Chapter Summaries

Frederick Taylor revealed to Isaac that he believed psychic power was a divine gift that Alvin had hidden and sought to monopolize, and urged Isaac to help overthrow him. Isaac remained uncertain but agreed to decide within three days, while Taylor named the god he served as the Weaver of Fate, the Lord of Change.

• Isaac accused Frederick Taylor of madness after learning that Taylor planned to fuse humanity and the Trisolarans in mind and soul.
• Isaac attacked Taylor, but an invisible force hurled him into the floor, and Taylor revealed that he could wield psychic power.
• Taylor claimed psychic power was a god-given blessing that Alvin concealed, and said a secret force and the Astartes Chapter had caused the Luna rebellion explosion while trying to execute someone with the power.
• Taylor urged Isaac to hand over the Final Judgment and join him in overthrowing Alvin, and Isaac asked for time to think, agreeing to decide within three days.
• Isaac asked who the god was, and Taylor identified him as the Weaver of Fate, the Lord of Change.

Alvin explained that the Warp had spread into worlds through his psychic powers, and that he was isolating himself in Snow Mountain to suppress its influence. He also revealed that his faith system had helped distort the Emperor’s identity, then ordered the Grey Knights to investigate the Four Gods’ schemes.

• Maximus questioned why Alvin had only recently noticed that he could use Warp powers in worlds that had no Warp.
• Alvin explained that an outside influence had made him ignore the problem until his experiments in The Three-Body Problem broke the mental trap, by which time the Warp and the Four Gods’ will had begun seeping into the world.
• Alvin said he had built a Blackstone palace in Snow Mountain to isolate himself and had staged a scene before Luo Ji to find someone with an unbreakable will to suppress the Warp’s projection.
• Alvin realized that the faith he had established for the Emperor had helped make the Emperor see himself as a god rather than a human.
• Maximus identified Frederick Taylor as the leader of a Savior Cult that had merged with ET0 and suspected Tzeentch had been behind it.
• Alvin dismissed Khorne as a lesser concern and ordered the Grey Knights to focus on the other two Gods and destroy any threats they found.

Luo Ji and Li Ye tried to contact the Astartes Chapter so they could use overwhelming force against the High Lords of Terra, but realized they did not know how to operate the sword or reach the Chapter without Isaac Mores. Luo Ji proposed capturing the Trisolarans' head of state at the upcoming Council meeting and using the shared Trisolaran mind to broadcast a psychic message across the Solar System.

• Li Ye proposed contacting the Astartes Chapter and crushing the High Lords of Terra instead of rescuing Isaac Mores, since they now had a replacement for the Final Judgment.
• Luo Ji admitted that he had forgotten to ask how to use the sword Alvin gave him.
• Li Ye explained that the Astartes Chapter and the Adeptus Mechanicus had severed communications with Terra, and only Isaac Mores could contact the Chapter through normal means.
• Luo Ji suggested capturing the Trisolarans' head of state during his upcoming meeting with the High Lords and using the shared Trisolaran mind to broadcast a psychic message across the Solar System.
• Li Ye agreed to consider Luo Ji's dangerous plan, despite the risk of being killed by the Astra Militarum.

Disguised as Ecclesiarchy Priests, Luo Ji and Li Ye approached a public unveiling near the Holy Terra Council, where Luo Ji perceived the statue of the God of Wisdom as an Evil God. Li Ye dragged him away, but Luo Ji collapsed after hearing the believers chant Tzeentch’s name.

• Luo Ji and Li Ye disguised themselves and joined a crowd gathered for an Ecclesiarchy ceremony near the Holy Terra Council.
• The priests unveiled a statue identified as the God of Wisdom, and Luo Ji saw it as a sinister, living deity.
• Luo Ji became overwhelmed by visions and whispers as the statue seemed to examine his mind and soul.
• Li Ye pulled Luo Ji out of the crowd when the believers stared at them and Luo Ji started to collapse.
• Luo Ji heard the crowd chanting about Tzeentch, screamed, and passed out after repeating the name.

Luo Ji recovered from his strange episode and told Li Ye that the Emperor had been humanity’s defense against dangerous beings in the Warp, but that defense had failed. They realized the Ecclesiarchy might be corrupted, and Ascension Day’s worldwide broadcast of the Emperor’s Gospel was scheduled for the next day.

• Li Ye told Luo Ji that he had repeatedly said the name Tzeentch, and Luo Ji reacted with panic before recalling the Four Gods and the Warp.
• Luo Ji feared that Tzeentch had corrupted the Ecclesiarchy and began considering humanity’s future and his own responsibility to act.
• Li Ye asked Luo Ji what the name meant, and Luo Ji explained that the Emperor was real and had protected humanity from the dangerous beings of the spirit world.
• Li Ye realized the Ecclesiarchy might have been tainted and warned Luo Ji that its High Priest would broadcast the Emperor’s Gospel to all humanity on Ascension Day the next day.

Li Ye and Luo Ji concluded that Tzeentch’s corruption could destroy human civilization by twisting truth, trust, and cooperation. They planned to stop the Ecclesiarchy’s Ascension Day sermon while creating an opening to capture the Trisolaran leader and contact the Astartes Chapter.

• Luo Ji warned Li Ye that Tzeentch’s influence could corrupt knowledge, merge sorcery with technology, and collapse civilization.
• Li Hua realized humanity needed the Emperor as a defense against Tzeentch and grew afraid of the threat.
• Li Ye and Luo Ji considered whether the Astra Militarum, Inquisition, Imperial Fleet, Astartes Chapter, and Adeptus Mechanicus had also been corrupted.
• Luo Ji identified stopping the Ecclesiarchy’s Gospel and capturing the Trisolaran leader to contact the Astartes Chapter as their two priorities.
• Li Ye said he would stop the Ascension Day sermon and create an opportunity for Luo Ji to capture the Trisolaran leader, but kept his method and signal secret.

Li Ye prepared to stop Red Archbishop Theron Diaz from proclaiming a blasphemous scripture during Ascension Day. As Theron began speaking in the Grand Council, Li Ye shot him with an Ion Gun, engulfing him and the temple in an explosion.

• Li Ye prepared for the mission, and Luo Ji learned that Li Ye had a daughter and admitted he was nervous.
• Li Ye left Luo Ji behind with instructions to wait for his signal and entered the Grand Council as an Inquisitor.
• Li Ye noticed that the Astartes Chapter and the Adeptus Mechanicus were both absent from Ascension Day.
• Theron Diaz entered and opened a Bible that contained blasphemous words instead of the Emperor's Maxim.
• Li Ye drew an Ion Gun and shot Theron Diaz as he began to speak, triggering a massive explosion in the temple.

Li Ye attacked Theron Diaz in an Ecclesiarchy temple, but the archbishop’s supernatural protection deflected gunfire and explosions. Li Ye ultimately killed Theron with a dagger and left the aftermath to Luo Ji.

• Li Ye shot Theron Diaz and held the crowd at bay, declaring that the archbishop was his sole target.
• Theron emerged unharmed from the flames and deflected Li Ye’s plasma shots and Bolter rounds with a mysterious force.
• Li Ye combined another plasma shot with a grenade, setting much of the temple ablaze and trapping people in the fire.
• Theron unleashed a piercing shriek that controlled the crowd, but Li Ye stopped hearing it by plugging his ears with his fingers.
• Theron approached Li Ye’s hiding place, only for Li Ye to leap out of the flames and stab him through the heart.
• Li Ye lit a cigarette with the fire on his body, told Luo Ji to handle the rest, and slumped to the ground.

Luo Ji watched Isaac approve the peaceful coexistence agreement and then seized the Trisolaran Leader when an explosion caused chaos in the council chamber. The Leader was compressed into a tiny pellet, leaving its fate uncertain.

• Luo Ji entered the council chamber in disguise and recognized the missing Grand Inquisitor Isaac among the High Lords.
• Isaac recalled Frederick Taylor's warnings about humanity's future under Alvin and voted to approve the peaceful coexistence agreement.
• The Trisolaran Leader arrived and introduced itself to the High Lords and council members.
• An explosion disrupted the chamber, and Luo Ji used the confusion to rush toward the Trisolaran Leader.
• Luo Ji overwhelmed those around him and compressed the Leader into a tiny pellet with his telekinetic force.

Luo Ji seized the Trisolaran head of state to stop the High Lords from approving peaceful coexistence, but Frederick Taylor intervened and revealed himself as a servant of Tzeentch. After overpowering Luo Ji, Taylor took the head of state and declared that Luo Ji’s plan would fail.

• Luo Ji captured the Trisolaran head of state and threatened to crush it unless the High Lords withdrew their peaceful coexistence proposal.
• Frederick Taylor emerged from the shadows, and Luo Ji recognized the former Wallfacer and realized he had been corrupted by Tzeentch.
• Taylor asked Luo Ji to hand over the head of state, but Luo Ji refused and accused him of serving Chaos.
• Taylor unleashed a Psykana Shriek that shattered Luo Ji’s psychic barrier, hurled him away, and knocked the head of state from his hand.
• Taylor mutated into a gigantic birdlike creature, picked up the head of state, and told Luo Ji that his plan would never succeed.

Frederick Taylor attacked Luo Ji and revealed that nanomachines had let him monitor Luo Ji's mission to Snow Mountain. Despite learning that Alvin was trapped and that their plan had been exposed, Luo Ji refused to surrender and prepared to fight with his pendant.

• Frederick Taylor struck and choked Luo Ji, then demanded the item entrusted to him in exchange for his life.
• Frederick Taylor revealed that nanomachines implanted in Luo Ji had reported his actions and exposed his journey to Snow Mountain.
• Frederick Taylor claimed Alvin could not leave Snow Mountain and urged Luo Ji to join the Great Change.
• Luo Ji refused to surrender, called himself a stubborn fool, and took the pendant from his neck.
• Luo Ji declared that he might still win, and Frederick Taylor dismissed him as an idiot.

Luo Ji fought Frederick Taylor after summoning an enormous greatsword, but his strength waned as Taylor evaded his attacks. Taylor revealed his monstrous Chaos-corrupted form, killed the people in the hall with sorcery, and raised their corpses as monsters, leaving Luo Ji facing overwhelming danger.

• Luo Ji rejected Frederick Taylor's offer and unleashed a psychic wave that knocked him back.
• Luo Ji transformed his pendant into a massive greatsword, which Frederick Taylor greedily demanded.
• Frederick Taylor used illusions to evade Luo Ji's attacks, while Luo Ji struggled to wield the sword and grew exhausted.
• Frederick Taylor revealed his monstrous form and filled the hall with sorcerous flames that killed the people inside.
• Frederick Taylor consumed the dead people's souls and transformed their corpses into monsters, then boasted of the power granted by the Lord of Change.

Frederick Taylor summoned a Tzeentch Daemon Legion to kill Luo Ji, but Luo Ji’s sudden, inexplicable swordsmanship turned the tide of the attack. The Horrors pressed in again, and Luo Ji wondered whether he had been possessed.

• Frederick Taylor filled Terra’s council hall with Tzeentch Daemons and ordered them to kill Luo Ji.
• Luo Ji cut down a Pink Horror, survived its explosion with a psychic barrier, and was then overwhelmed by more Daemons.
• An unfamiliar memory seemed to take control of Luo Ji, allowing him to defeat nearby Horrors with effortless swordsmanship.
• Frederick Taylor ordered the Daemons to attack again because his psychic seal on communications across Holy Terra was temporary.
• Luo Ji entered another trance and killed dozens of Horrors with precise sword strikes before wondering if he had been possessed.

Luo Ji’s sword took control of his body and overwhelmed Frederick Taylor, revealing the Lion Sword’s Oblivion field. Frederick then unleashed a ritual that tore open the council hall and drew Tzeentch’s gaze, leaving Luo Ji staring up at the Chaos god’s eye.

• Luo Ji relinquished control as the sword’s force took over his body and charged Frederick Taylor, cutting through Dreadfiends and its defenses.
• Luo Ji’s possessed body resisted Mind Theft, interrupted Frederick’s spell, and battered it with a series of attacks.
• The Lion Sword activated its Oblivion field, and Frederick recognized the will within it as Alvin.
• Frederick declared itself a Chosen of the Gods and began a ritual, plunging its claw into its chest and releasing blue flame and Warp energy.
• The council hall cracked apart as Warp energy surged into the sky and formed a vast blue vortex with an enormous eye.
• Tzeentch’s eye gazed down at Luo Ji with amusement and mockery.

Frederick Taylor transformed into a Daemon and unleashed a massacre, overpowering Luo Ji and leaving him unable to move. Refusing to give up on humanity, Luo Ji accepted the burden of becoming its Swordholder and called upon the Emperor’s angel, whose psychic beam pierced Tzeentch’s eye.

• Frederick Taylor absorbed Warp energy, transformed into a towering Daemon, and sacrificed tens of thousands of civilians to Tzeentch.
• Luo Ji attacked Frederick Taylor, but the Daemon repelled him and revealed that it had foreseen his actions.
• Frederick Taylor left Luo Ji alive and powerless so he could watch humanity’s destruction, while Luo Ji despaired over his failure as a Wallfacer.
• Luo Ji accepted the Snow Mountain’s offer to become humanity’s Swordholder in exchange for saving the people.
• Luo Ji called out, “The Emperor’s angel,” and a psychic beam pierced Tzeentch’s giant eye like a lighthouse in the stars.

A Grey Knights unit received the No. 666 Final Purge Protocol after Warp activity and suspected Daemons were detected on Holy Terra. The warriors armed themselves and departed for Terra, beginning their first mission and purge.

• A Star Whisperer brought the order from Holy Terra to the meditating warrior, who confirmed the mission to purge Chaos Daemons.
• The warrior donned his Terminator Armour, checked his systems, and took up his Psykana Halberd.
• Cassius led the squad of nine Grey Knights in a vow against the forces of the Warp.
• Cassius and the Grey Knights boarded a Stormraven Gunship and set course for Holy Terra.

Luo Ji faced Frederick Taylor and Tzeentch’s Daemon Legion alone as the Senate fell to Chaos, determined to protect the people he cared about. Just as he prepared to die fighting, the Asia-Pacific United Army contacted him and arrived through the clouds.

• Frederick Taylor commanded Tzeentch’s Daemons to attack Luo Ji and boasted that Alvin could not stop him.
• Luo Ji resolved to defend Zhuang Yan’s and Li Hua’s world, then prepared to fight the Daemon Legion to the death.
• The Asia-Pacific United Army Command reached Luo Ji by radio and confirmed his position.
• The command announced that fighter squadrons, naval artillery, and ground armored forces were in position and coming to his aid.
• Dusky-gray aircraft with flashing navigation lights broke through the clouds toward the battlefield.

Luo Ji witnessed human fighter jets and an armored group unleash a devastating assault on Tzeentch’s Daemon Legion. The human forces seized control of the battlefield, leaving Luo Ji inspired as the bombardment continued.

• Human fighter jets broke through the Daemon air blockade and destroyed much of the legion with missiles.
• A golden-helmeted pilot shot down a Tzeentchian disc carrying a Pink Horror.
• Luo Ji received warnings from Mount Tai Command’s Seventh Armored Group and ran for cover.
• The armored group advanced and blasted the Daemon Legion with synchronized artillery salvos.
• Luo Ji listened to the soldiers curse the Daemons and gripped his sword, thrilled by humanity’s counterattack.

The Asia-Pacific Army Group overwhelmed Frederick Taylor's Daemon Legion with a massive bombardment, but Frederick twisted reality and neutralized the army's attacks. Luo Ji identified Frederick as the source of the distortions and called for concentrated fire, which failed to penetrate Frederick's sorcery barrier.

• The Asia-Pacific Army Group bombarded the Daemon Legion and reduced the former Senate of Holy Terra to a wasteland.
• Frederick Taylor unleashed sorcery that disrupted aircraft, turned the ground to quicksand, caused friendly fire, and overturned gravity.
• Luo Ji realized that Frederick was the source of the Daemons and battlefield distortions, then alerted the army.
• The army group and its naval forces concentrated their weapons on Frederick, but his barrier disintegrated, deflected, or transformed the attacks.
• Frederick mocked Luo Ji and humanity, claiming their counterattack was too weak.

Luo Ji resisted Frederick Taylor’s attempt to convert him and rallied the human forces, but Tzeentch’s sorcery overwhelmed the battlefield. Just as Luo Ji feared all was lost, the Emperor’s Angels of Death descended from the sky.

• Frederick Taylor showed Luo Ji visions of humanity’s bleak future under the Emperor and urged him to join the Lord of Change.
• Luo Ji rejected the Four Gods and unleashed a Psychic Power storm that briefly disrupted Tzeentch’s sorcery.
• Luo Ji ordered the army to attack, and Astra Militarum troops, tanks, and fighter squadrons charged the Daemons.
• Frederick Taylor’s magic and Psychic interference shattered the army’s communications, drove soldiers mad, and turned the battle into a massacre.
• A deafening roar shook the sky as countless blazing objects pierced the clouds and plunged toward the battlefield.
• Luo Ji and the others saw that the descending objects were the Emperor’s Angels of Death.