Chapter Summaries

Guilliman and Liang Bing responded to Abyssal corruption spreading through the Webway by summoning reinforcements, including the newly reborn Necrons. Meanwhile, Lan, Puni, and Luke tracked a faint connection through the Warp as the corrupted Leman Russ struggled toward the Abyssal core.

• Guilliman warned Liang Bing that Abyssal corruption had breached the Webway, then ordered the Adeptus Mechanicus and Imperial Fists to prepare for battle.
• Liang Bing summoned Principal Kieran to reinforce the Webway, and Szarekh asked to take the newly reborn Necrons into combat.
• Guilliman accepted the Necrons’ help, and Liang Bing sent them with the Mighty Warriors as the first wave while warning them not to overload the Mind Cube.
• Darth Vader meditated outside the Abyssal rift and drew Abyssal power into himself to erase the remaining traces of order.
• Lan and Puni searched the corrupted region with Luke, who sensed a faint connection and led them toward it.
• Leman Russ, wounded and corrupted, pushed deeper into the darkness toward the gate that called to him.

Lorgar’s surviving Word Bearers reached the silent region around an Abyss rift, where Darth Vader meditated, but a confrontation with Corax and a maddened Leman Russ erupted into a three-way battle. Luke, Puni, and Lan arrived at the region’s edge and prepared to act as the fighting drew near the rift.

• Lorgar’s fleet was caught between Slaanesh’s daemons and the Abyss monsters, and he led the surviving Word Bearers through the battlefield to the silent region containing an Abyss rift.
• Lorgar tried to approach the rift, but Corax emerged from the shadows beside him, and the Word Bearers attacked.
• Leman Russ charged into the fight in a maddened state and attacked Lorgar, the Word Bearers, and Corax indiscriminately.
• Luke, Puni, and Lan reached the region, saw the melee and Darth Vader meditating before the rift, and prepared to begin.

Luke and Darth Vader fought while Inquisitor Puni began sealing the Abyss rift, but the absence of resistance left Puni and Lan wary. Puni’s holy light drew four searching Primarchs toward the battle as the rift began to shrink.

• Luke and Darth Vader clashed in a deadly fight, and their energy storm forced Lorgar, Corax, and Leman Russ to retreat.
• Puni found no Abyss guardian and began purifying the rift with holy light, while Lan also sensed that the lack of resistance was suspicious.
• Puni’s radiance cleansed the corruption affecting Leman Russ, who regained his senses and recognized Lorgar and Corax.
• Luke accused Vader of seeking power without faith, and Vader responded with more violent attacks.
• Sanguinius, Horus, Lion, and Perturabo sensed Puni’s holy light and sent their fleets toward its source.

A hidden power from the Abyssal rift challenged Puni, weakening his pressure enough for Corax, Lorgar, and Leman Russ to move again. Sanguinius, Horus, Lion El'Jonson, and Perturabo arrived, but Russ and Corax distrusted them, while Horus confronted Lorgar and prepared to attack.

• A sinister purplish-red force erupted from the rift and clashed with Puni's holy light as Lan prepared to support him.
• As Puni focused on the rift, Corax, Lorgar, and Leman Russ regained control of their bodies, and Corax questioned Russ about his state.
• Sanguinius, Horus, Lion El'Jonson, and Perturabo arrived, shocking Russ and Corax, who recognized the supposedly dead or corrupted brothers.
• Sanguinius and Lion El'Jonson tried to explain their return and urge the others to leave, but Corax and Russ remained suspicious and threatened them.
• Horus turned on Lorgar, summoned a blue-glowing longsword, and vowed to make him pay for his past actions.

Horus attacked Lorgar while Sanguinius persuaded Corax and Leman Russ to trust the Hilling Empire and leave the dangerous battlefield. Luke defeated Vader, but Tzeentch ambushed him, stole and devoured his heart, then turned toward the wounded Vader to claim his power.

• Horus and the Fealty Luna Wolves guard attacked Lorgar and the Word Bearers.
• Sanguinius explained the Hilling Empire and Abyssal Corruption to Corax and Leman Russ, and Corax agreed to a temporary truce.
• Vader pierced Luke with his lightsaber, but Luke turned spectral, repelled the Abyssal power, and overwhelmed Vader.
• Luke spared no time before Tzeentch appeared behind him, pierced his chest, and devoured his heart.
• Tzeentch's power changed after consuming Luke, and It reached for the badly wounded Vader.

Tzeentch attacked Luke and drained Darth Vader for his Abyssal power, but Lan interrupted and fought the newly empowered god. Horus defeated Lorgar in the Warp and held a lightsaber to his throat, giving him one chance to persuade her.

• Tzeentch drained Darth Vader to absorb his Abyssal power and declared its intent to surpass Chaos.
• Lan struck Tzeentch, forcing it to release Vader, and the two gods began fighting.
• Lorgar used the Warp to attack Horus, but her lightsaber and Mind Cube protected her as she counterattacked.
• Horus brutally beat Lorgar until he was barely conscious, while the Luna Wolves wiped out the Word Bearers elites.
• Horus pressed her lightsaber to Lorgar's throat and offered him a chance to persuade her.

Horus captured Lorgar as the Imperium’s forces tried to escape the battlefield, but Cthulhu and a vast Abyssal horde cut off their retreat. The Primarchs fought to carve a path out while pollution and casualties mounted, leaving Perturabo alone to hold back Cthulhu and buy them time.

• Horus defeated Lorgar, restrained him, and ordered that he be taken to Queen Liang Bing instead of killed.
• After Luke warned that an Abyss invasion threatened the Imperium, Sanguinius ordered everyone to withdraw, but Cthulhu and its kin led a horde that blocked their route.
• Sanguinius, Horus, Lion, Corax, and Leman Russ fought to protect the retreat as Lion carried the gravely wounded Luke toward the battlefield’s edge.
• Abyssal pollution overwhelmed frontline warriors, who sacrificed themselves to destroy monsters and clear a path for their comrades.
• Perturabo attacked Cthulhu with electromagnetic force and held its attention despite his failing protective equipment, buying time for the others to escape.

Ghroth appeared over the battlefield, drawing the Abyssal forces’ attention and giving Horus a chance to rescue Perturabo. Luke warned that Ghroth’s Celestial Voice would awaken Abyssal native gods, and the chapter ended with Puni sensing their attention through the rift as he struggled to seal it.

• Luke sensed an eerie divine pressure approaching, and Lion’s group hurried to break through the encirclement.
• A giant eye surrounded by a ring of steel appeared in the sky, and the corrupted beings abandoned their attacks to turn against Ghroth.
• Horus rescued the nearly unconscious Perturabo while Sanguinius struck the distracted corrupted beings.
• Luke explained that Ghroth’s Celestial Voice awakened sleeping Abyssal native gods and that the Inquisition would likely eliminate everyone to contain the threat.
• Luke said the only way to halt the disaster was to seal the rift before Ghroth’s Voice awakened the native gods.
• Puni sensed Ghroth’s Voice passing through the rift and felt cold gazes turn toward the boundary as he continued trying to seal it.

Nyarlathotep descended onto the battlefield, froze time with his power, and then took Puni away. With Puni gone, the rift burst open again and Abyss-corrupted gods gathered before it, leaving the survivors facing what seemed to be the end of the world.

• Nyarlathotep emerged from the rift and halted time across the battlefield, tormenting everyone except Puni.
• Puni broke the colorless stillness and confronted Nyarlathotep, who said he had come to add variables to the feast.
• Nyarlathotep waved his hand and made Puni and the surrounding space vanish.
• Without Puni sustaining it, the rift shattered open and began expanding again.
• Abyss-corrupted gods appeared before the rift, plunging the survivors into despair.

Lan revealed his true C'tan form and fought off the Abyssal gods to protect Luke and the primarchs. As his injuries mounted, Tzeentch seized an opening and struck at the energy-dense core of Lan's back.

• Abyssal gods descended and attacked Ghroth to silence the Calamity Overture, while others turned on Lan and Luke.
• Tzeentch withdrew from the fighting and waited for Lan and the Abyssal gods to weaken each other.
• Lan transformed into his true C'tan form and used the authority of The Hunt to wound several Abyssal gods with a single arrow.
• The Abyssal gods targeted Luke, forcing Lan to block their attacks with his stellar body and accumulate wounds.
• Tzeentch emerged from concealment and stabbed at Lan's back, aiming for the core where his energy was concentrated.

Aha appeared as Tzeentch tried to strike Lan, disrupting Tzeentch and the Abyssal gods with bizarre conceptual creations. He helped Lan, the primarchs, and the wounded Luke escape toward the Great Rift, leaving their pursuers enraged and in pursuit.

• Aha appeared behind Tzeentch and caused a giant lollipop to grow from Tzeentch's chest, absorbing his energy.
• Aha comforted Lan, then inflicted absurd objects on the Abyssal gods, throwing them into chaos.
• Aha summoned a toy carriage, moved Lan, the primarchs, and the wounded Luke onto it, and urged Lan to flee.
• Lan pulled the carriage toward the Great Rift as Aha laughed at the confused pursuers.
• Tzeentch and the Abyssal gods realized they had been fooled and charged after Lan and Aha in fury.

The Doom Slayer absorbed Khorne’s power through repeated deaths and rebirths until he surpassed the Blood God and began overwhelming him. Before their battle could end, Aha and Lan burst into the Great Rift with a group of passengers, and Lan ordered the Seventh Fleet to activate “Genesis.”

• The Seventh Fleet weakened the Abyssal forces as Kesha and Mio eliminated their Great Old One leaders.
• The Doom Slayer repeatedly died and regenerated while absorbing Khorne’s slaughterous energy and Abyssal power, allowing Khorne’s sanity to begin returning.
• The Doom Slayer surpassed Khorne and attacked him with a sword formed from the authority of destruction, forcing the Blood God onto the defensive.
• Aha and Lan charged through the corrupted forces in an ornate carriage carrying a group of battered passengers.
• Lan contacted the Seventh Fleet’s flagship and ordered it to prepare to activate “Genesis.”

Lan brought the injured Luke and the primarchs out of the Great Rift to the Throne of the Heavenly Blade, where Kesha learned that the pursuers were approaching and ordered the fleet to buy time for Genesis to charge. Qlipoth and the other members of the Arbitration Mechanism arrived to confront the Abyss gods and Tzeentch.

• Luke explained that Genesis could deconstruct information and annihilate laws, and that they needed it to eliminate their pursuers.
• Lan pulled the carriage out of the Great Rift and brought everyone to the platform of the Throne of the Heavenly Blade.
• Kesha and Mio returned, saw Lan's injuries and Luke's wounded chest, and Mio began healing Luke while Aha claimed credit for their rescue.
• The Abyss gods and Tzeentch emerged from the Great Rift, and Kesha ordered General MacArthur and the Seventh Fleet to use long-range fire while Genesis charged.
• Qlipoth appeared and struck at the emerging Abyss gods with his hammer.
• Nanook and Xipe arrived with IX, Tayzzyronth, and Mythus after the Arbitration Mechanism reassigned them to support the region.

The Hilling Empire’s C'tan and the Abyssal gods fought over the Great Rift as Luke warned that multiple supreme entities had arrived. After Doom Slayer stripped away the Abyss’s corruption and defeated Khorne, the Blood God began to consider surrendering to the Hilling Empire.

• Qlipoth tried to seal the Great Rift while Lan, Nanook, Xipe, Tayzzyronth, Mythus, and IX joined the battle against the Abyssal gods.
• Mio healed Luke, and Luke told Kesha that Nyarlathotep had taken Inquisitor Puni into the rift.
• Aha revealed that his intelligence concerned Yog-Sothoth, the Key of the Gate, prompting Kesha to suspect that more than two supreme entities had arrived.
• Luke explained to the Primarchs that Nyarlathotep and Yog-Sothoth were supreme gods capable of destroying a star system with a thought.
• Doom Slayer stripped the Abyssal corruption from Khorne, shattered his axe, and wounded him nearly to the point of splitting him in half.
• Khorne judged that he could neither return to the Warp nor defeat Doom Slayer, and began to consider surrendering to the Hilling Empire.

Shub-Niggurath entered Nurgle’s Garden, devoured Vashtorr, and overwhelmed Nurgle with her vision of life and endless reproduction. As Nurgle fell into worship, Isha escaped his garden.

• Nurgle prepared a Godblight ritual in his Plague Cauldron using the captured Vashtorr.
• A horde of Black Goats entered the garden and summoned Shub-Niggurath.
• Shub-Niggurath overpowered Nurgle’s will, retrieved Vashtorr from the cauldron, and devoured him.
• Nurgle became devoted to Shub-Niggurath and her concept of endless reproduction.
• Isha used Nurgle’s distraction to break free and flee into the Warp.

Hua Wei upgraded the system to Level 5, gained control over the Hilling Empire’s core forces, and awakened a limited ability to influence and travel through the Warhammer Universe. As he prepared to visit Terra, Yog-Sothoth noticed the Emperor in the Webway and decided to draw him into the Abyss.

• Hua Wei upgraded the system to Level 5 and received the Hilling Empire template, Hilling Apostles, Alaya, Bellavira, Ravens, Gaia, and their subordinate units.
• Hua Wei underwent a personal upgrade, briefly perceived himself as an administrator holding the universe, and gained the ability to travel among the stars.
• Hua Wei summoned Hilling Apostles and gave them memories that directed them toward a new Abyssal rift at the other end of the universe.
• On Terra, Kieran’s Super God Academy warriors and Szarekh’s Necron girls helped stabilize the Webway battle, with Szarekh warning them to keep the Cube’s power within safe limits.
• Yog-Sothoth observed the Emperor on the Golden Throne and resolved to draw him into the Abyss.

Roboute Guilliman joined the defense of the Webway as a devastating Abyssal assault overwhelmed the line and Yog-Sothoth froze time and flooded minds with maddening knowledge. The Emperor’s projection was corrupted by humanity’s faith and declared itself the God-Emperor.

• Roboute Guilliman entered the Webway, recognized the headless Ferrus Manus fighting with the Binding Legion, and confronted the scale of the Emperor’s sacrifice.
• A massive Abyssal assault threatened to break the defensive line, and Kieran found that an entity had anchored time so the Great Clock could not reverse the attack.
• The Emperor’s projection arrived from the Golden Throne and drove back the Abyssal creatures with its golden radiance.
• Yog-Sothoth manifested in the minds of those on the battlefield, froze time, and overwhelmed them with a flood of maddening knowledge.
• Kieran resisted the knowledge long enough to protect his unconscious Hilling companions and nearby warriors, while the Emperor’s projection was corrupted by the faith directed toward it.
• The Emperor’s remaining humanity was overcome, and the projection declared, “I am God,” before time began to flow again.

After Yog-Sothoth corrupted the Emperor and vanished, the uncontrolled God-Emperor began draining souls across the Imperium to restore His body and power. Kieran restrained Him with the Great Clock, and Liang Bing arrived with energy and a call for reinforcements, but the crisis remained unresolved.

• Yog-Sothoth's gaze departed, and the God-Emperor's black-gold projection began disintegrating nearby enemies and extracting souls from everyone in the Webway.
• The God-Emperor drained the souls of Emperor-worshippers across the Imperium, causing widespread collapse and chaos as their energy flowed into His body on Terra.
• Guilliman tried to reach the God-Emperor, while Kieran used the Great Clock to restrain Him and urged Guilliman to evacuate survivors.
• Liang Bing arrived with Slaanesh, learned from Kieran that Yog-Sothoth had corrupted the Emperor, and supplied Kieran with Apocalypse energy while summoning reinforcements.
• Kieran's restraint strengthened, and the God-Emperor turned His attention toward Slaanesh as she prepared to retreat.

Kieran's clock barrier failed, allowing the God-Emperor projection to pursue Slaanesh into the Imperial Palace, where Liang Bing, Guilliman, He Xi, the returned Primarchs, and Cawl's forces fought and destroyed it. The victory ended when the Emperor rose from the Golden Throne, restored and radiating an even more terrifying power.

• The God-Emperor projection shattered Kieran's barrier, leaving Kieran unconscious, then pursued Slaanesh out of the Webway while Liang Bing and Guilliman led the survivors to safety.
• The projection seized Slaanesh in the Throne Room, blocked Liang Bing's attack, and left the Adeptus Custodes kneeling and unable to fight.
• He Xi, Angron, Fulgrim, Yin Carlos, Mortarion, Belisarius Cawl, and their forces arrived, and Guilliman explained that the Emperor was extracting humanity's souls.
• Liang Bing rallied the Primarchs, and they joined her, He Xi, Guilliman, and Cawl's forces in a fierce assault that destroyed the God-Emperor projection.
• As the group reeled from the battle, a far greater pressure emerged from the Golden Throne, and the Emperor rose with restored flesh and overwhelming power.

The God-Emperor awakened in his true body and used his power to immobilize everyone while draining Slaanesh. The Grey Knights’ attempt to activate an ancient safeguard failed, and the Emperor took the golden mark, briefly recalling Malcador and the pact.

• The God-Emperor rose from the Golden Throne, freezing people across Terra and forcing the Primarchs, Imperial leaders, and Hilling Empire members to their knees or in place.
• The God-Emperor seized Slaanesh and began stripping the essence from her body.
• The Grey Knights and their Grand Master struggled toward the throne with an ancient parchment and golden mark meant to destroy the Emperor if he threatened humanity.
• The God-Emperor sensed the mark’s power and stopped the Grand Master just before he could fit it into the Golden Throne.
• He Xi, Liang Bing, and Slaanesh attacked while the Emperor’s attention shifted, but his furious blast defeated them and hurled the Grand Master away, sending the mark across the floor.
• The God-Emperor summoned the golden mark into his hand and recalled Malcador and the others discussing the pact.