Chapter Summaries

Eidolon’s fleet began its assault on Sotha with Virus Bombs and incendiary torpedoes, turning the surface into a burning Death World. As Sothans in the underground cities faced despair and mass suicide, Kleist defended her decision to make them witness the devastation so they might resist after the defenders fell.

• Eidolon assigned his forces to attack Sotha and destroy the Pharos Beacon while other Legion troops harassed Ultramar’s reinforcements.
• The fleet arrived in the Sotha system, and Eidolon’s flagship approached the planet as the other warships prepared to depart.
• The attackers unleashed Virus Bombs that rotted Sotha’s organic matter, then ignited the resulting gases with incendiary torpedoes.
• Dantiok warned Kleist that the virus and fire made the surface uninhabitable, while the fortress and underground cities remained protected.
• An officer reported mass suicide in Underground City Number Two after Sothans saw their homeland burning.
• Kleist told Dantiok she had deliberately exposed the Sothans to the destruction so they might keep resisting after the other defenders died; Avida supported her, while Erebus taunted her about the White Knight Master.

As the Emperor's Children attacked Mount Pharos and prepared a ritual, Dantiok sent armored forces to disrupt them. Kleist then called on retired Nucerian tank crews, including Gangro and his old Divine Lord-class Tank, to defend an underground city as the battle continued.

• The Emperor's Children used armored units to search for ritual sites around Mount Pharos, so Dantiok ordered his armored forces to attack them.
• The attackers destroyed many defending vehicles, but Nucerian and Ultramarian forces held some areas and continued fighting.
• Gangro's daughter departed for Sotha in a new tank while Gangro and his crew stayed with their old Revolutionary War tank on Nuceria.
• During the Battle of Sotha, Kleist contacted Gangro, whose crew agreed to fight again, and assigned them to stop the enemy at a nearby pass.
• Kleist told Dantiok that family, friendship, and grudges shaped ordinary humans' decisions, and Kleist argued that such attachments also motivated them to fight.

Gangluo’s Divine Lord-class Tank fought across Krato Plain, found his daughter among the surviving defenders, and helped them escape an enemy encirclement. After the tank continued running despite having no fuel, Kleist confirmed that Krato Plain had held, and Dantiok sent Avida to dismantle an airdropped Titan.

• Gangluo’s tank survived a surprise attack by Predator tanks and advanced toward the collapsed Krato Plain defensive line despite repeated mechanical failures.
• Gangluo’s crew joined a battle between friendly and enemy tanks, destroyed the remaining attackers, and discovered Gangluo’s daughter among the survivors.
• Gangluo ordered his daughter and the surviving tanks to withdraw, then led them across the plain while towing her damaged tank.
• The Divine Lord-class Tank broke down under fire, but restarted and destroyed a Predator tank before Gangluo led the formation out of the encirclement.
• Gangluo learned that the tank had run out of fuel hours earlier and had fired its cannon without anyone controlling it.
• Kleist told Dantiok that Krato Plain had held, and Dantiok ordered Avida to dismantle an airdropped Titan.

Freeman joined Squad 12 and witnessed a Thousand Sons psyker destroy a Warlord-class Titan, prompting him to wonder whether he had inherited his father's powers. When a wounded Space Marine attacked the squad, Freeman vanished just as the Marine charged him.

• Freeman met Squad 12, where the machine gunner shared rations and agreed to look after him.
• A Thousand Sons warrior destroyed the Titan threatening the fortress, and Freeman recalled his father's claim that he might also have psyker power.
• Squad 12 received orders to reach Tunnel 83, but a wounded Space Marine burst through the ceiling at Tunnel 72 and killed the squad leader, deputy, and most of the Soldiers.
• The machine gunner tried to shield Freeman but was killed, leaving Freeman alone before the Space Marine.
• The Space Marine charged Freeman, who disappeared before the attack could hit him.

Freeman discovered that he could teleport and used his new psychic ability to kill Space Marines while collecting his fallen comrades’ belongings. After a week of fighting, he was named the Superhuman Butcher and received orders to lead a newly formed Psyker Combat Squad.

• Freeman learned to teleport, evaded a Space Marine’s Bolter fire, and killed him with a Hrud flintlock rifle before gathering his comrades’ dog tags and last letters.
• Freeman joined Soldiers attacking Tunnel 83, ambushed Space Marines, and retreated when the surviving enemy force overwhelmed the charge.
• Freeman repeatedly fought alongside friendly forces, killing Space Marines until the entire enemy squad was dead, then began hunting isolated Space Marines alone.
• One solar week later, Freeman carved another mark into his Triumph Cord and saw his kill record of nine Space Marines displayed alongside the Superhuman Butcher Medal awarded by Marshal Kleist.
• A staff officer told Freeman that Marshal Kleist had formed a Psyker Combat Squad and appointed him its commander, introducing him to six other Psykers.

Varius’s contracted daemon used its observer-creatures to give the Librarian force intelligence across the system as Qin Xa and the Ultramarines prepared to join the struggle for Horus. The thousand Librarians launched coordinated attacks across the planet, crippling the Eleventh Legion’s command structure, while Qin Xa considered how they could be used at Sotha.

• Varius’s contracted daemon explained that it could command the observer-creatures through its conceptual connection to navigation, then sent them throughout the system to gather intelligence.
• Qin Xa ordered the Ultramarines under Marius Gage to handle void warfare and sent the Librarians to the surface to rescue Horus and inflict casualties on the Eleventh Legion.
• The Librarians teleported across the planet and used decapitation tactics, with elite squads targeting command centers while other squads drew enemy forces away.
• A Calibanite squad infiltrated an Eleventh Legion command vehicle, using psychic attacks, guardian spirits, and a mind-controlled survivor to destroy its defenses and spread false orders.
• The thousand Librarians paralyzed command across the planet and drove the Eleventh Legion landing forces onto the defensive.
• Qin Xa considered sending the Librarians to support Sotha while he fought alone in the war for Horus.

Qin Xa confronted Number Eleven aboard the captured flagship and learned why he believed Chaos would inevitably prevail. Number Eleven rejected Qin Xa’s offer to return to his side and chose Chaos again, leaving Qin Xa to wonder what the Primarch was planning.

• Qin Xa sealed Number Eleven’s flagship and the surrounding space away from the void battle, creating an arena where only the two of them could act.
• Number Eleven claimed he wanted Qin Xa to kill him and explained that Chaos would inevitably win because it was corrupting countless material universes.
• Qin Xa argued that their material universe could affect the Immaterium and that he could eventually seize the Gods’ authority, then offered Number Eleven a chance to help by revealing what he had seen in the Eternal Well.
• Number Eleven chose to stand with Chaos, and his body exploded, leaving only his essence behind.
• Qin Xa wondered what Number Eleven was planning.

Qin Xa saved Horus, freed Gusa from the destiny that bound him, and fulfilled his promise of ascension. Horus permanently exiled Abaddon from the Luna Wolves, while Gusa, Sissy P, and Super Little Qin prepared to leave together.

• Qin Xa reunited with the recovered Horus and explained how he had fought and killed Number Eleven.
• Qin Xa severed Gusa's fated connection to himself and the other brothers, freeing Gusa to grow beyond his former limits.
• Gusa resolved to seek a way to help the entire Ork species ascend and pursue revenge against the C'tan and their slaves.
• Super Little Qin chose to travel with Gusa and Sissy P, and the three teleported away to build a warship.
• Horus permanently exiled Abaddon from the Luna Wolves and ordered him to leave on a transport ship arriving in two days.

Abaddon was sent into exile aboard a supply ship, but decided to seek atonement by fighting the rebels in Ultramar. On Sotha, Qin Xa and the Librarian fleet defeated the rebel forces, secured the Pharos Beacon, and left the Knight Legion to defend the planet.

• Varius escorted Abaddon onto a supply ship and told him the Primarch likely expected him to live in seclusion, but Abaddon decided to atone by fighting the surviving rebels.
• The transport fleet departed for Ultramar while the Librarian fleet entered the Pocket Universe and headed to its next rescue mission.
• On Sotha, Qin Xa used a blizzard to destroy the Titan Legion and rebel armored force as the White Knight and Librarians cleared the remaining enemy forces.
• Qin Xa learned that Gangro had died and that his daughter and crew had taken over the Divine Lord-class prototype tank.
• Dantiok reported 300,000 casualties and Eidolon's escape; Qin Xa left the Knight Legion on Sotha to protect the Pharos Beacon.
• Qin Xa gave Erebus a Blank device to help him fight Erebaty and offered to restore his senses, but Erebus chose to remain in his current state.

Qin Xa met Trazyn on Sotha and learned that the human Webway project had succeeded, though its dangers remained. After contacting The Emperor and arguing over his work in the rebellion, Qin Xa decided to return to Terra first.

• Qin Xa met Trazyn in the Pharos control room, thanked him for activating the beacon, and gave him a Chaos artifact.
• Trazyn explained that the Webway connected to the Old Ones’ network, much of which was controlled by Eldar or infested with Warp Creatures, and warned Qin Xa about the Pharos beacon, Number Eleven, and the Eightfold Trials.
• Qin Xa contacted The Emperor and learned that the Webway project had succeeded, but The Emperor had expected him to return to Terra and help during its final stage.
• Qin Xa and The Emperor argued over whether Qin Xa should have prioritized returning to Terra or dealing with the rebellion and its Primarchs.
• The Emperor ordered Qin Xa to return to Terra with Quadrant and acknowledged his service; after The Emperor vanished from contact, Qin Xa decided to go to Terra first.

Qin Xa returned to the Solar System and brought Quadrant to Mars with a Gloriana-class Battleship intended as his Mechanicus Ark. He then visited the Emperor in the Webway, where they learned an Imperial exploration fleet had vanished and planned to recover it from the Eldar.

• Qin Xa gave Quadrant the captured Gloriana-class Battleship as a Mechanicus Ark and asked him to find Kelbo Hal and learn whether he recognized it.
• Qin Xa brought Horus to Terra, then met Malcador and Magnus outside the dungeons, where Malcador explained that he had sat on the Golden Throne before the Emperor took over.
• Malcador told Qin Xa that he had prevented several disasters and said the Emperor planned to make Kleist and the female Gladiators Custodes so they could live longer.
• Qin Xa, Malcador, and Magnus traveled through the artificial Webway to Calasta, which Malcador identified as a nexus and the future center of the Imperium of Humanity.
• Valdor reported that an exploration fleet of over a thousand warships had vanished after entering the Webway, and the Emperor asked Qin Xa to help find it before mapping the routes.

Qin Xa led a vast Imperial force into the Webway to recover the missing exploration fleet, while ordering his forces not to attack any Xenos without his command. After Harlequins revealed that the Kenta Craftworld had detained the fleet and was preparing to attack Calasta, Qin Xa went alone to negotiate with the Eldar, where he met a gathering of Craftworld Farseers and Eldrad Uslan.

• Qin Xa reviewed the enormous Imperial fleet and ground forces assembled for the mission, then ordered them to hold fire on all Xenos until he gave the command.
• Qin Xa, Malcador, and Magnus discussed the danger of damaging the Webway from within and the importance of recovering humanity’s first exploration fleet.
• A group of Harlequins told Qin Xa that Kenta had detained the lost fleet and was planning to attack Calasta, then offered to escort him to negotiate with its council.
• Qin Xa traveled alone with the Harlequins to Kenta, while Malcador took command of the Imperial fleet in the Webway.
• At Kenta, Qin Xa learned that more than a dozen Craftworlds would watch the negotiations, then greeted the Veilwalker and Eldrad Uslan before a gathering of Farseers.

Qin Xa attended the Kenta Craftworld Council to discuss humanity’s place in the Webway, where the Eldar argued that humans’ history of exterminating other races made them a threat. As debate turned to the destruction of the Thuantar Craftworld, its Farseer of Destiny arrived and claimed Qin Xa had come to shape the future of both races.

• Qin Xa arrived at the Kenta council chamber with Uslan, the Veilwalker, and Farseers from other Craftworlds, and the Kenta Farseers opened the talks by explaining that they had detained the human exploration fleet after it fired on them.
• Qin Xa said he would take the fleet and its crew home, then Uslan argued that humanity should be allowed to use the Webway and defended his past decision to divert daemons toward human worlds to save an allied Craftworld.
• A Kenta Farseer challenged Uslan’s loyalty and argued that humanity’s warlike history meant it could eventually destroy the Eldar if granted access to the Webway.
• Qin Xa defended humanity’s past wars but was confronted with the destruction of the Thuantar Craftworld, including Angron’s role in killing its inhabitants.
• The Farseer of Destiny of the Thuantar Craftworld entered the chamber and said the Thuantar Farseer Council had attacked Angron because of a Prophecy, making humanity’s actions revenge, and that another Prophecy showed Qin Xa had come for the future of both races.

Qin Xa argued before Kenta Craftworld’s council that humanity and the Eldar must both fight for reality’s survival, but the Farseers deferred their decision. As the exploration fleet left, a sympathetic Eldar provided a route to the Eye of Terror, and Qin Xa ordered the fleet to join a battle force and attack a Dark Eldar city along the way.

• The Destiny Farseer explained that Thuantar Craftworld had fallen because radical Farseers left it vulnerable while pursuing Angron, then warned that the material universe and Webway faced eventual destruction by the Immaterium.
• Qin Xa told Kenta Craftworld’s council he would fight for both humanity and the Eldar, and the Farseers postponed their decision.
• Qin Xa, Uslan, and the Veilwalker discussed the possibility of an alliance and whether The Emperor would accept humanity’s place in the Webway.
• Qin Xa departed with the exploration fleet, and a Farseer who supported humanity sent him a Webway route to the Eye of Terror.
• After learning the route passed through a Dark Eldar city, Qin Xa ordered the fleet to join a battle force and take part in an assault on the city.

Qin Xa led the human fleet to a Dark Eldar Webway city and launched humanity’s first formal assault on the Dark Eldar. The battle turned into a one-sided victory, and Qin Xa gathered intelligence on the enemy for the Imperium.

• Qin Xa and Malcador discussed whether The Emperor would accept an alliance with the Eldar to gain access to the Webway, and Malcador said The Emperor would agree.
• Qin Xa’s fleet reached the Dark Eldar Webway city, where he spotted Craftworld Eldar and other captives being tortured.
• Qin Xa ordered the Busafalos to destroy the Dark Eldar fleet and bombard the city’s outskirts, then sent the ground forces into the city.
• The Solar System Auxilia held off Haemonculus-modified monsters and killed their controllers while the Custodes and Thousand Sons slaughtered Dark Eldar warriors.
• Qin Xa briefed the recordkeepers on Dark Eldar biology, tactics, society, and inability to use psychic spells as the battle continued in humanity’s favor.

Qin Xa crushed the Dark Eldar Conspiracy Coven, rescued their captives, and left Valdor in charge while he went to the Fourth Legion. Near the Eye of Terror, Sanguinius and Perturabo destroyed three Chaos-corrupted worlds with Olympia, and Qin Xa arrived on their flagship.

• Qin Xa teleported the Conspiracy Coven warriors into a firing line, and the human forces killed them before searching the facility for survivors.
• Qin Xa sent the tortured humans for treatment, learned that the rescued Eldar came from Biel-Tan, and left Valdor to guard the Webway city as he departed to check on the Fourth Legion.
• The Blood Angels fleet and Perturabo's Olympia defeated the rebel defenders near the Eye of Terror and replenished supplies while probes assessed three worlds as heavily corrupted.
• Sanguinius signed the Exterminatus order, and Perturabo ordered Olympia to destroy all three worlds with its planetbreaker cannons.
• Snow began falling on the flagship's Command Deck, and Qin Xa teleported in as Perturabo greeted him.

Perturabo explained how he had saved Olympia and the Blood Angels by inventing a Warp Engine that used positive emotions to cross the Immaterium, then brought them to the Webway. After seeing the high cost of exploring its dangerous routes, he proposed training Navigators as psychic pathfinders, and Malcador agreed to provide them.

• Perturabo explained that he had moved Olympia through the Immaterium with an improved Geller field and a Warp Engine powered by the positive emotions of people in hibernation pods.
• Sanguinius said Perturabo had rescued the Blood Angels from the Immaterium, and Qin Xa directed them to use the Webway to reinforce the Eye of Terror's defenses.
• Olympia and the Blood Angels fleet crossed the Immaterium through a passage created by positive emotions, emerged near a Webway entrance, and entered the Webway.
• Malcador told Qin Xa, Perturabo, and Sanguinius that Webway exploration teams suffered heavy losses to dangerous routes and ancient defenses.
• Perturabo proposed using trained Psykers to scout the Webway, and Malcador offered the Solar System's Navigators for the effort.

Perturabo activated a network of Navigator-powered spires on Olympia to explore Webway routes, while Malcador prepared to leave behind the deeds of The Emperor and the primarchs in humanity’s memory. Qin Xa set out for Ultramar and chose Osiris as a possible future successor to lead the Librarians, leaving his ultimate fate dependent on the trials ahead.

• Perturabo showed Qin Xa and Malcador the spire cluster he had built to explore hundreds of Webway routes using Navigators as psychic wetware.
• Malcador admitted he had secretly seized Navigators for other purposes and declared he would erase the records of The Emperor and the primarchs before he died.
• The spire network began mapping Webway routes, and Qin Xa ordered the Librarian fleet to follow a newly explored route toward Ultramar.
• Qin Xa told the Captain that Osiris could become the next master of the Librarians, and the Captain said he and his wife wanted the boy to be happy and survive.
• Qin Xa welcomed Osiris to the Grand Library, ordered Kamas to assign him a mentor and train him on Olympia, and reserved his gene-seed for the boy if he proved worthy.

Eidolon’s forces attacked Macragge, and Captain Gale struggled to defend the Void Shield installations with limited troops. Just as Lucius wounded Gale, Lorgar arrived with the Word Bearers and declared that they would fight alongside the Ultramarines to defend Macragge.

• Gale learned that Eidolon’s forces were attacking Macragge and ordered available troops to protect the Void Shield installations.
• Tarasha Euten placed Gale in command of fifteen hundred failed Space Marine aspirants while she took over command-center duties.
• Gale led his force toward the installations, where Emperor’s Children and Dreadnoughts had sabotaged the power systems and repelled the defenders.
• Night Lords ambushed Gale’s force, and Lucius revealed himself after severing Gale’s right arm.
• Lorgar arrived through a rift with the Word Bearers, killed Lucius, and called on his Legion to defend Macragge alongside the Ultramarines.

Qin Xa and Lorgar’s fleets destroyed Eidolon’s forces after they tried to escape through the Webway, and Qin Xa revealed that the Webway project had succeeded. Aboard the Word Bearers flagship, Lorgar described how faith had carried his Legion through the Immaterium storm and declared himself an emissary of the God-Emperor before showing Qin Xa his experience.

• Eidolon ordered his fleet to withdraw through a Webway entrance on a moon in Ultramar, but Qin Xa and the White Knights emerged from the passage and attacked.
• Qin Xa killed Eidolon, and the White Knights and Word Bearers trapped and annihilated his fleet in a pincer attack.
• Qin Xa told Lorgar, Gael, and Tarasha Euten that the Webway project had succeeded and that Eidolon’s fleet had used the Webway to reach Macragge.
• Qin Xa revealed that Dark Eldar had been aboard Eidolon’s ship and planned to inform Guilliman of their involvement and the danger to Euten.
• Qin Xa joined Lorgar aboard the Word Bearers flagship, where Lorgar said faith had helped his Legion cross the Immaterium storm and called himself an emissary of the God-Emperor.
• Lorgar closed his eyes and showed Qin Xa the experiences behind his claim.