Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 68 Using Love as a Bargaining Chip

Queen Daisy, her emerald green eyes glistening with tears, helped King Norwick change into new clothes.

It had been half a year, and this was the first time the King of Norwick had summoned her. Her husband looked completely different from the spirited man he was a year ago.

She didn't understand and didn't want to investigate. Men always had their reasons; they would sacrifice everything for their ideals.

Seeing Norwick's frail body pierced my eyes and broke my heart; tears streamed down my face and I couldn't stop them.

Daisy straightened Norwick's crown, giving the king his final dignity, and with a heartbroken expression, she stroked his withered face and asked:
"You look like a dead man; it's not just simple exhaustion. What are you resisting?"

King Norwick, his eyes dry and lifeless, looked at his still beautiful wife and forced a smile.

To Daisy's surprise, Norwick raised his withered hand and gently grasped hers, their bony knuckles meeting and their fingers interlocking.

“Daisy…”

Norwick called softly, the sound escaping his throat slowly and weakly. He was like a man walking in the darkness, grasping at the last glimmer of light:

"Daisy Klaus Norwick!"

Tormented by the gods, he was exhausted. Only his unwavering will to sustain him remained—the desire to protect everything.

The fact that his wife was still beautiful meant he had succeeded in drawing the attention of the gods to one person.

Hearing her husband's dreamlike calls, Daisy's heart shattered into countless pieces.

She bit her lip and wept silently, half-sitting on the armrest of the throne, gripping Norwick's hand, and pulling his head to rest against her shoulder:

"Ennio is back. He can take some of the burden for you, so you can rest a bit."

"Ennio?"

Norwick trembled. Hearing his son's name, he seemed to regain some clarity, and cloudy tears streamed from his eyes: "He's not Ennio, that thing... isn't your child!"

Daisy's body stiffened abruptly upon hearing this, accompanied by a trembling she tried to suppress; she knew her son was dead.

She kissed her husband's head, which was resting on her shoulder, and tried her best to hold back the bitter sadness in her heart, preventing her tears from flowing freely.

She never doubted her husband's words, and even though Norwick was tormented and rarely lucid, she still firmly believed in all his judgments.

"Help me up! My queen!"

King Norwick struggled, pressing his arms against the throne to support himself; he was too weak to stand and needed assistance.

In the final moments, the fates of the gods, the Norwick family, and Nur will converge here.

Fate awaits humanity's challenge, while the gods seek to manipulate everything to achieve their desired outcome.

"My Queen, will you accompany me to the throne room? Your king will be there to make his final challenge to the ultimate murderer of your son!"

Norwick's figure trembled as he stood up, barely able to support his body, yet his declaration remained unchanged, as spirited and vigorous as ever.

“Norwick.” Daisy, supporting her husband’s swaying body, her emerald green eyes gleaming with a piercing light, questioned him: “Tell me, will you defeat the enemy?”

Her voice remained gentle, yet it carried a hint of hatred.

The gentle and kind queen had never wished for King Norwick's victory as much as she did now.

“We will win.” Norwick stroked Daisy’s blonde hair, as gently as ever. He couldn’t hide it from his wife: “But even when we can’t see the victory, you and I are the foundation of that victory.”

Norwich's words were blunt: he would win.

“Then I’m relieved.” Daisy’s tears had dried. Her bloodshot whites contrasted sharply with her green eyes, like burning jade: “You will surely bring victory.”

The unspoken understanding between the couple told her that everything would be revealed in the throne room, and the outcome would be decided there.

And everything, including her life, formed the foundation of victory.

"Let's go, my king!"

The two men stood tall and proud, their hands clasped together. Surrounded by the throne guards, they walked through the palace corridors toward the throne room.

Inside the throne room, Isaac and Ennio were also waiting.

The eyes of the gods are focused here, destinies intersect here, and the battle between man and god is decided here.

Despite it being a bright and sunny midday, the throne room was shrouded in darkness, with a chill seeping into one's bones.

When Queen Daisy appeared, supporting King Norwick, all eyes were on them.

Norwick lowered his head and whispered in Daisy's ear, "You watch from the sidelines as I achieve a glorious victory!"

"You seem to be in very poor condition?" Isaac remained as pale and thin as ever, with an elegant and composed demeanor.

His tone was tinged with contempt, and he drew out his words: "The great...King of Norwick."

"Of course I'm fine." Novick sat upright on his throne, though he needed his arms to support himself, his voice slow and weak, but his imposing presence remained undiminished.
"He is still a man who can wield a weapon, not a dog kneeling on the ground."

Isaac's expression changed slightly, then he smiled with relief. He didn't want to argue further; becoming a servant of God was something many believers longed for.

Just as Norwick despised his faith, Isaac similarly scorned the unbeliever. Those who blindly believe in their own darkness are unworthy of God's favor, and should kneel at His feet to receive His teachings.

"Father, mother."

Ennio bowed, his voice and appearance unchanged, and his manner of bowing even became more elegant and graceful.

No one responded to him from the royal steps. King Norwick's cloudy eyes were filled with sorrow. Daisy turned her head away, not daring to look at her "son".

From the moment Daisy saw Ennio, she knew that the "person" standing there, whose voice and appearance were just like her son's, was not the son she had raised word by word.

Ennio was not annoyed. He bowed again and stood aside with a strange smile on his face.

Deep within, a imprisoned soul suffers greatly, savoring the regret and pain of keeping the secret until it reaches its peak.

Is that all the people there?

Norwick's gaze swept across the throne room, where five Night Guards brought back by Ennio, along with nine priests including Isaac, made a total of fifteen people.

"Heh~ heh~ heh~ heh~"

Isaac let out intermittent snickers, like a madman who had won with certainty, acting arrogantly before the king. His gaze swept over the guards in the throne room: "Enough! Everything is going according to plan."

"I don't think it's enough!"

King Norwick chuckled: "Sena has gone to pick him up, and the teleportation device will send Doom back soon."

Everyone present knew of Doom's power. He was an unparalleled being, a powerhouse capable of turning the tide of battle in an instant.

The Blood God projected his heroic battle image into the warp, and even the demons were moved by his power.

"Ha~ha~ha~"

Isaac laughed even more freely. Everything was moving towards the plan of the Lord of Change, and everything was happening after the plan was in place.

"Kill them!"

At the command of the Tzeentch cultist, five Night Guardians possessed by the Keeper of the Secret suddenly launched an attack on the Throne Guard.

The Throne Guards were focused on the priest and his retinue, completely unaware that the Night Guards would launch an attack on them.

To the astonishment of the guards, following the priest's command, the former colleagues unleashed ghostly speed, their dimensional blades piercing their bodies without hesitation.

The guards in the throne room were killed, and two demon-possessed soldiers, their steel boots treading on blood, rushed up the royal steps.

The light blade was held against the king and queen's necks, and they were subdued with lightning speed.

"He's the one I've been waiting for!"

Isaac's outburst resembled a shrill scream, a bird's cry; at that moment, his composure and elegance vanished.

He lifted his long robe and rushed to the throne in three strides, his eyes filled with boundless joy.

“Please release the Queen; she poses no threat,” Isaac said to the possessed warrior, signaling the demon to lower its spear.

When he looked at Novicko, his face was contorted with the growth of short blue feathers, and his entire face was immersed in fanaticism.

His eyes turned into round bird eyes, and his hands mutated into eagle claws, gripping Novik's face as he asked smugly, "You think you can win?"

"Your every thought, every thought, is exposed to the eyes of the gods!"

"What you perceive as a game is merely a game the gods want you to see, only to then extinguish it!"

At this moment, Isaac no longer had any human form; he was no longer the elegant high priest, but a strange bird covered with bright blue feathers.

"Throne guards! Please leave."

Sharp, pointed fingernails pressed against Norwick's temple, and he spat out a human-like threat from his beak to the guards rushing into the hall.

"go out."

King Norwick slowly instructed his guards to retreat, in order to avoid unnecessary casualties.

"Are you waiting for Doom to save you? Waiting for him to make the right choice?"

The guards withdrew from the throne room, having completely taken control of the situation, and Isaac swallowed excitedly, his long neck slender.

The bird-like cooing sound recounted future plans and Norwick's failure: "You're really stupid, my Norwick."

“You surrounded him with love, embraced him with love, but you also created his weaknesses with love.”

"Use you and Daisy as bargaining chips, and he will surely submit to the gods, for he loves you both deeply!"

Isaac released Norwick and, with his robe trailing behind him, slowly walked down the steps.

Looking back at the man who had the courage to challenge the gods, a strange pity appeared in his eyes: "What you thought was a game of chance, the gods used you as a bargaining chip!"

(End of this chapter)