The warlocks treaded cautiously into the temple. Gul'dan conjured a glowing green orb, casting light that made their surroundings more visible.
The halls and chambers here, like the outer façade of the temple, were unrecognizable.
A layer of grit and seaweed covered the floor, the walls were encrusted with shells of all shapes and sizes, along with strands of kelp.
Even the doorframes had warped, bearing the marks of long years in the deep.
Tiny sea creatures had attached themselves to the surfaces, their constant presence gradually wearing everything smooth.
"Hurry up, you idiots!" Gul'dan barked impatiently at his clan members. "Spread out and search for the main corridor!
We have to find the room where the Eye is kept, before we alert the tomb guardians!"
"Guardians?" one of the warlocks, Urk the Cloud-Slayer, hesitated. "You never mentioned anything about guardians!"
"Spineless coward." Gul'dan snarled, slapping Urk across the face. "I said move!"
His fury jolted the others into action, at least enough to suppress their fear of this unknown place and the dread of what might lie ahead.
The warlocks began scouring the ruins for a path. Eventually, they found a wide corridor and started down it.
Trembling with each step, they moved deeper inside, and as they did, the signs of destruction grew less frequent.
Now, even Gul'dan could clearly make out the intricate carvings on the columns, the elegant engravings along the walls, and the detailed designs etched into the floor and ceiling.
Though damaged from years of saltwater exposure, the grandeur of this place was still evident.
Even the pickiest of travelers would have been struck by the temple's craftsmanship.
But Gul'dan had no time to appreciate any of it.
His mind was fixed on one thing: the power buried beneath the earth, waiting for him to claim it.
At last, he stood before the gate to the underground crypt. The power he sought seemed to lie just beyond.
Now he could pause for a moment, to savor it.
"Now, Sargeras," he whispered. "I will take the power you left behind, and force this wretched world to kneel before me!"
Gul'dan could already feel it, a force so mighty it made his thoughts tremble.
The green orb he had conjured, originally just a small sphere of light, had grown under the influence of the mysterious energy, it now floated twice the size of his head, radiating a blinding brilliance he could barely look at.
The temperature around it spiked rapidly.
Worried the orb might melt the surrounding walls, Gul'dan had to push it toward the center of the hall.
Deep down, he marveled, this effect was caused just by approaching the power!
What would happen if he truly touched it? If he fully absorbed it? How powerful would he become?
He couldn't even begin to imagine.
Lost in these thoughts, Gul'dan motioned for the others to retreat.
The rest of the warlocks obediently backed into the far corner of the room.
Gul'dan reached out and gripped the massive black iron handles of the door. With burning desire for what lay within, he pulled with all his might.
He could feel the centuries-old air, stale and abandoned. A sharp pain shot through him, as if some force had passed straight through his body.
Yet it didn't harm him. Instead, it activated a surge of energy inside him. He could even sense an even greater power lurking far beyond.
But the first wave of energy receded after brushing past him, and the others it was connected to stilled.
Just as Medivh, or rather, Sargeras, had promised him.
Aegwynn had placed wards here to prevent humans, elves, dwarves, and even gnomes, in short, any native race of Azeroth, from entering.
But he was an orc. Aegwynn had never even heard of Draenor. Her spells held no power over Gul'dan, and now, he could simply pull open the door and walk inside.
With a thunderous groan, he yanked hard, and the entire gate swung open.
Beyond lay nothing but darkness. Even the magical light Gul'dan had conjured couldn't pierce it.
The cold was so intense it instantly numbed his fingers, and the breath he exhaled crystallized in midair.
Slowly, the shadows began to take form, writhing silently, becoming a thing covered in eyes, churning and twisting, darker than the darkness around it, so dark it was invisible to the naked eye.
They were breaking free of this eternal prison, lunging toward the stunned Gul'dan and his followers.
In an instant, Gul'dan recognized their true nature.
Demons.
A type he, as a warlock, was all too familiar with.
But these were not like the ones he had seen before.
Though at first glance they resembled the usual hellhounds, dreadlords, doomguards, six-armed shivarra, and even abyssal lords…
These ones were different. Utterly mad, not just in the way demons are naturally violent and chaotic, but driven by a madness that stripped them of reason.
An insanity unlike anything Gul'dan had ever seen, turning them into engines of destruction, devoid of logic or purpose.
Gul'dan recalled the terrifying creatures he had faced before, but in comparison, those now seemed laughably fragile.
"No!"
Gul'dan screamed in his mind, but under the influence of some force, his mouth couldn't make a sound.
This wasn't the ending he was promised! Not what Sargeras had foretold!
He tried to summon his magic, raising his hands and forming the gestures of a spell.
The Fel responded. Powerful Fel magic indeed destroyed some of the demons in front of him.
But there were too many. Too powerful.
The surviving demons surged past the radius of his spell and came charging at him, one of the hellhounds nearly reaching him.
His mind went blank. He could only stand and watch, frozen, as the creatures closed in. A claw of shadow brushed against his face.
That first horrifying touch snapped him back to his senses. Gul'dan suddenly realized how small his once-prized power was in the face of these monsters.
Now, he had only one thought left.
Run.
Desperately, he tried to flee from this waking nightmare.
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