Chapter Summaries

Drazhar fought Jaghatai while the Primarchs battled Amalaga’s creations, and Amalaga used the True Word “Possess” to transform them into a living fortress. After Roka attacked Drazhar under Tzeentch’s influence, Khorne answered by summoning a corrupted Khârn, leaving the Primarchs facing his advancing bloodlust.

• Drazhar ignored Khorne’s whispers and continued his duel with Jaghatai as Perturabo prepared to shoot him.
• Dorn and Fulgrim drove their Legion toward Amalaga, and Dorn joined his shields to protect the Apothecaries and crush the degraded creatures.
• Amalaga used the True Word “Possess” to merge the degraded creatures into a living fortress, then hid with Fabius inside while it bombarded him.
• Tzeentch urged Roka to attack Drazhar, and Roka struck him with a beam of faith that provoked the Blood Relic.
• Khorne’s corruption transformed the living fortress into a shrine, from which a blood-soaked figure emerged and paid respects to Drazhar.
• The Primarchs recognized the figure as Khârn, who fixed his killing intent on Roka as bloodthirsty visions overwhelmed the group.

The God-Emperor manifested through Celes and fought Khârn, who was possessed by Khorne, while Perturabo and Dorn confronted how much the Imperium had changed. After Celes defeated Khârn and healed, she welcomed Fulgrim back, and Dorn called her “Mother.”

• The God-Emperor descended into Celes, whose holy light melted Khorne’s fortress and shocked Dorn.
• Perturabo told Dorn that the Imperium had embraced what the Emperor once opposed, and Dorn said he would read the Book of Holy Words.
• Celes and Khârn fought fiercely as the warriors watched, unable to join the battle.
• Khârn pierced Celes’s chest and crushed one wing, but Celes cut him down and sent his body crashing into Khorne’s shrine.
• Celes healed her wounds and greeted Fulgrim and Dorn; Fulgrim broke down in tears, and Dorn called her “Mother.”

The God-Emperor watched the Imperium’s varied forms of worship while Celes and Khârn continued their battle. Roka followed Tzeentch’s instructions, disguised himself as a devout believer, and flew toward Celes after Perturabo exposed him as a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch.

• The God-Emperor reflected on the strange ways people across the Imperium worshipped him and accepted their faith as long as humanity endured.
• Rogal Dorn called the God-Emperor in Celes “Mother,” prompting Slaanesh to laugh and the God-Emperor to punish Dorn with silence.
• Khârn regenerated and charged at Celes, while Roka decided the battle was meaningless and sought Tzeentch’s guidance.
• After Tzeentch left him to choose his own actions, Roka recalled being told to collect a debt and approached the Primarchs disguised as a believer.
• Roka gave Fulgrim a Book of Holy Words, but Perturabo realized he was a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch and attacked him.
• Roka transformed into a white dove and flew toward Celes.

Lin Fan used the restored hard-light printer to prepare for battle while Tzeentch’s plan expelled the God-Emperor and left Celes wounded. As Khorne overwhelmed the primarchs, Lin Fan appeared and shattered the Doomsday Greatsword, leaving everyone to flee the falling fragments.

• Tzeentch and The Deceiver rolled dice that granted Lin Fan success and Khorne failure, while Lin Fan found the hard-light printer and ordered it to print equipment.
• Khorne’s intervention caused the Doomsday Greatsword to wound Celes, and Tzeentch expelled the God-Emperor by detonating a portion of Khorne’s power.
• Khorne attacked the primarchs, badly injuring Perturabo and Rogal Dorn and cutting Jaghatai’s neck as their weapons failed to stop him.
• Lin Fan appeared in green armor, drove a golden spear into the Doomsday Greatsword, and shattered it with a punch.
• Perturabo ordered everyone to flee the falling sword fragments and dragged the helpless Rogal Dorn to safety while they argued about the fanatics’ devotion.

Lin Fan fought Khorne aboard the Ark, using his improvised Praetor Suit and light spear against the Blood God's overwhelming weapons and war powers. After severing Khorne's foot, he faced the now-smaller Lord of War as Khorne attacked with a double-bladed axe.

• Amalaga escaped the rooftop while Yilafren dragged the grieving Trazyn away from the collapsing building and its ruined collectibles.
• Lin Fan checked his self-made Praetor Suit and light spear as the evacuated survivors watched from safety.
• Khorne battered Lin Fan with a warhammer and a wall of weapons, but Lin Fan used his spear, suit jets, fists, and bayonets to fight back.
• Lin Fan blasted through Khorne's War Wall and slaughtered demons, then Khorne pinned him down and struck him with the Unbreakable Hammer.
• Lin Fan vanished into a pit in the Ark's floor, pierced Khorne's foot, and slashed off part of his ankle.
• Khorne shrank to Lin Fan's size, steadied himself on two longswords driven into his wound, and swung a double-bladed axe at Lin Fan.

Lin Fan struggled against Khorne while the primarchs searched for a way to turn the battle around. Trazyn and Orikan devised a plan to temporarily awaken the Subjective One, but the Silent King rejected their proposed relic and ordered the universe’s time reversed.

• Khorne dodged Lin Fan’s bayonet, wounded him with his axe, and deflected his spear attacks while Lin Fan endured the beating.
• Perturabo and the other primarchs discussed summoning the Emperor, but the Aeldari seers warned that the ritual would be difficult without Yvraine.
• Trazyn persuaded Orikan to use the Brilliant Star Map to create a convincing fictional relic that might influence the Subjective One and suppress his awakening.
• The Silent King approved Orikan’s request, then judged giving the relic to Lin Fan too risky and summoned his Chronomancers.
• One hundred and twenty thousand Chronomancers reversed time across the universe at the Silent King’s command, undoing attacks on the Necrontyr warships.

The Silent King altered an earlier timeline to preserve the Black Glass Throne, allowing the God-Emperor to help Lin Fan defeat Khorne’s avatar on the Golden Ark. After Lin Fan shattered The Deceiver’s watching eye, the Ark’s temporal lock weakened and the survivors returned to their warships.

• The Silent King used the Brilliant Star Map to alter two white dwarfs’ paths, destroying two resource systems and preserving the Black Glass Throne amid the battle’s aftermath.
• Orikan and Trazyn activated the Black Glass Throne, letting the God-Emperor bind Khorne’s avatar long enough for Lin Fan to behead it.
• The Black Glass Throne disintegrated after the God-Emperor’s light faded, and Khorne’s avatar collapsed into a sea of blood.
• Lin Fan threw his spear toward The Deceiver’s eye, then shattered it with a slap after The Deceiver’s power failed against him.
• The Deceiver’s eye’s hold over the Ark weakened, and Lin Fan watched the warships become solid as the survivors returned to them while the Golden Ark collapsed.

Perturabo and Rogal Dorn found a gigantic fortress that might have housed the Golden Throne, but the battle between Executor Inamars and Valgull threatened the gathered fleets. Lin Fan entered the battlefield and reached the depths of Valgull’s flesh-covered domain, where he hurled his spear at Drazak and charged toward Valgull’s throne.

• Perturabo recovered aboard the Mother of Tears and saw the human fleet and three Aeldari arks facing a gigantic octagonal fortress that Rogal Dorn believed could house the Golden Throne.
• Perturabo detected the battle between Executor Inamars and Valgull, whose flesh spread through the void as Inamars burned it with atomic chain reactions.
• Trazyn and Orikan asked Lin Fan to help Executor Inamars, and the Silent King ordered the Executor to let Lin Fan fight Valgull.
• Lin Fan entered the corrupted hyperspace portal and reached the Executioner Dynasty’s pyramid, where Chief Assassin Rotaros opened a route to the surface.
• Executor Inamars burned Valgull’s flesh to help Lin Fan descend into its depths, where Lin Fan found Drazak merged with Valgull and charged toward his throne after throwing his spear.

Lin Fan defeated Valgull by eating him, sealing Valgull and the Flayed One God inside the Two-Dimensional Prison, and weakening the flesh across the planet. At the postwar review, Inamars warned the humans and Aeldari that the gathering of gods and the new forms of the Deceiver and Flayed Ones were connected to humanity’s vast supply of souls and emotions.

• Lin Fan cut Valgull apart repeatedly, then discovered that he could consume the regenerating god and ate him bit by bit.
• Inside Lin Fan’s stomach, Valgull encountered the starfish Oedmeir called the Two-Dimensional Prison, which flattened and devoured him along with the Flayed One God.
• Valgull’s weakened control let Phaeron Inamars’s forces clear the flesh, while Lin Fan’s burps warned him that he could not eat much more.
• Inamars reviewed the Ghoul Stars battle’s heavy losses, including the sealing of the Flayed Ones and the destruction of fleets and dynasties.
• At the postwar meeting, Perturabo and Jaghatai reacted to the report, and Inamars said the gods’ latest manifestations were connected to humanity’s vast supply of souls and emotions.

The Silent King let the Tyranid swarm pass the Necrons’ defenses so he could see how the Subjective One would face it, while the T’au and Oedmeir’s world prepared for the looming invasion. A Black Templars fleet attacked Oedmeir’s planet, and Dorn opened a sealed door to find the Templars waiting inside.

• Inamars and the other primarchs accepted the warning about C’tan worship, and the Phaeron left to continue searching for the hidden Deceiver.
• The Silent King received Inamars’s battle report and ordered the Necrons to let the Hash Tyranid swarm through their defensive line.
• T’au probes detected a massive Tyranid invasion, and Shadowsun and Farsight discussed the threat and Oedmeir’s support.
• Marshal Helbrecht ordered the Black Templars to attack Oedmeir’s world after condemning its xenos and human inhabitants.
• Oedmeir went to nap as the Black Templars’ macrocannon shells struck the planet’s shields, and Dorn opened a sealed door to face the Templars.

Dorn learned that Fulgrim’s soul could only be restored by reclaiming its fragments from Slaanesh, now an ally of the Imperium. After a brief private retreat to process the revelation, Dorn accepted the plan and agreed to wait until they reached West Fomalhaut.

• Dorn met his brothers and Lin Fan as they gathered around the unsealed Daemon Prince Fulgrim, while Trazyn assessed the corruption of his soul.
• Fabius explained that Fulgrim had gone mad after Slaanesh’s attention waned and that restoring him required recovering his soul fragments from Slaanesh.
• Perturabo told Dorn that Slaanesh had become the Emperor’s ally, and Dorn left for a soundproof room to process the news.
• Dorn returned and agreed that the group would seek Fulgrim’s soul once they reached West Fomalhaut.
• Jaghatai and Fulgrim praised Lin Fan’s proposed name Big Canteen, while Jaghatai mocked Lin Fan’s other food-inspired names.

Rogal Dorn asked Lin Fan why the primarchs had rebelled, and Lin Fan’s answer inspired him to launch a new crusade from the edge of the galaxy toward Terra. As the fleet departed the Ghoul Stars, its allies parted ways, while the Lamenters continued onward with the crusade.

• Rogal Dorn asked Lin Fan why his brothers had rebelled, and Lin Fan replied that things would be different because he was there.
• Rogal Dorn proposed a new crusade from the edge of the galaxy to Terra, and Lin Fan joked that it sounded like another Horus Heresy.
• Trazyn secretly recorded their conversation for his museum’s Second Great Crusade exhibition.
• At the Ghoul Stars, the Carcharodons, Ashen Claws, and Order of the Bloody Rose stayed behind, while Celes declined to leave with her sisters.
• Perturabo told Tyberos to take over his forge on Hovens IV, and Jaghatai promised Nethanev that he would restore the Ashen Claws’ honor.
• Lin Fan offered Nethanev a bottle of aged broth as a keepsake, and Chapter Master Hope recorded that the Lamenters had left their misfortune and discrimination behind.

Yvraine arranged for Craftworld Aeldari to gather the scattered Aeldari, while the Imperium faced ordinary uprisings during a rare calm in the Warp. At the Golden Throne, Slaanesh presented a scripture, and the God-Emperor and The Emperor discussed Tzeentch’s plans and the Orks’ ability to disrupt them.

• Yvraine told Biel-Tan's young king to settle the people before considering gathering the five Croneswords, and planned for Alaitoc and Iyanden's Craftworld Aeldari to summon the Aeldari to Lin Fan's star system.
• The Warp grew calmer as uprisings spread across Imperial worlds, and Inquisitors disagreed over whether the rebellions were tainted by Chaos.
• Slaanesh recited her scripture, The Emperor's Flame Sword, to the God-Emperor, who rejected it along with The Emperor.
• The Emperor read Tzeentch's Path of Hope, and the God-Emperor questioned what Tzeentch had gained from his actions.
• The Emperor said the Orks could disrupt Tzeentch's plans, and the God-Emperor told him to do as he pleased while maintaining the Astronomican.

Yarrick struggled with the peace of retirement on Haiwendland as his memories of war returned, while Ironhide led an Ork Waaagh onward in search of greater battles. The Orks reached Yarrick’s world, and Yarrick prepared to fight them with the Armageddon Steel Legion.

• Yarrick tried to overcome his discomfort with peaceful life on Haiwendland and was shaken by memories of Hades Hive.
• Yarrick saw the Imperial Aquila statue sway and wondered whether the Emperor was giving him a revelation.
• Ironhide demonstrated his electrified axe, praised Ork technological progress, and rallied his forces to continue fighting.
• Ironhide’s Orks destroyed a planet and propelled its fragments onward with their fleet.
• Yarrick raised his power claw as the Armageddon Steel Legion prepared to stop the arriving Orks, while Domisilon wondered how many would die.

Rokasna learned that Tzeentch considered the recent events a major victory and welcomed Vect as a new ally while preparing to approach the Dark Mechanicum. Meanwhile, The Deceiver explained that the Necrontyr had suppressed thought to restrain the C'tan, then sent Amalaga fleeing toward the Big Canteen Galaxy as an unrecorded being drew near.

• Rokasna apologized to Tzeentch for failing to recover his debt, but Tzeentch told him the outcome had been a huge win.
• Tzeentch introduced Vect as a new colleague, declared himself the Black Muse, and ordered his followers to bring him the Dark Mechanicum.
• The Deceiver explained to Amalaga that thought was the C'tan's greatest weapon and that the Necrontyr had constrained them by suppressing thought and matter.
• Amalaga used the True Word 'Attach' on a piece of Hate Flesh, and The Deceiver rescued him with his dice before releasing the Dark Angels fleet.
• The Deceiver took Amalaga beyond the Milky Way and sent him toward the Big Canteen Galaxy, fleeing as an unrecorded being approached.

Lin Fan and the others returned to the Big Canteen system, where Perturabo marveled at its advanced shipyards and stellar energy infrastructure. They reunited with Delia and Yilafren, then learned that Space Marines had damaged the complex and disturbed Oedmeir.

• Rebecca connected to the Executioner Dynasty's communications network and told Lin Fan that Oedmeir was irritable after being woken by intruders.
• Perturabo admired the orbital shipyard's advanced warship factories and the systems that harnessed stellar storms to power the planets.
• Lin Fan explained that the T'au on the Big Canteen planet were allies who accepted Imperial administration and believed in the Emperor.
• Delia hugged Lin Fan and asked whether she had helped him, while Yilafren joined them and provoked Delia into aiming a plasma gun at her.
• Oedmeir arrived and said Space Marines had threatened to execute her, damaged the complex, and disturbed her sleep.
• Perturabo angrily vowed to make the Space Marines repent.

Dorn confronted Oedmeir about the Black Templars’ destruction and then entered their prison to face his sons. He stopped their assault, but Helbrecht’s fanatical welcome quickly provoked him into knocking the marshal unconscious.

• Perturabo read the report of the Black Templars’ attacks, and Dorn apologized as Oedmeir recounted their destruction and insults.
• Dorn followed Oedmeir to the prison, where his sons cursed her and denounced her as a witch and xenos.
• Helbrecht and the Black Templars were released from their restraints and charged at Oedmeir, enraged by the holy icon she displayed.
• Dorn ordered the Black Templars to stop, and his gene-sons trembled and knelt as he approached.
• Helbrecht recognized Dorn and demanded to lead a slaughter, so Dorn knocked him unconscious and then struck him awake.

Oedmeir expanded Lin Fan’s regional government by winning over the Adeptus Mechanicus and Inquisition, establishing trade with the T'au, and upgrading the military. She described the region’s resource shortages and current weapons program, while the size of the upgraded 37th Regiment remained unanswered.

• Oedmeir defeated the Adeptus Mechanicus Archmagi in a contest of knowledge and dismantled and reassembled their Titan Legion, convincing them to follow her instructions.
• Oedmeir used Lin Fan’s holy icon to secure a secret Loyalty treaty with the Inquisition, then brought the remaining Imperial departments under regional control.
• Oedmeir met Farsight and Shadowsun, upgraded T'au ship engines, and gave them ship structure blueprints to support trade.
• Oedmeir told Lin Fan and Perturabo that depleted resources limited development and that she had sent warships to escort merchant convoys.
• Oedmeir displayed new weapons, including rapid-fire plasma rifles, Volkite Guns, gravity guns, improved bolters, and an upgraded Flying Little Chapel.
• Oedmeir said the 37th Regiment had received full weapon and armor upgrades, but directed Perturabo to ask Delia how many soldiers it had.

Oedmeir arranged a virtual war between the 37th Regiment’s new combat battalion and the Lamenters Chapter to test the regiment’s combat ability. The exercise began on a simulated hive-city battlefield, where both forces established their positions and prepared to fight.

• Lin Fan suggested that the 37th Regiment test its recruits against the Lamenters, and Oedmeir agreed to hold a real-combat exercise.
• Oedmeir brought the 37th Regiment and the Lamenters to Thirteen-Spice’s training grounds, where 100,000 soldiers faced 2,000 Space Marines.
• Oedmeir activated a virtual battlefield and disguised both sides as opposing forces, then told them to fight without concern for casualties.
• Hope ordered the Lamenters to scout the hive city and gather intelligence before choosing their next move.
• The 37th Regiment’s soldiers established a command post, built concealed fortifications, and set up defenses against electronic scans and Warp sorcery.

The combat battalion used augur satellites to track Hope’s forces, while the Lamenters tried to destroy the reconnaissance equipment and lost two Space Marines in the missile barrage. The battle then spread through the hive city ruins, where Stone and his squad held behind Portable Aegis Walls as the Space Marines attacked.

• The battalion launched an augur satellite, and Hope spotted it and ordered his troops to keep advancing through the hive city ruins.
• The Lamenters destroyed the satellite with a Javelin Attack Speeder, but a replacement satellite rose as the battalion launched missiles at the speeder and destroyed it, killing two Space Marines.
• Hope split his two-thousand-man force into companies and ten-man squads as the Space Marines began firing on troops moving through the ruins.
• Stone survived a bolt strike with his Personal Aegis and reflected on how Oedmeir’s teachings had made him feel closer to Oedmeir than to the Emperor.
• The engineers deployed Portable Aegis Walls to block heavy bolter fire, while Stone and the heavy weapons team prepared to return fire with volkite guns and a rapid-fire ion cannon.