Chapter Summaries

The Underking’s rise and fall played out as a cosmic drama watched by hidden Xenos, while the gods’ attempt to seal his fate failed. As the audience beneath the stage prepared to enter the unscripted story, they wondered who would pray in the Underking’s name.

• The narration described how ancient Xenos watched the Underking emerge as a new variable in humanity’s fate and waited for him to answer their reach.
• A masked soloist mocked fate and prophecies before an Eldar gathering descended into arguments, violence, and bloodshed.
• The gods forged an arrow to strike the Underking, but a devoted believer sacrificed himself, and the Underking’s fate remained unsealed as the audience laughed and applauded.
• The Underking fell into silence while the audience celebrated, then watched the Fool and the cracked, silver-haired perfect one challenge fate and the Imperium.
• The audience realized there was no script because the Fool never followed one, climbed onto the stage, and asked who would pray in the Underking’s name.

Corax awoke bound by Eldar, who revealed they planned to use Fulgrim’s ascension ritual and the Master of the Silent Sisterhood to strike at Slaanesh. Corax agreed to cooperate with the troupe, but insisted on seeing whether his brother could still be saved.

• Corax awoke restrained by Eldar and overheard their plan to use The Beneficent One against Slaanesh during Fulgrim’s ascension.
• The troupe leader told Corax that Fulgrim had fallen and was preparing to become the Dark Prince’s favored child aboard the Emperor’s Pride.
• Corax realized the Eldar intended to use Fulgrim and the Master of the Silent Sisterhood as bait in their scheme.
• Corax offered to cooperate with the Eldar, asking to see Fulgrim in the hope that his brother could still be saved.

Eidolon and Lucius prepared to celebrate Fulgrim's coronation after the primarch rescued the Emperor's Children from the Warp and established a territory of their own. Corax watched corrupted images of the Emperor's Pride, while Lorgar saw a battered, silver-haired primarch arrive at the place where Ferrus had died.

• Eidolon and Lucius oversaw preparations for Fulgrim's coronation and recalled how Fulgrim had awakened, driven back the daemon tide, and restored many infected warriors.
• Fulgrim led the Emperor's Children out of the Warp, secured the submission of prosperous worlds, and accepted Horus's invitation to Cadia.
• The Emperor's Children gathered with their new subjects to celebrate Fulgrim's coronation.
• Corax watched reconnaissance images showing the corrupted Emperor's Pride and its Slaaneshi crew.
• Lorgar noticed a battered, silver-haired primarch emerge from the daemon tide and head toward the place where Ferrus had died.

Corax learned how the Eldar planned to summon The Fool during their assault on the Emperor's Pride, then realized their repeated attempts might have already alerted their target. As the attack began, Corax prepared to escape while Fulgrim welcomed the invaders and continued preparing for his coronation.

• Corax questioned the Eldar about the human followers praying to The Fool, and learned they were survivors of worlds consumed by Slaanesh who had been told faith could save them.
• The Eldar explained that summoning The Fool required a soul and its name, and that a primarch's soul would be especially attractive to it.
• The Eldar assault began, and Corax memorized the summoning word while resolving to seize a ship and flee if Fulgrim could not be saved.
• Corax asked whether the Eldar's operation had succeeded before, then warned that their target might know of their hatred after facing similar attempts many times.
• The assault craft crashed into the Emperor's Pride, and Corax's resolve to escape strengthened.
• Fulgrim learned of the enemy attack, ordered Lucius to let the invaders in, and continued having his servants prepare him for his coronation.

The Harlequins attacked the coronation gathering aboard the Emperor's Pride, while Corax sensed the Underking's influence and slipped away. Horn led the surviving Harlequins toward Fulgrim's ceremony, where he confronted the primarch as a ravenous Monstrous Creature approached.

• The Harlequins slaughtered the nobles and daemons in the hall, then rushed into the corridor to attack the Emperor's Children guards.
• Corax listened to the terrified bait pray to the Underking, sensed a looming presence, and vanished from the group.
• A Harlequin reported Corax's location to Horn, who ordered them to leave the primarch alone and continued fighting the Emperor's Children.
• Horn recognized that the Emperor's Pride was close to sinking into Slaanesh's palace and led his companions toward the sealed ceremony doors.
• Horn opened the doors, shouted "Traitor!" at Fulgrim, and saw the primarch on the high platform as a Monstrous Creature approached behind him.

Fulgrim bargained with Slaanesh for an eternally pure will and a place near the River of the Underworld, trading away the perfect part of his body. Slaanesh accepted and sent his perfect body to find someone beloved who was beside the River.

• Fulgrim endured imprisonment and torture in Slaanesh’s domain while sensing the River of the Underworld in the Warp.
• Fulgrim realized he could use the River’s presence to escape Slaanesh’s grasp and called for a deal.
• Fulgrim demanded that his will remain pure and that his soul be placed near the River, offering the perfect part of his body in exchange.
• Slaanesh accepted the bargain, and Her power began to weaken as the River devoured part of it.
• Slaanesh separated Fulgrim’s perfect body from his mangled remains and sent it to find the one Fulgrim loved.

La led an assault on Fulgrim aboard the Emperor's Pride, but Fulgrim revealed himself as Slaanesh and killed him after thanking him for the offering. Slaanesh then sensed the beast enter the Sixth Circle, where it awaited its arrival with fearful excitement.

• Fulgrim ordered Lucius, Eidolon, and the Emperor's Children to leave the theater as La approached him.
• Fulgrim seized a crown, compelled the audience to applaud, and began drawing the Emperor's Pride into Slaanesh's domain.
• La summoned Psychic Power and attacked Fulgrim with his scythe, declaring that the Underking had come.
• Fulgrim stabbed La, thanked him for his gift, tore out his heart, and swallowed it as black-and-white fissures spread through the theater.
• Slaanesh waited in the Sixth Circle, sensed the beast at its gates, and invited it to come closer.

Slaanesh’s Sixth Circle began to be consumed by the River of the Underworld, which erased the riches and demons of the Circle of Greed before continuing onward. The Silent King devoured the banquet and reached the empty Pleasure Rings, where Slaanesh faced the end point of their journey and welcomed one last moment alone together.

• Anchored by the Emperor's Pride in the High Heavens, the River of the Underworld began devouring Slaanesh’s realm and melting the doors of the Sixth Circle.
• The Youngest Lady watched as the River swallowed the treasures and demons of the Circle of Greed, while the demons piled atop one another before the Gate of Gluttony.
• Slaanesh shed His jewels and flesh, devoured His own hand, and called out for the Underking as the Silent King crossed the Circle of Gluttony.
• The Silent King swept away the banquet and continued onward, prompting Slaanesh to open the door to the Pleasure Rings.
• Slaanesh found the Pleasure Rings empty and, in a form resembling Fulgrim, declared that they had reached their end point before welcoming their remaining private time together.

Slaanesh used the Eldar’s faith and the Underking to purge Her own dissonance, weakening Herself while becoming purer and escaping the balance the other Gods had planned. The chapter ended with Hades recovering from the experience in the Null Field as the Emperor and Malcador tried to comfort him.

• The Emperor and the other Gods watched Slaanesh’s fate shift as the Eldar’s faith joined the power flowing to the Underking.
• Slaanesh used the Underworld Domain to remove Her dissonance, dancing with the Underking and growing weaker but purer with each step.
• Slaanesh declared that only She could use the Underking this way and continued Her dance despite the risk of death.
• Hades collapsed and vomited in the restroom while the Emperor and Malcador stood by.
• Hades recalled that Slaanesh had used multiple figures with Fulgrim’s face, then dry-heaved again and regretted being called The Beneficent One.

The Emperor and the other Chaos gods watched as Slaanesh’s plan to shed parts of her domain became a perilous gamble, but she abandoned restraint to savor the River Styx’s threat of annihilation. Slaanesh lost the first three rings of her palace and fell asleep in bliss, leaving the remaining gods furious and the palace still sinking.

• The Emperor recalled Hades’s warning that suffering and the world’s cruel surprises never ended as he watched Slaanesh use the Null Field.
• The Emperor and the other gods realized Slaanesh might change her plan mid-transformation and risk destroying herself and much of the High Heavens for a greater thrill.
• The Emperor entered the fray, while his finger bone twitched against Hades’s neck on Cadia and blood spilled from his mouth.
• Slaanesh teased the River Styx and enjoyed the anger of the other gods as it swallowed her palace and exposed the High Heavens beyond its walls.
• Slaanesh sacrificed more of her power to prolong the thrill, let the first three rings of her palace sink into the River Styx, and fell asleep after shedding less than half her divine domain.
• Tzeentch, Khorne, and Nurgle roared for Slaanesh as the River Styx continued to advance.

Malcador sensed the Emperor's power and ordered Mortarion to gather luxurious objects for a ritual to help the Emperor, who was running out of time. On Cadia, Lorgar found the broken Fulgrim and told him the God-Emperor needed him as a projection near Slaanesh, prompting Fulgrim to try to kill himself rather than face Slaanesh again.

• Malcador felt the Emperor's power and asked Mortarion for a room and luxurious objects to guide a ritual.
• Mortarion spread mist through the Indomitable and sent Death Guard to gather what Malcador needed.
• Fulgrim awoke amid the ruins of Cadia and realized the part of himself surrendered to Slaanesh had ceased to exist.
• Lorgar arrived with the Blessed Sons and told Fulgrim that the God-Emperor needed him.
• Fulgrim threatened to fight Lorgar if she had come to dishonor Ferrus, but Lorgar explained that the Underking needed a projection near Slaanesh.
• Fulgrim panicked at the thought that Slaanesh was still watching him and slashed at his own throat.

Fulgrim learned that Slaanesh had chosen him as bait and that the Emperor needed him to wield the authority seized from Slaanesh. Fulgrim agreed to give himself up and find Malcador, while the Emperor resolved to keep him despite the cost.

• Fulgrim tried to take the sword from Lorgar, and Fulgrim's golden flames restored Lorgar's severed head.
• Lorgar told Fulgrim that Slaanesh had chosen him as bait to keep the Underking away from the Palace of Slaanesh.
• Lorgar explained that the Emperor had seized part of Slaanesh's authority over the River Styx, which Fulgrim could wield because the Emperor could not.
• Fulgrim, terrified but clinging to his loyalty, accepted the Emperor's demand to offer up the last of himself and find Malcador.
• The Emperor saw that Fulgrim had not surrendered his loyalty to Slaanesh and decided to keep him, leaving Malcador to bear the cost.

Malcador completed a costly ritual to take some of Slaanesh’s power and told Mortarion the Emperor had sent the remaining power to Cadia. Corax rescued loyalist Emperor’s Children in Slaanesh’s palace before the Emperor sent him and the survivors to the Second Divine Kingdom as reinforcements.

• Malcador’s ritual ended with him collapsing, and he dismissed the Death Guard after they had supplied unsuitable offerings.
• Malcador told Mortarion he had taken Authority and other unformed concepts, while the Emperor had sent the remaining power to Cadia.
• Malcador asked whether Mortarion would accept a necessary sacrifice, then summoned him as Cadia approached.
• Corax freed tortured Emperor’s Children in Slaanesh’s palace and led the survivors through the chaos as the Underking’s presence emerged.
• The Emperor commanded Corax to find the Second Divine Kingdom, and Corax and the surviving Emperor’s Children awoke aboard a ship headed toward the Dark Side of the Imperium.

Malcador explained the plan to restore The Deceased and warned Mortarion that the rescue would cost him his life and leave the war raging. Mortarion agreed to hold the Vengeful Spirit while Malcador sought power from Alpha and then went to Cadia, and learned that Trazyn could help save The Deceased.

• Malcador told Mortarion that The Deceased’s return would be centered on the Vengeful Spirit while Malcador went to Cadia to lift the seal on his shell.
• Malcador ordered Mortarion to remain aboard the Vengeful Spirit with the Khan and stall Horus, the Four Gods, and The Deceased until Guilliman and the reinforcements arrived.
• Malcador said he would seek Alpha on the Vengeful Spirit to gain greater power, while Lorgar would help Mortarion hold the ship and later assist with evacuating The Deceased.
• Malcador warned that he expected to die while removing the seal and told Mortarion to act patiently and adapt after The Deceased was rescued.
• Mortarion asked who could help save The Deceased, and Malcador named Trazyn, identifying him as a xenos.

Khan met Malcador and Mortarion at Cadia to discuss their operation, while Trazyn was drawn into a private negotiation with Mortarion. Trazyn agreed to protect Hades and received thirteen little Death Guards as compensation, leaving Mortarion to entrust his friend to the Necron.

• Khan arrived at the meeting with Trazyn and heard Malcador explain the operation.
• Mortarion recognized Trazyn as the Silent Sisterhood's acting steward and asked him to discuss the Sisterhood privately.
• Mortarion asked Trazyn to protect Hades and take him away from the galaxy until he could control himself.
• Trazyn agreed to help Hades and demanded thirteen little Death Guards in return.
• Mortarion apologized, handed over the thirteen little Death Guards, and asked Trazyn to treat Hades kindly.

Malcador and Trazyn discussed Mortarion’s potential, the Warp’s expansion, and Trazyn’s reasons for intervening in the conflict. They agreed to make a pact, while Trazyn considered helping Corax obtain some of Nurgle’s authority.

• After the meeting, Malcador asked Mortarion what terms the hazy figure had agreed to, and learned it would receive a portion of his Psychic Power.
• Trazyn joined Malcador in the private lounge, where they discussed Mortarion’s potential and the growing power of the Warp’s Four Gods.
• Trazyn said he wanted to prevent another tragedy and explained that his intervention was his own business, not his race’s.
• Malcador offered to send Trazyn the Mona Lisa, but then suggested they simply be friends, and Trazyn warned him that friendship was a poor choice given the prophecy.
• Malcador invoked a pact for The Deceased’s sake and the little Death Guards’ sake, while Trazyn considered helping Corax obtain a portion of Nurgle’s authority.

Fulgrim and Lorgar traveled toward the Vengeful Spirit in a brief alliance with the Sons of Horus, while Corax reached Cadia and learned that Sanguinius’s forces were in dire straits. The chapter ended with Sanguinius saying his faith now rested in himself.

• Fulgrim asked Lorgar to kill him after his task was complete, and Lorgar said Malcador could do it.
• The Sons of Horus arrived, and Lorgar and Fulgrim accepted a brief alliance against Slaanesh.
• Ezekiel Abaddon welcomed the two primarchs aboard and defended the Sons of Horus’s choices to Lorgar.
• Sanguinius pulled Corax from the wreckage of a crashed gunship and learned that no reinforcements were coming from Cygnus.
• Sanguinius told Corax that the war had worsened, the Lion was injured, and his forces had taken to defending their position.
• Corax asked where Sanguinius’s faith lay, and Sanguinius answered that it lay in himself.

Malcador brought Fulgrim to a summoning ritual aboard the Vengeful Spirit and gave him a portion of Slaanesh’s power. After Fulgrim entered the hall with Omegon, Malcador faced Alpha, who attacked him in the name of the Blood God.

• Abaddon brought Fulgrim and Lorgar aboard the Vengeful Spirit, where Malcador arrived alone and ordered Fulgrim to accompany him.
• Malcador told Fulgrim they were preparing a summoning ritual and explained that they intended to divide Slaanesh’s power rather than let anyone consume it whole.
• Malcador took Fulgrim to a side room, where Fulgrim saw two Alphas and learned that the Emperor had once considered abandoning him but that he had proved his worth.
• Malcador showed Fulgrim his soul being consumed by violet fire, then transferred violet flames to Fulgrim and told him to enter the hall with Omegon.
• Malcador confronted Alpha, who charged at him and slammed him against a wall; Malcador challenged Alpha to fight.

Malcador fought the crimson Alpha Legionnaire, using psychic power and the room’s furnishings to outmaneuver him before turning the battle around with a phantom and a stolen blood sword. As Alpha burned, he challenged Malcador’s clarity and charged again before the thirteen seconds were up.

• Malcador dodged Alpha’s spear and swords, striking at him with his staff and using psychic power to bring down the chandelier and hurl furniture.
• Alpha threw a short sword that Malcador caught, but its bloody aura summoned snakes that bit and corrupted his arm.
• Malcador questioned when Alpha had betrayed the Imperium, and Alpha answered with riddles before attacking again.
• Alpha struck Malcador’s psychic phantom, which shattered into golden flames that engulfed him as the real Malcador appeared behind him holding the blood sword.
• Malcador warned Alpha that he had thirteen seconds, then let the now-dull sword fall as Alpha asked what separated them and accused Malcador of arrogance.
• Alpha grew larger amid red flames and charged Malcador in a frenzy before the thirteen seconds elapsed.

Fulgrim joined Omegon, Magnus, Alpha, and Malcador at a blood-inscribed altar while trying to understand the strange powers surrounding them. Magnus admitted she had betrayed both sides, and the chapter ended with Malcador and Alpha taking their places after emerging bloodied from a fight.

• Fulgrim followed Omegon to the altar and stood at its central, sacrifice-like position as half-scales appeared on his wrist.
• Fulgrim questioned Magnus, who said she had betrayed both sides and now pursued eternal truth as Magnus herself.
• Malcador and the blood-red Alpha emerged from the adjoining room injured and went to their respective altars.
• Magnus told Malcador she had chosen his favorite ink, and Malcador promised to thank her personally later.