Chapter Summaries

Li Wei and his allies planned to exploit the vampire gathering to kill Archangel Gabriel when she descended into the Human Realm. After Sif and Zedd destroyed the vampires and found an ancient silver cup, Gabriel appeared before them.

• Zedd told Li Wei that her visions showed Gabriel would descend after Sif and Zedd killed the vampires at the last marked location, and Li Wei decided to use the chance to complete his final Ascended Stairway trial.
• Li Wei, Constantine, Sif, and Zedd planned an ambush, while Lucifer promised to prevent Heaven from sending reinforcements; Sif and Zedd would attack first, and Li Wei would teleport in after Gabriel appeared.
• Sif and Zedd entered the office building and found dozens of captives surrounded by vampires preparing to fight them.
• Sif and Zedd flew above the vampires and used holy and dark power to destroy them, despite some vampires trying to resist.
• Sif noticed an ancient silver-white cup on the speaking platform and picked it up, but a surge of holy power shook the space and a winged figure appeared before the women.

Archangel Gabriel confronted Sif and Zedd over the mysterious silver cup they had taken, but they refused to surrender it. As Gabriel attacked, Li Wei intervened to protect Sif, and Gabriel prepared to face him.

• Gabriel descended before Sif and Zedd, recognized the cup in Sif's hand, and offered to take them to Heaven if they surrendered it.
• Sif and Zedd refused Gabriel's offer and demanded proof that the cup belonged to Heaven, while Gabriel concealed why he wanted it.
• Gabriel lost patience and prepared to attack as Li Wei watched, waiting to learn more about the cup.
• When Gabriel launched a sphere of Holy Power at Sif, Li Wei used Shen, the Eye of Twilight's Merciful Soul Descent, to surround her with a purple shield that blocked the attack.
• Gabriel stopped attacking and watched Li Wei emerge, aware that his weakened state made the coming confrontation dangerous.

Li Wei confronted Archangel Gabriel over the Holy Grail, which awakened a new Vladimir, the Crimson Reaper Hero Template in his system. He refused to surrender the cup and began fighting Gabriel, ending the chapter as Constantine prepared protective and concealment spells.

• Gabriel demanded the cup from Li Wei, who discovered that it had awakened the Vladimir, the Crimson Reaper Hero Template.
• Constantine identified the cup as the Holy Grail and warned that Heaven would hunt Li Wei if he kept it.
• Li Wei stored the Holy Grail in his Dimensional Space Bag, provoking Gabriel to attack him with a sword of holy power.
• Li Wei used Twisted Fate and Dreadbringer to evade Gabriel's attack and knock her back, then judged her strength to be on par with his own.
• Li Wei called on Constantine to hide the fight from ordinary people and protect the surrounding area.

Li Wei overwhelmed Gabriel with his many shields and varied attacks, improving as their fight continued. When Michael descended to rescue Gabriel, Lucifer and Mez blocked him, leaving Michael facing Lucifer’s challenge over Heaven and Hell’s agreement.

• Constantine set up a magic array to conceal the battle’s commotion and aftereffects as Gabriel recovered and attacked Li Wei.
• Li Wei surrounded himself with layers of shields and bombarded Gabriel with an array of abilities, forcing her to defend while he grew more skilled and combined attacks.
• Gabriel realized Li Wei’s strength was rapidly increasing and hoped Archangel Michael would intervene; Li Wei called his chaotic barrage the “sword of victory.”
• Michael descended into the Human Realm to rescue Gabriel, but Lucifer and Mez stopped him.
• Michael offered Lucifer a favor in exchange for passage, but Lucifer refused and accused Gabriel of breaking the agreement, challenging Michael over the possibility of war between Heaven and Hell.

Li Wei overwhelmed Gabriel with rapidly accelerating attacks while Lucifer and Michael watched from The Light Bar. When Gabriel began to fall, Lucifer rejected his transformation, leaving Li Wei to continue fighting him.

• Michael kept Lucifer and Mez occupied at The Light Bar rather than risk a war with Hell over Gabriel.
• Li Wei's stacked abilities and increasing attack speed trapped Gabriel in a relentless defense and steadily injured him.
• Gabriel despaired when Michael failed to arrive, and blackness spread across his wings as he began to fall.
• Michael gave up on rescuing Gabriel and expected Lucifer to accept him into the Fallen Angels.
• Lucifer chose Li Wei and used his authority to halt Gabriel's fall, surprising Michael.

Li Wei killed Gabriel after Lucifer rejected her attempt to fall, then absorbed the Holy Grail and God's Blood to activate Vladimir, the Crimson Reaper's Hero Template. Lucifer and Michael arrived seeking the vanished relics, leaving Li Wei to face their demands.

• Lucifer rejected Gabriel's fall and prevented Heaven's angels from intervening, so Li Wei continued attacking her.
• Gabriel gave up resisting, revealed that the Holy Grail and God's Blood were in Li Wei's hands, and was beheaded by Li Wei.
• Li Wei absorbed the Holy Grail and God's Blood, bought Vladimir, the Crimson Reaper's Hero Template, and fused it with himself.
• Lucifer and Michael appeared before Li Wei and demanded the Holy Grail and God's Blood, offering rewards and pardons in exchange.
• Li Wei told them that he had absorbed the relics, and Michael sensed that their auras had disappeared completely.

After Li Wei absorbed the Holy Grail and God's Blood, Michael threatened him and the others but left rather than fight Lucifer. Li Wei kept Michael's tracking mark so he could lure more angels, then examined his new Vladimir abilities and completed Kayle's final trial.

• Michael realized Li Wei had absorbed the Holy Grail and God's Blood, threatened him and his companions, and returned to Heaven without attacking.
• Lucifer removed Michael's marks from Constantine and the others, while Li Wei chose to keep his mark to attract angels and hunt them for Angel Feathers.
• Li Wei and the others collected Archangel Gabriel's Angel Feathers and burned the rest of his body before heading back to the cabin in the woods.
• At the cabin, Li Wei examined Vladimir, the Crimson Reaper's abilities, including Blood Pact, which increased both his health and ability power.
• Li Wei completed Justice Angel Kayle's final Ascended Stairway trial by killing Archangel Gabriel and gained the Transcendent State's additional attack range.

Li Wei explored the Sacred Divinity he had gained, then arranged for his group to return to Gotham and built an intelligence network in Los Angeles. As they prepared to leave, he contacted Poison Ivy Ezri to help ensure Constantine and the others had a safe arrival.

• Li Wei discovered that Sacred Divinity greatly increased the sacred power available through Justice Angel Kayle's Hero Template, though Constantine could not explain what divinity was.
• Li Wei and the others postponed creating an Artificial Angel army until they returned to Gotham, where Ra's al Ghul could recruit and train orphans through the Kinkou Order.
• Li Wei gave Anton and Daddy Midnight Invisible Flowers so they could report supernatural activity in Los Angeles and promised to grant them abilities later.
• Li Wei confirmed to Constantine that he could genuinely grant abilities to others, and Constantine realized Li Wei could build a force powerful enough to rival Heaven or Hell.
• Li Wei arranged ferry tickets for the group to return to Gotham and called Poison Ivy Ezri before they boarded.

Li Wei returned to Gotham with Constantine and the others, where Cobblepot and Arkham Asylum’s staff staged an enormous welcome at the docks. The spectacle revealed how much influence Li Wei held in Gotham, and Gordon’s strained greeting hinted that the city had grown more dangerous while Li Wei was away.

• Ezri told Cobblepot to suspend his arms-smuggling business for the day and arranged a welcome for Li Wei’s return.
• Li Wei and his companions disembarked to find Cobblepot’s armed gangsters, Gordon’s officers, and Arkham Asylum’s staff gathered at the docks.
• Cobblepot greeted Li Wei obsequiously and explained through his actions that he had suspended arms deals throughout Gotham; Li Wei ordered the crowd to disperse.
• The ship’s captain told passengers that he had once escaped Gotham, leaving them curious about the city and Li Wei.
• Gordon greeted Li Wei and hinted that Gotham’s increasingly dangerous situation might require help from Arkham Asylum.

Li Wei returned to Arkham Asylum, reunited with its staff, and learned how the Kinkou Order had created a tense three-way balance in Gotham. As Dr. Hugo began discussing new patients who could receive Hero Templates, Li Wei told Constantine and his companions to stay because the cases concerned them too.

• Ezri welcomed Li Wei and his companions at the docks, while Dr. Hugo and Warwick grew excited to learn about their supernatural abilities and the Angel Feather.
• Li Wei and the others returned to Arkham Asylum, where he recounted his encounters in Los Angeles and Constantine's group demonstrated their powers, including Chas's ability to survive cutting his own throat.
• Ezri and the others explained that Ra's al Ghul had rebuilt the Kinkou Order, creating a three-way standoff among the Order, the Gotham Police Department, and Cobblepot's gang.
• Li Wei told Constantine's group to stay for the discussion of Arkham Asylum's new patients because it concerned them too.
• Dr. Hugo began describing the bizarre crimes committed by recent arrivals, including a man who repeatedly threw feces at Gotham police officers.

Li Wei reviewed the files of revived Arkham Asylum residents and chose Mr. Freeze Victor Fries and Firefly Bridget Pike as candidates for Hero Templates. He planned to give Fries Lissandra’s powers and hoped Brigitte could activate Revenant Brand’s template, but still needed to meet her.

• Gotham Police Department officers sent a man who repeatedly threw feces at them to Arkham Asylum after a psychological evaluation linked his actions to past persecution.
• Li Wei learned that Dr. Hugo had revived Victor Fries and his wife Nora with the Fountain of Resurrection, and that Fries now assisted Hugo at Arkham Asylum.
• Li Wei decided that Fries was suited to the Ice Witch—Lissandra Hero Template.
• Li Wei learned that Dr. Hugo had revived Brigitte Pike, who had escaped her abusive brothers, become a vigilante, and died in a fuel-tank explosion.
• Li Wei identified Brigitte as the ideal vessel for Revenant Brand but could not determine the template’s activation conditions, so he planned to meet her.

Li Wei prepared to grant Hero Templates to Constantine and the others, but Constantine had to wait because Li Wei lacked a suitable template. At Indian Hill Hospital, Li Wei began Brigitte’s Evolution Ceremony by loading Revenant Brand into her.

• Li Wei explained the benefits and enforced loyalty of Hero Templates, and Sif, Zedd, and Chas agreed to receive powers while Constantine accepted that he would have to wait.
• The group left the banquet and followed Li Wei to the underground Indian Hill Hospital for the Evolution Ceremony.
• The Hero Mall System offered Li Wei Revenant Brand after Brigitte awakened the template, and he purchased it for her.
• Li Wei began the ceremony with Brigitte, and the crimson ball of light merged into her, twisting her face into a savage expression.

Brigitte completed the Evolution Ceremony, gained Revenant Brand’s power, and accepted Arkham Asylum as her new home. Li Wei then began Fries’s ceremony, which started with Dr. Hugo’s bizarre mouse-wheel procedure before Li Wei prepared Ice Witch Lissandra’s template.

• Brigitte endured the painful transformation and absorbed the memories and abilities of Nuohe Keegan.
• Brigitte rose from the wreckage of her wheelchair, and Li Wei welcomed her home; she vowed to stand with Arkham Asylum.
• Li Wei called Fries into the laboratory, where Dr. Hugo strapped him to a wheelchair and forced a mouse wheel into his mouth.
• Li Wei summoned Ice Witch Lissandra’s template, and Fries felt its extreme cold despite his resistance to freezing.

Li Wei completed the Evolution Ceremonies for Fries, Chas, Sif, and Zedd, granting them powerful Hero Templates, before preparing Arkham Asylum for a visit from Gordon and Barnes. As he waited in his office, he reflected on his connection to Gotham and planned to harvest the insect farm’s cockroaches to replenish Soul Essence and grow stronger.

• Li Wei gave Fries the Ice Witch Lissandra template, then oversaw the transformations of Chas into Undead Warrior Sion, Sif into Justice Angel Kayle, and Zedd into Fallen Angel Morgana.
• Constantine asked Li Wei to delay his own ceremony because he feared Dr. Hugo’s humiliating ritual, and Li Wei agreed that they could discuss it later.
• Li Wei sensed Sheriff Gordon and Director Barnes approaching, sent Constantine and the others to hide their new abilities, and had Brigitte and Fries return to the underground hospital.
• Li Wei recalled the Fiddlesticks dummy that had covered his absence, returned to his office, and reflected on finding a sense of belonging in Gotham.
• Li Wei noted that his Soul Essence was running low and that Wayne Enterprises’ insect farm held nearly a million cockroaches, at least half of which he could harvest.

Gordon and Director Barnes asked Li Wei for help dealing with the Kinkou Order, but he refused to intervene. After Barnes explained that the Mad Hatter planned to spread a mind-altering virus and destroy Gotham, Li Wei agreed to stop him.

• Gordon and Director Barnes visited Arkham Asylum and asked Li Wei to help counter the Kinkou Order.
• Li Wei refused, saying he was only an asylum director, and Barnes stopped Gordon from pressing him.
• Barnes told Li Wei that the Mad Hatter could hypnotize people and had used controlled police officers to escape capture.
• Barnes revealed that the Mad Hatter had found his sister to extract a virus that made victims violent and planned to infect Gotham.
• Li Wei agreed to investigate and stop the Mad Hatter from destroying Gotham.

Li Wei agreed to stop the Mad Hatter, but secretly planned to use the infected Director Barnes as a Hero Template vessel rather than cure him. After finding the Mad Hatter and Alice hiding near a police station, Li Wei chose to keep them in play so he could use the situation to introduce a vigilante and strengthen Gotham’s heroes.

• Director Barnes asked Li Wei to research an antidote after revealing that the blood toxin was infecting him and causing increasingly frequent bouts of aggression.
• Li Wei agreed to investigate the toxin but decided Barnes might serve as a vessel for the Barbarian King, Tryndamere, and considered Gordon as a possible successor to Barnes.
• Li Wei considered ARGUS a continuing threat, but ARGUS was preoccupied with the Criminal Alliance, whose agents were being killed as soon as they entered Gotham.
• Using Twisted Fate’s Destiny ability and the file Barnes provided, Li Wei located the Mad Hatter and Alice hiding in an empty house beside a police station.
• Li Wei chose not to capture the siblings immediately, planning instead to use the Mad Hatter’s remaining value to introduce a Gotham vigilante and considering Alice as another possible Hero Template vessel.

Li Wei arranged for Bruce Wayne to take on the Mad Hatter, relying on Ra's al Ghul's training and planning to have Alice sent to Arkham Asylum. Three days later, Bruce left Wayne Manor in specialized gear, unaware that Li Wei, Ra's al Ghul, and Jerome were watching him.

• Li Wei asked Ra's al Ghul about Bruce Wayne's training, then explained his plan for Bruce to confront the Mad Hatter.
• Ra's al Ghul worried Bruce might not send Alice to Arkham Asylum, but Li Wei said he would persuade Bruce by claiming Alice's blood could help cure Director Barnes.
• Ra's al Ghul prepared Bruce for real combat, while Jerome and the Criminal Alliance discussed making a spectacular operation to celebrate Li Wei's return.
• Gotham's factions investigated Li Wei's whereabouts as the city remained quiet for three days, and Cobblepot ordered his men to avoid trouble.
• Bruce left Wayne Manor wearing protective equipment designed to counter the Mad Hatter, while Li Wei, Ra's al Ghul, and Jerome secretly watched him.

Bruce Wayne rescued Alice after defeating the Mad Hatter, then left the area with her instead of taking her to Arkham Asylum. Li Wei and Ra's al Ghul watched as Bruce headed toward Gotham’s outskirts, waiting to see what he would do with her.

• Bruce used scans and careful tactics to evade traps in the Mad Hatter’s hideout.
• Bruce resisted the Mad Hatter’s hypnosis and knocked him unconscious in a fight.
• Bruce freed Alice and dragged the Mad Hatter to an alley near the Gotham Police Department, where he left him tied up.
• Bruce led Alice away from the police department and headed toward the outskirts of Gotham City while Li Wei and Ra's al Ghul observed.

Bruce struggled to decide where to take Alice after rescuing her, and Ra's al Ghul advised him to bring her to Arkham Asylum. Li Wei persuaded Bruce to do so, where he began preparing to make Alice a Hero Template vessel while concealing Arkham's secrets from Bruce.

• Ra's al Ghul called Bruce and warned him that Alice's blood was needed to develop an antidote and that taking her to Wayne Manor could expose Bruce's identity.
• Li Wei teleported into an alley, revealed that he knew Bruce's identity, and urged him to bring Alice to Arkham Asylum, citing infected police director Barnes as a reason for the antidote.
• Bruce followed Li Wei into the empty alley, then changed course and assured Alice he would keep her safe at Arkham Asylum.
• Li Wei summoned Dr. Hugo and Warwick to conceal Arkham's abnormalities until he could turn Bruce into a Hero Template vessel.
• Warwick admitted Bruce and Alice to Arkham and led them to Li Wei's office, where Li Wei invited them to sit.

Bruce left Alice in Li Wei’s care at Arkham Asylum after securing promises about her safety and freedom. Li Wei learned that Alice’s blood held a dangerous unknown substance and began persuading her to join Arkham Asylum by revealing his powers.

• Li Wei explained how he had identified Bruce, and Bruce agreed to leave Alice at Arkham Asylum so her blood could be studied.
• Bruce left, while Li Wei reassured the anxious Alice and took her to the underground Indian Hill Hospital for examinations.
• Dr. Hugo found that Alice’s blood contained an unknown infectious substance that affected even Poison Ivy and other Hero Template carriers.
• Li Wei decided to have Alice join Arkham Asylum, and Dr. Hugo prepared the Evolution Ceremony.
• Li Wei showed Alice a white flame that burned through a stainless steel table and told her it was power, not magic.