Chapter Summaries

Guilliman and Lion discussed Lion’s authority as Warmaster and the threat of Talon, then Guilliman asked him to help choose Mathieu as a link to the Ecclesiarchy. A day earlier, Mathieu traveled through the Tyran Sector and offered to exorcise a possessed girl, leaving his attempt to help her unresolved.

• Guilliman realized Lion wanted him to make decisions about the Tyran Sector, but Lion insisted the Imperium should declare war on Talon immediately.
• Lion accused Guilliman of needing to share responsibility with him, and Guilliman guessed that the Father-Emperor had spoken to Lion.
• Guilliman listed his duties as Imperial Regent and gave Lion a document about Mathieu, whom he wanted to serve as a bridge to the Ecclesiarchy.
• A day earlier, a Tyran Navy frigate carried a possessed girl and her parents toward Talon Terra for medical help.
• Mathieu introduced himself to the captain, explained that the girl had been possessed after an evil sorcerer experimented on her, and offered to try to drive out the entity.

Mathieu exorcised a daemon possessing a girl and then continued his mission to help the poor and spread the God-Emperor’s faith. The warship carried him toward Karis, where he planned to aid people and confront corruption.

• Mathieu offered to treat the possessed girl without charging her family, and her parents agreed.
• Mathieu’s ritual forced the daemon out of the girl, and he destroyed it with the Aquila Scepter.
• Mathieu gave the girl’s parents handwritten scriptures and Ecclesiarchy emblems, then refused the money they offered.
• Mathieu asked the captain to take him to Karis, and the captain agreed to provide him with food and passage.
• Mathieu ate leftovers from the mess hall barrel, packed the rest, and rested beside the corridor so he would not block the crew.

Qin Mo and the Emperor discussed Mathieu’s miraculous exploits in the Tyran Sector and his possible appointment as a liaison to Guilliman. Mathieu arrived at Qin Mo’s residence for a meeting, determined to convert the Lord of Tyran, but left his mentor’s skull outside.

• Qin Mo told the Emperor about Mathieu’s feats on Karis, including rescuing a girl, killing the Beast King, and executing a religious-world leader.
• Qin Mo said he planned to send Mathieu to Guilliman as a liaison, and the Emperor approved of Mathieu’s destiny.
• Qin Mo and the Emperor drifted to sleep in Talon III’s artificial ocean until a shark attacked and the Emperor surfaced with its carcass.
• Anreda escorted Mathieu to Qin Mo’s residence and explained the etiquette for meeting the Lord of Tyran.
• Mathieu objected when Anreda called his mentor’s skull a thing, then decided to leave it outside before meeting Qin Mo.

Mathieu entered Qin Mo’s residence and tried to convert him to worship the God-Emperor, while the Emperor, speaking through Vanessa, challenged his beliefs. The Emperor left when Vanessa’s soul caused her pain, and Qin Mo ordered Mathieu thrown out of the sector.

• Mathieu entered the grand hall and praised Qin Mo, then tried to identify the sacred woman beside him as a priest or Living Saint.
• Mathieu presented his scriptures and offered to arrange Qin Mo’s baptism and pilgrimage.
• The Emperor told Mathieu that she had forbidden worship and that the Emperor was not a god.
• Mathieu defended the God-Emperor, arguing that his suffering and sacrifices made him worthy of worship.
• Mathieu rejected the Emperor’s account of a Primarch’s betrayal, and the Emperor left after Vanessa’s pain struck her.
• Qin Mo told a Custodian to throw Mathieu out of his sector.

Mathieu tried to convert Yao En and the Soulless Ones aboard the Soul Black Hole, but Yao En defended the Lord of Tyran as a true god. Mathieu rejected Yao En’s belief and asked to be dropped off early, but Yao En refused and kept him aboard until they left the sector.

• Yao En ordered the Soul Black Hole to leave the sector and drop Mathieu on an Imperium world.
• Mathieu approached Yao En with a book of scriptures and promised that the God-Emperor blessed the Soulless Ones.
• Yao En challenged Mathieu over the God-Emperor’s failure to protect his infant daughter, while the Soulless One crew mocked the idea that the Emperor was too busy to help them.
• Mathieu called the people of the Tyran Sector arrogant and criticized Yao En for not accepting the God-Emperor.
• Yao En praised the Lord of Tyran’s miracles and declared him a true god, while Mathieu lost his goodwill toward the Lord of Tyran.
• Mathieu asked Yao En to leave him on the nearest world, but Yao En refused and ordered him to remain aboard until they left the sector.

Qin Mo, Guilliman, and the Emperor discussed the Ecclesiarchy, the Star Gate’s future control, and worsening threats across the Imperium. The chapter ended with Qin Mo warning Guilliman to focus on the Death Guard as a major war approached.

• The Emperor told Guilliman that Mathieu had left Talon, and Guilliman explained why he needed Mathieu to liaise with the Ecclesiarchy.
• Guilliman warned that the Adeptus Custodes distrusted him and discussed the political struggle over control of the Star Gate in the Five Hundred Worlds.
• Guilliman revealed that he had assigned a fifteen-year-old attendant to manage the Star Gate, intending to train an administrator who would follow his orders.
• Qin Mo described a research team killed on an Ork world, while Guilliman shared news of an Ork rebellion and spreading wars and plagues.
• Qin Mo agreed that a major conflict was coming and urged Guilliman to focus on the Death Guard attacks near the Five Hundred Worlds.

Qin Mo discovered that Chaos had influenced the Orks on Lyra Star, who had killed an archaeological expedition, and ordered the Burner to purge them. After the fleet burned the planet’s surface, it began restoring Lyra Star by scattering resilient plant seeds.

• The Tyranid fleet appeared over Lyra Star, and the Orks prepared to fight before a meteor-like Burner incinerated their assembled army.
• Qin Mo watched from the Lord of Tyran Battleship and explained that Orks could not belong in the Tyran Sector because of their brutality and hatred of humans.
• Scholar used Psychic Power to determine that Chaos had influenced the Orks, making them an omen of a future event.
• Qin Mo ordered the Burner to clean up the remaining Orks, and flames swept across Lyra Star.
• The fleet airdropped specially developed seeds to restore the scorched planet within a year.

Mortarion began preparing to spread plague across the Five Hundred Worlds after Vashtorr gave him the Hand of Darkness. Vashtorr offered to help him develop plague weapons, while Taifon learned that Abaddon was alive but suffering.

• Mortarion waited with Taifon on a plague-ravaged planet at the frontier of the Five Hundred Worlds, expecting to meet the Warmaster.
• Vashtorr arrived with seven Eternal War Veterans and admitted he had used Abaddon's name to bring Mortarion there.
• Vashtorr gave Mortarion the Hand of Darkness, which Mortarion believed could help him spread plague more effectively through Ultramar.
• Taifon asked whether Abaddon was alive, and Vashtorr said he was alive but suffering more than the dead.
• Mortarion agreed to work with Vashtorr to create plague weapons that would turn the Five Hundred Worlds into hell.

On Espandor, a mercenary warned a tavern full of people that a plague army had named their world as its first target. When the Ultramar Auxilia revealed that the infection had already reached the Governor’s residence, the civilians were sent to help defend the city while the infected were left in the tavern.

• A mercenary told the tavern patrons that a plague army was coming to Espandor and urged them to gather in the cities and organize defenses.
• Ultramar Auxilia stormed the tavern and used a Talon drone to identify suspected infections, explaining that the Rogue Trader had brought the virus and the Governor’s residence was full of Plague Zombies.
• After the drone marked him as infected, the mercenary shot himself, but his corpse rose as a Plague Zombie and attacked a patron.
• An Ecclesiarchy priest struck the zombie down with his scepter, and the Auxilia officer ordered the uninfected civilians to reinforce the city guards near the Governor’s residence.
• The civilians ran to join the defense, while the officer backed away from the infected patrons and threw a firebomb into the tavern.

Guilliman learned that the Death Guard had launched a plague war across the Five Hundred Worlds, with Espandor as its first major target, and decided to return there to lead the response. As he organized defenses and ordered the courier-ship network activated, he swore to break Mortarion’s spine when they met.

• Caldor reported that the Death Guard had invaded the Five Hundred Worlds and attacked the agricultural world Espandor, where plague, Plague Zombies, and rebels were spreading.
• Usulan Eldrad identified the seven-hour appearance of the walking dead as a sign of the Plague God, and Guilliman decided to return to the Five Hundred Worlds while leaving Terra to Lion.
• Guilliman ordered Caldor to activate the courier-ship network despite the Astropaths’ objections, and the Ultramarines prepared to carry out the command.
• Guilliman marked Espandor as a war zone and designated Yax as a Hospital World for plague-infected soldiers.
• Guilliman swore that he would break Mortarion’s spine when they met.

Guilliman coordinated with Qin Mo as the Tyran Sector prepared to aid the Five Hundred Worlds in the war against Mortarion. Qin Mo warned him about Yax’s impending fall and the plague machines tied to the Hand of Darkness, leaving Guilliman with a clearer picture of the threats ahead.

• The Five Hundred Worlds activated Dimension Engine communications and transport networks to coordinate forces and deliver supplies.
• Qin Mo told Guilliman that the Tyran fleet and army were mobilizing to support the Five Hundred Worlds.
• Qin Mo revealed that Mortarion would target the Hospital World Yax by using seven corrupted soldiers to unleash a planetwide plague, and they discussed ways to contain the threat.
• Qin Mo and Guilliman agreed to share intelligence, coordinate command, and let Tyran forces use their teleportation and manufacturing capabilities to support the war.
• Qin Mo warned Guilliman that Mortarion had built plague machines in Espandor’s eastern hemisphere, linked to the Hand of Darkness and capable of spreading plague across the Five Hundred Worlds.

Guilliman asked Qin Mo how to distribute the Primaris Space Marines, and decided to ask Lion to meet his own Primaris before sending him to the Space Wolves. On Espandor, Valens and Bulus prepared in the trenches as the seven-hour alarm signaled another enemy attack.

• Guilliman asked Qin Mo which Chapters might accept Primaris Space Marines, and Qin Mo advised him to explain their purpose and gene-seed flaws to the Chapters.
• Qin Mo suggested that Lion deliver Primaris Space Marines to the Space Wolves, but Guilliman worried Lion and Logan might unite against them.
• Guilliman decided to contact Lion and have him meet the Primaris Space Marines intended for the Dark Angels before assigning him to the Space Wolves.
• On Espandor, Valens and Bulus ate in a frontline trench while a masked officer urged the soldiers to hurry.
• The seven-hour alarm rang, and Valens, Bulus, and the other soldiers took their firing positions as the enemy prepared to attack from the forest.

Valens and Bulus fought a horde of Plague Zombies and the Plague Warriors directing them at the position. After killing a Plague Warrior at close range, Valens dragged Bulus from beneath its corpse as flies and foul sludge overwhelmed them.

• A Plague Zombie emerged from the forest, and a sniper shot it before a massive horde charged the position.
• Valens fired a grenade launcher into the zombies while Bulus struggled to reload its magazines.
• Plague Warriors appeared behind the horde, killing a neighboring sniper with a Bolter shell before Valens fired grenades at them.
• As rain flooded the trench and flies swarmed, the Plague Warriors advanced and released poisonous gas from exploding heads.
• A Plague Warrior aimed at Valens, but Bulus pressed his Laser Rifle to its face and Valens shot it dead.
• The Plague Warrior fell on Bulus, and Valens dragged his brother out from beneath the corpse as flies battered their masks.

Talon’s advance party arrived at Valens’s position, drove back the Plague Warriors and zombies, and built a fortified underground facility. After learning Valens and Bulus had encountered Plague Warriors, an officer ordered them to go to Yax Hospital World for examination and treatment, leaving Valens reluctant to leave the fight and Bulus eager to go.

• Valens prepared to die fighting, but a Ratling sniper teleported in and killed the Plague Warrior threatening him.
• Talon soldiers, Ratling snipers, Ogryns, and drones cleared the position, halted the enemy attack, and began restoring the area.
• A Ratling captain told Valens that his unit was only an advance party and that the 44th Infantry Regiment had spread across Espandor.
• Talon forces rapidly built an underground facility where Valens and Bulus ate while officers discussed the reinforcements and aid sent to Yax.
• An officer ordered Valens and Bulus to go to Yax Hospital World for examination after their contact with Plague Warriors.
• Valens accepted the authorization reluctantly, while Bulus praised the Five Hundred Worlds and the Lord of Ultramar.

Valens and Bulus arrived on Yax, where the wounded soldiers underwent strict screening and treatment. As Guilliman prepared the Hospital World for a possible Nurgle attack, Yax remained peaceful while Tigurius trained to administer its Star Gate.

• Valens and Bulus admired Yax from their medical ship, and Bulus revealed he hoped to use his pension and savings to bury his mother there.
• Doctors screened Valens and the other soldiers for disease before allowing them onto Yax for further examinations.
• Guilliman and Talon forces fortified Yax with orbital fortresses and underground works in case Nurgle's army attacked.
• Fifteen-year-old Tigurius studied Star Gate operations while his Talon Sector liaison teased him.
• Wounded soldiers walked through Yax's gardens as the Hospital World remained calm and untouched by war.

Valens’s recurring nightmare gave way to the Nurgle Demon Army’s arrival above Yax, where seven plague Arks brought Kugath and six Great Unclean Ones. Blackstone defenses closed the Warp rift and crushed one Ark, but Kugath ordered the demons to advance toward the mountain fortresses.

• Valens dreamed that Bulus counted people emerging from a swamp, and they began mutating into grotesque forms.
• Seven plague Arks descended over Yax, and Septicemia, Black Death, and other plague lords emerged with their demons.
• Kugath arrived and scolded the demons for their music, insisting that their invasion required focus.
• The Warp rift closed, and the Blackstone Constructs in the mountain fortresses suppressed the Warp and crushed one plague Ark.
• Kugath pointed toward the fortresses and ordered the Demon Army to spread Grandfather Nurgle’s will.

As Yax’s defenders held out against the Demon Army, Tigurius hid in the Star Gate complex while Plague forces approached. The Tyran Navy arrived through a secret Star Gate connection and began destroying the enemy fleet, while Iron Men were assigned to fight the Demon Army.

• Tigurius hid beneath his desk as Nurgle’s followers invaded the Star Gate complex, and a woman guided him toward an escape pod over the communicator.
• The woman told Tigurius to watch the Star Gate, which activated and sent a forty-kilometer battleship crashing into the Plague warships outside.
• Tyran Navy reinforcements poured through the Star Gate, and Tigurius learned that it connected to another Star Gate in their system.
• Adam ordered the Tyran Navy to destroy every enemy ship and take orbital control over Yax.
• The First Fleet rapidly overwhelmed the Plague fleet, while Adam assigned the Iron Men to fight the Demon Army.

The Tyran Army and Navy supported the Ultramar fleet’s defense of Yax while three Iron Men launched a strike against the Great Unclean Ones. Scholar crushed Kihou and blocked the demons’ escape and reinforcements, leaving both sides poised for a fight to the death.

• The Tyran Army’s artillery and troops teleported into position while the Navy coordinated supplies and fire support for the defense of Yax.
• Heat Death and Scholar encountered 025, who joined them because it wanted to repay the protection it had received.
• Scholar sensed Kihou spreading Iron Plague and crushed the Great Unclean One beneath a mountain from ten kilometers away.
• Scholar dispersed the flesh portal and protected Yax’s Psykers, cutting off the Great Unclean Ones from escape and reinforcements.
• Three Iron Men faced six Great Unclean Ones and their demons, with both sides preparing to fight to the death.

Heat Death and Scholar fought Nurgle’s Great Unclean Ones on Yax, with 025 helping hold off the demons. Scholar’s psychic power nearly defeated the attackers, but Nurgle intervened through Septicemia’s transformed body, leaving Scholar smashed apart and Bad Throat destroyed.

• Heat Death slaughtered the Nurgle demons, then survived the Great Unclean Ones’ plague attack after Scholar dispelled its corruption.
• Scholar revealed Black Death’s Warp essence, causing it to flee in madness before 025 shattered its body.
• 025 held back Kugath, Septicemia, and Bad Throat while Scholar struck them with psychic lightning and blocked their access to Nurgle.
• Kugath’s plea reached Nurgle, which banished Septicemia from its entity and transformed that entity into a cauldron that disrupted Scholar’s Psychic Power.
• Kugath smashed the cauldron through Scholar’s psychic shield, breaking Scholar’s body, while Scholar’s psychic blast destroyed Bad Throat.

Heat Death used a Warp-forged Blood Sword to kill Kugath and end the battle on Yax. Three days later, Diana purified the daemon-corrupted planet, and the story left her traveling onward after the successful cleansing.

• Kugath faced Heat Death as the last Great Unclean One on the battlefield and threatened it with the Iron Plague.
• Heat Death drew a Blood Sword from a Blackstone box and beheaded Kugath, then sealed the sword away.
• Three days after the battle, Diana and Yao En arrived at Yax with the newly assembled Titan Legion.
• Yao En told Diana to use her talent to purify Yax before the Lord of Tyran arrived.
• Diana adjusted her Suppressor, restoring Yax's corrupted landscape and causing the remaining daemons to kill one another.
• Scholar saw Diana's psychic black hole shrink and leave Yax after the purification succeeded.