Robbie, who was not far away, was secretly surprised. This was the first time he had ever heard of a dragon needing to Metamorphosis.
There happened to be a Dragon right next to him. Robbie looked at Krasus and saw a completely bewildered expression on his face.
"Don't look at me. I don't need to Metamorphosis, and I've never heard of any other dragons needing to Metamorphosis. I don't know about the Dragon King, but look at Malygos, Nozdormu, and Ysera— they all had problems, didn't they? I guess they need to Metamorphosis too?"
Robbie's expression was indifferent. With a flick of his wrist, an image appeared in his palm: the rotting Dragon that had rescued Uther was soaring among the mountains. It was enormous and undoubtedly the Red Dragon Queen.
Do you believe what Nekros said?
Krasus hesitated for a moment. "Nekros didn't lie, but I don't know if he was deceived."
Robbie held his breath and pondered for a long time before saying, "We saw the Red Dragon Queen in human form through Rhonin's eyes, and now there's another Queen in corpse form. What does this mean?"
Recalling the information he gleaned from the three Dragon King Aspects, Krasus considered a possibility:
"You mean, one of them is my queen, and the other is Ancient Evil from the Maw?"
Robbie said earnestly, "That's probably the truth."
This concerned the Queen's life or death, so Krasus in human form paced back and forth anxiously, and after thinking for a long time, he finally said:
"The first question to address is: have I been facing the Red Dragon Queen, or the Ancient Evil?"
"What do you think?" Robbie asked.
Krasus, his thoughts surging, resolutely declared, "I believe it's the Queen. Over the past ten thousand years, the Queen has made concessions many times, such as with Medivh and his mother. I've seen the Queen grit her teeth in hatred more than once, but unfortunately, due to her lack of strength, she could only choose to endure. If it's that Ancient Evil, it shouldn't fear the Guardians."
If the Red Dragon Queen had been controlled by Ancient Evil long ago, she should have acted with more impunity.
Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that Ancient Evils are very good at acting.
"In other words, the Ancient Evil was hidden within the Red Dragon Queen, and the two only recently separated," Robbie concluded.
Krasus was deep in thought, "Four years ago, the Queen started getting involved with the Dragonmaw Clan; something must have happened."
Four years ago, in the sixth year of the Dark Portal, according to official records, the Dragonmaw Clan captured the Red Dragon Queen Alexstrasza.
That year, the Kingdom of Alterac betrayed the Alliance in order to protect itself.
That year, Gul'dan entered the Tomb of Sargeras and was killed by the mad Demons hiding inside.
Anduin Lothar was killed in battle, Horde Warchief Orgrim of the Warchief was captured, ending the Second War.
Robbie couldn't figure out the connection yet, as there weren't enough clues.
Robbie stared into Krasus's eyes. "Can you tell which one is the Queen and which one is the Ancient Evil?"
Krasus, after all, was one of the Red Dragon Queen's consorts, so he should be familiar with some of her habits, mannerisms, and their little secrets.
Robbie had high hopes.
Krasus said with a pained expression, "I'm sorry, the Queen has many strong consorts. I am the Queen's youngest and smallest consort, the one who is marginalized, the one who spends the least time alone with her, and the one who knows the least about the Queen."
"Yes, why didn't I think of that before?"
Robbie suddenly realized that in this tragedy, besides Krasus, the Red Dragon Queen's companions had all been captured.
Could it be that Ancient Evil killed them to cover it up?
"Come on, we have to go see your rivals," Robbie said resolutely.
Krasus is the fourth and youngest consort of the Red Dragon Queen; there should be three consorts hiding in the mountains.
Having gained Nekros's trust, Rhonin is a very useful pawn, and Robbie secretly activated a spell.
Having defeated Uther, Rhonin was utterly exhausted. Upon returning to the cave, he could only walk with the help of Vereesa, and eventually collapsed into a deep sleep on a bed covered with animal hides.
In his sleep, Rhonin strolled into the barrier of Flames. A Passageway he hadn't noticed before appeared, and Rhonin curiously walked inside.
Inside the spacious cave lay a massive Red Dragon, its size comparable to Deathwing's. The terrifying visual shock instantly jolted Rhonin awake.
Rhonin suddenly sat up in bed, his whole body drenched in sweat.
Vereesa lay on the ground beside the bed, with an animal skin spread beneath her.
Even in her sleep, the Elf girl remained vigilant, her pointed ears twitching intermittently.
Admiring Vereesa's alluring curves, Rhonin suddenly wondered: where did those Dragon Eggs behind the Flame barrier come from?
The Dragon in the dream must be one of the queen's consorts.
Not long after waking up, Rhonin was summoned by the Red Dragon Queen again.
Nekros, wielding the Demon Soul, led the way, guiding Rhonin through the barrier of Flames.
Along the way, Rhonin pointed to the haphazardly piled Dragon Eggs and asked, "Are these all eggs laid by the Queen?"
Nekros laughed, "No mother is willing to entrust her children to another. The Red Dragon Clan has many mother dragons, but only the Queen's egg is qualified to hatch in the Wyrmrest Temple."
Rhonin understood the implication. "So, these Dragon Eggs were laid by other female dragons."
Nekros nodded. "These Dragon Eggs were hidden in the warehouse of the Wyrmrest Temple. They originally had no chance to hatch, but Her Majesty the Queen retrieved them to help us. However, even if they hatch, they will not be recognized by the Red Dragonflight."
"This is truly tragic!" Rhonin thought to himself, realizing that even Dragonkin have social classes.
The Red Dragon Queen remained in human form, a smile playing on her lips, "Rhonin, you did well. Defeating Uther was beyond my expectations. By the way, you saw it, that rotting Dragon."
Rhonin remained silent, waiting for what would follow.
The Red Dragon Queen paused for a moment, then said, "The Dragon Aspects are different from other Dragons; they must undergo a Metamorphosis every three thousand years. This Metamorphosis occurred four years ago. I Metamorphosis in the Flames deep within Blackrock Mountain, but the disturbances from the Tomb of Sargeras interfered with my Metamorphosis, making it lengthy. When I completed my Metamorphosis, an Orcs happened to pass by carrying a skull exuding Evil aura, and the Metamorphosis Corpse gained sentience and escaped."
Nekros added, "That skull is Gul'dan's skull."
Rhonin's mouth dropped open in astonishment. "The soul inside the rotting Dragon is Gul'dan?"
The Red Dragon Queen said sullenly, "It could be Gul'dan, or it could be Demons from the Tomb of Sargeras, so I need your Holy Word?"
Rhonin scratched his head. "Your Majesty, it's not that I'm unwilling to help, but the Holy Word has limited effectiveness; it can only work on creatures of similar size to me."
The Red Dragon Queen smiled and said, "It's alright, my eldest companion Talanastrasz, will help you."
Nekros led the way, and through the familiar Passageway, Rhonin saw the Dragon from his dreams.
Despite being somewhat prepared, Rhonin was still deeply shocked by his terrifying size. Talanastrasz looked quite well, his thick scales shimmering with light.
My specialty is magical amplification.
Talanastrasz's voice was amiable and gentle, disproportionate to his massive size.
A cluster of crimson scales appeared on the chest of the old Dragon, indicating that it had a habit of collecting shed scales; each scale was large enough to cover Rhonin.
"I will envelop you in scales to protect you from harm. When the time is right, we will fight together for the Queen."