"The Heart of Corruption is so useful. Even incomplete, it helped me corrupt a few key figures... What a pity I couldn't unleash its full potential..."
Deep in the Demon Woodlands, an enormous shadow stirred beneath a twisted giant tree that resembled a throne.
Grosag the Doomhammer, a Demon Lord renowned for his cunning and cruelty, watched events inside and outside Mooncrown City through a demonic mirror forged from lava and shadow.
His eyes, blazing with fel fire, gleamed with satisfaction at the smooth progress of his plan, along with a trace of regret that it had fallen short of perfection.
The scene reflected in the mirror was his meticulously orchestrated masterpiece.
Within Mooncrown City, a dark red tide battered the elves' final stronghold, and the World Tree's light threatened to gutter out.
This was the result of his using the whispers of the Heart of Corruption to sow seeds of suspicion and betrayal among the elves.
Those "key figures" whose minds he had corrupted... Perhaps a noble hungry for greater power, perhaps a commander dissatisfied with current policies, or perhaps a fool harboring some twisted "ideal," like the elder Ilúvatar had killed earlier.
Their "cooperation" at crucial moments, such as that seemingly reasonable order to redeploy the defensive lines, had created the perfect conditions for the Demon Army's lightning strike.
"Heh heh... These elves who fancy themselves noble are no different from lowly humans when confronted with the darkness in their hearts. In fact, their long lives make them even more susceptible to corruption and depravity."
Grosag gave a low, raspy laugh, like countless stones grinding together.
The Heart of Corruption had magnified the greed, fear, or obsession in those elves' hearts, turning them into accomplices of the Abyss, whether unwittingly or with token resistance.
Yet a shadow lingered