Chapter Summaries

Bayonetta and Jeanne sensed a greater crisis following the Sorcerer Supreme’s death, while Athena prepared to crown the Emperor as humanity’s new king. At Kamar-Taj, Amphitryon arranged Wanda’s recovery and tasked Master Daniel with judging the Emperor’s captured opponents as the new order took shape.

• Bayonetta and Jeanne discussed the Sorcerer Supreme’s death and decided they might return home rather than remain at Kamar-Taj.
• Athena examined the Sorcerer Supreme’s laurel crown and resolved to persuade the Emperor to accept his succession and announce it to the galaxy’s schools and pantheons.
• A military doctor recommended that Wanda Maximoff rest and undergo further treatment before taking another mission.
• Amphitryon told Master Daniel to bring the Arcanists back to Kamar-Taj and advise the Emperor on the fate of Master Mordo and his followers.
• Master Daniel criticized the Emperor’s ruthless methods and questioned the cost of replacing the old order, while Amphitryon defended the Emperor’s priorities.

Amphitryon oversaw preparations for the Emperor’s coronation at Kamar-Taj while clashing with the weary Master Daniel and deciding to propose a propaganda campaign. After the Praetorian Guards arrived, Athena urged the Emperor to announce his succession to the Sorcerer Supreme, but he insisted that he needed a crisis to unite humanity.

• Amphitryon reprimanded Master Daniel for his dismissive attitude toward the Emperor’s ideals, while Daniel said he was tired and wanted no future.
• Amphitryon resolved to propose a propaganda offensive to the Sacred Guard to persuade people to support the Emperor’s vision.
• Constantine, Hannibal, Malcolm, and other Praetorian Guards arrived at Kamar-Taj and set out to protect the Emperor in the catacombs.
• Athena complained about the Praetorian Guards’ hostility and tried to crown the Emperor with a laurel wreath, but he refused.
• Athena urged the Emperor to announce his succession as Sorcerer Supreme, and he said he needed a crisis that would unite humanity.

S.W.O.R.D. transmitted official confirmation that the Sorcerer Supreme had died and that the Emperor had succeeded him as Lord of Kamar-Taj. The Emperor delayed his coronation to prepare for Dormammu and the threat posed by escaped illegal Psionics.

• The S.W.O.R.D. director received Kamar-Taj's sealed notice of the Sorcerer Supreme's death and the Emperor's succession, then transmitted its psionic seals to Himinbjorg for verification.
• The Emperor surveyed the damage to Kamar-Taj as Victor von Doom urged him to hold his coronation, and Athena stayed apart from their conversation.
• Victor von Doom reported that Asgard had rejected contact, while Nidavellir had agreed to trade and manufacture Adamantium ship Dragon Bones.
• The Emperor explained that he was buying time because Dormammu knew how the Sorcerer Supreme had died, and ordered the hunt for more than a thousand escaped illegal Psionics.
• Victor von Doom urged the Emperor to proceed with the coronation, while the Emperor explained that Bayonetta and Jeanne were guarding nuclear weapons and temporal rifts.

Victor von Doom and Master Hamir discussed Kamar-Taj’s future and Mordo’s exclusion from the Emperor’s plans as preparations for the Emperor’s coronation advanced. After spending the night fighting ghosts from the Outer Dimensions, the Emperor ordered the ceremony to proceed and asked Victor to sort through the Sorcerer Supreme’s relics.

• Master Hamir asked Victor von Doom why he had not told Mordo the truth, and Victor explained that Mordo had failed his psychological evaluation.
• Master Hamir suspected that the Emperor’s meeting with Victor had been part of the Sorcerer Supreme’s plan, while Victor said he trusted the Emperor despite his secrecy.
• The Sisterhood and Praetorian Guard oversaw extensive construction and security preparations at Kamar-Taj for the coronation ceremony.
• The Emperor spent the night battling ghosts from the Outer Dimensions while Victor and exhausted Arcanists rested.
• The Emperor told Victor that the search for illegal Psionics had made no progress and ordered the coronation preparations to continue.
• The Emperor asked Victor to sort through the Sorcerer Supreme’s relics and said they would invite guests, though he expected only Asgard to send an envoy.

The Emperor received the Wheel King and the Eye of Agamotto at his coronation, while a Prophetess glimpsed a future figure rising from beneath the Seabed. Back on the South American island, Bayonetta, Jeanne, and Laura discussed the world’s growing dangers and Laura’s fear that humanity might not survive them.

• Athena placed the Golden Laurel Crown on the Emperor, and the Sorcerer Supreme’s guests witnessed his coronation as Kamar-Taj’s new Sorcerer Supreme.
• The Emperor received the Wheel King and the Eye of Agamotto, and the Wheel King unfolded a golden light across the sky before vanishing.
• A Prophetess glimpsed a future figure rising from beneath the Seabed while watching the Emperor’s psionic brilliance.
• Bayonetta turned off the coronation broadcast and scolded the Cheshire Cat as she and Jeanne stayed at their South American island manor with Laura Croft and Milia.
• Jeanne told Laura that the Emperor had sent them back to control the island’s nuclear launch authority because the Sorcerer Supreme’s death could leave the world vulnerable to new threats.
• Laura questioned the point of preserving civilization if humanity faced destruction, and said she no longer felt secure about the future.

Laura Croft learned more about the Witches and the Emperor’s plans for human exploration, while the Emperor’s coronation as Sorcerer Supreme ushered in sweeping reforms at Kamar-Taj. The chapter left Kamar-Taj reorganizing its departments and preparing Arcanists for modernized combat training.

• Laura Croft asked Jeanne about the Lady of Calamity, and Jeanne explained that a helmet granting omniscience had damaged the sorceress’s mind and claimed the Witches had contributed greatly to the City of Immortals’ technology.
• Laura Croft learned that the Emperor envisioned her archaeological department exploring ruins across the Milky Way and saw a draft of an award bearing the Croft family crest.
• The Emperor held a coronation ceremony and received oaths of loyalty from representatives of the Dimensional Rift Arcanists, Kamar-Taj Arcanists, and Merlin School.
• The First Secret Regiment, the Sisterhood, and the Sacred Guard entered Kamar-Taj, and Master Hamir reorganized its departments under the Emperor’s instructions.
• Master Hamir demonstrated new City of Immortals armor and weapons as Kamar-Taj prepared to require combat courses, including shooting and indoor CQB, for its Arcanists.

Kamar-Taj's leaders prepared to reorganize its departments under the Emperor's control as the Arcanist Families worried about losing influence. The Emperor returned to the Yugoslav Federation's royal city and began deploying forces to activate Earth's Planetary Defense System for war against the mastermind behind the Sorcerer Supreme's death.

• Master Hamir and Master Wu Guiyue reassured representatives of the Arcanist Families that Kamar-Taj would expand beyond Arcanists and become a department overseeing Earth's psionic affairs.
• Master Wu Guiyue warned the Arcanists that their conduct would be supervised, they could no longer exploit secular society, and they should prepare for war.
• The Emperor returned to the royal city of the Yugoslav Federation, and weapons and personnel were sent to the three Sanctums as Dimensional Rift Arcanists replaced their garrisons.
• The Emperor ordered the battle-experienced Arcanists to take over the three Sanctums and restore the Planetary Defense System to full capacity across Earth.
• The Emperor prepared to declare war on the culprit responsible for the Sorcerer Supreme's death.

Kamar-Taj mobilized its Sanctums and allies as cult activity and signs of an approaching war escalated across Earth. The Emperor and Victor von Doom prepared to coordinate the response, while Skrull infiltrators and limited resources threatened the operation.

• An Arcanist steward explained that the Emperor had added plain-language material about Agamotto and the Sanctums to the apprentice guidebook.
• Master Wu Guiyue directed a flood of urgent reports, ordering alarms, Sanctum deployments, and requests for help from the City of Immortals amid rising Aether readings and cult activity.
• Newly arrived Arcanists and apprentices learned that Kamar-Taj was mobilizing every available force for a war rather than another purge.
• The Emperor discussed using the Time Stone with Victor von Doom, who warned that hunting countless cults could waste resources and expose their plans.
• The Emperor ordered Victor to contact the Pope and secure Catholic military orders, while Victor told him a woman rescued by Coulson's team had joined a hidden Catholic order.
• Victor reported that Kamar-Taj's agents could strike Skrulls in high positions but doing so would sacrifice the chance to learn more about the Skrull population.

The Emperor and Victor von Doom discussed Kamar-Taj’s intelligence network, the hidden war against Skrulls, and the risks of their secret defenses. They learned that the rescue ship Valiant was nearing the vanished New Domain near Neptune, setting the stage for a final battle, and the Emperor ordered preparations for space combat.

• The Emperor reviewed Kamar-Taj’s intelligence operations as Arcanists gathered resources and information from family informants.
• Victor von Doom proposed a secret, dream-based order to identify trustworthy leaders and oppose the Skrulls, with Stephanie Malik as a possible member.
• Victor von Doom revealed that NASA’s Project Pegasus had sent the New Domain through a dimensional rift in 1995 and that a rescue ship was approaching Neptune.
• The Emperor learned that the Valiant’s hibernating crew would soon awaken and board the New Domain, where the final battle had been arranged.
• The Emperor ordered the Helicarrier to prepare for war and Imperial Guard troops to prepare for outer-space boarding combat.

The Imperial Guards assessed the danger surrounding New Domain and the Emperor’s need to investigate it before NASA’s rescue ship could bring possible contamination back to Earth. They decided to contact Tony Stark for information as the Helicarrier prepared to depart.

• Supiluliumas questioned why New Domain had been chosen as the battlefield, and Constantine presented evidence of strange vibrations, uniform cold, and unexplained protection around the silent vessel.
• Derrick Xian warned that The Valiant rescue ship was nearing New Domain and that its crew could carry contamination back to Earth.
• The Imperial Guards learned that a dangerous signal from New Domain had driven analysts mad and agreed to warn the Regent about the risk of its spread.
• The group concluded that the threat was designed to force the Emperor away from Earth and endanger the Hlidskjalf plan, which had only one opportunity to be carried out.
• With fifteen hours before the Helicarrier departed, Derrick Xian proposed contacting Tony Stark for information about New Domain and The Valiant, and Constantine approved.

Tony Stark agreed to travel to Houston to support the Valiant’s salvage mission after the Pentagon promised him access to hyperspace-engine research. Meanwhile, Praetorian Commander Constantine considered how to intercept Stark before he reached Houston.

• Tony Stark argued with Pepper Potts about his secret armor work and the Pentagon’s hold on Stark Industries, while Pepper urged him to step away from military entanglements.
• Colonel Rhodes asked Tony Stark to go to Houston and assist with the Valiant’s mission to salvage the New Domain near Neptune.
• Tony Stark questioned the secrecy surrounding Project Pegasus and the alien origin of the New Domain’s hyperspace engine.
• A Pentagon general promised Stark Industries the commission to reverse-engineer the hyperspace engine, and Tony Stark agreed to go to Houston.
• Praetorian Commander Constantine discussed intercepting Tony Stark, noting that Stark might travel by helicopter with a portable armor suit.

Derrick Xian and the Sacred Guard launched a covert raid on Tony Stark’s country house to force him to discuss the New Domain spacecraft and Project Pegasus. After destroying his armor and disabling his security systems, Derrick warned Tony to stay away from The Valiant rescue mission and keep Colonel Rhodes out of it.

• Derrick Xian led a ten-man Sacred Guard team toward Tony Stark’s residence while drones surveilled the house.
• Tony Stark detected the approaching vehicles and ordered Friday to activate his armor as he fled toward the warehouse.
• A virus disabled the house’s Friday system, but an independent armor component flew out to meet Tony.
• Derrick Xian cut apart the arriving armor, and the team destroyed the other armor modules in the warehouse.
• Derrick Xian told Tony that his master wanted to discuss the New Domain spacecraft and Project Pegasus, and warned him against joining The Valiant rescue mission or letting Colonel Rhodes join.

Derrick Xian and the Praetorian Guard disabled Tony Stark’s defenses and warned him that the New Domain and The Valiant could not be allowed to return to Earth. Tony rejected their secrecy and threatened to go to Houston, while Victor von Doom ordered preparations to disrupt communications and revealed that Victoria Hand lived only through the Emperor’s power.

• Derrick Xian’s soldiers cut power, destroyed Tony Stark’s transforming watch, and neutralized the security teams protecting him.
• Derrick Xian told Tony Stark that the New Domain had entered the immaterial realm and that The Valiant would suffer the same fate, so neither could be allowed to return to Earth.
• Tony Stark demanded the truth about the New Domain and Project Pegasus, but Derrick Xian refused and warned that the Emperor’s forces would bombard Houston if necessary.
• Tony Stark denounced the Emperor and refused to be kept in the dark, while Derrick Xian threatened to kill him if he continued insulting his lord.
• Victor von Doom ordered attacks on satellites and interference with Houston’s signals, while ruling out an immediate bombing that could provoke World War III.
• Victor von Doom told Praetorian Commander Constantine that Victoria Hand had died at Hydra’s hands and remained alive only through the Emperor’s psychic power.

Victor von Doom and Constantine discussed the risks of trusting Victoria Hand as Tony Stark entered Houston Command Center under strict security. Meanwhile, Derrick Xian’s team prepared to use Stark to install an interference program, and an alarm redirected Stark and Rhodes toward a safe room.

• Constantine warned Victor von Doom that Victoria Hand should not receive more Intelligence Department authority or access to Sacred Guard archives.
• Victor von Doom argued that Tony Stark would not alert the US military about Derrick Xian because Stark did not know where the bomb was, and he described the situation as a game of negotiation.
• Tony Stark entered Houston Command Center with Colonel Rhodes, kept his modified camera after Rhodes inspected it, and faced a demand from a sergeant for a security inspection.
• Derrick Xian gave a technical officer a device containing an interference program and explained that Stark’s authority inside the command center would help get it through security.
• A fire alarm sounded, and the sergeant ordered Tony Stark and Colonel Rhodes to wait in a safe room while he escorted them at gunpoint.

Tony Stark learned that a security scare near his Houston residence was a false alarm, while Colonel Rhodes relayed Nick Fury’s warning and rumors that the new president wanted Tony to become Secretary of Defense. Meanwhile, Regent Victor von Doom arranged to destroy a satellite and continued preparations for the Emperor’s operation near Neptune.

• Colonel Rhodes escorted Tony Stark to a safe room after Secret Service agents were found dead nearby and warned him that someone might be targeting him.
• Rhodes told Tony that the incoming president might offer him the position of Secretary of Defense, then revealed that Nick Fury had asked him to pass along a message.
• A sergeant cleared the security alert, and Tony offered him a future job at Stark Industries before heading to meet the general.
• Regent Victor von Doom implanted a virus, ordered Sky Sword Space Station to shoot down a satellite, and confirmed its debris would fall into the Pacific Ocean.
• Victor von Doom reviewed the stolen Houston Command Center data and continued preparations for the Emperor to travel by Helicarrier toward Neptune.

The Helicarrier’s crew prepared to travel to Neptune and destroy the contaminated New Domain, while Salomon spent his last week on a secluded island before departing. He left Laura Croft with an explanation of the alien Star Fortress on Neptune, though she remained unconvinced.

• Praetorian Commander Constantine briefed the Helicarrier crew that the voyage to Neptune would take a week and that the mission was to destroy the New Domain and assess contamination aboard The Valiant.
• Constantine warned that the New Domain might be contaminated and contain living portals, and said the Sacred Guard would lead the boarding operation while the Helicarrier stood ready to strike.
• A Mars Foundry Technical Director questioned how the Sacred Guard would reach every part of the ship, but Constantine withheld details about the protected Pym Particles technology.
• Salomon told the Witches and Laura Croft that he would leave for Neptune in seven days and suggested they enjoy a beach barbecue before he departed.
• Laura Croft asked why Neptune mattered, and Salomon told her a genetically engineered alien criminal syndicate had built a Star Fortress there; she remained doubtful.

Laura Croft considered the dangerous secrets in the island library and joined the witches’ gathering, while Bayonetta warned Tony Stark that his journey to Neptune would be perilous. At a military briefing, Stark learned the Pentagon wanted him involved in Project Pegasus and was told they needed their own Secretary of Defense.

• Laura Croft avoided the chained Grimoire of Gla'aki and reflected on the hidden history of the Nephilim and the great flood.
• Bayonetta warned that Tony Stark’s trip to Neptune could last a long time and be more dangerous than Attilan, but Stark said he was prepared.
• Bayonetta questioned Stark’s decision to join the operation to recover Project Pegasus products, and he said they had only one chance to act.
• Tony Stark declined the general’s redacted Project Pegasus file and discussed the New Domain spacecraft, its unknown hyperspace engine, and Nick Fury’s role in the project.
• The general explained that the Pentagon wanted Stark to investigate the technology behind the hyperspace engine and told him they needed their own Secretary of Defense.

Tony Stark was offered the position of Secretary of Defense in exchange for helping the Pentagon protect Stark Industries and the Avengers, but a terrorist threat forced an evacuation. As the general refused to trust Stark’s help, Victor von Doom’s role in arranging the attack remained concealed.

• A general offered Tony Stark the Secretary of Defense post and promised concessions for the Avengers, while Stark recognized that he needed a powerful patron for his company.
• Colonel Rhodes told the general that Homeland Security linked a YouTube threat to an intruder who had delivered heavy objects into the command center, prompting an evacuation warning.
• Victor von Doom explained that his agent had chosen the target and attack time after an FBI infiltrator guided the domestic terrorist group, while Fisk Wilson had arranged the agent’s death.
• Victor von Doom discussed entropy-control technology with Laura Croft and Bayonetta while preparing sandwiches, then returned to his duties in the Yugoslav Federation.
• The general rejected the undercover agent’s request for Tony Stark’s assistance, ordered the alarm sounded, and abandoned the mission.

The Emperor monitored the Houston lockdown and NASA data download while discussing the Helicarrier’s journey to Neptune and Milia’s dangerous enthusiasm for adventure. He explained that his Psionic ritual had accelerated Milia’s development, leaving her eager to explore with him.

• Jeanne gloated over Houston’s lockdown, while the Emperor explained that the satellite meant to receive the NASA information had already been destroyed.
• The Emperor said the Helicarrier had departed for Neptune and worried whether its acceleration hibernation pods could protect the mortal crew.
• Bayonetta noted that Tony Stark and the authorities were closing in on the Houston bomb plot, while the Emperor said he was downloading NASA’s data and would not influence the bomber.
• The Emperor told Bayonetta that Milia wanted to go adventuring with him, and he described how his Psionic suggestions had shaped her interests and advanced her mind and body.
• Bayonetta warned the Emperor to bring a parachute because Milia had already jumped from windows with a parasol.

Tony Stark searched a Houston command center for a terrorist threatening to detonate a bomb, while resisting pressure from officials and confronting the moral consequences of his past operations. The terrorist revealed that he was Yinsen’s student and blamed failed aid and continuing suffering on corrupt officials, leaving Tony to face the man’s accusation as the standoff continued.

• Tony Stark refused the general’s demand for an interview and continued searching the server room, suspecting the bomb threat was part of a broader attack.
• Tony found a sweating Middle Eastern man beside the bomb and learned that the man’s finger hovered over its detonator.
• Tony lowered his shoulder guns and told the colonel not to send a team in, then offered the terrorist safe passage home instead of detention or torture.
• The terrorist identified Yinsen as his teacher and accused Tony of failing to bring peace, citing a girl who had traded sex with American soldiers for chocolate.
• Tony protested that he had supplied food and aid, but the terrorist said the aid had failed to reach the people and insisted that he did not seek revenge against Tony.