Nightmare Power

Kalei calmed his mind and followed the crowd into the hall of the Temple of the Moon.

As he reached the entrance, an indescribable stench assaulted his senses. The deeper he ventured, the more pungent and stinging the odor became, to the point where his exposed skin began to prickle with a faint, stinging sensation.

He furrowed his brows, recognizing the presence of a dark power, though he could not determine if it was fel or shadow.

The people inside the hall clearly sensed this power as well.

Some ordinary villagers stayed for a moment, but unable to endure it, they retreated one by one. In the end, only Kalei's group, the village chief, Salomon, and a few other professionals remained.

The group walked to the center of the hall and stopped, where thirteen wounded individuals were laid out side by side.

Beside the wounded, a young priestess was busy bending over her work.

Hearing the commotion behind her, the priestess looked up, caught sight of the group, and her face lit up with joy.

She bowed to them, then stepped forward to take Laria's hand, saying, "By the Goddess, sister, you have finally arrived."

Laria smiled and asked, "Lilin, what is their current condition?"

Priestess Lilin released Laria's hand and replied, "Their external wounds are not severe; after my treatment, their conditions have stabilized, but the wounds refuse to heal due to the influence of the dark power."

Laria nodded slightly, then walked over to one of the wounded. Ignoring the filth and the stench, she uncovered the bandages to inspect the wound carefully.

After a moment, Laria nodded and said, "You have done well, Lilin; you have slowed the progression of their injuries as much as possible."

Lilin replied, "It is my duty, sister."

Laria proceeded to carefully examine the status of several other wounded before standing up and asking, "Why are they all in such a deep sleep?"

Lilin sighed, "At first, their consciousness was clear and their sleep cycles were normal. But as their injuries worsened, they became increasingly lethargic. Some have been asleep for a day and a night without any sign of waking. I suspect... this is related to the dark power within them."

Laria nodded and asked, "The villagers had several skirmishes with those Satyr; there should be bodies of the Satyr, right? Where are they?"

Upon hearing mention of the Satyr corpses, Lilin's face turned pale. She steadied herself and said, "It is strange. After those Satyr died, their bodies quickly turned black and rotted. Fearing that these piles of corpses would spread a plague, I purified them with water from the Moonwell and had them burned."

Laria closed her eyes in contemplation for a moment before telling the group, "You all should head out first; do not disturb the patients' rest. Lilin, Kalei, you two stay."

The others followed the instructions and slowly retreated, leaving the spacious hall feeling much emptier. Only Laria, Lilin, Kalei, and the pile of lethargic patients remained.

Only then did Lilin turn her gaze toward Kalei, asking curiously, "And who is this?"

Kalei responded politely, "Greetings, Priestess Lilin. I am Kalei Nightdew, you may call me Kalei. I am here to assist Priestess Laria in investigating the Satyr incident."

A flash of surprise crossed Lilin's eyes, followed by a look of confusion. "Are you a druid? But I seem to sense the Goddess's power within you..."

Kalei had yet to reply.

Laria gave a light cough, cutting off their conversation. "The two of you, now is not the time for pleasantries."

It was clear that Laria did not want Kalei and Lilin to continue talking.

Kalei understood immediately; although Laria knew his identity, she did not intend to make it public. This suited him perfectly, as he had no desire to attract unnecessary attention.

Sensing Laria's attitude, Lilin felt curious but did not press the matter further.

Laria looked at the two and said, "I have just examined their wounds. It is not the fel power of demons, but the power of shadow."

Neither Kalei nor Lilin felt surprised by this.

Clearly, for the Night Elf who had long suffered from the demons of the Burning Legion and the Satyr, the dark powers of this world—whether fel, shadow, or the death energy that had yet to appear on a large scale—were not unfamiliar.

Laria continued, "Ordinary shadow energy can be purified using the power of the Moonwell."

"But the energy within them is different. A portion of the energy that invaded their wounds has already transferred into their souls."

"I do not know how this was achieved, but I know that this energy requires constant mental resistance. This struggle exhausts them, forcing them into a deep sleep."

"What is more terrifying is that I have discovered they are trapped in a state of nightmare while they sleep. The nightmare causes the negative emotions in their souls to grow, which in turn further increases the shadow energy within them."

"Once the shadow energy in their bodies exceeds a certain limit, their bodies will undergo a horrific transformation."

Kalei listened carefully to Laria's analysis. Upon hearing the word "nightmare," his heart stirred, and he thought to himself, Could this "nightmare" refer to the Emerald Nightmare?

He knew that in the world of World of Warcraft, the Emerald Nightmare was a massive catastrophe that plagued the Night Elf and the Green Dragonflight.

The primary culprit behind the Emerald Nightmare was the Satyr lord Xavius.

Xavius was originally an advisor to the Night Elf queen Azshara during the ancient era, before being twisted by the leader of the Burning Legion—the Dark Titan Sargeras—into a goat-hoofed, half-demon creature.

During the War of the Ancients, Xavius was killed several times by the Night Elf archdruid Malfurion.

However, this fellow was like a cockroach that refused to die, resurrecting every time he was slain.

When he died for the last time, although his body was destroyed, his soul survived and entered the Emerald Dream.

The Emerald Dream is a mirror world of Azeroth.

Regarding the origin of the Emerald Dream, some say it was created unconsciously by the world-soul of Azeroth while it slept, while others claim it was created by the Titan keeper Freya, who used the power of the Life Titan Eonar to shape it based on Azeroth.

Regardless, the Emerald Dream overlaps with the main world of Azeroth and is inextricably linked to its safety.

For many years, the Emerald Dream was guarded personally by the Dragon Queen of the Green Dragonflight.

Yet, no one expected that 4,500 years before the opening of the Dark Portal, an evil mineral known as Saronite would appear on the continent of Azeroth.

The tree-obsessed Night Elf Fandral Staghelm, in an attempt to purge this mineral, cut several branches from Nordrassil, the World Tree connected to the Emerald Dream, to plant new World Trees in various locations.

One of the World Trees, known as Andrassil, was planted on the Northrend Continent in the north, its roots extending downward until they finally touched the prison holding the Old God Yogg-Saron.

The Old Gods are terrifying entities skilled in the use of shadow power and possess an extremely potent ability to corrupt.

Thus, Yogg-Saron channeled his power through Andrassil and into the Emerald Dream.

Xavius, who had been hiding within the Emerald Dream, came into contact with this power and was transformed, becoming a lackey of Yogg-Saron once more.

For thousands of years, Xavius has been using the power of Yogg-Saron to corrupt the Emerald Dream.

Having suffered too many defeats at the hands of Malfurion in the past, this fellow acted with great caution this time, keeping the growth of the Emerald Nightmare under control so that it would not erupt on a large scale before the opening of the Dark Portal.

Consequently, the Green Dragonflight, who guard the Emerald Dream, and the druids who assist them, remain unaware of the true state of the Emerald Dream to this day.

They only know that a nightmare exists within the dream and regard it as a natural part of the dreamscape, unaware that this nightmare is the very source of corruption and is linked to the Satyr lord Xavius and the ancient Old God.

Kalei, however, knows that a portion of the Emerald Dream has already been corrupted.

Should he report this news?

Setting aside whether those in power, including Tyrande and Malfurion, would accept the absurd notion that Xavius is still alive.

Even if they believed him, how would he explain the matter of the Emerald Nightmare?

How could he, a druid who has spent years in the countryside and only recently reached adulthood, know so much?

Moreover, as far as he knows, the current leader of the Night Elf druids, Malfurion, is still in slumber, and the one responsible for overseeing druidic affairs is Fandral Staghelm.

This Fandral Staghelm would later be corrupted by the Emerald Nightmare himself, and Kalei has no idea what his current state is.

If he were to report it and it failed to garner attention from above, he might instead be discovered by the corrupted agents controlled by Xavius, walking straight into a trap.

Therefore, for the sake of his own safety, he can only push things forward bit by bit without exposing himself, allowing the matter of the Emerald Nightmare to be revealed prematurely, thereby significantly reducing the losses for the Night Elf and the Green Dragonflight.