Chapter Summaries

Guilliman escaped Horus’s flagship but was intercepted by the Fallen Primarchs at the wreckage of The Bastion. Ron arrived with Tyranid forces to rescue him as the Chaos Fleet gathered nearby.

• Horus crushed Guilliman’s weapons and defenses, grievously wounded him, and shrugged off his bombs.
• Guilliman used his armor’s self-destruct system and the Eternal Soul’s movement to escape into space, aided by Xiao Ling and an escape coordinate from Brother Ron.
• Guilliman evaded the encircling Chaos Fleet and reached the wreckage of The Bastion, where Fulgrim, Mortarion, Magnus, and Alpharius ambushed him.
• Ron explained that Guilliman had drawn the Chaos Fleet toward a coordinate, giving New Dragon Forest Planet’s Core Main Cannon time to charge.
• Ron arrived at The Bastion with a hive Bio-ship, a Narvhal, and a swarm of bugs, and called out to Guilliman.

Ron’s Tyranid clone rescued Guilliman from the Fallen Primarchs, then escaped Horus and helped devastate the Chaos fleet with a bombardment from New Dragon Forest Planet. After Ron learned of a new crisis, Horus discovered the planet’s Chaos Shield had been lowered, opening a chance for a sorcerous assault on Ron.

• Ron sent Tyranid forces through a Narvhal gravity passage to rescue Guilliman, and his clone blocked Fulgrim’s poisoned dagger before fighting off the Fallen Primarchs.
• Ron fled with Guilliman as Horus arrived, using a hidden Narvhal to escape after Horus destroyed two Tyranid Bio-ships and damaged Ron’s clone.
• Ron’s hidden bombardment from New Dragon Forest Planet struck the densely gathered Chaos fleet and inflicted catastrophic losses.
• Ron received troubling news and ordered contact with Horus, who learned that New Dragon Forest Planet had lowered its Chaos Shield and considered a decapitation strike.

Horus accepted Ron’s challenge to decide the war on New Dragon Forest Planet, and both sides prepared for a final battle while the Imperium evacuated those deemed unfit to fight. Horus’s forces arrived safely, but Mortarion was stunned by the planet’s overwhelming corruption, which seemed to radiate from The Savior.

• Mortarion warned Horus that the invitation to New Dragon Forest Planet could be a trap, but Horus argued that the Chaos Coalition had to risk a decisive attack before it collapsed.
• Fulgrim and Angron backed the final assault, while Magnus revealed he had infiltrated the planet’s Chaos Node and prepared a sorcerous passage to isolate the battlefield.
• Horus ordered the Fallen Primarchs to attack, and Magnus’s Inverted Pyramid opened a passage through the Chaos Barrier to New Dragon Forest Planet.
• The Imperium evacuated mortals, veterans, and an Adeptus Astartes company judged unfit for the battle; Old York and the Captain’s warriors mourned their exclusion and vowed to train harder.
• Ron joined Guilliman, Lion, and the loyalist Primarchs at the Chaos Temple, then led them into the sulfurous fog to meet Horus’s forces.
• Horus and the Fallen Primarchs emerged on New Dragon Forest Planet, where Mortarion saw a hellish landscape whose powerful Chaos aura appeared to emanate from The Savior.

Horus led the Fallen Primarchs toward The Savior’s Chaos Temple, dismissing the Lord of Hell’s apparent power as a phantom while Ron used that power to warp the planet and divide their forces. As Horus and Sanguinius fought their way toward Ron, Magnus was separated and found himself on an industrial-world road, staring in terror at a wall.

• Mortarion and the Fallen Primarchs feared the Lord of Hell’s manifestation until Horus insisted it was only a phantom and rallied them to attack The Savior.
• Horus led the elite Chaos force toward the Chaos Temple while Magnus studied the corrupted planet and its shifting Warp terrain.
• Magnus detected controlled dimensional turbulence, but it swallowed the group and separated him from Horus and the other Fallen Primarchs.
• Horus broke through the turbulence with the Worldbreaker Hammer and continued toward Ron with Sanguinius as the others became scattered.
• Ron revealed that he had transformed the planet into his domain using the Lord of Hell’s power, successfully dividing the Fallen Primarchs.
• Magnus emerged alone on an industrial world, where strange vehicles passed and he trembled before a wall.

Magnus explored a Warp illusion based on The Savior’s memories and discovered a world tied to Games Workshop, which terrified him with the possibility that the gods and their universe were controlled by higher beings. After fleeing the Black Library, he was cornered by Ron, Lion, and Dorn, who intended to question him about what he had learned.

• Magnus entered an unfamiliar world whose humans appeared untouched by the Warp and whose buildings bore Imperial symbols.
• Magnus found the Games Workshop emblem and felt it concealed a universe-shaking mystery connected to The Savior.
• Inside the Black Library, Magnus saw a design of himself and nearly opened a book that seemed to reveal the truth, but he fled before learning its contents.
• Magnus hid in a street corner, shaken by the possibility that the Chaos Gods were merely manipulated by beings from a higher dimension.
• Ron found Magnus, and Lion and Dorn joined him as they surrounded the frightened Sorcerer King to question him.

Ron and the loyal Primarchs cornered Magnus, used a Mind Hex to break his resistance, and extracted intelligence about Horus and the Chaos Coalition. They left Magnus bound and battered in the illusion while they continued through the Chaos Realm to confront another traitor Primarch.

• Ron, Lion, and Rogal Dorn trapped Magnus in the illusion, blocked his escape, and pressured him for information.
• As Magnus resisted, Ron’s Mind Hex bound him with Crystal Shackles that forced him to relive his fears and failures.
• Rogal Dorn and Lion beat Magnus until he stopped resisting, and Ron extracted intelligence from his memories, including details about Horus and the Chaos Coalition.
• Ron left Magnus bound in the illusion to keep his soul from falling into the Chaos Gods’ hands, while Lion and Rogal Dorn continued to beat him.
• Ron, Lion, and Rogal Dorn left to confront another traitor Primarch.

Ron’s Imperial forces advanced through the Chaos Forest and across New Dragon Forest Planet, defeating several Fallen Primarchs while he sought Mortarion. He found Mortarion hiding in the Warp and began closing in on him.

• Ron used Lion’s Forest of Caliban to reach Alpharius and Omegon, then left Rogal Dorn to fight them while he continued after the other Fallen Primarchs.
• Dorn surrounded the Master of the Hydra with Adeptus Custodes and Imperial Fists forces, bombarded them with heavy weapons, and defeated both brothers.
• On New Dragon Forest Planet, young Angron killed the Khorne Beast, while Guilliman and Perturabo cornered Fulgrim with the help of Sorcerers and Grey Knights.
• Ron judged that the Imperium needed to eliminate the Fallen Primarchs before Horus reached the Chaos Temple, then searched for Mortarion.
• Ron used his growing Warp-corruption powers to track Mortarion and found him hiding in the chaotic currents.

Ron exploited Mortarion’s fears and memories to corrupt him through a mental illusion of Barbarus. The chapter ended with Ron, disguised as Necare, and The Emperor whipping Mortarion together.

• Ron found Mortarion’s mental weaknesses and invaded his memories, uncovering his harsh upbringing under the xenos overlord Necare and his resentment toward The Emperor and Grandfather Nurgle.
• Ron’s corruption made Mortarion and the Death Guard suffer hellfire while Grandfather Nurgle failed to answer their pleas, until Mortarion’s consciousness sank into darkness.
• Mortarion awoke in an illusion of Barbarus with his memories clouded and his rebellion against Necare seemingly underway.
• Mortarion’s resistance failed when plague-afflicted warriors turned on one another and Necare’s forces overwhelmed the rebels.
• Ron appeared as Necare and whipped Mortarion, making him recall his past and feel remorse for the plague’s victims.
• The Emperor appeared alongside Necare and joined him in whipping Mortarion, leaving Mortarion stunned.

Ron used a Corrosion Illusion to make Mortarion believe he had betrayed humanity and his fathers, then intervened as The Savior to help him repent and accept the Lord of Hell. Mortarion began to trust the Lord of Hell, but the illusion shifted on its own, leaving Ron unsure what had changed.

• Mortarion was beaten by illusionary versions of Necare and The Emperor and came to believe his rebellion had been an unforgivable betrayal.
• Ron increased the illusion’s power when Mortarion began doubting it, then took the lashes as The Savior and reminded Mortarion of their brotherhood.
• Mortarion repented, and The Emperor and Necare offered him another chance to fight evil while refusing to forgive his past.
• Mortarion accepted the Lord of Hell as a benevolent deity, while Ron hoped to make him a powerful God-Chosen.
• The Corrosion Illusion changed autonomously, and Ron sensed the change might be favorable.

Ron guided a Corrosion Illusion through Mortarion’s soul, giving him visions of the affection and acceptance he had always longed for before offering him the Lord of Hell’s power. Mortarion accepted the Blood Stone and became Ron’s God-Chosen, leaving Ron able to seize Nurgle’s plague authority and strengthen his position.

• Ron watched Mortarion’s Corrosion Illusion unfold as The Emperor, Necare, Guilliman, and the other Primarchs welcomed Mortarion home and celebrated his return.
• The illusion showed Mortarion serving the Imperium, defeating plague entities, and dying heroically in Nurgle’s Garden; Ron let the memories and emotions remain embedded in Mortarion’s soul.
• Mortarion awoke on New Dragon Forest Planet, felt warmth from the dream, and found the Lord of Hell’s Blood Stone before him.
• Mortarion hesitated over the Blood Stone, then accepted the Lord of Hell’s gift to escape his corruption and return to humanity’s side.
• Hellfire burned away Mortarion’s plague mutations and transformed him into the Lord of Hell’s God-Chosen.
• Ron used his Devour Authority to claim part of Nurgle’s plague authority and celebrated gaining a powerful champion.

Ron transformed Mortarion and the Death Guard into warriors of Hell, freeing them from Nurgle’s corruption and sending them to reinforce the battle on New Dragon Forest Planet. Their arrival helped the Imperium trap Fulgrim, though he secretly hoped to stall long enough for the Chaos Gods’ plans to advance.

• Ron used hellish Fel Energy to free Mortarion and the Death Guard from Nurgle’s plague corruption, and Mortarion declared that they would fight for the Lord of Hell.
• Ron sent Mortarion and the Death Guard to support the Imperium’s forces at the Dark Factory Ruins on New Dragon Forest Planet.
• Fulgrim tried to break through Guilliman and Perturabo’s encirclement, but Mortarion attacked him instead of joining forces and shouted, “For—The Emperor!”
• The Death Guard charged into battle, helping the Ultramarines and Iron Warriors overwhelm the Chaos forces and turn the fighting in the Imperium’s favor.
• Guilliman rejected Mortarion’s warm greeting, while Perturabo held him back from attacking the newly returned Death Lord.
• Guilliman, Perturabo, and Mortarion cornered Fulgrim inside the Large Blackstone Array, and Fulgrim pretended to surrender while secretly hoping to buy time for the Chaos Gods’ plans.

Fulgrim’s attempted surrender was rejected, and Guilliman, Mortarion, and the others captured him as Chaos prepared a secret invasion of the Dawn City Webway. Ron exploited the Chaos Gods’ apparent inaction to plunder their Champions, but the blockade shattered and Horus’s terrifying power reached the battlefield.

• Fulgrim tried to surrender and buy time, but Mortarion attacked him, and Guilliman and Perturabo joined in before the Primarchs stripped and imprisoned him in the Blackstone Cage.
• The Chaos Gods secretly opened an Abyssal Spiral toward the Dawn City Webway, hoping to corrupt the Imperium’s vital routes while The Savior was occupied.
• Nurgle and the other Chaos Gods discovered that Ron was plundering their Champions and authorities, but they restrained one another and kept working on the Webway invasion.
• Ron turned Magnus and Alpharius into God-Chosen of the Lord of Hell after the Chaos Gods failed to resist his plundering, then realized their silence signaled a hidden plan.
• The Chaos blockade around New Dragon Forest Planet collapsed, and Horus’s power surged into the battlefield as Ron braced for the danger.

Horus breached the Chaos Temple and confronted Ron, while Sanguinius led an assault that the Black Rage prevented Dante and the Blood Angels from stopping. Ron and Horus began a multidimensional battle, leaving Ron’s body exposed to Sanguinius as his summoned Hell Greater Daemons moved to defend it.

• Horus destroyed the Chaos Temple’s dome and Chaos Node, then entered with Sanguinius and the Dark Honor Guard as the Veils over New Dragon Forest Planet collapsed.
• Sanguinius destroyed Imperator-class Titans, while the Black Rage overwhelmed Dante and the Blood Angels despite their Inhibitors; Dante rallied them to pursue Horus toward Ron’s throne.
• Horus confronted Ron and declared his intent to rule the Galaxy, but neither Ron’s call for reinforcements nor Horus’s attempt to summon the Fallen Primarchs succeeded.
• Ron and Horus clashed across the Galaxy, the Warp, and higher dimensions, with their battle threatening to unravel reality around the Chaos Temple.
• As Sanguinius advanced on Ron’s exposed body, Ron summoned his Hell Greater Daemons to defend him.

Sanguinius fought through Hell’s greater daemons and briefly resisted Chaos when Ron appealed to his compassion, but Horus reasserted control and Sanguinius stabbed Ron. Dante and the Blood Angels reached the Chaos Throne and witnessed the aftermath, rushing to intervene.

• Sanguinius killed the greater daemons guarding the Chaos Throne and raised the Moon-Silver Blade against Ron.
• Ron spoke to Sanguinius and poured Power of Hope into him, helping him struggle against the Chaos Gods’ control.
• Sanguinius tried to turn the blade on himself rather than attack Ron, but Horus strengthened his corruption and took control of his body again.
• Sanguinius stabbed Ron through the defenses around the Chaos Throne, leaving him gravely wounded.
• Dante and the Blood Angels followed Sanguinius’s fading memories to the temple, fought through the daemons, and reached the Chaos Throne.

Ron killed the corrupted Sanguinius, but the Blood Angels succumbed to the Black Rage and attacked the forces around the Chaos Throne. Dante and his warriors held back the enemy until The Lion and Imperial reinforcements arrived, and Dante died at last after asking to rest beside Sanguinius.

• Ron burned Sanguinius's body to ash after Sanguinius diverted his final attack, then returned to maintaining the high-dimensional war as the Dark Honor Guard approached the Chaos Throne.
• The Blood Angels fell completely into the Black Rage, and Ron's illusion turned their charge toward Horus and the Dark Honor Guard instead of himself.
• Dante and the Blood Angels fought the Chaos forces until their strength failed, while Dante gradually regained enough clarity to understand that Sanguinius had chosen death to resist Chaos.
• The Lion and Imperial reinforcements arrived as Dante collapsed, and the Blood Angels' Chaplains found that their serums could not heal the warriors' life-draining wounds.
• Dante refused further treatment and died hoping to rest beside Sanguinius, but heard an unfamiliar voice just before his consciousness faded.

Ron entered the souls of the fallen Blood Angels and found Dante eager to retire, then revealed that Sanguinius had survived and brought him back to the battlefield. Dante was granted relief from his burdens, but Sanguinius’s return meant he had to resume the fight against Horus.

• Dante mistook Ron’s visit to the Throne for the Emperor’s death, but Ron explained that he was alive and had come to speak with him.
• Ron urged Dante to keep serving the Imperium and revealed Sanguinius, whose soul he had saved from Chaos corruption.
• Sanguinius thanked Ron, accepted him as a brother, and reunited with Dante, who begged to retire and serve his Father of Genes.
• Sanguinius agreed to free Dante from his responsibilities, but the Archangel returned with him to the battlefield alongside Ron, Lion, and Rogal Dorn.
• Dante realized he was back in the battle against the Chaos forces and Horus as Ron urged him to get up and work.

Sanguinius, Lion, Guilliman, and the other gathered Primarchs set out to confront Horus while Ron went alone to attack the Chaos Gods threatening Dawn City's Webway. Ron struck Nurgle with a surprise drill of authority, but the ensuing chaos trapped him in a fight as Khorne and the others pursued.

• Sanguinius reunited with Lion and Guilliman, and the loyal Primarchs joined forces with Mortarion, Magnus, Alpharius, and others to face Horus.
• Ron entrusted the battle against Horus to the Primarchs and returned to the Chaos Throne to confront the Chaos Gods attacking Dawn City's Webway.
• Ron stealthily approached the Chaos Gods through the Warp while they maintained an Abyssal Spiral against the Webway's Veil.
• Ron ambushed Nurgle with a drill formed from Holy Flame, Fel Energy, and other authorities, disrupting the Abyssal Spiral.
• Ron tried to flee through the out-of-control spiral, but Khorne tackled the Lord of Hell as the other Chaos Gods closed in.

Ron destroyed the Abyssal Spiral to protect Dawn City's Webway, but Khorne caught him as he fled and battered him across a Chaos planet. Ron proposed peace and offered to compensate Khorne, leaving the Blood God tempted by his supply of Fel Energy.

• Ron fled through the Warp after destroying the Abyssal Spiral, but Khorne pursued him and struck him with the Brass Great Axe.
• Khorne caught Ron and smashed him into a Chaos planet, where a Serpent Lesser God fled from the coming battle.
• Ron and Khorne fought across the planet, trading brutal blows until Ron blinded Khorne with magma and landed a Hell-Sized Fist.
• Ron realized Khorne was conserving Fel Energy and proposed peace, promising to compensate him for his losses.
• Ron sent Khorne more Fel Energy, suppressing his rage and making him consider the offer.

Ron, as the Lord of Hell, tried to make Khorne cooperate by bombarding him with enormous amounts of pure faith fel energy. Kukulkan briefly gained a fortune from Ron’s attack, but the other supreme Dark Gods stripped him of it, while the Lords of Change, Pestilence, and Pleasure arrived at the Chaos planet.

• Ron offered Khorne faith in exchange for ending their duel, but Khorne rejected the bribe and prepared to attack.
• Ron repeatedly struck Khorne with Super Faith Fel Rockets, stunning him with their wealth and weakening his aura.
• Kukulkan crept closer to collect faith fel energy spilling from Ron’s attacks, and Ron struck him with a Super Faith Fel Rocket.
• Kukulkan fled with the faith Ron had bestowed and considered seeking refuge with the Lord of Hell.
• The Lord of Change, the Lord of Pestilence, and the Lord of Pleasure attacked Kukulkan, stealing his faith and shrinking his body.
• The Lord of Change, the Lord of Pestilence, and the Lord of Pleasure arrived near the scarred Chaos planet.

Ron tried to buy Khorne’s favor with pure faith fel energy and escape the Chaos Planet, but Tzeentch’s labyrinth and the other Chaos Gods trapped him. As Ron prepared to fight his way out, a new power approached and the Warp Extraction Devices began to burst.

• Ron pelted Khorne with pure faith fel energy until Khorne gave in and began gathering it, letting Ron attempt to flee.
• Ron discovered that Tzeentch had surrounded the planet with a labyrinth that sent him back to the magma sea.
• Tzeentch attacked Khorne to steal the faith energy while Ron tried to escape, but Slaanesh’s authority overwhelmed his concentration.
• Ron’s faith-fueled attacks intensified Slaanesh’s assault, so he stopped and tried to resist as Nurgle arrived seeking revenge.
• The Chaos Gods surrounded Ron, and he gathered his strength for a desperate breakout.
• A new power spread through the Warp, causing Ron and the Chaos Gods to react as the nearby Warp Extraction Devices burst apart.