Chapter Summaries

Liu Zhipeng and a vast golden force arrived on Iyanden, breaking the Tyranids’ assault and restoring the Aeldari’s will to fight. After eating the fallen Avatar of Khaine’s shard, Liu grew stronger and began battling the Hive Tyrant’s beasts.

• Golden portals opened above Iyanden, and Liu Zhipeng’s reinforcements flooded the battlefield, crushing Tyranids and dispelling the Shadow in the Warp.
• Liu Zhipeng found the remains of the Avatar of Khaine, picked up its Khaine Shard, and swallowed it.
• The shard’s power enlarged Liu Zhipeng to twelve meters and strengthened him, and he summoned End of Lament to face the Hive Tyrant.
• The Avenger Bishop rallied the Aeldari to counterattack as golden spirits fought the Tyranid swarms.
• Liu Zhipeng tripped one charging beast and smashed another’s head with his greatsword.

Liu Zhipeng fought the Hive Tyrant as Prince Yriel returned to defend Iyanden with his pirate fleet. When Yriel tried to sacrifice his life to wield the Spear of Twilight, Liu Zhipeng stopped him and prepared to kill the Tyrant himself.

• Liu Zhipeng blocked the Hive Tyrant's bone swords and punched it, breaking one of its tusks.
• Prince Yriel's pirate fleet broke through the swarm's blockade and joined Liu Zhipeng's forces in stabilizing the battle.
• Yriel saw Khaine's wreckage and resolved to draw the Spear of Twilight to kill the Hive Tyrant, despite the weapon consuming its wielder's life.
• Liu Zhipeng stopped Yriel from touching the spear and argued that sacrificing a commander was a terrible bargain.
• Liu Zhipeng placed Yriel on his shoulder and announced that he would demonstrate a decapitation strike.

Liu Zhipeng and Yriel killed the Hive Tyrant, allowing Iyanden’s defenders to defeat the Tyranid swarm. After the battle, Yriel and Iyanden’s leaders thanked Liu Zhipeng and agreed to join his operation.

• Liu Zhipeng charged through the Tyranids with Yriel on his shoulders and leaped above the wounded Hive Tyrant.
• Yriel planted a plasma-and-psychic-toxin grenade in the Hive Tyrant’s mouth, and Liu Zhipeng decapitated it after the explosion failed to kill it.
• Liu Zhipeng announced the Tyrant’s death, and Iyanden’s defenders counterattacked and fought for three days until they wiped out the remaining Tyranids.
• Yriel, Big Mek Khaelmon, and Iyanden’s Ruling Council knelt before Liu Zhipeng and thanked him for saving Iyanden.
• Liu Zhipeng asked Iyanden to join his operation alongside Biel-Tan and the humans, and Yriel agreed.

Liu Zhipeng struggled to translate Necron technology into Aeldari craft before traveling to Aethenia for a gathering of all Nine Craftworlds. He arrived with Yriel and the Ember Guard and surveyed the assembled delegations, including the shunned representatives of Altansar.

• Liu Zhipeng failed to get Biel-Tan's artisans to build the Blackstone polarity inversion matrix to his specifications, then ordered them to make a prototype.
• Mavis Irissong told Liu Zhipeng that all Nine Craftworlds had sent high-ranking delegations to a gathering on Aethenia, with Eldrad Ulthran among the first to respond.
• Liu Zhipeng summoned Yriel and the Ember Guard and prepared to attend the gathering.
• Liu Zhipeng arrived on Aethenia aboard the Khaine's Wrath with his Ember Guard, Yriel, and Mavis.
• Liu Zhipeng surveyed the delegations from Ulthwé, Saim-Hann, Alaitoc, Iyanden, and Altansar, noting the other Craftworlds' wary distance from Altansar's representatives.

Liu Zhipeng pushed the Aeldari Craftworlds toward an alliance with the Imperium, winning Eldrad’s support despite fierce opposition. Before he could reveal his proposed solution, Slaanesh’s laughter struck the gathering, and Liu Zhipeng used primordial fire to break its hold as he identified the threat.

• Liu Zhipeng welcomed Maugan Ra and soothed the Phoenix Lord’s ancient torment with golden flames.
• Liu Zhipeng argued that the Aeldari should ally with the Imperium, while several Craftworld representatives denounced the plan.
• Eldrad supported Liu Zhipeng’s proposal and said the Aeldari needed a key to close the Eye of Terror; Liu Zhipeng mentioned Ynnead and the Crone Swords.
• Slaanesh’s laughter possessed the Aeldari gathered at the conference, and Liu Zhipeng beheaded a corrupted attendant to stop the spread.
• Liu Zhipeng unleashed primordial fire to free the gathering from the laughter’s influence, then looked skyward and called the threat a pervert.

Fulgrim and Slaahe Hekbehn led a Slaaneshi assault on the Aeldari gathering, trapping the Craftworld delegates as the Webway gate became their only escape. Liu Zhipeng sent Mavis and the survivors toward the gate while he and the Ember Guard held the line, then charged the Noise Marines.

• An enormous warp rift opened over Aethenia, and Fulgrim and Slaahe Hekbehn descended with a host of Slaaneshi daemons.
• Eldrad revealed that the nearby human colony worlds had been sacrificed to open the portal, while the Aeldari delegates realized they were trapped.
• Liu Zhipeng raised a golden sanctuary and ordered Mavis to lead the delegates and Rangers through the Webway gate beneath the council platform.
• Liu Zhipeng commanded the Ember Guard to defend the Webway entrance as Mavis and the survivors fled.
• Liu Zhipeng launched himself at the Noise Marines and struck at them with his golden greatsword before they could unleash their Song of Destruction.

Liu Zhipeng fought Fulgrim and Slaahe Hekbehn alone while the Aeldari fled through the Webway gate. The gate closed with Liu Zhipeng still surrounded by daemons, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Liu Zhipeng crushed the charging Noise Marines and confronted Fulgrim, mocking him before the two began fighting.
• Fulgrim attacked Liu Zhipeng with four Daemon Swords while Slaahe Hekbehn pierced his shoulder with a spear aimed at his Psychic Core.
• Liu Zhipeng seized Slaahe's spear, burned the daemon with golden flames, and hurled the weapon at Fulgrim to gain time.
• Eldrad warned the Aeldari leaders that Liu Zhipeng was burning his soul, and Prince Yriel urged them to escape through the Webway gate.
• Mavis and the Spirit Warriors helped the Aeldari refugees withdraw as Liu Zhipeng held off the daemons.
• Liu Zhipeng ordered Mavis to close the Webway gate, and she shut it after the last artisan passed through.

Liu Zhipeng was on the verge of defeat when Skarbrand and Khorne’s forces tore into Slaanesh’s domain and attacked Slaahe. Liu used the chaos to hurl Fulgrim into Skarbrand’s axe, leaving Fulgrim badly launched across the battlefield.

• As Slaahe and Fulgrim closed in on the wounded Liu Zhipeng, a red rift opened above the battlefield and Khorne’s forces poured through.
• Skarbrand descended, recognized Slaahe as his old nemesis, and charged through the Slaaneshi daemons to attack him.
• Liu Zhipeng realized Skarbrand’s arrival had turned the battle and called Fulgrim his opponent.
• Liu threw the End of Lament at Fulgrim as a feint, then grabbed Fulgrim by his dreadlocks and swung him toward Skarbrand.
• Skarbrand struck Fulgrim out of the air, sending him through wraithbone towers and across the earth.

Liu Zhipeng helped Skarbrand kill Fulgrim, but Slaahe Hekbehn ignored the battle to pursue its divine mission to kill Khaine. As Slaahe struck at Liu Zhipeng, Skarbrand cleaved into its back.

• Skarbrand battered Fulgrim while Liu Zhipeng charged in with the End of Lament.
• Liu Zhipeng kicked Fulgrim in the face, sending him into Skarbrand's axe, then pinned him to the ground with the End of Lament.
• Liu Zhipeng urged Skarbrand to finish Fulgrim, and Skarbrand killed him with a double-axe blow.
• Skarbrand charged Slaahe Hekbehn, but Slaahe focused its power on pursuing Khaine and vanished toward Liu Zhipeng.
• Slaahe attacked Liu Zhipeng, and Skarbrand struck its back with an axe, nearly severing its spine.

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.