Chapter Summaries

2273 and the Krieg 974th Regiment fought fanatical defenders in a factory, while He Shenyan realized their terror at the enchanted Imperial aquila suggested the enemy was tied to Chaos. Unable to attack the planet directly while guarding against a possible assault in the Dark Imperium, he ordered Konrad Curze sent to the armory.

• 2273 led the Krieg advance through the factory as defenders used heavy weapons, explosives, and armed civilians to resist them.
• 2273 halted the formation and led a volley that destroyed the defenders' second-floor artillery position.
• The 543rd Colonel reported that the enemy had retreated beneath the factory and might have planted high explosives, and the commissar ordered the Krieg to prepare to descend after them.
• He Shenyan reviewed the battle report and explained to Roboute Guilliman that the enchanted aquila could resist Chaos corruption and harm lesser demons.
• He Shenyan realized the enemy's panic at the aquila indicated a deeper threat, admitted he could not strike the planet without risking an attack, and ordered Central to teleport Konrad Curze to the armory.

Corporal 2273’s Krieg unit descended into a Slaanesh-tainted underground cavern, killed a charging monster, and halted its advance while awaiting support. Konrad Curze then teleported underground to scout the enemy, entering the darkness and asking whether it could see him.

• 2273’s soldiers dropped into a cavern marked with blood and profane symbols, but their goggles and heartbeat radar detected no enemies.
• A Slaanesh monster charged from the darkness, and 2273’s squad crippled and killed it before he reported the encounter to Commissar Kossurian.
• Kossurian ordered 2273 to hold position and await support from Vengeance, warning him to preserve his unit.
• Curze teased Corax and Russ before choosing two short blades and teleporting underground to scout.
• Curze walked into the darkness and asked whether it could see him.

He Shenyan and Roboute Guilliman discussed the strange lack of daemons in the Suli System before learning that a vast force beneath the Webway had begun to riot and that the Emperor was occupied. Elsewhere, Konrad Curze confronted a daemon of Slaanesh in his realm, and it invited him to dance.

• He Shenyan ordered bombardments and troop deployments across the Suli System while Roboute Guilliman considered the campaign and the unexplained absence of daemons.
• He Shenyan explained the difference between the material realm and the Warp, then revealed that things beneath the Webway were rioting and the Emperor had been held up.
• Roboute Guilliman concluded that the Emperor's absence gave their enemies an opportunity, and He Shenyan said he would face what came.
• Konrad Curze killed monsters in the darkness of his realm and demanded that a daemon of Slaanesh reveal itself.
• The daemon emerged, knelt before Konrad Curze, and invited him to dance, prompting him to grin.

Konrad Curze fought a demon that repeatedly reappeared after being killed and claimed it could not die in this place. Meanwhile, Kriegsman 2273 fought monsters emerging from the trenches and lost contact with his unit; the chapter ended with the author’s note that the rest would be made up tomorrow.

• Konrad Curze attacked the demon with blades and darkness, but it rose again after its body was torn apart.
• The demon explained that it could not die there and reappeared whenever Curze killed it.
• Konrad Curze agreed to keep fighting the demon after discovering that death brought it pleasure.
• Kriegsman 2273 crushed a mutated corpse-creature that had emerged from the wreckage.
• 2273 reported that the trench attackers could not be understood, but received no response over the comms channel.
• The author left a note saying the chapter was difficult to write and that the missing 2,000 words would be made up tomorrow.

Konrad Curze defeated Slaanesh’s demonic manifestation and rejected the Chaos God’s offer to trade information about the Mage. Meanwhile, a Kriegsman corporal reported that the corrupted corpses had turned to skeletons, and his unit continued securing the underground as Curze watched them.

• Konrad Curze fought Slaanesh’s repeatedly reborn demon until he realized the creature had created its own suffering and it vanished.
• Slaanesh appeared to Curze as an information broker, offering news in exchange for details about the Mage.
• Slaanesh revealed that the dead cripple had contacted another Blue Bird and wanted the Mage to meet with it.
• Curze rejected Slaanesh’s proposed bargain and swallowed its appearance in darkness before reporting to the Captain.
• Corporal 2273 confirmed that his unit had no deaths and returned his Kriegsman to fortifying their position after the corpses became skeletons.
• Konrad Curze watched the Kriegsman work and sighed.

He Shenyan and the Primarchs discussed a warning from Konrad Curze about a Tzeentch Demon from another world while preparing to capture enemy forces for interrogation. When Guilliman spotted a vast Word Bearers fleet emerging from the Great Rift behind them, He Shenyan ordered the battle line to contract and prepared for boarding actions.

• He Shenyan reasoned that a Tzeentch Demon might have crossed over using traces left by earlier events, and reaffirmed his resolve to lead the war and protect the Expeditionary Force.
• Fulgrim and Leman Russ argued over which of their forces should capture Khorne Berserkers alive for interrogation.
• Guilliman observed that Rudolf Erisbon's ships had intercepted former World Eaters, then deduced that their fleet was a diversion for an attack on the rear.
• He Shenyan confirmed Guilliman's suspicion and ordered the Star Map changed, revealing a huge Word Bearers fleet emerging from the Great Rift behind the Vengeance.
• He Shenyan refused Russ's proposal to destroy the Word Bearers with a broadside and ordered the fleet to contract its battle line and prepare for boarding.

He Shenyan boarded the Word Bearers’ warship alone, intending to kill its crew and use the battle to call out to the Emperor. He confronted Dark Apostle Karta Al and left him terror-stricken with a gruesome gift.

• He Shenyan chose two greatswords and told the Primarchs he would board the Word Bearers’ ship alone, prompting Roboute Guilliman to protest and Leman Russ to laugh.
• He Shenyan explained that the battle would let him call to the Emperor, then transformed into lightning and departed.
• On the Word Bearers’ ship, Karta Al dismissed warnings about a possible attacker while Akure reported that someone had said, “he has come.”
• Karta Al ordered the ship to alert status, but He Shenyan killed Akure and entered the chamber carrying two greatswords.
• He Shenyan confronted Karta Al, whose terror left him kneeling and offering to believe in He Shenyan.
• He Shenyan showed Karta Al an Ossuary made from 888 heads and threatened to increase it to 8,888, causing Karta Al to scream.

Kur Vankuda foresaw a mortal driving a tide of blood that destroyed everything and told Erebus about the vision. He Shenyan then appeared, killed everyone else aboard the Truth, and left Erebus alive and undying before summoning Khorne.

• Vulkan and the other Primarchs watched the Captain's scene, and Sanguinius said Khorne would respond to the Captain's ploy.
• Kur Vankuda awoke from a terrifying vision of a mortal leading a blood tide under Khorne's laughter and killed slaves and a Word Bearer who disturbed him.
• Kur confronted Erebus, revealed his vision of destruction, and watched Erebus become shaken by the thought of a mortal wielding the Blood God's power.
• Golden flames consumed Kur, and He Shenyan emerged, forced Erebus to kneel, revealed that he had stolen the identity of the innocent man he murdered, and sent him back to the Vengeance undying.
• He Shenyan declared, "Blood for the Blood God, skulls for the skull throne," and Khorne answered his summons from The Void.

He Shenyan refused Khorne’s invitation to join a deathmatch, promising to fight the Blood God himself if Khorne kept Tzeentch at bay. Meanwhile, the Primarchs confronted the immortal Erebus, and He Shenyan trapped him in a state of helpless witness, leaving him to watch humanity’s future and eventually face the question of whether he would repent.

• Khorne invited He Shenyan to join a deathmatch between two galaxies, but He Shenyan refused and vowed to kill Khorne himself if it kept Tzeentch away.
• Leman Russ seized Erebus, and the Primarchs revealed that they had made him immortal and vastly more sensitive to pain.
• Erebus mocked the Primarchs and taunted Fulgrim, Guilliman, and Sanguinius, prompting Russ to snap his neck.
• Vulkan proposed breaking Erebus’s spirit rather than relying on pain or death, and the Primarchs agreed that physical punishment would not work.
• He Shenyan removed Erebus’s mouth and bound him to witness humanity’s rise and Chaos’s fall, promising to restore his restraints only after it was all over.

Fulgrim struggled with his guilt over the Emperor’s Children’s disgrace, while He Shenyan and Guilliman faced a rapidly worsening Chaos threat. After Tzeentch attacked Terra with Drach’nyen and wounded the Emperor, He Shenyan activated emergency protocols and ordered the crusade to continue.

• Fulgrim admitted to Saul Tarvitz and the Emperor’s Children that he feared losing them again, but resolved to catch up with his brothers and take the field.
• He Shenyan directed the battles on Suli IV and Suli V, then warned Guilliman that Tzeentch’s plans could engulf two galaxies.
• A Warp ripple spread across the Great Rift, and the Emperor told He Shenyan that Tzeentch had attacked Terra wielding Drach’nyen and wounded him.
• The Emperor said he would enter a long sleep and urged He Shenyan not to return to Terra, insisting that the crusade must continue.
• He Shenyan ordered emergency protocols, including preparations for the colony plan, a sweep of Terra, and the restoration and screening of human genes.

Trajann Valoris led the defense of the Throne Room as demons poured from the Webway, then sacrificed himself to seize the Emperor’s bloodied spear and become a new prison for the threat within. The blast from K-Enzogris’s weapon drove the entity into the Webway’s depths, leaving Trajann’s fate sealed.

• Trajann received Mage’s warning to protect the sword and keep it from being taken.
• Tor Garadon arrived with five hundred Imperial Fists and prepared to evacuate civilians or destroy Terra if the battle became hopeless.
• Trajann charged into the Webway and found a primitive-looking demon holding a spear stained with the Emperor’s golden blood.
• Trajann seized the spear and ordered K-Enzogris to shoot him in the heart so he could become a new prison.
• K-Enzogris fired Destruction, unleashing a blast that forced the entity and its spear into the Webway’s darkness.

Tor Garadon and the defenders fought to hold the Throne Room against the Daemons while He Shenyan left Guilliman in command and returned to Terra. The Primarchs discovered Terra was under attack through the Webway, and Rogal Dorn arrived to help.

• Tor Garadon fired his grav-cannon into the Daemonic tide, and the Imperial Fists and Adeptus Custodes fought to keep the Daemons from breaking through.
• Mogris and Jia Maelro sacrificed themselves in explosive attacks against the Bloodletters and Steel Bulls, while Garadon ordered his forces to keep fighting.
• He Shenyan gave Roboute Guilliman command, then vanished to enter the Great Rift; Guilliman concealed his destination from the other Primarchs.
• The Magic Array Hub refused to confirm Guilliman's story, and Leman Russ persuaded him to explain that He Shenyan had ordered Terra investigated and Chaos purged.
• Sanguinius recognized that the Webway was under attack, and Rogal Dorn arrived, declaring that he would return to help.

Rogal Dorn returned from the Warp and warned the Primarchs that daemons were about to escape the Great Rift, then collapsed after He Shenyan used psychic power to render him unconscious. He Shenyan raced toward Terra while Drach'nyen's curse consumed his magic, leaving Guilliman to organize the defense of the Suli System.

• Dorn arrived at the Star Map, ordered Captain Rudolf Erisbon to withdraw the Calamity from battle, and warned that spectral forces would soon emerge from the Great Rift.
• Dorn told Corvus Corax to prepare for a rapid response in the Suli System, explaining that He Shenyan had warned him the beings escaping the rift would overwhelm the ground forces.
• Dorn revealed that He Shenyan was returning to Terra through the Great Rift, then collapsed after He Shenyan used psychic power to render him unconscious; the Hub reported that Dorn was being corrupted.
• Guilliman ordered Vulkan to take Dorn to the Medical Pod and dispatched the Ultramarines, Sanguinius, and their forces to support the threatened Suli worlds while Russ remained on the Vengeance.
• He Shenyan pressed onward toward Terra, struggling against Drach'nyen's curse as his healing magic was consumed and his passage through the Warp destroyed a planet in his path.
• Nurgle withdrew its demons and power rather than risk He Shenyan's flames reaching its Garden, while a cloud of pale pink and purple appeared in his path.

He Shenyan resisted Slaanesh’s attempt to seduce and claim him while Drach'nyen’s curse devoured his power. He sent an illusory shadow away, then revealed that he still occupied the body and attacked Slaanesh as the Cloud Entity carried them off.

• Slaanesh approached He Shenyan and offered him a bone ring that could help him ascend and bless others, but he refused.
• Slaanesh used its power to intensify He Shenyan’s desires and waited for him to succumb.
• He Shenyan snapped his fingers and sent an illusory shadow fleeing through the clouds.
• Slaanesh realized He Shenyan had sent away the body’s soul and cried out that the body was useless without it.
• He Shenyan revealed that he was still in the body, seized Slaanesh, and bit down as the Cloud Entity carried them away.

Konrad Curze helped Krieg soldiers defeat daemons that emerged underground, then ordered Corporal 2273 to summon the officers and Iron Snakes. On Suli IV, Vino Tekrios led the Sons of Aular and Ultramarines against Khorne’s daemons and prepared to support the main battle on the northern rise.

• A burst of golden radiance brought daemons out of the Void beneath Krieg, where they attacked the Krieg soldiers.
• Konrad Curze emerged from the darkness and slaughtered the daemons with a rising rain of blood and bone.
• Curze ordered Corporal 2273 to contact his regimental commander and bring the senior officers and Iron Snakes underground.
• On Suli IV, Vino Tekrios fought through the daemon army alongside the Sons of Aular, Nova Warriors, and Ultramarines, but his Bolter overheated and broke.
• Tekrios ordered support from the Repentant Fire Legion and planned to finish the fight quickly before joining the battle on the northern rise.

Titus’s forces bombarded Khorne’s army before Ang'grath the Unbound attacked their position, and Titus wounded the Bloodthirster. Meanwhile, Slaanesh held a badly injured He Shenyan captive, but he stalled for time as someone reached Terra.

• The Repentant Fire Legion’s Thundercloud War Mechs bombarded the rear of Khorne’s army for five minutes, then paused to rest their pilots.
• Titus halted his advance after snipers reported a Bloodthirster at least eight meters tall and requested an orbital scan.
• Ang'grath the Unbound landed among Titus’s forces, knocked Ultramarines aside, and challenged a hidden foe to fight.
• Titus blinded Ang'grath’s left eye with his Power Sword and prepared to continue the battle.
• Slaanesh kept the wounded He Shenyan bound in the clouds, while he mocked it and stalled for time.
• He Shenyan sensed that someone had reached Terra, and Slaanesh continued attending to him while acknowledging that Drach'nyen’s curse had been dealt with.

Tor Garadon was left alone in the Throne Room to face an endless daemonic tide, but a golden, anguished presence arrived and drove the demons back while forcing him to leave. On Macragge's Honour, Horus Lupercal understood that the Emperor had saved him for atonement and began calling for his own descent to help.

• Tor Garadon realized the other defenders were dead and prepared to hold off the daemons alone after evacuating the Imperial Fists and civilians.
• A golden presence unleashed heavenly fire that destroyed the daemonic tide, then ordered Garadon to stand and leave the Throne Room.
• The presence refused Garadon's attempt to sacrifice himself and sent him away, revealing the restored hall and the fallen Custodes and Imperial Fists.
• On Macragge's Honour, Horus Lupercal understood his identity and the Emperor's purpose in keeping him alive for atonement.
• After the Emperor fell silent, Horus feared humanity's return to darkness, cut his wrist, and began calling for his descent.

Roboute Guilliman coordinated the battles against the daemons as Lictor warned him that Suli V was a likely target because three Primarchs were there. Tzeentch then invaded the Vengeance and tried to break Guilliman’s resolve, but Guilliman used mana to restart the Magic Array Hub and drive the darkness away for now.

• Guilliman checked in with Leman Russ, Konrad Curze, and Vulkan, directing Vulkan to reinforce the hard-pressed Second and Third Cities.
• Lictor warned Guilliman that a Warp fluctuation near Suli V could threaten Sanguinius, Corvus Corax, and Jaghatai Khan, and the Central Hub confirmed it had sent them warnings.
• The Central Hub revealed that a presence had descended, and Tzeentch plunged the Vengeance into darkness while taunting Guilliman about his brothers’ distrust.
• Guilliman resisted Tzeentch’s accusations and poured mana into the cold iron table to briefly reboot the Magic Array Hub.
• The Vengeance’s lights returned, and Tzeentch withdrew after promising that its attack was only the beginning.

Guilliman kept the Magic Array Hub running despite collapsing from overusing magic, while Horus Lupercal witnessed a shadow burn Terra’s reflection in the Warp to destroy the gods’ power. Horus refused to let the shadow sacrifice itself alone and began using his own essence to save it.

• Guilliman ordered the Hub to report what had happened, contact Sanguinius, Corax, and Jaghatai, and monitor their armor terminals while concealing his condition.
• Guilliman refused medical treatment until Rogal Dorn’s repair was complete and struggled to remain standing for five minutes.
• Horus Lupercal endured the agony of seeing Terra burn in the Warp as the shadow vowed to destroy the gods’ realms and power.
• The shadow tried to send Horus back to reality alone, but Horus seized it and said he could save it.
• Horus poured his white light into the shadow, which took his hand and told him not to die.

He Shenyan survived Slaanesh’s avatar’s death as its stolen power returned to him, while Rogal Dorn coordinated Vengeance’s defense against The Void. Fulgrim and the Emperor’s Children fought to protect a Mana Furnace as golden light raced toward the ship.

• Slaanesh returned He Shenyan’s stolen power before tearing open its own throat and dying, and He Shenyan drifted through The Warp as the power flowed back into him.
• Rogal Dorn sent the unconscious Roboute Guilliman to a Medical Pod, ordered Vulkan toward the Third Bridge, and directed Leman Russ to defend the First Bridge’s Mana Furnace core.
• Dorn assigned Maximus Thane and his one thousand Imperial Fists to protect the remaining Mana Furnaces, warning that they would have no reinforcements until Vulkan and Russ finished their missions.
• Fulgrim led the Emperor’s Children in a ruthless assault against The Void, and his power filled the bridge with flames that destroyed Demons.
• Saul Tarvitz charged into the Demons as Fulgrim called on the Emperor’s Children to fight for humanity and the Imperium.
• A smear of golden light raced toward Fulgrim’s ship.