"Kel'Thuzad, it really is you."
Medivh gritted his teeth in hatred. This was his lifelong enemy, Kel'Thuzad, who rose from humble beginnings and repeatedly clashed with the noble Medivh, always gaining the upper hand.
Kel'Thuzad chuckled and said, "Medivh, with me here, do you think you can still go back?"
Medivh's expression tightened, then a mocking look appeared on his face:
"Kel'Thuzad, you've miscalculated. The Focusing Iris is in my hands; I possess virtually unlimited mana. Your little tricks are useless against me."
Although this is a parallel dimension of Azeroth, with Medivh's abilities, as long as he Focusing Iris in hand, it's not difficult to distort space and connect to the Ley Line.
Kel'Thuzad shook his head. "Medivh, you're too confident. What makes you think there's only one Focusing Iris?"
With a flick of his wrist, a gem appeared in Kel'Thuzad's palm— the Focusing Iris.
Medivh was taken aback; how could there be two Focusing Iris fragments? He looked at Kel'Thuzad with suspicion.
"That's impossible."
Kel'Thuzad said calmly, "It's true that the Focusing Iris is Titan-forged, and our abilities are inferior to the Titans', but imitation is always much easier than invention."
Nothing is absolute; while the Titan-forged were exquisitely crafted, they were not impossible to replicate.
The Focusing Iris in Kel'Thuzad's hand was a replica, Medivh clearly sensed that it was even better than the genuine article in his possession.
Damn it!
Medivh felt a surge of emotion. The Scourge possessed the technology to replicate the Focusing Iris, and their plan to control the Ley Line using the Focusing Iris had failed. Karazhan could no longer monopolize the Ley Line.
"Kel'Thuzad, you'll never catch me."
Medivh knew his advantage; his teleportation spell was slightly superior. He immediately opened Portal and escaped.
This is a complete parallel universe, as vast as Azeroth, and Medivh was teleported thousands of miles away.
Kel'Thuzad, wielding the replica Focusing Iris, quickly located Medivh and opened Portal to give chase.
Medivh fled for his life, with Kel'Thuzad in hot pursuit, and the two of them wasted time in this way.
In Theramore, Jaina was frantic. The day of the meeting was fast approaching, and there was still no news of Kalecgos.
Left with no other option, Jaina was teleported to the Nexus, the settlement of the Blue Dragonflight.
The gates of the Nexus were tightly shut, with layer upon layer of magical shields activated. The Blue Dragonflight was on high alert, refusing all visitors.
Jaina, having failed to enter the Nexus, sensed something was amiss and guessed that something might have happened to the Focusing Iris.
The Blue Dragonflight should have been perfectly safe escorting the Focusing Iris, so who made them act as if facing a formidable Blue Dragonflight?
Several answers flashed through Jaina's mind, which she rejected one by one.
Even someone as intelligent as Jaina didn't anticipate Medivh's involvement.
Jaina returned to Theramore, barely managing to muster her strength, and announced that the meeting would be postponed; the situation was currently unclear, and they could only wait.
When the news first spread, everyone remained calm.
But just three days later, Thrall, who had recovered from his injuries, was the first to come to protest.
Thrall cautiously stared at Tirion Fordring beside Jaina, and shouted, "Jaina, you need to understand, apart from that treacherous the Destroyer Garrosh, the leaders of the Alliance and the Horde are all here. Time is precious. I need to save Azeroth, and everyone has things to do. You shouldn't waste everyone's time."
Jaina remained unfazed, seemingly full of confidence. "Thrall, Orcs have very weak magical talent. If you don't want the Ley Line, you can go back. Nobody's forcing you."
Thrall was furious and threatened, "Very well, Jaina, you'll regret this."
Baine Bloodhoof, who had never dared to reveal his true identity, secretly found Jaina at night:
"I've been away from Thunder Bluff for too long, Garrosh is bound to have suspicions. Jaina, I hope you'll tell me the truth: when will the Ley Line be allocated?"
Jaina remained calm and simply smiled, "Baine, you've always been a good friend of mine. To tell you the truth, I can't please everyone, so I resorted to this method. Those who can't wait can just leave; patience is key to getting a satisfactory share of the Ley Line."
Baine was delighted to hear this and chuckled good-naturedly, "Tauren are always very patient."
Patience is not a problem for anyone; it's just that some people won't wait idly by.
King Varian ordered SI:7 to secretly investigate the whereabouts of the Focusing Iris.
Aemora wrote to her uncle Brann Bronzebeard, suggesting that the Explorers' League pay attention to the Focusing Iris.
Sylvanas used the Goblin trading network of Trade King Gallywix to gather information about the Focusing Iris.
Lor'themar ordered his people to open the Sunwell to investigate the changes in the Ley Line.
Malfurion fell into a deep sleep, attempting to uncover the truth within the Emerald Dream.
The Prophet Velen meditated indoors, trying to glean fragments of the future from the chaotic visions.
While Jaina appeared calm on the surface, she was inwardly panicking, knowing she could no longer hide the truth.
The Prophet Velen was the first to receive the enlightenment, so he sought out Tirion Fordring. The two discussed the matter for most of the night, after which Tirion Fordring met with Thrall. It is unknown what price he paid, but the two reconciled and became friends again.
Tirion Fordring came to Jaina and loudly protested, "Jaina, you can't fool everyone! The Focusing Iris has been stolen!"
Jaina, still hoping for a miracle, said without changing her expression, "Tirion Fordring, it seems your promises were all lies. You can leave Theramore anytime. Goodbye."
Tirion Fordring's face twisted in a grimace as he sneered, "Jaina, you can't hide it from me. The Holy Light told me that the Burning Legion stole the Focusing Iris and sent it to Argus Planet. The Holy Light is absolutely infallible. I'll tell everyone the truth now."
Jaina still wore a smile, though her knuckles were slightly white.
Tirion Fordring and Velen left Theramore, and then King Varian visited, saying as politely as possible:
"I'm sorry, Jaina, I must take the fleet with me. Anduin is a stubborn child who never listens to me, and I can't persuade him to marry you. If you are willing to marry me, Stormwind City's doors are always open to you. I hope this won't affect the friendship between Stormwind City and Theramore."
SI:7's intelligence network is vast. Jaina guessed that Varian must know something, so she no longer hid it and asked:
"Your King, has SI:7 discovered anything? We would be extremely grateful if you could inform us of anything."
Varian nodded. "A few days ago, a Dwarf airship encountered Kalecgos in Northrend and accidentally injured him. SI:7 followed the trail and found Kalecgos recovering. They didn't disturb him, but it's certain that the Focusing Iris isn't in his possession."
"I specifically instructed Kalecgos to escort the Focusing Iris."
Jaina was in a terrible mood and secretly blamed herself for entrusting such an important task to Kalecgos, knowing he was more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything.
Varian kindly warned, "Be careful of the Horde; they will definitely not let this go."
After the Stormwind City fleet left, Jaina felt as if she had lost her anchor, and was filled with anxiety every day.
Surrounded by admirers, the goddess, high above all, suddenly falls to earth.
The worst happened: Sylvanas, along with leaders of Horde tribes, launched an attack on Jaina.
Antonidas said with deep regret, "Jaina, I was so wrong about you. I shouldn't have taken you as my disciple back then."