On a distant planet.

Illidan returns to the Seat of the Pantheon once again. A millennium ago, he had been there before to fulfill his purpose in life. He defeated the Burning Legion and with the help of the Titans, the greatest enemy of Azeroth was contained: the Destroyer of Worlds, Sargeras. Illidan spent the next thousand years guarding his cell, or rather, torturing him. What pulled him away was his desire to again use his power and defeat another threat. After searching many worlds to find one worthy of him, he landed on the planet called Earth. Unbeknownst to him upon arrival, it was the land without magic. His vision was much different than that on Azeroth. Here, he saw what he later learned were auras, surrounding the inhabitants. It took him a while to get used to, but he learned to live with it. After all, he still had his source of magic. Once again Illidan was the most powerful being on a planet, a planet that this time had never seen a creature of his kind. Most feared him. Illidan enjoyed that.

He became a bounty hunter, and spent the next century hunting across the planet. That was when he met Eden. She lived in an especially dangerous town which he came to realize not soon after arriving. His eyes sensed the evil intentions of others; the blackened hearts of villains. Illidan had never seen a town so destroyed by misdoings. He made it his mission to cleanse the town of evil, unaware that something more important there awaited him.

Now, he returned to Sargeras for answers. Why, in his thousands of years of living amongst others, had he not been able to see a single person, until now? With Sargeras being the source of the fel energy in him, he knew no one else could give him the answer he sought.

—

On Earth

My mind whispered to me the fact I didn't want to face: I might not see Illidan again. It had been only a week, but that was long enough to know he didn't care for me. I heard talk in town of the bounty hunters disappearance. Crime rates had already increased again, and I feared what would come of us in the next week. I suppose Illidan didn't just affect me after all. I told myself there was something between us... but it must have only been the delusion of love from a teenage girl to a strange demon. Still, I couldn't help the feelings that lingered. Regret for not stopping him. Sadness at his departure. It was a never-ending cycle of negative feelings that hit me.

Sunday came around again; It was the only day we closed. I knew I had to do something to get my mind off of him, but I couldn't. Instead the only thing to do was keep my mind on him. I would learn everything I could about Illidan the demon hunter. Hopefully, this would give my mind peace. The only place I knew to start looking was the tavern by the docks, which garnered many travelers and traders from across the world. There must be someone there who has information about him.

"I hear you search for Illidan."

I spin around from the bar I was currently facing, and see a man covered in a hooded robe. The dank lights hid most of his face. I'd arrived at the bar and questioned a few men, who were all wildly drunk even though it was only five in the evening. No one could tell me anything, so I went to the bar to see if an underage girl could buy a drink. The answer was no, but that didn't stop me from batting my eyes at the man behind the bar. He was quite ugly for an older man, but that didn't deter me. I had forgotten all about the encounter as I found myself intrigued by the person before me. His strange attire was certainly something of note. "Searching for information," I respond.

He leads me through the bar and to a quiet corner with an empty table, and sits across from me. Removing his hood, he stares at me in silence. His look was not an unordinary one, in fact quite forgetful. Middle age, white hair, wrinkles, brown eyes. He finally speaks. "What will you give me in return for this information?"

I raise my eyebrows at him. "What do you want? Money?"

He shakes his head and looks down. "I deal with information. What can you give me?"

I think for a moment, but can't imagine what information I could have that he doesn't already. I decide to say, "Well, my name is Eden and my family runs the bakery in town."

He gives me a blank stare. I had no other information to give him, though, so I stared back. I couldn't explain it, but it was as if his eyes were reading my deepest thoughts. I felt vulnerable. If it was true, I needed not to tell him anything. "You know something about Illidans disappearance," he says. I wondered how he knew. Perhaps he was a mind reader after all.

Though I didn't know why he left, I can only assume it had something to do with me. With what happened last time I saw him. I didn't know what it was, but something went wrong. I guess I never should have let him touch me at all. I concede and reply, "I think it had something to do with me. But I don't know why he left or where he went. That's all I know."

"No it isn't. What happened with Illidan?" He presses me again and I grow exasperated. Was it really worth what I would get in return?

Tired of the conversation, I yell, "I don't know anything! He simply touched me and then ran off. I haven't seen him since then." I fold my arms together and watch him, waiting to see if my information was good enough.

"Ah, indeed," he nods and closes his eyes. He reopens them and looks at me again. "And what information are you seeking on Illidan?"

"Everything," I reply.

The truth was I didn't know what exactly I wanted to hear. I knew only that I couldn't forget him until I truly knew who he was. If there was anything that would help me, it would be what this man knew. Judging by our conversation, there was more behind his facade; this was no normal man.

He sighs. "The tale of Illidan Stormrage is a long one. I can tell you what is most important."

"I want to hear everything you know," I insist.

"I'm afraid it is not my place to tell you," he counters. I stare in shock. For a purveyor of information, he sure was holding back. "However I can tell you what you most wish to know. May I begin?"

I contemplate my options. No one in town could know more than this man, I never even knew that Illidan had a last name until now. I suppose I didn't need every single detail about his life right now, but mostly I could tell the man wouldn't give it up to me. "Very well," I reply. I would just have to get the rest of the information from somewhere else.

He clears his throat. "Illidan was born on a planet called Azeroth. In his youth he studied the magic in nature, but he craved more power than was given to him. In order to defeat a threat to his world, Illidan did what no other could," he paused and looked at me. "He sacrificed everything, and became what he hated most."

"A demon?" I interject.

"Illidan became something much greater than a demon, in the end."

"He was born a human then?"

"Illidan was born a night elf. Now..." he trails off and looks away.

"A night elf?" I think back to his long pointed ears and purple-tinted skin tone. It was plausible at least that he was telling the truth about that part. However, I had never heard of any way to travel through space from Earth. It was a curious thought. The whole story in fact sounded like just that: a story. There was no magic I knew of, or elves, or demons. Forget traveling between planets, this story was too much even for me. "If he was born on another planet how did he get here?" I ask. I desperately wished for Illidan to return so I could understand.

"Azeroth is much different than Earth. There are ways that the people here couldn't even dream of."

I begin to think this man is joking with me. Even if it was the truth, he was giving me a small fraction of the story. I sigh. "This is all the information you will give me?"

"I will tell you one more thing." I lean in closer to hear him over the rowdiness of the bar, as his voice suddenly gets quiet. "He will return," the man smiles and gets up from the table.

"What? When?" I ask desperately before he can walk away. If he was right about Illidan, he could certainly guess when he would be back.

He bends down closer and says quietly, "When you need him most."

"Wait-" Then he walks off into the crowd that surrounds us, and I lose sight of him. I didn't even get his name. I stayed, and thought long about what he had told me. The more I repeated it to myself the more I believed it. Illidan was alien after all. He was an elf from another planet, who saved everyone. He must have been called a hero there; It made me wonder why he would leave. Earth was definitely no better than a place that contained magic, elves, and space travel. The man was right though, after all. He told me what I most wished to know: I would see Illidan again.

—

Seat of the Pantheon

"Sargeras," Illidan seethes with rage as he approaches. He fought his whole life to destroy him, and succeeded. Yet the sight of the Burning Legions leader still caused him these emotions.

Sargeras is not surprised by Illidans return. In fact, they shared part of a soul. He knew Illidan could never truly leave his side. His desire for the hunt wouldn't let him. He would always return, no matter how far or to where he traveled. After all, a hunter is nothing without the hunt; Illidan knew that most of all.

"Why have you returned?" Sargeras teased him. Illidan spent a millennium 'torturing' him, it was impossible that something else could shake his desire for vengeance and power more than Sargeras himself. He was the one to gift Illidan with the power of spectral sight in the first place. Some might say he was the cause of his descent into madness. Whether Illidan was mad already was the question to be answered.

"Do not play with me demon," he raises his voice and scowls. "It was you who gave me these eyes, now explain yourself."

To Illidan, it was absurd. He'd been in contact with thousands: elves, demons, and humans. None allowed him to see a person as he saw Eden. He saw her eyes... as green as the Emerald Dream. Her hair a dusty brown that reminded him of the broken world of Outland and it's rocky terrain. Skin pale as any of his demon hunters, and every freckle that covered it. The dress she wore that covered her arms fully but not her chest. He almost didn't believe the sight before him when he touched her, he reached out again. As soon as he let go the image faded. When he touched her again, it was as clear as day. Her worried expression that she had done something wrong. The only thing wrong was what Sargeras had done to him. Why torment him and give him this curse disguised as a gift?

Illidan agonized over how he hadn't been able to see his brother, or the women he once loved. Since losing his sight, he had touched both of them before yet nothing happened. Certainly this was a malediction from Sargeras meant to confuse him. What other meaning could there be for him being able to see one human? She was neither close nor important to him. He fostered a vague interest in the mortals on Earth, mostly in how they lived their short lives. Eden seemed to be wasting it sitting on a roof. He merely took the chance to gain intel on them, yet it escalated into more. He lost sight of his original interest in humankind and focused it into one girl. None of that however should have resulted as it did.

"What are you going on about?" Sargeras laughs at the torment Illidan endures. In fact, he already knew why Illidan came and had the affliction he did. It was just fun to see his distress and anger.

"Why can I see a human girl!?" He shouts so loudly it shakes the room; Sargeras roars with a wicked laughter in return. "Answer me demon!"

"That girl Illidan," Sargeras leans forward in his prison and smiles maniacally. "Is your soul mate. I'm surprised to learn you still have a soul that is partially your own." He enjoyed torturing Illidan in return, and seeing the reaction on his face made it worth it. Illidan couldn't believe what he just heard. It was impossible what Sargeras suggested. He grew even angrier at the thought, for the one women he loved so long ago he could not see after losing his sight.

"You are lying!" he bellows in return. "I have no feelings for this mortal, yet Tyrande who I loved for ten thousand years I was unable to see?" he looks down forlornly at his lost love. He had not thought about her in so long, yet the memories couldn't fade so quickly. She grew up with Illidan and his brother, Malfurion. In the end, she chose Malfurion, yet Illidan couldn't let go of her. His feelings were misguided and unshared yet he couldn't understand why he was not able to see her then.

"Tyrande?" Sargeras loses his humor and glares angrily at him. "How could you be so weak Illidan? That night elf never shared your feelings. To think you would torture yourself for ten millennia and reminisce over your brothers woman... you are truly weaker than I believed. And now, to have your soul be intertwined with a humans," Sargeras booms with laughter. "An immortal and a mortal..." he trails off, wanting to anger Illidan further. This was better torture than any he faced during the last thousand years.

Illidan couldn't believe the words Sargeras said. His love was indeed irrational, but he didn't see it that way. All he saw was a lost love who he tried to impress with power and cunning multiple times, yet all failed. His brother was her chosen one from the beginning. All he did was for not. Yet the words still hurt him, to think she didn't care for him once. Even when she set him free from his prison after ten thousand years, it wasn't out of love, but for his power. To destroy the demons once again. Illidan fell to the floor in a flurry of emotions. He slammed his weapons onto the floor and they pierced the silence between the two demons. His anger almost consumed him. He knew Sargeras had no reason to lie to him, so what he said was the truth. Indeed, Illidan had left Azeroth in the first place because despite everything he did to save their world, he was still seen as the Betrayer. The title he earned so long ago was impossible to lose. He did what no one else dared to, but he always served himself first. He became who he was because of his lust for power and desire to impress Tyrande, but most importantly to save their world. But everything he did was still wrong to them, even though it was all for the greater good. They never saw his reasons, only condemned him. Imprisoning him, and then banishing him. Ten thousand years to think only of Tyrande. It was a fate worse than death.

Finally, he looked upon Sargeras again. "I do not understand. How can a human be my soul mate? Your soul lives inside me alongside mine."

Sargeras is amused by Illidan. It was true, because Sargeras once planned to use Illidans body for himself. When he burned out his eyes he gifted him a part of himself with it. For Illidan to be able to love again, it meant Sargeras' soul inside him was weakening. The demon within him would never disappear, but for now it seemed to be well-hidden. "To think," his voice booms and echoes throughout the room, "you've become so weak Illidan."

He seethes with rage at Sargeras' comment. Though deep down, he knew he was no longer both the Betrayer and savior of Azeroth. He left those titles behind when he went to Earth. At least there, someone cared for him. Eden. "I am weak?" Illidan retorts. "You are the one imprisoned here, never to wreak havoc upon another world again." Venom drips from his words but nothing he could say fazed Sargeras. After all, he was a titan once and the most powerful being in the universe.

With Illidans departure from Azeroth a thousand years ago in order to become the jailer of Sargeras once the Titans imprisoned him, he sent farewell messages to both Malfurion and Tyrande. He truly did care for both of them, no matter what they did to him or how they perceived his actions. He had forgiven them. Even in the end, they didn't care. Illidan seemed to mean nothing to them. Tyrande even questioned Illidans words, whether he ever truly cared for her. His own brother called him selfish and refused to forgive him. He gave his departure no second thought. It was Malfurions job after all, as Archdruid, to see to it the planet healed after the demons were defeated. Yet his duty had blinded him. Illidan knew how they felt about him, which gave him no ties to Azeroth anymore. It didn't matter. His one purpose was always defeating the Legion. Yet, it was difficult to go through life when no one cared about you. He, who sacrificed everything: his brother, the woman he loved, his soul, and his mind, while others gave nothing. It was a heavy burden to bear.

"Come now, Illidan." Sargeras draws him from his thoughts and Illidan stands again. "One day I will be free, and you will be the first one I destroy."

Illidan agonized over how he could return to Earth with this new information. To see Eden again after knowing their fate... it was a cruel punishment. Illidan never imagined he would love another as he did Tyrande, and yet he learned that his soul tied him to a woman he just met. A human, worst of all. How was it possible for a mortal and immortal to be together? Sargeras had a point in laughing at him; it was implausible. There must be some way to gain immortality in this land without magic. Eden after all had confessed to him that she desired immortality for herself. Illidan wondered if he could even subject her to the cruelness of it. To live forever meant to suffer, at least to him. Yet he knew something must be done. Rather, he thought, he could bring her to Azeroth and turn her into a demon hunter like himself. Illidan had much to contemplate.