Chapter Summaries

Alvin fought Angron in the Demon Forge Palace, using spells and a mysterious banner to hold back the Daemon Primarch. He summoned spectral Chaos Space Marines to fight Khorne’s forces and insisted the smoke-belching Human Emperor Banner was an artifact bestowed by the Emperor.

• Alvin’s Power sword failed to cut Angron’s throne horn, and Angron attacked him with a devastating punch.
• Alvin evaded the punch with Form of Ekarn, bound Angron with Crimson Chains, and blasted him with Psykana Lightning, but Angron regenerated and shattered Alvin’s shield.
• Alvin pulled the Human Emperor Banner from his Personal Space and summoned more than a hundred armored spirits that charged at Khorne’s Daemons.
• Alvin urged the Sons of the Forest to run because the summoned Chaos Space Marines could not stop Angron for long.
• The deputy questioned whether the smoke-belching banner was a Daemon Artifact, and Alvin insisted the Emperor had bestowed it upon him.

Alvin led the battered Sons of the Forest through the Khorne Daemons, but a Daemon Prince blocked their escape while Angron threatened them from behind. Refusing to abandon his Chapter, Alvin chose to stand and fight beside them.

• Alvin led the Sons of the Forest in a desperate breakout, losing most of the two companies as they fought through the Bloodletters.
• A Khorne Daemon Prince emerged from a Warp rift and blocked their path out of the Demon Forge Palace.
• Afkar urged Alvin to escape because he held the key to the Forest, and the surviving Sons of the Forest offered to hold off their pursuers.
• Alvin refused to leave his Chapter behind, declared his loyalty to the Emperor, and rallied the Sons of the Forest to fight.
• Alvin challenged the Daemon Prince, declaring that he would not run and was ready for a fight.

Trapped in the Demon Forge Palace, Alvin and the Sons of the Forest fought Angron and a Daemon Prince while hoping for rescue. Dark Angels forces broke into the Blood Palace, but the Sons of the Forest feared Asmodeus might mistake them for Fallen Angels and kill them too.

• Alvin decided to hold off Angron while Afkar and the Sons of the Forest fought the Daemon Prince.
• A force smashed through the Blood Palace entrance and attacked the Daemon Prince with shells and gunfire.
• A Dark Angels Desolator Dreadnought caught the Daemon Prince's punch and knocked him back with a powerful strike.
• Dark Angels warriors poured into the Blood Palace, and Asmodeus charged through the Daemons toward the Sons of the Forest.
• Afkar's adjutant worried that Asmodeus might kill them too, and Afkar admitted he was not sure they would be safe.

The Dark Angels arrived at the Demon Forge Palace and helped the Sons of the Forest fight back the Khorne Daemons. Afkar told Azrael that Lion El'Jonson had returned and pardoned the Sons of the Forest, but their confrontation ended when Alvin shouted for help against Angron.

• The Dark Angels, led by Azrael, Asmodeus, and Ezekiel, reinforced the battle line and attacked the Khorne Daemons while their Dreadnoughts and Ezekiel pinned down the Daemon Prince.
• Afkar told the wounded Ravenwing Grand Master that Marvin had sacrificed himself to trap the Daemon Primarch and cover their retreat.
• Azrael confronted Afkar and said the Dark Angels had repaid him for saving them, while Afkar insisted the Lion King had pardoned the Sons of the Forest.
• Afkar told Azrael that Lion El'Jonson had returned, learned the truth, and led some Sons of the Forest to reinforce the Stone Fortress, leaving Azrael fearful of facing his Gene-Father.
• Alvin called out to the others to help him as he fought Angron near the brass altar.

Azrael and the Dark Angels joined Alvin in trying to restrain and kill Angron, but the Daemon Primarch broke free of their combined attack. Angron emerged from the shattered altar in a fresh fury, and Alvin realized the battle had entered a more dangerous phase.

• Azrael discovered that the enormous blood-red figure was Angron, a Daemon Primarch, and Afkar explained that the summoning ritual had targeted Alvin.
• Azrael ordered Ezekiel, Belial, Asmodeus, and Samuel to reinforce Alvin while the remaining Dark Angels held the line.
• Azrael wounded Angron with the Secret Sword, and Ezekiel pinned him with psychic gravity while Alvin bound him with Khorne's Crimson Chains.
• Azrael, Belial, Samuel, and Asmodeus struck Angron's head, but their weapons failed to kill or banish him.
• Angron shattered the brass altar, blasted the group away, and rose in a greater rage as Alvin realized the boss had entered phase two.

Angron unleashed the full fury of Khorne and charged Alvin, overwhelming the defenders’ psychic and magical barriers. Belial’s Terminators failed to stop him, but Belial struck Angron with his charged Power Fist after Soul Ripper breached his Storm Shield.

• Angron’s blood-soaked roar shattered the battlefield and sent a destructive shock wave toward Alvin and the others.
• Ezekiel shielded the group with his psychic barrier, but Angron’s force shattered his staff and hurled him into a ruined wall.
• Alvin raised a Seraphim Shield, but it broke, and the shock wave flung him aside as Angron charged.
• Belial and his Terminator Squad formed a defensive line, but Angron smashed through them and attacked Belial.
• Angron’s Soul Ripper tore through Belial’s Storm Shield and struck his breastplate, while Belial drove his charged Power Fist into Angron.

Belial, Samuel, Azrael, and Asmodeus attacked Angron, but the Daemon Primarch endured their blows and gravely wounded the Dark Angels. Angron advanced on Atropos and demanded that he join Khorne and embrace Chaos.

• Angron's blow sent Belial flying, while Samuel's Meltagun fire failed to penetrate his defenses.
• Samuel charged Angron and planted a Melt Bomb on him, but Angron struck Samuel down; the bomb exploded on Angron's head and exposed his organs.
• Azrael used Angron's distraction to stab at his heart, but Angron dodged and trapped the Secret Sword in his muscles.
• Asmodeus struck Angron's elbow with his Power hammer, allowing Azrael to escape, but Angron smashed Azrael's shoulder and left him near death.
• Angron advanced with the Soul Hunter and ordered Atropos to join Khorne and embrace Chaos.

Alvin, pushed to the brink by Angron, unleashed far more Psychic Power from the Warp and began fighting the Daemon Primarch with overwhelming force. He expanded the Warp Rift above Dragon Forest Star and challenged Angron to a fight to the death.

• Alvin recognized the significance of Chaos calling him Atropos and, despite his injuries, vowed to drag down anyone who threatened the life he wanted.
• Alvin abandoned his restraint and drew a torrent of Psychic Power from the Warp, crushing hundreds of Khorne Daemons into blood mist with a gesture.
• Alvin hurled a massive Blood Palace pillar at Angron, then met Angron's axe in a clash that sent him smashing through pillars and into a metal wall.
• Alvin rose from the wall with a near-fatal wound and demanded more power, widening the Warp Rift until it stretched hundreds of meters across.
• Alvin absorbed the torrent pouring from the expanded rift and staggered toward Angron, declaring that one of them had to die that day.

Alvin fought Angron while his psychic power surged dangerously, but a mysterious golden flame awakened within him and purified the battlefield. The chapter ended with the Chaos Gods noticing the flame and setting their sights on Atropis.

• Alvin struck Angron hard enough to send the Daemon Primarch flying, then engaged him in battle.
• Ezekiel detected Alvin’s psychic strength rising to Epsilon-class and warned that it could become powerful enough to destroy Dragon Forest Star.
• As Angron’s bloodlust threatened to overwhelm him, Alvin heard a voice command him to ignite himself and the torch.
• A golden flame filled Alvin, halted Angron’s attack, and spread purifying psychic power across the battlefield.
• Khorne raged at the figure in the Crystal Labyrinth, while Slaanesh and Nurgle each declared their interest in Atropis.

Golden flames transformed Alvin and revealed the Emperor’s presence, prompting Angron to attack him with Soul Ripper. Alvin stopped the blow with a single punch and engulfed the Daemon Primarch in golden fire.

• Golden flames lifted Alvin into the air and revealed his translucent, jade-like body as his voice announced that Angron could not have him.
• Ezekiel and the Dark Angels recognized the Emperor’s will in Alvin, while Angron recognized his ancient foe and charged.
• Angron swung Soul Ripper at Alvin, and the wounded Dark Angels tried to protect him with their remaining strength.
• Alvin flew toward the descending axe and stopped its spinning blade with a single golden-flamed punch.
• Alvin drifted toward Angron and placed a hand on his chest, then blinding golden flames swallowed the Daemon Primarch.

The Emperor confronted Angron in the ruins of the Blood Palace, where Angron accused him of abandonment and betrayal. As the Emperor moved to erase Angron, Khorne struck at the Emperor’s presence in the Warp, and the Astronomican went dark across the Imperium.

• The Emperor’s golden flames left Angron severely burned and exposed, while their lingering power continued to torment him.
• Angron blamed the Emperor for the Butcher’s Nails, the suffering on Nuceria, and treating the Primarchs as tools, while the Emperor said they had to move forward alone.
• Angron threatened to reveal the truth about Alvin’s fate, but the Emperor silenced him and formed a sword of golden will to strike at his soul.
• Khorne reached across the Warp and struck at the Emperor’s presence, interrupting his attack on Angron.
• The Astronomican went dark, and navigators aboard distant human fleets lost its light.

Alvin met the living Emperor in a lucid dream and learned that he had to recover an ancient Old Ones artifact from the Black Zone. The Emperor warned him that the Astronomican would go dark and ordered him to become a second torch for the Imperium.

• Alvin saw and spoke with the living Emperor on a Snow Mountain.
• The Emperor told Alvin to honor the Valshius pact by retrieving an Old Ones artifact sealed in the Black Zone.
• The Emperor warned Alvin that Chaos Gods and other forces coveted him, and urged him to understand the significance of the name Atropos.
• The Emperor revealed that the Astronomican would go out for days, months, or possibly years, but said Alvin should not blame himself for the cause.
• The Emperor asked Alvin to become the Imperium's second torch while the Astronomican was extinguished.

The Emperor asked Alvin to relight the Astronomican, but said someone would come to explain how. In a vision, Malal took control of the Emperor and demanded Alvin choose whether he seemed like a man or a god; Alvin answered “a man,” then awoke as the Emperor’s golden figure vanished after stopping before Angron.

• The Emperor told Alvin to relight the Astronomican and said someone would soon tell him what to do.
• A blood-red phantom interrupted the Emperor, who left Alvin and climbed toward it after telling him not to forget where he came from.
• The Emperor asked Alvin whether he seemed more like a man or a god, while Malal’s dark will filled his eyes and voice.
• Alvin answered that the Emperor seemed like a man, and Malal’s presence receded before the figure disappeared into the sky.
• Alvin awoke as the golden figure and blade vanished before Angron, then realized the vision had shown Malal rather than the Emperor.

Alvin woke after two days unconscious to find the Dark Angels and the Sons of the Forest trapped and nearly out of ammunition northwest of the Demon Forge Palace. Just as he considered escaping, Ork scrap airships appeared overhead and dived toward the battlefield.

• Alvin woke in a battered defensive position as shells struck nearby, and Chief Librarian Ezekiel told him he had been unconscious for two days.
• Ezekiel explained that the Emperor had used Alvin's body before Alvin collapsed, and the survivors had fought their way out of the Demon Forge Palace before Khorne's forces surrounded them.
• Azrael, Samuel, Afkar, and the exhausted defenders continued holding the line against the Daemons and World Eaters despite their wounds and dwindling ammunition.
• Ezekiel urged Alvin to escape, but he and the others chose to remain and fight.
• A roar drew everyone's attention to the sky, where Ork scrap airships emerged from the clouds and plunged toward the battlefield.

Alvin and Ezekiel realized the Orks could distract the Chaos forces and give the Dark Angels a chance to escape. Azrael ordered the Dark Angels to take cover, but the Orks’ attacks devastated the World Eaters and spawned more Orks from the green sludge.

• Alvin stopped Ezekiel and suggested using the Orks’ attack to escape through the forest.
• Ezekiel relayed the plan to Azrael, who ordered the Dark Angels to take cover and shoot down an Ork airship.
• Azrael’s Dreadnought shot down an Ork airship, provoking the Orks to dive-bomb the Chaos forces.
• The World Eaters’ Archon diverted troops to fight the Orks, while some Ork airships broke through the Chaos barrage.
• An Ork hurled a strange bomb into the Chaos Legion, obliterating squads of World Eaters, three Dreadnoughts, and a company of Terminators.
• New Orks began growing from the green sludge in the blast zone, and the World Eaters’ Archon realized his forces were in grave danger.

A Greenskin Orc ship broke through the Chaos fleet and unleashed a growing horde on Dragon Forest Star, disrupting the World Eaters’ encirclement of the Dark Angels. As the Orks overwhelmed the battlefield, a flaming metal meteorite descended with a mighty Waaagh, driving them into an even greater frenzy.

• The crippled Stone Fortress destroyed Chaos Battleships with its main cannon, allowing an Orc Battleship to reach orbit above Dragon Forest Star.
• The Orks attacked the World Eaters, sending Killa Kans, ramshackle airships, and Orc Boyz against their Terminators and flanking squads.
• The World Eaters Archon ordered his forces to crush the Orks, but more armored Orks arrived and trapped the World Eaters, Daemons, and Dark Angels in a larger encirclement.
• A gigantic metal meteorite wrapped in green light and flames struck the World Eaters’ defensive line as a powerful Waaagh echoed across the battlefield.
• The Orks became more frenzied as the Waaagh spread throughout the battlefield.

Skulltaker Saraka crashed into the World Eaters' flank and tied up their Archon, giving Alvin and the surviving Dark Angels and Sons of the Forest a chance to escape. Alvin opened a mysterious forest path, and the warriors withdrew through it while three squads stayed behind to hold off Chaos.

• Skulltaker Saraka landed among the World Eaters, announced himself, and charged the Archon, crushing everyone in his path.
• Alvin realized Saraka had distracted the World Eaters and called his people to gather so he could get them out.
• The Supreme Grand Master ordered the Third, Fourth, and Sixth Squads to hold the line while the others retreated.
• Azrael led the surviving Dark Angels and Sons of the Forest inward toward Alvin as he reached into the Warp.
• Alvin opened a forest path, and the survivors withdrew through it as the World Eaters' Archon shouted his name in rage.

After the Dark Angels and Sons of the Forest regrouped, Azrael learned why the Lion had pardoned the Fallen Angels, but the revelation sparked a confrontation between Afkar and Asmodeus. Alvin stopped both sides from fighting by invoking his authority as the Emperor’s Living Saint, leaving the factions under threat of being declared heretics.

• Azrael ordered the exhausted Dark Angels to rest and met with Alvin to learn about the Lion and the mission to Dragon Forest Star.
• Alvin explained the Lion’s pardon, revealing that the Fallen Angels had not destroyed Caliban as they had been accused of doing.
• Afkar challenged Asmodeus after he called the Sons of the Forest Fallen Angels and questioned their loyalty.
• The Dark Angels and Sons of the Forest drew their weapons as their confrontation threatened to become a fight.
• Alvin ordered everyone to lower their weapons and warned that anyone who disobeyed would be charged with heresy.

Alvin subdued the Dark Angels and Sons of the Forest, then pushed Azrael to prioritize unity and the fight against Chaos over the Dark Angels’ secrets. He vowed to take revenge on the forces threatening Dragon Forest Star and was ready to destroy the planet if necessary.

• Alvin crushed Asmodeus, Afkar, and the assembled Dark Angels and Sons of the Forest with overwhelming psychic gravity, then warned them not to undermine their unity.
• Azrael agreed to set aside the immediate dispute and unite their forces against Chaos and the Greenskin Orcs on Dragon Forest Star.
• Alvin told Azrael that the Lion King had secretly agreed to work with the Blood Angels and Ultramarines, who would arrive soon.
• Azrael accepted that his duty was to save the Dark Angels and asked Alvin what he intended to do.
• Alvin vowed to avenge their fallen brothers by crushing the Chaos forces, even if he had to destroy Dragon Forest Star.

Alvin found and destroyed a Chaos psychic ritual node inside a Daemon Factory on Dragon Forest Star, allowing the Dark Angels to restore communications. After the forces retreated to camp, he discovered an unexpected figure waiting in his tent.

• Alvin located the ritual node and sent its coordinates to the Dark Angels and the Sons of the Forest.
• The Dark Angels ambushed the World Eaters, smashed through their defenses, and destroyed the altar and the Chaos device core.
• Alvin heard encrypted Space Marine communications return and ordered the assault forces to retreat.
• Alvin led the forces back to Ezekiel's camp, where they prepared to decrypt the intercepted message.
• Alvin entered his tent and found an unexpected figure sitting inside.