Chapter Summaries

Grant abandoned any hope of escape and offered himself as Li Ge’s servant in exchange for power and mercy. Apocalypse accepted, appointed him temple priest of the First Heaven, and transformed him into his new role.

• Grant considered how to qualify for the trials and decided that becoming Li Ge’s subordinate might give him access to power.
• Apocalypse revealed himself to Coulson and the others and told them Grant wanted to become his subordinate.
• Grant knelt before Apocalypse and offered his body, soul, will, and identity, promising to serve as his shadow and wield a sword for him.
• Apocalypse accepted Grant as the temple priest of the First Heaven and tasked him with overseeing trials and completing contracts for successful participants.
• Apocalypse restored Grant’s appearance and dressed him in golden priestly robes, and Grant thanked him for his mercy.

Apocalypse explained that Coulson, Nick Fury, Natasha, and Barton had to endure extreme emotional shifts for a week to reach the Temple of Contracts and gain power. After they struggled to find food and water, the group experienced a sudden surge of anger and realized how dangerous the trial was.

• Grant explained the trial and Apocalypse praised him before vanishing after revealing that time flowed differently in the trial area.
• Nick Fury asked Grant for food and water, and Grant pointed out the cactus that the group would have to eat.
• Coulson, Natasha, Barton, and Nick Fury gathered and ate cactus, then collected more to last the week.
• Nick Fury and Coulson argued, Barton threatened them with his bow, and Natasha shouted them back to their senses.
• Natasha then felt a sudden urge to draw her gun, and the group realized they had undergone an extreme emotional shift after fifteen hours.
• Nick Fury urged the others to watch each other and put away their weapons.

After seven days of enduring the trial’s harsh conditions and emotional torment, Coulson, Natasha, Nick Fury, and Barton completed it and were transported by Grant to a magnificent golden temple. They arrived exhausted but were captivated by the temple, its immense statue, and the fruit-bearing crystal tree.

• The agents endured days of cactus-only food, extreme emotions, and inescapable nightmares while Grant checked on them intermittently.
• Coulson counted the scratches and realized that seven days had passed, prompting the group to celebrate the trial’s end.
• Nick Fury cursed Apocalypse and Li Ge, while Natasha hoped their reward would justify the ordeal and Barton gathered his weapons.
• Grant congratulated the agents and teleported them to the temple using Apocalypse’s power.
• The agents saw the star-filled temple, its towering divine statue, and a crystal tree bearing golden fruit, and marveled at the sight.

Grant led Nick Fury, Coulson, Barton, and Natasha in prayer at Li Ge’s Temple of Contracts, where they received contracts and King Fruits. After eating the fruits, they gained strength and health, and Natasha realized her fertility had returned.

• Grant welcomed the group to the Temple of Contracts and urged them to kneel and pray to Li Ge.
• Nick Fury knelt first, and Coulson, Barton, and Natasha followed him in asking for contracts and power.
• Li Ge’s statue sent each person a colorful contract sphere and a King Fruit from the tree in its hand.
• Grant ate his fruit first, then the others accepted their contracts and ate their King Fruits.
• The King Fruits strengthened and revitalized everyone, and Natasha realized she could become a mother again.

Apocalypse checked on Coulson, Natasha, and the others after they completed the King Fruit trial, then returned to his base, where Magneto arrived to ask how to enter the Nine Heavens and see the Path to Godhood.

• Apocalypse praised the transformed group, and Coulson confronted him about making them endure every extreme emotion in the trial.
• Apocalypse admitted he had used them to test the trial, then sent Coulson, Natasha, and the others back and left Grant in charge of prayers and guidance in the First Heaven.
• Grant inspected the temple’s position above the First Heaven and decided to wait before exploring the Second Heaven.
• Apocalypse returned to his base and reflected that Coulson and the others had passed a trial he himself had doubted they could survive.
• Magneto flew into the base, asked when the Nine Heavens would open on a large scale, and explained that he wanted to enter and see the Path to Godhood.

Apocalypse took Erik to Krakoa to begin building a temple that would let mutants enter his Nine Heavens and follow the Path to Godhood. The Professor, Kitty, and the others joined them, and Apocalypse flew beyond the town to choose a site for the temple.

• Apocalypse explained to Erik that worshippers of his statue could enter the Nine Heavens and undergo trials to gain power, and Erik agreed to see the temple built.
• Apocalypse teleported Erik to Xavier Mansion, where Kitty learned of his plan and ran to fetch the Professor and the others.
• The Professor, Kitty, Mystique, and their companions traveled with Apocalypse and Erik to Krakoa using the mutants' marks.
• Apocalypse admired Li Ge's statue in the town square, where curious mutants gathered around him, mistaking his resemblance to the statue for a reason to celebrate.
• Apocalypse left the town with the group and flew out to find a site for his temple.

Apocalypse built a vast God Worship Altar in Krakoa and explained how worshippers could enter Li Ge’s Nine Heavens by praying before his statue. He welcomed the eager group to begin the trials, while Cassie was told she could visit but not take one.

• Apocalypse formed a thousand-meter-wide diamond foundation, raised a towering altar with four stairways and sentinel swords, and sculpted a golden statue of himself.
• Li Ge sent an illusory Nine Heavens from the Divinity World, and Apocalypse placed its replica in the statue’s hands.
• Apocalypse erected prayer steles and explained that worshippers had to pass the First Heaven’s trial before entering the Second Heaven.
• Logan volunteered to try the trials, but Apocalypse told Cassie she could only visit because her powers and emotions made a trial risky.
• Kitty, Raven, Bobby, Scott, and others asked to participate, and Apocalypse lowered the Telekinesis platform toward the stairs.

Apocalypse brought the group into the Nine Heavens and left Grant in charge of revised trials in the First Heaven. He then went to the Second Heaven to check on Thor’s trial and Loki.

• Apocalypse told the Professor that Krakoa’s mutants could enter the Nine Heavens, then went inside with those who had finished praying.
• The Professor, Jean, and Cassie stayed behind to explain the Nine Heavens to the arriving mutants, while Cassie eagerly headed down from the altar with Jean.
• Apocalypse and the others arrived at the First Heaven, where Logan joked with him about his wealth and secured a cubic meter of gold.
• Apocalypse introduced Grant Ward as his temple priest and the person responsible for the First Heaven’s trials, then gave Grant new instructions for revising them.
• Apocalypse handed Logan a block of gold and left for the Second Heaven to check on Thor’s trial and Loki.

Apocalypse reached the summit and found Thor enduring the final stage of his trial amid a storm of lightning. Thor reclaimed his resolve, reached the pool of liquid lightning, and collapsed into it as its gentle radiance enveloped him.

• Apocalypse flew toward the summit, passing the lightning that raged around the mountain.
• Thor struggled through the lightning at the summit, nearly collapsing as exhaustion and pain overwhelmed him.
• Thor remembered his identity and answered Apocalypse’s questions by declaring himself the God of Thunder.
• Thor forced himself to stand and shuffle toward the lightning pool, taking each step despite his injuries and fading strength.
• Thor reached the pool’s edge, lost consciousness, and fell into the liquid lightning, which surrounded him with starlight.

Thor passed the lightning pool trial and awakened his full power as the God of Thunder. Apocalypse clothed him and flew him away to check on Loki, while Thor kept asking about Mjolnir.

• Apocalypse arrived as Thor completed the lightning pool trial and watched the lightning energy heal and empower him.
• Thor awakened, unleashed lightning into the thunderclouds, and proudly admired his newfound control over it.
• Apocalypse told Thor to put on clothes, then kicked him to the bottom of the pit and conjured him a set of casual clothes.
• Apocalypse wrapped Thor in Telekinesis and flew away with him to see how Loki was doing.
• Thor asked about Loki and Mjolnir as Apocalypse impatiently told him to forget his hammer.

Grant sent the mutants into the First Heaven’s wilderness for a seven-day trial of survival and resisting exhaustion, with each mutant isolated and forcibly awakened every morning. Kitty, Mystique, Logan, Bobby, Erik, and Scott each assessed their surroundings and began considering how to endure the trial.

• Grant explained the trial rules to the mutants on the golden platform and praised Li Ge as he described the lowered difficulty.
• Grant used his ability to send the mutants one by one into separate parts of the wilderness, leaving each alone.
• Grant watched from the golden platform and reflected that the mutants would have to find necessities and stay awake without help from companions.
• Kitty found herself alone in the scorching wilderness, encouraged herself, and headed toward a rocky hill to find shelter.
• Mystique explored a canyon with eager curiosity, while Logan spat out sand and surveyed the cactus-covered terrain.
• Bobby disliked the heat and created ice on his hand, Erik settled down confidently beside a cactus, and Scott looked for a place to rest.

Apocalypse and Thor left the Thunder Domain and teleported to Loki’s location on the Central Continent. Loki had become absorbed in collecting supply-chest blocks and building strange structures, leaving him occupied with his new pastime.

• Thor followed Apocalypse through the sky, peppering him with questions about Loki, Odin, and whether Thor would have to work for Li Ge too.
• Apocalypse and Thor reached the land bridge leading to the Central Continent, and Apocalypse teleported them toward Loki.
• Loki found the Central Continent’s randomly spawning supply chests and learned that their blocks could be freely combined and separated.
• Loki became engrossed in collecting blocks and experimenting with them, building a disorderly collection of structures.
• Loki searched a chest for useful materials and admired the structures he had made as Apocalypse and Thor approached.

After Loki became absorbed in the magical blocks, Apocalypse brought him and Thor to observe a trial in the First Heaven. Back at S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury began planning a purge of Hydra and considered seeking Apocalypse’s help, while preparing the organization for a transformed world.

• Loki experimented with supply-chest blocks and suspected their power could strengthen him as a mage.
• Apocalypse teleported Loki and Thor to the First Heaven, where Grant reported that the trial participants had been sent down separately.
• Nick Fury learned that the seven-day trial had lasted only half a day in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s time, and the group recalled Apocalypse’s time adjustment.
• Nick Fury told Maria Hill, Coulson, Natasha, and Barton about Hydra’s infiltration and assigned them roles in purging S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Nick Fury planned to seek help from Apocalypse because he did not know which agents he could trust and believed Apocalypse knew more about Hydra.

Apocalypse watched the Mutants endure the First Heaven’s survival trial, where they had to survive on cacti while fighting increasing drowsiness. By the third day, Kitty was struggling to stay awake and had forgotten to gather food, leaving her on the verge of collapsing.

• Apocalypse watched Thor and Loki admire Li Ge’s temple before focusing the energy screen on Kitty and the other Mutants.
• Kitty built a small shelter beneath a boulder, while Logan carved a cave, Raven found shelter in one, Bobby made an igloo, and Erik formed an iron house.
• Li Ge adjusted the flow of time so the temple’s observers could watch the seven-day trial at a faster rate.
• As three days passed, the Mutants faced heat, isolation, hunger, and mounting fatigue, with the younger students struggling more than the older ones.
• Kitty tried to fight off her drowsiness, realized she had not gathered cacti that day, and collapsed as the stones blurred before her eyes.

Kitty woke after failing the First Heaven trial, while Scott and the others succeeded despite severe exhaustion. Meanwhile, Norman Osborn had dinner with Harry and hesitated to ask about a suspicious friend of his son.

• Bobby told Kitty that she had lasted three days in the trial and he had lasted five, while Scott and the others succeeded.
• Grant led the exhausted mutants into the temple, and Kitty noticed how severely the trial had worn down the others.
• Apocalypse, Thor, and Loki watched the trial on floating screens, and Apocalypse decided to use exhaustion as a test of willpower.
• Apocalypse returned to his base with Thor and Loki as new mutants entered the First Heaven and began its automated trial.
• Norman Osborn ate dinner with Harry and considered asking about a friend whose investigation had revealed strange information.

Harry confronted Norman about investigating his friends, then agreed to ask Li Ge about what made him unusual. Meanwhile, Apocalypse prepared to question Flint Marko before Nick Fury arrived at the underground base and spotted the sealed sand sculpture.

• Harry realized Norman had investigated his friends and confronted him, but Norman explained he was concerned for his safety.
• Harry told Norman that Li Ge was beyond his imagination and promised to ask him before sharing more.
• Apocalypse released Flint Marko, trapped as a small sand sculpture inside a sealed glass cube, intending to question him.
• Nick Fury arrived at Apocalypse's base, and Apocalypse teleported him into the underground space.
• Nick Fury looked around and noticed Flint Marko inside the glass cube.

Nick Fury asked Apocalypse to help identify and remove Hydra agents hidden inside S.H.I.E.L.D., offering access to its 084 items and research. Apocalypse agreed to create a magical artifact that could detect malice and let Fury gather Hydra members, then left for the Divinity World to make it.

• Apocalypse explained that Flint Marko was not a mutant but the beneficiary of a scientific experiment, then asked Nick Fury why he had come.
• Nick Fury asked Apocalypse to identify Hydra agents within S.H.I.E.L.D., including Grant Ward, and offered access to the agency’s 084 items and research data.
• Nick Fury proposed putting captured Hydra members to work in the Nine Heavens, where Grant Ward had become Apocalypse’s priest.
• Apocalypse considered the offer and proposed creating an artifact that could detect malice, which Fury could use to collect Hydra members.
• Apocalypse went to the Divinity World to make the artifact while Nick Fury waited and looked at Flint Marko and the food on the table.

Apocalypse handed Flint Marko over to Nick Fury and prepared to visit Tony, but Harry arrived to ask whether he could tell Norman Osborn about Apocalypse. Apocalypse agreed, gave Harry the First Heaven trial rules, and sent him home with King Fruit juice and a Nine Heavens card for Norman.

• Apocalypse gave Nick Fury Flint Marko and magical artifacts, while quietly telling him about Flint Marko's sick daughter so Nick could recruit him to S.H.I.E.L.D.
• After Nick Fury left, Apocalypse considered visiting Tony, then sensed Harry arriving and waited for him by the fishing corridor.
• Harry told Apocalypse that Norman had investigated his true body and asked whether he could tell Norman about Apocalypse.
• Apocalypse told Harry he could share what Norman wanted to know and gave him the rules for the First Heaven trial.
• Apocalypse gave Harry King Fruit juice and a Nine Heavens card for Norman, then confirmed Harry could take the trial too.

In Asgard, Li Ge studied its vast collection of knowledge and created a thought-controlled skill card that burned only its target, then considered adding equipment and other cultivation resources to the Nine Heavens. On his way to ask Odin about visiting the dwarves, Sif stopped him and challenged him again, prompting Li Ge to confront her about her feelings for Thor.

• Li Ge combined the Eternal Flame, Runes, and his card-sealing ability to create a skill card that burned an iron block without harming its surroundings.
• Li Ge decided to add weapons, armor, mounts, pills, and other resources to the Nine Heavens, and planned to ask Odin to take him to the dwarves.
• Sif stopped Li Ge in a garden with Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun and challenged him again.
• Li Ge questioned Sif's claim that she was testing his strength for Thor and pointed out that Thor loved Jane Foster and saw Sif only as a comrade-in-arms.

Li Ge offered to help Sif pursue Thor and sent her through a portal to meet a teacher on Midgard. He then continued through Asgard toward Odin, pleased that Sif was on her way to Thor.

• Li Ge taunted Sif about failing to win Thor's affection, and Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun defended her.
• Li Ge offered to help Sif pursue Thor, and she admitted she had feelings for him.
• Li Ge promised to find Sif a teacher who could help her charm Thor and said he would ask Odin for permission to send her away.
• Li Ge opened a portal, sent Sif through it to Midgard, and told her to study with her teacher.
• Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun discussed Sif's departure as Li Ge continued toward Odin.