Chapter Summaries

Vulkan reunited with Sanguinius on Nocturne and revealed his fear that the Emperor had suffered greatly, while withholding the danger surrounding the Talisman of Seven Hammers. In the Galactic Core, Vashtorr formed an alliance with Annihilation Core T-001 to pursue their separate goals.

• After ten days of celebrations, Vulkan met with Sanguinius and discussed their brothers’ return and their campaign in the Eye of Terror.
• Sanguinius explained that Aeldari guidance had helped their forces navigate the Warp and enter the Eye of Terror.
• Vulkan described a terrifying encounter with a presence he believed was the Emperor, and Sanguinius said the Emperor’s troubles may have begun around the Age of Apostasy.
• Vulkan decided not to tell his brothers that the Emperor—or something impersonating him—wanted the Talisman of Seven Hammers, fearing it could trigger civil war.
• At the Galactic Core, Vashtorr met Annihilation Core T-001 in its hidden automated War Factory and demonstrated his Warp power.
• Vashtorr offered to help the Annihilation Core understand the Warp in exchange for its assistance, and the two established cooperation.

Guilliman’s fleet entered the Eidolon Sector and was scattered by the Chaos forces’ Warp-powered traps. As Guilliman fought daemons aboard the Macragge’s Honour, a mysterious construct destroyed the Unyielding Truth.

• Guilliman’s fleet reached Eidolon and heard Abaddon taunt the Primarchs over the communications system.
• Abaddon denounced the Imperium and claimed humanity should embrace the Empyrean as the Chaos altars flooded the sector with Warp power.
• The Lord of Change’s transmuting light scattered the Imperial Fleet, sending ships into daemon traps across Eidolon.
• Bloodletters and eight Bloodthirsters appeared aboard the Macragge’s Honour, and Sicarius led the Victrix Guard against them.
• Guilliman ordered Calgar to regroup the scattered forces instead of sending reinforcements to the flagship.
• A strange construct fired through Imperial and Chaos ships, then destroyed the First Legion’s flagship, the Unyielding Truth.

Asdenak made a blind jump into the Eidolon Sector, where its gravity and reinforcements devastated Abaddon's Chaos Fleet. Perturabo destroyed the Planet Killer with Asdenak's cannon, just as a Luna Wolves warship emerged from a jump.

• Abaddon ordered the Planet Killer to target the Space Wolves' flagship, the Hrafnkel.
• Asdenak suddenly appeared in the Eidolon Sector, dragging nearby ships and a Daemon World into its deadly gravity.
• The Hrafnkel broke apart in Asdenak's atmosphere and survived beneath its Planetary Shield, while the Planet Killer's shot failed to penetrate.
• Asdenak's Teleport Beacon summoned countless Thunderhawk warships, overwhelming Abaddon's Chaos Fleet.
• Perturabo fired Asdenak's Planetary Cannon and erased the Planet Killer and a nearby Daemon World.
• Abaddon saw a warship bearing the Luna Wolves' insignia emerge from a jump.

Thunderhawk’s forces arrived on Asdenak amid a devastating daemonic invasion, where Russ and the Space Wolves were nearly overwhelmed. Angron rescued the wounded Russ and warned that they had to escape before the Blackstone matrices failed.

• Thunderhawk’s main force warped onto Asdenak and found the Imperium’s scattered troops facing vast daemonic forces and Warp corruption.
• Russ and the Space Wolves fought to break through the daemonic tide, but Logan and the other warriors urged Russ to leave them behind.
• A Keeper of Secrets wounded Russ, and Greater Daemons pinned him down as the daemons surged toward the Space Wolves.
• Angron arrived on a flame-wreathed chariot, slew Greater Daemons, and brought reinforcements that raised Blackstone Obelisks to hold back the tide.
• Russ collapsed and returned to human form, while Angron burned the Slaanesh toxin from his wounds and urged him to escape before the Blackstone matrices failed.

The loyalists and their allies regrouped inside Perturabo’s fortified Asdenak as Bona proposed a suicide strike against Abaddon to buy time for the blackstone matrix. Lion El’Jonson distrusted Bona, but Vulkan vouched for him, while an unseen critic mocked Vulkan and slipped away to scout.

• Angron escorted Russ and the Space Wolves into Asdenak, where Russ found Lion El’Jonson, Fulgrim, Sanguinius, Guilliman, Perturabo, and others gathered.
• Bona presented the battle situation and proposed that the assembled forces attack Abaddon while the blackstone matrix was prepared to destroy the Chaos ritual arrays.
• Thousand Faces, Amarkun, Cryptek Zaa, and Yriel argued over the plan and their long-standing grievances before Bona demanded a decision.
• Lion El’Jonson asked what Bona would do during the attack, and Bona said he would face the Four Chaos Gods directly.
• Vulkan arrived supporting the wounded Dorn and vouched for Bona, prompting Lion El’Jonson’s surprise.
• An unseen voice mocked Vulkan’s kindness, crushed a corner of the table with Bona’s hand, and then withdrew into the shadows to scout ahead.

Bona erased the daemonic tide with his immense Psyker Power, leaving the Black Legion exposed for the Primarchs to attack. Horus confronted Abaddon aboard the Vengeful Spirit, rejected his vision for humanity, and prepared to fight him.

• Bona used points of emotionless white light to annihilate the daemons and their fleet, then left the remaining battle to the others.
• Lion El'Jonson ordered the forces to attack the Black Legion.
• Horus landed on the Vengeful Spirit with Angron, who then left to aid their brothers elsewhere.
• Horus found Abaddon alone on the bridge and learned that the other Black Legion leaders had fled.
• Horus and Abaddon argued over humanity's future and recalled their oath on Cthonia.
• Abaddon attacked Horus, and Horus activated his Lightning Claw to meet him.

Bona met Tzeentch in a time-forgotten library, where the god revealed that its books recorded all existence and offered him the First Pen. Tzeentch vanished after sending Bona toward a dangerous task, leaving him outside the collapsed Crystal Labyrinth with the Pen transformed into starlight around his hand.

• Bona entered the Warp and found an immense library where Tzeentch showed him books recording past, future, and present events, including the story of Abaddon and Horus unfolding at that moment.
• Tzeentch warned Bona that his next undertaking could put his life in genuine danger and asked if he was ready; Bona nodded.
• Tzeentch gave Bona the First Pen, an ancient writing tool from the first intelligent race in the universe, and said he was willing to risk everything to escape the world's stagnant story.
• Tzeentch told Bona to proceed and suggested he might be the true protagonist, then vanished along with the Two-Headed Parrot.
• Bona left the library and found the Crystal Labyrinth collapsed as Tzeentch's followers watched; the First Pen turned into starlight around his hand.

Bona reached Slaanesh’s Sixth Ring of Excess seeking an ordinary stone from humanity’s ancient past. After Slaanesh attacked him, he found himself alone in a featureless darkness and heard something after wandering there for an unknown time.

• Bona used the First Pen with Magladroth’s Creation to transform a distant spacecraft into an Emperor-class Battleship.
• Bona entered the Sixth Ring of Excess and saw through its revelry to the bones and souls sustaining the palace.
• Slaanesh showed Bona the ancient stone he wanted and demanded that he satisfy her before she would give it to him.
• Bona rejected Slaanesh’s advances and abandoned the idea of fighting her.
• Slaanesh vanished after wishing Bona luck, and Bona was left in a silent, pitch-black world.
• Bona wandered through the darkness until he heard something.

Bona faced Slaanesh’s visions of an ideal Imperium and a loving family, but the scenes stirred his longing and guilt over the family he had destroyed. He recalled his father’s warning not to be consumed by revenge and remorse as he confronted and stabbed his younger self.

• Bona watched a vision of a confident, prosperous Imperium and dismissed it as an impossible ideal for humanity.
• Slaanesh presented Bona with a modest family dinner, where parents and brothers showed affection and care for one another.
• The family scene reminded Bona of his childhood with Malcador, Malak, and his father, and he collapsed under the pain of remembering how he had killed Malak and destroyed his family.
• Bona admitted to his younger self that it was all his fault, then stabbed him and recalled his father’s warning not to let revenge and remorse consume him.

Bona escaped Slaanesh’s palace with the stone representing humanity’s desire to live, then pursued Cegorach into the Webway. After arriving in Commorragh, he tore open the city to the Warp, unleashing Daemons and freeing its human captives.

• Slaanesh gave Bona the stone depicting humanity’s first hunting feast before her palace withered and disappeared.
• Bona discovered Cegorach carrying the Crone Sword, trapped him with an illusion, and attacked him after the Laughing God tried to escape.
• Cegorach fled through the Webway, leaving Bona in Commorragh, where Bona sensed the Drukhari’s emotions and decided to destroy the city.
• Bona tore open a vast fissure in Commorragh, allowing the Warp and Daemons to pour into the city and attack the Drukhari.
• Bona declared the human slaves behind him free and told them that humanity’s time had come.

Bona visited Nurgle’s transformed Garden and learned that the Grandfather had changed his followers’ appearance and used tempting food to spread corruption across Imperial worlds. The Grandfather asked Bona to persuade an unhappy Mortarion to join the feast.

• Bona returned to the Garden of Nurgle and found its Nurglings transformed into cheerful fairies among flowers and gardens.
• Rotigus told Bona that Nurgle’s followers had changed their appearance after Bona’s earlier suggestion, hoping to make humans more accepting of them.
• Bona joined Nurgle and his family for a feast, where he discovered that their food was corrupting and that the Plague Fleet had used it to incite riots on Imperial worlds.
• The Grandfather noticed Bona’s troubled expression and asked him to speak with Mortarion, who had refused to join the feast.

Bona forced Mortarion to attend dinner and confronted him about his self-pity, cruelty, and resentment toward the Emperor and Nurgle. After losing their fight, Mortarion ran off, determined to prove Bona wrong.

• Bona broke into Mortarion's swamp room and ordered him to come to dinner, but Mortarion refused.
• Bona soundproofed the room, dragged Mortarion outside, and beat him despite Mortarion's rapid healing and challenges to kill him.
• Mortarion insulted the Emperor and Malcador, so Bona slammed him into the swamp and battered him against a piece of blackstone.
• Bona accused Mortarion of blaming others, abandoning Nurgle's ideals, and driving his brothers away with his poison-gas armor.
• Mortarion declared that he would prove Bona wrong and ran off, while Bona followed him.

At a final family feast, Grandfather warned his loved ones of a deadly enemy, gave Bona a budding branch, and vanished with the Garden of Nurgle. Bona then stabbed Isha, while Mortarion confronted him before being pulled away; afterward, a woman awoke in the ruined garden with no memory of who she was.

• Mortarion joined Grandfather's feast after changing out of his poisoned armor, and Grandfather told the family they would have to part because a terrible villain threatened them.
• Grandfather gave Bona a budding branch inscribed with “Nurgle,” comforted Mortarion about his father, and dissolved into motes of light as the garden and family disappeared.
• Bona stabbed Isha and said the Aeldari would never stand with humanity, while Mortarion accused him of killing the last kind soul and was suddenly pulled away.
• Bona apologized to Isha, closed her eyes, and said that Isha must die.
• A beautiful woman rose from the ruined garden and wondered who she was.

Bona faced Khorne in a duel fought without their powers, and Khorne overwhelmed him with superior skill and strength. As Khorne prepared to finish him, a small figure resembling Bona appeared and asked whether he had given up.

• Bona entered the Brass Fortress and met Khorne, who said he would test Bona's strength in a place cut off from the Warp.
• Khorne stripped away their powers and transformed the battlefield into a lava-rock plain where they fought as ordinary souls.
• Khorne exploited a crack in Bona's sword, severed Bona's right arm, and struck him in the chest.
• Khorne unleashed a devastating strike that shattered the battlefield and left Bona grievously wounded.
• Khorne raised the Sword of War to kill Bona, but a small figure in a white robe appeared and asked whether Bona had given up.

Bona overcame his doubts with encouragement from his younger self, regained his strength, and defeated Khorne in battle. He awoke in Khorne’s abandoned Sanctuary, took the ancient sword from the Brass Throne, and left.

• Bona’s younger self urged him to stop fearing failure and commit to their shared decision for Father and everyone.
• The child’s golden flames flowed into Bona, restoring his body and giving him a Silver Warblade.
• Bona fought Khorne, knocked aside the Sword of War, and inflicted eight deep wounds on him.
• Bona drove his sword into Khorne’s chest and severed his head, shattering the illusion around them.
• Bona awoke in the deserted Sanctuary, took the rune-covered sword from the Brass Throne, and left after looking at the helmet.

Jaghatai Khan rescued an amnesiac Aeldari girl from daemons in the Webway and traveled with her to a lost world. When she had nowhere to go, he invited her to explore the wider universe with him.

• Jaghatai Khan sent his eagle Harry to scout pursuing daemons and learned they were chasing a living Aeldari.
• Jaghatai rescued the girl and rode with her through the Webway, sharing stories of his loneliness and past.
• Jaghatai and the girl escaped through a Webway gate and arrived at an abandoned Aeldari world.
• After the girl admitted she did not know who she was or where to go, Jaghatai invited her to travel with him.

After the Dark Throne dispersed the Eye of Terror, celebrations gave way to a violent dispute between the Imperium and Thunderhawk, and negotiations to unite the human powers stalled. As Guilliman reviewed reports of threats across the galaxy, Azrael and an admiral separately delivered alarming news to Lion El'Jonson and Horus, leaving the gathering on edge.

• The Dark Throne remained in orbit above Cadia as a neutral safeguard, while the Aeldari and Necrons withdrew to pursue their own goals.
• An argument between an Ecclesiarchy priest and Thunderhawk soldiers erupted into a deadly clash, which the Ultramarines stopped from escalating into a larger war.
• Guilliman's negotiations to merge the Imperium and Thunderhawk bogged down amid doctrinal disputes, accusations, and demands over taxes and heresy.
• Guilliman reviewed reports of an evolved Behemoth Hive Fleet, renewed Tyranid activity, Votann attacks, T'au setbacks, and hidden Chaos forces.
• Azrael whispered urgent news to Lion El'Jonson, and an admiral separately spoke to Horus, leaving both commanders astonished and Guilliman uneasy.

Jaghatai introduced the amnesiac Isha to the Aeldari, then learned that the Primarchs had been ordered to return to Terra under suspicious circumstances. Bona refused the order and declared open rebellion, leaving the Primarchs facing a new crisis.

• Jaghatai brought Isha to Yvraine and the Aeldari, who marveled at her beauty and welcomed her as one of their own.
• Isha asked Jaghatai to stay with her, but he urged her to join her people and promised she could seek him out later.
• Jaghatai rejoined his brothers and read an order bearing every High Lord's seal that summoned all Primarchs to Terra and pardoned the rebel Primarchs.
• Jaghatai, Vulkan, and Guilliman questioned the order, while Lion El'Jonson and Russ suspected their motives.
• Bona arrived and declared that he and his followers would not return to Terra or surrender command of their armies.
• When Lion El'Jonson asked whether this was rebellion, Bona confirmed that it was.

Bona warned the Primarchs that the being on the Throne was a Chaos God and threatened to kill anyone who obstructed him. As Sanguinius, Dorn, and Vulkan prepared to return to Terra, Guilliman secretly ordered his allies to ready the Light of Hope plan, a surprise attack on the Solar System.

• Bona stopped Lion El'Jonson from drawing Loyalty, then warned the assembled Primarchs that the being on the Throne was a Chaos God and that he would kill anyone who stood in his way.
• Sanguinius, Dorn, and Vulkan decided to return to Terra, while the other Primarchs departed to prepare their fleets.
• Guilliman stayed behind and privately instructed Belisarius Cawl, Marius Calgar, and Varro Tigurius to prepare to activate Light of Hope.
• Guilliman named the forces he expected to fight, including the Adeptus Custodes, the Lucifer Blacks, the Dark Angels, the Grey Knights, the Space Wolves, and Mars's Titan Legion.
• Cawl reported that Webway Z was 98.7% structurally intact but would be detected and destroyed five hours after use, and Guilliman judged that time sufficient.
• Guilliman's Light of Hope plan called for Ultramarines to invade the Solar System through the Webway and sever Terra's communications and reinforcements.

Bona met Lorgar Aurelian, who had surrendered with the Word Bearers Legion and declared Bona humanity’s true divinity. After learning that thousands of Word Bearers had killed one another in devotion, Bona ordered Lorgar isolated and denied all contact.

• Bona forgot why he was heading to Hall Three, and Dakan reminded him that Fulgrim and Magnus were waiting there.
• Bona entered the Secret Chamber and found Lorgar Aurelian kneeling in chains; Fulgrim explained that Lorgar and the Word Bearers Legion had surrendered unconditionally.
• Lorgar proclaimed Bona a god uncrowned, and Bona beat him while rejecting his worship and condemning the Word Bearers’ atrocities.
• Dakan reported that more than three thousand detained Word Bearers had died in mass killings, with many willingly letting their comrades kill them.
• Bona ordered Lorgar taken away and forbade anyone from seeing or responding to him.