Chapter Summaries

Mephisto, Bjorn, and Saul Tarvitz investigated the strange activity on Intech and discovered the planet might itself be the Gate of the Dead. Elsewhere, He Shenyan explained the mission’s squad choices to Rogal Dorn, then concealed its objective from him; Lictor questioned He Shenyan’s deception and his actions regarding the mission.

• Mephisto found a black stone beneath the snow and said Intech might be the Gate of the Dead, while Saul Tarvitz urged the group to continue toward the mountain.
• Saul Tarvitz said Captain sometimes blurred facts to protect others’ sanity, and the three continued through the blizzard.
• Rogal Dorn confronted He Shenyan about excluding the Imperial Fists, and He Shenyan explained that Bjorn’s age and Saul Tarvitz’s hidden power made them suited to the mission.
• He Shenyan began revealing the mission objective, but made Dorn fall unconscious before he could learn it.
• Lictor challenged He Shenyan’s deception and asked what he had done about the mission; He Shenyan insisted he had done nothing and said the flames were destined to go out.

Mephisto used his gift to track the Warp-tainted trail on Intech as Bjorn and Saul Tarvitz prepared to find their targets. On the besieged planet, Steve Rogers and Frank Castle learned that retreat could doom nearby worlds, so Steve ordered the Crimson Fists and Black Templars to fight to the death.

• Mephisto found another Warp-corroded stone and confirmed that the three-man team was getting closer to its targets.
• Mephisto questioned whether three warriors could support the besieged Chapters, but Bjorn insisted they obey the Captain’s order.
• Steve Rogers killed a Keeper of Secrets while Pedro Kantor was gravely wounded, then ordered the Crimson Fists to fall back and support Marshal Helbrecht.
• Steve joined Frank Castle, who said he had learned through interrogation that retreat would endanger Intech and the surrounding planets.
• Steve ordered the Crimson Fists and Black Templars to fight to the death and not retreat.

Cato Sicarius and Lelith Hesperax fought through the Lower Decks, then ran to reinforce the Black Templars and Crimson Fists. Mephisto began a ritual to link Bjorn and Saul Tarvitz with help from a voice he recognized as the Captain.

• Lelith Hesperax fitted Sicarius with a replacement helmet after poison from the Slaaneshi fumes began to affect him.
• Sicarius received Steve Rogers’s order to reinforce High Marshal Helbrecht and rushed toward the front with Lelith, who refused to leave him.
• Mephisto told Bjorn and Saul Tarvitz that the Black Templars and Crimson Fists were suffering heavy losses as Slaanesh’s Demons poured from the Warp-tainted ship.
• Mephisto entered The Void and began a planned ritual to summon a beam of cold radiance while resisting the surrounding curses and evil.
• A voice Mephisto recognized as the Captain instructed him to link Bjorn’s and Saul Tarvitz’s minds, and Mephisto followed the direction by making their souls shake hands.

Mephisto brought Saul Tarvitz and Bjorn through the Warp to join the battle, where he summoned the fallen Emperor’s Children to reinforce Helbrecht’s beleaguered Black Templars. After the resurrected warriors entered the fight, Mephisto collapsed, believing he had fulfilled his mission.

• Mephisto carried Saul Tarvitz and Bjorn through the Warp and brought them safely to the ship, where he revived them.
• Helbrecht rallied the Black Templars as they fought demons concealed in lethal purple fog and reported their worsening position to Steve Rogers.
• Mephisto’s arrival brought Bjorn and Saul Tarvitz into the corridor, where they attacked the demons and cleared the fog with their weapons.
• Mephisto opened his wrists and performed a ritual that summoned the fallen Emperor’s Children from the Warp.
• The Emperor’s Children joined the Space Wolves in battle, while Mephisto collapsed and Helbrecht wept at the sight of the reinforcements.

Rogal Dorn broke through He Shenyan’s Psionic deception and, with Jaghatai Khan, realized the Captain was likely powering the Astral Beacon while badly wounded. The Primarchs gathered to confront the truth, while Magnus silently appeared to make a decision.

• Rogal Dorn remembered that He Shenyan had seemed to have no heartbeat and recognized a golden clue naming deception and lies, breaking through the illusion and suffering a nosebleed.
• Dorn joined Jaghatai Khan, who deduced that the Emperor was injured and He Shenyan had taken over powering the Astral Beacon while wounded.
• The Magic Array Hub confirmed that He Shenyan had blocked its access to his condition and admitted it was concealing information from him in retaliation.
• Jaghatai summoned the Primarchs, and Dorn confirmed the Hub’s account to Leman Russ and the others.
• Vulkan, Fulgrim, and Corvus Corax discussed how He Shenyan had influenced them; Konrad Curze said he had received a suggestion, while Roboute Guilliman revealed the spell Deception on his hand.
• Magnus remained silent by the door as his expression grew resolute.

In a vision of the past, He Shenyan and Mage discussed the Astral Beacon’s cost and the sacrifices behind it. Back in the present, Fulgrim failed to ask He Shenyan what the Primarchs had discovered, and Magnus offered to burn in his place.

• He Shenyan told Mage that the Astral Beacon must continue burning, while Mage worried about the Chaos Gods’ return and Nurgle’s silence.
• He Shenyan assured Mage that those who sacrificed themselves would not hate him, though Mage replied that he would hate He Shenyan.
• Fulgrim visited He Shenyan to retrieve his son and ask about Saul Tarvitz’s performance, then apologized and admitted that he and his brothers had found something out.
• Fulgrim returned to Jaghatai’s room, where the Primarchs considered who should speak with He Shenyan next.
• Magnus volunteered to approach He Shenyan and said he could burn in his place.

He Shenyan, exhausted from maintaining the Astral Beacon, reviewed reconnaissance reports on Sabredolon and sought Lictor’s tactical advice. He approved Lictor’s plan to confront the Iron Warriors, leaving the fleet to prepare for battle as it neared the system.

• He Shenyan had Lictor report that the Frost Wolf found an Iron Warriors bastion on Sabredolon, while Sabredolon II and III appeared empty and Sabredolon IV remained difficult to scan.
• He Shenyan and Lictor discussed Sabredolon’s unusual fog and the likelihood that the Iron Warriors had turned its planets into traps.
• Lictor warned that sending troops to investigate the empty planets risked ambush and orbital bombardment, and proposed approaching Sabredolon IV aboard the Vengeance instead.
• Lictor recommended using the Imperial Fists as the main force, with Corvus Corax and Konrad Curze striking the flanks and rear, and the Repentant Fire Legion providing the mortal main force.
• He Shenyan accepted Lictor’s plan and ordered the forces to prepare to teach Perturabo’s sons how warfare had changed.

Sergeant Birrell Liva and the Repentant Fire Legion prepared to land on fog-shrouded Sabredolon IV, but their cruiser was attacked before she could pilot her Thundercloud. Rogal Dorn ordered a search for survivors and sent Konrad Curze to support the rescue.

• Birrell Liva showed Lister the orders revealing that her combat group would fight alongside the Angels again.
• As the cruiser carrying four thousand Repentant Fire Legion soldiers approached Sabredolon IV, an explosion struck and Liva lost consciousness.
• Rogal Dorn blamed himself for the cruiser attack and ordered Darnath Lysander to search for survivors.
• Dorn contacted Konrad Curze, explained the attack, and ordered him to support the search.
• Curze agreed to go, and Dorn quietly urged him to save the soldiers.

Lysander led the Imperial Fists’ First Company through unnatural fog toward the crashed cruiser, where an unseen Warp threat began killing his warriors. Liva awoke from her restraints and climbed into her Thundercloud as its Machine Spirit urgently called for its pilot.

• Lysander and ninety-nine First Company veterans advanced through thick fog toward the cruiser crash site, wary of traps and unsettled by the unnatural silence.
• Atwood warned Lysander that they were near the crash site but could hear nothing, and Lysander prepared his Bolter with an enchanted magazine.
• The Glyph Array warned of an attack and rising Warp energy; Lysander saw the company’s monitored life signs fall to ninety-eight and ordered his warriors to hold formation.
• Liva regained her senses in restraints and learned that the company’s life signs were rapidly decreasing as Warp activity rose.
• The Thundercloud’s Machine Spirit repeatedly called Liva to pilot, released her restraints, and opened its cockpit; Liva climbed inside.

Konrad Curze entered a strange fog on Sabredolon IV and lost contact with Rogal Dorn’s forces. As the Imperial forces prepared for battle, He Shenyan revealed his frustration with his restraints and decided to take drastic action.

• Konrad Curze sensed that something was hunting in the fog on Sabredolon IV and suspected it was unlike the planet’s natural mist.
• Rogal Dorn ordered a surface scan, orbital bombardments, and preparations to defend the battlefield after Curze’s armor lost contact.
• He Shenyan told Lictor that Black Tower could suppress Warp activity but needed protection, and he trusted Dorn to win the war.
• The Emperor warned He Shenyan that his plan would end badly, and He Shenyan said he was tired of his restraints and would flip the table.

Liva piloted her Thundercloud through the fog and fought demons that multiplied when killed, while Lysander’s Imperial Fists confronted a taunting demon and prepared to attack it. The chapter ended as Lysander’s warriors surged through the mist to kill their revealed enemy.

• Liva activated the Thundercloud, scanned the battlefield, and found demons dragging her missing comrades into the fog.
• Liva shot the pink demons, which split into smaller blue demons, then used the Thundercloud’s high-energy cannon against the advancing swarm.
• Lysander ordered the Imperial Fists to fire into the fog, and a mocking voice claimed it had not taken Gray Valentine before throwing him back alive.
• The demon taunted Lysander by naming him Darnath Lysander and accusing the Imperial Fists of protecting an oppressive Imperium.
• Lysander rejected the demon’s arguments, shifted his warriors into an attacking formation, and ordered the Imperial Fists to kill it as flames cleared the fog.

He Shenyan decided to use rule-breaking magic to counter Tzeentch’s interference, with The Emperor supporting him despite asking what victory would cost. Meanwhile, a Lord of Change confronted Konrad Curze with the captured, mutilated Sevatar, and Curze vowed to dismantle the demon regardless of what happened to his captive.

• He Shenyan told The Emperor that he would use rule-breaking magic to overcome Tzeentch’s scheme, and The Emperor agreed to support him while warning that victory would have a price.
• He Shenyan left The Emperor and Perturabo, telling The Emperor to worry about his sons instead.
• A Lord of Change appeared before Konrad Curze and identified itself, but Curze dismissed its words and prepared to attack.
• The Lord of Change revealed the wounded Sevatar and taunted Curze with the possibility that Sevatar had called the daemons to their world.
• Curze declared that Sevatar’s fate would not stop him from pursuing his purpose, then promised to take the Lord of Change apart piece by piece.

Sevatar lay gravely wounded as Konrad Curze confronted him and discovered Otani’s presence in his mind. Curze put Sevatar to sleep, acknowledged his guilt to Otani, and left to enact justice elsewhere.

• A voice called Sevatar Jago, and he struggled to regain consciousness while unable to move.
• Konrad Curze questioned Sevatar beside the disassembled Tzeentch Daemon and inflicted pain on his injured body.
• Curze discovered Otani, the Astropath in Sevatar’s heart, and argued with Sevatar about whether she deserved punishment.
• Curze put Sevatar to sleep and carried his near-dead son through the darkness.
• Curze admitted to Otani that he had caused Sevatar’s suffering and accepted responsibility for destroying Nostramo.
• After Otani told Curze that Sevatar did not hate him, Curze saw lightning strike through the fog and promised Sevatar that justice had come.

Birrell Liva continued fighting the Demons in Thundercloud despite the Glyph Array’s warning that she was near death, until it took control and put her to sleep. In the mist, Lysander and the Imperial Fists faced a demon that showed them a corrupted Imperial Fist, but a black-robed man arrived and overwhelmed it.

• Birrell Liva rejected the Glyph Array’s countdown and kept piloting Thundercloud against the Demons, insisting that she had to protect the Repentant Fire Legion.
• The Glyph Array offered to take over Thundercloud by borrowing Liva’s sanity, then put her into a dream and continued the fight in her place.
• Lysander and Nigel fought the mist’s illusions as a demon taunted the Imperial Fists and revealed a bloodied, corrupted figure bearing their insignia.
• Lysander charged the demon before he could hear its explanation, but lightning shattered the mist and forced the warriors back.
• A black-robed man seized the demon and unleashed blue radiance and fire, telling it to carry a defiant message to its master.

Sevatar awoke aboard the Vengeance after Curze had recovered him and fitted him with a new leg, then struggled to understand Curze’s strange behavior and the unfamiliar Imperial surroundings. Curze took him to face the Raven Guard, explaining that Sevatar would have to fight for his own survival as he began to atone for his past.

• Sevatar woke after forty hours suspended among cables and spoke with Otani about his pain and his restored right leg.
• Curze visited Sevatar, said they had reached the Ultramar Five Hundred Worlds, and claimed he was not mad despite Sevatar’s doubts.
• Curze blocked Otani’s attempt to knock Sevatar unconscious and led him through the Vengeance, where Sevatar saw Repentant Fire Legion warriors serving alongside Curze.
• Curze told Sevatar that the Raven Guard had come seeking him and that he would have to fight for his life.
• Curze said he could not help Sevatar, because both of them were sinners but Curze had already begun to atone while Sevatar had not.

Sevatar fought a brutal ring match against a Raven Guard cousin, using the ring ropes and a chokehold to defeat him before losing consciousness. After waking beside Otani, he suspected the Konrad Curze before him was a Chaos impostor, but Curze denied his assumptions, gave Otani a flower, and left Sevatar bewildered.

• Sevatar endured his cousin's beating and crippled him by seizing and wrenching his ankles.
• Sevatar used the ring ropes to launch himself onto his cousin and choke him until he passed out.
• Sevatar awoke after nine hours to find Otani and Konrad Curze beside him.
• Sevatar accused Curze of being a demon wearing his father's skin and rejected his offer of a reunion with Otani.
• Curze gave Otani a white flower, spoke of her past suffering, and left Sevatar with unanswered questions.

Konrad Curze brought Jago Sevatarion to meet the Captain, who questioned Sevatar about his loyalty and the destruction of Nostramo before offering him a place in the Court of Owls. Sevatar accepted the role, while Curze’s request to hunt Kor Phaeron remained unresolved.

• Corvus Corax confronted Konrad Curze over Jago Sevatarion’s arena victory and accused Curze of hiding behind a fabricated mask, while Curze admitted he could not forgive himself.
• Curze led Sevatar to the Captain’s Quarters, where they found Lictor guarding the Captain and Erebus displayed on the wall.
• Curze explained that Sevatar needed to prove his sincerity aboard the Vengeance and suggested hunting Kor Phaeron, but the Captain said Sevatar did not need to handle it.
• The Captain asked Sevatar what he thought of justice and questioned him about his argument with Shang over the burning of Nostramo.
• Sevatar admitted that he had refused to stop Curze because he could not betray his father or the justice he followed, and the Captain welcomed him into the Court of Owls.

Steve Rogers confronted He Shenyan about risking himself in the war, but accepted that He would not stop fighting and reminded him that he was an Avenger. Roboute Guilliman then visited Cato Sicarius to offer him a new post, but suffered mana disorder after ignoring the Central Hub’s warning about his tea.

• Steve Rogers asked He Shenyan how dangerous his current actions were and challenged his habit of taking everything on alone.
• He Shenyan explained that he could not abandon his responsibility or the war, and Steve called him an Avenger before leaving.
• Cato Sicarius returned to his room after maintaining his Power Sword, but Roboute Guilliman arrived and asked whether he would accept a new post.
• Guilliman drank calming tea despite the Central Hub’s warning and developed painful mana disorder.
• The Central Hub told Sicarius that Guilliman’s pain could last up to eight hours, then began explaining the new post to him.

Cato Sicarius and his team arrived in a parallel world to conduct reconnaissance for the Empire, then were escorted through a mountain facility by the Adeptus Custodes. The chapter ended with the team standing before a heavy door as Sicarius recalled the mission briefing.

• Cato Sicarius arrived with Mephisto, Saul Tarvitz, and Bjorn at a mountain hangar in an unfamiliar world.
• The team encountered Adeptus Custodes, who ordered them to remove their helmets and allowed a psyker to inspect them.
• The Adeptus Custodes escorted the team through narrow, long-abandoned passages to a heavy door.
• Sicarius recalled that Central Hub and Roboute Guilliman had appointed him leader of a Special Task Force to scout a parallel world and help the Empire prepare for a later expedition.

Sicarius and the others met the suffering Emperor, who offered help but warned them that their mission involved dangers hidden in history. He Shenyan explained to Sanguinius that the Eternal Heaven were interdimensional parasites and revealed that he was preparing a trap for them.

• Sicarius, Mephisto, and their companions saw the Emperor on his throne, and a psyker relayed the Emperor’s greetings and concern for their mission.
• The Emperor warned through the psyker that the group knew nothing of their history and that their enemy was hidden within it.
• He Shenyan told Sanguinius that bringing the group over was not a mission, but part of a larger plan involving entities that had followed him between worlds.
• He Shenyan warned Sanguinius to tell Magnus and Robert that the Astral Beacon had changed and was now alive.
• He Shenyan identified the interdimensional parasites as the Eternal Heaven and explained that they converted intelligent beings into fanatical believers and claimed their souls.
• He Shenyan described the threats facing them and said he had scattered bait and laid a net to catch the Eternal Heaven.