Chapter Summaries

Grey pursued Abaddon and Korax through the passage, then tried to send the badly wounded Grot back to the planet. Grot refused, grieving the destruction of his regiment and insisting on continuing the fight, so Grey finally took him along to pursue the enemy.

• Grot used the Gravity Scepter to destroy Abaddon's Terminators but lost limbs to bolter fire, and medics stabilized him.
• Grey teleported into the passage and wounded Korax, forcing Abaddon to order a retreat.
• Grey checked on Grot, who proudly claimed he had killed six Terminators, while Gaius warned that Grot's behavior was self-destructive.
• Grey ordered Grot to leave, but Grot refused and described how the Titan battle had nearly wiped out the 44th Regiment.
• Gaius told Grot that war demanded a willingness to sacrifice, and Grot said he wanted everything to end because he was tired.
• Grey stopped trying to prevent Grot from fighting and took him along to pursue the enemy.

Abaddon prepared an ambush on the Iron Planet while Greyfax gathered reinforcements from the Lamenters, Space Wolves, and Sal. The spatial platforms connected and both sides began fighting, as Grey advanced toward Abaddon and encountered a group of flame-wreathed Space Marines.

• Abaddon arranged defenses with Taifon and Korax, then used a beacon to teleport in more than five hundred and forty Space Marines and the Oathbreaker Warband’s Mortal Servitors.
• Greyfax requested reinforcements from Creed, who reported that the Weeping Legion and Space Wolves were preparing to teleport while other Chapters traveled by strike Cruisers.
• Chapter Master Fros arrived with seventy-two Lamenters, Sven arrived with fifty Space Wolves, and Sal teleported in disguised as a human.
• The spatial device connected the platforms, and both sides opened fire as Grey charged forward to reach Abaddon.
• Grey dodged incoming bolts and came upon a group of Space Marines wreathed in flames.

Grey charged Abaddon, severed one of his arms, and was badly wounded by the Warmaster before teleporting away. He launched another attack through Abaddon's Chosen, while Greyfax watched the strange forces fighting across the battlefield.

• Flame-wreathed Space Marines appeared on the battlefield and attacked the Chaos Space Marines as Grey ran toward Abaddon.
• Grey used Bullet Time, stabbed Korax, knocked Sal out of the path of a Bolter round, and cut off Abaddon's arm before the Warmaster wounded him with the Claw of Horus.
• Grey analyzed Abaddon's feint and resolved to risk his life to kill the Warmaster.
• Grey charged Abaddon's Chosen again, while Fros understood his signal and led six Lamenters around to approach from another direction.
• Grey detached from his Power Armor and blew up his fusion reactor, burning Abaddon's Chosen before emerging from the flames with his armor still fighting beside him.
• Inquisitor Greyfax watched the bizarre forces battling across the platform and wondered what kind of demons and monsters they were.

Korax was badly wounded after an armored Ogryn knocked him off the battlefield and into a pit, while Grot went after him. In a corridor, Korax tried to contact the Conqueror but encountered static, then turned to face a mortal in Power Armor who had approached him.

• Korax taunted Sven while retreating, but an armored Ogryn charged past Sven and hurled him across the battlefield into a pit.
• Sven warned his subordinates about the armored Ogryns and went to rescue one of his wolf pups.
• Grot recalled that the fallen Space Marine had stood beside the enemy commander and leapt into the pit to find him.
• Korax emerged into a corridor, assessed his severe injuries, and tried to contact the Conqueror, but the connection broke up with static.
• A voice spoke behind Korax, who pulled a shard of Ceramite from his chest and turned to see a mortal wearing Power Armor.

Grot challenged the wounded Solaax to a duel and survived a devastating explosion despite seeking death. Three winged women appeared and healed Grot before one flew toward an explosion overhead.

• Grot removed his Power Armor and challenged Solaax to a fight to the death, saying he wanted a pure hand-to-hand battle.
• Solaax tore off Grot's arm, but Grot stabbed him in the chest; Solaax then beat Grot until he stopped breathing.
• Solaax offered to make Grot a Space Marine, but Grot refused, and a blue sphere exploded, engulfing the passage in flames and shrapnel.
• Grot regained consciousness amid the wreckage, badly wounded and angry that he had survived, then waited for death.
• Three winged women appeared in golden light and healed Grot; after an explosion sounded overhead, one flew up toward it.

Grey fought Abaddon on the satellite, and Celestine joined him to stab Abaddon eighteen times before he teleported away. Grey stayed in the ongoing battle while the war on Cadia neared its end, and Creed monitored the fighting from the surface.

• Abaddon concluded Korax was dead and urged the Oathbreaker Warband to avenge him as they launched suicidal attacks.
• Grey detonated his fusion reactor against Abaddon, then survived the blast as his damaged body rapidly rebuilt itself.
• Grey threw a Power Sword past Abaddon, allowing Celestine to strike from behind, and the pair stabbed Abaddon eighteen times before he teleported to the Soul of Vengeance.
• Celestine left the satellite to join the battle on the surface, while Grey continued fighting with an iron claw welded to his waist.
• Creed watched the battle through holographic images as the war on Cadia neared its end.

Qin Mo activated the Blackstone Obelisk, suppressing Warp creatures and Psychic Power across the galaxy and turning the battle in Cadia's favor. As Chaos forces began retreating, Tessa relayed Qin Mo's order for Fros to return to Cadia.

• Creed sent the Sisters of Battle to stabilize the Metal Plains, where three winged women appeared and rallied the retreating troops.
• The Blackstone Obelisk's wave erased blue demons, weakened the blood-red demons, sealed the galaxy's rifts, and temporarily incapacitated almost everyone.
• Qin Mo appeared before Creed and explained that he had activated the Blackstone Obelisk, while Creed realized that Cadia had won.
• Chaos forces withdrew as the Death's Head Titans and Knights stayed behind to cover them, and the Oathbreaker Warband continued fighting inside the satellite.
• Fros killed the weakened Taifon, then received Tessa's message that Qin Mo wanted him to return to Cadia.

Fros and the Weeping Legion set course for Baal to aid the Blood Angels and the other Sons of Angels against the Tyranids. Before they depart, Belona offers to help defend Baal, and Fros agrees to take her there.

• Qin Mo ordered Fros to take the Weeping Legion to Baal and gave him an allocation order for enough military supplies to equip three Legions.
• Qin Mo arranged for Leviathan, loaded with Iron Men, to fight the Tyranids and improve itself during the war.
• Fros returned to the Daughter of Storm, set Baal as the Legion’s destination, and began preparing for dimensional travel.
• Belona, a female Inquisitor, told Fros she could help defend Baal and asked him to take her there.
• Fros hesitated, then agreed to bring Belona along.

The Chaos fleet fled the Celestial Engine under siege while Abaddon, gravely wounded, guided the Black Legion toward using its Vortex Torpedoes to disrupt the Tyran Navy. Qin Mo repeatedly contained the resulting threats, but the Warp gods opened a gate that began dragging the Chaos ships into the Warp.

• The Chaos fleet abandoned the Titan Legions and Mortal Servitors aboard the Celestial Engine and retreated, losing transport ships under the Tyran Navy's fire.
• Abaddon traced circles on the veteran's palm, prompting the veteran to recognize his signal and order the guarded Vortex Torpedoes loaded.
• The Soul of Vengeance fired a Vortex Torpedo, and Qin Mo fought a Warp god to contain the vortex and redirect another torpedo into it.
• Qin Mo pulled the Chaos fleet back toward the Celestial Engine, undoing its retreat, while the End of Days detonated its Vortex Torpedo and became a gate to the Warp.
• Qin Mo trapped the Chaos fleet near the gate, but tentacles emerged and began wrapping the ships and dragging them into the Warp.

Captain Sain and the crew of Glory Road sacrificed their ship to destroy the enemy flagship Soul of Vengeance as it was dragged into the Warp. Glory Road's machine spirit activated the self-destruct protocol, and the story ended with both ships consumed by the explosion.

• Glory Road's weapons failed to break Soul of Vengeance's Void Shields before the enemy flagship was pulled toward the gate of flesh and blood.
• Sain realized Glory Road had ignored its emergency withdrawal protocol and suspected the ship's symbolic importance had awakened a machine spirit.
• Sain ordered the crew to charge the Dimension Engine and explained that destroying the flagship could keep it from attacking the Tyran Sector in a future war.
• Sain set Glory Road's dimensional destination on Soul of Vengeance and ordered the ship's self-destruct timer activated; the ship itself had already activated the protocol.
• Glory Road emerged from dimensional space inside Soul of Vengeance and exploded, destroying the enemy flagship and its crew.

The Thirteenth Black Crusade ended after the Chaos fleet and its gate were destroyed, though the Glory Road was lost to the Warp. As the Inquisitors summoned Creed for questioning, he asked Qin Mo to help make Sein Cadia’s next Lord Commander.

• Qin Mo confirmed to Creed that the battle was over after the End of Days gate collapsed and the remaining Chaos ships were destroyed or scattered.
• Creed gave Qin Mo a report about the Imperial Navy and warned that Navigators and Astropaths would resist the spread of Dimension Engines; Qin Mo offered Kwarun free Particle Lances if he installed the engines.
• Qin Mo and Creed reminisced about how they had first met, then joked about a gift that could make cigars and extend Creed’s life.
• Creed asked Qin Mo to ensure Sein became the next Lord Commander, explaining that Sein could stabilize Cadia after the war.
• Kyle told Creed that the Inquisitors wanted to speak with him alone, and Creed issued an order allowing the Tyranids to leave the Cadian Gate defense zone.

Qin Mo kept the Tyran forces on Cadia for the victory celebration while ensuring the Imperial Navy remained ready to fight. In Milak Bastion, Greyfax interrogated Creed about his wartime decisions and ties to the Tyran Sector, and Kyle’s outburst raised her suspicions about the Lord of Tyran.

• Qin Mo reflected on the Inquisition’s role in the Imperium and decided Creed should not have suffered its misconduct.
• Qin Mo told Grey and the Tyran military leaders to remain on Cadia for the Cadian victory celebration, while the Navy stayed aboard its warships and prepared for battle.
• Greyfax questioned Creed in Milak Bastion about expelling Inquisitor Belona, the Tyranids’ arrival, and his authorization for scans of Cadia.
• Greyfax produced Creed’s file about his time lost in the Tyran Sector and challenged him over his past there.
• Kyle accused Greyfax of avoiding the Lord of Tyran, and Greyfax pressed him about why the Lord might shoot her with a laser.
• Creed ordered Kyle to shut up and insisted the Tyranids had nothing to do with the interrogation.

Greyfax explained why the Inquisition suspected the Tyran Sector of heresy, but Creed remained unconvinced. After Greyfax faced opposition from other Inquisitors, Chuck joined her investigation.

• Greyfax disabled the Servitor Skull's recording function and told Creed that the Inquisition suspected the Tyranids of using Iron Men and Abominable Intelligence.
• Greyfax compared the Tyranids' relationship with the Cadians to the Eldar's influence over the Thousand Sons, warning Creed that apparent friendship could conceal a plot.
• Creed said he did not believe Greyfax, and Greyfax left the dungeon before returning to take his cigar-laden belt.
• Greyfax defended her interrogation of Creed against other Inquisitors, most of whom left in protest.
• Chuck presented his file and persuaded Greyfax to let him join the investigation into the Tyran Sector.

Qin Mo enlisted Chuck to provoke a confrontation between the Tyran Navy and the Inquisition, forcing Greyfax to suspend her investigation. Horst then ordered Greyfax to wait five days before releasing Creed and assist him in investigating the Blackstone Obelisk.

• Chuck told Qin Mo that Greyfax was targeting him and using Creed to seek information about the Tyran Sector.
• Qin Mo asked Chuck to demand an interrogation subject from one of the Tyran Navy warships, and Chuck agreed to make the dispute public.
• Chuck warned Qin Mo that Horst was secretly investigating Cadia and had asked for intelligence about Blackstone.
• Greyfax received word that Tyran Navy ships had aimed their weapons at the Inquisition vessel and recognized Chuck's role in the confrontation.
• Horst persuaded Greyfax to suspend the Tyran investigation and wait five days before releasing Creed.
• Horst asked Greyfax to help investigate the Blackstone Obelisk and the black spheres beneath it, then left with her following.

Qin Mo freed Creed from Greyfax’s dungeon, and the two parted on good terms as the Tyran fleet prepared to leave Cadia. The fleet departed after the victory, while Qin Mo worried about the political fallout and planned to remove the Claw of Horus from Grey.

• Qin Mo released Creed after five days in the dungeon, and Creed learned that the Inquisition had kept him imprisoned without approval.
• Creed warned Qin Mo to ease tensions with the Inquisition, while Qin Mo admitted he opposed the Imperium but fought beside Creed because he hated Chaos more.
• Qin Mo agreed to move the Tyran warships’ guns away from the Inquisition’s vessels, and Creed promised Cadia would aid Tyran in a future crisis.
• Qin Mo and Creed exchanged farewells, and three days later the Tyran Army departed Cadia amid public gratitude and gifts from the Ecclesiarchy.
• Qin Mo wondered about Gaius, Cawl, and the consequences of the daemons being seen, then told Grey he would find a way to remove the Claw of Horus from her abdomen.

Vanessa watched pioneers prepare to settle new worlds on Talon III before the Emperor possessed her to speak with Qin Mo. After the Emperor warned Qin Mo to destroy the Claw of Horus, Qin Mo stored it in dimensional space for later study and left.

• Vanessa visited Talon III's beach and told soldiers that the ocean world had existed a hundred years earlier.
• Vanessa watched civilians enlist as pioneers for new colonies while a colony ship gathered recruits in orbit.
• The Emperor possessed Vanessa and told Qin Mo that he used her to observe him, while other aspects of his divided will distrusted Qin Mo's intentions toward humanity.
• Qin Mo praised the Emperor for protecting humanity, then asked for advice about the Claw of Horus.
• The Emperor advised Qin Mo to destroy the Claw of Horus, but Qin Mo placed it in dimensional space to study it later and departed.

Qin Mo learned how the colonization efforts were funded and ordered the Imperial Tithe fleet to collect Dimension Engines under Navy supervision. Back in the Tyran Sector, he directed Anreda to offer protection to neighboring systems in exchange for joining the sector.

• Anreda showed Qin Mo that residents and businesses had funded colonization supplies and equipment, while Lady Donna of the Talon II Knight Family helped pioneers clear dangerous worlds.
• Anreda told Qin Mo that the Imperial Tithe Ship had not arrived and that the Imperium had threatened to stop collecting Tithe if the sector provided no resources or industrial goods.
• Qin Mo ordered a Navy fleet to bring the nearby Tithe fleet to the Tyran Sector, supervise its loading of every Dimension Engine, and escort it toward Terra.
• Qin Mo returned to the Hive City world and observed its ongoing transformation, including a research center where he planned to study the Claw of Horus.
• Qin Mo ordered Anreda to offer assistance to surrounding systems on the condition that they publicly join the Tyran Sector.

Fros took the Daughter of Storm to the Stygian System, hoping to see his homeworld, but found it overrun by Tyranids and stripped of its oceans. He ordered the flagship to Baal, while a giant Black Sphere appeared in the system after they left.

• The Daughter of Storm emerged at the edge of the Stygian System and crossed the Aegis of Radiance under Fros's orders.
• The flagship's scans found nearly 40,000 Tyranid Bio-ships, no humans, and planets scorched by solar energy.
• As the Tyranids attacked, Fros told Tessa about his childhood on Stygian III and its oceans and moving cities.
• Fros saw that Stygian III had no oceans and ordered Tessa to take the Daughter of Storm to Baal.
• After the flagship entered dimensional space, a giant Black Sphere appeared and pulled mineral veins from planets in the system.

Fros brought the Lamenters to Baal to help the Blood Angels evacuate the Angel Fortress, while the Daughter of Storm deployed orbital defenses and escaped into dimensional space. The Lamenters teleported onto the fortress’s central road and attacked the Tyranid swarm as Carron recognized their banner.

• Fros’s scans revealed that Baal and its moons still held nearly thirty thousand Space Marines and over ten million mortal auxiliaries, besieged by Tyranids.
• Fros ordered the Lamenters to teleport to the Angel Fortress’s central road and help the defenders retreat, while the Daughter of Storm deployed five Orbital Defense Platforms and hid in dimensional space.
• Carron sent a death squad of Blood Angels suffering from the Red Thirst to seize the central road, but the Tyranids devoured them in seconds.
• Carron prepared to send the evacuating troops along side paths when the Lamenters teleported behind the swarm in Terminator armor and attacked.
• The Lamenters’ firepower devastated the Hormagaunts, and their guard squad charged alongside their Chapter Master toward the Hive Tyrant; Carron recognized the arriving Chapter.

Fros and the Lamenters joined the Blood Angels and their successors in defending Baal from a massive Tyranid swarm. After the ground assault overwhelmed the defenders with its numbers, a flying swarm blotted out the sky and began diving toward the fortress.

• Fros and his guard squad fought through Warrior Bugs and Hormagaunts, then killed the Tyrant with a thunder hammer strike and Fros's Power Spear.
• Fros reunited with Carron and had the Lamenters' Apothecary treat a wounded Blood Angels Space Marine.
• Fros refused to withdraw until the mortal forces had passed, and ordered Tessa to teleport servants down to resupply the defenders.
• The Space Marines fired Incendiary Missiles and fortress artillery into the advancing Tyranid swarm as the servants returned to the flagship.
• Carron pointed out that the sky was dark because a flying swarm had blotted out the sun, then charged into battle as the defenders engaged it.