The war for the soul of the universe continues to widen. Armies of former allies do battle on a hundred worlds in the wake of the assassination of the Cardinal Seniorus. With immeasurable power now within his grasp, the Inquisitor General sends his armies forth to consolidate control of the seven hundred worlds. Yet even his careful planning isn't enough to contend with the rise of the cult of the death god. Cultists sweep through cities in their anticipation of Rengu's return.

Awake once again, the Three begin to collect heroes and villains to their causes. The final battle is coming. A battle that will leave the universe permanently scarred.

On the library world of Wexanos, Tannus must deal with a two-fold threat. Human enemies have found the key to either awaken or kill those of his kind he painstakingly put into hiding millennia ago. He sends a team of loyal Prekhauten Guards to Kharsis to retrieve the key and end the threat of rogue Inquisitor Ursal Prowl while at the same time dispatches Matthias and Inquisitor Luma Kai to An'kuruku in the hopes of finding Paradise Tear.

It is a desperate gambit intended on preventing the spread of war but one they must make. The one man capable of stopping the war, Tolde Breed, is lying on his deathbed, helpless to do anything.