Chapter Summaries

After Sanguinius was resurrected, the Imperium celebrated while the Inquisition worked to protect his return from interference. The Ultramarines traveled to Baal hoping the Father of Night would revive their Gene-Father, but their confidence remained premature.

• Kaldor Draigo told the Inquisitors that the God-Emperor had confirmed Sanguinius's resurrection was genuine and ordered them to prevent anyone from interfering with the Great Angel.
• Calgar decided to go to Baal with Cato Sicarius and the Victrix Guard, both to honor Sanguinius and to ask the Father of Night to revive their Gene-Father.
• Sanguinius went with Han Mingxuan to meet his people, as successor Chapters and loyalist Legions arrived in the Baal System over three months to celebrate.
• The High Lords stayed distracted by fighting over their leave schedules while the Ultramarines waited for the celebrations to end so they could meet the Father of Night.
• The Ultramarines convinced themselves that the Father of Night would grant their Gene-Father a chance to return, and some began celebrating before they had even met him.

During Sanguinius’s month-long celebration, Marneus Calgar asked him to let the Father of Night resurrect Roboute Guilliman, and the Ultramarines’ mourning display angered the Sanguinary Guard. Han Mingxuan took Calgar and his men aboard their ship, where he knocked them down and scolded them for their reckless approach, warning that Guilliman would be summoned to the Department of Internal Affairs if revived.

• The Ultramarines waited until the final three days of Sanguinius’s celebration to meet him.
• Marneus Calgar asked Sanguinius to have the Father of Night resurrect Roboute Guilliman, while the Ultramarines displayed black mourning patches on their armor.
• The Sanguinary Guard grew angry at the request and the mourning display, but Sanguinius calmed them and Han Mingxuan offered to speak with Calgar privately.
• Calgar led Han Mingxuan aboard the Ultramarines’ ship, where Han Mingxuan sent the Blue Cans flying and rebuked them for their behavior.
• Han Mingxuan warned the Ultramarines that Guilliman would be summoned to the Department of Internal Affairs after his resurrection rather than return to lead them on Macragge.

Han Mingxuan said goodbye to Sanguinius and returned toward Punishment Star, leaving Sanguinius to confront the Imperium’s High Lords and prepare for Corvus’s return. Aboard his flagship, Han Mingxuan refused the Silent King’s offer of control over the Celestial Orrery and instead requested Tyranid information and a list of the next Necrons to be resurrected.

• Han Mingxuan left the Baal System after telling Sanguinius that the Eighth Legion would remain hidden until Roboute returned and giving him a pendant to identify the legion’s agents.
• Han Mingxuan told Sanguinius that Corvus would return to Deliverance within three to five years, after Han Mingxuan helped address his psychological state.
• Sanguinius ordered Dante to bring the Retinue Army so they could settle accounts with the High Lords, though Dante warned that they might not be allowed to leave Terra.
• The Silent King visited Han Mingxuan aboard the Father of the Evernight and offered him equal rights to control the Celestial Orrery.
• Han Mingxuan returned the control device and asked the Silent King for Tyranid information and the names of the next Necrons to be resurrected.

Han Mingxuan fed a severed Hive Mind fragment until it developed self-awareness and chose a human body, while the Will of Earth set an anchor for his next journey to Roboute's Horus Heresy. Afterward, he approved the Silent King's resurrection list, unaware that the Necrons' plans would soon draw him into a shura field.

• Han Mingxuan returned to Punishment Star, reviewed events with the Night Haunter, and began analyzing a severed fragment of the Hive Mind.
• Han Mingxuan fed the fragment his soul power for several months until it responded that it was full.
• The Will of Earth visited Han Mingxuan, asked where he wanted to travel next, and set an anchor point for Roboute's Horus Heresy.
• The Hive Mind fragment chose a human body, and Han Mingxuan accepted its choice.
• The Silent King presented the resurrection list, and Han Mingxuan approved it without commenting on the high proportion of women.

Han Mingxuan welcomed Trazyn, who offered him a clone of a Primarch, then learned that the Dark King planned to cross timelines and be born through the 30K timeline. Han Mingxuan and Sinleech prepared to use the Four Gods’ Positive Authorities to burn the Dark King as the channel opened.

• Trazyn visited Han Mingxuan, secured his Resurrection place by giving up half his museum collection, and offered him a clone of the Emperor's Children’s Gene-Father.
• Han Mingxuan accepted Trazyn’s gift, then spoke with Sinleech about the Accursed and the Dark King’s plans.
• Sinleech explained that the Dark King intended to use the channel between timelines and a Phantom to establish himself in the 30K past.
• The Night Haunter told Han Mingxuan that a four-armed projection of the Dark King had appeared on the 30K timeline.
• Han Mingxuan revealed the Positive Authorities of the God of War, Grandfather, and Slaanesh, and Sinleech contributed his Authority of Hope so they could attack the Dark King.

Han Mingxuan returned to Terra to stop Black Pelt from interfering with fate and began forging a weapon from the four gods’ Positive Authorities, his own power, and the Dark King’s divine seat. He left the Dark King engulfed in flames, while the true effects of the forging began in the Warp.

• Han Mingxuan told Night Haunter to train his troops, then went with Sinleech to Terra.
• Han Mingxuan incapacitated Mortarion and Magnus at the Department of Internal Affairs and summoned Sanguinius back to guard Terra.
• Han Mingxuan confronted Black Pelt in the Throne Room, and the Dark King rejected the possibility of cooperation.
• Han Mingxuan combined the four gods’ Positive Authorities with his own power and the Dark King’s divine seat to forge a sword.
• Han Mingxuan set the Golden Throne ablaze, and the flames began working their true effects in the Warp.

The Four Chaos Gods saw golden light eroding the black sun above Terra and suspected that the returning God of Wisdom and Miracle was trying to destroy the Dark King. After Tzeentch foresaw his own death, the gods decided to gamble on stopping the sun’s destruction by involving the entire Warp.

• Tzeentch summoned Nurgle, Slaanesh, and Khorne after cracks appeared in the Crystal Palace and he foresaw the Warp’s destruction.
• The Four Chaos Gods saw golden light covering and eroding the black sun above Terra.
• Nurgle suggested that the returning lord was the God of Wisdom and Miracle, and Tzeentch denied that the being could possess enough Positive Authority.
• Tzeentch foresaw his own death by his own sword and tried unsuccessfully to contact Magnus so he could destroy Terra.
• Tzeentch proposed trapping the lord as they had trapped the Ultramarines’ lord during the Siege of Terra, and the gods agreed that every Daemon and god in the Warp had to take part.

Han Mingxuan burned the Dark King with Positive Authorities, restoring some of the Emperor’s humanity while trapping him on the Golden Throne. As the Warp’s Chaos forces gathered for a counterattack, Han planned to bring True Gods from another timeline through the passage, and Trazyn and Imotekh argued over who should go first.

• The Chaos Gods and Daemons united to prepare a counterattack as the Black King warned Han Mingxuan that changing his godhood would devastate the Warp.
• Han Mingxuan dismissed the Black King's threats, and the Positive Authorities began burning him while the Emperor felt his humanity returning.
• Han Mingxuan told the Emperor to handle Konrad Curze's return, then Sinleech reported that six thousand Vengeful Spirits were gathering.
• Han Mingxuan proposed bringing the other three True Gods through the passage to counter the Warp's Chaos Gods.
• Trazyn and Imotekh contacted Han Mingxuan and argued over whose forces should cross first, while Xiulikas advised summoning the Primarchs before choosing.

Trazyn and Xiulikas explained that only people with low enough Fate Weight could cross the unstable passage to Han Mingxuan’s timeline, and the Primarchs began selecting a small first group of reinforcements. Curze chose four Eighth Legion members and started their special training ahead of the planned departure in five months.

• Trazyn told the gathered leaders that the passage to Han Mingxuan’s timeline was beginning to stabilize, but its limited Fate Capacity restricted who could go.
• Xiulikas recommended Han Mingxuan’s Private Guard, Urtana, some Eighth Legion veterans, Nova, and other low-Fate-Weight candidates, while warning that the Primarchs and their retinue armies could not yet cross.
• Xiulikas estimated that no more than three hundred people could be sent, recommended a maximum of two hundred and eighty, and set the first departure for five months later.
• Curze chose Nova, Slazov, Laxus, and Weiss to support Han Mingxuan, ordering them to find and protect him and take orders only from him.
• Curze began intensive training for the four, including individual instruction, enhancements from Nostramo’s Archmagos, and a requirement to survive ten minutes against Sevatar.
• The other Primarchs also began intensive training for their selected reinforcements.

The Legions prepared elite reinforcements for the newly stabilized passage between the 30K and 40K eras while Curze and Slaanesh oversaw harsh training. In 40K, the Night Haunter learned that support was coming soon and put Punishment Star on full combat alert.

• Valdor began training selected warriors from seventeen Legions to reach roughly Sigismund's level within five months, while Curze proposed sending survivors of the harshest battlefields as reinforcements.
• The Primarchs agreed to Curze's plan, and the selected warriors gathered aboard the Nightfall for accelerated training; Tu'en was assigned to focus on recruits from the Dawn Army Group.
• Jia and Slaanesh taught Urtana how to identify and kill women who might approach Old Han, and Slaanesh gave her a powerful blessing against Slaanesh's followers.
• Han Mingxuan told the Night Haunter that the Emperor would use the Ecclesiarchy to clear his name and that the first 30K reinforcements would soon cross the stabilized passage.
• The Night Haunter ordered Sevatar to place Punishment Star on the highest state of combat readiness, then went to find Corvus.

As Nova’s group prepared to cross into Han Mingxuan’s world, Xiulikas and Szarekh gave Nova and Urtana instructions for finding and serving Han. Han Mingxuan guided the travelers through fate with a torch, and Nova’s party neared the passage’s exit as Han sensed their arrival.

• Xiulikas gave Nova a sheath to guide him to Han Mingxuan and reminded him to leave a coordinate halfway through the passage.
• Szarekh told Urtana to follow Han Mingxuan’s orders and oppose any Necrons who threatened him, while Urtana explained how strongly she wanted to return to Han.
• Xiulikas led the group through a passage opened by the Golden Throne, assigning Nova and Old Kamon to scout ahead and Slazov to bring up the rear.
• Han Mingxuan sensed the reinforcements’ journey and placed a torch at Punishment Star’s Mandeville Point to guide them out of the passage.
• Nova followed the sheath and his Psychic Power talent, marked a coordinate at the passage’s center, and led the group toward a distant firelight.
• After waiting five or six days with the Night Haunter, Han Mingxuan sensed the travelers drawing close and said they had arrived.

Han Mingxuan welcomed Nostramo-descended reinforcements from another timeline, but a Warp storm interrupted their reunion. The newcomers charged into the Warp and routed the Daemons, while the Night Lords prepared to test their strength.

• Fewer than three hundred Nostramo-descended warriors emerged from the Mandeville Point, reunited with Han Mingxuan, and hailed him as the Father of Night.
• Old Kamon apologized for failing to protect Han Mingxuan, but Han Mingxuan told him that neither he nor the Primarchs could have stopped the Emperor's plans.
• A Warp storm began to form around Punishment Star, and Han Mingxuan's Private Guard surrounded him as the newcomers organized for battle.
• Nova, Laxus, and Weiss led the Nostramo-descended warriors in tearing open a rift and charging into the Warp with swords bearing the Chaos Purge Decree.
• Urtana brought Han Mingxuan his familiar chair, and he sat to rest while the Night Lords watched and considered sparring with the reinforcements.
• The first sign of the squad's victory came when Daemon heads began emerging from the Warp Rift.

Nostramo-descended reinforcements emerged from the Warp after destroying its daemons and joined the Night Haunter on Punishment Star. When the Night Lords challenged their strength, Slazov accepted a spar, and the reinforcements turned their attention to two people in their own group.

• The Dawn Army Group's Special Operations Squad emerged with the heads of slain Greater Daemons and reported to Han Mingxuan that the Warp Storm had been cleared.
• Han Mingxuan's reinforcements met the Night Haunter, and Nova Spes identified them as members of the Eighth Legion from Nostramo.
• Slazov introduced himself as a retired veteran, a civil servant, and Nostramo's strongest real estate salesman, leaving the Night Lords confused.
• The Night Lords challenged Slazov to a spar to test the reinforcements, and Slazov agreed while asking them to set clear rules.
• The Night Lords offered Slazov the choice of rules, and the reinforcements smiled as they looked at two people in their own group.

Laxus and Weiss arranged an Octagon tournament between the visiting Midnight Reapers and the Night Lords, while the Night Haunter allowed the contest but barred Sevatar and the other Grand Company Commanders from participating. The Night Lords were overwhelmed by the Octagon defenders, including fighters who seemed to turn the arena itself against them.

• Laxus and Weiss set rules for an Octagon tournament, and Laxus requested five arenas for the contest.
• The Night Haunter approved the tournament to assess the gap between the forces but ordered Sevatar and the other Grand Company Commanders not to fight.
• Han Mingxuan and Urtana arrived at the plaza and saw battered Night Lords being thrown from the Octagons.
• After more than a dozen rounds, nearly a hundred Night Lords had been beaten by the defenders, whom they compared to hundreds of Sigismunds.
• The Night Lords described how two defenders used the Octagon's surroundings to knock opponents out in under a minute, leading them to say that the Octagon fought back.

Sahar, the Night Lords’ Master of the Claws, challenged Slazov to a spar after learning about his counterpart in the Midnight Reapers. Slazov accepted and began instructing Sahar in the Octagon, while Sahar realized how far outmatched he was.

• The Night Haunter forbade Sevatar from sparring and allowed Sahar to represent the Night Lords instead.
• Sahar asked Slazov about his counterpart being held back, and Slazov explained the reserve training system on Nostramo.
• Sahar asked Slazov to spar, and Slazov agreed to meet him in the Octagon.
• Sahar charged Slazov, who dodged and corrected his angle and force.
• Slazov told Sahar to watch his joints and movements, and Sahar barely dodged the next attack.

Sahar fought Slazov in the Octagon while Laxus and Weiss plotted to provoke Sevatar into confronting Nova. The Night Haunter caught the scheming pair and took them to face Father of Night for disrupting harmony between the Legions.

• Sahar kept fighting Slazov for two and a half hours as the crowd cheered, while Laxus and Weiss recognized that the Civil Servant was training him.
• Laxus and Weiss decided to steer Sevatar toward challenging Nova by praising the Evernight Legion and suggesting that Nova was its strongest recruit.
• Sevatar stopped Laxus and Weiss to ask about Nova and the difference in strength between himself and the Evernight Legion.
• Laxus and Weiss pretended they needed to relieve themselves, then hid nearby to watch for Sevatar's reaction.
• The Night Haunter caught Laxus and Weiss, punched Laxus, and ordered them to come with him to see Father of Night for disrupting harmony between the Legions.

Han Mingxuan arranged for members of the Midnight Reapers to train the Night Lords after their legion’s sparring matches, while Laxus and Weiss agreed to help. Sevatar challenged Nova to a spar, and Nova worried that fighting him could undermine the Boss’s dignity.

• Han Mingxuan learned that Sevatar had gone to challenge Nova and decided the contest could help the Night Lords recognize the gap between the legions.
• Konrad revealed that Laxus and Weiss had provoked Sevatar into challenging Nova, and Han Mingxuan proposed that they instruct the Night Lords after the sparring matches.
• Han Mingxuan explained that instructors could help the reborn Night Lords recover from the blow of losing to the Midnight Reapers, and Konrad accepted his arrangements.
• Han Mingxuan told Laxus and Weiss to inform the Council of the Long Night about a secret, and they agreed to prepare a training plan with Nova.
• Sevatar asked Nova about his counterpart in another world, then challenged him to spar; Nova refused at first because he feared the fight would threaten the Boss’s dignity.

Nova effortlessly defeated Sevatar’s attacks, explained that his psychic gift countered precognition, and agreed to train him. The Night Haunter then announced that the Evernight Legion would operate openly in the Imperium and train the Night Lords.

• Sevatar attacked Nova, but Nova repeatedly evaded him and held a dagger to his neck, leaving Sevatar unable to fight back.
• Sevatar asked whether everyone in the Evernight Legion was so strong, and Nova said he was its only recruit because the legion never lost members.
• Sevatar asked Nova to become his instructor, and Nova agreed to teach him martial skills.
• Nova explained that his psychic gift, A Sliver of Life, naturally countered precognitive abilities like Sevatar’s Prophecy.
• The Night Haunter addressed the Night Lords, announced that the Evernight Legion would operate openly in the Imperium, and assigned its members to train them.

The Night Lords accepted the Evernight Legion as their instructor, while the Night Haunter left their return to the Imperium dependent on passing Nova’s assessments. Han Mingxuan resurrected the Silent King’s second group of candidates, but Urtana attacked the Silent King when he offered them as Han’s new attendants.

• The Night Haunter put Nova in charge of the Night Lords’ training and said they could return after passing one round of assessments.
• Han Mingxuan reassured Kamon that he did not blame him for failing to stop the Emperor and said he wanted to destroy the Warp.
• Kamon told Han Mingxuan that the Silent King had arrived with another group of candidates, and Han agreed to resurrect them.
• The Silent King presented the newly resurrected women as Han Mingxuan’s proposed security and attendants, prompting Urtana to wound him and threaten to kill him.
• Han Mingxuan stopped Urtana, reaffirmed his agreement with the Silent King, and watched him leave suspecting that his counterpart from another timeline was guarding against him.

Han Mingxuan learned that Slaanesh and Jia had prompted Urtana to approach him, then oversaw the creation of a body for a captured wisp of the Great Devourer’s will. As the wisp transformed inside a cocoon, the Great Devourer redirected its Hive Fleets toward Punishment Star to recover it, bringing the Second Tyrannic War sooner than Han Mingxuan expected.

• Urtana told Han Mingxuan that Slaanesh and Jia had instructed her to approach him, citing Jia’s concern that his genes must not be scattered across other timelines.
• Han Mingxuan brought Urtana and the others to a laboratory aboard the Father of the Evernight, where Krete prepared to give the captured wisp of the Great Devourer’s will a body.
• Han Mingxuan ordered Urtana to teach the new being about humanity and destroy it if it displayed improper behavior, while planning for it to develop new Tyranid warriors.
• The wisp fused with its body inside a cocoon, and Han Mingxuan took the cocoon with him on Krete’s advice.
• The Great Devourer sensed satisfaction from the lost individual consciousness and ordered its Hive Fleets to change course for Punishment Star and recover it.