The Course of Fate

Gorribar, also known as the Dark Redeemer, had accompanied Sargeras through endless ages of war. Countless evildoers had fallen beneath this weapon, and true to its name, it had made every darkness he encountered pay the price it deserved.

Now, this two-handed greatsword, one of the mightiest weapons in the cosmos, began to descend beneath Sargeras's silent swing. Halfway through the strike, as though its master had steeled his resolve, its speed suddenly increased. At last, it touched its target—a massive dark world.

Facing the world infected by the Void and sensing the increasingly powerful fluctuations of the Titan soul within it, Sargeras raised his weapon. With a single stroke, he cleaved the world in two. The shockwaves of its explosion battered Sargeras's silent form, while the flames ignited in the world and in his heart scorched his face. Yet none of it drew any reaction from him. In the end, beneath Sargeras's silent gaze, the aftermath of the world's destruction swallowed the Old God and the energy around it. Everything vanished into nothingness.

Yet Sargeras remained unmoved. He felt no joy at destroying this evil servant. He merely stood in silence, waiting for something.

At last, a faint, mournful cry drifted over. Sargeras's grip on his weapon suddenly tightened. He knew he had succeeded. He had thwarted the Void Lords' plot, but the price was that he had killed one of his brothers. He had slain that newborn Titan.

Sargeras had never felt this way since his birth. He did not know how to describe it: the joy he should have felt at stopping his enemies, or the sorrow of killing one of his own kin. Sargeras had no answer. He simply stood there in silence for a long time before quietly leaving that place of grief.

Sargeras wandered through the cosmos in a daze for a long time. He did not know where he should go, and he seemed to have forgotten his mission to pursue demons. Even when he encountered several bands of roaming demons along the way, he merely continued onward beneath their horrified stares. Those demons, who had thought themselves doomed, secretly rejoiced at having escaped alive from before this god of slaughter.

At last, after an unknown length of contemplation, the silent Sargeras straightened once more. He had made up his mind. He would return to the Pantheon and make his brothers and sisters understand the Void Lords' evil plan. He could not allow such a tragedy to happen again.

Pantheon, Throne of the Pantheon

The Titans who had received Sargeras's summons hurried back. They did not know what emergency could have made Sargeras call them back so urgently. Even Aggramar, who had been fighting separately from Sargeras, had been recalled. This was the Titans' second solemn gathering in countless ages; the first had been at the ceremony founding the Pantheon.

As his kin stepped onto their thrones one after another, Sargeras stood at the center and silently watched the entrance. He mechanically returned their greetings as each of them arrived.

"Hey, Sarge, what's so urgent that you called us all back? I'd finally found something entertaining, you know? Those strange creatures hiding in the shadows were actually..."

Recognizing that distinctive tone, Sargeras replied coldly, "Enough, Vanidak. I'm not interested in the entertainment you found right now. I have something more important to say shortly. Get to your seat. We can talk afterward."

"Tch. How boring. Another interesting little fellow gone," Vanidak muttered in dissatisfaction at Sargeras's icy tone before returning to his own throne.

At last, even the distant Aggramar had returned to the Pantheon. After greeting the silent Sargeras, he took his place on his throne, deeply curious about what his former comrade-in-arms had discovered.

Once every Titan had arrived, Aman'Thul's majestic voice rang out. "Sargeras, my brother, what could be so urgent that you summoned us all here? Have you discovered something?"

"Your wisdom remains as admirable as ever, King of Gods." Sargeras offered a respectful bow, then straightened and looked around before beginning his account.

"My kin, my brothers, I am glad that you answered my summons. The situation is urgent, and I had no choice but to do this."

"Not long ago, Aggramar and I decided to pursue the demons separately. We headed in different directions, but in a remote corner, I made an important discovery."

"What did you discover? The demons' headquarters?" Vanidak asked half-jokingly.

Sargeras glanced at him and continued. "No. Not a demon headquarters. I discovered a world, one that was nurturing a World Soul on the verge of awakening!"

"What? A World Soul!"

"By the heavens, another one of our kin!"

"This is wonderful news!"

Excited cries, tinged with joy, rang out from the Titans upon their thrones. They were exhilarated by the news.

"But!" Sargeras's expression grew colder as he continued. "Upon that nearly mature World Soul, I discovered an evil, corrupted presence. You may have encountered that energy before. It was the energy of the Void."

"I believe we have experienced it," Norgannon interjected at the right moment. "We have sensed this energy many times during our travels through the cosmos and our reshaping of worlds."

"Yes, but what you saw was only the side it showed you—a carefully disguised state. But I saw the Void's true face!"

"Evil and corrupted, correct?" To everyone's surprise, it was Vanidak who spoke. "You truly saw it? I have a bad feeling about this."

Sargeras nodded at Vanidak in approval and continued. "I knew you would understand, Vanidak. That Void energy was not the scattered energy you have encountered. It came from an evil creature. From captured demons, I learned its name..."

"Old God. What a clichéd name." It was Vanidak again. He seemed to know exactly what Sargeras was about to say.

"Vanidak, you seem to know what it is. Can you explain?" Aman'Thul had recognized the implications and asked Vanidak.

"It's nothing much. You've seen this thing too—the creature I once stabbed out of the shadows. But that thing didn't seem to give off Void energy. I only heard that name, Old God, in the wails of their souls when I killed them."

"This was different from what you encountered," Sargeras continued. "When I discovered it, the Old God had already completely infested that world. Its tentacles had penetrated the World Soul that was about to form!"

"Furthermore, according to the information I obtained, these evil creatures served even more powerful masters. They were called the Void Lords, and everything they did was to corrupt a World Soul and turn it into a weapon in their hands!"

"What!"

"How could that be!"

"How dare they!"

More cries erupted from the Titans. Sargeras continued his icy account. "And once they succeed, a powerful Void Titan will enter this Dark Void. Moreover, I learned from them that the Old God I saw was not the only one. The Void Lords have cast more of these evil servants into this cosmos!"

"I have a question. Where did you hear all this detailed intelligence?" Vanidak's face was unusually serious. "Everything you have said... is far too detailed. Detailed enough to make me suspicious."

"I discovered demons on that world who worshipped them—a Council of Nathrezim. I learned all this from their souls."

"Nathrezim? Those Dreadlords? How can you be sure those cunning creatures were not deliberately fabricating lies to deceive you and make you act incorrectly?"

"Their souls! I learned it from their souls. Souls do not lie!"

"Yes, I know. Souls. Honest souls. But how can you be sure the information in those souls was not deliberately conveyed to you by the Void Lords? I do not believe such secrets are something servants of the Void Lords' servants could know. Did you never consider that, Sargeras?"

"But the truth was right before my eyes! I trust everything I saw and felt!"

Just as Sargeras and Vanidak seemed about to fall into a fierce argument, the wise Norgannon spoke.

"Enough, brothers. Put the dispute aside for now. I have a question: where is that newborn Titan? I have not seen him return. Sargeras, can you answer my question?"

All eyes converged on Sargeras again. Except for Vanidak, who sat upon his throne with his head lowered, his face hidden in the shadow of his hood, its expression unknown.

After a moment of silence, Sargeras finally spoke, slowly revealing a fact that shocked the Titans.

"I... I killed him... I cleaved that world in two..."

This news plunged the Throne of the Pantheon into an eerie silence.

Sargeras continued, "I had no other choice at the time. Void energy filled that world. I had intended to return and seek your help with this problem, but just as I was about to leave, that Titan was about to awaken. I... I could not stand by and watch a potential threat be born!"

Sargeras's words filled the other Titans with anguish. The silent gods did not know what to say. Golganneth cautiously said, "Perhaps... perhaps he was not as you imagined, Sargeras... Perhaps..."

"But I could not gamble on that. I could not stake the future safety of this cosmos on a gamble! Golganneth, you must consider that."

At last, Aman'Thul spoke, breaking the silence.

"Very well, I believe I understand, Sargeras, my brother. Though I still do not approve of what you did, if matters truly were as you said, then your actions at that time cannot be called wrong. Still, we should have been able to find a way to save our brother. Even if... even if he truly had been corrupted by the Void as you said, I still believe you acted too impulsively..."

"King of Gods, those of you who have not fought the corrupted for long may not understand how grave this matter is. Perhaps we had a way, but I could not simply stand by and ignore the birth of a threat." Sargeras continued to defend himself fiercely.

"Moreover, I have an even deeper concern!"

"What is it? Speak your concern. I think I can accept any misfortune now..." Aman'Thul said wearily from his throne, one hand pressed to his forehead.

"King of Gods, that world will not be an isolated case. As those Dreadlords said, the Void Lords have cast more than one Old God into this cosmos. Perhaps in places we have not yet found, other Old Gods are still infesting World Souls, carrying out their evil purpose!"

"Therefore, my proposal is to destroy every creation in this cosmos, to cleanse this cosmos and purge the Void's minions. Only then can we prevent the Void's plot from succeeding!"

"You've gone mad, Sargeras!" Even gentle Eonar could not refrain from speaking. "We once swore to protect all things in existence as much as possible. No matter how dire the circumstances, we should not undertake something so insane. A plan to systematically destroy every living being in the cosmos must never even be considered!"

"Yes, my mentor, this idea is far too mad. Even though you are my closest comrade-in-arms, my respected mentor, I cannot agree with you now. This is too difficult to comprehend. There must be another way!" This time, even Aggramar could not hold back and spoke in opposition.

The condemnation from his kin, his comrades, and his disciple filled Sargeras with despair. It made him feel betrayed. At last, blazing with fury, Sargeras erupted and declared loudly to the kin upon their thrones.

"Since you do not agree with my ideas, then I no longer wish to stand alongside you. Go and seek the method you think is better. I will hold to my own beliefs..."

"I will save this Dark Void in my own way!"

Having said all this, Sargeras turned to leave. Vanidak, who had been silent for a long time, finally raised his head and spoke.

"Sargeras! Do you truly believe your path is necessary? Think about how this happened. Can you not feel even the slightest doubt? Do not let rage consume your reason. There is still time to undo this!"

"No, Vanidak, you understand nothing at all!"

After roaring his reply at Vanidak, Sargeras left the Pantheon. No one knew where he had gone.

Looking at the Titans staring at one another, Aman'Thul announced, "Sargeras has abandoned us. Therefore, I declare that he is no longer a member of the Pantheon."

"Brothers and sisters, the threat of the Void may indeed be severe, but our mission cannot stop. Continue searching for our yet-unawakened kin and reshaping the many worlds. Aggramar, your pursuit of the demons cannot cease. Now, every burden has fallen upon you."

"I will do it, King of Gods. I will fulfill Sargeras's share as well."

Aman'Thul nodded in satisfaction and declared, "Very well, brothers and sisters, let us continue our work! Set out once more. We do not have much time!"

The many Titans departed one after another. Only Vanidak remained seated, his head lowered as he pondered something. After a long while, he rose, summoned twin blades into his hands, and stared at their blackened edges as he spoke slowly.

"Fate... is it truly impossible to change? This... truly infuriates a Titan."

"Let us hope the day I foresaw never comes!"

End of Volume One: Traces of the Pantheon