Chapter Summaries

Wong and Rajiv found Strange in a desert dimension, where he had been stranded for four years, while He Shenyan made a deal with Death. Death empowered He Shenyan and made him her envoy in exchange for killing the Angels who stole souls.

• Wong and Rajiv ate the giant scorpion they had defeated, then crossed the desert toward an oasis.
• Wong and Rajiv found Strange, who told them he had been stranded for four years and had survived by relearning magic.
• A knock interrupted the conversation at Strange's hut.
• He Shenyan stored the power Shuma-Gorath had given him and prepared to face whoever emerged from the hollow.
• Death appeared before He Shenyan and asked him to kill the Angels who had stolen souls and used them as fuel for the Soul Forge.
• Death kissed He Shenyan, granted him her authority, and made him her envoy.

After receiving the Authority of Death from Death, He Shenyan contemplated its power. Wong, Strange, and Rajiv met the Avatar of the Desert, who sent them back to the Sanctum Sanctorum and asked them to kill The Void.

• Death departed after kissing He Shenyan and named him her emissary, leaving him with the Authority of Death.
• Wong, Strange, and Rajiv prepared to confront someone knocking at Strange's door.
• The visitor revealed himself as the Avatar of the Desert and showed Wong visions of the world before it became a desert.
• The Avatar explained that no new life had been born in 713 years and that his world could no longer be saved.
• The Avatar opened a passage to the Sanctum Sanctorum, and Strange, Rajiv, and Wong returned through it.
• Before the passage closed, the Avatar asked Wong to kill The Void, then scattered into the desert.

He Shenyan defeated La-Mo Goff, the ruler of the Gugeling Dimension, and killed it, causing its dimension to collapse. Death embraced him afterward and tested whether he could resist the temptation of her authority, so he fled through a Portal.

• He Shenyan threw a juvenile follower's head at La-Mo Goff and forced the dimension's ruler from its throne.
• He Shenyan recounted how he had defeated powerful invaders such as Set, Mephisto, Oma, and Dibor, then mocked La-Mo Goff for daring to invade Earth.
• La-Mo Goff begged for mercy, but He Shenyan told it to preserve its dignity before killing it with a glance.
• La-Mo Goff's death triggered the collapse of the Gugeling Dimension, and Death embraced He Shenyan, praising him for granting La-Mo Goff a painless death.
• Death asked He Shenyan whether he could resist the temptation of her authority, and he opened a Portal and fled.

He Shenyan told Strange that he had become Death’s emissary, while Shuma-Gorath kept the Dimensional Gods outside Earth. After ending the call to deal with Chthon, he left Strange, Wong, and Rajiv to consider how they could support him.

• He Shenyan told Strange that Shuma-Gorath had made a deal with him and was fighting the Dimensional Gods beyond the world.
• He Shenyan revealed that he had become Death’s emissary and described his vast authority over life and death.
• Strange worried about the risks of He Shenyan being the first Death’s emissary, but He Shenyan said he had not been able to refuse Death’s offer.
• He Shenyan ended the communication to speak with Chthon.
• Strange lamented that he and the others could not keep up with He Shenyan, while Wong and Rajiv urged him to support He Shenyan without demanding too much of himself.

He Shenyan tested the Authority of Death and discovered that it could erase established facts as well as destroy physical things, allowing him to make the enormous void disappear. Death warned him that the power could make him ruler over countless worlds, but praised him for understanding that death was the end of all life and told him to revere life before more than a thousand Angels appeared.

• Chthon told He Shenyan that Angels had invaded his Dark Dimension, stolen the Darkhold, and attacked him with a silver energy-absorbing device.
• He Shenyan used the Authority of Death to erase the fact that Chthon had been injured, restoring Chthon, his arm, and his throne.
• He Shenyan concluded that the Authority of Death could kill established facts, then used it to make the enormous void above Africa disappear.
• Death explained that He Shenyan could use her power to dominate worlds, but said he had reached a realm his predecessors had not by recognizing death as the end of all life.
• Death told He Shenyan to revere life as more than a thousand Angels emerged, and He Shenyan calmly said they were not included.

He Shenyan fought an Angel from beyond his universe, whose blessing overwhelmed him with the prayers of countless people and disrupted his ability to cast spells. After discovering how the Angel existed, he used the Authority of Death to kill himself, causing the Angel to die as well.

• He Shenyan’s Authority of Death failed against the Angel, so he fought her physically and dragged her away from Earth into the cosmos.
• The Angel blessed He Shenyan, making him an Angel across countless conquered worlds and forcing him to endure their people’s prayers.
• Chthon and Shuma-Gorath realized the blessing attacked He Shenyan’s mind and that becoming an Angel was an insult to him.
• He Shenyan resisted the prayers while analyzing the Angel, then returned with her to the dark universe after understanding her existence.
• He Shenyan used the Authority of Death to kill himself, and the Angel died when her blessing’s target was gone.

After dying, He Shenyan rejected Death’s peaceful afterlife because he still wanted to go home and show his parents who he had become. Meanwhile, Star-Lord and Gamora’s private moment aboard the Benatar was interrupted when a man crashed into the ship.

• He Shenyan found himself in a restful darkness after death and considered letting his spirit dissolve.
• Death asked why He Shenyan refused her peace, and he said he still needed to go home.
• He Shenyan explained that he wanted his parents to see the hero he had become, and chose to keep trying despite the risk of losing his humanity.
• Aboard the Benatar, Peter Quill tried to seduce Gamora while the ship traveled through space.
• Peter and Gamora stopped when a man struck the Benatar.

Peter and Gamora found He Shenyan floating in space and brought him aboard, where Thor recognized him and was devastated, believing his friend had died. As Thor prepared to return to Earth, Gamora noticed a sign that He Shenyan might still be alive.

• Peter pulled Thor away from the party and brought him to the cockpit, where He Shenyan lay on the tactical table beside Gamora.
• Thor recognized He Shenyan and, after hearing how they had found him floating in space in the Sotaker System, struggled to contain his grief and anger.
• Thor asked Peter to stop the party and take the ship to Earth, and Peter went to clear the unrelated guests off the ship.
• Thor mourned He Shenyan aloud, but Gamora noticed something that made her suspect he was not dead.

He Shenyan revived with the power of death in his eyes and used Thor’s Thunderbolt to help restrain it, then began explaining that Death had found him. Meanwhile, Strange, Wong, and Rajiv recovered their magic, and an alarm sounded in the Sanctum Sanctorum.

• He Shenyan sat up before Thor and Gamora, then explained that his eyes carried dangerous power after his return from death.
• He Shenyan asked Thor to pour Thunderbolt into a strip of starlit cloth, and Thor contained his lightning in it without damaging the ship.
• He Shenyan tied the charged cloth over his eyes and told Thor that Death had found him and that he needed different powers to suppress the danger.
• Strange, Wong, and Rajiv regained their magic and felt disoriented by the sudden return of its knowledge.
• Strange worked to rearrange the Great Barrier in the Sanctum Sanctorum when its alarm suddenly sounded.

Chthon told Strange, Wong, and Rajiv that He Shenyan had died, concealing that He Shenyan had returned to life so he could watch him attend his own funeral. Meanwhile, He Shenyan relaxed with Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy, where Thor discussed his breakup with Jane and Peter Quill introduced himself.

• Chthon gave Strange the Dynamo Stone and told him that He Shenyan and an outsider had killed each other, leaving Earth in Strange's care.
• Chthon admitted to Shuma-Gorath that he had told the three sorcerers He Shenyan was dead because he wanted to watch He Shenyan attend his own funeral.
• Shuma-Gorath asked whether He Shenyan's mastery of the Authority of Death made him the multiverse's one true Apostle of Death, and Chthon said he could not answer.
• He Shenyan met Thor aboard the Guardians of the Galaxy's ship and explained that he had gone to another dimension with Tony.
• Thor admitted that Jane had dumped him and said he had moved on, while Peter Quill introduced himself to He Shenyan as Star-Lord.

He Shenyan learned from Death that he had fulfilled the conditions to become her true emissary, and she restored his eyes before vanishing. On Earth, Strange told the retired Avengers that He Shenyan was probably dead, unaware that he had returned and was traveling back to Earth.

• He Shenyan recalled why he had destroyed the Skrulls and discussed the Nova Corps’ response with Star-Lord and Thor.
• Death visited He Shenyan, explained the three conditions he had fulfilled to become her emissary, and restored his eyes.
• Banner reunited with the retired Avengers and said that accepting Hulk as part of himself had made him feel fantastic.
• Strange told Tony, Rhodey, Natasha Romanoff, Hawkeye, Bucky, and Banner that He Shenyan was probably dead after Chthon claimed he had died and attempts to locate him failed.

Tony and Strange searched for He Shenyan after he vanished, while T'Challa revealed he had seen him shortly before a flash of white light. Strange traced He Shenyan's teleportation spell, and He Shenyan appeared before Gamora with an offer to let her see her father.

• Strange told Tony and the others that he could neither find He Shenyan nor determine whether he was dead, and Tony left to seek help.
• Frank urged Tony to use his intelligence and reject the idea that He Shenyan had died.
• T'Challa revealed his mechanical form and told Tony and Strange that he had met He Shenyan two days earlier and later saw a flash of white light in Wakanda.
• Strange identified traces of He Shenyan's teleportation spell in the wasteland and began tracing its aura.
• He Shenyan approached Gamora aboard the Guardians' ship and asked whether she wanted to see her father.

Gamora agreed to meet the father she barely knew, and He Shenyan sent her to the alternate Thanos who had become a Texas town mayor. Thanos helped Mrs. Hopkins seek justice and continued his local crusade against crime before Gamora arrived, leaving him nervously facing his daughter.

• Gamora agreed to see her father after He Shenyan asked her, and he sent her to meet the alternate Thanos.
• Mrs. Hopkins asked Thanos for help after her son-in-law caused her daughter to miscarry and beat her husband; Thanos urged her to gather evidence and promised to involve the authorities.
• Thanos asked Hank to find Mrs. Hopkins's son-in-law and teach him a lesson, while continuing his efforts to fight drugs and crime in town.
• Aurora told Thanos that Gamora had arrived, and he anxiously prepared to meet her.
• Gamora greeted Thanos as her father, and he asked whether she was all right.

Gamora confronted Thanos about the pain and violence he had caused her, and he finally apologized before news of Mrs. Hopkins’s car accident interrupted them. Hank suspected the crash was deliberate and planned to investigate the driver and check the surveillance footage.

• Gamora told Thanos about her life with the Guardians and admitted she did not know whether she loved or hated him more.
• Gamora described how Thanos had made her kill innocent people, and Thanos apologized as she wept.
• Aurora called to tell Thanos that Mrs. Hopkins had been in a car accident, and he closed early to leave with Gamora.
• Hank waited at the crash scene while police took the dead victim away and escorted the driver into a police car.
• Daniel told Hank the driver had sped up when he saw Mrs. Hopkins and asked Hank to come to the station to review surveillance footage.

Thanos and Gamora went to Mrs. Hopkins’s home, where they found her injured and her husband, Joe Williams, threatening her with a gun. Thanos killed Joe after Gamora and Olivia fought back, and the neighbors kept the shooting secret.

• Thanos and Gamora arrived at Mrs. Hopkins’s home and heard Ms. Hopkins calling out from inside.
• Gamora entered and threw a knife, wounding Joe Williams and knocking his gun from his hand.
• Thanos covered Ms. Hopkins with his coat and confronted Joe, beating him as he tried to crawl away.
• Olivia stabbed Joe in the eye with an umbrella, and Gamora led her outside.
• Thanos dragged Joe inside and shot him while the neighbors stayed silent.

Hank learned that the driver who killed Mrs. Hopkins had acted deliberately, while Thanos and Gamora buried a wrapped object and said goodbye before she chose to return home. As He Shenyan’s companions held his funeral at Kamar-Taj, Strange began speaking about the person he had known.

• Hank told Thanos that Daniel suspected the driver had deliberately killed Mrs. Hopkins, and Thanos said Joe Williams had canceled his trip to the city.
• Thanos and Gamora buried a cloth-wrapped object, and Gamora said she planned to go back.
• He Shenyan stayed out of Gamora’s farewell and traveled with the others through the solar system toward Earth.
• He Shenyan’s friends gathered at Kamar-Taj for his funeral, where Strange was asked to speak first.
• Strange admitted he did not know what to say and proposed sharing the version of He Shenyan each person had known.

Strange recalled how He Shenyan trained him harshly before earning his respect by sacrificing his own flesh to save a stolen infant from Lesser Evil Spirits. Strange ended his tribute and left the stage, where Tony took his place.

• Strange described how He Shenyan’s demanding lessons and training made him qualified to use a Sling Ring within three months.
• A year later, Strange and He Shenyan fought Lesser Evil Spirits in their nest to rescue a magically sensitive infant.
• He Shenyan unleashed a powerful explosion that destroyed the monsters and emerged carrying the sleeping child, but he had suffered a devastating wound.
• Strange explained that He Shenyan had sacrificed part of his own flesh and blood to cast the spell, earning Strange’s respect.
• Strange left the stage, and Tony stepped up to speak.

At He Shenyan’s funeral, Tony told a story about a woman fused with an evil spirit and the painful choice He Shenyan made to end her suffering. He left the audience with his first lesson from He Shenyan: sometimes he could not save someone, but he could still give them dignity.

• Tony began his funeral speech by calling He Shenyan immortal as long as people remembered him.
• He Shenyan explained that the woman rescued from a cult had fused with an evil spirit and was enduring relentless torment.
• Tony tried to stop He Shenyan from killing the woman, but He Shenyan said death was her only release.
• He Shenyan held the woman and ended her suffering, and she thanked him before she died.
• Tony recalled that He Shenyan buried the woman as if she had died a normal death, giving her dignity.

At a memorial banquet, Banner recounted how He Shenyan helped him accept Hulk’s guilt and loneliness after he accidentally destroyed a machine containing Colt Dickerson’s brain. Thor arrived and revealed that He Shenyan’s funeral was actually a joke, leaving He Shenyan furious and Chthon laughing as the Mage confronted him.

• Banner told the audience how Hulk smashed a robot containing Colt Dickerson, whose family had died during a government pursuit of Hulk.
• He Shenyan explained Dickerson’s history to Hulk, who felt remorse and transformed back into Banner; He Shenyan stayed with Banner as the sun rose.
• Banner thanked He Shenyan for helping him accept himself, while Tony and Rhodey exchanged insults about their speeches.
• Thor arrived at the banquet and hugged his friends, while He Shenyan demanded to know why his portrait was displayed at his own funeral.
• Chthon laughed at He Shenyan’s reaction, and He Shenyan confronted him in the Dark Dimension and threatened to punch him.

He Shenyan freed Wanda from the influence in the gemstone and took Kara Zor-El home to Metropolis. There, he learned that statues of him had been erected in major cities around the world, leaving him worried about the attention and faith it might bring.

• He Shenyan told Strange not to trust Chthon, then used magic and the Authority of Death to release Wanda from the gemstone.
• He Shenyan left Kamar-Taj to take Kara Zor-El back to her world, explaining that he still had a universe to save and sought an answer to a question.
• Kara enjoyed traveling through the Endless Star Sea before she and He Shenyan arrived atop the Daily Planet in Metropolis.
• Clark Kent reunited with Kara and thanked He Shenyan for saving her and the people of Krypton.
• Clark told He Shenyan that statues of him stood in the Hall of Justice and major cities around the world, and He Shenyan worried about becoming famous and attracting faith power.