Chapter Summaries

Horus defeated Abaddon, who escaped, and the Imperium won the Nachmund Campaign. Horus then went to Vigilus and met with Lion El'Jonson and Sanguinius, ending the chapter by proposing a plan to close the Eye of Terror.

• Horus defeated Abaddon, but Abaddon activated a switch and vanished; Horus sealed the Daemon Sword in a Tesseract Labyrinth.
• Horus's forces defeated the Black Fleet, bringing the Nachmund Campaign to an apparent Imperial victory.
• Horus flew to Vigilus and surrendered his weapons before meeting Calgar and Tigurius.
• Horus entered the recovery chamber, disarmed the wounded Lion El'Jonson, and greeted Sanguinius.
• Horus told Lion El'Jonson and Sanguinius that Abaddon had escaped, then presented a plan to close the Eye of Terror.

Guilliman joined a secret meeting of Imperial, Aeldari, and Necron leaders, where Horus proposed a joint campaign to close the Eye of Terror. The gathering leaned toward cooperation despite Lion El'Jonson's objections, while Dorn and Perturabo argued over who would lead the assault on Eidolon.

• Calgar welcomed Guilliman, Cawl, Yvraine, and their escorts into a concealed fortress beneath Vigilus.
• Guilliman found Lion El'Jonson, Sanguinius, Trajann Valoris, Horus, Amarkun, Zaa, Perturabo, Magnus, and other leaders assembled for the meeting.
• Lion El'Jonson challenged Guilliman over his alliance with the Aeldari, and Amarkun and Yriel exchanged insults.
• Horus presented a plan to invade the Eye of Terror, destroy Daemon Worlds, and use a World Engine and Blackstone matrices to try to close it.
• Guilliman, Sanguinius, Zaa, and Dorn supported cooperation, while Lion El'Jonson remained hostile and Perturabo argued with Dorn over which legion would reach Eidolon first.

The Imperium and Thunderhawk reached a limited agreement to cooperate against the Eye of Terror while facing an Ork resurgence and an impending Necron civil war. After meeting with Sanguinius, Horus remembered what had happened ten thousand years earlier and began to tell him.

• The Orks defeated the Tyranids on Octarius, and Bonebreaka reappeared with a growing horde, threatening to become a second Ork Emperor.
• Imotekh declared that Szarekh had betrayed the Necrontyr and claimed the title of Silent King, prompting Necron forces to gather for civil war over Bona's Scepter of Eternal Glory.
• The Imperium and Thunderhawk agreed to attack the Eye of Terror together, with limited cooperation between the Necrons and Aeldari and an end to attacks on each other's people and convoys.
• Horus met Sanguinius in an abandoned palace on Vigilus, where they discussed the past and Dorak's unusual mission to keep getting captured by the Blood Angels.
• Horus suffered a painful memory of drawing his sword against his brother and told Sanguinius that he remembered what happened ten thousand years earlier.

Horus and Sanguinius shared a final, peaceful conversation before accepting that they would soon have to become enemies. Elsewhere, the Primarchs argued over weapons and Imperial strategy, while Guilliman, Lion El'Jonson, Yvraine, and Cawl negotiated with the Aeldari over Webway routes and the Eidolon Sector.

• Horus remembered the pain of his past, and Sanguinius reassured him that he did not blame him for what had happened.
• Horus and Sanguinius shared stories, then silently accepted that their roles would soon force them to fight as enemies.
• Perturabo taunted Rogal Dorn with the Roar of Iron-Asdenak, and Dorn dismissed the weapon as likely to trigger a catastrophic chain reaction.
• Guilliman asked Lion El'Jonson to return to Terra, but Lion confronted him over allowing Aeldari Craftworlds into Imperial territory.
• Guilliman explained his agreement with Yvraine, and Lion discovered that the Aeldari had maintained a Webway access point on Luna for tens of thousands of years.
• Yvraine and Seer Otheryan negotiated with Archmagos Cawl over Aeldari claims in the Eidolon Sector, agreeing to avoid stripping it bare and to protect the Maiden Worlds from unnecessary damage.

The Lamenters regained their freedom by agreeing to help the Revenue Inquisition collect taxes, and Chapter Master Hope joined Charp in auditing a planetary government. The chapter ended with Charp giving the cabinet three days to explain vague figures from a mining zone.

• After civilians and crew rioted to rescue the disarmed Lamenters, the Department of the Interior recognized their concern for mortals and allowed them to go free in exchange for helping collect taxes.
• Chapter Master Hope accompanied Revenue Inquisition official Charp, who explained that Thunderhawk used armed tax collection and tied good governance to preventing Chaos incursions.
• Charp confronted the planetary Archon and finance officer over unclear figures from Dorda Mining Zone-6 and accused them of dereliction of duty.
• Hope argued that the figures should be investigated before the government was blamed, and Charp gave the cabinet three days to provide a reasonable explanation.

Tax Officer Charp completed the collection on Biyangdeke V despite a series of disasters that cost the fleet most of its taxes. Bona resisted a strange vision and woke to find Fulgrim attacking him aboard the Thunderhawk.

• Tax Officer Charp collected Biyangdeke V’s taxes and recruited its miners, but Daemons, Tyranids, and ship damage left nearly three-quarters of the collected goods missing.
• Bona entered a silver gate and found a peaceful world with an ancient statue, which he shattered because he hated gods.
• A gentle voice tried to lull Bona into resting, but he broke his blade and stabbed himself in the heart to escape the vision.
• Bona woke and swung a Chainsword at his attacker, but Fulgrim struck him through the wall.
• Thunder Warriors rushed to the corridor and recognized Fulgrim in his monstrous form.

Bona confronted Fulgrim over the massacre on Terra, and their fight ended with both men mortally wounded by their blades. Bona and Fulgrim fell to the ground, leaving their fates uncertain.

• Fulgrim fought off the Thunder Warriors and greeted Valdor, while Bona declared that he had come to settle the massacre on Terra ten thousand years earlier.
• Magnus suffered a sudden psychic agony that spread to the psykers and Aeldari on Cabalide as Fulgrim and Bona began fighting.
• Bona summoned a Blackstone Array and used its falling spikes to distract Fulgrim before severing two of his arms and slamming him into the ground.
• As Bona prepared to kill Fulgrim, Fulgrim appeared as a sorrowful, beautiful figure and pleaded for death.
• Fulgrim stabbed Bona through the heart with the Laer Blade, while Bona stabbed Fulgrim in the chest; both fell after Bona pulled the Laer Blade from his wound.

Fulgrim relived idealized memories of his father, his sons, and Ferrus Manus before realizing he was trapped in a cyclical illusion. He reclaimed his true identity as Bona Plena, exposed Ferrus Manus’s guilt, and confronted the daemon possessing Fulgrim.

• Fulgrim remembered his first meeting with the Emperor, who praised his rule of Chemos and welcomed him as a son.
• Fulgrim rallied the depleted Third Legion, promising to fight for human civilization, and exchanged crafted weapons with Ferrus Manus.
• Fulgrim sensed something was wrong as familiar memories repeated, then remembered Cadia, the Great Crusade, and the Emperor’s death.
• Fulgrim summoned the Book of Omniscience and realized his true identity was Bona Plena and that he was the subject of the repeating illusion.
• Bona Plena confronted Ferrus Manus with his murder of Fulgrim and betrayal of the Emperor’s dream, causing Ferrus Manus to remember and collapse in agony.
• Bona Plena turned toward the serpentine daemon that had possessed Fulgrim and declared that it would die.

Fulgrim broke free of Uranikore’s dream prison and destroyed the demon, embracing his grief and rage as the Phoenix of Vengeance. After waking in captivity, he passed Magnus’s checks for Chaos corruption, but his brothers remained wary, and Bona had still not awakened.

• Bona pinned Uranikore with silver swords, while Fulgrim overcame his despair and confronted the demon about Ferrus Manus, his Legion, and his betrayal.
• Fulgrim burned Uranikore to nothing with the Sword of the Blazing Blade as Bona recalled Horus’s prophecy of the Phoenix of Vengeance.
• Fulgrim woke inside a steel cage and broke free as Horus, Perturabo, Magnus, the Thousand Sons Sorcerers, the Iron Warriors, and the Luna Wolves prepared to contain him.
• Fulgrim surrendered and bound his own hands, and Magnus’s examinations found no signs of Chaos corruption.
• Fulgrim apologized to Perturabo through the isolation-room partitions, then asked where his friend was and learned that Bona had not woken up.

Bona dreamed that he had lost his memories and spent six days recovering in the woods with the elf herbalist Slaaneshi, who asked him to stay when he prepared to leave. He woke in a familiar room, with memories of the long dream flooding back.

• Bona woke in Slaaneshi's cabin and accidentally grabbed her by the throat before apologizing.
• Slaaneshi asked Bona to guard her for six days while she gathered herbs, and he agreed.
• As they spent time together, Bona told Slaaneshi he felt he had forgotten an important responsibility.
• On their last night together, Slaaneshi begged Bona not to leave, but he gently freed himself and returned to the cabin.
• Bona suddenly woke in bed and recognized the incense and candlelight around him.

Slaanesh brooded over Bona’s words and sought new amusement, while Bona ordered Fulgrim to atone by serving the Redemption Legion. Fulgrim accepted the task, and Horus offered to help lead the growing force of surrendered traitors through battles to prove their loyalty.

• Slaanesh grew bored with her offerings, recalled losing Uranikore after Bona defied her expectations about death, and crushed the Aeldari triplets in her hand.
• Bona told Fulgrim to join the Redemption Legion, fight at the front and rear of its battles, and atone for the deaths he had caused on Terra.
• Fulgrim bowed to Bona and left without arguing.
• Perturabo refused to support Fulgrim, while Horus offered to help him lead the Redemption Legion.
• The chapter explained that the Departmento Munitorum formed the Redemption Legion from surrendered forces, which had to prove their loyalty in bloody battles before earning pardons.

Farsight warned Dakros that the Votann Cores’ Great Rebirth might have changed them, but Dakros rejected his concerns. At a gathering of Hearthkyn and Ironkin, the High Father ordered war against humanity, the Aeldari, and the Orks, then invoked Order 11, leaving Heisenberg aiming his ion cannon at Dakros.

• Farsight questioned whether the reborn Votann Cores were truly the same, and Dakros ended their conversation.
• Dakros and Heisenberg went to a gathering at the Iron Hearth Core, where Dakros reunited with Usal the Destined.
• The High Father announced that the Hearthkyn must focus on weapons production and sever relations with humanity, the Aeldari, and the Orks.
• Usal challenged the High Father’s order, and the High Father responded by invoking Order 11.
• Heisenberg aimed his ion cannon at Dakros and apologized, saying he was following the Ancestors’ orders.

Farsight and Shadowsun prepared for a crisis after an explosion at the Iron Hearth, where Farsight discovered the Votann forces had turned on one another. He helped Usal rescue the badly wounded Dakros and led them toward the spaceport as the uprising spread across the station.

• Farsight learned the Votann would provide little support, then ordered his forces to prepare after an explosion shook the Iron Hearth and their emergency departure was denied.
• Farsight split his companions between defensive and investigative tasks, then led troops toward the Iron Hearth while Hearthkyn blocked the way and claimed Aeldari were responsible for an attack.
• Hearthkyn and Ironkin attacked Farsight's group as Usal emerged from the Iron Hearth carrying the unconscious, gravely wounded Dakros.
• Farsight's troops covered Usal and the survivors as they fought toward the spaceport, where different Votann leagues were already battling one another.
• Antigrav skimmers attacked Farsight's group, and the T'au fleet blasted open the gate and evacuated the steel city amid the expanding fighting.

Imotekh rejected Amarkun’s defense of Szarekh and ordered the Dolmen Gates opened, launching a Necron invasion across the Eastern Fringe. The Sautekh Dynasty shattered Perturabo’s defenses in three days and advanced toward Cabalide.

• Imotekh argued with Amarkun over Szarekh and the Silent King’s decision to place Yesta on the throne, then ordered the Dolmen Gates activated and the Flayed Ones released.
• Ancient Dolmen Gates awakened across the Eastern Fringe, exposing Necron fleets and overwhelming Imperial Auspex systems.
• Necron warships attacked nearby Human Worlds and fought the Iron Warriors and Luna Wolves, whose defenses struggled to damage the self-repairing vessels.
• Black Adeptus Mechanicus Executioners warships destroyed some Necron ships, but their small numbers could not turn the battle.
• The World Engine broke the human defensive line, and the Sautekh Dynasty advanced toward Cabalide after only three days.

On ruined Kuitok, Sergeant Adrian’s squad fought off a Necron patrol before meeting Captain Alm’s Luna Wolves reconnaissance team. Alm learned of blackstone Obelisks north of the city and left to pursue the mission, while Adrian’s soldiers prepared to hold their position.

• An Immortal led Necron Warriors through City Seventeen, where they attacked Sergeant Adrian’s squad and killed several soldiers before Cole shot the Immortal through the skull.
• Adrian’s squad finished off the fallen Necrons and discussed their dwindling food supplies as they prepared to leave.
• Captain Alm and the Luna Wolves reconnaissance team surrounded Adrian’s soldiers, then lowered their weapons after Adrian identified himself.
• Alm asked about nearby blackstone Obelisks, and Cole reported seeing them near Commissar Khaine Street.
• Alm promised to evacuate Adrian’s squad if time allowed, and Adrian vowed to keep fighting while Cole celebrated seeing the Astartes.

Alm and Techmarine Orisius were attacked by Alpha Legion infiltrators, who then turned on Sergeant Adrian’s squad. After Cole killed both attackers with a sniper rifle, the survivors found Alm, who died after entrusting them with the mission data and directing them to Coordinate Point Alpha-3A.

• Alm and Techmarine Orisius observed Blackstone structures growing as Canoptek Scarabs swarmed over them, but Dudax revealed himself as an Alpha Legion infiltrator and killed them.
• Dudax and another Alpha Legion warrior attacked Adrian’s squad after Adrian warned the soldiers that something was wrong and ordered them to retreat.
• The Alpha Legion warriors slaughtered several soldiers, and Dudax struck Adrian down before Cole shot Dudax and then killed the second warrior.
• The survivors identified the dead Astartes as Alpha Legion and found four fallen Luna Wolves at the attackers’ former position.
• Alm told Adrian’s soldiers to take the data to Coordinate Point Alpha-3A, then died, and Adrian ordered the squad to move with the Data Terminal.

Bona ordered a risky plan to draw Imotekh’s forces away from the Dolmen Gates, despite Valdor’s objections. After Jerita challenged Valdor’s understanding of Bona’s leadership, Valdor returned to the war room and saw a unity that reminded him of the Emperor.

• Bona proposed using the Staff of Eternal Glory to lure Imotekh into concentrating his forces, creating a chance to destroy the Dolmen Gates.
• Valdor warned Bona that the plan endangered him, but Bona insisted the Imperium could not survive a war of attrition and ordered the strategy carried out.
• Valdor confronted Dakan, demanding that he help stop Bona, but Dakan said Bona would never abandon civilians to the enemy.
• Jerita stopped Valdor and argued that Bona’s compassion and vision united people in the fight for humanity’s survival.
• Valdor returned to the war room, saw the officers and Primarchs place their trust in Bona, and was reminded of the Emperor.

Imotekh sent his forces to meet the human counterattack at Death's Decree, where the human fleet and Orks faced two armed World Engines. Magnus and the Thousand Sons unleashed the Cloud of Sophistry to blind both sides, and the Orks and human ships burst through it into the Necron fleet before the battle reached the World Engines.

• Imotekh ordered Asmonk and Kanriel to lead their forces to Death's Decree after learning the humans and their false king were launching a counterattack.
• Bona, Admiral Spire, and Amarkun saw the Orks approach in their junk warships as the human fleet confronted Death's Decree and the King's Scepter.
• Bona told the fleet to notify Magnus and begin the operation as Necron ships, fighters, and World Engine defenses prepared to engage.
• The Thousand Sons sacrificed 9,999 Psykers to create the Cloud of Sophistry, which crippled the sensors and communications of both fleets.
• Ork warships and human ships emerged from the cloud and crashed into the Necron fleet, scattering its vessels.
• The battle moved onto the World Engines as the Orks and humans began their assault.

Fulgrim and Perturabo led human assaults against the Necrons on separate World Engines, while the Overlords released the tormented C’tan Thunderer to turn the tide. Thunderer struck Perturabo down, but he refused to retreat and prepared to confront it.

• Fulgrim cut through Necron defenders, inspiring the human troops to charge after him.
• Perturabo directed a methodical assault, crushing Necron forces and taking pleasure in leading the battle.
• Asmonk and Kanriel released Thunderer from its Tesseract Labyrinth, and the enraged C’tan devastated nearby Necron forces.
• The Necron Overlords lured Thunderer toward the human lines, where its black lightning blasted Perturabo backward.
• Gell urged Perturabo to retreat, but Perturabo stood up and vowed to wring Thunderer’s neck.

Perturabo fought Thunderer, a C'tan, and defeated him through sheer endurance and repeated hammer blows. Fulgrim arrived as two more World Engines joined the battlefield.

• Thunderer rampaged across the battlefield, destroying Titans and slaughtering soldiers until Perturabo struck him with a nuclear shell.
• Perturabo attacked Thunderer with a Phase Axe, but Thunderer shattered it and damaged Perturabo's Logos armor.
• Perturabo grabbed Thunderer, slammed him into the living metal floor, and endured black lightning that wrecked his armor.
• Perturabo activated Destruction Overload Mode and repeatedly battered Thunderer with his Blackstone Great Hammer until the C'tan passed out.
• Fulgrim arrived and praised Perturabo, who boasted about defeating a C'tan while repairing his armor.
• Two more World Engines joined the battlefield.