In almost the blink of an eye, the "God of Video Games"'s final words flashed through Malone's mind. Then the man—perhaps the only person ever transported to Azeroth—broke into a cold sweat.
Terrified, Malone felt his whole body begin to tremble violently. He didn't even have time to wonder how he could sweat when he was a Death Knight—and therefore already dead.
The Bronze Dragonflight... Malone thought of them.
Charged by the Titans with guarding Azeroth's timeways, the Bronze Dragons—especially their leader, the Bronze Guardian Dragon, the Eternal One Nozdormu—roamed the timeways, correcting every aberrant timeline.
What did his arrival in this world mean to Nozdormu?
Malone thought of something on Earth called a "computer virus." Once people discovered their computer had been infected, most would use antivirus software to scan and clean it relentlessly until the light on the "computer health check" turned green.
As far as Azeroth's timeline was concerned, Malone was the virus, and Nozdormu was the owner of this "computer."
Back on Earth, researchers who studied the plots of the Warcraft games often argued over just how powerful the Bronze Dragonflight was. They never reached a consensus.
But Malone knew they had to be incredibly powerful—at least when it came to someone like him, who carried game elements within him.
He knew he was like a mage from Azeroth suddenly appearing on Earth.
But could he really stand a chance against Nozdormu?
"You said the Bronze Dragonflight would come after me. Does that mean the power you gave me can't handle this kind of trouble? What kind of powerful gift is that?"
Malone challenged the "God of Video Games" in his mind.
"I promised you great power. I never said it would be the greatest power... Besides, you've already discovered that you can level up, haven't you? Your future is full of possibilities!"
The "God of Video Games" seemed rather displeased that Malone wasn't grateful.
So he really could level up again. Malone carefully memorized every word the "God of Video Games" said. He knew it would be especially important as he made his way through this familiar yet unfamiliar Azeroth.
"How do I level up? What level do I need to reach to defeat Nozdormu?" Malone shouted.
"Leveling up... If I told you, it wouldn't be any fun. You'll have to figure it out for yourself... As for defeating that little lizard, I'd advise you not to even think about it. Even if you reach level one thousand, you still won't be a match for him."
The "God of Video Games" was evasive.
"You're saying my arrival has already thrown this timeline into chaos? So Nozdormu will come after me soon? And I have no way to deal with him? Then why did you bring me here? You might as well have sent me straight to my death!"
Malone suddenly felt incredibly frustrated and spoke in despair.
"Don't give up so quickly... Your arrival isn't a problem. I helped you evade Nozdormu's notice. But from here on out... you're on your own."
The "God of Video Games" tried to comfort Malone instead.
"If he finds out... what will happen to me?" That was what Malone cared about most.
"You probably won't be tortured. You'll just disappear, I think? Let me see... Nozdormu will probably erase every trace of you from this world's timeline. The easiest way would be to destroy the body you're in now last night. Then you'd vanish completely—from Azeroth and from Earth. And I'd have to find another mortal to act in my TV series... I mean, to receive divine punishment."
The "God of Video Games" seemed to let something slip, then quickly covered it up with a couple of coughs.
Disappear... Malone silently repeated the word to himself. It was something he absolutely couldn't accept.
"In other words, I just have to stay away from Nozdormu? As long as he doesn't find me... I can always live as a hermit out in the wilderness, right? Surely Nozdormu wouldn't still come after me?"
Malone felt he'd come up with a brilliant plan. It would dash his hopes of making a name for himself in this world, but at least he could stay alive.
"Is that so? Maybe... But have you ever heard of the 'Butterfly Effect'? You're a butterfly like that now. As an anomaly in this world, even every breath you take could change the timeline far into the future..."
The "God of Video Games" didn't commit one way or the other.
"And about living as a hermit... Hey, let me ask you something. If some nameless nobody suddenly went missing from the long river of history, would that affect how history unfolded?"
The "God of Video Games" suddenly asked a question that seemed wildly out of place.
"How should I know? What's that got to do with me?" Malone replied irritably.
"Doesn't matter to you, huh? One more friendly reminder: this Orc Death Knight named 'Maicomarlon' really did exist in Azeroth's history. Of course, you don't know what he did or what impact he had. I know, but I'm not telling you... If you go off and live as a hermit, might that change something too?"
The "God of Video Games" said something that shocked Malone.
He really existed? Malone shivered instinctively. But he'd read every official Blizzard novel and comic, and none of them mentioned a Death Knight named "Maicomarlon."
To keep the timeline from changing at all, he would have to perfectly replicate everything Maicomarlon had done throughout Azeroth's history. But that was impossible. He had no idea what Maicomarlon had done.
Which meant... from this moment on, whatever he did, something would change. Whether those changes would affect Azeroth's timeline was now up to fate.
Now that was the real Butterfly Effect... All Malone could do was hope that he was a smaller butterfly, then smaller still—ideally, smaller than a cell, or even an atom...
"Looks like I've finished passing on all the information. You should understand now what kind of punishment this is, right? Despair isn't the worst punishment. The real point of this punishment is to make you live in the narrow space between a faint hope and constant fear! All right, foolish mortal, that's the end of my friendly advice. I'm changing the channel now. It seems a few others like you have survived in other worlds. I'm going to see what happened..."
As before, the "God of Video Games"'s voice grew fainter and fainter, until it vanished completely from Malone's mind. No matter how he called out or shouted, there was no response.
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