Chapter Summaries

After the Child of Miracle saved Nul, King Norwick named him Doom Norwick and entrusted Queen Daisy with raising him as a future warrior-king. Norwick led the Night Watchers on a campaign against the scattered Orks, and three months later Daisy admitted she felt profound terror whenever she faced Doom.

• King Norwick ordered the Night Watchers to regroup and hunt the scattered Orks while Queen Daisy reunited with him and learned how the infant had saved Nul.
• Norwick named the infant Doom Norwick and told Daisy to raise him as a future king of warriors.
• Norwick gave the Night Watchers three minutes to say farewell, dispatched Elton Sena to summon the Wasteland Knights, and led the remaining forces out to pursue the Orks.
• Three months later, Norwick returned with a small squad, and Daisy told him she was afraid of Doom because his presence filled her with terror.

Queen Daisy feared that Doom’s extraordinary growth and learning might make him dangerous, but King Norwick reassured her that Doom’s love, interests, and humanity showed he needed love and guidance. Norwick also confirmed that Doom would take precedence over Ennio and Flano as heir, then he and Daisy hurried to the arena after hearing Doom had gone there.

• Daisy told Norwick that Doom had grown four feet tall, learned rapidly, and frightened her with his abilities.
• Norwick asked whether Doom respected and loved Daisy, and she recalled his kindness and concern for her.
• Norwick urged Daisy to love Doom and accept his unusual nature, explaining that she had given him a firm human foundation.
• Daisy asked whether Ennio and Flano still had a chance, and Norwick said his choice of Doom was final because Ennio could not match Doom’s talent.
• A court maid reported that Doom had gone to the arena, and Norwick and Daisy set out to see him.

Doom Norwick visited the Guardian Arena, where he calmly insisted he could defeat an Ork despite the Night Watchers’ doubts. King Norwick arrived and offered Doom a chance to prove himself.

• Doom Norwick joked that Orks would taste like mushrooms, drawing laughter from the imprisoned Greenskins and attention from the crowd.
• Doom recognized Champion Swordsman Haran Ogilvy and revealed that he was King Norwick’s third son, the child who had fallen from the sky three months earlier.
• King Norwick and Queen Daisy arrived, but King Norwick stopped Daisy from interrupting so they could watch Doom interact with the warriors.
• Haran warned Doom to respect the Orks and asked whether he could defeat one; Doom confidently claimed he needed only one punch and one kick.
• Doom challenged Haran’s disbelief, and King Norwick offered him a chance to prove his strength.

Doom faced a deathmatch against a powerful Ork to prove his claims to King Norwick and the Night Watchers. The duel began with the Ork charging, while Doom remained calm and motionless.

• King Norwick challenged Doom to prove himself and ordered the arena cleared for a duel.
• Norwick set a wager that Harlan would become Doom’s personal guard if Doom survived, and Harlan agreed.
• Doom chose the strongest Special Ops Boy from the cage, and Harlan released it into the arena.
• Queen Daisy asked Norwick whether he was worried, and he said his confidence came from the first time he held Doom.
• Harlan dropped his helmet to start the deathmatch, and the Special Ops Boy charged at Doom while Doom stood still.

Doom defeated the Special Ops Boy in the arena, then found himself in a blood-red wasteland where the Four Chaos Gods tried to recruit him. Their message broke apart before he could understand it, leaving him wondering what god blood sacrifice was for.

• Doom used a sweeping kick to break the Special Ops Boy's shin, then punched through its head and won their fight.
• As the Night Watchers applauded and the Orks cheered, Doom lost his senses and woke in a blood-red wasteland piled with skulls.
• The Four Chaos Gods gathered in the Warp and used Khorne and Nurgle's power to hold the fragile world together while they tried to reach Doom.
• Doom saw his birthmark glow and then found four enormous chairs representing the Chaos Gods before him.
• The Four Chaos Gods urged Doom to recite an incantation, but their voices split apart and the chairs vanished as Doom asked what god blood sacrifice served.

Doom resisted Khorne’s attempt to bind him as a worshipper, explaining that a warrior should earn glory through his own effort and admitting that he preferred traveling and farming. Khorne let Doom return to the material world and planned to approach Norwick, while Doom awoke beside the Ork corpse as the Night Watchers continued their praises.

• The Chaos Gods fought over Doom, and Khorne secretly took the blood-red world for himself after driving his brothers away.
• Khorne offered Doom power in exchange for reciting the Blood God’s incantation, but Doom refused and revealed he had only been buying time earlier.
• Doom explained that true warriors relied on courage, conviction, and their own efforts rather than gifts from others.
• Doom admitted he did not want to be a warrior, though he was already following the path his father had planned for him.
• As the small world collapsed, Doom’s soul returned to the material universe, and Khorne vowed to speak with Norwick about claiming Doom.
• Doom regained his senses beside the twitching Ork corpse while the Night Watchers continued praising him.

Doom defeated an Ork in the arena, earning the Night Watchers' respect and Harlan Ogilvy's apology. Harlan swore allegiance to Doom as his personal guard, using Doom's birthmark as his sigil, while the king and queen witnessed the oath.

• Doom used the Ork's charge against it and killed it with a well-timed strike.
• Harlan apologized for underestimating Doom, and Doom told the Night Watchers they would need to understand him before fighting alongside him.
• King Norwick praised Doom's ability to win the warriors' trust, and Queen Daisy expressed pride in their son.
• King Norwick gave Doom his sword to serve as witness while Harlan knelt and swore allegiance to him.
• Doom accepted Harlan's oath and chose the blood-red rune on his chest as his personal sigil.
• Harlan became Doom's personal guard, though the king, queen, and Doom had all expected Doom to win the duel.

As Norwick carried Doom back to the palace, Doom confessed his fear that his unknown creator might have made him for evil purposes. Norwick reasoned that Doom’s human creator had likely designed him to guide humanity, and urged him to become strong enough to choose his own future; Doom then went to prepare a feast while Norwick returned to his duties as king.

• Norwick carried Doom along King's Corridor while Harlan followed with the Ork's corpse, and Doom admitted he was nervous about being accepted as Norwick's son.
• Doom told Norwick he had learned he was created in an artificial womb and feared his creator might one day command him to do evil.
• Norwick reassured Doom that his human form and radiant appearance suggested that a human or group of humans had created him to lead and unite humanity.
• Norwick told Doom that he could choose how to live and must become strong enough to resist anyone who tried to enslave him.
• Doom smiled, then took the Champion Swordsman and the Special Ops Boy's corpse to prepare barbecue and mushroom soup as Norwick went to the throne hall.

King Norwick investigated the forces behind Doom’s arrival and uncovered a connection between Warp energy, Isaac, a god, and Doom’s creator. His probing drew Tzeentch’s attention, and the god began speaking to him.

• Norwick returned to the throne room, handled state affairs, and began searching for answers about Doom’s arrival on Nul.
• Norwick studied forbidden knowledge and concluded that Warp energy had carried Doom’s pod through Nul’s Dimensional Shield.
• Norwick wrote Isaac and God beside Warp energy, endured a psychic reaction, and added Creator and Doom to his notes.
• Tzeentch noticed Norwick’s investigation, saw that his fate was bound to Doom’s, and decided to speak with him.
• A book emerged from the ninth bookcase, opened to its ninth page, and Tzeentch addressed Norwick.

King Norwick confronted Tzeentch through the One-Eyed Book, rejected its offer of answers, and defended his bond with Doom as a father. He deduced that the Warp gods had taken Doom from the Creator and intended to claim him, leaving Norwick alone against Doom’s many enemies.

• A speaking book told King Norwick that Doom was the offspring of a god and offered to answer his questions, but Norwick refused to pursue more information.
• King Norwick admitted he had shaped Doom to carry forward his people’s ambitions and insisted that their shared inheritance made Doom his son.
• The book revealed Tzeentch, who raged when Norwick mocked his omniscience and suggested that knowing everything left him unable to want anything.
• Tzeentch burned the book and vowed that he and Norwick had a long road ahead, then watched Doom and resolved to consult the other gods about Norwick.
• King Norwick linked the god to Isaac and the Warp, connected Doom to the Creator, and concluded that the Warp gods had taken Doom from the Creator to make him their own.

Isaac desperately begged the Chaos Gods for forgiveness after failing to bring Doom to them. The gods prepared a blessed dagger and accepted Isaac’s offer to become their apostle, setting him on a new path to serve them.

• Isaac spent three months prostrating himself before a shrine, pleading for forgiveness after King Norwick had taken Doom from him.
• Tzeentch and the other Chaos Gods reviewed the moment Norwick had seized Doom and considered whether one of them had influenced the warrior king.
• The gods agreed that Norwick was an obstacle and discussed sending an envoy to Nul, where their influence was limited by the planet’s distance from the Warp.
• Tzeentch produced a rune-engraved dagger, and Khorne, Nurgle, and Slaanesh each blessed it with their power.
• Tzeentch called to Isaac, who offered his devotion and identity in exchange for the gods’ mercy.
• The Chaos Gods accepted Isaac’s offer and granted him everything, warning him not to disappoint them again.

Doom discovered that eating flesh let him experience the memories of the creature it came from, and Harlan warned him to keep the dangerous ability secret and use it sparingly. As King Norwick departed to direct the growing war against the Orks, he urged Doom to become strong quickly, leaving Doom unsettled by his father’s worry.

• Doom’s raw Ork meat triggered memories of the Ork’s capture, revealing his ability to learn memories by eating flesh.
• Harlan reassured himself that Doom was unharmed, then warned that the ability could destroy trust among comrades and burden Doom with чуж memories.
• Doom promised to keep the ability secret and listened as Harlan shared his battlefield experience as the Duelist.
• Doom learned that King Norwick was leaving to command the continuing campaign against the Orks, whose forces remained numerous and dangerous.
• At the Gate of Conquest, King Norwick told Doom to become strong quickly, and Doom watched the expeditionary force depart with his fists clenched.

Doom arrived at the War Academy expecting to study command, but Queen Daisy brought him to the Duel Branch, where he reunited with Xilan. Harlan revealed that Doom had chosen him as his personal guard, prompting Xilan to challenge him to a duel as their old rivalry resurfaced.

• Doom followed Queen Daisy to the Duel Branch instead of the Command Branch and happily greeted its dean, Xilan.
• Xilan and Harlan traded insults until Harlan showed him a recording of Doom's oath and the honor emblem on his cloak.
• Xilan accepted Harlan's new status but challenged him to prove he was fit to guard Doom, and Harlan agreed to duel.
• Daisy explained to Doom that Xilan and Harlan had been teacher and student before their disagreement over swordsmanship ended their relationship badly.
• Doom learned that Harlan later married Xilan's granddaughter, deepening their feud, and watched as the two prepared to settle their grudge.

Harlan and Xilan demonstrated traditional Self-Restraint swordsmanship before moving on to their advanced techniques. As Harlan gained the upper hand by taunting Xilan, Daisy warned Doom not to imitate his behavior, leaving Doom to consider the difference between a champion swordsman and royalty.

• Harlan and Xilan faced off with thin stone swords and explained that Self-Restraint tested their control by requiring them to attack without breaking their own blades.
• The two masters exchanged abrupt stops and precise strikes, impressing the apprentices, before calling the traditional match a warm-up and preparing to use refined-iron swords.
• Daisy warned Doom that he could study Harlan’s swordsmanship but must not learn anything else from him.
• Harlan distracted Xilan by asking why he had not visited when Harlan’s wife gave birth to Xilan’s great-grandchild, then pressed his advantage with aggressive attacks and taunts.
• Daisy told Doom that, as a prince of the Norwick Family, he could lose with dignity but must not win like Harlan, and Doom understood her warning.

Doom began his warrior training after Harlan and Xilan fought to a draw under the contest rules. Xilan learned from Queen Daisy that King Norwick had foreseen danger and ordered Doom to learn to protect himself, so he urged Doom to train with urgency.

• Harlan and Xilan fought a fierce sword duel, and both claimed victory after Xilan broke Harlan’s blade while Harlan caught a fragment aimed at Xilan’s brow.
• Xilan ended the contest according to its rules, then sent Doom to learn the basics from Harlan while he spoke with Daisy.
• Daisy told Xilan that King Norwick had seen the future and believed Doom needed to take up a weapon to protect himself.
• Xilan returned to Doom and ordered him to make full use of his abilities and learn the Way of the Warrior quickly.
• Doom agreed that he could not wait any longer and began his path as a warrior.

The Emperor investigated why every subject implanted with Primarch Twenty-One’s gene-seed died despite developing powerful bodies. After discovering that the subjects suffered endless wounds and their souls were consumed by fury, he ordered the next test to proceed while he sought the cause.

• The Emperor entered the laboratory and learned that no member of the Twenty-First Legion had survived the gene-seed implantation process.
• The Gene-Warlock reported that test subject 32134 had developed his organs before bleeding and spontaneously combusting two weeks after implantation.
• The Gene-Warlock showed the Emperor the preserved corpse and footage of the subject’s body repeatedly suffering and healing from unexplained wounds.
• The Emperor sensed that the subject’s soul had been annihilated by the flames of fury and mourned the loss.
• The Emperor ordered the next test subject brought in and said he would work alongside the Gene-Warlock to investigate the unknown.

A starving young man who had crossed the Himalayas to reach the Emperor’s territory hoped to become a warrior, but Recruitment Office Twenty-First had a record of killing every candidate. When a Custodes arrived seeking a volunteer, he pointed to the young man and asked, “How about him?”

• The young man survived on relief gruel while guarding his family genealogy and learned that he had failed selection because he was too old for genetic modification.
• He settled beside Recruitment Office Twenty-First, unaware that its experiments had killed every candidate and that the Gene-Warlock might seize him for testing.
• A Custodes arrived and learned that applicants had stopped volunteering for the office after more than ten thousand failures.
• The crowd eagerly volunteered when the Custodes called for a warrior willing to give his life.
• The Custodes noticed the young man watching him and pointed at him as a possible candidate.

After Custodes Plato selected him for the Emperor’s laboratory, the stubborn Li Tang resisted the Emperor’s psychic radiance and learned that his bloodline descended from the ancient Heavenly Khan. The Emperor offered him the power to restore his ancestor’s glory, and Li Tang accepted by climbing onto the operating table.

• Custodes Plato chose Li Tang, who broke his leg resisting the attendants and insisted on walking to the elevator with his suitcase.
• Plato brought Li Tang to the Emperor, who addressed him by name and revealed that he knew Li Tang’s genetic ancestor, the Heavenly Khan.
• Li Tang resisted the Emperor’s radiance and refused to kneel, impressing Plato and the others.
• The Emperor offered Li Tang a chance to gain power and recreate his ancestor’s glory.
• Li Tang handed his suitcase to Plato and climbed onto the operating table.

While Li Tang underwent gene-seed implantation, his soul vanished into a blood-red realm where a mark drove him to fight demons. The Emperor entered the realm, recognized the Doom Slayer’s soul essence within Li Tang’s gene-seed, and understood why the Chaos Gods had sought it.

• The Gene-Engineer implanted the gene-seed in Li Tang, whose body rapidly healed and grew while the Emperor watched.
• Li Tang awoke in a blood-red desert, found a glowing rune on his chest, and charged at an army of demons under the command to kill or be killed.
• A demon wounded Li Tang, and the gene-seed’s blood-colored barrier transferred the injury to his physical body, prompting the Emperor to enter the barrier.
• The Emperor saw visions of the Doom Slayer battling demons across time and dimensions, then realized the Slayer’s lost soul essence had reached Li Tang.
• The Emperor emerged from the visions delighted to understand why the Four Chaos Gods had been searching for the red soul.

The Emperor learned that Doom Slayer’s essence had survived the Warp and that Li Tang was undergoing a brutal gene-seed trial, prompting him to order the costly cultivation of Twenty-First Legion warriors. After sharing a rare moment of joy with Malcador, he revealed that he had seen hope for humanity.

• The Emperor witnessed Li Tang fighting demons in a repeating trial and learned that only those who passed could gain recognition from the power within the gene-seed.
• The Emperor ordered the Custodes to use all three hundred gene-seeds from Number Twenty-One’s genetic material, regardless of the lives required, and concealed what he had seen.
• The Emperor erased Alpharius’s memory of the secret after Alpharius questioned why he was being made to forget.
• Malcador confronted the Emperor about his order, then saw him smile and heard him say that he had seen hope.
• The Emperor embraced Malcador and declared that hope, though tiny and frail, had truly come.