Sargeras: Into the Abyss

After leaving Azeroth's Astral Realm, Vanidak found the many Titans of the Pantheon nearby. Before Aman'Thul stood a familiar figure: a creature composed entirely of stars, one of the Constellar.

"Aha! Starlight Man! Which one are you? I can never tell you apart!" Vanidak called happily as he approached.

"Lord Vanidak, perhaps you have forgotten. I am Algalon." The Constellar respectfully bowed to Vanidak.

"Algalon, that sounds familiar... Oh, oh! You're that Constellar who nearly got butchered in the arena, right?" Vanidak thought for a while before finally remembering.

"Yes, that was the time. Lord Vanidak, I'm glad you still remember me," Algalon replied.

"How could I forget a poor bastard like you?" Vanidak seemed to recall the scene as well and laughed. "What are you doing here?"

Aman'Thul answered for Algalon from the side. "I summoned Algalon here to serve as Azeroth's celestial Watcher..."

"Oh, oh, that Watcher, right? Got it." Vanidak nodded in realization. "So what's his duty?"

"I am responsible for monitoring Azeroth's World Soul. Should the World Soul become corrupted, I have been granted the authority to activate a procedure within the Forge of Origination, purging all life on Azeroth along with every trace of corrupting power," Algalon answered.

"Uh, sounds... not bad. Keep it up. But don't go pressing that procedure at random. The consequences would be pretty serious." Vanidak scratched his head as he cautioned Algalon.

"I will be careful. Thank you for the reminder." Algalon bowed once more.

"All right, enough reminiscing, Vanidak. It is time for us to depart. Everyone has been waiting for you for quite a while," Aman'Thul said once the two had talked enough.

"Fine, fine, let's go. Goodbye, interesting Azeroth. I have a feeling I'll return to this world again someday. Oh, and you too. Goodbye, Starlight Man—Algalon, farewell!"

"Farewell. May your journey go smoothly!"

After completing their mission of saving Azeroth, the Titans of the Pantheon departed and once again embarked upon their long journey to search for their companions. Though many legendary tales would unfold in Azeroth after their departure, epics stirring enough to move the heart, the changes on Azeroth at this moment were truly insignificant compared to what was happening somewhere in the Dark Void.

The Keepers carrying out their duties upon Azeroth knew the Pantheon only through those great shapers. Yet the Titans had never mentioned that another Titan still existed in the Dark Void. Or perhaps, before long, the word "former" would need to be added.

A new threat was brewing a storm in a central region of the Dark Void—a storm capable of burning everything to ash.

Sargeras, defender of the Pantheon and its bravest, mightiest Titan warrior, would perhaps soon need the word "former" added before his title as well. Having declared his departure from the Pantheon and parted ways with his kin, this Titan set out alone upon a solitary journey through the Dark Void, contemplating the fate of the universe by himself.

His previous experiences had made him fear that other World Souls might also have been corrupted by the Void Lords. That thought burned at his soul like a raging fire, tormenting him without end. At last, as the Titan sank ever deeper into the abyss of doubt and fear, he became convinced that even the creators themselves possessed fatal flaws. Thus, he reached a conclusion: this universe had already been corrupted, and the only way to save it was to purify everything with fire. Ragnaros, trapped within the Elemental Plane, would surely have strongly agreed—and might even have wanted to give him a taste of Sulfuras.

And so, an exceptionally grand movement to save the world, a great crusade—the Burning Crusade—officially began.

As a former member of the Pantheon, Sargeras naturally knew just how powerful his companions were. Though he was the Pantheon's strongest warrior, he did not believe he could walk away unscathed from a group of Titans. Therefore, to carry out this Burning Crusade, he needed an unstoppable army. He knew full well that although the Pantheon's individual strength was immense, even they would one day be exhausted when facing an endless army. That would be his best chance to defeat them.

There was only one place he knew of that possessed the power and potential he required: the prison he had created—the Exile Plane, Mardum.

At last, the jailer took out his key and joined the prisoners.

Over the years, through the efforts of Sargeras and Aggramar, this prison had long since been packed to the brim with evil magic and demons thirsting for vengeance. The sheer number of these already twisted beings had brought about a qualitative change. The original star region had long ceased to exist; their presence had warped the entire Mardum star region, even more severely than when Sargeras had first drawn it into connection with the Twisting Nether.

This prison had become a nightmare incarnate. Torrents of evil energy battered its walls without cease, while the demons trapped within drifted amid the turbulent magic like waves in a stormy sea.

After traveling for some time, Sargeras once again stood before this prison. Looking at the twisted demons within and faintly sensing the surging evil energy, Sargeras felt no stir in his heart.

Having recognized what he believed to be his path, Sargeras's will had become as hard as steel. He slowly drew Gorribar from behind his back, gripped the hilt with both hands, and stood silently before Mardum.

After a long silence, as though suppressing the last trace of fear in his heart, Sargeras suddenly swung both hands down.

Somewhere in the Dark Void, Vanidak was chatting with Aman'Thul.

"Aman'Thul, were those glowing jigsaw puzzles just now the Naaru you mentioned? Why did that one in the middle, Xe'ra, keep staring at me? They don't even have eyes, but I still felt like he was watching me the whole time."

"Uh... actually, Vanidak, he was indeed watching you. And he secretly sent me a telepathic message. Do you want to know what it said?"

"What? She tattled on me to you? What did she say? Did she badmouth me? That must be it!" Vanidak fumed, waving his arms about.

"Actually, it was nothing much. She merely told me that there was shadow within you and that I should be careful..."

"Pah! That bastard! Don't let me catch him in the future! If my twin blades weren't gone, I'd have smashed him into a pile of glass shards right there!"

Vanidak continued spouting furious threats and curses, while Aman'Thul could only respond with a wry smile. He had looked into it himself: those beings called Naaru were blessed by the Holy Light, so what they said about shadow existing within Vanidak was likely true. Yet this was no secret to the Titans. After all, Vanidak had demonstrated techniques that wielded shadow more than once on the battlefield. They had known for a long time.

Though the Naaru had meant well, they clearly did not understand his brother's temperament. This tattling sort of warning had obviously angered him; Aman'Thul could tell just from the words Vanidak was cursing with. Hopefully, Vanidak would not encounter the Naaru again in the future. Otherwise, the outcome would truly be hard to predict.

Just as Aman'Thul was caught up in his thoughts, he suddenly noticed that Vanidak's endless threats had stopped. He looked over to find Vanidak wearing a puzzled expression, seemingly uncertain, his brows tightly furrowed.

"What is it, Vanidak? What happened?" Aman'Thul rarely saw this expression on his brother's face, though he had seen it a few times before. Whenever Vanidak looked like this, it meant he had discovered something bad.

"I'm not sure, Aman'Thul. A familiar spatial fluctuation came from some direction. That fluctuation... was insane... It only lasted an instant. I can't be certain..."

The powerful, sturdy prison had now shattered into fragments, and its once-enraged prisoners had once again set foot upon the land where they had committed countless crimes. As the mastermind behind this prison break, Sargeras was in terrible condition.

The prison had been filled with powerful Fel magic. When it exploded, the resulting eruption of Fel magic was far more powerful than Sargeras himself had anticipated. Surging energy engulfed him, and that immense Fel power battered his blood and scorched his soul.

At last, Sargeras, who had kept his eyes shut as he endured the agony, opened them. The azure eyes once filled with Titan Arcane energy were gone, replaced by eyes burning with emerald-green flames. Evil fire spread across his entire body, transforming his once noble Titan form. His skin split apart, radiating the boundless hatred within him, like a massive blazing furnace.

Gorribar changed the moment Sargeras cleaved open the prison. It broke into two pieces at the blade. This weapon, which possessed a soul of its own, could not endure its wielder's fall and chose self-destruction instead.

"Gorribar." Sargeras's voice had become low and hoarse. He stared at the broken hilt left in his hand, imprisoned it within a pocket of space, then picked up the upper half of the blade. Flames burned from his hand and spread all the way to its tip. In the end, a massive dark-red lava sword appeared in his grasp.

Looking at the weapon in his hand, Sargeras said with satisfaction, "Since you refuse to serve me, then enjoy eternal imprisonment in endless darkness. One day, I will find a way to make you submit. For now, I have a new friend."

"I call it Gorribal!"

Looking toward the demons who had escaped the prison in the distance, Sargeras muttered:

"It is time to begin the crusade."

"This universe must be purified!"