Chapter Summaries

Six Primarchs gathered to hear the Glyph Array describe an alternate future in which Sanguinius and his Blood Angels fell to Slaanesh. Sanguinius and Guilliman were shaken by the revelations, but Sanguinius agreed to keep listening.

• Fulgrim, Leman Russ, Vulkan, Jaghatai Khan, Roboute Guilliman, and Sanguinius met to hear about another possibility of themselves.
• The Glyph Array began narrating how the Blood Angels became slaves to Slaanesh, leaving Sanguinius horrified.
• The Glyph Array described Sanguinius and Guilliman as traitors who helped bring the Imperium to the brink of destruction, and Guilliman reeled in shock.
• The Glyph Array recounted how Sanguinius's attempt to free his sons led them to abandon themselves to bloodlust after Isstvan V, and Sanguinius struggled against Warp laughter.
• Jaghatai Khan urged Sanguinius to stop listening, but Vulkan argued that the Captain had a reason for showing them the story, and Sanguinius chose to continue.

The Primarchs listened as Samuel Joe’s account described Roboute Guilliman’s fall after Tzeentch targeted him through his Psionic power. The playback stuttered, and a rational voice insisted that the group continue because the revelations concerned threats facing two universes.

• After hearing how Sanguinius became a daemon of Slaanesh, the Primarchs feared that any of them could fall, and Vulkan comforted Sanguinius.
• Roboute Guilliman ordered the Glyph Array to continue, and Leman Russ’s attempt to lighten the mood failed.
• Samuel Joe’s account described Guilliman as a feared traitor and said his fall began when he discovered his Psionic talent and drew Tzeentch’s attention.
• When the playback stuttered, Fulgrim demanded an explanation, and the Glyph Array said the transmission reproduced a Psionic communication code.
• A rational voice urged the Primarchs to keep listening because the enemy and the revelations concerned the lives of humans in two universes, and Vulkan said he trusted the voice.

The Glyph Array revealed that an alternate Roboute Guilliman had led nine Legions into rebellion and ordered loyal Ultramarines purged on Isstvan III, leaving Guilliman devastated. After Aeonid Thiel’s survivors escaped and became Red-Marked Warriors, Corax appeared to console Guilliman just as the Raven Guard account was announced.

• Samuel Joe’s account suggested that Roboute Guilliman had been a traitor whose legacy and Scions still threatened the Empire, prompting Guilliman to erupt in denial and grief.
• The Glyph Array’s second account described how loyal Ultramarines were sent to die on Isstvan III, where Aeonid Thiel survived the bombardment and led resistance against the traitors.
• Thiel and nineteen warriors from four Legions escaped Isstvan III aboard a rebel gunboat, and the survivors became Red-Marked Warriors who hunted their former brothers.
• Sanguinius asked whether the Isstvan massacre had happened in another universe too, and the gathered Primarchs wondered which seven Legions had joined the rebellion.
• Corax revealed himself, urged Guilliman not to blame himself for another universe’s crimes, and then froze when the Glyph Array announced the Raven Guard account.

The Glyph Array described Corvus Corax’s brutal childhood as Number Nineteen, imprisoned and tortured by researchers on Kiavahr, while his brothers listened. Corax insisted on hearing the account despite his anger, leaving the group poised to continue.

• Russ teased Corax about his anger, and Corax composed himself and ordered the account to begin.
• The Glyph Array warned that the Raven Guard were the most evil Traitor Legion and urged readers to hold fast to their faith in the Emperor.
• The account explained that Kiavahr’s researchers imprisoned Number Nineteen to study his resistance to Warp energy and develop longer-lived slaves.
• The Glyph Array described how the researchers subjected Number Nineteen to radiation, toxins, injuries, starvation, and repeated failed escape attempts.
• Vulkan condemned the suffering Corax endured and argued that he could not be expected to protect those who had harmed him, while Corax insisted betrayal remained unforgivable.
• Corax refused to stop listening and told the Glyph Array to continue.

The Emperor showed the Primarchs Corax’s memories of his imprisonment and explained that he had accepted the Technocrats’ terms because they threatened to destroy Kiavahr with nuclear warheads. Corax challenged his father over his past choices, leaving the Emperor’s motives and guilt under scrutiny.

• Corax heard the Emperor call him damaged but capable of completing his mission, and vowed to make him pay.
• The Emperor appeared at the round table and explained that he had exchanged memories with the other Corax.
• The Emperor showed the Primarchs how Horus confronted him over accepting the Technocrats’ terms and learned that nuclear warheads threatened the planet.
• The Emperor admitted to being a negligent father and urged Horus not to lose his love for his brothers.
• Corax accused the Emperor of choosing repeatedly to stand by instead of changing his sons.

He Shenyan guided the Primarchs through doubts about their identities and past failures, while confronting Guilliman’s despair and taking Sanguinius aside. Meanwhile, another version of Lorgar faced punishment from the Emperor, who planned to beat away his memories and faith.

• After the old man vanished, Guilliman questioned whether he had any control over his identity and considered choosing his own death.
• He Shenyan appeared and warned Guilliman against nihilism, then greeted the gathered Primarchs and took responsibility for helping them.
• Fulgrim admitted his former obsession with perfection and challenged Guilliman over his reliance on politics and Jaghatai over his distrust of his brothers and the Emperor.
• Jaghatai confessed his reasons for isolation and mysticism, then acknowledged that He Shenyan had restored some of his confidence in them.
• He Shenyan ended the discussion, offered help to anyone struggling, and led the silent Sanguinius away while Corax asked to hear the rest alone.
• In the darkness, the Emperor told Lorgar that his gods had abandoned him and threatened to strike him with Illuminator until he forgot his name and faith.

He Shenyan confronted Sanguinius about the anger and Red Thirst he had tried to suppress, provoking him into an outburst as part of psychological treatment. Meanwhile, Roboute Guilliman returned to work on the Vengeance Crusade’s equipment changes despite his frustration with the demands of Chapters and naval captains.

• Sanguinius told He Shenyan about the Red Thirst, his fear for his Scions, and how close he had come to accepting a demon of Slaanesh’s offer to lift the curse.
• He Shenyan accused Sanguinius of hiding his true nature and suggested that his own anger and subconscious might be causing the Red Thirst in his Scions.
• Sanguinius erupted in golden flames and punched He Shenyan, then regained control and repeatedly apologized.
• He Shenyan restored the burned study, called the outburst the first stage of Sanguinius’s psychological treatment, and told him to warn that Raven that their business was unfinished.
• Roboute Guilliman struggled with administrative work as Chapters and naval captains pressed for more new equipment, then resolved to settle the equipment matter.

Chapter Master Vino argued with Heralul over equipment allocations, while the Sons of Aular discovered Terra Space Station’s customization facilities. Lictor then dealt with tensions between Astartes and their Aeldari allies, as Imperial Navy captains worried that Robert Guilliman refused to meet them.

• Vino demanded that Heralul explain why the Nova Warriors received more equipment, but Heralul said the extra allocation had not been his decision.
• Bardan Dovaro teased Vino about the Nova Warriors’ extra armor, and Vino returned to his station without securing more supplies.
• Olf told Vino that the station could teleport visitors and modify equipment, prompting Vino to order him to negotiate for twenty extra sets of weapons and equipment.
• Lictor met Trajann Valoris and Mogris at a station bar, then left to explain that the Aeldari aboard were temporary partners after several Chapters nearly caused riots.
• Imperial Navy captains worried because Robert Guilliman would not meet them, while some naval commanders mistakenly believed they had been chosen to test new equipment.

Four battleship captains argued over how to approach Roboute Guilliman about a ship and questioned why so few navy forces had gathered for the expedition. After a recorder named Tas joined them, Rudolf and Elbert discussed rumors about Alyona’s familiarity with the Space Wolves as the meeting ended.

• Manfris and Alyona argued over discipline and past fleet clashes before Rudolf and Elbert urged the captains to remain united.
• Elbert and Rudolf questioned the small number of navy forces assembled and discussed waiting for Roboute Guilliman to summon them about the ship.
• Tas introduced himself as a logistics department recorder, explained his authority to document the captains, and said he had passed combat training with full marks.
• Rudolf asked Alyona about her experience coordinating with other fleets, and she admitted she had rarely worked with other forces.
• After the meeting, Elbert raised rumors about Alyona and the Space Wolves, while Rudolf advised him to focus on his duty.

Leman Russ tried to persuade Roboute Guilliman to let him visit Terra Space Station, but Guilliman confronted him with allegations of Space Wolves colluding with a Fenrisian Navy captain and possibly killing an investigator. Russ promised to investigate his Legion, while Guilliman demanded that he take responsibility for its actions.

• Leman Russ asked Roboute Guilliman to let him leave Macragge's Honour to drink, but Guilliman refused and accused him of hiding his real reason for going to Terra Space Station.
• Russ admitted that his Legion was coming to join the Vengeance Crusade and revealed that he hoped to meet Captain Alyona Anastasia.
• Guilliman recited a Departmento Munitorum report alleging that Alyona and the Space Wolves cooperated in raids and that an investigating specialist had disappeared.
• Russ worried that his sons might have killed the investigator and promised Guilliman he would investigate the matter.
• Guilliman angrily told Russ to fulfill his responsibility and answer for his Legion's conduct.

Leman Russ visited Alyona Anastasia in her room on Terra Space Station and questioned her about her cooperation with the Space Wolves. He accepted that the Bloodclaws had protected her and the commissioner, but said he still needed to explain the matter to someone; then Russ accidentally incapacitated Alyona with the fumes from Primarch-grade liquor.

• Alyona read a naval combat account in her modest room until Leman Russ arrived and revealed his identity.
• Russ expanded the room, ordered liquor, and chatted with Alyona about reading and the Space Wolves.
• Russ questioned Alyona, who explained how her fleet worked with the Space Wolves to fight pirates and Chaos ships in exchange for materiel, supplies, and intelligence.
• Alyona admitted that Bloodclaws had kidnapped a Departmento Munitorum commissioner who discovered their cooperation, then returned him alive after half a month.
• Russ judged that the Bloodclaws had protected Alyona without killing the commissioner, but warned that the incident could still cause trouble if pursued as contempt for Imperial law.
• Russ opened the Primarch-grade liquor barrel, and its fumes made Alyona faint; he ordered the Glyph Array to send her to the medicae.

Alexis held off repeated Ork attacks while waiting for his squad’s Teleport Homer team, as the Black Templars’ mission suffered devastating losses. Angard survived an explosion, found the dying Chaplain and the Homer, and began activating it alone.

• Alexis fought through seven waves of Orks, maintained his position, and reported his wounds to Pedro Kantor over the vox.
• Pedro Kantor warned Alexis that the Black Templars had taken losses and that reinforcements were being prepared.
• Angard and the Black Templars defended their Teleport Homer in a cave until an Ork bomb killed several brothers and blasted Angard deeper underground.
• Angard followed the Chaplain’s signal through the cave and helped him defeat the Orks surrounding him.
• The Chaplain gave Angard the teleport device, explained that the others had died, and succumbed to his wounds after revealing the Homer’s installation site.
• Angard took Emperor’s Prayer, knelt at the chosen site, and began activating the teleport device.

Steve Rogers sent Frank Castle to find Face-Ripper Gragga’s base and sow chaos among the Orks, while Gragga remained underground searching for the object Gork and Mork had shown him in a dream. Frank’s attacks continued to terrorize the Orks, and Gragga refused to believe their reports of a ghostly killer or abandon the search.

• Steve ordered Sicarius to deploy ten Valiant Blades and prepare the Astra Militarum, then assigned Frank to attack Gragga’s base and create chaos.
• Frank landed in a Drop Pod, killed Orks with explosives, and slipped away through the smoke.
• Frank sniped Orks and planted bombs across the snowy terrain, eluding the Orks’ attempts to find him.
• Gragga vented his anger by killing one of his boys and berating his followers for failing to find the object after four days.
• A Mekboy reported that a ghost was killing Orks on the surface, but Gragga dismissed the claim and ordered the search to continue.

Helbrecht confirmed that Teleportation Device A-3 was operational and prepared to join the ground battle, while Alexis lay near death during field surgery. As Alexis’s memories returned, a mysterious voice told him, “No. Not yet.”

• Helbrecht mourned the nine fallen Black Templars and saw that Teleportation Device A-3 had become operational.
• Steve ordered Helbrecht and Sicarius to prepare to teleport, assigned Pedro Kantor to guard the ship, and asked Lelith to search for Gragga’s location.
• Ramesses began emergency surgery on the gravely wounded Alexis while his battle-brothers held their position.
• Alexis’s fading memories returned as he remembered his duty to complete the Emperor’s mission because he was an Astartes.
• Alexis heard a cold, stern voice say, “No. Not yet.”

Mordren Girardet and Crimson Fist Alejandro prepared to defend a Teleport Homer for fifteen minutes against an Orc horde, while Mordren’s dead captain urged him to aid Alejandro. Rogal Dorn awakened Sergeant Alexis with psionic power, and Alexis emerged from his Drop Pod ready to fight.

• Mordren and Alejandro advanced across the blizzard-covered plain after the rest of Alejandro’s homer squad had been killed, and Alejandro activated the Teleport Homer.
• An Orc Warlord and hundreds of Orcs approached, leaving Alejandro to defend the homer for fifteen minutes while Mordren insisted his captain had come to support him.
• Mordren spoke with his dead captain, who warned that the Orc Warlord’s armor was too strong for Mordren’s Power Sword and urged him to find a way to help Alejandro.
• Mordren’s body transformed amid rivers of blood and the faces of the dead, and he promised Alejandro they would hold for fifteen minutes.
• Rogal Dorn told Alexis that the beacon team’s sole survivor was fighting beside a ghost, urged Alexis to use psionic power against their enemies, and told him not to hope for Dorn’s return.
• Alexis woke in his Drop Pod, formed a psionic spear, and drove it into the ground.

Angard held off the Orks until the teleportation device activated, allowing Helbrecht and the Black Templars to emerge and attack. Elsewhere, Steve Rogers permitted Sergeant Jetnor to pilot Thundercloud alone so he could avenge his fallen squad.

• Angard killed the Orks assaulting the teleportation device and stalled Can Opener Grunoka while the teleportation countdown continued.
• The teleportation device activated, transforming the cavern, and Helbrecht led the Black Templars through to confront Can Opener Grunoka.
• Captain Carl argued with Sergeant Jetnor, who insisted his top training scores entitled him to pilot a Valiant Blade.
• Steve Rogers asked the Glyph Array why Jetnor had been barred from sortieing, and it cited his self-destructive tendency and the risks to a Valiant Blade's crew.
• After learning Jetnor wanted to avenge his fallen squad, Steve allowed him to sortie alone in the long-range mech Thundercloud.

He Shenyan tricked Guilliman into admitting he had lied to Horus, then revealed Horus was listening. Later, He Shenyan arrived in good spirits to meet Sanguinius for the second stage of psychotherapy, and sent Fulgrim to Guilliman’s office to witness the aftermath.

• He Shenyan asked Guilliman how often he lied, and Guilliman admitted he had told Horus he was too busy working to join him for dinner.
• He Shenyan revealed Horus was present, ended their magic practice, and left Guilliman to face him.
• Fulgrim noticed Sanguinius’s nervous preparations for the second stage of psychotherapy and learned that Sanguinius had punched He Shenyan during their previous session.
• Fulgrim and Sanguinius discussed Corax and Konrad Curze before He Shenyan arrived in a good mood.
• He Shenyan told Fulgrim to visit Guilliman’s office for an entertaining scene, and Fulgrim hurried off to see it.

Mordren Girardet revealed that he and the dead Raven Guard were survivors of Isstvan V before sacrificing himself to kill the Orc Warlord. Meanwhile, Steve’s forces prepared to confront Face-Ripper Gragga, whose divine mission from Gork and Mork depended on finding a mysterious treasure.

• Mordren Girardet used the River of Blood to slaughter the Orcs while Alejandro waited for the teleportation device to activate.
• Mordren told Alejandro that they had once been Raven Guard who bled out on Isstvan V, then vanished and appeared beside the Orc Warlord with a Krak Grenade.
• The Krak Grenade killed the Orc Warlord, while Alejandro watched the explosion without learning whether Mordren survived.
• Steve ordered Cato Sicarius and Lelith Hesperax to teleport directly to Face-Ripper Gragga’s location, where High Marshal Helbrecht and the Black Templars were already underground.
• Gragga had followed Gork and Mork’s oracle to the planet, believing a hidden treasure would persuade Steve to lead the Orcs against the Tyranids of Octarius.

Sanguinius trained as a mortal by fighting Minotaurs until he found joy in mastering combat without bloodlust, and He Shenyan told him he was cured. Fulgrim then visited Guilliman hoping to witness a confrontation with Horus, but learned Horus had already forgiven Guilliman and teleported away.

• Sanguinius killed the forty-seventh Minotaur in the arena and asked He Shenyan to let him rest, but He Shenyan summoned the next opponent.
• Sanguinius defeated the forty-eighth Minotaur through careful technique and felt pure happiness in the challenge of combat.
• He Shenyan told Sanguinius he was cured of his craving for blood and slaughter and could seek a sword duel with Fulgrim.
• Fulgrim went to Guilliman's office hoping to see a confrontation with Horus, but found Guilliman working alone.
• Guilliman told Fulgrim that Horus had forgiven him and teleported away, leaving Fulgrim disappointed to have missed the anticipated spectacle.

Konrad Curze struggled with his violent instincts and confessed his crimes while refusing the kindness offered by a child. The Emperor admitted he had been wrong, but left He Shenyan's suggestion that Curze atone by receiving the death he desired unanswered.

• A child brought Konrad Curze bread and soup, but he rejected her concern and shut himself away without eating.
• Curze remembered his brutal life on Nostramo and fought the voice urging him to harm the girl.
• Curze confessed to an imagined statue of his father that he had enjoyed torturing and killing an innocent woman, then tore open his own chest and begged to be judged guilty.
• The Emperor sensed Curze's anguish and wondered whether he had helped make his son a monster.
• He Shenyan told the Emperor that Curze could atone through blood for blood and life for life, but the Emperor left without answering.