Hourglass of Time
Malygos walked on the Bronze Dragon Sanctuary. Only the yellow sand watched him go.
The soft light before dawn couldn't penetrate the veil of darkness, but he knew the brightest stars still shone overhead, and one day the clouds obscuring them would be dispelled. His confusion had subsided after meeting Khadgar in Dalaran with Nathanos. The Witherer's proposed method for defeating Deathwing sounded risky, yet it filled Malygos with hope. That man truly possessed the power to protect this world.
Now, it was time for the Infinite Dragonlord to make his own decision. With each step forward, Malygos's footsteps echoed with a heavy cadence across the vast sand dune plains.
The last time he walked the Bronze Dragon Sanctuary, hundreds of Infinite Dragon followed him, their cheers thunderous as they reverberated at his vow to change the future. Much later, he returned to the same moment, this time alone. The Infinite Dragon tasked with disrupting the various points in time had been annihilated; their mission was complete, leaving only the Infinite Dragonlord.
Nozdormu will come for him; it's destiny. Right here, their final battle will erupt. At that moment, all wounds will be reopened.
Malygos walked to the center of the holy site, struck a haughty pose, and commanded the sand beneath his feet to rise with the wind. Then, from beneath the yellow sand, a precious treasure "emerged from the water."
The Hourglass of Time, the most precious relic of the Bronze Dragonflight. This enormous and beautiful work of art can reverse time. Two Bronze Dragon are engraved on the hourglass. Each dragon is coiled around an hourglass sphere, so lifelike that it seems as if two living dragons are taking a nap.
Malygos stared at it, finding it laughable. Nozdormu had foreseen his transformation into a creature Malygos, and thus created this thing. The Infinite Dragon had also expended tremendous effort to seize it, and Malygos had kept it hidden in the Bronze Dragon Sanctuary at the End of Time.
The hourglass contains the essence of Time Guardian Power; only the Time Lord can use it. Malygos drew symbols invisible to the naked eye. The Bronze Dragon coiled atop the hourglass suddenly opened its eyes. The relic had been activated.
Malygos gasped sharply. So much history, so many tragedies—all of it could have been stopped, could have been changed. Every face of those tragic figures looked up at the sky, their expressions pained, groaning silently. It was precisely these things that gave birth to Malygos.
The history of Azeroth is so long that countless lives have become a speck of dust in the Hourglass of Time.
"Let me see you again." Malygos knelt down on one knee. The Marius family appeared before him, presented in perfect detail, heartbreaking in its beauty. The pregnant mother, the father praying outside the house. The entire Azeroth had been shaken by the birth of this life. Malygos recalled Nathanos not long ago, looking at the little one in the picture, thinking he would almost be grown up.
The Infinite Dragonlord Aspect watched in horror as the events unfolded. Though he knew what was about to happen, he couldn't escape the sight. Nathanos's mother was dragged from the farm by the Scourge Undead; the old woman's eyes were wide with sorrow and despair. Arthas, who had captured her, would use her against Nathanos.
This was an unbearable burden. There were no tears in Malygos's eyes. He had witnessed this moment many times before. Each time, it weighed heavily on his heart.
The final moment was several months later. Though a spirit of the Undead, Nathanos, now free, could not contain his excitement. He raced across the wilderness, leaping up every now and then to express his joy. How arrogant he was then, his heart brimming with hope. He had only one thought in his mind—to see his beloved.
The Hourglass of Time continued to turn. Malygos gazed at everything before him, recreated by the yellow sand.
A lonely and helpless person was surrounded by enemies, and the people attacking him broke his heart.
"Nathanos," Malygos sighed.
Will this pain forever haunt him? The Infinite Dragonlord longs to know if the Witherer still hates Alleria, or if he ever did. Perhaps this secret will never be known.
Nathanos, formed from sand and dust, grew weaker and weaker, and all the arrows were aimed at him. A group of elites charged at him, and he seemed to have forgotten how to resist.
Malygos waited until everything was settled, until the hourglass stopped the moment Nathanos survived. From that moment on, this person ceased to exist on the timeline, at least not in the timeline perceived by the Bronze Dragon.
The Bronze Dragonflight are also living beings; they need to eat and sleep. Even with their extraordinary ability to monitor every point in time, they are not omniscient or omnipotent. They cannot monitor everyone on Azeroth, and they are also prone to subjective errors. On the day Nathanos was "destroyed" by Alleria, the Keepers of Time believed that Nathanos was dead and therefore no longer the culprit who disrupted the original timeline.
This misconception was initially advantageous to the Witherer. However, the events of the Gate of the Heavens exposed the Forsaken to the world. From then on, the conflict between the Infinite Dragon and the Bronze Dragon intensified. The Infinite Lich King sought to erase this supposedly vanished entity, while the Bronze Dragonflight secretly protected Nathanos and simultaneously launched attacks on various points in time to keep the Bronze Dragon occupied.
Now, Malygos realizes that this long battle is finally coming to an end, and that he will surely win.
"You have no chance to deal with him anymore. You can only accept this fact, Nozdormu." Malygos touched the Hourglass of Time, and at his Will, the Time Guardian Power stored within Hourglass of Time, along with all the fragments of memories about Nathanos, began to solidify. A flash of light appeared, and an amber gem appeared in Malygos's hand. To ensure accuracy, the Infinite Dragonlord released the power contained within the gem. A time field immediately appeared within a hundred meters of him, the same color as the gem. For those within it, except for the one who created the field, the flow of time slowed by half.
"That's enough. How will he use this treasure?" Malygos laughed smugly.
The light reflected off Malygos's flawless shoulder armor. In that instant, he knew his savior had arrived. He felt the very essence of time, right there in the air he breathed.
"Malygos." The voice was hoarse with anger. "Your sins are unforgivable."