Nazjatar Val'kyr

The enemy before her had turned into a clump of rotting seaweed, the stench seeping into her lungs with the current. She thought, "Vrykul, but he's disgusting even in death."

Her hands were icy cold, devoid of feeling. A Tranquility enveloped her like a shroud. There was no pain, no fear, no doubt. The spear in her hand was also cold, its golden sheen and spiral decorations bestowed upon her by the noblest queen of the Naga, symbolizing glory and her favor. The Quivering Venom Spear, the weapon named after her by the queen.

She was surrounded by shadows, but she was under the watchful eye of some mysterious being. She discovered and met those eyes.

"Deepwater Lord, I see you."

Her voice was hoarse and cunning, just like any other Naga woman, except, of course, Queen Azshara.

"You really surprise me." Unlike her, who was a woman, the Deepwater Lord Kingaroth was a male Naga, and he was so large that he was almost twice her size.

"Just a Vrykul." She glanced coldly at the corpses being scattered by the flood.

"I mean, what you're holding is a spear, not a staff."

She frowned slightly. The Naga were a matriarchal society, where women held a higher status than men, resulting in a clear distinction between superior and inferior, even in their behavior. Female Naga would choose to study magic to gain their status. But she was a special exception. She chose the path of the male Naga, choosing to earn merit through close combat.

She wasn't the first person to describe herself this way. She was too lazy to explain.

"My next task." Her voice was colder.

"Val'kyr." A name was uttered by Kingaroth.

Val'kyr... that was her name, or rather, her title; she no longer remembered her own name. She had acquired this new name without even realizing it, but she accepted it willingly.

"I don't understand why you're doing this, but I'm happy to assign you a new task." Kingaroth nodded, giving the Val'kyr's weapon a twisted smile, "The Vrykul are still holed up here, arrogantly believing that Vashj'ir is still their territory. Go and correct their mistake."

She liked it and immediately accepted the task. The sea surged turbulently, and dark clouds flickered in the lightning. Everywhere lay the corpses of Vrykul. The Val'kyr did not stop; she raised her ghostly spear, pointing it at those who defied the queen's Will. These evil spirits would eventually be dealt with by her, Vashj'ir would become the second Naga kingdom.

Her martial arts seemed to possess a strange rhythm. With a flick of her arm, her weapon whistled through the air like a whirlwind, cleanly piercing the bodies of two Vrykul soldiers.

"You need not restrain yourself; you only need to demonstrate your power to your queen," Azshara had told her, and this immense honor gave her the courage to venture deep into enemy territory alone. Quivering Venom Spear erupted, instantly annihilating over a dozen men and throwing the Vrykul into disarray. Many Naga Warrior fought alongside her. The loss of the Vrykul leader and his soldiers to the tides was merely a minor episode in this war.

"Val'kyr, Lady Nazjatar is waiting for you," Kingaroth's voice came. His voice was somber and hollow, as if it came from another distant sea.

Nazjatar? She remembered; he was the commander-in-chief appointed by the Queen to attack Vashj'ir.

"I'll go right away." She barely lingered, and soon the Naga Warrior's praises of her were no longer heard.

She remembered what this place used to look like—white stones and shimmering gold bathed in sunlight. Palaces were enveloped in forests. When the Kaldorei Empire was at its most powerful, this place was truly blessed by the gods—a land brimming with wealth, knowledge, and magic, with the ever-flowing Well of Eternity under their control, and almost no one in the world could stand against them.

There is no sun here now. Everything is dark. The ruins of the dilapidated courtyard lie buried beneath the seabed, like a giant, desiccated corpse. Large stones float on the seabed, remnants of the moment they shattered and were dragged into the abyss.

"What are you thinking, Val'kyr?"

Now, the Naga witch who had been waiting for her spoke up.

"It's nothing!" She habitually reached for the pendant hanging around her neck—a gesture she'd maintained for millennia, but it was empty. It was a token of love given to her by her lover. She hadn't seen him since the Well of Eternity exploded, and she wished he were dead. If he were still alive as Night Elf, she would kill him without hesitation if they ever met again. She would do it, but the process would surely be excruciating.

No! The scales on her body shimmered with a restless light. She shouldn't be thinking about these things. She was now Queen Azshara's Val'kyr, and nothing was more important than pledging allegiance to the Queen.

The Val'kyr turned her head swiftly, her gaze intense. The trembling, poisonous spear still bore traces of seaweed filth left by the dead Vrykul. A surge of rage coursed through her, eager to erupt. She slid a step towards Nazjatar. Nazjatar was much taller, but the Val'kyr's gaze seemed to look down upon her from a superior position.

"My next task?" she asked.

"We are conducting a crucial ritual," Nazjatar said, her tone unhurried. "Once the ritual is complete, our allies in the Abyss will help us completely eliminate the Vrykul threat."

She glanced dismissively at the wizards behind Nazjatar who were casting spells. Why must they rely on others? Can't they defeat the Vrykul on their own?

"The ritual is powerful, Val'kyr," Nazjatar continued. "The Vrykul will fight desperately to stop us. Hold them off and buy us time."

"Their only fate is defeat and destruction," the Val'kyr said fiercely, raising her weapon high.

"Then prove it to our Queen. Remember, she is always watching you." Nazjatar gestured for the Val'kyr to step back.

Her eyes narrowed as she swam into the darkness. A hollow sound of rushing water swept across the shattered city, unnoticed by anyone.

She is hunting.

The video has ended.

A Naga Val'kyr? This identity alone piqued Nathanos's curiosity. He withdrew his Time Guardian Power.

The past image was so clear, echoing without a single pause. This spoke volumes about the deep-seated obsession of the image's owner. The Val'kyr was undoubtedly dead, but how could she have suffered such a fate? And... where was her body? Nathanos grew increasingly curious, and he decided to investigate what had happened afterward himself.