Chapter Summaries

Aaron learned that Ego’s true body was a planetary core and that his many children were likely sacrifices, while Peter Quill agreed to visit Ego’s planet with Gamora and their companions. Aaron left Rocket behind on Bohart Star to protect the others and set out with the group toward Ego’s world.

• Ego told Peter Quill that he had hired Yondu to bring him back after his mother died, while Peter explained that Yondu had kept and raised him; Aaron argued that Peter’s survival of the Power Stone suggested he had inherited Ego’s power.
• Gamora and Peter discussed whether Ego might be the father Peter had longed for, and Gamora promised they would kill him if he proved dangerous.
• Ramon reported that Ego’s true body was likely a planetary core, that Ego had thousands of children who were all dead, and that Yondu had protected Peter after discovering the children’s bones; Aaron ordered Ramon to prepare Ake and Naga for a possible battle.
• Gamora left Nebula, Rocket, Groot, and Aaron on Bohart Star, while Aaron warned Rocket about the Sovereign and gave him a bracelet to call for help.
• Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, and Aaron boarded Ego’s ship and headed for his planet; after Ego fell asleep, Peter asked Mantis about her antennae.

Mantis revealed her empathic ability and helped Aaron find temporary relief from years of emotional strain, while her reaction suggested he had uncovered something about Ego. On Bohart Star, Yondu learned Peter Quill had left with Ego and decided to pursue him, as Nebula seized Baby Groot and demanded a ship and Ego’s coordinates.

• Mantis explained that she could sense and alter emotions, exposed Peter Quill’s love for Gamora, and made Drax fall asleep.
• Mantis sensed Aaron’s long-standing longing and eased his tension with a comforting vision of his past, then reacted uneasily when he mentioned Ego.
• Yondu’s Ravagers captured Rocket on Bohart Star, and Yondu learned Peter Quill had gone with Ego, Gamora, and Drax.
• Yondu revealed that Ego had hired him to find many of his children and that he feared Ego had killed them, then agreed to go with Rocket to rescue Peter Quill.
• Nebula took Baby Groot hostage and demanded an armed ship and Ego’s coordinates so she could kill Gamora; Yondu began whistling as Rocket asked if he could handle the situation.

Aaron accompanied Peter Quill and the Guardians to Ego’s planet, where Ego revealed his Celestial nature and his relationship with Quill’s mother. While Ego spent time with Quill, Aaron used a compass to find a route toward Ego’s core and discovered a mountain of bones belonging to Ego’s children, leaving him ready to drill deeper.

• Rocket captured Nebula, and Ake arrived through Rocket’s wristband but refused to intervene because Slytherin had gone with Ego willingly.
• Ego showed his guests visions of his origins and explained how he met Meredith and fathered Peter Quill.
• Aaron set off alone on Supersonic and used Gaius’s Compass to locate a route toward the planet’s core.
• Aaron spotted Quill playing with Ego and realized Ego had awakened Quill’s Celestial power.
• Aaron followed the compass into a cavern and found a mountain of bones threaded with glowing branches that extended from Ego’s main body.
• Aaron summoned a Drill Vehicle and prepared to dig down through the bones.

Aaron reached Ego’s core and realized it could be a shortcut to becoming the God of Magic, while Ego revealed his plans for Peter Quill and Mantis hurried to warn Drax. Rocket and Yondu arrived after hundreds of painful jumps, and Yondu confronted Rocket about their shared past before a communicator interrupted them.

• Aaron and Supersonic drilled through Ego’s planet to its core without disturbing the vines, and Aaron shrank himself to enter the core chamber unnoticed.
• Aaron found Ego’s brain and realized its energy could help him ascend as the God of Magic, but he needed to plan before Ego acted on Peter Quill.
• Gamora warned Peter Quill that Ego and the planet felt dangerous, but Peter dismissed her concerns and chose to trust his father.
• Ego told Peter Quill they could live forever and use their power to reshape the universe, then led him away while Mantis secretly listened and rushed toward Drax’s room.
• Rocket and Yondu arrived after seven hundred spatial jumps, and Yondu told Rocket he understood his pain because they had both been rejected by their parents before a communicator rang.

Aaron joined Gamora, Rocket, Yondu, and Groot on Ego’s planet, where they planned how to rescue Peter Quill and defeat Ego. They concluded that Quill and the Guardians would need to hold Ego’s human form off while Aaron secretly infiltrated the planet’s core to destroy his true body.

• Rocket brought Yondu and Groot to Gamora, and they agreed that rescuing Quill from Ego was their priority.
• Aaron emerged from underground in his Drill Vehicle and explained that he had investigated Ego’s true body beneath the planet’s surface.
• Aaron warned the group that Ego’s armored core would take at least an hour to breach and that Quill’s awakened Celestial genes made hiding from Ego unlikely.
• The group considered splitting up to attack Ego’s human form and true body at the same time, but Rocket doubted they had enough people or ships.
• Aaron proposed that Quill and the Guardians hold Ego off while he infiltrated the core, and he revealed that he could shrink himself to enter its metal shell.

Ego revealed that he planned to use Peter Quill’s Celestial power to spread across and consume all existence, then attacked him after admitting he had caused Peter’s mother’s brain tumor. The Guardians rescued Peter and headed underground to destroy Ego’s core, where Aaron’s plan was already underway.

• Gamora and Aaron learned from Mantis that Ego had killed his other children and was about to drain Peter’s Celestial power, so they called Rocket and summoned Yak Moens, Naga Shatiel, and Ramon Lancelot.
• Ego showed Peter his Expansion plan and confessed that he had caused his mother’s brain tumor, prompting Peter to shoot him in anger.
• Ego pierced Peter with an energy tentacle, crushed his Walkman, and began draining his power as his planetary seeds activated; Aaron shrank himself and entered the route to the core.
• Rocket and Yondu crashed a vehicle into Ego’s human form, freeing Peter, and Gamora helped him rejoin the others.
• Peter reunited with Yondu and helped restore the ship’s thrusters; after they struck Ego’s energy form, Rocket drove the ship underground to reach Ego’s core while Aaron worked ahead.

Peter Quill and the Guardians of the Galaxy reached Ego’s core while Aaron’s agents prepared to destroy it and the Sovereign fleet was blocked by the Ravagers. Peter drew Ego’s attention, and Mantis managed to put Ego to sleep, though Ramon began considering how to exploit her ability.

• Aaron told Ake, Ramon, and Naga that Peter Quill had to awaken his Celestial powers and hold Ego’s attention while Aaron attacked the core.
• The Guardians’ ship broke through Ego’s underground defenses, and Rocket fired its lasers at the protective shell around the core.
• Ayesha led the Sovereign fleet toward Ego’s planet, but Stakar and the Ravagers blocked its approach on behalf of their employer.
• Ego attacked the Guardians’ ship, and Peter left the damaged vessel to draw Ego away while Rocket and Yondu worked on repairs.
• Mantis used her empathic ability to put Ego to sleep, and Ramon recognized that her power could be useful to Aaron.

Aaron began devouring Ego’s energy while Mantis’s hypnosis briefly kept Ego asleep, and the others fought to stall Ego and give Aaron time to reach his core. Peter Quill struggled to awaken his Celestial power, and the chapter ended with Ego slicing Rocket’s ship in half and engulfing it in an explosion.

• Aaron ordered Ake, Ramon, and Naga to help stall Ego, then used the Dark Devouring Spell to drain energy from Ego’s core.
• Mantis’s hypnosis failed, and Ramon, Ake, and Naga moved Mantis, Gamora, and Drax out of danger while Yondu and Peter Quill stayed to fight.
• Yondu recovered his Whistle Arrow, and the group battled Ego’s tentacles as Ake warned that their magic would run out before Ego’s energy did.
• Ego attacked Peter Quill and knocked him down, while Ake and the others focused on keeping Quill alive and pushing him to awaken his Celestial power.
• Rocket returned with the ship and helped Peter Quill attack Ego, but Ego’s light whip cut the ship in half and a fireball engulfed it.

Peter Quill awakened as a Celestial and began fighting Ego while Aaron secretly devoured energy from Ego’s core to increase his own power. The chapter left Ake, Naga, and Ramon sealing the core so Ego’s death and Aaron’s rise would not attract the attention of other gods.

• Ego’s tentacles overwhelmed Peter Quill, Rocket, and Yondu, but Peter Quill awakened after recalling Yondu’s advice and their happy memories.
• Ramon used Mantis’s empathic ability to distract Ego while Ake and Naga freed Rocket and Yondu from the ground.
• Peter Quill reclaimed the energy Ego had drained and attacked him, while Ake used a Paper Clone to survive Ego’s counterattack.
• Ake sent Rocket and Yondu through a portal, and Ramon reported Peter Quill’s awakening to Aaron.
• Aaron stopped probing Ego’s core and used the Dark Devouring Spell and Food Sink to consume its energy and boost his power.
• Ake, Naga, and Ramon formed a Magic Array around Ego’s core to conceal the Celestial’s fall from other gods.

Peter Quill and his allies fought Ego to keep him from reaching his core while Aaron drained the Celestial’s energy. Ego trapped them in a Light Domain, but the group managed to stall him long enough for Aaron to stop absorbing before Ego arrived.

• Ego overpowered Peter Quill in their fight, but his attacks weakened when someone began draining energy from his core.
• Peter Quill held Ego back while Ake, Ramon, and Naga joined the battle and protected him from Ego’s assault.
• Ego flooded the underground with blue-white light, trapping the group inside his Light Domain while his core remained outside its reach.
• Ake explained that the group’s barrier protected Aaron from the domain, and Ego rushed toward his core to stop him.
• Ramon used Legilimency to hurl Peter Quill at Ego, and Peter grabbed Ego to delay him as Ake warned Aaron that Ego would reach the core in ten seconds.
• Aaron stopped draining Ego’s energy and chose to withdraw before pushing his luck too far.

Aaron destroyed Ego’s core, completed his mission, and returned to Bohart Star with enough power to approach godhood. He claimed the mission reward, acquired Moon Demon Qi, and began planning which abilities and materials to obtain next.

• Aaron burned Ego’s fragile core to ashes, causing Ego’s body and planet-wide network to collapse as Peter Quill lost his Celestial powers.
• Aaron escaped through a portal, while Ake erased Peter Quill’s memory of Aaron stealing Ego’s energy and brought him to the spaceship.
• The Guardians found the planet collapsing and learned the Sovereign fleet had caught up, while the Ravagers arrived after Ramon had arranged for them to block outside threats.
• Aaron returned to Bohart Star, claimed 3000 Magic Points for killing Ego, and purchased and absorbed Moon Demon Qi, gaining the Moon’s gravity-related authority.
• Aaron refreshed the shop for Mountain Demon Qi after deciding Borgon’s power would improve his energy consumption, then considered buying Uru God Steel, Aurora’s Eye, and the Golden Fleece.

Aaron gave Lorelei Aurora's Eye before returning to the Mind World, where he reunited with his Thoughtform and ascended to godhood. He began merging the Shadow Dimension with his Mind Dimension, a process expected to take at least three months, while powerful beings across the universe sensed the birth of a new Heaven Level.

• Aaron gave Lorelei Aurora's Eye, told her he would be gone for three to four months to ascend to godhood, and left her in charge of Bohart Star.
• Aaron reunited with his Thoughtform in the Mind World, merged with it, and broke through the barrier to godhood as his magical power and mastery of magic surged.
• Odin ordered Heimdall to find the newly born Heaven Level, while Ancient One searched the timelines and Zeus chose not to investigate.
• Aaron discovered that Horn had extended the time limit for returning to his original universe and decided to focus first on materializing his Mind Dimension.
• Aaron ordered his dependents not to disturb him, then opened a fissure and began merging the Shadow Dimension into the Mind Dimension, a process that would take at least three months.

Aaron learned that the military had attacked Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and accepted a mission to rescue Charles Xavier. He found Jean and convinced her to leave the school, but their plane was intercepted by military aircraft as they followed Gaius's Compass.

• Rogue told Aaron that the military had invaded Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Charles was missing, and Logan had fled with Bobby and John.
• Aaron accepted the mission to rescue Charles and took Rogue to search for Jean, whom he found with Logan, Bobby, and Storm in Boston.
• Aaron insisted Jean leave Mutant Academy and become Mrs. Gaius; Jean agreed, and the group set off to find Charles using Gaius's Compass.
• Military aircraft intercepted the plane and ordered Storm to descend and return to Hanscom Air Force Base.

Storm, Jean, and Aaron survived an attack by fighter jets before Magneto joined them and revealed that Colonel William Stryker had captured Professor X to use Cerebro against Mutants. The group located Stryker’s base beneath a dam and prepared to rescue the captive Mutants.

• Storm dodged the fighter jets, Jean used the Phoenix Force to stop one missile, and Aaron shot the other with Shore Flower.
• Magneto, Mystique, and Polaris boarded the plane and told the group that William Stryker had captured Professor X and built a second Cerebro.
• Magneto explained that Stryker could use Cerebro and Professor X’s mind-control powers to kill Mutants, and the group relied on Aaron’s compass to find the secret base.
• Aaron led the group to a dam where Mystique identified Stryker’s base and began planning their infiltration.
• Magneto invited John, who called himself Dragon, to join the Mutant Empire, while Aaron agreed that John was suited to following him.

Aaron and the X-Men infiltrated Stryker’s base to rescue Professor X and the imprisoned students while Wolverine confronted the past behind his Adamantium skeleton. The groups split up, and the chapter left Logan fighting Yuriko as Stryker’s plan to use Jason and Cerebro to target Mutants unfolded.

• Mystique disguised herself as Wolverine to enter the spillway, escaped Stryker’s soldiers, and opened the gate for Aaron and the others.
• Aaron divided the team: Jean and Storm went to free the students, while he, Magneto, and Mystique headed to rescue Professor X; Wolverine went after Stryker.
• Stryker used his son Jason’s illusion powers to control Professor X and command him to kill Mutants around the world.
• Aaron told Magneto he knew about the psychic cage around Jean and claimed he could help her absorb the Phoenix’s power, then knocked out the controlled Scott.
• Logan recognized the laboratory where Stryker had given him Adamantium, but Yuriko attacked him with Adamantium claws and wounded him.

Logan and his allies defeated Stryker’s forces, while Magneto stopped Charles from killing Mutants worldwide and persuaded him to support a Mutant refuge. As the collapsing dam forced everyone to flee, Logan led the students to safety, and Magneto prepared to take Charles away by helicopter.

• Logan fought Yuriko until Polaris trapped her in molten Adamantium, while John told Logan that Stryker had been captured.
• Magneto, Mystique, Aaron, and Scott reached Cerebro as Charles’s telepathic search threatened Mutants worldwide, and Aaron killed Jason to end the illusion controlling Charles.
• Magneto confronted Charles with the danger Mutants faced, and Charles agreed to help locate them and support Magneto’s Mutant Empire.
• The dam began to collapse, forcing the group to flee; Logan stopped them from entering the flooded spillway and led them out through another route.
• Magneto and Lorna put Charles aboard the helicopter, while the rest of the group faced the escape on foot.

Aaron rescued Charles and the others from the flood by having Abei carry their plane to safety, while Jean chose to say goodbye to her friends before returning home with him. At Gaius's Divination Shop, Aaron began revealing his origins and history to Jean through his memories, leaving her stunned by the truth.

• Aaron and the others reached the plane, where Jean promised Charles she would leave Mutant Academy and go home with Aaron.
• When the dam burst and the plane lost power, Jean tried to save everyone herself, but Aaron summoned Abei, who transformed into a giant dragon and carried the plane to safety.
• Aaron and Jean flew away on the Magic Carpet, and Jean agreed to say goodbye to the others before going home with him.
• Aaron returned to Gaius's Divination Shop with Jean, where Wanda and Jane welcomed her with dinner.
• Aaron showed Jean memories explaining the Gaius Family and his origins in another universe, then showed her his history in this universe, leaving her overwhelmed.

Jean learned about Aaron’s hidden power, followers, and plans for his Divine Kingdom, then urged him to offer Mutants refuge; Aaron explained why he would admit only a few under strict conditions. The next day, the Mutants declared a nation on Krakoa Island, while Aaron and Jean kept his secrets.

• Aaron showed Jean a memory of his followers and revealed his network across organizations, including the Holy Court and the mutant school.
• Jean asked Aaron to take Mutants into his Divine Kingdom, but he warned that their conflicts could continue there and that he would accept only a small number who signed contracts and submitted to his rules.
• Aaron told Jean not to reveal his secrets, especially to Charles Xavier or Hela, and Jean agreed not to disclose what she had learned.
• The next morning, Aaron woke beside Jean and Wanda, and the three joined Hela for breakfast.
• The Mutants declared nationhood on Krakoa Island, a sovereign state governed by Magneto and other Mutant elites, with Charles Xavier secretly helping recruit Mutants.

Aaron reconvened with his vassals in the Mind Dimension, heard their reports, and explained why he had recalled his avatar from Bohart Star. He revealed that he had ascended to godhood, leaving the group relieved that he could now act more boldly while remaining cautious of greater threats.

• Aaron summoned his vassals, who reported their potion progress and intelligence, including Banner's misadventures on Sakaar and Bucky's visit to the new Mutant nation.
• Banner asked about Slytherin, and Aaron revealed that Slytherin had been his avatar, which he had recalled after using it to research magic, develop his body, and gather intelligence on Bohart Star.
• Aaron explained that eating Dream Ingredients let his cells evolve and that his stored energy could sustain intense combat for a year.
• Aaron announced that he had ascended to godhood, and Ake, Ramon, Naga, and the others congratulated him.
• Aaron told the vassals that he could now protect himself from most threats below the level of a single universe, though he still needed to use his powers carefully.

Aaron established his Divine Kingdom as a real world and created its first races, assigning them territories and rulers. He left his followers to consider becoming the new world’s administrators and introduced the Code as the supreme law.

• Aaron used Abei’s blood to create powerful dragons, named Abei their king, and sent them to guard their chosen territories.
• Aaron used Jane’s blood to create the Blood Clan, made Jane their queen, and settled them in a dark region.
• Aaron created the Ice Tribe, Feather Tribe, Fire Tribe, Treants, Elves, Dwarves, Merfolk, Demon Tribe, and humans, giving each race distinctive abilities and a homeland.
• Aaron told his followers that he could open the Divine Kingdom to the real world and asked them to consider serving as its administrators.
• Aaron raised churches and statues of himself throughout the new world, then issued the Creator’s decree that the Code was the supreme law.