Walker Between Worlds

"If you're not an enemy, then what are you?" Nathanos thought to himself that he couldn't possibly be an ally. He would never believe that. Perhaps the other party was trying to take advantage of the situation to launch a sneak attack on Meryl.

The bandaged man smiled. "I'm a merchant," he said, which only made Nathanos more puzzled. The word "merchant" was indeed unexpected, but this was not an auction or any kind of trading venue.

"Merchant?"

"Yes." The bandaged man nodded.

"So you're here to make a deal? But there's nothing here for you, bandaged man!"

"How rude of you. Even if you don't know my name, you shouldn't have used such a clichéd title on me." He pointed at K'ure, who was locked in a fierce battle with Meryl, and began to answer Nathanos's question, "I want his essence. You can give me anything in exchange. By the way, you can call me a Walker Between Worlds. Also, I'm not some bandaged man; I'm a Voidwalker."

"Anything?" Nathanos clearly cared about the most important sentence in the Walker Between Worlds's words, but could he be trusted? When the Forsaken raided Auchindoun, they killed many of his own kind, yet he not only didn't think of revenge, but also planned to make a deal with the "murderers"?

"Yes, anything." The Walker Between Worlds glanced at Meryl. The Demon Form mage had already grabbed K'ure's arm and tossed him into a corner of the room. "Your friend has a demon hidden inside him?"

"It's a secret!"

"There are no secrets in the eyes of the Voidwalker!" said the Walker Between Worlds.

A surge of energy erupted from K'ure's body, knocking Meryl back several steps. After several exchanges, it was clear that his strength was gradually increasing, and Meryl was slowly losing the upper hand in his fight.

Nathanos grew anxious. If time dragged on any longer, Meryl might lose control of the demon within him, and his consciousness would be completely suppressed. The Witherer said to the Walker Between Worlds, "You can say anything. Fine! Then tell me, what is K'ure's weakness?"

"To correct you, when it was still a Naaru, you could call it K'ure, but when its the Holy Light power disappeared, it became Entropy Demon and was swallowed by the Void!"

Nathanos retorted angrily, "Now is not the time to dwell on the name, tell me its weakness!"

"Your subordinates are lucky to have a boss like you," the Walker Between Worlds joked. "The weakness of the Entropy Demon is the same as that of the Naaru —their hearts! Once their hearts are dug out, they will fall apart."

Nathanos recalled his first encounter with K'ure; back then, most of the fragments on the Naaru's body were indeed revolving around the central fragment. "Did you hear that, Meryl?"

"It couldn't be clearer!" Xie Feng nodded in response. Nathanos was relieved; Meryl was still Meryl. He had always suspected that after this battle, he might have to fight a Demon Lord, but now he no longer needed to worry.

Meryl Xie Feng charged toward K'ure, who had transformed into Entropy Demon. He shattered the magical shield that Kourei had used to protect himself with a single punch, and then, with a Xie Feng, he opened his hand and pierced K'ure's heart.

A sudden storm of shadows erupted, powerful enough to blast Meryl and Nathanos away, while the Walker Between Worlds stood calmly in place. K'ure painfully stretched out its arms; its body was disappearing, the energy within it not being released, but gradually gathering in a crystal at the very center of its body—its heart.

After the commotion subsided, Nathanos struggled to his feet. Only the crystal remained of K'ure's body; the Walker Between Worlds knelt beside it—clearly, this was what the "merchant" desired. The Witherer turned to look at Meryl; the mage hadn't yet risen, attempting to reclaim his demonic power. But the power seemed unwilling; they struggled for a long time, until Meryl finally prevailed, reverting to the form Nathanos knew best, though his clothes were somewhat torn.

"Are you alright?" The Witherer asked, his heart suddenly tightening as he saw a glint of green light flash in Meryl's eyes.

The mage lay on the ground, raising one hand to gesture, "Just a little bit more, just a little bit more!" He laughed. Seeing the Xie Feng's expression, Nathanos also laughed. He didn't help Meryl up; the other needed to lie on the ground and wait for his magic to recover.

The Witherer's gaze was now fixed on the Walker Between Worlds, who still had many questions for him. "Is this what you wanted?" Nathanos said to the Walker Between Worlds's retreating figure. The crystal emitted a faint purple glow, and if one listened carefully, music could be heard emanating from within.

"This is truly a fine item." The Walker Between Worlds reached out and picked up the crystal, holding it above his head to examine it closely. "Do you know how precious a Naaru's heart is?"

"I have no idea."

"That's true, but you must have heard of it." The Walker Between Worlds's words sounded somewhat contradictory, yet strangely connected. "I heard that someone in Azeroth once obtained a piece of Naaru's heart, and he purified it with the Holy Light to forge a divine weapon!"

"Ashbringer? How is that possible?" Nathanos stared at him in surprise, then quickly recovered. "No, Alexandros Mograine forged Ashbringer by stealing a Shadow Crystal called Rizeb from Orc Warlock."

"The Rizeb Crystal is the core of the Naaru." The Walker Between Worlds approached Nathanos, yet even at such close range, Nathanos still couldn't see his eyes. "Back in Draenor, there were only three Naaru. One is dead, and the other is K'ure, who is in my possession." The Walker Between Worlds handed the purple crystal to Nathanos, seemingly unconcerned that he would snatch it away.

"And the last one?"

"There was another one. Its the Holy Light was exhausted and it was gradually swallowed by the void. At the last moment, its followers threw it down."

Nathanos suddenly recalled the scene he had seen before the battle with K'ure: something being thrown from a spaceship...

"Above Shadowmoon Valley, the Naaru's name is... K'ara?"

"It seems that K'ure told you everything before he lost himself." The Walker Between Worlds revealed the secret of how he knew this matter. "However, the Shadowmoon Orcs call it the Dark Star and regard it as a god. When Gul'dan's Fel magic swept across the world, the Orcs either abandoned or plundered everything they once worshipped. It was at that time that the Orcs took away K'ara's core."