Chromie adjusted the pocket watch in her hand; the souls Arthas brought had fully charged it, and now, it could sustain Arthas and Chromie through this time travel.
After setting the hands of the pocket watch, Chromie sighed in relief. This thing finally worked.
"Alright, we can depart anytime!"
Arthas, however, didn't reply. He was staring blankly at a crystal radiating Holy Light.
Chromie slapped her forehead, having forgotten about this. Ever since Arthas left Dalaran, he often liked to stare blankly at the crystal remnants of Ashbringer.
"Hey, hey, hey? Are you listening? I said, we can leave!"
Chromie walked in front of Arthas. She jumped twice, as that was the only way she could get Arthas's attention.
Seeing Chromie bouncing in front of him, Arthas snapped out of it. "Sorry, I was a bit distracted just now. What did you say?"
"It seems you didn't hear a single word!" Chromie rolled her eyes. "I said everything is ready, and you can return to your original world!"
"Oh."
Arthas showed no particular excitement or disappointment. He simply replied calmly, "When do we depart?"
"Anytime, but what's wrong with you right now?" Chromie sighed deeply. "Are you worried about the fate of this world?"
Arthas neither confirmed nor denied Chromie's statement. He stared at the Naru core. "Will taking the core of this weapon reduce their chances of winning?"
Although Khadgar said one weapon wasn't important, the existence or absence of Ashbringer could indeed determine many outcomes.
"Uh—who can say for sure? Perhaps one weapon really isn't that important." Chromie couldn't give a precise answer either. "But this isn't your world after all, why bother so much?"
Chromie was somewhat confused about where Arthas's emotions were coming from. In her view, Arthas was a very calm person, who most of the time had a clear and objective understanding of things.
However, what Chromie didn't know was that Arthas's objective, rational, almost bystander-like mindset was because he saw even further than the Bronze Dragon.
Khadgar's words and the changes he brought to this world actually made Arthas somewhat puzzled: would these changes also lead to the defeat of the Burning Legion, or would they lead this world into an unpredictable abyss?
No one could say for sure, not even Arthas himself.
He wasn't a prophet; he just knew a little more than others, and the future of this world was no longer within Arthas's knowledge.
Suddenly, Arthas felt a sense of trepidation. He had long planned to change everything, but after actually making changes, he felt an inexplicable sense of dread.
He had made arrangements in his own world, yet he still hadn't completely changed the Third War. The final outcome was still the Night Elves sacrificing the World Tree, Archimonde failing at the last moment, and the Burning Legion being defeated once again.
Until he came to this world, Arthas hadn't realized where the doubts and hesitations lingering in his heart originated.
But now, he understood; he was afraid.
Arthas was afraid that every decision he made might not be the optimal solution, and this gave him, who knew the "script," a terrifying sense of burden.
Compared to those who make choices without knowing the future, Arthas, precisely because he knew too much, began to worry if some things were better left to run their natural course.
Because he knew too much, Arthas became more apprehensive. Before making every decision, he would worry if such a decision would make the future worse.
Knowing, therefore hesitating.
Therefore, before the entire Third War, Arthas did not overly change the direction of the world's forces. The preparations he made in advance were like an iceberg floating on the sea, only showing a small portion.
This was because, in Arthas's view, this was likely the optimal solution with acceptable losses.
However, after coming to another time's Azeroth, Arthas instead lost this restraint. Only after his journey had ended did he feel alarmed by his excessive involvement.
Thinking too much made him feel somewhat weary at this moment, because from the moment he saved Tirion and Varian at Broken Shore, everything might have already developed in directions beyond his knowledge.
Chromie looked at Arthas, who was deep in thought, and helplessly waved her hand. "You're worried about the direction of this world, but things have already changed, and the future has become a mist—though I strongly dislike the predestined view of the future held by some Bronze Dragon."
"Why? You can see the flow of time; foresight is indeed a powerful ability." Arthas put away the Holy Light crystal and began to follow Chromie, preparing to go to the location for time travel.
"That's true, but some dragons insist that their death is a predetermined event. You can imagine how desperate those dragons who believe this must be in the final period of their lives. Moreover, some stubborn individuals will try to change it, but this ultimately becomes the first step of their death prophecy."
Chromie shrugged. "But some dragons are the exact opposite. They know life will eventually end, but they try to avoid their own deaths, changing the cause, time, and place of their deaths, and the final answer is perplexing: these dragons also succeeded.
Although they will still die one day, they might have effectively avoided being tripped and killed by a rock tomorrow.
To me, this means one thing."
"What thing?" Arthas was quite interested in the Bronze Dragon's story, as they could be said to be the most illogical and most similar group to himself on Azeroth.
"Since it can be both unchanging and changing, what's there to worry about with such a future?" Chromie rolled her eyes, showing a large expanse of white. "I can't even understand why my brothers and sisters cause so much trouble day in and day out, only for it to turn out completely different from what they predicted.
Do they not understand that the power of time is to make you an observer, not a participant?
Even the supreme Titan dare not say they can transcend time, so why are there always people foolish enough to want to lord over time? We are always dependent on time to have meaning!
The future, even if you can see it, why bother so much? Isn't it enough to just handle the present? They always forget the work that needs to be done now, always running forward, running backward—what's the point of that?!"
Chromie grew animated, chattering endlessly about the frustrating things she encountered. Arthas walked beside her, listening to her complaints, and smiled, whether intentionally or not.
"Alright, I got a bit carried away and spouted all that nonsense."
In the camp outside Eldre'Thalas, Chromie finally stopped her endless monologue, putting the pocket watch back into her pocket.
"We've arrived, but I'm not sure how much time has passed here. You know, we can't interfere with the time here." Chromie stood on a box full of supplies, but the soldiers passing by completely ignored her.
It seemed that while the Bronze Dragon's magic couldn't affect the entire world, it still possessed miraculous power within a small area.
"Hmm… but logically, the time difference shouldn't be too outrageous, so it's still within an acceptable range," Chromie said. "If you're ready, I'll remove the invisibility spell from you."
Arthas chuckled softly. "If possible, just make sure my appearance isn't too abrupt."
Chromie pondered for a moment, stroking her chin, then, noticing the tents in the camp, she clapped her hand. "Go back to your tent, and the magic will be dispelled—I need to leave quickly, the pocket watch's power is almost exhausted. We'll talk next time, Prince Arthas."
With that, Chromie vanished from Arthas's sight.
Arthas quickly returned to the central tent, which served as the command center and war room. He hoped to find a sufficiently qualified person in charge there who could tell him how much time had passed.
However, as he entered the large tent, the gazes cast his way made him feel a little awkward.
"Arthas?! You finally showed up! Where have you been these past few days?!"
Brann's loud voice rang out after a brief silence.
Jaina rushed over, almost leaping into Arthas's arms. Since everyone here was familiar, she didn't need to worry about her status.
"Arthas, you're alright! That's wonderful!"
"Sorry for making you worry," Arthas held Jaina steadily. "I didn't expect that strange thing to teleport me away."
"Teleported? No wonder you and that Archmage's research results just 'whoosh' disappeared right before our eyes—a living person suddenly vanished, that's too bizarre."
Brann, holding his new hat, walked over to Arthas and scrutinized him from head to toe. "Hmm, you seem to be fine, lad. Jaina has been worrying about you every day. But where did that bottle throw you? Our search parties didn't find anything."
"I don't know, maybe it was an independent world? I don't even know how much time passed. I was probably able to get out because its power ran out."
Arthas did not tell others about his experience, as it was simply too fantastical to explain. Rather than tell the truth, he would fabricate another plausible excuse.
"This is truly too dangerous, Arthas! You shouldn't have touched that strange bottle. If its power had lasted longer, you might have been lost in that space forever!"
Jaina sternly lectured Arthas on his reckless behavior. She had strongly opposed Arthas personally taking that strange bottle at the time.
There were simply too many strange magics in this world, and those unknown ones were often the most dangerous.
Watching Jaina summarize lesson after lesson for Arthas, Kael'thas, however, frowned secretly.
Arthas's explanation seemed reasonable, but Kael'thas always felt something was off. Perhaps Jaina was too nervous because her loved one had disappeared and overlooked this point, but Kael'thas, who had experienced many trials and tribulations, found suspicious points in many matters.
Based on the final words of that Elf Archmage and the energy emanating from the crystal bottle, Kael'thas was certain that the power contained within that crystal bottle was indeed related to the mysteries of time.
And Arthas's disappearance was without warning; even he and Jaina, two Archmages, didn't react in time, nor were there any obvious spatial fluctuations…
What exactly was that bottle? Kael'thas suddenly felt a deep apprehension towards the ancient Elven heritage. Mages possessed a curiosity for exploration, but such bizarre items, whose principles and essence were completely unclear, only filled Kael'thas with fear.
He couldn't help but think of Quel'Thalas's predicament. Those damned councilors were still immersed in the glory of the High Elf kingdom, even completely forgetting the fate of the ancient Elven Empire—if someone were to use methods that High Elf also couldn't understand or decipher to deal with them, what should he do?
Kael'thas immediately fell back into the delusion of his kingdom being destroyed and lives being ruined.
Arthas glanced at Kael'thas, only to find him inexplicably becoming anxious again… Forget it, he couldn't be bothered with him. This Elf Prince Arthas had always been like this ever since he was angered by the Silvermoon City councilors.
Whenever he couldn't figure something out, he would always relate it to the plight of his own kingdom. This guy had lived longer than anyone else present, yet he was surprisingly naive and stubborn in these matters.
No wonder he was so easily led astray by Illidan… Arthas looked at his friend and sighed inwardly. It's a good thing I'm kind-hearted; otherwise, if you met a ruthless and cunning guy like Illidan, you'd probably be sold out and still help him count the money.
The old script also proved that Kael'thas was indeed sold out and still loyally worked for others, unaware that Illidan had packaged him and Quel'Thalas and sold them to Kil'jaeden to divert Kil'jaeden's attention.
With the Sunwell, Kil'jaeden indeed no longer focused his energy on Illidan, turning instead to figuring out how to drill through the toilet, learning some flashy moves from his old boss, Sargeras.
Meanwhile, while Vashj and Kael'thas were frantically drawing fire for him, Illidan ran off and stole a few of the Burning Legion's strongholds, even making off with their front door keys—the sargerite keystone fell into the hands of the Illidari not long after Kael'thas and Vashj's defeat…
Wait!
Arthas suddenly thought of something: This item seemed very important. Now that the Burning Legion had descended upon Azeroth for the second time, if they determined Azeroth's location in the universe, they could seemingly easily descend upon Azeroth again using this keystone, without having to resort to the bizarre toilet-drilling method.
In other words… Illidan would no longer have the opportunity to trick Kael'thas into being his subordinate. If he didn't get the keystone, the Burning Legion's next descent upon Azeroth might occur much earlier than Arthas anticipated.
Therefore, Arthas immediately decided on his next step. He must eliminate all possibilities of the Burning Legion attacking Azeroth in the short term, otherwise their future would still turn into a brutal confrontation with the Burning Legion.
Moreover… not much time was left for Arthas. Archimonde's soul had already returned to the Twisting Nether. If they didn't act quickly, the Burning Legion might suddenly appear above their heads any day!