Chapter Summaries

Dulin’s fleet fought the Imperium, but Imperial spacetime weapons destroyed League ships and forced Dulin to order boarding actions. After Sage Kren’s death, Andro took command and prepared to avenge him, leaving peaceful relations with the Leagues of Votann impossible.

• Dulin learned that Imperial warships could restore themselves after damage, while Imperial fire eventually shattered the League’s spacetime defenses and destroyed several ships.
• Dulin ordered assault teams to board Imperial vessels and kill their crews, hoping the League could win by taking the ships intact.
• Andro learned that Sage Kren had been killed and recognized that the Imperium would retaliate for the death of one of its most respected sages.
• Leagues of Votann warriors teleported aboard Imperial ships, and Andro ordered the intruders eliminated and the surrounding space locked down.

Manorian led the Primaris Warriors in destroying the Leagues of Votann boarding forces, counterattacking their flagship, and executing its senior commanders. As the Imperium’s invasion spread, the Alliance’s leaders learned their fleet had been annihilated and faced Councilor Padin’s furious accusation.

• Manorian and the Explorer Chapter’s Primaris Warriors slaughtered every Leagues of Votann warrior who boarded their ship, and Chapter Master Andro ordered a counter-boarding attack with no survivors.
• The Imperium’s forces disabled the Alliance fleet’s faster-than-light travel, invaded its flagship, and killed Marshal Dulin and the other senior commanders after rejecting their surrender.
• Manorian ordered corpses returned to the Alliance with a warning, while the Imperium captured or killed the remaining fleet and began attacking Leagues of Votann border cities.
• Pro-war representatives discussed profiting from the war until six damaged Alliance ships returned to Sorian carrying the fleet’s dead and a letter declaring that the Imperium would never forgive its enemies.
• Messages reported the Imperium’s advancing reinforcements and repeated victories, while Councilor Padin angrily blamed the pro-war councilors for killing the Imperial envoy.

The Alliance council struggled to respond after the Imperium declared war, while Seth led an Imperial force toward Rick III to avenge Sage Kren. On Rick III, unpaid soldiers grumbled about their debts and some considered surrendering as the war still seemed distant.

• Councilor Padin condemned the war faction for killing an Imperial envoy, but the councilors argued over whether to fight or seek peace before agreeing to resist the Imperium while negotiating.
• Seth led the first wave of Imperial reinforcements toward Rick III, vowing to conquer a thousand worlds and punish those responsible for Sage Kren's death.
• Wesker and other soldiers at a remote Rick III outpost demanded their wages after learning the supply ship carrying currency had been robbed.
• An officer threatened the soldiers with military law, and they left without their pay.
• Wesker overheard veterans complain that their debts would outlast the war, and one suggested surrendering so their loans might disappear.

Wesker and the unpaid soldiers turned against the Alliance as the Imperium conquered Rick III’s orbital defenses. Kede’s rebellion seized the fortress command center, and he sent the Imperium a message of surrender.

• Wesker questioned his duty to the Alliance after recalling the veterans’ words and the crushing debts and exploitation facing ordinary citizens.
• Edwin ordered the soldiers’ wages withheld while prioritizing officers, then gave a regimental command to Keer instead of the more experienced Kede.
• Seth led the Flesh Tearers in destroying the Rick System’s outer station and capturing the orbital ring’s command center, allowing Imperial forces to begin their assault on Rick III.
• As the Imperium approached the fortress, Kede urged his soldiers to stop risking their lives for the Alliance, and Wesker and the others agreed to rebel.
• The uprising engulfed the fortress before the Imperium attacked; Kede seized the command center and ordered a surrender message sent to the Imperium.

Seth accepted the surrender of mutinous Alliance soldiers, who executed their officers and yielded the fortress to the Imperium. The story then shifted to Skavenblight, where Dax led an expedition to destroy the Skaven capital and paused mid-boast after an officer asked whether his eyes had dried out from all his chopping.

• Kede told Seth that the Alliance soldiers had captured their officers and wanted to surrender because they had been forced to fight and denied their promised pay; Seth agreed to spare the soldiers but not the Alliance’s upper ranks.
• Alliance pilots and soldiers surrendered, and Kede shut down the fortress’s defenses and prepared a landing platform for the Imperium.
• Seth arrived with the Flesh Tearers and ordered Kede’s soldiers to execute the captured officers; Kede, Wesker, and others shot them, confirming their break with the Alliance.
• Seth left the world to the Imperium and told the logistics forces to assist the surrendered soldiers with their transformation.
• The narrative introduced Skavenblight’s brutal underground empire and revealed that Dax, with Valerian’s permission, was leading an expedition to eradicate it.
• Aboard a rune-marked Grav-flyer, Dax retold his battle story until an officer asked whether his eyes had dried out from all the chopping, leaving Dax astonished.

Dax led the human invasion of Skavenblight, destroying its surface defenses and fighting through its underground tunnels toward the Great Horned Rat’s temple. After his forces defeated the temple’s defenders and killed its priests, a furious voice spoke to Dax as he prepared to destroy the Great Horned Rat’s statue.

• Dax detected Skavenblight beneath the swamp miasma and ordered the fleet to bombard the city, exposing it and destroying its surface defenses.
• Fisher led the Rippers and Steam Tanks in the landing force’s first assault while Dax and the human soldiers fought back the Skaven swarm.
• Dax organized an underground campaign, directing his vanguard toward the Great Horned Rat’s temple and the Council of Thirteen while other troops secured the tunnels.
• Dax and his squad broke through Skaven defenses and reached the temple, where reinforcements helped them defeat the defenders and kill the priests.
• Dax raised his sword to destroy the Great Horned Rat’s statue, but a furious voice called out to him.

Dax destroyed the Great Horned Rat’s temple and ordered it replaced with a shrine to the Holy Emperor as the Imperium expanded its foothold. Meanwhile, Valerian planned to travel east for another Emperor fragment, while Masaki Keigo worked to prepare for the Imperium’s arrival despite opposition from the Ultramen.

• Dax confronted the Great Horned Rat’s presence, destroyed its statue, and taunted the god as its will failed to reach him.
• Dax ordered soldiers to demolish the temple and Logistics to install a statue of the Holy Emperor there.
• Dax continued hunting the Skaven as the Imperium purged Middenheim’s nobles and accelerated construction and research.
• An envoy sought the Dwarfs’ help building a base, while Valerian prepared to journey east in search of an Emperor fragment.
• Masaki Keigo discussed humanity’s fate and the Imperium’s arrival with a scientist, saying GUTS was investigating the Imperium and the Ultramen might try to stop it.

Masaki Keigo accelerated his Light Particle research and learned that GUTS had discovered the Imperium’s hidden site on a Pacific island. As GUTS and GUARD landed to investigate, the Carcharodons prepared to ambush them.

• Masaki Keigo reaffirmed that humanity had to master Light Particles and ordered his scientists to advance their research into the power and the secrets of Ultraman hosts.
• A TPC informant told Masaki Keigo that GUTS had found the Imperium’s feeding eagle in Oceania, prompting him to make another call.
• Tech-Sage Sigma and Shaar explored an underground tomb of Ultra-Ancient giants and sought samples of the power that had once protected the universe.
• A servant detected abnormal energy and a seal in the tomb while Sage Sigma prepared to extract samples and leave.
• Megumi Iruma led GUTS and GUARD to the island to capture the Imperium’s agents, unaware that the Carcharodons had prepared an ambush.
• The Carcharodons activated their weapons and trained them on the fighters as GUTS Wing 1 swept low over the island, beginning the attack.

Sage Sigma uncovered three sealed Ultra-Ancient Giants and captured Captain Megumi Iruma after the ancient barrier resonated with her. Sigma revealed that Daigo survived as Tiga and persuaded Megumi to help the Imperium study Giant Power by warning that darkness threatened her teammates and family.

• Sage Sigma opened the underground seal and discovered three stone Giants protected by an ancient barrier, which reacted to Megumi Iruma.
• Shaar's forces destroyed the GUTS Wing and Zeus as cover, stunned the island teams, and abducted Megumi Iruma while Daigo survived the explosion as Tiga.
• Megumi Iruma's team searched the island and found signs of the Imperium's excavation but no trace of the captain or her captors.
• Sage Sigma showed Megumi that Daigo and the other team members were alive, then argued that the Ultramen might not protect humanity from the approaching darkness.
• Sage Sigma asked Megumi to help the Imperium obtain Giant Power technology, and Megumi accepted her offered hand after being warned that her teammates and family could be consumed by darkness.

Megumi Iruma entered the Imperium’s underground Himalayan laboratory, where Sage Sigma and Kahulan revealed the Warp’s horrors and began teaching her to use her inherited power. After Megumi released three sealed Dark Giants, Camearra recognized Yuzare’s presence in her and reached to crush her.

• Sage Sigma showed Megumi Iruma the Imperium’s research into Ultraman and identified the laboratory’s location beneath the Himalayas.
• Kahulan and the Tech-priests guided Megumi Iruma through the Warp, where she witnessed horrific visions of humanity’s possible fates and agreed to help the Imperium.
• Megumi Iruma saw three ancient statues and remembered their names: Darramb, Hudra, and Camearra.
• Megumi Iruma used her inherited power to break the seal, awakening the three Dark Giants after thirty million years.
• Camearra blamed Megumi Iruma for Tiga’s betrayal and reached toward her while Darramb and Hudra joined her threats.

Sage Sigma’s forces subdued Camearra, Hudra, and Darramb after they were unsealed, then began studying their Giant Power and learning about the Ultra-Ancient Civilization. The chapter ended with Guilliman receiving the mission to unlock the fifth phase of the Database.

• Camearra attacked Megumi Iruma, but Shaar wounded her with an electric weapon, and Sage Sigma’s lightning struck Darramb when he tried to attack.
• Camearra, Hudra, and Darramb returned to human form and agreed to cooperate after Shaar struck Darramb for insulting the God-Emperor.
• Sage Sigma examined the Dark Trio and learned their account of the Ultra-Ancient Civilization’s war, while Megumi Iruma heard how Dark Tiga had betrayed them and sealed them away.
• Sage Sigma left the laboratory to meet local native supporters after ordering her subordinates to continue the experiments.
• Guilliman received the mission to unlock the fifth phase of the Database and opened the system interface to inspect it.

Guilliman learned that the Imperium had to conquer an entire universe to unlock the fifth-stage Knowledge Database and considered how to accelerate its expansion. In Universe 02, Lucifer reflected on the Imperium’s slaughter of gods before an old friend arrived at his bar.

• Guilliman learned that the fifth-stage certification mission required the Imperium to obtain dominion over an entire universe, and the Assistant Spirit refused to change the requirement.
• Guilliman reviewed the Imperium’s limited conquests, the threat of the Tyranids, and the immense work required to expand its control and revive ancient heroes.
• Guilliman ordered his attendants to brief him on the Imperium’s situation and summon Cawl so they could discuss accelerating the conquest.
• Lucifer recalled that the Imperium had killed resistant gods, including Darkseid, and destroyed Darkseid’s homeland.
• A man in a trench coat entered Lucifer’s bar, sat down, and asked his old friend for a drink.

Constantine visited Lucifer’s bar after returning from the Imperium and bragged about his newfound importance and the dangers of traveling between universes. When Lucifer asked whether he had seen the Emperor of Mankind, the tavern fell silent to hear his answer.

• Constantine arrived at Lucifer’s bar and boasted that his time in the Imperium had made him superior to the former Lord of Hell.
• Constantine told Lucifer that several travelers had died on the journey and described how dangerous the Imperium’s trains between universes were.
• Lucifer reflected on how the Imperium’s firewall had cut gods off from humanity’s faith and steadily weakened him.
• Constantine warned Lucifer that terrifying monsters lurked in the Warp’s depths and could transform anyone who spoke their names or broke their rules.
• Lucifer asked Constantine whether he had seen the Emperor of Mankind, drawing the attention of everyone in the tavern.

Constantine showed the bar patrons a recording of his meeting with the God-Emperor and praised the Empire’s ambition to unite humanity and connect universes. He then began recounting the Imperium’s history, starting with the Emperor’s killing of Pope Moranson.

• Constantine showed the patrons a holographic recording of the God-Emperor and his own awkward speech before Him.
• Constantine defended the God-Emperor’s authority by pointing to Lucifer’s peaceful work as a bartender and the Empire’s interuniversal tunnel through the Warp.
• Lucifer asked about the Empire’s history, and Constantine promised a tale of the God-Emperor’s sacrifices and humanity’s struggle for survival.
• Constantine introduced the Great Crusade, the Emperor, the Primarchs, and the Astartes as the story’s central figures.
• Constantine began his account with Pope Moranson, the warlord slain by the Emperor, calling it the beginning of the Imperium’s godslaying.

Constantine recounted Sagittarius’s account of the Emperor’s rise, the Great Crusade, Horus’s betrayal, and the Siege of Terra, leaving his listeners devastated by humanity’s losses. Guilliman then issued directives on Imperial governance and waited to meet Chief Sage Belisarius Cawl.

• Constantine told the crowd how the Emperor unified Terra, built the Imperium, and launched the Great Crusade with the Primarchs and Space Marines.
• Constantine described Horus’s corruption, the traitors’ wars against the Loyalists, and the deaths and sacrifices culminating in the Siege of Terra.
• Constantine recounted the Emperor’s duel with Horus, the Emperor’s grievous wounds, and humanity’s survival at the cost of its hoped-for transcendence.
• Guilliman ordered reforms to taxation, elections, media, bureaucracy, and the use of assassins against people who undermined Imperial rules.
• Guilliman handled military redeployment orders, then told a servant to bring Chief Sage Belisarius Cawl in.

Cawl briefed Guilliman on the Imperium’s research progress and the backgrounds of several parallel universes. Guilliman chose Universe 04 as the Imperium’s primary conquest target to secure the fifth-stage Database while limiting exposure to greater threats.

• Cawl’s delegation arrived at Guilliman’s study, while Valano assessed the sages as potential threats to the God-Emperor.
• Cawl reported breakthroughs in research, including Ferrus’s micro-universe project, Vulkan’s rule-distorting weapons, and preliminary analyses of Universes 04 and 05.
• Guilliman weighed the dangers of Universes 01, 02, and 03 against the risks of focusing on the Imperium’s home universe.
• Guilliman decided that the Imperium should prioritize conquering Universe 04 to obtain the fifth-stage Database and establish a safer base for humanity.
• Guilliman told Cawl he wanted research projects for Universe 04, and Cawl cautioned that the ruined universe offered few resources.

Guilliman chose Universe 04 as the Imperium’s first universe-wide conquest target and ordered Cawl to assess it, while Constantine rallied a bar by recounting the Imperium’s history and renewal. News of Dream leading resistance in Universe 045 prompted Constantine to consider joining the front, and the chapter ended with Dax ordering a captured Skaven assassin taken to his tent for interrogation.

• Guilliman told Cawl that the Imperium needed a secure universe of its own and ordered a deconstruction report on Universe 04 before conquest began.
• Guilliman learned that Calgar was recovering and ordered Vashtorr, who offered ancient knowledge and ruin locations, handed over to Corax for questioning.
• Constantine recounted the Imperium’s history to a bar full of drinkers, ending with the God-Emperor’s return and the Imperium’s renewed rise.
• A news report announced that Dream was leading gods, heroes, and resurrected counterparts against Imperial forces in Universe 045, and Constantine said he might go to the front.
• At Skavenblight, Dax ordered a captured female Skaven assassin taken to his tent for interrogation, shocking his guard.

Dax’s forces held the Skaven Ruined Capital against repeated assaults while preparing to turn the captured ruins into a fortress. A new Skaven tunnel attack breached their defensive line, leaving Udi’s troops facing a sudden surge of enemies.

• Dax ordered mages to search the captured female Skaven’s soul for intelligence and directed his troops to defend the tunnels.
• The Council of Thirteen rallied Skaven from across the world to launch a holy war and reclaim their capital.
• Udi reported for duty as the Skaven attacked, and human gunfire and steam machines slaughtered their charging forces.
• Skaven emerged from deep pits after collapsing several steam machines, breaking through the defenses.

Udi helped repel a Skaven assault, then learned that the Council of Thirteen was hiding in Karak Eight Peaks and received orders to assemble an infiltration team to kill them. As Udi recruited Gotrek and Felix in Middenheim, the Council planned to prolong the war with plague and threatened to destroy the world by bringing down Morrslieb.

• The Skaven collapsed the human defenses from below, but Udi and the soldiers fought them at close quarters until Rippers drove the ratmen back.
• Dax told Udi that an interrogated Skaven assassin had revealed the Council of Thirteen was hiding in Karak Eight Peaks, and ordered him to recruit specialists for an assassination mission.
• Udi left for Middenheim with authorization to obtain advanced equipment and five sets of Imperium armor for his team.
• Gessler struck his son Laurie for saying he would defeat the God-Emperor, then made him swear loyalty to the Emperor instead.
• Udi recruited Gotrek and Felix, who agreed to join the mission after learning it would target the Council of Thirteen in a place they knew well.
• The Council of Thirteen discussed using plague and sabotage to wear down humanity, while threatening to pull Morrslieb into the world if the humans pushed them too far.

The Council of Thirteen planned to unleash plagues and disasters on humanity while Middenheim grew into an industrial hub. Udi assembled an unusual squad, equipped them with Imperial Armor, and led them toward Karak Eight Peaks to hunt the Council.

• The Lords of Decay argued over how to answer humanity’s victories, then agreed to spread plagues, trigger geological disasters, and destroy Morrslieb.
• Halflings arrived in Middenheim and found work in food businesses, farming, and other trades as the city expanded.
• Udi recruited the halfling thief Terisa and the mage Harris for his special squad, whose mission was to kill the Council of Thirteen.
• Udi’s squad received Imperial Armor, and Gotrek, Felix, Terisa, and Harris discussed its strength and the power of the God-Emperor.
• Udi led the armored squad to the airship port to travel to Karak Eight Peaks and attack Pillar City.