Chapter Summaries

Vect tried to restore fear and authority in Commorragh, but Ron’s propaganda humiliated him again. As Ron prepared to distribute souls and confront Vect, Vect publicly identified him as Ron Grant, humanity’s Savior, and Ron confirmed it.

• Vect killed superior Archons to suppress their defiance, then ordered the Archons to destroy the blasphemous machines broadcasting insults about him.
• Vect tortured his concubines, regained his composure, and concluded that Ron could not defeat him, while intelligence suggested Ron was closely connected to humanity’s Savior.
• Ron prepared a vast distribution of souls across Commorragh, then watched Vect from a tower terrace alongside Archon Fok.
• Vect declined to bombard Ron’s location, and both sides raised enormous virtual projections to face each other in the Central District.
• Vect publicly accused the Descendant of Asurman of being Ron Grant, humanity’s Savior, and Ron confirmed the accusation.

Ron, posing as the Descendant of Asurman, challenged Vect and flooded Commorragh with Soul Potions, winning the Drukhari’s devotion and igniting a citywide frenzy. Vect ordered the potions confiscated and believed Ron’s generosity would ultimately help him crush the rebellion.

• After Vect exposed suspicions about Ron’s identity, Ron claimed to be Raphael Asurman, the Drukhari’s savior, and vowed to overthrow Vect within three months.
• Ron promised the Drukhari freedom from Vect and She Who Thirsts, then released vast quantities of Soul Potions across Commorragh.
• The Soul Potion bottles shattered, filling the streets with potent soul mist that intoxicated the Drukhari and sparked mass cheering and rebellion against Vect.
• Ron realized the broken bottles had caused the frenzy by accident, but decided the spectacle strengthened his plan.
• Soul Potions spread throughout Commorragh, winning goodwill from residents and Kabal warriors alike, while Vect’s Archons ordered the potions confiscated.
• Vect watched the chaos with satisfaction, believing Ron’s distribution of souls would turn the Drukhari’s fury against Vect and ultimately serve his own schemes.

Vect planned to use the Black Throne and the Emperor’s genes to ascend to godhood, while Ron met with the Harlequins and claimed he had anticipated Vect’s scheme. The chapter ended as Daemons appeared through a new crack in the Webway’s Veil.

• Vect revealed that his forbidden experiments had weakened the Webway’s Veil and that he planned to use the Black Throne, the Emperor’s genes, and gathered fear and hatred to become a god.
• Vect learned that the key for the Black Throne was nearly complete and prepared to use it to sever She Who Thirsts’s tendrils from the Webway.
• Ron received a warning not to give Vect souls, then traveled to a ruined Webway site and watched the Harlequins perform a tragedy about the Eldar gods.
• The Great Harlequin warned Ron that his fate was tangled and urged him to cooperate with Cegorach, but Ron refused to be threatened.
• Ron claimed he had deliberately given Vect the souls and already knew about Vect’s plan and the coming invasion of Commorragh.
• A crack opened in the Webway’s Veil above Ron and the Great Harlequin, and Daemons began to emerge.

Ron drove Ba Nieni and the Slaaneshi vanguard from the Webway ruins, then recruited the Harlequins to help resist the growing invasion. He headed for the Redemption Satellite Zone to prepare its defenses as Shalaxi Helbane returned and Yvraine and the other Chaos Gods reacted to the widening conflict.

• A Slaaneshi daemon army emerged through a Veil Rift in the Webway ruins, and the Herald of Agony confronted Ron and the Harlequins.
• Ron ordered the Herald of Agony to leave, and Ba Nieni recognized him as the Four-Armed Savior, withdrew her army, and received a new mission from him.
• Ba Nieni redirected her forces toward a Drukhari research base to draw fire for the White Scars Primarch and the Adeptus Custodes, while Shalaxi Helbane returned to lead a Slaaneshi Host into Commorragh.
• Ron secured the Harlequin Troupe's cooperation, asked them to perform at the Redemption Satellite Zone, and set out with them to reinforce the area.
• Yvraine led the Ynnari into the Webway, while the other Chaos Gods took notice of Slaanesh's invasion and the Crimson Terror Demon Eye opened.

Ka'bandha marched to challenge Shalaxi, while Vect chose the Space-Ripping Engine to destroy the Redemption Satellite Zone and create fear. Ron learned that Ka'bandha had entered the war just as a tremendous roar sounded outside.

• Ka'bandha ignored the Blood God's summons to march against Shalaxi, and Bael redirected his army toward the Redemption Satellite Zone.
• Vect inspected the completed Emperor body and decided to destroy the Redemption Satellite Zone to fuel his ascension plan with fear.
• Vect chose the Space-Ripping Engine and ordered the Haemonculi to prepare its teleportation into the Redemption Satellite Zone.
• Vect told the Archons to announce the zone's coming destruction, while Ron worried that he had overlooked a danger.
• Ron received Bael's message that Ka'bandha had gone to war, then heard a tremendous roar outside.

Ron celebrated the Redemption Festival with the Drukhari, whose festive customs also helped prepare them to fight Slaaneshi Daemons. With the Redemption Satellite Zone’s defenses in place, he headed to the arena as major wars approached and the Supreme Overlord’s forbidden divine artifact arrived underground.

• Ron gave Iris and Titus festival gifts, then toured the Redemption Satellite Zone as Drukhari celebrated with fireworks, performances, and gifts.
• The Great Harlequin reflected on the festival’s gathering of Eldar from different branches and prepared his troupe’s performance at the Redemption Arena.
• Ron watched Drukhari children attack captive Slaaneshi Daemons, recognizing that years of training and exposure had made the population more combat-ready.
• Iris reported that the Kabal of Hatred had brought back Titans, weapons, and other supplies from an abandoned Savior transport fleet; Ron revealed that he had arranged the discovery and that the defenses were ready.
• Ron considered the approaching battles involving Commorragh and the Chaos Gods, while a forbidden divine artifact arrived in an underground area.

Ron’s profitable Redemption Arena drew wealthy visitors with extravagant entertainment, gladiatorial combat, and Tyranid battles. A hidden assault by the Kabal of the Black Heart accidentally opened a vast Warp rift during the arena’s grand performance, and the audience mistook the arriving Slaaneshi Daemons for part of the show.

• Ron surveyed Redemption Arena’s vast expansion and reflected on how its wealthy clientele made it one of his most profitable enterprises.
• Ron praised Sana’s flattering poetry and funded him, while Sana later studied betting data and tended his prized Tyranid Warrior bug.
• Sana and He Ye compared their Tyranid combat units as they waited for the arena’s advertised grand performance to begin.
• The Kabal of the Black Heart activated the forbidden Space-Ripping Engine beneath a street, but arena fireworks disrupted it and diverted its energy toward the arena.
• The engine tore open a kilometer-long Warp rift, and Slaaneshi Daemons poured into the arena as Ron and Iris realized the invasion was not part of the show.
• The spectators, including Sana and He Ye, cheered the Daemons’ arrival as an extraordinary performance, leaving the confused vanguard unable to make itself heard.

Slaanesh Daemons poured through a Warp rift into Redemption Arena, where Ron turned the invasion into a battle event and rallied the arena’s forces and spectators. The Keeper of Secrets realized too late that its army was surrounded, and a Tyranid Spore Cyst struck its face as the counterattack began.

• Slaanesh Daemons poured through The Veil into the arena, and Ron ordered the defenses strengthened while keeping the spectators in place.
• A Keeper of Secrets arrived and sent the Daemon army to attack, but a hidden Titan God-Machine ambushed the vanguard as the arena broadcast the fight and offered bets.
• Ron directed the arena’s command room, warned spectators they could leave, and offered rewards for killing Daemons while most spectators stayed.
• The Daemons destroyed the Titan God-Machine, then advanced toward the stands as Tyranids, Orks, Drukhari, gladiators, and Adeptus Astartes assembled against them.
• The Keeper of Secrets saw its army surrounded and realized it could not retreat to the rift as the arena’s forces charged; a Tyranid Spore Cyst struck its face.

Redemption Arena’s xenos armies and spectators fought off the invading Slaanesh daemons, while Ron prepared Titus to face a Keeper of Secrets. Ron urged Titus to tear the Greater Daemon apart with his bare hands, leaving Titus astonished at the demand.

• Tyranid swarms overwhelmed a Keeper of Secrets as Redemption Arena’s forces broke through the Daemon army’s defenses.
• A Penitent Warrior of the Executioners slaughtered Daemons and earned cheers from the arena audience.
• Ron ordered Iris to unlock the spectator-area weapons and force fields for free as Daemons attacked the stands.
• Sana and He Ye fought invading Daemons with their Tyranid units and Ork Technicians after the spectators opened fire.
• Titus agreed to fight the Keeper of Secrets, and Ron told him to tear the Greater Daemon apart with his bare hands.

Titus fought a Keeper of Secrets bare-handed in the Redemption Arena and tore the Greater Daemon apart, fulfilling Ron’s order. Another Keeper of Secrets, Kalien, emerged through the Warp rift, saw the scene, and withdrew to report to the Dark Prince.

• Ron sent Titus into the arena to defeat the Keeper of Secrets, and Titus removed his weapons to fight it bare-handed.
• Titus blocked the Keeper’s blades with ancient-alloy chains and endured its Hallucinogenic Mist before trapping it in close combat.
• Titus tore apart the Keeper of Secrets while the Daemon army broke and the Redemption Arena’s allied forces wiped it out.
• The defeated Keeper’s Daemonette returned to the Warp and told Kalien that its master had been torn apart.
• Kalien emerged through the Warp rift, saw the carnage and Titus torturing the Keeper, then silently retreated to report to the Dark Prince.

Kalien and the Slaanesh Daemons launched an invasion through the Veil Rift into the Redemption Satellite Zone, where Ron's forces struggled to withstand their overwhelming assault. As the defenses neared collapse, Supreme Bloodthirster Ka'bandha arrived and prepared to face the entire Slaanesh army alone.

• A brawny Keeper of Secrets entered the Veil Rift, but the human warrior dragged him back, leaving Kalien and the other Daemons afraid to follow.
• Shalaxi defeated Ang'grath and received orders to seize the Redemption Satellite Zone with Dexcessa and Synessa.
• Kalien led the Slaanesh Daemons through the expanded rift into a storm of artillery, while Ron watched the Redemption Arena's defenses buckle under the attack.
• Ron contacted Bala for Nurgle reinforcements and received word that Ka'bandha was racing toward the battlefield.
• Ka'bandha leapt from Bael's chariot, sprinted through the Warp, and arrived as the Slaanesh army approached victory.
• Ka'bandha confronted the assembled Slaanesh Daemons and challenged them to die as he prepared to attack alone.

Ka'bandha rampaged through Slaanesh's forces at the Veil Rift until Kairos trapped him in an illusion of defeat by The Savior. Ron's Holy Ash Bomb helped Ka'bandha break free of his fear, leaving him stronger and ready to fight without hesitation.

• Ka'bandha charged alone into Slaanesh's army, killing Keepers of Secrets and scattering the Daemons as the Blood God showered him with blessings.
• Bael and the Khorne Daemon army arrived, allowing Ka'bandha to break the encirclement and overwhelm Shalaxi Helbane and the Daemon Twins.
• Shalaxi withdrew after receiving orders to seize the Black Throne, while Kairos and the remaining Slaanesh and Tzeentch forces attacked Ka'bandha.
• Kairos bound Ka'bandha with Crystal Chains and forced him into an illusion where The Savior defeated and humiliated him.
• Ron went to the Veil Rift with Titus and fired a Holy Ash Bomb into the battlefield, interrupting the Daemons' assault.
• Ka'bandha used the interruption to overcome his fear of The Savior, shatter the illusion, and resolve to face his rival without retreating.

Ka'bandha broke free of Kairos's sorcery and led Khorne's army toward Commorragh after receiving the Blood God's command to seize the Black Throne and The Cursed's Clone Body. Ron prepared to move against Commorragh, while Tzeentch realized his plans there had become entangled with The Savior and failed to secure an alliance with him.

• Ka'bandha shattered Kairos's crystal chains, drove off the Slaanesh daemons, and discovered that the Tzeentch daemons had fled.
• The Blood God ordered Ka'bandha to lead Khorne's forces to Commorragh and capture the Black Throne and The Cursed's Clone Body.
• Ka'bandha set out for Commorragh, and the Slaanesh daemons followed to prevent the other Chaos Gods from claiming the Drukhari stronghold.
• Ron learned that the daemons had left the Redemption Satellite Zone, ordered Iris to have the Dark Mechanicum and the Ork Big Mek seal the rift, and prepared to move on Commorragh.
• Ron warned the Emperor about Tzeentch and asked him to target the Lord of Change if they fought the Chaos Gods.
• Tzeentch traced his bad omen to Commorragh, tried to propose an alliance to The Savior, and discovered that The Savior had blocked him.

Ron engineered the supposed execution of Supreme Overlord Vect to ignite revolt in Commorragh and promised to open the Redemption Satellite Zone to its residents. As Chaos forces breached the Black Throne sector and the machinery for the Emperor’s return failed, Ron prepared to control the Emperor’s Clone Body himself and face the Greater Daemons.

• Ron rejected Tzeentch’s Warp omen, prepared the Redemption Satellite Zone, and went to Commorragh with Titus, Iris, and his elites.
• Ron and the Archons of Commorragh stoked anger against Vect, then Ron captured and publicly executed a clone while claiming Supreme Overlord Vect was dead.
• Ron promised to open the Redemption Satellite Zone to Commorragh’s residents and urged them to destroy the Kabal of the Black Heart, whose Archons tacitly accepted the false report of Vect’s death.
• Vect learned that he had been declared dead, but remained determined to ascend to godhood and take control of the Black Throne; then he learned Chaos traitors had breached its defenses.
• Ron learned that Tzeentch had sabotaged the Sacred Machine and that Chaos forces were closing in on the Emperor’s Clone Body, so he summoned Jaghatai Khan before deciding he might have to control the body himself.

Ron prepared to possess The Emperor's Clone Body and stop the Chaos Daemons from seizing the Black Throne, while Cawl and Moss completed the Holy Machine. As Jaghatai Khan led the assault toward the Throne, Ron stayed behind to face five Keepers of Secrets, one of whom attacked him in panic.

• Ron decided to intervene in the battle for Commorragh's Webway, and Jaghatai Khan agreed to lead the White Scars' high-speed assault to deliver the Holy Machine to the Black Throne.
• Cawl told Ron that the Holy Machine was nearly ready and proposed adding comforts to the Black Throne; Ron first rejected the plan, then told Cawl to continue it after reconsidering.
• Ron prayed in his private shrine and prepared for the mission, then two days later Cawls and Moss completed the Holy Machine to guide Little Sun's soul energy into The Emperor's Clone Body.
• Jaghatai Khan led the White Scars, Adeptus Custodes, Thunder Custodes, Cawls, Moss, and Magi toward the Black Throne while Ron rode with Jubal's force.
• When five Keepers of Secrets and a host of Daemons blocked the route, Ron stayed behind to hold them off as Jaghatai Khan led the strike force through the encirclement.
• The Keepers of Secrets feared Ron's reputation, but Ron privately doubted he could defeat them without his Holy Weapons or Little Sun's energy; one Keeper finally lost its nerve and attacked.

Ron used himself as bait to draw away five Keepers of Secrets, then escaped through the Webway with Jubal while the daemons pursued them. As Ron and Jubal reached the Black Throne Region, Shalaxi and Ka'bandha each set out to confront the Savior, and multiple forces converged on the growing battle.

• Five Keepers of Secrets overwhelmed Ron's psychic shield and knocked him across the Webway, but Jubal scooped him up and fled on the White Falcon.
• Jubal took a narrow Webway route to lose the daemon horde while Ron used his Twin Bolters to repel pursuing daemons; Ron then discovered the weapons had fired thousands of bolts without reloading.
• Shalaxi saw the projection of Ron's apparent defeat, dismissed his reputation, and vowed to kill him as she led her followers toward the Black Throne Region.
• Ka'bandha doubted what he had seen, decided Ron might have been only an avatar, and charged toward the Webway after Shalaxi's messenger provoked him.
• Jaghatai Khan, Ka'bandha, and Shalaxi advanced on the Black Throne Region from different directions as Jubal brought Ron there in a battered White Falcon.

Ron and his allies fought to protect the Black Throne as Vect’s ascension plan reached its final stage and Chaos Daemons stormed the core. Ka'bandha saved Ron from Shalaxi Helbane, and the chapter ended as a strange rift opened above the Throne.

• Ron and Jubal approached the Black Throne while Daemons overwhelmed the Kabal of the Black Heart’s defenses and Vect feared Commorragh’s destruction.
• The Descendant of Asurman’s forces arrived and joined the Kabal of the Black Heart against the Daemons, while Ron’s allies prepared to help Vect enter the Warp and make way for Little Sun’s soul.
• The Clone of the Emperor began to glow as Vect’s ascension reached its final stage, and the Daemon Twins attacked the Throne’s core.
• The White Scars and Adeptus Custodes defended the core, while Ron fought off Greater Daemons and faced Shalaxi Helbane.
• Ka'bandha broke Shalaxi’s tentacles and saved Ron, then fought beside him against the Daemons as a strange rift opened above the Black Throne.

Supreme Overlord Vect ascended into the Warp, but the Black Throne’s passage back vanished and left him exposed to its predators. Ron and his allies used the freed Throne to awaken the Emperor’s clone with Little Sun’s soul energy, and Ron emerged in the Emperor’s body as a Chaos Daemon tide closed in.

• Ron recognized the rift’s fear and hatred as the path of Greedy Dissolution and suspected the Lord of Change had helped Vect’s rise.
• Vect’s cultivation tank burst, and his soul entered the Warp as a new god; when he tried to return to the Webway, he found the Black Throne’s passage had closed.
• Jaghatai Khan brought the Holy Machine to the Black Throne, where Cawl and Moss shut down the Throne and connected it to the machine.
• As Chaos Daemons overwhelmed the defenders, Ron fell silent after being corrupted, but Little Sun’s soul energy awakened the Emperor’s clone and Ron’s soul took control of its body.
• Ron rose with golden armor, wings, and two flaming swords, drove back the Daemons, and faced Ka'bandha, who carried Shalaxi’s head and challenged him to their final battle.

Ron fought through the Chaos daemon horde and accepted Ka'bandha’s challenge to a duel, while Ka'bandha kept rising despite being devastated by Ron’s attacks. As Ka'bandha begged the Blood God for strength, Khorne exhausted his stored slaughter energy and sacrificed part of his authority to empower him.

• Ron killed Weaver and slaughtered the daemons, then faced Ka'bandha’s challenge.
• Ka'bandha nearly fled from Ron’s overwhelming power, but Khorne’s daemons cheered him into standing his ground.
• Ron accepted Ka'bandha’s duel and repeatedly struck him with the Twin Holy Flame Swords as Ka'bandha fought without defending himself.
• Ka'bandha rose again after being battered and burned, while Khorne’s daemons honored his resolve.
• Ka'bandha finally dropped to one knee and prayed to keep fighting, and Khorne, unable to grant more blessings from his depleted reserves, gave up part of his authority to empower him.

Ron defeated Ka'bandha after The Emperor repeatedly empowered him to counter Khorne's Authority of Slaughter, then secured the Black Throne for The Savior's Territory. As Ron began organizing the captured region, enormous shadows blotted out the sun over Commorragh.

• Khorne granted Ka'bandha a portion of the Authority of Slaughter, restoring his strength and allowing him to overpower Ron.
• Ron called on The Emperor, received a surge of Authority, and struck Ka'bandha down, but Khorne empowered the Bloodthirster again.
• The Emperor sent Ron another wave of power, and Ron renewed his assault until Khorne recalled Ka'bandha to prevent further losses.
• Ron gained a trace of the Authority of Slaughter, drove away the remaining enemies, and took control of the Black Throne with Savior's Territory forces.
• Ron returned to the Throne and began planning repairs and defenses while massive shadows appeared over Commorragh's Main District.