Chapter Summaries

Luke steadied himself after sensing Vader and vowed to face his father himself, while Vader became obsessed with claiming Luke’s light. On Macragge’s Honour, He Xi confronted Liang Bing over her unauthorized arrival and forbidden research.

• Luke reassured Sanguinius, Horus, and the Adeptus Custodes that he would confront Vader himself as a Jedi Saint and servant of the Hilling Empire.
• On a ruined mining world, Vader sensed Luke’s light and declared that he would claim it and unite it with his darkness.
• He Xi arrived on Macragge’s Honour and told Liang Bing that Kesha had sent her to look after her.
• Liang Bing accused He Xi of surveilling her, while He Xi pointed to Liang Bing’s presence, intercepted mission briefing, and research as reasons for concern.
• Obi-Wan explained to Guilliman that He Xi was a commander and leading scientist who had come to persuade Liang Bing to stop her forbidden research.

Pandora ended the confrontation between Liang Bing and He Xi, while Guilliman learned that Terra had restored the Blood Angels and Luna Wolves Legions after Horus’s innocence was revealed. The Chaos Gods sensed the resurrected Sanguinius and restored Horus on Terra and turned their attention toward them.

• Pandora drew He Xi away from her tense standoff with Liang Bing by inviting her to see Mortarion, and Liang Bing left for her collection room.
• A transmission from the Privy Council told Guilliman that the Blood Angels and Luna Wolves Legion establishments and designations would be restored, with Lupercal as the Luna Wolves’ Legion Master.
• Obi-Wan contacted Luke, who explained that Horus had been corrupted and controlled by the Warp gods, and that the Emperor and Sanguinius had acknowledged his sacrifice.
• Guilliman accepted the Emperor’s decision to restore both Legions and resolved to support Terra’s decree.
• The four Chaos Gods sensed Sanguinius’s resurrection and Horus’s return on Terra, then focused their attention on the two Primarchs.

Doom fought off Khorne’s daemons aboard Storm's Claw, then rejected Khorne’s blessing and provoked the Chaos God’s direct attack. The chapter ended as Khorne’s colossal hand descended toward Doom, who prepared to face it.

• Storm's Claw was struck by an unknown entity in the Bloodgrind Corridor, and Captain Sukh ordered the crew to prepare for boarding.
• Doom charged through the breach and brutally slaughtered the Khorne Bloodletters and Flesh Hounds, while Batu and his squad followed.
• Doom blasted a massive Khorne knight and its mount into dust with an Annihilation Round.
• Khorne sent a torrent of blood and skulls as a blessing, but Doom attacked it and dispersed much of its power.
• Khorne responded by manifesting a colossal hand and reaching down to seize Doom, who clenched his fist and stood ready to fight.

Doom survived the collision with Khorne’s projection but was left badly wounded as eight Bloodthirsters descended to capture him. After he wounded one and briefly recovered strength by killing a daemon, the Bloodthirsters overwhelmed him and prepared to take him as a trophy.

• Doom struck Khorne’s giant hand with a blow of Destruction, destroying the projection and nearby daemons while surviving the blast.
• Khorne ordered eight Bloodthirsters to bring Doom to him, and the first attacked the weakened warrior.
• Batu and the remaining White Scars charged to distract the Bloodthirster, but Batu was badly wounded and the novices were killed.
• Doom blinded the attacking Bloodthirster with a plasma shot, then was overwhelmed by the others’ combined assault.
• Doom struck a Bloodthirster’s abdominal joint and wounded it, briefly restoring some of his strength.
• The seven remaining Bloodthirsters battered Doom until his limbs and armor were ruined, and their leader reached down to claim him for Khorne.

Doom broke free of his shattered armor’s restraints, devoured two Greater Daemons, and hunted down the fleeing survivors. After Storm’s Claw’s support force reached the crater, Doom repaired his armor, suppressed the unleashed Destruction, and walked away.

• Doom awakened beneath his broken armor, killed a Greater Daemon by devouring its essence, and grew stronger as the other six attacked him.
• Doom endured the Greater Daemons’ assault, devoured a second one, and drove the remaining five to flee in terror.
• Doom pursued the fleeing Greater Daemons and shot down three of them as the survivors scattered.
• Storm’s Claw’s support force reached the crater and found Doom standing among the destruction while their wounded comrades received aid.
• Doom gathered the fragments of his armor and reassembled them, suppressing his destructive aura before leaving the crater.

The Emperor blocked Khorne from pursuing the green figure who had devoured the Greater Daemon. On a T'au frontier world, Darth Vader seized control of a Fire Caste warrior and ordered him to take Vader to a T'au ship.

• Khorne prepared to descend after the green figure, but the Emperor's will blocked his sight and prevented him from acting.
• A T'au patrol discovered a damaged Chaos pirate ship and sent a Fire Caste reconnaissance squad aboard to investigate.
• The squad found the ship's crew brutally killed and discovered Darth Vader sitting in the captain's lounge.
• Vader used the Force to control a young Fire Caste warrior and ordered him to take Vader to Holy Terra.
• When the deputy fired at Vader, Vader killed the Fire Caste squad and then ordered the surviving puppet to take him to their ship.

Darth Vader seized control of the T'au forces at the Ashes outpost, then slaughtered a delegation that tried to recruit him into the Greater Good. The surviving T'au fleet fled Koala and reported that it had faced an unstoppable catastrophe.

• The T'au commander sent Thunderclap fighters to intercept Vader's transport, but Vader destroyed the attack craft with red energy beams.
• T'au ground forces reached the Ashes outpost, where Vader emerged, deflected their pulse fire, killed several warriors, and dominated the survivors with the Force.
• The T'au fleet's commanders rejected orbital bombardment and sent a Water Caste diplomat to negotiate with Vader on behalf of the Greater Good.
• Vader reacted to the diplomat's talk of harmony by crushing an escort craft in orbit and killing the delegation's honor guards and diplomat.
• The Ethereal Glory captain ordered the fleet to retreat at maximum speed and report the encounter to the High Council.

Darth Vader guided the mind-controlled cruiser Bastion toward T'au as the T'au Empire prepared for his arrival. Meanwhile, the Dark Angels repelled a panicked Tyranid assault on The Rock, where the Hilling Empire arrived and began a wary first contact with Azrael.

• The T'au High Council learned that Vader had seized Koala's forces and ordered the empire to prepare its defenses while continuing peace overtures.
• Vader continued toward T'au aboard the Bastion, intending to control the Ethereals and use the T'au as a weapon against the Imperium and Luke.
• Azrael ordered the Dark Angels to defend The Rock against a disorganized Tyranid swarm, and his forces killed the Tyrant and cleared the hangar.
• The Hilling Empire's fleet destroyed the remaining Tyranid bio-ships outside The Rock.
• Azrael sealed the monastery's inner doors and received Hilling landing craft with an armed Spartan squad, while the sleeping Lion El'Jonson stirred faintly.

Azrael asked Valkyrie Glory whether the Hilling Empire could revive Lion El'Jonson, and she explained that it required a fragment bearing his life and soul imprint. A deep scan then revealed a powerful life signal hidden inside The Rock, where the Dark Angels discovered their sleeping Primarch and learned he could be awakened.

• John introduced himself to Azrael and said the Spartans had come to eliminate the Tyranid threat, while Azrael said The Rock was secure.
• Azrael asked Glory whether the Hilling Empire could revive the Lion, and Glory said it required a fragment carrying his life essence and soul.
• The Hilling flagship detected a powerful life signal concealed in The Rock's core, and Glory confirmed that something unusual lay behind a supposedly empty Adamantium door.
• Azrael led Glory and the Inner Circle through the fortress's sealed gates to the ancient door, which Glory opened after detecting interference hiding what lay inside.
• Azrael and the Inner Circle found Lion El'Jonson asleep in the chamber, and Glory said his life signs were normal and they only needed to wake him.

Azrael, Ezekiel, and Joan of Arc entered Lion El'Jonson's mental world to awaken him, finding him lost and confused in a twisted forest. The chapter left Lion stepping into a dark lake toward a mysterious old fisherman, while Azrael failed to stop him.

• Azrael asked Glory for help reaching Lion's mind, and she proposed a risky Mind Empathic Link.
• Joan of Arc agreed to protect the group, and Azrael, Ezekiel, and Joan entered the link with Hilling equipment.
• The three found an aged, confused Lion wandering through a twisted forest, unable to hear them.
• Lion reached a black lake where four monstrous shadows lurked beneath the water and an old man silently fished from a boat.
• Lion asked who he was and where he was, then put on his helmet and walked into the lake toward the old man.
• Azrael shouted for Lion to stop, but Lion could not hear him and had already entered the icy water.

Lion El'Jonson was dragged into the Warp's abyss by Chaos, and the Emperor rescued him at great cost before the Four Gods launched a full assault. Joan of Arc's distress signal summoned allied forces, while the corrupted heroes in The Rock faced imminent danger.

• Lion El'Jonson discovered that the old fisherman was a projection of the Emperor, anchoring himself against the Warp's malice, as Chaos tentacles seized Lion and assaulted Azrael, Ezekiel, and Joan of Arc.
• The Emperor plunged his arm into the blood sea, seized Lion, and hurled him back to shore, but his divine outburst enraged the Four Gods.
• The Four Gods unleashed a plague cloud, a rune-bound net, a tide of fallen phantoms, and a colossal scarlet axe against the group, prompting Joan of Arc's Crystal Cross to send an emergency distress signal.
• The Apocalypse vanished to answer the call, while Guilliman learned from Obi-Wan that it had gone to aid allied forces.
• Luke, Horus, and Sanguinius departed aboard the Serenity to provide support, as the distress signal reached them on Holy Terra.
• In The Rock, Glory and the Dark Angels saw corruption spreading through Joan of Arc, Azrael, Ezekiel, and the Primarch, with their souls at risk within minutes.

Liang Bing, He Xi, Pandora, Luke, and other reinforcements entered the mental battlefield to protect Joan of Arc and the Primarchs from the four evil gods. They fought the gods’ projections while Lion regained consciousness and recognized Sanguinius and Horus, leaving the battle in a precarious stalemate.

• Liang Bing and He Xi arrived in the Sanctum, and Glory told them Joan of Arc and the others were in danger in the mental world.
• Luke, Sanguinius, and Horus arrived, and Luke used the Force to draw the reinforcements and Dark Angels into the mental battlefield.
• Lion regained consciousness, recognized Sanguinius and Horus, and reunited with Azrael and Ezekiel as Joan of Arc’s barrier briefly stabilized.
• Pandora attacked Khorne’s projection and blasted a massive gap in its axe, while Luke tore apart Tzeentch’s runic web.
• Liang Bing traded recruitment attempts with Slaanesh, and He Xi resisted Nurgle’s offer of a plague-filled embrace.
• The four gods’ projections settled into a fractured stalemate against the reinforcements as Sanguinius, Horus, Glory, Joan of Arc, and the Dark Angels protected Lion.

Hua Wei used a projection device to descend on the psychic battlefield, freeze the Chaos Gods, and reassure the Emperor that he would come to Terra once his true body awakened. After the gods and the Emperor withdrew, Lion El'Jonson and the others returned to a forest, where the newly awakened Lion prepared to learn what had happened during his absence.

• Hua Wei spent 3,000,000 Emotion Points to summon a ten-second Emperor-class projection and sent it to the psychic battlefield.
• Hua Wei's projection stopped time, suppressed the four Chaos Gods, and freed the Emperor from his inhuman divine state.
• Hua Wei promised the Emperor he would travel to Terra after his true body awakened, then told Pandora not to break the battlefield.
• The Chaos Gods withdrew, and the Emperor told Lion to assist Guilliman and protect the Imperium before vanishing.
• The psychic battlefield collapsed, returning Lion El'Jonson and the others to a forest.
• Lion El'Jonson resolved to learn about the past ten thousand years, the Imperium's condition, and what had happened to his two brothers who had become sisters.

Lion El'Jonson learned about the Imperium's decline and discussed the Valkyries' mind-link with Sanguinius and Horus. The group found a camp of human survivors, where a Dark Angels Space Marine shot at Lion and was captured, leaving his identity and motives unknown.

• Azrael and Ezekiel told Lion about the Imperium's condition over the past ten thousand years, and Lion condemned Guilliman's actions while Horus silently bore guilt for the Heresy.
• He Xi explained that Sanguinius and Horus shared a resonance with Glory and Joan of Arc through their Mind Cubes, and Sanguinius proposed that Lion use a similar link between them.
• Lion angrily refused to undergo a transformation for the sake of communication.
• Azrael spotted a human camp, where a black-armored Dark Angels Space Marine fired at Lion and then fled into the corrupted forest.
• Luke stopped the bolts, and Lion caught and pinned the fleeing warrior, demanding his name as the other Dark Angels surrounded them.

Lion El'Jonson learned from Zabriel that his own mistaken order during Caliban's destruction had killed loyal sons, prompting him to apologize and acknowledge his guilt. He then ordered the Dark Angels to seek out surviving loyal Fallen Angels and welcome them back, while Zabriel accepted his hand but remained wary.

• Lion recognized Zabriel and questioned Azrael about why the veteran was considered one of the Fallen Angels.
• Zabriel accused Lion of ordering loyal warriors killed during the destruction of Caliban, and Lion recalled the decision and realized he had made a grave mistake.
• Horus mocked the Dark Angels over their past, but Sanguinius urged them not to blame themselves and pointed to Chaos's role in the tragedy.
• Lion apologized to Zabriel and the other loyal warriors killed on Caliban, and Zabriel clasped his hand and let Lion help him up.
• Lion ordered Azrael and Ezekiel to find surviving loyal Fallen Angels, convey his apology, and invite them back to The Rock.

Lion El'Jonson, Sanguinius, Horus, and the Dark Angels stormed Crescent Fortress to avenge the Vermilion Crescent Chapter and slaughtered the Thousand Eyes Warband. After Joan of Arc annihilated a group of attackers with a summoned cannon, Lion reached the Chaos Lord and demanded to know the warband's purpose.

• Zaporiel showed Sanguinius and the others Crescent Fortress, where the Thousand Eyes Warband had slaughtered the Vermilion Crescent Chapter.
• Lion El'Jonson, Sanguinius, Horus, and the Dark Angels charged into the fortress and devastated the Thousand Eyes Warband.
• Horus taunted Lion that he had grown slow and offered him a new body, prompting Lion to charge faster into the fight.
• Joan of Arc summoned a cannon and vaporized several Chaos warriors and cultists who tried to escape past Luke's group.
• The Chaos Lord and a Chaos sorcerer watched the assault in terror before Lion tore open their command-room door and demanded to know their purpose.

Lion El'Jonson killed the Chaos leaders at Crescent Fortress, and Sanguinius calmed the captured Vermilion Crescent warriors while He Xi adjusted their gene-seed to contain the Red Thirst. The Primarchs and Dark Angels launched a campaign to reclaim Camas, and the awakened warriors pledged themselves to Sanguinius.

• Lion El'Jonson killed the Chaos Sorcerer and Chaos Lord after learning they had sought Blood Angels blood to uncover the secret of the Red Thirst.
• Sanguinius calmed the frenzied Vermilion Crescent warriors, and He Xi began fine-tuning their gene-seed to make the curse less dangerous.
• Lion El'Jonson ordered Azrael to lead the reclamation of Camas from Crescent Fortress, and the Primarchs and Dark Angels broke the Chaos forces across the planet.
• The Vermilion Crescent warriors awoke with their bloodthirst partly restrained and recognized Sanguinius as their Primarch, kneeling before her as the Mother of the Gene.
• Sanguinius raised the warriors and urged them to defend Camas, and they vowed to fight for the Emperor and Sanguinius.

After Camas was liberated, Sanguinius assigned the Crimson Crescent warriors to defend the world while Zabriel set out to find and reconcile with scattered Fallen Angels. Pandora destroyed a Chaos cruiser, and the group returned to The Rock, where Guilliman kept his fleet on alert after the fortress refused them entry.

• Sanguinius ordered the Crimson Crescent warriors to restore Camas and spread word of her, while Dante took command of Legion affairs during her absence.
• Zabriel declined to rejoin the Dark Angels and persuaded Lion to let him search alone for loyal scattered brothers.
• Pandora vaporized a Chaos cruiser sent by the Thousand Eyes Warband to investigate Crescent Fortress.
• Luke teleported the group from Camas to The Rock as Guilliman's fleet and the Hilling Empire's Forerunner Fleet waited in orbit.
• Guilliman ordered his ships to charge their weapons and target The Rock's defenses, then kept them on alert after Obi-Wan explained the fortress's lockdown.

Guilliman entered the Rock and discovered that Lion El'Jonson had awakened, alongside Sanguinius, Horus, and their allies. After a tense argument over command and old grievances, Luke mediated an arrangement that divided responsibilities among the Primarchs.

• Guilliman docked at the Rock and confronted the newly awakened Lion, then followed him into the fortress's central hall.
• Guilliman found Sanguinius, Horus, and the Dark Angels' leaders gathered with allies from the Hilling Empire, while Obi-Wan and Luke privately reacted to the Primarchs' reunion.
• Sanguinius proposed that Guilliman remain on Terra and hand the Indomitus Crusade to Lion, prompting a heated dispute over the Dark Angels, the Codex, and Horus's rebellion.
• Horus accused Guilliman, Lion, and Sanguinius of keeping secrets from him, and the four Primarchs exchanged accusations until Sanguinius intervened.
• Luke and Obi-Wan proposed separate duties for the Primarchs, and Guilliman agreed to transfer the Crusade's command to Lion while Sanguinius chose to stay with Horus rather than return to Baal.

Obi-Wan proposed that the Hilling Empire provide the Imperium with uncertified but controllable technological assistance, and the representatives approved the plan. The Primarchs then recognized Mars as the chief obstacle, so Guilliman resolved to bring Cawl and open-minded Magi there to persuade the Adeptus Mechanicus.

• Obi-Wan proposed sharing non-core Hilling technology with the Imperium, and Luke, Liang Bing, and He Xi agreed to assist.
• Liang Bing persuaded He Xi to treat the Space Marines as live test subjects, while Pandora agreed without hearing the proposal and continued dismantling a Dark Angels relief.
• Guilliman, Lion, Sanguinius, and Horus welcomed the assistance and divided their responsibilities, with Guilliman expressing gratitude to Obi-Wan.
• The four Primarchs realized the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars might reject foreign technology as heresy.
• Guilliman decided to travel to Mars with Cawl and Magi familiar with Hilling technology to persuade the Mechanicus to accept the innovations.