Chapter Summaries

Yvraine and her Psychic Cat saved Liu Zhipeng from Syll'Esske, then opened the Webway gate and enabled the Ember Guard to rescue him. Liu Zhipeng led the retreat through the gate before it sealed, leaving the daemons to destroy the planet.

• Yvraine's Psychic Cat deflected Syll'Esske's killing thrust, allowing Liu Zhipeng to strike back as Skarbrand attacked Syll'Esske.
• Yvraine opened the Webway gate and urged the Ember Guard to charge out and protect Liu Zhipeng.
• The Ember Guard fought through the daemons while Liu Zhipeng ordered a disciplined retreat toward the gate.
• Skarbrand held Syll'Esske back as Liu Zhipeng raised a wall of golden fire to cover the Ember Guard's withdrawal.
• Liu Zhipeng escaped through the Webway gate, which slammed shut behind him and left the daemons on the doomed planet.

After Liu Zhipeng’s victory won the Craftworlds’ trust, he gave their leaders blackstone Obelisk schematics and rallied them to prepare for war against the Eye of Terror. He then told Yvraine they needed to stop Abaddon on Cadia and find Belisarius Cawl so they could resurrect a human leader.

• Eldrad bowed to Liu Zhipeng and Yvraine, declaring that he had seen a path to Aeldari rebirth that did not require destruction.
• The Saim-Hann and Alaitoc representatives accepted Liu Zhipeng’s leadership, while Lugganath tacitly accepted the alliance.
• Liu Zhipeng gave Eldrad and the other Craftworld representatives schematics for blackstone Obelisks and instructions for using them to seal warp rifts.
• The representatives departed to muster their forces and build Obelisks for the planned campaign against the Eye of Terror.
• Liu Zhipeng told Yvraine they would stop Abaddon’s attack on Cadia and seek Belisarius Cawl and the Armour of Fate to resurrect a human leader.

Liu Zhipeng and Yvraine watched the Imperial fleet destroy the Blackstone Fortress and reinforce Cadia, then prepared to enter the battle. Liu worried his fiery appearance would make the Adeptus Mechanicus mistake him for a Warp heretic.

• Liu Zhipeng summoned the Ember Guard and set their destination for Cadia.
• Sven Bloodhowl led the Space Wolves in a boarding assault that disabled the Blackstone Fortress's shields.
• Tor Garadon ordered the Phalanx to fire, and its strike destroyed the Blackstone Fortress.
• Saint Celestine and the Crusade of the Martyred Lady arrived, prompting Creed to order a counterattack.
• Liu Zhipeng and Yvraine watched from a cloaked warship, and Liu worried the Adeptus Mechanicus would mistake him for a Warp heretic.

Liu Zhipeng sent Yvraine to deliver blackstone schematics and a warning to Belisarius Cawl, offering help against Abaddon in exchange for a meeting with Cawl and the soon-to-be-resurrected Lord Regent. Cawl accepted the deal and prepared to use the schematics to strengthen Cadia’s obelisks.

• Liu Zhipeng gave Yvraine a wraithbone tablet and warned her that Abaddon might send Blackstone Fortress wreckage crashing into Cadia.
• Yvraine teleported to the Elysion Plains and presented the tablet to Belisarius Cawl, who eagerly examined its blackstone technology.
• Cawl determined that the schematics could turn Cadia into an enormous exorcism field and force the Eye of Terror to shrink.
• Yvraine relayed Liu Zhipeng’s warning and offer to stop Abaddon’s counterattack in exchange for a meeting after the battle.
• Cawl accepted the deal, and Yvraine urged him to begin work.

As Abaddon launched a massive Chaos assault on Cadia, Trazyn released ancient warriors from his collection to save the Imperial defensive line. The Adeptus Custodes and Horus Heresy-era Ultramarines joined the battle and stabilized the center.

• Abaddon teleported Chaos forces onto the Elysion Plains, where Black Legion Terminators, World Eaters, and Iron Warriors attacked the Imperial lines.
• Wolf Lord Sven Bloodhowl led the Space Wolves in a melee charge against the World Eaters as Lord Castellan Creed urged his troops to hold.
• A Chaos Titan advanced on the Obelisk array, and Castellan Amalrich led the Templars in a desperate countercharge.
• Trazyn released a squad of ancient Adeptus Custodes, a Horus Heresy-era Ultramarines company, and Inquisitor Katarinya Greyfax from Tesseract Labyrinth Traps.
• Greyfax opened fire on the Chaos forces, and the Custodes charged, cutting through the attackers and stabilizing the central Imperial line.

Liu Zhipeng sabotaged the Dark Mechanicum’s attempt to hurl the Blackstone Fortress wreckage into Cadia, then plunged toward the Elysion Plains as Abaddon fought Saint Celestine. Abaddon disarmed and wounded Celestine, and raised the Talon of Horus to break her wings.

• Liu Zhipeng led the Ember Guard in a teleport assault on the Blackstone wreckage and ordered them to hold the perimeter.
• Liu Zhipeng reversed the Matter Decomposition Field Generator, dismantling the Blackstone wreckage into harmless fragments, and killed the archmagos.
• Liu Zhipeng leapt from orbit toward the battlefield as Abaddon rampaged across the Elysion Plains, desperate to destroy the Blackstone Obelisks.
• Saint Celestine confronted Abaddon, but he seized her wrist, disarmed her, and stabbed her in the abdomen with his Daemon Sword.
• Abaddon raised the Talon of Horus to strike Celestine’s wings.

Liu Zhipeng rescued Celestine and defeated Abaddon after Belisarius Cawl activated the Obelisks and severed the battlefield’s connection to the Warp. Trazyn collected Abaddon’s corpse, and Cadia survived the Chaos assault.

• Abaddon tore off one of Celestine’s wings, but Liu Zhipeng descended onto the battlefield, drove Abaddon away, and healed Celestine with Primordial Fire.
• Liu Zhipeng fought Abaddon while Belisarius Cawl completed the Obelisk calibration and activated the network across Cadia.
• The Obelisks banished the Daemons and cut off the Warp, stripping Celestine of her holy power and Abaddon of the Chaos blessings that sustained him.
• Liu Zhipeng crushed Abaddon’s neck, killing the Chaos Warmaster and triggering the Black Legion’s retreat.
• Trazyn captured Abaddon’s corpse in a device and left through a Portal after Liu Zhipeng ordered him to go.
• With Abaddon dead, the Blackstone Fortress destroyed, and the Chaos army routed, Cadia survived the assault.

On burning Cadia, Liu Zhipeng persuaded Greyfax and the other survivors to risk using the Webway to reach Ultramar and save Guilliman. Greyfax agreed to join the elite expedition, though she vowed to watch for betrayal.

• Greyfax objected to trusting Yvraine, Cawl, and Liu Zhipeng, but Celestine defended them and said their alliance followed the Emperor's will.
• Cawl explained that Yvraine was essential to reviving Guilliman, while Warp storms made a conventional journey to Ultramar too slow.
• Liu Zhipeng proposed taking a shortcut through the Webway, with himself and Yvraine guiding the expedition and Cawl contributing his Webway research.
• Liu Zhipeng selected Cawl, Celestine, Greyfax, Ultramarines veterans, and his Ember Guard for the journey aboard Cawl's Ark Mechanicus and an Aeldari cruiser.
• Greyfax reluctantly agreed to join the expedition and threatened to destroy the ship if she detected betrayal.

Liu Zhipeng and his allies entered the Webway to reach Macragge, but Nurgle’s forces breached the route and attacked them. They broke through the blockade and arrived above a plague-ravaged Macragge, where the Fortress of Hera was near collapse and Mortarion led the siege.

• Yvraine opened an Aeldari Webway gate, and Cawl’s Zar-Quasa and an Aeldari cruiser entered it with their allied forces.
• Liu Zhipeng sensed the Webway barriers weakening, and Cawl detected a breach as Nurgle’s forces invaded the passage.
• Liu Zhipeng ordered Cawl to push through the daemons and sent Celestine, Greyfax, and the Ember Guard to repel boarders.
• Liu Zhipeng’s fleet smashed through Nurgle’s blockade and emerged above Macragge, which was covered in plague clouds and surrounded by enemy warships.
• Cawl identified Ku’gath, Scabeiathrax, and Mortarion among the besiegers, while Ultramarines struggled to defend the Fortress of Hera from the plague horde.

Liu Zhipeng and his allies arrived at the Fortress of Hera and launched a counterattack against Mortarion’s forces. As the battle turned, Cawl, Yvraine, Inquisitor Greyfax, and the Skitarii headed into the fortress, where the true key lay.

• Marius Calgar struggled to hold the breach as Mortarion’s plague attack devastated the Ultramarines and demanded that Calgar hand over his brother.
• Liu Zhipeng crashed into the battlefield, burned away the surrounding plague, and challenged Mortarion.
• Saint Celestine, the Ultramarines, and thousands of Ember Guard poured from the warships and attacked the Nurgle forces.
• Liu Zhipeng struck Mortarion with his golden-flamed sword and fist, burning the daemon Primarch and forcing him back.
• Cawl, protected by the Skitarii and accompanied by Yvraine and Inquisitor Greyfax, moved toward the fortress to reach the battle’s true key.

Calgar reluctantly allowed Cawl and Yvraine into the Fortress of Hera after Celestine said they could save Roboute Guilliman. At Guilliman’s sanctum, Cawl revealed that saving the Primarch required deactivating his stasis field, while Yvraine planned to catch and resurrect his soul; the Ultramarines objected before the procedure began.

• Celestine ordered Calgar to let the reinforcements pass, explaining that Cawl had brought a way to save the Primarch and that Yvraine was essential.
• As Liu Zhipeng struggled against Mortarion, Ku’gath, and Scabeiathrax, Tigurius sensed no malice from Yvraine, and Calgar opened the gate.
• Cawl and Yvraine reached Roboute Guilliman’s sanctum and unveiled armor designed to sustain his body and filter Fulgrim’s poison.
• Cawl told Calgar and Tigurius that Guilliman would die within half a second of the stasis field being deactivated.
• Yvraine explained that she would catch Guilliman’s soul and resurrect him after his death, but a Company Captain and other Ultramarines called the plan sacrilege and refused to allow it.

Calgar ordered Cawl and Yvraine to end Guilliman’s stasis and attempt to revive him, despite the risk of his death. Guilliman awakened and took up the Emperor’s Sword, ready to drive Mortarion’s forces from his home.

• Calgar chose to risk Guilliman’s death and ordered the Ultramarines to defend the revival ritual.
• Cawl disengaged the Stasis Field, and Guilliman’s poisoned body died as he fitted it with the Armour of Fate.
• Yvraine severed Guilliman’s remaining conduits and poured the power of the god of death into him.
• As Calgar accused Cawl and Yvraine of killing Guilliman, the Primarch’s heart began beating again and he awakened.
• Guilliman rose, seized the Emperor’s Sword, and declared that he would drive the traitors from his home.

The Nurgle daemon army overwhelmed the defenders outside the Fortress of Hera until Roboute Guilliman returned and led a counterattack. He drove the Emperor’s Sword into Ku’gath’s heart and unleashed sacred flames within the daemon.

• Liu Zhipeng and Saint Celestine prepared a final charge against Mortarion, Ku’gath, and Scabeiathrax as the defenders faced defeat.
• The Fortress of Hera’s gates burst open, and Roboute Guilliman emerged to confront Mortarion.
• Guilliman led the Ultramarines in a countercharge, and Liu Zhipeng rallied the Ember Guard to join them.
• Guilliman’s first strike sank into Ku’gath’s blubber, and the Great Unclean One attacked him with flies, toxins, and a rusted claw.
• Guilliman endured Ku’gath’s Plague Flail, drove the Emperor’s Sword into his black heart, and flooded the wound with sacred psychic flames.

Liu Zhipeng and Guilliman defeated Mortarion, ending the Nurgle daemon assault on Macragge. After Guilliman learned that Liu Zhipeng and Yvraine had helped awaken him, he called for a private meeting to hear how the galaxy had changed.

• Liu Zhipeng killed Scabeiathrax after his golden sword overcame the daemon's regeneration.
• Guilliman and Liu Zhipeng fought Mortarion together, and Guilliman pierced him with the Emperor's Sword before Liu Zhipeng kicked him away to die.
• The Nurgle daemon army collapsed, and sunlight returned to the battlefield as Ultramarines, militia, and Skitarii knelt before Guilliman.
• Guilliman asked Liu Zhipeng who he was, and Liu introduced himself as Ember or Overlord and named Yvraine as his partner.
• Guilliman ordered Calgar to secure the Fortress of Hera and arranged a private meeting with Liu Zhipeng, Yvraine, Cawl, and Celestine.

After Liu Zhipeng left Macragge, Guilliman learned how far the Imperium had fallen and resolved to lead humanity despite his despair. Liu Zhipeng and Yvraine then set course for Commorragh to unite the Aeldari and awaken the god of death.

• Guilliman accepted Liu Zhipeng’s offer of cooperation, ordered Cawl to calibrate his armour, and requested ten thousand years of historical records.
• As news of Guilliman’s return spread, he read the records, grew horrified by the Imperium’s decline, and broke a dataslate in anger.
• Calgar reported that Nurgle’s remaining forces on Macragge had been eliminated, and Guilliman gathered strength to address the people.
• Liu Zhipeng and Yvraine returned to the Deep Webway, where Liu Zhipeng chose Commorragh as their next destination.
• Liu Zhipeng vowed to use the souls of Drukhari who refused to submit to awaken the god of death, and Yvraine offered to guide him through the Webway.

Liu Zhipeng and Yvraine entered Commorragh through the Shattered Mirror passage and headed for its great gladiatorial arena to surprise Asdrubael Vect. Liu crashed into the arena like a golden meteor, destroying the Pain Beast and leaving the stunned crowd in silence.

• Yvraine guided Liu Zhipeng through the Shattered Mirror passage and recalled her years fighting in Commorragh's gladiatorial arena.
• Liu Zhipeng ordered the Ember Guard to wait outside while he and Yvraine entered the Webway rift.
• Asdrubael Vect watched a slaughter in the great gladiatorial arena and complained that Commorragh had become dull.
• A golden fissure opened above the arena, and Liu Zhipeng fell through it like a meteor.
• Liu Zhipeng crushed the Pain Beast on impact, shattered the arena floor, and injured thousands of Drukhari spectators.

Liu Zhipeng and Yvraine entered the Gladiatorial Arena, where Vect turned their arrival into a spectacle and sent Xilis to attack. Liu Zhipeng defeated Xilis and used his primordial fire to sever her connection to Slaanesh, leaving her transformed by the sudden relief.

• Vect recognized Yvraine and Liu Zhipeng, then ordered Xilis to fight him for a lavish reward.
• Yvraine warned Liu Zhipeng that Vect would send challengers to test him, and Xilis attacked from behind.
• Liu Zhipeng caught Xilis after her dagger broke against his neck and burned away her poison.
• Liu Zhipeng enveloped Xilis in primordial fire, which burned through her connection to Slaanesh.
• Xilis's agony gave way to relief as the hunger and fear imposed by Slaanesh vanished.

Liu Zhipeng and Yvraine revealed that Xilis had escaped Slaanesh’s hunger, stirring the Drukhari to hope for freedom and threatening Vect’s rule. Vect tried to trap Liu with a stasis field, but Liu ignored it and advanced toward Vect as the Archons hesitated.

• Xilis knelt before Liu Zhipeng and declared that Slaanesh’s hunger was gone and she was free.
• Yvraine announced to the arena that Liu could offer the Drukhari salvation from Slaanesh, and the crowd turned its attention from Vect to them.
• Vect recognized the threat to Commorragh’s order and confronted Liu, who challenged him to act like a real leader.
• Vect activated the Void Suppression Field and Dimensional Stasis Net, but Liu walked through the field unaffected.
• Vect ordered the Archons and Incubi to kill Liu, but they stayed still as they watched Xilis follow him in freedom.

Liu Zhipeng persuaded Vect and Commorragh’s leaders to accept his flames, severing their ties to Slaanesh in exchange for helping seal the Eye of Terror. After purging Commorragh and assembling its fleet, they set out to join the Aeldari forces.

• Vect abandoned his attack on Liu Zhipeng and invited him and Yvraine to negotiate at his palace.
• Liu Zhipeng offered to purify the Drukhari and demanded they end large-scale raids and help him at Cadia; Vect agreed on condition that he and the other leaders be healed first.
• Liu Zhipeng ignited Vect and Commorragh’s leaders, freeing them from Slaanesh’s mark and transforming the palace into a treatment center.
• Drukhari who sought salvation joined the Ember Faithful, while Vect and Yvraine crushed those who refused and used their souls to awaken the Avatar of Ynnead.
• Vect led tens of thousands of Drukhari warships into the Webway toward Ulthwé and the gathered Aeldari forces.

Liu Zhipeng’s Drukhari fleet rescued Ulthwé from a Slaaneshi attack, then Aeldari leaders gathered there with Khaine Shards for his ritual. He began absorbing the shards despite Prince Yriel’s warning about their maddening will.

• Eldrad told Ulthwé’s defenders that reinforcements had arrived as a vast fleet emerged from the Webway.
• Asdrubael Vect received Liu Zhipeng’s permission to attack the Flawless Host and led the Drukhari in destroying it.
• Ulthwé’s warriors watched the Drukhari fleet return to formation after erasing the Chaos Warband.
• Eldrad welcomed Liu Zhipeng as a god and opened Ulthwé to the arriving Craftworld fleets and their Khaine Shards.
• Prince Yriel warned Liu Zhipeng that the shards could drive him insane, but Liu began drawing in the largest shard.