Chapter Summaries

Li Ge preserved the discarded fifty-year timeline as a controllable virtual Solar System and began shaping it into a sandbox world. He named it the Samsara Realm, then sent Apocalypse back to oversee their world and collect payment from Nick Fury.

• Li Ge's existence anchored the timeline from 1973 to 2023, preventing anyone else from traveling back to alter it and letting him absorb its spacetime laws.
• Li Ge stood beside Grant's villa in the Second Heaven and examined the virtual Solar System he had cut from the overwritten timeline.
• Li Ge layered magic, Runes, Transcendent abilities, and analyzed laws over the sphere while slowly manifesting World Tree wood for a vessel.
• Li Ge decided to keep building a World Tree wood vessel and named the sphere the Samsara Realm.
• Apocalypse appeared and asked to return, but Li Ge ordered him to watch over their world, collect payment from Nick Fury, and hurry along work on the Shadow Ring.

Li Ge returned to the Days of Future Past world after exploring the dimensional space and briefly startled the Xavier Transcendent Institute by appearing before its students and staff. He withdrew to his hilltop cabin and finally fell asleep, leaving Erik and the others behind.

• Apocalypse returned to the research institute base, checked on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s efforts against Hydra, and went into standby.
• Li Ge examined the Nine Heavens and dimensional space, found nothing useful, then broke through the spatial barrier to return to the real world.
• Li Ge appeared at the Xavier Transcendent Institute's prayer grounds, where Erik recognized him and the gathered students and staff crowded around with questions.
• Li Ge evaded Raven and the others, told Erik he was returning to the cabin, and vanished before Logan and Professor Charles could reach him.
• Li Ge inspected his unchanged cabin and the surrounding grounds, then settled into a recliner and fell asleep.

Tony built a giant golden body modeled on Li Ge’s Golden Body Dharma Idol and began imprinting it with his divinity and consciousness. As the systems activated and his mind spread through the body, the final assimilation was still underway.

• Tony established a laboratory in the Mutants Nation to study Li Ge’s Golden Body Dharma Idol and build a giant of his own.
• Tony asked F.R.I.D.A.Y. to take over the golden body’s intelligence core and prepare its systems for the consciousness imprint.
• Tony used his divinity to inscribe energy patterns across the golden body and infuse it with Redstone energy.
• F.R.I.D.A.Y. reported that the golden body’s assimilation had begun and its Arc Reactor, ability library, and technological magic cape were activating.
• Tony’s mental power spread across the golden body as he continued pouring energy from his divinity into it.

Apocalypse discovered Peter and his companions were taking a trial in the first heaven and watched Norman Osborn endure its harsh conditions. Norman had survived six days of the seven-day trial and forced himself to eat more raw cactus as he waited for the final day.

• Apocalypse sensed Peter and the others in the first heaven, entered the Sky Temple, and observed the trial participants.
• Norman Osborn retched from exhaustion and memories of eating raw cactus, then realized he had survived another day.
• Norman counted six marks and anticipated reaching the trial's end at noon the following day.
• Hungry and determined not to weaken, Norman overcame his disgust and prepared to eat more raw cactus.
• Apocalypse praised Norman's willpower and watched as the cactus tormented the other participants.

General Ross visited Bruce Banner to ask whether Li Ge could grant people extraordinary powers, and Bruce’s hesitation confirmed his suspicions. Ross revealed that Li Ge had created Krakoa and the Nine Heavens, then asked Bruce to help ease tensions between them, leaving Bruce wondering whether he should have joined Li Ge’s team.

• Bruce Banner told General Ross that S.H.I.E.L.D. protected him and asked why Ross had come to see him.
• Ross asked whether Li Ge could give other people extraordinary powers, and Bruce hesitated rather than answer.
• Ross concluded that Li Ge had given powers to the grayish-white giant in a military overcoat and described his investigation into Li Ge.
• Ross revealed that Li Ge had opened Krakoa and created the Nine Heavens, where Mutants could gain superhuman abilities by passing trials.
• Ross asked Bruce to help ease the tension between him and Li Ge, and Bruce wondered if he should have joined Li Ge’s team.

Bruce went to visit Li Ge, and General Ross secretly followed him there, hoping to use him as a guide. At Li Ge’s research institute, Apocalypse noticed Ross’s pursuit and anticipated a confrontation.

• Bruce visited Nick Fury and asked where Li Ge lived, and Nick Fury gave him the address.
• General Ross ordered soldiers to follow Bruce, having deliberately used information about Li Ge to lead him there.
• Apocalypse invited Peter, two other trial participants, and Norman to compete for a King Fruit.
• Bruce arrived at the institute on his motorcycle while Ross followed in a car, and Apocalypse detected the pursuit.

Apocalypse hid Peter, Harry, Gwen Stacy, and Norman from Bruce Banner and General Ross with a psychic illusion, then received the two visitors at his base. Ross sought access to the Nine Heavens, while Apocalypse urged Bruce to train there and asked about Hulk, who was asleep while trying to master his anger.

• Apocalypse sensed two visitors approaching and concealed Peter, Harry, Gwen Stacy, and Norman from their view with a psychic illusion.
• Bruce Banner knocked at the gate, and Apocalypse revealed that General Ross had followed him and invited them both inside.
• General Ross admitted that spies among the mutants had supplied his information and explained his interest in the Nine Heavens.
• Apocalypse told Bruce that he needed to temper his power in the Nine Heavens and asked why Hulk was absent.
• Bruce said Hulk had returned to the depths of his consciousness and fallen asleep while trying to master the power of anger.

Apocalypse offered General Ross a chance to gain giant power if he agreed to test something, then left to collect it. In the Third Heaven, Li Ge and Apocalypse planned to turn the Samsara Realm into a collection of game-like instances, leaving General Ross unaware of what awaited him.

• Apocalypse recognized that Hulk had gone dormant and noticed General Ross's greed at the prospect of capturing Bruce.
• Apocalypse rejected General Ross's demand to open the Nine Heavens to the military, then offered him a chance to try giant power.
• General Ross quickly changed his tune and eagerly asked what Apocalypse wanted him to test.
• Apocalypse went to the Nine Heavens to collect a delivery while Bruce and General Ross waited at the research base.
• Li Ge met Apocalypse in the Third Heaven, where Apocalypse proposed dividing the Samsara Realm into game instances with copied human characters and supernatural powers.

Li Ge modified the Samsara Realm to include physical space for players’ bodies, and Apocalypse brought General Ross and the others into it. General Ross awoke alone on a moving train, where a message announced the start of an adventure and provided him with a Samsara Bracelet.

• Apocalypse raised the need for physical space in the Samsara Realm, and Li Ge began modifying it.
• After Apocalypse left the research base, General Ross rummaged through its chests until Bruce warned him to stop.
• Harry persuaded Norman, Peter, and Gwen Stacy to join the experience, and Apocalypse transported them into the Samsara Realm.
• General Ross woke in a luxurious train carriage and noticed that the passing scenery seemed unreal.
• A mechanical voice announced the train’s first stop, and General Ross put on the bracelet that appeared through the television.

General Ross, Bruce, Peter, Gwen Stacy, Harry, and Norman entered their first stops in the Samsara Realm and learned they had to survive a biohazard outbreak. After Li Ge corrected a flaw in the consciousness transfer, the group began arming themselves as the monsters stirred.

• General Ross entered his codename and transported himself to a quiet town, nearly suffering damage when the consciousness transfer malfunctioned.
• Apocalypse spotted the transfer problem in the feed, and Li Ge fixed it before Bruce and the others entered their stops.
• Bruce found a warehouse rack of weapons, while Peter, Gwen Stacy, and Harry appeared together in a changing room lined with weapons.
• Norman woke in an office and chose weapons from a rack as the group discovered the mission was to kill monsters during a ten-minute countdown.
• General Ross and Bruce prepared for the biohazard threat, while Peter, Gwen Stacy, and Harry continued choosing weapons and the monsters began to stir.

Peter, Gwen Stacy, and Harry began a trial with their abilities reduced to ordinary human levels and cautiously explored the dark building. In the restroom, they discovered a mangled corpse, leaving all three shaken and Gwen retching in the corridor.

• Peter tested his strength and realized that the trial had reduced him to an ordinary person's level, while Harry guessed that the restriction was part of the rules.
• When the countdown ended, Gwen Stacy opened the locker room door, and the three armed themselves before cautiously entering the corridor.
• Peter, Gwen Stacy, and Harry heard a wet slapping sound near the restroom and entered to investigate.
• The trio found a school-uniformed corpse draped over the sink, with bloodied, twisted limbs and a shattered mirror.
• Harry illuminated the scene with his flashlight, and Gwen Stacy ran into the corridor to retch while Peter and Harry followed, pale and trembling.

Li Ge watched General Ross and the others face monsters in a transitional scenario, while Ross hunted a zombie resembling Red Skull. After Ross killed the monster, the real Red Skull wondered whether someone was thinking about him.

• Li Ge explained to Apocalypse that he had prepared a lethal scenario to teach the newcomers how to fight and face death.
• General Ross hid beside a road and chose to ambush a lone monster rather than risk drawing a crowd.
• General Ross recognized the monster’s exposed face as Red Skull’s and shot it, but it rose and charged at him.
• General Ross fired three more shots, killing the monster with a bullet under its chin, then considered its weaknesses.
• Apocalypse joked that Red Skull would become a name for disposable monsters, and Li Ge said the association would give Red Skull free publicity.
• On a ruined planet, Red Skull lowered his hood and wondered whether someone was thinking about him.

Norman fought a Red Skull monster with a blade to test his strength and learn to survive combat. He finally severed its head, but more monsters closed in around him.

• Norman chose a long blade to conserve ammunition, test his strength, and practice fighting for his life.
• A Red Skull monster spotted Norman and pounced on him, and he slashed its neck.
• The wounded monster kept attacking, so Norman hacked at its body while several nearby monsters converged on him.
• Norman repeatedly struck the monster's head until he severed it, then saw the other monsters only a few meters away.

Bruce recognized the machine shop as a virtual world and methodically shot monsters while searching it. Elsewhere, Gwen saved Harry from a monster, but the noise alerted others, forcing Peter, Harry, and Gwen to flee into a classroom.

• Bruce realized the setting was virtual and used his gun to kill monsters with shots to their vulnerable facial openings.
• Bruce searched the machine shop and tested the monsters’ weaknesses, finding that their heads were hard and their bodies had no easy weak points.
• A monster tackled Harry in the corridor and snapped at his neck while Peter hesitated and Gwen fired repeatedly at its head.
• Harry escaped and furiously hacked at the wounded monster until Peter warned him that it was dead.
• The commotion drew roars from nearby monsters, so Gwen led Peter and Harry into an open classroom to seek shelter.

General Ross, Norman, and Bruce each fought the monsters using different tactics, while Li Ge considered collecting mental power in the Samsara Realm to strengthen his soul. In the classroom, Peter, Harry, and Gwen Stacy prepared to break out through the doorway and fight the monsters.

• General Ross fortified himself in a sealed room stocked with weapons and prepared to face the approaching monsters alone.
• Norman planned to reach the roof and use its narrow entrance to lure and kill the monsters.
• Bruce precisely targeted monsters' weak points and used the machine shop's layout to evade and defeat them.
• Li Ge proposed adding a rule to the Samsara Realm to collect dissipating mental power and use it to strengthen his soul, and Apocalypse approved.
• Peter, Harry, and Gwen Stacy agreed to use the classroom doorway to fight their way out, and Peter volunteered to lead.
• Peter opened the classroom door as Harry and Gwen Stacy watched him.

Loki secretly left Asgard on a staged journey to infiltrate Thanos’s ranks, while studying Li Ge’s booklet about the block world and longing for its power. When Thanos finally contacted him and offered help obtaining Midgard, Loki agreed to board his ship while asking about his goal.

• Loki and Odin staged Loki’s apparent death after Loki confronted Odin with a clone, and Loki secretly left Asgard aboard an old spacecraft.
• Loki followed an obvious route through populated regions of space, hoping to attract Thanos while news spread that he was presumed dead.
• Loki studied Li Ge’s booklet about the block world and grew increasingly frustrated that Thanos had not come looking for him.
• An unknown spacecraft locked onto Loki’s ship, and Loki recognized its imposing design as a sign that he had misjudged Thanos’s power.
• Thanos contacted Loki and offered help acquiring Midgard; Loki accepted the offer and asked what Thanos wanted in return.

General Ross, Norman, Bruce, and Peter’s group fought through the Red Skulls in the Samsara Realm, each using different tactics to survive. After the battles, their consciousnesses left their bodies, while Peter, Harry, and Gwen Stacy remained alive in the changing room.

• General Ross defended a house entrance against waves of Red Skulls, but they overwhelmed him and devoured him before his consciousness drifted away.
• Norman drew the Red Skulls to a rooftop and killed them with the help of the narrow stairs, then lost consciousness as his consciousness left his body.
• Bruce evaded the Red Skulls through a machine shop and shot them down until he had eliminated a hundred.
• Harry identified the Red Skulls’ weakness and fought alongside Peter, while Gwen Stacy supported them with gunfire.
• Peter, Harry, and Gwen Stacy retreated through a narrow corridor and held off successive waves of Red Skulls by taking turns defending the changing-room doorway.

General Ross and the others returned from the realistic virtual battle, while Li Ge and Apocalypse planned to reward Ross with flawed Titan powers. Apocalypse offered Ross stronger tiers in the Second Heaven if he entered the Nine Heavens, leaving Ross tempted and asking what Apocalypse wanted in return.

• General Ross woke unharmed in his train carriage and realized the battle had taken place in a realistic virtual world.
• Li Ge decided to give Ross a hundred Pure Titan ability cards, with the Titans' instinct to eat humans removed, and then departed to rest.
• Apocalypse welcomed everyone back, and Gwen Stacy, Peter, and Harry scolded him for failing to explain the virtual battle beforehand.
• Apocalypse told General Ross that he had earned recognition but had not met the requirement, so he would receive flawed Titan powers, with stronger tiers available in the Second Heaven.
• Apocalypse urged Ross to enter the Nine Heavens, and Ross, visibly tempted, asked what Apocalypse wanted from him while Bruce listened in silence.

Apocalypse welcomed Bruce onto his team, then Li Ge left the Xavier Transcendent Institute to use a teleportation sphere and create a portal from the Troop Gathering Pool to the Mutants Nation. The chapter ended as the sphere beneath Xavier Mansion transformed into a portal.

• Apocalypse invited Bruce to join him again, and Bruce eagerly accepted.
• Apocalypse remembered that he still needed his Shadow Ring, the Tesseract, and Nick Fury's 084 collection, and recalled the mission he had given Loki.
• Li Ge explored the Xavier Transcendent Institute with Logan and observed how mutants had developed many paths to transcendence.
• After Apocalypse's thoughts interrupted him, Li Ge left Logan and returned to the Troop Gathering Pool with a black teleportation sphere.
• Li Ge checked Skynet, instructed it not to connect casually to outside networks, and opened a portal using the sphere.
• The teleportation sphere in the underground base beneath Xavier Mansion transformed into a black-framed portal with a multicolored membrane.

Li Ge visited Tony and discovered the mechanical golden body dharma idol Tony had built, which impressed him with its abilities and potential for replication. Li Ge then revealed Loki’s plans and the looming crisis in their world, prompting Tony to prepare to return with him.

• Scott told Li Ge how the Mutants from the two worlds were getting along while Tony waited to show off his invention.
• Tony brought Li Ge and Scott to his research base, where they saw his enormous red-and-gold mechanical golden body dharma idol.
• Li Ge assessed the idol’s abilities, praised its potential, and compared its strength to his own golden body dharma idol.
• Li Ge told Tony about S.H.I.E.L.D., Loki, and the coming crisis in their world.
• Tony agreed to return with Li Ge, who asked Scott to inform the Professor and the others that they would leave without waiting.