In the Blackheart Thicket, the dark sky hung low, seemingly within reach, as a bear with blood-red eyes coldly scrutinized the intruders.
Robbie walked straight ahead, ignoring the plants and animals around him that were being corrupted by the Nightmare power. Krasus carefully followed behind Robbie.
There were no obstacles along the way; the Treant made way for them, and the animals kept their distance, allowing them to reach the deepest part of the Blackheart Thicket without any hindrance.
"Why didn't Xavius come out to stop him?" Krasus found it unbelievable.
Robbie made up an excuse. "Because I'm Xavius's creditor."
"He owes you money?" Krasus asked in surprise. The Blood Elf in front of him was a very wealthy man who had once provided a quarter of the Horde's military expenses. He had heard that even the arrogant Thrall had to treat him with respect.
Robbie made up a story. "Garrosh found the remains of Mannoroth, who died alongside his father, and made a pair of shoulders from his tusks, you know that, right?"
Krasus nodded. "I've heard that this has become standard equipment for Orcs, and countless tusk shoulders have been copied in Orgrimmar."
Robbie calmly said, "Xavius was envious and wanted to have a pair of shoulders made for him, so I helped him collect materials and invited a famous designer to create a pair of deep red shoulders. Xavius was unable to repay his debts and would avoid me whenever he saw me."
Krasus truly believed that money was a good thing.
Deep within the Blackheart Thicket lies a dark, ethereal opening, seemingly leading to a dark Abyss.
There are three ways to enter the Emerald Dream: sleep, a dream Portal, or dimensional travel magic.
"This is the entrance to the Emerald Dream, the dream Portal. Prepare yourself and imagine yourself as the strongest creature you have ever seen."
Krasus closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, "Alright, I'm ready."
The two entered the Emerald Dream one after the other.
Robbie's appearance had not changed; he still looked like Blood Elf.
Krasus, on the other hand, underwent a dramatic transformation, becoming a gigantic worm covered in sharp teeth, silently floating in the air.
"The Otherworldly Giant Worm." Robbie frowned. Could this be the most terrifying creature Krasus had ever seen?
Krasus explained:
"I don't know where this giant worm came from. Once, when our Red Dragonflight was foraging near Nazjatar, we were driven away by a giant worm. Even my queen was no match for it."
The Otherworldly Giant Worm, N'Zoth's elite guard, Robbie didn't say anything, but Krasus asked curiously, "Why haven't you changed?"
"With money, I am the most powerful," Robbie said confidently.
The two walked through the Emerald Dream, where Krasus confidently declared that the Emerald Dream was created by the Titans to represent the oldest form of Azeroth.
Robbie disagreed, pointing to the sky of the Emerald Dream:
"Look, there are stars, a sun, and a vast array of plants and animals, maintaining a primitive and savage state. I suspect it existed before the Titans appeared; it could very well be the twin worlds of Azeroth."
"You're right, the Emerald Dream is as ancient as Azeroth; the Titans merely opened the portal between the Emerald Dream and reality."
A venomous snake, as thick as a bowl and multicolored, was coiled around a tree branch, speaking in a human voice, staring intently at Krasus.
Krasus, who had transformed into the Otherworldly Giant Worm, was much larger than the snake, but he felt a familiar power.
"Who are you?" Krasus asked.
The serpent flicked its tongue and said, "I am you, Krasus. If Azeroth hadn't been corrupted by the Old Gods and transformed by the Titans, you would be exactly as I am now."
Krasus was bewildered, looking at the snake with some fear.
"Don't believe it; it's Serpent of Lies. Dreams can be deceiving."
A crisp voice rang out; it belonged to a Dryad, with the upper body of Elf maiden and the lower body of a robust deer, carrying a jade-green spear.
"Please follow me, the Queen has been waiting for you for some time."
The Dryad led the way, and Krasus asked with concern, "The Dream Queen, is she alright?"
"No, she must lock herself in the deepest part of the Nightmare to avoid going mad," the Dryad replied.
It seems that Ysera, like the other two Dragon Kings, was on the verge of madness, but thankfully a solution has been found.
Krasus replied hesitantly, "I cannot enter the depths of the Nightmare."
The Dryad turned around and glanced at him:
"It's alright, we'll go see Il'gynoth; the Queen will contact you through him."
The Dryad stopped in front of a giant tree. In front of the tree was an open space from which grew large and small eye stalks. The eye stalks shot out beams of light that intertwined to form a blurry scene—an indescribable dark Void in Void a colossal creature lurked.
This creature has nine heads, and each head has an Evil Eye between its eyebrows.
Krasus had seen the Hydra in the sea, but this monster was different from the Hydra. Her body had layers upon layers of wings, as if nine Dragons were overlapping each other.
Robbie speculated that this was likely one of Ysera's Nightmare's ultimate forms.
"Korialstrasz!" Ysera's familiar voice rang out, and the middle head rose. "For your queen, are you willing to sacrifice everything?"
Krasus replied firmly, "I do."
"You still don't understand the meaning of sacrifice," Ysera said regretfully. "It includes losing your morality, conscience, life, and the future of the entire Red Dragonflight. For your Queen, you lived like Demons, unhesitatingly destroying the world, just to see her smile, to fulfill her wish, sacrificing everything."
Krasus said painfully, "I love the Queen, but I also have my bottom line; there are some things that cannot be crossed. I don't understand, what exactly happened?"
"It all started with the fight against Galakrond," Ysera said with a self-deprecating laugh. "Only in this state am I truly awake. My memories rise and fall like the waves of the sea. Once I leave the depths of the Nightmare, I forget everything that happened today. That's the most terrifying thing. The Titans gave us power, but they robbed us of our right to know."
A blurry image appeared: a Dragon with two heads, its claws wielding a black dagger, forcefully cleaving the sky.
"That dagger is...?" Krasus looked at it, but couldn't quite place it.
"The Xal'atath, Blade of the Black Empire," Robbie said coldly.
"Yes, yes, it's that dagger! My God, what happened?" Krasus asked, trembling.
Ysera sighed heavily, saying with lingering fear, "Galakrond was too powerful. Many of my comrades paid with their lives. To defeat him, one of my teammates risked opening the Shadowlands, creating a portal to the Maw."
Robbie remembered the words "The Maw" carved on the stone mask.
"What have you all done?" Krasus asked anxiously.
"We released a deeply sinful and wicked soul from the Maw, an indescribable Ancient Evil. He helped us defeat Galakrond, but secretly possessed one of us. Later, the five of us received the Titans's blessing, and we naively believed that the Titans couldn't be wrong and that the possessed dragon wasn't among us. So we joined forces and wiped out our other comrades from that great war, as well as their race. But we were wrong; even the Titans can misjudge."