Chapter Summaries

Chaos attacked the Cadia defense line, where Perturabo confronted the Lord of Iron and discovered that Fulgrim had burned away much of his essence. After Perturabo’s Iron Warriors captured the Chaos-aligned IV Legion, Perturabo summoned the Iron Statue to end the suffering of his alternate self.

• Chaos forces emerged from the Eye of Terror, and Perturabo led his guard to meet the Lord of Iron.
• The Chaos-aligned Iron Warriors hesitated to fight their alternate Gene-Father, allowing Perturabo’s Legion to overwhelm them.
• Perturabo ordered his warriors to capture the Chaos forces, and the enemy Space Marines stopped resisting after sensing the change in him.
• Perturabo confronted the Lord of Iron and explained that Fulgrim had burned much of his essence, leaving him alive through sheer obsession.
• The Lord of Iron attacked Perturabo, who summoned a Warp projection of the Iron Statue.

Perturabo and the Iron Statue battled the corrupted Lord of Iron, while Perturabo confronted him with the truth of his past and the failures of his rule on Olympia. With Lorgar joining them to purge Chaos, the Lord of Iron faced death as Perturabo told him that the Imperium he had dreamed of was already dying.

• Perturabo and the Iron Statue restrained the Lord of Iron and challenged him to consider how he had ruled Olympia.
• The Lord of Iron paused as he recalled his own oppressive rule, but then renewed his hatred of the Emperor and vowed revenge.
• Perturabo asked Lorgar to give the Lord of Iron peace at the end, and Lorgar joined the fight to purify him.
• Guilliman refused Corvus's offer to help and ordered defenses around Excommunication while captured Iron Warriors were disarmed and confined.
• Lorgar began purifying the Lord of Iron as Perturabo told him the Imperium had died with the Horus Heresy and urged him to face his death.

Lorgar purified the Lord of Iron’s consciousness, but the Daemon Primarch detonated himself and took Perturabo into a sphere of light. Inside it, Perturabo confronted his other self, who accepted his death and asked him to care for those who could still atone.

• Perturabo told the Lord of Iron that the Imperium of Man had died, challenging the meaning of his ancient hatred and obsession with revenge.
• Lorgar used a psychic spell to purify the Lord of Iron’s consciousness, but the Lord of Iron detonated himself.
• Perturabo pushed Lorgar away and faced the Lord of Iron inside the resulting sphere of light, while Lorgar urged the other Primarchs to trust him.
• Perturabo showed the Lord of Iron a copy of the Republic, and the Lord of Iron reflected on his arrogance and his desire for recognition.
• The Lord of Iron accepted his death and asked Perturabo to take care of those who could atone for their sins.

Perturabo spared the Iron Warriors from Decimation and proposed that Guilliman put captured traitors to work in the Administratum. Meanwhile, Lorgar led the other Primarchs into the Warp to hunt his Chaos-aligned counterpart, using a staff bearing Erebus to track him; Corvus carried the fleet at high speed toward their target.

• Perturabo told the Iron Warriors they must atone but refused to slaughter his own Scions, then left them trembling.
• Perturabo asked Guilliman to paint the captured Iron Warriors’ Power Armour blue and send them to the Administratum, and offered to help Guilliman govern while Lorgar handled the front.
• Lorgar proposed targeting his Chaos-aligned counterpart, arguing that the hunt would weaken Chaos and that the Great Rift’s opening could not ultimately be prevented.
• Lorgar revealed that his staff, custom-made by his uncle and bearing Erebus, could detect Warp corruption and locate Lorgar.
• Corvus enveloped the fleet in shadow and plunged into the Sea of Souls at top speed, carrying the force toward their target.

Lorgar chased down and attacked his ascended Daemon counterpart, rejecting his excuses and declaring that the Warp held no true gods. When the Daemon tried to use his bound Sorcerer of Ruin as leverage, Lorgar revealed he would not be deterred and reminded him that he had allowed Perturabo to destroy Cadia.

• The ascended Lorgar fled through the Sea of Souls while Corvus pursued him, and Corvus finally caught him with help from a power clinging to the Daemon.
• Lorgar confronted his counterpart, slapped him repeatedly, and dismissed his claims about the Emperor and the Chaos Gods.
• Lorgar drew his sword and relentlessly pursued the Daemon, accusing him of helping ruin humanity and refusing to offer him a dignified death.
• The Daemon threatened Lorgar by pointing out that he had a Sorcerer of Ruin bound to him, so Lorgar stopped his sword and burned away the Daemon’s tongue.
• Lorgar said the bound sorcerer could not protect the Daemon and reminded him that he had not stopped Perturabo from destroying Cadia, leaving the Daemon convinced he was doomed.

Lorgar captured a fallen Daemon Primarch and brought him to Terra while the Imperium prepared for the Great Rift to open. Han Mingxuan and the God of War forged the Sword of Promised Glory from the Black King's power, and Lorgar arrived as the weapon awaited its wielder.

• Lorgar bound the fallen Daemon Primarch, ordered the forces to withdraw, and set out for Terra with his Legion.
• The Night Haunter asked Lorgar to delay opening the Great Rift while he and Sanguinius fortified Punishment Star and Baal.
• Han Mingxuan demanded the Sword of Promised Glory from the Emperor, who agreed to let him take it after Lorgar arrived.
• Han Mingxuan and Sinleech released the Black King's power, and the God of War shaped its remnants into a sword.
• Lorgar arrived in the Throne Room and told Han Mingxuan that his brothers had returned with the aid of Necrontyr technology.

Han Mingxuan and Lorgar prepared for the Great Rift while the returned Primarchs reunited with the Emperor and learned that Sinleech and the God of War were Gods of 30K who intended to destroy the Chaos Gods. Guilliman accepted the Chancellor’s seal, but Sinleech vanished immediately afterward.

• Han Mingxuan asked Guilliman if he had awakened and tapped him on the head with his Staff after Guilliman said he had.
• Perturabo apologized to Han Mingxuan, who reassured him, and Lorgar explained that the final ritual could begin at any time; they decided to wait until Punishment Star and the Baal System were better defended.
• The 40K Primarchs reunited with the Emperor, who appointed Guilliman Lord Commander and entrusted him with overseeing the Imperium’s affairs.
• Guilliman questioned Sinleech, who revealed that he and the God of War were Gods of 30K and had come to destroy the Chaos Gods.
• Sinleech handed Guilliman the seal of the Chancellor’s authority, then vanished; the God of War guessed that he had gone to have tea.

Guilliman took over the Imperium’s administration and discovered that Vashtorr, the departing Technology Minister, was another Chaos God. Meanwhile, Lorgar and Perturabo exposed Lion El'Jonson’s feigned unconsciousness, and the Lion learned that Lorgar planned to execute himself in thirteen days.

• Guilliman met Vashtorr, who swiftly handed over the Administratum’s work and named Belisarius Cawl as his successor before vanishing.
• Guilliman ordered Cawl to be brought to him as he began investigating Chaos Gods embedded in the Imperium’s bureaucracy.
• An Adeptus Mechanicus magos sought Lorgar’s help to wake the unresponsive Lion, and Lorgar arrived with Perturabo.
• Lorgar and Perturabo sent the archmagi away, then told the Lion they knew he was pretending to sleep.
• The Lion woke after hearing that Roboute had become Imperial Regent, and Lorgar said he would execute himself in thirteen days.

Guilliman began reforming the Adeptus Administratum and banished every Chaos Daemon working there, despite Perturabo and Lorgar warning him that some things were best left alone. The purge went suspiciously smoothly, while Sinleech laughed on Punishment Star and predicted Guilliman would regret it.

• Guilliman ordered the Cognis Angel removed from the Department of Internal Affairs and agreed to assign Perturabo’s captured IV Legion Space Marines to administrative work.
• Perturabo warned Guilliman that disrupting the Administratum could bring trouble, but Guilliman believed he understood the need for restraint.
• Guilliman asked Lorgar for Dawn Army Group personnel to help reform the Department of Internal Affairs, and Lorgar agreed despite warning him about the God of Wisdom and Vashtorr going to Punishment Star.
• With several parties’ tacit approval, Guilliman sent Dawn Army Group personnel to banish every daemon in the Administratum.
• Over nine days, the daemons left without resisting, and Guilliman concluded the Administratum had returned to human hands.
• Sinleech laughed on Punishment Star and predicted Guilliman would regret banishing the daemons.

After banishing the Daemons who had kept the Imperium’s administration running smoothly, Guilliman struggled to manage the resulting backlog and drove officials and Space Marines to collapse. He eventually left the Administratum after nine days in an emotionless work state, and Han Mingxuan challenged his refusal to Harmonize with the World.

• An Administratum official told Guilliman that administrative efficiency had fallen by forty percent since the reform, explaining that the banished Daemons had handled the work effectively.
• Guilliman visited the Space Marines assigned to administrative work and found many in suspended animation, then began working around the clock to make up the backlog.
• After Guilliman finished one day’s work, his aide explained that older tasks were still accumulating and that officials were dying from overwork.
• Guilliman learned that twelve aides had died in nine days and that more than half of the Space Marines had fallen into suspended animation while coordinating his orders.
• Guilliman left the Administratum in a daze and met Han Mingxuan, who said Perturabo had already told him he needed to Harmonize with the World.

Guilliman attended Lorgar’s execution of the Daemon Primarch, which opened the Great Rift and left him facing an enormous administrative backlog. The chapter ended with Perturabo bringing him more documents to coordinate the Legions.

• Han Mingxuan told Guilliman that every Primarch had to attend the execution of Lorgar, while Guilliman lamented the administrative work he had taken on.
• Guilliman joined his brothers at the execution, where Lorgar burned the Daemon Primarch with golden flames and runic arrays.
• The Daemon Primarch died, and the Great Rift fully opened, while the Baal System and Punishment Star weathered the impact with limited casualties.
• Guilliman found the Administratum impassable beneath its mountain of urgent work, so the administrators cleared a path and set up a temporary workshop outside.
• Perturabo told Guilliman that Uncle planned to bring over the other Legions and handed him documents to approve their coordination.

Horus and Sanguinius prepared to lead the Ninth and XVI Legions from 30K into the 40K era, while Han Mingxuan insisted the two versions of Horus must not be treated as the same person. At the Spaceport, Angron, the Night Haunter, Lorgar, and Perturabo waited for the incoming Legions and joked about Sanguinius meeting his resurrected counterpart.

• Lion El'Jonson assigned Tu'en and Defensio to accompany the Ninth and XVI Legions through the stabilized gateway.
• Han Mingxuan told Guilliman that Horus and Sanguinius were coming with the two Legions, and refused to let 40K depend on 30K indefinitely.
• Han Mingxuan insisted that the 30K Horus was not the 40K traitor, leaving Guilliman unsettled.
• Lorgar and Perturabo waited at the Spaceport, where Sinleech brought Angron and the Night Haunter through a Warp Rift.
• The Night Haunter joked about Horus and Sanguinius arriving together, and Angron agreed that the Great Angel was black sesame-filled.

Guilliman forced Trajann to keep the Adeptus Custodes in line and let the arriving Legions operate without interference. At the spaceport, the 30K Primarchs welcomed Horus and the Great Angel, while the 40K Primarchs felt left out of their easy reunion.

• Han Mingxuan learned that Guilliman was coordinating with the Adeptus Custodes, and Angron said their situation was awkward.
• Guilliman warned Trajann that the Custodians must not interfere with the visiting Primarchs and ordered them to remain in the Throne Room.
• Trajann refused to answer, so Guilliman forced him to obey and warned him against repeating the Custodians’ past actions against the World Eaters.
• Guilliman told the Primarchs at the spaceport that the Legions could carry out their work, and they teased him about his arrangements.
• Horus and the Great Angel arrived with two Legions, and the 30K Primarchs greeted them warmly.
• The 40K Primarchs watched the 30K brothers reunite and felt excluded.

Horus reunited with Han Mingxuan and the Primarchs, then began the handover with Guilliman as the two timelines converged. The convergence strengthened Sinleech in the Warp, where he attacked the three Chaos Gods while the God of War watched.

• Horus reunited with Han Mingxuan, who welcomed him and sent him to meet Guilliman about the handover.
• Horus greeted Guilliman and the Great Angel, and Guilliman embraced the Great Angel after apologizing for his overenthusiastic greeting.
• Horus called Tu'en and Defensio forward, and Han Mingxuan warmly reunited with them before taking them to prepare a meal.
• Horus and Guilliman went to discuss the handover while Han Mingxuan left with Tu'en, Defensio, and Konrad.
• The two timelines converged, empowering Sinleech, who struck at the three Chaos Gods as the God of War watched with bottles of liquor.

Sinleech and the God of War discussed their fight with the 40K Chaos Gods and discovered that Abaddon could no longer contain his Divinity or power. Meanwhile, Horus persuaded Guilliman to consider using captured Warp Daemons as administrators, and Guilliman decided to consult the Grey Knights' Grand Master about a mass capture plan.

• The God of War stopped Sinleech from beating the three 40K Chaos Gods to death, and Sinleech planned to unsettle them by altering the Well of Eternity's entrance.
• The God of War admitted that he had fought Abaddon too hard, leaving Abaddon unable to contain his Divinity or power.
• Guilliman tried to assign Horus work at the Administratum, but Horus refused and warned that Guilliman's Domestic Reform had damaged administrative efficiency.
• Horus suggested that captured Warp Daemons could serve as efficient, tireless administrators on Terra, and Guilliman began to consider the idea.
• Guilliman decided to discuss a mass capture of Warp Daemons with the Grey Knights' Grand Master.

Han Mingxuan hosted a gathering for the Primarchs from two different times and places, who shared a peaceful meal together. Afterward, Sinleech arrived with the God of War, and Han Mingxuan told Sinleech that he was destined to become the God of Wisdom as his authority returned.

• Sanguinius prepared a large supply of fruit and ate fruit salad while helping in Han Mingxuan's kitchen.
• Tu'en sensed the Primarchs hiding outside and invited them in, while Corvus warned the others that Tu'en's psychic power was dangerous.
• The Primarchs arrived at the courtyard and took their assigned seats; the Night Haunter and the Lord of Drakes exchanged friendly words.
• Guilliman arrived late from the Administratum, and the Primarchs shared a meal while Han Mingxuan watched them get along.
• After the gathering, Sinleech and the God of War arrived, and Han Mingxuan told Sinleech he could feel that he would reclaim his authority and become the God of Wisdom.

Han Mingxuan, Sinleech, and the God of War planned how the two worlds would confront the Chaos Gods. They agreed to forge the complete Sword of Promised Glory for Lorgar, divide their forces for the coming battles, and have Han Mingxuan face Xiao Ning, the Great Devourer, himself.

• Han Mingxuan asked Sinleech and the God of War to plan how the two worlds should interact, and the God of War said he would handle the fighting.
• The God of War told Han Mingxuan that he had involved him in Grandfather's gamble to help the God of Love, and Han Mingxuan reluctantly set the matter aside.
• Han Mingxuan proposed preparing the Sword of Promised Glory for Lorgar, and Sinleech said Grandfather's Death Power would let the Pale King confront Nurgle.
• Sinleech proposed a two-pronged strategy, and the God of War planned to send Horus against Abaddon and the Black Legion while Han Mingxuan and Sinleech completed the sword.
• Han Mingxuan said he would deal with Xiao Ning, the Great Devourer, himself, partly to preserve an external threat for the Imperium of Man after his death.

Horus and Guilliman prepared to fight the Black Legion, while Tzeentch organized a plan to stop Horus and corrupt him. The Black Legion began its final crusade against the Luna Wolves as Horus located his target and received a warning that the Chaos Gods were plotting against him.

• Guilliman warned Horus that Abaddon had inherited the Blood God's legacy and had nearly killed Lion El'Jonson, while Horus reassured Abaddon and led the XVI Legion into the Warp.
• Tzeentch told the Warp Allied Forces that the Black Legion would hold Horus's army in check while the XIV Legion and Fulgrim tried to corrupt or wound him.
• Abaddon recognized that fate and the Chaos Gods had abandoned the Black Legion, but ordered his forces to engage the Luna Wolves.
• The Black Legion began its Fourteenth Black Crusade with little spirit, accepting that it faced its end against its former selves.
• Horus located the Black Legion, and his Legion warned him that the Chaos Gods were plotting against them; Horus ordered his warriors to prepare for battle.

As the Luna Wolves fought the Black Legion and Daemons, Horus and the Four Kings Council boarded the ruined Vengeful Spirit to confront Abaddon the Despoiler. Horus refused to condemn his fallen son and prepared to grant him death as an act of mercy.

• Tzeentch sent Magnus to intervene if his plan faltered, while the Black Legion retreated behind the Daemons to avoid fighting the Luna Wolves.
• The XVI Legion denounced the Black Legion for betraying their oaths, and the two forces exchanged accusations over Horus and their loyalty.
• Horus and the Four Kings Council advanced through the battlefield toward the Vengeful Spirit while the Luna Wolves fought the Daemons and Black Legion.
• Horus, Sejanus, Abaddon, and the other two members of the Four Kings Council found the Vengeful Spirit's control room empty except for the Despoiler, who waited on his throne.
• The Despoiler challenged Horus's right to judge him and revealed that he had killed Horus and kept a clone's skull, but Horus calmly told him he would still bring him death as his final mercy.

Abaddon died after kneeling before Horus, and Mortarion arrived to fight his fallen self as the Legions battled across the Vengeful Spirit. Fulgrim launched a surprise attack on Horus, but a golden-and-purple figure appeared behind him, leaving the confrontation poised to continue.

• Abaddon confessed his shame to Horus and died before reaching him, while Mortarion revealed himself and mocked Horus.
• Mortarion from another world arrived with his Legion and challenged his fallen counterpart, wielding death’s power against him.
• Jarro blocked Typhus the Traveler’s attempted sneak attack, and the two began fighting.
• Magnus confronted Horus while the Chaos Space Marines faced Horus’s Legion, and Mortarion warned Horus not to repeat his past mistake.
• Fallen Fulgrim lunged at Horus, but a graceful golden-and-purple figure appeared behind Horus and called Fulgrim an ugly daemon.