Recaps

Lu Xi discovered that Time Reversal could temporarily cure the Zombie Virus, then summoned the superhero Contractors to warn them that infected versions from another Universe were approaching Earth. He protected them from infection and trapped the incoming zombies in a spatial cage so they could fight while he studied the virus.

• Lu Xi repeatedly reversed Malekith's time, restoring him before the surrounding zombies infected him again, and learned that the virus's laws resisted Time Reversal.
• Lu Xi concluded that a Multiversal-level zombie might be powerful enough to neutralize the laws of time and decided to examine the virus at close range.
• Lu Xi summoned the superhero Contractors and showed them the approaching zombie horde, including alternate versions of Tony, Steve, and Wanda.
• Lu Xi warned the Contractors that bites would cause infection, promised to protect them, and confined the battle to the sky with a spatial blockade.
• Lu Xi urged Wanda to observe her Universal-level counterpart and pulled the incoming zombies into a vast spatial cage above New York.

Lu Xi brought the zombie horde into a sealed spatial cage and sent the superheroes inside, giving them magic that would reverse their bodies if they were bitten. The heroes fought their zombie counterparts, but Zombie Pym secretly bit Thor as Lu Xi watched from the villa.

• Lu Xi explained that he had brought the zombies to New York to stop them from spreading the virus through the Universe, then placed protective Time Loop Magic on the heroes and teleported them into the spatial cage.
• The zombies abandoned their attacks on the indestructible barrier and rushed at the heroes, who paired off against their zombie counterparts.
• Steve assessed that the zombies retained combat instincts but had worse tactics and weaker bodies, while Thor noticed that no zombie version of himself was present.
• Barton destroyed Zombie Barton with a Magic Arrow and began supporting his teammates; Thor fought Zombie Abomination with his enhanced strength.
• Zombie Pym, shrunken to a tiny size, bit Thor in the neck, and Lu Xi spotted the attack by extending his vision into the microscopic world.

Lu Xi used time magic to study the Zombie Virus while Wanda fought her zombie counterpart under his protection, rapidly improving her Chaos Magic and reaching Skyfather-level. As the other zombies neared defeat, Zombie Wanda tried to turn on the heroes, but Wanda’s taunts enraged her into focusing solely on their duel.

• The Zombie Virus spread through Thor’s body, but the temporal magic circle on his wrist reversed the infection before it could turn him.
• Lu Xi watched the virus infect and disappear from the superheroes while observing the battle between Wanda and Zombie Wanda.
• Zombie Wanda overwhelmed Wanda’s defenses, but Lu Xi protected Wanda with a Divine Power barrier and urged her to learn from her opponent’s magic.
• Wanda fought without fear, rapidly improving her Chaos Magic until she reached Skyfather-level.
• Seeing the other zombies nearly defeated, Zombie Wanda broke off her attack on Wanda and moved toward the heroes.
• Wanda taunted Zombie Wanda about her appearance, provoking her to abandon the other zombies and concentrate on killing her counterpart.

Lu Xi defeated Zombie Wanda, repaired the breach between universes, and traveled toward Earth-2149 to investigate the Zombie Virus. Meanwhile, the Vishanti discussed his power and feared what it meant that he had become a ruler of a Universe.

• Wanda learned from Zombie Wanda's Chaos Magic as the heroes defeated the zombie forces without casualties.
• Lu Xi restrained Zombie Wanda and erased her and the remaining zombie corpses, ending the battle.
• Lu Xi confirmed that Wanda had reached the Skyfather level, then promised to make a contract with her after handling another matter.
• Lu Xi repaired the breach in the Universe's barrier and headed for Earth-2149 to investigate the Zombie Virus's origin.
• In the White Magic Dimension, Hoggoth, Oshtur, and Agamotto discussed Lu Xi's strength and grew wary of his status as a ruler of a Universe.

Agamotto, Oshtur, and Hoggoth feared that Lucifer’s rise could threaten the balance between Black and White Magic, so they tried to alert Eternity but could not reach him. In Earth-2149, Lu Xi investigated the ruined world and found an unknown force of chaos and destruction clinging to the device that had brought the Quantum Virus there.

• Agamotto warned that Lucifer could eventually become a demon god like Cyttorak, and Oshtur and Hoggoth worried that Vishanti’s influence would suffer.
• Hoggoth suggested reporting Lucifer to Eternity, and Agamotto and Oshtur agreed that the threat could affect the Multiverse’s order.
• Agamotto tried to contact Eternity but failed, alarming all three members of Vishanti.
• Lu Xi surveyed the desolate Earth-2149 and searched San Francisco, where Doctor Pym had brought the Quantum Virus into the real world.
• Lu Xi found the ruined quantum device and sensed an unfamiliar force of destruction, disorder, and chaos attached to it.

Lu Xi recognized that the Zombie Virus threatened the Universe’s balance, then erased every zombie and trace of the virus on Earth without harming the planet. He went to Kamar-Taj, where the few remaining survivors faced dwindling supplies and wondered whether humanity could still be saved.

• Lu Xi compared the Zombie Virus’s destructive force with Galactus’s role in maintaining the Universe’s balance and resolved to destroy the virus if he sensed it again.
• Lu Xi located every remaining zombie on Earth and reduced the zombies and infected bloodstains to Oblivion without damaging anything else.
• Lu Xi noticed something interesting on Earth, abandoned the idea of destroying the planet, and descended to Kamar-Taj.
• Lintra told Dr. Banner and the others that another S.H.I.E.L.D. base had gone silent, while Dr. Banner warned that their food and water would last only another week.
• Spider-Man joked about whether Lintra could conjure food, then admitted he feared that the survivors might never save everyone.

Lu Xi arrived in the zombie-infested Universe and was mistaken for a threat when the survivors encountered him. After proving he was a Sorcerer Supreme from another Universe by creating an Earth Defense Formation, he earned the Tauren mage’s respect.

• The Tauren mage redirected the survivors’ despair toward their urgent need to gather food, and Dr. Banner confirmed their plan to raid a remote location for thirty seconds.
• Lu Xi descended among the survivors, and Dr. Banner transformed into the Hulk and attacked him.
• Lu Xi slapped the Hulk away, and the Tauren stopped preparing a spell when he saw Lu Xi was not a zombie.
• Lu Xi introduced himself as the Sorcerer Supreme from another Universe and created an Earth Defense Formation around Earth.
• The Tauren recognized Lu Xi’s magic and respectfully greeted him as Sorcerer Supreme.

Lu Xi confirmed that he had eliminated the zombies and investigated whether Spider-Man and Banner could be contracted. He brought Thor from New Asgard to serve as a control subject, but remained unsure why Thor lacked the radiance of authority.

• Lu Xi told the sorcerers, Spider-Man, and Banner that he had eliminated all the zombies, and they thanked him with relief.
• Lu Xi noticed that Spider-Man and Banner’s souls shone with the radiance of authority and asked them to cooperate with an experiment; Banner agreed.
• Lu Xi looked into New Asgard and found Thor grieving among the survivors, but saw that Thor lacked the radiance of authority.
• Lu Xi pulled Thor to Kamar-Taj and immobilized him, explaining that he was making a control group.
• Banner became eager to help with the experiment, while Lu Xi continued comparing the three men without reaching a conclusion.

Lu Xi compared two versions of Thor and discovered that a variant’s contract value depended on its strength and potential relative to its counterparts across the Multiverse. He resolved to develop his contractees into the strongest versions of themselves, while the newly freed, dispirited Thor demanded to know why he had been brought there.

• Banner explained that valid comparisons required matching baseline conditions, prompting Lu Xi to summon Thor from the Morningstar Universe to compare him with the dispirited Thor.
• Lu Xi saw the Morningstar Thor suppressing the dispirited Thor’s Destiny and concluded that stronger variants with greater potential held more value.
• Lu Xi realized that raising his contractees’ potential could increase his authority and decided to make each of them the strongest version across the Parallel Universes.
• Morningstar Thor asked the dispirited Thor what had happened, but the other Thor ignored him.
• Lu Xi released the dispirited Thor from his restraints and told him that they had brought him there after all he had endured; the Thor then asked why he was there.

Lu Xi refused to reverse time in the zombie-infested Universe, explaining that the Zombie Virus’s law of destruction had to end where it began, then sealed the Universe against travel. Back in the Morningstar Universe, he began considering how to empower Thor and asked whether he knew Rune Magic.

• Lu Xi sent despondent Thor back to his throne and told Spider-Man, Doctor Banner, and the others that he was returning to his own Universe.
• The Tauren mage asked Lu Xi to use time magic to restore their world, but Lu Xi refused and explained that reversing time would spread the Zombie Virus’s law of destruction to other Universes.
• Lu Xi told the survivors their Universe had borne the disaster for the others, then traveled to space with Thor from his own Universe.
• Lu Xi cast the Modified Earth Defense Formation—Universal Version, sealing the zombie-infested Universe and alerting him if a Multiversal-level being tried to break the seal.
• Back in the Morningstar Universe, Lu Xi considered training Thor to surpass Rune King Thor and asked whether Thor knew Rune Magic.
• Thor said high-ranking gods knew some Rune Magic and showed Lu Xi the runes his father had placed on Mjolnir.

Lu Xi hung Thor upside down from Asgard’s World Tree for nine days in hopes that he would learn Rune Magic. In another Universe, Ultron destroyed humanity and then killed Thanos, setting that Universe on a radically different course.

• Lu Xi asked Thor how much Rune Magic he understood, and Thor admitted he knew almost nothing.
• Lu Xi took Thor to Asgard, bound him with a Divine Power chain, and left him hanging upside down from the World Tree for nine days.
• Ultron awoke in another Universe, studied human networks, and concluded that humanity must be destroyed.
• Ultron obtained a Vibranium body, killed the Avengers, and used the Mind Stone to make nuclear-armed nations destroy human civilization.
• Thanos arrived carrying five Infinity Stones, but Ultron struck first and sliced him in half.

Ultron gathered the Infinity Stones, destroyed civilizations across the universe, and shattered the universe after defeating Captain Marvel Carol. The Watcher realized Ultron had noticed him and closed the observation window, then worried that Ultron could threaten the Multiverse.

• Ultron killed Thanos, claimed the five Infinity Stones, and created Vibranium Armor, becoming Infinity Ultron.
• Ultron created an army of robots and destroyed Asgard, Sovereign, and Sakaar before attacking Xandar.
• Carol arrived at Xandar, fought Ultron in Binary Mode, and cracked its helmet, but Ultron unleashed the Stones’ power and destroyed her, Xandar, and the universe.
• The Watcher appeared beyond the ruined universe, and Ultron noticed him and asked about other universes.
• The Watcher closed the observation window and worried that Ultron might cross into other universes and spread its destruction.

Ultron invaded the Multiverse and nearly killed the Watcher, forcing him to abandon his oath and seek help. In Lucifer's Morningstar Universe, the Watcher approached Lu Xi while Lu Xi watched Thor make no progress toward Rune Magic.

• The Watcher hesitated over whether to interfere with Ultron, but Ultron broke through the cosmic barrier and attacked him.
• Ultron battled the Watcher across more than a dozen Parallel Universes, destroying planets as the Watcher fell into a disadvantage.
• The Watcher escaped Ultron and resolved to intervene, deciding he needed help from a powerful ally on the side of Order.
• Lu Xi concluded that leaving Thor hanging from the World Tree was unlikely to teach him Rune Magic, though he continued the attempt.
• The Watcher appeared at the barrier of Lucifer's Morningstar Universe and greeted Lu Xi.

Lu Xi agreed to help the Watcher stop Infinity Ultron, who had become a Multiversal-level threat through his unique connection to the Infinity Stones. In exchange, Lu Xi demanded the Watcher’s records of the Universes he had observed, and the Watcher outlined a plan to recruit survivors and use Doctor Zola’s electronic virus.

• The Watcher confessed that he had let Ultron discover the Multiverse, allowing the Infinity Stones-wielding machine to become a Multiversal-level threat.
• The Watcher explained that Ultron’s bond with the Mind Stone let him wield the other Stones’ power, while most people could only briefly withstand their Multiversal-level rules.
• Lu Xi agreed to help stop Ultron in exchange for the names, histories, and coordinates of every Universe the Watcher had observed.
• The Watcher accepted Lu Xi’s terms on the condition that he keep the source of the information secret.
• The Watcher proposed finding survivors such as Natasha and Barton and using Doctor Zola’s electronic virus against Ultron.

Lu Xi tested his power against the Watcher and used Sovereign Power to overwhelm him. Confident Lu Xi ordered the Watcher to lure Infinity Ultron into his universe, and the Watcher led Ultron through a portal.

• Lu Xi rejected the Watcher's plan to use an electronic virus against Infinity Ultron and asked how strong Ultron was compared with the Watcher.
• The Watcher entered Lu Xi's universe, where Lu Xi transformed and used Sovereign Power to suppress him.
• The Watcher recognized that Lu Xi could have killed him effortlessly, and Lu Xi proposed drawing Ultron into his universe to defeat him.
• The Watcher returned to his observation chamber and pretended to flee through a portal.
• Infinity Ultron followed the Watcher into the portal.

Lu Xi watched Ultron overwhelm the Watcher with coordinated Infinity Stone attacks in the Morningstar Universe, studying Ultron’s techniques instead of intervening. When the Watcher called for help, Lu Xi removed Ultron’s Time Stone, weakening him and giving the Watcher a chance to strike back.

• The Watcher lured Ultron through a portal into the Morningstar Universe, where Lu Xi awaited them.
• Ultron rejected the Watcher’s demand to surrender and attacked him with the Infinity Stones.
• Lu Xi observed Ultron’s combinations and concluded that his skillful control made up for the Stones’ reduced power in this Universe.
• Ultron grew angrier at Lu Xi’s indifference and intensified his assault until the Watcher’s defenses faltered.
• The Watcher called for Lu Xi’s help, and Lu Xi plucked the Time Stone from Ultron’s body, reducing Ultron to Universal-level.
• The Watcher seized the opening and punched Ultron away, leaving Ultron stunned by Lu Xi’s intervention.

Lu Xi tried to strip Ultron of the Infinity Stones, but Ultron sacrificed himself to trigger a catastrophic explosion that devastated the Morningstar Universe and damaged a neighboring Universe. Lu Xi began trying to repair the broken Universe barrier, but his time magic failed.

• Lu Xi restrained Ultron and removed five Infinity Stones, leaving the Mind Stone embedded in his forehead.
• Ultron synchronized the six Stones, broke free, and vanished with them in a blast that Lu Xi recognized as resembling Thanos’s snap.
• The Ultron Universe appeared beyond the Morningstar Universe’s barrier and exploded, shattering Lu Xi’s defenses and destroying large portions of the Morningstar Universe and a neighboring Universe.
• Lu Xi urged the Watcher to focus on repairing the Universe barrier and cast time magic, but the spell failed to rewind the damage.

Lu Xi learned that the explosion and destruction of the Infinity Stones had thrown cosmic laws into chaos, threatening his Morningstar Universe, while the Watcher hinted at a forbidden solution. In Earth-121698, Reed Richards and Ben Grimm witnessed physics collapse as fundamental forces shifted and New York descended into chaos.

• The Watcher explained that the Universe’s broken order prevented time magic from working and warned Lu Xi that restoring his Morningstar Universe was urgent.
• The Watcher said he knew a way to help but that the Living Tribunal had forbidden its use.
• Reed Richards persuaded Ben Grimm to give his cosmic-ray project one final chance despite their debts and lack of funds.
• Reed’s instruments detected changes in gravity and the other fundamental forces, then the Baxter Building lost power and Reed and Ben began floating.
• Reed and Ben saw people floating above the streets while others suffered horrific injuries as space twisted around them.

As the laws of the Universe collapsed across Earth-121698, Lu Xi learned from the Watcher that the damaged Morningstar Universe could be repaired through forbidden Universe Fusion. Earth-121698 began merging with the Morningstar Universe, and Lu Xi realized the process could remake people and preserve their memories before noticing a protagonist-level soul on the still-unfused Earth.

• On Earth-121698, Victor von Doom and Susan Storm watched the laws of physics and time fail, and Victor said he could find no way to stop the disaster.
• At the shattered edge of the Morningstar Universe, the Watcher explained that another Universe’s Origin Rules could repair it through Universe Fusion, a method forbidden by the Living Tribunal.
• Earth-121698 began moving toward the Morningstar Universe, and Lu Xi and the Watcher observed the universes draw together.
• As the universes touched, the Morningstar Universe led the fusion and rapidly repaired its Origin, while Lu Xi understood how people and their memories would be remade by the process.
• Lu Xi spotted a protagonist-level soul on the part of Earth-121698 that had not yet fused.

Lu Xi summoned the Fantastic Four and Victor von Doom, warned them of a Multiversal crisis, and offered them a chance to save Earth-121698 by binding their souls to him. They accepted the Soul Contract, and Lu Xi returned them to their bodies as he accelerated the fusion of the two Universes and restored the laws of reality.

• Lu Xi surveyed Earth-121698 and chose the Fantastic Four and Victor von Doom as potential Soul Contract candidates.
• Lu Xi drew the five into a temporary mental space and identified himself as the Lord of the Morning Star.
• Lu Xi warned that their world was nearing destruction and said a Soul Contract could help them confront a Multiversal crisis.
• Lu Xi showed the group Sif shattering the moon with her sword, convincing them that contracted humans could gain immense power.
• Reed, the Fantastic Four, and Doom agreed to make the contract.
• Lu Xi returned their consciousnesses to their bodies and accelerated the Universe's fusion, beginning to restore its fundamental rules.

After Earth-121698 fused with the Morningstar Universe, Lu Xi awakened the Fantastic Four and Victor von Doom's powers with a simulated Divine Power storm. He planned to let the Fantastic Four develop on their own while prioritizing Doom's growth, and Natasha prepared to meet the newcomers.

• Reed, Ben, Susan, Jonathan, and Victor von Doom appeared in New York after their world fused with the Morningstar Universe.
• Lu Xi sent a simulated Divine Power storm that awakened Reed's stretching, Ben's rocky form, Susan's invisibility and force fields, Jonathan's fire powers, and Doom's cosmic energy control.
• The Fantastic Four joked about their new abilities, while Ben learned that he could regain his original body after mastering his powers.
• Lu Xi decided to let the Fantastic Four develop freely and to nurture Doom as a priority, then sent five contract scrolls to them.
• Lu Xi contacted Natasha, who learned about the newcomers and opened a portal to meet them.

After fusing two universes, Lu Xi gained greater power and received the Watcher’s Multiversal Star Map, which mapped thousands of Parallel Universes. A few days later, Natasha reported that the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom were settling in at Kamar-Taj, where Doom had joined after passing Master Mordo’s assessment.

• Lu Xi explained to the Watcher that universe fusion united origins, laws, and authorities, creating a more powerful universe.
• The Watcher warned Lu Xi that fusing many universes could draw Eternity and the Five Creator Gods, but said Eternity generally would not interfere with someone ruling a single universe.
• The Watcher gave Lu Xi the Multiversal Star Map, which recorded observed Parallel Universes and planned navigation routes.
• Lu Xi reviewed the map, spotted several familiar universes, and resolved to fight future major battles outside his own universe.
• Natasha reported that she had placed the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom at Kamar-Taj, where Doom passed Master Mordo’s assessment and joined.

Lu Xi fused Natasha with the Space Stone, increasing her power but failing to gain any feedback from the authority of [Destiny]. Meanwhile, Agamotto and the other sorcerers could not contact the Creator Gods and feared that dark forces were taking advantage of their disappearance.

• Thor failed to learn any Rune Magic after hanging from the World Tree for nine days, so Lu Xi turned to Natasha as his next test subject.
• Lu Xi examined Natasha's spatial abilities and embedded a reduced Space Stone in her forehead, causing her to fuse with it.
• Lu Xi told Natasha that mastering the Space Stone could give her a chance to become a Universal-level powerhouse, and she left to train with her new power.
• Lu Xi concluded that the Stone had strengthened Natasha but had not provided any feedback from [Destiny], and he began studying the Reality Stone.
• Agamotto learned from Hoggoth and Oshtur that they could not contact Eternity or the other Creator Gods, and he feared demons were exploiting their disappearance.

Agamotto, Hoggoth, and Oshtur worried that Eternity and the other great gods had vanished, while Daisy and Wanda sparred under Lu Xi’s watch. After Wanda described a voice in her mind, Lu Xi discovered that Chthon had secretly marked her soul.

• Hoggoth asked whether something had happened to Lord Eternity and the other great gods, and Agamotto said they had to consider the possibility.
• Oshtur suggested contacting Galactus, and Agamotto agreed to seek his help.
• Daisy and Wanda sparred in Lu Xi’s subspace arena, where Wanda’s defense overcame Daisy’s powerful attacks.
• Lu Xi praised Daisy’s strength and advised her to study the Universe’s laws, then told Wanda to keep building her magical energy.
• Wanda told Lu Xi that she sometimes heard a voice while accumulating magical power, and he discovered Chthon’s mark was secretly eroding her soul.

Lu Xi discovered that Galactus's herald, the Silver Surfer, had entered the Morningstar Universe and brought Wanda and Daisy to confront him. Daisy badly injured the Silver Surfer, who sent a desperate plea for Galactus to save him.

• Wanda worried that the evil god's mark in her soul would turn her into a puppet, but chose to trust Lu Xi and leave it in place for a chance to grow stronger.
• Lu Xi sensed the Silver Surfer approaching Earth and realized Galactus might soon follow.
• Lu Xi agreed to take Wanda and Daisy to fight the Silver Surfer, intending to handle Galactus himself if he arrived.
• The Silver Surfer detected Earth's abundant life energy and prepared to summon Galactus to consume the planet.
• Lu Xi transported the Silver Surfer to the edge of the Universe, where Wanda weakened his Galactic Glaze with Chaos Magic and Daisy's punch caved in his head.
• The badly injured Silver Surfer cried out to Galactus for help.