Chapter Summaries

Raven destroyed the Sentinels at Trask's facility and pursued Trask as he fled toward a secret passage. She broke through a wall and confronted him, leaving Trask convinced he was finished.

• Raven used the Succubus Armor and Witch's guidance to dismantle the Sentinels in the corridor.
• Raven ignored the hiding guards and destroyed the last Sentinel before taunting the surveillance camera.
• Trask saw Raven approaching and fled with his assistant toward a secret passage, hoping to escape before reinforcements arrived.
• Raven smashed through a wall near Trask and confronted him as his assistant cowered nearby.
• Trask recognized Raven and feared what would happen to him because he had experimented on mutants.

Li Ge inspected the first two heavens, then used Redstone energy and four hundred weapon blanks to begin creating the Third Heaven. The new realm took shape as a gray metal ocean scattered with bare islands beneath a transparent sun.

• Li Ge collected four hundred weapon blanks from Eitri and decided he had enough materials to open the Third Heaven.
• Li Ge inspected the First Heaven and found mutants undergoing trials, while Grant was absent.
• Li Ge found Grant building a villa in the Second Heaven and reminded him not to forget his trials.
• Li Ge placed the weapon blanks in the empty Third Heaven and channeled Redstone energy into them.
• Li Ge transformed the energy into a silvery-gray metal ocean and formed bare islands beneath a transparent sun.

Li Ge continued building the Third Heaven while Nick Fury assembled S.H.I.E.L.D. leaders to discuss removing Hydra from the organization. Maria Hill pressed Fury to explain Li Ge’s role and the changes to his agents, and Fury agreed to tell her more after they dealt with Hydra.

• Li Ge adjusted the Third Heaven’s islands and supplied Redstone energy, gradually imprinting the realm so he could control it.
• Nick Fury explained that Coulson had screened S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in batches to identify Hydra members using methods provided by Li Ge.
• Steve welcomed the chance to fight Hydra again, while Natasha, Coulson, Barton, and Flint trusted that Fury’s team could handle the purge.
• Maria Hill asked Fury to explain Li Ge and the superhuman changes she had noticed in the agents.
• Fury agreed to tell Maria everything but insisted that dealing with Hydra came first.

Nick Fury equipped S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with Shadow Rings and launched a coordinated attack on Hydra across the Triskelion and distant bases. As the ring-wielding agents began overwhelming Hydra, Nick Fury led Maria Hill and Flint Marko to confront Alexander Pierce.

• Nick Fury showed Steve, Maria Hill, Coulson, and the others the Shadow Rings and demonstrated how to summon them.
• Coulson and the others put on the rings, learned their powers, and set out to capture the Hydra agents on Nick Fury's list.
• The ring-bearers moved through shadows to recruit the listed agents, giving them rings and warning them about Hydra.
• The newly equipped agents used Shadow Space to ambush Hydra members throughout S.H.I.E.L.D.'s bases, though powerful weapons caused some casualties.
• Nick Fury led Maria Hill and Flint Marko toward the Triskelion's top floor to confront Alexander Pierce.

Nick Fury and his allies used the Shadow Rings to capture Hydra agents throughout S.H.I.E.L.D. and confronted Alexander Pierce, who revealed that Hydra still had members hidden in the organization. Pierce was swallowed into Shadow Space, while Nick Fury vowed to keep fighting Hydra.

• Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Flint Marko passed through the Triskelion as agents with Shadow Rings captured Hydra members and resistance erupted.
• Nick Fury used the Mother Ring to bind nearby Hydra agents, while Flint Marko shielded him and Maria Hill tried the shadow tendrils herself.
• Nick Fury told Alexander Pierce that he had discovered the betrayal when Steve woke up, and Pierce suspected Li Ge had granted people extraordinary powers.
• Pierce shot Nick Fury, but the bullets sank into the shadows covering his body.
• Nick Fury used his ring to bind Pierce and send him into Shadow Space.
• Pierce warned that Hydra still had agents inside S.H.I.E.L.D. before Nick Fury declared that S.H.I.E.L.D. would strike back.

Peter, Gwen Stacy, and Harry set out for the Nine Heavens, while Norman Osborn faced a military ultimatum over the Green Goblin Armor. Norman pinned his hopes on completing the trial and obtaining a King Fruit to save Oscorp Industries.

• Peter hurried Harry to get ready for their first visit to Li Ge's Nine Heavens, and Gwen Stacy reassured him that they did not need to dress up.
• Harry, Peter, and Gwen Stacy drove to Oscorp Industries to meet Norman Osborn.
• A uniformed military official gave Norman one month to produce tangible results with the Green Goblin Armor or lose the military's support.
• Norman feared Oscorp Industries would collapse without military funding and searched desperately for a way to create super soldiers.
• Norman remembered the King Fruit juice and resolved to complete the Nine Heavens trial to obtain a King Fruit and study it.

Tony studied Li Ge’s Golden Body Dharma Idol in Mutants Nation and began building a towering metal replica modeled after himself. The chapter left the steel giant taking shape in his laboratory.

• S.H.I.E.L.D. agents continued rooting out Hydra, while Sitwell escaped their grasp.
• Bruce Banner secretly watched Betty Ross with her current boyfriend and chose not to disturb her.
• Tony examined the Golden Body Dharma Idol displayed in Mutants Nation’s new temple and analyzed its abilities.
• Tony built a laboratory with help from Jimmy and the others, then focused his research on reproducing the Dharma Idol.
• Tony’s mechanical arms assembled a steel giant over ten meters tall with a face resembling his own.

Erik visited Xavier Mansion after Raven destroyed Trask's base and the government began hunting her for her armor and mutant genes. He found Charles shaken by Apocalypse's criticism and asked him for help.

• The Bald Eagle government reviewed footage of Raven attacking Trask's base and ordered the military to find Mystique and seize her armor.
• Erik arrived alone at Xavier Mansion, where Charles had withdrawn after questioning his beliefs about mutantkind.
• Hank brought Charles out to meet Erik, and Erik's anger softened when he saw how badly Charles had deteriorated.
• Charles asked whether Erik had come to blame him for failing the students and Erik's rescue.
• Erik grabbed Charles by the shoulders and told him he needed his help.

Apocalypse established a plan for mutants and ordinary people to gain Sentry Armor through the Troop Gathering Pool, while linking the Third Heaven to this world. Logan then recruited a quicksilver-haired youth by showing him the Wolf King Armor, and the two headed for the mutant base.

• Apocalypse planned to distribute blank Sentry Armor through mutant genetic contracts and prayer rituals, letting its users strengthen the armor and share information to improve it.
• Apocalypse linked this world's coordinates to Li Ge's world and began opening the Troop Gathering Pool as a relay for the Third Heaven's power.
• Logan confronted a fast-moving youth and tried to recruit him, but the youth repeatedly dodged him and stole his belongings.
• Logan activated his Wolf King Armor, impressing the youth and persuading him to come along to the base.

Apocalypse gathered mutants and ordinary people at his cabin to begin distributing the Sentry Armor and demonstrate a ritual for gaining power. After assuring the group he would keep his promise, he had Erik lead the first prayer, which opened a vision of a vast world and sent a black island with silver seawater through its barrier.

• Professor Charles arrived with Erik and Hank to see what Apocalypse planned, while Logan, Quicksilver, Raven's Brotherhood members, and ordinary people gathered at the cabin.
• Apocalypse appeared in the recliner and promised the group he would fulfill his plan, easing their fears and reassuring Logan.
• Apocalypse signaled Erik, who told the gathering that mutants' future depended on their efforts and began the first prayer ritual.
• Erik drew a circle and square, placed iron balls around the pattern, and prayed for a contract and power.
• The pattern glowed gold and showed eight layers of worlds before a golden light carried a black island and silver seawater through the world barrier.

Apocalypse brought the group to a black island surrounded by liquid silver and explained how they could obtain Sentry Armor. The group entered the metal to be scanned and incorporated into armor, while Apocalypse rested after creating the space.

• Everyone arrived on the black island, and golden light placed information about the Sentry Armor and the space in their minds.
• Apocalypse allowed the group to approach the liquid metal, and Charles praised his power before Hank wheeled him toward the pool.
• Apocalypse reflected that creating the space had nearly drained him and that only Li Ge could transport the Nine Heavens across universes.
• The group waded into the liquid metal, which enveloped each person in a cocoon as they waited for the armor to form.
• The liquid metal scanned the Mutants’ bodies and abilities, analyzing and incorporating their traits into the armor.

The group endured the painful process of merging liquid metal into their bodies, gaining stronger armor and physical improvements. At Xavier Mansion, Charles, Logan, Raven, and Erik agreed on a plan to rebuild the school and use Sentry Armor demonstrations to change the government’s treatment of Mutants.

• The armor recipients endured escalating pain as liquid metal merged into their bodies, with Logan lasting the longest by sleeping through the process.
• Charles emerged with a strengthened body and regained the ability to walk normally while retaining his powers.
• Apocalypse returned to his cabin base and left the group to manage their plans, while Skynet remained as guardian of the Troop Gathering Pool Space.
• Logan, Raven, and Erik joined Charles and the others at Xavier Mansion to discuss distributing armor and improving Mutants’ standing.
• Charles, Logan, and Erik agreed to reestablish the school, recruit Mutant-friendly ordinary students, and invite military and government officials to see the Sentry Armor demonstrated.

Erik and the mutants prepared a worldwide presentation to win political allies, with Charles agreeing to invite influential guests. Charles then froze the consciousness of leaders and staff across the country, setting the stage for his address.

• Charles assigned Erik to find a stage, Hank and Raven to prepare a global broadcast, Logan to lead an armor demonstration, and himself to invite guests.
• Charles declared that he was a mutant and left to use Cerebro, while Erik and the others rallied to work for peace.
• Logan told the group to prepare a grand performance for their guests.
• At a secret military base, an angry general berated officers over Erik's escape, Trask's death, and their failure to find Mystique.
• Charles froze the consciousness of people across the country, including generals, congressmen, governors, and the president.

Erik and the other mutants prepared Xavier Mansion for a public demonstration of the Sentry Armor, while Professor Charles forced government officials to attend. Watching them, Apocalypse wondered how he would be affected if the future were rewritten and conceived of turning the world into a repeatedly reset simulation.

• Erik lifted an enormous football stadium with magnetism and carried it to Xavier Mansion.
• Raven and Hank prepared livestreaming equipment as Professor Charles used Cerebro to force senior government officials to come to the mansion.
• Apocalypse watched the preparations and officials' reactions through screens in his Tsukuyomi Space.
• Erik dropped the stadium beside Xavier Mansion, and the mutants quickly built a stage and set up equipment inside it.
• Apocalypse considered how a rewritten timeline might affect him and created a miniature world that rapidly developed, declined, and began anew.

Li Ge considered how to forge his powers into a single Dao and was alerted to the chance to study time laws in the Days of Future Past world. After completing the Third Heaven’s boundary, he hurried through a portal and used Tony’s black teleportation sphere to return there.

• Apocalypse’s bold thought reached Li Ge, reminding him that the Days of Future Past timeline could be overwritten and might help him understand time laws and create a sandbox world.
• Li Ge reflected that his powers and supernatural abilities still lacked a unified Dao, and that his plan to spread power and create a Path to Godhood would help him forge one.
• Li Ge accelerated his work on the Third Heaven and sealed the final gap in its black container boundary.
• Li Ge returned to the Land of the Dwarves, said goodbye to Eitri, and opened a portal to Tony’s chamber.
• Li Ge greeted JARVIS, activated the black teleportation sphere, and traveled to the Days of Future Past world.

Li Ge arrived at Xavier Mansion and transformed the stolen football stadium stands into a venue for a worldwide Sentry Armor broadcast. As officials endorsed the mutants’ plans, Li Ge sensed temporal distortions and saw a vision of Logan, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, and Charles before his vision went black.

• Li Ge emerged from a portal, greeted Erik and Charles at Xavier Mansion, and Apocalypse followed through the portal.
• Li Ge repaired and relocated the stands, rebuilt the platform, and set up a virtual screen displaying information about the Sentry Armor.
• Li Ge teleported government officials to the mansion, where Logan and others demonstrated the Sentry Armor and officials voiced support for distributing it.
• Erik and the mutants insisted that officials who had persecuted mutants would spend their remaining years in prison.
• Li Ge sensed temporal fluctuations and saw Logan lying on a platform, Kitty Pryde collapsed nearby, Rogue holding her hands over him, and Charles in a wheelchair.
• As the broadcast connected to signals around the world, Li Ge's vision went black.

Li Ge escaped into the Nine Heavens to observe the real world's timeline being overwritten by Days of Future Past. He seized the chance to enter the discarded timeline and began trying to carve out the Solar System as a separate simulation world, but sensed a hungry presence within the timeline.

• Li Ge entered the Nine Heavens as spacetime began changing in the real world, placing himself beyond the dimensional barrier.
• Li Ge watched the real world's timeline collapse and be replaced after the Sentry Armor was revealed to the public.
• Li Ge realized he could steal part of the discarded future timeline and use it to create a Solar System-sized simulation sandbox.
• Li Ge sent his consciousness and energy into the discarded timeline, leaving a thread behind to record the overwriting.
• Li Ge sensed a menacing presence and saw two timelines collide, one showing mutant persecution and the other mutants gaining power.

Li Ge protected the Solar System in an abandoned timeline from being overwritten by the real world's timeline, stripping out and returning its information to Earth. He left with a blank, independent virtual Solar System under his control, though his Redstone reserves were nearly depleted.

• Li Ge spread his consciousness across the Solar System and formed a spacetime barrier around it to resist the timeline's erasure.
• In the Second Heaven, Li Ge endured the real world's time torrent and stripped the people, history, and other information from the protected timeline.
• Li Ge copied the gathered information while his Redstone reserves rapidly dwindled.
• Li Ge hurled the information beyond the barrier, and it returned to Earth as the real world's timeline resumed advancing.
• Li Ge sensed that the Solar System had become an independent virtual world under his control, with its timeline able to loop across decades.

Li Ge watched the timeline being overwritten as Erik and Charles used Sentry Armor to establish Mutants as the source of the world's transcendent power. By 1976, academies devoted to transcendence and technology had spread across the world, and Sentry Armor had become highly coveted.

• Li Ge recorded Earth’s timeline changing as its inhabitants shaped the world’s future after the Mutant livestream.
• Erik and Charles kept the method of obtaining Sentry Armor secret at first and planned to spread it through trusted armor bearers.
• After the livestream in 1973, Erik, Charles, and the Bald Eagle government agreed that Xavier Mansion would distribute armor while the government would not obstruct its spread.
• In 1974, the first armor bearers traveled between countries, helping selected Mutants and others obtain and pass on armor.
• In 1975, armor bearers and Mutant leaders began establishing transcendent academies in every country.
• By 1976, academies combining technology and transcendence had risen worldwide, and Mutants had gained status as the source of transcendent power.

Logan awoke in 2023 with memories of both the tragic future and the altered, flourishing timeline, then hurried to see the institute’s coming-of-age ceremony. Professor Charles welcomed him back as he watched Erik address the gathered students.

• Logan’s consciousness returned in the Xavier Transcendent Institute’s teachers’ lounge as memories of the altered timeline merged with his own.
• He remembered that the institute was holding its monthly coming-of-age ceremony, where adult students would enter the Troop Gathering Pool to obtain Sentry Armor.
• Logan saw mutant and ordinary human students living and studying together, then passed buildings designed for different transcendent paths.
• He reached the stadium and saw Erik speaking from a platform as Raven, Scott, Ororo, Jean, and Hank stood beside him.
• Professor Charles approached Logan, said that they were doing well thanks to him, Apocalypse, and Li Ge, and welcomed him back.