Chapter Summaries

Tao Yu joined Loki and the Asgardians to investigate Heimdall’s strange behavior and discovered that the World Tree’s roots concealed an Abyssal breach. In Asgard, he met Queen Frigga, learned Heimdall was trapped in the frozen Bifrost platform, and agreed to try to save him in exchange for choosing three artifacts from the treasury.

• Tao Yu believed Loki’s account that Heimdall had acted strangely and suspected Abyssal corruption after Loki described Heimdall staring toward the World Tree’s roots.
• Tao Yu pulled Loki’s real body out of hiding, and Loki led the group through a secret passage formed by a branch of the World Tree.
• Tao Yu sensed an Abyssal rift beyond the World Tree and confirmed that the passage itself had not yet been corrupted.
• The group reached Asgard and saw the Bifrost platform frozen by the Casket of Ancient Winters, with a streak of black light trapped inside.
• Queen Frigga welcomed Tao Yu, learned that the Abyss threatened the Nine Realms, and offered him three artifacts if he tried to save Heimdall.
• Tao Yu accepted Frigga’s offer and crossed the frozen lake to inspect the Bifrost platform and the Casket of Ancient Winters.

Tao Yu rescued Heimdall from the Abyss’s corruption, received three treasures from Asgard, and warned Frigga that Loki could cause a universal catastrophe. After Frigga and Thor agreed to let him handle Loki, Tao Yu used divination to knock Loki from the Bifrost toward the World Tree’s untainted roots.

• Tao Yu freed Heimdall from the ice in Mirrored Space, restrained him, and sealed his corrupted eyes.
• Heimdall returned with his sight covered, and Asgard celebrated Thor’s return and Heimdall’s rescue.
• Tao Yu chose the Destroyer, the Orb of Agamotto, and the Tablet of Life from Odin’s vault, then adapted the Destroyer into armor.
• Tao Yu visited Odin and told Frigga that Loki might cause a catastrophe unless he underwent a trial.
• Tao Yu informed Thor and Frigga that he would deal with Loki, then used divination to knock Loki from the Bifrost toward the World Tree’s untainted roots.

After returning from Asgard, Tao Yu brought Hogun to Earth and gave Tony Uru while the public reacted to the Bifrost’s appearance in Times Square. Tao Yu learned that Fury had found Captain America and clues about The Leader in New Mexico, then agreed to investigate in exchange for Fury’s information.

• Thor said goodbye to Tao Yu, who left Asgard with Hogun through the Bifrost and opened a portal from Times Square to Tony’s lab.
• Tao Yu gave Tony Uru ingots, and Tony and Fury discussed Asgard’s envoy during a livestream that revealed the growing gap between Earth and Asgard.
• Fury learned from Tao Yu that the Sorcerer Supreme dealt with dimensional demons and asked Tony to help thaw Captain America, whom Fury had recovered.
• Fury told Tony that Hydra remnants were being hunted and that The Leader was somewhere near New Mexico; Tao Yu suspected the Hand might be working with him.
• Tao Yu offered Fury help with Captain America in exchange for the investigation files on The Leader, and Fury assigned Natasha as the liaison at Tony’s lab.

The Leader was captured after Akimichi Dōton helped Tao Yu, and Tao Yu bound him to assist with research into the Tablet of Life and the Abyss. Tao Yu then visited S.H.I.E.L.D., treated Steve Rogers, discussed the Tesseract with Nick Fury, and learned that Thanos had sent Loki to attack Earth with the Chitauri.

• The Leader tried to recruit Akimichi Dōton by offering to help the Hand, but Dōton used an opening to contact Tao Yu, who captured The Leader.
• Tao Yu discovered that The Leader had confined Abyss power to one finger and placed magical safeguards on him so he could study the Abyss and the Tablet of Life.
• Tao Yu visited S.H.I.E.L.D. and found Natasha asleep at her desk before she led him to Nick Fury.
• Tao Yu met Steve Rogers, eased the effects of his long freeze with life force, and offered to help him adjust to the modern era.
• Tao Yu told Fury that the Tesseract had been left on Earth by Asgard and warned that its research could attract danger, while Fury insisted S.H.I.E.L.D. could protect it.
• Thanos gave Loki the Mind Scepter and command of the Chitauri Legion, sending him to attack Earth.

Tao Yu used the guise of Kaecilius to gather followers in South Korea and build a connection to the Dark Dimension. After capturing the real Kaecilius, he opened a rift to Dormammu’s realm and entered to negotiate.

• Tao Yu left a clone to watch the Cosmic Cube and returned to investigate Kaecilius’s followers.
• Tao Yu posed as Kaecilius, gathered the scattered followers, and founded the rapidly growing Darkhold Cult in South Korea.
• Dormammu ordered the real Kaecilius to return to Midgard and stop his followers from praying, promising to forgive his debt if he succeeded.
• The real Kaecilius reached South Korea, where Tao Yu’s followers mistook him for an impostor and attacked him.
• Tao Yu appeared as Kaecilius, captured the real Kaecilius, and used him as the sacrifice for a ceremony attended by a hundred thousand followers.
• The ceremony opened a rift that revealed the Dark Dimension, and Tao Yu transformed into light and entered to negotiate with Dormammu.

Tao Yu entered the Dark Dimension, defeated and negotiated with Dormammu, and secured permission to borrow its power while leaving Dormammu in charge. After returning to Earth and handing local operations to Shui Yan, Tao Yu resumed research with The Leader and foresaw a Chitauri fleet approaching the solar system.

• The sorcerers at the Three Sanctums detected the Dark Dimension breach, but the Ancient One told them that Jack was handling it and ordered them to keep guarding the sanctums.
• Tao Yu entered the Dark Dimension, grew into a thousand-meter Dharma Body Manifestation, and fought Dormammu with the Spear of Longinus, Thor's Hammer, and the Time Stone.
• Tao Yu threatened to expose the Dark Dimension to the Abyss, convincing Dormammu to stop resisting and let Tao Yu borrow the Dark Dimension's power while remaining its ruler.
• Tao Yu returned to Earth, had Dormammu announce that Earth should follow Kaecilius, then sent the wounded Kaecilius into the Dark Dimension as a sacrifice.
• Tao Yu left Shui Yan in charge, visited The Leader's mine laboratory to review particle research, and decided to consult Dr. Pym.
• Tao Yu foresaw Chitauri fleets approaching the solar system and considered letting Loki make the first move to take the Tesseract.

Nick Fury rallied Earth’s allies and resources after the Chitauri fleet was detected near Jupiter, while Loki prepared to invade in seven days. The defenders gathered aboard the helicarrier, where Tao Yu arrived and Hogun greeted him with unexpected respect.

• Nick Fury warned the public about the approaching alien fleet, and global observatories found the Chitauri near Jupiter.
• Natasha tried to persuade Tao Yu to help defend Earth, while Nick Fury recruited Tony, Dr. Banner, Dr. Pym, and other allies for a plan to board the Chitauri motherships.
• Loki learned that his fleet would reach Midgard in seven days and planned to seize its satellite signals before addressing its people.
• Dr. Banner, Dr. Pym, Tony, Captain America, Natasha, Eagle Eye, Hogun, and others assembled aboard the helicarrier as the Chitauri fleet appeared on the command screen.
• Tao Yu stepped through a portal into the command room, and Hogun greeted him warmly, surprising the assembled group.

Tao Yu prepared Earth’s defenders for the Chitauri invasion, helped recruit Dr. Pym and Banner, and sent a team through portals to confront Loki aboard a mothership. The team overwhelmed Loki and seized his scepter, but Ebony Maw and a massive armored warrior arrived and took control of the battle.

• Tao Yu warned Nick Fury that the Chitauri fleet would arrive earlier than expected, then offered to help Dr. Pym and Banner with their health and abilities.
• Loki hijacked a global broadcast to boast about the Chitauri fleet and threaten Earth, while Hogun explained that Thanos’s forces slaughtered half the population of every people they conquered.
• Nick Fury armed the defenders with shrunken nuclear warheads, and Tao Yu sent the Avengers and their allies through portals to Loki’s mothership.
• The Chitauri army began flying toward Earth instead of attacking from a distance because Loki wanted to conquer the planet dramatically.
• Tony, Hogun, Dr. Pym, and the Hulk attacked Loki aboard the mothership; Pym stole the Mind Scepter, and Hulk repeatedly slammed Loki into the ground.
• Ebony Maw used telekinesis to take the Mind Scepter from Pym, while a towering armored warrior emerged beside him.

Tony and the Avengers fought Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian as the invading Chitauri overwhelmed Earth, while Baron Strucker betrayed humanity by revealing information about the Stones. After Nick Fury handed the Tesseract to Tao Yu for safekeeping, Tao Yu transformed into a colossal giant and prepared to attack the Chitauri motherships directly.

• Tony and the Iron Man suits joined the Winter Soldiers against the Chitauri, but Cull Obsidian and Ebony Maw arrived, and Ebony Maw used the Mind Scepter to control Hulk.
• Hulk and Eagle Eye turned against the Avengers, while Loki helped them with illusions; Tao Yu then pulled Hulk and Eagle Eye back to the Helicarrier, where Hulk was contained.
• Ebony Maw broadcast a demand for the Cosmic Stones, and Baron Strucker revealed Hydra’s knowledge of the Tesseract and offered to help the invaders find it.
• As the Chitauri attacked American cities, Nick Fury asked Tao Yu to safeguard the Tesseract, and Tao Yu accepted before explaining that destroying the mothership would incapacitate the invading troops.
• Tao Yu expanded into a thousand-meter Dharma Form beside the Helicarrier and summoned three replicas of the Spear of Longinus, preparing to strike the motherships head-on.

Tao Yu destroyed the Chitauri fleet with three spear throws, ended the invasion, and took the Mind Stone and Tesseract. He brought Loki to Asgard and was summoned by the awakened Odin.

• Tao Yu transformed into a thousand-meter Dharma Form and swept away the Chitauri attacking Earth with a shockwave, then destroyed the fleet’s motherships with three spear throws.
• Loki killed Ebony Maw aboard an escape pod with the Mind Scepter and escaped with Cull Obsidian’s identity as an illusion.
• Baron Strucker ordered the Red Queen to execute the final plan after the Chitauri fleet was destroyed and his allies stopped responding.
• Tao Yu entered the wreckage, captured Loki’s escape pod, took the Mind Scepter, and claimed the Mind Stone.
• Tao Yu took the Tesseract and transported Loki from Earth to Asgard, where he learned Odin had awakened.
• Odin summoned Tao Yu to the palace to speak with him.

Tao Yu won Odin’s support in gathering the Infinity Stones and learned that the Abyss had compromised Red Queen, prompting a new threat to Earth. With the Aether’s location still unknown, he prepared to travel to Xandar to pursue the Power Stone and Soul Stone.

• Tao Yu brought Loki to Odin, who offered Asgard’s help after learning Tao Yu planned to gather the Infinity Stones to slow the Abyss.
• Odin offered Tao Yu the Infinity Gauntlet, and Thor later took him to retrieve it from Asgard’s vault.
• Tao Yu and Odin discussed the Reality Stone, concluding that the Aether’s seal might be found during the next Convergence of the Nine Realms.
• Tao Yu returned to Earth, where Tony told him that Nick Fury had become UN Secretary-General and that Baron Strucker had warned Earth was doomed.
• Tao Yu discovered that The Leader had used Abyss energy to alter Red Queen, interrupting his divination, and warned the superheroes to avoid infection.
• Tao Yu asked Odin for help reaching the Power Stone and Soul Stone, chose Xandar as his first destination, and considered telling Thanos how to obtain the Soul Stone.

Tao Yu traveled with Rocket and Groot to Xandar, where Asgard negotiated with the Nova Corps and Tao Yu hired the bounty hunters to help locate Yondu, Gamora, and a way to contact Thanos. After learning that Yondu was near The Void on a lead to the Power Stone, Tao Yu flew there with Rocket and arrived at the skull-shaped space station.

• Rocket and Groot complained that Xandar’s approaching peace had left them without bounty work when Thor and Sif led five hundred Asgardian warriors into the plaza by Bifrost.
• Tao Yu hired Rocket and Groot, and Thor and Sif negotiated permission for the Asgardians to stay on Xandar and buy ships.
• Tao Yu told Sif and Thor that he wanted to find Yondu and Gamora and send Thanos a message, while Rocket warned that he would not take a suicidal job.
• Rocket’s information broker revealed that Yondu was likely in The Void on a job from The Collector, and Sif paid the broker for more details.
• Tao Yu sent Thor and Sif to confront the Chitauri while he traveled with Rocket and Groot toward The Void in a Nova Corps spacecraft.
• Tao Yu arrived at The Void and saw a huge skull converted into a space station, wondering if it belonged to a Celestial.

Tao Yu arrived at The Void to find Yondu and was drawn into dealings with the Collector, revealing his strength and three Infinity Stones. He learned Rocket’s origins and decided to help him take revenge on the High Evolutionary, while also demanding a deal for The Void.

• Tao Yu landed at The Void, restrained two men who approached his ship, and forced one to lead him to Yondu’s crew.
• Tao Yu tore open the crew’s building and told Kraglin to message Yondu that Ego was coming after him and that Tao Yu could protect him.
• The Collector approached Tao Yu, who intimidated him into sharing information and visited his collection room.
• The Collector discussed the Infinity Stones and identified Rocket as a likely experiment from Ogo-Kop, a biotech company founded by the High Evolutionary.
• Tao Yu revealed the Tesseract, Mind Scepter, and Eye of Agamotto, asked for Ogo-Kop’s address, and offered to help Rocket get revenge.
• Tao Yu told the Collector not to pursue the Power Stone and demanded a deal for The Void, prompting the Collector to agree.

Tao Yu used the Mind Stone, Time Stone, and the Celestial's head to predict events in The Void, arranged for its residents to leave, and recruited Yondu by offering help against Ego. When Ronan arrived with the Power Stone and attacked The Void, Tao Yu shielded the Celestial's skull and turned Ronan's cannon blast back toward the Dark Aster.

• Tao Yu surveyed possible futures for The Void and decided to use Ronan's arrival to drive out its residents while securing the Power Stone.
• Tao Yu arranged a lucrative mission for mercenaries to support Xandar's defenses and peace talks with the Kree Empire.
• Yondu returned to The Void, agreed to work with Tao Yu in exchange for help dealing with Ego, and learned Ronan was approaching.
• Ronan's Dark Aster arrived and bombarded The Void, destroying buildings while Tao Yu protected The Collector's lair.
• Tao Yu transformed into a towering figure, caught the Dark Aster's cannon blast, and sent the amplified energy back toward Ronan's ship.

Tao Yu defeated Ronan, claimed the Power Stone, and took control of The Void before learning that Gorr and the Black Death Sword might signal the Abyss’s growing influence. Meanwhile, Thanos learned that Tao Yu had the Power Stone and set course to confront him.

• Ronan attacked Tao Yu, but Tao Yu overwhelmed him with a torrent of magically empowered swords, killed him, and took the Power Stone.
• Tao Yu destroyed the Dark Aster, while Rocket, Yondu, and other survivors returned to the ruined Void; the Collector departed after relinquishing the territory to Tao Yu.
• The Collector told Tao Yu about the City of Gods and Gorr, prompting Tao Yu to suspect that the Black Death Sword and the Abyss were connected to the god-slaying threat.
• Tao Yu worked with Dormammu to absorb the Celestial’s head into the Negative Universe, then turned his attention to gathering the Infinity Stones.
• Thanos acquired the Soul Stone from Gamora and learned that Ronan and the Dark Aster had been destroyed and that Tao Yu had taken the Power Stone.
• Thanos realized that someone was drawing him into a confrontation over the Infinity Stones and ordered his forces to head for the meeting point.

Tao Yu defeated Thanos on Xandar II, took the Soul Stone, and learned that Death had warned Thanos about the Abyss and was now imprisoned by Eternity. With five Infinity Stones in hand, Tao Yu considered how the God Butcher, Eternity’s altar, and the Black Death Sword might connect to an approaching Abyss invasion.

• Tao Yu summoned a water dragon to confront Thanos, who used the Soul Stone to assume a spiritlike form and challenged him for the Power Stone.
• Tao Yu revealed the Destroyer Armor, the Spear of Longinus, Thor’s Hammer, and four Infinity Stones, then overcame Thanos’s attack and seized the Soul Stone.
• Tao Yu bound Thanos and carried him aboard his ship, where Thanos accused him of serving the Abyss; Tao Yu denied it and persuaded Thanos to reconsider.
• Tao Yu and Thanos stopped near Xandar, where Tao Yu reassured the Nova Corps that Thanos was his guest.
• Thanos told Tao Yu that Death had shown him the Abyss in a prophecy and was now imprisoned by Eternity, while the God Butcher sought Eternity’s altar.
• Tao Yu connected the altar, the Black Death Sword, and his revelation about Asgard’s plan, then decided to seek the final Infinity Stone and investigate the God Butcher.

Tao Yu and his allies traveled aboard Thanos's Sanctuary II to confront Ego, while Star-Lord learned that Ego was his father and had killed his mother. After Ego revealed the truth, Tao Yu ambushed him with a Limbo clone wielding the power of five Infinity Stones, leaving Ego's planet split apart and devastated.

• Thor greeted Tao Yu on the Chitauri homeworld and challenged Thanos to spar, then returned bruised while insisting they had fought to a draw.
• Star-Lord learned from Yondu that Ego was his biological father and had sent Yondu to take him from Earth.
• Tao Yu told Thanos that Ego might be corrupted by the Abyss, and the Sanctuary II set course for Ego's planet.
• Ego welcomed Star-Lord and admitted that he had killed Star-Lord's mother by placing a tumor in her head.
• Tao Yu distracted Ego with Star-Lord while his Limbo clone stabbed Ego's planet with a sword empowered by five Infinity Stones, tearing the planet apart.

Tao Yu destroyed Ego, then confronted the High Evolutionary after learning OgoCorp had acquired the T-Virus and G-Virus. He took control of OgoCorp and learned Red Queen was preparing a viral attack on Earth, leaving him to deal with the threat before traveling to the City of Gods.

• Tao Yu used the Abyss as a pretext to kill Ego and collected Ego's brain remains, which he judged valuable but less useful than the High Evolutionary's knowledge.
• The High Evolutionary learned of a possible lead on Rocket and prepared to challenge Xandar, while Wesker stayed with OgoCorp and discussed its viral weapons.
• Thanos and Tao Yu encountered OgoCorp in space, where the High Evolutionary recognized Rocket and sent the Children of Hell to attack them.
• Tao Yu used Zombie Formula 2.0 to kill the infected Children of Hell, then bound the High Evolutionary and took control of OgoCorp and its research data.
• Tao Yu questioned Wizk and learned that Red Queen planned to infect superheroes and other powerful people, so he resolved to address her scheme before going to the City of Gods.

Tao Yu used the Sanctums’ global barrier to identify and purge Umbrella’s infected forces before destroying Red Queen’s Tokyo main body. He left with the worldwide outbreak contained, while Umbrella’s remaining threats still needed to be cleared.

• Tao Yu returned to Stark’s lab with genetic data from Ogo-Kop, and two of Thanos’s spacecraft arrived to deliver supplies and help target Umbrella.
• Tao Yu discovered that Abomination had been stolen from military custody and traced the infection using material left in his holding chamber.
• Tao Yu enlisted Wong, Mordo, and the New York Sanctum to activate a worldwide magical scan, revealing Umbrella sites and infected creatures across Earth.
• Red Queen triggered explosions at the marked sites, but Tao Yu’s global spell struck infected creatures everywhere and erased their infection.
• Tao Yu and Tony reached Red Queen’s Tokyo facility, where Tao Yu destroyed her main body and its hardware with an AT Field.

Tao Yu temporarily suppressed the Abyssal corruption in the Ancient One and joined Odin, Thanos, and her to confront Gorr at the All-powerful City. Gorr devastated the city and grew stronger by killing gods, but the Black Death Sword suddenly flew into Tao Yu's hand.

• Tony agreed to work with the Ogo-Kop ship's information to decipher the Life Equation within two months.
• Tao Yu used the Infinity Stones to suppress the Abyssal corruption in the Ancient One's soul, then traveled with her and Thanos to meet Odin in Asgard.
• Odin agreed that the group should go to the All-powerful City after Tao Yu warned him that Gorr wielded the Abyss-linked Black Death Sword.
• Gorr attacked the All-powerful City, killed Isis and other gods, and battled Zeus, devastating the city as his power grew.
• Tao Yu, the Ancient One, Thanos, and Odin arrived through the Bifrost, and Gorr began raising the dead gods to attack them.
• The Black Death Sword broke free from Gorr and vanished into Tao Yu's hand.