Chapter Summaries

Lion explained to Zabriel how a drug could trigger Wolfing in a Primaris Space Wolf, then promised to clear the names of loyal Fallen Angels. On Terra, Qin Mo began his visit and met the High Lords’ representatives, including Chuck, who agreed to guide him through the Inquisition.

• Lion told Zabriel that Cawl’s drug could trigger Wolfing in a wounded Son of Russ, explaining why Logan’s attitude had changed.
• Zabriel worried that knowing the secrets of both the Dark Angels and Space Wolves would put him in danger, but Lion promised to protect him and clear the names of loyal Fallen Angels.
• Lion and his party returned to Terra as Qin Mo’s fleet approached, and Lion hurried to speak privately with Guilliman.
• At the welcoming ceremony, Qin Mo challenged the Astral Communication Hall’s representative over the Dimension Engine while exchanging formal greetings with the High Lords’ delegation.
• Qin Mo spoke with Chuck, asked after Magos Vik, and arranged for Chuck to guide him when he visited the Inquisition.

Lion delayed meeting the Dark Angels while Qin Mo explained their fractured history and warned Zabriel that they might still hunt him. Qin Mo gave Zabriel a Black Sphere teleporter for emergencies, leaving Zabriel with a means of escape but no assurance that his grievances would be cleared.

• Guilliman thanked Lion for delivering the Primaris Space Wolves, and Lion pushed him away before explaining that he had acted to assert his authority as Warmaster.
• Guilliman urged Lion to meet the approaching Dark Angels fleet, but Lion continued to postpone the meeting, disappointing Zabriel.
• Qin Mo spoke privately with Zabriel and described the Dark Angels' divided factions, complicated history, and reasons for hunting the Fallen Angels.
• Qin Mo warned Zabriel that Lion might not protect him and recalled that the Dark Angels had attacked the Imperial Palace while hunting Lord Cypher.
• Zabriel said he feared that his grievances would never be cleared, and Qin Mo gave him a Black Sphere teleporter that could send him somewhere safe.

Qin Mo arrived on Holy Terra with Guilliman and saw the planet’s harsh conditions and the plots aimed at him. He gave Terra a miraculous rain that healed the sick, cleared poisonous fog, and provided enough water for five hundred years.

• Qin Mo arrived in the Solar System with the Ultramar and Tyran Sector fleets and discussed Terra’s ancient name and human settlements with Koken.
• Guilliman led Qin Mo and the delegations down to Terra, where Qin Mo saw the planet’s arid cities and learned of assassination plots against him.
• Adeptus Arbites officers and the Inquisition purged gangs and investigated conspiracies as Qin Mo’s transport crossed Terra.
• Qin Mo declared that he would give Terra a gift, and miraculous rain began falling across the planet.
• Terrans discovered that the rainwater was sweet and healing, dispersed poisonous fog, and gathered safely in vast cube-shaped reservoirs.
• Qin Mo’s rain provided Terra with enough water for five hundred years, and people associated the miracle with his arrival.

Qin Mo waited at a residence near the High Lords of Terra while they struggled to agree on how to meet him, then chose to visit the Inquisition as a self-proclaimed heretic. Chuck escorted him inside, where Karamazov yielded the way, and Qin Mo reassured Chuck that his cautious behavior helped protect him from suspicion.

• Qin Mo questioned the pontiff’s steward about the High Lords’ absence, then asked him to show the Custodians around the residence.
• Guilliman returned from meeting the High Lords and explained that they had not yet reached a consensus about receiving Qin Mo.
• Qin Mo declared that he would become the first heretic to visit the Inquisition, and Guilliman approved.
• Chuck, now a Lord Inquisitor, escorted Qin Mo to the Inquisition, where Karamazov made his force move aside after whipping a slave.
• Chuck apologized for letting Karamazov pass first, and Qin Mo explained that Chuck’s cautious manner helped him avoid trouble.

Qin Mo toured the Inquisition with Chuck, abandoned the week-long journey to its dungeons, and agreed to leave handwriting for a disputed letter comparison. He carved “Qin Mo was here” into the hall wall, and an Administratum clerk translated it for the Inquisition’s officials.

• Greyfax confronted Chuck and Qin Mo, but Chuck rebuked her and Qin Mo ignored her as they continued through the Inquisition.
• Chuck drove Qin Mo through the vast headquarters, but when Qin Mo learned the trip to the dungeons would take a week, he told Chuck to turn back.
• Chuck told Qin Mo that an Inquisitor had found a letter allegedly linking him to a heretic warband and that officials wanted handwriting for comparison.
• Qin Mo agreed to provide handwriting after Chuck explained that Greyfax would be assigned under his command, then carved a line of text into the hall wall in a language other than Gothic.
• An Administratum clerk translated Qin Mo’s writing for the assembled Inquisitors and officials as “Qin Mo was here.”

Aine struggled with an impossible calculation in the Administratum archives before Qin Mo arrived to request the original document appointing him Governor of Talon Prime. As Aine showed Qin Mo around the Administratum, Qin Mo expressed admiration for its workers and explained why he understood their limitations.

• Aine and his Servo Skull both calculated that eleven times eleven equaled nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, and Aine kept trying different methods to verify the result.
• Aine tore up the suspicious document when he sensed a force, then reprimanded a subordinate for bringing non-parchment records into the archives.
• Aine told Qin Mo that finding the document appointing him Governor could take three months, and Qin Mo explained that he wanted it as a keepsake of his past.
• Aine guided Qin Mo around the Administratum and described its vast, paper-based bureaucracy and delayed requests.
• Qin Mo compared the Administratum with Talon Prime's computerized archives and told Aine he understood the restrictions that shaped the Imperium's methods.

The Dark Angels fleet arrived in the Solar System, and Lion met its commander, Kaian, aboard the Invincible Reason. Lion’s patience with his sons surprised Kaian as he led Lion through the flagship.

• The Invincible Reason and a large Dark Angels fleet emerged into the Solar System, carrying more than half the Chapter’s armed forces but not its full strength.
• Lion, Zabriel, and the Lion Guard waited aboard the Invincible Reason while Azrael’s Terminator guards blocked their way.
• Kaian arrived late, knelt before Lion, and wondered whether he was truly the Primarch after Lion let the guards live and merely scolded him.
• Lion asked Kaian to take him to his old room, then struck Kaian’s helmet when Kaian questioned why he could not find it himself.
• Kaian admitted he was unfamiliar with the flagship, so Lion found his old room and led Zabriel and the Lion Guard there, leaving Kaian bewildered.

Lion revisited his old rooms aboard the Invincible Reason and reflected on Luther, his own savage beginnings, and the Dark Angels’ history. He told Zabriel that rebuilding trust with his sons would take time, then continued writing a plan for changing the Chapter’s relationship with its Primarch.

• Lion showed the Lion Guard an enormous beast’s eye and recalled how Luther had taught him civilization on Caliban.
• Lion and the Lion Guard debated how barbaric Russ was until Zabriel challenged Lion’s account of his own wild behavior.
• Lion assigned the Lion Guard and Zabriel rooms nearby, then told Zabriel he would arrange for the mortals to serve as governors or Chapter assistants rather than fight beside him.
• Zabriel asked about his brothers’ place in the Dark Angels, and Lion explained that he could not resolve the loyal Fallen Angels’ grievances with a simple command.
• Lion asked Zabriel for time to address the Chapter’s problems, then resumed writing a plan to reshape the Dark Angels’ bond with their Primarch.

Zabriel left Lion believing the Fallen Angels were not an urgent problem, but Kaian ambushed him at the landing pad after mistaking Lion for an impostor. Kaian killed Zabriel and worshipped the rosary Azrael had given him, convinced his sacrifice would protect the Dark Angels’ honor.

• Zabriel ordered a transport, then realized the responding pilot was not the man he knew and rushed to the landing pad.
• Zabriel found the real pilot unconscious and saw a Servitor made from his old friend being taken away by a transport.
• Kaian confronted Zabriel with a Terminator squad and accused him of following an impostor posing as Lion El'Jonson.
• Zabriel fired at the Terminators, but they severed his hands and legs before Kaian beheaded him.
• Kaian knelt to worship Azrael’s rosary, believing Zabriel’s death would help conceal the Dark Angels’ past and reject the supposed impostor.

After Zabriel’s death, Qin Mo ordered the Tyran Navy to attack the Dark Angels fleet to defend the sector’s promise of protection. Lion discovered that Kaian had ordered Zabriel killed, killed Kaian, and demanded to speak with Guilliman.

• Zabriel’s brothers confirmed his death and showed the recording of his final moments to the gathered officers and Space Marines.
• Qin Mo ordered the Tyran Navy to open fire on the Dark Angels fleet, and Adam relayed the order to the fleet.
• Adam told Kaian that Zabriel remained under Tyran Sector protection until he relinquished his records, and Kaian ordered the Dark Angels to return fire.
• Lion found Zabriel’s corpse and learned from the Terminator Guard that Kaian had ordered them to kill him.
• Lion charged onto the bridge and killed Kaian, then ordered the crew to get him Guilliman.

Lion asked Guilliman for help as the Talon Navy bombarded the Dark Angels fleet, and Guilliman confronted him for failing to control his Chapter. Guilliman and Adam then demanded justice for Zabriel, and the fleets ceased fire after Lion showed Kaian’s severed head.

• Guilliman rebuked Lion for allowing the Dark Angels to seek justice for Zabriel without his intervention, then agreed to help resolve the Chapter’s troubles.
• The Ultramar fleet moved between the Dark Angels and Talon fleets while the fighting continued.
• Guilliman and Koken discussed the conflict as the Sons of Antaeus prepared to board the enemy ships.
• Guilliman and Adam contacted Lion, and Adam demanded that Zabriel’s killer be punished under sector law.
• Lion showed Kaian’s head as proof that the killer was dead, and Adam ordered a ceasefire.

Lion ordered the Dark Angels fleet to cease fire after clashing with the Tyran Navy, then questioned Guilliman about why the Tyran Navy had attacked them. Guilliman explained that the attack enforced the sector’s promise of protection, leaving Lion to reconsider his assumptions about the battle.

• Lion ordered the Dark Angels fleet to cease fire and shattered Kaian's adjutant’s jaw when he protested, then ordered the Apothecary to treat him.
• Lion assessed the Tyran Navy’s encirclement tactics and worried that its fleet was aiming to annihilate the Dark Angels.
• Lion accused the Tyran Navy of rebellion for firing on his fleet, and Guilliman reminded him that the Dark Angels had killed Zabriel, who was under the sector’s protection.
• Guilliman argued that the Tyran Navy’s ceasefire after Lion produced the killer’s corpse showed it had attacked to uphold its promise, and Lion was struck by the explanation.

Lion told Guilliman he would take control of the Dark Angels by summoning their senior officers, but refused his help. Meanwhile, Azrael and Ezekiel traveled to Terra to meet their changed Primarch, with Ezekiel wary that Azrael’s loyalty might sway his judgment.

• Lion said he would summon the Dark Angels’ senior officers and use his Primaris warriors to take control of the Chapter, while Guilliman realized Lion did not trust him and ended their communication.
• The High Lords remained uninvolved as the Tyran Navy bombarded the Dark Angels, though they were dissatisfied with the Chapter’s unrestrained counterattack in the Solar System.
• Aboard the Glory, Ezekiel told Azrael to judge their Primarch rationally and recalled seeing Lion speak with Zabriel on Karis instead of killing him.
• Ezekiel admitted he could have used Psychic Power to save Zabriel but had not wanted a Fallen Angel to survive.
• Azrael ordered the Glory to travel to Terra at maximum speed, and its Dimension Engine carried the ship into dimensional space.

Azrael and Ezekiel arrived aboard the Invincible Truth during Zabriel’s funeral and witnessed Lion kill two Dark Angels captains after they refused to kneel. Azrael knelt to honor Zabriel, but Lion revealed that Zabriel was a Fallen Angel and ordered Azrael and Ezekiel off his flagship.

• Azrael and Ezekiel arrived as Lion held a funeral for Zabriel, with two dead captains lying before the assembled Dark Angels.
• Lion laid Zabriel’s restored body on the funeral platform and watched it burn, recalling that Zabriel had possessed a teleport beacon but chose to die.
• Lion praised Zabriel as a loyal son, and Azrael and Ezekiel knelt to honor him.
• Azrael described Zabriel as a battle-brother who had proved the friendship between the Dark Angels and Ultramarines, prompting Lion to accuse him of hiding Zabriel’s identity.
• Lion revealed that Zabriel was a Fallen Angel, rejected Ezekiel’s attempt to explain, and ordered Azrael and Ezekiel off his flagship until summoned.

Lion planned to install a Dimension Engine aboard the Invincible Truth and announced that he would pardon Fallen Angels who still fought for humanity. Azrael explained why the Dark Angels had hunted them, and Lion proposed another way to handle the Legion’s secrets, prompting Azrael to suspect Guilliman had influenced him.

• Lion ordered the original Dark Angels to remain together aboard the Invincible Truth and decided to refit the ship with a Dimension Engine.
• Azrael and Ezekiel took Lion to the Unyielding’s engine room, where they explained that the Dark Angels had secretly acquired Dimension Engines from a Tithe Ship seven years earlier.
• Lion declared that he would pardon Fallen Angels who continued fighting for humanity, and Azrael agreed to obey his command.
• Azrael told Lion that the Dark Angels had hunted the Fallen to hide the Legion’s past rebellion and protect the Legion from disgrace.
• Lion suggested that loyal Fallen Angels could follow the Legion’s rules without being killed, and Azrael asked how long he had spent with Guilliman.

Lion discussed the Fallen Angels and the Dark Angels’ history with Azrael, then ordered loyal Fallen Angels to be pardoned and Primaris Space Marines to join the Chapter. On Terra, Qin Mo and Guilliman considered Lion’s plan and his difficulty understanding people, which Qin Mo illustrated with Lion’s disastrous decision to give Perturabo a General Cannon during the Horus Heresy.

• Lion told Azrael that Guilliman had devoted himself to the Imperium and admitted the Dark Angels needed better communication to prevent conflict over the Fallen Angels.
• Ezekiel asked Lion how his reasoning could solve the Dark Angels’ problems, and Lion ordered loyal Fallen Angels who returned to become his Lion Guard.
• Lion ordered the Chapter to establish five additional companies for Primaris Space Marines, who would be distributed among squads and re-educated by veterans.
• Qin Mo and Guilliman discussed Lion’s plan in a bath on Terra, agreeing that Primaris Marines could serve as his eyes while he assessed the Dark Angels.
• Qin Mo recalled that during the Horus Heresy Lion had given Perturabo a General Cannon, despite Perturabo’s impending betrayal of the loyalists.

Qin Mo avoided the grand council and traveled to Mars to search for the Emperor’s Evernight Maze. With the Scholar’s help, he found a passage leading away from the Real Universe and entered it with the Iron Man.

• Qin Mo and Guilliman joked about Lion before Guilliman told him the High Lords had finished their deliberations and a grand council could be convened.
• Qin Mo and Guilliman prepared to attend the council, with Caldor representing the Five Hundred Worlds and Qin Mo attending as Imperial Regent.
• Qin Mo secretly left Terra because he expected the council to achieve little.
• Qin Mo searched Mars for the Emperor’s maze but could not locate it by traveling through the planet.
• Qin Mo summoned the Scholar near Mars’s core, and it found an unexpected passage leading deeper into the planet.
• Qin Mo and the Iron Man followed the Scholar through the passage as they drifted farther from the Real Universe.

Qin Mo and Scholar entered the shifting maze beneath Mars, where their senses could not make sense of the space. A Perpetual guided them deeper toward the bomb-like object Qin Mo had come to find.

• Qin Mo and Scholar entered a maze on crimson ground beneath a black dome, where directions and appearances continually changed.
• Qin Mo approached a crying girl, discovered she was a Stone Man, and continued onward after she threatened him with a gesture blocked by a barrier.
• A Perpetual appeared and said the Emperor had predicted Qin Mo would come and ordered him to guide Qin Mo to what he sought.
• The Perpetual explained that the girl was a Stone Man who could alter people with Psychic Power and identified Scholar as an Iron Man who had once killed humans during a rebellion.
• The Perpetual showed Qin Mo a distant, three-headed Iron Man repeating a command to kill, then stopped it with a button.

Qin Mo spoke with a fragment of the Emperor's will, recognized who he was, and heard his explanation of the Emperor's divided will and lingering humanity. They reached the bound Void Dragon fragment, and Qin Mo persuaded the Emperor to release it.

• Qin Mo mocked the Emperor's divided will and argued with the Perpetual about whether the Emperor cared about humanity.
• Qin Mo recognized that the Perpetual was a fragment of the Emperor's will, and the Emperor explained his nature and why he had come to speak.
• The Emperor led Qin Mo through the maze and reviewed what Qin Mo already knew about his shattered will.
• Qin Mo saw the bound Void Dragon fragment, assessed it as roughly twenty-nine percent complete, and asked the Emperor to release it.
• The Emperor warned Qin Mo to prepare his Hypercube Maze, but Qin Mo said he had a better way to control the Void Dragon, so the Emperor released its golden chains.

Qin Mo persuaded the Void Dragon to willingly give him a portion of its essence in exchange for help escaping and becoming whole again. The Emperor released the Void Dragon from the labyrinth, and the robed Perpetual opened a way out.

• Qin Mo told the Void Dragon that the Emperor had weakened it and demanded essence as compensation for helping it escape.
• The Void Dragon questioned Qin Mo's motives, but Qin Mo showed it how he had helped Burner, Mimic, and Saranoga.
• The Deceiver used information pollution to warn the Void Dragon that Qin Mo would enslave it, but Qin Mo dismissed the warning.
• Qin Mo promised to help the Void Dragon find its other fragments, and the Void Dragon willingly gave him part of its essence.
• The Emperor removed the chains holding the Void Dragon and departed from the temporary vessel.
• The robed Perpetual recovered and opened a passage out of the labyrinth.