Chapter 3: The World Through Immortal Eyes

"Little Lion…"

I had awoken to a putrid stench in the air, abusing my senses and permeating my airways. My throat tightened and my lungs strained as I lay helplessly, mustering what feeling I could find in my body. As I drew strength through my body, I focus shifted to the voice that I had heard and I strained to recall it. The voice itself had been a low groan, boastful and as dramatic as a kaldorei moon well ritual. And even yet, as I failed to recognise it, I felt a sense of familiarity from it as I heard its words.

"Open your eyes…"

Its voice bellowed and shook my soul like an earthquake.

"The light blinds you no longer…"

Perverse. Foulness slithering maliciously into my ears and attacking my mind with no remorse.

My faith, my life, life itself was challenged and I must stand to protect it.

"And now… darkness shall consume your world…"

My eyes shot open.

Teeth

Eyes.

Flesh.

So much flesh. Twisting, pulsating, writing, wriggling, stretching and tearing.

I shut them as tight as eye could, but it was too late.

Lucid dreams.

Monsters.

Nightmares.

Fiends with thousands of faces.

Death.

There must be a name.

How can there be a name for this…

"Your world… is dying"

A second voice, much different in tone to the first. Slow and deliberate, croaking as if from strain to its vocals. I would come to believe that this was a completely different entity, but the nonsense of this strange plain left me sceptical. Perhaps a trick, a means to toy with my thoughts once again.

"The souls of your world… we have always fed upon" the first voiced chimed in, "The fear and regret we have savoured for hundreds of years".

Souls. Consuming souls. Feeding on regret.

It can't be.

Please let it be anything else.

"Apologies, human child" the voice boomed before dryly chuckling, "But your greatest fears have come to pass".

The Old Gods.

"Your despair… the hopelessness…" I could practically feel this malicious entity's thousand smiles, "Delicious…. Ahah…"

"The folly of the light has finally come to an end, and their unearned treasures shall be ours again" spoke a third voice. This voice seemed much deeper and boisterous than the previous two, as it spoke once more "We shall now feast freely on the souls of this world… and finally consume the titan within the heart".

"Do not boast" the dramatic voice lectured with a smarmy chuckle, "It is of no worth here with this single morsel".

Souls.

Fed upon by darkness.

Regrets and fears.

What extent to this could there be.

All souls have fears and regrets… how many…

"Good question, little lion" the deep voice bellowed, "You have begun asking the right questions… for the first time in the service to the light…"

"HARHARHAR!" the dramatic voice howled, "No need to explain it to the human… I have a better idea". A warm gust of wind blew against my body and through my hair, as I could sense the thousands of jagged teeth mere feet away from my face.

"Let us instead show him".

Silence.

A long period of nothing said or heard passed for a moment. I had never felt so alone at any other time in my life than I did here and now for this short while. And what's worse, I can't decide for myself whether I should feel fearful and dismayed by this isolation, or relieved.

As time passed, or what I can only vaguely recognise time as far as my awareness of the realm I am in is concerned, the atmosphere started to settle in. I began listening out for any sound by ears could detect out of instinct, and a certain distant sound soon caught my attentions. A distant song, though somewhat disorganised and random in its shifts and I was driven to listen harder to solve this mysterious cacophony.

How I regret that decision as the sounds eventually became clearer to me.

Screams. Wails and chilling cries of desperation. Pleas for salvation clung to the air and echoed about me.

I tried my best to ignore them in spite of their calling me and their demands for release.

But at some time, and I cannot recall how it came, a certain scream caught my attention about all the rest. The cries of agony grew louder, and I could sense something nearing me as if to entice me to open my eyes and see the cause. The voices became clearer, and I had no option but to recognise who they had belonged to, as I had often heard these exact screams throughout my life.

"Father!"

My eyes flew open and I was treated with a sight.

The sight of which I had never dared to imagine.

My father was there before me.

Tangled and twisted in knots and punctured with razor spines.

And beside him…

"No…"

It couldn't be.

Not her.

Not here.

Why was she here?

Beside her loving husband.

Hovering before her son.

Twitching and writing erratically.

Translucent as a ghost of the past would naturally be.

Why her?

Why here?

"Mother…"

My parents were hovering by me, enduring all manner of unearthly and inhumane torments. My heart was racing and my blood had ran as cold as ice.

"Help us…" a shill and hopeless pair of words were forced through the strained lips of the exhausted and broken spirits of my family. Over and over, the same two words of my family.

I staggered towards them as best as I could, but I could feel the strength in my body disappearing the closer I came to them. My pace slowed as I found myself lowering to the ground, until I was finally on my knees.

Damn them.

Damn them for this.

"One cannot be damned be they damnation" the voices had returned, and the deep voice had remained as cryptic as ever. And all at once, a series of maddening chuckled filled my soul with grief like tainted blood seeping into water to become a chaotic aberration.

"Have you come to understand the truth human?" the dramatic voiced snidely enquired, "This is the cruel truth of the world you live upon". I could feel these dark entities circling me as one continued "Throughout your history, you had believed that the light would spare you from the cauldron of the abyss we call home". "You believe… the light… has abandoned you…" one spoke before I could feel their thousands of sadistic grins upon me, "False… Rhe light… was never there…"

"The truth is" the dramatic voice hissed, "The light never had the power to spare your souls from the void".

"All souls are damned to the void…"

How long…

Thousands of years.

Billions upon billions of deaths for thousands of years.

All of them fed to the hungry bellies of these dark deities.

And we never knew… we never knew…

So many great people, all fighting to do what's right.

All punished.

"You believe the world doesn't deserve this fate?" the voices interjected a second time and questioned my thoughts, "Perhaps the faux beauty of Azeroth has distracted these mortals for too long… it's effected their minds beyond repair" the deep voice suggested. A low series of snickered rebounded about the dark empty space, "Correct. Perhaps now…"

My body fell limply to the ground and my vision blackened slowly. I could feel my very existence shift between plains as I returned from whence I had come.

"Perhaps now… you will see the world through immortal eyes".


My eyes shot open, and it took time for me to focus my eyesight. The blurred mess soon merged into a single consistent picture, but I found myself a witness to a truly grizzly scene before me.

How could this have all happened?

Stormwind.

My beloved home and the home to thousands of good hearted citizens and heroes.

It was barely recognisable amidst the scattered debris and writhing, pulsating masses of otherworldly flesh. And so much darkness blanketed the skies and the land around me that every time of both day and night had merged into one horrendous spectacle of twilight. Merely gazing upon the world before tested my senses to their extremities, and it turned my stomach how could both recognise and not recognise what I boar witness to around me.

I lost all feeling in my legs as I found myself roaming the desolate roadways and passed the crumbled homes of the canal streets. I had no feeling in my face or my arms as I staggered over the strewn debris scarred about me, almost as if my body had accepted the reality of the situation before my mind had. I felt in my heart that even if I had wanted to, there was nothing I could do to change this horrific fate this place had befallen, and that it would be a fool's effort to try.

I had no sense of what strain I had laced o my legs until I had finally arrived before the gates of what was once the mighty Keep of Stormwind City, now in a state to be expected and no longer rouses a response from my worn mind. All the towers crumbled, the main gate left an impassable mess, the once glorious banners of the Alliance now burning and tattered upon the tainted soil. Yet in spite of my submission to this dismal environment, my concerns were rekindled by the thought of the Alliance leaders in possible peril.

I spent some time passing the debris of the keep and made my way through what was left of the halls of the Keep. I staggered around the collapsed walls and climbed the mounds of stone slabs, terrified that my former allies had been buried and crushed beneath the very ground upon which I lay. I needed someone, anyone at all to assure me that I was no longer alone in this struggle and that we could share this chaos as we once did.

"Gearargh…"

I heard a groan from the left, and turned to find a lone figure clawing diligently at the rubble, as if seeking something within. Concluding quite swiftly, I ran over and began aiding him, finally recognising a familiar face. The sight of an elven druid I had earlier scorned was a bittersweet sensation, only to be followed by another familiar voice coming from beneath the rubble.

"Hurry, I can't hold this much longer!"

Jaina Proudmoore.

Within an instant, I found myself struggling against the sheer weight of these stone slabs as I began prying them from their place atop my former companion. Beside me, I heard the roar of a bear and found the stones were falling away at twice the rate they had been before. By a certain time, I could see a glimpse of arcane magic resonating from beneath the stone, and the voice of Proudmoore called from beneath once again.

"Finally, I can lift us out!"

Us?

The others perhaps?

Light be praised that my other former friends had survived this anarchy.

The rubble starts to fall away of its own accord and from the heap rose a spherical arcane orb, undoubtedly enough to fit all the leaders of the Alliance. It hovered pendulously over the both of us and slowly overed to the side of the mound, finally landing on the floor as the dust cleared away with a gust of wind. The clouds settled and the winds calmed as the arcane orb suddenly dispersed and faded into nothing, revealing those who had laid within.

They all stood, cautiously at first but were soon driven by shock and terror of their surroundings, all having their own instinctive response to their current situation. The ladies Jaina Proudmoore and Tyrande Whisperwind were both confused and disillusioned by the destruction that had occurred around them in mere moments, all questioning just how it had happened and what may've been done to prevent it.

Other's had more definite impressions.

"The Keep! We're under attack!" exclaimed Brann Bronzebeard as he readied himself for impending danger, the rest of the leaders following suit. "I see no enemies! Have they left?!" Greymane questioned, Tyrande hastily adding "Who is attacking?! The Horde?!" as she began summoning earthen powers from her palms in preparation. "Anduin!" Gelbin gasped in an uncertain mix of surprise and delight, "What's happened?! We have to find out who attacked us before they can destroy the whole city!"

"The city is already destroyed".

The entire room fell silent.

I could not help but to have no adrenaline in my voice as my colleague have had.

"It is th-"

Before I could finish my sentence, I was interrupted by a sound in the nearby corner of the room, all of our undivided attention upon the source. We witnessed a glowing, purely white like and heard a crystalline sounds, each growing as we watched on and prepared for a potential attack. Thankfully for us, none was to occur as the light slowly faded, leaving a humanoid form that we had all recognised in an instant. A dwarven entity with entirely crystalline features, glowing eyes and a large beard stood before us, though in a less than preferable condition.

"Magni! Brother!" Brann shouted in astonishment, before rushing over to the figure with a mind to offer his aid. But as he neared, Magni raised his hand and waved him to stay away, leaving Magni confused and concerning the rest of us. As we had a spare chance to truly examine Magni, his warning was possibly appropriate considering his visible state. Unlike his typically fluorescent and flawless complexion, his hide had become flawed, dulled and teeming with writhing shadows laying beneath.

"Brother, what's happened to ye?! Are ye alright?!" Brann was beginning to panic, and his fears were not quelled by his spectral sibling's next words.

"Listen friends… I do not have long. I must be quick before… It consumes…" he grunted while retching several times in clear strain. "Azeroth… is dying! The whole world has been infected with the void! The Old… Gods… have… been freed!"

Just as the rest of the leaders had processed what he said and began to feel the necessary fear, they were distracted as Magni's glowing essence briefly faded and slowly returned. "No… she's… in pain! They're… You all have to… save the world! There…. How…" Magni stammered before falling to his knees. "The Old Gods… they're feeding… from the souls of this world. All of them…" he exclaimed in complete disbelief, as if having only learned such dreadful information at this very moment.

"I can't… No, impossible… How…" he strained to speak, "The anger… violence…. Every soul… all are destined… for… damnation… The world will… be… a haven for the Old Gods… all souls… tortured… forever…" Brann, refusing to abide his brother's lonesome suffering, disregarded his warning and sat by his side. "How did this happen?!" Greymane questioned in astonishment, "What caused this?! How could the Old Gods break free?! Why Now?!"

All valid questions.

How have the Old Gods escaped?

How have they taken over the world?

How did they take over the world so quickly?

"Hehheeheheh…"

All eyes turned to Magni as he glanced up towards the rest of us, this voice most definitely not his own. The pain and sorrow in his eyes had vanished, now replaced with a dark and lifeless glare.

"Your efforts have only escalated our success, mortals…" a dramatic and gleefully haunting voice passed Magni's lips, "You have abandoned your salvation for pride and warfare for centuries… and now redemption is unfeasible".

"What are you talking about, creature" Tyrande interjected, earning a mere snort from the dark entity. "No living creature in this world can be salvaged by what light remains… the darkness in their hearts, the will to fight and dominate in their very nature, the lust and hatred that drives their will to survive". It laughed once more before licking his lips in satisfaction, "All to be harvested and consumed for all eternity".

The entity stood and staggered clumsily towards the group "This dwarf is a vessel for us. Just as every void elf had unknowingly allowed themselves to become". "No… you can't mean…" Malfurion stepped back in disbelief and the rest of my friends responded similarly, the gravity and hopelessness of the situation at last truly dawning on them.

"The trillions upon trillions dead from the past sustained our power for eons. We are inevitable, strengthened by the very customs you enforce upon your generations" the Old God taunted, "How can you hope to eliminate us with such faithlessness? So long as the Horde and the Alliance exist, so shall this unavoidable fate". Magni collapsed to his knees as a series of cracking noises resounded across his body.

"So… go forth, mortals… witness the world in its truest form. A world that you had helped to create from its former… heh… 'glory'" the creature pointed at us as small chips of crystal began falling away from his body. "The torture, the pain, the delicious misery and nihilism" it encouraged as a twisted grin formed beneath his flaking beard, "I hope you enjoy yourselves… I know we will".

With that, and a final soul piercing cackle, Magni's body finally surrendered to the strain and, in a dazzling spectacle, shattered and crumbled into a mess of dulled crystal shards.

"Magni!"

Brann was speechless.

By all rights he should have been upset.

He should've cried, wept, at least even hung his head in sorrow.

But instead nothing.

I could see in his eyes only confusion and contemplation, as if trying his best to salve the unanswerable questions that this dark and anguishing event. Had we not been at risk as of this moment, I believe we would've allowed him the chance to mourn his brother's death. But sadly, such luxuries were beyond our reach, I we were forced to lead him away from his brother's remain and make our exit from this decrepit keep.

Through the streets littered with dark creatures and burning buildings, we made our way towards the Gates of Stormwind. My colleagues learned very quickly that any attempt to save the lost soul suffering in the streets proved fruitless, as the entities feeding upon them not only could not be attacked or harmed by any means, but they seemed entirely unaware of our presence and continued feeding. We had truly become witnesses to terror and brutality, but I would argue that it's only because we now no longer had a choice but to witness from now on.

At last, we had managed exit the city and beared witness to what had become of the beloved Elwynn Forest, or at least what remained of it. Wilted grass, corrupted plant life and withered tree trunks littered the hollow landscape. Replacing the lush and lively green vegetation was now as sickly black and foggy expanse, death and decay spreading throughout the land and undoubtedly claiming the lives of the critters and wildlife that once called this land home.

"How much of this… the whole world…" Tyrande stammered as she stood on the verge of hyperventilating, tears welling in her eyes as she watched this beautiful forest as this malformed mockery. "This can't be happening…" Brann muttered under his breath, "Is this really the end of the world?"

A just question.

I stood silently, unaffected by the dreadful sight before me and my fellow leaders remained awed. Greymane snarled and spoke, "She truly won in the end. Sylvanas has brought our world to an end! If we had jus-"

I couldn't take it any longer.

Within an instant, I found myself towering above an incapacitated Greymane, his nose bleeding from where I had truck him in my blind fury.

"Anduin-"

"I swear…. Greymane…" I hissed between breaths, "If I have to hear that name… one more time…"

But as I prepared to finish my threat, a wave of realisation washed over me, several questions likely finding answers all thanks to the mere mention of a forbidden name. As I stepped away from my handiwork, I glanced down at my hand and saw the blood spattered upon it. Even in my anguish, my actions as of now still pained me and a sense of regret and guilt overcame my rage. Me and Greymane stared at eachother for a few moments before he stood up, shock and what I could vaguely interpret as apology in his eyes.

But before we had to worry about such this, I called "Everyone, listen carefully" and my fellow leaders paid undivided attention.

"The Old Gods have taken over the world, but we never stopped to question why they would wait until now" I explained to them. "Alleria spoke to me right before she had Stormwind City destroyed" I continued as they glanced to eachother curiously, "She confided in me that us finding and killing Sylvanas was all a part of the Old God's plan".

"What are you saying?" Brann enquired.

"It can't be a coincidence. They took over the world after we killed Sylvanas… and I believe there must be one reason for them to do that" I stated with a hand raised, "Something about Sylvanas was stopping them".

"Wait a minute. Let me know if I have this right…" Malfurion interrupted me with his hands in the air, "You're saying that Sylvanas might've had a way to stop the Old Gods? A way to stop all this from happening?" I nodded solemnly, "Yes. The Old Gods would've had no doubts about our efforts to kill her" I said as I hung my head and clenched my fist.

"And like barbaric fools, we opted for hate and vengeance…. Just as they had expected".

"Now hold on, Anduin" Genn stepped in and began to lecture me, "You cannot criticise us for these things. We had every right to our justice after what she had done to us". "Justice?" I retched at the very word as it left his lips, "Do you expect me to believe you killed Sylvanas for anyone else except yourself?" Beads of sweat poured from my forehead as I sneered "All of you?"

Genn was silent, unprepared for my rebuttal. Tyrande however stepped forward and questioned "Well, Anduin… We can't just conclude that what you've said is the case. There's just too many things that don't make any sense". Tyrande waved away some of the putrid fog that surrounded us and continued "How can we be sure that Sylvanas was the reason the Old Gods didn't attack?" Alongside her, Brann added "And on top of that; if Sylvanas had a way to stop the Old Gods, why wouldn't she tell anybody?"

"And why would she do so many terrible things if she had wanted to protect us?" Greymane questioned. "Not to mention…" he shook his head and satisfied himself with his conclusion, "She's dead, so any secret she might've had to help us has died with her".

I was left silent, and all I could do was sigh and answer "I don't have an answer for any of those questions… But it's the best opportunity we have to save the world".

"Very well" Tyrande bowed respectfully, "But we cannot resurrect Sylvanas with this world corrupted. My magic will be rendered next to useless with all this". "Indeed. And even my holy powers wane as I remain in this environment" I was forced to admit. "So if we intend to resurrect her, we have no means to do so if we don't have our magic" Malfurion stated, the hopelessness in his tone.

My eyes shot open.

"Not our magic".

All the leaders stared quizzically at me.

"We need the Forsaken's magic" I confirmed, slamming my fist into my hand. "If we can reach the Horde, then perhaps the Forsaken and their Val'kyr can use their magic to help us" I continued, "They used shadow and death magic of this kind all the time. They might be able to revive her… or perhaps even allow us to communicate with her spirit".

Even as I said it, the plan seemed extremely elaborate and ridiculous, and I could sense that the other leaders felt the same way.

But in a rare moment of unified ideals, me and the other leaders simultaneously agreed that it truly was the best possible chance we had.

"Very well then" Greymane nodded his approval and the rest of the leaders stood by him. Jaina approached me and smiled, "I can still use enough arcane magic to create a portal for us to Orgrimmar". I felt inspiration filling my formerly empty heart as our plan came together, but Jaina interjected "But be warned. The Horde perhaps suffer a worse fate, and may not be welcoming our presence". I nodded in understanding, "Perhaps, but that is a risk we will have to take".

All in agreement, Jaina began summoning her portal and spent much of her energy as the rip in space hovered and spiralled before us. "I'll go first" Greymane described, gradually shape shifting into his werewolf form as he stepped through the portal.

I could only pray the other Horde leaders are alright.

TO BE CONTINUED...


Sorry this one took so long. I had procrastinated a fair bit, but I'm glad to finally get this out so I can move on to the later chapters.