Chapter Summaries

Khan and Yilafren fought their way through the Death Arena, where only the last survivor could claim the prize. As Khan battled a huge insect guarding a door, Yilafren remembered her friend Old Ironhead.

• Khan and Yilafren argued as they climbed through the Death Arena, learning they had to reach the top to escape and that only the last survivor won the prize.
• Khan recalled how Yilafren had helped him survive the arena’s traps, while she had found a crossbow and he had taken an I-beam as a weapon.
• Khan and Yilafren encountered a giant chitin-armored insect devouring corpses before a great door.
• Yilafren fired crossbow needles into the insect while Khan struck its head with the I-beam, then leaped onto its back and rode it as it tried to throw him off.
• Yilafren tasted a can of greenskin juice and remembered sharing it and racing with Old Ironhead at his repair shop.

Khan subdued a giant bug and named it Prosperity while Yilafren watched, then Lin Fan observed Lady Malys teasing Yvraine at the arena. Lin Fan compared the women to familiar romance-game archetypes, leaving the story with his irreverent assessment of their personalities.

• Khan defeated the giant bug in training and decided it no longer wanted to attack him.
• Khan fed the bug a piece of corpse, named it Prosperity, and ordered it to ram open the next door.
• Lin Fan watched Lady Malys flirt with Yvraine while Visarch tried not to look.
• Lin Fan categorized Malys, Yvraine, and Yilafren as Japanese-style visual novel archetypes.

Lin Fan endured Lady Malys’s torture demonstration by pretending to suffer while secretly enjoying the devices, and Lady Malys asked Yvraine to fight Lelith Hesperax in a wager arranged by Vect. As Yvraine and her party watched the arena matches, Lin Fan waited for the moment Yvraine was killed.

• Lady Malys teased Lin Fan and asked Yvraine to demonstrate her torture skills on him.
• Lin Fan and Little Yi faked his screams while Lady Malys turned the torture devices up to maximum power, which Lin Fan secretly enjoyed.
• Lady Malys told Yvraine that Vect had arranged a wager and asked her to fight and defeat Lelith Hesperax.
• Yvraine, Visarch, and Lin Fan went to a private box overlooking the death arena, where Lin Fan was placed in a cage by the window.
• Lin Fan watched the arena matches and waited for Yvraine to be killed.

Khan, Yilafren, and Prosperity reached Commorragh’s top-level arena, where Lelith Hesperax began the final match by unleashing a Tyranid swarm. Khan charged into the bugs while Yilafren fought from Prosperity’s back, and Lin Fan watched from a high window as the battle began.

• Khan tamed Prosperity again after the beast attacked him, then the group went through the last gate and entered the top-level arena.
• The host, Doni Vomirian, introduced Drazhar, Yvraine, Khan, Yilafren, and Lelith Hesperax as the arena’s gladiators.
• Lelith opened the black cube at the arena’s center and released a huge swarm of Tyranids onto the platform.
• Khan charged the swarm with his steel I-beam and told Prosperity to protect Yilafren, who attacked bugs that got past him.
• Lin Fan identified the first attackers as Hormagaunts and saw Khan smash the heads of Tyranid Warriors and Raveners.

Khan cut through the Tyranid swarm, turned a Ravener’s claws into blades, and began a fierce duel with Drazhar. Yvraine, Lelith, and Yilafren also survived the battlefield as the fighting continued.

• Khan used his I-beam to fight the Ravener, then kicked the weapon into its chest and severed its claws to wield as twin blades.
• Khan killed the Ravener and carved a path through the swarm with its claws.
• Drazhar emerged from a bug corpse and attacked Khan, cutting his thigh before Khan kicked him away.
• Drazhar and Khan resumed their fight, eager to test their martial skills against each other.
• Yvraine, Lelith, and Yilafren survived the Tyranid swarm while Lin Fan watched the battle.

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.