The following contains spoilers for Knights of X #5, now on sale from Marvel Comics.
The X-Men's heroic missions often risk their lives, a threat that became significantly easier upon the codification of resurrection by the Five. That hasn't worked for everyone, though, especially anyone lost in Otherworld. Instead, a new form of resurrection has been introduced that has already actually restored a major hero.
Knights of X #5 (by Tini Howard, Bob Quinn, Erick Arciniega, and VC's Ariana Maher) reveals that Gambit has been resurrected following his apparent demise fighting Merlyn -- and in the process, even briefly takes on his most dangerous form ever.
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During the Knights of X's venture into Otherworld to try and prevent Merlyn's plans to wipe out the mutants across the mystical realm, the team seemingly lost Gambit. The Cajun mutant faced off with Merlyn all on his own, overcharging the Death Card from the tarot deck he stole from Saturynne with energy and causing a massive explosion. However, upon reaching Mister M's realm Mercator -- revealed to actually be the Siege Perilous -- Gambit's body disappears and is teleported into a mysterious castle made of giant playing cards. Venturing into the castle, they discover monuments to various variants of Gambit, which Rachel Summers realizes is Gambit's spirit trying to work out who he'll be if he's resurrected. As a result of dying in Otherworld, any attempt to resurrect Gambit through the Five would leave him an amalgamation of all Gambits, similar to the new versions of Rockslide and Gorgon created after their demises during X of Swords.
Using her powers, Rachel Summers is able to eventually use her powers so search through the castle to find their Gambit -- who has been morphed into the form he assumed briefly as a Horseman of Death by Apocalypse. In the period surrounding House of M and the ensuing M-Day, Gambit found himself increasingly isolated from his allies in the X-Men. When Apocalypse carried out an assault against the Xavier Institute in X-Men #183 by Peter Milligan and Salvador Larroca, Gambit ended up surprising everyone by accepting a position within the newest incarnation of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse as Death. The process transformed Gambit, giving his ink black skin and stark white hair, along with infusing him with new powers. Gambit's mind was affected by the process, but ultimately he and the powerful Sunfire (who was also briefly turned into a Horseman) were able to escape Apocalypse and regain control of themselves.
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Lost in the possibility that he could be transformed into something unexpected and dangerous, it makes a certain amount of sense that Gambit would be turned back into his Death form -- especially as the card he was holding at the time of his apparent demise was the death card. Luckily, the Knights of X refuse to simply allow Gambit's transformation to take full effect. Using her psychic abilities, Captain Britain is able to stab Gambit straight in the mind -- weakening his defenses enough for Prestige to create a mental projection of Sunfire, helping complete the process. Ultimately, the finals tep is the arrival of Rogue -- who, along with the rest of the X-Men, arrive on the scene via a new Krakoa Gate established in Mercator. This allows Gambit to be formally restored to his true form -- proving under the right circumstances, a mutant lost on Otherworld can be restored.
Gambit's revival is a big deal, as it helps ensure that Otherworld remains a viable back-up location for the mutants to fall back to. It also means Gambit has indeed survived his potentially lethal encounter -- hopefully helping stave off the dark future Destiny saw for her adopted daughter in her visions. The return of Gambit's Death form should give the rest of the X-Men some pause, as it suggests this dark version of the hero still exists in some form. But it's exciting to find out that Gambit did not indeed die fighting Merlyn, and may yet go on to continue serving Krakoa going forward.