Chapter Summaries

Tony Stark and Nick Fury learned that Lord Soros had defeated Dormammu and was coming to Earth, while Iggwilv planned to become a celebrity to gather worshippers. In Gotham, Davian challenged Batman’s no-kill principles and exposed his frustration with the city’s corrupt system, leaving Bruce Wayne to consider approaching Davian as an ally.

• Tony Stark flew to Balthazar’s villa, where he met Nick Fury and learned that Lord Soros had defeated Dormammu and might soon visit Earth.
• Iggwilv asked Nick Fury to assemble a film production team so she could become a star and gather followers, then explained her plan to gain faith and Quasi-Divine Power.
• Iggwilv proposed that Balthazar become a superhero and that Sarevok build a feared criminal legend, and Balthazar agreed so long as they did not disrupt the master’s plans or spread excessive slaughter.
• In Gotham, Davian argued with Batman after killing criminals, calling Bruce sick for relying on law and a no-killing rule in a corrupt city.
• Batman returned to the Batcave, where Alfred supported Davian’s impact on Gotham and suggested Bruce visit him and consider becoming his friend and investing in his district.

Davian rejected Gotham mobsters’ attempts to buy his favor and turned away Bruce Wayne’s offer to invest, while Bodhi returned with Superman’s blood and genetic material after gaining sun-based powers. At Raymond’s laboratory, Jin-Gitaxias began using the samples to create a legion of altered Kryptonians.

• Davian rejected a woman’s poisoned beef soup, and Bodhi later killed her and revealed that Superman’s blood had transformed her into a sun-powered being.
• Bodhi gave Davian Superman’s blood and genetic material, then teleported away after warning him that the U.S. government was watching him.
• Davian refused Bruce Wayne’s proposed investment, identified him as Batman, and criticized his no-killing rule before Bruce left in turmoil.
• Davian sent Superman’s samples to Raymond’s laboratory, where Jin-Gitaxias began cultivating experimental subjects for a Phyrexian Kryptonian legion.

Raymond finished reshaping half of the Dark Dimension into a powerful Land Card and arrived on Earth, where he negotiated with The Ancient One and met the Security Council. He left the leaders with a warning about his power as S.H.I.E.L.D. prepared for a diplomatic dinner and watched General Ross.

• Raymond completed the transformation of half the Dark Dimension, gained an immortal Land Card, and appointed Umar and Clea to help manage it while ordering them to watch Dormammu.
• At Iggwilv’s movie premiere, she told Coulson that Raymond had arrived on Earth, prompting Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. to search for him.
• The Ancient One met Raymond at a dessert shop, where he revealed that he sought evil souls and valuable treasures, including the Infinity Stones and Tiamut, while promising to protect Earth from other Dimensional Demon Gods.
• Nick Fury brought Raymond to Washington, where Raymond tested a Vibranium gift by turning it into a greatsword, demonstrating his power and repairing the damage immediately.
• Nick Fury warned Maria Hill that Raymond’s display was meant to discourage political scheming and ordered her to monitor General Ross during the coming diplomatic dinner.

At a secret banquet, Raymond traded Astartes enhancement slots for General Ross’s Hulk blood and Super-Soldier Serum data, warned S.H.I.E.L.D. about the Darkhold, and left for Gotham. Meanwhile, Balthazar identified Mjolnir in New Mexico, while Alexander Pierce and Hydra plotted to exploit the Tesseract and expand their power through Demonic rituals.

• Iggwilv asked Raymond whether she could control world leaders, and he allowed her to pursue her plans as long as she avoided causing too much trouble before The Ancient One died.
• General Ross exchanged Hulk’s blood and Super-Soldier Serum data for Astartes enhancement slots, and Raymond told Nick Fury and Maria Hill that the deal would stand.
• Raymond identified the Darkhold for Nick Fury as a corrupting artifact, then teleported away and said he was going to visit Batman in Gotham City.
• Balthazar told Coulson and Hawkeye that the hammer in New Mexico was Mjolnir, an Artifact made by a god, and Nick Fury rushed to the site.
• Alexander Pierce transformed into a Demon and sacrificed captives to gain power, then planned with Crossbones and John Garrett to exploit the Astartes program and seize the Tesseract if chaos arose.
• John Garrett reported that Grant Ward had gathered information on the magic training class and advanced rapidly, while Alexander Pierce prepared a ritual requiring his help.

Raymond and Davian visited Arkham, where Raymond offered the Joker a soul contract and confronted Batman about his beliefs before effortlessly resisting his attack. After Raymond upgraded Batman’s armor and arranged to meet him the next day, he discussed plans for Superman’s descendants with Davian and was lured into an alley by Catwoman, who failed to steal his rings.

• Raymond and Davian toured Arkham, where Raymond explained the differences between the Joker’s calculated madness, Harley Quinn’s imitation, and Batman’s self-restraint.
• Raymond offered the Joker a contract that could grant wishes, then challenged Batman’s mercy toward criminals and his faith in law and his no-kill rule.
• Batman attacked Raymond in his powered armor, but Raymond’s force field deflected every blow; Raymond and Davian then vanished, leaving Batman with a newly upgraded suit.
• Batman inspected the upgraded armor with Alfred and agreed to host Raymond the next day, while considering whether to ally with him against Superman.
• Raymond and Davian discussed Black Sun’s acquisition of Superman’s genetic material and the experiments to create Kryptonian descendants.
• Catwoman lured Raymond from a restaurant with anesthetic gas and tried to steal his rings, but Raymond remained unaffected and waited for her to give up.

Raymond punished Catwoman by turning her into a shapeshifting catfolk lycanthrope, then spent the night intimidating Gotham’s gangs with Davian. The next morning, he challenged Bruce Wayne’s methods and offered him a dangerous political solution, while revealing his overwhelming power and interest in studying Bruce.

• Raymond transformed Catwoman into a catfolk lycanthrope and warned her that moonlight on a full moon would turn her into a beast.
• Raymond and Davian visited Gotham’s illegal establishments, won more than a million dollars, and frightened the gangs into a night without violent crime.
• Alfred told Bruce Wayne that Davian’s victims had all committed horrific crimes, and Raymond and Davian arrived at Wayne Manor to meet Bruce.
• Over breakfast, Raymond argued that Bruce could not save Gotham through fear and gave him a book about propaganda and the rise of the Third Reich.
• Raymond proved Davian would obey any command by having him stab himself, then stopped him and healed him; Bruce accepted that Raymond was serious.
• Raymond listed his many identities and released enough of his power to terrify Bruce and Alfred.

Raymond secured Bruce Wayne’s cooperation by offering aid and magical potions, while his allies advanced plans to create a more powerful, controlled Doomsday. In Faerûn, Ayesha gave birth to a daughter with dangerous Quasi-Divine Power, and Mystra took the child to Raymond as news of the birth spread.

• Raymond revealed the dangers facing Earth and demanded Bruce remain under his observation, then gave him twelve magical potions; Alfred drank a life-extension potion and regained his youth.
• Bruce learned Davian could become a sunlike star and wield powerful magic, then began considering a plan to make Superman bleed.
• Bodhi gave Lex Luthor Superman’s blood containing the Kryptonian Codex, while secretly injecting General Zod’s corpse with Warp Phyrexian Oil to claim the future Doomsday for Raymond.
• Raymond and Jin-Gitaxias discussed using Hulk’s blood to strengthen the Doomsday project and Compleated Orcs, with Jin-Gitaxias selecting a demon-plagued Sanctuary World as a testing ground.
• Ayesha gave birth to a daughter who shifted between energy, human, devil, and Wyrmling forms while draining the Weave, so Mystra took her to Raymond and news of the child’s power spread across Faerûn.

Raymond’s daughter was born as a powerful, unstable Quasi-Divine Power, and he named her Annie while trying to contain her abilities and help her develop self-awareness. Meanwhile, Dumbledore learned of a plague in Neverwinter, secured a citywide quarantine, and began hunting the traitors behind it.

• Midnight brought Raymond his newborn daughter, whose changing forms and energy absorption had nearly caused Ayesha to die and threatened to destabilize the Weave.
• Midnight explained that Raymond’s divine power and connection to the Dark Void had reshaped the infant, and Raymond named her Annie and ordered Jin-Gitaxias to prepare a knowledge-filled nursery box.
• Dumbledore heard that a deadly plague was spreading in Neverwinter, rode there, and urged Lord Nasher to quarantine the city while he investigated.
• Lord Nasher ordered the gates closed and assigned Dumbledore to investigate; Dumbledore discovered that Deszel and corrupt followers of Helm were using the plague for Queen Mossara’s plan.
• Dumbledore tracked down one of Deszel’s squads and killed all four with magic and swordsmanship.

Dumbledore hunted Deszel’s forces in Neverwinter, while Deszel planned to use Vancevik as bait and ordered the plague spread. In New Mexico, Balthazar defeated the Destroyer Armor with Mjolnir, returned the hammer to Thor, and sent the armor to Raymond for study.

• Dumbledore killed nearly all of Deszel’s teams in Neverwinter, and a surviving rogue reported his skill and tracking map to Deszel.
• Deszel suspended attacks on Dumbledore, ordered the plague accelerated, and decided to exploit Vancevik’s belief that Dumbledore was attracted to him.
• Yelinya passed Deszel’s plans to Kurlemos, who awakened an undead frost giant and prepared to send it to Neverwinter Wood.
• After Nick Fury approved Balthazar’s intervention, Balthazar battered the Destroyer Armor and used Mjolnir to damage it before sending it to Raymond.
• Thor regained Mjolnir and his powers, then returned to Asgard with the Four Warriors of Asgard to confront Loki.
• Balthazar told Coulson about Asgard’s history with Earth and explained that Loki was Odin’s adopted Frost Giant son.

Odin warned Thor that Raymond and Balthazar threatened Asgard’s influence over Midgard, while S.H.I.E.L.D. and the U.S. military advanced dangerous new programs on Earth. Raymond arrived in Gotham to watch Batman fight Superman, and the chapter ended with Superman recovering from Kryptonite and slamming Batman into a wall.

• Odin cautioned Thor that Raymond’s claim to protect Midgard could undermine Asgard’s control, and urged him to be wary of Balthazar and his master.
• Nick Fury restarted S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Tesseract research, while General Ross oversaw the creation of thirty Astartes and took the newly augmented soldiers back to Washington.
• Raymond struggled to manage Little Annie’s destructive behavior and considered recruiting Supergirl as her nanny before learning that Lex Luthor had set Superman and Batman against each other.
• Raymond teleported to Gotham with Little Annie as Superman confronted Batman, who attacked him with sound weapons, automated turrets, and Kryptonite.
• Batman beat the weakened Superman until the Kryptonite wore off, and Superman retaliated by grabbing Batman’s leg and swinging him into a wall.

Batman nearly killed Superman before learning that Lex Luthor had threatened Martha Kent, and the two joined forces to rescue her. Lex Luthor awakened an enhanced Doomsday, which devastated Metropolis and overwhelmed Superman, Batman, Davian, and Wonder Woman as the battle continued.

• Batman used Kryptonite weapons and enhanced armor to brutally beat Superman, while Raymond stopped Little Annie from accidentally releasing enough energy to destroy Gotham City.
• Superman told Batman that Lex Luthor had kidnapped Martha Kent, and Lois Lane explained the threat, prompting Batman to abandon the Kryptonite Spear and join Superman in rescuing her.
• Raymond teleported away, and Davian vaporized government agents searching for Superman's blood and hair before following Raymond to Metropolis.
• Lex Luthor's Doomsday attacked Superman, destroyed parts of Metropolis, survived a nuclear explosion, and grew more powerful.
• Batman tried to lure Doomsday back toward the Kryptonite Spear, but the Monster destroyed the Batwing; Davian arrived to protect him, and Wonder Woman joined the fight.
• Doomsday overwhelmed Wonder Woman and repeatedly smashed her into the ground while Davian and Batman faced the escalating threat.

Batman offered his soul to Raymond in exchange for stopping Doomsday after Superman was killed and the Kryptonite Spear failed. Raymond’s daughter Little Annie restrained Doomsday, and Raymond completed and claimed the monster before leaving with Annie and Batman’s soul contract fulfilled.

• Superman joined Wonder Woman and Davian against Doomsday, but the monster’s power grew until it defeated Diana and killed Superman with the broken Kryptonite Spear.
• Batman returned with the spear and, after Superman’s death, agreed to give Raymond his soul in exchange for help defeating Doomsday.
• Raymond arrived carrying Little Annie, who pinned Doomsday with giant purple energy hands while Batman held her.
• Raymond fought Doomsday on the moon, used Phyrexian Oil to complete him, and turned him into a Servant Card before restoring the moon.
• Raymond reclaimed Little Annie, confirmed that Bruce Wayne’s soul belonged to him, and left after Annie had snapped Batman’s mask ears and turned his armor pink.

After Superman’s death, Bruce Wayne began forming a team while Lex Luthor’s warning and Joker’s escape brought renewed chaos to Gotham. Meanwhile, Raymond approved Jin-Gitaxias’s plan to expand the Compleated Ork invasion of Sanctuary World into a war against Heaven and the Nine Hells.

• Bruce Wayne told Alfred he would recruit exceptional people, starting with those in the stolen Lex Luthor videos, and began preparing the Justice League.
• Lex Luthor warned Joker that Earth’s enemies would soon arrive, and Joker used his soul contract to obtain weapons and riches before turning Arkham Asylum into a riot and escaping.
• Batman and Davian recaptured most of the Arkham escapees, while Gotham’s gangs and officials exploited reconstruction funds and helped restore order for profit.
• Jin-Gitaxias’s Compleated Orks advanced into a Demon-infested forest, defeated its forces, and began spreading their Waaagh! across Sanctuary World.
• Raymond authorized Jin-Gitaxias to expand the war, collect humans for research and resettlement, and use the conflict to create a powerful Ork force by destroying both Heaven and the Nine Hells.

The Orks overwhelmed the demons near the Dark Wood, while a mysterious voice urged Sanctuary’s people to flee through portals into Jin-Gitaxias’s world. On Theros, Raymond learned that Ashiok was turning the plane into a Nightmare and recruited Xenagos for a campaign against Ashiok and the native gods.

• Hundreds of Orks charged the demons in the mountain passage, and their reinforcements and a Big Mek’s lightning weapon devastated the demon army.
• A Rogue scout reported the Orks’ advance to Kashya, who warned Akara that they threatened the camp and the Monastery.
• Akara heard a mysterious voice order her people to travel west within a week, and tens of thousands of Sanctuary’s inhabitants passed through portals into another world.
• Jin-Gitaxias ordered the Sanctuary immigrants divided between separate settlements and local communities, while his Liches collected their identities and blood samples.
• Raymond arrived on Theros, where Elspeth explained that Ashiok had killed several gods and was spreading fear to transform the plane into a Nightmare.
• Raymond visited Xenagos, admitted that Ashiok’s Nightmare had come from one of his subordinates’ fears, and invited Xenagos to join him in making war on Ashiok and the Theros gods.

Ashiok tightened his grip on Theros by subduing Kruphix, while Raymond and Xenagos killed Purphoros and turned him into an Immortal Dread God. Raymond later returned to Elspeth and Ajani, assured them he could defeat Ashiok, and said the Nightmare’s response to his declaration of war would come soon.

• Ashiok used the fears spreading through Theros to bind Kruphix and force the God of Horizons to kneel before him.
• Raymond and Xenagos defeated Purphoros, and Raymond killed him and transformed his corpse into an Immortal Dread God card.
• Raymond told Xenagos that he would hunt the gods in turn with Ashiok, making Theros a battleground before their final confrontation.
• Elspeth struggled to control Little Annie’s dangerous doll while Ajani kept his distance and explained that Kiora had refused to help.
• Raymond returned to Elspeth and Ajani, explained how Ashiok created Nightmare creatures, and said he had already declared war on Ashiok.

Raymond and his allies faced Ashiok’s attack on a city-state, where Nightmare versions of Theros’s fallen gods fought alongside a counterfeit Raymond. After Raymond challenged Ashiok to a mutual Mind Link, the battle turned toward a contest of their minds.

• Ashiok learned that Soros had begun hunting Theros’s gods, then chose to accept the challenge and unleash the Nightmare army he had built from the Underworld’s dead.
• Soros and Xenagos helped defeat wave after wave of Nightmares, while Little Annie devoured the first army with a black hole and unleashed a giant stitched monster against Ynnead Erebos.
• Ashiok sent Nightmare versions of the fallen gods against the city-state, including Ynnead Erebos, Athreos, Heliod, Iroas, Phenax, and Nylea.
• Elspeth, Ajani, Kiora, and Xenagos fought the Nightmare gods as Raymond faced the Nightmare version of himself and exposed its limits.
• Raymond invited Ashiok to connect their minds through a Mind Link so they could each examine the other’s memories and fears.

Raymond defeated Ashiok in a contest of minds, but Ashiok’s death empowered his Nightmare duplicate and plunged Theros into catastrophe. Raymond destroyed the duplicate and Theros became a fused, corrupted world, while Annie grew into a speaking child after devouring the remaining Nightmare-infested gods.

• Raymond pressured Ashiok into opening their minds, and Ashiok entered Raymond’s memories only to be overwhelmed by his immense archive and discover that Raymond’s greatest fear was childhood beatings from his mother.
• Raymond explored Ashiok’s memories, imprisoned his consciousness, and revealed memories suggesting Ashiok’s world was part of a card-game story, causing Ashiok’s composure to break.
• Ashiok revealed that he had killed Kruphix and left a power-filled fruit for Raymond’s Nightmare duplicate, then destroyed his own consciousness as Raymond extracted his Spark.
• Raymond’s Nightmare duplicate ate the fruit, became a starry giant, and attacked as Theros’s realms collapsed; Raymond unleashed the Void Gaze Staff, and Yogg-Saron corrupted the world while the Titans and mortals were overwhelmed.
• Raymond erased his Nightmare duplicate with the Void Sword, and Yogg-Saron joined the shattered realms into a new world.
• Annie devoured the remaining Nightmare-infested gods, grew into a three-year-old girl, and told Raymond that she had grown because she thought she should.

Raymond brought his daughter Annie to meet Ayesha and then visited the pregnant Alusair in Cormyr, where he examined their unborn child and settled the succession question. He left Alusair with a plan to transfer Ahsan V safely, financial support, and Vibranium to strengthen the kingdom.

• Ayesha reunited with Annie after Raymond brought her to the palace, and Raymond explained that Annie had grown into a three-year-old after devouring gods and would stay with Ayesha for a few days.
• In Cormyr, a cleric could not examine Alusair’s unborn child, and Caladnei feared it might possess Quasi-Divine Power like Annie.
• Raymond arrived, found that Alusair’s child was an unstable mass of darkness, and advised keeping spellcasters away during the birth.
• Raymond proposed sending infant Ahsan V to a safe world under a new identity rather than killing him, and Alusair and Caladnei accepted the plan.
• Raymond forgave Cormyr’s royal debts, provided a five-million-gold draft, and gave Alusair’s court Vibranium for weapons and armor.

At Annie’s public debut, her Quasi-Divine Power and spectacular magic impressed the Empire’s guests as she received lavish gifts, while officials discussed the Empire’s expanding influence. Elsewhere, Jin-Gitaxias prepared super-powered guards and a war against the Orc Pantheon, and Raymond met Dumbledore in Neverwinter to discuss his schemes and children.

• Ayesha presented Princess Annie at the banquet, where spellcasters sensed her Quasi-Divine Power and guests offered gifts and loyalty; Annie received the Staff of the Sorcerer-King and displayed powerful magic.
• Shodar Tanthul and Vera discussed Annie’s value as the Empire’s heir, Cormyr’s ties to the Empire, and the growing pressure on the City of Shade and Zhentil Keep.
• Diary and Jin-Gitaxias discussed the growing Kryptonian legion, selected six future guards for Annie, and planned to use Thrall to purge the Orc Gods’ faith from Toril as part of a war against the Orc Pantheon.
• Jin-Gitaxias ordered the Sons of Superman to prepare for a selection contest to choose Annie’s six personal guards.
• Raymond arrived in Neverwinter and found Dumbledore after his magical affair with Vancevik; Dumbledore explained that he had used the affair as bait to expose Deszel’s schemes.
• Raymond told Dumbledore about Annie and another child on the way, and assured him that his descendants would not attend Hogwarts or be raised on Earth.

Aribeth uncovered a conspiracy to use the Magic Plague and a recruited army to seize Neverwinter and restore the Creator Race, but a wizard ambushed her before she could warn Lord Nasher. Raymond rescued her, confronted Shar, and took the wizard captive to learn which powers had joined the plot.

• Aribeth traded supplies with the Black Lion Clan, whose chieftain warned her that mysterious recruiters were assembling barbarian tribes and monsters for war against Neverwinter.
• Aribeth left to warn Lord Nasher but was ambushed by Trolls and a wizard, who used Reverse Gravity and Negative Energy to overpower her.
• The wizard revealed that the plague was meant to distract Neverwinter and break the seal holding the Creator Race, while magical influence and an invading army would help the conspirators take the Northland.
• Raymond arrived before the wizard could kill Aribeth, suppressed the Weave, and learned that Shar was supporting the conspiracy.
• Shar appeared, tried to recruit Raymond, and declared that many opponents would join the conflict; Raymond refused her and rescued Aribeth.
• Raymond healed Aribeth, captured the wizard, and teleported away with them to investigate the conspirators.