Chapter Summaries

Lox and the Emperor prepared to confront the Void Dragon using Necron technology, Blackstone obelisks, the Astronomican, and the God-Emperor’s power. When the preparations were complete, Lox entered the Labyrinth of Night, empowered by humanity’s psychic might, and stood one step from the Void Dragon.

• The Emperor explained how he had defeated the Void Dragon on Terra and sealed it on Mars, while Lox studied the Necrons’ records about Mag'ladroth and Blackstone.
• Lox planned to amplify Barabas Dantioch’s C'tan power to disrupt the Void Dragon, and the Laughing God advised them to time the assault with a celestial alignment three Terra months away.
• Archmagos Belisarius Cawl oversaw the construction of a Blackstone obelisk array around Mars and confirmed that the project was proceeding on schedule.
• Guilliman reported that he had eradicated the Cabal and returned artificial Perpetual technology to Terra, then sent Cawl encrypted data from the Cabal database.
• Cawl completed the array, and Lox advanced toward the Labyrinth of Night as Titans, machines, and Mars’s forces saluted him as the Omnissiah.
• The Blackstone array amplified the God-Emperor’s purified psychic power across Mars, greatly strengthening Lox as he reached the entrance to the Labyrinth of Night.

Lox entered the Evernight Labyrinth to confront the Void Dragon, Mag'ladroth, and began a battle to overcome it and claim control of its power. With Dalia Secilla’s help and enormous psychic support from across the Solar System, Lox weakened the C'tan and reached into its shattered consciousness, where their contest of wills began.

• Lox ignored the warnings of a voice inside the labyrinth, met Dalia Secilla, and entered the prison to face the Void Dragon.
• Lox restored the material laws within the labyrinth, revealing Mag'ladroth, while the dragon recognized the Omnissiah's authority in Lox and prepared to attack.
• Zahuraash's power disrupted Mag'ladroth, and Cegorach's celestial alignment amplified the Blackstone matrix and flooded the labyrinth with psychic energy.
• Lox charged Mag'ladroth and fought it with his radiant sword, evading its attacks while seeking to breach its mind and replace its will.
• Lox seized a gap in Mag'ladroth's consciousness and began igniting humanity's mark within it, starting their final contest of wills.

Lox defeated Mag'ladroth by erasing the Void Dragon's will and claiming its purified essence, then repaired the Labyrinth of Night. He rejected the chance to become a machine god, declared the power a tool for humanity, and returned to Terra, where the Emperor awaited him.

• Lox fought Mag'ladroth while absorbing the energy leaking from its wounds, and Dantioch used the C'tan Resonance Matrix to disrupt the Void Dragon.
• Lox entered Mag'ladroth's consciousness, resisted its memories and attacks, and erased its will while leaving its essence intact.
• Lox repaired the collapsing Labyrinth of Night and emerged on Mars holding the Void Dragon's essence.
• Lox told the assembled followers that he would not become the God of All Machines and that the essence would help humanity close the Eye of Terror and secure its future.
• Belisarius Cawl reflected on Lox's restraint, and Lox returned to Terra with the purified fragment to meet the waiting Emperor.

Lox returned to Terra after erasing the consciousness of a Void Dragon fragment, and the Emperor and Malcador organized a galaxy-wide celebration to mark humanity’s victories and growing unity. The banquet ended with Trazyn hoping that the coming cooperation with humanity would help restore the Necrontyr.

• Lox rejected Neoth’s joke about becoming the Machine God, and Neoth apologized before Malcador joined them in criticizing his poor judgment.
• The Emperor proposed a grand celebration for humanity’s victories, and Malcador arranged invitations, a parade, and a test of the space-bridge network.
• Representatives from human worlds and allied species traveled to Terra as the space-bridge network carried the delegations successfully.
• Lady Tarasha Euten reunited with Guilliman and his clone, accepted the clone as her son, and watched the parade with them and the other primarchs.
• The parade showcased the Custodian Guard, Astartes Legions, Titans, and the High Technology Consortium before the celebration banquet began.
• Trazyn recorded the joyful banquet while Orikan waited for the Silent King’s avatar to join the next stage of cooperation with humanity.

At a celebration on Terra, the Emperor turned humanity’s victory over a shard of the Void Dragon into a rallying declaration that strengthened unity across the Imperium. Afterwards, Szarekh received Lox’s method for overwriting a C’tan’s will but revealed that the largest remaining shard was held by Imotekh, whose Sautekh Dynasty threatened Guilliman’s Five Hundred Worlds.

• Cegorach, Isha, and Ulthran showed the Aeldari seers humanity’s rise and urged them to recognize the value of cooperation with humanity.
• The Emperor praised humanity’s resilience and credited Lox’s conquest of the Void Dragon shard to the strength of all people, prompting an impassioned celebration.
• Szarekh confirmed that the Necrons had sensed the Void Dragon shard’s consciousness being overwritten, and Lox handed him the complete records in exchange for the transfer of other Mag'ladroth shards.
• Szarekh ordered Trazyn to collect the shards but disclosed that the largest one outside Mars belonged to Imotekh’s Sautekh Dynasty, which might resist the order.
• Trazyn warned Guilliman that Sautekh territory and its hidden crown world lay near the Five Hundred Worlds, and Lox accused Szarekh of shifting the danger of confronting Imotekh onto humanity.

After Lox challenged the Silent King’s secrecy about restoring Necron souls, he proposed revealing the AllSpark to the other dynasties, prompting Trazyn to seek a less dangerous route. The chapter left Orikan agreeing to approach Imotekh about trading for the Sautekh Dynasty’s Void Dragon shard, with humanity’s help and his own ambitions at stake.

• Lox ordered Trazyn to send every Void Dragon shard except the Sautekh Dynasty’s to Terra and asked when more Necrons could use the AllSpark to regain their souls.
• Lox proposed that humanity reveal the AllSpark to the Necron dynasties and offer to awaken those still in the Great Sleep, risking a collapse in Szarekh’s support.
• Trazyn urged Lox not to provoke a Necron civil war and suggested asking Orikan to negotiate with Imotekh for the Sautekh Dynasty’s Void Dragon shard.
• Trazyn proposed that Orikan persuade Imotekh to trade the shard for a Burning One shard, using Orikan’s prophecies to emphasize the Void Dragon shard’s risks.
• Lox and Trazyn tempted Orikan with humanity’s support and the possibility of helping him master time, and Orikan agreed to contact the Sautekh Dynasty.

Lox oversaw Madam Yuton's successful transformation into an artificial Perpetual, bringing joy to Guilliman and his clone. He then traveled with Leman Russ to the Fenris system to retrieve the Burning One shard, and the Space Wolves prepared for the mission on Midgardia.

• Necron ships delivered dozens of Void Dragon shards to Terra, and Lox merged the fragments into a stronger shard while suppressing its call toward Golden Mandragora.
• Lox safeguarded Archmagos Cawl's surgery, which restored Madam Yuton's youth and anchored her soul, allowing her to awaken as an artificial Perpetual.
• Madam Yuton reunited with Guilliman and his clone, thanked Lox and Cawl, and expressed her happiness at having more time with her sons.
• Lox and Leman Russ traveled to Fenris to retrieve the Burning One shard from Midgardia, which Bjorn had evacuated on Russ's orders.
• Russ gathered the Space Wolves and put Lox in charge; Lox explained that the mission was to dig up and remove the shard, prompting the Wolf Lords to vie for a place on the mission.

Lox and Leman Russ led a secret expedition to Midgardia to recover the C'tan shard Nyadra'zatha. Lox tricked the Burner into entering a portable tesseract prison, leaving the shard secured as the team uncovered signs of an unknown attack on the Necron tomb.

• Leman Russ gathered the Iron Wolves Great Company and Storm Wolves Great Company, then took Lox and the others to Midgardia.
• Lox contacted Nyadra'zatha underground and impersonated Mag'ladroth, persuading the Burner to restrain its power and cooperate with a quiet extraction.
• A small excavation team drilled into the mountains, where Trazyn found damaged Necron structures and evidence of a violent attack by an unknown force.
• The team reached a ruined Necron tomb hall and found Nyadra'zatha sealed inside a weakened tesseract labyrinth.
• Lox refused to free Nyadra'zatha directly and ordered it into a portable tesseract prison, threatening to leave it trapped if it refused.
• Nyadra'zatha entered the device, and Lox sealed and secured the cube.

Lox and Leman Russ discovered that Fenris’s planetary will had destroyed the Necron tomb world and persuaded it to let them take the Burning One shard away. After the group secured the shard aboard Russ’s flagship, Lox considered how to trade it to the Necrons while still making it serve humanity.

• The Burning One shard told Lox that earthquakes and volcanic eruptions had destroyed the tomb world more than a thousand years earlier, while Trazyn and Orikan could find no trace of an attacker.
• Lox sensed Fenris’s planetary will trying to drag the shard back underground and learned that it had destroyed the tomb world to protect the planet from the Necrons and the shard.
• Leman Russ pledged that the shard would remain contained far from Fenris, and the planetary will trusted him and withdrew its force.
• Lox, Russ, and their companions left Midgardia, returned to the flagship, and placed the shard in a sealed vault chamber.
• The shard grew restless and called out to Mag’ladroth, warning that devouring C’tan shards could corrupt a being’s consciousness.
• Lox decided to trade the Burning One shard to the Necrons for the final Void Dragon shard while finding a way to make it serve humanity.

Lox persuaded Nyadra'zatha to cooperate with humanity by promising to help recover its fragments and take revenge on Szarekh, then sent Trazyn and Orikan to negotiate an exchange with Imotekh. Orikan appealed to Imotekh's ambition by presenting the Burning One shard as a chance to rival the Silent King, and Imotekh began considering the offer.

• Lox convinced Nyadra'zatha to accept a deal: it would enter the Sautekh Dynasty and sow chaos in exchange for help recovering its fragments and avenging itself on Szarekh.
• Trazyn and Orikan departed for Sautekh territory aboard Trazyn's cruiser, with Trazyn disguised as a Lychguard and Orikan preparing to negotiate with Imotekh.
• Orikan contacted Imotekh, who agreed to hear his proposal despite his hostility toward humanity.
• Orikan offered to exchange Nyadra'zatha's shard for the Sautekh Dynasty's Void Dragon shard and argued that the Burning One would better serve Imotekh's needs.
• Orikan portrayed the Burning One shard as a symbol of sovereignty that could help Imotekh rival Szarekh, stirring the Stormlord's ambition.

Orikan and Trazyn arranged for Imotekh to acquire the Burning One’s shard, secretly planting Lox’s virus in Zahram during the handover. The virus freed Nyadra’zatha and several other C’tan shards on Golden Mandragora, leaving Imotekh’s crown world in chaos.

• Imotekh agreed to exchange for the Burning One’s shard after Orikan convinced him it would strengthen the Sautekh Dynasty and undermine Szarekh.
• Orikan and Trazyn reached Golden Mandragora, where Zahram inspected the container and signed the handover receipt.
• Trazyn secretly infected Zahram’s systems with a virus created by Lox, and Orikan and Trazyn departed with proof that Sautekh had accepted responsibility for the shard.
• Several days later, the virus seized control of Zahram as he supervised the shard’s installation, causing him to free Nyadra’zatha before it could be secured in Imotekh’s throne.
• Nyadra’zatha broke open nearby C’tan prisons, freeing shards of Azagorod, Mephet’ran, Ashudra, Ogriada, and others.
• The freed C’tan shards unleashed destruction across Golden Mandragora, overwhelming the Sautekh Dynasty’s defenses and threatening Imotekh’s authority.

Trazyn and Orikan returned the final Void Dragon shard to Lox, while the C'tan shard riot devastated Golden Mandragora and the Burning One escaped. Lox fused with the shard, becoming whole as the Emperor prepared humanity’s forces for an operation to close the Eye of Terror.

• Orikan predicted war between Imotekh and the Silent King, then demanded that Trazyn take him to humanity so he could regain his soul and obtain a C'tan shard.
• The escaped C'tan shards devastated Golden Mandragora until Imotekh organized the Necrons and recaptured several, while the Burning One escaped into the wider galaxy.
• On Holy Terra, Lox and the Emperor discussed the Void Dragon, the Blackstone pylons on Cadia, and the armies needed to defend the planned operation against Chaos.
• The Emperor ordered Trazyn and Orikan rewarded for their help and directed Imperial forces to prepare for the campaign at Cadia.
• Trazyn returned with the final Void Dragon shard, and Lox absorbed it, restoring the Void Dragon’s essence and strengthening the veil around the Solar System.

Lox mastered the complete Void Dragon’s laws, restored Orikan’s soul with the AllSpark, and recruited him into humanity’s growing circle of Necron allies. After urging Trazyn to seek Nihilakh’s support, Lox prepared to travel to Cadia and close the Eye of Terror.

• Lox tested his complete control over laws by traveling to Fenris and returning with a Kraken’s tooth, while the Emperor proposed a future fight.
• Lox offered to restore Orikan’s soul, and the Astromancer agreed to undergo the process.
• Lox used the AllSpark to awaken Orikan’s memories and feelings, restoring his soul and giving him a new possibility.
• Orikan pledged to help find C’tan fragments, and he and Lox discussed drawing the Nihilakh Dynasty closer to humanity.
• Lox sent Trazyn to persuade Phaeron Krispekh to cooperate and asked Orikan to help activate Cadia’s Blackstone obelisks before they confronted the Eye of Terror.

Luther and Astellan prepared the Dark Angels for the Emperor’s massed campaign against the Eye of Terror as Imperial forces gathered at Cadia. Inside the Eye, Abaddon ordered the rebel factions to prepare for a seventy-two-hour withdrawal through an ancient passage to other universes.

• Luther and Astellan discussed the Dark Angels’ mobilization and the strength of the Legions assembling at Cadia, including the Iron Hands, Space Wolves, and Imperial Fists.
• Luther and Astellan affirmed their loyalty to the Emperor and their determination to fight for humanity.
• The Hydra urged the rebel leaders to abandon their conflict with the Imperium and seek another universe for their cause.
• Abaddon confronted Fabius Bile and Lorgar over their delays while Omegon supported an immediate retreat and Angron’s Legion stood ready to leave.
• Abaddon revealed an ancient passage between universes and gave the rebel factions seventy-two hours to prepare before the Vengeful Spirit departed.

Governor Bastonne prepared Cadia to receive the Emperor and the arriving Legions as Rogal Dorn’s forces assembled to repair the Eye of Terror. With the Four Chaos Gods watching, Lox and the Emperor began the effort to activate the Blackstone Obelisks.

• Bastonne told Lucas that Dorn’s team was preparing to activate the Blackstone Obelisks and that the Emperor and several Legions were coming to Cadia.
• The Dark Angels arrived aboard the Caliban battle planet, followed by the Space Wolves and Iron Hands, and Bastonne coordinated their supplies and orbital space.
• Dorn deployed the Legions across the Eye of Terror’s defensive line and ordered Dark Angels squads to locate and destroy Chaos strongholds.
• The Emperor arrived aboard the Emperor’s Dream after the Imperial forces cleared the region around Cadia.
• Lox sensed the Four Chaos Gods watching the gathered forces, then joined the Emperor as they began the attempt to repair the Eye of Terror.

Lox, the Emperor, Rogal Dorn, and Orikan used the Void Dragon’s power and Cadia’s Blackstone obelisks to shrink the Eye of Terror, while Euphrati Keeler and Sebastian Thor organized prayers that eased the obelisks’ harmful effects on Cadians. The Chaos Gods then unleashed a combined Warp storm that stopped the Eye’s contraction and drove it to expand again.

• Lox used the Void Dragon’s power to restore reality’s laws and shrink the Eye of Terror by nearly one-fifth, but warned the Emperor that the Warp-connected core required more direct intervention.
• The Emperor ordered Rogal Dorn to activate Cadia’s Blackstone obelisks, and Orikan linked more than eight thousand of them into a planetwide anti-psychic network that compressed the Eye further.
• The Blackstone field made civilians, soldiers, and Psykers across Cadia ill, so Bastone and Lucas assessed the casualties while Euphrati Keeler and Sebastian Thor arrived to help.
• Keeler and Thor organized synchronized prayers and distributed holy relics, easing the field’s effects on Cadians and stabilizing many critically ill patients.
• Nearly a month later, the four Chaos Gods combined their powers into a vast Warp storm that halted the Eye of Terror’s contraction and made it expand rapidly.

As the Eye of Terror violently expanded and the Warp counterattacked, Lox and the Emperor struggled to hold it back while Guilliman mobilized the Imperium. The four Chaos Gods met on Molech and forged an alliance to destroy humanity, expand the Eye, and devour the universe.

• Guilliman ordered Imperial forces and nearby worlds to mobilize after the Eye of Terror's expansion triggered a surge in illegal Psykers.
• Lox and the Emperor fought the Warp storm as the God-Emperor warned that the four Chaos Gods had joined forces and blocked his connection to reality.
• The God-Emperor sent the Cursed Legion to invade the Chaos Gods' realms, but the gods continued their assault on the Eye of Terror.
• On Molech, Tzeentch argued that the gods could gain freedom from their thrones by devouring the Warhammer universe, and the others considered his proposal.
• Tzeentch swore an oath of alliance, and Khorne, Slaanesh, and Nurgle joined him in a pact to destroy the Imperium and devour the universe.

Tzeentch united the four Chaos Gods behind a plan to concentrate their forces on Cadia and lure human traitors into battle with promises of divine favor. As many traitors abandoned Abaddon to join the assault, Abaddon gathered those still loyal and prepared to flee the universe.

• Tzeentch persuaded the four Chaos Gods to preserve the Eye of Terror, concentrate their daemon armies on Cadia, and recruit traitors with promises of blessings and ascension.
• The gods’ revelation reached Typhus, who rejected Abaddon’s escape plan and led the Death Guard toward Cadia.
• Lorgar embraced the revelation as a chance for revenge and ordered the Word Bearers to join the attack on Cadia.
• Chaos warbands and lords left Abaddon’s fleet to seek the gods’ promised rewards, while Abaddon let them go and condemned them as expendable pieces.
• Abaddon told Khayon to gather everyone who remained loyal and prepare to leave the universe before time ran out.

Abaddon led the forces that stayed with him toward a mysterious passage to another universe, while Lorgar and Typhus joined the Chaos Gods’ gathered armies near Cadia. The chapter ended as Kairos Fateweaver warned that Lorgar and Typhus would die at the hands of the Accursed One.

• Abaddon explained to Khayon that the Chaos Gods feared humanity’s renewed strength and that he intended to escape their conflict by seeking a new universe.
• Abaddon rallied the remaining Black Legion and allied warbands, then led their fleets into a perilous Warp vortex that served as an ancient transit passage.
• Lorgar accepted Typhus’s offer to unite the Word Bearers and Death Guard, viewing the alliance as useful for the coming war.
• Lorgar and Typhus arrived at a vast gathering of daemons from all four Chaos Gods and saw their representatives, including Ang'grath the Unbound and Kairos Fateweaver.
• Kairos Fateweaver welcomed Lorgar and Typhus, then warned that the Accursed One would destroy them.

Lorgar took command of the Chaos forces assembled to attack Cadia and planned a direct assault on its defenses. With the Emperor the greatest obstacle, Be'lakor volunteered to accept the four gods' blessings and fight him, and Lorgar agreed to make it their trump card.

• Kairos's prophecy unsettled Lorgar, while Rotigus rebuked Typhus and Typhus blurted out his xenos ancestry before Lorgar silenced him.
• Be'lakor offered to join Lorgar, explaining that it had waited for a chance to reclaim what the four Chaos Gods had taken from it.
• Ang'grath, Shalaxi Helbane, Kairos, and Rotigus argued over command until Lorgar declared himself leader, and the four gods ordered their Greater Daemons to accept.
• Lorgar ordered a frontal assault on Cadia but warned that the Emperor could not be left unchecked; Ang'grath refused to face him, and Kairos sarcastically suggested Lorgar do it.
• Be'lakor volunteered to bear the gods' blessings and fight the Emperor, and Lorgar accepted it as his trump card while ordering attacks on four points of Cadia's defenses.