Ink-dark clouds crowded the sky, blotting out the crimson that had filled it moments before. They hung so heavily they seemed ready to collapse, their oppressive weight leaving the whole world hushed. A cold, indifferent wind swept fiercely past, leaving cries of alarm behind. The delicate flowers and grasses had already bowed trembling to the ground. A storm was gathering!
Time continued to pass. It would not stop simply because someone was missing from the world. Like an arrow loosed from a bow, it would never halt, only press onward and onward.
Silence filled the Side Hall.
Before they knew it, half a day had passed, and night had given way to day in Azeroth. The sky was gradually brightening.
Yet perhaps the weather outside mirrored Varian's mood. Thick clouds gathered and piled together, forming a dark canopy that blanketed the sky.
Varian and Katrana Prestor sat facing each other.
Both remained silent. Katrana Prestor said nothing, and her expression revealed little of what she felt.
Varian's expression, however, was unmistakable. The gloom hanging over him was plain for anyone to see.
Varian was in a foul mood-an utterly foul mood. Whether he considered the reports he had obtained himself or the information Katrana Prestor had given him, everything pointed to one fact: someone had attempted to break through to Demigod in the dead of night, and succeeded!
As for who could have made that breakthrough recently, the answer went without saying.
Varian now felt as sick as if he had swallowed a fly.
His feelings toward Rex were complicated. As a child, Varian had lived under another's roof, growing up in the Royal Palace of Lordaeron. He had deep feelings for the Kingdom of Lordaeron, especially since it had eventually helped him restore his realm. After the Kingdom of