Deren continued slowly, "You believe that accepting Titan Power was betrayal. But look at it from another angle—what if none of the Proto-Dragons had accepted that power back then?"
"What if all of you had fiercely resisted the Titans' order? Facing Titan Watchers capable of imprisoning Old Gods and reshaping continents, what do you think would have become of the Proto-Dragons? Would you have been 'persuaded'? Or would you have been completely 'cleansed,' like those primitive creatures that failed to meet the requirements of 'order'?"
He watched Raszageth's reaction. Seeing her enormous body tremble slightly and the crystalline spikes on her back flicker uncertainly, he knew his words had struck a blind spot.
"Perhaps—I'm only saying perhaps," Deren said, a note of speculation entering his voice that somehow made it even more unsettling, "the Aspect Dragons accepted that power and became some of the Titans' representatives on Azeroth not merely to gain strength. Perhaps—it was also a compromise. A buffer."
"They stood between you and the Titan Watchers. Even during the later war against you, despite the enormous casualties you caused, their final choice was merely to seal you away rather than completely destroy you."
He drew a deep breath, suppressing the tight pain in his chest. "Have you ever considered that if your Primal Incarnates had truly achieved an overwhelming victory back then—defeating or even killing every Aspect Dragon—what would you have faced next?"
Raszageth opened her mouth, but no sound came out at first. For the first time, unmistakable confusion appeared in her huge dragon eyes, along with—
A trace of barely perceptible fear.
Deren did not wait for her answer. He gave her the cruel answer directly. "You would have been exposed directly to the gaze of the Titan Watchers. Without the Aspect Dragons as an intermediary