The Debt Of Fate
Chapter 130: Suffering

Chapter 130: Suffering

"Save the king," was all the queen could say. She had not expected her husband to suddenly collapse. Anastasia was still missing, and so were the king’s seal and scepter of authority. If the king died now—especially with the war in the north—there would definitely be internal strife.

Physician Nathan looked at the king. He had been studying the situation all along, even trying to find out the name of the herb used to suppress the poison. But the king had claimed not to know.

Nathan had considered going to the old temple to ask the seer, but he was told that the seer was cultivating and could not receive any visitors.

He could not determine what the king had been poisoned with. In fact, from the beginning, he had only guessed it was poison. He wasn’t sure. He’d spoken to the queen, and soon no one doubted his diagnosis. Yet deep down, he knew it might not be poison at all. The king could have caught a plague—or some unknown disease.

So he searched for solutions in every possibility, but nothing worked. Now that the effects of whatever medicine the seer had given the king had worn off, he didn’t think he could save him—but he didn’t dare speak those words aloud.

He looked at the blood the king had vomited—it was bright red, not what one would expect from poison or illness. The more he thought about it, the more he felt the situation was strange.

After a few minutes of effort, the king finally stopped vomiting blood. The physician breathed a sigh of relief. Even though the king’s face was extremely pale, they still had hope. They quickly tried to feed him some medicine to stop the vomiting, but the king couldn’t swallow anything—and then he fell into a coma.

"Your Majesty!" the physician called out in a panic, but the king did not respond. If not for the faint rise and fall of his chest, they would have thought him dead.

A stretcher was brought in, and the king was carried from the study into his bedchamber.

"What happened?" the queen asked, pulling Physician Nathan aside. She feared the king was already dead.

"His Majesty appears to have fallen into a coma. I’ll go check and see if anything can be done," Nathan replied before entering the room. The queen wanted to follow, but she knew her presence would be of no help, so she waited outside.

Inside the room, the king’s brow furrowed deeply. He was in so much pain that, for a moment, he wished for death.

The pain was worse than it used to be. Before, he had made peace with dying after ensuring everything was in place for his son. But now he was worried. No one knew where Anastasia was. He feared she might fall into the wrong hands—and with such valuable items, if she discovered their true purpose and became greedy, it would mean the end of his family.

He suddenly realized Anastasia was like a sharp blade. If she stood with the royal family, they would prosper. But if she turned against them, he couldn’t predict what fate awaited them.

He wanted to open his eyes despite the pain, to tell his wife that their son must treat Anastasia well in the future. But no matter how hard he tried, it was useless.

Certainly. Here’s a continuation of the narration, keeping in line with your tone and style:

Physician Nathan stood frozen for a breath too long, his eyes fixed on the king’s pale face. The skin had grown waxy and thin, clinging to bone.

The other two physicians were standing beside the king’s bed unsure of what to do next.

Then suddenly a shudder ran through the king’s body. It started with a low gasp, barely audible, followed by a convulsion of his chest.

"Your majesty," the two physicians by the bed held the king not prepared for the situation and unsure of what to do

Blood, thick and dark, spilled from the corners of his mouth, trailing down his chin like crimson ribbons. A second later, a trickle emerged from his nose; then from his ears.

Nathan rushed forward, but when he got to the king he was unsure of what to do. The other two physicians cleant the blood and were trying their best to help the king.

But their actions yield no results; the king’s body writhed against the bed. His eyes fluttered open, wide and bloodshot. Then red began to leak from the corners, seeping down his cheeks in slow, steady streams. He was drowning in his own blood. His limbs flailed weakly, a hand clenching at the air, reaching for something unseen.

Then came the gurgling.

It was the sound of a man being pulled under by death itself wet, rattling, and slow. His back arched, his body trembling, until a final spasm overtook him, forcing a spray of blood from his lips that stained the bedclothes scarlet.

Those in the room guess the king wanted to say something in that moment but only blood flow out.

Physician Nathan and the others stared, horrified. They had seen men die before, after all they were physician but never like this. This was no ordinary poison, no simple disease. They could not understand why the most noble man in Nixel will have such a fate

"He’s dying," one of the physicians whispered, his voice shaking.

"No," Nathan said hoarsely, moving to the bedside. "He is already dead. This is only his body remembering the pain." those words were heavy on his lips.

The king’s chest rose once twice then stopped. Blood continued to trickle from every Pore.

Outside the room, the queen waited, her hands clutched tightly in front of her, her knuckles white. The shout from the chamber scared her so much that her face turned pale.

Although she could not tell what was going on in the room the movement gave her comfort. After all, that would mean the king still had a chance.

Then came the silence. Not the silence of peace, but the kind that presses against the walls and thickens the air, announcing that something irreversible has occurred.

The Queen tried her best to push away negative thoughts.

The door creaked open, and Physician Nathan stepped out, blood on his sleeves and sorrow in his eyes.

The queen’s face remained still. "It’s over?" she still had a bit of hope in her gaze when she asked.

Physician Nathan nodded once. "The king is gone."