"The universe will eventually return to darkness, but the universe was also born from darkness, wasn't it?" Jiang Jie leaned back in his chair and smiled faintly at Xal'atath.
Xal'atath was taken aback, then looked at Jiang Jie with surprise. "You actually know all this? That's right, this is the Eternal War, a war that can never end. The universe will eventually return to darkness, but whether a new universe can be born again from the darkness, no one knows."
Jiang Jie smiled.
This is the Big Bang theory.
The universe originated from the explosion of a dense, hot, infinitesimally small singularity. As the universe expands, its average temperature decreases, it becomes colder, and there is less and less light, making it increasingly dark.
That's why Xal'atath said that in the Eternal War between light and shadow, the ultimate victor will always be the shadow, the Void.
This is an unstoppable trend, which is why the Void Lords, representing the shadows, are above all else and possess the most transcendent status.
Such a being, akin to a creator, is beyond Jiang Jie's reach, which is why Xal'atath is so disdainful of Jiang Jie.
Only the Void Lords can create Old Gods; Jiang Jie shouldn't even dream of it.
But in reality, the universe has three possible endings:
An open universe, an endlessly expanding universe, growing colder and colder, slowly fading into desolation and darkness, representing the victory of shadow over Holy Light;
The universe is in a state of equilibrium; its expansion is slowing down and eventually approaching equilibrium, representing the ultimate balance between shadow and Holy Light.
A closed universe, after expanding to a certain extent, will begin to contract, eventually leading to compression and even restoration to a singularity, representing the victory of Holy Light over shadow.
What Xal'atath said is just one example.
As for the Naaru...
" The Naaru were created by certain great beings at the beginning of the order of light and darkness. Later Naaru were born for various reasons. You want to create Naaru? That's impossible."
Xal'atath continued to look at Jiang Jie with a mocking gaze, "I have a better suggestion for you: if you want to possess the Light and Dark Naaru, go capture Naaru and then find a way to integrate it into your body! Hmm, I know the locations of a few Naaru, I can help you. Of course, if you insist on possessing the Old Gods..."
Xal'atath stood up, moved closer to Jiang Jie, and pressed her large Jiang Jie against his arm. "Look, I'm entering your body... how is it?"
Don't even think about it.
Jiang Jie refused expressionlessly.
Let Xal'atath enter my body?
I'm afraid I'll be corrupted and parasitized in an instant, won't I?
How can this be!
"What about the other two possibilities? A physical universe or Twisting Nether?" Jiang Jie asked again.
"Both the physical universe and the Twisting Nether are products of the Eternal War light and shadow. The clash between light and shadow gave rise to the physical universe, and the most intense clash within it created the Twisting Nether."
Xal'atath said, "Creating things from the Void and creating the Void itself isn't that difficult, but you can't do it either. Considering that you and I will be partners fighting side by side for a certain period of time, I have a suggestion for you."
"What suggestion?" Jiang Jie turned to the side, making a gesture of "I'm all ears."
"Open a door through the Twisting Nether."
Xal'atath leaned close to Jiang Jie's ear, his breath sweet as orchids. "If you want to possess the Void, why create Void? Just open a portal to the Twisting Nether, and you'll possess the entire Twisting Nether!"
Jiang Jie's eyes lit up!
Indeed, that's a good idea.
Since it's impossible to create a Twisting Nether, opening a door that allows us to access Twisting Nether power at any time is essentially the same as possessing the Twisting Nether.
Even if the Holy Light and shadow within one's own body were increased billions of times, it would be utterly impossible to support a Twisting Nether. However, if it were only used to support a Gate of the Twisting Nether, it might still be possible?
" Xal'atath, do you know how to construct Gate of the Twisting Nether?" Jiang Jie asked.
"You want to? Sure, I can teach you how to build the best Gate of the Twisting Nether."
"But what can you give me in return? What can you give me? I can't just give and not receive, can I?" Xal'atath chuckled. "What can you give me? How about this, you go to Tyr's Tomb and let me absorb the remaining energy of Zakajz, okay? That would be helping you too! Zakajz's corpse is still there, and without Tyr's hammer to suppress it, it will soon breed many, many Faceless Ones. If you don't believe me, go and see, it's already become a corrupted Shadowlands..."
I believe it.
Jiang Jie said calmly, "I can handle a mere Zakajz, a corpse with almost no power left."
"Well then, I know you're going to Ahn'Qiraj soon, right? You want to deal with C'Thun, right? When you do, let me absorb more of C'Thun's power, don't try to take it from me, okay? I know you also want to seize C'Thun's power; you want to strengthen your own shadow and gradually break free from your dependence on me..."
Xal'atath said, "Don't worry, just this once. Aside from C'Thun, we'll take the others by ourselves. The mighty Yogg-Saron, the weakened Y'Shaarj, and the most despicable N'Zoth..."
"No!"
Jiang Jie flatly refused. "Once you absorb C'Thun's power, I won't be able to control you anymore. At that time, I'm afraid the first thing you'll do is turn around and control me, and turn me into your servant?"
"Heh, my collaborator, how come you're so clever? You remind me of Natalie, she's just as smart as you. But she's too weak to use me, while you're clearly much bolder."
A furious roar erupted from Jiang Jie's body, followed by a sudden burst of golden-white energy. Xal'atath was blasted several meters away, slammed into the wall with a bang, and even his avatar was shattered, transforming back into a dagger.
Anveena emerged from Jiang Jie's body, staff in hand, and sneered at Xal'atath.
"Tsk tsk, an incarnation of the Blood of Azeroth, truly violent! Inheriting the power of the strongest Titans, indeed remarkable. But you'll never know how terrifying the Gods of the Deep are. In our eyes and those of my masters, the Titans, a bunch of juniors, are utterly nothing..."
Xal'atath wasn't angry. He transformed into Natalie's form once more and said softly, "If this won't work and that won't work, then my collaborator, what price are you willing to pay in exchange for the knowledge to construct the Gate of the Twisting Nether?"
"It was just a casual question. Just because you won't tell me doesn't mean I can't find out."
With a casual gesture, Jiang Jie shattered Xal'atath's avatar, and the dagger fell into his hand.
" Anveena, contact Ms. Aegwynn. I need her help."