Chapter Summaries

The Emperor offered Jiaying a chance to learn the true threat behind the war by entering the Dream World, while Maximus pursued a cult ritual requiring 999 souls. Jiaying entered the Dream World and began witnessing the origins of the Inhumans as the Emperor prepared to show her why the Kree came to Earth.

• Gene-modded Warriors tightened their encirclement of the Inhuman settlements, while Ghost Clan and Rogue Clan counterattacks failed at terrible cost.
• The Emperor told Jiaying that spiritual entities and monsters threatened humanity, then offered her Golden Honey Wine to enter the Dream World and learn the truth.
• Maximus ordered civilians sacrificed to fulfill the cult's ritual requirement of 999 souls, despite the invaders making it difficult to seize people.
• Jiaying opened her eyes in a mountain landscape where the Emperor identified the place as the beginning of the Inhumans' story.
• The Emperor told Jiaying that she would see how the Kree created the Inhumans' controllers and began to explain why the Kree came to Earth.

Joshua showed Jiaying a dreamlike vision of Earth's ancient history, explaining how a dead god's blood shaped humanity and its potential. Meanwhile, Maximus used a blood-soaked ritual to revive Periel, who returned claiming to have seen the truth of the gods and directing the believers to worship their King.

• Joshua guided Jiaying through visions of Kree experiments and Earth's earliest life, then showed her the colossal dead god whose blood had entered Earth's ecosystem.
• Joshua explained that the god's blood had given humanity great potential and a close connection to a spiritual dimension, and that the Kree had engineered the Inhumans to control humanity's psionic genes.
• Maximus's followers inhaled smoke and drank holy water, finding their ailments eased and their wounds healing as the priests proclaimed him the Savior.
• Maximus chanted ancient verses and placed Periel's severed head into the blood-soaked body of the high priestess while the believers sang and endured the priests' whips.
• Periel returned from the blood, declared that she had seen the truth of the gods, and told the believers to worship their King.

Maximus began the Sacred Marriage Ritual with Periel as the lower decks descended into bloody frenzy, while Black Bolt heard reports of a new chaotic presence amid the battle. The Emperor showed Jiaying Earth’s first Coming and tried to recruit her by explaining her immortality and the need for long-lived allies.

• Periel gave Maximus a dagger and persuaded him to begin the Sacred Marriage Ritual, claiming it would let him offer his soul to the gods.
• Black Bolt heard the Centaur Clan Psionic describe a chaotic force whose presence was causing him severe pain, and ordered him to explain what had happened.
• Black Bolt received reports that the Royal Guard struggled to defend the lower decks as residents stole weapons and supplies, enemy forces advanced, and casualties mounted.
• Jiaying asked the Emperor whether humanity had been chosen by the Kree as an experiment, and he explained that Earth had experienced three Comings.
• The Emperor told Jiaying that Kree genetic engineering had made her a natural immortal and urged her to join his efforts alongside other long-lived companions.

Jiaying told the Emperor how her parents returned as the dead and learned that they had fought Inhumans aiding the invaders. He brought her into the Aether to show her an ancient faster-than-light transport system and the horrors behind its dimension, while Attilan’s Royal Psionics began suffering a mysterious mental breakdown.

• Jiaying recounted her parents’ return as corpses and explained how their legacy led her to follow the path toward Afterlife.
• The Emperor said Kamar-Taj records described Jiaying’s parents and promised to let her see the file after the Attilan campaign.
• The Emperor explained that Earth held an interface to an ancient interstellar transport system and took Jiaying into the Aether to prepare her for what lay beyond.
• At Attilan, the captain of the Royal Guard reported that Royal Psionics were convulsing, speaking incoherently, and warning that something was coming.
• Jiaying was overwhelmed by the Aether’s visions and nearly lost herself to its malicious creatures and the thoughts of countless beings.
• The Emperor burned away a creature attacking Jiaying and steadied her, telling her to imagine her own form and remain rational.

Jiaying witnessed the Outer Dimension monster feeding on human and Inhuman souls as the Emperor attacked it and warned that it would descend during the Attilan campaign. Meanwhile, Maximus was transformed by the Cult of the Forgotten, and Black Bolt learned that widespread Psionic madness and the cults on the lower decks had been concealed from him.

• Jiaying saw the monster gathering souls in the Outer Dimension, and the Emperor explained that the Attilan campaign would help it enter the Material Universe.
• The Emperor hurled the Golden Spear at the monster and told Jiaying he could still intervene before awakening her.
• Maximus awakened transformed and empowered, marked High Priestess Periel, and ordered the believers to drink blood to gain strength.
• Black Bolt found Psionic across the settlement raving about an approaching birth, while sedatives failed and the afflicted were sent to prison.
• The Royal Guard captain revealed the cults and a sorcerer leader on the lower production decks, and Black Bolt realized the royal family had hidden the situation from him.

Black Bolt arrested corrupt Attilan Royal Family members and sent them to the front while the assault on the Inhuman settlement continued. The Gene-modded Warriors encountered enormous creatures emerging from the decks, and Aparajita awaited confirmation that they were an Outer Dimensional Entity.

• Black Bolt ordered the royal guard to arrest royal family members without public offices and told them to fight at the front or face his judgment.
• Black Bolt instructed Richard to use stasis pods to calm the arrested Psionics and reassign their energy shares to medical care.
• Gene-modded Warriors advanced through the Inhuman settlement, overcoming civilian defenders until enormous creatures emerged from cracks in the decks and attacked both sides.
• Aparajita asked whether the Kamar-Taj Arcanists had confirmed that the creatures were an Outer Dimensional Entity.

Aparajita prepared to confront the sorcerous forces opposing the Emperor, while Maximus accepted a summoned creature as commander of his army. Maximus then vowed to lead his forces into battle and kill his brother.

• Aparajita learned that Trans-dimensional Psychic Entities had emerged and prepared for battle, trusting in the Emperor's psychic protection and ideals.
• Aparajita took up the Executioner's Battle Axe and the Emperor's pistol, then vowed to place a wizard's head beneath the Emperor's throne.
• Maximus surveyed the army of holy-blood drinkers and accepted the high priestess Phylira's claim that a summoned angel would obey him.
• The summoned angel appeared and slaughtered believers, but Phylira insisted Maximus could command it because he knew its true name.
• Maximus declared that he would lead the army into battle, kill his brother, and offer his head to the gods.

Jiaying woke from a vision of Maximus taking up a soul-forged sword and was asked to choose between eternal peace and joining the struggle against a trans-dimensional threat. As the battlefield’s fighting intensified, she questioned whether her vision was real and who was speaking for the Emperor.

• In Jiaying’s vision, Maximus accepted a giant silver sword and vowed to defeat the invaders before claiming the throne from his brother.
• Jiaying woke as the test tube shattered, and Amon injected her with a drug to break the vision’s psychic effects.
• Amon asked Jiaying to choose between eternal peace and a dangerous path while the Emperor watched heavy vehicles enter the battlefield.
• The fighting intensified as monsters appeared across the battlefield and soldiers called for reinforcements.
• Jiaying asked whether her vision had been real, and Amon said humanity had to fight the Great Enemy and identified himself as the Emperor’s Herald.

The Human Army, Attilan’s Inhumans, and the Nightmare Realm’s creatures fought across Attilan as the invading monsters attacked both sides. With the Gene Council Hall under siege, Black Bolt ordered a retreat for the wounded and authorized the Royal Guard captain to contact the Human Army.

• Psychic Entities and their mutant followers broke through the Human Army’s defenses, but soldiers fought back against them despite their cursed weapons.
• Aparajita charged into the attackers with his guards and helped force them back from one of the Human Army’s defensive lines.
• Black Bolt used his voice to destroy and scatter monsters threatening the Inhuman defenses at the Gene Council Hall.
• Lockjaw returned with the task force that had attacked the Human Army’s rear, while Gordon remained missing.
• The Royal Guard captain told Black Bolt that the Inhumans could fight the creatures with their psionic abilities and urged cooperation with the Human Army.
• Black Bolt ordered the wounded covered during their withdrawal and gave the captain authority to contact the Human Army.

Black Bolt witnessed the massacre on Attilan and learned from the Human Monarch that Maximus had been destined to serve as a vessel for the will Behind the Curtain. He agreed to seek out and kill Maximus, while the Emperor prepared to rally veterans from the Dimensional Rift against the invasion.

• Black Bolt watched the Inhuman survivors being slaughtered and spoke with the Human Monarch, who said only the Civilian Clans and Gene Technology researchers would survive.
• The Human Monarch showed Black Bolt a vision of Maximus transformed into a vessel for the will Behind the Curtain and explained that the ritual had been set in motion before Maximus's birth.
• The Emperor told Black Bolt that their fates were bound and that Black Bolt had to find and kill Maximus; Black Bolt accepted after stating he had conditions.
• Maximus dismissed the priestess's concern, ordered Constantine to drive the invaders toward the Human Army's defenses, and asked for Master Hamir and the Dimensional Rift veterans.
• Constantine argued that the Praetorian Guard should take over the eternal watch, saying the veterans would eventually succumb to corruption.

As the Human Army attacked the Inhuman city, Black Bolt fought to protect civilians and confronted the Human Monarch’s terms for the Inhumans’ survival. He asked that his people be shown respect as their war reached its decisive stage.

• Constantine planned to use the Dimensional Rift to gather intelligence on alien civilizations, but the Sacred Guard lacked the personnel to begin its mission.
• Jiaying told Amon she wanted to see Daisy Johnson before deciding, and Amon promised to arrange a meeting after the battle.
• Black Bolt fired an electromagnetic rifle at the Extra-dimensional Beings, then unleashed his voice to destroy the monsters threatening the defensive line.
• Black Bolt took flight over the ruined Inhuman city and watched the Human Army advance alongside the Human Monarch.
• The Human Monarch explained that the other Inhuman clans would be destroyed unless they surrendered, and Black Bolt demanded respect for his people in return for what the Monarch wanted.

Aparajita’s forces attacked the Civilian Clans’ settlement while Black Bolt sought terms with the Emperor. Black Bolt offered access to the Gene Laboratory and forbidden armories in exchange for help protecting civilians, but the campaign’s objectives remained unchanged.

• Aparajita led First Company through the Civilian Clans’ settlement, using armored vehicles and urban combat tactics to fight Mutants and Extra-dimensional Beings.
• Aparajita spotted Black Bolt beneath the Steel Dome and considered ordering an attack, but command rejected the proposal after Black Bolt requested talks with the Emperor.
• Malcolm told senior officers that the war would continue, the other Inhuman clans would be purged, and the army would keep taking Civilian Clan prisoners.
• Black Bolt landed before the Praetorian Guards and offered the key to the Gene Laboratory in exchange for help protecting civilians.
• Black Bolt also requested food, water, safety, and Maximus’s location, and offered to open the royal armories sealed by the Gene Council.

Tita reported Outer Dimensional monsters attacking the logistical base, and Legion Commander Malcolm arranged reinforcements while noting the Emperor might personally protect it. Meanwhile, Black Bolt confronted the shame of his bargain with the Human Monarch and publicly challenged Maximus to meet him.

• Tita told Legion Commander Malcolm that Outer Dimensional monsters had launched scattered attacks on the logistical base and asked for more defenders.
• Malcolm redeployed mechanized units and assigned the Sisterhood to protect the base, while acknowledging that the mortal soldiers were suffering mental strain.
• Malcolm told Tita that the Emperor knew about the danger and would personally secure the logistical base if necessary.
• Black Bolt walked through Attilan’s ruined streets, reflecting on his deal with the Human Monarch to preserve the Civilian Clans at the cost of the other mutated clans and the crown.
• Black Bolt found Outer Dimensional Entities slaughtering civilians and attacked them, then used the Royal Family Broadcasting Center to challenge Maximus to meet him.

Matriarch Onomi ordered the Kymellians to abandon the moon after finding their settlement devastated, but Gronov Rutov killed her with a sniper shot. The Emperor’s forces prepared to continue hunting Maximus, whose location remained concealed by psionic activity.

• Matriarch Onomi discovered explosives hidden among the dead and ordered her forces to find survivors, leave the moon, and alert Black Bolt and the Gene Council.
• Gronov Rutov shot and killed Matriarch Onomi, while the Kymellian royal court scrambled for cover.
• Legion Commander Malcolm declared the Kymellian Clan’s organization collapsed and prepared to redirect forces to the next battlefield.
• Legion Commander Malcolm told the Emperor that Black Bolt’s broadcast had failed to draw out Maximus.
• Amon said Maximus was concealed by psionic reactions from Outer Dimensional Entities, so the forces would rely on eyewitness sightings and anti-psionic weapons to find him.

Emperor explained to Legion Commander Malcolm that an Outer Dimensional Entity possessed Maximus and ordered the search for him while keeping soldiers away from Black Bolt unless attacked. Meanwhile, Aparajita and the First Company advanced through the ruined Civilian Clans settlement toward the genetic Biological Laboratory under artillery support.

• Emperor told Legion Commander Malcolm that an Outer Dimensional Entity controlled Maximus and could unleash immense power despite its limited entry into the Material Universe.
• Emperor ordered Malcolm to continue searching for Maximus and keep soldiers within one hundred meters of Black Bolt from initiating an attack.
• Malcolm said he might have to intervene in Black Bolt's battle with Maximus and planned to join Aparajita and the First Company after their laboratory mission.
• Aparajita led the First Company through the ruined Civilian Clans settlement, where blocked roads slowed their armored convoy and exposed it to attacks.
• Aparajita called for artillery support, and the Mortal Soldiers' strikes landed close to their marked targets.

Aparajita led the First Company’s convoy through Attilan’s ruins toward the genetic biological laboratory while defending it from swarming demons. After a fierce battle and the arrival of five intelligent-control War Machines, a Martian Technician joined the convoy to assist.

• Technicians prepared to verify Black Bolt’s digital key while Aparajita continued the mission to secure the laboratory and protect its scientists and equipment.
• Tiny demons swarmed the convoy, and Aparajita ordered the vehicles to accelerate while his soldiers fought them with flamethrowers and gunfire.
• Aparajita dismounted with the Second Knight Squad and led the attack, cutting down demons with his Execution Axe and pistol as fire support struck the district.
• Five intelligent-control War Machines arrived and unleashed phosphorous autocannon fire across the ruins.
• A Martian Technician emerged from behind a War Machine and told Aparajita that His Majesty had ordered him to assist the First Company’s convoy.

Aparajita coordinated ammunition delivery and armored support as the Human Army fought Outer Dimensional Entities around the Kymellian Clan. Black Bolt reached the burning settlement, while the defenders prepared to strike the portal once its location was confirmed.

• Aparajita accepted the Martian Technicians' supply plan and boarded an Armored Personnel Carrier as the autonomous combat robots prepared to advance.
• Chrome-606 said he would begin work once the convoy reached the D-2 defensive line and promised the Martians would keep to schedule.
• Black Bolt watched the Human Army fortify the Kymellian Clan as monsters poured from the Sorcerer Tower and attacked survivors.
• Commissar Sophia received confirmation that Black Bolt had reached the Kymellian Clan and relayed headquarters' order for the E-4 defensive line to monitor him without attacking.
• Tita and Aura fought off another wave of Outer Dimensional Entities, and Aura worried that the reinforcements would not withstand future attacks.
• Tita said the Arcanists of Kamar-Taj were locating the portal and that the Sacred Guard would join His Majesty in a teleportation strike once they found it.

City of Immortals soldiers escorted Senior Researcher Soflorn and his team into the Inhumans' Gene Laboratory, where signs of danger emerged. Elsewhere, Black Bolt fought psychic entities while Tita received a warning about Aether Energy and psychic contamination.

• A Legion Sergeant stopped Soflorn's researchers from entering until the Gene-modded Warriors secured the laboratory and escorted the team inside.
• Soflorn reflected on the power and dangers of genetic research as the researchers approached a second blast door using Black Bolt's authorization key.
• Sergeant Vatzman smelled blood beyond the door and ordered the assault squad forward while warning the researchers not to fire their Laser Handguns without permission.
• Black Bolt destroyed Outer Dimensional Entities, called for Maximus to face him, and grew angrier as his power increased.
• Supiluliumas warned Tita that Inhumans were vulnerable to Aether Energy and that her subordinates could suffer psychic contamination.

Tita questioned Supiluliumas about their mission while Black Bolt Blackagar Boltagon fought Maximus, who revealed his power and accused him of ruining Attilan. The Emperor explained to Constantine that he had sent Black Bolt back as a pawn to provoke a conflict between the wills beyond the Aether.

• Tita asked Supiluliumas what orders their lord had given, and he warned that Black Bolt Blackagar Boltagon might be driven mad by Aether Energy.
• Supiluliumas said the Praetorian Guards suspected Black Bolt was the Aether's first chosen vessel and might need to be executed if Maximus did not emerge in time.
• Maximus appeared from the shadows, taunted Black Bolt about his claim to Attilan's throne, and resisted his sonic attack with a psychic shield.
• Black Bolt attacked Maximus, and their clash of sonic power and Aether Energy produced a scorching burst of plasma.
• The Emperor reviewed drone footage of Black Bolt's fight with Constantine and ordered continued tracking of Black Bolt's location and mental state.
• The Emperor told Constantine that Black Bolt and Maximus were both vessels and that he had sent Black Bolt back to provoke a war between the wills beyond the Aether.

Black Bolt fought Maximus, whose body and sword were empowered by black mist and flames, through the ruined Attilan Star Fortress. They fell together into the fortress’s lowest darkness, both gravely wounded, as Black Bolt believed the Inhumans were cursed to die.

• Maximus re-formed after Black Bolt struck him and slashed his abdomen with a silver sword.
• Black Bolt used sound waves and combat stimulants to resist Maximus, who claimed the gods had chosen him and blamed Black Bolt for leading the Inhumans into war.
• Black Bolt unleashed powerful sonic attacks that pulverized Maximus and the fortress structures, then followed him through a hole in the deck.
• Maximus stabbed Black Bolt while Black Bolt crushed Maximus's skull, and the brothers continued falling through the collapsing fortress.
• As they fell into the lowest level, Maximus called the Inhumans cursed, and Black Bolt clutched him while thinking that they would all die.