Chapter Summaries

Bona, Horus, Captain Dakan, and Valdor arrived in the Maelstrom system with a massive fleet to claim the Blackstone Fortress from Huron. Huron revealed that a murderous wraith had driven his forces from the fortress, then agreed to let Bona take it and received a warning about his future choices.

• A large fleet appeared in the Maelstrom system and sealed off the sector, prompting Huron and Amanius to assess the threat.
• Bona, Horus, Captain Dakan, and Valdor docked and met Huron, who sent his Warp-tainted subordinates away before speaking with them.
• Bona demanded the Blackstone Fortress, and Huron said the Red Corsairs no longer controlled it.
• Amanius explained that a wraith had caused gruesome deaths aboard the fortress, killing everyone Huron sent to investigate.
• Huron agreed to let Bona take the fortress, and Bona warned him to reconsider his path before it was too late.

Huron decided to disband the Red Corsairs and flee to the Outer Ring as the Imperium’s forces closed in. On the Blackstone Fortress, Bona faced Curze’s illusions and rejected his claims that the future was predetermined, leaving Curze laughing as Bona moved on.

• Huron told Amanius that the Imperium’s warning meant the Red Corsairs would become its next target after Abaddon’s defeat, and decided they would go to the Outer Ring and disband.
• Valdor, Horus, and Bona entered a corridor filled with mutilated Harlequins and Red Corsairs, where Valdor described the Harlequins’ powers and their past raid on the Golden Throne.
• Bona was separated from Valdor and Horus by an illusion, then shattered the haunted corridor and burned away the blood and bats attacking him.
• Bona caught and burned the enormous bat, revealing Curze, who insisted that defeating the Chaos Gods or the Emperor would change nothing.
• Bona slapped Curze down, rejected his surrender to fate, and kicked him aside before continuing onward as Curze laughed.

Bona brought the Blackstone Fortress online while Curze confronted the Night Lords’ sabotage, and Valdor explained the Legion’s history. After the fortress departed, Lion El'Jonson showed Russ evidence uncovered by Guilliman and asked him to destroy the Eris Chapter.

• The Blackstone Fortress powered up, and Horus encountered Curze in the command center.
• Bona asked Curze to stop the Night Lords’ sabotage, and Curze left to deal with his sons.
• Valdor explained how criminals and psychopaths had made the Eighth Legion uncontrollable, leading Curze to destroy Nostramo.
• Bona piloted the Blackstone Fortress out of the spaceport, while its crew planned to install an Inertialess Drive.
• Lion El'Jonson gave Russ a parchment with evidence uncovered by Guilliman and ordered the Eris Chapter destroyed.

Lion El'Jonson confronted the High Lords of Terra over their secret Eris Chapter and the crimes behind its creation. As he revealed that the Dark Angels were striking their bases, Ecclesiarch Sidereus XXIII erupted with Warp energy and spoke in the Emperor's voice, ordering Lion to stop.

• Russ accepted that the Emperor's Executioners would destroy the Eris Chapter and left Lion El'Jonson's room.
• Lion El'Jonson ordered Azrael to deploy the Dark Angels' Dreadwing and Stormwing across Terra.
• Lion El'Jonson entered the council chamber, smashed the table with his greatsword, and accused the High Lords of crossing the line.
• Lion El'Jonson named Argia, Nucadus, and Yeroga, revealing that the Dark Angels were attacking the High Lords' secret bases on Terra.
• Sidereus XXIII was engulfed in blinding light and Warp energy, then spoke in the Emperor's voice and told Lion El'Jonson to stop.

The God-Emperor stopped Lion El'Jonson, Guilliman, and Dorn from executing the High Lords, rejecting their evidence and ordering them out. He summoned the High Lords to the Throne Room, where they later emerged serene and vacant, with Ecclesiarch Sidereus XXIII restored among them.

• The God-Emperor manifested through Ecclesiarch Sidereus XXIII and ordered Lion El'Jonson to explain why he planned to kill the High Lords.
• Lion El'Jonson said the High Lords had colluded with Chaos, but the God-Emperor dismissed his evidence and condemned the three Primarchs.
• The God-Emperor had Trajann Valoris escort Lion El'Jonson, Guilliman, and Dorn out, then thanked the High Lords and summoned them to the Throne Room.
• Ecclesiarch Sidereus XXIII burned away in golden flames, leaving only his robes behind.
• Trajann Valoris silenced the High Lords' argument and led them to the Throne Room, where they entered before the God-Emperor.
• After agonized screams sounded behind the closed doors, the High Lords emerged serene and vacant, accompanied by a naked Sidereus XXIII.

Magnus discovered that the Primordial Annihilator was linked to the Chaos Star and went to tell Horus about a terrible truth concerning the Primarchs. He revealed that bringing their father back would require all eighteen brothers to sacrifice themselves.

• Magnus studied the Chaos Star and found the symbol of the Primordial Annihilator within it.
• Magnus left his room and followed a psychic trace to find Horus during the Mobilization Rally.
• Magnus encountered Bona, Valdor, and Captain Dakan at the reviewing stand, but Horus was away giving a speech with Fulgrim.
• Horus and Fulgrim returned, and Magnus insisted that Fulgrim stay while he shared something important.
• Magnus told Horus and Fulgrim that all eighteen Primarchs had to sacrifice themselves to bring their father back.

Magnus told Horus and Fulgrim that the Primarchs were parts of the Emperor, formed from his divided emotions and traits. Meanwhile, Russ raged over the Eris Chapter’s actions, but Lion El'Jonson restrained him and prepared to attack the Black Legion alongside the advancing forces.

• Magnus showed Horus and Fulgrim the Primarch gestation pod and explained that its Gellar Field had been intended for them.
• Magnus concluded that the Primarchs were parts of the Emperor, and Fulgrim explained that they embodied the Emperor’s emotions, virtues, and flaws.
• Horus ordered his brothers to keep their discussion secret until they had survived the coming war.
• Russ denounced the Eris Chapter and tried to leave to slaughter those responsible, but Lion El'Jonson stopped him and described the consequences of attacking the Imperial Palace and High Lords.
• Guilliman reported that Horus’s forces and Ultramar Sector troops were advancing toward the Eye of Terror to engage the Black Legion.
• Lion El'Jonson ordered his forces to attack and vowed to kill Abaddon.

The Dawn Army fleet reached Drakasi, where the Blood God’s altars drove its crews into bloody riots as the World Eaters attacked. Admiral Spire ordered the surviving forces to fight, while Angron charged into the fleet and Lotara Sarrin commanded the Legion’s assault.

• Admiral Spire, Bona, Horus, and Perturabo searched for their position after entering the Eye of Terror, then identified the blood-covered planets around a red star as Drakasi.
• Admiral Spire demanded a landing assault, but Bona sensed Warp energy as 888 altars unleashed the Blood God’s influence on the fleet.
• Bloodletters boarded the warships, and the affected Dawn Army troops turned on one another as Commissars struggled to stop the riots.
• Admiral Spire ordered survivors to regain control or abandon their ships, and Bona ordered the remaining combat-ready units to engage the World Eaters Legion.
• Lotara Sarrin watched part of the Dawn Fleet charge the Conqueror as Angron smashed through the bridge viewport and flew toward the enemy.
• Khârn told Sarrin that Angron had been waiting for battle, and Sarrin ordered the World Eaters to attack and kill them all.

Guilliman's fleet entered the Eye of Terror with Aeldari guidance, but an infected Mechanicus advance fleet revealed a Nurgle ambush. Mortarion confronted Lion El'Jonson, who dismissed him and said he was saving his strength to fight Typhus.

• The Imperial Fleet followed the Aeldari Webway into the Eye of Terror while Yriel boasted of the Webway and Lion El'Jonson remained wary of the Aeldari.
• Yvraine sensed that the Oliensis System was unnaturally quiet, and Guilliman said the Adeptus Mechanicus had found few signs of activity.
• Yvraine and Guilliman spotted plague drones and writhing tentacles on the returning Mechanicus destroyers, and Guilliman ordered the fleet to destroy the infected ships.
• The destroyers split open and spread plague across nearby warships; Russ killed the corrupted Eldrad Seer, while Sanguinius burned away the infected fluids.
• Mortarion spoke through the Seer's rotting head and challenged Guilliman, but Lion El'Jonson mocked him and declared that he was saving his strength for Typhus.

Bona defeated Angron aboard the flagship and tore the Butcher’s Nails from his skull, but they quickly grew back. He kept Angron imprisoned in a Blackstone matrix as Horus returned, and Horus revealed that Fulgrim had gone to deal with his sons.

• Bona battered Angron, severed his limbs, and pinned him to the deck.
• Bona ripped the Butcher’s Nails from Angron’s skull and briefly sensed his despair and relief before the Nails regenerated.
• Horus returned to the landing bay and found Angron bound inside a Blackstone matrix.
• Horus told Bona that the other ships were still clearing out Bloodletters and Khorne Cultists, while Perturabo coordinated reports.
• Horus said Fulgrim had gone to deal with his sons.

Fulgrim confronted the Emperor’s Children aboard the Impact Ram after finding their grotesque living altar and learned that they had prepared it as a gift for him. He killed the Legion and recorded the names of its members, leaving the Emperor’s Children gone as an organized force.

• Horus urged Fulgrim to act quickly against the Emperor’s Children before Bona could deal with them, then launched with the Luna Wolves’ boarding force.
• Fulgrim entered the Impact Ram and found the Emperor’s Children gathered around a living altar made from tortured people.
• Julius presented the altar as a gift, but Fulgrim burned it and told Julius that he, not Julius, was responsible for the Legion’s corruption.
• Fulgrim killed Julius with the Blade of Flames, then ordered the Emperor’s Children to draw their weapons and die as warriors.
• Fulgrim killed the assembled Emperor’s Children and shattered their souls, then wrote their names in his own blood on a parchment.

Lion El'Jonson's Imperial fleet defeated the Plague Fleet above Oliensis VIII and destroyed the Nurgle-corrupted planet with cyclonic torpedoes. The surviving Plague Fleet counterattacked as Typhus took command from Mortarion, who blamed Ahriman for the defeat.

• Lion El'Jonson led the Imperial fleet through the Plague Fleet's defenses and into orbit above Oliensis VIII.
• The Imperial Navy ignited the planet's atmosphere and shattered Oliensis VIII with two-stage cyclonic torpedoes.
• The surviving Plague Fleet erupted into a furious counterattack after the destruction of Oliensis VIII.
• Typhus confronted Mortarion aboard the Endurance, accused him of repeated failures, and shoved him aside to take command of the Plague Fleet.
• Mortarion seethed and blamed Ahriman's psychic power for ruining his plan.

Ahriman trapped Yvraine and the Reaper Host in a mirrored world, demanding the secret of restoring the Rubric Marines. Yvraine deceived him into releasing them, but the restored warriors soon turned to sand, leaving Ahriman devastated as Yvraine escaped into the Webway.

• Ahriman used the battle's chaos to pull Yvraine and the Reaper Host into a mirrored world, where he demanded that she reveal how she had restored the Rubric Marines.
• Yvraine claimed the Blade of the God of Death could resurrect the Rubric Marines and threatened to kill herself unless Ahriman let them live.
• Yvraine and the Farseers appeared to restore the Rubric Marines, and Ahriman returned with them to the Materium before releasing Yvraine and her companions.
• Phreel and the other restored warriors turned to sand, and Ahriman realized they were truly dead.
• Yvraine and the Reaper Host escaped through the Webway, laughing at how they had tricked Ahriman.

Bona reassigned the fleet’s navigational command after heavy losses and questioned Horus and Fulgrim about Angron’s history. He decided to inspect Angron and judge whether the captive Primarch was fit to live.

• The adjutant reported heavy losses, and Bona ordered the battle report sent to the rear and the Inquisition.
• Bona transferred navigational command from Perturabo to Admiral Spire, citing Spire’s greater Warp experience.
• Fulgrim admitted responsibility for his actions, but Bona said he had summoned him and Horus to learn about Angron.
• Horus and Fulgrim explained that the Butcher’s Nails had impaired Angron and that the Emperor had treated the Primarchs as tools.
• Bona said he would inspect Angron and execute him if he was only a madman driven by slaughter.

Bona explored Angron’s memories, exposing how the Butcher’s Nails drove him to slaughter his gladiator brothers and civilians, and showed him his adoptive father’s true final wish. After Bona removed the Nails, Angron saw an attack aimed at him and sacrificed himself to save Bona.

• Bona entered Angron’s memories and watched him fight the figures he hated before tracing his past on Nuceria.
• Angron recalled his life among the gladiators, his adoptive father’s death, and the Emperor taking him from Nuceria.
• Bona showed Angron that the Butcher’s Nails had driven him to kill his brothers and massacre civilians before the Emperor subdued him.
• Bona revealed that Angron’s adoptive father had sacrificed himself so Angron could go on to save others, and Angron remembered his father’s dying words.
• Bona removed the Butcher’s Nails and destroyed the daemon attached to Angron’s head.
• Angron spotted a Titan’s cannon targeting Bona, knocked him aside, and was killed by the blast.

Bona faced a mysterious force inside Angron’s mindscape until Angron summoned Nuceria’s gladiators and drove the attackers back. Angron emerged from the isolation chamber without the Butcher’s Nails, leaving Horus stunned and Fulgrim welcoming him.

• Bona recognized the attackers as Untouchables and struggled to protect Angron’s soul from their assault.
• Angron appeared in a restored vision of Nuceria, pierced the Psi-Titan with his chariot, and led the gladiators in a charge against the gray-white Astartes and the weeping angel.
• Bona watched Angron defeat the angel, then closed his eyes as the battle continued.
• Horus and Fulgrim discussed the Necrons and Fulgrim showed Horus a new emblem he had designed.
• Angron emerged from the isolation chamber, and Horus and Fulgrim realized that he had recovered and the Butcher’s Nails were gone.

Horus assigned the Redemption Legion to lead an operation against the systems around Eidolon, while Bona reacted in dismay to the Night Lords’ gruesome attacks on planetary governments. Horus then found Fulgrim and Angron caring for the Thunderhawk’s children before giving them their next combat orders.

• Horus reviewed Guilliman’s report of plague and World Eaters casualties and proposed capturing the systems around Eidolon to trap the Black Legion.
• Bona insisted that the Redemption Legion lead the operation instead of the Necrons, and Horus accepted his request.
• Horus showed Bona photographs of disemboweled Night Lords and Alpha Legionaries displayed outside a planetary government building, prompting Bona to question what Konrad was doing.
• Horus found Fulgrim and Angron handing out food and entertaining children at the Naval Primary School with provisions earned in the underground arena.
• Horus gave Fulgrim and Angron their combat assignments and told them to move out within one Standard Week.
• Angron told a child that he should grow strong by standing up for the weak and saving people who were suffering.

Farsight led a T'au fleet to reclaim Au'Tal, while Guilliman asked the Blood Ravens to help find the artifacts needed to summon Vulkan. The Salamanders recognized the nine artifacts in the reception room and discovered that the sleeping Vulkan was already there.

• Farsight rallied the T'au warriors and led their fleet through Warp technology to attack Au'Tal, seeking to reclaim their former homeworld.
• Dakros watched the T'au fleet depart and reflected on how hardship had transformed the empire.
• Guilliman showed the Blood Ravens a Chainsword recovered from a xenos and asked them to find nine artifacts linked to Vulkan's return.
• Tu'Shan recognized the nine artifacts displayed outside the reception room as the pieces of the Promethean symbol.
• Gabriel opened the reception room and found the sleeping Vulkan standing inside.

The Primarchs debated how to awaken Vulkan, and Lion El'Jonson insisted that the Salamanders take him to Nocturne, with Sanguinius assigned to escort him. In a vision or memory, Vulkan resisted a figure resembling the Emperor that demanded the Talisman of Seven Hammers, then heard the familiar sound of forging on Nocturne.

• Sanguinius said Vulkan seemed to be in a deep sleep, while Lion El'Jonson recalled his past deaths and resurrection on Nocturne.
• Tu'Shan asked to take Vulkan back to Nocturne, but Guilliman questioned whether the Salamanders had any definite way to awaken him.
• Lion El'Jonson insisted that Nocturne held a crucial clue and asked Sanguinius to escort Vulkan; Sanguinius agreed.
• Vulkan knelt in a snowy wasteland clutching the Talisman of Seven Hammers, which he had forged on Nocturne for the Emperor's order to destroy Terra if necessary.
• A figure resembling the Emperor demanded the Talisman, but Vulkan refused and held on as a blizzard battered him.
• Vulkan felt warmth and heard the sound of tools being forged on Nocturne.

The people of Nocturne gathered at the Great Volcano Forge, where Tu'Shan cast Vulkan into the magma as part of his return. Vulkan emerged unharmed, and the people celebrated his survival.

• The people of Nocturne passed the sacred flame to the Great Volcano Forge while the Salamanders prepared to protect them from the beasts driven out by the eruption.
• The tribespeople sang an ancient ballad as the forge awakened, and Tu'Shan struck the chain holding Vulkan, sending him into the magma.
• The Death Volcano erupted violently, but its smoke and lava caused no damage.
• Sanguinius watched Vulkan emerge from the flames, and Tu'Shan and the gathered people cried out, "Vulkan lives!"
• Vulkan greeted his friends and told them he had never felt so warm.