Recaps

Han Mingxuan traveled to Solemnace to use his power to awaken the Necrontyr there. His words dissolved the black curse across the Tomb World, and the golden rain fell over the dormant bodies as Trazyn caught him when he nearly collapsed.

• Han Mingxuan met Orikan, who revealed he had become a professor of Cosmic Mysticism and agreed to contact Trazyn about a visit to Solemnace.
• Orikan summoned Imotekh by telling him Han Mingxuan planned to bring new life to the Necrontyr, and Imotekh immediately returned from his expedition.
• Han Mingxuan and his companions arrived at Solemnace, where Trazyn and the assembled Necrons welcomed him and prepared the awakening ritual.
• Orikan recited an ancient prayer, and Han Mingxuan wrote “Come back, souls” in the air with water from Jia’s basin.
• Golden light spread across Solemnace, melted the black curse, and fell as rain over every body; Trazyn steadied Han Mingxuan as he grew dazed.

Han Mingxuan fell asleep after granting souls to many Necrons, and Trazyn awakened the rest of Solemnace’s dormant Necrons. The resulting Echo alarmed the Chaos Gods, and Khorne revealed that his wound from Nuceria had changed him.

• Han Mingxuan struggled to sleep after overdoing his soul-granting, so Trazyn used a magnetic field to put him to sleep.
• Jia warned that the many new souls in the Warp could attract its predators, and Imotekh revealed he had brought an army.
• Trazyn activated Solemnace’s Forced Awakening Protocol, awakening the remaining Necrons and creating a powerful Echo across the Warp.
• The Chaos Gods debated how to respond, and Nurgle urged them to hold back while Tzeentch said Mr. Han made everyone’s destiny impossible to read.
• Slaanesh pointed out Khorne’s fear, and Khorne explained that bringing his true body to Nuceria to protect Angron had changed him and left him with a lingering wound.

Khorne revealed that Sevatar’s wound carried a trace of the authority he had cast aside, linked to Han Mingxuan, and proposed that the gods reclaim their former authorities. Tzeentch rejected the idea and searched his labyrinth for an answer, while the Necrontyr on Solemnace waited through an uneventful night.

• Khorne showed the gods his scar and explained that Sevatar’s strike had left behind a trace of his discarded authority, tied to Han Mingxuan.
• Khorne said the gods might reclaim their former authorities, but Tzeentch accused them of cowardice and insisted there was no hope.
• Nurgle recognized that Tzeentch feared reclaiming the authority of hope most, and the gods left the matter of the Necrontyr aside.
• Khorne regrew his arm, while Tzeentch searched his labyrinth for an answer and rejected the one Han Mingxuan had given.
• On Solemnace, the Necrontyr found that their preparations had been unnecessary, though they were relieved that their people had awakened.

Slaanesh appeared in person on Solemnace and visited the sleeping Han Mingxuan, then returned to the Warp and made a doll from Slaanesh's own flayed skin. Han Mingxuan woke from a nightmare to learn that Slaanesh had said Slaanesh loved him, and he jumped up in shock.

• Trazyn, Imotekh, and their companions detected Slaanesh outside Solemnace and recognized the Warp entity.
• Slaanesh sat beside the sleeping Han Mingxuan, took his hand, kissed it, and hurried away.
• Slaanesh returned to the Warp, endured a beating from an unknown being, and fashioned a doll from Slaanesh's face and hands.
• Han Mingxuan woke after dreaming of a red pig's head trying to kiss him and told Orikan about the nightmare.
• Lao Xin told Han Mingxuan that Futia's sword contained a Slaanesh daemon and that Slaanesh had said Slaanesh loved him.
• Han Mingxuan jumped up in shock at Lao Xin's revelation.

Han Mingxuan visited the mass resurrection site and found the newly awakened Necrontyr overwhelmed by the sensations of being alive. After Jia arranged a new star system for them, Han Mingxuan left Solemnace while Trazyn began awakening and guiding the rest in batches.

• Han Mingxuan learned that the Warp gods could not currently touch him, then went with Trazyn and Imotekh to see the resurrected Necrontyr.
• The newly awakened Necrontyr tasted clothes, apples, and Tomb World walls, and Jia put them all to sleep when the commotion threatened Trazyn's collection.
• Imotekh challenged Han Mingxuan to give the next resurrection slots to the Sautekh Dynasty, and Han agreed.
• Jia offered the Necrontyr a prepared star system with eight habitable planets, where her dynasty had already settled.
• Orikan took Han Mingxuan and the others back to Nostramo, while Trazyn stayed on Solemnace to record the event and organize the Necrontyr's gradual awakening and guidance.

Han Mingxuan checked on Malcador during his vacation, then ran into the Emperor skipping work to fish on Nostramo. The three went to a property sales office so Malcador could look for a home and the Emperor could browse as well.

• Han Mingxuan found Malcador after his sea-fishing trip and learned that Malcador planned to buy a house on Nostramo.
• Malcador and Han Mingxuan met the Emperor, who admitted he was on vacation and had left some Imperium affairs to Sanguinius.
• The Emperor asked Han Mingxuan about Angron, but Han Mingxuan said he was taking Malcador house-hunting.
• Malcador named Roboute Guilliman as his successor, and the Emperor joined them to look at homes.
• Han Mingxuan, Malcador, and the Emperor arrived at a quiet property sales office, where a reservist recognized Han Mingxuan and welcomed them.

Han Mingxuan, the Emperor, and Malcador failed to buy a house after Slazov turned them away for questioning Nostramo’s fairness. Malcador recruited Slazov and nineteen other reservists to fight corruption on Terra, where they would work with the Eighth Legion after undergoing Astartes modification.

• Slazov separated the property listings for Nostramo locals and outsiders, then angrily refused service when Malcador questioned whether the homes were sold fairly.
• After the group left without a house, Malcador asked Han Mingxuan for people to help him fight corruption on Terra, and Han agreed to provide twenty.
• Malcador chose Slazov and requested reservists like him, warning that their crackdown would cause many deaths.
• Han Mingxuan gave the twenty reservists secret orders to fight corruption on Terra and coordinate with the Eighth Legion through Sevatar and Curze.
• When Malcador’s vacation ended, he told the reservists they would undergo Astartes modification before beginning their work.

Twenty Nostramo judges received Gene-seed and joined the Eighth Legion, where Slazov tested their combat skills and formed the Evernight Reserve. Slazov prepared them to fight corruption on Terra, while Malcador ordered Sanguinius to support the campaign.

• Archmagos Herbert successfully implanted Gene-seed in twenty Nostramo recruits, and Curze and the Council of the Long Night guarded the surgery.
• Sevatar introduced the recruits to the Eighth Legion, and Slazov challenged its fighters to prove the newcomers' worth.
• Slazov defeated Laxus and Weiss, then assigned five hundred Centurion-level fighters to the Evernight Reserve and left the rest as Enforcers.
• Slazov ordered the reserve to gather evidence and fight corruption on Terra under the Evernight Code and the Red-Black Ledger.
• Malcador insisted that fighting corruption was imperative, and Sanguinius objected that the campaign would endanger his Scions and the Imperium's stability.
• Malcador told Sanguinius that he would become the Head of the Vermin if he refused to support the campaign.

Malcador argued with Sanguinius over the Blood Angels being made to handle administrative work, while Curze proposed a combat test to sort the Legion between the front lines and rear duties. After Sanguinius accepted the plan, Curze left to support the White Scars and agreed to let Sandamel join the mission for one high-speed run.

• Dante prepared the Blood Angels to leave for war as Sanguinius argued that Malcador had broken their agreement by assigning the Legion to paperwork.
• Curze returned from vacation, offered Sanguinius fruit, and suggested assigning administrative work to the weakest fighters while sending the strongest to the front.
• Malcador agreed that corruption had to be rooted out, and Sanguinius ordered Dante to prepare a Decimation test for the Blood Angels.
• Curze gave Sanguinius a combat-training method and left with Sevatar to support the White Scars.
• Sandamel asked to join the mission, and Curze allowed him to speed once.

Sevatar sensed danger as Sandamel led the Eighth Legion’s supply convoy to the White Scars at extraordinary speed. After Curze joined the Khan’s victory feast, the Khan persuaded Sandamel to take the flagship for a race, leaving Sevatar trying to stop him.

• Sevatar warned Curze that he had a bad feeling, but Curze trusted the Night Haunter and sent the Eighth Legion’s convoy onward with Sandamel at the helm.
• The White Scars finished their battle, and the Khan learned that Curze had sent supplies and reinforcements through the Department of General Affairs.
• Sandamel’s convoy reached the White Scars in fewer than five days, astonishing the Khan with the Nightfall’s speed.
• Curze declined the Khan’s invitation to race, but invited him to meet Sandamel after the White Scars offered Curze a place at their victory feast.
• The Khan proposed driving the flagship, and Sandamel’s excitement surged despite his promise to speed only once, while Sevatar tried to restrain him.

Sandamel raced a Strike Cruiser and then piloted the Nightfall as it raced under its own power, impressing the White Scars and alarming Curze. Sanguinius learned about Sandamel and the Eighth Legion’s unimplanted personal guard, then met the Khan, who immediately ordered Curze contacted.

• Sandamel proposed a flagship race, and Qin Xa agreed to compete against him in Strike Cruisers.
• The Nightfall connected to Sandamel’s ship through a stream of data and raced after him; Sandamel returned it safely, while Curze panicked and the Khan praised his skill.
• Sanguinius finished the Administratum handover, studied the Lunyu, and chose to meet the White Scars before joining Curze’s fleet.
• Sanguinius sensed Curze’s unease as Curze hurried toward the Iron Warriors, hoping to have a brother nearby when Sanguinius arrived.
• Sanguinius met the Khan, who described Sandamel and the Eighth Legion; after learning Sandamel had no Gene-seed, the Khan ordered Curze contacted immediately.

Curze cut off the Khan’s transmission before he could ask about Curze’s flagship officer, prompting Aequus Mordred and the other brothers to tease Curze and argue over Aequus’s rigid chivalry. The chapter explained how Han Mingxuan shaped Aequus into a knight and trained Talos as the Eighth Legion’s concealed reserve, leaving the brothers discussing the strengths and roles of their comrades.

• The Khan contacted Curze and mentioned that Sanguinius had just visited, but Curze cut the transmission before the Khan could ask about his flagship officer.
• Aequus Mordred scolded Talos for his flippant behavior, and Shen explained that Aequus’s chivalry had limits because he remained a Gang member at heart.
• Talos asked why Aequus had stayed quiet around the Dark Angels, and Agrid said Aequus could not stand against Lion El’Jonson in a fight.
• Aequus opened his booklet, whose first page said “Flexible”; Han Mingxuan had named him Mordred and given him a copy of Don Quixote to temper his zeal for chivalry.
• The brothers discussed Talos’s position as the Legion’s hidden reserve, trained by Han Mingxuan to conceal his abilities and take command if Curze and Sevatar were absent.

Curze and the Eighth Legion arrived in Perturabo’s defense zone, while Sanguinius drew several Primarchs’ attention to the Eighth Legion’s brief history and its notable unaugmented members. After Curze checked that his absent brothers were safe, Perturabo invited him to see his fortifications and asked him to stay longer.

• Talos admired the Iron Warriors’ orbital defenses, and Shen reminded Curze that the Khan was trying to reach him about Sandamel.
• Sanguinius urged several Primarchs to read the Eighth Legion’s brief history and highlighted members including Aequus Mordred, Defensio, Impetus, Agrid, and Animus.
• The Primarchs learned that Curze’s personal troops had never received Gene-seed, and Dorn and Perturabo considered visiting Nostramo to meet Defensio.
• Curze asked Shen to check on the brothers who had not joined the expedition, and Shen reported that Defensio, Impetus, and Animus were safe and occupied with their duties.
• Curze’s logistics ship docked at the Iron Warriors’ flagship, where Perturabo invited him to see what he had built and asked him to stay a few more days.

Han Mingxuan invited the Primarchs to Nostramo after several of them asked about the Evernight Legion, and Angron accompanied him. The gathered brothers arrived on Nostramo, where Curze welcomed them, unaware that recalling the Council of the Long Night would nearly bring disaster upon them.

• Several Primarchs contacted Han Mingxuan about the Evernight Legion, so he decided to go to Nostramo and invited Angron to join him.
• Angron told Han Mingxuan that Nuceria was doing well and explained that he had followed his advice when speaking with the Emperor.
• Han Mingxuan told the Primarchs to meet him on Nostramo, and Curze invited the Council of the Long Night members on Terra to return as well.
• After traveling through the Warp, Perturabo and Khan admired Nostramo, while the Lion ordered inspections of forces entering and leaving the planet to protect it.
• Han Mingxuan and Angron prepared their home, then Curze brought the arriving Primarchs inside, where they joked and argued about food, drink, the sea, and riding across the grasslands.

Curze warned the Council of the Long Night to hide because the visiting Primarchs might try to recruit them, while the Khan’s White Scars tried to poach Sandamel. After Sandamel beat three of them, Angron asked Han Mingxuan for help meeting Animus.

• Curze ordered council members with known identities to feign illness and the others to hide from the visiting Primarchs.
• Orikan told the council that their advanced Necrontyr technology made Gene-seed irrelevant, but warned them about resisting the Primarchs’ charisma.
• Talos and Aequus formed two teams for a sparring match, while Sevatar sat out and Sandamel went missing.
• Sandamel told Curze that Yesugei had anesthetized him during a repair session as the White Scars tried to recruit him, then summoned the battered Yesugei, Qin Xa, and Jubal.
• Angron asked Han Mingxuan if he could meet Animus from the Evernight Legion.

Angron and the other Primarchs tried to recruit members of Curze’s Evernight Legion, forcing Curze to insist that the Legionaries choose for themselves. The Primarchs watched the Legion’s officers spar, but Russ’s howl alerted the fighters to an apparent threat.

• Angron asked Han Mingxuan for help getting to know the War Hounds and considered recruiting Animus, but Han told him to speak with Curze because he did not command the Evernight Legion.
• Angron joined his brothers, and Lion accused Curze of concealing that his personal guard lacked Gene-seed; Curze retorted that the First Legion had secrets of its own.
• Russ pleaded with Curze to give him Shen, Impetus, and Animus, while Horus, Dorn, and others also sought Evernight Legion members.
• Curze used Psychic Power to quiet the Primarchs and declared that the Evernight Legionaries could only leave with their own consent.
• The Primarchs secretly watched Talos, Cyrion, Defensio, Agrid, Shen, Animus, Impetus, and Aequus spar until Russ howled and the fighters regrouped to face an unknown intruder.

Curze agreed to a formal personnel exchange between the Eighth Legion and the other Legions, secretly using it to infiltrate Horus’s Legion and watch for signs of the Horus Heresy. After a meal with his nephews, Angron sensed Han Mingxuan’s worries about Terra and the future, which had become harder to foresee as the Primarchs changed.

• Curze told his brothers that the other Primarchs wanted their warriors, but Horus proposed a formal exchange of personnel and knowledge between the Legions.
• Curze accepted the exchange on the condition that Eighth Legion members return regularly to report, while secretly planning to monitor Horus and share discoveries through the Evernight Network.
• Horus and Curze told Han Mingxuan that they had reached an agreement, and Han Mingxuan recognized that Curze was acting gloomy on purpose.
• Han Mingxuan invited his nephews to eat, and Curze later took them sea fishing while Angron stayed to help clean the kitchen.
• Angron sensed that Han Mingxuan was burdened by worries rooted on Terra, and Han Mingxuan admitted he could no longer see the world’s future clearly.

After Angron helped Han Mingxuan recognize himself as a Breaker of Fate, Han decided to use his authority and take a more active role in the Imperium. He learned from Oll Persson what the Warmaster’s duty meant, then offered Malcador his help with anti-corruption work.

• Angron told Han Mingxuan that he was the only known Breaker of Fate, prompting Han to reconsider his accomplishments and resolve to shape history himself.
• Han visited the Saviour Building and asked Oll Persson about the Warmaster’s duty and fate, then said he wanted to meet Horus.
• Oll Persson explained that the Warmaster was humanity’s first mate and warned that Horus’s ambition would grow as Warmaster, with Han serving as his gardener.
• Han contacted Malcador and volunteered to help with anti-corruption work, surprising him.
• Malcador welcomed Han’s decision and suggested that he lead Slazov and the others in the work.

Malcador secured a vacation on Terra, while Sanguinius arrived too late to meet his brothers and fell for Curze’s fruit-supply scheme. Han Mingxuan returned to Terra and began organizing anti-corruption work at the Department of Justice with the Evernight Legion Reserves.

• Old Han promised Malcador a vacation on Terra after Guilliman was transferred to the rear.
• Sanguinius arrived on Nostramo, but Futia showed him Curze’s letter cutting the Ninth Legion’s fruit supply in half.
• Sanguinius set off to confront Curze, then went to the Administratum to look for him.
• Han Mingxuan met the Emperor and Malcador and said he would start his anti-corruption work by meeting Slazov at the Department of Justice.
• Han Mingxuan summoned the Evernight Legion Reserves’ Myriarch squad and announced he would lead the Imperium’s anti-corruption work.

Han Mingxuan began planning a sweeping anti-corruption campaign on Terra, ordering the Evernight Legion to assemble evidence and recommending harsh punishments for a broad range of nobles. He left Malcador and the Emperor to consider his list before departing for Ultramar to seek Roboute’s mother’s help.

• Slazov offered Han Mingxuan a vetted group of Legion members to help govern Terra, and Han warned the Emperor that the campaign would require replacements for those removed.
• Han ordered Slazov to expand the investigation to lesser nobles and shorter hereditary terms, recommending death for more than half of those implicated and labor reform or prison for the rest.
• Han handed Malcador his sentencing list, which shocked Malcador and the Emperor, and told them to decide whether to proceed before the campaign’s next phase.
• Han said the next phase would be a meeting offering leniency to those who confessed, then left for Ultramar to visit Roboute’s mother.
• Endymion challenged Han’s harsh approach, and Han argued that severe measures were needed to remove the Imperium’s deep-rooted problems before a crisis arose.

Han Mingxuan set out for Ultramar to visit Guilliman and Lady Euten, while Guilliman mistakenly feared his uncle might pursue his adoptive mother. Han Mingxuan arrived and began a polite family visit, with Guilliman and Lady Euten joining him.

• Han Mingxuan told Endymion that loyalty and integrity were separate, and that the anti-corruption campaign could bring painful reforms even to the families of the Adeptus Custodes.
• Han Mingxuan called Guilliman to announce he was visiting Ultramar, prompting Guilliman to rush there because he worried his uncle might court Lady Euten.
• Han Mingxuan arrived on Ultramar and told its protocol officer that he had come to visit Guilliman's mother rather than discuss official business.
• Han Mingxuan waited until Lady Euten arrived with Guilliman, who was out of breath and surprised by the sudden visit.
• Han Mingxuan reassured Lady Euten that he had come only to visit relatives and friends, not on a secret mission.

Han Mingxuan arranged for Roboute to transfer to the Adeptus Administratum to help with the Imperium’s anti-corruption campaign, and Lady Euten agreed. He gave Roboute a lamp for the City of Truth, then told Malcador that the second phase could begin and that he could arrange a vacation on Terra.

• Han Mingxuan gave Lady Euten Cloud Brocade and explained that he had come to discuss Roboute’s future work.
• Han Mingxuan proposed sending Roboute to the Adeptus Administratum to help with the anti-corruption campaign, and Lady Euten approved the transfer.
• Han Mingxuan promised Roboute four days off each month to visit home, while Roboute objected that he was old enough to make his own decisions.
• Han Mingxuan gave Roboute a lamp to place on the roof of the City of Truth, hoping it could guide him through the Mist.
• Han Mingxuan told Malcador that he had settled matters with Guilliman and that the second phase could begin, then encouraged Malcador to arrange a vacation on Terra.

Han Mingxuan launched the second phase of his anti-corruption campaign by ordering the arrest of Imperial Chancellor Malcador the Sigillite. Malcador realized the arrest would give him an open-ended holiday on Terra and willingly went along as Han Mingxuan took him away.

• Han Mingxuan told Guilliman that governing Terra would begin with a meeting, then ordered Slazov to start the anti-corruption campaign.
• Slazov named Imperial Chancellor Malcador the Sigillite as the first target, and Han Mingxuan approved the arrest.
• Han Mingxuan assembled Department of Justice enforcers and Eighth Legion Centurions and led them to Malcador's residence.
• Slazov restrained a guard who resisted, and Han Mingxuan presented Malcador with an arrest warrant and ordered him taken in for questioning.
• Malcador agreed to cooperate after learning he could remain detained until his accomplices confessed, treating the arrest as an open-ended holiday.

After arresting Malcador, Han Mingxuan enlisted him and two Primarchs to help investigate Terra’s nobles, then confronted the nobles as they appealed to the Emperor. Han left with a squad of elite Adeptus Custodes and a verified list of suspects, while the nobles awaited his anti-corruption meetings.

• Han Mingxuan arranged Malcador’s release from the worst of his confinement in exchange for cooperation with the anti-corruption campaign and four days of work each month.
• Malcador revealed that the two Primarchs were his relatives and assigned them to gather intelligence for Han Mingxuan.
• Han Mingxuan told the Primarchs he trusted them and gave them their first assignment: help investigate the nobles.
• Malcador sent the nobles a letter pledging loyalty to them, reassuring them that he would not talk while imprisoned.
• The nobles appealed to the Emperor, but Han Mingxuan entered the Throne Room and requested an elite squad of Adeptus Custodes, which the Emperor approved.
• Han Mingxuan told the nobles to attend the upcoming meetings, then had A Fa give Slazov the names of the nobles whose charges could be verified.

Han Mingxuan launched an anti-corruption campaign on Terra, mobilizing Alpharius, the Emperor, and the Eighth Legion against the entrenched nobility. The campaign began as Curze ordered his legion to return from the Great Crusade and prepare to assist.

• After Terra's nobles united against him, Han Mingxuan told Alpharius to recall the Evernight Judges Legion and use the Great Crusade's disruption to force the Imperium to join the campaign.
• Han Mingxuan ordered Alpharius to deploy his legion across the Imperium, trap the nobles' network on Terra, and target hereditary nobles, while also asking him to contact Magnus.
• Han Mingxuan asked the Emperor to bring Corax and his legion back and to provide elite representatives from the Great Crusade legions; the Emperor agreed and authorized replacing nearly all the old nobility.
• Han Mingxuan told Slazov to execute everyone on the first seventy percent of his list of suspected criminals.
• After learning of the campaign, Curze ordered the Eighth Legion to return from the front lines and summoned its council members serving with other legions.