Complete Mastery

The moment Malygos fell, he transformed into a white, transparent ethereal form, like an uncolored painting where only the lines were visible. The Infinite Dragonlord and the Bronze Dragon Aspect were one and the same. Nozdormu longed to see his final form. He had a feeling... Malygos was smiling.

What was the origin of the Infinite Dragon? Nozdormu found himself forgetting things too. He initially thought the appearance of the Infinite Dragonflight was merely a symptom of a timeline distortion. However, as he attempted to repair the timeline and avert the catastrophe caused by Azeroth, the Infinite Dragon Nathanos appeared from various points in time to stop his minions. No matter how unbelievable it sounded, he eventually encountered himself. This meant that the Bronze Dragonflight would eventually betray their sacred duty to guard the timeline at some point in the future, and act in the opposite direction, making him the third corrupted Guardian after Neltharion and Malygos.

Fortunately, he reacted in time and corrected his mistake. The adventurers who helped him defeat the Infinite Dragonlord had already left with their spoils. He told them this: whatever the future holds, one day he will become Malygos and face his inevitable fate.

The third fallen guardian ended his own life, which sounds unbelievable.

"You've lost, Malygos." The Bronze Dragon Aspect chuckled self-deprecatingly, quickly noticing that the Infinite Dragonlord looked exactly like him. This made him slightly uneasy; did his opponent still have a trick up his sleeve?

No, the power of the Time Guardian Dragons had vanished from his body. Nozdormu could no longer sense that power. No one could stop his actions against Nathanos now. His purpose in remaining here was to reclaim the Bronze Dragonflight's relic, crucial for his upcoming mission to retrieve the Dragon Soul during the War of the Ancients.

Looking down upon this sacred land guarded by time, Nozdormu could sense the presence of that treasure, beneath the yellow sand.

"Malygos, what is the point of all this? You have defied the laws of the Titans and are destined to fail." Nozdormu slowly walked towards the center of the Holy Land. At this moment, he felt an unprecedented sense of ease. The blueprint in his mind had already materialized: after retrieving the Dragon Soul, the other Dragon Aspects would study how to use that artifact, while he would have enough time to change Azeroth and put history back on track. He only needed to use the Hourglass of Time to determine at what point Nathanos began to deviate from the course of history, and then return to that point and nip it in the bud. Nozdormu had also considered simply killing Nathanos at birth, but he felt that the existence of anyone had some significance, and even if Nathanos did not exist, it might still affect the timeline.

Many years ago, more than a decade before the Orcs invasion of Azeroth, the Caverns of Time trembled, the history of the Forsaken erased, Sylvanas was still alive, and Alleria was still alive. The Bronze Dragonflight only discovered the anomaly occurred in Lordaeron, and thus began years of surveillance on the human kingdoms. Arthas, Terenas, Antonidas, and even Jaina —all figures who played significant roles in history—were potential sources of the problem. However, the final result was that they were all perfectly normal. The Bronze Dragonflight, having lost its way, was trapped in a predicament...

As Nozdormu uttered a spell, the Hourglass of Time appeared from beneath the sand. The Bronze Dragon Aspect approached with hope; this treasure... was finally back in his hands.

"Now tell me, tell me what I want to know, Hourglass of Time." Nozdormu manipulated the fine sand in the hourglass, and with each grain of sand that fell, an image appeared before him. Time suddenly jumped to the Second War, a chaotic period filled with too many familiar figures, but what Nozdormu wanted was the one he didn't know.

Fate played another cruel joke on him. Time and again, the Bronze Dragon Aspect gradually lost patience. He didn't blink, but he still couldn't find the mortal's shadow.

"Where did he go?" Nozdormu slammed his fist on the Hourglass of Time. "Where did Nathanos go?"

The Dragon King, unable to control his emotions, roared like a mad beast, his fury deafening as he lost his prey.

"This can't be real!" Nozdormu wanted to know what had happened. He kept asking questions. What on earth was going on?

His doubts were precisely the answer to the problem. The Bronze Dragon Aspect realized. Yes, the Hourglass of Time itself existed within spacetime; all that was needed was to observe its past. He regained his composure.

Hope was rekindled, and Nozdormu hoped he wouldn't be disappointed. With an inappropriate excitement and a hint of fear, he began to observe.

He was shocked that the Hourglass of Time had remained stationary for the past few years.

Nozdormu's wrinkle-free skin was reflected on the smooth surface of the hourglass, an expression of scholarly inquiry, until another face with a darker skin tone replaced him.

"Malygos!" the Time Guardian exclaimed, as if the Infinite Dragonlord were still alive.

Indeed, as depicted in the scene, his subsequent actions almost completely extinguished all hope for Nozdormu. All fragments of Nathanos' history were extracted from the hourglass and sealed within a single piece.

"You have no chance to deal with him anymore. You have to accept this fact, Nozdormu," said the Infinite Dragonlord in the image. "That's enough. How will he use this treasure?"

Nozdormu slammed the image away, collapsing to his knees before the hourglass as if all strength had suddenly left him. The cruel truth was as the Infinite Dragon had said: he had no chance to fight Nathanos anymore; Malygos had entrusted his entire past to him. This meant that no one could threaten him now, and no future either. In a daze, Nozdormu understood why Malygos had smiled until his death. The Bronze Dragon Aspect turned to look at his future self, as if waking from a dream.

"Is this your plan? You'd go to such lengths for him."

The only response to the Time Guardian was the sound of wind and sand on the sacred ground, but it sounded like the dead Malygos was mocking him...

"Nozdormu? Nozdormu!"

The shout roused the Bronze Dragon Aspect. He turned to face the source of the voice. Alexstrasza, the Queen of Dragons, was looking at him with a strange gaze, along with two other Dragon Aspects, Ysera and the young Kalecgos.

"You don't look too well. Are you worried about the consequences of using it?"

"It?" Nozdormu turned his gaze, then gasped. Before him lay a golden disc, containing a portion of his power.

Dragon Soul! No, Nozdormu was more familiar with the name Demon Soul in his memory. Why? Why is it here? The Time Lord frowned, immediately recalling the entire process of using the Hourglass of Time to retrieve the Dragon Soul, and awoke from the fog of memory.

"Yes," he lied, "Is it really destined to be this way?"

Alexstrasza said something to him, but Nozdormu could no longer hear her. Only one thought remained in his mind.

I didn't win. Nozdormu told himself in despair. I lost.

In the history of Azeroth, no one has ever been able to escape the bonds of time, never. Because no one can control their past, present, or future, but now that notion has been shattered. Although Nozdormu was extremely reluctant to admit it, the fact is that Nathanos has completely taken control of his own destiny.

What would that mortal do next? Nozdormu realized something even more terrifying. He would surely exact a furious revenge on the Guardian Dragons, and how would he do it?