Chapter Summaries

Murphy considered Count Lyon’s plan to unite East Prussia, Cato, and Saxony into an independent duchy and decided it could serve Transia’s interests. He left Triss and Mirian to interrogate Margaret while he went to Xike City to settle old grievances and deal with the Dark Lord.

• Mirian told Murphy that Count Lyon intended to establish the Capet Grand Duchy and had mobilized forces to fight Chaos, offering Transia support in exchange for backing.
• Murphy and Triss agreed that the Capet family’s plan could protect Transia from a needless war with King Louis, and Murphy gave Mirian a key to help find Count Lyon an ally at court.
• Murphy told Triss to remain at Scarlet Keep and conduct Margaret’s trial with Mirian, then said he would resolve the feud in Xike City and eliminate the Dark Lord himself.
• Triss and Mirian freed Margaret from the mechanical coffin and confronted her about her identity and crimes.
• Margaret agreed to cooperate so she could return to her daughter, while Triss warned that the Chaos invasion could threaten the estate where Princess Bridget was recovering.

Countess Margaret confessed her origins and revealed Twilight’s history and Prior Steiner’s plan to enter the Heart of the World. Triss accepted her cooperation but said Margaret would still face judgment, leaving her fate uncertain as she pleaded to protect her daughter.

• Triss and the Blood Vulture Grand Duke interrogated Margaret, who explained that Master Meredin had protected her from Chaos corruption.
• Margaret revealed her true identity as Aurora de Dubarry and described how Prior Steiner recruited her and Meredin into Twilight after showing them the secrets of the Creator and Original Sin.
• Margaret said Twilight had inherited hidden resources and agents built up by the Mystery Division over a thousand years.
• Margaret disclosed that Steiner intended to enter the Heart of the World, seize the Creator’s Truth, and unravel the world, and that his attack on Sinkhole City had cleared the way.
• Margaret offered to help destroy Twilight’s remaining branches and begged Triss to keep her past from her daughter.
• Triss accepted Margaret’s confession but said she would receive the judgment she deserved, then yielded the questioning to Mirian.

Countess Margaret joined the Order faction and enlisted Queen Elizabeth to help persuade King Louis to accept the Capet family's move toward independence. The chapter ended with Elizabeth agreeing to join Margaret in responding to the crisis and protecting their children’s futures.

• Margaret accepted Triss’s sentence: she would serve the Order faction and, after her daughter came of age, become a spirit-world sentinel in the Plantagenet underworld.
• Margaret asked that Bridget be sent to Transia for protection and warned Mirian that Cecilia could worsen the Chaos crisis on Greeny Island; Mirian agreed to contact old Edward.
• Triss appointed Margaret head of the Lorraine family and gave her the family signet ring and the location of the family tomb.
• Margaret contacted Queen Elizabeth, revealed that she had been the Dusk leader called the Nun, and urged Elizabeth to wake King Louis because two Old Gods and Chaos had invaded East Prussia.
• Margaret told Elizabeth that Count Lyon had already begun his dangerous plan and asked her to help calm Louis; Elizabeth agreed to work with Margaret and keep each other’s secrets.

Count Leon received Governor Mirian’s plan for founding the Capet Grand Duchy and began rallying allies and forces for the war in East Prussia. After learning Juna wanted her unborn child to inherit, he asked Fraser to decide, and Fraser refused the succession, choosing to fight for the nation but remain outside his father’s ambitions.

• Dorothy delivered Mirian’s letter to Count Leon and reported that Fraser and the Blackflame mercenaries were heading to East Prussia.
• After reading Mirian’s proposal, Count Leon sent Huguenot to Anjou to prepare the family’s assets and promised him a powerful position and hereditary lands.
• Count Leon’s lover agreed to seek Tower of Rings spellcasters and asked that her unborn child inherit his power; he then contacted Fraser to discuss the decision.
• Count Leon explained his plans for the Capet Grand Duchy and Juna’s request, but Fraser said he would give up his inheritance after the war and choose self-exile.
• Count Leon angrily accused Fraser of making the choice for Mirian’s sake, while Fraser insisted he would fight for the nation and the people without inheriting the duchy.

Murphy prepared to send Xike City's undead through the Gate of the Underworld after promising they would judge their enemies within three days. As East Prussia's darkness sent wounded civilians into Stormkeep, Biji rallied the Holy Light knights to charge into the crisis.

• Murphy and Adele discussed the Lord of Darkness's veil and considered whether his remains could empower the Midnight Matriarch and Night Singer.
• Murphy asked Xike City's undead about their unfinished wishes, and they roared for revenge.
• Murphy promised the undead that their enemies would face judgment within three days, then opened the Gate of the Underworld for them.
• In Stormkeep, Grandma Liu and her apprentices treated civilians wounded by the spreading darkness over East Prussia.
• Biji heard the Holy Light knights' pleas to fight, mounted up, and ordered them to prepare to march.

Master Qin redirected Biji’s knights to clear undead from Marlowe and sent Domestic 013 to deliver supplies to Banks City. Biji’s forces began their assault while Liwen’s psychics entered the ruins to destroy the necromantic rituals, where Liwen sensed something underground.

• Master Qin ordered Biji to clear Marlowe for the People’s Army and arranged dragon cavalry support, while he sent Domestic 013 with a forty-two-vehicle convoy of supplies for Banks City.
• Domestic 013 flew to the Andmar Hills as a halfling pilot described his decision to enlist and his coming bombing mission against the Chaos forces.
• Biji led the knights against Marlowe’s Shadow Bones while Liwen prepared to enter the town with psychics and destroy the active necromantic rituals.
• Biji’s charge and the knights’ mortar and dragon-cavalry support broke through the undead line, drawing the horde’s attention.
• Liwen led the psychics toward the ruins’ central tomb passage and sensed something underground.

The Holy Light Knights reclaimed Marlowe Town after Liwen's squad destroyed the undead ritual site, but the battle left them too exhausted to continue toward Banks City. In the catacombs, Liwen and Piqi discovered ratfolk resisting the Lord of Darkness and learned they could help locate his true body, prompting Liwen to call for an immediate report to Murphy.

• Piqi held the Holy Light Knights on high ground with explosives until Liwen's squad destroyed the undead ritual, then led a charge that broke the Shadowbone ranks and reclaimed Marlowe Town.
• The knights organized the town's defenses and supplies, while Piqi searched for Liwen and learned she was investigating something underground.
• Piqi joined Liwen in the catacombs, where they questioned captured ratfolk scouts led by Squeak-squeak.
• Squeak-squeak revealed that his chief planned to rebel against the Lord of Darkness, seek Murphy's help, and use the ratfolk's ability to hear the dark voice to find the Lord of Darkness's true body.
• Liwen ordered an immediate report to Murphy and told Piqi to contact the team's super hacker for a communication ritual.

Murphy agreed to help Black Servant Sen’s ratmen challenge the Lord of Darkness by locating and destroying its hidden core. After learning that other ratmen were tunneling into towns and advancing on Banks City, Murphy recruited Heather to command the mission.

• A ratman scout named Chichi asked Murphy for help with Black Servant Sen’s plan to resist the Lord of Darkness and create a god for the ratmen.
• Murphy promised warriors and instructed the ratmen to find the Lord of Darkness’s hidden core while his forces handled the final strike.
• Chichi led Biji and Liwen through the tunnels to Black Servant Sen, who revealed that more than thirty-three ratman clans were moving to break through Banks City.
• Black Servant Sen said it had gathered clans for an expedition west to find the source of the Lord of Darkness’s power, and asked Murphy’s followers to eliminate rival chieftains.
• Murphy contacted Heather and told her that ratmen were preparing to shatter the Lord of Darkness’s core, and Heather agreed to join the mission.

As Banks City came under attack from Skaven and Chaos, Marshal Loren struggled to keep the city and its nearly million refugees safe while reinforcements remained distant. Kudel revealed that Murphy was in Xico City and challenged Loren to choose between his pride and seeking help before nightfall.

• An earth priest warned Loren that Skaven tunnels were bringing Chaos abominations into Banks City and that East Prussia faced a full-scale invasion.
• Loren rejected calls to retreat, stripped an officer of his rank for urging a breakout, and vowed to hold Banks City.
• The earth priest advised Loren to evacuate the civilians into Transia, but Loren refused as Skaven erupted beneath a residential district.
• General Kudel and Transian reinforcements helped drive back the Skaven, prompting Loren to wonder whether Murphy had an army that could save East Prussia.
• Kudel confirmed Murphy was in Xico City and urged Loren to seek him there, asking whether a million lives mattered more than Loren’s pride and shame.

Marshal Loren sent General Maxim to rescue General Soros, then left Banks City to seek Murphy’s aid from Westco’s Netherworld Army. He arrived at the ruins and told Murphy he had come as a sinner to face judgment.

• The revived players drove ratmen underground, helped seal their tunnel, and prepared to escort General Kuder’s force to meet Sister Guochan013’s supply convoy.
• Loren ordered General Maxim to rescue Soros and the Dorod Fortress Legion, despite the delay this would cause for Banks City.
• Loren refused to pull troops from Pioneer Fortress and told his officers he would seek reinforcements in Westco, where Murphy and the Netherworld Army waited.
• Loren explained that he considered his use of plague weapons against Westco a shameful crime and was prepared to face execution to spare Banks City and East Prussia.
• Loren and an Earth Priest traveled to Westco, where they were met by ten dragon cavalry machines and Murphy.
• Loren told Murphy he had come as a sinner to face his judgment.

Loren came to Xico seeking the Underworld Army’s help against the Lord of Darkness, and the city’s dead judged him for the Pioneer Legion’s crimes. Rather than execute him immediately, Count Xicomel conscripted Loren to lead a penal battalion in the army’s expedition to East Prussia, which began as Loren resolved to see his wife only after the war.

• Loren entered Xico and accepted the plague-barrel lid, prisoner shackles, and restraints as symbols of the suffering the Pioneer Legion had inflicted.
• Before Count Xicomel and the assembled witnesses, Loren asked for help defending Banks and offered his life in exchange for the Underworld Army’s intervention.
• Count Xicomel condemned the souls of the fallen Pioneer Legion to eternal service in the Underworld Army and named Loren and Soros as the first two to be punished.
• Murphy declared that the Pioneer Legion’s aggression and its members’ obedience were crimes, and the undead demanded eternal death for Loren and his legion.
• Count Xicomel gave Loren weapons and ordered him to lead a penal battalion as the Underworld Army’s vanguard in East Prussia.
• Loren boarded an airship with the advancing army and told Murphy he would visit his wife after the war.

Banks City’s defenders faced a citywide assault by Chaos abominations and ratmen as the Radiant Artifact continued to shelter the area. With the walls breached and the dead rising under the Underworld King’s command, reinforcements arrived and the fallen joined the battle.

• Holy Light followers preached beneath the Radiant Artifact as desperate civilians and officials gathered to pray.
• Chaos abominations overwhelmed the outer defenses, while ratmen ambushed Giant Shark’s position from underground; he stayed behind as the Pioneer Legion soldiers retreated.
• Ratmen and Chaos creatures broke through a section of Banks City’s wall, threatening to spark panic among the refugees.
• Corpses across Banks City rose at the Underworld King’s command and attacked nearby enemies, forming a new defensive line at the breach.
• Airships carrying Pioneer Legion reinforcements arrived, and Marshal Loren appeared as heavy black dragoons descended into the battle.
• A flesh-ripper killed the officer, but he rose again moments later as an undead soldier, beginning his eternal service.

Murphy and Count Leon negotiated the future of East Prussia, the planned Grand Duchy of Capet, and the New World as Banks City faced an invasion. Murphy then sensed a god’s imminent birth in the warp and left to witness it, while Leon prepared to lead Capet into a new era.

• Murphy discussed renaming the Pioneer's Fortress with Count Leon, who proposed calling it Fort Stephanie after his late wife.
• Murphy offered to ease Lady Juna’s oath to the Tower of Rings, and he and Leon turned to the political future of Capet and King Louis.
• Leon proposed making Princess Bridget the nominal Grand Duchess, but Murphy instead suggested Prince William become the nominal ruler; Leon accepted the idea.
• Leon sought permission to offer the Holy Spirit Plains to King Louis, and Murphy outlined how the New World could be divided among the Plantagenet Kingdom, the Wolfsbane Clan, and other powers.
• Leon declared he would accept Murphy’s demands and wanted to join the Vampire Dynasty to take over Mirian’s responsibilities.
• Murphy sensed the warp stirring and announced that a god was about to be born, then departed to witness the event as Leon vowed to guide East Prussia’s new history.

Murphy watched from the Astral Realm as Ao fought through a brutal siege in subspace, and explained why he believed the Eastern Sacred Spirit could ascend. Ao reached the end of his Paths of Purification and Immortality, became a complete dragon and a cosmic god, and chose to remain in subspace to fight Chaos.

• Murphy joined the gathered colossi and demigods at the Astral Colossus, where they awaited news of Ao’s attempt to ascend.
• Murphy told the onlookers that Ao’s body and mastery of Purification were exceptional, and urged them to give Ao their blessing.
• Ao endured repeated destruction and rebirth while fighting Taotie and the other subspace shadows, growing stronger with each return.
• Ao declared that the primordial chaos held the source of supernatural power, while Taotie revealed that Ao had been assimilated by subspace and become a god of the cosmos.
• The subspace shadows withdrew, leaving Ao as the first stable land of Order within subspace.
• Ao accepted that he could not return to the worlds he had protected, chose to continue the eternal war, and became a foundation of all things.

After Ao ascended as a Cosmic Foundation, Murphy learned how his power could reshape subspace and prepare Order for renewed war against Chaos. Ao also advised Murphy on possible future ascensions and revealed that Holy Light was about to be born through his purifying power.

• Murphy celebrated Ao's ascension and received Order's Grace—Immortal Dragon along with those who had basked in Ao's light.
• Ao told Ze that he could no longer enter lower-dimensional worlds and explained that Ze would need to master his Origin Life Path and defeat the Primordial Sin to pursue transcendence.
• Murphy entered Ao's Dao Domain, saw his wounded, jade-repaired form, and heard his explanation of subspace as the universe's driving force and the Creator's true blueprint.
• Ao warned Murphy that the war between Order and Chaos would resume, urged him to help Mantis pursue ascension without faith, and agreed that Wam could begin again in mortal form.
• Ao told Murphy that Holy Light was about to be born, and Murphy agreed to let Ao grant it the power of purification.

Ship One completed its maiden voyage launch from the Sangha Empire shipyard and was named Shadowchaser before heading to East Prussia for Operation Sword of Dawn. Old Ma agreed to join Big Shot Pill’s proposed combat-mech project, while Yincha revealed that Ship One’s escort squadron included six advanced 35-chan units.

• Big Shot Pill urged Old Ma to hurry to Ship One’s maiden voyage, and they discussed its weapons tests, payload, and the proposed construction of a medium-sized combat mech.
• Old Ma agreed to join Pill’s mech project, while Pill revealed that Yincha had received a request from Transia to adapt Ship Two for Astral Realm travel.
• Old Ma and Pill joined the gathered representatives at the hangar, where Yincha said the professional flight and gunnery crews were ready and disclosed that six 35-chan units would escort Ship One.
• Fleur watched Ship One take off and reflected that the Sangha Empire would eventually have five Sun Ships.
• Governor Murphy named Ship One Shadowchaser, renamed the Origin Vanguard Lightchaser, and ordered Shadowchaser to East Prussia for Operation Sword of Dawn.

Heather Hoffman’s team reached the Treet Mine to destroy one of the Lord of Darkness’s power cores, while Peachy and Liven went to intercept another in a nearby town. The team confronted a giant ratman incarnation underground, and Peachy found her childhood friend among the town’s ruins, asking her to avenge its dead.

• Black Servantson told Heather Hoffman’s team that several cores concealed the Lord of Darkness and led them toward the Treet Mine.
• Black Servantson sensed a core in the mine and a larger one in a nearby town, so Liven carried Peachy there to intercept it.
• Liven’s purifying mist drove back the Lord of Darkness’s servants as Heather’s team fought through the Skaven tunnels.
• The team found a giant ratman incarnation of the Lord of Darkness, and Heather attacked it after it knocked Marcus aside.
• Peachy arrived at the devastated town and found her wounded childhood friend, who refused treatment and begged Peachy to avenge her family and neighbors.

Piqi mourned her childhood friend and awakened a fierce purifying fire, becoming powerful enough to wound the Dark Lord’s giant rat avatar. After Taipal sacrificed himself to return Peacemaker to her, Piqi reshaped the sword into a Blade of Light and rose to face the enemy again.

• Piqi laid her dead childhood friend to rest and recited the Elegy for the Dead, drawing on her grief and anger to ignite golden flames.
• Piqi charged the ratmen and struck down many with a massive blade of light, while her fire burned the Dark Lord’s avatar and revealed a new power of purification.
• The Dark Lord drew power from its other avatars, caught Peacemaker, and struck Piqi down; Liven caught her but was badly hurt.
• Players arrived and fought to delay the Dark Lord, while Fuding used his stored Victory Brews and Lord Heather joined the battle.
• Taipal brought Peacemaker to Piqi and sacrificed himself to put the sword within her reach, urging her to shape her legend.
• Piqi kissed the injured Liven, gripped the melted Peacemaker, and reshaped it into a Blade of Light as she called on the Holy Light to fight the Dark Lord.

Count Lyon used a mass prayer at the Frontier Fortress to help bring the Holy Light into being, as the shared faith of believers across the region formed a divine presence and raised a wall of light. With the fortress protected and worshipers newly emboldened, he ordered them to arm themselves and march to Banks City.

• Count Lyon led the fortress’s refugees and soldiers in prayer while priests from other faiths recognized that the Holy Light’s followers were burning with faith.
• The prayers united believers across the fortress and beyond, shaping their shared hopes into a supernatural being while Count Lyon struggled against the change in his mind.
• Count Lyon sensed the faith gathering at Banks City, Stormhold, and a plague-ridden border town as the Holy Light neared birth.
• The Holy Light opened His eyes, and golden fire spread from the shrine to form a radiant barrier around the Frontier Fortress.
• Count Lyon rallied the worshipers and ordered them to arm themselves, follow him through the night, and carry the Holy Light’s miracle to Banks City.

Holy Light was born in the Warp as the Ashen Valkyrie and Daughter of Dawn, then empowered Peachy to fight the Black Warden. Peachy transformed and surged toward demigod-level strength, leaving the Lord of Darkness convinced it was doomed.

• Old Su noticed the Seed of Holy Light growing unstable as the Chaos legion attacked, and he ordered his wolves to retreat before her birth transformed the region.
• Old Ao and Old Su transferred symbols of power to Holy Light, and her golden radiance burned the Chaos general and its followers to ash as she took shape.
• Holy Light formed an armored female incarnation resembling Peachy and called herself the Ashen Valkyrie and Daughter of Dawn, then sent power to Peachy.
• Strange voices spoke within Holy Light’s domain and muddled her memories before she could understand their conversation.
• Peachy received Holy Light’s power, transformed into Armored Peachy, and advanced toward the Black Warden as her strength rose beyond Gold Rank.