Chapter Summaries

Su Ming fought bandits in an abandoned mine while Pralaya blurred the boundary between truth and falsehood, then rejoined his allies through a restored communications link. The group began a virtual meeting to discuss Pralaya’s weaknesses.

• Su Ming recognized that Pralaya had turned the mine’s fictional inhabitants into real people to challenge his understanding of truth and falsehood.
• Hermione, Jaina, Yrel, and Bobo charged into the mine and battled the bandits while Su Ming watched from the cliff.
• Adjutant restored communications by relaying through Divinity’s system and Perpetua’s technology, then invited Su Ming to a meeting about Pralaya’s weaknesses.
• Adjutant projected Su Ming, Constantine, and Batwoman into Divinity’s Database, where Su Ming greeted Batwoman and asked John about the Farmer Squad.

Su Ming joined Luthor and the others as they examined a Stone Tablet about Pralaya, whose cryptic claims concerned creation, protection, destruction, and the meaning of being a person. The group considered the tablet’s riddles while Su Ming suspected someone had arranged for the information to reach them.

• Luthor told Su Ming that records about Pralaya aboard the Divinity were difficult to understand, and the Chief explained how he had contacted Su Ming through its communication system.
• Su Ming recognized the Stone Tablet’s writing and understood its discussion of Pralaya’s powers, while questioning how the tablet and its information had appeared.
• The Chief read a passage comparing ordinary beings’ waking and sleeping to individual Pralayas, prompting Batwoman and Luthor to question what the text meant by “people.”
• Su Ming said Pralaya treated the definition of a person as meaningless, since any creature could count as one or not.
• Constantine complained that the riddles were making his brain grow while drinking with Ghostface.

Chief translated the Stone Tablet’s explanation that Pralaya arose from cosmic imbalance, prompting the group to consider whether Earth’s imbalance was tied to the universe’s condition. The meeting ended without a conclusion, while Damian privately decided he understood his father’s reasons for leaving Earth-0 and keeping his distance.

• Su Ming signaled Chief to continue translating the Stone Tablet, which described how imbalances in the universe could trigger Pralaya.
• Damian connected the Tablet’s claims to Earth’s imbalance and privately concluded that his father avoided Earth-0 and rejected him to protect him.
• Damian told Luthor he had nothing to say, then left to join Harley and eat cake.
• Luthor asked whether entropy explained the imbalance, and Cindy suggested the issue was broader than entropy.
• Superboy-Prime and Mister Mxyzptlk withdrew from the discussion, with Mister Mxyzptlk insisting he only wanted to find Superman.

Chief finished translating the Stone Tablet’s account of Pralaya, describing cosmic imbalance, the rest of minds during universal destruction, and the return of life when balance was restored. Su Ming asked who Baba God was, and Constantine was expected to answer.

• Chief translated that the mind needed rest and that excess energy returned to the cosmic vessel could disrupt nature’s balance.
• Chief read that creation passed through seven stages, from stones to humans, and that excessive human thought contributed to Pralaya.
• Batwoman recalled Tzeentch’s claim that human thought made gods laugh and considered whether abandoning thought could solve humanity’s problems.
• Constantine reflected on the tablet’s references to Angels, Walkers, and the Mystic Side while observing Deathstroke and Batwoman.
• Chief completed the translation, which said that gross lifeforms slept during Pralaya and would awaken when the universe regained balance.
• Su Ming asked who Baba God was, and everyone turned to Constantine for an answer.

Su Ming and the others discussed the mysterious Baba God and the threat of Pralaya, then divided up to pursue different leads. Su Ming remained on the hilltop as the battle below dwindled, wondering what Pralaya would do now that her secrets were known.

• Constantine explained that Baba was said to be the supreme god of every religion, and admitted he had only learned about it from a madman in Arkham.
• Luthor suggested Mister Mxyzptlk might help them understand Pralaya’s Infinite Consciousness and Infinite Unconsciousness, but Su Ming rejected using himself as a Superman decoy.
• Luthor left to find Superman and Mister Mxyzptlk, while Batwoman set out to deal with the Gods of Oblivion.
• Constantine agreed to seek help, and Su Ming hired Deadpool to handle the Gods of Oblivion for additional pay.
• Cindy decided to return to Earth-0 and follow the Justice Society lead while dealing with the headless corpses.
• Su Ming ended the meeting and watched the battle below grow quiet, wondering how Pralaya would respond to their discovery.

Su Ming explained what he had learned about Pralaya, the Gods of Oblivion, and the disappearances of Superman and Cheetah. He planned to escape Pralaya’s Cube and rendezvous with Constantine, while Batwoman’s forces would continue fighting without reinforcements.

• Su Ming told the Adjutant that Pralaya was Infinite Consciousness, Mother Night was Infinite Unconsciousness, and the hidden helper was likely Lucifer, among other discoveries.
• Su Ming and the Adjutant concluded that Pralaya had captured rather than killed Su Ming and Batwoman to preserve balance, and that Cheetah had likely been erased from memory because of her Tears of Apoptosis.
• Deathstroke suggested that the attack on Batwoman’s ancestor had aimed to alter history and turn her into The Batman Who Laughs.
• Su Ming speculated that Doctor Manhattan had passed his Quantum Concepts to him before Pralaya’s attack, but the Adjutant said their timeline made the question impossible to resolve.
• Su Ming said he would leave Pralaya’s Cube and meet Constantine, and he declined to send reinforcements to Batwoman because Khorne would grow stronger as more people died.

After the bandit fight, Su Ming told Bobo that he had an escape plan for their group, though it would not free the captives in the other Cubes. He shared the plan from his meeting with Batwoman and the others, then prepared to return to town and turn in the mission.

• Su Ming returned to the battlefield, where Bobo complained that the bandits’ real bullets had made the encounter dangerously realistic.
• Su Ming told Bobo that communications had been restored and that they would leave after returning to town and turning in the mission.
• Su Ming explained that he had prepared an escape route and intended to force Pralaya to release them by threatening mutual destruction.
• Su Ming used Strangle to transmit the meeting’s information into Bobo’s mind, while warning that they could not yet rescue the people trapped in the other Cubes.
• Hermione returned with The Big Mustache’s head, and Su Ming declined to have Strangle read the ordinary bandit’s memories.
• Jaina praised the firearms’ potential for ship combat, while Yrel considered them outdated beside Eredar technology.

Su Ming and his group returned to Gold Sands Town, found its residents dead, and collected their bounty while dealing with the headless corpses. As Pralaya’s story seemed to unravel, Su Ming prepared to escape the world by reading an original Lovecraft manuscript aloud.

• Su Ming and his companions found Gold Sands Town deserted and encountered a horde of headless corpses, which Hermione restrained with Levicorpus.
• Jaina froze the corpses’ flailing arms as the group rode to the sheriff’s office and found the sheriff dead.
• Su Ming had Strangle open the safe, paid Hermione the bounty reward, and shared the remaining game currency with the group.
• Su Ming said Pralaya seemed impatient and planned to take everyone out of the world by reading the Lovecraft manuscript.
• Strangle cut off the group’s five senses while Su Ming read the manuscript’s writhing symbols aloud.

Su Ming used the Lovecraft Manuscript to summon the Silver Key and escape the shrinking world where Pralaya had trapped him and his companions. He left Pralaya behind as the world collapsed into a point.

• Su Ming protected his mind with Quantum Concepts while searching the Lovecraft Manuscript for a way out.
• Pralaya reinforced the world and shrank it, but Su Ming recited a passage that summoned the Silver Key.
• Su Ming used the Silver Key to transport himself, the girl, the gorilla, and the Cloak away from Pralaya’s cage.
• Pralaya failed to stop them, and the compressed Western World vanished into the void as her angry scream echoed.

Su Ming escaped Pralaya through the Silver Key and regrouped with Constantine at the House of Mystery, where he asked for help finding Lucifer. Constantine began searching for a clue but found a thick, curled black hair that disgusted Su Ming.

• Su Ming used the Silver Key to reach the House of Mystery, freed everyone from Strangle’s tendrils, and greeted Constantine.
• Su Ming explained that he had avoided fighting Pralaya directly and preferred to gang up on their enemies.
• Bobo joked with Constantine while the girls explored the House of Mystery and the Adjutant teleported the Farmer Squad away.
• Su Ming asked Constantine where Lucifer was, and Constantine searched the House of Mystery for a clue.
• Constantine found a thick, curled black hair in the chandelier, and Su Ming questioned why he had kept it.

Constantine used Lucifer’s feather to prepare the House of Mystery to find Lucifer while Su Ming and the others waited in the void. The chapter ended with Constantine heading to the basement to activate the magic circle and Su Ming guarding the hall.

• Constantine explained that the black feather came from Lucifer’s wing and could help the House of Mystery find him.
• Constantine said the House of Mystery would transport them through the void, since he had no other way to travel there.
• Su Ming ordered Adjutant to note that Kamar-Taj should be upgraded to travel between worlds after the mission.
• Constantine warned Su Ming to guard the hall while he operated the magic circle in the basement.
• Su Ming speculated that Lucifer might be watching them, and Constantine wondered whether Lucifer had regained some of his former authority.
• Constantine went down into the basement to begin the spell, leaving Su Ming in the hall.

At a cake gathering, Harley and the others discussed the threat of Pralaya and the missing Cheetah, while Damian and Raven realized that others had forgotten Cheetah. Harley said Deathstroke had assigned them to rescue Cheetah and Superman, leaving the group ready to act on the mission.

• Harley said time and outside help were key to opposing Pralaya, and Little Superman agreed that they needed External Force.
• Superboy-Prime pointed out that Cheetah was missing, while Harley and Mister Mxyzptlk revealed they had noticed her disappearance and a strange presence at the House of Mystery.
• Damian realized his teammates had lost their memories of Cheetah, and Raven used magic to glimpse the altered history in her bloodline.
• Harley told Damian that Adjutant had assigned them to rescue Cheetah and Superman, while Pralaya and the Gods of Oblivion remained beyond their strength.

Damian’s team discussed how to return to the past without disrupting Earth-0’s timeline, and Mister Mxyzptlk explained why his powers could not undo past events. The chapter ended with Damian considering a magical time machine powered by Raven, with Chief’s ideas and his own gadgets.

• Damian accepted Harley’s explanation and proposed returning to the past to remove the enemies who had disrupted history.
• Mister Mxyzptlk explained that Pralaya viewed time as meaningless, while Fifth-Dimensional Beings still experienced it through ordinary routines.
• Harley asked Mister Mxyzptlk to use the Drawing Board to send the team into the past, but he said it could only paint over past events.
• Superboy-Prime offered to reverse Earth’s rotation to turn back time, but Damian rejected the idea because it could trigger another Flashpoint and bring back The Batman Who Laughs.
• Damian suggested combining Raven’s magical energy, Chief’s ideas, and his gadgets to build a magical version of The Time Machine.

Harley and Damian sought a way to return to the day Superman fell to Earth, and Harley persuaded Crazy Jane to find a personality who could help. The painter pulled Harley into one of her paintings and said she could recreate the event if given a description and Mister Mxyzptlk’s Drawing Board.

• Harley noticed Crazy Jane and asked whether her flying personality could travel through time, but Jane said she could not.
• Damian asked Jane whether another personality could perform time travel, and Jane found someone who could try.
• Jane transformed into a veiled woman carrying painting supplies, and Harley recognized the realism of her river painting.
• The woman pulled Harley into the painting and offered to depict the day Superman fell to Earth if another Superman described it and she received Mister Mxyzptlk’s Drawing Board.

The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter, who preferred to be called The Artist, agreed to help save Superman by using Mister Mxyzptlk's Fifth-Dimensional Drawing Board. After Harley and Damian pressured him, Mxyzptlk reluctantly handed over the board.

• The chapter explained that The Artist could enter her paintings and make painted creations real, but completing a work took hours.
• The Artist emerged from a painting with Harley and showed interest in Mister Mxyzptlk's Drawing Board because it could create detailed paintings from thought.
• Mister Mxyzptlk refused to lend the board, saying he needed it to play games with Superman.
• Damian, Little Superman, and Harley pressured Mxyzptlk to hand it over so The Artist could help save Superman.
• Mister Mxyzptlk reluctantly took the Drawing Board from behind his back and passed it to The Artist.

Harley and the others used Mister Mxyzptlk’s Drawing Board to recreate Superman’s origin story as a realistic comic, hoping to confirm that Superman was trapped in the past and that their plan remained safe. After the executioner’s daughter finished the drawing, the group prepared to travel to the story’s time.

• Harley handed the Drawing Board to the executioner’s daughter and asked Little Superman to narrate Superman’s origin story for her to draw.
• Damian asked Harley whether Superman was trapped in the past and whether their plan could be exploited, and Harley said Deathstroke’s silence suggested everything was proceeding safely.
• Damian smoked a cigarette while he and Harley watched the executioner’s daughter draw, and the group waited for the comic to be completed.
• Little Superman narrated the origin story, and the executioner’s daughter finished a photorealistic comic with the Drawing Board in about five minutes.
• Mister Mxyzptlk admired the finished comic, and the executioner’s daughter gathered everyone to take them to the time when the story had occurred.

Harley and Damian brought Luthor and the others to the time when Superman disappeared, and the group prepared to restore the timeline. Raven sensed the enemy arriving as Superboy-Prime searched space for the escape pod.

• Luthor found himself back in rural Kansas, where Damian explained that they had reached the time when Superman went missing.
• Damian sent Superboy-Prime into space to search for the escape pod while Luthor understood that the group was preparing to find Clark.
• Harley persuaded Luthor to stay beside her rather than fight without armor, and Chief raced his wheelchair over to the group.
• Damian prepared tools for killing gods while the executioner's daughter began painting the cornfield instead of joining the preparations.
• Raven sensed the enemy approaching and looked toward the sky.

Damian brought out Nutcracker, a giant toy robot, to hold back the approaching Gods of Oblivion while Superboy-Prime returned carrying a Kryptonian escape pod. The Fifth-Dimensional Being opened the pod as the others prepared to fight.

• Superboy-Prime flew back carrying a Kryptonian escape pod, pursued by a shifting army of monsters.
• Luthor realized physical attacks might not work against the pursuers, while Damian said the solution was in his suitcase and Raven began casting a defensive spell.
• Damian used his grappling gun to reach a telephone pole and activated Nutcracker, a hundred-meter robot seized from King Robin.
• Damian ordered Nutcracker to stop the approaching gods, and the robot opened fire with its weapons as Raven launched long-range attacks.
• The Fifth-Dimensional Being rushed to the escape pod, pressed the letter S, and opened it.

The heroes fought the Gods of Oblivion while preparing to restore history and stage baby Superman’s discovery by the Kent Couple. The battle continued as Barry understood that Batwoman’s plan was to return the gods to their intended weakness, and the group worried about Jay’s condition.

• Luthor, Harley, and Mister Mxyzptlk left baby Superman asleep in his escape pod and prepared to make the area look like a spaceship crash site.
• Luthor used the Door Handle of Destruction to empower Raven’s black tentacles against the Gods of Oblivion.
• Mister Mxyzptlk conjured a boxing-glove gun and punched several monsters into the sky.
• Chief and Barry discussed weakening the Gods of Oblivion rather than eradicating them, and Deadpool explained that Batwoman was restoring their original history.
• Barry realized that Pralaya had altered the gods’ past to make them stronger and keep them alive.
• Deadpool offered to get medicinal soup for Jay, but Barry refused and said Jay could keep fighting.

Batwoman revealed a plan to use faith as bait for the Gods of Oblivion, with Deadpool set to lure them in. The rain was expected to stop at daybreak, and Batwoman told the others to watch because ape-men were not people.

• Diana, Barry, and Deadpool waited beneath an umbrella while Chaos turned more ape-men into cultists and the sky grew red.
• Deadpool passed out ice cream and joked with the others as they discussed Batwoman's long-delayed plan.
• Batwoman appeared and said the Gods of Oblivion's favorite food would serve as bait.
• Diana guessed that faith was the bait, and Batwoman's gaze led Deadpool to realize he would have to act.
• Deadpool agreed to lure the Gods of Oblivion, while Batwoman predicted the rain would stop at daybreak.
• Deadpool asked whether Barry and Diana should be kept away, but Batwoman said they could watch because ape-men were not people.