The Dice Are Cast

"Withdraw, all of you!" King Norwick ordered the others to leave the austere council chamber, including the court attendants.

Father and son exchanged a knowing look; King Norwick decided to resolve his son's doubts.

"Why, Father?"

Once the outsiders had departed, Doom asked his beloved father, "Your condition is dire. It is highly likely a psychic curse. They have attacked you as a test of our resolve."

"Our enemy has changed. The greatest threat is no longer the orcs, but the sorcerers of the City of Truth!"

"I know you are confused, but you must obey the King's command now."

King Norwick's voice was weak to the point of exhaustion, each word a struggle to utter: "Son, the arrangements I have made for you are the result of careful deliberation."

King Norwick offered a feeble smile.

His son's keenness pleased him; his judgment was based on reason and drew close to the truth.

Yet, having never encountered the gods, his perspective remained temporarily limited.

What afflicted him was no simple psychic curse, but a trial by the gods—their dark, encroaching will.

"You are quite right, which is why Ennio Norwick will lead the other half of the guard to blockade the City of Truth."

"Let my elder brother face the City of Truth? That is too dangerous. Why not send me?"

Sending you would be the true danger!

King Norwick longed to tell his son this, but he could not speak plainly. The gods of the Warp had already made their move, and the City of Truth was their puppet, with Doom as their target.

King Norwick knew full well why his body had become this way.

Four gods had invaded his soul months ago, continuously eroding his sanity, seeking to turn him into their vessel.

The King wrestled with the gods within his own consciousness, enduring the torment of his soul and resisting the corruption of Chaos.

He knew Doom's brilliance and strength, but Norwick, wise throughout his life, knew even better the shamelessness of the gods.

The gods' fixation on Doom was the core of their game; they wanted to claim his son, body and soul.

Using the faith of the City of Truth, the gods were infiltrating the purity of Nul, aiming to pull Doom into their embrace.

But this required time. The gods needed time, King Norwick needed time, and Doom needed time.

The gods needed time to weave their infiltration, King Norwick fought to buy that time, and Doom's growth required time.

King Norwick desperately wanted to tell his son that the true enemy was the gods standing behind the priests—the source of all darkness.

He could not!

As the gods scrutinized him, his own wisdom and gaze were likewise scrutinizing them.

To expose the hypocritical faces of the gods too early would only make them more unbridled, turning their vengeance upon all of Nul without restraint.

King Norwick knew clearly that keeping the gods' gaze fixed upon himself was safer than letting them choose their playthings at will.

He dared not!

Confronting the gods and witnessing their power, King Norwick felt deeply the helplessness of being human.

Even he, the most resilient soul in Nul, found the time he could remain clear-headed under the gods' evil gaze growing shorter, his body requiring life-sustaining elixirs to function.

Doom was extraordinary; his body and spirit might resist the gods, but what of his subjective will?

Voluntary devotion and passive resistance were two very different things.

The temptations of the gods were everywhere; the promises they made even stirred King Norwick's own heart.

King Norwick dared not gamble—he would not bet on Doom rejecting the gods. He dared not gamble on the present, so he dragged out time to gamble on the future.

He hoped his son, in whom he placed such high expectations, would develop a more mature mind and perspective to discern the hypocrisy and terror of the gods.

"Ennio Norwick will do well; you need not worry." King Norwick's thoughts were sluggish, and it took a long time before he spoke softly: "He is more mature than you and can handle the blockade."

Doom said no more. His elder brother was the most steady and intelligent person he knew, aside from his father and himself; surely, merely blockading the City of Truth would not be an issue.

"Withdraw now." King Norwick urged Doom to leave: "Send Harlan to see me; I have a task for him."

"Go and prepare. Harlan will depart with you; the frontline troops are waiting for you both."

"I understand!" Doom rose to leave, knowing that time was of the essence.

The frontline troops were waiting for their commander; an army could not go a day without its leader. He would respect his father's arrangements, eliminate the orcs with all possible speed, and then turn his focus to concentrate his forces against this new enemy.

He was certain that his father's condition was inextricably linked to the priests of the City of Truth.

"Brother!" At the doorway, Doom encountered his elder brother—Ennio Norwick.

Dressed in plain-patterned royal robes and adorned only by a gold signet ring, his golden hair and blue eyes were inherited from Queen Daisy, as was his demeanor—composed and elegant.

Compared to the formidable King Norwick, Ennio did not look like a warrior; his frame was slender, and his temperament was scholarly, more like a civil official.

Do not underestimate him; as the eldest son, he held the most authority beneath the King.

Though Ennio wore a calm, unruffled expression, Doom still detected anxiety in the subtle changes of his face.

There was no time for pleasantries; they exchanged a silent nod of understanding, and Doom stepped into the council chamber.

Doom turned and left, moving into action immediately. He met Harlan and Flano, briefly explained the situation, and then went to bid his mother farewell.

"Ennio..." King Norwick gasped violently, his condition worse than before, his voice sounding as if it were being torn from his lungs: "My eldest son, in whom I have placed such high hopes."

Ennio knelt on one knee; he understood that this was no time for sentimental father-son displays, for the situation was imminent.

"I need you to lead half of the guards and seal off every exit from the City of Truth. No one enters, no one leaves!"

"Do not let a single person out; eliminate them all!" King Norwick's voice was weak and hurried, yet still sharp: "Do not let anything from within the city leak out; destroy it all."

"The minds of the Night Watchers will face an unprecedented challenge. Establish mental barriers to avoid... the influence of psionic power."

"What if they charge the blockade?"

Ennio's brows knit together as he began to calculate the cost of a total lockdown: "How long must the blockade last?"

"They will not charge out!" A rare look of disdain flickered across King Norwick's gaunt face as he mocked: "Without absolute certainty, they will not launch a frontal assault."

King Norwick knew that the influence of the gods was currently limited, and they had to conserve their strength.

Otherwise, they would not be clamoring inside his own mind, resorting to corruption and petty, underhanded schemes.

His expression shifted again, and he spoke sternly to his eldest son: "You know the insidious nature of psionic methods. You must ensure the guards are constantly vigilant of their own hearts to prevent silent, invisible infiltration."

"I understand!"

"As for the duration of the blockade," King Norwick gave an answer that was both clear and vague: "After Doom wipes out the orcs, he will come to support you immediately, and you will combine forces to begin the next phase of the campaign."

"As for how long that will take, it depends on the capabilities of your heaven-sent brother."

Ennio's hand twitched slightly, and he lowered his head: "I understand! Seal the city and await reinforcements."

To fully blockade the City of Truth and wait for Doom's support was equivalent to entrusting everything to his brother; there was no other choice.

"Ennio!" King Norwick sensed the turmoil in his eldest son's heart and spoke earnestly: "It pains me to have you entrust your fate to Doom."

"You should know and understand everything I have done."

"You lack my foresight for the future, but you should be aware of the current situation. An enemy we have never seen or understood has appeared."

"Our strength and wisdom are insufficient to contend with them; we must rely on external power. Before that power has fully matured, protect him!"

Finally, King Norwick braced his frail body, his eyes burning as he looked at his son: "An unprecedented challenge, an unprecedented opportunity. If we survive this, Nul will be reborn, and a vast, new world will await you."

"I understand!"

Ennio let out a long breath, accepting the heavy burden. He understood that his father must have a plan to begin countering those enemies in the shadows.

Watching his son depart, the council chamber returned to silence. King Norwick exhaled a ragged breath and murmured to the empty air:

"Gods. You have made your move, and I have cast my die."

"In this game played with such reserve, I am wagering my entire future. Now, it is your turn to play."