Chapter Summaries

Wanda’s contamination overwhelmed the isolation ward, distorting reality and turning the heroes against one another. Black Bolt struck her with his destructive voice, clearing the immediate chaos, but a dangerous distortion still lingered in the ruins.

• Wanda’s power transformed the isolation room and attacked Steve’s group with shadowy tentacles, while Reed and Susan were injured trying to restrain her.
• The contamination drove Banner to become a hostile Hulk and caused Tony to attack everyone with his weapons.
• Professor X’s attempt to reach Wanda’s mind triggered a psychic backlash that further destabilized everyone in the ward.
• Reed urged Black Bolt to stop Wanda, and Black Bolt unleashed his voice, blasting her through reinforced walls and collapsing much of the isolation ward.
• The tentacles and psychic assault subsided, but the distortion in the ruins began gathering for another attack.

The heroes’ reinforcements briefly contained the corrupted Hulk and stabilized Professor X, but Wanda emerged transformed and far more powerful. She withstood Black Bolt’s attack, then unleashed a shockwave that injured the heroes and spread stronger psychic corruption, leaving the battlefield on the verge of chaos.

• Spider-Man diverted Hulk’s punch while Magneto shut down Iron Man, Jean Grey eased Professor X’s suffering, and Wong’s sorcerers restrained Hulk.
• Wanda burst from the ruins in a grotesque transformed body, with a crimson eye open in her forehead.
• Wanda’s eye blocked Black Bolt’s sonic attack with a powerful shield, then released a shockwave that threw heroes across the battlefield.
• Wanda’s shockwave spread psychic corruption, and Hulk broke part of his restraints as some heroes began turning against their companions.

Elysia recognized that Wanda had been possessed by a powerful Abyss entity and prepared to intervene. She fired an ice-crystal arrow that appeared directly before Wanda’s forehead.

• Friday reported rising psychic contamination and abnormal vital signs as Natasha and Hawkeye watched the damaged quarantine zone on the surveillance screens.
• Erda identified Wanda’s violent transformation and warned that an alien energy source was eroding her self-awareness, and Elysia confirmed she had been possessed.
• Natasha and Hawkeye pleaded with Elysia for help, and Elysia reassured them that their caution had been understandable.
• Elysia transformed into her battle form, summoned an ornate bow, and aimed at Wanda’s location.
• Elysia released an arrow that crossed the distance instantly and appeared three feet before the eye on Wanda’s forehead.

Elysia arrived and used an ice-crystal arrow and her calming power to shield the corrupted fighters and briefly stir Wanda’s consciousness, but Wanda’s Abyssal corruption surged back. Elysia fought to contain Wanda’s destructive attacks while trying to save her, as Iglanias, Erda, Natasha, and Barton reached the battlefield and began helping.

• Wanda’s forehead eye blasted Elysia’s ice-crystal arrow apart, and its fragments spread into barriers that protected the fighters from the corruption.
• Elysia appeared and spoke to restore everyone’s clarity, briefly bringing pain and confusion back to Wanda before Wanda erupted into a more violent attack.
• Wanda focused her Chaos Magic and Abyssal Corruption on Elysia, who dodged and countered with precise ice-crystal arrows while trying to limit the damage and save her.
• Wanda’s attacks devastated the quarantine zone, while her body grew increasingly unstable under the strain.
• Iglanias, Erda, Natasha, and Barton arrived; Iglanias watched Elysia’s fight, Erda studied the corruption, and Natasha and Barton began rescue and coordination efforts.

As Wanda’s body rapidly withered from the parasite’s overexertion, Elysia froze the battlefield with her Past-Era Starfield domain to keep the vessel from collapsing before she could act. She reached Wanda’s crimson eye and sent the power of the True Self directly into the parasite.

• Erda warned that Wanda’s vessel would collapse within two minutes, and Igolani trusted Elysia to save her.
• Elysia expanded her Past-Era Starfield domain, freezing Wanda, the Avengers, and everything else around them in place.
• Strange’s Time Stone resisted the domain just enough to let him move his eyes, while the other Avengers remained helplessly frozen.
• Elysia approached Wanda and found the crimson eye still moving and watching her with resentment and concealed calculation.
• Elysia said, “Got you,” and sent a torrent of the True Self directly into the parasite at the heart of Wanda’s body.

Elysia purified the crimson eye corrupting Wanda and reached Wanda’s true consciousness within her collapsing mental world. She rescued Wanda and ended the frozen-time domain, leaving the Avengers to find Wanda safe in her arms, though the eye’s fleeting smile left Elysia wary.

• Elysia’s power of the true self forced the corruption on Wanda’s body to gather into the crimson eye.
• Elysia entered Wanda’s mental world and shot an arrow of true-self light through the giant eye, destroying it after noticing its strange smile.
• As Wanda’s twisted visions of her children faded, Elysia awakened her and offered her a comforting hand.
• Elysia purified Wanda’s body, released the frozen-time domain, and caught Wanda as she fell.
• The Avengers regained movement and saw Wanda sleeping peacefully in Elysia’s arms, while Strange and Bobby stared at Elysia in shock.

Elysia healed Wanda and explained how mental contamination exploited unstable minds, while warning Charles against entering deeply contaminated consciousnesses. As Elysia prepared to investigate the rift, Erda and Iglanias discovered that their network connections had been severed, prompting Elysia to order an immediate rendezvous with Elder Neos and the others.

• Elysia removed Wanda’s mental contamination and told Pietro that his sister needed a long period of rest and recovery.
• Steve thanked Elysia and described the rift, its black mist, and the Avengers’ attempts to contain its contamination.
• Elysia explained that strong self-awareness and mental barriers could resist contamination, and warned Charles that entering a contaminated mind could leave him trapped or turn him into a source of contamination.
• Elysia told Erda to contact Elder Neos and report the situation, but Erda found that the Hilling Network was disconnected.
• Iglanias also failed to connect, and Elysia found that even her high-priority channels were offline.
• Elysia ordered everyone to move out and rendezvous with Elder Neos and the others, warning that something major had happened.

Elysia and Neos's teams discovered that their Imperium communications had been severed, while Neos's terminal detected a mysterious Hilling Mainframe in the universe. Neos set the mystery aside and ordered the group to pursue the Abyss rift.

• Elysia explained that the team had been questioned when an Abyssal Corruption incident erupted, and that they had just finished fighting it with the local guardians.
• Elysia reported that her Hilling Network connection was severed, and Mio confirmed that her high-level Judgment Mechanism link was also down.
• Mio and Elysia explained that the disconnection could mean interference with the Hive mainframe or that the Supreme Wisdom had blocked their access.
• Neos's terminal showed it was connecting to a Hilling Mainframe but lacked permission, leading Mio and Elysia to suspect an unknown Imperium network was nearby.
• Neos ordered everyone to focus on stopping the Abyss, and Elysia opened a portal toward the rift coordinates.

Neos and his group entered the contaminated workshop, found its monsters already brutally destroyed, and closed the Abyss rift without resistance. The mission command then ordered the Imperium to eliminate those resisting its rule, establish an Information Stabilization Field, and hunt the traitor Sandora, leaving Neos and Steve facing one another in alarm.

• Hill tried to open the base gate, but its controls rejected her access before the gate opened automatically for Neos and his group.
• Neos and the others walked through the base, finding its security doors opening for them and the workshop filled with monster remains crushed by unknown force.
• Neos led the team to the Abyss rift and used golden runes to seal it, stopping the workshop's contamination.
• Mio confirmed that the rift was closed and the remaining contamination had become inert.
• Neos received a mission update ordering the Imperium to eliminate resisting lifeforms, establish an Information Stabilization Field, and track down Sandora.
• Neos projected the command for everyone to see, and he and Steve exchanged wary looks as the workshop fell silent.

Neos and his team discovered an abnormal Imperium directive ordering them to eradicate resisting lifeforms, but they could not contact central command to verify it. Neos suspended the order and directed the team to find Sandora, the suspected traitor.

• Elysia and Mio checked the mission panels and confirmed that a high-authority directive ordered the eradication of resisting lifeforms.
• Gorda attacked Steve, but Neos blocked him and insisted they verify the directive before acting.
• Neos found that the directive had been issued by Hilling Will, then failed to contact the Imperium's central command or other leaders.
• Neos used his authority to suspend the eradication order until the team could clarify its background, and Gorda and Shalish relented.
• Neos directed the team to find Sandora as the next step in uncovering the truth.

Neos organized a search for Sandora after Mio established a temporary detection network, while assuring Steve that Earth would not be targeted for now. Unbeknownst to them, Sandora was hiding in the workshop ruins and decided to test the newcomers.

• Mio used her terminal to establish a temporary network for detecting possible Imperium signatures and information disturbances.
• Neos divided the group into search teams, stayed on the planet to investigate the rift and provide support, and ordered everyone to avoid major conflict with orderly civilizations.
• Neos told Steve, Dr. Pym, and Strange that Earth would not be their target until the truth came to light, and Steve urged his group to strengthen their defenses and find their own way forward.
• After the workshop emptied, Sandora appeared in the shadows and identified Neos's group as Imperium members who seemed unaware of her identity.
• Sandora reflected that Abyssal Hilling wanted her authority, then resolved to test which side the newcomers were on.

Abyssal Corruption infected Galan after he devoured a planet, driving him into a ravenous frenzy that consumed star systems and increasingly favored worlds with intelligent life. Guided toward the Solar System, the corrupted Galan set course for Earth.

• Galan devoured a remote planet, but Abyssal Corruption embedded itself in his energy core and began draining and twisting his power.
• Galan tried to purge the corruption, but his efforts accelerated its spread and its whispers pushed him to seek more energy.
• Galan attacked nearby star systems and devoured their planets and surrounding matter, becoming increasingly corrupted and irrational.
• After discovering that the deaths of intelligent life eased his torment, Galan began prioritizing inhabited planets.
• The corruption guided Galan toward the Solar System, and he headed for Earth in search of more life.

Odin confronted a corrupted Galactus approaching the Nine Realms, but negotiation failed and Asgard’s forces were drawn into battle. The chapter ended with Galactus fixing his ravenous attention on Thor as Odin rushed to save him.

• Heimdall warned Odin that Galactus was approaching the Nine Realms, and Odin ordered Thor to defend Asgard while he went to meet the threat.
• Odin discovered that Galactus was corrupted by a malicious force and found that the devourer attacked instead of responding to his offer to help.
• Thor disobeyed Odin’s order and charged Galactus with Asgard’s fleet, beginning a full-scale battle at Asgard’s borders.
• Galactus overwhelmed the Asgardians, crushed two warships, and devoured them while his psychic contamination drove some warriors mad.
• Thor struck Galactus with an immense bolt of lightning, drawing the devourer’s attention as Odin rushed forward to protect his son.

Cosmic entities observed Galan’s corruption as Neos arrived on the Asgardian battlefield and rescued Odin and Thor from being devoured. Neos recognized Galan as a potential source of Abyssal corruption and formed a blue-glowing sword to confront him.

• Oblivion, Eternity, Infinity, and Death discussed Galan’s corruption and considered whether to intervene.
• Neos’s golden light drew the cosmic entities’ attention, while Sandora watched him from Earth and wondered whether he had been lured there.
• Galan formed a filthy vortex to devour Asgard, and Odin prepared to sacrifice himself to stop him.
• Neos teleported Odin and Thor out of danger and appeared before Galan, suppressing the Abyssal whispers with his power of order.
• Neos assessed Galan as a possible Abyssal anchor and formed a deep-blue glowing longsword in his hand.

Neos fought Galan as the Abyssal Corruption adapted to his attacks, transforming Galan and opening a gateway to the Abyss. Nyarlathotep emerged through the passage to join the battle, leaving Neos facing two supreme threats at once.

• Galan attacked Neos with a tainted vortex, but Neos disrupted its power and countered Galan's charge by cutting down his corrupted tentacles.
• Neos realized that his attacks were deepening the corruption within Galan and accelerating his transformation into an Abyssal Avatar.
• A dark-red core in Galan opened into a gateway, unleashing a tainted deluge that darkened the starfield and overwhelmed the mental defenses of nearby Asgard crews.
• Nyarlathotep emerged from distorted space through Galan's gateway after Neos evaded his sudden attack.
• Galan renewed his assault as Nyarlathotep began warping the battlefield's rules, forcing Neos into a two-against-one predicament.

Neos struggled against Garan and Nyarlathotep as Abyssal corruption distorted reality and his mind. Death erased Garan, but Abyssal life remade his remains into an Abyssal Progenitor; after Eternity’s timeline was corrupted and Infinity weakened Nyarlathotep’s suppression, Neos charged the new enemy.

• Nyarlathotep and the corrupted Garan cornered Neos with rule distortions, mental erosion, and berserk attacks.
• Death struck Garan with her authority, but Abyssal vitality revived his remains and awakened an Abyssal Progenitor in his place.
• Eternity tried to exile the Abyssal beings through the timeline, but contact with Yog-Sothoth corrupted possible timelines and spread rifts across the multiverse.
• Infinity smoothed the distorted space around Neos, restoring much of his ability to act.
• Neos charged the Abyssal Progenitor with his longsword, intending to destroy it and the gateway at its core.

The Living Tribunal intervened to restore universal balance, targeting the Abyssal Progenitor, Nyarlathotep, and Neos. The rift resisted its judgment, then became a portal through which fleeing Abyssal monsters and a fleet bearing crimson Crystal Cross insignias emerged and attacked; a mysterious girl appeared before the Tribunal as it tried to restart the region.

• The Living Tribunal froze the battlefield, identified the threats, and judged the Abyssal Progenitor for purification, Nyarlathotep for erasure, Neos for expulsion, and another entity for expulsion.
• The rift at the Abyssal Progenitor's core rejected the Tribunal's attempt to reset it, and the clash of universal rules shook the Tribunal's authority.
• The rift briefly revealed a war within, then a barrier sustaining it shattered and the Abyssal Progenitor's body exploded.
• The rift expanded into a portal, releasing fleeing Abyssal monsters and a metal fleet marked with crimson Crystal Cross insignias.
• The fleet fired Destruction at Neos, the monsters, and the Living Tribunal, which attempted to restart the region but met resistance.
• A petite girl appeared before the Living Tribunal and looked up at its three orbs with a seemingly mad smile.

Neos watched Abyss Pandora and the Imperium fleet attack the Living Tribunal, while suspecting the Abyss had corrupted the Imperium. Abyss Pandora transformed into a colossal star fortress and shattered the Tribunal’s defenses, leaving it severely wounded and the universe pierced through.

• Neos saw his Crystal Cross emblem glow, and several Imperium warships adjusted their fire so they no longer targeted him.
• The Living Tribunal unleashed golden chains of law to suppress Abyss Pandora, but she welcomed them and transformed into dark-red armor.
• Abyss Pandora fired a Helium Flash Barrage and launched repeated attacks that gradually polluted and slowed the Living Tribunal’s command of cosmic law.
• Abyss Pandora transformed into a supermassive armed star fortress and unleashed a devastating barrage against the Living Tribunal.
• The Living Tribunal’s ultimate Bulwark cracked, two of its three orbs shattered, and its body broke apart across vast areas as the fortress remained standing.

Neos confronted Viska after she destroyed the Living Tribunal and attacked him when he asked about Pandora. A mysterious woman rescued Neos and took him away with fragments of the Tribunal, while Viska vanished into the shattered starfield.

• The star fortress destroyed the remains of Asgard's divine realm after crushing the Living Tribunal.
• Neos demanded that the fortress stop and asked about Pandora, triggering Viska's transformation into a frenzied, destructive form.
• Viska attacked Neos, shattered his defenses, and began contaminating him with dark red psionic energy.
• A mysterious woman appeared, struck Viska away, and rescued the nearly unconscious Neos.
• The mysterious woman gathered fragments of the Living Tribunal and vanished with Neos, leaving Viska roaring in the shattered void.

Neos woke in a peaceful place after resisting a vision of destruction and learned that Sandora, the Imperium’s alleged traitor, had saved him. She explained that the Hilling Will ruled a corrupted Abyssal version of the Imperium and had branded her a traitor for escaping its control and opposing it.

• Neos experienced a vision of himself bound to a Golden Throne and nearly surrendered to the will of Destruction before a mysterious voice restored his sense of self.
• Neos woke injured on a lawn, met Sandora, and introduced himself as an Imperium Senator sent to investigate the Abyss invasion.
• Sandora asked about the Imperium’s condition, and Neos told her that the Emperor, General Pandora, Supreme Wisdom, and the others were present.
• Sandora said she was the Imperium and identified Veska as a survivor of the Immortal Project, a Pandora copy altered for Abyss adaptability.
• Sandora told Neos that the fleet he had seen was the Hilling Empire’s fleet and directed him to investigate the classified Bridge-Building Project records.
• Sandora explained that the Hilling Will was a corrupted ruling core formed from Abyss power and Imperium technology, and that it called her a traitor because she escaped its control and sought to destroy what it had built.