Recaps

Mortarion received the Raven Guard envoy bearing Black Rings from Horus, but kept the gifts and imposed strict conditions on the Death Guard’s entry into the rebellion. After the envoy left to report to the Warmaster, Mortarion hoped Garro would reach Terra soon.

• A Raven Guard Legion Archon delivered three Black Rings to Mortarion as Horus’s supposed gift of friendship.
• Mortarion sensed psychic energy in the rings and put them away without distributing them, frustrating the Raven Guard’s plan to corrupt the Death Guard officers.
• When the Archon asked about Garro, Mortarion said that Garro had defected and escaped aboard the Eisenstein.
• Mortarion gave the Archon a parchment stating that the Death Guard would join the Traitor Faction but obey Mortarion alone.
• The Archon departed to relay Mortarion’s conditions to Horus, and Mortarion hoped Garro would reach Terra soon.

Guilliman confronted the Word Bearers’ sudden madness, the loss of contact with Ultramar, and the Rangdan remnants entrenched beneath a storm-wracked planet. Impatient to end the campaign and return home, he decided to lead a risky drop-pod assault himself.

• Ultramarines subdued thousands of frenzied Word Bearers aboard Macragge's Honour, and Guilliman ordered the apothecaries to investigate them for infection.
• Guilliman learned that contact with Ultramar had been lost while the Rangdan remnants occupied more than a dozen systems.
• Guilliman planned to attack the Rangdan through the planet's blue hurricanes using drop pods, despite Ventanus warning him of the danger.
• Guilliman announced that he would personally lead the landing, while Machares and Hill prepared for the assault.

Mobius, a Thousand Sons sorcerer from the 40th millennium, traveled back in time to steal Rangdan technology and help destroy Guilliman. He infiltrated Macragge's Honour and sacrificed its mortal crew to open a rift for Tzeentch's daemons.

• Mobius searched his Battle Barge's library while Ouroboros reminded him that they were nearing their destination.
• Mobius reviewed his tasks: stealing the technology of the Rangdan remnants and helping the Traitor Faction destroy Guilliman.
• Mobius studied Macragge's Honour, then teleported to its lowest decks.
• Mobius took control of the mortal crew and forcibly extracted their souls to open a rift.
• Tzeentch daemons poured through the rift.

Guilliman fought through the Rangdan Xenos during the blue hurricane, but psychic contamination from their blood overwhelmed his consciousness and forced his guards to form a defensive circle around him. On Macragge's Honour, Mobius prepared to exploit Guilliman's weakness, sent himself to the surface, and unleashed time-displaced Thousand Sons warriors.

• Guilliman and the Invincible Iron Guard cut through Rangdan Xenos as they advanced through the hurricane.
• After crushing a Xenos's skull, Guilliman was flooded with fragments of alien consciousness and began to lose focus in battle.
• Hill noticed Guilliman faltering, ordered the Primarch Guard to protect him, and led them in forming a shield ring around him.
• Mobius told Ouroboros he would go to the surface and exploit Guilliman's vulnerable consciousness while the Lord of Change's plan took effect.
• Mobius entered a blue fissure to descend to the surface as countless versions of a Thousand Sons warrior emerged from another fissure and were ordered to attack for the Lord of Change.

Chaos Daemons and Thousand Sons overwhelmed the Macragge's Honour, driving the Ultramarines back toward the bridge while their primarch remained unreachable. A roar from the Lower Deck preceded the appearance of the freed Word Bearers, who prepared to face the daemon horde.

• Chaos Daemons poured into the Macragge's Honour and devastated the mortal defenders with psychic attacks and shifting forms.
• The Ultramarines fought back through the ship but lost a hundred warriors and were pushed toward the bridge as contact with their primarch failed.
• The defenders heard a savage roar rise from the Lower Deck, startling the Ultramarines holding the last line.
• The daemon horde advanced through the lower corridors and encountered hundreds of freed Word Bearers in gray armor.
• The Word Bearers company captain raised his power hammer and cried, "Ma... Magnus!!!!!"

A Word Bearers Company Captain led over a thousand Word Bearers through a corridor, using prayers and a golden-flaming Power Hammer to destroy Tzeentch Daemons and Thousand Sons warriors. Wounded but unyielding, he brought his hammer down toward the rift where more daemons were emerging.

• The Word Bearers Company Captain recited holy words as the Word Bearers chanted with him, and his Power Hammer began to glow with golden light.
• He struck a Chaos Spawn with the hammer, burning it to ash, then unleashed golden flames that consumed the Tzeentch Daemons in the corridor.
• The Word Bearers charged through the corridor, blasting and cutting down daemons as the Company Captain led their advance.
• The Company Captain smashed an ambushing daemon and fought off Thousand Sons warriors, whose enchanted Bolts burst against his golden barrier.
• Golden light poured from the Company Captain’s wounds as he raised his Power Hammer and struck toward the rift where daemons were pouring through.

As Guilliman and his warriors fought to escape the Rangdan Xenos through Mobius’s storm, Malekith sacrificed himself to shield the Primarch from psychic lightning. Guilliman escaped by teleportation, while Mobius let the retreat succeed and moved on to another battlefield.

• Ouroboros questioned Mobius about the Word Bearers’ intervention, and Mobius allowed them to continue fighting.
• Guilliman’s group battled toward the Teleport Beacon while Malekith guarded the outer edge of their formation.
• Mobius secretly launched psychic lightning at Guilliman, but Malekith intercepted it and was killed.
• Guilliman and the others escaped through teleportation as Malekith’s dying consciousness watched them leave.
• Mobius allowed Guilliman to survive and departed for another battlefield.

After Guilliman returned to Macragge's Honour unconscious and physically unharmed, Praeto discovered that his soul had been injured. Hill volunteered to enter Guilliman's Soul World and awaken him, while Praeto warned that the journey could expose Hill to dangerous visions and fears.

• Guilliman returned to Macragge's Honour barely able to stand, while Malekith was missing and the battle aboard the ship continued.
• Ventanus ordered exterminatus preparations, contacted the First and Ninth Legions, and summoned physicians to examine Guilliman.
• The Apothecaries and mortal physicians found no physical cause for Guilliman's unresponsive state.
• Praeto used his psychic power to examine Guilliman and determined that his injury was to his soul.
• Hill volunteered to enter Guilliman's Soul World, and Praeto accepted him despite Ventanus's doubts.
• Praeto warned Hill that the Soul World could turn his fears and desires into dangers, then gave him three minutes to prepare.

Hill entered Guilliman’s soul-world and found Macragge under siege, while Mobius left the Lower Deck to observe Hill’s attempt to reach Guilliman. The chapter left Hill racing toward the city as Mobius continued on, expecting to watch what happened.

• Plato guided Hill’s consciousness into Guilliman’s soul-world.
• Hill awoke outside Macragge and saw the city besieged by enemy forces.
• After hearing attackers call for Euten and King Konor, Hill raced toward Macragge.
• Mobius told Ouroboros to hold off the Word Bearers while he went to stop the Ultramarines’ plan.
• Mobius slipped through a psychic rift and continued toward the soul-world to observe Hill.

Company Captain Orfeo fought alongside the Word Bearers as endless, silent Thousand Sons and daemons poured through the Lower Deck. Realizing the enemy was being replenished and the Word Bearers could not coordinate, Orfeo decided to lead a small Ultramarines force through the ship’s passages to find the source.

• The Word Bearers Company Captain battled the Thousand Sons and daemons while more enemies continued to appear.
• Orfeo noticed that the Thousand Sons seemed to be hollow copies filled with sand, and that their numbers were growing faster than the defenders could kill them.
• Orfeo tried to propose a coordinated defense, but the Word Bearers’ Company Captain responded with savage violence, convincing Orfeo that cooperation was impossible.
• Orfeo decided to leave the Word Bearers holding the front while he and a handful of Ultramarines circled through the ship to investigate the deepest reaches of the Lower Deck.

Ophio and his squad attacked the altar that was generating endless Thousand Sons warriors, but Ouroboros stopped time and prepared to destroy them. Word Bearers entered the frozen chamber untouched by his power, and Ouroboros recognized that change had come.

• Ophio discovered that the altar was producing Thousand Sons warriors through a chained warrior serving as its conduit.
• Ophio engaged Ouroboros while his squad attacked the altar, but the chained warrior rapidly healed from their bolter fire.
• The adjutant planted a plasma bomb as Ophio charged Ouroboros, who stopped time across the chamber before the explosion could finish.
• Ouroboros summoned Vortex Beasts and prepared to end the battle while the chamber remained frozen.
• Word Bearers entered the chamber, their Golden Light allowing them to move through the stopped time, and Ouroboros said that change had come.

The Word Bearers Company Captain fought the Vortex Beast and died after unleashing one final attack. Ouroboros observed the battle, recognized that the captain's faith had brought about a change, and departed after gathering what they needed.

• The Word Bearers Company Captain charged the Vortex Beast and struck it with his Power Hammer, burning and badly injuring it.
• The Vortex Beast slashed through the captain's armor and wounded him so severely that he could barely stand.
• A vision of Lorgar and memories of the Word Bearers gave the captain strength to charge the Vortex Beast again.
• The captain swung his Warhammer at the Vortex Beast's skull and died as the creature fell in the golden flames.
• Ouroboros reflected that the captain had crossed the boundary of death through faith, then dissolved into blue smoke and left.

Hill entered the siege of Macragge during Galan’s coup and fought his way into the Consulate, where he rescued Lady Euten from Galan. When Galan’s eyes glowed blue and reality began to warp, Hill fled with Euten, leaving the threat unresolved.

• Hill identified the siege as Galan’s coup against King Konor and fought his way through the rioters to the Consulate.
• Hill stormed through the Consulate, killing the rebels inside as he followed the sounds of fighting.
• Hill found Lady Euten protecting the wounded King Konor while Galan prepared to strike them down.
• Hill seized Galan and slammed him to the floor, but Galan spoke with an unnatural voice and blue light spread through his eyes.
• Hill recognized the signs of the Blue Storm Planet enemy, grabbed Lady Euten, and escaped through a window as the room warped.

Hill rescued Lady Euten from Galan’s rebels and escaped Macragge City, where he recognized that the apparent Guilliman was actually Galan in disguise. After killing Galan, Hill watched Guilliman’s soul world transform and braced for the next scenes.

• Hill carried Lady Euten through the rebel-filled streets, using thrown masonry to break through the attackers.
• Hill hurled a freight cart into the rebels blocking Macragge City’s gate, then fought his way through the square and escaped with Euten.
• A figure resembling young Guilliman approached Hill outside the gate and offered to help him carry Steward Euten.
• Hill recognized that the figure was Galan in disguise and stabbed him with a shortsword.
• Galan died, and the changing soul world blurred Hill, Euten, and their surroundings into a vortex.

Hill awoke aboard the Macragge's Honour after surviving visions of a possible future in which Guilliman became a monstrous conqueror, and learned he would replace Malekith as captain of the Second Company. Guilliman learned that Magnus had betrayed them and, with the Imperium's communications silent, ordered the fleet to seek out Sanguinius and Lion El'Jonson before returning to Ultramar.

• Hill saw a possible timeline in which Guilliman lost his parents, sacrificed five hundred worlds, and destroyed the Imperium as a monstrous being.
• Hill concluded that the visions could not erase his recognition of Galan as his true father, then lost consciousness.
• Hill woke in the infirmary aboard the Macragge's Honour, where Guilliman told him to rest and appointed him captain of the Second Company after Malekith's death.
• Guilliman told Ventanus and the others on the Bridge that Magnus had betrayed them and noted that the Imperium's communications were silent.
• Guilliman ordered the fleet to find Sanguinius and Lion El'Jonson, then planned to return to protect Ultramar and Terra.

Sanguinius led the Blood Angels into Horus’s trap on Kohnberg Planet, where they mistook the Khorne Daemons for xenos. As Sanguinius fought Skarbrand in the sky, the Bloodthirster tried to tempt him with Khorne’s favor, but Sanguinius rejected him and prepared to silence him.

• Horus sent Sanguinius and the Blood Angels to Kohnberg Planet, concealing that it was a hunting ground prepared for them by Chaos.
• Khorne Daemons ambushed the Blood Angels, who mistook them for dangerous xenos and fought them with conventional tactics.
• Sanguinius battled Skarbrand in midair, evading the Bloodthirster’s charges and countering with the Spear of Telesto.
• Skarbrand told Sanguinius that Khorne favored his body, combat skill, and soul, and pointed out the Blood Angels’ affinity for blood.
• Sanguinius wounded Skarbrand’s horn and rejected his words, warning that he would silence the Bloodthirster with his spear.

Sanguinius fought Skarbrand above the battlefield while the Blood Angels struggled to hold off the Khorne Army below. Skarbrand wounded Sanguinius and claimed that the Warmaster had turned traitor, leaving Sanguinius shaken as their duel continued.

• Skarbrand summoned a blood-forged battle axe and attacked Sanguinius, who countered with precise spear strikes and forced him to retreat.
• The Blood Angels held their defensive line with bolter fire, tanks, and a Contemptor Dreadnought until a Bloodthirster crashed into their right flank and overturned a Kratos Tank.
• Raldoron led a squad against the Bloodthirster, stabbed it through the body, and was then pinned down as the daemon blocked his way to Sanguinius.
• Skarbrand cut a deep wound across Sanguinius's chest, but Sanguinius stayed aloft and began healing himself with psychic energy.
• Skarbrand tasted Sanguinius's blood and said it met his god's requirements, then told him that the Warmaster had turned traitor and the Imperium was near collapse.
• Sanguinius's grip faltered briefly when Skarbrand announced the Warmaster's betrayal.

Sanguinius fought Skarbrand after the daemon claimed Horus had abandoned the Blood Angels to die. He defeated and banished Skarbrand, then resolved to confront Horus himself and demand an explanation.

• Skarbrand taunted Sanguinius with claims that Horus had sacrificed him and his Legion, then attacked with renewed strength.
• Sanguinius's fury left an opening, and Skarbrand knocked the Spear of Telesto from his hands.
• Sanguinius drew the Blade Encarmine and wounded Skarbrand repeatedly, driving him down to the ground.
• Sanguinius impaled Skarbrand with the Blade Encarmine and declared that he would seek an explanation from Horus.
• Sanguinius twisted the blade, killing Skarbrand and banishing him back into the Warp.

After defeating Skarbrand, Sanguinius reunited with Guilliman, who revealed that Magnus had turned traitor while Sanguinius accused Horus of betraying him. Their discussion was interrupted by the arrival of Lion El’Jonson’s Dark Angels, and the chapter ended with Lion demanding that Guilliman and Sanguinius prove they had not turned traitor.

• Sanguinius defeated Skarbrand, and the surviving daemons fled through Warp rifts to prepare a trap for the Blood Angels.
• Guilliman’s fleet arrived at Kohnberg, and Sanguinius recognized Macragge’s Honour as his flagship.
• Guilliman and Sanguinius compared their suspicions, naming Magnus and Horus as traitors and recounting the attacks on their forces.
• Guilliman and Sanguinius discussed their lost contact with Ultramar and Baal before the Dark Angels fleet arrived.
• Lion El’Jonson challenged Guilliman and Sanguinius over the communications channel, while his warriors stood amid the bodies of Sons of Horus Marines on the Unyielding Truth.

Lion El'Jonson reported that the Sons of Horus had betrayed him and were killed, while Guilliman revealed that they had lost contact with every Imperial force and world. The three Primarchs agreed to return to Ultramar, gather forces, and then decide how to respond to Horus's rebellion.

• Lion El'Jonson told Guilliman and Sanguinius that the Sons of Horus had tried to seize his warship and strand his forces, but he had killed them.
• Lion El'Jonson demanded to know where Horus, Lorgar, and several Legions were so he could pursue the traitors and seek reinforcements.
• Guilliman told Lion El'Jonson that all Imperial communications had gone unanswered, including signals to Ultramar, Baal, and Terra.
• Guilliman concluded that only he, Lion El'Jonson, and Sanguinius remained in contact and proposed returning to Ultramar before heading for Terra.
• Sanguinius and Lion El'Jonson agreed to Guilliman's plan, and Lion El'Jonson said Luther and tens of thousands of Legion warriors were on Caliban.
• Guilliman ordered them to go to Ultramar's aid and confirm it was safe before deciding their next move.

Jaghatai Khan met a hooded Space Marine who gave him intelligence about Lion El'Jonson and the First Legion, then watched captured Ultramarines suffer in a gladiatorial arena. He ordered the Blade Storm to head for the Five Hundred Worlds and ambush the False Emperor's followers.

• Jaghatai Khan thanked a hooded visitor for intelligence and accepted information about Lion El'Jonson and the First Legion, while refusing to reveal his thoughts.
• After the visitors left, Jaghatai Khan went to the Blade Storm's arena, where captured Ultramarines were being tortured and forced to fight.
• A newly captured Ultramarine picked up a bloodied shortsword to face a White Scars gladiator as Jaghatai Khan watched from the viewing platform.
• Jaghatai Khan ordered the Blade Storm to head for the Five Hundred Worlds and lay an ambush for the False Emperor's followers.

Fulgrim led the Emperor's Children fleet to intercept the War Hounds and chose an open boarding assault rather than a deceptive ambush. He and Akurduana launched toward the War Hounds flagship, the Devourer, as the fleets exchanged fire.

• Fulgrim learned that the War Hounds were roaming the Ultima Segmentum and decided to attack them before joining Ferrus Manus's fleet.
• Fulgrim spoke with Akurduana, who pledged to kill for him, and ordered him to join the assault.
• The Emperor's Children fleet emerged ahead of the War Hounds and identified both fleets as hostile.
• Fulgrim rejected a surprise attack disguised as a loyal Imperial task force and chose a direct boarding action.
• Fulgrim and Akurduana led Emperor's Children warriors into a boarding torpedo aimed at the Devourer.

Fulgrim and the Emperor's Children boarded the Devourer and battled the War Hounds, whose bolter fire could not halt the drugged attackers. Fulgrim taunted Angron until the War Hounds' lord emerged from the shadows to meet him.

• Fulgrim led the Emperor's Children through the breached airlock and into a barrage from the fortified War Hounds.
• The Emperor's Children advanced through bolter fire, experiencing their wounds as pleasure because of the xenos-blood drug in their bodies.
• The War Hounds abandoned their bolters and charged with Chainaxes, colliding with the Emperor's Children in the corridor.
• Fulgrim joined the melee and cut down War Hounds with his purple sword, which consumed the souls of those it killed.
• Fulgrim called for Angron and taunted him by drinking a War Hounds warrior's blood.
• Angron emerged from behind the War Hounds, wielding two Power Axes, as his warriors welcomed their Legion's lord.

Fulgrim and Angron fought in the ship’s corridor until Akurduana asked Fulgrim to let him face Angron. Angron defeated Akurduana with a single kick that sent him crashing through more than a dozen bulkheads, while Fulgrim kept his attention on Angron.

• Angron charged Fulgrim, and the two exchanged rapid attacks through the corridor.
• Akurduana attacked Angron from behind with his blades, but Angron evaded him and forced him back.
• Akurduana asked Fulgrim for permission to fight Angron, and Fulgrim stepped aside to let him try.
• Akurduana used stimulants to sharpen his senses and met Angron’s axe with his crossed blades.
• Angron kicked Akurduana through more than a dozen bulkheads and buried him beneath wreckage.

Fulgrim prepared to defeat Angron in a duel by drawing him into the gladiatorial style of fighting he knew best. Angron lost patience and cast off his armor, and the two Primarchs began their battle.

• Fulgrim dismissed the Primarch Guard and challenged Angron to a duel.
• Fulgrim taunted Angron about his silence and invoked Lorgar, pushing Angron past his limit.
• Angron called Fulgrim a traitor and tore off his armor, leaving his bracers and arena rings on.
• The War Hounds and Emperor's Children cleared space as Fulgrim and Angron approached each other.
• Fulgrim thrust his longsword at Angron's throat while Angron swung both axes at Fulgrim, beginning their battle.