Black Memories
"Speak quickly, or you'll pay the price for exhausting my patience." Black mist churned around the Deepwater Lord, filled with majesty and rage. The Naga chieftain was captured, the black mist gripping his throat like chains. Finding Kingaroth didn't take Nathanos much time. The unfortunate fellow seemed to have been attacking the Earthen Ring Shaman's camp; his retreating hordes of Naga soldiers exposed his location after the attack failed, and he himself was wounded. But the interrogation that followed would be a long process, mainly because Kingaroth's mouth was harder than the Witherer had anticipated.
Coercion and bribery seemed ineffective against the Deepwater Lord. Gradually, Nathanos lost patience. He had another way to get the information he wanted, but it was rather unethical.
"I... will never... betray the Queen." Kingaroth struggled incessantly, his tail splashing water and dust.
"You're a loyal dog, but I advise you to tell me yourself, otherwise I'll have to resort to some extreme measures to get things out of you."
The Deepwater Lord remained unmoved. Nathanos, exasperated, had given the man one last chance.
Back in Alterac, the Valkyr interrogated the Black Dragon Princess for him. Now, he too has learned the ability to forcibly enter people's minds and peer into their memories. Nathanos is reluctant to use this power, and sometimes he wonders if he is becoming increasingly evil due to the growing power of darkness.
No, I don't need to care about the enemy's feelings!
The wailing of the Deepwater Lord Kingaroth echoed into the Vashj'ir Abyss.
The Queen's voice, like a burning lamp in the darkness, guided her step by step. She was very close. Sensing her approach, the guidance came again.
'Come to my palace, Val'kyr.'
She swam through a black coral forest. Huge corals split open into fan-shaped patterns. Dormant ancient trees perched on the blackened soil, and sea giants occasionally peeked out from their hiding places.
The Queen's palace lies atop an abyss, and every brick and tile must conform to her whims. Indeed, the Eternal Palace is the most elegant place in the world. The Val'kyr deeply agrees.
She held the Tremorsting Spear in her left arm, but he didn't remember wearing it. Even after countless battles, it retained its most complete outline, its soft glow a reminder of her victorious return. It was a gift from the Queen, and she remained a figure worthy of worship by millions.
Ahead lay the ceaseless vortex. She plunged in, diving along the edge. Now she could see them—the solemn Naga guards, the crackling energy beings. They were the Queen's personal guard.
The Val'kyr passed through them. A voice echoed in her ears, a voice she knew all too well.
"Come and pay homage to your Queen."
She quickened her pace, even trying to shed all her burdens, but she had to be in top condition to meet the Queen. The Val'kyr stepped off the edge of a floating platform. She landed more than thirty feet below on the seabed, kneeling silently.
Queen Azshara of the Naga awaits you here.
She floated in mid-air, a magnificent staff adorned with pearls at its tip held in the queen's hand. Her hair, as white as it had been ten thousand years ago, had now transformed into whiskers, just like her legs. One of her four arms played with the tentacles that had sprouted from her back. If there was any trace of the queen's former self, it would surely be that face that had once terrified everyone. No, even the queen's face had changed; her forehead now bore three extra eyes, as distinctive as her blood-red pupils.
Upon seeing the Val'kyr, Azshara's deep blue lips curved into a smile. For many of her servants, this was the greatest blessing in the world.
"Raise your head, Val'kyr. Come forward and let my servants see your face properly; this is the heroic bearing favored by their queen."
The Val'kyr did as she was told, and then she discovered that there were many Naga servants around the Queen, most of whom were High Elf who had been serving the Queen for ten thousand years.
"We are all your servants." Her reply seemed to contain not only her own voice.
Azshara studied her for a moment, then nodded with satisfaction. "Your battle in Vashj'ir was exhilarating. I was still pondering what kind of blessing I should bestow upon you when you returned, but thankfully... I've already decided."
For a moment, she wondered if she was seeing things. The queen wore a delicate silver pendant, on which lay a Night Elf in a crescent moon, longing for her lover in her sleep.
Hesitation flickered in her eyes. "This is... mine..." she stammered, then immediately realized her rashness. Azshara was also watching her with a curious gaze.
"Guess where I found it?"
"Your power can do anything, Your Majesty," the Val'kyr said humbly.
"Yes, that's true." Azshara pointed to the side with her staff.
The Val'kyr's eyes changed at that moment. "This... is impossible," she exclaimed. Two Naga behemoths brought a pitiful creature before her.
This man was clearly Naga, with thick arms and a dorsal fin that stretched from head to tail, yet he gave the Val'kyr a completely different feeling. He was trembling, his eyes tightly closed, muttering ancient and unfamiliar Night Elf language. One name kept appearing in his words— Elune.
"You should know him, right?"
"I..." The Val'kyr's eyes darted back and forth between the queen and the stranger, at a loss.
"How beautiful." Azshara clasped her free hands together. "A love story that has lasted for tens of thousands of years. Such a drama has never been staged in my palace."
"No!" A heart-wrenching scream erupted from the man's throat, but he was clearly startled by his own voice. Then, he shouted again, "She is not my lover." This sentence seemed to run through the Val'kyr. "My beloved is long dead, and I prefer to believe she is dead."
Is this why he kept his eyes tightly closed? The Val'kyr's eyes widened, seemingly brimming with glistening tears. He knew the two of them would meet.
"What a pity." The Queen laughed cruelly. "I went to great lengths to make you like this so that you two could be reunited. Shouldn't you be thanking me?"
"You should go to hell, witch." The Val'kyr's lover tried to struggle, but a Naga behemoth beside him punched him to the ground. He hadn't yet adapted to his new body, so he couldn't get up.
"So this is how you intend to repay your queen. Very well!" Azshara nodded slowly, then suddenly ordered the Val'kyr, "Prove your loyalty to me, Val'kyr. You know what to do."