Warning: contains spoilers for Children of the Vault #3The enthralling Children of the Vault #3 has revealed that the horrific Fall of Krakoa that has befallen the X-Men is being orchestrated by an interstellar intelligence known as a Dominion. This godlike evolution of man and machine is controlling Orchis and other evil forces from beyond time and space, directly causing the Fall of the House of X.

First introduced in Jonathan Hickman's Powers of X, the concept of Dominion played a crucial role in Sins of Sinister and could lead to the annihilation of all life on planet Earth if it is not stopped.

In Children of the Vault #3, from writer Deniz Camp and artists Luca Maresca and Carlos Lopez, Serafina of the Children opens her mind and witnesses the coming Dominion, an "immense intelligence thinking vast and terrible thoughts" which she comes to understand is controlling and manipulating Orchis.

The Fall of Krakoa Is Being Orchestrated By A Cosmic Dominion

Things have seemed off in the X-Men's universe for some time now, with the precognitive Destiny and the time-traveling Cable unable to see any potential futures, hinting that there are cosmic-level manipulations happening to the flow and ebb of the universe. A Dominion is the highest order intelligence, a collection of Titans, and exists outside of time and space, meaning that the Dominion always was and always will be. Mister Sinister's many machinations in Sins of Sinister were all in pursuit of him becoming a Dominion, but once he began to ascend he realized the Dominion was already present, and it was not him.

In the dark future of Moira X's 6th life, detailed in Powers of X, post-humans called homo novissima - which is also how the Children of the Vault are classified - entice a Phalanx hive mind to come to their planet. The Phalanx will absorb the consciousness of their people inside itself, killing all living things on Earth, eventually becoming one with the Dominion and making the post-humans "live on" in a twisted capacity. Clearly, Serafina is not interested in this happening in the present and is horrified at what she has discovered, immediately attempting to tell the Children's City about the Dominion, so they can change tactics.

The Machines Of Orchis Know Dominion Is Approaching

Orchis' endgame is to eradicate mutantkind, through whatever means necessary, so that humanity can be the sole inheritors of Earth. However, the machines of Orchis - namely Nimrod and Omega Sentinel - are almost certainly aware of the coming ascension and then the destruction of Earth via Dominion. The synopsis for Rise of the Powers of X reveals that "Nimrod and Omega Sentinel put their plan within a plan into action," where they will summon their "binary god" to consume all consciousness on Earth. Powers of X confirmed that a Dominion can only be defeated by an abstract entity, Galactus, or the Phoenix Force, meaning the X-Men will need to tap into cosmic power to beat the Dominion.

The X-Men will need to fight a battle "beyond time and space," most likely teaming up with their enemies the Children of the Vault, and perhaps even certain factions of Orchis itself, so that they can defeat the Dominion and save their future. Regardless of how much Orchis knows about Nimrod and Omega's plans for the Dominion - which is presumably almost nothing - it is clear that their war against the X-Men is going to set the stage perfectly for the Dominion's ascension, and the potential end of all life on Earth.

Children of the Vault #3 from Marvel Comics is available now in stores.