Recaps

Aekrion tried to kill Lin En by directing his Enchanted Warriors around Fabian, but Fabian’s strength and Lin En’s support kept the Chaplain safe. As the daemons failed to break through, Aekrion began questioning whether the False Emperor was protecting them and remembered the destruction of Monarchia.

• Aekrion recognized that Lin En’s golden aura was healing Fabian and decided to target the Chaplain.
• Aekrion destroyed the daemon heart in his staff and ordered the Enchanted Warriors to attack Lin En from around Fabian.
• Fabian held the daemons back while Lin En used Purification and strengthened and healed him.
• The Enchanted Warriors grew afraid as Fabian survived their attacks and the Dark Apostle’s powers failed against a golden shield.
• Aekrion began doubting his faith and recalled kneeling among the ruins of Monarchia as the Emperor’s forces burned the city and the Book of Holy Words.

Lin En and the Third Company Captain endured a day of battle against the Dark Apostle’s forces while Lin En struggled to use his stored psychic power. Lin En received a standard card draw and gained the Dimensional Slash trait, leaving him with a powerful new attack skill.

• The Dark Apostle recognized the Emperor’s light and questioned whether the Emperor truly hated humanity, but remained bound to Chaos and continued praising Lorgar.
• Lin En and the Third Company Captain fought for a full day, with the Captain protecting Lin En while killing at least twenty Enchanted Warriors.
• Lin En absorbed vast amounts of psychic energy but failed to release it, unaware that he lacked the Psychic Circuit needed to use it normally.
• The system notified Lin En that his standard card draw was due, and he confirmed that enough time had passed since his previous draw.
• Lin En drew the purple trait Dimensional Slash, which let him create a spatial rift that could cut anything in half.

Lin En equipped Dimensional Slash and unleashed its spatial lightning on the Word Bearers. The attack cut the Dark Apostle and his daemon heart into pieces, leaving the battle's outcome for the surviving fighters unresolved.

• Lin En decided to replace Thirty Days with Dimensional Slash while keeping Healing Aura active.
• Lin En told Fabian to focus on defense, then renewed his enhancements and Holy Light enchantment.
• Lin En equipped Dimensional Slash and advanced toward the Word Bearers as the Dark Apostle raised his strongest Psychic Barrier.
• Lin En unleashed a vast web of lightning that tore through space and everything caught in its path.
• The attack split the Dark Apostle, his staff, and his daemon heart, and he recalled a prayer about thunder and divine judgment before losing consciousness.

Lin En destroyed the Dark Apostle and his daemon warriors with a single Dimensional Slash, but the battle exposed him and the Third Company Captain to the Warp. As they searched for shelter, they found a Chaos battleship and sensed a powerful presence watching them.

• Lin En’s Dimensional Slash obliterated the Word Bearers daemon warriors and killed the Dark Apostle, while the Third Company Captain survived under the Golden Aura of Group Healing.
• Lin En and the Third Company Captain returned to the open Warp after the Dark Apostle’s Soul Altar dissipated, and the system warned Lin En to run.
• Lin En realized their holy energy and psychic power had made them conspicuous, so he dragged the trusting Third Company Captain through the Warp in search of cover.
• Lin En and the Third Company Captain spotted a huge cruiser, but recognized it as a Chaos battleship bearing corrupted runes and a daemon-faced prow.
• Lin En felt the unseen presence watching them grow closer and called out in desperation for Yellow Pelt to save them.

Lin En and Third Company Captain Fabian fled a Chaos battleship and the pursuing Cripple through a mysterious black hole. They emerged safely on Macragge in front of Hera Fortress, where Lin En suspected Yellow Pelt had intervened.

• Lin En saw Cripple approaching through the Warp and considered taking control of the Chaos battleship to escape.
• A black hole opened in front of Lin En and Fabian, swallowing them before Lin En could activate Machine Spirit Resonance.
• Lin En and Fabian were hurled through a violent darkness, with strange sounds suggesting the Black King was fighting Cripple.
• The two emerged into daylight and crashed onto the flagstones in front of Hera Fortress on Macragge.
• Lin En recognized that they had escaped the Warp and laughed, concluding that Yellow Pelt had panicked and helped them.

Lin En and Fabian emerged from the Warp in the plaza outside Hera Fortress on Macragge, alive and apparently uncorrupted. Calgar ordered them brought into the fortress for protection and arranged to report Lin En’s condition to the Regent.

• Fabian helped Lin En to his feet, and they confirmed that Hera Fortress and their surroundings were real and that they had returned to Macragge.
• The fortress guards recognized Fabian and Lin En, reported their return, and gathered around them while awaiting loyalty checks.
• Fabian contacted Calgar and reported their battle against a Word Bearers Dark Apostle, their escape through a spatial rift, and Lin En’s healthy condition.
• Calgar ordered Fabian and Lin En taken to the Temple of Correction under heavy protection and prepared to inform the Regent.

Lin En and the Third Company Captain were escorted into the Temple of Correction for examination after returning from the Warp. Lin En was treated with trust and care while the Techmarines began removing the Captain’s ruined armor.

• Calgar ordered the First Company Terminators to escort Lin En and the Third Company Captain through the heavily guarded passage to the Temple of Correction.
• Lin En noticed that the Inquisition was absent and inferred that the Regent had barred it from the temple.
• Librarians, Techmarines, and Apothecaries examined Lin En and the Third Company Captain and helped them remove their armor.
• Techmarines began cutting apart the Third Company Captain’s shattered Power Armor while an Apothecary gave Lin En water.

After Calgar arrived, Lin En received a direct call from Guilliman, who told him the Emperor had summoned him to Terra. Lin En accepted the order to leave immediately, uneasy about the unusual route he would take into the Palace.

• Calgar arrived while the Techmarines finished removing the Third Company Captain's damaged armor, and he found Lin En recovering nearby.
• Calgar handed Lin En an encrypted communicator, and Lin En activated it to speak with Guilliman on Terra.
• Guilliman told Lin En that the Emperor had clearly expressed a wish to see him.
• Lin En asked when he should leave, and Guilliman ordered him to depart for Terra immediately with Calgar arranging a direct ship.
• Guilliman said Lin En would enter the Palace by a route other than the usual pilgrimage path, then ended the call before Lin En could ask questions.

Guilliman summoned Lin En to Terra at the Emperor’s request, forcing him to leave Macragge immediately. Lin En departed aboard Macragge’s Honour, while the Ultramarines watched him go and wondered whether he would return.

• Guilliman summoned Lin En to Terra on the Emperor’s behalf and ordered him to depart at once.
• Calgar had Terminators remove Fabian from the way, then escorted Lin En out of the Temple of Correction.
• Lin En said goodbye to Fabian and left Macragge with Calgar, escorted by First Company Terminators.
• Lin En boarded a waiting Stormbird with Calgar and looked back at Macragge as they climbed into orbit.
• The Stormbird reached the orbital starport, where Lin En and Calgar prepared to board Macragge’s Honour for the journey to Terra.

Lin En boarded Macragge's Honour with Calgar and toured the colossal flagship, meeting Captain Inigo and learning about the ship's crew, defenses, and command systems. The three-week voyage began with Lin En aboard a warship equipped to withstand threats from Chaos.

• Lin En and Calgar arrived aboard Macragge's Honour in a Stormbird and rode its enormous elevator to the bridge.
• Calgar introduced Lin En to Captain Inigo, who explained that the voyage would last three weeks and offered him access to shipboard facilities and records.
• Calgar led Lin En to meet officers and showed him the ship's redundant command centers and extensive military and support forces.
• Lin En learned that Macragge's Honour had powerful defenses, including blackstone equipment, multiple Void Shields, and three Geller Field systems.

Calgar settled Lin En into luxurious quarters aboard the Macragge's Honour and explained how the room's security would keep the Inquisition from approaching him unnoticed. After resting and showering, Lin En discovered that the ship's vent responded to him and played with its airflow.

• Calgar led Lin En to quarters beside his own in a heavily guarded section of the ship.
• Calgar recalled his frantic search for Lin En and Fabian after the Warp Rift swallowed them, and his relief when they returned.
• Calgar left Lin En to rest and told him he could knock on the neighboring door if he needed anything.
• Lin En removed his damaged Chaplain armor, showered, and received dinner and clean crew uniforms.
• The Macragge's Honour opened a vent to dry Lin En's hair, and Lin En patted the floor to make the airflow intensify.

Lin En apologized to the Machine Spirit of Macragge's Honour after teasing it, then attempted to awaken the ship's intelligence with Machine Spirit Resonance. The skill suddenly drained a large portion of his psychic energy, leaving him unsure what was happening.

• Lin En joked that the Machine Spirit had watched him shower, and it blasted him with wind from every ventilation outlet.
• Lin En apologized repeatedly, and the Machine Spirit calmed down and helped smooth his hair.
• Lin En considered the Machine Spirit's loyalty and history, including its resistance to Chaos and defense of Macragge's Honour.
• Lin En activated Machine Spirit Resonance on Macragge's Honour to try to awaken its intelligence.
• Lin En felt the skill rapidly drain a considerable portion of his psychic energy and wondered why it had a cost.

Lin En awakened the Machine Spirit of Macragge's Honour, whose psychic projection took the form of a blue-haired girl influenced by his thoughts. She excitedly explored her new ability to speak and move, then checked Lin En's records and accepted him as a good person because he was a Guardian of Macragge.

• Lin En watched the Machine Spirit take the form of a blue-haired, twin-tailed girl, and the system explained that his thoughts had influenced her appearance.
• The Machine Spirit tested her new body, spoke to Lin En, and complained about the Tech-Priests who had misunderstood her warnings about a cracked engine-compartment bulkhead.
• The Machine Spirit told Lin En how Guilliman had refused to give her a loudspeaker and projector, despite her requests to communicate with people beyond the Tech-Priests.
• The Machine Spirit wondered why Lin En had only just come aboard and asked who he was.
• Lin En said he was a newly appointed priest, and the Machine Spirit checked his records and welcomed him as a Guardian of Macragge.

Lin En showed the Machine Spirit of Macragge’s Honour photographs of Macragge, comforting her with proof that the planet’s landmarks had survived the Tyranid invasion. After thanking him and telling him about the ship’s ecological domes, she lingered as if she still wanted to say something.

• The Machine Spirit repeatedly asked Lin En how Macragge and its people were faring.
• Lin En showed her photographs of Hera Fortress, Laphnis Valley, the Crown Mountains, Hera Falls, and Macragge’s sky.
• The Machine Spirit was comforted by the images and thanked Lin En for helping protect Macragge.
• The Machine Spirit recommended places for Lin En to visit aboard the ship, including its forest dome and planting area.
• After their conversation ended, the Machine Spirit stayed behind hesitantly, seeming to want to say more.

Lin En sustained the Machine Spirit of Macragge's Honour with Machine Spirit Resonance, and the ship ran unusually smoothly until a black hole appeared in its path and swallowed it. As the crew prepared for impact, Lin En suspected the Emperor had arranged another abrupt journey to Terra.

• Lin En promised the Machine Spirit of Macragge's Honour that he would keep Machine Spirit Resonance active while he remained aboard, and Calgar accepted that her temporary human form could move around the ship in secret.
• The Machine Spirit made Macragge's Honour run smoothly, allowing it to enter the Warp without the usual turbulence.
• A black hole suddenly appeared ahead of Macragge's Honour, and the crew armed the vessel as it plunged into the darkness.
• Lin En took cover beside Calgar in the command room and suspected the black hole was another instance of the Emperor's interference.

After a black hole hurled the Macragge's Honour back into realspace, the ship’s crew found it undamaged and discovered they had arrived in the Solar Sector. Calgar questioned how they had crossed the distance so quickly, and Lin En confirmed he had made the same journey the day before.

• The Macragge's Honour emerged from the black hole, and its Techmarines restored the overloaded inertial compensation systems.
• The Navigators confirmed that the ship was in ordinary space, while Calgar ordered the Machine Spirit to scan their location and departments to report damage.
• The damage reports showed no serious casualties or ship damage, and the Machine Spirit identified their location as the Solar Sector.
• Calgar reviewed star scans matching the Sun, Epsilon Eridani, and Alpha Centauri, confirming that the ship had reached the outskirts of the Solar System.
• Lin En told Calgar that he and the Third Company Captain had returned to Hera Fortress the same way the previous day.

Macragge's Honour waited outside the Solar Sector for Terra to verify the ship and arrange an escort for Lin En. After receiving rapid authorization, Calgar set course for the frontier spaceport and decided to escort Lin En personally, while the Eternal Eye sent an unusually courteous welcome.

• Calgar ordered Macragge's Honour to notify Terra of its arrival and remain outside the Solar Sector at combat readiness.
• Terra quickly authorized the ship's arrival and directed it to meet the Eternal Eye at a nearby frontier spaceport.
• The Solar Fleet contacted Macragge's Honour and requested that it proceed to the spaceport for the personnel transfer.
• Calgar told Lin En that he would personally escort him before the Regent, then ordered the ship toward the spaceport.
• Lin En received a message from the Eternal Eye welcoming him and the personnel aboard Macragge's Honour.

Calgar brought Lin En and the Ultramarines Honor Guard to a border starport to transfer to the Solar Fleet’s Eternal Eye for their journey to Terra. As they prepared to leave the elevator, Lin En noticed Calgar tilt his head in surprise.

• Calgar contacted the Solar Fleet, confirmed the docking arrangements, and ordered the Macragge's Honour to stand down from combat readiness.
• Calgar assembled the ten-member Honor Guard and prepared to escort Lin En to the starport.
• The Macragge's Honour docked beside the Eternal Eye, and the crew confirmed that the connecting passage was secure.
• Calgar led Lin En and the Honor Guard toward the docking hatch to board the Eternal Eye.
• Lin En saw Calgar tilt his head as they stepped out of the elevator.

Lin En said goodbye to Macragge's Honour's Machine Spirit and left the battleship with Calgar. They boarded the Solar Fleet's Eternal Eye, whose captain warmly welcomed them and claimed to have long admired Lin En.

• The Machine Spirit asked Lin En to stay, but he told her he did not know whether he would return and promised to visit if he came to Macragge again.
• The Machine Spirit encouraged Lin En to keep fighting for the Imperium, then he rejoined Calgar and the Honor Guard.
• Lin En and Calgar disembarked from Macragge's Honour, whose lights blazed in farewell as its Machine Spirit's projection disappeared.
• Solar Fleet reception personnel escorted the group aboard the Eternal Eye, where its captain greeted Calgar with elaborate courtesy.
• The Eternal Eye's captain enthusiastically greeted Lin En and said he had long admired him, leaving Lin En bewildered.

Lin En and Calgar entered the Eternal Eye after Calgar outmaneuvered the captain’s attempts to separate them. As the fleet traveled toward Earth, Lin En saw the Solar System again, but his wonder faltered when he reached the third planet.

• Calgar exchanged pleasantries with the captain of the Eternal Eye until the captain finally led them to the VIP room.
• Calgar kept the captain from speaking to Lin En alone, then warned Lin En that the Inquisition might be trying to isolate him on Terra.
• Calgar told Lin En to stay by his side and not follow anyone without him, and Lin En agreed.
• Lin En and Calgar watched the Solar Fleet ships leave the starport and travel inward through the Solar System.
• Lin En recognized the Sun and the planets, but his feeling of returning home vanished when he counted to Earth.

Lin En saw that Terra had become a lifeless gray world and learned how humanity had exhausted its water and resources. He reflected on the Emperor’s efforts to rebuild humanity from Terra’s ruin, leaving him with a new understanding of the burden the Emperor had carried.

• Lin En recognized that the gray planet outside the porthole was Terra, not the blue-green Earth he remembered.
• Calgar stayed beside Lin En as he silently took in the dead state of humanity’s homeworld.
• Lin En recalled how war, industrialization, pollution, and overpopulation had depleted Terra’s water until humanity relied on imported space ice.
• Lin En considered how the Emperor had inherited a ruined Terra, rebuilt humanity, and nearly restored its former strength before the Horus Heresy.
• Lin En concluded that the Emperor had endured the Golden Throne for ten thousand years rather than abandon humanity or become a god.

Lin En arrived in lunar orbit and faced the Adeptus Custodes’ inspection before entering Terra’s poisonous atmosphere. When the Emperor’s golden eye appeared from Lin En’s chest, the Custodians and everyone present knelt, leaving Lin En standing beneath the weight of the moment.

• The Solar Fleet reached lunar orbit, where Lin En spotted the Adeptus Custodes’ golden fleet and eagerly admired it.
• Lin En and Calgar disembarked from the Eternal Eye, and Lin En put on a gas mask against Terra’s foul air.
• The Adeptus Custodes leader verified Lin En’s credentials and asked for a summons psychic credential from the Emperor’s Astronomican.
• Golden light emerged from Lin En’s chest and formed an eye-shaped pattern in the air.
• The Adeptus Custodes, Sisters of Silence, warriors, and civilians knelt before the eye, while Lin En remained standing and felt the weight upon him.

Lin En was officially cleared as a Living Saint and traveled with Calgar and their escorts to Terra. He arrived at the Terra Palace after seeing the immense Hive Cities covering the planet.

• The system told Lin En that Yellow Pelt had only granted him a token of power and confirmed that he was a Living Saint.
• The Adeptus Custodes cleared Lin En and allowed Calgar and his ten Honor Guard attendants to enter Terra with him.
• The group boarded an Adeptus Custodes Orion Assault Transport and descended through Terra’s polluted atmosphere.
• Lin En saw Terra’s endless Hive Cities and learned that the planet held hundreds of trillions of people.
• The Orion landed at the Terra Palace, and Lin En stepped onto Terra’s gold-paved ground.

Lin En and Calgar traveled to the Terra Palace, where the Adeptus Custodes guided them through a high-speed secret passage to the Eternal Gate. Lin En and the Honor Guard marveled at the immense gateway separating the outer palace from the Emperor’s Sanctuary.

• Lin En reflected on Terra’s unpleasant air and the vast expense of the Auric Holy Road as he traveled toward the palace with Calgar.
• Lin En saw the enormous Terra Palace, and learned that Calgar could not enter the inner palace or meet the Emperor.
• The Adeptus Custodes led Lin En and Calgar through an underground transport passage to bypass the crowded Lion’s Gate and reach the Eternal Gate.
• Lin En and the Honor Guard stared in awe at the Eternal Gate, its Custodian guards, and the two Warlord Titans until Calgar’s cough brought them back to their senses.

Lin En made a pilgrimage to the Eternal Gate before Guilliman escorted him into the Emperor’s Sanctuary. They reached the Silver Gate outside the Throne Room, where the Emperor’s Golden Throne lay beyond.

• Lin En touched the marble before the Eternal Gate and reflected on Sanguinius’s sacrifice, while Calgar recalled Guilliman’s grief at returning to the gate.
• The Custodes stopped Lin En and his companions at the boundary of the Emperor’s Sanctuary until Guilliman emerged and ordered the guards to let them pass.
• Calgar remained behind as Guilliman and Lin En continued through the guarded inner halls and isolation gates.
• Guilliman and Lin En reached the Silver Gate, watched by two Contemptor-Galatus Dreadnoughts and inscribed with the words “Protect, Rebuild, Renew.”