At the dinner party that evening, when the completely transformed Antonidas emerged from the Portal, Deren's wine glass clattered to the floor.
"This... is Master Antonidas?" Deren's eyes widened as he sized up the handsome middle-aged man who looked to be no more than forty years old. The man was wearing an elegant dark purple suit, his silver hair was neatly tied back, and even his gait exuded youthful energy.
Jaina, suppressing a laugh, pulled Deren aside. "Don't be surprised, Master isn't old at all. The Longevity Magic in Dalaran just makes him look older. You know, when I became his apprentice, he already looked like this. It seems like he hasn't changed in over ten years. That's the effect of the Longevity Magic."
"This is amazing. It seems to have something to do with Time Magic?" Deren asked with a smile.
Jaina nodded. "Not entirely. Life-extending spells keep bodily functions at a minimum, slowing down the aging process. Of course, Time Magic would be even better. My teacher, Aegwynn, partially mastered Time Magic, using hibernation to halt the aging process."
"After all, if a time-stopping spell were applied to oneself, it would mean being unable to do anything and only entering a deep hibernation. That's why she lived for so long."
Onyxia asked curiously, "Since Deren asked the Moon Goddess to restore her youth this time, will she be able to live for thousands of years again?"
Jaina shook her head. "It's hard to say. Elu's Blessing isn't something magic can be easily understood. My teacher said she's still adapting to her new physical state. Her mana level has also recovered to about half of its peak. But whether Longevity Magic will be effective for Elune's Blessing in the future still needs to be explored. But after all, there are still hundreds of years. She said she'll enjoy her rejuvenated body first."
Chromie couldn't help but interject, "These Archmage are truly amazing; they can even invent life-extending methods comparable to the Time Magic spells of the Bronze Dragon. The Aspect Dragons, for tens of thousands of years, haven't made any progress, and have even regressed considerably."
Deren sighed, "Mortals have short lifespans, so they seize every moment, either researching and learning or teaching and passing on their knowledge. Look at Aegwynn recently; before she regained her youth, she was frantically imparting all her knowledge to Jaina. That's why mortals, once they acquire extraordinary power, can quickly develop even more powerful civilizations."
"And Dragon, these Long-lived Race born with super strength, have no pressure to survive, and therefore no motivation to progress. The High Elf, too, have relied on the magic of the Sunwell for thousands of years without making any progress. When the Undead broke through their defenses, they offered almost no significant resistance. Their close relatives, the Night Elf, are the same; for thousands of years, they seem to have developed no more advanced civilization, and instead prioritize protecting the forests above all else."
The Black Dragon suddenly thought, "My dear, what about your lifespan?" The Black Dragon was also Long-lived Race, while Deren was just a mortal.
Deren shook his head, indicating that there was no need to worry, Jaina, meaning that he had his boss, Azeroth's Star Soul, backing him up.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she chuckled and clutched her stomach tightly with both hands. Jaina asked, puzzled, "What are you laughing at? Is it something rude?"
Deren laughed while taking deep breaths to calm himself down. He wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and said, "I just thought of something really funny, so I couldn't help but laugh."
"Honey, what funny thing have you thought of this time?" Onyxia, who was sitting next to me, leaned over and asked.
Deren chuckled and replied, "I heard a similar story. It tells of a hero who defeated evil and saved the world sixty years ago. Now he's old and spends his days sitting by a waterfall teaching his young apprentices. But when the world needs him to fight again, he becomes young and strong once more. The secret? It turns out that the power of the gods limits his heart rate to only 100,000 beats per year, exactly the same as an ordinary person's daily rate. So, while he's sat by the waterfall for sixty years, it's equivalent to an ordinary person only experiencing sixty days."
Jaina's eyes widened in astonishment. "Such miraculous power? It's quite similar to Longevity Magic. Where does this story take place?"
Deren wondered how he knew about the amazing abilities of Gold Saint. There was no way to explain it, so he vaguely replied, "Don't ask. Anyway, this didn't happen in Azeroth."
Jaina didn't ask any more questions, but her beautiful eyes stared at Deren thoughtfully, as if she were pondering something.
Black Dragon tilted his head, probably thinking about the "severe torture" he would be subjected to that night.
In the dining room, Antonidas was attentively pulling out a chair for Aegwynn, and then magically pulling a napkin embroidered with stars from his sleeve and placing it on her lap. When the Dragon Maid served the cream of mushroom soup, he immediately rushed to ladle a bowl for Aegwynn and carefully blew on it to cool it down.
"This..." Deren's lips twitched. "He's pursuing Ms. Aegwynn?"
"Obviously," Jaina rolled her eyes. "Ever since he returned to Theramore from the Karazhan library and met his rejuvenated teacher, Aegwynn, he's thrown away all the ancient texts he was studying. Now he's spending all his time figuring out how to date Aegwynn."
Suddenly realizing something, Deren lowered his voice in alarm, "Wait, how old is Master Antonidas this year? Is he married?"
"Based on a normal human lifespan," Jaina counted on her fingers, "It's roughly equivalent to over eighty years old, but magic makes his lifespan at least twice that of an average person, so could we consider him forty? He didn't marry when he was young, intending to dedicate his life to magic. But now, it's clear that Teacher Aegwynn is the magic and companion he seeks in his heart."
Suddenly, Aegwynn's hearty laughter rang out from the other end of the table. Antonidas had conjured a violin out of nowhere and was playing " Starlight Serenade " with great emotion, while Aegwynn rested her chin on her hand, her eyes gleaming with mischief.
"Did I...?" Deren swallowed, "Accidentally ignite some terrible spark?"
Jaina patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Congratulations, Theramore is about to witness the most passionate twilight romance in its history."
In the corner, Chromie was frantically writing something on the Hourglass of Time, her face flushed with excitement. "This has never happened before on the Timeline! I'm going to record this in the annals of the Bronze Dragon!"
Onyxia leaned back lazily on the sofa, sipping her wine, and commented, "More than that, I'd like to know if there's anything impossible that could happen in your Timeline, back when Deren was around!"
Moonlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, casting a silvery glow over the absurd yet cozy dinner. No one noticed the glint of starlight in Jaina's eyes, a faint smile playing on her lips as she watched the young, ancient guardian and the most powerful magic bomb master of the day, their affections overflowing.
First update