Chapter Summaries

Rylanor told the primarchs how he had waited on Isstvan III to kill Fulgrim with a dormant virus bomb, then helped them escape when Fulgrim's daemon host arrived. He detonated the bomb to destroy Fulgrim and the daemons, while Magnus teleported the surviving primarchs to safety.

• Rylanor learned from Leman Russ that the Imperium had defeated Horus and listened as Russ explained the cloned primarchs' plight.
• Rylanor revealed his plan to lure the ascended Fulgrim to the virus bomb, but said he would not leave until he had confronted Fulgrim and reckoned with him.
• Daemon Prince Fulgrim arrived on Isstvan III with his Slaaneshi daemons and Noise Marines, and the primarchs fought to protect the unstable bomb.
• Fulgrim struck the bomb with a beam of Chaos energy, forcing Rylanor to reveal an abandoned supply passage so the others could escape.
• Rylanor stayed behind and detonated the virus bomb, killing Fulgrim and the daemons as Magnus teleported the surviving primarchs to the surface.

Clone Fulgrim overcame his grief over Rylanor and joined the other primarchs in battle against the wounded Daemon Prince of Slaanesh. Near death, he drew on the Emperor’s power, shattered the Laer Blade, and branded his original with the word “Fake,” leaving their reckoning unfinished.

• Leman Russ snapped Clone Fulgrim out of his grief and urged him to prove his loyalty through action, so Fulgrim cut his hair and carved a cross-shaped scar into his face.
• Clone Guilliman and Perturabo deduced that the virus bomb had not fully detonated, and the primarchs formed up as the surviving daemon Fulgrim emerged from the viral fog.
• The clone primarchs attacked the wounded Fulgrim together, but he held them off and mocked them; Guilliman and Jaghatai Khan taunted him about his ruined body and Rylanor’s rejection.
• Enraged, Fulgrim blasted the attackers aside and overwhelmed Clone Fulgrim, impaling him with the Laer Blade and setting him alight with violet flames.
• Remembering Rylanor’s sacrifice, Clone Fulgrim realized that true perfection lay in conviction and loyalty, and golden power from the Emperor revived him and engulfed his sword.
• Clone Fulgrim cleaved the Laer Blade in two, wounded his original with golden fire, and branded “Fake” into his chest before declaring that their reckoning was not over.

Clone Fulgrim discovered that the God-Emperor could answer sincere prayers with sacred power, allowing the clone primarchs to turn the battle against Daemon Fulgrim. Magnus, now an apostle of the God-Emperor, arrived through the network of faith and erased the daemon, leaving the primarchs stunned by humanity’s divine power.

• Clone Fulgrim’s golden flames returned as he prayed to the God-Emperor, and he urged his brothers to pray as well.
• The clone primarchs received the God-Emperor’s blessing and joined forces to wound Daemon Fulgrim and suppress his regeneration.
• Daemon Fulgrim tried to escape into the Warp, but a golden pillar sealed the rift and sent him crashing back to the battlefield.
• A robed giant appeared and purified Daemon Fulgrim, erasing his body and scattering his soul into the Warp Sea.
• The giant revealed himself as Magnus, an apostle of the God-Emperor who had arrived through the Terra Webway and the network of human faith.

Apostle Magnus fed the exhausted clone primarchs and offered them a choice between hiding on a remote world or returning to the Imperium, where they would face danger and scrutiny. After Clone Horus persuaded the reluctant brothers to give the Imperium and their originals a chance, Apostle Magnus opened a Webway portal and led them toward Terra.

• Apostle Magnus conjured food and water for the hungry clone primarchs, and Clone Magnus recognized the extraordinary power behind the feat.
• Apostle Magnus explained the risks of returning to the Imperium and offered the clones the choice to hide or go back.
• Clone Horus chose to return and urged the others to face the Imperium; Clone Guilliman preferred a quiet life, but Roboute Guilliman ordered him brought to Terra, while Clone Sanguinius and Clone Lorgar also chose to return.
• Clone Angron and Clone Mortarion resisted going back, but Clone Horus persuaded them to give their originals and the Emperor a chance, and they reluctantly agreed.
• Apostle Magnus opened a stable Webway portal, and the clone primarchs followed him through it toward Terra.

Apostle Magnus explained how the Imperium had awakened and begun restoring the Webway, while the cloned primarchs struggled to absorb how far humanity had changed. Their journey to Holy Terra ended with a shocking encounter: Vulkan had become Emperor of the Orks and was leading disciplined Ork armies in humanity’s service.

• Mortarion questioned whether the Imperium could maintain the Webway, and Apostle Magnus explained that Great Sage Lox had mastered the Old Ones’ tunnel-boring machine and awakened the network’s source consciousness.
• Apostle Magnus described how the Webway was purifying damaged regions and cooperating with humanity, while Clone Magnus wrestled with regret over his past and Magnus urged him to focus on the present.
• Clone Perturabo asked how the Imperium could spare enough troops to defend the Webway, and Apostle Magnus assured him that manpower would not be a problem.
• The primarchs mistook an orderly Ork patrol for an enemy force, but Apostle Magnus identified himself to them and the Orks approached peacefully.
• Vulkan arrived and revealed that he had fused with Ork Waaagh energy, become Emperor of the Orks, and united them with humanity as disciplined warriors.
• Vulkan explained that his expanding Ork armies fought enemies throughout the Webway, and his Ork guard escorted the stunned primarchs toward Holy Terra.

Apostle Magnus brought the cloned primarchs to Terra, where the Emperor received them and left their futures to their own choices. Guilliman also revealed to Lox that he planned to personally destroy the Cabal and obtain the technology needed to save Lady Euten.

• Original Dorn and Perturabo met their clones in Commorragh, offered them advice, and urged them not to repeat past mistakes.
• Guilliman told Lox he intended to lead the attack on the Cabal himself to save his mother, and Lox agreed to support him.
• Apostle Magnus escorted the cloned primarchs to Terra, where they entered the Imperial Palace unarmed and appeared before the Emperor.
• Clone Horus knelt before the Emperor, who told him to rise without granting or denying forgiveness.
• Clone Fulgrim apologized for his original self, vowed to follow a better path, and learned that Rylanor's soul rested safely with the God-Emperor.
• The Emperor told the cloned primarchs to judge the new Imperium for themselves and choose where they would serve; Guilliman then asked his clone to stay behind.

The Emperor revealed that a remnant of the original Horus’s soul had survived within Garviel Loken, and clone Horus accepted it so he could carry Horus’s unfinished duties. Later, Guilliman told his clone that Lady Euten was dying and that he would seek the Cabal’s artificial Perpetual technology himself, leaving the two Guillimans arguing over who should lead the mission.

• The Emperor let clone Horus experience the final battle aboard the Vengeful Spirit and explained that the original Horus had died on Davin, while a fragment of his soul survived.
• The Emperor summoned Garviel Loken and revealed that Horus’s uncorrupted soul fragment had been placed within Loken, causing his nightmares and the Dark King’s attempts to reach him.
• Clone Horus agreed to accept the fragment and take on Horus’s unfinished duties, and Loken saluted him as a comrade.
• Malcador told Lox that he remembered Neoth as a warmer, more open man before the creation of the Imperium made him cold and ruthless.
• Original Guilliman told clone Guilliman that Lady Euten was gravely old and that the Cabal might possess technology to create artificial Perpetuals.
• Clone Guilliman demanded to join the mission to save Lady Euten, but the original insisted on going himself, and the two began arguing over who had the right to undertake it.

Roboute Guilliman assembled the clone primarchs, Deathwatch, Grey Knights, and Aeldari seer Uslan to destroy the Cabal and obtain its artificial Perpetual technology. The expedition reached the Aktash Subsector, where Guilliman went to meet the Cabal expert Basatu Narek as Narek watched their arrival.

• The original Guilliman persuaded clone Guilliman to remain on Terra and manage its affairs while he led the mission to save Lady Yottun and seize the Cabal's technology.
• Clone primarchs volunteered to join the operation, and Guilliman accepted their help while ordering clone Guilliman to consult Malcador, Valdor, and Lox about difficult matters.
• Guilliman summoned the Deathwatch under Chapter Master Zoe, then added Grey Knights led by Garviel Loken, clone Horus, Honor Guard, and Uslan to the task force.
• Uslan identified the Aktash Subsector as the Cabal's last known location and contacted the expert Basatu Narek, who agreed to meet him and a senior decision-maker on planet AS-771.
• Guilliman prepared to meet Basatu Narek in person, while clone Russ reminded him to protect himself and the fleet remained concealed.
• Narek watched Guilliman's barge descend onto the planet and concluded that the Cabal's end had come.

Guilliman’s expedition met Barthusa Narek and learned that the Cabal tortured humans while pursuing a plan to replace psychic galactic species with Warp-insulated ones, including the Tau. Unable to predict the Cabal’s movements directly, Guilliman devised a plan to manipulate their prescience and herd their hive ships toward a prepared trap.

• Narek welcomed Guilliman and the cloned Primarchs to his hidden base, then explained how the Cabal moved between worlds and transformed people into experimental subjects.
• Guilliman recognized the Tau in Narek’s evidence and recalled that mysterious psykers had rescued them from an Imperial expedition.
• Uslan revealed that extremist Aeldari within the Cabal sought to replace existing galactic species with creatures resistant to the Warp, and Guilliman vowed to stop their experiments and seize or destroy their research.
• Guilliman and the Primarchs analyzed Narek’s records, but Perturabo found that the Cabal’s migration routes were unpredictable and Uslan could not precisely locate their hidden hive ships.
• Narek explained that he tracked the Cabal using a Webway device and equipment that detected their signals, though he always arrived too late to catch them.
• Guilliman proposed creating false futures to manipulate the Cabal’s prescience and gradually funnel its hive ships into a prepared trap.

Guilliman, Uslan, and three cloned primarchs combined their psychic powers to outmaneuver the Cabal’s precognition and lure its hive ship toward Casa Octavius III. The fleet prepared an ambush there, leaving the Cabal racing toward what it feared was its only safe refuge.

• Guilliman agreed with Magnus’s plan to use prophecy to drive the Cabal toward a chosen target, and Uslan, Clone Magnus, Clone Sanguinius, and Clone Curze joined forces to locate the hive ship.
• The Cabal’s leaders used their precognitive sensitivity system to counter the psychic search, but the four seers manipulated the visions until the Cabal believed Casa Octavius III was its safest option.
• As the Cabal’s predictions repeatedly showed human forces attacking its possible footholds, Slaa-Da ordered an emergency jump to Casa Octavius III.
• Uslan confirmed that the Cabal had taken the bait, and Magnus credited Curze’s ability to generate many possible futures with making the trap work.
• Guilliman ordered the fleet to prepare within forty-eight Terra hours for an ambush near the Casa Octavius system, and the warriors and crews readied themselves for battle.

Kuren Shovah began doubting the Ethereals while Hydra infiltrated the Cabal hive ship and warned its leaders that Guilliman’s fleet was closing in on Kassa Octavius III. Hydra revealed the Cabal had been maneuvered into a trap and left them facing an imminent attack, with the leaders demanding his plan for survival.

• The Cabal hid its damaged hive ship beneath the oceans of Kassa Octavius III while its systems and sages recovered.
• Kuren Shovah questioned Sage Youhai about the Cabal’s retreat and the T’au’s future, then recalled the Ethereals abandoning injured and useless T’au and began to doubt their care for his people.
• Hydra contacted Slao Da, warned that the Cabal’s supposed refuge was a trap, and agreed to come aboard the hive ship.
• Hydra arrived through a sorcerous ritual with Lernaean Terminators and explained that Guilliman’s fleet had used false futures to guide the Cabal to Kassa Octavius III.
• Hydra revealed that the fleet was gathering in neighboring systems and would attack within twenty Terra hours, while Kuren Shovah overheard that some Cabal leaders had begun to waver.
• Sage Youhai urged the Cabal to defend the planet, but Hydra dismissed the plan, and Slau Dha demanded to know what cooperation Hydra was offering.

Omegon manipulated the Cabal into splitting its arkship as Guilliman’s fleet attacked Kassa Octavius III. John Grammaticus and Damon Prytanis escaped to the surface and resolved to warn humanity, while Guilliman led the assault against the collapsing vessel.

• Omegon offered the Cabal escape routes while secretly intending to seize its assets and exploit divisions among its leaders.
• John Grammaticus urged Damon Prytanis to abandon the Cabal and help humanity, and Damon agreed to warn the Imperial forces.
• The Cabal arkship began splitting apart, flooding its passages and killing crew members as John and Damon escaped through a Warp rift.
• John and Damon reached Kassa Octavius III, spotted the arriving human fleet, and lit a signal fire to attract Imperial forces.
• Cabal factions fought over escape and survival as the arkship collapsed, while Guilliman and his cloned Primarch brothers prepared a coordinated assault.

Guilliman’s forces began their assault on the Cabal hive ship, while Sanguinius captured a fleeing warship and its mechanical sage. After rescuing former Cabal agents John and Damon, Sanguinius learned that Omegon had helped engineer the Cabal’s split and warned the Primarchs to watch for Alpha Legion interference.

• Guilliman divided the clone Primarchs into separate forces as they boarded the Cabal hive ship, and Sanguinius led Deathwatch warriors to intercept a fleeing vessel.
• An Imperial cruiser disabled the warship’s shields, and Sanguinius’s team breached it, disrupted its mechanical defenders, and secured its bridge and data core.
• Sanguinius captured the mechanical Cabal sage, then flew to investigate distress smoke rising from a ruined village.
• Sanguinius recognized John and Damon as former Cabal agents, accepted their decision to turn away from the Cabal, and welcomed them back into humanity’s ranks.
• John and Damon told Sanguinius that Omegon had contacted Cabal leaders and helped them find escape routes, prompting Sanguinius to warn Guilliman and the other Primarchs about possible Alpha Legion infiltration.
• Sanguinius took John and Damon toward the main battlefield, intending to continue the war and confront Omegon.

Guilliman’s forces boarded the flooding Cabal hive ship, while Sage Youhai and Slau Dha realized Guilliman wanted the Cabal’s artificial immortality research to save Tarasha Euten and tried to use it as leverage. The battle continued as Deathwatch forces fought through the ship, and Narek identified Kurren Shovah before Lion moved to intercept him.

• Sage Youhai, Slau Dha, and the energy-life sage inferred that Guilliman wanted the Cabal’s artificial immortality technology for Tarasha Euten and ordered their forces to secure its research and contact the human fleet.
• The Cabal leaders searched the hive ship for John and Damon, but they could not find the two agents who had escaped with Damon’s help.
• The hive ship rose toward the surface, sending violent floodwaters through its corridors and disrupting the Imperial boarding forces.
• Clone Leman Russ, clone Lion, and the Deathwatch pushed through the flooding ship, using sonic and pulse weapons against Cabal defenders, drones, and T'au Fire Warriors.
• Narek spotted Kurren Shovah directing the Fire Warriors and tried to assassinate him, but Shovah dodged the shot.
• Narek reported Kurren Shovah’s location to Lion, who hurried toward the commander.

Lion El'Jonson killed Korun Shovah and joined Magnus, Uslann, and the Deathwatch as they fought through the Cabal hive ship. The Cabal threatened to destroy the artificial Perpetual technology, forcing Guilliman to negotiate; after he survived a psychic assassination attempt, the Cabal purged its alleged conspirators while Guilliman remained intent on securing the technology.

• Lion El'Jonson killed Korun Shovah and tore through the remaining T'au resistance before leading the Deathwatch toward the strongest psychic disturbances.
• Lion reached Magnus, Uslann, and the Deathwatch Librarians, who were battling the Cabal's psychic forces while Zoi studied their techniques.
• Aun'Va and Slauth Da threatened to destroy the artificial Perpetual records and specimens unless Guilliman halted the assault and negotiated safe passage for them.
• Guilliman stopped the attack and agreed to meet the Cabal on an ice field, assigning Loken and the Grey Knights to accompany him while Sanguinius and Lion guarded the perimeter.
• At the meeting, Guilliman demanded that the Cabal leave the technology behind and offered to let only Aun'Va and Slauth Da depart; after learning that John and Damon had returned to humanity, the Cabal leaders reluctantly agreed.
• A bird-headed Cabal sage attacked Guilliman with psychic power, but Guilliman negated the bolt and killed him; Youhai and Slau Dha then purged the alleged conspirators while Guilliman dismissed their maneuver and focused on obtaining the technology.

Guilliman secured the artificial Perpetual technology and let Youhai and Slau Dha leave, while Omegon secretly pursued the Cabal remnants. Omegon killed the two sages, took their memories and the Cabal’s hidden assets, and escaped after another version of himself raided the hive ship.

• Guilliman verified the sealed technology, allowed Youhai and Slau Dha to depart, and told Uslan he would hunt them after securing the data and hive ship.
• Alpharius and Omegon told Guilliman that the original Omegon had likely hidden among the Tau guards and might target the Cabal leaders.
• Omegon revealed himself aboard the fleeing vessel, redirected the sages’ psychic attacks into the Tau pilots, and killed Youhai and Slau Dha to steal their memories and knowledge.
• A second Omegon and his Lerneaen Terminators removed the Cabal’s hidden technology and genetic samples from a secret vault before escaping through a Warp rift.
• Guilliman retained the artificial Perpetual technology while Omegon vanished with the Cabal’s most valuable hidden assets.

On Holy Terra, the Emperor convened humanity’s allies to plan how to seal the Eye of Terror and give the damaged universe a chance to recover. The meeting ended with every faction mobilized for the effort, while the gathered leaders expected Chaos to resist in a war on an unprecedented scale.

• Lox described the universe’s damage and Trazyn explained that, without Warp interference, Necron technology might restart the universe and allow it to heal.
• Guilliman questioned the cost of a universal restart, and Lox proposed preserving civilization in a pocket universe and transplanting the Webway into the renewed cosmos.
• Cegorach and Trazyn revealed that the Old Ones created the original rift during the War in Heaven, Necron Blackstone temporarily sealed it, and Slaanesh’s birth finally broke it open.
• The Emperor ordered Trazyn, Xigaoqi, Aisha, and humanity to gather knowledge and resources to seal the Eye of Terror and prepare for a possible universal restart.
• The meeting ended with the representatives preparing for a vast war against Chaos, which they expected to fight across both the material universe and the Warp.

After learning that Guilliman had destroyed the Cabal, Lox heard the Emperor’s theory that the shattered C’tan had weakened the material universe and that their power could help repair the Eye of Terror. The Emperor asked Lox to confront Mag'ladroth on Mars, and Lox accepted as they prepared to consult their allies openly before the mission.

• Neoth told Lox that Guilliman had destroyed the Cabal, captured most of its members, and seized its hive ship.
• Neoth explained that the C’tan embodied the material universe’s fundamental laws, and that their shattering had weakened reality and its ability to resist the Warp.
• Neoth proposed gathering C’tan fragments to strengthen reality and repair the Eye of Terror, then revealed that he wanted Lox to control Mag'ladroth the Void Dragon, sealed beneath Mars.
• Neoth cited Lox’s Omnissiah authority, the AllSpark, his power from Vashtorr, and Dantioch’s success against a C’tan fragment as reasons Lox was suited to the task.
• Lox accepted the mission but urged Neoth to share the plan with Trazyn and the Aeldari gods, and Neoth agreed to convene another meeting without concealment.
• Neoth revealed that the wine had been recreated from memory, and he told Lox they would go to Mars after Guilliman returned and preparations were complete.

Lox, Dantioch, and Trazyn discussed the Emperor’s plan to use C’tan shards to strengthen the material universe and repair the Eye of Terror, then contacted Silent King Szarekh to seek the Necrons’ support. Szarekh’s Phaerons challenged the humans’ proposal, leaving the plan’s fate uncertain.

• Lox told Trazyn that the Emperor and he wanted to restore selected C’tan shards and use their rule-based power to reinforce the material universe within the Eye of Terror; Trazyn offered information but could not authorize handing over shards.
• Dantioch joined Lox and Trazyn and explained how his will had overcome and reshaped the Contemptor shard, while Trazyn warned that the Void Dragon shard would be far more dangerous.
• Trazyn agreed to contact Silent King Szarekh, and Lox accepted the risk of taking the proposal to the Necron ruler.
• Trazyn summoned Szarekh in a secure chamber in the Imperial Palace and transmitted Lox and the Emperor’s plan.
• Szarekh’s Phaerons questioned whether the humans understood the danger of wielding C’tan power and rebuked Trazyn for indulging their proposal.

Lox presented a plan to merge with the Void Dragon’s largest shard and use its power to help seal the Eye of Terror, prompting Szarekh to weigh the risks and benefits of cooperation. The Silent King agreed to assist the project under binding conditions, while Lox privately doubted the Necrons could reproduce his success.

• Szarekh arrived on Terra and silently studied Dantioch, whose body’s C’tan shard instincts filled him with hatred for the Silent King.
• Lox invited Szarekh to meet with the Emperor, Cegorach, and Isha, and Szarekh recognized the Emperor’s immense power.
• Lox proposed overwriting the Void Dragon Mag'ladroth’s largest shard and using its power to reinforce reality and help close the Eye of Terror.
• Szarekh agreed in principle to support the plan, offering Necron data and shard information in exchange for shared research, treaty protections, and help handling dangerous C’tan shards.
• Lox accepted Szarekh’s conditions, and the Emperor sealed the preliminary agreement with his blood.
• Szarekh and the other two phaerons departed after promising to honor the agreement, while Lox doubted soulless Necrons could withstand a C’tan’s will.