Saberian

Onyxia's fears proved correct. Halfway through Sinestra's ritual, a dark shadow suddenly emerged from the mountain spikes. The Black Dragon Princess was startled, thinking it was Deathwing, but that was impossible; if it were her father, the heavens and earth would tremble. However, her sense of her own kind told her that it was indeed a black dragon.

She looked up.

Even if it weren't Deathwing, Onyxia still couldn't believe that this dragon was so enormous. In her mind, perhaps only Deathwing and Nefarian could surpass her and her mother's size, but now there was another one.

"Onyxia, Sinestra," the approaching male black dragon called out. A black dragon that could recognize them at a glance could only be a direct descendant of the Earth-Warder. But this was definitely not Sinestra's child; she was the only surviving of Deathwing's mates.

"Go and deal with Onyxia."

"Leave it to me, Mother."

Princess Onyxia tried to spread her wings and fly, but another Black Dragon Princess dragon launched an attack, and six or seven fireballs filled with lava forced her to stay on the ground.

"Who are you?" Onyxia shouted.

"Saberian of the Black Dragonflight! Neltharion's observer in Outland." The dragon introduced himself, his eyes never leaving Sinestra. "Cease your ritual immediately, Sinestra. Only Lord Neltharion can decide what to do with these dragon bones."

"Neltharion is dead," Sinestra proclaimed. "Face the facts, Saberian. The Black Dragonflight should now be under my command."

The dragon roared, raising its massive head high. Onyxia was now even more certain that it was larger than herself. Saberian hissed, "Neltharion is dead? You yourself don't believe it, Sinestra."

Neltharion's consort cursed inwardly. Yes, even she herself didn't believe that, otherwise she wouldn't have avoided Deathwing for so long.

Just then, a powerful energy struck Saberian's face. The dragon roared, but the roar was more of annoyance than pain. His eyes glared at the enemy who had attacked him.

Onyxia charged forward and opened her mouth wide at Saberian.

The dragon roared furiously. He wasn't afraid of this dragon, who was more valued by Neltharion than he was. Indeed, Onyxia's mother, Sinestra, was Neltharion's most powerful consort, and her offspring should rightfully be more noble than the other Black Dragon Aspect's offspring.

"You filthy bugs!" he roared at Onyxia. "Your actions have offended Neltharion. I will deal with you traitors for him."

Saberian was engulfed in a raging fury, his entire body exploding. The Black Dragon Princess staggered backward in horror, crashing into the rock wall and causing the mountain to tremble... In truth, what truly astonished Onyxia was the sheer power of this black dragon.

The falling rubble that struck Sinestra's ritual made it difficult for her to recite the next part of the incantation, and the battle also damaged the dragons' skeletons.

Seeing Onyxia busy dealing with Saberian, Sinestra was furious and roared. Her lips began to contort, protruding into a dragon's mouth, one hand transformed into a claw, and the ritual ceased...

Deathwing wasn't dead, but at least he wasn't here. That meant she could deal with Saberian first, and then continue the ritual.

Meryl the Xie Feng hovered in mid-air, the chaos below providing him with an opportunity. Sinestra had gone to deal with Saberian, and she had temporarily overlooked the Dragon Egg in the originally planned ritual. He could take it now.

However, there is a problem now – Nathanos is not around. According to the timeline, he should have returned to Nagrand.

Meryl flapped her wings and flew to the Dragon Egg, picking it up with her claws.

"So heavy!" the mage complained. It seemed that the black dragon had intended to transfer the remaining essence from its remains into the Dragon Egg.

Reaching a crevice in the rocky crevices halfway up the mountain, Meryl transformed into human form. He stroked the surface of the Dragon Egg, the icy sensation being exactly the same as that of Nathanos.

"Never mind, let the Witherer see for themselves." Meryl used teleportation magic, but halfway through the incantation, the ground suddenly shook violently, and a hollow, distant roar echoed from the depths of the mountains. The mage was forced to stop the incantation and turn to see what had happened.

Dozens of Gronn marched in unison through the numerous stone spikes, and more figures emerged from the stone forest to the east and west. Among them, the most ferocious beast appeared from the mountains. Its back and arms were also covered with more protruding stone spikes. Its single eye appeared deathly white. Its teeth were longer and sharper than those of the other Gronn.

"Damn it! It's it."

Saberian mustered all his strength to unleash a shield, blocking Sinestra's fireball. He flapped his wings and soared into the air, while another massive black claw appeared out of nowhere, slamming the distracted black dragon against the stone wall.

"Mother, look down!" Onyxia warned after forcing Saberian back, noticing a new threat looming ahead.

Sinestra bent her neck and let out an angry howl. "It's Gronn!"

Onyxia paused, recalling the description her mother had given of a colossal beast capable of slaying a black dragon. The battle had been so intense that it had attracted them all. The Black Dragon Princess was thankful that the Gronn didn't have wings; they could only pound their chests and roar below.

How could such a creature pose a threat to the high and mighty black dragon? Onyxia looked around and quickly spotted the most unusual Gronn among them.

"That must be the leader of the Gronn!" Onyxia shouted at her mother.

Sinestra nodded in agreement. "You're right, daughter. That must be Gruul, the Gronn known as the 'Dragon Slayer'."

"How arrogant!" Onyxia charged toward Gruul.

Sinestra shouted from behind, "Don't go near him!"

The warning came too late. As Onyxia opened her mouth to spew flames at Gruul, the behemoth pulled out a stone spike with one hand and hurled it at the black dragon.

Onyxia gritted her teeth and used her wings to dodge, but as she turned around, more stone spikes flew towards her, striking her wings, abdomen, head, and neck. She gradually found it difficult to defend herself.

Sinestra tried to help her daughter, but Saberian attacked from behind, biting off her wing. Neltharion's mate cried out in pain.

"Get out of my way!" Sinestra thought, then pushed hard, slamming herself against the stone forest on the mountain peak. Saberian became a cushion, the dragon's body breaking many of the stone spikes. He had brought Sinestra, who finally had a chance to aid Onyxia.

The Black Dragon Princess dodged, panting heavily.

"Take off!" Sinestra grabbed Onyxia by the neck and forcefully pulled her out of Gronn's attack range. "Don't underestimate these beasts," she roared, "Or forget about the remains of these black dragons."

Onyxia shuddered. Her mother was right; these beasts were powerful, and the black dragons pinned to the stone spikes were the best proof of that.

"We have already disturbed them, and I'm afraid the ceremony cannot proceed."

A ceremony? Sinestra blinked; she had almost forgotten why she was there—a series of unexpected events had left her overwhelmed. She quickly remembered something important.

She looked around, only to find that the important props used in the ceremony were missing. "Where's the egg? Where's my Dragon Egg?" Sinestra roared. She turned to Gruul below and spewed out a stream of lava.

But the behemoth had anticipated the black dragon's attack. It raised its arm in front of it, using the pulled-out stone spikes to block the blazing lava flow.

The lava cooled and turned into a gray-black wall.

Onyxia panicked immediately. She couldn't find the Dragon Egg; below her were only Gronn and the terrain they had destroyed. "They must have hidden it, or they must have eaten it."

"I can still feel it. Whether they've hidden it or it's waiting to be digested in their bellies, I will make them pay the price," Deathwing's mate screamed.

The black dragon was nearly driven mad. Now, Meryl was doing his best to conceal himself, as the three sides were locked in fierce combat. He couldn't just stand by and watch.

He had already come up with the best solution.

"Leave a teleportation beacon here first," the mage said, inscribing runes as he spoke. "I hope you fight for a long time." Meryl took one last look, and when he cast his spell and disappeared, no one noticed.

After a brief moment of dizziness, his vision shifted from the Blade's Edge Mountains wasteland to the lushness of Nagrand, but he found himself in a cave—a cave in Warhammer Mountain.

Meryl was stunned by what he saw. He looked at Nathanos, who was busy at work, while the Witherer looked at him with surprise and confusion. Rassuvios stood between the two, and Nathanos was manipulating a wisp of purple magical energy in his hand.

"No! Mistress... won't... agree!" Rassuvios cried out in anguish.

"Looks like he's not quite awake yet," Nathanos sneered. He increased the pressure. A few minutes later, Rassuvios fainted in agony.

"Is he alright?" the monk asked.

Nathanos withdrew his power, clapped his hands, and two Forsaken swiftly carried the instructor out. "He won't die."

Meryl opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. He didn't know if the Witherer had already removed the magic controlling Rassuvios, but his actions were faster than Meryl had expected.

How's the situation on your end?

The mage chuckled, and after making sure no one else was around, he immediately took out the Dragon Egg. Then, he saw a flicker of vulnerability flash in Nathanos's eyes, but it quickly vanished. His face was icy as he knelt before the Dragon Egg, silently placing his hands on it.

"What did they do?" Nathanos asked after a moment.

"Sinestra intended to infuse the essence of the black dragon into this Dragon Egg, but before she could succeed, she was disturbed by another black dragon and the local Gronn from Outland. I took advantage of the chaos to steal the egg."

"You left a teleportation beacon?" The Witherer looked up at Meryl.

The mage nodded. "Yes, if you have any plans, you'd better hurry. I need this egg returned, otherwise Sinestra and Onyxia will not let this go."

"It will be ready soon." Nathanos gestured for Meryl to step back, and then the Witherer closed his eyes, spread his arms, one hand on the Dragon Egg and the other on his chest. Imperceptible black mist rose from his hands.

This lasted for several minutes, but Nathanos's expression told Meryl that the process was painful. His head trembled slightly from side to side as he adjusted to the pain. When it was all over, the Witherer didn't stand up for a long time; he needed to catch his breath. He felt an intense pressure on his body, as if hundreds of bones were about to break, and his skull was on the verge of shattering...

Is this the consequence? Nathanos wondered.

"I'm done," he said. "Take this egg back, and don't let the black dragon find you."

"What did you do to it?" Meryl helped Nathanos up. The man looked completely weak, as if Nathanos would fall over if the mage let go.

"I can't tell you that. It's just a small experiment, but it might bring a powerful force to the Forsaken in the future." Nathanos's eyes were fixed on the Dragon Egg, then he forcefully broke free from Meryl's support. "Go, but don't leave any clues."

Onyxia smashed a stone spike, sending it hurtling towards the dragon slayer. Gruul emerged from the rock like a newborn, letting out a defiant roar at the black dragon.

On the other side, Saberian charged toward Sinestra, grabbed a hardened stone spike and swept it at the black dragon, then lashed out with his tail at the black dragon's blind spot below.

Sinestra tried to dodge, but it was too late. Her skin was torn, and even her scales couldn't stop Saberian's attacks.

The black dragon roared in agony as Sinestra lunged at her enemy, determined to confront Saberian head-on.

The male dragon attempted to tear at Sinestra's neck. She turned her head, trying to avoid the black dragon's attack, while simultaneously leading it towards the stone forest on the mountain. The two dragons crashed into the mountain's rock face, causing stone spikes to fall like raindrops.

Neltharion's mate was about to pin the black dragon to the mountain spikes like the long-dead black dragons, but just then, Sinestra suddenly sensed something and looked back.

The Dragon Egg she treasured was now on a cliff.

Why was it there? Sinestra couldn't think about that; all she wanted to do now was hold it in her hands.

"I don't want my experiment to go to waste," she said sarcastically, then slammed into Saberian, forcing him back, and flew towards the location of the Dragon Egg at top speed.

The ground beneath their feet trembled. The black dragon, flying in the sky, was unaffected, but the visual turbulence made them somewhat uncomfortable.

Gruul was pounding the ground, and every corner of the terrifying mountain trembled, but Onyxia and the Gronn continued their desperate battle, oblivious to everything around them. Occasionally, the Black Dragon Princess would stumble against the rock walls as she was struck by stone spikes.

"I got it." Sinestra gently held the Dragon Egg in her hand, not even considering whether anything had changed about it. She shouted to her daughter, "Let's go!"