Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Malygos hurried to form an arcane shield around his body as he was violently knocked out of the sky and sent hurtling toward the ground. On top of this shield, he quickly layered a heat-resistant ward to protect himself from the molten landscape that had replaced the stretch of land that had once been filled with forests.

Malygos crashed down into the ruined earth and quickly teleported away to avoid being skewered as Neltharion caused a massive stone spike to erupt where he had landed. He then warped the space around him so that the stream of Void-infused lava directed to where he reappeared twisted around him instead of burning him alive.Ñ00v€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

Manipulating space was significantly more difficult with the high density of Void energy in the area, but Malygos was the Aspect of Magic. If they were still at an earlier part of their confrontation with Deathwing, he would have likely made the effort to taunt his corrupted brother, but Malygos had to devote all of his focus to just surviving.

It had been easier at first when Neltharion had not fully understood what was happening and was still toying with them. Malygos and his siblings had focused their efforts on finding an opening that they could use to tear off a fragment of Neltharion, but they hadnt initially been able to find one.

Things started to get worse once whatever Void monstrosity Neltharion unleashed began causing a significant number of mortal deaths, successfully distracting Alexstrasza and her consorts. It was only when a powerful beacon of Light had flared up in the sky and vanquished Neltharions monstrosity, momentarily diverting his attention, that they were able to find an opening.

Alexstraszas eldest consort, Tyranastrasz, had immediately snapped his jaws around Neltharions leg to hold him in place, which had allowed Malygos to launch himself onto the corrupted Aspects back. He had then unleashed a massive explosion of arcane magic that devastated everything in the vicinity and successfully tore a scale from Neltharions back.

After Yseras consort promptly grabbed it and took it toward the portal, their intentions had been extremely obvious. Neltharion no longer hesitated with his attacks from that moment forward.

Malygos could still hear Alexstraszas pain-filled scream as her eldest consorts head was ripped from his body and his corpse was thrown into a newly formed river of lava.

Neltharions subsequent rampage had upended the earth for miles around, and likely caused quakes that could be felt throughout the northern portion of Tirisfal Glades.

It had taken everything that Malygos and his siblings had to avoid being killed. With most of their power still being held in the Dragon Soul, they were all significantly weaker than Neltharion, as much as it galled him to admit.

Malygos watched as an emerald green portal appeared behind Neltharion and several enormous vines emerged from it and wrapped themselves around the corrupted Aspect, interrupting his attack. Neltharion had most likely destroyed the land with the intention of distributing Yseras nature magic, but she was no common druid.

Unfortunately, it only took a few moments for Neltharion to break free in an explosion of Void magic that mutated and killed the vines holding him. Malygos summoned hundreds of arcane missiles that struck Neltharion from every direction, but the hateful bastard merely ignored them and stepped through the Void to appear behind him in an instant.

It was only due to the fact that Nozdormu had predicted the attack and slowed down Neltharions claws that Malygos managed to avoid having his throat ripped open.

Just as Malygos teleported away, Alexstrasza unleashed a massive ball of fire infused with life magic that tore through the Void surrounding Neltharion and actually made him stagger.

How much longer are those mortals going to take?!

Your efforts are worthless! The Titans have abandoned us and the Voids domination over this world is inevitable! Neltharion roared as he launched ravenous torrents of Void toward each of the Aspects. Do you truly believe this world can defend itself from the forces that wish to control it?! From the Old Gods? From the Burning Legion? Your stubborn loyalty to absent gods serves to help nobody!

Malygos ignored Neltharions insane ramblings and immediately breathed out a wave of pure arcane magic that only barely succeeded in pushing back the Void. In order to buy enough time for him and his siblings to regroup, he instantly created several dozen illusions in the air of each Aspect while simultaneously turning himself, his siblings, and the remaining consorts invisible. All it took to bait the corrupted Aspect into focusing on the illusions was a quick application of telekinesis when one of Alexstraszas illusions attacked Neltharions back.

Malygos left Neltharion to his impotent rampage as he flew toward the rest of his siblings.

Im not certain how much longer we can keep this up, said Ysera, her voice filled with exhaustion. Nothing that we do to him seems to have any permanent effect. I had forgotten how much weaker we became when we lost the power bestowed on us by the Titans.

Ten thousand years is long enough for even us to grow accustomed to something, said Alexstrasza as she began healing their wounds by directing Life-imbued flames toward their bodies. Even as his stamina was restored, Malygos felt a tinge of sympathy as he heard the barely contained grief still in her voice. We will last for as long as we must. Theres nothing else to be done.

How much longer do we have to wait, Nozdormu? questioned Malygos, glaring at his brother. Yseras consort should have delivered the scale to them by now. Are those mortals actually going to succeed in destroying that cursed artifact, or are we simply wasting our time?

We wont have to wait for much longer, Nozdormu said with infuriating calmness. "The Void is going to great lengths to obscure my vision by drowning me in possible futures, but the Timeways have been solidifying toward a favorable outcome."

"And if you're wrong?" Maylgos asked challengingly.

I have been before, but I doubt that is the case now. Im confident everything will unfold as it should, said Nozdormu, his eyes gazing off into the distance in the same way they always did whenever he was looking into the Timeways. Though if I am wrong, then I suppose Azeroths fate will be a dire one, so lets hope that isnt the case.

As usual, Malygos found himself annoyed by Nozdormus perpetual lack of concern. Unfortunately, he didnt have enough time to continue questioning the Aspect of Time, because Neltharion seemed to lose patience with the illusions before he could.

Malygos winced in pain at the magical backlash as all of his illusions were destroyed by the explosive burst of Void energy released by Neltharion. The Void assaulted his mind and ripped apart the spell hiding himself and the other Aspects seconds before Neltharion was launching himself at them while screaming more of his insane ramblings.

I hope this works.

Despite how it might have seemed to his siblings, Malygos hadnt only spent the past few minutes recovering, but also preparing his unconventional attack. Throughout the entire fight, he had been gradually funneling his magic deep into the closest leyline and slowly seized control of its energies. It was only in the past few minutes that Malygos had taken enough control that he could successfully implement his plan. Such a thing would normally be impossible for even the most powerful of mages, but there was not a single soul on Azeroth more familiar with the worlds leylines than Malygos.

Just as Neltharion was about to reach them, Malygos pulled against the arcane magic flowing through the earth with all of his magical might.

Suddenly, with a deafening roar, the land beneath them shuddered and cracked as the leyline erupted upwards and unleashed an unfathomable amount of arcane energy that could likely be seen from miles around directly at Neltharion. Malygos was filled with malicious glee as his corrupted brother screamed in pain at the constant torrent of arcane energy ripping into his body and launching him half a mile away.

He knew that this wouldnt be enough to kill Neltharion, but it should be enough to buy them all some time until the Dragon Soul was destroyed.

Malygos, what did you do? Alexstrasza asked in astonishment.

We never had any chance to defeat him in a straight fight. That being the case, it should be obvious that I would plan something like this, said Malygos, feeling more than a little smug. A quick look at the Arcanomicon revealed to me that Neltharion had positioned his manor over a decently sized leyline. It was never something that I needed to do before, but it wasnt difficult for me to devise a way to uproot one and direct its power elsewhere.

Wont something like this cause long-term consequences for the region? asked Ysera, observing the results of Malygos actions with curiosity. Even now, arcane crystals were beginning to emerge from the lava-covered landscape as the leylines energies spilled out onto the surface.

Perhaps, but if the mortals succeed in destroying the Dragon Soul, then I will have my powers restored and Ill be able to fix the problem at a later time, Malygos said dismissively. Besides, this should be enough to grant us the time we need.

Unfortunately, it seemed like Neltharion loved nothing more than to make Malygos look foolish. Seconds after he finished speaking, the mountain that Neltharion had been launched into exploded as the corrupted Aspect reemerged.

Pieces of his body seemed to have cracked open, revealing streams of magma flowing beneath his skin. His eyes were completely aflame and he glared at Malygos with unending hatred.

It reminded him too much of how Neltharion looked when he had betrayed them all during the War of the Ancients, and Malygos barely prevented himself from losing his mind in an unwelcome depressive spiral. He also noticed that Neltharions body had begun to twist and deform as he pulled deeper from the Void, causing strange writhing appendages to emerge from random locations.

A part of Malygos expected Neltharion to continue his demented ravings, but that didnt happen. Instead, Neltharion let out a guttural roar that echoed throughout the ravaged landscape to announce his unrelenting fury. The corrupted Aspected surged toward them with renewed ferocity, his molten body glowing brightly as he flew through the air.

Deepholm, Nozdormu answered, unperturbed by Malygos implied threats.

It took several moments for Malygos to sift through his fractured mind and recall everything he knew about Deepholm. It was the elemental plane that had been created by the Keepers to imprison Azeroths earth elementals. It was ruled over by Therazane the Stonemother and should be completely inaccessible to anyone from the outside.

Malygos had actually forgotten that Neltharion was capable of accessing this realm through his connection to the earth. He had only ever done so a few times throughout their entire lives, as there was little of interest there aside from bitter earth elementals.

After realizing that he could not safely reach Deathwing in Deepholm, Malygos immediately felt a wave of anger grow within him.

And you let him escape?! Malygos bellowed as he stomped toward Nozdormu. Why didnt you warn us that this could happen?

His abilities always meant that it was unlikely that we, even with our restored power, could have successfully prevented him from escaping to Deepholm if he wanted to, Nozdormu explained. Besides, you were the one who made the decision to prolong his death, brother.

Nozdormu. If your machinations prevent me from watching Neltharion die, then I swear upon my flight that Ill make you regret this, said Malygos, glaring at his brother.

Its not often that I find myself in agreement with Malygos, but he is right, said Alexstrasza, making her way to his side with her remaining consorts at her side as she confronted the Aspect of Time. Neltharion is far too significant of a threat to this world. I find it hard to believe that Azeroths future is better served with his survival today.

Then youll be pleased to know that it wont be long before a path to Deepholm becomes available to us, said Nozdormu, his gaze drifting off to look at something only he could see. Now that I have regained my full power, there is much that I can see that was previously beyond me. Im more confident than ever that this decision was the correct one, and Im sure you all will share my opinion when the time is right. Until then, Neltharion is in no condition to act against us or Azeroth, needing time to recover from his wounds.

How long until this path is revealed to us? asked Malygos, pushing down his anger at the promise of being able to finally end Neltharion in the near future.

Not long. Merely a few more months, Nozdormu said reassuringly.

I intend to hold you to that, Malygos promised. It ate away at him to have his immediate vengeance stolen away from him, but a few months was nothing more than a short nap for someone as old as him.

Nozdormu nodded to him in acceptance before turning his gaze toward the rest of their siblings. In the meantime, there are quite a few matters that require our attention.

And what are those? Ysera asked curiously.

The first matter that we should attend to is the Cthrax that Neltharion sent to destroy Capital City, Nozdormu as he idly picked up a unique-looking sword with his claws like a mortal might hold a toothpick. And this will make our task quite a bit easier.

A Cthrax?! How much damage has it done? asked Alexstrasza, concerned for the lives of the mortals who had to face such a being.

Neltharion was forced to release it early, so it still hadnt fully recovered by the time it reached Capital City. Korialstrasz and the mortals were able to successfully fell the monster through great sacrifice, but they lack the means to permanently slay it, Nozdormu explained. This sword was buried in its brain for millennia, which prevented it from recovering.

The fact that the mortals were able to defeat even a weakened Cthrax was surprising to Malygos. Such beings were the epitome of the forces of the Old Gods and could not be underestimated.

Malygos studied the enchantments of the sword and was reluctantly impressed by the weapon. The conversation turned to Nozdormu giving an account of the Cthraxs attack on the mortal city before moving on to plans to deal with its body, and what they would do afterward.

Nozdormu was insistent that he needed to return to his duties after noticing several plots being carried out by the Infinite Dragonflight that he hadnt previously noticed. Ysera felt similarly about the Emerald Dream, as the Old Gods corruption had crept up in ways she wasnt previously aware of. They would go to Capital City to assist with the Cthraxs containment but would leave soon after.

That only left Malygos and Alexstrasza to deal with everything else and put an end to the mortal war currently ravaging the continent. One consolation of the current situation was that the mortals had become much more exposed to dragons due to Korialstraszs defense of their city. That meant that there was nothing to stop Malygos from simply teleporting them all into Capital City so that they could quickly deal with the Cthrax.

He had always found Alexstraszas insistence on non-interference to be troublesome, so he was glad that such a policy no longer had any point. Just as they finished their discussion and were about to leave, Alexstrasza stopped them.

Wait a moment. Let me gather up Tyranastraszs remains. I will take him to his final rest, said Alexstrasza, her voice consumed with sorrow.

Malygos nodded silently as he felt his own eyes begin to grow wet when his mind recalled memories of his own consorts body lying on the frozen ground so long ago. Alexstrasza and her remaining consorts carefully gathered the remains of the dragon who had stood by her side for millennia before nodding toward Malygos to signal her readiness.

In a flash of violet light, the Aspects disappeared from the ravaged land.

Krivax carefully hobbled into his room on three legs, feeling absolutely exhausted.

After learning that they had successfully destroyed the Dragon Soul, he had expected his following days to be bright and filled with celebration for saving the world from Neltharion. That expectation was thoroughly crushed once he learned that large portions of Capital City had been destroyed by a giant Void abomination.

Archbishop Faol was dead, King Terenas had been heavily injured and was currently being tended to by the most skilled priests still alive, and casualties were estimated to be somewhere over a hundred thousand. Many of the kingdoms nobles had been killed, and Lordaeron would be feeling the consequences of this event for a generation.

It was already bad enough that so many people had died, but Krivax knew with certainty that something like this had never happened in the original timeline. Without the changes that he had made, everyone who died in the attack would still be alive.

When Krivax thought about that, he could feel his thoughts begin to spiral with guilt and worry, so he just did his best not to think about it at all.

Instead, he intended to focus on what he could actually do. Masruk was off helping with the emergency rescue operations happening throughout the city, and Krivax wished that he could find a way to help out as well. Unfortunately, that wasnt very possible given the fact that he could barely even stand with one of his legs missing, but circumstances meant that he needed to begin planning immediately.

The Aspects had abruptly returned from their confrontation with Deathwing and killed the Cthrax in a slightly more permanent fashion by stabbing a strange sword into its brain and doing some kind of complicated ritual before Ysera and Nozdormu suddenly left. Malygos had claimed that the sword would prevent the Cthrax from awakening and the ritual would keep it from spreading its influence, but he needed to do some more research into the matter in order to deal with it completely.

The two remaining Aspects had informed the Kirin Tor and the nerubians that Deathwing had been defeated but had successfully escaped to Deepholm, the elemental plane of earth.

When Krivax heard that, he was filled with a sense of dread almost as bad as when he learned of the attack on Capital City. In the original timeline, Deathwing had also managed to escape to Deepholm at some point, only to return explosively after being further empowered by the Old Gods. That return had resulted in him tearing apart the world in an event referred to as the Cataclysm, something Krivax had no doubt would kill millions of people across Azeroth if it was allowed to happen.

The only thing preventing him from falling into a debilitating panic was the fact that Krivax had made efforts to prepare for this possibility.

No matter how much he had thought about it, there was never any way to guarantee that Deathwing would be killed before he could escape. Once he had come to that conclusion, Krivax had suddenly remembered that Deathwing wasnt the only being around who could freely access Deepholm.

It had taken a lot of money to convince the Venture Company to go searching through the mountains of Khaz Modan given the ongoing war, but Azjol-Nerub was obscenely wealthy and Krivax didnt find it very hard to quietly direct funds towards research and search for facilities similar to Ulduar in the Eastern Kingdoms. He had almost expected that the general directions he had given them wouldnt be enough, but the goblins had eventually succeeded.

Krivax quickly made certain that he was alone and reached into his spatial bag before pulling out a nondescript scroll of parchment. After taking a moment to carefully unroll the map that had cost Azjol-Nerub a small fortune, Krivax began making plans for his trip to the only Titan facility in the Eastern Kingdoms, Uldaman.

And the meeting with the Keeper that lay within.