Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 76 Past and Present (Thanks to Nan Ke Yi Zui for the donation!)
Doom listened quietly, though the fire of revenge burned fiercely within him, as the ancient sage recounted the past of the universe.

He was eager for revenge, but his military training taught him a lesson: to defeat the enemy, you must understand the enemy.

Gods and demons—these conceptual beings are mysterious and evil.

They extended their claws and teeth at Nur, committing an unforgivable crime.

Prima lay in bed, recounting the origins of the current state of the warp.

The intersection of the fear of the dead and the ancient saints, the envy of a short-lived race for a long-lived one, ultimately ignited a war that swept the galaxy—jealousy.

The reason for starting the war was so absurd: the fearers of death used "jealousy" to eliminate internal conflicts and regarded the immortal ancient sages as enemies.

A terrible war between the two races has begun. The Ancient Ones, drawing upon the power of the warp, are invincible.

Using the ultra-high-speed mobile network—the Netway—they routed the Fear of Death, forcing them to retreat and be banished back to their home planet.

The death-fearing ones' failure was inevitable, but they discovered the Star Gods, deities in the real universe.

Under the deception of the Star God, the souls of the entire Fearful Death race were devoured by the Star God, giving birth to terrifying soulless machines—the Space Necromancers.

The Star God led the Space Necromancers to break through the Web Path, and the undead army, neither alive nor dead, completely defeated the Ancient Saints.

“That war that lasted a long time…” Prima’s voice was peaceful and kind, but there was still an emotional fluctuation, a trembling of regret: “It was a long war, even for the Old Ones, and it completely shattered the peace of the Warp.”

Doom sat cross-legged on the ground, and only Prima's voice echoed in the crystal room.

He felt sorry for the grand and tragic "Battle of Heaven," yet was deeply attracted by the ancient history.

"Without the guidance and solace of our race, the warp has become a filthy and evil place due to its imbalance."

Prima sat up in bed, her face covered in fine scales, her eyes scanning her surroundings, her words extremely careful.

Doom became even more serious.

The mastermind behind his father's death, he memorized every word the elder had said, daring not to make the slightest mistake.

These things are very important to him.

The ancient sage's explanation helped Doom dispel the layers of confusion before him and pointed him in the right direction.

As for whether what it said was true or false, Doom felt that an elder who had lived for more than 60 million years and whose kind had no other counterparts in the universe had no reason to deceive him.

Just now, it pulled itself back from the brink of death.

God—born from various concepts gathered in the subspace, is an abstract existence of pure malice.

Their very existence is filth, and they crave to harvest the souls of the real world.

However, God and the Warp should not be confused. God is God, and the Warp is the Warp.

The concept of subspace is all-encompassing; it accommodates all existences that enter the subspace, even including disordered chaos.

God is the extreme representative of chaos and disorder, and is also contained within the subspace.

“The warp is the key to dealing with the gods.” Primar brandished his pipe, swirling the smoke-formed chaotic eight-pointed star into a vortex.

With his large eyes fixed on Doom, he solemnly instructed, "Kid, remember this: the warp encompasses everything."

"When fighting them, willpower is the key!"

Doom pondered deeply, remembering the words. The elder's advice was far from simple; it contained the secrets to dealing with the warp.

A latecomer, a pioneer.

The two of them exchanged questions and answers.
Doom is like a supercomputer, constantly storing good analyses and acquiring knowledge from the elders.

The knowledge of the ancient sages is like a bottomless ocean, constantly refreshing Doom's understanding of the world and his views on the universe.

Prima, with her eyes half-closed, continued to answer Doom's questions and teach this mysterious demigod.

In its sixty million years of history, it has witnessed countless rises and falls, but it has never seen such a unique existence as Doom.

They talked about far-fetched things.

After King Norwick visited Prima, he briefly left the cave to remove the orcs' shackles on the battlefield and test Doom's abilities.

The Nuer Crystal was planted by the ancient saints to build a vast network of interconnected channels in the Milky Way, which has various ingenious uses.

From the heyday of the Ancients, to the devastation of the War of Heaven, to the demise of the Ancients, and the rise of the races that were elevated to power.

"Did your race create humans?"

Doom was somewhat surprised, and a subtle sense of awkwardness arose in his heart.

The origin of the human race actually comes from a group of intelligent toads. The creator that ancient humans were searching for was a space toad traveling in a spaceship.

“It’s not creation.” Prima licked her dry eyes with her long tongue, correcting Doom’s choice of words: “It’s a wise guidance.”

“Our race has the means to create races, but we use it cautiously. Life is a miracle, and even if we can create life, we should still maintain a sense of awe.”

"Not to mention creation, all the races that my people have supported have inevitably declined after losing their guidance."

With a pipe in its mouth, the smoke it exhaled distorted as it narrated, vividly describing Doom: "Ada, Crook."

“Ada had the best chance of becoming the next us, but she fell into arrogance and awakened the evil god to self-destruction.”

"As a weapon of war, the current scale of war cannot awaken the blessings of the elders."

Countless creations of the ancient sages appeared with the billowing smoke, only to dissipate in the next moment. The universe is vast, like ever-changing smoke, and countless races have risen and fallen throughout its history.

"Only humans were unexpected. Our race spread wisdom on your home planet, without deliberately choosing any particular species, but giving every species an equal opportunity."

"We do not know when humanity will awaken to wisdom, for the ancient sages of that time have already passed away."

Prima smiled with some surprise: "But unexpectedly, humanity has forged its own path on a road without any guidance."

"Even a powerful being was born..." It did not tell Doom this.

For the ancient sages, they imparted knowledge and enlightened the species, but did not reveal much about destiny.

Only by understanding and experiencing things for oneself can one acquire true knowledge.

Its eyes fell on Doom, and it muttered to itself, "Now another demigod with unlimited potential has arrived."

Humans are truly a race favored by fate...

Prima took a deep drag on his cigarette; the tobacco in the pipe seemed endless.

It is a heartfelt lament about the capriciousness and tenacity of human destiny, and how this race has never lacked heroes and leaders.

"You said I have the right to challenge the gods?"

Having learned about the past and present, Doom gained an impression of the warp and finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind.

The right to challenge the gods?
Doom knew nothing about this, not even what power was.

“Of course you do.” Prima glanced at the mark on Doom’s chest. “The warp responds to those who wield power.”

"Can you be more specific?"

The vague words, half-concealed and half-revealed, left people guessing their true meaning.

Even with his sharp mind, Doom couldn't fathom what this so-called "power" and the response from the warp were.
Prima took a deep drag, squinted to enjoy the tobacco, and simply shook her head, no longer answering the question.

Can I defeat the gods?

Doom sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes burning with rage, his iron fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

“It’s up to you to choose.” Prima paused, then added, “But I have complete faith in you. Of all the powerful beings who have challenged the gods, you are unique.”

Does it depend on one's own heart?

Doom only wanted to skin them alive, disembowel them, and make them vanish into thin air!
"Uh~"

Harlan, who was lying on the ground to the side, woke up groggily, shaking his head to shake off the feeling of comfort in his mind.

He stretched his body, his joints making a series of crisp popping sounds.

Harlan felt an unprecedented sense of fulfillment, with a continuous surge of power coursing through his body. He felt he could defeat several versions of himself from the past.

"My lord!"

Seeing him sitting cross-legged on the ground, his eyes lit up and his face lit up with a smile, a feeling of relief and comfort.

The pillar in his heart still stands!

"Thank you, elder!"

Harlan knelt on one knee, expressing his gratitude to the ancient saint with a warrior's salute. He knew, of course, that the elder's grace had transformed him.

"A powerful warrior needs a powerful weapon."

Prima slammed her fist against the wall, and crystals surged forth, spewing out a weapon. She raised her hand and held it in her palm: "Ancient Sacred Weapon!"

An ancient-style long spear.

The gun handle looked like it was made of rough stone, and the blade was long and wide, made of an extremely thin obsidian material that reflected a jet-black light.

Two strings of mysterious ancient characters are engraved on both sides of the blade, flowing like rays of light across the blade.

The appearance of the ancient-looking spear drew the attention of Doom and Harlan.

As warriors, they could naturally sense the extraordinary nature of that spear.

The forger of life held it in both hands, its peaceful voice changing tone, as if chanting a battle song, a glorious chapter of the past, as it gently kissed the gun barrel:
"Dark radiance. It once wounded the star god."

Prima raised her hands, concealing the nostalgia in her eyes, and tossed the gun to Harlan.

The spear was too small for Harlan; it was awkward for him to hold. Just as he was about to politely decline the offer, the Light of Night automatically adjusted its size, length, and even weight in his hand.

Sensing the power of the artifact, Harlan happily swung it a few times and immediately knew that it had reached the state most suitable for its user.

Holding the artifact, Harlan knelt down on one knee again to express his gratitude, but was stopped by Prima raising her hand.

Such a magical artifact was incredibly tempting, and Doom rubbed his hands together, watching the elder with longing eyes.

“You will find your own weapon, the one that suits you best and is most worthy of you.” Prima grinned mysteriously.

Doom had no regrets; now he just wanted to get back as soon as possible and take revenge on the gods!

"Remember! The warp is the key! Consciousness determines victory or defeat! The warp will respond to those in power!"

(End of this chapter)