Chapter Summaries

Ron realized he had transmigrated into the Palace of Slaanesh in Warhammer 40,000 and fought to resist the Daemonettes corrupting him. As he lost consciousness, he saw the God-Emperor’s cold sun in the Void.

• Ron awakened on an emerald plain surrounded by alluring women and initially mistook the scene for a dream.
• Ron remembered joking that he would devote himself to Slaanesh and recognized the plain as the Circle of Lust in Slaanesh’s palace.
• Ron resisted the Daemonettes’ seduction, saw their monstrous forms, and discovered that his hands were turning into dark claws.
• Ron prayed to the God-Emperor for protection, but the corruption continued to consume his body and consciousness.
• As Ron lost consciousness, he saw the cold sun floating within The Void and praised the God-Emperor.

Ron escaped the Palace of Slaanesh and awoke in the body of Ron Grant, the planetary Governor of Earth Planet. He discovered that the maid corrupted into a Daemonette had followed him, and she lunged at him as he tried to flee.

• Ron called for the God-Emperor’s help, but Slaanesh’s gaze nearly crushed him before mysterious golden power pulled him from the Palace of Slaanesh.
• Ron awoke in Grant Hive City as Ron Grant and learned from the dead Governor’s memories that he had inherited his body and position.
• Ron realized the corrupted maid was still in his bedroom when the Daemonette emerged from the darkness.
• Ron pressed the alarm button, kicked the Daemonette away, and shot her with an antique pistol, but she rose unharmed.
• Ron’s pistol ran out of ammunition, and his weakened body gave way as the Daemonette lunged at him.

Ron awakened Psyker powers while fighting a Slaanesh Daemonette and survived after Carter Crowley and the Praetorian Guards killed her. Bayev Cotton arrived to check on Ron, who now understood that his new abilities could bring the Imperium’s scrutiny.

• The Daemonette trapped Ron with an illusion and attacked, but his will to survive awakened his Psyker powers, freezing her claws and healing his wounds.
• Ron struck the Daemonette with golden lightning, sending her through the stained-glass window, but she rose again, more powerful than before.
• Carter Crowley led the Praetorian Guards into the room, and they riddled the Daemonette with Bolter fire before Carter cut through her head with a Chainsword.
• Ron praised Carter and the Praetorian Guards, deciding to strengthen his forces against the dangers of the galaxy.
• Bayev Cotton hurried in to ask whether Ron was all right and noticed frost on the floor.

After surviving an assassination attempt, Ron assessed the danger and neglect surrounding his world, then rejected the maids’ advances and went to sleep. He was suddenly pulled back into the Warp, where the enormous Cold Sun appeared again.

• Ron told Bayev that his awakened Psyker Power had saved him, and Bayev blamed Homan House for the attack.
• After an Apothecary confirmed he was unharmed, Ron surveyed the damaged moon and neglected districts from his balcony and resolved to improve security and infrastructure.
• Linda and the other maids tried to seduce Ron, but he sent them away and went to bed.
• Ron fell asleep, was violently pulled into the Warp, and found himself facing the enormous Cold Sun again.

Ron awakened his Warp Essence, Dawn, a Little Sun that fed on hope and could grow stronger as his subjects prospered. After a Psyker Tide forced him back to reality, he began considering how to govern Earth Planet despite knowing little about its affairs.

• Ron discovered that he had become a sphere of Psyker Power and learned that his Warp Essence, Dawn, fed on positive emotions and hope.
• Ron realized he could anchor Dawn in reality with a Psionic Core and strengthen it by improving life for the people of Earth Planet.
• A Psyker Tide expelled Ron from the Warp before he could test Dawn's abilities.
• Ron woke in his spire, ate breakfast attended by Linda, and reflected on the harsh lives of workers in the Lower Hive and Underhive.
• Ron considered how to govern Earth Planet, whose administration had been left to Bayev's team.

Ron went to the Departmento Administratum to check Earth Planet’s tithe records, fearing that a payment error could cost him his life. He found that Holy Terra had raised the planet’s tithe grade from second-class special to first-class superior.

• Ron learned that planetary Governors had to pay the Imperial Tithe or risk execution and other brutal reprisals.
• Ron left the dining hall and went to the Departmento Administratum to review Earth Planet’s recent tithe payments.
• Ron found the Administratum’s archive packed with paper records and learned how Imperial restrictions and bureaucratic errors made tithe administration chaotic.
• Ron searched through the current-quarter dossiers and found Earth Planet’s latest Imperial Tithe assessment report.
• Ron saw that the Administratum of Holy Terra had raised Earth Planet’s tithe grade from second-class special to first-class superior.

Ron discovered that the Imperium had raised Earth Planet’s tax grade to an unbearable level and tried to appeal to Holy Terra. After admitting his memory loss to Bayev, he learned that Earth Planet no longer had to pay taxes.

• Ron learned that Earth Planet’s tax grade had been raised by three grades, demanding enormous resource and population tributes.
• Ron ordered Old Mike to appeal to the Administratum on Holy Terra, but Old Mike panicked and claimed the God-Emperor had abandoned them.
• Bayev explained that Old Mike had been considered mad for years and offered to handle the appeal himself.
• Ron told Bayev that awakening his Psyker Power had caused him to lose some memories, and Bayev said Bishop Dony should examine him.
• Ron asked Bayev about Earth Planet’s taxes, and Bayev revealed that they no longer needed to pay them.

Ron learned that Earth Planet’s tax rating had been raised beyond its capacity, leading to mass deaths, Old Grant’s execution, and the planet’s isolation from Holy Terra. Bayev revealed that a Warp Storm destroyed the Inquisitor’s ship and severed Earth Planet’s communications, leaving Ron to suspect the Great Rift.

• Bayev explained that Administratum officials had raised Earth Planet’s tax rating five years earlier, forcing Old Grant to intensify mining and causing millions of deaths.
• After Earth Planet delayed its taxes, an Adeptus Arbites judge investigated, was attacked by Chaos heretics, and reported the planet to the Inquisition.
• An Inquisitor investigated Earth Planet, ordered it to pay overdue taxes and a fine, and oversaw a brutal campaign that killed half the population.
• The Inquisitor executed Old Grant when he pleaded for a reassessment, then died after a Warp Storm tore apart his ship.
• Bayev told Ron that the Warp Storm had destroyed the shipping route and killed Earth Planet’s Astropath, cutting the planet off from Holy Terra.
• Ron wondered whether the Warp Storm had been the Great Rift.

Ron learned that Earth Planet lay in Imperium Nihilus and planned to place the Little Sun's Psionic Core in the Lower Hive to gather hope. Bayev revealed that the Lower Hive had fallen to rebels, leaving Ron trapped in a weakened Upper Hive as he asked how much territory and how many troops and people he still controlled.

• Ron realized the Great Rift had cut Earth Planet off from the Imperium, but kept his knowledge from Bayev.
• Ron ordered Bayev to arrange an inspection of the Lower Hive so he could install the Little Sun's Psionic Core there.
• Bayev told Ron that Chaos Mutants had emerged from the Underhive, weakening the Planetary Defense Force and the Palatine District.
• Nobles allied with Heresy worshippers and seized the Lower Hive, then attacked the Upper Hive before Ron Grant drove them back and sealed the district gates.
• Ron learned that his predecessor had lost control of much of the Upper Hive and died in the Palace of Slaanesh, leaving Ron surrounded by powerful nobles and without access to the Lower Hive.
• Ron asked Bayev how much territory, how many troops, and how many people remained under their control.

Ron learned about the Palatine District's territory, forces, refugees, and looming threats, then inspected the Upper Hive and witnessed its severe deprivation. He returned to Spire Mansion determined to find a way to address the food crisis and change conditions for the people.

• Bayev briefed Ron on the Palatine District's holdings, its forces, and the threat posed by Homan House and the warbands.
• Ron insisted on inspecting his territory despite Bayev's concerns, and Bayev and Carter's Praetorian Guard accompanied him from Spire Mansion.
• Ron saw the war-damaged Palatine District and the crowded, impoverished Upper Hive, where civilians died of hunger and corpse collectors took their bodies for processing into Corpse Starch.
• Bayev explained that supplies were dwindling and that Homan House and the Grey Wolf Warband were slaughtering civilians to feed their armies.
• Ron ended his inspection early, returned to Spire Mansion, and considered how to break the worsening crisis.

Ron entered the Warp through Little Sun and used its remaining energy to search for physical objects, hoping to find valuable technology. His search revealed a vast Space Hulk, leaving him to wonder whether it was occupied by a Greater Daemon.

• Ron blocked Slaanesh's calls and found Little Sun's frequency, then entered the Warp and possessed his avatar.
• Ron discovered that Little Sun could only explore the Warp, with enough energy for one search.
• Ron activated Little Sun's search ability and selected a medium-sized point of light as his sole navigation beacon.
• Ron emerged beside an enormous Space Hulk and realized it could contain lost technology and relics.
• Ron worried that a Greater Daemon might have claimed the Space Hulk, since he had no strength to explore it.

Ron explored the Space Hulk with his spiritual perception, finding Void Remnants who could become potential recruits and a Chaos Pirate den led by the dangerous psyker Kaelina. After fleeing her, he discovered a peaceful rice farm and a robot that welcomed him as its master.

• Ron scanned the Space Hulk and found Void Remnants who defeated a horde of Chaos Monsters, then marked their village as a place to recruit later.
• Ron investigated a Chaos Pirate den and saw its leader, Kaelina, detect his presence and fire a Melta Gun at him.
• Kaelina revealed herself as a Gamma Level Psyker, forcing Ron to flee through the wreckage.
• Ron entered a strange place filled with rice paddies, where a robot greeted him as the master of Green Wave Farm.

Ron discovered a Golden Age farm and robot inside a Warp Space Hulk, then installed a Psionic Core beneath the God-Emperor Statue to gather Power of Hope. He found that the territory's people were generating far less hope than he needed to return to the farm.

• Moss continued tending Green Wave Farm and repaired Mimicry Panel 613, still waiting for its master to visit.
• Ron awoke in the Spire bedroom and realized the farm's cultivation technology and Golden Age robot could help him address the food shortage.
• Ron took Carter to Sacred Plaza and opened a passage so Little Sun could place the Psionic Core inside the God-Emperor Statue.
• Carter's Praetorian Guards surrounded Ron when his consciousness returned, then dispersed after confirming the area was safe.
• Ron measured the Power of Hope gathered by the Psionic Core and found it had collected only 144 points amid the people's fear and despair.

Ron’s attempt to ease miners’ workloads with paid leave increased their fear and reduced the Power of Hope, so he suspended the policy and reassured Will that the mining team would continue. He gained two points of Power of Hope from Will, then offered him sweets to take home to his children.

• Ron questioned Will about miners’ panic over the new paid-leave system and learned they feared losing their jobs and wages.
• Will broke down crying over the threat of losing his livelihood, and Ron realized the workers did not trust him or the Palatine District.
• Ron suspended the leave system and promised Will that the mining team would keep operating, gaining one point of Power of Hope.
• Ron praised Will and promised him a promotion and higher pay, but gained no further Power of Hope.
• Ron offered Will Frost Poro Cookies and candies for his two children, and Will asked if they were really for him.

Ron gave Will a gift bag of candy and pastries and reassured him that the mining teams and their jobs would remain intact. Will shared cookies with his captains and rode home to Black Coal Street, where residents gathered around him.

• Ron gave Will a gift bag of candy and pastries for his children, and Will pledged his loyalty.
• Will told the anxious mining captains that the teams were safe, pay would stay the same, and workers who had gone home should return.
• Will shared a cookie with each captain, while some ate theirs and others carefully saved them.
• Will rode with the captains to Black Coal Street, where residents gathered around him.

Will secured the Governor’s approval for the Black Coal Street mining crews to resume work, bringing relief to Mika’s starving family. Ron remained troubled by the territory’s dwindling food supply and his search for a way to nurture people’s hope.

• Will refused most of the families who begged him to take their young boys into the mines, then told his people to notify the miners who had been sent home.
• Mika worried that his family would starve after the mining crew put him on paid leave, while his wife feared he would never be allowed back into the mine.
• A mining crew captain told Mika that Will had persuaded the Governor to let the crew continue working, and Mika promised his son he would eat his fill the next day.
• Ron considered the territory’s one-month food supply and his need to reach Green Wave Farm for food and cultivation techniques, then Bayev entered and asked to speak with him.

Ron agreed to undergo an examination at the Ecclesiarchy Cathedral to reassure Bayev and prove his identity. On the way, he rejected Bayev’s plan to keep the Palatine District alive by sacrificing its people, then arrived at a nearly deserted cathedral and wondered what had happened there.

• Bayev reminded Ron to meet Bishop Dony for an examination, and Ron agreed, confident that his fused soul would pass any test.
• Ron questioned Bayev about the Palatine District’s power structure and learned that Bayev had used a Great Purge to eliminate opposition and Imperial personnel.
• Bayev outlined a plan to impose harsher controls and reclaim resources from laborers, but Ron rejected it because it would cause mass suffering and would not solve the crisis.
• Bayev brought Ron to the Ecclesiarchy Cathedral, where Ron found the grounds nearly deserted and questioned Bayev about what had happened to the Ecclesiarchy.

Ron visited the Ecclesiarchy church, where Bishop Dony examined him and found no serious traces of Heresy or Warp corruption. Bishop Dony then confronted Ron about whether he had become a Psyker, leaving Ron facing the Ecclesiarchy’s hostility toward Psykers.

• Bayev told Ron how the Ecclesiarchy had helped defend the Palatine District from the Heresy, leaving Bishop Dony Moore and a few clergy at the church.
• Ron entered the church and met Bishop Dony, who eagerly led him to the Emperor’s Shrine for an examination.
• Bishop Dony used prayer and the Cherubs’ Holy Water to examine Ron, while Ron’s Psyker Power protected his consciousness and let him reveal only part of his soul.
• Bishop Dony declared Ron largely unharmed by the Warp, advised him to rest, and hinted that he needed to exercise restraint.
• Bishop Dony asked Ron whether he was a Psyker, and Ron worried about the Ecclesiarchy’s treatment of Psykers.

Ron told Bishop Dony that he had become a Psyker, and Dony accepted him after confirming his loyalty to the God-Emperor. Dony gave Ron sacred relics to protect him from Warp corruption, leaving Ron puzzled by the Bishop’s generosity.

• Ron admitted to Bishop Dony that he was a Psyker and asked whether the Ecclesiarchy would accept him.
• Dony declared that all who believed in the God-Emperor, regardless of their race or nature, could be loyal members of the Ecclesiarchy.
• Ron enthusiastically supported Dony’s radical doctrine to secure the Bishop’s backing.
• Dony taught Ron meditation techniques for resisting the Warp and gave him several blessed relics.
• Ron nearly collapsed under the relics’ weight, so Bayev had Carter take them, and Dony gave Ron an additional Chaos-killing dagger.

Ron agreed to rebuild the God-Emperor Statue after realizing faith could restore hope among the desperate people of Earth Planet. As Ron left to plan the restoration, Bishop Dony prayed for guidance and recommitted himself to fighting the darkness.

• Bishop Dony asked Ron to provide the manpower and supplies needed to repair the damaged God-Emperor Statue.
• Ron recognized that faith could dispel despair and agreed to fully support restoring the Holy Icon and reopening Sacred Plaza.
• Ron planned to rebuild the statue as a public miracle that would let him present himself as the God-Emperor's chosen savior.
• Bishop Dony gave Ron blessings and holy water, then saw him off as Ron promised to return with a restoration plan.
• Alone in the church square, Bishop Dony worried that the God-Emperor had abandoned Earth Planet, but renewed his resolve to fight the darkness.