A Gift from the Titans

"Finally, the heroic Titans saved their tormented brother—or sister, who knows? And then? Aman'Thul, what do we do next? It seems there's nothing left for us to do here, right?"

As the Keepers finished everything, Vanidak kept pestering the other Titans. Even after witnessing such a magnificent battle to save the world, this Titan who seemed to have boundless energy still looked unsatisfied.

"No, Vanidak. We have indeed defeated the Old Gods, but life and order on Azeroth have yet to recover. We need to reshape this world, and that will help it mature faster as well!" Aman'Thul had always been patient with Vanidak, and this time was no exception as he explained tirelessly.

"Oh! No! Reshaping the world again! My heavens, you can't do this! You can't bully me just because I don't know how to reshape worlds! This isn't fair! You! Can't! Leave me out!"

The moment Vanidak heard Aman'Thul's words, he dropped to the ground and began rolling around.

"Stop it! Vanidak, quit rolling around on the ground like those mortal races! This temporary palace won't survive you tossing about like that!" Khaz'goroth hurriedly stopped him.

"Then let me join in."

"But you don't know how to reshape the world."

"I don't care. You have to let me join!"

"But..."

"I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I'm not listening..."

"Bang!"

Eonar's decisive strike brought silence to the world. The Titans glanced at Vanidak, who was now genuinely sprawled on the ground, then stopped caring about his opinion and prepared to discuss their next plan for reshaping the world.

"No... no... I... I don't agree." Vanidak trembled as he lay on the ground and raised his right hand. "I... I... object!"

Eonar kicked him angrily and snapped, "Get up, you sly bastard! Stop pretending to be hurt. I know exactly how hard I hit you! Speak if you have something to say!"

"Sure thing." Upon hearing Eonar's words, Vanidak immediately performed a backflip from the ground and landed on his feet, standing there full of vigor, without the slightest trace of his earlier near-death appearance.

"Vanidak, since you disagree, come up with a solution. We can't just not reshape Azeroth." Norgannon was equally helpless against this shameless fellow. Ever since Vanidak had mentioned awakening before him, he had constantly reminded Norgannon, openly and subtly, to respect his elders. Whenever they met, Vanidak wore the expression of an elder, which irritated Norgannon to no end.

"Simple. None of us needs to do it ourselves. Let those Keepers handle it!" Vanidak proposed his solution.

"But that would take far too long and stray from our original purpose. It would be meaningless." Khaz'goroth objected.

Vanidak stared fixedly at Khaz'goroth after being opposed, making the latter's skin crawl. Just as Khaz'goroth was about to lose his temper, Vanidak suddenly said:

"Then let us give them some help. Each of us can give them a tool to help reshape the world! That works, right? I get to take part too!"

"That sounds reasonable. What do the rest of you think?" said Golganneth the Thunderer. He was not particularly skilled at reshaping worlds either, so this idea allowed him to participate, and naturally he agreed quickly.

When Vanidak heard Golganneth's approval, he gave him a knowing look, only to receive an eye roll in return. Undeterred, he continued, "Excellent, one vote in favor. Does anyone object?"

"I agree." "I agree." "I agree." "I won't participate."

"What! Norgannon, you aren't participating?" Vanidak stared at him in astonishment.

"I wasn't involved before either, all right? Magic isn't suited to world creation in the first place! I have a better use for it." Norgannon raised the disc in his hand, the tool he used to record magical knowledge.

"All right, one person isn't joining. Eonar, what about you? I haven't heard your stance either."

"I am usually responsible for restoring life after the world has been reshaped. Besides, I have discovered a wondrous green realm within Azeroth. I intend to study it and see whether I can offer the Keepers some help," Eonar explained.

"All right, then it's just the rest of us. What are you all planning to contribute?" Vanidak looked toward the remaining Titans.

"I'll use this." Golganneth brought out a large white gemstone shrouded in mist. He explained, "This is a gem infused with my power. It can command the power of the tides. I call it the Tidestone."

"Then I'll use this as well." Aggramar produced a shield and said, "This shield has accompanied me through countless ages of battle. I no longer need it. I believe it can serve a better purpose if it remains on Azeroth."

"I have blessed this gemstone. Through it, one may wield the Power of Time." Aman'Thul also took out a gemstone he carried with him.

"Tch. Anyone who plays with time is overpowered." Vanidak muttered as he accepted the stone.

"Uh... I can't think of anything useful at the moment." Khaz'goroth looked troubled, but eventually thought of something. He handed his forging hammer to Vanidak and said, "Then give them this hammer. It contains the power of shaping and Earth Power that I command. I think it will be extremely helpful in creating a world."

"That's quite the generous contribution." Vanidak praised him. Looking at the powerful objects floating before him, he slowly removed his pair of armguards and added them to the collection. Under everyone's astonished gazes, Vanidak explained, "What's so surprising? Khaz'goroth gave them a hammer, so it's perfectly reasonable for me to give them a weapon. This weapon can connect space. The Keepers might not be able to endure Astral Realm travel over great distances, but they should be able to use it on Azeroth."

"But let me add this: I'm not sure whether they'll be able to command my weapon, since it has a mind of its own." Vanidak spoke with an arrogant expression.

"Then what use is it if you give them that?!" Eonar immediately slapped him.

Clutching his head, Vanidak complained, "It has its own will and can fight by itself! It can protect Azeroth and hunt down invaders on its own. Isn't that good enough?"

"That's more like it." Aman'Thul sighed in relief. Seeing that everything was ready, he announced:

"Since everything is prepared, Vanidak, as the initiator, you will deliver these tools to the Keepers. I hope they will be of help in their work."

"No problem." Vanidak scooped up the powerful items and rushed toward the Astral Realm near Azeroth.

After High Keeper Ra completed the placement of the Forge of Origination, he began patrolling the southern regions of Azeroth. When he arrived near the Well of Eternity they had created, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Brave young man, did you drop this Tidestone of Golganneth, this Eye of Aman'Thul, this Hammer of Khaz'goroth, or this Aegis of Aggramar?"

"Who? Who's speaking?" Upon hearing the voice from an unknown source, Ra instantly entered a combat stance and warily scanned his surroundings.

"Oh~ I understand. What you dropped was Vanidak's Void Blades~"

"Uh... Vanidak? Hmm... Lord The Formless, is that you? You still enjoy jokes as much as ever... Why have you come here?"

"Tch, no fun. Ra, you're so boring. You don't cooperate with my performance at all."

"Uh... yes..."

"All right, I'm not actually here in person. I'm merely speaking with you through the power of the Well of Eternity, and giving the Keepers some tools to reshape this world's surface."

"Thank you very much, my lord. Thank you for the help of the Shapers." Ra was excited to hear this news. During his travels in the south, he had been troubled by this very issue as well.

"All right, they're all here. The Eye of Aman'Thul, Tidestone of Golganneth, Aegis of Aggramar, and Hammer of Khaz'goroth. Hmm, I think you'll like that hammer. Of course, the others aren't bad either."

"Yes, these holy artifacts contain immense power. I can feel it. Thank you once again, Pantheon. Praise the Titans!" Ra respectfully bowed to the holy artifacts floating in the air.

"Uh... I'm not done yet. Look at this." A pair of armguards appeared. Seeing their form, Ra thought carefully before asking in confusion, "These... aren't they Lord The Formless's weapon? Why are you giving them to us?"

"Because they're powerful, of course. Even without me wielding them, they can hunt down evil that infiltrates this world. Of course, you'd better leave them by the Well of Eternity to recharge."

"Thank you very much, Lord The Formless. This will be of tremendous help to us as well! May I know its name?"

"Oh, of course. Vanidak's Void Blades. Not bad, right? Though you can also call them by another name—Mercy and Reason. Those are the names of the two swords. Both they and I like them very much."

"Uh... they do sound quite good. I believe these two sentient weapons will chop to pieces any who harbor ill intentions toward Azeroth! Thank you very much!"

"Of course they will. Just look whose belongings they are. All right, take these holy artifacts and hurry to reshape Azeroth's surface. We do not have much time left here either."

"Understood. Thank you for your help. I will immediately find my other brothers and sisters and begin." Ra hurriedly put away the other holy artifacts and prepared to head for Ulduar to notify his brothers and sisters.

Not long after Ra left, a black sphere suddenly appeared in the Void. The sphere, which gave off black mist, was hurled at the armguards floating above the Well of Eternity. After colliding, both fell into the lake, sending ripples across its surface.

A faint voice could be heard saying, "Finally found a chance to toss it out. That thing was really restless in my pants... It nearly got my little brother... Pah!"

"Hehe, if this goes smoothly, I should be able to completely free myself from that power, right?"

"Mm, probably. So, little one, don't disappoint me..."