Chapter Summaries

Pierce activated the Rapid Contract Plan and sent Aldrich Killian’s Extremis-powered men to capture Tony Stark. Tony armed himself in his Iron Man armor and confronted the intruders, who had not revealed who sent them.

• Pierce told Rumlow, Sitwell, and Garrett that Lu Xi had ordered the Rapid Contract Plan and said Killian was key to it.
• Rumlow reported that Hydra was a major shareholder in Killian’s A.I.M. and described the Extremis Virus’s abilities.
• Pierce ordered his subordinates to notify Killian and carry out the plan against Tony Stark.
• A group of fire-wreathed Pyros broke into Tony’s Malibu villa while he was researching his armor.
• Tony put on his Iron Man armor and questioned the Pyro captain, who ordered him to come with them.
• The Pyros formed a tactical assault around Tony, who asked whether the Earth Federation had authorized their operation.

Tony Stark fought off a squad of Extremis Soldiers, discovered that head destruction could kill them, and met the bitter scientist behind their creation over a video call. The scientist revealed that he blamed Tony for humiliating him fourteen years earlier and intended to take everything from him.

• Tony Stark blasted the Pyros in his equipment room, but JARVIS detected that several survived and healed through their lava-like flames.
• Tony flew above the damaged room and attacked the Pyros from the air, only to realize that some could self-destruct when their bodies became unstable.
• JARVIS received a video call from a blond man who identified the attackers as Extremis Soldiers and praised Tony for surviving them.
• The blond man recalled meeting Tony and Maya Hansen at a 1999 New Year's Eve party in Switzerland, where he claimed Tony left him waiting on a roof for an hour and a half.
• Tony mocked the man's resentment and assessed the Extremis Virus's weaknesses, including its instability and risk of self-destruction.
• The blond man said his humiliation had fueled fourteen years of hatred and vowed to take everything from Tony.

Killian threatened Tony with Pepper’s life and forced him to choose between surrender and her safety. When Killian injected Pepper with a third-stage Extremis Virus, Tony called on Lu Xi for a contract, and Lu Xi stopped time and offered to protect him.

• Killian revealed that he had captured Pepper and demanded Tony surrender to his Extremis Squad.
• Tony threatened Killian’s men, but Killian used Pepper as leverage and threatened to inject her with the third-stage Extremis Virus.
• Pepper burned away the gag and urged Tony not to surrender, but Killian injected her with the virus.
• JARVIS told Tony that he could call on Lucifer, and Tony demanded a contract from Lord Lucifer.
• Lu Xi stopped time, appeared before Tony, and offered a Divine Power contract that would keep him safe and unharmed.

Tony completed Lu Xi’s contract and saved Pepper, while Lu Xi formed a contract with Wanda and gained enough Destiny Authority to become the Morningstar Universe’s complete Sovereign. He absorbed the Universe into himself, reached peak Eighth Order, and felt ready to confront Eternity.

• Tony pressed his handprint to complete the contract, causing Killian and the Extremis warriors to crumble into dust and extinguishing the flames on Pepper.
• Tony told Pepper he had found her and was coming to her, while Lu Xi withdrew his consciousness and contacted Wanda.
• Lu Xi warned Wanda that their modified contract might alert Chthon and cost her an opportunity to grow stronger, but Wanda agreed to proceed.
• Tony’s and Wanda’s contracts returned their Destiny Authority to Lu Xi, allowing him to claim more than ninety percent of the Morningstar Universe’s authority and become its complete Sovereign.
• Lu Xi’s strength rose to Seventh Order, and he absorbed the Morningstar Universe into himself, reaching peak Eighth Order and believing he could face Eternity.

Lu Xi pierced Galactus’s Devouring Rule core and watched him disintegrate, though Vishanti said Galactus would eventually be reborn. As Lu Xi prepared to leave, the Multiverse began trembling, with cracks appearing across hundreds of nearby Parallel Universes.

• Lu Xi wounded Galactus with the Destiny Sword and realized that his opponent’s defenses depended on the high-level Devouring Law.
• Lu Xi broke through Galactus’s Devouring Law barrier and pierced the core in his forehead, causing his power to drain away.
• Galactus’s gaze cleared, and he weakly mentioned the Living Tribunal before his body crumbled into dust.
• Vishanti told Lu Xi that Galactus would revive because his existence was tied to the Multiverse’s cycle, and Lu Xi asked to be contacted when he returned.
• As Lu Xi turned to leave, the Multiverse shook and cracks spread across hundreds of nearby Parallel Universes.

After Lu Xi killed Galactus, the Devouring Rule’s collapse threatened the Multiverse, and its source attached itself to Lu Xi to restore the cosmic balance. Lu Xi accepted that he could not remove it for now and hoped he could avoid mutating like Galactus.

• Lu Xi and Vishanti discovered that Galactus’s death had created a true void that could cause the Multiverse to collapse.
• Vishanti explained that someone needed to inherit the Devouring Rule’s source, and Lu Xi tried to send Vishanti toward it.
• The source bypassed Vishanti, chased Lu Xi to the Morningstar Universe’s original coordinates, and struck his forehead.
• The Devouring Rule attached itself to Lu Xi, strengthened him, and began repairing the collapsing space.
• Vishanti said the rule could not be discarded once bestowed, so Lu Xi decided to keep it while watching for signs of mutation.

Lu Xi visited the White Magic Dimension at Vishanti’s invitation, where Agamotto, Hoggoth, and Oshtur explained what they had learned about Galactus’s mutation and the wounds left by Death. They proposed tracing Galactus’s path to find the missing great gods, but Lu Xi refused to lead the search.

• Lu Xi kept the Morningstar Universe inside himself and accepted Vishanti’s invitation to the White Magic Dimension.
• Vishanti led Lu Xi to a hall, where he asked how they had learned that Galactus was with him.
• Agamotto explained that the Celestials had reported Galactus’s presence and that Galactus had already devoured two universes.
• Lu Xi described Galactus’s grotesque true form and the wounds he had sustained before arriving, and Agamotto revealed that Death’s power lingered in them.
• Agamotto proposed following Galactus’s spatial traces to find the missing great gods and asked Lu Xi to accompany them.
• Lu Xi refused to clear the way for Vishanti and the others.

Lu Xi refused to help the Vishanti search for Death and considered exploiting the cosmic disorder to fuse Universes, but agreed to stay in contact with them. When Wanda sensed something wrong and Chthon’s magic formed a ritual capable of summoning him, Lu Xi hurried back to the Morningstar Universe.

• Lu Xi refused the Vishanti’s request to scout for Death, preferring not to risk his safety.
• Lu Xi considered using the chaos in the Multiverse to fuse hundreds of Universes and increase his strength.
• Agamotto proposed an alliance of Order gods, and Lu Xi agreed to exchange information with them.
• Oshtur explained that Chthon was her sibling and that the Vishanti had sealed him in the Flickering Realm.
• Wanda called to Lu Xi as her chaos magic formed a rune formation linked to a larger formation across New York City.
• Lu Xi realized the formations could summon Chthon in his complete form and returned to the Morningstar Universe.

A magical formation across New York opened a passage into Chthon’s dimension, and Lu Xi took Wanda through it after protecting her from its dark magic. Lu Xi overwhelmed Chthon and began interrogating him, while Wanda remained at his side.

• A citywide formation resonated with the mark on Wanda, opened a passage above New York, and caused her Chaos Magic to go out of control.
• Lu Xi identified Chthon’s influence, struck his giant hand as it reached through the passage, and carried Wanda into the dimension.
• Lu Xi shielded Wanda from the dark magic as they traveled through the passage and approached Chthon.
• Lu Xi revealed his Eighth Order power, struck Chthon across the head, and left him terrified by Lu Xi’s strength.
• Lu Xi ordered Chthon to answer his questions or die.

Lu Xi questioned Chthon about the summoning array in New York, and Chthon revealed that Mephisto had arranged it to help him descend to Earth. The story left Mephisto’s scheme exposed as Chthon confessed that he had agreed to the plan in exchange for killing Lu Xi and restoring Mephisto’s Soul Core and Hell Territory.

• Lu Xi intimidated Chthon and demanded to know who had built the summoning array and what other plans he had on Earth.
• Chthon admitted that Mephisto had set up the array and recounted how the weakened Mephisto had contacted him after sensing Wanda’s Chthon Mark.
• Mephisto offered to inscribe an array that would let Chthon descend in his complete form, provided Chthon supplied the required magic power.
• Mephisto demanded that Chthon kill Lu Xi and return his Soul Core and original Hell Territory after descending.
• Chthon mocked Mephisto for his losses, while Mephisto insisted that killing Lu Xi was essential to their deal.

Lu Xi uncovered the conspiracy Chthon and Mephisto had made to enable Chthon’s full descent and decided to kill them. He tested a new Destiny Law technique on Mephisto, erasing every version of him across countless parallel universes.

• Chthon accepted Mephisto’s conditions, and the two demon gods signed a Black Magic contract to prepare Chthon’s descent.
• Lu Xi examined the contract and Mephisto’s memories, confirming Chthon’s account of their conspiracy.
• Mephisto begged for his life, but Lu Xi judged that his earlier contract had already spared him once and prepared to kill him.
• Lu Xi used the Destiny Law on Mephisto, turning him into smoke and erasing his counterparts across countless Parallel Universes.
• Chthon asked what Lu Xi had done, and Lu Xi named the move Destiny: Nine-Clan Severing Art.

Lu Xi erased the Mephistos across countless universes, then subdued Chthon and had Wanda absorb his dark magic. After sealing Wanda away to continue her transformation, Lu Xi returned to Earth and thought of another candidate for a similar power increase.

• Lu Xi told Chthon he had erased every Mephisto across countless universes, and Chthon knelt and offered to serve him in exchange for his life.
• After Chthon could not answer Lu Xi’s questions about Eternity, Galactus, or the Zombie Virus, Lu Xi bound him and erased his consciousness.
• Lu Xi urged Wanda to absorb Chthon’s dark magic, and she began assimilating it with her Chaos Magic.
• Wanda told Lord Lucifer that she could absorb Chthon’s power but needed time, so Lu Xi sealed the dimension around her.
• Lu Xi returned to Earth, estimated that Wanda could reach peak Universal-level or possibly First Order Multiversal-level, and thought of another candidate for a similar transformation.

Lu Xi used the Multiversal Star Map to locate the universe of Dark Supreme Strange and discovered that its collapse into a Pocket Universe could be reversed. He planned to repair the time-paradox bug and restore the universe so he could devour its full origin power.

• Lu Xi decided that devouring Dark Supreme Strange could greatly strengthen his Destiny and searched the star map for the Strange variant's universe.
• The star map identified Earth-91233 and mapped a route for Lu Xi to reach it.
• Lu Xi found that Dark Strange sat alone in a Pocket Universe, while the Devouring Law signaled that the universe could be eaten.
• Lu Xi analyzed the Pocket Universe and determined that Christine's death had become its Absolute Point, causing Strange's actions to create a fatal time paradox.
• Lu Xi realized that the universe's earlier data remained intact and that fixing the paradox and restoring that data could return Earth-91233 to its original state.

Lu Xi entered Dark Supreme Strange’s Pocket Universe to negotiate a deal, offering to revive Christine and seeking Strange’s cooperation. After Strange attacked him, Lu Xi’s power nearly shattered the fragile Universe, but he stopped in time and revealed that he had killed Galactus.

• Lu Xi decided to speak with Dark Supreme Strange before trying to absorb the Pocket Universe’s power.
• Lu Xi appeared inside the Pocket Universe and told Strange he wanted to discuss a deal.
• When Lu Xi mentioned reviving Christine, Strange lunged at him and was blasted into the Universe’s barrier.
• Lu Xi’s unleashed power began breaking the Pocket Universe, so he withdrew it when Strange begged him to stop.
• Strange apologized and asked whether Lu Xi could truly revive Christine and whether he had fought an existence recently.
• Lu Xi confirmed he could revive Christine and said he had killed Galactus after Galactus rampaged through the Universe.

Lu Xi used Destiny Law to erase Dark Strange’s connection to the Pocket Universe, repairing its Absolute Point and restoring its structure. The universe returned, but its people were gone, and Lu Xi sent Dark Strange through a portal to transfer his magic power to another version of himself before he could see Christine.

• Dark Strange agreed to pay all his power and cooperate with Lu Xi in repairing the universe in exchange for Christine’s revival.
• Lu Xi used Destiny Law to erase Dark Strange’s existence from the Pocket Universe and remove the cause of its collapse.
• The Pocket Universe recovered, but all life remained erased, and Dark Strange asked where Christine was.
• Lu Xi reminded Dark Strange that he had killed everyone and said he would revive Christine later.
• Lu Xi opened a portal and told Dark Strange to transfer his magic power to another version of himself, and Dark Strange stepped through.

Strange and Dark Strange began transferring Dark Strange’s demonic power, while Lu Xi devoured the lifeless [Earth-91233] universe to strengthen himself and the Morningstar Universe. As the fusion rapidly advanced, Lu Xi gained an insight into why universes differed.

• Strange and Dark Strange began using a reversed ritual to transfer Dark Strange’s power to Strange.
• Lu Xi observed that Strange would receive more than ninety percent of the power and expected him to approach the Multiversal-level.
• Lu Xi unleashed the Devouring Law on [Earth-91233], absorbing its universal rules into the Morningstar Universe and converting its matter into energy for himself.
• Lu Xi ignored a warning from the Devouring Law that the process threatened universal Order.
• As [Earth-91233] fused into the Morningstar Universe, Lu Xi’s power rose, the universe grew stronger and more stable, and he realized the root of the differences among universes.

Lu Xi assessed how absorbing more universes could strengthen the Morningstar Universe and his control over Destiny. In Hell, Strange absorbed Dark Strange’s magic and reached the Multiversal level, but Dark Strange warned that the transferred power contained too much Demonic Will.

• Lu Xi concluded that universes had different power ceilings because their origins varied in strength, and decided to seek universes he could fuse with, preferably one containing a target for a Destiny contract.
• Lu Xi sensed an extraordinary event in his Hell Territory and found Strange absorbing the magic Dark Strange had transferred to him.
• Lu Xi saw four kinds of magic clash and merge inside Strange: Strange’s cultivated magic, Hell’s magic, borrowed White Magic Dimension power, and Dark Strange’s overwhelming magical power.
• Strange completed his advancement, emerged surrounded by gray mist, and excitedly told Lu Xi that he had reached the Multiversal level.
• Dark Strange warned Strange not to celebrate yet because his magic contained too much Demonic Will.

Lu Xi explained that the Vishanti’s White Magic Power had weakened the demonic wills in Strange’s magic, but Strange still needed to eliminate what remained. Strange chose a gradual method of borrowing small amounts of White Magic Power, while Dark Strange discovered that Strange could borrow from the Vishanti in ways he never could.

• Dark Strange warned Strange that demonic wills could erode his mind and soul, and Lu Xi explained that the White Magic Power had already weakened their influence.
• Lu Xi told Strange to keep wearing away the remaining demonic wills until the gray mist around him disappeared.
• Strange borrowed more White Magic Power from the Vishanti, surprising Dark Strange, who had lost access after absorbing demons.
• Lu Xi described a gradual method using about 10% of Strange’s magic reserves and a faster method using about 80%.
• Strange chose the gradual method so he could repay what he borrowed, and Dark Strange realized Strange had apparently borrowed from the Vishanti without repayment before.

Lu Xi revived Christine and sent her with Strange to live in the devastated Zombie Universe, then investigated the virus’s origin in San Francisco. By examining Janet van Dyne, he made new discoveries about the Zombie Virus, though their details were not revealed.

• Strange entered Dormammu’s arena to practice his Multiversal-level power, while Lu Xi warned him not to damage Dormammu and to stop borrowing magic from the Hell Dimension.
• Lu Xi used the power of Destiny to revive Christine, whose existence had been recorded after the [Earth-91233] Universe was fused into the Morningstar Universe.
• Lu Xi took Strange and Christine to the Zombie Universe, where he explained that only around one or two thousand people remained alive on Earth and arranged for them to settle there.
• Lu Xi traveled to San Francisco and used the Time Rule and the power of Destiny to revisit the virus’s arrival through the quantum tunnel with Doctor Pym and Janet van Dyne.
• Lu Xi focused on Janet van Dyne and analyzed the virus in her body, uncovering new information about its source.

Lu Xi sensed that the ancient Zombie Virus was tied to the Quantum Realm and decided to enter it to strengthen his Devouring Law. Before going, he fused with the vast Destiny authority Strange had sent him, gaining the potential to influence the destinies of other Universes.

• Lu Xi sensed that the Zombie Virus stirred his Devouring Law and concluded that he needed to investigate its birthplace in the Quantum Realm.
• Lu Xi weighed the danger of entering the Quantum Realm but decided that the chance to strengthen his Devouring Law was worth the risk.
• Lu Xi left the Universe to fuse with the Destiny authority he had received after Strange advanced.
• Lu Xi's fusion lit up nearby Parallel Universes and brought him closer to the Destiny Law.
• Lu Xi perceived threads of Destiny belonging to lives and Universes beyond his own Morningstar Universe.