Chapter Summaries

“Baron of Corruption” triggered a rebellion on Heldo after the nobles rejected Lord Nimrod’s offer and chose to side with the Warmaster. As the Shadow of Order seized control of the Hive City, he killed the high chief and drank the potion given to him by the Black Emperor.

• “Baron of Corruption” prayed to the Black Emperor, who told him to drink the potion once Heldo fell into chaos.
• “Baron of Corruption” offered the Heldo nobles Mandrake seeds and cultivation aid, but they rejected Lord Nimrod’s offer in favor of the Warmaster.
• “Baron of Corruption” used Bribery to turn the chiefs against the high chief, and fighting erupted throughout the Hive City.
• The Shadow of Order attacked the Sons of Horus and the city’s security forces, while explosives and Lascannons spread destruction across Heldo.
• “Baron of Corruption” killed the high chief, declared that he had missed his chance to surrender, and drank the Black Emperor’s potion.

Sevatar activated the Midnight Treaty and secured the Predatory Forge World’s aid against the Shadow of Order. As the Predatory Forge World attacked the Emiliano System, the Crown of Graia arrived to confront it, and Degoes-12 ordered the Morning Star Titan Legion deployed.

• The Predatory Forge World descended on Sarsfield Prime, and Sevatar arrived to demand that Navel activate the Midnight Treaty.
• Navel agreed to honor the pact and join the war against the Shadow of Order.
• The Predatory Forge World attacked the Emiliano System, capturing the planet as it moved toward the Mandeville Point.
• The Crown of Graia entered realspace and fired on the Predatory Forge World while it clung to Emiliano.
• Degoes-12 ignited Graia’s fusion reactors to pursue the predator and ordered Alex to deploy the Morning Star Titan Legion.

Alex led the Morning Star Titan Legion in an assault on the Predatory Forge World, whose Phantom Titans and robots damaged the attackers before the world shrouded itself in shifting fog and began to escape. As Graia struggled to stop it, Nimrod arrived and used his psychic power to confront the fleeing Forge World.

• Alex ordered the Lagos and the other God-Machines to attack the invisible Phantom Titans, whose illusions proved no defense against direct hits.
• The Phantom Titans and robots heavily damaged the advancing Titans, but Alex sent Battle Group Titans forward to sweep the enemy.
• Navel activated the planet's black lighthouses, enveloping the Predatory Forge World in shifting fog that concealed its escape.
• Degoes-12's saturation fire failed to pierce the fog, while reports confirmed thirty-eight God-Machines destroyed and fifty-two stranded on the planet.
• The Shadow of the Throne appeared at the Mandeville Point, and Nimrod surveyed the planet before mobilizing his psychic power to stop it escaping.

Nimrod used a Web of Faith to make the Predatory Forge World surrender and ordered it to withdraw beyond the Empire’s borders. Adams awakened after sixty days, became an Undying, and received Nimrod’s order to lead the fleet to the Saramas Star Sector.

• Nimrod planted a Seed of Fallenness in Navel and linked him, other followers, and Corroded leaders through a Web of Faith.
• Nimrod ordered Navel to disperse the Psychic Mist and let the Morning Star Titan Legion return, then told Degoes-12 that the Predatory Forge World had surrendered.
• Degoes-12 ordered the Titan forces to withdraw as the mist cleared, while the Predatory Forge World and Emiliano vanished from the real world toward the Mandeville Point.
• Adams awakened in his crystal coffin after exactly sixty days, drank a pale potion, and became an Undying who would die and resurrect once every six hundred years.
• Adams prayed to the Black Emperor and reported his advancement to Nimrod, who ordered him to lead the fleet to the Saramas Star Sector.

At the Night Bat Council, Skolevok proposed using cannon fodder to bog down the Shadow of Order on Forge World Gulgolad, and Sevatar approved the plan. Nimrod then replenished Adams's undead forces with Aeldari wraiths from his divine kingdom and ordered him to capture Gulgolad.

• Sevatar announced that Nakrid Saul had become the Faceless Prince on Saramas and called the council to discuss the Shadow of Order's offensive.
• Skolevok proposed spreading the Night Lords' undisciplined forces across Gulgolad to force the Shadow of Order into a prolonged pacification campaign.
• Sevatar accepted Skolevok's plan and promised him the resources he needed.
• Nimrod brought Adams into his divine kingdom and showed him the Aeldari wraiths gathered in a ruined city.
• Adams opened a Bronze Gate and drew thousands of wraiths through it, while Nimrod ordered him to capture Gulgolad.

Count Jando Skolevok watched the Shadow of Order deploy ghost armies against Gulgolad’s mutants, then attacked one of its warriors to steal a soul. Adams opened phantom Bronze Gates and summoned Aeldari ghosts, overwhelming the battle Psykers as Skolevok faced the Death Lord’s gaze.

• Count Jando Skolevok freed Gulgolad’s mutants, and the Geblaro cannibals and Toruk began attacking survivors and scavenging furnaces.
• The Shadow of Order landed its forces and sent beast ghosts against the Toruk and cannibals, who died in large numbers while its warriors remained unharmed.
• Battle Psykers from the Teks Lost Satellite struck back against the ghosts, but the Shadow of Order summoned more spirits through a Bronze Gate.
• Count Jando Skolevok hid himself with the Daemon’s help and stabbed a Shadow of Order warrior, trying to seize his soul.
• Adams summoned Aeldari ghosts through phantom Bronze Gates, and they destroyed the battle Psykers as Skolevok felt Adams watching him.

Adams pursued Jando Skolevok through the Warp, battling Daemons and the forces around Skolevok’s possessed sword. Skolevok escaped and chose to undergo 3,600 years of trials in Purgatory to gain the power to defeat Adams.

• Adams attacked Skolevok and his forces, killing battle psykers and leaving Skolevok’s body aged and collapsing.
• Skolevok’s sword helped him escape through a Warp door, and he fought alongside it against the pursuing Aeldari wraiths and other enemies.
• Adams traveled through the Warp from Sonem VIII and pursued Skolevok, discovering connections between fragmentary spirit worlds such as Sonem VIII and Fenris.
• Daemons attacked Adams, but he used a talisman and advanced to the third level of Thelema’s Mindset to silence their influence.
• Skolevok rejected the sword’s promises after Adams pursued him into the Daemon’s lair and ordered it to send him back.
• After the Daemon said he needed 3,600 years of trials, Skolevok chose to go to Purgatory.

Alpharius secured the Ashen Claws’ support by offering weapons and gene-seed, then planned to lure Nimrod to Chagualsa with the help of a shadowy Daemon. On Saramas, Nakrid Saul learned that the Shadow of Order had arrived and ordered an assault while seeking reinforcements.

• Alpharius, posing as Omega, persuaded Nerath Kirin to join the Night Lords by promising supplies and Raven Guard gene-seed, and told him to warn Nimrod about the renewed summoning ritual on Chagualsa.
• Alpharius enlisted the Lord of Shadows for the battle and resolved to kill Nimrod on Chagualsa rather than try to recruit him again.
• Nakrid Saul tortured and killed captured nobles after showing them an attack on the Spire hub with poisonous gas.
• Saul learned that the Shadow of Order’s Ninth Chapter had entered realspace aboard The Surge, then ordered a full assault on the main hive and a sacrifice to summon the Predatory Forge World.
• Saul ordered his followers to ask Sevatar and the Night Bat Council for aid.

Szczesny and the Shadow of Order defeated the Night Lords’ assault on Saramas, while Konrad Curze tortured Vulkan and prepared to face Nimrod with Alpharius’s help. The story ended as Alpharius and Curze arrived on Chagualsa and Alpharius ordered the operation to begin.

• Nakrid Saul ordered the Night Lords to attack Saramas’s main hive after the Predatory Forge World failed to respond.
• Szczesny led the Shadow of Order’s assault, killing Saul with a lightning-charged strike from his Storm Battle-axe.
• Mervin Kaelen thanked Szczesny for saving Saramas, and Szczesny placed the planet under the Shadow of Order’s protection.
• Konrad Curze tortured Vulkan, declared that Nimrod would last longer, and said he would defeat and kill him.
• Alpharius told Curze that Nimrod was on his way and that he had brought help, then the two set course for Chagualsa.
• Alpharius arrived on Chagualsa and ordered the waiting Alphas to begin.

Alpharius summoned a Bloodletter and Heart-Slayer to Chagualsa while the fleets fought in orbit, and discovered the Ashen Claws had betrayed him to bring Nimrod through the blockade. Heart-Slayer attacked Skulltaker as shadows closed around the two daemons.

• Alpharius and the Word Bearers completed a blood ritual, summoning a Bloodletter who demanded offerings for the Blood God.
• The Shadow of the Throne and the other fleets exchanged fire, while the Ashen Claws' Vicious Claw attacked both the Night Lords and Alpha's ships.
• Alpharius learned that the Ashen Claws had let the Shadow of the Throne break through and suspected they had pledged themselves to Nimrod.
• Curze told Alpharius that Nerath Gillin had brought Nimrod to Chagualsa and that the outcome was decided.
• The Word Bearers made offerings to summon Heart-Slayer, who recognized the Bloodletter as Skulltaker and attacked him.
• A sudden wind raised thick shadows around Heart-Slayer and Skulltaker as they fought.

Nimrod confronted Curze and his allies, then fought off the Daemons who attacked him. He banished Skulltaker and Heart-Slayer, seized Be'lakor, and left Alpharius stunned as his plan failed again.

• Nimrod arrived with members of the War Council and faced Curze, Zso Sahaal, Zharost, and Nuang.
• Curze told Nimrod that the Emperor regarded the Primarchs as dangerous weapons, while Fel Zharost spotted three powerful Daemons and Omega beside him.
• Severian, Ullach Brandon, and Nykona Sharrowkyn engaged the Daemons, while Asava resisted Heart-Slayer's attempt to tempt him.
• Nimrod shielded Severian from Skulltaker, then unleashed his will and banished Skulltaker and Heart-Slayer.
• Nimrod seized Be'lakor's wing and tore it as Alpharius realized his meticulous plan had failed again.

Konrad Curze and Alpharius fought Nimrod in a supernatural mist while the God of War offered them power in exchange for belief. Both refused the offer and joined forces, leaving Curze to attack Nimrod alongside Alpharius.

• Konrad Curze recalled his first encounter with Omega and attacked Nimrod through Be'lakor's mist.
• Cassati Nuang lost sight of the battlefield in the fog, while Jago Sevatarion tried to see through it and was poisoned by a vision.
• Nimrod struck Curze and Alpharius back as they attacked him together.
• The God of War offered Curze and Alpharius power and knowledge if they believed in Him, but both refused.
• Curze realized he had to fight alongside Alpharius to restore the river, and he sprang at Nimrod's flanks.

Nimrod defeated and killed Curze and Alpharius after Curze learned about the Cabal, then absorbed the battle’s aftermath as his followers praised him. He captured Sevatar and turned his attention to the Nightfall.

• Horus urged Curze to help destroy the Imperium’s lies, and Curze recalled feeling a similar isolation in Lorgar.
• Curze and Alpharius fought Nimrod together, while Curze’s attack revealed the Cabal’s existence to him.
• Nimrod used his Fallen Domain and Mythical Creature Form to kill Alpharius and then break Curze’s neck.
• Vespasian, Garro, and Hathor Maat witnessed Nimrod’s victory, while Nimrod sensed his potion digestion advance to roughly one quarter and the thirteenth layer of space open.
• Nimrod made Curze’s and Alpharius’s corpses disappear, seized Sevatar, and looked toward the Nightfall.

Nimrod discovered Curze and Alpharius’s souls in a new layer of the Kingdom of Disorder and restored Curze as a shadow avatar. He left Curze and Hannibal facing each other while considering how a soul-bearing avatar differed from his others.

• Nerath Gillin attacked Klosh aboard the Nightfall, while Mikel recovered a blood-written book and carried the unconscious Vulkan away.
• Nimrod found Alpharius’s and Curze’s souls in the thirteenth layer of the Kingdom of Disorder and realized they had remained in the Fallen Domain when he killed them.
• Nimrod used a shadow to pull Curze’s soul into a newly formed body, restoring him as an avatar.
• Curze’s memories surfaced, including his beliefs about fear and his plan to force the Imperium toward justice.
• Nimrod summoned Hannibal and compared the soul-bearing Curze avatar with Hannibal, then considered what to do with Alpharius’s soul.

Nimrod decided to cultivate his Shadow Avatars as Beyonders and successfully made Alpharius a Seer of the Hermit pathway. The chapter ended with Nimrod preparing to try the process on Curze next.

• Nimrod abandoned his plan to merge Magnus's soul fragment into Alpharius and decided to test whether a Shadow Avatar could become a Beyonder.
• Alpharius entered his corpse and recovered as Nimrod and Hannibal watched memories of his early life and the Emperor's creation of the Astartes surface.
• Nimrod weighed the avatars' limits, talents, and potential pathways, choosing the Hermit pathway for Alpharius.
• The Space Apes prepared a Sequence 9 Seer potion, and Alpharius drank it under Nimrod's guidance.
• Nimrod confirmed that Alpharius had become a Beyonder, then summoned Curze.

Nimrod made Konrad Curze drink a Sequence 9 Monster potion and chose the Wheel of Fortune pathway for him, then used the Kingdom of Disorder to begin storing the souls of fallen followers. After summoning the Night Lords to Nostramo, Nimrod brought Jago Sevatarion into his divine kingdom and had Curze tell him that he and Nimrod had become one.

• Nimrod had the Space Apes of the First Layer brew a Monster potion and chose the Wheel of Fortune pathway for Konrad Curze, who drank it.
• Curze ordered Anrek Barbaroth to broadcast a summons for every Night Lord to return to Nostramo.
• Nimrod connected the Web of Faith to the Kingdom of Disorder and sent spirituality into the real world, where he ordered Howard Fender and Maria Kournikova to punish an Alpha agent and recover his Power Spear.
• Nimrod welcomed the souls of two Shadows of Order into the Thirteenth Layer Space and told them they could rest until he summoned them again.
• Jago Sevatarion arrived in the darkness, and Nimrod reflected that Sevatar could not detect the Shadow controlling Curze.
• Curze told Sevatar that he and Nimrod had reached an agreement and were now one another.

Nimrod examined the wounded Vulkan and considered his role in the Old Man in Yellow’s plan, then distributed potions to surviving warriors and assigned them new duties. The chapter ended with Nimrod declaring that the Nightfall belonged to its original owner, Konrad Curze, whom he said was now his loyal angel.

• Nimrod learned that Vulkan was healing physically but remained gravely wounded in mind, and decided he would need to reach Terra and fulfill his responsibility.
• Nimrod took the Nostraman Blood Codex from Mikel and sent three Thousand Sons away after giving Phosis T'kar and Sulekh Kontep hunter potions and Asava a Marauder potion.
• Nimrod gave Warrior potions to Nathaniel Garro and Gise and a Red Priest potion to Vespasian, then appointed Gise as Nathaniel’s First Company Captain.
• Nimrod gave Know-it-all potions to Cassian Vaughn and Ullach Brandon and a Praying Seeker potion to Nykona Sharrowkyn.
• Nimrod distributed potions to Cassati Nuang, Severian, and Fel Zharost, then told them the Nightfall belonged to its original owner, Konrad Curze, who was now his loyal angel.

Konrad gathered the Night Bat Council after reaching an understanding with Nimrod and revealed a new faith centered on the Black Emperor. He declared that the Night Lords would stop following the Warmaster and serve the Black Emperor instead.

• Anrek Barbaroth told the Night Bat Council he believed Konrad was already dead and urged them to prepare for the worst.
• Jago Sevatarion contacted the council from the Nightfall and said Konrad had been defeated by Nimrod but reached an understanding with him.
• The council traveled to the Nightfall, where Sevatarion led them to a newly built church.
• Konrad showed the council an imposing statue and told them to address its figure as the Black Emperor.
• Konrad called himself the Black Emperor's Dark Angel and declared that the Night Lords would no longer follow the Warmaster's orders.

Nimrod reviewed the Ghoul Stars victory and arranged support for the Night Lords, then ordered a journey to Alexandria IV over concerns about the Thousand Sons. On Redemption Star, Corax witnessed the first successful creation of improved Raven Guard warriors and promised that the new Gene-seed would eliminate their hereditary defects.

• Arsena Dunn reported the casualties from the campaigns, and Nimrod noted that the early end of the Ghoul Stars War had preserved its worlds and Forge Worlds.
• Nimrod agreed to continue Graia’s contract beyond the four Ghoul Stars sectors, with the Night Lords providing support and Graia supplying them.
• Nimrod ordered the six Chapters to rest and reorganize, called the Blood Ravens to assemble, and planned to travel to Alexandria IV after hearing that Flesh Mutation among the Thousand Sons had increased.
• Corax entered the sterile chamber with the Raven Guard commanders and saw nine successfully modified warriors, while Six explained that one subject had died from a heart defect.
• Corax said the next research stage would introduce traceable Sequences and that the improved Gene-seed would remove the Raven Guard’s hereditary defects, including Ashen Blind.

Balthasar secretly gave the Black Emperor the Emperor’s genetic research and learned that Omega had infiltrated Corax’s rebuilt Raven Guard through a network on Kiavahr. He agreed to keep gathering Orlandriaz’s research while seeking a way to stop Omega, though Corax’s trust in Solaro and Nastil made intervention dangerous.

• Orlandriaz told Balthasar that the Raven Guard had produced enough Gene-seed for two thousand recruits and that Corax planned to test recruits in an assault on a Word Bearers moon base.
• Balthasar obtained Orlandriaz’s data on the Emperor’s genetic mysteries and secretly offered it to the Black Emperor, who collected the data and gave him Data Crystals to study.
• Nimrod revealed that Omega had returned to Redemption Star and recruited Kiavahr Tech Guild inspectors into a revolutionary network.
• Nimrod warned Balthasar that Solaro and Nastil might be Alpha agents, but Balthasar struggled to believe that trusted Raven Guard veterans could be traitors.
• Nimrod ordered Balthasar to keep working with Orlandriaz, obtain more genetic research, and corrupt him; Balthasar also vowed to try to stop Omega.