Chapter Summaries

Lin Fan recounted the bloody history of the Space Wolves’ conflict with the Inquisition and challenged Krippman’s claim that the Armageddon survivors’ purge was justified. He argued that many who resisted Horus had remained loyal despite corruption, leaving the meeting in a tense confrontation over what loyalty meant.

• Lin Fan described how Gisnaros’s punitive fleet confronted the Space Wolves at Fenris, where Biyue rejected the Inquisition’s demands and the ensuing battle ended in a ceasefire after heavy losses on both sides.
• Krippman insisted that the Inquisition had been right to purge the Armageddon survivors because they had been corrupted, while Kaiser Whitefang and the gathered commanders listened in fear.
• Lin Fan told Krippman that the survivors’ betrayal had been caused by the Imperium and distinguished between people who knowingly embraced Chaos and those swept into corruption without understanding it.
• Lin Fan recounted how many forces that had followed Horus eventually recognized Chaos’s cruelty and fought for the Emperor’s ideals, then challenged Krippman for dismissing their loyalty as fabricated.

Lin Fan argued that ordinary Astra Militarum soldiers could turn to Chaos after fighting to protect people, then being condemned by the Inquisition. Krippman rejected the story but revealed his fear that even the noblest defenders could be corrupted; Lin Fan decided he could take the place of the Emperor and Primarchs, then invited Krippman to come down and see for himself.

• Lin Fan asked Krippman to imagine an Astra Militarum soldier who survived the horrors of Armageddon, only to face execution by the Inquisition after protecting its people.
• Lin Fan described how the soldier might accept a fiend's offer to stop the Inquisition's purge, while Krippman insisted the account was only a story.
• Krippman explained that his former teacher, a Daemonhunter Inquisitor, had spent centuries fighting daemons before becoming one, and argued that wavering righteous leaders could spread Chaos to countless people.
• Lin Fan recognized Krippman's need for an incorruptible guide and decided he could walk among humanity in the Emperor's and Primarchs' place.
• Lin Fan told Krippman to come down and see for himself, adding that the Grey Knights ate too much.

Kaiser Whitefang and Krippman agreed to travel to Landes, where they would select personnel and transport ships, while General Westad was ordered to keep their discussions secret. The 37th Regiment received orders to go to Landes, and Priestess Delia quietly gave a soldier a scrap-metal signature before continuing her work.

• Kaiser Whitefang persuaded Krippman to go to Landes with Inquisitor Vissi, and the expedition prepared to choose personnel and transport ships.
• Kaiser Whitefang told General Westad to keep the meeting secret and bring along people who knew Soap.
• General Westad sent soldiers to the 37th Regiment with orders for its colonel, though the regiment had no colonel.
• The soldiers met Priestess Delia, who scanned the order and learned that the 37th Regiment would board a transport at the A1 boarding gate for Landes.
• A soldier thanked Delia for saving the regiment at Mining Base No. 14, but she insisted that she had not intended to help them.
• Delia gave the soldier a scrap-metal plate bearing her name, and Old Jock teased her about the gesture.

Sister Delia and the others landed on Landes World, where they discovered giant crops, unfamiliar farming machinery, and a Battle Sister working as a farmer. The group learned about the planet’s agricultural products, then saw a comic panel depicting a Khorne harvester crushing an agricultural district’s shacks.

• Sister Delia traveled to Landes World with the 37th Regiment, Kaiser Whitefang, Inquisitor Vissi, and representatives of other Space Marine Chapters.
• The group landed and the soldiers welcomed the fresh air while Delia’s electronic eye detected an unexpectedly high oxygen concentration.
• Kaiser Whitefang and the others passed enormous crops and unfamiliar farming machinery as local workers continued harvesting without greeting them.
• A white-haired Battle Sister kicked a falling fruit away from the group, then fled into the foliage after Kaiser Whitefang’s remark upset her.
• Sister Delia cut open the fruit, and a former farmer from Karmaklan World explained the difference between standard-grade crops and specialty foods.
• A comic panel showed a Khorne harvester crushing shacks in an agricultural district.

Kaiser Whitefang and the others explored a hive city and learned from an old man how war, plague, and harsh factory labor had devastated its residents. The old man credited Saint Sha Si and the Mercy Edicts with curing the people and bringing better conditions, though the Space Marines grew suspicious when he described the plague.

• Delia shared a delicious fruit with Kaiser Whitefang, Bennett, and the soldiers of the 37th Regiment as they entered the hive city.
• Kaiser Whitefang questioned an old man about why the city's residents seemed cheerful despite the devastation around them.
• The old man described the war's enormous death toll and the hunger and hardship that followed.
• The old man recounted how a widespread plague sickened the population, prompting the Space Marines to suspect Nurgle's corruption.
• The old man said Saint Sha Si cured the people and supplied food and water, while the Mercy Edicts rewarded labor and improved their lives.

Kaiser Whitefang and the Krieg delegation arrived at the church, where an Inquisitorial confrontation over Sha Si was interrupted by Lin Fan’s reunion with Delia. Lin Fan welcomed the gathered leaders and veterans to a meeting over a table of miraculous produce.

• Kaiser Whitefang learned from an old worker how life in the hive city was measured and saw that the workers’ lives had improved.
• Colonel Erika explained that the Krieg commander was occupied with the Inquisition, and Kaiser’s party found Inquisitor Krippman accusing Sha Si of being a daemon.
• Lin Fan tried to keep Krippman and Sha Si from fighting, while the Grey Knights watched from the shadows.
• Delia recognized Lin Fan, embraced him, and happily reunited with him as Kaiser Whitefang and the Space Wolves arrived.
• Lin Fan greeted Kaiser and arranged for Colonel Erika and Inquisitor Omar to settle the guests, then gathered everyone around a table of healing fruits and vegetables.

Lin Fan recounted his escape from Commorragh to the gathered Space Wolves, Battle Sisters, Inquisitors, and Grey Knights, but Inquisitor Krippman accused him of being a daemon. Grand Master Ima nearly attacked Krippman before Lin Fan stopped him and reflected on the desperate choices Inquisitors sometimes made.

• The gathered warriors eagerly ate Lin Fan’s life-restoring fruits and vegetables as Wodhaus marveled at their power.
• Lin Fan described his disappearance to Commorragh, the altered Lorn, the human-beast coalition, and his battles against the Drukhari, while leaving out sensitive details.
• Inquisitor Krippman denounced Lin Fan’s account and called him a daemon, but Grand Master Ima defended him and cited the Grey Knights’ testimony.
• Krippman called the others heretics, prompting Grand Master Ima to draw his sword and prepare to kill him.
• Lin Fan stopped Grand Master Ima and considered how Inquisitors sometimes resorted to desperate measures when facing powerful daemons without reinforcements.

Lin Fan tried to persuade Inquisitor Krippman that he could not be corrupted, but Krippman collapsed as a demon emerged from him. Lin Fan stopped the Grey Knights from killing the demon and took it away to interrogate, while Kaiser Whitefang calmed the worried Space Marines.

• Lin Fan showed Krippman an Aquila holy icon, and Krippman collapsed, convulsing as a demonic shadow emerged.
• The Grey Knights prepared to destroy the demon, but it surrendered and begged for mercy.
• Lin Fan caught the Grey Knights' bolts, which exploded in his hands, then took the demon away to interrogate it.
• Kaiser Whitefang stuffed fruit into the unconscious Krippman's mouth while Lin Fan disappeared with the demon.
• Kaiser Whitefang reassured the worried Space Marines, who returned to eating food that healed their old injuries.

Lin Fan spared the slacker daemon that had possessed Krippman and arranged for it to remain with him in the form of a turtle. After learning that the Formless Wastes were shrinking, Lin Fan reunited with the 37th Regiment and learned that nine years had passed since he disappeared on Armageddon.

• Lin Fan questioned the daemon possessing Krippman, learned it had fled the shrinking Formless Wastes, and decided to let it stay under Slaanesh's mark.
• Lin Fan had the daemon transform into a black turtle and gave it to Krippman, who fainted after taking it.
• Grand Master Ima agreed to keep the daemon turtle alive, and Lin Fan asked the Grey Knights to help Krippman recover.
• Lin Fan had Colonel Erika organize a walk around the hive city and joined the 37th Regiment to learn what had changed.
• Delia told Lin Fan that it was 950.M41 and that nine years had passed since his disappearance on Armageddon.

Lin Fan learned how the 37th Regiment had changed during his nine-year disappearance and discovered that Ciaphas Cain had become its commissar. After reuniting with Delia, he promised not to leave her behind again.

• Lin Fan learned that Delia had kept the colonel's position open for him by crippling each replacement, while Sage Kaos's support helped her withstand the Departmento Munitorum's objections.
• The veterans told Lin Fan that the 37th Regiment now included an elite 3rd Company and two large companies, one formed from the newly incorporated regiment.
• Lin Fan guessed that the new commissar was Ciaphas Cain and that the incorporated regiment was the Valhallan 597th Regiment.
• Lin Fan gave Delia a book about Shimmer Shields, and Delia kissed him and asked him to take her with him next time.
• Lin Fan promised Delia he would not leave her alone again, and she fired on the teasing soldiers while Cain went to deal with them.

Lin Fan traded the story of his adventures to Trazyn, who repaired and reshaped Little Yi into a Rebecca-like form. Trazyn also restored her nanite protocols and told Lin Fan about the ancient Men of Iron war machines, leaving Rebecca safe but wary of Trazyn’s offer to join a reenactment.

• Lin Fan thanked Trazyn for looking after the 37th Regiment and told him the story of his adventures.
• Lin Fan summoned Slaanesh to prove their relationship, and Slaanesh briefly appeared before vanishing after taunting Trazyn.
• Trazyn modified Lin Fan’s necklace in exchange for his story and asked where the nanite swarm was.
• Little Yi emerged from Lin Fan and begged Trazyn to lock her away, so Trazyn scanned and repaired her.
• Trazyn rebuilt Little Yi in Rebecca’s likeness and unlocked her nanite protocols, while she complained to him about Lin Fan’s dangers.
• Trazyn offered Rebecca a role in his reenactment of the Fifteenth Data War, then described the Men of Iron’s powerful doomsday machines to Lin Fan.

Lin Fan arranged for Little Yi to serve as a communications specialist and negotiated with Trazyn for more troops and planetary defenses. After Landes World was secured and handed over to a new administrator, the chapter left Lin Fan confident he could eventually support its future development.

• Trazyn repaired Little Yi, gave her alpha-level permissions and a communications role, and accepted her recordings as a collectible while Lin Fan deferred choosing his reward.
• Trazyn offered to expand Lin Fan's regiment with Krieg soldiers and possibly Battle Sisters, and Lin Fan asked him to strengthen Landes World's defenses.
• Trazyn installed obelisks that suppressed Warp energy across the planet and left scarabs to maintain them.
• A visiting delegation, including Krippman, confirmed Landes World was safe, while Trazyn's disguised Crypteks buried the obelisks and established their power supply.
• Lin Fan chose a moderate Department of the Interior official to govern Landes World after Inquisitor Omar was relieved of administrative duties.
• The official warned that Landes World's prosperity under the Mercy Edict might last only a century or two, and Lin Fan relied on Little Yi and Trazyn's star map to plan for its future.

Lin Fan pushed Marian to pursue marriage with Sha Si before leaving the planet, and the couple reconciled in a dark tunnel. Watching them together, Lin Fan and Slaanesh spoke about their own future and Lin Fan’s fear that he did not truly belong to their world.

• Lin Fan asked Marian and Sha Si whether they wanted to marry, but Marian hesitated because he believed romance conflicted with his duty to The Emperor.
• Sha Si left in anger, and Lin Fan convinced Marian that marriage and having children could also serve The Emperor.
• Marian searched for Sha Si, found her crying in a tunnel, and confessed his feelings before they embraced.
• Slaanesh asked Lin Fan about having a wedding together, and Lin Fan said he was not ready because he feared he was separate from their world.
• Slaanesh told Lin Fan she wanted to treasure their time together despite fearing that their lives might end at different times.

Slaanesh reflected on love and mortality with Lin Fan, then revealed her playful nature, and Lin Fan decided to celebrate the time they had. Sha Si and Marian’s wedding drew the hive city and expeditionary fleet together, and the ceremony began with Lin Fan officiating.

• Slaanesh told Lin Fan that finite lives and love gained meaning from their endings, and promised to collapse into the Warp when he disappeared.
• Slaanesh tasted Lin Fan’s tears, and Lin Fan decided they should cherish the time they had together.
• Lin Fan arranged for the Emperor and himself to appear at Sha Si and Marian’s wedding, prompting the hive city to prepare decorations, flowers, and statues.
• Kaiser Whitefang challenged Space Marine Chapters and made their representatives attend, while Ecclesiarchy forces offered blessings and most Inquisitors remained suspicious.
• Lin Fan officiated Sha Si and Marian’s wedding in the pilgrimage square as servo-skulls and Trazyn’s screens recorded the gathering.

Marian and Sha Si married beneath a golden miracle that the Emperor affirmed with a single word, strengthening Sha Si’s standing as a saint. After the celebration, Delia imagined a wedding with Lin Fan, while Trazyn decided not to record the newlyweds’ wedding night.

• Marian and Sha Si exchanged vows and rings as golden light from the Emperor illuminated their wedding.
• The Emperor called the ceremony “Passable,” and the Space Marines pledged themselves to his will.
• The wedding celebration began, and the 37th Regiment fantasized about arranging a grand wedding for Delia and Lin Fan.
• Delia imagined holding her wedding with Lin Fan on Karmaklan World, then remained lost in thought until the regiment carried her away by crane vehicle.
• Trazyn considered recording Marian and Sha Si’s wedding night but abandoned the idea because the Emperor and Slaanesh were watching.

Trazyn caught a disguised Aeldari squad infiltrating his blackstone array and used his powers to subdue them. After tormenting the warlock into answering, he learned that the Seer Council foresaw their Craftworld’s end in the unusually stable tides of the Empyrean, which were preparing the birth of a new shadow.

• Trazyn found the infiltrating Aeldari elites and appeared behind them in the blackstone hall.
• Trazyn severed the squad’s connection to the Warp, neutralized their attacks, and trapped the Warp Spiders in distorted space.
• Trazyn crushed the Aeldari to the floor, taunted them, and forced the warlock to apologize.
• Trazyn trapped the warlock in a Time-Slowing Pocket, where she endured more than a century of solitude in a second.
• The warlock told Trazyn that the Seer Council foresaw the Craftworld’s end and a new shadow being born amid the abnormally stable tides of the Empyrean.

Trazyn forced a group of Aeldari to work for him, then transferred himself to his tomb and narrowly escaped its defenses. He reached Orikan to ask for a prediction about the world of Landes and the Aeldari’s view of the galaxy’s future.

• Trazyn demanded that the Aeldari sign a contract to work as extras for a thousand years in exchange for their release.
• Trazyn transferred his consciousness into a Necron warrior and explored his vast tomb complex.
• Trazyn entered the palace, where Gauss turrets disintegrated his body and the guards searched for his data stream.
• Trazyn took over a guard’s body and greeted Orikan, who ordered the palace defenses lowered.
• Trazyn asked Orikan to predict events at the world of Landes and compare the result with the Aeldari’s view of the galaxy’s future.

Trazyn and Orikan fought in the grand observatory until Trazyn revealed that a new Subjective One had appeared and changed the alignment of the stars. Orikan transported them to a device displaying the true Brilliant Star Map, where Trazyn recognized a Gauss rifle.

• Orikan attacked Trazyn with his temporal weapon after suspecting his interest in the stars.
• Trazyn and Orikan grappled, trading blows and insults as their guards watched impassively.
• Trazyn reminded Orikan of the first Subjective One, and Orikan recalled her influence on Trazyn's collecting.
• Trazyn told Orikan that a new Subjective One had appeared, changing the alignment of the stars.
• Orikan transported them away from the observatory and showed Trazyn the true Brilliant Star Map on an ancient-looking device.
• Trazyn identified the device as a Gauss rifle.

Orikan used the Brilliant Star Map to examine the fate of Landes's world and discovered that the universe was splitting into multiple possible outcomes under the Warp's influence. He warned Trazyn that the resulting surge of change could empower a dangerous entity, then ordered him to follow protocols that would avoid provoking another higher-dimensional collapse.

• Orikan performed the Star Map's ceremonial invocation, paused to consult a holographic page after suffering data loss, and entered the code for Landes's world.
• Trazyn and Orikan found no visible change on the planet, and Trazyn suggested Subjective One was too weak to cause the warning signs.
• Orikan used a more complex calculation and discovered that several predicted events had changed, splitting the universe into increasingly close alternate outcomes.
• Orikan warned that unresolved outcomes could feed a single projection entity with power drawn from multiple universes.
• Orikan told Trazyn to strengthen the Blackstone Array, reinforce surveillance and lockdown of projection space, and obey the Subjective One Ignorance Protocol.
• Trazyn detached his consciousness from the possessed guard rather than leave through Orikan's rift.

Trazyn recovered from his time-altering ordeal, drove the Aeldari from the Blackstone Array, and returned to his mechanical ark. He learned that the Necron dynasties would awaken within a few centuries and wondered whether the universe would last until then.

• Trazyn discovered that Orikan had compressed the time he experienced to 875 seconds, though his clock had shown 875 years, and reflected on his fading memories and oath with Bai Huan.
• Bai Huan's voice roused Trazyn, who saw that his defenses had repelled the Aeldari squad while he was unconscious.
• The Aeldari warlock returned the contract, but Trazyn erased it and ordered the squad to flee without signing it.
• Trazyn activated the Blackstone Array to seal the planet from psychic detection, then tore open space and returned to his mechanical ark.
• Trazyn's technicians reported that the Necron dynasties would awaken within one or two centuries, and Trazyn hoped the universe would endure until then.