Chapter 1:
FINALLY!
My desires will come to an end today. I will be able to achieve the last of the virtues. In only a few hours I will be more powerful than ever imagined.
I will be able to transcend death!
I will become a god!
Those fools of the Forgotten Shadow... They don't take a chance like this even if it lies right before their eyes? Those idiots just make me laugh!
Compassion?
What nonsense!
They don't know half of the things they are teaching to their followers!
They preach about power and the mastery over death itself. They envision how these are the things that lead you to a new level of existence, whilst equally paying your respect to those powerful enough to challenge you.
They tell you that you have to follow your goals with tenacity, but they also talk about compassion? They have no idea of what they are saying!
But why should I bother with them any longer? I reached the place where it will all end, the Plaguewood in front of Stratholme, only minutes ago on my Dreadsteed.
Its whole body of this beautiful mount is covered with scales glistening in a tone of onyx. It has two large spikes on each of its sides and seven horns adorn the head of this majestic yet demonic creature. Its mane consists completely of fire and from his eyes and nostrils flames emit all the time. Its hooves ablaze, it leaves a trail of embers behind it with every step it takes.
If you are not used to it, my mount may be a fearsome appearance, but it definitely is not the one you should be wary of...
I dismiss my fell steed and make my way over to the teleport by foot.
The last snicker of my horse is ear-piercing as always.
I don't summon any demon to my side. They are of no use to me anymore. I found my ways to take the power that I want from them without depending on their aid. They are so weak..., pathetic creatures clinging to their masters of the mortal realm. Anyhow... soon enough I will be able to dominate all of their armies on a whim.
The robe I'm wearing is of a fiery red with various accents to its appeal. Around the chest it has a violet to purple coloring, as if you are looking directly into a dying flame devouring wood. My shoulder pads resemble the wings of demons or bat-like creatures, maybe a Nathrezim. Together with the gloves they are also matching this same kind of color toning. It is only because of a rather small opening within this regalia along my arms, just between the robe and the glove where my bones are actually visible, that you might see that I'm not amongst the living any longer.
The color of my skin has taken on a wan green, just as well as my hair too.
The light brown sky high above me, I can only think about how long it's been since I was here for the last time. Those giant mushrooms are just too funny. I always have to laugh when I see them emitting their spores into the atmosphere, churning them out relentlessly.
The undead in this area feel my presence. They should be attuned to this kind of pressure after all.
They fear me.
I look around as I walk the last few steps towards the teleport, even the more powerful banshees retreat when I approach. I focus my sight on one of them, might as well have a little fun.
With a short gesture of my hand the banshee goes up in flames shrieking in a high pitched voice as her essence is being devoured by fire. I turn around and keep on walking. The banshee behind me is wincing in agony.
"Worthless underlings..." I speak to myself loudly enough so she would hear it. Without looking back I raise my hand. The fire spell on the banshee explodes, leaving nothing but mere ashes of the undead creature to be claimed by the winds. I somehow expected more from them, leaving me to only hope that these warriors of the Scourge down here are merely the cannon fodder of the army. It would be disappointing to be able to eradicate the whole of Naxxramas on my own.
A grim smile comes onto my face. Yet again, I already feel a powerful entity. He, she or ... it is definitely stronger than I am. He overshadows the rest of them completely, except for one. There is a group of four almost equally strong people, but one of them stands out. With the potential he hides he could smash the other three within seconds. I will assume they are his followers for now. Everything else would make no sense. The only thing I don't quite understand is that it feels like I should know this person. Amongst the rest of Naxxramas' servants there are quite a lot that are somewhat equal to me. Yet if I get what I search for, I will surpass them all with ease.
They will all be my tools so I can reach my goal. I'm sure it will take some time, but it will be worth it. And once when I am strong enough, I can escape this world. Nobody will be able to demand an account from me any longer. I will finally be free from the shackles. I don't care what I have to do, but I will not rest until I'll have reached my goal.
Freedom
That is what I truly desire.
Yet I can only achieve this with power in this..., in our world.
I come to a stop in front of the teleport to the necropolis named Naxxramas.
I look up to the sky. There it is, floating high above the Plaguewood and the ruins of Stratholme. It is an envoy of the end to come. And soon I will be a part of it.
The teleport itself looks like a little pyramid with all four sides missing. I enter the strange little structure and without delay the floor underneath my feet starts glowing in a faint, yet extremely cold blue light. It only takes seconds until I feel being pulled up to somewhere. I close my eyes for the duration and only a second later when I reopen them, I find myself already up in the necropolis. Most of the inhabitants should have surely noticed me at least now. Although I am quite sure that Kel'Thuzad already knew when I would arrive after I had entered the plaguelands.
I take a careful step out of the blue glowing circle into the dark room that seems to be the, well... entrance hall of Naxxramas. I take careful a look around and find nothing much in here except for four gateways leading off into the unknown halls of this place. The one I'm standing in front of is decorated with a lot of skulls. There are three sources of power within it, two users of magic and a third one indefinable. All three of them are quite equal to me.
The second of the gateways is full of spider webs, nothing interesting in there. I can only sense animals and a warlock, though no match for me.
I walk on towards the third gateway. I can already see the abominations from afar. Those giant lumps of undead flesh are quite hard to miss in all honesty. I don't sense anything in there... probably it is filled with undead creations that use no magic, but only their brute strength.
As I reach the gate to the fourth wing I feel a tickling from deep within. I know this feeling only too well. Everybody in there is incredibly powerful. My hands are already starting to shake. I want to know who they are. My whole body begins to tremble even more. I WANT TO KNOW! A pair of gigantic wings appears out of my back. They have a bright yellow color that changes to orange and violet after a few seconds. Sadly it's only an illusion. An image conjured up by the very robes I'm wearing every time it overcomes me - the urge to kill. Around me the light grows fainter, it turns darker because the wings absorb it. I want to see blood, no matter whose! I want to hear them scream in pain!
Stronger than me? HAH!
I want to know who they are so I can kill them with the pleasure they deserve when I finally meet them! I want to see how they suffer. My eyes are widening.
I want to taste their blood!
My bloodlust is abruptly stopped, swallowed up as a whole the moment I hear a strange clicking noise from the other side of the hall. The wings on my back also disappear instantly. The clicking slowly draws nearer. My senses are still numbed due to the six sources of immense power behind me. So I guess I'll have to find out the old fashioned way, who that might be, approaching me so full of such ignorance. Listening closely from which side the clicking is coming from, I also start drawing closer to it on my own. After a few steps I can already spot the reason for the noises. It is hard to miss...
What on earth is this? The creature reminds me of an oversized beetle. Its whole body is covered with some sort of blue plates, maybe it really is chitin. It even has two pairs of wings, although I hardly think they would enable this monstrosity to fly even only a foot. It is about twice as high as I am and it has a rather long body with four thick legs attached to it. Its arms are small and shaped more like claws than anything else. On his head it proudly wears a jagged horn.
It comes to a stop about five feet in front of me.
"Greeeetingz, Warlock." The voice is somewhat similar to the one of a human with a few minor differences in pronunciation. "My Mazter iz awaiting you."
I did not expect that this oversized scarab would be able to talk, maybe this thing isn't just a vile beast after all it occurs to me.
"My Mazter tellz me that you zhould be careful what you think, Warlock." The creature stands still in front of me, but only a split second later one of the sharp claws of it only misses my head by a few inches, slightly grazing my cheek leaving a shallow scratch behind.
That thing is fast, but I suppose it will not be able to take a lot.
"My name iz Anub'Rekhan, I am a nerubian crypt lord. Be aware that I am ztill your enemy if you keep inzulting me." He seems to have a fair understanding of honor at least. Fine by me...
"My apologies, crypt lord, I'm just not used to talk to giant beetles." I bow slightly in return to his greetings. More of a mocking gesture than anything else. "Now then.., take me to your master! I long to see him and I don't like to wait for no reason...!"
I know that I sound agitated and annoyed, after all I still don't think this insect would be able to keep up with me.
Anub'Rekhan or what he called himself emits a strange humming noise for a short moment then he starts walking. "Follow me, Warlock." He goes past me and turns into the quarter I stood in front of last. Immediately my thoughts jump back to something else, how I want to meet that person that overshadows everyone else here. I can't resist and follow the giant insect leading the way.
We enter the first hall of this wing, large and small cages littering every free inch of it towards the sides. Three skeletons are working at a giant black anvil on the right side of the room. The whole thing has another exit in the back, from where you can hear a lot of voices and the sound of weapons striking against wood.
The crypt lord leads me to one of the bigger cages on the far left side of this place.
"My mazter told me that you zhould wait here, until he zummonz you." The nerubian opens the door of the cage and pushes me into it with one swift movement. It was too fast for me to react accordingly. I didn't have the chance to respond to it at all.
"There iz alzo zomething to eaze your luzt for blood for you..." In the right corner of the cage another undead is sitting, his head hanging low. The jaws of the crypt lord flutter for a moment, the sound coming from it reminds me of distorted laughter.
I land on my knees, but get up quickly again, not giving in to the shame of having been caught off guard. That thing really is faster than you would expect. A mistake I won't make a second time. The crypt lord then turns around and makes his way out of the hall.
"I hope that beetle will get what he deserves for this impudence. Throwing me into this cage... Pah!" I mumble to myself. "Insolent bastard! As if a mere cage could hold me back..." I call out but the nerubian shows no further reaction.
The undead in the corner raises his head slightly. "Cursing won't help you in here, friend." The rags the Forsaken is wearing glisten in a light blue, matching his skins blue tan.
"Don't you dare calling me a friend ...! You're nothing more than an ant I would crush underneath me." I hate it when people talk to me as if they knew me.
"My apologies..." The undead replies cold hearted. "Nevertheless now you also lie to the mercy of the Scourge. And that is quite a grim future to have." I just turn away from him. I won't be here for long. I'm sure of that. "And judging by your looks, I can tell you as a fact, I might not know what these cages are made of, but magic won't help us to get out of here." The Forsaken looks to the locked door. "I tried that myself often enough." Yeah right, as if someone as pathetic as him would be able to escape from here. "But if it calms you down I can safely tell you that in these cages they keep only the ones the still 'need' for something. The ones that they look at as worthless are directly taken to the abomination wing as 'raw materials' or by the death knights on the lower floor for training purposes..." The forsaken turns his head to me. "Therefore we should both feel lucky."
I wonder what use the Scourge wants to make of this wretched undead. I sense that he is able to use magic but not pretty well. Is it about knowledge or maybe something completely different?
"I was caught by a group of necromancers when I tried to study the aftermath of the destruction of Stratholme regarding the former inhabitants." Here he goes again, talking, talking, talking... without being asked or given my permission. "In short: I tried to study whether there are ghosts in the city or not, to bring an end to the rumors." He lowers his head again. "Oh my, we haven't even introduced ourselves properly yet. My name is John Chillsbane. They caught me about half a week ago." From the corner of my eye I see how he offers me a fake smile. "Now... may I know who I am talking to?"
I don't know if I should answer at all and actually it's outrageous he didn't hear of me by before.
"I definitely know that you are stronger than the one wearing those robes before you. They are one of a kind in our world, but you surely know that. I knew their former owner. Maybe not too well, but I knew him nonetheless." He turns his head away from me. "But why did you have to kill Blarus Whitrick?"
"Because..." I turn around my voice raised. "...He was a meritless insect, not worthy to wear a robe like this. You said it for yourself... It is one of a kind." I shrug. "So I figured it should be in the hands of someone who is able to make full use of its potential." I lean against the bars of the cage.
"I see..." This is the only response of Chillsbane. His words are emotionless. But after about a minute he looks at me again. "May I know your name now?"
His words sound a bit like mockery in my ears.
"My name? It's a shame you haven't heard of me before... Or is it merely your own ignorance? Ceberus is my name."
"Oh, oh yes. I thought so. I just wanted to reassure myself by hearing it coming from your lips."
"Stop mocking me or I will silence you forever!" It bursts out of me in a fit of rage, two giant wings appearing out of my back. Yet they disappear again as soon as they touch the top of cage. I take a step towards him with open arms ready to cast any spell I could think of.
"If you want to kill me, go on! Do it! Get it over with and end my torment in this cage! You won't feel any satisfaction! I know the likes of you well enough and you want to see your enemies suffer... and you know that I would have to endure far worse things when I have to sit here and wait for the mercy of the Scourge. Go on! Free my wretched spirit!" He yells at me as I stand in front of him hesitating. I know only too well that he is right with the things he is spewing out at me.
"Besides...," Now his words have turned calm again. "...you won't be able to use any magic in here anyways."
"What?" To hear this only feeds my anger.
"I told you, I don't know what this cage is made of, but it suppresses magic, that's for sure..." He shakes his head slightly.
I try to create a ball of flames in my hand, usually it should be about twenty centimeters wide, but it doesn't even manage to reach a single one. Think for a moment, I make up my mind that I should just go for it. Concentrating for a few seconds beforehand, I then put all my effort into it. Normally half of the room should be swallowed by the sphere of fire by now. Yet it seems to be limited to about ten centimeters in total. Whatever this material is, it drains magic and it does so fast. I let the orb disappear with a certain feeling of unbound helplessness to it. But it soon gets pushed aside by the drained out feeling now residing in me. I'm not sure, I really don't know anymore but I guess it's been roughly a year or so since the last time I felt this way.
Again I find myself leaning against the corner of the cage trying to come up with what to do now, yet I already have the distinct feeling that I have no other choice but to wait.