Aiden's gaze shifted downwards, finally landing on a miniature figure before him—an adorable gnome. Her silver hair was styled into two bun-like formations on her head, and she wore a short mage's robe, clutching a staff in her hand.
She looked at Aiden with some annoyance, yet still managed to appear incredibly cute.
Then, Aiden immediately guessed her identity.
"Hello, Aiden! That's your name, right?" She looked at Aiden smugly, seemingly waiting for him to ask: How do you know my name?
Unfortunately, Aiden didn't follow the script. He finally found some psychological balance—he was barely up to the bronze dragon's knees, and now this tiny gnome was only a little taller than his knees.
Seeing that he didn't ask, the gnome loli continued, "I am Chronormu, but you can call me Chromie. I prefer that more intimate name!"
"Hello, Chromie!" Aiden crouched down to her level, greeting her without showing a hint of surprise.
Seeing that he didn't seem to be feigning composure, Chromie had to state her purpose: "As you can see, I am a bronze dragon—and recently, I sensed unusual spatial fluctuations in the vicinity. After investigating, it seems to be related to you. However, I couldn't find anything about your past in the timestream. But I did discover that you come from another world, is that correct?"
"That's right."
Chromie glanced at him and continued, "Azeroth does not reject outsiders." She first reassured Aiden, then continued, "However, I always have difficulty sorting out matters concerning you in the future timelines. I suspect someone is deliberately concealing it—that person must have an extraordinary understanding of the timeline, one that I cannot match. Perhaps Nozdormu could probe your future if he were interested."
Chromie stared intently at Aiden's expression, noticing that he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief: "But I also want to tell you something, perhaps you already know, that our bronze dragons' duty is to protect history from being altered. If you, or the person behind you, have such abilities, please do not use them for the wrong purposes. This is a warning, do you understand?"
Aiden did indeed breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed the old time dragon still had his principles.
He patted his chest and assured Chromie, "Don't worry, Chromie, I understand the rules!"
Chromie smiled contentedly and said, "Very good! You are a rather interesting person, and I look forward to our future meetings!"
Only after she disappeared did Aiden finally relax. He felt that the most terrifying things in Azeroth weren't the evil Old Gods, nor the crazed Deathwing, but these bronze dragons—because whether it was an evil god or a black dragon, their power had traces to follow. But for a transmigrator dedicated to changing history, a bronze dragon might bring a time-traveling warrior from the future to eliminate you one day... Thinking that this had indeed happened in Warcraft history, with Rhonin being one of the participants, Aiden couldn't help but feel apprehensive.
But Chromie seemed to say that "this place does not reject outsiders," so did his arrival disrupt Azeroth's timeline?
From Aiden's perspective, before he transmigrated, Blizzard's World of Warcraft had already reached the Warlords of Draenor expansion, more than a decade away from his current time. From this point of view, he had undoubtedly returned to the past, which meant he was altering history.
But Chromie, as a bronze dragon, didn't detect any anomalies. Did this mean that the old time wizard, Zilean, was skillful, or did it mean that he had arrived in an Azeroth where the timeline had just developed to this point?
After thinking for a while without understanding, Aiden decided to put the question aside. He'd ask old Zilean next time; he would definitely know anyway.
…
Outside Caer Darrow Keep, the Judicator Kayle was idly fiddling with her sword—a treasure from her Eternal clan, a powerful divine weapon—she called it the Judgment Blade. In the endless years, this sword had witnessed her countless victories. And the guilty people it had purified could probably fill this world, right?
Ever since her sister betrayed her, Kayle would often examine her own heart: Am I a bad person?
She couldn't come to a negative answer. She could only force herself to shift her attention to other things.
So when Aiden found Kayle through their connection, he found that this usually cold and taciturn Judicator was standing her Judgment Blade on the ground, and she herself was using the tip of one foot to balance on the end of the hilt. Her open arms and the wings on her back moved slightly to maintain balance—just like performing acrobatics.
Aiden was dumbfounded: In the League of Legends game, when using Kayle, if you pressed Ctrl+1, she would make such a funny action. But he never expected that the aloof angel in reality would also be so chuuni?
But soon, he was only left with amazement. After finding the perfect balance point, Kayle gradually retracted her wings, then her arms. She stood so lightly on the upright hilt. In the breeze, she even slowly closed her eyes.
If there was a camera, Aiden would definitely record this moment.
Noticing his arrival, Kayle landed lightly from the hilt. Aiden thought that it would be great if she didn't have that helmet, so he could know what Kayle's expression was now. Would she be shy, embarrassed, or guilty?
"Has anything happened during this time?" Aiden asked.
"A mage came to investigate nearby and left some magical devices, but they didn't seem to be enemies," Kayle's voice still didn't reveal any emotion.
Then the person who came should be Archmage Antonidas.
"I've invited reinforcements, and the plan is going smoothly. Let's go and meet them first!"
On the way, Aiden told Kayle about the Cult of the Damned and the things he had encountered on this trip. Although Kayle didn't talk much, she seemed to be listening attentively. He inadvertently remembered the first time he used the Heart of Valoran to summon a hero.
That was still in the Emerald Dream, when he met Cenarius and obtained a mark of divinity from him. This was also a change to history, although it was in the Emerald Dream, but after Cenarius returned to Azeroth, these actions brought him enough energy to summon his first hero.
When he was excitedly about to summon his first hero, the old time dragon suggested that he choose a hero who could safely allow him to escape the dream and return to the real world, including the Spear of Vengeance Kalista, the Ice Witch Lissandra, the Faerie Sorceress Lulu, the Fallen Angel Morgana, the Eternal Nightmare Nocturne, and the Judicator Kayle.
These heroes all possessed some abilities that could allow him to safely traverse the Emerald Dream, especially the Nightmare and the angel sisters, whose abilities had the highest safety factor.
Nightmare was the first to be eliminated—being too ugly was one of the reasons, and also because its abilities always made people feel somewhat evil, which was not conducive to actions in Lordaeron.
Then there were the angel sisters—actually, Aiden was very fond of the younger sister, Morgana (her figure was too good), but somehow, he still chose the older sister, Kayle. If he had to find a reason, it was probably because Kayle's appearance was too easy to blend into the Alliance—after all, she was an angel!
However, after getting along, he found that choosing Kayle was really a very wise decision:
When their gryphon landed in Andorhal, everyone in the town who saw her exclaimed:
"By the Holy Light! I see an angel!"
"This must be a messenger of God!"
A soldier knelt on one knee and sincerely pleaded, "Holy angel, please bless me."
His plea was answered by the angel. A holy light dispelled all his fatigue and the pain left by the war years ago. He felt the light for the first time was right in front of him, so hot and dazzling.
Then there were more requests—almost no one standing could be seen on this street.
Originally, Aiden was worried that Kayle would be impatient, but soon he realized that his worries were unnecessary. The angel reached out and touched the forehead of each supplicant, responding to their wishes.
When the Archmage brought two geniuses from Dalaran to Andorhal, they saw such a scene.
"Could King Terenas have arrived here?" Antonidas was puzzled.
"No, it's not," Rhonin, who had just asked a passerby, replied, "They say there is an angel giving blessings ahead!"
"You mean an angel? Alive?" Antonidas was even more puzzled.
"Yes, alive!"
Then, in front of the crowd, they saw a familiar figure, the young summoner Aiden, whom they had agreed to meet here.
Jaina silently guessed, "This is the 'companion' he spoke of, right?"
"It seems so," Rhonin's eyes revealed even greater curiosity, "Runeterra is truly a magical place. I must go and see it in my lifetime!"
Antonidas watched the angel giving blessings to people one by one and turned to ask, "What did you see when you looked at this angel?"
Jaina replied, "She casts spells very quickly, and I didn't see her chanting incantations or prayers. It's as if she is not asking the Holy Light for people, but controlling the Holy Light."
Rhonin continued to add, "Yes, whether it is a paladin or a priest, they always need a period of prayer before casting spells to get a response from the Holy Light. And they must be very devout and focused."
"That's right, it seems that our young summoner is not a simple person. I'm starting to believe that he came from across the stars," Antonidas smiled self-deprecatingly, "I can't even reach that kind of realm when meditating now, it seems that I'm old and useless. The future is still in your hands."