Chapter Summaries

Yosef prepared to unleash Chaos Essence in the residential districts around Sacred Plaza, expecting Ron to choose between mass slaughter and a devastating outbreak. Ron rejected Bayev’s proposed purge and activated the Psionic Core in the God-Emperor Statue, spreading his psychic consciousness across the endangered districts.

• Yosef learned that Shattered Eye believers had hidden all fifteen vials of Chaos Essence in residential districts and planned to release them during Ascension Day or a purge.
• Residents including Devere’s family welcomed restored food rations and rumors of a brighter future, unaware that Heretics were waiting to unleash Chaos Essence.
• Bayev organized armed forces for a complete purge and waited for Ron’s decision.
• Ron refused to sacrifice more than a hundred thousand residents, while the citizens’ hope gathered in his Psionic Core and strengthened the Little Sun.
• Ron stirred the Psionic Core inside the God-Emperor Statue, sending a vast psychic consciousness across every residential district around Sacred Plaza.

Ron used his Psyker Power sensing to locate dozens of Heretics and more than a dozen glass bottles filled with dangerous Chaos power across the residential districts. He gave Bayev a detailed map and delegated the operation before collapsing from exhaustion, leaving Bayev to protect the residents.

• Ron expanded his Psyker Power sensing until he found and marked the Heretics and the glowing glass bottles containing Chaos power.
• After exhausting all fifty thousand points of Power of Hope, Ron returned to his office and recorded the locations on a three-dimensional map.
• Bayev arrived ready for a full-scale purge, but Ron gave him the map and ordered him to stop the Heretics while minimizing casualties.
• Bayev promised to protect the residents, and Ron left the operation in his hands.
• Ron summoned Head Maid Linda, fell asleep in her arms, and was carried to bed while Bayev hurried to the Departmento Munitorum's war room.

Bayev coordinated a joint Cleansing Operation to purge Heretics and criminals from the residential districts around Sacred Plaza before Ascension Day. As the teams waited for the Custodes to begin their attack, a thug assaulting a worker in the Drake Mega-Residential Area was struck by a dagger.

• Bayev assigned the Custodes, Ari's Defense Force, and Claudi's Enforcers separate targets for the Cleansing Operation.
• Carter led fifty-five Custodes toward their targets while Bayev monitored their positions and ordered the other teams to wait for the assault.
• In the Drake Mega-Residential Area, a thug beat and assaulted a worker while the residents nearby stayed behind locked doors.
• The worker pleaded for help and thought of the Governor before a dagger suddenly pierced the thug's neck.

Malai rescued Alila from a thug and led her to his room, where he revealed a blood-soaked ritual devoted to the Lord of Ten Thousand Eyes. He immobilized Alila and prepared to grant her power, uncovering an object that shone with azure light.

• Malai killed the thug who was attacking Alila and offered to take her home after treating her injuries.
• Alila followed Malai to his communal dormitory, trusting him despite her unease.
• Malai locked the door and revealed a room filled with murdered and mutilated women, corpses, and a glowing ritual array.
• Malai told Alila she was his finest offering to the Lord of Ten Thousand Eyes and magically prevented her from moving.
• Malai assured Alila he would grant her power, then uncovered an object emitting enchanting azure light.

Malai tried to implant the Chaos Essence in Alila, but Carter and two Custodes burst in to rescue her and seize the bottle. Malai transformed through the ritual’s power, but Carter killed him with Stun Grenades, leaving Alila safe.

• Malai prepared to cut open Alila’s stomach and place the Chaos Essence inside her, but Carter and two Custodes smashed through the door.
• Carter tore off Malai’s arm and recovered the Chaos Essence, while another Custodes protected Alila.
• Carter executed Malai on the hooks, but the ritual circle revived him and transformed him into a monster.
• Carter forced Stun Grenades into Malai’s stomach as the Custodes raised their shields.
• The grenades exploded inside Malai, blasting him apart and ending the threat to Alila.

Carter and the Custodes wiped out a Chaos cult hideout and rescued Alila, who thanked the Governor for sending them. As they left to support the wider cleansing operation, Carter received word that a Chaos Bio-Weapon had escaped in Group C2.

• Carter crushed Malai's surviving head after the Custodes destroyed his corrupted body.
• Carter ordered the Custodes to burn the ritual site and corrupted women, then treated Alila's wounds and told her to wait for the Arbites.
• Alila thanked Carter and asked him to convey her gratitude to the Governor, and Carter agreed.
• The Arbites arrived to take Alila home while Carter and the Custodes finished cleansing the house and left to support the other raids.
• Carter received an emergency report that the Chaos Bio-Weapon in Group C2 had escaped.

Carter and the Custodes rushed to a shantytown where a Heretic had transformed into a Chaos Aberration and was slaughtering civilians. Carter arrived with reinforcements and the Ripper Chainsword, preparing to lead the attack.

• Bayev learned that a Heretic had become a Chaos Aberration after a Group C2 Custodes mission went wrong, and he feared the deaths would draw the Governor's anger.
• The Chaos Aberration tore through the shantytown, devouring civilians while Defense Force soldiers, Arbites, and Custodes struggled to stop it.
• Carter arrived by Assault Gunship and fired an artillery shell that knocked the Aberration down, then he and the Custodes disembarked.
• Carter opened a crate containing the enormous consecrated Chainsword Ripper, a gift from Ron that had belonged to a powerful Adeptus Astartes.
• A wounded Group C2 Custodes apologized for his mistake, but Carter ordered him to prepare for battle and vowed to prove their loyalty by defeating the Heretic.

Carter and the Custodes fought the Aberration after ordinary weapons failed to harm it. The creature survived their assault by exploding its swollen flesh and transforming into a more powerful humanoid form, which landed before Carter.

• Carter rallied the Custodes, and they advanced toward the Aberration as the Defense Force and Arbites stopped firing.
• The Aberration attacked with its tentacles, but the Custodes blocked them, and Carter shot the Heretic Head after it taunted them.
• Carter and the Custodes severed the Aberration’s tentacles and wounded its main body with Bolters and Chainswords.
• The Aberration swelled and exploded, blasting Carter and the other Custodes away.
• Carter stood and saw a blood-eyed Humanoid Aberration emerge from the dust and leap down before him.

Carter fought the Heretic Head controlling the Humanoid Aberration until reinforcements arrived, then prepared to unleash the power of his rare Adeptus Astartes weapon. He activated the weapon to end the heretic’s life.

• The Heretic Head taunted Carter and killed Defense Force soldiers by hurling sheet metal at them.
• A Custodian Warrior distracted the Heretic Head with Bolt fire, giving Carter a chance to punch, but the Humanoid Aberration caught his fist and smashed him through a row of shanties.
• Carter dodged his own Chainsword when the Humanoid Aberration threw it at him, then fired his Bolt Pistol and hit the Heretic Head.
• Three Assault Gunships and arriving Custodians attacked the Humanoid Aberration, though it brought down one gunship with a sheet of iron.
• Carter picked up the Ripper Chainsword, revealed it was a rare Adeptus Astartes Power Weapon, and decided to activate it despite not being fully prepared to use it.

Carter endured the chainsword’s corrosive energy and charged the Humanoid Aberration while the Custodians held it back. He split the creature in two, leaving the Heretic Head helpless as Carter seized him by the throat.

• Carter prayed, activated the chainsword’s force field, and suffered burns as energy coursed over his armor.
• The Heretic Head drove the Humanoid Aberration toward Carter, but the Custodians harpooned it and restrained it with steel cables.
• Carter charged the restrained creature with his chainsword powered up, while onlookers prayed and hailed him as a War Angel.
• The Heretic Head broke free of the Custodians and tried to flee, but Carter leapt after him and cut the Humanoid Aberration in two.
• With the creature’s body destroyed and the chainsword shut down, Carter approached the Heretic Head and grabbed him by the throat.

Carter executed the Heretic Head by tearing him from his body and having Custodian Warriors burn him alive. Elsewhere, Ari killed a fleeing Heretic and led Defense Force soldiers toward the Heretic's hideout.

• Carter tore the Heretic Head and his spine from the body, then declared that the Governor would not tolerate Heretics in the Palatine District.
• The Heretic Head pleaded for his life and threatened the crowd, but Carter beat him and the Custodian Warriors burned him with Flamers.
• Ari caught a fleeing Heretic in a passageway nearly ten kilometers from the Shanty District and forced him to kneel.
• Ari shoved a Thermite Incendiary Grenade into the Heretic's mouth and killed him, then headed with the Defense Force soldiers toward the Heretic's hideout.

As fighting spread through the residential area, Devere left home to investigate and joined Ari's hunt for Heretics. He recognized the house Ari accused of sheltering Heretics as belonging to a loyal Logistics Department family and insisted Ari had made a mistake.

• Marty feared the fighting was repeating the Heretic attack from five years earlier, while Devere reassured Lilith and sent her back to bed.
• Devere armed himself and left home to find out what was happening, promising Marty he would remain loyal to the Governor.
• Ari ambushed Devere in a passageway, mistook his movements for a threat, and then allowed him to join the hunt for Heretics.
• Ari led Devere to a house accused of sheltering Heretics, and Devere recognized the Logistics Department insignia and protested that its family was loyal.

Ari and Devere searched Vassi’s home after the Governor marked it as suspicious and uncovered evidence of his Chaos worship and corpse sacrifices. Vassi and his transformed wife were killed, while their terrified son was left alive.

• Ari led Defense Force soldiers to search Vassi’s home, and Devere showed Vassi an order from Spire Mansion before taking charge.
• Devere found a hidden mechanism beneath a wall lamp that revealed a ritual array, a murdered girl, and hanging corpses.
• Vassi admitted he had traded food for Lower Hive victims to try to save his sick wife, but denied betraying the Governor.
• Vassi’s wife transformed into a monster and attacked Devere, and Ari and the soldiers shot her dead.
• Vassi drew his gun in grief, but Devere shot and killed him, leaving Vassi’s frightened son alive.

After the Heretic uprising was crushed, Devere and Ari left Vassi House as dawn broke, while the district’s forces restored order. Ron woke in the Palatine District to find the cleansing had increased the people’s hope and strengthened him, though he still felt uneasy.

• Devere shot Vassi’s mutating son until his Las-pistol ran out of energy, and Ari warned him not to trust Heretics.
• The Custodes returned to the Palatine District with their fallen comrades and fourteen sealed canisters of Chaos Essence after losing three of their number.
• Claudi ordered the Arbites to escort prisoners, aid residents, and maintain order as he told the public that the Governor’s forces had defeated the Heretics and Warband thugs.
• Alia joined the workers heading to the factory after the lockdown ended and the dawn bell rang.
• Ron woke at Spire Mansion and learned that the night’s events had increased the Power of Hope by fifty thousand points and strengthened his physique.
• Ron considered how the rumors about his blessing and increased food supplies had inspired belief in him, but he still felt uneasy.

Ron arranged compensation for fallen Custodes and prepared for Ascension Day while planning to obtain agricultural technology and a Sentient Robot. He sensed a Chaos Monster developing in Homan House's territory, while Yosef waited for news of the attack he expected to devastate the Palatine District.

• Ron ordered Bayev to establish compensation for warriors who died in service and to honor the fallen Custodes beneath the God-Emperor Statue.
• Ron reviewed Ascension Day preparations and planned to bring back agricultural technology, servers, and a Sentient Robot disguised as a tech-priest.
• Ron sensed a powerful Chaos Monster growing in Homan House's territory and worried that it could attack before he regained his strength.
• Yosef petted a Mutated Grey Rat in Homan House's secret laboratory as he awaited reports of the supposed devastation in the Palatine District.

Yosef learned that the Heretics’ attack on the Palatine District had been swiftly defeated, but convinced himself it had revealed Grant House’s hidden strength. He abandoned plans for another attack and ordered the Daemon embryo empowered by the Lord of Ten Thousand Eyes to grow faster, preparing to destroy the district with its power.

• Yosef fed a severed hand to the Mutated Grey Rat while researchers kept their distance from him.
• The Heretic leader reported that the Palatine District had quickly crushed the attack and restored order.
• Yosef reframed the failed attack as a successful test that had exposed Grant House’s hidden forces.
• The Heretic leader proposed another assault to disrupt the Corpse Emperor’s ceremony, but Yosef refused to waste believers or Chaos Essence.
• Yosef ordered researchers to accelerate the Daemon embryo’s growth by pumping more nutrients into its mother.

Ron prepared the Palatine District for Ascension Day of the Emperor and tasked Bayev’s new Secretariat with screening citizens for the ceremony. After inspecting the young officials, Ron declared that they would not do, especially Devere, leaving Devere fearing the Governor’s disapproval.

• Ron arranged a full-day holiday, free food, and a Sacred Plaza ceremony, where he planned to inspire citizens and gain Power of Hope.
• Ron assigned the crucial screening of nearly fifty thousand ordinary attendees to the new Secretariat, led by Bayev.
• Bayev established the Secretariat in a former Administratum office and assembled two hundred young officials for Ron’s inspection.
• Ron praised Bayev and examined the officials, then said they would not do and singled out Devere, who feared he had disappointed the Governor.

Ron told the Secretariat’s young officials to be friendly with the people but ruthless toward enemies, then assigned Devere and Popov to select citizen representatives in the factory district. As workers eagerly awaited the list of those chosen for the Emperor’s Ascension Day ceremony, Alila endured painful work with a broken mask, and the overseer brought out the preliminary list.

• Ron praised Popov and told the young officials to smile and act approachable while remaining merciless toward enemies.
• Bayev assigned Devere and Popov to work together in the factory district, where they would review selections for the ceremony.
• Factory directors ordered workers to clean and work hard ahead of the envoys’ arrival, while workers hoped to be chosen for the Ascension Day ceremony.
• Alila endured choking gas and pain from her injuries while working with a broken mask, hoping her productivity would earn her a place on the list.
• The overseer gathered the workers and brought out the preliminary list of active members.

Alila was passed over as an exemplary worker and returned to the assembly line, but the supervisor soon told her that the envoy had specifically requested her. At the factory reception area, the manager feared punishment for leaving Alila off the list while Devere struggled to stay approachable.

• Alila was not named among the factory’s ten exemplary workers and returned to her station in tears.
• The supervisor called Alila over, apologized for his past treatment, and said the envoy had asked to see her.
• The factory manager panicked when he realized Alila, whom the Governor cared about, had been left off the list.
• Devere tried to reassure the kneeling manager, who begged the envoy to spare his life.
• Popov stopped Devere from reaching for his las-pistol, prompting Devere to resent Popov’s advice.

Devere and Popov presented Alila with the Worker Representative Medal and invited her to attend the Emperor’s Ascension Day Holy Scripture. Afterward, the factory manager offered her a senior management position, and Alila chose to become an overseer.

• Devere stepped aside, and Popov assured the factory manager that the envoys would punish him if the worker list had been falsified.
• Popov and Devere invited Alila to the Holy Scripture and awarded her the Governor’s Residence’s Worker Representative Medal.
• Alila accepted the medal, while the factory manager decided she should no longer work on the assembly line and began offering her a management post.
• The factory manager let Alila choose a senior position, and she immediately chose overseer.