Chapter Summaries

Russell teased Wanda after their night together, then met with Gaea to explain how he could remove the alien energy from Atum. His account tied the solution to Ragnarok and revealed that Gaea’s daughter Ness was among the Shadow Gods.

• Russell prepared breakfast for Wanda, helped her recover with Chaos Magic, and teased her about doing a daily good deed before she kicked him out.
• Russell encountered 616 Wanda Maximoff outside his room, then went to find White-Bearded Ancient One and agreed to visit Gaea.
• Russell told Gaea that removing the alien energy from Atum could damage his mind and erase some memories, and Gaea accepted the risk.
• Russell explained that Ragnarok’s energies of rebirth and annihilation could separate alien energy from Atum’s origin energy, drawing on his investigation into the Shadow Gods.
• Russell named Ness as one of the Shadow Gods, and Gaea recognized her daughter, born from Oshtur and herself.

Russell brought Gaea and White-Bearded Ancient One to the Shadow Dimension, where Gaea reunited with Ness, who had lost her memories. After explaining his deception and their connection through the Spider Totem, Russell assured Gaea that Atum’s condition would likely be less severe than Ness’s.

• Gaea explained that Ness and her sister had been conceived from her Life Energy and Oshtur’s, then asked Russell to take her to Ness.
• Russell, Gaea, and White-Bearded Ancient One traveled to the Shadow Dimension, where Ness failed to recognize Gaea or remember Russell.
• Gaea transformed into a giant and revealed that she was Ness’s mother, and Russell confirmed it.
• Ness mistook Russell for her partner until he admitted he had once pretended to be a sleeping Shadow God and showed her his silver Spider Totem.
• White-Bearded Ancient One suggested that Gaea would favor her descendants, while Russell considered the Creator’s role in Ragnarok and the Elder Gods’ Alien Energy.
• Gaea asked whether Atum would suffer like Ness, and Russell promised that Atum’s side effects would likely be milder, especially if they backed up his memories.

Russell explained the risks of removing the Alien Energy from Atum and asked Gaea to arrange a meeting with the Creator so he could seek an end to Ragnarok. Gaea agreed and left the Shadow Dimension with Russell and White-Bearded Ancient One, while Ness stayed behind, hoping to leave someday.

• Russell told Gaea that removing Atum’s Alien Energy could damage his body, soul, and mind, and that her Life Energy and his mental power could help repair the damage.
• Gaea said she trusted Russell and would persuade Atum to open his mind to treatment.
• Russell asked Gaea to contact the Creator so he could discuss ending Ragnarok, and Gaea agreed despite her concerns about the Creator’s use of Ragnarok’s energy.
• Ness told Gaea that the Creator had forbidden her and the others from leaving, so Gaea promised to ask permission for them to go.
• Russell, Gaea, and White-Bearded Ancient One left the Shadow Dimension for Earth-616, leaving Ness behind.

The Apprentice Watcher delivered Ikur’s gift to Russell: technology for building a spaceship that could travel beyond the Marvel Universe, along with a warning about an approaching crisis across every universe. Russell realized Ikur had sent him a Noah’s Ark and accepted the request to look after the Apprentice Watcher before returning to Wanda.

• Madelyn brought tea and pastries to the Apprentice Watcher, who told her he always stood and did not sit.
• Russell, White-Bearded Ancient One, and Gaea returned from the Shadow Dimension, and Russell arranged to help remove Atum’s Alien Energy the next day.
• The Apprentice Watcher gave Russell Ikur’s Information Stream containing spaceship construction technology and a letter warning of a multiversal crisis.
• Russell burned the letter and erased the spacetime where it had existed, then marked the Apprentice Watcher as he left.
• Russell returned to his room, isolated its spacetime with Divine Power, and approached Wanda’s bedside.

Russell left the exhausted Wanda resting and went to Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, where Gaea told him the Creator wanted to meet him. The Creator then spoke directly to Russell, offering to discuss matters face-to-face.

• Russell and Wanda spent several days together, and Wanda eventually fell unconscious after Russell overused his strength.
• Russell let Wanda sleep, tucked her in, and left for Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum.
• Russell found Gaea, Atum, and White-Bearded Ancient One waiting in the second-floor lounge.
• Gaea told Russell that the Creator already knew about him and wanted to meet him on Earth-616.
• The Creator spoke in an ethereal voice and asked Russell if he had time to talk face-to-face.

The Creator appeared before Russell and offered him twenty percent of the World Tree’s energy for healing the Elder God Race. Russell questioned why the surviving Elder Gods mattered so much to the Creator, who looked beyond the Universal Barriers toward the Gray World.

• The Creator emerged from the starry sky and told Russell he had watched him for a long time.
• The Creator explained that his long wait for hope had made every moment feel unbearably long, and Gaea asked Russell to help the Elder Gods.
• Russell agreed to help, and the Creator offered him twenty percent of the World Tree’s energy as thanks.
• Russell asked whether the surviving Elder Gods were truly worth such a great price, and the Creator gazed toward the Gray World beyond the Universal Barriers.

The Creator revealed that his world had been destroyed and that he wanted revenge, while Russell questioned the price of accepting the Creator’s energy. The Creator said his enemies would become Russell’s enemies, and five armored beings appeared, heading for Earth-616.

• The Creator showed Russell a vision of his ruined world and said he wanted revenge on those who destroyed it.
• Russell concluded that the Creator had created the Elder God Race to aid his revenge and complained that one payment could not cover two jobs.
• The Creator denied asking Russell to do two things and said he had waited for his enemies to become Russell’s enemies.
• The Creator pointed out five armored humanoid beings speeding toward Earth-616, and Russell, White-Bearded Ancient One, Gaea, and Atum looked toward them.

The Creator revealed that he had created the Elder Gods in response to the Celestials, while Gaea pressed him about their purpose. Russell secretly destroyed the five approaching Celestials, then negotiated with the Creator over World Tree energy and absorbed Gaea’s Power of the Earth.

• Gaea asked whether the Creator had made the Elder Gods to fight the Celestials, and the Creator called them his children and his continuation.
• Gaea questioned the Creator’s purpose, but White-Bearded Ancient One interrupted before she suggested dealing with the Celestials first.
• Russell sent a mass of Six-Colored Cosmic Energy across space, where its Power, Time, and Reality Stones destroyed the five Celestials approaching Earth-616.
• Russell pretended to be surprised by the Celestials’ disappearance, and Gaea teased him while recognizing that he had sided with the Elder Gods.
• Russell agreed with the Creator to receive payment before delivery, then absorbed the Power of the Earth Gaea offered.
• The Creator became wary of Russell’s appetite for energy, and Gaea asked him to go easy because he was hurting her.

Russell negotiated with the Creator to heal the Elder Gods on Earth-404 under his preferred work schedule, then successfully removed Atum’s Alien Ancient God Origin Energy. After returning home, Russell let Gwen head out as Ghost-Spider, while Tony Stark began studying alien technology and Supreme Strange returned to Kamar-Taj to take up his duty.

• Russell released Gaea after absorbing her energy, and Doctor Strange entered with his head and wrists bandaged after being injured at the Mage Convention.
• Russell agreed that the Creator would bring him World Tree Energy, on the condition that the Elder Gods’ healing take place on Earth-404 with weekends and Wednesdays off.
• The Celestials blamed Russell for the deaths of five Celestials and agreed to take harsher action against him.
• Russell successfully removed Atum’s Alien Ancient God Origin Energy, then returned to Earth-404 with Wanda.
• Gwen slipped out of bed and went out as Ghost-Spider, while Russell let her leave and went back to sleep.
• Tony Stark began learning the alien writing system and technology in the exported Information Stream, while Bald Ancient One welcomed Supreme Strange back to Kamar-Taj and placed responsibility for protecting the real world on him.

After returning to Earth-404, Russell kept Gwen occupied for days while she was disguised in Wanda’s Scarlet Witch costume. Gwen finally fought back, and the two settled down to eat as news reports covered Ghost-Spider’s disappearance and a new demon sighting in New York.

• Russell recognized Gwen beside him and warned her that every day might feel like a year.
• Russell kept Gwen in bed for days, then opened a Portal to Kamar-Taj to bring back dim sum.
• Gwen broke her toothbrush, attacked Russell, and punched him through furniture before he turned the tables on her.
• Russell repaired the shattered furniture, helped Gwen wash and change, and fed her dim sum at noon.
• Gwen watched reports about Ghost-Spider’s four-day disappearance and a horned, winged creature spotted on Fifth Avenue.

Russell learned that demons had been entering Earth more frequently, then hosted the Creator, Gaea, and Ness at his bookstore. As Russell treated Ness, she mistook Gwen for Mage Spider-Man and mentioned Eileen, leaving Russell dismayed.

• Russell asked Gwen about unusual events at Kamar-Taj, and Gwen relayed that the Ancient One said he should know the reason.
• Gwen discovered three missed calls from Dr. Connors after Russell had let her skip school, and she hurried off to call him.
• The Creator arrived at Russell's bookstore with Gaea and Ness, and Gaea confronted Russell about standing her up.
• Russell began removing Alien Ancient God Energy from Ness, easing her pain with Luminescent White Energy.
• Ness asked whether Gwen was a Spider-Man chosen by the Web of Life and Destiny, then said she had sensed the same aura on Eileen, whom she thought was Mage Spider-Man.

Russell finished removing the Alien Ancient God Energy from Ness, then sent his visitors away and spent time with Wanda using time manipulation. He later checked in at Kamar-Taj, where Doctor Strange was still working through a sleepless stretch.

• Russell confirmed that he had removed the Alien Ancient God Energy from Ness, and Gaea asked why Ness had not suffered as Atum had.
• Russell served tea to signal that Gaea and Ness should leave, then discovered the Creator had also departed.
• Wanda arrived worried that Gwen knew about their relationship, and Russell reassured her before taking her above the clouds and spending two days and four nights with her while only an instant passed outside.
• Wanda left through a Portal after Russell explained that Gwen had built her endurance through constant training.
• Russell went to Kamar-Taj, posted a photo of it at four in the morning, and exchanged teasing comments with Doctor Strange, who had not slept for five days and nights.

Russell shared a meal and expensive wine with an exhausted Supreme Strange, who reported that magical creatures were flooding toward Earth-404 and asked Russell to take charge. Russell promised to find help by the next day, then returned to the bookstore to keep persuading Gwen.

• Russell brought food and wine from Kamar-Taj’s cafeteria and welcomed Supreme Strange to join him.
• Supreme Strange relaxed over the wine and told Russell that magical creatures had been fleeing distant dimensions and attacking the Sanctum Sanctorum’s defenses.
• Supreme Strange explained that the Ancient One was sleeping at night and going out in New York during the day, leaving him to handle the attacks almost alone.
• Russell promised to arrange help by the next day and considered asking Tony Stark, Loki, or the Creator’s Elder Gods for assistance.
• Russell returned to the bookstore, intending to continue persuading Gwen.

Russell reunited with Luo Yi, then used starlight to reveal and defeat demons across New York while Gwen and Eileen searched for magical creatures. After promising to meet Mephisto the next day, Russell introduced Luo Yi to Gwen as their child.

• Russell visited Yao's Place, learned that Little Glutton had taken the name Luo Yi, and found him finishing a family drawing for homework.
• Russell spotted Gwen and Eileen searching New York for magical creatures from Other Dimensions, then called down starlight and exposed demons across the city.
• Russell defeated several demons with spears of starlight while Gwen and Eileen joined the fight.
• Mephisto appeared as a projected avatar and told Russell he had returned the Flame Dimension to its original position to show his sincerity; Russell promised to meet him the next day.
• Russell intercepted Gwen and introduced Luo Yi, explaining that he had cultivated the symbiote after Gwen mistook him for a symbiote that had fallen off Malekith.

Russell treated four Elder Gods at once after making a new agreement with the Creator, then arranged a noon meeting with Loki, Tony Stark, and Mephisto to help Supreme Strange. He realized he had already finished all his morning tasks.

• After Russell explained, Gwen accepted that she had become a mother, and the family watched Snowpiercer before meeting Master Ancient One and becoming a family of four.
• The next morning, the Creator arrived at the bookstore with four Elder Gods and agreed that Russell's treatment of them would count as a full day's work.
• Russell used four streams of Gleaming White Divine Power and Four-way Focus to extract the Alien Ancient God Energy from all four Elder Gods in fifteen minutes.
• After the Creator left, Russell contacted Loki, Tony Stark, and Mephisto and asked them to meet at noon as helpers for Supreme Strange.
• Russell realized he had finished everything he needed to do that morning.

The Creator summoned Seth and Chthon to the Flicker Realm, offering to help them in exchange for their assistance, but Seth demanded Earth and was attacked after the Creator refused. Meanwhile, Russell brought Tony, Loki, and Mephisto to Kamar-Taj to meet Supreme Strange, ending with Russell tricking Strange into drinking his unpleasant tea and asking him to connect to WiFi that was already working.

• The Creator appeared before Seth and Chthon, explained that he wanted them to help him, and offered Chthon a way out of the Flicker Realm.
• Seth demanded Earth in exchange for his help, and the Creator refused before blasting Seth and destroying one of his snake eyes.
• Tony recognized Mephisto at Russell's Bookstore, armed himself, and questioned Russell about bringing the demon onto their side.
• Russell took Tony, Loki, and Mephisto through a Portal to Kamar-Taj after midnight and waited for Supreme Strange in the Tea Room.
• Supreme Strange arrived and drank Russell's sour, bitter, spicy tea, then noticed that Russell's phone was already connected to WiFi.

Russell told Thor, Hela, Loki, and Frigga that Ragnarok had been resolved, then explained Loki’s plan to turn a mission defending Earth’s magical array into a contest for the Asgardian throne. Hela rejected Loki’s proposal to judge the contest, and the siblings prepared to fight as Russell offered them a battleground.

• Russell introduced Supreme Strange to Tony Stark, Loki, and Mephisto, then explained that displaced Hell Creatures were threatening the Real Universe because Infinity Ultron had destabilized Hell Dimensions.
• Loki volunteered Asgard to help defend the array and returned there with Russell, revealing that Thor and Hela were openly competing to succeed Odin as king.
• Frigga joined Russell and Loki, then brought them to the Golden Palace, where Thor and Hela arrived and learned that Ragnarok had ended.
• Russell explained that the Creator had manipulated the Asgardians’ fates to produce life energy, but had agreed to relinquish control over their destinies and stop pushing Ragnarok.
• Loki proposed that Thor and Hela lead rival squads on the defense mission, with Loki judging their performance, but Hela refused and challenged her brothers to face her directly.
• Frigga stopped Thor, Hela, and Loki from starting a fight, then left them to compete, while Russell offered to provide a battleground where they could fight without restraint.

Hela challenged Thor for Asgard’s throne, and their evenly matched duel became an endurance battle because both could recover from their wounds. Meanwhile, the Creator forced Seth to agree to hunt the Celestials and revealed that the Dark Celestials, or Aspirants, were already pursuing them.

• Hela challenged Thor to a duel to prove who should rule Asgard, and Russell watched without interfering while Loki joined him.
• Thor and Hela exchanged blows, discovered they were now roughly equal in strength, and Hela wounded Thor after seizing control of Mjolnir.
• Russell told Loki the duel would be decided by recovery, as Hela’s power within Asgard let her heal even faster than Thor.
• The Creator restrained Seth and pressured him to help; after Chthon intervened, Seth agreed to the task.
• The Creator ordered Seth to hunt the Celestials and explained that the Dark Celestials, also called the Aspirants, were already hunting them.
• The Creator explained that the Colored Celestials had rebelled against the First Firmament, shattering it and beginning the Multiverse’s evolution.

OAA warned the Cosmic Celestials that the First Firmament and the Dark Celestials had returned, while the Creator persuaded Chthon and Seth to join his campaign against the Celestials by revealing their possible role in the Elder Gods’ history. In Asgard, Hela defeated Thor and won the crowd’s submission, while Odin accepted that she could rule; Russell then approached a dejected Loki about his own concerns.

• OAA told the Cosmic Celestials that the First Firmament had returned with the Dark Celestials and that hundreds of Celestials might have been assassinated, then ordered them to search for the enemy and take precautions.
• The Creator told Chthon and Seth that a Celestial’s ancient visit to Earth might explain the Elder Gods’ corruption and revealed his agreement with Eternity to replace the Celestials; Chthon agreed to help while Seth disagreed.
• Hela defeated Thor in Asgard but Thor refused to surrender his claim to the throne, so Hela declared herself the rightful heir and demanded that the Asgardians kneel.
• Russell watched with the dead Odin, who said Hela had matured enough to rule, and concluded that her forced abdication was succeeding.
• Russell found a dejected Loki watching the succession struggle and poured him strong liquor rather than burdening him with serious business.

After Thor and Loki drank with Russell, Thor decided to visit Kamar-Taj with Hela to assess the danger around the passage between the Real Universe and the Alternate Dimensions. Hela agreed to go and appointed Skurge as her executioner, leaving Thor’s struggle for Asgard’s throne unresolved.

• Thor, Loki, Russell, and the Warriors Three drank in Thor’s palace until Thor and the others collapsed, while Sif left.
• Loki tried to cut Thor’s hair, but Thor caught him and then told him he planned to go to Earth to inspect the passage near Kamar-Taj.
• Thor explained that Hela could rule Asgard while leading its forces against threats from the Alternate Dimensions, but Hela mocked his belief in peace and walked away.
• Thor told Russell and Loki that he would go to Earth and bring Hela with him, and Russell revealed that Hela had already agreed.
• Hela went to the Bifrost control room, ordered Skurge to open a passage to Kamar-Taj, and offered him the role of her executioner.