Chapter Summaries

Ronan's Kree army arrived too late to capture Wes, then pursued him to Planet N-998 while Thanos sent Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian after him. Wes landed on the Nova Corps-protected planet and unexpectedly encountered an old acquaintance.

• Ronan found the cave where Wes had been but discovered that Wes had already left with the Power Stone.
• After his adjutant reported Wes was heading for Planet N-998, Ronan ordered the Kree army to pursue him, and Nebula sent the intelligence onward.
• Thanos's army defeated a planet's defenders and killed half its population as the Black Order followed his orders.
• Thanos dispatched Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian to Planet N-998 while he stayed behind to avoid exposing himself too soon.
• Wes landed on Planet N-998 and unexpectedly encountered an old acquaintance.

Wes encountered Star-Lord and the Guardians on N-998, but the Nova Corps patrol prevented a fight. As Wes explored the planet, Thanos's forces gathered nearby, and a Nova Corps reconnaissance crew detected the approaching army and sounded the alarm.

• Star-Lord and the Guardians aimed their weapons at Wes and demanded to know where the Power Stone was.
• The Nova Corps patrol captain stopped the confrontation and warned everyone not to fight on the planet.
• Gamora told Star-Lord to follow Wes quietly and wait until he left N-998 before making a move.
• Ebony Maw took command of Ronan's Kree forces and ordered them to serve as the vanguard, while Nebula and Cull Obsidian resented his authority.
• A Nova Corps reconnaissance ship detected Thanos's approaching army and sounded an emergency alarm.

Wes lured Thanos's army to the northern desert and unleashed a volcanic eruption against its vanguard. The eruption devastated the fleet as Ebony Maw ordered the surviving ships to climb, while the Guardians of the Galaxy watched in shock.

• As Planet N-998 evacuated and prepared its defenses, Wes asked a patrol officer where the most desolate place was and flew to the northern desert.
• Wes revealed his location with a burst of light, drawing Ebony Maw's attention and causing Thanos's army to change course toward him.
• The Nova Corps sent scout ships to follow the diverted fleet, and the Guardians of the Galaxy followed to watch.
• Wes summoned dozens of volcanoes, whose eruptions wiped out the vanguard and destroyed ships caught by the magma.
• Ebony Maw ordered the fleet to climb, while Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon reacted in fear and urged the others to leave.

Wes fought Thanos's envoys after they demanded the Power Stone, using magic to counter Ronan, Ebony Maw, Cull Obsidian, and Nebula. He trapped Cull Obsidian, exchanged blows with Ronan, and then appeared beside Nebula while Ronan remained caught in a whirlwind.

• Ebony Maw, Ronan, Cull Obsidian, and Nebula confronted Wes and demanded the Power Stone on Thanos's behalf.
• Wes resisted Ebony Maw's attempt to influence him and attacked the group with lava.
• Wes froze Cull Obsidian and clashed with Ronan, who gained the upper hand after exploiting Wes's poor swordsmanship.
• Ebony Maw shaped lava into a whip, and Wes switched positions with Ronan so the attack struck Ronan instead.
• Ebony Maw stopped Wes from stabbing Ronan, and Wes used transparent armor and wind-based magic to trap and damage Ronan's armor.
• Wes used Apparition to appear beside Nebula and remarked on her unusual body.

Wes defeated and bound Nebula, Ebony Maw, Ronan, and Cull Obsidian after unleashing a devastating lightning assault. The Nova Corps seized the opening to attack the disorganized invading army while Wes secured the wounded commanders for study.

• Wes restrained Nebula with Word Magic Bind and dispelled Ebony Maw's telekinetic attack.
• Wes summoned Thunder Roar, engulfing the battlefield in purple lightning and lava as Cull Obsidian charged him.
• The lightning subsided, leaving Ebony Maw and Ronan badly burned and Cull Obsidian severely wounded.
• The Nova Corps launched an assault on the chaotic invading army and intercepted soldiers attempting to rescue their leaders.
• Wes bound Ebony Maw and the other surviving commanders with magical ropes, intending to study the aliens.

After the Nova Corps drove off the invading army, Wes brought its captured leaders to the Mage Tower to study their bodies. He dissected Ebony Maw and Ronan, preserved their remains, and left Nebula alive as a research subject.

• The Nova Corps repelled the invading army, and Wes took Ebony Maw, Ronan, Cull Obsidian, and Nebula to the Mage Tower.
• Wes examined Nebula’s heavily mechanized body, then set her aside without finding her mechanical evolution to be what he sought.
• Wes opened Ebony Maw’s skull, used magic to analyze his glowing brain, and preserved it after Ebony Maw died.
• Wes dissected Ronan and preserved his corpse for further research.

Wes read Cull Obsidian’s memories and learned that his people were the one thing he cared about most. He warned Cull Obsidian that they would be vulnerable without him, then showed him his growing pocket world and made clear he wanted to recruit him.

• Wes used Legilimency to view Cull Obsidian’s memories of his father’s death, his rise as chieftain, and his people’s forced service under Thanos.
• Wes asked how many people were in Cull Obsidian’s clan, and Cull Obsidian worried that Thanos might not protect them after his death.
• Wes warned that the factions Cull Obsidian had fought would seek revenge against his people without his protection.
• Cull Obsidian asked what Wes wanted him to do, then followed him outside the Mage Tower.
• Wes showed Cull Obsidian his artificial space and explained that it could become a safe place to settle.
• Cull Obsidian realized that Wes wanted to recruit him.

Wes offered Cull Obsidian and his dwindling clan a refuge in the space he had created, and Cull Obsidian chose to trust him. After migrating tens of thousands of his people, Cull Obsidian pledged loyalty to Wes, who assured the clan they could live freely under their chieftain.

• Cull Obsidian weighed Wes's offer against the dangers facing his people and agreed to accept refuge in exchange for his life and loyalty.
• Cull Obsidian gave Wes the coordinates to his homeland, and they flew there together.
• Wes opened a spatial gate while Cull Obsidian organized his people to bring essential food and leave behind unnecessary belongings.
• Tens of thousands of Cull Obsidian's people migrated into Wes's space and welcomed its clean water and new surroundings.
• Cull Obsidian and his people knelt to show their gratitude, but Wes lifted them and promised not to interfere with their affairs.
• Cull Obsidian led his people to choose places to settle, and they began rapidly building a new tribe.

As tens of thousands of people settled into their new home in space, their food supplies dwindled, so Wes returned to Earth to ask Kingpin for help. After hearing Wes’s account of space and the people he had taken in, Kingpin agreed to prepare the vast quantities of supplies Wes needed and recognized how great the gap between their worlds was.

• Cull Obsidian worried as the clan’s food reserves rapidly dwindled, and Wes promised he would not let them starve.
• Wes traveled to Earth and visited Kingpin at Fisk Tower, where Kingpin offered him one billion dollars from the vampires’ wealth.
• Wes declined the money and asked Kingpin to prepare food, seeds, livestock, weapons, and other supplies for one hundred thousand people.
• Wes explained that he had taken in people with nowhere to go and recounted his experiences in space.
• Kingpin listened to Wes’s account and realized how small his own world seemed compared with the universe Wes had encountered.

Kingpin told Wes that S.H.I.E.L.D. had fallen after Hydra infiltrated it, the Avengers had formed, and disputes over their authority and oversight were growing. Wes realized that a worldwide superhero civil war was approaching, giving supervillains an opportunity to exploit the chaos.

• Wes asked Kingpin what major events had taken place while he was away from Earth.
• Kingpin explained that Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and used its resources to create Project Insight, leading to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s disbandment.
• Kingpin said Captain America, Iron Man, and others had formed the Avengers, while rising supervillain activity sparked public debate over superheroes and their secret identities.
• Kingpin described how the Avengers' campaign against Hydra angered foreign governments, which viewed their actions as violations of national sovereignty.
• Iron Man supported placing the Avengers under government oversight, while Captain America opposed it, creating divisions within the team.
• Wes recognized that a worldwide superhero civil war was imminent and that supervillains would use the conflict to advance their own interests.

Wes received supplies for Cull Obsidian's people through a Space Channel and learned that the other Vampire clans remained hidden. With three Infinity Stones making him a target for Thanos, Wes decided he needed to recruit more people.

• Wes stopped Kingpin's men from unloading the cruise ships and opened a Space Channel for Cull Obsidian and the aliens to carry the cargo away.
• The aliens unloaded food, livestock, and seeds from the ships, and Wes closed the channel once they had moved everything through.
• Kingpin told Wes that his network and The Hand had not found the hidden Vampire clans, who had concealed their tracks after the destruction of the New York and Britain clans.
• Wes reflected that his three Infinity Stones made him a target for Thanos and that Death was manipulating events behind the scenes.
• Wes decided it was time to recruit more people.

Mad Bear Hasa and his pirates slaughtered passengers aboard a merchant ship until a golden airship arrived. Wes emerged and used its power to kill the pirates, leaving the merchant ship silent and a red gemstone in his hand.

• Mad Bear Hasa led his pirates in attacking a merchant ship, killing crewmen and terrorizing passengers.
• Hasa spotted a golden airship approaching and tried to attack it with his cleaver.
• The airship's automatic defense laser struck Hasa in the heart, killing him instantly.
• Wes appeared as the airship opened its hatch, and the pirates began disintegrating.
• All the pirates vanished, and Wes held a red gemstone as their clothes and weapons remained scattered across the ship.

After Wes left the merchant ship, a photograph of him sparked worldwide debate and drew the attention of Big Mom, the Five Elders, and Morgans. Big Mom and Cipher Pol began searching for him, while Morgans resolved to track him down for an interview.

• Wes questioned the merchant ship's captain about the time and recent events, then departed in his spaceship.
• A camera-wielding man secretly photographed Wes, and the World Economic Journal published the image under a headline claiming aliens existed.
• Big Mom ordered her intelligence network to find Wes so she could add him to her collection.
• The Five Elders discussed the report and ordered Cipher Pol to locate Wes.
• Morgans dismissed complaints about the article and told his subordinate to focus on finding Wes, whom he believed was an alien.

Wes visited Monte Island, sampled its wines, and bought large quantities before pirates began plotting to rob him. He stored the barrels in a Space Channel, frightening most of the pirates, though a few continued watching him.

• Wes read a newspaper photo of himself and wondered how the reporters had captured it.
• Wes visited a tavern on Monte Island and sampled more than a dozen kinds of wine.
• Wes ordered a hundred barrels of every kind and bought liquor from several nearby taverns.
• Several groups of pirates plotted to rob Wes and followed him to learn where his ship was.
• Wes opened a Space Channel and sent the barrels through it, leading the pirates to assume he was a Devil Fruit ability user.
• Most pirates backed away in fear while a few continued watching Wes, who considered them potential materials for the Philosopher's Stone.

Wes encountered the Heart Pirates after turning a group of pirates into a Philosopher's Stone, and challenged Trafalgar D. Water Law over his Ope Ope Fruit. Law's attack failed to harm Wes, who judged him too weak.

• A pirate captain led his crew to ambush Wes, but Wes disintegrated them and refined them into a Philosopher's Stone.
• Wes noticed three people and a bear hiding in the forest and called them out as the Heart Pirates.
• Trafalgar D. Water Law confronted Wes, who revealed he had been watching them from the beginning and wanted to test Law's Ope Ope Fruit.
• Law activated ROOM and attacked Wes with SHAMBLES, but Wes blocked the slash with a magic shield.
• Wes frowned and called Law too weak.

Wes easily deflected Law’s attack, but invited Law and the Heart Pirates aboard his spaceship instead of fighting them. As the ship rose into the sky, the crew marveled at its robot and the view from above.

• Wes redirected Law’s Injection Shot into a boulder, leaving Law and his companions stunned.
• Law briefly doubted his ability to avenge Corazon, then offered to hold Wes off so his companions could escape.
• Pekoms, Shachi, and Bepo refused to abandon Law and stood with him to face Wes.
• Wes reassured the crew that he would not kill them and invited them aboard his spaceship for a drink.
• Law accepted the invitation, and Wes introduced Unit 001 as a robot after Law mistook it for a slave.
• Wes served Law wine as the spaceship rose into the sky, and the Heart Pirates watched the scenery in amazement.

Wes told Law that he wanted to study Devil Fruits and asked for as many powerful ones as possible, dismissing the World Government’s competence. He gave Law a crystal containing a detailed map of the planet, leaving the Heart Pirates with a valuable aid for their voyage.

• Wes said Devil Fruits interested him and explained that he wanted to study them rather than eat them.
• Law asked how many Devil Fruits Wes wanted, and Wes replied that more—and more powerful ones—were better.
• Law warned Wes not to underestimate the World Government, but Wes criticized its failure to unify the world after eight hundred years.
• Wes handed Law a crystal and instructed him to focus on it.
• Law saw that the crystal displayed a detailed map of the planet, which Wes said would help the Heart Pirates on their journey.

Wes offered Law a detailed world map in exchange for help locating Devil Fruits and ability users, revealing that he was trying to extract their powers. After learning Law hated Donquixote Doflamingo, Wes chose the Donquixote Family as his first target and asked Law to become his subordinate.

• Wes offered Law the world map and asked him to help find Devil Fruits and mark ability users, promising to meet any condition Law named.
• Wes claimed he was seventy percent confident he could extract Devil Fruits from ability users, and Law warned him that the ability would make him an enemy of the world.
• Wes confronted Law about his grudge against Donquixote Doflamingo, making Law and his companions tense and guarded.
• Law confirmed that Doflamingo and his subordinates were Devil Fruit ability users, and Wes declared the Donquixote Family his first target.
• Wes offered to wipe out the Donquixote Family if Law became his subordinate.

Wes persuaded Law to join him in confronting the Donquixote Family, offering him the chance to witness Doflamingo’s defeat or strike the final blow himself. Law and his companions agreed, and Wes’s airship brought them to Dressrosa, where the coming confrontation awaited.

• Law reflected on Doflamingo’s immense power and the obstacles standing between him and revenge.
• Wes asked Law to witness the defeat of Doflamingo, and Law accepted almost without hesitation.
• Pekoms, Shachi, and Bepo supported Law’s decision to face the Donquixote Family with him.
• Wes accelerated the airship, and it landed in Dressrosa ten minutes later.
• Law recognized Doflamingo’s territory and felt both anxious and eager for the confrontation.

Wes and Law’s group arrived in Dressrosa, where they witnessed the island’s extreme devotion to love and its violent consequences. As they explored the city, Law and Bepo remained tense because Doflamingo’s spies could be anywhere.

• Wes led the group into Dressrosa, whose flowers, food, music, and dancing filled the streets.
• A woman stabbed her blond lover for betraying her, then killed herself so they could remain together in death.
• Local residents praised the couple’s bloody romance and mourned them with music and dancing, leaving Wes baffled.
• Law warned the Heart Pirates to stay away from the women, and they continued through the city like ordinary tourists.
• Bepo worried that Doflamingo’s spies were watching them, while Law stayed alert to the risk of being discovered.