I think "universe" is an ambiguous word that is not helpful when we talk about this stuff. Like, for instance, you've probably heard of multiverse theory, wher

I think "universe" is an ambiguous word that is not helpful when we talk about this stuff. Like, for instance, you've probably heard of multiverse theory, where there is not just one universe, but many. In which case, "universe" means the subset of physical reality that we are a part of. Maybe there are other universes that truly exist, but there's no door between ours and theirs. So maybe we can more precisely talk about all of physical reality, regardless of whether they exist in our universe or an alternative universe, or a realm that exists outside of the universe but influences or produces the material of the universe. Clearly, that includes all material things themselves, but might also encompass the non-material but very real and observable physical laws that govern how reality operates. How can there be something outside of that physical reality? Well ... the Greeks had a word for that: meta-physics. And generally, when it is posited that something necessary exists (whether it be God or something else), that necessary thing exists metaphysically. So yes, as you are suggesting, a distinction does need to be made between physical reality and metaphysical reality for it to make sense that the universe (comprising only physical reality) is contingent.