Recaps

Abaddon confronted Kaebo after Kaebo accused Horus of betraying them, and Kaebo swore he had witnessed the Warmaster order the slaughter of Mortals. The chapter revealed Horus’s massacre aboard the Vengeful Spirit, leaving Abaddon faced with proof of his father’s actions.

• Abaddon accused Kaebo of lying about Horus and held his bloody Power Axe to Kaebo’s neck.
• Kaebo knelt, cut his neck against the blade, and swore he had seen Horus carry out the Butchery of the Mortals aboard the Fleet.
• Earlier, Horus addressed tens of thousands of Imperial remembrancers and announced that the Great Crusade was over and that he would wage war against the Emperor.
• Horus ordered the Sons of Horus Legion warriors to kill every Mortal, and they sealed the exits before opening fire.
• The Legion warriors slaughtered the crowd with Bolters and Chainswords while Horus watched without emotion.

Abaddon accepted that Horus and the Sons of Horus had betrayed the Imperium, and declared that he and his followers were the last Luna Wolves. He ordered his men to find the Word Bearers and flee the Vengeful Spirit, but the chapter left Henry under attack by Sons of Horus warriors.

• Abaddon accepted Kaebo’s account and recognized that Horus and the Sons of Horus had turned traitor.
• Abaddon called himself and his loyal followers the last Luna Wolves and ordered them to find the Word Bearers and leave the Vengeful Spirit.
• Kaebo warned Abaddon that Sons of Horus warriors had been sent to kill the unarmed Word Bearers, and Abaddon ordered his men to find them immediately.
• In the Legion lounge, Henry was approached by ten Sons of Horus warriors who announced their intent to exterminate the Word Bearers.
• The Sons of Horus warriors attacked Henry with Chainswords.

Henry joined Abaddon after killing ten Sons of Horus, then attacked the Sons of Horus force surrounding the Word Bearers. He struck from behind at Captain Hudson, killing two warriors beside him as the battle continued.

• Abaddon found Henry checking the bodies of ten dead Sons of Horus in the Word Bearers' quarters and convinced him that he was loyal.
• Henry gathered his belongings, took two Chainswords, and joined Abaddon and his group.
• Captain Comius led the unarmoured Word Bearers' last stand against more than two hundred Sons of Horus commanded by Hudson.
• Henry slipped through the advancing Sons of Horus and approached Hudson from behind.
• Henry swung his twin Chainswords and beheaded two warriors beside Hudson.

Horus learned that Abaddon and the others had escaped, ordered a Ringwraith to intercept them, and focused the Fleet on a swift assault against the Imperium before the Emperor learned of the rebellion. He rallied his forces to march on Terra and set the galaxy ablaze.

• Brutus told Horus that Abaddon and the others had escaped as the Fleet's purges spread across the star chart.
• Horus ordered a Ringwraith to intercept Abaddon and told Brutus to exploit the Emperor's ignorance by crushing the Imperium's military strength and advancing toward Terra.
• Horus surveyed the assembled Fleet and addressed the officers and crew, calling for a march on Terra and a war that would set the galaxy ablaze.
• Brutus and the gathered forces answered Horus with cheers of loyalty to the Warmaster and Lupercal.

Akton Cruz declared loyalty to Horus while secretly waiting for a chance to undermine him. After Abaddon’s veterans defeated Hudson’s forces aboard the Vengeful Spirit, Loken proposed teleporting to loyalist warships to escape.

• Akton Cruz declared the Metis loyal to the Warmaster while concealing his true allegiance.
• Henry killed Hudson, and Abaddon led the Luna Wolves veterans to defeat the leaderless Sons of Horus recruits.
• Abaddon learned from surviving Word Bearers that Horus had betrayed the Imperium and that the Vengeful Spirit was purging dissenters.
• Abaddon concluded that the group had to escape the Vengeful Spirit, but its hangars were too heavily guarded to seize a craft.
• Loken proposed teleporting aboard loyalist warships that were attempting to leave the Fleet, and Abaddon agreed to the plan despite Torgaddon’s warning.

Abaddon and Torgaddon planned to escape the Vengeful Spirit by teleporting to the Metis, whose commander Aakton was secretly loyal to the Emperor. After Aakton agreed to bring the ship within teleportation range, Abaddon led his men to the Teleportation Chamber, where a mysterious figure appeared behind them.

• Abaddon heard his men’s concerns about teleporting to an unknown warship and escaping pursuit, and Torgaddon proposed going to the Metis.
• Torgaddon told Abaddon that Company Captain Aakton was loyal to the Loyalist Faction despite appearing to support Horus, and Abaddon agreed to contact him.
• Aakton answered Abaddon’s call, confirmed his loyalty to the Emperor and the Luna Wolves, and agreed to move the Metis within the Vengeful Spirit’s short-range teleportation limit.
• Abaddon led his men toward the Teleportation Chamber after ending the call with Aakton.
• A black-robed figure wearing a strange Helmet entered the chamber, sniffed the bloodstains, and looked toward the direction Abaddon and his men had fled.

Abaddon, Loken, Torgaddon, Henry, and the escapees reached the Teleportation Chamber aboard the Vengeful Spirit and prepared to teleport away. As they waited for Aakton to get into position, a Ringwraith advanced through the corridor, unaffected by Bolter fire.

• Abaddon killed Sons of Horus warriors as he and the escapees followed Torgaddon through the Vengeful Spirit’s lower decks.
• The group reached the Teleportation Chamber, where Abaddon and Henry silently killed the guards and Loken checked the teleportation system.
• Loken confirmed the system could transport all 280 escapees at once, and Abaddon reported that Aakton would be in position in ten minutes.
• Henry sensed the Warp approaching, and a Ringwraith appeared in the corridor with a blazing Black Sword.
• The Word Bearers fired repeatedly, but the Ringwraith either cut the Bolts apart or let them pass through its mist-like body as it advanced toward Abaddon and the Teleportation Chamber.

The Word Bearers and Luna Wolves sacrificed themselves to slow the Ringwraith’s advance toward the Teleportation Chamber, while their weapons proved useless against it. With one minute remaining and Abaddon preparing to hold it back, Henry stepped forward and told the others to teleport without him.

• The Word Bearers sergeant sealed himself and ten warriors behind an isolation gate, and they fired on the approaching Ringwraith to buy time.
• The Ringwraith cut through the Word Bearers, pierced the gate with its Black Sword, and advanced toward the Teleportation Chamber.
• A Luna Wolves veteran sealed himself and his warriors behind another gate, where they fought the Ringwraith and died holding it back.
• Over several engagements, a hundred Space Marines sacrificed themselves to delay the Ringwraith, leaving only one minute for the others to escape.
• Abaddon told Loken to take command if he died and prepared to confront the Ringwraith, but Henry stepped forward and ordered Abaddon and the others to teleport.

Henry confronted the Ringwraith and resisted its attempt to find fear in his heart. With Abaddon counting down the teleportation, Henry kept the creature at bay and escaped into the portal just before it closed.

• The Ringwraith probed Henry’s mind for fear but found only calm resolve.
• Henry attacked with both Chainswords, and the Ringwraith recoiled from the strange power clinging to them.
• As Abaddon counted down, Henry relentlessly pressed the Ringwraith back from the Teleportation Chamber.
• Henry hurled both Chainswords at the Ringwraith, then raced through the portal before it closed.
• The Ringwraith reached for Henry too late and roared in fury as the teleportation light vanished.

Abaddon and the survivors escaped the Vengeful Spirit aboard the Metis as Horus began his advance across the Imperium. With Lorgar reportedly wounded on Prospero, Abaddon decided to take the survivors to Colchis to find him.

• Abaddon reached the Metis with fewer than 150 survivors, and Aakton ordered an emergency warp jump as the Vengeful Spirit prepared to fire.
• The Metis escaped the Vengeful Spirit's cannon by jumping into the warp, while Horus dismissed the possibility of pursuing Abaddon and ordered his fleet to advance.
• Abaddon asked Aakton who knew of Horus's rebellion and proposed seeking help from Lorgar, whom he believed could rally other Legions.
• Aakton reported that Lorgar had been badly wounded in an attack on Prospero, and Abaddon chose Colchis as their destination.

Abaddon rallied the exhausted survivors by affirming their loyalty to the Emperor and humanity, then named them the Black Legion. The warriors embraced their new identity and renewed their resolve to fight Horus.

• Loken and the other survivors rested in the Lounge, grieving their dead comrades and uncertain who could still be trusted.
• Abaddon told the fewer than 150 survivors that they were heading to Colchis.
• Abaddon declared that Horus had betrayed them, while they remained loyal to the Emperor and humanity.
• Abaddon urged the survivors to unite and make Horus pay, reviving their morale.
• Abaddon named them the Black Legion, and the warriors accepted their new identity.

After the battle of Prospero, Lorgar was prepared for evacuation to Colchis while Angron and Curze prepared to lead their Legions to separate fronts. Curze departed to prepare for revenge, and Leman Russ readied his Fleet to leave with Curze’s warning on his mind.

• Curze arranged for Hercules, Seras, Khârn, and two thousand veterans to escort the injured Lorgar to Colchis while Evans organized the remaining troops’ defenses on Prospero.
• Curze said goodbye to Angron and asked Lotara to keep him from acting recklessly before Angron departed with his Legion.
• Curze told Angron he was going to prepare for revenge, then boarded a transport ship bound for the Fleet in orbit.
• Surviving Thousand Sons surrendered and were taken by the Adeptus Custodes and the Sisters of Silence to be transported to Terra for the Emperor’s judgment.
• Magnus vanished with his Pyramid, followers, and part of the city, while Leman Russ prepared to return to his front after Curze warned him not to trust other Legions too much.

Perturabo began his assault on Olympia, determined to capture Dammekos alive and rescue his sister without wasting his sons’ lives. Dammekos secured help from the Ringwraith Unasis and resolved to defend his power even if Olympia was destroyed.

• Perturabo ordered the Iron Warriors to destroy Olympia’s outer defenses, breach the Fortress Complex, and storm the central stronghold while keeping Dammekos alive.
• Perturabo recalled weaknesses in the fortresses he had designed and planned to use them to reduce his warriors’ losses.
• Dammekos asked the Ringwraith Unasis for promised reinforcements, and Unasis reminded him that he would have to honor their bargain.
• Dammekos watched the Iron Warriors bombard Olympia’s defenses and vowed to stop Perturabo from entering the Palace, whatever the cost.

The Iron Warriors Legion’s bombardment breached Olympia’s defenses, and Frix directed a massive assault on a fortress with support from Titans and Aurelian-pattern tanks. The tanks’ Railguns tore through the fortress’s outer walls as the ground forces began their attack.

• The Iron Warriors Legion destroyed the defenses around a central fortress after a prolonged artillery barrage.
• Frix the "Siegebreaker" coordinated the landing force of Space Marines, Imperialis Militia, siege engines, and armored vehicles.
• The Inferno battle group’s Titans covered the Aurelian battle group as its tanks took aim at the fortress.
• Twenty Aurelian-pattern Main Battle Tanks fired their Railguns at a calculated weak point in the fortress wall.
• The Railgun barrage melted through the fortress’s outer defenses and killed or injured soldiers inside.
• The Iron Warriors Legion’s ground forces began their assault.

The Iron Warriors launched an assault on the enemy fortress while the Titan Legion drew the defenders’ fire. Heimdall led his warriors through a corridor, broke the rebel defense with a flanking attack, and advanced toward the Anti-Aircraft Position.

• The Titan Legion drew enemy fire as Iron Warriors forces advanced under its cover and Frix sent five thousand Space Marines into the fortress.
• The 46th and 53rd Grand Battalions drove armored vehicles into the fortress, while squads secured assigned sectors.
• Heimdall led a force of Legion warriors toward the Anti-Aircraft Position, cautiously preparing for the rebels’ close-range weapons.
• When hundreds of rebels and automated weapons opened fire, Heimdall took cover and sent a five-man squad through maintenance passages to attack from behind.
• The flanking squad disrupted the rebels, allowing Heimdall’s force to destroy the automated weapons and rout the defense line.
• Heimdall ordered his warriors onward toward the Anti-Aircraft Position.

Heimdall’s Iron Warriors captured the Anti-Aircraft Position and disabled its defenses. Word Bearers captain Dexter arrived at the newly taken fortress, where he stood with Heimdall as they looked toward the rebel strongholds in Olympia’s mountains.

• Heimdall ordered his warriors to breach the wall with Melta Bombs and storm the Anti-Aircraft Position.
• The Iron Warriors killed the rebel gunners and fleeing soldiers, then Heimdall confirmed that the position’s radar, missile launchers, and anti-aircraft guns were disabled.
• Frix acknowledged Heimdall’s report that the Anti-Aircraft Position had been captured.
• Fifty Stormbirds carried Dexter and two hundred Word Bearers warriors from the Iron Blood to the captured fortress on Olympia.
• Dexter joined Heimdall, who looked across the mountains and condemned the rebels as Iron Warriors cleared the battlefield and raised their banner.

As Perturabo’s forces closed in, Dammekos accepted Unasis’s offer and was transformed into a monstrous being of the Warp. After the Iron Warriors captured another fortress, Company Captain Dexter detected a sulfurous odor that the others could not smell, leaving him uneasy.

• Dammekos demanded that Unasis send the reinforcements it had promised, but Unasis told him to wait.
• Unasis offered Dammekos power in exchange for his soul and flesh, and Dammekos accepted.
• Unasis transformed Dammekos through the Black Ring, and the newly empowered Dammekos drained two guards into shriveled corpses.
• Company Captain Dexter noticed a sulfur-like smell at a captured fortress, but the nearby Iron Warriors detected only blood, gunpowder, and earth.
• Dexter searched the fortress and found no source for the odor, yet the sulfurous smell lingered and left him uneasy.

Perturabo led the Iron Warriors to Dammekos’s last fortress on Olympia and offered to negotiate for Calliphone’s release. When Dammekos demanded he enter alone, Perturabo went into the fortress by himself, leaving his Legion outside ready to attack.

• Perturabo ordered the Iron Warriors still in orbit to deploy to Olympia and led the assembled force toward Dammekos’s final fortress.
• Perturabo called on Dammekos to release Calliphone, offering to negotiate in exchange.
• Dammekos challenged Perturabo to enter the fortress alone and meet him as family.
• Frix and the Iron Warriors officers urged Perturabo not to accept, but he refused their pleas.
• Perturabo entered the fortress alone as the Iron Warriors waited outside, prepared to launch an assault.

Perturabo entered a shifting Labyrinth designed by Unasis to draw him to his side and was overwhelmed by visions of his life and the burdens that trapped him. A vision of himself killing Calliphone jolted him awake before he could lose himself in the illusions.

• Perturabo entered a silent fortress and smashed the controls of a massive blast door.
• Perturabo passed through the door and discovered that the passage behind him had vanished, trapping him in a Labyrinth that constantly changed shape.
• Perturabo realized the Labyrinth had been created for him by Unasis, and visions of his past and burdens assailed him.
• Perturabo saw Calliphone beckoning to him and followed her apparition through the Labyrinth.
• Perturabo saw himself holding Calliphone’s crushed body in a rain-soaked city and snapped awake, realizing the vision had saved him from Dammekos’s trap.

Unasis failed to trap Perturabo in an illusion after Lorgar’s power intervened, then prepared a more direct attack. Following Lorgar’s golden thread through the Labyrinth, Perturabo resisted its illusions and reached a hall where a gigantic chained Minotaur slept.

• Unasis recognized Lorgar’s power as the force that had shattered its illusion and decided to destroy Perturabo directly.
• Perturabo mapped the Labyrinth in his mind and concluded that supernatural forces had made its impossible spaces.
• Perturabo found a golden thread bearing Lorgar’s power and chose to follow it toward the Labyrinth’s core.
• Perturabo endured illusions about his Legion, Calliphone, the Emperor, and his lonely future, while accepting his weaknesses and growing more resilient.
• Perturabo reached a vast hall and prepared to fight an enormous sleeping Minotaur bound by chains.

Perturabo killed the chained minotaur as a symbolic act of defeating his angry, tormented past self. At the Labyrinth’s exit, he found Rogal Dorn barely alive and bound above an abyss.

• Perturabo approached the sleeping minotaur and recognized its rage and suffering as reflections of his own past.
• Perturabo battered the minotaur until it was near death, then declared goodbye to his past self and killed it with a final blow.
• Perturabo left the minotaur’s corpse and walked toward the Labyrinth’s opening exit.
• Perturabo found Rogal Dorn suspended over an abyss in chains, gravely wounded and barely clinging to life.

Unasis used an illusion of Rogal Dorn to tempt Perturabo into killing Calliphone, but Perturabo chose to save the brother he believed was Dorn. The illusion broke, leaving Perturabo holding his long-lost Sister and Unasis furious that its trap had failed.

• Unasis disguised Calliphone as Rogal Dorn and urged Perturabo to kill him by exploiting Perturabo’s jealousy.
• Calliphone called Perturabo by his childhood nickname and reminded him of the boy who had loved art and building machines.
• Perturabo rejected the temptation to kill Dorn and hauled him away from the cliff.
• The illusion shattered, revealing that Perturabo had saved Calliphone, and he was left speechless at seeing her again.
• Unasis roared in frustration after Perturabo overcame its trap.

Perturabo defeated Unasis, the Warp being inhabiting Dammekos, and left the fortress with Calliphone. Outside, he saw that Jaghatai and Fulgrim’s fleets had arrived in orbit, leaving Olympia’s future hopeful.

• Unasis revealed itself as a Warp creature inside Dammekos’s body and attacked Perturabo.
• Perturabo struck Unasis with his warhammer, then pinned it against a wall and battered it until it could no longer resist.
• Perturabo took Calliphone’s hand and dragged the incapacitated Unasis out of the fortress, telling Calliphone that Olympia’s hopeful tomorrow had arrived.
• Calliphone said she wanted to stay by Perturabo’s side, and he promised he would be there for her.
• Perturabo stepped into the sunlight and saw thousands of warships in orbit, recognizing that Jaghatai and Fulgrim had arrived.

Perturabo told Jaghatai and Fulgrim that he had defeated the Rebel Forces on Olympia, while Fulgrim ordered ten thousand Loyalist Emperor’s Children sent to the planet to die. Akurduana secured permission to keep Lucius, Saul Tarvitz, and Chelast, and Fulgrim told Jaghatai that he was finally free.

• Perturabo reported that he had dealt with the Rebel Forces and stood on Olympia with Calliphone and Unasis.
• Fulgrim ordered ten thousand Loyalist Emperor’s Children warriors sent down to Olympia’s surface.
• Akurduana asked Fulgrim to spare Lucius, Saul Tarvitz, and Chelast, and Fulgrim agreed to let him try to persuade them to join.
• Fulgrim assigned Eidolon to coordinate the landing operations for the other warriors.
• Fulgrim told Jaghatai that his Legion had fewer than a thousand Loyalists, including the Word Bearers, and declared that he was finally free.

Tarvitz discovered that Fulgrim had ordered Olympia bombarded, including the loyal forces on the surface, and hurried with Lucius and Chelast to warn Perturabo. He recognized Akurduana blocking their way before they could reach the surface.

• Chelast noticed the White Scars fleet forming an attack line aimed at Olympia as the Pride of the Emperor entered low orbit.
• Tarvitz learned that Fulgrim had ordered the ships to bombard the planet, including the Iron Warriors and Emperor's Children on the ground.
• Tarvitz told Lucius and Chelast that Fulgrim intended to purge those who would not follow him, and they decided to warn Perturabo.
• Tarvitz spotted a virus bomb being moved aboard the ship and realized the bombardment could use it.
• As Tarvitz, Lucius, and Chelast hurried off to reach the surface, Akurduana blocked their way.