Chapter Summaries

After losing a wager to Ron, Perturabo watched many Iron Warriors pledge themselves to The Savior, then tried to reclaim his authority. He found Ron enthroned in his redecorated hall, surrounded by former Iron Warriors and Custodians, and realized he was now the one being treated as a traitor.

• Perturabo accepted the wager’s defeat in silence as Ron invoked their pact and claimed the Iron Warriors Legion.
• Ron appealed to the Iron Warriors’ loyalty and Glory, and a Captain and many other warriors followed him; Ahalin left after Perturabo ignored him.
• Perturabo relived memories of his unfulfilled hopes and grievances against The Emperor, then resolved to recover some of his Iron Warriors.
• Perturabo found that many communications had gone dead and realized that warriors had abandoned him for Ron.
• Perturabo entered his redecorated Throne Room and found Ron seated on his throne, surrounded by newly adorned Iron Warriors and Custodians who scrutinized him as a possible traitor.

Ron used the Chaos contract to take control of the Iron Warriors and persuaded them to remain with him, leaving Perturabo isolated and shaken. After revealing that he was Perturabo’s Spirit Net friend and presenting a lamp Perturabo had once invented, Ron brought him to tears, though Perturabo’s response to Ron’s offer remained unresolved.

• Ron occupied the Iron Throne Room, reorganized the Iron Warriors’ command and equipment, and claimed the Chaos Bastion as spoils owed under the contract.
• Perturabo challenged Ron’s claim and tried to sway the Iron Warriors, but Ron promised them freedom, resources, and support, and they chose to stay with him.
• Perturabo despaired when his Gene-Scions refused to return to his rule, then challenged Ron to a duel, which Ron declined.
• Ron revealed that he was Toaster Enthusiast, Perturabo’s Spirit Net friend, and gave him a replica of the Mona Lisa, but Perturabo accused him of deception and attacked.
• Perturabo stopped his blow when he recognized his old mechanical lamp, and Ron explained that it had helped people and was known as the Perturabo Lamp.
• Perturabo clutched the lamp, fell to his knees, and sobbed.

Perturabo’s recovered humanity led Ron to invite him back into the Imperium, offering him vast research resources and freedom from military command. Perturabo agreed to join Ron in confronting Fulgrim, while Guilliman remained trapped in the Chaos Arena, fearing his brothers would never come for him.

• Perturabo wept as Ron’s recognition of his past work brought his humanity back and weakened Chaos’s hold on him.
• Ron invited Perturabo to return to the Imperium, promising forgiveness, a clone body, and extensive resources for his research.
• Perturabo accepted Ron’s invitation to seek revenge on Fulgrim, then discovered Ron had seized control of his Chaos Mechanical Legion.
• Perturabo gave Ron the Chaos Mechanical Legion and Iron Warriors, asking to devote himself to research instead of war, and Ron accepted his decision.
• In the Chaos Arena, the wounded Guilliman despaired that his brothers might have forgotten him and worried that the Lord of Pleasure would broadcast their humiliating illusions on the Psyker Network.

Ron accepted command of Perturabo’s Iron Warriors and gave him authority to develop the Charadon Sector, then began reorganizing the assembled Chaos forces for a campaign to rescue Guilliman and confront Fulgrim. The chapter ended as the troops awaited Ron’s inspection aboard a mechanical flying disc.

• Guilliman endured the Pleasure Illusion’s torture in Fulgrim’s Arena while Fulgrim waited for Ron to arrive and trigger his traps.
• Perturabo handed command of the Iron Warriors and Chaos Mechanical Army to Ron, who appointed him honorary adviser and assigned him the Charadon Sector for research.
• Perturabo accepted the arrangement and planned a research city in Charadon, while Ron prepared to reorganize the Iron Warriors for the campaign against Fulgrim.
• Ahalin and Perturabo exchanged a quiet apology, and Ahalin left calling him “father” as the Iron Warriors gathered for Ron’s inspection.
• Ron’s forces distributed weapons and supplies to the assembled Iron Warriors and other Warbands, including Yadis’s Flame Angels, as Ron arrived on a mechanical flying disc.

Ron arrived on a Warpfire disc to take command of the Iron Warriors and the assembled Chaos Warbands, while Yadis and the Flame Angels hoped the campaign would finally let them strike back at the Imperium. As the army welcomed its new commander, Ron secretly distributed Fel Energy blessings before preparing to reveal himself.

• The Chaos Warriors welcomed Ron as their new commander after he arrived aboard a terrifying mechanical disc and the Imperial forces withdrew beyond attack range.
• Yadis recalled the Flame Angels’ disastrous participation in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Black Crusades, including his humiliating defeat at The Savior’s hands and the loss of their frigate.
• Yadis led the Flame Angels to Vostonia aboard Bonebreaker’s ship, determined that their first real battle against the Imperium would succeed.
• Ron piloted the Warpfire disc over the assembled Chaos army and planned to claim the Legion of Fear as an ally while winning the Iron Warriors’ trust with more equipment and benefits.
• Ron sent Fel Energy blessings to many battle-tested Chaos Warriors, exciting them as he prepared to address the army and reveal his true face.

Ron won the Chaos Warriors’ loyalty by promising generous supplies and rewards, and Yadis urged him to become their new Chaos Warmaster. After Ron accepted and took the Flame Angels and other warriors as his gene-sons, he revealed his true face, leaving Yadis horrified to discover that their Warmaster was The Savior, Emperor of the Imperium.

• Yadis and the Flame Angels pledged loyalty to Ron after receiving Fel Energy, equipment, and the promise of Chaos Warships.
• Ron offered the Chaos Warriors regular supplies and rewards for their battlefield achievements, winning their support.
• Yadis called on Ron to become Chaos Warmaster, and the gathered warriors enthusiastically backed his rise.
• Ron accepted the title and vowed to lead the Chaos Warriors to Holy Terra and overthrow the Imperium.
• Ron gave the Flame Angels master-crafted Fear Armor and invited them and the other warriors to become his gene-sons.
• Ron revealed his face to Yadis, who recognized The Savior and realized he had led the Chaos Warriors into an alliance with the Emperor of the Imperium.

Ron, revealed as the Emperor of Mankind, consolidated his rule as Chaos Warmaster by rewarding the Flame Angels and forcing Chaos forces to submit. The inspection continued as new Warbands and Daemons arrived, leaving Yadis confronting a Bloodthirster who refused to follow his orders.

• Yadis considered rebelling after discovering Ron's identity but submitted when Ron overwhelmed him with his presence and rewarded the Flame Angels with weapons, equipment, ships, and a place in the vanguard.
• Ron and Perturabo inspected the Chaos forces, and Iron Warriors units swore fealty while Ron selected elite warriors for his Hell Guard.
• When a Khorne Warband resisted, Yadis killed its leader, suppressed the rebels, and was appointed commander of the Hell Guard.
• New Chaos Warbands arrived and were ordered to join the inspection; Port quickly had his Tzeentch Warband fall into formation.
• A Khorne Daemon army emerged from a rift, and Yadis ordered its Bloodthirster to form ranks and accept inspection; the Bloodthirster angrily declared his status as a Daemon and Champion of the Blood God.

Ron used Yadis and the Hell Guard to subdue incoming Daemon armies and expand the Burning Legion, then gave its demoralized Chaos Warriors a new purpose: waging war in the Warp and slaying gods. With the Legion assembled, Ron prepared to attack the Slaaneshi Daemon world Orensis, where Guilliman was imprisoned.

• Yadis ordered a Bloodthirster and its Daemon army to submit to inspection, while the Hell Guard beat the Bloodthirster into surrender.
• Ron showed Perturabo the terrifying Hell Missile and explained how its cursed radiation could deter and torment Daemons.
• Yadis and the Hell Guard forced Daemon armies to accept inspection, and Ron began recruiting them into the Burning Legion under Diablo's power.
• Ron discovered the Chaos Warriors had lost their purpose, so he rallied them with a new goal: fighting through the Warp and slaying gods.
• Ron assembled the Burning Legion and chose the Slaaneshi Daemon world Orensis as its next target, where Guilliman was imprisoned.

Ron led the Burning Legion to Orensis to seize the daemon world and rescue Guilliman, while Fulgrim prepared to broadcast Ron’s corruption to the Imperium. Ron was trapped in the Lord of Pleasure’s illusion, and Guilliman watched in shock as Ron immediately mounted up with his spear.

• Ron sent Ahalin and the Burning Legion to fight the Chaos forces on Calisth Planet, then spent three days absorbing much of the Word Bearers and World Eaters into his army.
• Ron brought the Burning Legion to Orensis, intending to capture the planet and rescue Guilliman from Fulgrim.
• The Lord of Pleasure’s planetwide mental assault knocked Ron unconscious and drew him into the strengthened Pleasure Illusion.
• Fulgrim contacted Kairos to broadcast Ron’s apparent corruption across the Imperium, while Guilliman believed Ron’s will would resist the illusion.
• Ron failed to hold out for even a second before grabbing his spear and mounting up, leaving Guilliman stunned.

Fallen Phoenix Fulgrim broadcast Ron and Guilliman’s corrupted Pleasure Illusion across the Imperium, threatening to trigger widespread unrest. Ron realized he could counter the footage by changing his appearance into the Emperor’s, then launched an Emperor Impact that stunned the Arena.

• Fallen Phoenix Fulgrim restrained Guilliman and revealed that the illusion’s images were being broadcast through the Psyker Network to humiliate Ron and destabilize the Imperium.
• Ron remained absorbed in the Pleasure Illusion while the footage spread, prompting the Spirit Net Management Department to activate emergency measures and the Emperor to discover the crisis.
• The Emperor tried to rouse Ron by striking the Sun of Hope, while Magnus watched the broadcast and was slapped aside by his father.
• Ron recognized Fulgrim’s scheme, realized that people across the Imperium were watching him, and decided to make the footage appear false by adopting the Emperor’s sacred image.
• Ron seized the Lord of Pleasure’s illusion, threw it onto the royal couch, and followed with an Emperor Impact, leaving the Chaos spectators in stunned silence.

Ron used The Emperor’s image to turn the Lord of Pleasure’s illusion against its audience, weakening faith and distracting the Imperium from his own disgrace. After the Lord of Pleasure stripped away Ron’s disguise and counterattacked, Ron revealed he had already absorbed some of the corruption and began expanding the illusion to profane the Chaos Gods.

• Ron’s Emperor-like assault on the Lord of Pleasure frightened the Chaos audience, reduced their faith, and helped him devour the Authority of Pleasure.
• The Emperor raged at Ron for using his image but recognized that the footage weakened faith in the Holy Sun; he caught Magnus saving a copy and beat him.
• The Machine Goddess and the Imperium’s officials worked to contain the footage, while Devere proposed preserving it to support the Ecclesiarchy’s reform.
• The Lord of Pleasure renewed the attack, stripped away Ron’s disguise, and delighted Fulgrim and the Chaos spectators.
• Ron revealed that he had absorbed some Slaaneshi Corruption, then expanded the illusion and made Khorne appear in a purple bikini.

Ron transformed the Pleasure Illusion into a blasphemous spectacle of the Chaos Gods and turned it into a faith-donation contest, harvesting corrupt faith while provoking a brawl among the daemons. The Blood God discovered Ron’s scheme and roared as he came to settle accounts with him.

• Ron broadcast humiliating images of the Chaos Gods across the Warp, spared Ka'bandha, and gathered Authority of Pleasure for the Sun of Hope.
• The projected illusion shocked the Chaos beings in Orensis Arena, stirred conflict among the gods’ followers, and gave Guilliman hope of escaping his restraints.
• Fulgrim tried to stop the broadcast and persuade the daemons it was false, but Ron urged them to support their gods through the illusion’s donation bars.
• The daemons poured faith into the spectacle, and Fulgrim was struck by a flying Blood Axe as their rivalries erupted into a chaotic melee.
• Ron manipulated the donation contest to harvest more corrupt faith, until the enraged Blood God discovered his role and came after him.

Ron gained greater control over the Pleasure Illusion through a deal with the Lord of Pleasure, then used it to broadcast blasphemous visions across the Galaxy and Warp while the Chaos Gods attacked. The broadcasts weakened the gods’ public image and ended with the Tyrant Emperor and a Greater Daemon encountering a suspicious vision of Khorne asking for support.

• Ron negotiated with the Lord of Pleasure, who gave him more Authority of Pleasure in exchange for their cooperation.
• Ron sent Fulgrim a vision of the deal, deepening Fulgrim’s humiliation as the Blood God struggled to break through the illusion.
• Ron taunted the Blood God and broadcast the illusion across the Galaxy and Warp, even as the Chaos Gods attacked the domain.
• The Tyrant Emperor watched Ron’s broadcast, felt pleased by the Chaos Gods’ humiliation, and recognized a familiar Warp scam in a vision asking for 50.
• A Greater Daemon believed Khorne had chosen it after seeing a vision that promised ascension to a Daemon Prince in return for helping form a daemon army.

Ron spread deceptive visions across the Galaxy, tricking Chaos followers into surrendering Fel Energy faith and resources while advancing the Sun of Hope’s power. As Ron resisted the Path of Ascension, the four Chaos Gods appeared above the Pleasure Illusion.

• Ron used false images of the Chaos Gods and Greater Daemons to trick Chaos followers into offering their Fel Energy faith, including a greater daemon who realized the deception only after being fooled again.
• High Lord Savas accepted Zarakynel’s false offer, sent his location, and learned that Inquisitor Greyfax and the Ordo Hereticus had come to arrest him.
• A Word Bearer sorcerer paid heavily for a Forbidden Book, found humiliating images of the Chaos Gods inside, and was attacked by a terrifying figure who blamed Ron and spoke of an impending new transaction.
• Ron continued spreading illusion traps, gathered faith Fel Energy, and felt the Path of Ascension tempting him, but refused to pursue godhood before The Emperor.
• Four divine phantoms appeared above the Pleasure Illusion, and Ron stood firm before them.

Guilliman awakened his immense Warp authority and attacked Fulgrim as Ron faced the four Chaos Gods inside the Pleasure Illusion. Ron revealed the Sun of Hope, but its harmless-looking form drew Khorne’s attack.

• Fulgrim mocked Guilliman as the Chaos Gods’ power threatened Ron, and Guilliman’s grief and rage awakened his blue, storm-like Warp essence.
• Guilliman broke free, crushed the Twin Executioners, and smashed Fulgrim into his throne before challenging the daemons in the Arena.
• Inside the Pleasure Illusion, Ron resisted Tzeentch’s overwhelming knowledge and refused the Chaos Gods’ demand to surrender.
• The four Chaos Gods attacked together, destroying the illusion’s projections as Ron merged his Sun of Hope authority into the realm.
• Ron’s body was crushed, but he announced a divine war and manifested the Sun of Hope as a soft, glowing ball.
• Khorne dismissed the Sun of Hope’s gentle appearance and swung his Blood Axe at it.

Ron, as the Sun of Hope, faced a combined assault by the Chaos Gods while beings across the Warp and Galaxy watched. He survived their attacks, revealing that his authority’s defenses were far tougher than the gods had expected.

• The Chaos Gods attacked Ron in the Pleasure Illusion, while Cegorach and other Warp beings watched and feared for The Savior’s fate.
• Ka'bandha fought the Tyranids on an agri-world, saw the projected siege, and took Ron’s omission of him from the blasphemous images as proof of their rivalry.
• Magnus asked the Emperor whether Ron could survive, and the Emperor assured him that Ron would endure and the Imperium would not lose its emperor.
• Ron chose to face the gods’ unavoidable attack head-on and taunted them as their powers struck the Sun of Hope.
• The gods’ attacks wounded Ron but failed to penetrate his defenses, and their weapons rebounded from the Sun of Hope.

Ron resisted the Chaos Gods’ attacks in the Pleasure Illusion, then returned to the Arena, where Guilliman had nearly beaten Fallen Phoenix Fulgrim to death. As Ron moved to contain Fulgrim, the Daemon Prince revealed he had been waiting for him, and an unstoppable force of rules appeared above the Arena.

• Ron discovered that the Sun of Hope could withstand the Chaos Gods’ Authority attacks and grow stronger by absorbing them.
• The Emperor, Magnus, Mortarion, and Ka’bandha witnessed Ron’s resistance, while faith from the Galaxy and the Warp further strengthened the Sun of Hope.
• Ron attacked the retreating Lord of Change, devoured some of its Authority, and watched the Chaos Gods destroy the Pleasure Illusion to end their assault.
• Ron returned to Orensis and found Guilliman had devastated the Arena while beating Fallen Phoenix Fulgrim; Ron warned Guilliman to stop and prepared to capture Fulgrim with the Blackstone Containment Device.
• Fulgrim opened his eyes and declared that he had been waiting for Ron as an unstoppable force of rules appeared above the Arena.

Fulgrim trapped Ron and Guilliman in the Morgath Stone Array and drained their Warp authority, but Ron used the array to channel the Emperor’s divine power into Fulgrim. Fulgrim survived the Holy Flame and approached them again, while Ron revealed that he had prepared another move.

• Fulgrim activated the Morgath Stone Array and trapped Ron and Guilliman behind its barrier.
• The array bound Ron and Guilliman and began transferring their authority into Fulgrim, who grew stronger and glimpsed the Stairway to Ascension.
• Ron realized the array could affect Warp authority and asked the Emperor to send him divine power so the array would transfer it to Fulgrim.
• The Emperor sent a massive amount of divine authority through the array, setting Fulgrim ablaze and crashing him into the Throne ruins.
• Fulgrim survived, claimed Ron’s authority had helped him endure the Holy Flame, and moved toward the still-trapped Ron and Guilliman.
• Ron said Fulgrim would not get the chance to drain them and revealed that they were not the only ones involved in his plan.

Perturabo freed the Morgath Stone from Fulgrim’s trap, and Ron, Guilliman, and Perturabo captured the Fallen Phoenix after surviving his poisoned ambush. As the Imperium’s victory seemed close, Ron received urgent intelligence that a large Redemption Fleet had been destroyed by a single enemy.

• Perturabo breached the Morgath Stone Array, pulled out the relic, and destroyed Fulgrim’s trap.
• Ron and Guilliman broke free, and the three Primarchs confronted Fulgrim after Ron’s Sorcery Array sealed the Arena and trapped the Daemons inside.
• Fulgrim ambushed Ron with a poisoned sword, but Ron’s antidote neutralized the poison, and he recovered with Restoration Potions.
• Ron, Guilliman, and Perturabo beat Fulgrim and bound him in Blackstone shackles, while Perturabo agreed to study the Morgath Stone.
• Ron received emergency intelligence that a large Redemption Fleet had been wiped out by a single enemy.

Ron and the Primarchs assessed a Chaos entity capable of destroying entire fleets and prepared to regroup for an interception, while Ron considered a desperate plan to move the Emperor and repair the Golden Throne. Their retreat from the Daemon world was blocked by a new Chaos attack, and Fulgrim gloated that they could not stop what was coming.

• Ron reviewed reports that a powerful Chaos entity had annihilated a fleet and forced the Redemption Third Fleet to retreat, then learned its reach was expanding across Vostonia.
• Ron revealed that his Wings of the Blade could destroy fleets but admitted it was still weaker than the enemy, while Guilliman and Perturabo reacted with shock.
• Perturabo warned that the entity hunted fleets and fortress weapons, and Ron ordered the Primarchs to regroup with The Lion and prepare an interception.
• Ron asked Perturabo to rebuild a Morgath Stone Array and privately considered moving the Imperial Palace and Emperor if their plans failed.
• Ron and the others attempted to teleport back to the Burning Heart, but Chaos blocked the beam as the Daemon world’s horizon erupted in fire and Fulgrim declared they could not stop what was coming.