In the depths of the Warp, the boundaries of the Four Chaos Gods collided violently, sending waves surging forth whose radiance outshone that of any previous battle between gods.
At the final moment, the Chaos Gods tore away their facade of harmony and lured Doom into reciting the incantation to serve them.
Not only that, they also interfered with their divine brothers, preventing any complete blasphemous syllables from reaching Doom's ears.
"Curse it! I was so close to succeeding!"
Khorne roared unwillingly. He had been only a hair's breadth from taking Doom for himself.
At the critical moment, that damned Tzeentch had interrupted the final syllable, causing all his efforts to come to nothing.
"Damn it! I almost let you succeed!"
The blood-red world shattered. Tzeentch destroyed the Blood God's sudden change of heart, casually scattering the magic from his fingertips before drifting away with a mocking laugh.
The changes during the process delighted Tzeentch, and he mocked Khorne: "You call yourself a warrior and claim to love direct confrontation, yet the Blood God used a scheme. I'll save you a good spot in the Crystal Labyrinth."
"And you!" The enraged will of the Blood God transformed into a bloody shadow. He swung his greatsword at the departing Nurgle.
Nurgle's chubby body rolled once, dodging the Blood God's sword beam before returning to his own domain. His voice drifted over from the horizon: "You were the one trying to keep him all to yourself!"
"And you, you bitch!" Another sword fell as Khorne roared, "Especially you! Even if I kill Doom, I won't let you touch him!"
Slaanesh's slippery body perfectly dodged the Blood God's attack before returning to her palace. "We agreed that he belonged to all of us. You were the one who broke the rules first."
"Get lost! All of you, get lost!" The Blood God's violent roar echoed across the boundaries of the Four Chaos Gods, and his fury tore apart the Warp storm.
Doom did not know that he had escaped under the Four Chaos Gods' schemes against one another, avoiding the fate of becoming their lackey.
The situation just now had been extremely dangerous. Once he recited the incantation, he would have voluntarily surrendered his soul and become completely bound to the evil gods of the Warp.
Fortunately, the evil gods of the Warp schemed against one another. Those greedy and selfish beings would never allow another god to touch a soul they had taken an interest in. They would rather destroy it than share it.
"Is anyone there? Is anyone still here?"
After the four chairs vanished, there was no other movement in the red space. Doom kept calling out within it, waiting for a chance to leave.
The mark on his chest grew slightly hot, transmitting an indistinct message. It would not be long before he could leave.
In the Warp, the Blood God's fury continued unabated. His anger had not diminished in the slightest.
Khorne sensed around him, confirming that his brother had truly left and that his brother's attention was no longer focused here.
He carefully removed that blood-red world from the lava and bared his fanged mouth in a pleased grin.
Khorne was the god of war, but he was equally skilled in schemes.
The instant Doom killed the Greenskin, the boy's sharpness and decisiveness had caught Khorne's attention. The echoes of anger contained within it had made him deliriously delighted.
Almost without hesitation, Khorne used his authority over "murder" to copy a portion of that echo and use it to support his own plan.
Together with his three brothers, he tempted Doom to fall into Chaos. The Blood God's deliberate disruption had been perfectly timed. Then, by splitting with them and using his fury to drive the gods away, he could enjoy the spoils alone beyond his brothers' sight.
He had even deceived Tzeentch, using the trick of "swapping the civet cat for the crown prince" to replace the real world.
The Blood God wrapped the small world in a storm and brought it back to his domain. To conceal his purpose, he continuously released fury that destroyed countless daemons along the way.
"Heh heh heh~"
Khorne lowered his voice to hide his smugness. Now, he could finally taste the fruit of victory—the fruit that belonged to him alone.
"Is anyone there? What god is this blood sacrifice for?"
Khorne infused the small world with his will once more and returned to it, only to hear Doom calling into the void.
"The Blood God, you brat."
The sudden voice startled Doom. When he turned around, he saw the Brass Throne standing there once again.
A voice came from the chair, low and wild, restrained yet intensely aggressive: "Doom, I've been watching you for a long time! We don't have much time left."
"You must know that I am a true god! All you need to do is recite 'Blood sacrifice to the Blood God,' and I will grant you endless power! Conquer a million kingdoms, become an undefeated warrior, and forge an eternal legend!"
Doom listened, then stared at the Skull Throne in silence for a long while.
He was not considering whether to accept. He was puzzled—puzzled as to why beings who called themselves "gods" all liked using the same routine.
"I refuse!"
With practically no hesitation, Doom rejected the throne's offer.
"Why?" The voice from the throne held a hint of surprised disbelief and a trace of urgency. "Just now, you were almost about to recite the incantation and serve the gods!"
"Why are you refusing now? Do you think I can't give you what I promised?"
"That's not it." Doom shook his head. An honest smile appeared on his heroic face, and he had no intention of hiding the truth. "Actually, I never intended to say it just now."
"I was only buying time and observing the surroundings."
The throne fell silent for a long while. Behind it, Khorne also remained silent within the Skull Throne.
He realized that he and his divine brothers seemed to have been played by a three-month-old Primarch.
But he was not angry. Instead, he was even more delighted.
Courage and wisdom were what Khorne wanted. Someone with nothing but brute strength was merely a reckless fool with a well-developed body.
"I possess the authority of warriors. You need only worship me, and your path as a warrior will take you farther than anyone else's. You will surpass all your predecessors and leave no successors behind. I can make you the greatest warrior!"
Khorne still did not want to give up. He probed Doom little by little, trying to make him believe him.
"No." Doom shook his head, rejecting the Brass Throne's claim. "The education I received and my current understanding tell me that you're wrong."
"To become a warrior, you need a powerful heart, the courage to challenge the strong, and unwavering conviction. Above all, you need an unyielding spirit that will never submit."
"All a warrior's glory must be won through his own efforts. He should not rely on what others bestow upon him."
The boy gradually explained his understanding of warriors. The storm over the Blood-Colored Wasteland slowly died down, leaving only his voice echoing: "Glory won with your own hands shines brighter than what others give you as charity.
"You say you're the God of Warriors, so let me ask you this, God of Warriors: Do you need me, someone about to set foot on the path of the warrior, to submit to you?"
His clear voice fell like beads upon the ground, leaving the Skull Throne silent.
In Khorne's domain within the Warp, the evil god's wild laughter shook the heavens and made the hordes of daemons bow their heads. They exchanged glances, trying to figure out why the Blood God was so happy, unable to understand the source of his joy.
The courage to challenge the strong! Unwavering conviction! An unyielding spirit that would never submit!
Just listen to what that boy had said! He loved him far too much!
He did not humble himself before a god, nor was he arrogant or hypocritical. He perfectly upheld his own words, remained wary of gifts from strangers, and possessed a unique understanding of his own path.
He had yet to undergo true warrior training, yet he already understood the most important essence of a warrior.
Khorne's feelings at that moment were tangled and bitter.
Because evil gods were contradictory beings. They loved pure essences, those souls that shimmered with radiance.
The Blood God dreamed of claiming every soul brave enough to resist, yet also hoped they would tell him, "No!"
Resisting a god was itself a form of resistance. Anyone who told a god "no" possessed incomparable courage and an unyielding spirit.
"Actually, I don't want to become a warrior. That is the path my father planned for me."
In the empty private space, facing a Brass Skull Throne, Doom spoke the truth hidden deepest in his heart.
His ideal was not to become a warrior. Compared with being a warrior or a king, he preferred traveling and farming.
"How can you not become a warrior?" The Skull Throne grew frantic again. It trembled incessantly, trying to set the boy before it straight and prevent him from taking the wrong path. "How dare you disappoint your father's expectations by refusing to become a warrior?"
"Whatever you do, don't disappoint your father. You must become an honorable warrior!"
Doom spread his hands and said solemnly, "But I am already walking the path of the warrior."
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" The Skull Throne shook nonstop, and the owner of that grand voice was clearly relieved. "Whatever you do, don't stray from your path."
Wait! Above the Skull Throne in the Warp, Khorne suddenly came to his senses. If Norwick made Doom worship the Blood God, perhaps the chances of success would increase greatly.
Doom respected his father deeply and would never disappoint Norwick by abandoning the path he had laid out for him.
After leaving the Warp, Doom's soul still retained its self-protection mechanism, blocking the information the gods transmitted to him.
Even more despairing for the gods, as he continued to grow, Warp corruption found it increasingly difficult to reach his soul.
Once he understood this, Khorne was in an excellent mood.
"I'm leaving."
Doom felt the mark on his chest growing hotter and hotter. This space-time was about to collapse, so he bid farewell to the Skull Throne like a friend.
Khorne also sensed that the small world was about to shatter under the pressure between the Warp and reality.
"I need to leave as well."
As soon as he finished speaking, the world shattered. Doom's soul returned from the Blood God's domain to the material universe, while Khorne's will returned to the Warp.
The Blood God turned his gaze toward the material universe and looked at King Norwick's soul—a steadfast king and a powerful warrior.
Khorne liked him very much!
"I'll have a talk with your father! Doom! You are destined to be mine!"
He shifted his gaze again, setting it upon a person kneeling in prayer and begging the gods for mercy.
The Blood God knew him. That person was Tzeentch's plaything.
"It's time to talk with my brothers and see what 'gift' Tzeentch prepared for Doom."
Doom's vision went black once more. When he sensed his surroundings again, the Ork corpse was still twitching, while the Night Watchers' praises rose and fell around him.
Time seemed never to have taken a single step forward.
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