Fantasy Trap

Malfurion slumped against the wall in the tunnel. "He wants to cover every inch of his body with armor! Why?"

"Perhaps it was to protect himself..." Nathanos replied, "You saw it all. That dragon had not a single patch of intact skin. Without these armors that fit its body, Neltharion's body would probably..."

"Doesn't he feel the pain? Look at those nails... they're so deep!"

"No amount of pain can compare to the immense energy in his body, and... he's gone mad!"

Broxigar frowned; clearly, their path was blocked. "How do we move forward?"

"Wait a little longer. We need to time it so they can put down one of the bolts. The huge bolt will help us hide it when the Goblins bring it up," Nathanos said.

The Goblins with the fire tongs returned to the bolt-forging area. They placed a bolt into the furnace. Broxigar and Malfurion could feel the intense heat of the furnace even standing in the tunnel, while standing next to Nathanos, they could feel a slight coolness.

"Get ready," Nathanos warned.

The two watched Goblins carried the bolt toward Neltharion. The black dragon, however, was staring intently at the bolt, ignoring everything else.

"Hurry up! Quickly!" Neltharion roared in a deep voice.

The bolts were lifted by the Goblins and placed on the other side of the armor, by which time Nathanos and the others were ready.

The moment the bolt was moved, the three men sprang into action. Broxigar, wielding a battle axe, led the way; if Goblins happened to burst into the cave through the wide passage, the Orcs would kill them without hesitation. Below them, the Goblins yelled at the Goblins manipulating the hammer. The hammer-operating machine began to creak and groan, its sound drowning out the noise made by the three intruders.

By the time the Goblins hammered the bolts in, they had gone about halfway. Suddenly, the cave fell silent. Nathanos immediately crouched down, frozen in place, too afraid to move. The Orcs and Night Elf behind him did the same.

The Orcs's hands were sweating profusely. If Neltharion found them, there would be no way to deal with them.

Thankfully, it was a close call. The Goblins foreman then began issuing commands again, and as they had hoped, everything returned to normal. Just as the hammer was ready, Nathanos reached the end of the path first, followed by Broxigar and Malfurion.

Once again, the Goblins chieftain's loud shout rang out behind them, "Pull him up!"

Undead, Orcs, and Night Elf stormed into the passage, the clanging of hammers making their heads buzz. The black dragon lingered on the horrific scenes he had created. He was utterly deranged, devoid of reason, and Nathanos suddenly realized how fitting the name "Deathwing" was for him.

The Undead slowed his pace, knowing the two behind him needed time to recover from the shock, but he didn't give them much time. "Alright! Now there's just one last step."

Locate the disk and take it.

Broxigar knew what Nathanos was referring to, but that didn't mean they had the victory in hand, because there were certainly other dangers lurking in Neltharion's lair.

Just then, another loud bang came from behind, followed by a chilling burst of maniacal laughter from the black dragon. Hearing the laughter, Nathanos quickened his pace.

Reaching the first bend took much longer than he had anticipated, because they didn't know if the Black Dragon had placed guards inside the passage, so they had to proceed cautiously, one step at a time. This meant they would have to spend a considerable amount of time on the journey.

We must hurry!

They immediately began running through the tunnel. Even so, it still seemed to take just as long to reach the second turn, but Nathanos could sense that they were getting closer and closer to their goal.

After wandering through the winding passages for a while, Nathanos occasionally stopped to check his location. Finally, they came to a narrow cave, a spot the Undead would never forget. He stood at the entrance for a moment, recalling the sound he had heard when he touched the stone.

"Right up there." Broxigar pointed to the stone used as a cover. "Right to the right of that stone, to the left of that crack."

Malfurion, clearly unaware of what he was referring to, said, "I hope you haven't made a mistake."

However, entering the secret chamber and reaching the location of the Demon Soul is by no means an easy task, not to mention how dangerous it is.

They could still hear the occasional clanging of hammers and the roar of a black dragon coming from deep within the cave. Hearing these sounds, the three of them immediately began to move.

"Alright, now it's your turn, Druids. Open the secret chamber!"

"What?" Malfurion exclaimed in surprise. "Why me? I can't do that at all!"

The Undead and the Orcs turned to look at the Druids at the same time, and expressions of shock appeared on their faces simultaneously!

"Are you kidding me? Didn't Krasus tell you how to remove the threat from the stone?"

Malfurion shook his head. "He never told me. I thought he would tell you what to do when he talked to you alone."

Nathanos cursed inwardly, thinking that if Malfurion's words were true, he would act alone, which would be much more convenient. Krasus hoped the three of them would act together, making Nathanos mistakenly believe that Malfurion would help them enter the secret chamber.

At this moment, both the Undead and the Orcs stared at the Night Elf with the same look—a look of confusion.

"I really don't know how to get in."

"Forget it, we're already in a bind. See if you can contact Krasus. You should know a way to get in touch with him, right?"

The Druids's silence left the other two in despair. It was clear that Malfurion was unable to communicate with Krasus telepathically, and according to his own explanation, the Red Dragon mage always initiated contact with him on his own initiative.

"We were able to hear Krasus's words from a distance before, so he should be able to contact us now, so why isn't he saying anything?" the Orcs shouted. Nathanos patted him on the shoulder to quiet him down.

"Perhaps Krasus has run into some trouble," Nathanos guessed, then sighed. "It seems we have no choice but to rely on ourselves."

After hesitating for a moment, Nathanos cautiously walked towards the stone. He had witnessed what would happen if he touched the stone once before, and perhaps because of lingering fear, this time Nathanos was able to sense the magic emanating from it.

Broxigar is ready for battle, as if Nathanos is touching some taboo, Orcs could attack at any moment.

The chilling roar echoed once more as Nathanos's hand touched the stone, but the Undead did not loosen his grip as before. He felt something throbbing within his soul, and whatever it was, Nathanos endured it. After what seemed like only a few minutes, the sound vanished.

The Undead opened its eyes, and before it was still that stone wall, its hand still gripping that stone.

Nothing happened...

Nathanos was astonished, then immediately followed Neltharion's example and began to disarm the mechanism. The secret chamber opened, and the Dragon Soul was placed on a circular platform. Overjoyed, Nathanos turned around and said, "It's done! Quick..."

The Undead stopped speaking there, his eyes wide as he stared behind him. Broxigar and Malfurion were gone. In the same passage, where the Orcs and Night Elf had once stood, stood two people who had enraged Nathanos.

He trembled, clenched his fists through gritted teeth, and shouted the other man's name, "Arthas! Dath'Remar!!"

"What?" The two words came out simultaneously from the two mouths in Nathanos's eyes.

"How dare you show yourselves here!" Nathanos drew his Sulfuras and pointed it at Arthas. "You also want the Dragon Soul? I won't let you have it!"

The Undead gripped his sword and charged forward, slashing at Arthas. But the fallen Prince seemed caught off guard, hastily raising his Rune Sword to parry, yet still staggered back two steps, nearly falling.

"What's going on?" Dath'Remar asked.

Nathanos hated this hypocritical High Elf even more than Arthas; this traitor was also the murderer who killed him.

The Undead then launched a second attack, targeting Dath'Remar. Unlike Arthas, Dath'Remar was much faster, and he immediately chanted a spell. In an instant, Nathanos found himself unable to move; countless black vines, as he perceived them, bound him, binding his hands and feet. No matter how hard he struggled, he could not break free.

"What's going on, Broxigar?" Dath'Remar shouted.

Broxigar? Nathanos looked up at Arthas. Why would Dath'Remar address his master with Orcs name?

"I don't know either, but I have to try!" Nathanos, seeing Arthas, lowered his weapon and punched the Undead in the left cheek. Nathanos fell to the ground in pain, dizzy and unable to open his eyes for a short time.

After the discomfort subsided, he looked up again, ready to face Arthas and Dath'Remar. To his surprise, the two were gone, replaced by someone Nathanos could no longer face. The strength that had gripped his sword vanished, and Sulfuras slipped from his grasp, falling to the ground.

"Alleria! Mother!!"

"By Elune, what is he saying again?" Malfurion took a step back in horror. The look of hatred that Nathanos had given him just moments before suddenly turned into one of guilt and pain.

"What's wrong with him? Why is he calling you Arthas, Broxigar? Why is he talking to me as Dath'Remar? I don't have that name." The Druids was eager to know the answer, and the Orcs was just as puzzled as he was.

But things took an unexpected turn. Before the two could come up with an answer, Nathanos suddenly lost all strength and fainted. Broxigar caught him in time, but the Undead's eyes had already closed.

"It must be the mechanism on that rock." Sweat beaded on the Orcs's forehead, but Malfurion was even more anxious. "There's no time, Druids. Go get the Dragon Soul, we must get out of here."

"There's wind here... maybe there's an exit, Orcs."

Everyone would be eager to get out of here as soon as possible. Nodding, Malfurion refocused his attention on the golden disc. At this point, they were both lucky; Neltharion's frantic roar had drowned out their earlier fight.

Broxigar nodded.

Malfurion stood outside the secret chamber and saw that the cave was pitch black inside. Unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped in, a dazzling light shone in his face, making it difficult for him to open his eyes and causing him unbearable pain. However, his eyes soon felt much better.

Once his eyes adjusted to the light, the Night Elf saw the Dragon Soul placed not far away. The disc rested on a magnificent red cloth, a testament to the black dragon's refined taste. The golden disc within resembled a newborn baby, small and exquisite, easily held in Malfurion's hand. Although the disc emitted a brilliant light, its appearance was quite ordinary. However, Malfurion knew the power it contained, and thus had to handle this masterpiece of the dragons with utmost care.

Out of curiosity, the Druids examined the Dragon Soul closely and found nothing that could harm it. Clearly, Deathwing believed his treasure was perfectly safe and there was no need for him to set any more traps or mechanisms on the disc.

Malfurion leaned over the disc. This little thing contained such immense power.

"Druids!" he suddenly heard Broxigar call out to him. "Did you get it? We must get out of here quickly; staying here is making me increasingly uneasy!"

Malfurion's mind immediately conjured the grotesque image of Neltharion. He dared not delay any longer, quickly stuffing the disc into a pouch and sealing it. The light in the cave dimmed instantly. He saw Broxigar anxiously waiting with Nathanos behind his back. The Night Elf took a deep breath, preparing to leave the chamber and escape this dangerous place.

It was at that moment that he realized he had made a terrible mistake.

Suddenly, the howl of a giant dragon echoed from the cave. Hearing this, Malfurion sensed something was terribly wrong and froze on the spot. He vaguely felt that this wasn't the Dragon Soul at work, and then he became certain that the sound he heard was actually the black dragon's magic. The cunning Neltharion hadn't directly placed the magic on the disc, but rather on the inner chamber. A warning would be issued if anyone carrying the Dragon Soul stepped out of the chamber. This trap was so cleverly designed that Malfurion's keen senses hadn't detected it.

As the screams of the dragons gradually faded away, an even more terrifying sound echoed endlessly in the cave.

That was Deathwing's furious and mad howl.