The sleek Dragonhawk soared through the skies over the Ghostlands, deliberately flying high.
"If we fly too low, the Troll headhunters might bring us down with their javelins. That's no laughing matter!" the Dragonhawk Rider explained.
Soaring through the sky felt wonderful. In his previous life, Karin had flown in a glider and tried bungee jumping, but neither had been anywhere near as thrilling as this. Halduron beside him was another story. The poor Ranger covered his eyes with both hands and huddled on the Dragonhawk's back, trembling.
"How embarrassing. A Ranger handling the skies worse than a mage..." the Dragonhawk Rider remarked with some disdain.
"I... I'm afraid of heights..." Halduron stammered, shivering.
"We're not actually that high. I'd say we're only two or three thousand feet above the ground..." Karin said into Halduron's ear with a hint of malice. "Open your eyes and look at the houses down there. They're only the size of matchboxes now!"
"Y-y-y-you... shut up..."
Karin stopped teasing Halduron and turned his gaze toward the sky.
"What exactly is above the sky?" he murmured curiously to himself.
Was it like the sky in my previous life, with an atmosphere and an ozone layer, followed by outer space, made up of dark matter and dark energy...? No, that shouldn't be possible. Azeroth's rules were completely different from those of my previous life. Just look at Outland-even shattered like that, it could still support life. So things like the vacuum of space and planetary atmospheres probably didn't exist here!
"Above the sky lies the Abyss!" The All-Knowing Eye's voice slowly sounded in Karin's mind.
"The Abyss?" Karin repeated softly.
"In the terminology of your plane, it is called the 'Twisting Nether'!" the All-Knowing Eye explained. "Within this universe, matter with physical form makes up the various worlds, including Azeroth, where you reside. Formless dark energy, meanwhile, forms the Twisting Nether."
"The Twisting Nether is a void filled with chaotic magical power. It connects the various worlds of the universe, and countless savage, evil demonic creatures may lurk within it!"
Savage, evil demonic creatures... so, the Burning Legion...
"Because these demonic creatures exist, many planets are likely to be easily corrupted by them, then become part of the Twisting Nether! But your planet is different. A powerful protective barrier covers its surface... This is an extremely powerful spell. Nothing from outside can pass through this barrier and enter your planet!" the All-Knowing Eye said.
So that was Azeroth's firewall?
"How powerful is this barrier?" Karin asked curiously.
"According to the All-Knowing Eye's calculations, it should be a twelfth-ring spell. It can directly affect any being. Even a god attempting to enter your planet would not be exempt from its effects!" the All-Knowing Eye assessed.
"Just what sort of level is the twelfth ring? You mentioned before that the spell Kassas used to kill a god was also twelfth-ring, didn't you?" Karin still did not quite understand these things.
"Yes, Kassas's Apotheosis is also a twelfth-ring spell!" the All-Knowing Eye said. "As for the power of twelfth-ring spells... put it this way: the tenth ring means legendary power, or power on the level of a demigod. At the eleventh ring, one possesses power approaching that of a god and can affect the rules of the world. As for the twelfth ring, it can directly alter the rules governing gods!"
"What about beyond that?"
"There is nothing beyond that. Netheril reached its peak at the twelfth ring. After Lord Kassas died, Mystra, the new goddess of magic, directly changed the rules of the ley line, preventing mortals from using magic above the tenth ring!" The All-Knowing Eye paused for a moment. "However, your world does not seem to have this restriction!"
Karin finally understood, and the discussion returned to their earlier topic.
"So, as long as nobody does anything suicidal, monsters from anywhere else can't enter Azeroth?"
"Not entirely. Many cracks and loopholes have already appeared in this barrier... Some weak demons below legendary rank can easily slip through these loopholes. Powerful demons, of course, cannot do so!" the All-Knowing Eye continued. "But if someone inside deliberately uses a spell to widen such a loophole, powerful demons can also pass through the barrier!"
"Of course, casting a spell capable of widening a loophole would also come at an extremely high cost, and would undoubtedly attract the attention of other powerful mages. If anyone truly did this, the powerful beings of your world would naturally come forward to stop them, so there is no need to worry about it happening!" the All-Knowing Eye offered Karin some reassurance.
Karin nodded. He now understood why even a fallen titan as powerful as Sargeras could not enter Azeroth directly, while Kel'Thuzad could use the Book of Medivh to summon Archimonde and his demonic army into this world.
Then Karin raised his head and gazed up into the void.
Huh? What was that?
He suddenly felt as though a will was calling to him.
"Insignificant mortal, worship me, and I shall grant you great power!" said the will in the Abyss.
"Who does this will belong to?" Karin asked curiously.
"A demon. Since he can project his will across the void, his strength must be above legendary rank!" the All-Knowing Eye assessed. "He may be a Pit Lord, a Doom Lord, or perhaps a Balor Flame Demon..."
"Then is he powerful enough to hurt me?" Karin asked.
"Impossible. Even the most powerful being in the Abyss cannot send power through this barrier by means of his will!"
Mm, good...
"Insignificant mortal, I sense that your spirits are low. Have you been treated unjustly? Do you harbor a thirst for revenge...? Come, worship me, join us, and you shall gain great power and supreme authority..." the will spoke again.
It looked like Azeroth really had been under surveillance for a long time. If someone could try to recruit me this casually, there were probably plenty of Burning Legion members standing by in the void at all times!
Karin shook his head gently.
And what was with this demon? Why did he sound like he was running a pyramid scheme?
Still, this stale old pitch seemed capable of drawing in quite a few people. Maybe that was how the earliest members of the Cult of the Damned had joined?
As Karin pondered this, he condensed his will into four words and sent them into the void:
"Eat shit, you bastard!"