Recaps

Khan and Drazhar continued their duel while Yvraine fought Lelith, as Vect and Lady Malys watched from above. Khan hurled Prosperity at Drazhar, who dismembered the Tyrant Guard, and the battles remained unresolved.

• Khan and Drazhar exchanged techniques, with Khan using blades and fists to drive Drazhar back and Drazhar adapting to his attacks.
• Khan reflected on his battlefield training and said Drazhar's skills were suited to duels rather than war.
• Prosperity charged Khan from behind, and Khan punched it, grabbed its carapace, and threw it toward Drazhar.
• Drazhar cut Prosperity apart and arranged its remains by type while Khan watched without much sadness.
• Yvraine attacked Lelith in anger, but Lelith dodged her strikes and mocked her as Vect and Lady Malys watched and traded barbs.

Yvraine and Lelith’s teasing escalated into a brutal fight amid the Tyranid corpses. After a hidden swarm ambushed Yvraine and left her gravely wounded, the remaining Tyranids overwhelmed her as she stopped resisting.

• Yvraine chased Lelith and struck her after Lelith’s taunts pushed her into a rage.
• Lelith evaded Yvraine’s attacks, scratched her, and cut her clothing before kissing her cheek.
• Yvraine attacked Lelith in fury and kicked her into a pile of Tyranid corpses.
• A Tyranid moved beneath Yvraine, letting Lelith stab her through the heart with a hairpin.
• An ambush swarm tore off Yvraine’s arm while she continued fighting, but she eventually stopped resisting as the remaining Tyranids pounced on her.

Yvraine returned from death as the chosen of the Aeldari god of death, while Lin Fan prepared to help her and Visarch. The chapter then shifted to an author’s note explaining the intended relationship arcs and imagining a future built around Lin Fan’s ideals.

• Lin Fan restrained Visarch and assured him that Yvraine was becoming a chosen one.
• The god of death awakened Yvraine in the Warp, appointed her as his chosen, and told her to find the five Croneswords.
• The god of death hid from Slaanesh, Khorne, and a golden sun before turning his attention back to Yvraine.
• Yvraine’s body healed and rose above the Tyranids in the arena, and Lin Fan released Visarch so they could save her and his friend.
• The author explained that the novel’s relationships would center on shared ideals rather than sexual conquest, then imagined Delia and Yilafren living in Lin Fan’s better future.

Lin Fan helped Yvraine and her allies escape the Black Heart's attack in Commorragh, while Yvraine confirmed that they would need allies to face the coming apocalypse. Outside the arena, Laryan Star-Singer waited with Aeldari pirates, and a friend began delivering troubling news to him.

• Vect left in a rage as the Kabal of the Black Heart attacked Yvraine's forces, and Lin Fan and Visarch fought back.
• Lin Fan interrupted Khan and Drazhar's duel, broke Drazhar's blades, and led Khan and Yilafren toward the waiting skimmer.
• Visarch brought Yvraine aboard the skimmer, and Yvraine agreed to take Lin Fan's group as future allies.
• Yilafren and Khan helped defend the skimmer as Yvraine used the God of Death's power to strengthen her allies.
• Outside the arena, Laryan Star-Singer waited with Aeldari pirates and recalled how a friend had interrupted his lesson to bring him troubling news.

Larian learned that his former student Yvraine had gone to Commorragh and become a Succubus, despite telling him she was leaving for a Warrior Path internship. Remembering her tearful farewell and realizing she had lied for fear of disappointing him, Larian fainted from grief.

• Larian warmly praised Yvraine as a brave, diligent student while speaking with his old friend.
• Larian's friend revealed that Yvraine was alive in Commorragh and had become a Succubus, then showed Larian a photograph.
• Larian recognized Yvraine in the picture and was devastated that she had joined the Succubi.
• Larian recalled Yvraine's farewell, when she had claimed she was leaving for a secret Warrior Path internship.
• Larian realized Yvraine had lied because she feared he would reject her decision, then spat up blood and fainted.

Larian, wearing his war mask as Many-Faced, arrived in Commorragh to rescue Yvraine and joined her pirate allies. After reuniting with her, he removed his helmet and scolded her for becoming a Succubus, while Lin Fan led the rebuffed Visarch away to fight.

• Larian put on his war mask, became Many-Faced, and traveled to Commorragh to find Yvraine.
• Many-Faced and the pirates attacked the Black Heart raiders, allowing Yvraine to board their ship.
• Yvraine greeted Mediterranean and asked Many-Faced who he was, and Lin Fan revealed that he was her teacher.
• Larian removed his helmet, and Yvraine recognized him and greeted him with respect.
• Larian scolded Yvraine for her Succubus outfit and arena work, and he dismissed Visarch when he tried to intervene.
• Lin Fan led the embarrassed Visarch off the bridge to fight the enemy.

Lin Fan and Yilafren chatted while Khan, Visarch, and the others fought off Black Heart warriors boarding the ship. As Lin Fan explained Aeldari biology to Little Yi, two people quietly came to stand behind him.

• Lin Fan watched Visarch fight and imagined how learning about Yvraine and Guilliman’s future cooperation might drive him toward Vect.
• Khan held off the boarding warriors, while Yilafren left the fighting to cling to Lin Fan and ask about Gork-Emperor.
• A Mandrakes assassin ambushed Lin Fan, but its dagger shattered against him and he crushed its spine before tossing it aside.
• Yilafren asked whether Lin Fan had lost anyone important, kissed his cheek, and returned to fight beside Khan.
• Lin Fan and Little Yi discussed Aeldari reproductive cycles while two people stood behind him unnoticed.

Lin Fan told Yvraine and Many-Faced where to find several Crone Swords and warned that removing one from Biel-Tan would destroy the Craftworld. He revealed the final sword was in the Dark Prince’s lair, then said he would try to retrieve it himself, leaving Yvraine wondering why he was helping them.

• Lin Fan told Many-Faced that Aeldari-human hybrids might exist, then claimed he knew everything about the Aeldari.
• The group fought off the Kabal of the Black Heart’s pursuers and rested while the enemy called for heavier support.
• Lin Fan told Yvraine and Many-Faced that a Crone Sword was embedded in Biel-Tan’s wraithbone framework and its removal would shatter the Craftworld.
• Lin Fan suggested they seek swords on Biel-IV and Iyanden first, but admitted he had forgotten the locations of two others.
• Lin Fan revealed the final sword was in the Dark Prince’s lair and said he would probably have to retrieve it himself, prompting Yvraine to ask why he was helping them.

Lin Fan explained the Aeldari’s reliance on prophecy to Khan and persuaded him that Yvraine’s Ynnari could be trusted as allies. The chapter ended with Lin Fan warning that the Imperium’s entrenched hatred of xenos made open cooperation dangerous.

• Khan accused Lin Fan of helping Yvraine because he was attracted to her, and Lin Fan began explaining Aeldari thinking.
• Yvraine and Khan traded accusations over the violence and betrayals between their peoples until Lin Fan intervened.
• Lin Fan explained that Aeldari often followed the Seer Council’s prophecies and avoided battles to protect their small population.
• Lin Fan told Khan that Yvraine’s Ynnari were worth allying with, and Yvraine and Many-Faced promised to stand with humanity against the coming threat.
• Khan cautiously accepted the possibility of an alliance, while Lin Fan warned that the Imperium might mistake the Ynnari for other Aeldari factions and attack them.

Lin Fan arranged a fragile alliance with Khan and Yvraine, but Slaanesh emerged in the Webway and attacked their group. With the Emperor unavailable, Lin Fan left him a message as the Webway began collapsing around them.

• Lin Fan joined Khan and Yvraine’s hands to establish an unwritten agreement to keep their groups apart, and Many-Faced gave him a bone fragment that could grow into a Webway gate.
• Lin Fan explained that the Emperor had promised him territory without revealing its location, then asked how to contact Many-Faced about the final Cronesword.
• A pinkish-purple glow and Slaanesh’s cries spread through Commorragh, forcing Many-Faced and Yvraine to shield the group with the Death God’s power.
• Lin Fan realized Yvraine’s resurrection had shaken open Cain’s Gate beneath Commorragh, allowing Slaanesh to enter the Webway.
• Slaanesh formed a body from the dead of Commorragh, shattered the soul shield, and wrapped around the pirate ship while Lin Fan and Khan shielded Yilafren.
• Lin Fan called the Emperor Hotline, found the Emperor unavailable, and left a message telling him to take his time while Slaanesh’s presence warped and collapsed the Webway.

Lin Fan directly touched Slaanesh, whose true form usually drove mortals mad, and discovered that his attention affected the Chaos God in an unexpected way. Yvraine and Khan watched in disbelief as Slaanesh grew bashful, and they were left wondering what Lin Fan was.

• Yvraine struggled to resist Slaanesh’s influence while the Wych sisters collapsed, and Khan rebuked Lin Fan for praising the Chaos God.
• Lin Fan silenced Khan and stroked one of Slaanesh’s tails, marveling at its smooth scales.
• Slaanesh reacted with ticklish unease as Lin Fan continued touching him, unlike the mortals who were usually driven mad by his true form.
• Lin Fan’s direct attention made Slaanesh experience a novel, intense sensation, leaving him bashful and intrigued.
• Yvraine and Khan exchanged stunned looks and wondered what Lin Fan was.

Lin Fan placated Slaanesh by claiming Khorne had kept him from reaching out, and Slaanesh became furious and promised to protect him. Lin Fan considered using Slaanesh’s anger to make him fight Khorne, while Slaanesh clung to him and asked him to come along.

• Lin Fan stroked Slaanesh’s tail and reassured him that he liked him.
• Slaanesh shrank into a humanoid form, and Lin Fan told him he liked how he looked.
• Lin Fan explained that Khorne had blocked him from contacting Slaanesh, blaming the Corpse Emperor for shielding his mind.
• Slaanesh cursed Khorne, embraced Lin Fan, and promised to protect him.
• Lin Fan tried to stoke Slaanesh’s anger toward Khorne as Slaanesh asked him to come along.

Lin Fan left with Slaanesh, taking Khan and Yilafren while Yvraine and the others remained behind. Slaanesh devastated Commorragh, and Vect ordered Rakarth to kill him, leaving the city’s survivors to fight over who would rule next.

• Lin Fan agreed to go to Slaanesh's home and told her to leave the pirate ship behind, but to bring Khan and Yilafren.
• Slaanesh departed with Lin Fan, Khan, and Yilafren, and Yvraine used her Reaper power to free the other Aeldari from Slaanesh's influence.
• Slaanesh's avatar ravaged Commorragh, devouring souls and killing Drukhari across the city.
• Vect learned from Rakarth that Commorragh had suffered devastating losses and that the nobles intended to overthrow him.
• Rakarth told Vect that Lady Malys had said Cegorach was better at it than he was, then killed Vect at his command.
• Rakarth left the temple, and Commorragh's remaining factions prepared to fight over its rule.

A man and a woman toured the Rings of Slaanesh, where each realm trapped souls in a different form of excess. The woman repeatedly erased the realms and redirected their trip, and they left the Ring of Vanity to go to the third ring.

• A woman showed a man the Ring of Avarice, asked whether he liked it, then removed its treasures and crushed the greedy souls beneath them.
• The woman offered food in the Ring of Gluttony, and the man ate before she returned the food to the realm, drowning those fighting over it.
• The man lingered to inspect the Ring of Lust, but the woman grew jealous and erased the realm.
• The man visited the Ring of Dominion, disliked the crowd's praise, and left with the woman as they vanished from the platform.
• The woman destroyed the Lake of Reflections in the Ring of Vanity, then scuffled playfully with the man before they vanished to go to the third ring.

Lin Fan visited Slaanesh in the Palace of Pleasure and asked about Khan and Yilafren, whom she had kept safe. He sought the Cronesword, but Slaanesh willingly gave him a sword capable of threatening her, leaving him conflicted about killing her.

• Slaanesh brought Lin Fan from the beach to her inner chamber and asked whether he would be sad if Khan and Yilafren died.
• Lin Fan asked to see Khan and Yilafren, and Slaanesh showed him a mirror revealing them safe in the palace, dressed in revealing outfits.
• Lin Fan decided he needed to find the Cronesword, and Slaanesh guessed what he wanted and offered to give him anything.
• Lin Fan asked for the strange sword brought by a Keeper of Secrets, and Slaanesh produced a soul-radiating longsword that could threaten her.
• Lin Fan struggled with the guilt of using the sword against Slaanesh and asked what she did when he was away.

Slaanesh showed Lin Fan the horrors of his domain and tried to force him to share in its pleasures, but Lin Fan rejected him and escaped being devoured. As Lin Fan prepared to leave with the Cronesword, Slaanesh asked if changing would make Lin Fan love him, and Lin Fan said others would cherish him if he became gentle.

• Slaanesh showed Lin Fan the Wailing Lens and the violent scenes and sacrifices his followers offered him.
• Lin Fan rejected Slaanesh’s invitation to indulge in the horrors, and Slaanesh transformed into his gigantic original form and wrapped around him.
• Slaanesh devoured Lin Fan, but Lin Fan tore his way out and repeatedly escaped Slaanesh’s grasp.
• Slaanesh’s anguish caused his palace to collapse and robbed his daemons and followers of pleasure.
• Lin Fan took the Cronesword and prepared to call The Emperor, but Slaanesh tearfully asked whether changing would make Lin Fan love him.
• Lin Fan told Slaanesh that if he became gentle, people would cherish him instead of avoiding him out of fear.

Lin Fan learned why Slaanesh craved his affection and offered him comfort, then considered whether love and companionship could help change the Chaos Gods. Slaanesh sealed himself away to contain his ecstatic reaction, while Lin Fan’s thoughts turned to the dangers posed by the gods’ accumulated emotions and how to approach Tzeentch.

• Slaanesh told Lin Fan that he liked him because Lin Fan could touch him safely and offered a chance to experience love, unlike the other gods.
• Lin Fan embraced Slaanesh after promising to give him affection if he acted more normally, and Slaanesh fled the room overwhelmed by joy.
• Lin Fan wondered whether love and companionship could redirect Slaanesh and his followers, and considered the unmet needs and dangers associated with the other Chaos Gods.
• Lin Fan worried that Slaanesh’s accumulated emotions could still harm the universe and pondered how to handle Tzeentch, then imagined pairing Slaanesh with The Emperor.
• Slaanesh built a sealing array, drew classroom scenes and likenesses of himself and Lin Fan with red pens, and contained his ecstatic cries as he celebrated mathematics.

Lin Fan asked Slaanesh about Tzeentch, and Slaanesh recalled a Warp meeting where the gods discussed punishing someone who had broken a contract. Tzeentch revealed their plan to retaliate through Horus, leaving the gods poised to invest in him as their proxy.

• Lin Fan learned from Slaanesh that Tzeentch had once gathered the gods for a meeting about punishing a contract-breaker and earning income for the Warp.
• Slaanesh recalled disrupting the meeting, provoking Khorne, and being chopped into pieces before transforming back.
• Nurgle told Slaanesh that the gods had smashed Tzeentch's divine staff at their first meeting, and brushed aside Slaanesh's demand to get Isha back.
• Tzeentch explained that the contract-breaker had refused to hand over half the primarchs, so the gods would retaliate and profit from a more active market.
• Tzeentch proposed that each god invest 25 percent in a proxy and revealed an image of Horus.

The Chaos Gods fought over Sanguinius, but Horus killed him before they could claim him, so they abandoned Horus and divided the remaining primarchs. Lin Fan then questioned Slaanesh about Sanguinius, Fulgrim, and whether the Aeldari gods could be freed, while Slaanesh hinted that an arriving presence would soon show Lin Fan how they could meet every day.

• The four Chaos Gods battled over Sanguinius until Tzeentch sensed that Horus had killed him and withdrew from the fight.
• The gods blamed Horus for destroying the prize they wanted, and The Emperor banished him while they turned to dividing up the other primarchs.
• Lin Fan asked Slaanesh where Sanguinius had gone, and Slaanesh said he had sensed no trace of Sanguinius's soul entering the Warp.
• Slaanesh told Lin Fan that Fulgrim had fled beyond his senses after becoming distressed by a clone of Ferrus Manus made by Fabius Bile.
• Slaanesh explained that killing him would not destroy a Chaos God, but would kill his Aeldari aspect and the Aeldari gods he had absorbed.
• Slaanesh sensed someone arriving and told Lin Fan that he would soon learn how to see Slaanesh every day.

Lin Fan was struck by Khorne’s greatsword and vanished into a rift in the Warp, prompting Slaanesh to attack Khorne in fury. As their battle shook the Warp and threatened Cadia, the Emperor’s golden light appeared and spoke to the defenders.

• Slaanesh refused Lin Fan’s request to let Khorne strike him, but spat him toward Khorne after Lin Fan insisted he would survive.
• Khorne swung his greatsword at Lin Fan, whose body was carried away through a rift after tearing through the golden hand reaching to catch him.
• Slaanesh, unable to sense Lin Fan, attacked Khorne, and their clash devastated the daemons and realms around them.
• The garrison on Cadia mobilized as the light of Khorne and Slaanesh spread across the planet, preparing for a Chaos assault.
• Golden light emerged from the Eye of Terror, covered the gods’ radiance, and spoke, “I am here,” as the Cadian forces hailed the Emperor.

The Emperor joined Slaanesh's battle against Khorne, then drew on the Imperium's faith to become the God-Emperor and mortally wound Khorne at the cost of a grave wound himself. He demanded that Slaanesh hand over Jaghatai and an Aeldari, and Slaanesh reluctantly faced the Emperor's threat.

• The Emperor arrived as Khorne fought Slaanesh, and Khorne grew stronger as the battle awakened his strategic nature.
• The Emperor ordered Slaanesh to hold Khorne back, but Slaanesh rejected his help and lost an arm to Khorne.
• The Emperor gathered the Imperium's faith as people across its worlds prayed, chanted, and marched in his name.
• The Emperor became the God-Emperor and clashed with Khorne, piercing him with his sword as Khorne's Schöningen Spear pierced his chest.
• The Emperor demanded that Slaanesh hand over Jaghatai and an Aeldari, and Slaanesh abandoned his plans to resist after seeing the Emperor's warning glance.

The Emperor recovered Khan and Yilafren from Slaanesh, who promised to search for Lin Fan while restraining his followers. The Emperor sent Khan and Yilafren to find Fulgrim, then remained behind to heal and maintain the Astronomican as he prepared for a future clash with a hidden opponent.

• Slaanesh returned Khan and Yilafren to The Emperor and asked him to find Lin Fan, whose trail was obscured by Khorne's influence.
• Slaanesh agreed to restrain his followers while searching for Lin Fan, then left to seek revenge on the wounded Khorne.
• The Emperor warned Khan that Chaos Gods could not be trusted and rejected his offer to govern the Imperium, telling him that a hidden opponent was still watching.
• The Emperor sent Khan and Yilafren through a Warp portal to find Fulgrim and bring him to the Emperor.
• The Emperor stayed behind to recover from Khorne's strike and maintain the Astronomican, whose light gradually stabilized.

An Imperial Guard force discovered an unprotected humanoid anomaly on a toxic battlefield and failed to harm it with explosives or concentrated fire. The figure awakened and advanced toward the soldiers, leaving them unable to stop it.

• A watch officer noticed the ragged anomaly and ordered a soldier to attack it with a monomolecular shovel and explosives, but both failed to damage it.
• The officer reported the anomaly, and thousands of soldiers built a fortified defensive position around the crater while tanks took aim.
• After the anomaly awakened, the soldiers watched it stumble out of the crater and approach their lines.
• The officers ordered every weapon to fire, but lasers, solid-shot weapons, and plasma could not injure or stop the approaching figure.

A seemingly indestructible man walked through a military position, shrugging off the soldiers’ weapons and tanks. After eating a huge supply of corpse-starch, he fell asleep in the bunker, while Colonel Hans contacted Imperial authorities for help identifying him.

• The soldiers’ guns and bayonets failed to hurt the approaching man, and their attempts to hold him back broke apart.
• A tank crew rammed the man, but he forced his way through the vehicle and emerged from its rear armor.
• The man broke into the bunker, asked for food, and ate corpse-starch bars meant for 750 people before falling asleep.
• Colonel Hans contacted his superiors, and an Ecclesiarchy archbishop and an Inquisition communications officer ordered him to destroy the suspected daemonic creation.

Colonel Hans reported that his forces had spent their ammunition against an unharmed, sleeping fiend, prompting the Ecclesiarchy and Inquisition to investigate. The bishop ordered Crusaders to attack the creature, but their blades shattered without waking it.

• Colonel Hans reported the forces deployed, ammunition expended, and losses suffered, confirming that the target remained unharmed and that his soldiers had suffered no deaths.
• The Ecclesiarchy and Inquisition sent groups to the position, where the hooded Inquisitor examined the evidence and concluded the creature was neither a daemon nor apparently psychic.
• Colonel Hans led the visitors to the bunker, where the fiend slept with a bloodstained Aquila icon around its neck.
• The bishop ordered Crusaders to chop the sleeping fiend to pieces, but their blades shattered against it without waking it.