Time Debate

Will Alleria really continue her siege of him? Nathanos couldn't help but wonder, but he was no longer Nathanos Marius. In the realm of the Forsaken, there were only the Witherer. Perhaps a war was inevitable, but the Forsaken would one day face their former loved ones. Nathanos wasn't worried that his people weren't ready, for when the challenge came, the Forsaken would not fear.

"You're saying the Bronze Dragon's goal is to eliminate me?"

"You should indeed exist in this world, but your actions have caused uncontrollable changes to this world. As the Lord of Time, Nozdormu will not stand idly by when he sees the original timeline being completely overturned."

"Hmm!" Nathanos nodded as if he understood, but Malygos could see that he was mocking Nozdormu in his heart. As the Lord of Time, he could foresee what would happen in the future before anyone else, but he could only watch helplessly without intervening.

"Nathanos ..." Malygos uttered the name of the Witherer, who had already walked to the conference table in the meeting hall, which was covered with the latest news from around the world. He did not respond to the King of Eternity, because he knew what the King of Eternity wanted to ask: Should history, which was destined to happen, be changed?

Malygos didn't ask any further questions, but waited for the Witherer's answer.

After a long silence, Nathanos turned to the Infinite Dragon and said, "No one can control history! Never!" He picked up a report from Lordaeron, glanced at it, and then tossed it into the brazier. "Humans are merely the writers of history, and history is just the past. The past exists in many forms: documents, relics, even the memories of the latter. But undeniably, what happened can only become memories in the end? Beings like you who can travel through time may have the ability to correct past mistakes, but do you have the courage? Nozdormu didn't, because he wasn't sure whether history would change for the better or for the worse. And you..." The Witherer glanced at Malygos, "... you don't want to change the past, but the End of Time, the end of history, which is why you were born."

"No!" Malygos roared, his voice high-pitched and deep, as if an unreleased power was accumulating within him. "I am here because I have seen too many people! Medivh, Taresa Foxton, Arthas ...they...those people...I saw them all, their futures, their deaths, and the disasters they brought to the world, and I could only watch..." The Infinite Dragonlord Aspect looked down at his hands. In that instant, Nathanos felt as if Nozdormu was standing before him, the Time Guardian on the verge of collapse.

"Can you understand? When those scenes are about to unfold, those tragedies are right before your eyes. The pain of knowing what is going to happen, yet being unable to stop it." Malygos's eyes conveyed to Nathanos his own long-standing suffering. His compassion did not allow him to abandon those destined to become tragic figures, but his duty as the Time Guardian forced him to do so. He was merely the guardian of time, not its creator.

Clearly, these two conflicting psychological states transformed the Lord of Time into a different being. Malygos was born at the moment Nozdormu witnessed the disastrous consequences of his inaction. The vision of the world's destruction and Deathwing's ultimate victory spurred him to actively intervene in time.

"To be honest, I have no respect for those of you who can manipulate time," Nathanos said. "Whether you are Nozdormu or not, you should use your power for the present, not to change the past or the future." He looked at the vase that Malygos repaired and nodded with slight satisfaction. "Those who monitor time are more pathetic than those who live within it, because they know their fate from the very beginning."

"But have you ever thought that if you had seen what would happen next, maybe you wouldn't be like this now?" Malygos tried to retort. As soon as he finished speaking, the Witherer stared at him with an expression as if he were a fool.

"I certainly didn't see it," Nathanos said. "Then tell me, if I'm not standing here, who is? Alleria, or Sylvanas?"

Malygos blinked, realizing he'd lost the argument when Nathanos asked the question. All along, the Infinite Dragonlord had overlooked one crucial question: did the Forsaken ever complain about their fate? They certainly did, but complaining doesn't equate to regret. Some willingly became Undead because if they didn't, someone else would take their place—perhaps family, friends, or even lovers.

Nathanos could not see the future, but he never regretted his choice—to bear the tragic fate that was not his own for the sake of those he cared about—even though this choice brought him endless disasters.

"You don't want to see any of them, do you?"

The Witherer silently turned to look out the window. The moonlight over Alterac bathed the icy kingdom in a desolate, pale glow. The Forsaken were all at their posts, each working several hours longer than the living. Their actions were in accordance with their master's Will —to prepare for war. "Yes, I don't want to see it."

A look of surprise gradually settled on Malygos's face. In all these years, it seemed to be the first time he had heard Nathanos admit to the secret deep in his heart.

"But I'm very glad I've become like this," Nathanos said with a smile. "If I weren't the Witherer, I really don't know what I would be doing now."

"So, you know?"

"Yes." The Witherer placed his hands on the window, stroking them lightly as if playing a game. "Since Nozdormu wants my identity to be revealed so much, I might as well give in to his wishes. Anyway, there are rumors that Gilneas is almost out of control of the Worgen plague, so I can find an opportunity... to make a grand entrance."

"And then what? Make those who persecuted you pay the price?"

"No, I won't do that." Nathanos shook his head, making Malygos even more convinced that he looked like a player in a game. "I will temporarily disappear, travel the world alone, take a vacation, avoid being hunted, and help the world resolve the disaster brought by Deathwing."