Chapter Summaries

The Emperor died after restoring the Golden Throne and Astronomican, naming Roboute Guilliman as humanity’s new Emperor and unleashing a final assault on Chaos. Guilliman placed Magnus on the Golden Throne, secured the Imperium, and prepared to ascend as the Emperor’s funeral and his coronation began.

• The Emperor made the Primarchs swear loyalty to Guilliman and unity against Chaos, then explained to Guilliman why he had to die and discussed the Warp, souls, and Guilliman’s origins.
• The Emperor repaired the Golden Throne, restored the Astronomican, named Roboute Guilliman his successor, and vanished as his psychic light struck the Chaos realms and calmed the Warp storms.
• Guilliman ordered Russ to put Magnus on the Golden Throne, assigned his brothers to guard the seal and contain threats, and arranged to conceal the circumstances of the Emperor’s death.
• Guilliman stabilized the Imperium, prepared campaigns against the Eye of Terror and other enemies, and gave Cawl advanced knowledge to develop new weapons and technology.
• The Primarchs gathered on Terra as Guilliman’s coronation approached, and they carried an empty golden coffin from the Throne Room for the Emperor’s funeral.

Guilliman held the Emperor’s funeral and was crowned the New Emperor, then revealed the Firewall that linked human souls and shielded them from the Chaos Gods. As humanity prepared for a war of vengeance, Horus and Abaddon made plans to oppose Guilliman and one another.

• The Primarchs carried the Emperor’s empty coffin from the Imperial Palace to the Mechanicum Dais, where Guilliman placed it within a Stasis Field and paid his final respects.
• Mathieu, Anise, and Marshal Valano crowned Guilliman and gave him the Emperor’s Sword as the Primarchs and the Imperium pledged loyalty to him.
• Guilliman called on humanity to unite against the gods and traitors, and the crowds across the Imperium answered with cries of “Long live humanity.”
• Guilliman and Cawl activated the Firewall, linking human souls through the Beacons to protect them from Warp corruption and weaken the gods’ influence.
• Guilliman promised a war of vengeance, while Eldrad considered his alliance with humanity and Horus recognized that the Firewall had disrupted his plans.
• Horus ordered Mar-Vell to bring the Celestials to his army, while Abaddon sought a weapon capable of killing Horus, now an avatar of Yog-Sothoth.

Abaddon accepted Horus's command to lead the Black Legion's vanguard in the Fourteenth Black Crusade, while Imperial forces prepared to attack the Necrons in the Valf System. Saide resolved to fight with the Astral Knights, and Gotham's superheroes stormed Roboute Corp as James died resisting them.

• Horus appeared before Abaddon, ordered him to lead the Fourteenth Black Crusade against Guilliman, and rewarded him with a Celestial Destruction Fortress.
• Admiral Gratis briefed Lothar and the assembled Imperial leaders on the Necrons' Pariah Nexus installations on Valf IV, and Lothar assigned the Chapters their assault missions.
• Saide spoke with Amurad in the Dream Realm and understood that sacrifice, not honor or strength, was the Astral Knights' true legacy.
• Lothar asked Saide to join the landing battle against the Necrons, and Saide agreed to be thrown into combat.
• The Justice League and Batman's forces attacked Roboute Corp in Gotham, where Ted Kede defeated James after James refused to let him pass.
• Superman attacked Roboute Corp's protective barrier as James fell to his death, and the superheroes continued into the tower.

The Justice League’s assault on Roboute Tower turned disastrous as Lex defeated Superman and revealed that the attack was a trap, while Dick died in an explosion. After Guilliman took control of the Imperium, he ordered Sanguinius to leave the universe and prepare a route of retreat as the 14th Black Crusade threatened a universe nearing collapse.

• Catwoman killed a Roboute Corporation guard while helping Batman fight through the tower, and Batman learned that Dick had died saving other heroes from a bomb.
• The Justice League battled Roboute Corporation’s defenses across Gotham City as Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and other heroes held back the company’s armed reinforcements.
• Superman fought Lex, who argued that superheroes made humanity dependent and that Roboute Corporation offered salvation, before trapping Superman with a Kryptonite weapon.
• Lex revealed that Roboute Tower was empty and rigged to explode, then sent the incapacitated Superman through a portal before Supergirl arrived.
• After Guilliman took control of power, he told Sanguinius that Abaddon had launched the 14th Black Crusade and ordered him to seek a route of retreat beyond their collapsing universe.

Guilliman sent Sanguinius to Mordo to oversee extra-universal exploration as the Imperium faced Abaddon's strengthened Black Legion and threats across the Multiverse. After reflecting on the nature of the universe, Guilliman reunited with Ferrus and introduced him to an unfinished Micro-universe that could serve as humanity's path of retreat.

• Sanguinius questioned how Abaddon had rebuilt the Black Legion, and Guilliman showed him footage of its Warp-corrupted fleet and the planet-sized Skull Fortress.
• Guilliman appointed Sanguinius to lead part of the Extra-universal Exploration Factory and ordered him to depart for Mordo, where Imperial exploration teams faced local resistance.
• Guilliman watched Sanguinius's warship leave and considered the dangers posed by Yog-Sothoth and the possibility that fictional universes reflected real histories.
• Guilliman summoned Ferrus, welcomed him back, and praised his ability to study the laws governing the universe.
• Guilliman revealed an entrance to an unfinished Micro-universe and told Ferrus that it was connected to humanity's path of retreat.

Guilliman brought Ferrus into the Micro-universe, explained his plans for its development and an Imperial Personal Knowledge System, and appointed him to lead both projects. After Ferrus departed, Guilliman received Cawl’s message that the requested Time Weapon was ready, leaving him eager to inspect it.

• Guilliman authorized Ferrus to enter the Micro-universe and showed him its machinery and independent space.
• Guilliman asked Ferrus to lead the Micro-universe and Sub-universe development and create the Imperial Personal Knowledge System, and Ferrus accepted the appointment.
• Ferrus left with his appointment document while Guilliman considered summoning Russ to form a new execution force.
• Dominus Archmagos Cawl informed Guilliman that the Time Weapon had taken shape, and Guilliman ordered him to come and demonstrate it.

Guilliman reviewed Cawl’s experimental Time Weapon and ordered him to develop a warship-scale reset device ahead of the coming final battle with the Necrons. In the Valf System, the Imperium destroyed the Necron fleet and began its assault on Valf IV, where Lothar’s Astral Knights fought toward the Pariah Nexus.

• Cawl demonstrated that his Time Weapon could restore an object to an anchored point in time, and Guilliman ordered him to develop a warship-scale version and accelerate other weapons projects.
• Guilliman planned to discuss creating an Executioner force with Russ to purge those who betrayed the Imperium.
• The Imperial fleet destroyed the Necron ships in the Valf System by using spatial devices and the God-Brain to counter their escapes and instant jumps.
• Lothar and the Astral Knights landed on Valf IV to destroy the Obelisks and sabotage the Pariah Nexus, while other Chapters attacked elsewhere.
• The Astral Knights repelled the Necrons’ first assault, established Teleportation Jammers, and advanced toward the Hive City’s center amid mounting resistance.

The Astral Knights captured Valf IV and destroyed its Necron Obelisks, while Lothar learned that the Lion would lead the wider campaign against the Necrons. In Gotham City, Lex captured Superman Clark, and Sam activated a trap that teleported Roboute Tower—with the superheroes inside—away.

• Saide killed a powerful Necron general, and Lothar led the Astral Knights in destroying the Obelisks and taking control of a pyramid.
• Lothar killed the Phaeron, and the Imperium liberated Valf IV after its forces arrived; he then learned that the Lion would command the Necron campaign.
• Lex used Kryptonite to defeat Superman Clark and take him away, while the superheroes found Roboute Tower empty except for Sam.
• Sam condemned the superheroes and argued that Roboute Corp had helped ordinary people while they protected a corrupt society.
• Green Arrow attacked Sam, but Sam evaded him and activated a trap that made Roboute Tower disappear with the superheroes inside.

Sam's device trapped the Justice League in space, where Batman lost the Bat-Family and Catwoman before the survivors were rescued. As Bruce rallied the League to fight Roboute Corp, Constantine warned that Bruce was being influenced by an evil force beneath Gotham, while Titus authorized research on the captive Superman.

• Sam activated the device, casting the superheroes into space, where many died from the vacuum and extreme temperatures.
• Bruce watched Catwoman and the Bat-Family die, and his grief awakened a dark influence that made him blame Roboute Corp.
• A glowing rift rescued the surviving superheroes, and they returned to Justice League headquarters as news coverage blamed them for the destruction in Gotham.
• Constantine criticized the League for endangering civilians and argued that Roboute Corp's stable society reduced crime; Bruce dismissed him and called for the League's allies to join the war.
• Constantine suspected an ancient evil beneath Gotham was influencing Bruce, while Bruce ordered the League to summon its allies, including Hal.
• Titus authorized the Tech-priests to study Superman's genes while he prepared to unify the planet before the Imperium's forces arrived.

Clark was imprisoned and experimented on by Titus and Roboute Corp, while the Justice League prepared for war. The Guardians discovered an invasion threat from another universe, and Bruce’s growing murderous urges led Constantine to suspect Barbatos was targeting him.

• Clark woke underground, confronted Titus, and learned Titus claimed humanity’s survival justified Roboute Corp’s actions.
• Tech-priests drained Clark’s blood for experiments while Titus received reports that the Justice League, governments, and civilian groups were resisting Roboute Corp.
• Bruce, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Supergirl gathered forces for war, including Batman’s allies, Atlantean soldiers, and surviving Kryptonians.
• The Guardians discovered a breach from another universe and decided to seek the Monitor’s help; Hal received permission to return to Earth after a distress signal.
• Constantine identified Barbatos as the Daemon sealed beneath Gotham and suspected it was exploiting Bruce’s suppressed anger.
• Bruce woke from a nightmare consumed by urges to kill, and Wonder Woman told him the gods could not perceive Roboute Corp’s Destiny-evasion methods.

Bruce decided to seek Joker’s help against Roboute Corp, while Lion outlined a plan to weaken the Necron Pariah Nexus. Jaghatai investigated a sealed tunnel station contaminated by Warp creatures and asked to enter it.

• Wonder Woman failed to find Clark, and Bruce suppressed his anger before deciding to find Joker and enlist his help against Roboute Corp.
• Lion briefed the Imperial officers on the Necron threat and proposed using small teams to deliver Geomagnetic Reversers to key planets and weaken the Pariah Nexus.
• Jaghatai and Sanguinius arrived at Mordo, where officials described the Inter-universal Tunnel’s dangers and its history of Scarlet-class incidents.
• Jaghatai chose to investigate a sealed station, and Sanguinius let him go with an elite squad of Exorcists Chapter warriors.
• Jaghatai reviewed footage of the ruined station and its Warp monsters, then asked the guards whether he could enter.

Jaghatai entered the corrupted Rest Station with Exorcist Warriors, destroyed its Daemons, and gathered intelligence for a future inter-universal force. Lion captured the Crimson God's shard and defeated the Novokh Dynasty's Overlord, while Guilliman received a new mission to explore five alternate universes and five galaxies.

• Jaghatai led Exorcist Warriors into the Rest Station, resisted a Daemon's offers of power, and killed the Daemon with his Arcane Power Blade.
• Jaghatai and the Exorcist Warriors fought through waves of monsters and destroyed the Rest Station's powerful Daemon using Extreme Speed Mode and an Annihilation Weapon.
• Jaghatai decided to use the remaining Rest Stations as training grounds and collected information for the Mobile Force for the Inter-universal Tunnel.
• Lion confronted the Crimson King on the Novokh Dynasty's Crownworld and captured the Crimson God's shard with a device created by the Void Dragon.
• Lion ordered the surrendered Novokh Dynasty's leaders executed and sent the Sautekh Dynasty the control protocol and a warning.
• Guilliman received the Phase Four certification mission, which required him to explore five alternate universes and five galaxies.

Guilliman planned an Imperial exploration force after the system unlocked Phase Four, while Abaddon escaped Calgar and warned him of a new power threatening the Milky Way. That power struck the Imperium’s fleet with Hulk-led forces, leaving the Lamenters and Scythes of the Emperor trapped in a desperate defense.

• Guilliman considered founding a Human Exploration Department to explore other galaxies and prepare for Imperial expansion.
• Abaddon’s Black Legion slaughtered a planet’s defenders, but Abaddon learned Calgar’s fleet was approaching and chose to use their battle as a distraction.
• Calgar boarded the Skull Fortress and confronted Abaddon, who warned him about a new enemy before escaping; Calgar destroyed the fortress with Planet-Killer Bombs.
• Calgar learned that the new force had annihilated an Imperial Navy fleet and killed twenty thousand Primaris Warriors, so he ordered his forces to assemble against it.
• Hulk-led forces overwhelmed the Imperium’s fleet and drove the Lamenters and Scythes of the Emperor into the final fortress, where Malvin prepared the defenders for the Hulks’ charge.

Malvin and the Lamenters were overwhelmed by Cancerverse forces, and the fortress fell despite his final stand. As the Imperium prepared to strike Commorragh, Vect revealed a plan to use the Staff of Asuryan against the invasion.

• Malvin led the Lamenters against the Hulks, but Phoenix and other Cancerverse Heroes devastated their forces and left him gravely wounded.
• Malvin refused Thrasius's offer of rescue, rose to face a hammer-wielding monster, and fell as the last Lamenter died and the fortress burned.
• Thrasius escaped with fifty Scythes of the Emperor aboard the last starship, while Mar-Vell prepared the Cancerous Legion to confront an approaching Imperial fleet.
• Eldrad urged Vect to surrender Commorragh, but Vect dismissed his warning and his guests remained confident that humans could not breach the Webway.
• Vect displayed the Staff of Asuryan and proposed activating the artifact through blood sacrifice rather than forbidden psykers.

Humanity invaded Commorragh, overwhelming its defenses and opening a sealed Webway entrance that unleashed Slaanesh’s daemons upon the Dark City. Vect returned to find Commorragh collapsing into slaughter and faced Shalaxi Helbane aboard his warship.

• Vect explained how blood sacrifice could awaken the Staff of Asuryan while other Drukhari leaders coveted the rewards of defeating the Imperium.
• Boreas and Ezekiel discussed the coming raid on Commorragh, including a plan to open sealed Webway entrances and expose the city to daemons.
• Guilliman forced the Void Dragon to submit and accept an alliance, then learned that the Imperium was preparing to reclaim the Eye of Terror and fight Yog-Sothoth’s forces.
• Azrael led the Imperium’s assault on the Satellite Districts, while Imperial forces razed the Drukhari strongholds and executed collaborators.
• The Imperium attacked Commorragh, and Boreas led the Deathwing to break open a sealed Webway entrance before withdrawing as daemons entered the city.
• Vect returned to Commorragh after the Imperium withdrew and found the city ravaged by Slaanesh’s daemons, then heard Shalaxi Helbane introduce herself aboard his warship.

Shalaxi destroyed Commorragh and its survivors, while Grimm recovered in an Imperial sanatorium and struggled to accept the changed Imperium. In the other universe, Bruce killed Joker and Sanguinius arrived to help Titus confront the Justice League and secure the Imperium’s foothold.

• Shalaxi defeated Vect, Hesperax, and the Drukhari, and Slaanesh’s daemons overwhelmed Commorragh.
• Urien escaped through a Resurrection Coffin but was tortured to death, and Azrael ordered Commorragh destroyed by Exterminatus.
• Grimm recovered on an Agri-World, learned about Guilliman’s reforms, and spoke with his therapist about his doubts and duty.
• Bruce recruited Joker to fight Roboute Corp, but killed him after Joker refused to cooperate; Baal witnessed the killing.
• Sanguinius entered the new universe and was welcomed by Titus and the Imperium personnel at the Underground Research Institute in Gotham City.

Lex met Sanguinius, who appointed him the first planetary governor and discussed using force to unify the divided world. Elsewhere, Lion forced Trazyn to surrender the Solemnace System, while Sanguinius told the United Nations that the Imperium would rule humanity whether its representatives accepted it or not.

• Lex wrote in his diary about war, social injustice, and his opposition to Superman before answering Sanguinius's summons.
• Sanguinius appointed Lex the world's first planetary governor, and Lex swore loyalty to the Imperium.
• Sanguinius decided that violence and war would be necessary to unify the world's nations and defeat superhero resistance.
• Lion defeated Trazyn's fleet and secured Trazyn's surrender by promising to preserve his museum.
• At the United Nations, Sanguinius declared that humanity must pledge absolute loyalty to the Imperium, then told the protesting representatives that its rule was not something they could change.

Sanguinius defeated the Justice League and forced the United Nations representatives to accept the Imperium’s rule, while Constantine and Zatanna discovered that Barbatos had escaped its seal. Guilliman reviewed Ferrus’s new Imperial Citizen System, and separate expeditions encountered a world ruled by a Reincarnation Game and a medieval world where Dax’s memories did not match its history.

• Sanguinius crushed the Justice League’s counterattack, killed several heroes, and compelled the representatives at UN Headquarters to proclaim loyalty to the Imperium.
• Sanguinius assigned Lex to integrate the nations as Roboute Corp forces prepared to take control, while the Imperium planned to eliminate the remaining Justice League and expand its campaign.
• Constantine and Zatanna found Solomon’s Demon-Sealing Sigil destroyed and concluded that Barbatos had escaped and might have taken control of Batman.
• Guilliman praised Ferrus for creating version 1.0 of the Imperial Citizen System and ordered him to coordinate its rollout with Penny.
• Tech-priests investigated Qiu Chen’s world, determined that the Reincarnation Game might be designed to harvest emotions, and chose to observe and report the threat to Terra.
• Valerian’s expedition reached a Chaos-corrupted medieval world, where a scholar revealed that the Battle of Roaring Mountain Dax described had taken place a thousand years earlier.

Dax learned that a thousand years had passed since he left his world, while Valerian’s team planned an outpost and sought the Emperor’s Fragment in Cathay. Meanwhile, Dorn’s forces reclaimed the City of Miracles, and Lion’s commanders debated how to defeat the Necrons as the chapter ended.

• Dax read a history book confirming that a thousand years had passed and learned that Mannfred had become Emperor before later being assassinated.
• Dax explored the impoverished village, heard that Skaven had attacked a nearby settlement, and brought a desperate villager to Valerian for help.
• Valerian’s fragment reacted to the Dragon Emperor of Cathay, prompting Valerian to plan an eastward expedition after establishing an outpost.
• Dorn led Imperial and Aeldari forces in an assault that defeated the daemons and secured the City of Miracles.
• Lion ordered a Thought Seal for senior officers handling Fulgrim’s loyal clone and discussed the planned campaign against the Necrons.
• A female captain advised Lion to avoid a quick strike against the Silent King and Stormlord and instead wage a war of attrition against the Necron dynasties.

Lion reconciled competing Imperial strategies against the Necrons, but the fleet was ambushed as it emerged from the Warp. Calgar stayed aboard Macragge's Honour, defeated a twisted thunder god, and faced Mar-Vell and other powerful Cancerous Legion figures.

• Lion proposed combining a frontal war against the Necrons with targeted executions of capable commanders who could not claim supreme rule.
• The fleet was ambushed immediately after leaving the Warp, and monsters and reanimated corpses boarded Macragge's Honour.
• Calgar ordered other warships to withdraw if necessary, then prepared to defend the flagship after spatial interference disabled emergency teleportation.
• Calgar and his honor guards fought off Cancerous Hulks, and Calgar killed the God of Thunder with his enhanced strength.
• Mar-Vell arrived with the Phoenix Force, the second Captain Marvel, and the Hulk Progenitor, declaring victory assured as Calgar faced them.