"You are... Her Majesty the Queen?" Elisande looked surprised, then immediately denied it. "Impossible, Her Majesty the Queen's appearance is flawless, she is the most beautiful woman in the world."
The blurry image of Azshara in the candlelight sighed softly, "Elisande, you have seen my true face. It was a false lie that deceived you. Once you have mastered powerful magic, does appearance still matter?"
With powerful magic, she could create any appearance she desired with ease; appearance became unimportant. Elisande shook her head vigorously; she had actually overlooked this simplest truth.
"What exactly happened ten thousand years ago?" Elisande murmured, the long-standing question having planted a thorn in her heart, causing her lingering unease.
By candlelight, Azshara spoke with deep resentment, "Ten thousand years ago, the Highborne committed acts of god-slaying. I taught you the magic of time so that you could help us at this crucial moment, but you have disappointed me."
Elisande was stunned for a moment, then cried out, "No, it wasn't my fault, it was the Eye of Aman'Thul!"
Although she had forgotten that memory, she could guess the reason for her decision, and said with certainty, "The Eye of Aman'Thul must have given me a bad prediction, yes, that must be it."
Queen Azshara nodded solemnly:
"That's right. The Eye of Aman'Thul prophesied that we would all die. After the Sundering, the Corruption Highborne underwent the most brutal Metamorphosis, a rebirth after death. Those who failed in their Metamorphosis are still trapped within the bodies of the Naga. Perhaps you can find my remains among the Naga in the deep Naga; she is still alive."
Elisande had thought the Highborne had become Naga, but it turned out that it was merely a shell left behind after the Metamorphosis.
"Your Majesty, how are you all doing?" Elisande's eyes were filled with tears.
"We've had a very hard time," Queen Azshara said softly. "Having lost our home, we've come to understand the cruelty and ruthlessness of the universe, how powerful civilizations mercilessly exploit the weak. To survive, we've paid a heavy price, including our Night Elf form. If you saw us again, you certainly wouldn't recognize us."
Ten thousand years have passed. What has become of the Highborne, who have been wandering far and wide? Elisande hates that she cannot be with the Queen, and she feels a pang of regret.
"Out of my longing for the Night Elves, I have secretly helped you more than once. But now, our bond is broken. The master of the Eye of Aman'Thul has appeared. Elisande, your Destiny is in your own hands. You must make a choice. This time, it's up to you."
The image of the Queen in the candlelight vanished with a snap, and no matter how much Elisande prayed, she would not reappear.
"Could the owner of the Eye of Aman'Thul be Illidan Stormrage?" Elisande pondered the meaning behind Queen Azshara's words, "History may be false, but Illidan must have had dealings with Queen Azshara. I understand now, this artifact was left for Illidan, which is why Queen Azshara secretly protected Suramar City."
"Perhaps, submitting to Illidan is the only path to Redemption for the Nightborne." Elisande made up her mind. She secretly left the Nighthold, attempting to find Illidan and swear allegiance to him.
Elisande's every move was under Robbie 'Eye of C'Thun's surveillance. Due to a lack of understanding of the situation, Elisande made a wrong judgment, and Robbie how to deal with it.
The Black Cat standing nearby was unimpressed; Elisande's decision was exactly what it had anticipated.
"Elisande relied too much on the Eye of Aman'Thul, which is why he lacked judgment. Of course, the wisdom of each being is limited, and judgment is not always correct. Elisande acted arbitrarily, treating Suramar City as his private property, deciding the Destiny of the Nightborne without even a single companion to consult with. How could he not fail with such actions?"
"Let's steal the Eye of Aman'Thul," Robbie suggested. "We absolutely cannot let Aman'Thul obtain the artifact he forged himself; it will greatly increase his power."
"Stealing it is a good decision, but not the best way," the Black Cat laughed. "We need to act in the shadows and not let Aman'Thul realize our presence, otherwise he will definitely be on guard. My suggestion is to tamper with the Eye of Aman'Thul and secretly install a backdoor."
Robbie thought to himself, "Tampering with the Pillars of Creation is not something that can be accomplished with ordinary technology."
The Black Cat spat out the golden disc again and handed it to Robbie: "Take this disc, transform into Elisande's appearance, and swagger into the Nighthold. Then, make contact with the Eye of Aman'Thul, and you'll be done. Aman'Thul possesses the power of time and can foresee the future. Only you can do this without being discovered."
Robbie nodded, convinced it was a good idea.
Elisande wielded immense power; she was the supreme queen of Suramar City. Robbie, disguised as her, faced no obstacles along the way, and both nobles and commoners had to give way.
Robbie entered the Nighthold without hindrance, into the secret chamber where the Eye of Aman'Thul was placed.
After completing the Black Cat's task, Robbie noticed a red candle that was half-burnt.
This was an artifact used by Elisande to communicate with Queen Azshara, undoubtedly made by the Highborne. Robbie noticed a blurry cat paw print on the bottom of the candle.
As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows, Aman'Thul has many hiding places, all built deep underground, in places where moonlight cannot reach.
Wounds like severed arms and slit throats are not difficult for a Titans; he can recover simply by resting.
Aman'Thul recovered from his injuries, opened his eyes, and was surprised to see Xal'atath packing his things.
"Are you leaving here?" Aman'Thul asked, frowning.
"I not only want to leave this dark rat hole, I want to leave you forever." Xal'atath looked at the man before him with a mocking gaze. "Aman'Thul, look what you've done. One Elisande has made you lose your temper. This isn't the Highfather I know. It seems ten thousand years of imprisonment have made you less composed."
Aman'Thul had to admit that ten thousand years of soul torment had changed his mentality. If it were the Aman'Thul from ten thousand years ago, he would have chosen to endure Elisande's annihilation of the hard-trained Withered, rather than jumping out to fight him.
"I have endured this for ten thousand years," Aman'Thul said bitterly.
"Yes, so you're risking your future." Xal'atath's sarcasm deepened. "Sooner or later, Elune will discover that something's wrong with this Illidan. Can't you just be patient? Once we're on Argus Planet, in a world without Moon Goddess's watchful eye, you can unleash your full power."
Xal'atath looked at Aman'Thul seriously. "It wasn't shameful for you to be defeated by Maiev back then."
Aman'Thul retorted, "Maiev's victory was just a coincidence."
"A coincidence, who knows? Perhaps Maiev, like Illidan, is also a combat genius." Xal'atath packed his clothes and belongings into a bundle, slung it over his shoulder, and left with his last words before parting:
"I remember ten thousand years ago, Illidan cut off one of your fingers."