Chapter Summaries

He Shenyan revealed that the Crimson Blades were not Guilliman’s sons, and Ezekiel saw Sanguinius before accepting the Mage’s request to serve aboard the ship. Angron restored Givadoron’s sense of duty, then encountered Sanguinius, who warned him to be careful and left him a white feather.

• He Shenyan told Ezekiel that the Crimson Blades’ history and hidden flaw had obscured their true origins, and Ezekiel asked for proof.
• Ezekiel saw a winged figure and suffered a vision of grief, then knelt before He Shenyan and agreed to have the Third Company serve aboard the ship.
• Givadoron secluded himself, tormented by the lingering Anger and ashamed of his self-destructive conduct in battle.
• Angron confronted Givadoron and ordered him to take responsibility for the surviving World Eaters, prompting Givadoron to pledge himself to service.
• He Shenyan told Angron that the Crimson Blades were loyal, and Sanguinius appeared to Angron, challenged his prejudice, and warned him that the Emperor could not make contact.
• Angron returned from the vision holding a white feather, which he handed to He Shenyan.

Astra Militarum soldiers used the Composite Magic Cannons to destroy enemy ships as He Shenyan and Angron discussed the risks of their power and planned to bait Chaos forces into repeated attacks. Ezekiel received an extensive upgrade to his power armor and went to train with its enhanced speed and strength.

• An Astra Militarum soldier and the other gunners destroyed seventeen enemy vessels with the Composite Magic Cannons.
• He Shenyan told Angron that the soldiers’ faith and courage did not change the dangers of their mortal status, then explained that their route kept them inside an enemy encirclement.
• He Shenyan proposed making each battle appear narrowly won so Chaos forces would send increasingly large attacks, and Angron agreed to the plan.
• Ezekiel carried the white feather he believed was a divine gift and went to the armor maintenance point aboard the ship.
• The ship’s machinery repaired and upgraded Ezekiel’s power armor, and he requested a training ground to adapt to its increased speed and strength.

He Shenyan and Angron lured the Skull Oath warband into boarding their ship, where Angron defeated its Chaos Terminator and the Crimson Blades and Astra Militarum prepared to take the three stolen frigates. The chapter ended with the Astra Militarum advancing on the frigates using their newly upgraded weapons.

• He Shenyan made their ship appear damaged and stopped it, while Angron and the warriors prepared an ambush in the dark.
• Three boarding torpedoes delivered 300 Skull Oath traitors and a Chaos Terminator, and Angron and the Crimson Blades attacked them.
• Angron dismembered the Terminator, recognized its remorse, and killed it with a final blow.
• The Crimson Blades and Givadoron led the Astra Militarum toward the three Falchion-class frigates, where only corrupted auxiliaries remained.
• The Astra Militarum used newly issued energy weapons, which the soldiers praised before their captain ordered them to train.

Frank Castle and Inquisitor Bonavia executed the corrupt planetary governor Lolden Kalgas, while Steve Rogers managed tensions in the sector and waited for the campaign to begin. The chapter ended with Batman arriving and Steve preparing for a vast war.

• Frank Castle and Bonavia executed Lolden Kalgas after uncovering his crimes and the seven psykers he had hidden.
• Frank dismissed Bonavia’s warning that further executions could provoke a political backlash and insisted that corruption was betrayal.
• Steve Rogers waited aboard the Rapid Vengeance while Lady Cassandra Vanlescus urged him to send her fleet to the front lines.
• Batman met Steve, asked about Frank, and heard Steve say that war was about to begin.

The captain watched 375 Cadian soldiers fight a simulated trench battle against a far larger rebel force, impressed by their training and fierce spirit. The First Platoon Leader killed his captors but died from a dagger wound, leaving the Cadians’ defiant cry as the battle continued.

• The captain observed the soldiers training with real weapons against projected rebels and a Chaos sorcerer.
• The company commander ordered the first platoon to counterattack from the left while other platoons covered them and targeted the sorcerer.
• The First Platoon Leader led his soldiers out of the trench, advanced under fire, and killed enemies while seeking cover.
• Rebels overpowered the First Platoon Leader, tortured him for information, and demanded his unit’s plans and positions.
• Remembering Cadia’s destruction, the First Platoon Leader blinded his captors with mud, killed them, and died declaring, “Cadia never falls! Cadia stands!”

Angron and He Shenyan discussed a plan to use the Astral Beacon to locate loyal survivors and reach them by a short Warp voyage. Meanwhile, Guilliman demanded support for his expedition before Cato Sicarius arrived with urgent news.

• Angron praised the Cadian soldiers’ simulated victory, and He Shenyan explained that the training system was too dangerous for Astartes to use.
• Angron and He Shenyan discussed how the traitors had failed to detect them and how they had found no living humans on the worlds they searched.
• He Shenyan proposed tracing prayers to the Emperor through the Astral Beacon to locate loyal survivors and travel through the Warp to their vicinity.
• Guilliman angrily demanded that the Inquisition liaison officer secure every resource for his expedition, then apologized for directing his frustration at her.
• Cato Sicarius entered Guilliman’s office with an urgent report, and Guilliman’s expression darkened.

Guilliman learned that Ultramar's leaders wanted to replace his title with Emperor of the Ultramar Empire and ordered Cato Sicarius to take five hundred Ultramarines there. Meanwhile, a dying psyker used Maloti's life to send coordinates through the Astral Beacon, and He Shenyan received the message.

• Guilliman ordered Cato Sicarius to return to Ultramar with five hundred brothers after learning its leaders wanted him to become emperor of an independent Ultramar Empire.
• Steve discussed Ultramarine customs and leadership with Marneus Calgar before Cato Sicarius arrived with Guilliman's orders.
• Marneus Calgar smashed the meeting table and declared he would lead the force to Ultramar himself.
• On a devastated planet, Maloti carried a severed psyker's head home and followed its instructions, sacrificing his life to empower the psyker.
• The psyker plunged into the Astral Beacon and sent coordinates and a message before his head turned to ash.
• He Shenyan opened his eyes after receiving the message.

He Shenyan named his warship Vengeance and led it through the Warp toward a psyker’s plea for help, while Angron learned that the message had cost a child and the psyker their lives. The Vengeance reached a devastated planet, where its magic began rescuing survivors, and Angron armed himself to lead the Astartes into battle.

• He Shenyan named the warship Vengeance and used the Astral Beacon’s light to tear apart a hostile planet’s reflection in the Warp.
• He Shenyan told Angron that a psyker had sacrificed an innocent child and himself to send a message through the Astral Beacon.
• Anglor, a sixteen-year-old survivor, watched pale-blue beams halt the acid rain and spread healing light across the ruined surface.
• Angron ordered the mortal troops to rescue civilians and summoned the Astartes to the First Bridge.
• Angron donned his newly prepared armor and headed out to fight, telling the crew to pass along his praise for it to He Shenyan.

Angron led Givadoron and the Astartes into a teleportation assault while a Cadian regiment prepared to board a mechanical dragon transport. Meanwhile, He Shenyan fought off Nurgle’s corruption with the Emperor’s psychic flame, defeated Kairos, and vanished after burning the battlefield; Tzeentch’s daemons were left unable to recover the Fateweaver immediately.

• Angron rallied eighteen Astartes, including Givadoron, before they teleported to attack the traitors.
• A captain questioned the magic array about the mechanical dragon transport, then ordered the Cadian 812th Regiment’s Fourth Company to board it for a civilian rescue mission.
• He Shenyan used the Emperor’s psychic flame to burn away Nurgle’s corruption, enduring severe injuries as his magic repaired his body.
• Kairos appeared and offered He Shenyan help, but He Shenyan immobilized him and stripped away his ability to see the future and past.
• He Shenyan killed Kairos with golden flame, drove off the approaching daemons, and disappeared as Tzeentch’s forces gathered above.

Givadoron killed Kharn, his former War Hounds brother, during the boarding assault on the Khorne flagship, but was left gravely wounded and grieving. After waking in the infirmary, he heard that the War Hounds had won, while Angron learned that He Shenyan needed to rest and had to leave the Vengeance in his hands.

• Givadoron fought through the flagship with Ezekiel and recognized the Chaos Terminator who challenged him as Kharn, his old War Hounds comrade.
• Givadoron outmaneuvered Kharn and beheaded him, then collapsed beside his body from his injuries.
• Givadoron woke in an unfamiliar treatment ward, where Angron praised his victory and told him the boarding assault had succeeded with no deaths.
• Givadoron told Angron that Kharn had once been a War Hound and that many others like him remained.
• Angron visited the main control room and found He Shenyan badly burned after fighting Nurgle and killing one of Tzeentch's birds; He Shenyan said he needed several days of rest and left the Vengeance in Angron's hands.

He Shenyan endured the purging of Nurgle’s blessing as his powers fused, while Sanguinius warned him about Guilliman’s crisis over the Second Empire. On the planet, the captain evacuated 593 survivors to the Vengeance, where Ezekiel took charge of their care.

• He Shenyan burned away Nurgle’s blessing with the Emperor’s psionic flames, risking unfamiliar changes as his magic entangled with his new power.
• Sanguinius visited He Shenyan and explained that Guilliman had awakened to a heartbreaking tragedy involving the Second Empire and political pressure to proclaim himself emperor.
• The captain and his soldiers gathered survivors across the planet and arranged their evacuation aboard the Mechanical Dragon, counting 593 people.
• The captain ordered his soldiers to let the civilians eat first and to stop hoarding emergency rations, then returned with them to the Vengeance.
• Ezekiel confirmed the survivor count with the captain and considered how to care for the civilians while Givadoron remained in the infirmary.

Bonavia interrogated a Rogue Trader about his dealings with the Ultramar Five Hundred Worlds, while Frank defended his ruthless approach to corrupt officials. After recovering from Nurgle’s blessing, He Shenyan told Angron that short Warp travel was possible and the operation could begin.

• Bonavia questioned a Rogue Trader about his visit to the Ultramar Five Hundred Worlds, and Frank forced him to confess his dealings.
• Bonavia explained to Frank why the Inquisition avoided killing corrupt officials, but Frank insisted he would keep killing them until they were afraid to act.
• He Shenyan emerged from three days in his quiet room and told Angron he had burned away Nurgle’s blessing with Psionic power.
• Angron praised the teleportation technology, and He Shenyan explained that its use depended on his magic and the Vengeance’s power.
• He Shenyan increased the Vengeance’s engine output and told Angron that short Warp travel was feasible, declaring the operation ready to begin.

He Shenyan and Angron discovered that a Chaos god had sealed the surrounding starfields and confronted a creature resembling the corrupted Fulgrim aboard the Vengeance. The creature attacked them, but He Shenyan and Angron turned the battle against it with golden flames.

• He Shenyan sensed that the nearby starfields had been sealed, cutting off their connection to the Warp, and realized a Chaos god had acted.
• Angron deduced that the Vengeance had never escaped their pursuer’s attention, and his mention of Tzeentch echoed through the bridge as a purple rift opened.
• A serpentine creature wearing Fulgrim’s face appeared, taunted Angron, and invited him and He Shenyan to join it.
• Angron armored himself and prepared to fight, while He Shenyan stopped him and insulted the creature’s grotesque form.
• The creature drew four poisoned weapons and attacked, but Angron summoned golden flames that drove it into a screaming retreat.
• He Shenyan concluded that the creature had used Tzeentch’s power without knowing his current condition, and watched it suffer in the flames.

He Shenyan kept the captured Fulgrim alive and restrained, then negotiated with Trazyn the Infinite, who offered an unfallen Fulgrim in exchange for the corrupted Daemon Prince. The chapter left the proposed trade hanging as Angron reacted in disbelief.

• He Shenyan refused to kill the restrained Fulgrim because the Daemon Prince would return stronger, while Angron resisted the urge to kill his fallen brother.
• He Shenyan strengthened the Vengeance’s mental defenses and sensed Trazyn in the vehicle hangar.
• Trazyn examined the Mechanical Dragon and tried to escape with a device, but Angron brought him to He Shenyan.
• He Shenyan showed Trazyn the imprisoned Fulgrim, and Trazyn eagerly offered to trade for him, including his restraints and remains.
• Trazyn proposed an unfallen Fulgrim as payment, leaving Angron stunned.

He Shenyan traded Fulgrim’s unfallen form for information from Trazyn, using an emotional vision to secure a chance to choose an item from Trazyn’s collection. After Trazyn agreed to bring Fulgrim and a captured Adeptus Custodes within seventy-two hours, He Shenyan reflected on his fear of losing his humanity and affirmed his identity as a mage.

• He Shenyan rejected Trazyn’s initial offer, and Trazyn offered a living Adeptus Custodes in addition to the unfallen Fulgrim.
• He Shenyan gave Trazyn a vision of a world’s tragic history, then removed the memories while leaving the emotions behind.
• Trazyn valued the lasting emotions and invited He Shenyan to choose an item from his collection vault, but He Shenyan asked to see Fulgrim and the Custodes as soon as possible.
• Trazyn agreed to bring them within seventy-two hours and asked He Shenyan to stay aboard the Vengeance while they waited.
• After Trazyn left, He Shenyan told Angron that he could control the Necrons through his power over their memories but had no interest in becoming their god.
• He Shenyan reaffirmed that he would not sacrifice his humanity or the innocent, then Angron asked where the unfallen Fulgrim had come from.

He Shenyan and Angron discussed Fabius Bile’s clones and whether the remorseful cloned Fulgrim could remain loyal. Trazyn explored the Vengeance, speaking with its Magic Array Hub about its purpose.

• He Shenyan recounted how Fabius Bile repeatedly cloned Ferrus Manus, cloned Horus before Abaddon destroyed the copies, and later created a loyal Fulgrim whom he sold to Trazyn.
• Angron questioned whether the cloned Fulgrim would fall like his original, then contrasted him with the loyal Fulgrim from his own world, who had endured torture without yielding.
• He Shenyan urged Angron to give the young clone time to grow and prove his oath to destroy his original body and the traitors; Angron left in silence.
• Trazyn learned from the Magic Array Hub that an illusion already concealed him and that the Hub controlled the Vengeance.
• Trazyn asked the Magic Array Hub about its age, purpose, and desire to change bodies, praised its sense of purpose, and continued exploring alone.

He Shenyan and Angron freed a captured Adeptus Custodes, who attacked Angron before He Shenyan convinced him that the galaxy had changed. The Custodes, calling himself Lictor, learned about the Great Rift and the Vengeance, then recognized the Fulgrim clone in Trazyn’s display.

• Trazyn’s ship arrived as a distraction while He Shenyan revealed that Trazyn had already delivered two stasis cubes to the Vengeance’s warehouse.
• He Shenyan freed the Adeptus Custodes, who awakened and attacked Angron, accusing him of betraying his sons and The Emperor.
• He Shenyan revealed himself to Lictor and explained that Angron was not the one Lictor remembered, and that it was the dark 41st millennium.
• He Shenyan told Lictor that Cadia had been destroyed, the Great Rift threatened reality, and the Vengeance carried two Primarchs.
• He Shenyan pointed out the Fulgrim clone in Trazyn’s display, and Lictor froze when he saw him.

He Shenyan freed Fulgrim from stasis, and Angron defeated him in battle. In a vision, Fulgrim faced the corruption he had caused and his fallen sons, then emerged reborn with a scar on his face.

• He Shenyan released Fulgrim from the display case despite Lictor's distrust.
• Fulgrim mistook Angron and the others for Chaos enemies and challenged them, but Angron choked him unconscious.
• He Shenyan showed Fulgrim the Empire's decay and the horrors his corrupted sons had become.
• Fulgrim resisted the pull of corruption when his sons' voices called him to save them.
• Saul Tarvitz and the other sons wounded Fulgrim before golden flames restored him, and Fulgrim scarred his own face with Saul's sword.
• He Shenyan told Angron that the phoenix had been reborn, and Fulgrim opened his eyes.

He Shenyan explained the Great Rift and revealed that he could hear prayers from Imperial forces in danger. To reach the besieged planet Bandar, he used his power to move the world toward the Vengeance, leaving its defenders with hope of imminent reinforcements.

• Fulgrim learned that his loyal sons had sacrificed themselves to free him from Slaanesh, and he accepted their deaths with sorrow.
• He Shenyan told Fulgrim and Angron that Cadia's destruction had split the Imperium and disrupted Warp travel and communication.
• He Shenyan revealed that he could hear prayers from across the region and identified a nearby world whose defenders needed help.
• On Bandar, an Astartes commander organized a retreat and prepared cannons and explosives as Slaanesh's forces overran the Hive City.
• He Shenyan reached Bandar's defenders through a vision, urged them to keep resisting, and moved the planet onto a bridge of golden flame toward the Vengeance.

Angron and He Shenyan revealed Fulgrim’s identity to the Crimson Blades’ Third Company, then assigned Ezekiel and his squad a dangerous strike against a ritual on Bandar Planet. He Shenyan sent Ezekiel, Lictor, and Givadoron to attack the sacrificial pit while transporting Angron and Fulgrim into the Hive City to fight the traitors.

• Angron apologized for questioning the Third Company and introduced the pale-haired giant as Fulgrim, prompting Ezekiel and his Astartes to draw their weapons.
• He Shenyan told the Third Company that Angron and Fulgrim were both Primarchs, then stopped their confrontation and clarified that he was not the Emperor.
• He Shenyan briefed Ezekiel on the sacrificial pit and its powerful energy reaction; Ezekiel accepted a strike mission with Lictor and Givadoron, supported from the skies.
• He Shenyan ordered Angron and Fulgrim to kill the traitors in the Hive City, while scolding them for arguing about their relationship and Fulgrim’s sons.
• He Shenyan revealed that he had answered someone’s prayer for courage and strength, then teleported Angron and Fulgrim to the Hive City’s middle level.