Chapter Summaries

Katarina infiltrated a secret Piltover prison and learned about the Refraction Prism, Councilor Jayce Talis, and the city’s suffering civilians. After gathering enough intelligence to help Noxus, she pressed on to exceed her mission’s objective.

• Katarina studied the prison’s patrols and used a brass key supplied by Noxian contacts to open a hidden entrance in the wall.
• She entered a disguised laundry room and waited until two guards passed outside.
• Katarina overheard the guards discuss the Council’s use of the Refraction Prism and the hardship facing Piltover’s poor.
• The guards revealed that the councilors were unhappy with Jayce Talis and intended to have him killed after the Noxians were defeated.
• Katarina left the laundry room, drew her daggers, and continued into the prison to exceed her objective.

Councilor Annobi Buno ordered his guards to find the missing Jayce Talis, then used a gemstone to summon the Twilight Goddess Myisha. Myisha was killed by an unknown man, who thanked Buno for revealing her location before turning him to ash.

• Annobi Buno berated a guard for failing to find Jayce Talis and ordered him to capture Talis and the Noxian rescuer, dead or alive.
• After the guard left, Annobi retrieved a purple gemstone hidden behind a painting and prayed to the Lady of Twilight for help.
• Annobi cut out one of his lungs and embedded the gemstone in it to summon Myisha.
• Myisha screamed as an unknown man attacked her, mocked her fear of death, and killed her.
• The unknown man thanked Annobi for helping him locate Myisha, and a sun appeared in Annobi's eyes before he turned to ash.

The Mage left Annobi Buno’s office after the Buno family steward’s buried fascination with slaughter resurfaced, then joined Kronos and Garen in defeating Piltover’s modified guards and rescuing Katarina and a Councilor. As Kronos anticipated gaining Piltover’s support, a blazing golden light engulfed the city and screams rose from within it.

• The Buno family steward entered Annobi Buno’s office, saw the lung and blood, and remembered his childhood fascination with the slaughterhouse.
• The Mage reflected on Piltover’s exploitation of Zaunite children, then left Annobi Buno’s office and scanned the city with psychic power.
• Kronos and Garen defeated the last of the modified Piltover guards, and Katarina emerged from the ruins after rescuing a Councilor and children from an orphanage.
• Katarina thanked Kronos and Garen, and Kronos recognized her as a member of the Du Couteau family.
• A golden light spread across Piltover, followed by a towering blaze and screams, as Kronos invoked the Emperor.

He Shenyan reassured Kronos that Valoran’s harsh conditions made it difficult to unify, then returned to find the Primarchs drunk during a feast. Fulgrim challenged Leman Russ and Jaghatai Khan to a drinking contest as the celebration continued.

• Kronos told He Shenyan that Valoran’s situation was more complicated than expected and worried that unifying the planet was taking too long.
• He Shenyan explained that Valoran’s harsh environments and unusual dangers drove its people to develop and reassured Kronos that he was making progress.
• He Shenyan said he was returning and assured Kronos that everything in the Empire was normal.
• Fulgrim found Leman Russ and Jaghatai Khan competing to drink, Sanguinius passed out, Angron blacked out, and Guilliman helping send Little Horus to his room.
• Fulgrim accepted Leman Russ and Jaghatai Khan’s invitation to drink and claimed he could outdrink them both.

He Shenyan returned to find Fulgrim had won a drinking contest against Jaghatai Khan and Leman Russ, while the other Primarchs had passed out. The Emperor arrived and discussed the Warp’s rejection of him, the threats to the Imperium, and his regret over what his sons might have been.

• Fulgrim celebrated winning the drinking contest as Guilliman, Jaghatai Khan, Leman Russ, and the others lay unconscious.
• He Shenyan used magic to clean the banquet hall and open windows onto a pastoral scene.
• The Emperor entered looking weathered, drank some wine, and revealed that the Warp itself had been rejecting him.
• The Emperor said he had to continue addressing the threats within the Webway and the stalled restoration of Terra, but refused to let He Shenyan take his burden.
• He Shenyan asked what the Emperor thought after seeing his sons together, and the Emperor said they should have been like this from the start.

Fulgrim woke aboard Macragge's Honour with no memory of the end of the previous night, then met He Shenyan in his Pocket Dimension library. He Shenyan explained that the soul of the other Fulgrim had returned to his body, leaving Fulgrim to ask whether the Mage had a solution to the risk of future influence.

• Fulgrim woke with a splitting headache and recalled drinking with Russ and the Khan before his memory abruptly ended.
• Fulgrim opened his room's door and found only a void beyond it, then He Shenyan reshaped the scene into his library.
• He Shenyan asked whether Fulgrim felt abnormal and explained that the other Fulgrim's death had caused his soul to return to Fulgrim's body.
• Fulgrim said he felt no change and had not inherited the other Fulgrim's memories or desire for pleasure.
• He Shenyan warned Fulgrim that Slaanesh's influence could affect him in the future, and Fulgrim said he believed He Shenyan had a solution.

Fulgrim struggled with doubts about his identity until He Shenyan warned him not to probe himself, while Guilliman wrestled with his feelings about Yvraine amid his government work. He Shenyan visited Guilliman and offered a way to show his magical progress despite Guilliman’s meetings.

• Fulgrim questioned whether his thoughts were truly his own, and He Shenyan urged him not to test himself.
• Fulgrim reflected that everyone carried personal scars and that each person had to find their own way to heal.
• Guilliman reviewed government documents while learning that Helbrecht, Steve, and Frank had taken Forge World Sigma Ustali and were advancing through the sector.
• Guilliman worried about whether Yvraine would accept the Death Cult belonging to the Imperium.
• He Shenyan surprised Guilliman at his desk, asked about his magical studies, and offered a way to demonstrate his progress despite the afternoon meetings.

He Shenyan taught Guilliman to meditate and helped him create a synchronized duplicate, leaving the two Guillimans to decide who would attend a meeting and who would handle government affairs. On Terra Space Station, Aeonid Thiel learned that the Primarch had returned and Titus suggested he ask Guilliman about it at the afternoon meeting.

• Guilliman struggled to meditate while He Shenyan urged him to calm his mind.
• Guilliman completed the meditation and created a duplicate through a high-level spell.
• The two Guillimans tied ten rounds of Rock Paper Scissors, and He Shenyan told them to choose who would attend the meeting and who would review government affairs.
• Aeonid Thiel learned from Titus that the Primarch had returned and apologized for the unjust treatment Titus had suffered.
• Aeonid condemned the Inquisition, and Titus suggested he ask Guilliman about his return at the afternoon meeting.

Roboute Guilliman questioned Magos Curos about the unusual restoration of Aeonid Thiel, whose Gene Seed had changed after contact with his Dreadnought’s Machine Spirit. Guilliman accepted the Glyph Array’s explanation and went to meet Thiel, who waited nervously with Titus.

• Magos Curos reported that eight Dreadnought Elders had been restored, and Guilliman asked why Aeonid Thiel had remained on the station.
• After dismissing the other attendees, Guilliman learned that Thiel’s Gene Seed had changed and could produce Space Marines two to three times stronger than their predecessors.
• Curos explained that Thiel had touched his silent Dreadnought Machine Spirit, fainted, and then shown changes to his Gene Seed and physical condition.
• The Glyph Array suggested that the Machine Spirit had given Thiel its final gift after deciding it no longer needed to exist, and Guilliman told Curos to record the matter carefully.
• Thiel calmed himself while waiting for Guilliman to visit, and Titus stayed with him as someone knocked at the door.

Guilliman reunited with Aeonid Thiel and honored the sacrifices he and his brothers had made across the millennia. Meanwhile, He Shenyan investigated whether Fulgrim’s fallen half was still hiding within him and concluded that he would need to operate on Fulgrim.

• Guilliman greeted Aeonid Thiel and admitted how glad he was to see his old friend again.
• Aeonid told Guilliman that his warriors had endured grievous losses but continued protecting humanity and their brothers.
• Guilliman bowed to Aeonid and told him he was proud of what they had done.
• He Shenyan considered possible explanations for Fulgrim’s condition and ruled out that Fulgrim was lying.
• He Shenyan suspected Fulgrim’s fallen half was still concealing itself and decided that Fulgrim needed an operation.

Tia Deul survived a plague that killed the people of Phenilos, and Prometheus found her and set out to search for survivors. Aboard a cruiser, Sergeant Kordos described recurring visions of battles and agreed to seek Lord Cran's help.

• Nergus, a Greater Daemon of Nurgle, left the corpse-filled city after noticing the dead Astra Militarum soldier's defiance.
• Tia Deul emerged from the bodies, took a lasgun, and wandered through the devastated city while mourning her family and neighbors.
• Prometheus found Tia, heard her account of the plague, and decided they needed to search other cities for people and creatures like those that attacked Beper.
• Prometheus struggled to remember his past, while Tia showed him the bracelet he had made for her birthday.
• Aboard a cruiser, Ezekiel sparred with Kordos and asked about his recurring visions of battles with Tyranids, fur-clad warriors, and black-armored soldiers.
• Ezekiel urged Kordos to consult Lord Cran about the visions, and Kordos agreed.

Prometheus and Tia faced reanimated corpses in the city and prepared to defend themselves in his workshop. Meanwhile, Cran investigated Sergeant Kordos’s recurring dreams and concluded they were memories connected to the missing Kronos Tiberius, prompting him to begin an investigation.

• Prometheus noticed that corpses were moving, destroyed one with his Lasgun, and carried Tia back to his workshop as more Walking Corpses rose.
• Prometheus took up his Forging Hammer and stood ready to protect Tia while sensing an inexplicable familiarity with battle and forging.
• Cran questioned Kordos about dreams of battles against unfamiliar enemies, and Kordos realized he could not explain why he had insisted they were unlike known foes.
• Cran suggested that Kordos had seen another person’s memories, possibly through a connection to the Sword of the Emperor’s Gene Seed.
• Kordos revealed that his Gene Seed came from Kronos Tiberius, who vanished after a battle three hundred years earlier amid Warp turbulence, and Cran began investigating.

Prometheus fought through a horde of Walking Corpses with Tia and confronted a grotesque creature that accused him of murdering children, while an unfamiliar sense of duty stirred within him. Elsewhere, Cran told Roboute Guilliman that Kronos Tiberius was still alive, then argued with him about Astartes deployment procedures before his ship reached Phenilos.

• Prometheus killed the approaching Walking Corpses with a hammer and felt an unfamiliar voice declare that killing mankind's enemies was his duty.
• A grotesque creature appeared, called the Walking Corpses its children, and demanded that Prometheus debate his actions.
• Prometheus refused to debate and raised his Warhammer against the creature, speaking with the expression of someone long dead.
• Cran told Roboute Guilliman that Kronos Tiberius was alive according to a top-secret file provided by He Shenyan.
• Guilliman challenged Cran for delaying his Scions and bypassing proper procedures, while Cran criticized the cumbersome bureaucracy and Ecclesiarchy blessings.
• Cran said his ship was about to land on the garden world Phenilos to obtain fuel, food, and supplies.

Ezekiel led the Crimson Blades into a silent Phenilos transport hub, where they found evidence of a horrifying infestation and withdrew after attacking it. Prometheus and Tia fought through the city to a broken Maglev Train, leaving Prometheus unsure how to get it running.

• Ezekiel led Second Tactical Squad through the deserted landing port and found a worker who had shot himself from fear.
• Ezekiel took the squad underground, where his premonition warned him to prepare for combat.
• A flare revealed a chamber covered in green growth and pulsing cocoons, so Ezekiel ordered the Crimson Blades to fire and burn the infestation before returning to the landing pad.
• Prometheus protected Tia from Walking Corpses and used his Forging Hammer to smash a group attacking from behind.
• Prometheus and Tia reached the transport station, where Prometheus found a broken Maglev Train and wondered how he could repair it.

As Cran prepared to investigate Phenilos before deciding whether to cleanse it, Prometheus comforted Tia and recalled his brothers and their shared suffering. His memories led him to realize that Vulkan could still teach them something: humanity.

• Cran told Ezekiel that Phenilos was likely tainted by Nurgle and that he would order Exterminatus if no survivors were found.
• Cran suspected Phenilos’s corruption was connected to a hidden cause and ordered Ezekiel’s company to wait on the surface.
• Prometheus struggled to understand his memories and identity until Tia asked how they would warn people in other cities.
• Prometheus comforted Tia as she mourned her dead parents and friends, then told her about his brothers and their pain.
• Prometheus recalled his father telling him that he could teach his brothers something, stood up as Vulkan, and murmured, “Humanity.”

Nergus sacrificed his own arm to turn his plague into a God-Plague, while Cran led the Crimson Blades toward Phenilos’s contaminated capital. Cran sensed Nergus in the storm and confronted the Great Unclean One on a road of ice in the clouds.

• Nergus added his infected flesh and his own arm to the cauldron, causing the plague to boil and spread a deep-green glow across the sky.
• Ezekiel and Kordos discussed the sudden rain and Kordos’s unease as the Sword of the Emperor prepared to move out.
• Cran ordered Ezekiel and the Crimson Blades aboard a Thunderhawk bound for Koma, the capital most contaminated by Nurgle.
• Cran’s Psionic power froze the Thunderhawk’s cabin and the rain outside, and he ordered the pilot to open the hatch and prepare for battle.
• Cran led the Crimson Blades onto a road of ice in the clouds, where Nergus greeted him and offered a gift.

Klan Samps fought Nergus, a Great Unclean One who revealed that its God-Plague could poison Primarchs and had been designed to target more than Klan. After Nergus infected and captured him, it carried him toward a city and revealed its plan to make Vulkan into Nurgle’s greatest plague-ridden masterpiece.

• Nergus greeted Klan Samps and displayed the God-Plague, while Klan ordered the Crimson Blades back to their cabin and sent their Thunderhawk away.
• Klan used a shadow double to trick Nergus, then ambushed it with a flying knee, melta darts, and magical flames.
• Nergus feigned weakness, transformed into plague butterflies, and infected Klan with the God-Plague, leaving him unable to move or use his powers.
• Nergus revealed that it had waited thousands of years, that the plague could poison Primarchs, and that its target also included Vulkan.
• The butterflies carried the immobilized Klan toward a city as Nergus explained that it intended to turn Vulkan into Nurgle’s greatest masterpiece.

Vulkan tried to escape the underground transport hub with Tia, but Nergus incapacitated him and removed the bracelet that protected her from plague. A black-robed Mage arrived, recovered the bracelet, killed Nergus, and spread heavenly fire across Phenilos to burn away its corruption.

• Vulkan told Tia his name was Vulkan, then discovered the train was unusable and decided to seek another way out.
• A swarm of Nurgle's flies pursued Vulkan and Tia, and a Plaguebearer warned that something had arrived before Vulkan killed it.
• Vulkan escaped the underground hub by smashing through walls and collapsing the stairs, but a waiting butterfly released a gust that knocked him unconscious.
• Nergus captured Tia and removed her silver bracelet, but the bracelet vanished before it could infect her.
• A black-robed Mage appeared beside Vulkan with the bracelet, prevented Nergus from escaping through the Warp, and burned the Great Unclean One to ash.
• The Mage's heavenly fire spread across Phenilos, burning away every place corrupted by Nurgle while leaving humans unharmed.

Vulkan awoke in He Shenyan’s Pocket Dimension, where the Mage showed him a glimpse of the universe’s truths before sending him back to the normal world. There, Vulkan found his brothers alive and together, and he asked whether their reunion was real.

• Vulkan questioned the man beside him, who revealed that his name was He Shenyan and that he was a Mage living in a Pocket Dimension.
• He Shenyan showed Vulkan a terrifying vision of the universe and burning Nocturne, then told him his brothers and the girl he had saved were waiting beyond a door.
• Vulkan passed through the door and collapsed, hearing Sanguinius, Fulgrim, Leman Russ, Angron, Guilliman, and Jaghatai Khan nearby.
• Sanguinius scolded the others for bickering, while Guilliman and Khan discussed how to explain matters to Vulkan.
• Vulkan opened his eyes, saw his brothers, and asked whether the reunion was real and whether Father was there.

Vulkan awoke among his brothers and realized they were real, then joyfully embraced Angron after seeing that his implants were gone. He Shenyan explained Vulkan’s Waaagh-energy bracelet to Cran before beginning a long meditation to prepare for a surgery.

• Vulkan lamented that his brothers had turned against one another, believing the figures before him were only Warp illusions.
• Jaghatai and Guilliman proved they were real by pointing out that Vulkan could hear Macragge's Honour's engines, and Fulgrim welcomed him back.
• Sanguinius brought Angron to Vulkan, who embraced him and rejoiced that the abominable creation had been removed from his head.
• He Shenyan told Cran that Nergus was dead and that the Sword of the Emperor and the Crimson Blades had been sent to Terra Space Station for repairs.
• He Shenyan revealed that Vulkan’s bracelet contained Waaagh energy and said that Them had protected Vulkan’s soul in the Warp, while Cran demanded answers and left for Terra Space Station.
• He Shenyan began a long meditation, intending to complete a surgery.