In the alleys of Stormwind's Old Town, Arthas leaned against a brick wall, his broad cloak completely concealing him.
"There seems to be trouble in Stormwind," Arthas glanced in the direction of Stormwind Keep, sensing a demonic aura emanating from there.
"These demons are truly insidious," Varian snorted, tightening his grip on Saramaine, then slowly loosening it. "Do you think Tirion will tell them about our situation?"
"Yes, but I don't think Tirion will reveal my existence—after all, 'this character' of mine is an unstable factor in your world."
Putting everything else aside, just hearing the name "Arthas" might cause a stir, especially when the relationship between the Alliance and the Horde is very tense, so it's better for Arthas to conceal his existence for now.
"Alright, but are you really not coming back to Stormwind Keep with me?" Varian looked at his friend.
Arthas gently shook his head, took out Ashbringer, and handed it to Varian. "Help me take this to Tirion."
Varian looked down at Ashbringer, still glowing with a faint holy light. "I wouldn't dare take this sword. If you really want to return it to Tirion, go yourself."
With that, the king turned and left, saying to Arthas without looking back, "If you need anything, come to Stormwind Keep. I will provide all the help I can."
Arthas watched Varian's retreating figure, silently taking Ashbringer back.
"I wish you good fortune in battle, Varian—this is on behalf of the me in this world," Arthas whispered, turning and walking towards the other end of the Old Town alley.
Now he was heading to Tanaris; only there could he understand the principle behind the Sands of Time, which brought him to this world.
"You truly are reckless, Arthas. Varian Wrynn and Tirion Fordring's fates were supposed to end at the depths of hell," Chromie's voice echoed in Arthas's ears again, her tone tinged with helplessness. "Before you cause more trouble, hurry to the Caverns of Time."
"Who can truly understand fate? If Varian Wrynn and Tirion Fordring were meant to die on the Broken Shore, then I shouldn't have appeared on the island at that time."
Arthas paused, then continued, "Can't the Bronze Dragon just teleport me directly to the Caverns of Time?"
"For others, yes. For you, no," Chromie complained. "Otherwise, do you think I would let you run wild on the Broken Shore? Heavens, that was the Burning Legion at full strength, and you dared to go to Sargeras' Tomb alone!"
Chromie truly admired Arthas's courage and strength. When she saw Arthas manifest in an angelic form, her jaw nearly dropped—as a prodigy of the younger generation of the Bronze Dragonflight, she had observed at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, timelines, and there wasn't a single Arthas who could wield the power of the Holy Light in such a way.
She even began to suspect whether this Arthas was an avatar personally sculpted by the Titan. After all, across countless timelines, only the one Arthas was in could be observed by even the King of Time.
Bronze Dragons are contradictory beings. Although they gained the most mysterious power after receiving the blessing of the Titan Guardian, this also brought them immense trouble.
The ability to reverse time, manipulate space-time, and know the future easily plunged them into chaos. Therefore, all Bronze Dragons would use a version of themselves from a specific time as an "anchor" to stabilize their state.
If this "anchor" was disturbed, or if a Bronze Dragon themselves fell into contradiction and paradox, unable to extricate themselves and personally destroyed the anchor, they would take extremely dangerous actions, attempting to change the development of the timeline with their own power.
But even with an "anchor," these effects would not completely disappear. When a Bronze Dragon's confusion and contradictions reached their peak, a phenomenon known as the "Infinite Dragonflight" would appear in the timestream.
They are like reflections of the Bronze Dragon on the other side of time; you can even see a Bronze Dragon existing simultaneously in both Bronze Dragon and Infinite Dragon forms.
This is the price the Bronze Dragons pay for controlling the power of time. They themselves consider it a curse and a warning—remember, do not easily toy with time, or in the end, you will find that you are the one being toyed with.
The current Chromie actually received information from the Chromie who knew of Arthas's existence, so at first, she was extremely bewildered by Arthas's appearance and his peculiar state.
"Although I can't directly teleport you to the Caverns of Time, perhaps I can find a way for you to arrive more safely and discreetly. Hmm... do you want me to help you find a ship?" Chromie suggested to Arthas.
Arthas pondered for a moment and rejected the proposal. "I'll still go to Tanaris myself. The Burning Legion will invade various regions of Azeroth soon, and traveling by ship would be too noticeable and too slow."
He looked down at Ashbringer in his hand. "Besides, Ashbringer is still in my hand. Before returning it, it wouldn't be bad to use it to slay more demons."
"Alright, alright, suit yourself—uh, why are you walking into the city?"
"There's still a menace hidden in Stormwind. I'll take care of him while I'm at it," Arthas's gaze sharpened like a sword when he mentioned the demon hidden in Stormwind. "Another old friend... I didn't get to finish him off over there, which is a pity."
...
What to do?!
Gilne was extremely anxious in her safe house. She knew clearly that she was being hunted by "agents" of the SI:7—and by agents, those guys were actually all transformed demons!
She was already aware of the Alliance and Horde's defeat on the Broken Shore. While filled with self-reproach and regret, she had to pull herself together: Matthias Shaw, the leader of the SI:7, had actually seen through the trap on the Broken Shore before the battle, but when he was about to report to King Varian, his team was ambushed by Dreadlords.
Gilne herself was on another mission at the time, fortunately not with the main force. Afterward, she personally witnessed Master Shaw being captured by demons, and other agents being replaced by demons.
The information about the Broken Shore failed to get out; instead, the Dreadlords delivered false intelligence to the Alliance, which led to the Alliance and Horde's incorrect assessment of the Legion's strength.
That place had been heavily ambushed from the very beginning!
As the sole survivor, Gilne was quickly discovered by the demons. To completely eliminate the possibility of exposure, upon returning to Stormwind, they falsely accused Gilne of being the demon-possessed traitor who delivered the false message.
Now, the former SI:7 agent had become the primary target of the entire SI:7, with those demons and unsuspecting agents hunting the only person who knew the truth, Gilne.
Gilne took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She had no evidence. To thwart the demons' plot, she had to find capable helpers, opponents strong enough to contend with the SI:7...
Thinking of this, Gilne resolutely stood up, abandoning the idea of surviving by hiding in the safe house—she had to go to Dalaran, to find that shadowy assassin organization. Only they could end the Dreadlords' scheme!