Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 332 Blackrock Fortress
Upon seeing the long whip and hearing its name, Prima's scales faded, turning from a deep purple, star-like color to a pale, porcelain-like white.

It slumped down on the low bed, its eyes devoid of light.

It was clear that Prima was terrified and hadn't even thought things through. Regardless of their identities, the people in front of her were her own surviving people.

The drastic changes in the Ancient Saint's body startled Doom, who wanted to go and check on him, but Sintra lightly touched his boots, indicating that nothing serious had happened.

"I'm guilty!"

Prima's eyes were glazed over, tears streaming down her large eyes. She confessed her crimes: "I violated the Codex of Life, interfered with the fate of other races, and shouldn't have stolen the treasure and fled..."

It confessed to dozens of crimes, ranging from serious offenses to trivial matters.

Doom was truly astonished to learn that the learned ancient sage had committed so many racial crimes; it was quite an eye-opener for him.

He found it strange that the ancient sage showed such fear of that thin whip.

Under the threat of the whip, Prima confessed to all her crimes from birth to the present, as if spilling beans.

"Humph~"

Just as it stretched out its arms to surrender, a soft groan came from under the black robe, as if it were enduring great pain.

Prima's eyes widened in surprise; she realized she had been tricked.

Its body instantly regained its color. It retrieved a flintlock pistol from the wall behind it, its expression turning fierce as it screamed at the man in black robes, "You're not a defender of the law, who are you?"

“And you!” It pulled out another gun and pointed it at Doom: “Stand still, I need to verify your identity.”

"It's me." A choked sigh rang out.

Hearing that familiar yet unfamiliar sob, Prima trembled, her hands gripping the two guns shaking uncontrollably.

Sintra removed her hood, revealing her fiery red scales and her large, bloodshot, tearful golden eyes.

slap~
Two golden flintlock muskets landed on the bed. The scene before her eyes was unreal. Prima practically rolled off the low bed and came to the Red Clan.

Upon seeing the lifelike figure, it reached out to touch it, then trembled and withdrew, fearing it was a phantom projection, a trick Doom used to amuse himself.

Doom grabbed its hand and dragged it closer to Sintra.

"No...no...no..."

Prima pleaded, her body resisting as she fell backward, even closing her eyes in despair.

He stopped struggling and slowly opened his tightly closed eyes only when he felt a cool touch in his palm.

"It's really you!"

At this moment, Prima could no longer hold back and embraced Sintra. The two Old Saints knelt on the ground, hugging each other's bodies, feeling the unique coolness of their races, and burst into tears.

Sixty million years!

The icy loneliness built up by the years melted away in an embrace.

In the small room, emotions crumbled into fragments, accompanied by flying tears, and the ancient sage wept uncontrollably.

Doom was filled with emotion and knew it was time for him to leave.

"Wait, kid."

As he turned to leave, Sintra called him back, and the ancient saint, overjoyed and weeping, quickly came up to him.

"I don't know how to express my gratitude." Sintra was timid and not good at expressing herself, but her tear-reddened eyes were full of gratitude.

“No need to thank me.” Doom squatted down in front of it, his deep voice also filled with gratitude: “The elder saved me, and you also helped me forge the armor and reunite you. It is my duty.”

Prima rubbed her eyes, a satisfied look on her face, and proudly raised her chin, clearly distinguishing between the grudges and grievances of her apprentices.

Revenge must be taken, and favors must be repaid.

"No! No! No!"

Sintra shook her head, took out a model from her dimensional pocket, and said, suppressing her sobs, "Everything you've done is for the great cause of all living beings in the universe. We're contributing to it, hoping for your success."

"Our reward is entirely due to your personal actions, and I must express my gratitude to you." "Take it." It held up the gift and presented it to Doom. "Humanity is undertaking a great expedition, and it will help you."

Doom examined the model closely; it was a marvelous creation.

It is made entirely of black stone and consists of two joined four-pointed stars rotating in opposite directions to form an inverted eight-pointed star amulet.

"What is this?" he asked softly, but did not take the rune accessory. Instead, he reached out and gently touched it, trying to feel its mystery.

“I know that.” Prima jumped over and explained the origin of the amulet: “It’s the key to activate the fortress.”

"During the War of Heaven, under the full design of Sintra, my race built countless eight-pointed star fortresses to draw upon the power of the warp and fight against the Star Gods and the Necromancers of space."

“Yes.” Sintra puffed out her chest when mentioning her work, her pride evident in her words: “The Eight-Pointed Star Fortress.”

"In the later stages of the War of Heaven, the Void Dragons created Blackrock, sealing off the power of the Warp and making our war extremely difficult."

“But I discovered something different.” Sintra spat out sparks, piecing together a piece of the past, recounting the origins of the matter: “As the saying goes, things reach their extremes and then reverse; the Black Stone’s suppressive force on the warp also exhibits another kind of polarity.”

"With special guidance, its polarity will quickly reverse, and it will greatly enhance the spiritual power from the sea of ​​souls."

"This inspired me to create the Eight-Pointed Star Fortress, modeled after the Star God Black Stone, to fight against the Star God using this extraordinary creation."

After he finished speaking, Mars formed a huge eight-pointed star fortress, hovering in front of Doom, just like the miniature key in his hand.

“Times have changed,” Prima shook her head regretfully, and continued to recount the fate of the Octagonal Fortress: “Those powerful weapons were either destroyed or left unattended, falling into the stars under the pull of gravity.”

"Most of the remaining fortresses were taken in by the Eldar. The Eldar God of Craftsmen reactivated them, making slight modifications, and named them 'Val's Amulet' and 'Blackrock Fortress'."

"What did you say?!" Sintra jumped up immediately, his golden eyes wide with rage, sparks flying from his nostrils: "Those who came after me, how dare they desecrate my creation? And shamelessly claim my credit?"

"I'm so angry!" Its hands trembled, and it paced around in a panic, spewing angry sparks from its mouth and nose.

As a legendary craftsman, the ancient saint was naturally enraged to learn that his creation had been desecrated and his right to be credited had been taken away.

Sintra held the amulet in both hands, whispering the words of the ancient saints. The key in its hands glowed faintly, and the spell fell silent as it finished.

"Kid, take this!" Upon learning the truth, Sintra was furious and slammed the key onto Doom's waist without giving him a chance to refuse.

“Those who are disrespectful have stolen my creation and seized what is rightfully mine.”

"If you encounter them in the future, bring them back if you need them, and destroy them if you don't."

The key hung from his waist, and two black stone chains sprouted from it, fastening around his waist. Doom was at a loss for what to do.

Without a doubt, if humanity could obtain Blackrock Fortress and deploy the ancient artifacts in the war, it would be a devastating weapon.

However, the power of Blackrock Fortress comes from the warp, and the impact it has on it remains questionable.

After thinking it over, he turned to Prima with a puzzled and pleading look, hoping to get some guidance.

"What are you looking at?" Sintra said sharply. "I'm not a member of the Temple of Life, so I'm not required to abide by the principle of non-interference."

“That’s not what he’s worried about.” Prima took out his pipe, ready to explain, but Sintra snatched it away.

“I dream about it all the time.” Sintra said with ecstasy, putting the pipe to his lips and sitting cross-legged to enjoy the aroma of tobacco.

Prima was aware of Doom's concerns. With a casual gesture, it gathered the smoke into its palm, kneaded it, and the smoke formed a new pattern: "You don't need to worry about warp contamination."

"The Octagonal Star Fortress possesses the polarity of Black Stone, which not only guides the power of the subspace but also isolates it from subspace contamination. You can use it with confidence."

“I understand.” Doom brushed the key over his hand and accepted this weighty gift.

“Hey~” Prima cried out, the smoke twisting and changing into a star map of the vast Milky Way. “I happen to know a few places where a few dormant Blackrock fortresses are located.”

It extended its slippery tongue and lightly tapped on the star map, marking the location of Blackrock Fortress.

“Child, you must remember this.” Sintra slowly raised his head, his eyes reflecting the Milky Way, his voice filled with reluctance and determination: “There are many Blackrock Fortresses. If you don’t need them or can’t control them, then destroy them completely. Don’t feel any regret.”

"Even if it destroys my creations, I will not allow them to fall into the hands of evil and poison the galaxy."

Having understood the elder's determination, Doom solemnly bowed to them and made a promise: "I understand."

(End of this chapter)