickering through space, and Leo froze him before he could fall.
• Howard attacked Leo, but Jason and Gamora failed to stop him, and Gamora’s armored kick knocked him off course toward Rocket and Quill.
• Quill fired an Energy Bullet to halt Howard’s charge, and Leo appeared to catch it before it hit him.
• Leo praised Howard’s combat ability, but Howard ignored him, retreated into a fighting stance, and demanded to know who the group was.

Nebula and Gamora confronted each other aboard the Milan after Leo captured Nebula, while the Undead Legion sent a large force of Necro Ships to attack. Gamora urged Nebula to help stop Thanos's plan, but Nebula warned that their damaged ship was surrounded and demanded the Orb of Power.

• The Undead Legion dispatched one hundred and twenty Necro Ships toward the Milan after discovering that someone had destroyed five of their ships.
• Leo dragged Nebula aboard the Milan as the Necro Ships closed in.
• Gamora recalled how Thanos's cruelty and their rivalry had driven her and Nebula apart, while Nebula had come to crave Thanos's praise.
• Gamora asked Nebula to leave Ronan and help stop Thanos's plan.
• Nebula warned Gamora that at least one hundred Necro Fighters were approaching and demanded the Orb of Power in exchange for a chance to survive.

More than twenty Necro Fighters targeted the Milan, but the Red Whale shielded the ship, swallowed fighters, and scattered the rest. The Necro Fighters struggled to attack while the Red Whale protected the Milan, and Leo reassured the stunned passengers that its defenses were formidable.

• The Necro Fighters aimed more than twenty Necro Energy Cannons at the Milan, leaving Quill, Rocket, Jason, and the others alarmed.
• The Red Whale expanded above the Milan and absorbed the cannon fire without damage, then swallowed more than a dozen fighters that approached its open mouth.
• The remaining Necro Fighters avoided the Red Whale's mouth and gathered above it and behind its tail, while the Red Whale swallowed eighteen more fighters as it guarded the Milan.
• The Red Whale swept its tail through a cluster of Necro Fighters and sent seven or eight of them flying, throwing their formation into chaos.
• Leo reassured the stunned people aboard the Milan that the Red Whale's physical defenses were stronger than they imagined.

Leo learned that the Red Whale had fought Ronan while Gamora and Nebula were aboard the Dark Star, and he vowed to kill Ronan for the attack. After warning Nebula about her status as a captive, Leo used his power to immobilize the Necro Ships and destroy their cockpits.

• Leo asked Gamora and Nebula about compensation and learned that neither had money or possessions of their own.
• Gamora explained that she and Nebula had witnessed Ronan's battle with the Red Whale aboard the Dark Star a year and three months earlier.
• Nebula said Ronan had tried to destroy the Red Whale with a Destruction Device and Star Killer Cannon, but the Red Whale escaped.
• Leo made Nebula's head turn around, then warned her that she was a captive and that he could kill her.
• Leo blamed Ronan for the Red Whale's injuries and declared that he would kill him.
• Leo immobilized the fifty remaining Necro Ships and drove spikes through their cockpits.

Jason pursued Ronan while Difan confronted him on the Void Land, hoping to prevent his escape. Rocket stayed aboard the Milan to watch over Groot, whose body began to recover, as Ronan prepared to flee on his concealed Ghost Ship.

• Quill asked Rocket to handle things alone and leave Ronan for Jason to deal with, then Leo and Quill jumped from the Milan with Rocket's communicator.
• Rocket poured water over drying Groot, whose skin turned green again, body grew larger, and finger began to move.
• Jason charged toward Ronan, driven by his desire to avenge his wife and child.
• Ronan resolved to return to the Dark Star aboard his Ghost Ship, suspecting that the person on the Milan held the Orb of Power and possibly the Space Stone.
• Difan surrounded Ronan after the two Destroyers were killed by the Devan Group Guard, then demanded compensation for the damage Ronan's forces had caused.

Leo learned that Ronan’s Dark Star carried a devastating weapon capable of piercing planetary defenses, and Nebula revealed it had another use she had witnessed. The Milan continued toward Ronan, leaving Leo to hear what Nebula knew about the weapon.

• Nebula suspected Leo possessed an Infinity Stone and considered whether he might help her oppose Thanos.
• Leo told Jason that they would confront Ronan, whose actions had devastated Jason and Little Jie’s lives.
• Red Whale explained that it had encountered a large ship, eaten several smaller ships, and fled when the larger vessel released a dangerous energy.
• Gamora described the Dark Star’s Star Killer Cannon, a destructive weapon that could break through defenses and trigger chain destruction.
• Nebula contradicted Gamora and said the Star Killer Cannon had another use she had personally witnessed.

Leo destroyed more than fifty Necro Fighters that attacked the Milan, leaving Red Whale to devour the wreckage. He then carried the Milan toward the remaining Undead Legion while weighing his unresolved concerns about the Soul Stone and deciding he could no longer delay dealing with Ronan.

• Red Whale shrank to shield the Milan as Leo's power brought down the attacking Necro Fighters around them.
• Nebula, Jason, Rocket, and Quill watched the wreckage crash around the Milan, while Red Whale protected it from the falling ships.
• Leo lifted the Milan into the air and said that about a hundred and ten Necro Ships had come, then Red Whale began swallowing the wreckage.
• Leo considered the locations of the Infinity Stones and worried that the Soul Stone on Vormir could undo his efforts.
• Leo decided to head toward the remaining Undead Legion and the Collection Room, recognizing that Ronan's attack and their growing hatred meant he could not put off dealing with Ronan.

Leo affirmed that he would collect the Infinity Stones and destroy Thanos if he stood in the way, while Nebula explained the Dark Star’s destructive weapon systems. As Ronan discovered that much of his Undead Legion had been wiped out, he hurried to investigate, and Difan followed after checking his collection.

• Leo said he would collect the Infinity Stones and destroy Thanos if Thanos tried to stop him, preserving Nebula’s hope and delighting Gamora while Jason wept.
• Nebula described the Dark Star’s split destructive-energy cannons and explained that its defense system had frightened the Red Whale away.
• Leo crushed the approaching Necro Fighters and considered forging a divine artifact to hold the Infinity Stones safely.
• Ronan sensed something was wrong, contacted his army, and learned that half of his forces had been declared dead.
• Ronan left to investigate the losses, while Difan checked that his Insectoids display case was intact and then followed.

Quill, Rocket, Gamora, Jason, and Leo fought off the Destroyers swarming the Milan while Ronan advanced into the Void Land. After Little Jie’s grenade failed to hit the Destroyers on the ground, Rocket learned to use the Black Hole Grenades effectively and took over as the team’s bombardier.

• Destroyers leaped onto the Milan and nearly reached Quill and Jason, but Leo shot one before Quill could turn his weapon.
• Quill urged the Milan to rise as more Destroyers climbed aboard, while the group struggled to hold them off and conserve their weapons.
• Little Jie threw a Black Hole Grenade, but it exploded too high to affect the Destroyers below.
• Rocket tested the grenades’ timing and threw two into the air, where their miniature black holes swallowed groups of Destroyers.
• Rocket abandoned his gunner position and began using Black Hole Grenades as a bombardier.

Ronan directed the Destroyers to attack the Milan, and Leo brought the ship down to face the charging horde. The Guardians tested the creatures’ defenses and discovered that they were extremely difficult to kill, leaving the Milan surrounded by an escalating threat.

• The Destroyers sensed Ronan’s location, transformed to run on all fours, and charged toward him as he raised his Warhammer.
• Leo urged the Milan’s crew to attack and guided the ship downward as Ronan ordered the Destroyers to target them.
• Hundreds of Destroyers swarmed toward the Milan, climbing walls and hurling objects that were stopped by a shockwave around the ship.
• Gamora judged the horde too numerous to fight outside, while Jason explained that the Destroyers’ breathing gills were not weak points.
• Rocket shot a Destroyer in the forehead and knocked it down, but it soon rose again, revealing that the wound had only rendered it unconscious.

Leo destroyed the Destroyers with ease, then revealed that he knew the location of the Soul Stone and considered its price too high to pursue. As Jason chased Ronan into the unguarded entrance, the others armed themselves and followed, leaving Rocket to guard the sleeping Groot and Karina aboard the Milan.

• Leo effortlessly defeated more than twice as many Destroyers as the others had killed, startling Howard the Duck, Rocket, Gamora, Nebula, and Quill.
• Gamora asked whether Leo had obtained the Aether, and Leo said he had seen five Infinity Mu Jins and knew where the Soul Stone was hidden.
• Leo said the price of obtaining the Soul Stone was too high and that he would rather leave it where it was, while Gamora realized he knew her secret.
• Jason took grenades and an Aether Rifle from the Milan and chased Ronan through the unguarded entrance.
• Rocket stayed aboard the Milan to watch over the sleeping Groot and Karina while the others armed themselves and followed Jason.

Jason used God-Slaying Gold and a remote-controlled bomb to overcome Ronan, while Leo stopped Ronan's hidden Ghost Ship from rescuing him. Jason killed Ronan with a dagger and collapsed on his corpse after completing his revenge.

• Jason's poisoned dagger dissolved after wounding Ronan, whose bleeding worsened despite his enhancements.
• Jason stopped Ronan from reaching a vial of reagent, and Leo told Quill to let Jason handle the fight himself.
• Ronan claimed his body had developed antibodies to God-Slaying Gold, but Jason detonated a bomb attached to his waist.
• Ronan summoned his concealed Ghost Ship to escape, but Leo pulled it down and revealed it to the others.
• Jason stabbed Ronan in the throat, killing him, then collapsed onto Ronan's corpse.

Leo captured Ronan after the Space Stone’s power shocked Difan, then pummeled him while the Dark Star and Ronan’s reinforcements advanced on the Void Land. Ronan remained helpless in Leo’s grasp as Leo reminded him of his past attack on Red Whale and hurled him away again.

• Difan greeted Leo, who accused him of notifying Ronan and lowered the healed Jason to the ground.
• Leo dragged Ronan back from a hundred meters away as the Dark Star and another flagship forced their way toward the Void Land with more Combat Squads.
• Ronan failed to break Leo’s shield, and Quill aimed the Aether Rifle at his head before Ronan snatched it away.
• Leo smashed Ronan into the steel floor, leaving him buried in a crater, then brought Red Whale over and reminded Ronan that he had attacked the whale during its evolution.
• Leo kicked Ronan out of the ground and grabbed him again before he could land.

After Ronan’s death, Nebula left for the Dark Star to seize control of its Destruction Device while Leo confronted Jason, who had fallen into despair after avenging his family. Leo restored Jason’s strength and forced him to face the people still depending on him, including Little Jie.

• Leo asked Gamora who aboard the Dark Star could activate the Destruction Device, and Nebula identified Rix as the only remaining authority.
• Nebula revealed that she had partly removed Rix’s Death Mechanism, took Ronan’s severed hand, and left aboard the Ghost Ship to kill Rix.
• Quill checked on Jason and found him weeping beside Ronan’s corpse.
• Leo strengthened Jason with Golden Light, then repeatedly kicked him until the pain jolted him out of his grief.
• Leo challenged Jason for acting as if he wanted to die and reminded him that Little Jie and Karina still needed him.

Leo confronted Difan over his betrayal and rejected his offers of information, wealth, and support for Earth. Difan asked how Leo wanted to settle matters, while Quill and the others waited for Leo to decide.

• Leo told Quill that Jason was fine and confronted Difan for betraying him.
• Difan offered information about Thanos and the Kree Empire, but Leo showed that he could wield the Power Stone and dismissed the threat of the Kree.
• Difan offered to provide resources and help Earth develop, but Leo questioned whether rapid, forced growth would benefit the planet.
• Difan asked Leo how he wanted to handle the situation, and Quill and the others looked to Leo for his decision.