Broken

Dark Portal

Nathanos stood in the Blasted Lands for the third time. The first two times were for war against the Horde, but this time, like Turalyon, he would cross the Dark Portal to another world. Back then, Nathanos didn't quite understand Turalyon's choice and nearly came to blows with the Paladin during their argument. Now, he had to do the same. To fight for more living space for the Forsaken and to find clues left behind by Ner'zhul's magical research, Nathanos convinced himself he had to try.

"Kazzak has already passed through." Nathanos stood high above, overlooking the movement of the Dark Portal. Just as he remembered, once this giant portal opened, the clouds above the entire Blasted Lands would become strangely unpredictable. "The clearly visible series of huge footprints in front of the Dark Portal indicates that a large creature has gone to Outland."

"I'm afraid only Kazzak can be the first to leave here." Meryl Xie Feng stood beside Nathanos, also feeling a sense of unease at the sight above; the thick clouds seemed to be roaring like a ferocious beast. Meryl wasn't afraid of any monsters or demons emerging from within; he was worried that the commotion would attract the attention of the Alliance and the Horde prematurely.

"The plan has changed," The Witherer suddenly said. He frowned, then nodded, confirming his thoughts. "Let's go in ahead of schedule. Let's not wait any longer."

"What?" Meryl looked at Nathanos in confusion. "This is too Recklessness. We don't even know what's behind the door. Weren't we supposed to wait until the Alliance and the Horde stabilized the situation here before taking any action?"

"Then we'll miss our advantage, Meryl." Nathanos turned to look at the mage. The Witherer looked relaxed, while the mage's surprise was tinged with curiosity. He had heard Belmont say that Nathanos seemed somewhat nervous, but now it seemed...

"Then how can you guarantee our safety?"

"It's all down to luck," the Lord of the Forsaken replied. "At first, we only focused on what might happen on Azeroth. We anticipated that the Alliance and the Horde would take action, but what about the other side?"

"On the other hand, you mentioned Outland?" The mage turned his gaze to the Dark Portal. "According to the Blood Elf's intelligence, Outland is now almost entirely under Illidan's control."

"If the Betrayer discovers that someone has set foot in his world, he will definitely send troops to stop him, but it takes time to assemble an army, so Illidan, like the Alliance and the Horde, is unable to react in the short term."

Meryl understood Nathanos's words and summarized them briefly. "This gap in time is our opportunity, right?"

"Yes." The Witherer nodded. "However... there's still one problem to solve: where do we go after we get through? We can't just wander around like headless flies." Nathanos turned around and nodded to Xirezege, who was not far behind him. The latter immediately ran over.

"Is there anything you need me to do?"

"Do you remember the geography of Draenor?" Nathanos asked, but Xirezege gave him a hesitant look. This was understandable; after all, many years had passed since the Second War, and Xirezege's memory was hazy from years of drowning his sorrows in taverns.

"I only remember Nagrand, Shadowmoon Valley, and Tanaan Jungle look like. As for the others..." The Orcs shook his head, indicating that he was powerless to help.

Nathanos sighed, then asked, "So... Dark Portal to that world in one of the three places you know of?"

Xirezege's eyes lit up, and he nodded hastily, as if afraid that if his answer disappointed the Witherer again, the other would not take him back to his home planet. "I remember, I remember," the Orcs smiled, "In the Tanaan Jungle."

"Very good," Nathanos said, nodding to the Deathstalker closest to him. The Deathstalker handed him paper and pen.

"Draw a map of the Tanaan Jungle from your memory." The Witherer took out an old pocket watch from his pocket. Since he couldn't see the sun, he couldn't accurately predict the time and had to rely on technology. "There are still three hours until midnight. In three hours, we will cross the Dark Portal."

Akama walked slowly through the quiet corridors of the Shadowmoon Temple. Looking up, he could see Illidan's towering figure atop the temple. He wanted to see Illidan, to ask when he could send someone to guard the prisoners. But the Betrayer, as before, refused his request to meet.

The leader of the Ashtongue Deathsworn was banished, and four Elf members of the Illidari Council ordered him to return to prison immediately, emphasizing that it was the Betrayer's command. Akama wondered if Illidan knew that those four Blood Elf were actually Kael'thas's spies planted among him.

Akama walked through the Pleasure Garden. After a while, he found himself in the Military District. He stared at the Orcs who had drunk demon blood; they were all servants of Magtheridon, the former overlord of Outland. Magtheridon had led these butchers in their brutal slaughter of Akama's people, and now he had to live under the same roof as these Orcs, and what angered him even more was that his status was lower than Orcs.

I had thought things would be different after Illidan ended the demons' rule, but it turned out that Outland simply had a more evil master.

The Ashtongue Deathsworn and survived, but most of them became laborers, no different from slaves.

He trembled as he stepped forward, drawing the attention of the Orcs. He surveyed the various Orcs below, their faces grim, their eyes fixed on him with disdain and arrogance. Akama cursed them. If they resisted, he could easily have hidden in the shadows and taught them a lesson with his scythe. But Akama paid no heed to the whispers or loud mockery of the Orcs. Akama cared more about the thoughts of his followers than their humiliation.

They'll definitely laugh at me.

Akama took a deep breath of dry air, and as she exhaled, she felt hope slip away with it. What lay ahead for the Ashtongue Deathsworn?

He is a "Broken." Becoming a Broken is unjust and unreasonable, because he committed no crime; he was merely a victim. How did the Broken fall from grace? Especially someone like Akama, someone so gifted and so favored by the Holy Light, how did he fall to this state?

Although Akama himself wasn't entirely clear on how it happened, he knew when it happened. He could still recall the exact moment he began his descent into depravity with remarkable clarity.