Chapter Summaries

Argus went berserk after losing Diakum’s presence and, empowered by Azeroth, defeated Norgannon before racing after Dymus. Xal'atath stopped him from attacking the Devourer, revealing that Diakum was alive and willingly undergoing an ascension trial.

• When Diakum’s aura vanished, the Argus Lord panicked and blamed Norgannon for his child’s apparent death.
• The Argus Lord called on Azeroth, whose creative power empowered him as he battered Norgannon and drove the Godslayer Spear into him.
• With Draenor’s roots binding Norgannon, Argus decapitated the fallen Titan and pursued Dymus, while Tayara’s roots captured Norgannon’s recovering Titan Soul.
• Argus found the Lightforged Fleet attacking Dymus, which was struggling to suppress the eclipse pain caused by its attempt to seize Eclipse’s authority.
• Xal'atath halted Argus and explained that Diakum had survived and was choosing death as part of his own path to ascension.

As Draenor plunged into the Darkest Night, the Orc clans fled toward Shattrath while arguing over whether to abandon their world or endure its final trials. The Argus Lord returned with a sun fragment, while Sarkir accepted death and prepared to complete the last stage of his plan for the Eredar.

• Lantresor led the Righteous Blade Clan toward Shattrath with the migrating Mag'har, as Gaiara warned that Draenor would soon freeze and Little Hellscream insisted the Orcs should stay and become Lightforged.
• Gaiara revealed that the Green Skins offered the Mag'har refuge on five worlds, but Little Hellscream rejected leaving Draenor; Lantresor told them the chieftains would decide their people's fate together.
• Samuro reported that the Argus Lord had returned with a sun fragment to hold back the cold, and said the Vigilant had begun the final stage of his ascent to godhood.
• At Karabor Temple, Sarkir watched the Argus Lord return and pleaded to be sent on the final road he had chosen.
• The Argus Lord denounced Sarkir as an eternally exiled betrayer and struck him down with Thunderblade, destroying the ruins as Sarkir accepted his death and his role in completing Eredar civilization.

Xal'atath became Draenor's reluctant, immortal protector, while Argus began repairing the world and resolved to improve his combat skills. In Oribos, Diakum attacked the Eternal Arbiter, but Yrel and Maraad arrived and caught him there.

• Archbishop Saloras and Oreses told Xal'atath that Xe'ra had bound her to help anyone in need for eternity as punishment for her past deeds.
• Xal'atath rose into the sky and spread enough light and heat to halt Draenor's deadly chill, bringing relief to the Orcs, Arakkoa, and Naaru.
• Argus left the leaders to repair Draenor with Khaz'goroth's Hammer and asked them to send warriors to teach him how to fight.
• Diakum burst into Oribos and struck the Eternal Arbiter with an Ultra Flying Kick, unleashing a storm of Light and Void that flipped the city upside down.
• Yrel and Maraad emerged from the storm of souls and called out to Diakum, interrupting his attempt to escape.

Diakum rescued Yrel and Maraad from the Shadowlands, warned them of the dangers ahead, and arranged a rendezvous with Rafaam. Meanwhile, Aegwynn returned to a frozen Draenor and decided to move the planet into Azeroth’s orbit as a battle moon.

• Diakum explained the Arbiter’s Heart and discussed Bastion’s troubled Kyrian with Yrel and Maraad while they waited in the in-between realm.
• Diakum sent Yrel and Maraad back to the material world with a warning that the death faction might join the war, and told them the gates of High Heaven would one day welcome the People of Light.
• Diakum greeted Rafaam as the Broker Bazaar sailed through the storm toward their planned rendezvous.
• Aegwynn returned to Draenor, discovered that Shadowmoon Valley had frozen after the sun vanished, and saw Xal'atath filling in as its replacement.
• Aegwynn decided to move Draenor near Azeroth as a battle moon so the planet could receive sunlight and its warriors could reinforce the fight against Kil'jaeden.

Yrel and Maraad returned from the Shadowlands, while the leaders of Draenor agreed to move their world to Azeroth and join its war against the Burning Legion. Aegwynn began the first of several planetary teleports, leaving Draenor on its journey toward the Azeroth Starfield.

• Yrel told the Lightforged that Diakum had appeared surrounded by harmonious Light and Shadow, and Saloras concluded that he had achieved Light-Shadow Symbiosis.
• Yura reported that Aegwynn had returned and planned to take Draenor’s forces to Azeroth, while Nali prepared to perform the Black Moon Ritual as a precaution.
• Aegwynn persuaded Vilara that Draenor needed Azeroth’s sun and promised to teleport the planet there despite her exhaustion.
• Little Hellscream, Terokk, Nalagor, Mar’gok, and Velen supported going to Azeroth, and Drek’Thar agreed to ask the Mag’har Orcs to join them.
• Aegwynn, the Argus Lord, and the elemental and World Tree powers prepared Draenor for a series of teleports, with the journey expected to take five to seven days.
• Aegwynn drove the Staff of Sargeras into the Elemental Throne and began the first teleport, carrying Draenor and its orbital fleets away from the dead star system.

Kil'jaeden's invasion threw Azeroth into chaos through starship raids, undead armies, Naga attacks, and assassinations while he gathered his forces beyond the Twisting Nether. Illidan revealed that Diakum's seal on the Sargerite Keystone had vanished and stepped through a portal to begin a secret counterattack.

• Kil'jaeden's forces destroyed seven Eastern Continent cities with starship bombardments as the undead and Naga attacked across Azeroth.
• The Scourge and Helya's fleet drove the Broken Isles toward collapse while Pandaria faced fierce battles against undead and Naga forces.
• Illidan and Vastann Staghelm discussed guarding the Chamber of Heart and keeping the demons from discovering its location.
• Illidan told Vastann that Oturis would act as his decoy while he carried out a hidden plan to strike the Burning Legion.
• Illidan revealed that Diakum's Holy Light seal on the Sargerite Keystone had dispersed, opened a portal to a demon world, and departed to launch his counterattack.

Diakum examined the Shadowlands’ anima and learned more about the Mawsworn, then discussed the danger posed by Broker efforts to uncover the First Ones’ secrets. The Nether-Stalker delivered the Primus’s War Sigil, and Diakum revealed that he also possessed the Arbiter’s Judgment Sigil.

• Diakum declined the Mythic Anima Orb because its power did not match his path of light and shadow.
• The Nether-Stalker warned Diakum that the Mawsworn were powerful soldiers backed by Zovaal and the anima-producing Torghast.
• The Nether-Stalker described Broker investigations into the First Ones’ mysteries and urged Diakum to visit their Holy Land and destroy dangerous knowledge.
• Diakum agreed to consider visiting the Holy Land if it could help ignite the sun.
• The Nether-Stalker showed Diakum the vault guarded by Hylbrand and delivered the Primus’s War Sigil, which the group had recovered from Korthia.
• Diakum revealed that he had the Judgment Sigil too and said the fate of those seeking the sigils depended on his mood.

Diakum uncovered the Primus’s warning that Zovaal sought to use the Eternal One sigils to reach Zereth Mortis and reshape reality, then gathered allies to secure the remaining sigils. The chapter ended when Lich Baron Medivh arrived at the Veiled Market and asked whether Diakum’s arrival meant he would return home.

• Diakum broke the seal on the Primus’s sigil, and its memory revealed Zovaal’s plans for the five sigils and Zereth Mortis.
• Diakum hid the Primus’s sigil and persuaded the Broker relicsmiths to help secure the sigils before Zovaal could claim them.
• So'leah confronted the Nether-Stalker, then agreed to gather Broker cartels after learning about the First Ones’ power and the group’s two sigils.
• So'leah lowered the Veiled Market’s defenses, and Diakum warned her that she was using her artifact incorrectly.
• Medivh arrived with the liches and greeted Diakum, asking whether he was about to return home.

Medivh revealed his alliance with Margrave Sin'dane and laid out his theory that the Primus was manipulating events to break the Shadowlands' Destiny Order. The chapter ended with Rafaam reporting that relic crafters had stolen treasures and Diakum proposing a heist of Castle Nathria.

• Medivh revealed that Margrave Sin'dane and the Ritual Court served him under an agreement that he would help her ascend to godhood.
• Medivh, Diakum, and the Nether-Stalker discussed the Primus's artifacts and concluded that the Primus's message might be bait designed to draw everyone toward the First Ones' power.
• Medivh speculated that the Primus had engineered Zovaal's rebellion to overturn the Shadowlands' Destiny Order and secure his own freedom.
• Margrave Sin'dane and Diakum argued that the Primus and other Eternal Ones sought freedom from the order that governed their lives.
• Rafaam reported that relic crafters had stolen the Arbiter's core and sigil and fled to Revendreth.
• Diakum proposed moving Castle Nathria to the material world and staging a heist, and Rafaam eagerly agreed.

Medivh explained how Zovaal’s rebellion and the anima famine had pushed the Shadowlands’ destiny system toward collapse, while Diakum insisted his goal was to restart the cycle of life and death rather than impose a new order. They planned to confront Zovaal in the Maw and reach Zereth Mortis, with Azshara already rampaging through Torghast and apparently proving difficult for the Jailer to stop.

• Medivh described how Denathrius’s anima hoarding strengthened Zovaal and how the Arbiter’s shutdown sent every incoming soul into the Maw.
• Marquis Sindane read Primus’s account of Zovaal’s rebellion, his judgment by the other Eternal Ones, and Primus’s creation of Torghast and Domination to imprison him.
• Medivh concluded that the Eternal Ones had begun undermining destiny and warned that death was about to break free of its constraints.
• Diakum said he intended to restart the great cycle, then agreed with Medivh to recruit an army and confront Zovaal in the Maw before going to Zereth Mortis.
• Medivh reported that Azshara had repeatedly raided Torghast for anima research and that Zovaal’s warriors had failed to stop her, suggesting they should leave her a place on the journey.

Diakum and Medivh built alliances across Maldraxxus and prepared for the coming conflict, while Diakum traveled to the House of the Chosen. There he exposed Blackhand’s use of his name but turned the deception into a promise of a future campaign against demons.

• Medivh and Sindane explained their plans to bring the House of Eyes and Stradama into their alliance, while Blackhand had already secured the House of the Chosen and would be provoked into war with Gamal’s Construct Sanctum.
• Diakum asked the Nether-Stalker to establish an academy studying the First Ones’ secrets, then said Rafaam could cause trouble for Denathrius while he headed toward Revendreth to ignite the sun.
• Diakum arrived at Medivh’s Floating City, where his Holy Light frightened the liches, and Medivh said he would return to his mother.
• Blackhand planned future invasions with the House of the Chosen until Diakum arrived and the demon-slaying warriors recognized the Vigilant, kneeling before him.
• Diakum bestowed the Ashbringer’s legacy on the demon slayers, and Blackhand challenged him to lead them back to the material world.
• Diakum declared that the Primus had joined their campaign against the Burning Legion and promised the dead warriors an age of conquest.

Diakum rallied Maldraxxus’s demon-hating dead and discussed a campaign against the Burning Legion with Great Chieftain Blackhand, while preparing his rune sword and pursuing the Primus’s rescue. The chapter ended when Devos arrived at the House of the Chosen and demanded to see Diakum.

• Diakum’s speech and the Primus-forged rune sword inspired the House of the Chosen to prepare for a holy war against demons.
• Great Chieftain Blackhand told Diakum that Maldraxxus could raise a vast army, and Diakum proposed joining forces with other death legions and allies to defeat even Sargeras.
• Diakum sent Blackhand to find Heirmir the Bonesmith, then explained that the Primus’s disciple and the other sigils would be needed to open the way to Zereth Mortis and rescue the Primus.
• Heirmir discussed modifying Diakum’s rune sword and confirmed that the Primus had forged Frostmourne and the Helm of Domination.
• Devos confronted the House of the Chosen’s guards, knocked aside a warrior’s halberd, and demanded to meet Diakum Zastinus.

Diakum asked Heirmir to turn the Primus’s rune sword into a torch warhammer that could store light, then faced Devos after she attacked the House of the Chosen. He guided her to High Heaven’s Faith Stairway and urged her to recover the self she had abandoned during Ascension.

• Diakum told Heirmir he wanted to borrow the rune sword as a light-storing torch warhammer, and he drew a cross-shaped design for her.
• Blackhand reported that Devos had stormed the House of the Chosen, and he ordered his warriors to subdue her.
• Blackhand’s necromancers brought the wounded Devos to Diakum, who healed her and guided her consciousness to the Faith Stairway.
• Diakum explained that Devos’s doubts came from abandoning her past and urged her to climb the stairs and find the girl she had been before Ascension.

Diakum examined Bastion’s rigid system of ascension and decided to travel there to recruit the Forsworn as guides for High Heaven. After helping Devos recover her sense of self, he agreed to support her return to Bastion but required her to prove she could govern it before he helped remove the Firstborn.

• Diakum and Xera discussed how Kyrian ascension stripped souls of their individuality and how Valkyr were altered Kyrians.
• Diakum explained that he planned to learn Bastion’s ascension methods and recruit Devos and the Forsworn to guide souls in High Heaven.
• Diakum left with Devos after she completed the Faith Stairway trial and recovered her memories and sense of self.
• Devos denounced the Firstborn’s rule and asked Diakum to restore her fellow Kyrians and help them transform Bastion into a paradise.
• Diakum agreed to take the Firstborn away but told Devos to write a feasibility report for rebuilding Bastion before he would support her plan.

Diakum received a consecrated cross warhammer from the Bone Smith and flew with Devos to Bastion, where they found a rebellion against Kyrestia’s control of the Kyrian. Devos asked Diakum to lead them in making Bastion a true home rather than a beautiful prison.

• The Bone Smith finished Diakum’s cross warhammer, blessed his journey, and explained that she would help Blackhand only after he conquered the Construct Sanctum and recovered Marquis Gamal’s Construct Core.
• Diakum promised to join the Bone Smith in rescuing the Primus, then left Maldraxxus with Devos for Bastion while avoiding Oribos and the Brokers.
• Diakum and Devos secretly arrived at the Fortress of Loyalty, where thousands of black-winged Kyrian and candidates had gathered to oppose Kyrestia’s demands that they erase their pasts.
• Devos explained that Kyrestia’s pursuit of destiny had turned Bastion into a hollow paradise and asked Diakum to lead those resisting her rule.
• Diakum told Devos to stand and continued sketching Bastion’s scenery.

Diakum and Devos used the Seven Sha Trial to restore the Forsworn Kyrians’ suppressed selves and launched an assault on Elysian Hold. As Devos prepared to rebuild Bastion, Diakum promised to take only one Kyrian to High Heaven and seized an Eternal Colossus and Mikanikos for his own plans.

• At Devos’s request, Diakum unleashed the Seven Sha Trial across the Fortress of Loyalty, causing the Forsworn to relive their memories and emotions and awakening physical Sha.
• Diakum linked the Forsworn through Heart Power, and a reunited Kyrian couple embraced after their old feelings returned.
• Devos warned Diakum that Elysian Hold was defended by Centurions, but he transformed seven Sha into Death Angels and sent them to attack the stronghold.
• Diakum told Devos that Bastion should remain a paradise for kind mortals and that he would take only one Kyrian to High Heaven.
• Centurions joined the battle, and Diakum captured an Eternal Colossus by sending it through a Faith Gate into High Heaven, where it crushed the house Xe’ra had built.
• Diakum abducted Mikanikos and the steward artifact Festus, Source of Eternity, from the battlefield.

Diakum and the Forsworn attacked Elysian Hold, where Devos confronted the Paragons over Bastion’s cruel Ascension and Diakum went to face Gristletia. Gristletia refused to leave, so Diakum prepared to remove her from the Shadowlands and take her to the High Heavens.

• The Forsworn and Diakum’s Sha entities overwhelmed Elysian Hold’s defenders as the Seven Sha Trial intensified their negative emotions.
• Xandria, Kaelos, and Adrestes tried to stop Diakum, but he defeated them without killing them.
• Devos intervened to hold back the Paragons and urged them to recognize their shared responsibility for Ascension’s harms.
• Diakum reached Gristletia’s throne and questioned whether she retained memories of Zereth Mortis, but she denied his accusation and ordered him out of Bastion.
• Diakum told Gristletia he would permanently remove her from the Shadowlands and prepared to take her to the High Heavens.

Diakum defeated Gristletia in battle and challenged her to use the power of the Dutiful One against him. When his record of fulfilling his duties overcame her power, he questioned her loyalty to a failing fate, and she admitted that she could not change it.

• Gristletia charged Diakum with her Archon war spear, but he dodged and battered her with Holy Light attacks until her throne and weapon were destroyed.
• Diakum urged Gristletia to attack him with her rule, the power of the Dutiful One, and argued that the Shadowlands’ fate was already collapsing.
• Gristletia used her power to audit whether Diakum had fulfilled his duties, but his sincere commitment to the Holy Light and his principles broke her interrogation.
• Diakum questioned whether Gristletia truly believed in the Death Order, and she lowered her head and collapsed beneath the ruined wall.
• Gristletia admitted that she had tried and failed to change fate, which had exhausted and broken her.

Gristletia the Firstborn’s defeat exposed her despair over the Shadowlands’ collapsing ordained destiny, and her mechanical body began to shut down. With Devos and the Kyrian begging him, Diakum intervened to preserve her sense of self and bring her back to life as a person rather than a servant of duty.

• Diakum’s questioning broke Gristletia’s resolve, and black feathers spread across her wings as the paragons and Kyrian lost their will to fight.
• The Forsworn and Sha Mawsworn put away their weapons, the stewards set their anima machines to standby, and Elysian Hold surrendered.
• Gristletia confessed that she had grown exhausted maintaining the First Ones’ system and described how the Eternal Ones had watched ordained destiny collapse.
• Gristletia’s body reverted to its original mechanical form and began shutting down as she accepted death at her post.
• Devos and the gathered Kyrian begged Diakum to save their mother, and he placed his hand on Gristletia’s forehead to preserve her self and revive her.

Diakum separated Kyrestia from the collapsing power of the Dutiful One and divided its divine machinery and duty among Bastion’s six Paragons. Bastion’s collapse slowed as they took up its burden, while Diakum departed with Kyrestia for High Heaven and left the Paragons to create a new order.

• Diakum warned the Eldest Daughter not to resist as he used Truth Surgery to separate her consciousness from the collapsing power of the Dutiful One.
• As Bastion’s temples began to collapse, Diakum told the Paragons to accept portions of the Dutiful One’s divine machinery and assigned its arms to Devos, wings to Xandria, and head to Seniathus.
• Diakum gave the torso to Kaelos, the legs to Adrestes, and the heart to Vesiphne, and the six Paragons joined their powers to slow Bastion’s collapse.
• Diakum charged the Paragons with creating a new order together, then left Bastion as Kyrestia fell toward High Heaven with him.
• Kyrestia asked whether Diakum had intended to destroy the Purpose, and he said he had instead returned the power of choice to the beings of Death Force before welcoming her to High Heaven.