Having endured bloody battles in the Dark Void and devoured two Void Lords to gain his current power, Dimensius quickly realized his present predicament.
His body, which had manifested in the real world, had been tampered with by Arthas, and Arthas had accomplished all of this silently, without Dimensius's knowledge. Even Dimensius had to admire such methods.
The will of the Void was inherently one of the survival of the fittest; using cunning to make one's enemies submit was also a form of power. Dimensius himself didn't rely solely on brute force when conquering his opponents.
He immediately ceased his attempts to violently twist Arthas's runes, as he discovered that the more he used the power plundered from the real universe, the more passive he became.
But he couldn't just watch Arthas plant those runes, representing the Primal Will, within his body. Even with power far exceeding that of an ordinary Void Lord, Dimensius wasn't confident he could break free from their influence.
After a brief moment of thought, Dimensius made his next move. He decisively rejected the power surging into his body and began to expel a portion of the energy he had already absorbed.
Although this would greatly weaken the power he could exert, it was better than using that power to cause severe damage to himself and allow Arthas's runes to more easily corrupt his mind.
Arthas couldn't help but exclaim at Dimensius's decisiveness, "As a symbol of all-consuming power, you can so resolutely abandon the power you've already absorbed—it seems I underestimated you, Dimensius."
Dimensius showed no emotional change at the praise from this formidable enemy. As the embodied form of the cold Void, the closer he was to desperation, the more rational he became. "You want to use my power against me?"
Arthas pressed on with the rune inscription process. Once the runes were fully branded onto Dimensius, whether the Devourer of Worlds liked it or not, he would no longer be able to escape his destined fate.
"Your power? If your power truly permeated the real universe, then why were you messed up by the Ethereals like this?"
Dimensius paid no mind to Arthas's taunt. While repelling the Manaforge's power, he even released more of the contents from his core, which originally did not belong to the real universe.
Two Void creatures, far larger than ordinary Voidwalkers, yet still far smaller than Dimensius, roared as they broke free from Dimensius's body.
Arthas recognized these two beings. They were Dimensius's conquered opponents, the former Void Lords Ato'shien and Pargos. However, they were long past their former glory, with only remnants of their power imprisoned within Dimensius, serving him.
But even with only fragments of their past power, when these two Void creatures appeared in the mortal realm, they still displayed power far beyond mortal life. Just by standing there, the Void energy emanating from their bodies could devour light and warp gravity.
The sudden appearance of the two former Void Lords shattered the already precarious balance of Mana Furnace Omega. They began to consume the energy that Arthas had tampered with. Even if this meant they would become puppets under the runes' control, under Dimensius's command, they could not resist the orders of a true Void Lord.
Dimensius wanted these two puppets, which already belonged to him, to devour the corrupted energy on his behalf. That way, even if they were controlled by Arthas, Dimensius would still retain ownership, meaning Arthas would have to contend with Dimensius for control of these two Void Lords.
As former Void Lords, Ato'shien and Pargos inherently possessed a capacity for absorption no less than Dimensius's. They could only maintain smaller forms due to Dimensius's restrictions. With Dimensius lifting those restrictions, within just a few breaths, their bodies rapidly expanded like inflating balloons, gradually recovering a portion of their peak-era presence.
The Manaforge, however, could no longer withstand such abuse. The already crumbling structure collapsed with a roar amidst the chaotic gravitational bursts. As a precise energy transmission and concentration device, even minor damage could lead to a massive disaster, let alone the entire Manaforge being almost completely destroyed by the two increasingly colossal Void Lords.
The Netherwalker hid behind a nearby cover, a sense of urgency in his heart. He felt that the situation was gradually spiraling out of control. Although Dimensius had not yet broken free from Arthas's control, the two gradually expanding Void Lords were another matter.
As they consumed and expelled more and more energy, dense runic markings appeared on Ato'shien and Pargos's cloud-like energy bodies. These markings flickered with their breathing, and this power from Arthas clashed violently with Dimensius's will. Their bodies and souls became another battlefield for Arthas and Dimensius.
The tearing at both the physical and spiritual levels caused even the Void Lords pain. They writhed, trying to release the effects of the agony, and all their actions brought devastating destruction to the surrounding environment.
Massive, complex energy conduits were torn apart by them, and large amounts of architectural debris and weathered rock fell into their black hole-like bodies. The consumption of too much matter made their bodies even larger, and every trace of energy radiated from the annihilation of this matter was comparable to a destructive spell cast with all the might of an ordinary mage.
Even an ancient wizard of unfathomable power like the Netherwalker suffered greatly in the chaotic domain created by the Void Lords. He could only strive to ensure his own safety, unable to attend to anything else.
Arthas also frowned at this moment. While controlling three Void Lords simultaneously was not entirely impossible, it was much more difficult than suppressing the will of Dimensius alone. Even he would be distracted by the influence of Ato'shien and Pargos.
And distraction meant Dimensius gained a moment to breathe. The Void Lord seized his Void core in his chest, and a surging tide of Void burst forth in an instant, desperately washing away the runic energy left by Arthas.
This would, of course, cause some damage to Dimensius himself, but his cold, rational actions brought him a glimmer of a chance to break free.
Using the Void energy as a shield, Dimensius actually managed to temporarily cut off Arthas's influence, regaining control of his body. Having achieved this, he unhesitatingly unleashed his full power, drawing everything around him into the independent universe within his body.
Arthas was also pulled by this black hole-like gravitational force. He glanced at the two Void Lords, who were resisting with all their might but were still being drawn back into Dimensius's body. With a thought, he stopped resisting Dimensius's pull and instead succumbed to the gravitational force, swiftly leaping into Dimensius's body.
After a storm-like chaos, everything seemed to fall silent. The Netherwalker emerged from the ruins, disheveled, only to find that Dimensius and Arthas, as well as the two raging Void Lords, had vanished completely from the ruins as if they had evaporated.
Within Dimensius's completely sovereign domain, Dimensius's size was no longer limited by the suppression of the real plane. The Dimensius before Arthas was no longer merely a giant creature of average size, but a cosmic marvel capable of overturning stars at will.
The moment Arthas entered Dimensius's inner universe, Dimensius had already crushed a long-dead planet, turning its fragments into a torrent of light that surged towards Arthas.
The stellar fragments launched by Dimensius carved a magnificent trail within the purple-black domain. Arthas's right hand closed in a deadly grip, and the blazing Holy Light flames, under his will, transformed into a longsword. The fiery trail swept across the meteor thrown by Dimensius, and the collision of Void and Holy Light erupted into a series of brilliant flashes within the cosmic space, followed by rapidly collapsing energy black holes.
After piercing the meteor, Arthas's light blade continued its trajectory without pause, striking towards Dimensius, who was still attempting to break free from the rune's constraints. However, another colossal purple shadow appeared in the blade's path, and a powerful surge of Void light firmly clamped down on the falling blade.
Ato'shien's body was forcibly controlled by Dimensius. The Devourer of Worlds dragged him in front of the blade, blocking the brilliant greatsword, and Ato'shien, scorched by the Holy Light, let out a painful roar.
The Void Lord was not merely venting pain; accompanying Ato'shien's silent wails, Void energy spread like ripples throughout the entire space. These energies were imbued with almost materialized emotions and will, and the seemingly inconspicuous energy ripples contained terrifying destructive power.
Wherever the ripples had scourged, both celestial bodies and dust were pulverized, annihilated into even smaller particles.
Arthas raised his hand, summoning a Holy Light barrier to fend off Ato'shien's counterattack. As he supported the barrier with one hand, he suddenly noticed his gauntlet rapidly rusting and peeling away.
"Opponents who enter my domain are, without exception, completely devoured by me."
Dimensius's voice resonated at just the right moment, its whispers coiling around Arthas, "Feel the terror of this boundless deep space..."
Arthas glanced at his gauntlet, which was almost completely decayed, and nonchalantly tore it off and cast it aside. He watched as its remnants further dissipated and rotted under the radiation of cosmic energy, until, like the shattered stars, it turned into dust, then was pulled by Dimensius's gravity towards him, forming ribbons of matter, moved by Dimensius's power.
Although Arthas's armor was not made of overly precious materials, it was crafted from excellent magic alloy. Even when subjected to direct impact from offensive spells, it would not be so easily destroyed. However, within Dimensius's domain, the constant radiation and erosion of the cosmic energy alone exceeded the metal's tolerance limit, causing it to rapidly decay and crumble like fragile paper.
Ato'shien had now recovered from his earlier pain. Under Dimensius's domination and control, he unleashed his power upon Arthas. Countless small Void black holes detached from Ato'shien's body, surrounding Arthas.
Although these black holes were not massive, their gravitational pull, capable of tearing space, was not diminished in the slightest. This series of black hole bombs almost completely swallowed all light in an entire region, creating a black hole within the dark purple Void universe.
However, Arthas had no intention of blocking these black holes. He completely ignored the Void black holes assailing him, because another Void Lord, no weaker than Ato'shien, stood in the path of the black holes.
Pargos's body suddenly expanded to a size far exceeding Ato'shien's. More than half of his body resembled a gluttonous maw, swallowing all the black holes. Those black holes exploded within him, yet released even more Void power, causing Pargos's size to swell even further.
Dimensius watched Pargos, who had defied his will and was now completely controlled by Arthas, and his heart sank—even in his inner universe, the place where his control over his subordinates was strongest, the control of one Void Lord had still been seized by Arthas. Pargos was now controlled by Commanding Power, becoming a shield in front of Arthas.
Ato'shien and Pargos's powers were originally similar, and Dimensius, to prevent either from escaping his control after devouring excessive energy, deliberately introduced those problematic energies equally into their bodies, resulting in Ato'shien and Pargos being completely unable to do anything to each other for a short time.
And once these two Void Lords reached a stalemate, the situation returned to its starting point: Dimensius had to face Arthas alone.
Watching Arthas approach him, simultaneously implanting more rune power into his body and influencing the flow of his internal energy, even Dimensius found it hard to maintain his composure for a moment. While resisting Arthas's power, he couldn't help but ask, "I don't recall provoking an opponent like you. Why are you going to such lengths?"
Although Dimensius desired to rule the real universe, to achieve a feat no Void creature had ever accomplished, bringing the entire universe under the influence of the Void to strengthen himself, in his long years, he had never seen an existence like Arthas.
Arthas's power, in his eyes, was quite chaotic, yet possessed the characteristics of those Holy Light beings, and he also wielded the ancient script of the Shadowlands. Furthermore, he exuded an aura of order identical to that of the Titans, and even more critically, Arthas possessed a cosmic rank almost on par with the Titans and Eternals.
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Although Arthas still appeared to be an ordinary mortal race, in Dimensius's eyes, this fellow was completely of the same kind as them.
Therefore, upon discovering that Arthas had tampered with him, Dimensius, without hesitation, employed all the power he could utilize. However, these tactics were all neutralized by Arthas one by one. Even after Arthas was sucked into Dimensius's own inner universe, Arthas still appeared to be at ease.
At this point, Dimensius already understood that he was almost certainly no match for Arthas alone, but he also had no way of getting any support now, not to mention that the Devourer of Worlds was not exactly benevolent on the Void side, as evidenced by the two fellow Void Lords he had consumed.
Watching more and more runes being implanted within him, and his speed of annihilating runes being completely unable to keep up with the speed at which Arthas was imposing them, a strange despair arose in Dimensius's heart. But before complete defeat, he still wanted to understand why he was losing.
"Since you want to destroy the real universe, then we were naturally in opposition from the very beginning. I merely made the first move."
Arthas's answer made Dimensius feel an inexplicable absurdity. He had painstakingly planned for countless eons, only to be outmaneuvered by the Ethereals, and then inexplicably attracted a formidable enemy like Arthas.
As Arthas's Commanding Power completely overwhelmed his will, Dimensius suddenly saw something clearly in the darkness.
He let out a relieved laugh, making the entire universe tremble, "So this is the so-called fate and reincarnation? How utterly ridiculous!"
The Devourer of Worlds let out a final, wild laugh. Arthas suddenly noticed that Dimensius's previously resisting will had gone completely silent. Commanding Power effortlessly conquered the Void Lord's last vestiges of consciousness.
When everything fell silent, Arthas looked at the Void Lord, who was gradually being devoured by the disc he had previously inserted into Dimensius's body, and his brow furrowed slightly.
He gave up resisting at the last moment?
But... why?
----
"Speak if you have something to say."
Kil'jaeden waved his hand impatiently. The invasion of the Antoran Wastes had already left him overwhelmed, and the messenger officer's current hesitant demeanor was far too sluggish.
The demon officer nervously wiped the fine sweat from his forehead and deliberated for a long while. Only when Kil'jaeden's fierce gaze, having reached its limit of patience, fixed upon him, did he speak with difficulty, "The expedition… the expeditionary Legion has completely lost contact."
Kil'jaeden paused, then said displeased, "Is that all? Such a minor matter?"
His displeasure was not without reason. Long-distance communication was inherently a challenge, and even within the Burning Legion, which had mastered inter-dimensional transfer technology, there were many similar insurmountable difficulties.
Moreover, the star system the expeditionary Legion traveled to was already occupied by Void forces. Given the characteristics of Void creatures, many magical communications couldn't even effectively penetrate the barrier networks they constructed. Fleet disconnections were not unheard of; in fact, they were within Kil'jaeden's expectations.
Once Mannoroth and his forces gained the upper hand and re-established the communication network, the fleet would naturally resume contact.
This had happened frequently during the Burning Legion's many years of conquest. Kil'jaeden looked at the demon officer before him, not understanding why he, not being a newly-spawned demon, would bother him with such a small matter.
But the demon officer, with a mournful face, reported another situation, "But… we haven't received the soul of a single fallen soldier."
The moment his words fell, a magical pressure that made him tremble erupted violently throughout the hall. Kil'jaeden slowly rose from his seat, asking almost word by word, "What… did… you… say?"
"Why didn't you report it sooner?!"
Not a single demon's soul returned to the Twisting Nether?! This was no ordinary communication loss; it was an utterly illogical fallacy!
"Even if that was a fully-powered, lively Void Lord, it wouldn't be able to package and swallow all the demons' souls! Some souls would always escape the Void's pull!"
Kil'jaeden, uncharacteristically, cursed using ancient Eredar profanity, showing that his rage had reached its peak.
The Burning Legion didn't care how many demons died, because after most demons died, their souls would return to the Twisting Nether. At that point, the Burning Legion could use the power of the Argus World-Soul to reshape their bodies, thereby creating an endless, powerful demon army, all of whom had experienced countless battles.
Demon souls do not go to the Shadowlands; this is an iron law of cosmic rotation. When this phenomenon is broken, it can only mean that an entity of extremely high status is interfering. Although a Void Lord has this ability, Dimensius has not fully reawakened and could not possibly achieve this.
Furthermore, demons are not without ways to deal with opponents of this caliber. So, even if Dimensius truly appeared in his full might, Mannoroth and his forces would absolutely be able to preserve a part of their strength and leave Kalesh.
At this point, Kil'jaeden could already guess the fate of that expeditionary Legion—absolute annihilation, without even a chance of resurrection!
This was an unprecedented and severe blow, even for the Burning Legion, far exceeding the damage caused by the last bombardment from the Origin Engine. They had genuinely lost a large amount of their active forces, which might require tens of thousands of years of recuperation to recover.
Coupled with the sudden appearance of invaders in the Antoran Wastes, under such coincidental circumstances, Kil'jaeden had no choice but to draw this conclusion.
"Do not trust any more messages from Archimonde! Erase his mark from the Legion!"
"This—"
The demon officer trembled upon hearing Kil'jaeden's command, almost falling to his knees. But Kil'jaeden was not issuing such an order for something as childish as a power struggle. He directly threw the demon officer out of the Burning Throne, conveying his will again with a roar that echoed in the demon officer's soul.
"Go and issue the command everywhere! Or I will crush your soul right now!"
After the officer was driven from the throne and Kil'jaeden's hall fell silent again, four projections appeared beside him.
They were the Legion's War Council, composed of three cunning Eredar tactical masters, and one was Hazzabel, the Guardian of the Legion's teleportation hub, also an Eredar.
"Our army has suffered devastating losses; that part of the disconnected fleet cannot possibly return." Hazzabel's voice was extremely solemn. She had never imagined that one day the Legion's teleportation gates would be forcibly shut down, "A powerful entity has severed the teleportation routes around Kalesh, but I'm not sure who did it."
General Elodus of the High Command Council spat, "Bah! Forget about those distant wastes for now. Our port has been attacked by unknown thieves. The ships and defense forces left in the port were completely annihilated, and Argus's defensive capability has plummeted to almost zero!"
But after they both spoke, a strange silence fell over the hall. Even the most dim-witted Worm Speaker should have understood that they had been played, and the cost was that the Burning Legion's once invincible army now had only a fraction of its active forces left.
"That ship now floating above us clearly came from those Draenei—they are from Azeroth." Chief Engineer Ishka said slowly.
Kil'jaeden rubbed his brow forcefully. His terrifying scarlet skin was covered in scars and pustules. The wounds left on Azeroth last time reminded him just how troublesome the life on that planet could be.
"Sivrakks, Elodus, mobilize all available troops. Ensure the Throne's functions are not destroyed by those lesser beings. Hazzabel, guard the teleportation hub for me. They think they've destroyed all of the Burning Legion's power? When the garrison forces from other worlds return to defend, they will realize how ridiculously foolish they are!"
"Hmph! I hope you don't misjudge again this time!"
Elodus snorted coldly before his projection dissipated.
Sivrakks and Hazzabel bowed slightly to Kil'jaeden, then withdrew their power.
Kil'jaeden looked at Ishka, who remained, "How much reserve do we still have available?"
Ishka understood Kil'jaeden's thoughts, lowered his head, calculated briefly, then shook his head, "Lord Sargeras has diverted too many resources to the core of Antorus. The reserves we can use now are insufficient to support the creation of a qualified army."
Kil'jaeden's brow furrowed even more. "Even at this point, still—never mind… Allocate all remaining resources into our current defenses. If possible, blast that damned battleship in the sky down for me."
Ishka, however, looked troubled, "I'll try. The losses to our long-range firepower are no less than those to the fleet. We need time to restart."
"Then do it. I will give you enough time."
----
Above the ruins of the Manaforge, the Netherwalker wandered among the massive debris torn apart by Dimensius's gravity, collecting partially functional Ethereal tech products while anxiously waiting.
Although Arthas's consistently calm and confident demeanor suggested that dealing with Dimensius was a sure thing, in the Netherwalker's view, every confrontation between beings of their caliber was extremely dangerous, and the tragic state of Mana Furnace Omega was the best proof.
Even the pinnacle of Ethereal technology was nothing more than a 'dining hall' for the Devourer of Worlds; the energy transmitted through these intricate power conduits could easily blast the large fragments of Kalesh into the finest dust, yet the energy supplied by them was consumed by Dimensius in a single breath.
The Netherwalker even felt somewhat fortunate for his decisive action back then; if they hadn't resolved to detonate Kare and Dimensius together when Dimensius first attempted to descend into the real universe, their only fate would have been to all become sustenance for Dimensius to strengthen himself in the real universe.
While the Netherwalker, who had collected a large number of tech products and was attempting to extract the unique technology of the Voidwraith Ethereal from them, was lost in thought, a Void vortex suddenly appeared where Dimensius and Arthas had just vanished.
The Netherwalker was instantly struck with a terrifying sensation—though as an energy being, he no longer had hair, the sudden appearance of the Void vortex still felt like a heavy punch to his heart.
"Could it be… he lost?"
He was somewhat afraid to look at whether it was the arrogant and brutal Devourer of Worlds or the confident paladin who emerged from the vortex.
Fortunately, a human hand gripping the edge of the vortex made him sigh in relief—it was Arthas.
Arthas extended a part of his body, looked at the other glove, which had been friction-worn by the Void vortex until only half remained, sighed, and then pulled himself out of the portal.
After landing, he tore off and discarded the 'half-glove' that had survived the intense battle, allowing it to complete its mission just like the other glove, which had already been corroded by the cosmic rays within Dimensius's internal universe.
The Netherwalker quickly approached Arthas, only to find him looking quite disheveled.
"Uh… are you alright?"
Although Arthas's damaged armor was a terrible sight, his robust body showed no wounds, so the Netherwalker wasn't sure whether Arthas's condition was good or bad.
Arthas glared at the Netherwalker abruptly, "If I told you I was gravely injured, would you try to finish me off too?"
The Netherwalker was speechless, then immediately shook his head, "It seems you still misunderstand me… While others might see my methods as ruthless, I would never betray my principles."
This was indeed the Netherwalker's true thought; even though Arthas had used his world as bait against the Burning Legion and staged a battle between Void and fel here, potentially leading to the complete destruction of his world at any moment, from the final outcome, Kare was not destroyed, and Dimensius was brought to an end. Therefore, all of Arthas's actions deserved the Netherwalker's utmost respect.
Looking at the earnest Netherwalker, Arthas suddenly smiled. He tapped his right hand on his breastplate, shattering the already overburdened armor and clothing into fragments, letting them fall from his body.
Feeling the constraints on his body gradually disappear, he took out a fresh shirt and put it on, then stood on the larger fragment of Kare, gazing at the still-present massive Void rift.
"Our world was once a very beautiful planet," the Netherwalker noticed Arthas's gaze and said with a hint of nostalgia, "Unfortunately, that's all it can be now… once upon a time."
"That's not necessarily true."
Arthas raised his hand to catch the disc that sealed all of Dimensius's essence. He gently shook it, and a special crystal was ejected from the disc.
"This is?"
The Netherwalker looked at the dim crystal. It seemed no different from the scattered fragments of debris around Kare; if Arthas hadn't specifically taken it out, the Netherwalker wouldn't have thought it was particularly special.
But when Arthas injected a faint amount of magic into the crystal, this unremarkable crystal suddenly emitted a low, hazy, yet melodious song.
The Netherwalker's facial wraps instantly deformed. He heard the familiar song and finally understood why Arthas had taken out this crystal.
"This… this is the song of a World-Soul?!"
When a world has its own will, it will try to resonate with the life on the planet to communicate and interact, and from a mortal perspective, these resonances emitted by the World-Soul are a unique and melodious song.
Kalesh once had a large number of priests who inherited a ritual specifically used to communicate with the Kare Star-Soul, but after Kalesh's destruction, no one could hear Kare's voice anymore.
Until today, the Netherwalker heard that melodious song once again.
Arthas handed the crystal to the Netherwalker, who held this fragment of the World-Soul, which might signify all hope, as if it were a treasure—as long as the Star-Soul remained, Kare still had a chance to revive, and they still had a chance to save their world.
This was something the Netherwalker had never expected. His initial plan was merely to eliminate the threat of Dimensius and then spend a longer time atoning for his past sins, even if it was just to restore a world without a soul, he would still try to piece together the shape of his homeland.
And if Kare's World-Soul could be revived, then Kare would have a chance to regain life!
However, after a brief moment of excitement, the Netherwalker pushed this Star-Soul, which was incredibly important to his race, back to Arthas, "No… I can't do it alone, and with only my strength, I cannot protect this crystal."
As the Netherwalker, who had embraced Void Power but did not align with the Voidwraith Ethereal, he was an anomaly among all his kin. While this allowed him to move freely among countless star realms without ties, he had long lost the strength of the kin who once followed him.
The Coilfang Serpentrix no longer existed; all that remained was its ancient name.
The Netherwalker looked at Arthas and pleaded, "Please help protect the last soul of our world… our race will forever remember this kindness, and I can swear—no matter what you do in the future, I will follow by your side and serve you."
Oaths are an extremely important part of Ethereal society, and when the Netherwalker was willing to make such an oath, it already demonstrated his resolve.
This fragment must not fall into the hands of the Voidwraith Ethereal, the Netherwalker understood that to fully revive Kalesh, he needed the help of more of his kin.
Arthas remained silent for a moment, then finally did not refuse the Netherwalker's plea. He placed this World-Soul into the Sanctum of Domination, preserving it with his mind, "I accept your oath. Go find your kin and fulfill your mission. Now, I must also fulfill my duties."
----
"He succeeded!"
In the ship's control room, bathed in a gentle glow, Xal'atath suddenly turned her gaze to the boundless deep space, rather than the dark green planet below them.
A certain indescribable look appeared in Xal'atath's usually calm, even indifferent, eyes, drawing the attention of Prophet Velen, who was assigning tasks beside her.
"Is it Arthas?" Velen could not perceive the information Xal'atath was sensing; that was a connection unique to Xal'atath and the Devourer of Worlds. However, he could infer from Xal'atath's reaction that something earth-shattering was happening on the other side of the universe.
"Yes… no, you simply cannot imagine the unprecedented feat he has accomplished—his greatness cannot be described even with an entire civilization's words of praise!"
Xal'atath almost erupted with a fervor, a blaze ignited from the shadows that had enveloped her for countless eons. "There is no longer the threat of the Devourer of Worlds in the real universe. You will no longer have this worry; you will possess the luxurious treasure of 'hope,' and the nightmare that has always haunted me will cease to exist!"
"Is that so, Lady Xal'atath?"
Compared to Xal'atath's heightened emotions, Velen was quite calm. "Then we should congratulate you, and perhaps celebrate ourselves, for a great king has today eradicated another terrible scourge for his world. However, we cannot stop now, for another nightmare still clings to each of us."
Velen looked at Argus before them. From the viewport of the Azeroth, Argus appeared incredibly vast, as if it were everything they could see. Yet, this place, which should have been most familiar to Velen, had long since changed beyond recognition, becoming a living hell.
Velen's calm voice, like ice dropped into boiling water, gradually calmed Xal'atath's soaring emotions. The lady, now appearing in an elven form, let out a long breath. "You are right, Prophet, we still have important matters at hand; it is not time to be carried away—please forgive my momentary lapse."
Xal'atath's words, in turn, drew a strange look from Velen. He seemed completely surprised that Xal'atath was genuinely apologizing to him.
Ignoring Velen's gaze, Xal'atath said, "We have already destroyed most of Argus's living forces, and Arthas subduing Dimensius also indirectly confirms that the expeditionary Demon Legion should have only one outcome: complete annihilation."
"So, we will no longer have worries about the rear?"
"Not absolutely, Prophet."
Xal'atath turned back to the magical projection device used as a sand table, quickly constructing a model of the Burning Throne. "Within this fortress of the Burning Legion, there are teleportation hubs they have operated for a long time. As long as these hubs are not destroyed, they still have a chance to call for reinforcements from demon camps stationed on other worlds."
"If we cannot destroy the Burning Legion's teleportation hubs quickly, I fear it won't be long before demon warships surround us."
Xal'atath gestured, and countless projections of Burning Legion warships warped in from a spacetime rift. Amidst the simulated gunfire, the Azeroth had no chance to escape and was riddled with holes.
"Our champions will assault that fortress. Argus's demons are already preoccupied. This is our only chance. With the Azeroth's covering fire, assaulting the fortress will not be difficult."
Velen replied firmly. As long as they destroyed the teleportation hubs before the demon reinforcements arrived, these fleets would lose their ability to travel over vast distances, and might even get lost in the chaotic Twisting Nether.
In a peculiar plane like the Twisting Nether, without precise coordinates, you couldn't even predict your teleportation destination. This wasn't just a spatial error; it was possible to board today and arrive a thousand years later, or in more extreme cases, board today and arrive a hundred years earlier.
Even demons dared not travel haphazardly through the Twisting Nether. The Burning Legion's technology was a crucial foundation supporting their expeditions. What pained Velen, however, was that he didn't know how much of the Eredar's golden technology had been used as tools for the Burning Legion's conquest and slaughter.
And now, that Dark Titan was even extracting the secrets of other Titans, turning his own kin into tools for his conquest of the universe.
They could not allow such an entity to remain in this world, otherwise, none of them would have a tomorrow—just like the Eredar people of old.
"I don't doubt the champions of Azeroth, but the problem is, we have an even bigger trouble to deal with right now."
Xal'atath sighed and changed the image on the device.
When Velen saw the image clearly, prominent veins bulged on his temples and forehead near his eyes. "…Kil'jaeden? This is impossible!"
In the scene displayed by Xal'atath, a heavy Burning Legion warship was slowly flying out from within the Burning Throne. After releasing the warship, the fortress's metal gates slowly closed, like a monstrous beast shutting its maw, clamping tightly shut.
What caught Velen's attention was not this warship hidden within the Burning Throne; it was the crimson figure standing on the bridge that truly made Velen look sideways.
Velen had initially thought that after witnessing Archimonde's defeat with his own eyes, even facing Kil'jaeden would no longer cause him much turmoil, because he believed he was prepared to face this former companion, mentor, and… dearest friend.
Just seeing Kil'jaeden, memories flooded back like a tide. Those nearly dead recollections suddenly surged into his mind at this moment, making it impossible for Velen not to react.
His friendship with Kil'jaeden had once been unbreakable. They loved each other as much as they loved themselves and the entire Eredar. But when Sargeras arrived with his schemes, and a rift grew between them due to their differing choices, everything changed.
Kil'jaeden chose to lead the Eredar towards the grand blueprint Sargeras painted for them, while Velen could only see endless bloodshed and darkness on that path. He could not accept the noble Eredar degenerating into such twisted forms, so he led those who remained loyal to him, and to the original peaceful ideals of the Eredar, to leave.
But they did not expect that leaving was no longer an easy choice at that time.
Velen's decision was, in Kil'jaeden's eyes, an unforgivable betrayal. He believed Velen had succumbed to the lies woven by the Naaru, even going so far as to divide the Eredar people.
Kil'jaeden could not accept such an outcome. He gave Velen a choice: either stay, or be hunted as a traitor until the universe's demise.
Velen's final choice goes without saying. However, the Naaru provided them with a limited number of ships sufficient to leave Argus, and at that time, factions loyal to Kil'jaeden and Archimonde had already begun a "purge" of Velen and his followers.
A terrible great escape began.