"Nasa?! Nasa!"
Cold…
So cold…
Nasa felt herself fall into an ice cavern, enveloped by the biting cold and suffocation.
It wasn't until a pair of warm hands held her body, and anxious shouts recalled her fading consciousness.
She recognized the voice; it was her superior, Maiev Shadowsong, calling out.
The world around her instantly shifted from an ethereal black and white to a vibrant, warm scene. Maiev was kneeling, supporting her body.
Nasa awoke as if from a dream. She sat up and touched her abdomen, where the sword wound had vanished without a trace.
If not for her damaged armor and inner lining, she would have thought her near-death experience was a mere hallucination.
"I should be dead…"
Nasa was immediately confused. The pain of the sword piercing her and the icy sensation were undeniably real; she could even clearly feel the wetness of blood flowing from the wound.
"Nasa, you're alright? That's wonderful!"
A weight lifted from Maiev's heart. When she arrived at Illidan's cell, he was already gone, and several Wardens lay scattered on the ground nearby.
At that sight, especially Nasa lying in a pool of blood, Maiev nearly lost control of her emotions.
However, when she picked up Nasa's body, she found no wounds on her. She was merely unconscious, just like the other teams of Wardens who had been found.
When Nasa opened her eyes and responded to Maiev's call, The Jailer finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I…" Nasa was about to say that she should have been killed, so why did she look perfectly fine now?
But to prevent Maiev from worrying too much, Nasa changed her statement. "I'm fine, my lady, but… Illidan has escaped."
"He attacked you all?" When Maiev searched for the missing Wardens, she discovered that the place where Illidan's weapons were stored had also been robbed, and the Wardens there were also lying on the ground.
"No… I'm not sure. In an instant, everyone lost consciousness," Nasa recalled the earlier situation, still trembling. "The enemy's strength was beyond my imagination. I didn't even see his movements before I fell."
What Nasa said was true. Arthas's figure was like a ghost, appearing from the darkness without warning and disappearing just as suddenly.
The only thing that Nasa remembered clearly was the demonic carving on the greatsword that pierced her body, as if mocking her ignorance and powerlessness.
Maiev's brows furrowed. Nasa's account was largely consistent with the other attacked Wardens, but why didn't the intruder kill them? Why did he choose to knock them out?
Controlling one's strength to knock someone out is entirely different from acting recklessly in the dark, wielding a butcher's knife without any restraint. If Maiev were to choose, the best way to invade this dungeon would be to kill all the Wardens.
However, the opponent chose a completely different approach from normal thinking. Did the mysterious intruder have scruples about the Night Elves, or was he… a member of the Night Elves himself, merely intending to rescue Illidan from prison, rather than slaughter his own kind?
The possibility of the second conjecture was not nonexistent. Ten thousand years ago, Illidan himself had many admirers among the "upper class." With his methods, it was not impossible for him to have left behind some loyal followers to rescue him from prison today, ten thousand years later.
But what Maiev could not believe was that so many individuals siding with a traitor were hidden among the Night Elves.
Such conjectures left Maiev's heart restless. Although the lack of casualties among the Wardens was an unexpected delight, Illidan's escape and the failure to even glimpse the intruder's shadow left Maiev and the Wardens utterly humiliated.
All the Wardens present were so ashamed they were furious. Their lack of vigilance had led to such severe consequences, and in their competitive and duty-bound eyes, it was an unforgivable mistake.
Maiev pondered for a moment, then swept her chainmail cloak aside and left the empty cell without hesitation or delay.
"My lady, where are you going?" Nasa worried her mistress would make a rash decision.
"To find the Arch Druid and explain the situation here to him."
With that, Maiev's figure quickly vanished into the dark underground corridor.
…
"Such a strange fellow."
Illidan leaped down from a towering tree canopy. With the Azzinoth Twinblades on his back, he walked through the Felwood Forest.
Though confined in a cell, he saw more clearly than any Warden. fel magic had blinded him, but that didn't mean he truly "saw" nothing.
Illidan watched almost with his own eyes as the mysterious figure in the black cloak "swaggered" into the dark cell. The fact that the person could move freely in the dungeon without any light indicated that they possessed a special vision similar to his own.
Otherwise, mere strong night vision couldn't explain why he could precisely avoid the Wardens' mechanisms and traps.
What made Illidan even more curious was the power that individual displayed—he effortlessly incapacitated dozens of elite Wardens, and even Maiev's subordinate couldn't put up a fight.
Illidan wondered, even in good condition, it would take him considerable effort to incapacitate that group of Wardens, and he might even sustain some injuries himself.
Such power was rare, even ten thousand years ago when the Night Elves still controlled the Well of Eternity.
Thinking of the Well of Eternity, Illidan scoffed even more. If his foolish kin hadn't been so overly afraid of Arcane magic, with the second Well of Eternity he had constructed, plus ten thousand years of accumulation, how could this unknown powerhouse move freely within the Elven territory?
The Wardens' embarrassment brought Illidan immense satisfaction. That foolish woman had monitored him for ten thousand years, causing him to waste a vast amount of time. Otherwise, the Burning Legion would never have had a second chance to enter Azeroth.
Illidan thought as he swiftly moved through the forest, simultaneously stretching his still unfamiliar and stiff body—he was gradually regaining his power, but it was far from enough. Arthas's intrusion made him realize that he wasn't strong enough; he had to find something that could free him from that "shackle."
Regarding this, Arthas had left him a soul message before he left: somewhere in Felwood Forest, the Dreadlords, Tichondrius, was planning some wicked scheme. Perhaps Illidan could find what he desired there.
Illidan had no great suspicion. He could be wary and suspicious of anyone in all other matters, but when it came to causing trouble for the Burning Legion, he would not hesitate.
Moreover, he was a Demon Hunter. If he couldn't even recognize a demon, he deserved to die. So, since Arthas's intention was also to cause trouble for the Burning Legion, and it was his old friend Tichondrius, Illidan had to go in person.