Chapter Summaries

Kenneth, Adele, Thomas, and Shay helped the strike teams seize Baron Strucker’s base and rescue the imprisoned children, including Wanda and Pietro. One week later, Richard installed a Crimson Believer Conversion Pool in Golden Ape Valley and dropped three golden-furred giant apes into it to test its effects.

• Shay’s hypnotic ray incapacitated Baron Strucker, and Kenneth ordered the strike teams to attack the base.
• Adele gave the group suppression medicine for the Death Virus Spore, and Shay opened a portal so they could escape the contaminated laboratory with Baron Strucker.
• Grant Ward’s team found around thirty imprisoned children in Experimental Area A, including Wanda and Pietro, while the action teams secured the rest of the base.
• Richard placed the conversion pool on an altar in Golden Ape Valley and drew three injured golden-furred giant apes into it.

Richard successfully transformed three Golden-Haired Giant Apes into Crimson believers and appointed them guardians of the Transformation Altar, then returned to the Sky Fortress, where White Queen told him Clea and Vivian had been captured by S.H.I.E.L.D.

• Richard raised the altar above the mountains and decorated its eight corners with the Human Sovereign Banner and seven Seven-Colored Long Banners.
• Three Golden-Haired Giant Apes emerged from Crimson Cocoons transformed, recognized Richard as their Father God, and received the names Sarutobi Hiruzen, Zousuke Sarutobi, and Danzo Sarutobi.
• Richard ordered the three apes to unite the Golden Ape Clan and guard the Transformation Altar, promising a transformation slot every hundred sunrises and sunsets if they did well.
• Richard considered using the Crimson Believer Conversion Pool to revive Old Tree and Feny, but put away their Sealing Spirit Orbs rather than risk their remnant souls.
• Richard returned to the Sky Fortress, where White Queen warned him that S.H.I.E.L.D. had captured Clea and Vivian.

Richard learned that Clea and Vivian had been abducted during negotiations over Presbyterian Hospital and realized the apparent S.H.I.E.L.D. safehouse was a trap. He discovered Natasha and Clint were surrounded by Skrulls, and Natasha launched a counterattack against Jasper Sitwell’s forces.

• A surveillance video showed Christine and Vivian being abducted from a meeting with Presbyterian Hospital directors after a smoke attack.
• White Queen traced the captives to an emptied S.H.I.E.L.D. safehouse, and Richard recognized it as a trap targeting Natasha and Clint.
• Richard sensed Skrulls surrounding Natasha and the Widow Agents in Queens and teleported away.
• Jasper Sitwell revealed himself to Natasha and said he had passed Clint’s information to someone, while White Queen confirmed Clint was also surrounded.
• Jasper’s agents opened fire, but Natasha and the three Widow Agents survived behind their bulletproof gear and charged at the attackers.

Natasha killed Jasper and helped defeat his black-suited agents. In a Manhattan alley, Hawkeye and two injured Widows were cornered by Skrulls searching for Avina, and Conn revealed their threat against Hawkeye.

• Natasha and three Widows killed Jasper's black-suited agents after their ambush failed.
• Natasha caught Jasper as he fled, broke his arm, and killed him with his dagger.
• Hawkeye fled through a Lower Manhattan alley with injured Widows Alicia and Celia, but five black-suited agents blocked their escape.
• Conn identified Hawkeye and relayed Nick Fury's order to learn Avina's whereabouts, while Kinsley ordered him to kill Hawkeye afterward.
• Conn asked where Hawkeye's wife was, and Hawkeye recognized the agents as Skrulls when he mocked them as green-skinned monsters.
• Conn silenced the furious Skrulls and threatened to kill Hawkeye.

Hawkeye and Celia and Alicia fought Conn and four Skrulls while protecting Christine and Vivian, until Richard arrived and rescued them. Richard took the injured survivors and the Skrull bodies to headquarters, while S.H.I.E.L.D. agents later collected evidence from the scene.

• Conn transformed into his Skrull form and demanded to know where Avina was, but Hawkeye said she was dead and claimed her ashes had been scattered at Eagle's Nest Valley.
• Hawkeye blinded Conn with an explosive arrow as four Skrulls revealed their forms and attacked Hawkeye, Celia, and Alicia, badly injuring all three.
• Richard arrived, killed the four Skrulls with crimson light wheels, incapacitated Conn with an ice wall, and rescued Christine and Vivian.
• Richard assessed the injuries, sent Hawkeye, Celia, Alicia, Conn, and the Skrull bodies through a portal to headquarters, and shattered an American military satellite observing the scene.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived five minutes later, photographed the combat traces, and collected soil stained with suspicious purple liquid.

Richard used the Crimson Believer Conversion Pool to heal and transform Celia, Alicia, and seven others after conventional treatment failed. Once the group returned to the Sky Fortress, Adele called to report that she had found two superpowered individuals in Sokovia.

• Melina told Richard that Celia and Alicia were unlikely to survive their severe injuries, and he decided to use the Crimson Believer Conversion Pool.
• Richard brought Christine and Vivian to the Crimson Dimension and placed them, Celia, Alicia, Natasha, Yelena, Melina, Clint, and Laura in the blood pool for conversion.
• The pool separated the nine people's souls from their bodies and formed cocoons while the conversion process began.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived at the altar, paid respects to Richard, and received praise and instructions to select a Golden Ape Clan member for baptism after a hundred sunrises and moonsets.
• Two hours later, all nine emerged healed and transformed, and Richard returned them to the Sky Fortress.
• Adele called Richard and told him that she and her group had found two superpowered individuals in Sokovia.

Richard met Wanda and Pietro Maximoff at the Sokovia HYDRA base and asked them to demonstrate their powers. After deciding the siblings should be properly cared for, he learned that their enemy was Tony Stark.

• Richard reassured the wary Wanda and Pietro by showing them his fire powers, then asked them to demonstrate their abilities.
• Pietro showed off his super speed by stealing Adele's phone and returning it before she noticed.
• Wanda struggled to form a small sphere of crimson energy, and Richard praised her effort and agreed with Adele that both children should be nurtured.
• Adele sent guards to get Wanda and Pietro new clothes and nutritious food, then told Richard that Tony Stark was their enemy.

Richard visited Baron Strucker, who was imprisoned in Adele’s secret base, and offered him three months to decide whether to surrender. He revealed that Red Skull was alive on another planet before leaving through a portal, and Adele identified Richard as the Lord of Crimson.

• Adele told Richard that Wanda and Pietro blamed Tony Stark for their parents’ deaths, and Richard left handling the children to Tony.
• Richard asked Adele about her father, and she admitted she could not kill Baron Strucker, so Richard decided to meet him.
• Richard spoke with Baron Strucker through the cell’s glass wall and gave him three months to consider surrendering.
• Richard revealed that John Schmidt, the Red Skull, had survived and been transported by the Space Stone to another planet.
• Richard opened a portal and left after telling Adele to care for Wanda and Pietro, and Adele called him the great Lord of Crimson and a living God.

Baron Strucker urged Adele to keep pursuing Richard and to consider the future he had proposed among the stars. Richard visited Tony Stark, shared wine with him, and introduced Wanda and Pietro as Tony’s problem.

• Baron Strucker told Adele that her love for Richard kept her from becoming his believer, then urged her to pursue him despite his rejection and girlfriend.
• Adele agreed to keep pursuing Richard, carry out his mission, and care for Wanda and Pietro.
• Baron Strucker reflected that Earth was too small and thought of John Schmidt, Red Skull, and the sea of stars.
• Richard pulled Tony Stark from his equipment room, and Pepper refused to let Tony drink alcohol because of his health.
• Richard gave Tony a bottle of wine and showed him images of Wanda Maximoff and Pietro Maximoff, declaring that they were Tony’s problem.

Tony learned that Wanda and Pietro blamed him for their parents’ deaths because a Stark-made Jericho Missile killed them, and he was warned about the danger of Wanda’s Chaos Magic. He decided to consider adopting the siblings so he could address their hatred and take responsibility for them.

• Tony mistakenly thought Wanda and Pietro might be his children, and Jarvis found no evidence that any of his past partners had given birth to them.
• Richard explained that Adele and her companions had rescued Wanda and Pietro from Baron Strucker’s research base, where they had been imprisoned as test subjects.
• Richard told Tony that the siblings’ parents had been killed by a Jericho Missile bearing Stark’s name, making Tony their hated enemy.
• Richard warned Tony that Pietro had super speed and Wanda possessed Chaos Magic linked to Chthon, an ancient god of dark magic.
• Tony reasoned that Obadiah Stane had been responsible for Stark Industries’ weapons business and considered how his own experience with a Jericho Missile might help him connect with the siblings.
• Tony asked Richard what he thought about adopting Wanda and Pietro.

Tony arranged to adopt Wanda and Pietro, while Talos tried to keep the Skrull council from turning against Nick Fury and was ultimately deposed and exiled with his wife Soren. As their landing craft descended toward Earth, Soren’s craft exploded, leaving Talos devastated.

• Tony persuaded Richard to send Wanda and Pietro to him, and Pepper welcomed the children into her care.
• Richard began converting the Widow Agents into Crimson Believers, expecting the work to take about a week.
• Talos failed to convince Kinsley, Gravik, Diego, Skrull, and Varra to trust Nick Fury’s plans or avoid war with Earth.
• Varra revealed that Nick Fury was contacting the Kree, and Gravik led the council in voting to depose and expel Talos and his family.
• Talos and Soren were launched toward Earth in separate landing craft, but Soren’s craft exploded in the atmosphere as Talos watched.

Nick Fury escaped an attack aboard the Wanderer and ordered a covert purge of Skrull imposters inside S.H.I.E.L.D. Kinsley learned that Fury had the imposters’ list and ordered them to fall back.

• Nick Fury reached the Miami shore by jet ski and called Phil Coulson to pick him up.
• Aboard the Quinjet, Nick Fury reviewed reports on agents under secret surveillance and told Phil Coulson that Conn, Ray, and Annie were Skrull spies.
• Nick Fury ordered Phil Coulson to activate the covert purge unit and capture the imposters, executing anyone who resisted.
• Phil Coulson concluded that Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, and Maria Hill had only pretended to defect as part of Nick Fury’s plan.
• Agent Conn warned Kinsley that Nick Fury had the list of S.H.I.E.L.D. imposters, and Kinsley ordered Balai to notify them to fall back.

Kinsley ordered the Skrulls to flee S.H.I.E.L.D. after Nick Fury’s clearance operation exposed them, while Fury treated their escape as a success and punished the teams that failed to capture them. In Tara, Richard gathered the newly converted Crimson Nuns, who waited to hear why he had summoned them.

• Kinsley ordered Balai to notify the Skrulls to withdraw from S.H.I.E.L.D., then disguised himself as Nick Fury and left, vowing to return.
• Phil Coulson reported that every secret clearance team had failed to capture its target because the Skrulls had fled or vanished.
• Nick Fury told Coulson the operation had succeeded by driving the spies out, but ordered the teams to submit reports and face penalties for their failures.
• Richard gathered the Crimson Nuns in Tara’s central fountain plaza, where Kiri, Beverly, and Yulia bickered until Captain Nina stopped them.
• Nina asked Alicia why Richard had summoned them, but Alicia did not know; Richard appeared above Tara and called for everyone’s attention.

Richard ordered the Crimson Nuns to the Training Center, where Christine Palmer taught them magic he had created for Crimson believers. Back at Kamar-Taj, Old Li arrived through a cross-realm portal, and Richard discovered that half of his origin essence was missing.

• Richard recognized Nina Cho as possibly related to Helen Cho and ordered the Crimson Nuns to march to the Training Center.
• Christine Palmer introduced herself as the Crimson Nuns’ Head Instructor and demonstrated portals and several crimson spells.
• Richard showed The Ancient One his mystic arts for Crimson believers, and she asked him to record them for Kamar-Taj’s library.
• A cross-realm portal opened before Richard and The Ancient One, and Old Li emerged from it.
• Richard hurried to Old Li and noticed that half of his origin essence was missing.

Old Li told Richard and The Ancient One that the Source Star had been swallowed by an unknown realm that turned its inhabitants into semi-digital life, and Richard sent a magic clone to investigate. The clone learned that the realm was a sentient virtual game world and that the Mother of Source Star needed him to clear its dungeons and field bosses to break free of its control.

• The Ancient One and Richard sealed the grand hall in space and time to stop Old Li's life essence from draining, while the other Kamar-Taj sorcerers kept the apprentices away.
• Old Li explained that the Source Star had been swallowed and its inhabitants transformed, then resolved to return and save it despite his weakened state.
• Richard sent magic clone Number One to the Source Star, where it discovered that the Source Star and virtual game world shared overlapping magic marks.
• The Mother of Source Star told the clone that the Illusory World had made her a Mainframe and asked it to clear 3,789 dungeons and defeat 5,431 field bosses so she could seize control and sever the connection.
• The clone realized Richard would need to create more avatars, while Richard felt a warning at Kamar-Taj and suspected someone was about to make trouble for him.

Richard traveled to Source Star after Clone 1 summoned him, bringing Old Li sealed in golden amber. He found Clone 1 battling a monster riot in the Abyssal Forest, where Clone 1 blamed the Mother of Source Star for summoning Richard to help.

• Richard agreed to go to Source Star, and Old Li sealed himself in golden amber so he could travel safely.
• The Ancient One released the time-space seal around the grand hall after Richard left, and Mordo and the others rushed inside to check on her.
• Richard learned that Clone 1 had removed the magical marker and tracked his mana instead, opening a passage to Source Star.
• Clone 1 fought off a huge monster riot from a raised platform using enchanted Crimson Desert Eagles.
• When Richard arrived, Clone 1 stopped firing and blamed the Mother of Source Star for calling Richard over to do the hard work.

Mother of Source Star asked Richard to clear the Source Star Game World’s Dungeons and Field Bosses so she could seize control of the game, and granted him powerful temporary permissions to help. Richard and Clone No. 1 created a vast army of Magic Clones and began developing stronger area-of-effect spells in the Abyssal Forest Dungeon.

• Mother of Source Star took Qinglan back to Origin Land and asked Richard to clear 3,789 Dungeons and 5,431 Field Bosses to expose the Connection Channel to the Illusory World Core.
• Richard and Clone No. 1 discovered that they had gained unlimited Mana, unlimited Stamina, One-Hit-Point Lock, and the Weakness Insight talent.
• Richard and Clone No. 1 summoned countless Magic Clones and decided to develop powerful area-of-effect spells before tackling the Dungeons and Field Bosses.
• Richard and his Clones tested Meteor Fire Rain in the Abyssal Forest, terrifying a lv 11 Long-Eared Rabbit with the destruction it caused.
• Clone No. 1 sat in the sky and considered how to improve Meteor Fire Rain.

Richard and Clone No. 1 cleared the Abyssal Forest Dungeon, gained new rewards, and split into Magic Clones to clear the remaining Dungeons. Richard entered the Giant Elephant Valley Dungeon and came face-to-face with the Lv. 61 Ape King.

• Richard and his Magic Clones unleashed numerous Secret Arts across the Abyssal Forest until the system announced the Dungeon was cleared.
• Richard created an independent Clone No. 1, and they exited the Abyssal Forest Dungeon before inspecting their rewards at Tongtian Peak.
• Richard received and equipped the Pale Wood Armor, while Clone No. 1 discovered that his Long-Eared Rabbit form could sense wind elemental particles.
• Richard and Clone No. 1 split into thousands of Magic Clones and entered different Dungeons to clear them and defeat Field Bosses.
• Richard arrived at a pool in the Giant Elephant Valley Dungeon, where the Lv. 61 Ape King burst through a waterfall and confronted him.

Richard killed Ape King and cleared Giant Elephant Valley, but Ape King's final warning and White Wolf King's cryptic diary hinted at a betrayal and a mysterious black-eyed woman. After thousands of dungeons were cleared, Richard dismissed the clues and sent his clones to finish the remaining field bosses.

• Richard bound Ape King with the Crimson Chain of Fate and killed him, but Ape King regained clarity and began warning him before dying.
• The valley's monkey monsters rioted, and Richard unleashed Myriad Tribulation Thunder Prison to destroy them and clear Giant Elephant Valley.
• Richard claimed Ape King Heavens-Holding Staff as his reward and discovered its special attribute doubled his strength.
• Clone No. 1 left Bear Valley after killing Giant Bear King, troubled by the bear king's unfinished warning about betrayal.
• Richard's clones returned with 1535 dungeon clears, and Clone No. 1 gave him White Wolf King's Diary, whose cryptic entries mentioned blood mist, a demonic lotus, and black eyes.
• Richard put the diary away and ordered the clones to clear the remaining field bosses.

Richard and his clones defeated the Giant Whale King, the final Field Boss, and cleared the Source Star Game World. As the world announced a restart, the Mother of Source Star thanked Richard and said she was finally free.

• The Giant Whale King revealed that it had retained its will and asked Richard to kill it so he could learn the Source Star world's secret.
• A thunderbolt shattered Giant Whale Island, and Richard ordered his clones to attack the Giant Whale King.
• Richard and his clones pierced the Giant Whale King with Spears of Death and finished it with crimson serrated light wheels.
• Richard received a Long Island Giant Whale Juvenile as his prize, while Clone No. 1 received the Giant Whale King Transformation Technique.
• The system announced that Richard and Clone No. 1 had cleared the game world and that it would restart in three minutes, but neither could find a way to log off.
• The Mother of Source Star thanked Richard for his help and declared that she was finally free.