Three Days Later

In the pitch-black dungeon, Varian Wrynn sized up the black-robed figure before him. Even in the most heavily guarded dungeon of Stormwind Keep, the black-robed figure remained relaxed and unhurried, as if strolling in his own backyard.

With a wave of his hand dismissing the prison guards, Varian Wrynn arrived at the cell door.

"Speak! Who exactly are you? And what is the meaning of your prophecy?"

The man in black robes smiled slightly, "Who I am is not important. What is important is who Your Majesty is—a clueless mortal, a self-righteous fool, or a wise man capable of seeing through the truth and discovering the truth? When faced with those obvious yet unacceptable truths, can you see the truth clearly?"

Varian Wrynn scoffed. "I don't like riddles. If you're just here to play charades with me, then stop now. Your pretentious attitude is meaningless to me."

The man in black shrugged. "Well then, I'll get straight to the point, but before I tell you the real prophecy, I think there needs to be another person present—Ms. Jaina Proudmoore."

"Why?"

"Because in the story that follows, Ms. Jaina will play a very important role."

This answer clearly failed to satisfy Varian. "Hmph, if you don't want to tell me, fine. I won't bother my distinguished guest with your nonsense."

Varian said this, then made to leave.

The man in black laughed, "In fact—I think she's already here. Come out, Ms. Proudmoore, there's no need for you to hide."

"That's surprising. How did you find me?" A voice came from behind the two of them. To Varian's astonishment, a graceful figure gradually emerged from the shadows in the corner of the cell.

Jaina Proudmoore, the Queen of Theramore, was smiling at Varian.

She didn't seem nervous at all; Jaina always had a relaxed demeanor, which always made Varian feel uneasy.

"You don't mind if I sit in on the conversation, do you?" Jaina asked.

Varian Wrynn nodded. If there was one hero in the Alliance he could trust the most, Jaina was undoubtedly one of them. Jaina was not only beautiful, but also possessed a strong sense of justice, making people feel that she must be a trustworthy and good person, a powerful ally. Beneath her gentle appearance, there must be a strong heart. Moreover, Jaina had once led the human expeditionary force to defeat the Burning Legion, and her achievements surpassed even Varian's.

Upon reaching the cell door, Jaina gestured for them to enter.

"Now that I've arrived, speak, mysterious man, is your doomsday prophecy truly true?"

The man in black robes looked at Jaina with great interest. "The prophecy about the end times is indeed true. I can even tell you the exact time: three days from now, at exactly nine o'clock in the morning, the elemental armies will attack Stormwind City and Orgrimmar, and the Azathoth, Elemental King will personally lead the attack."

"Hmph, even if the Elemental King himself were to come, our Alliance would still be victorious—but you said the elemental armies attacked Stormwind City, how did they get here?"

"The Elemental King will open an elemental rift from the Elemental Plane to Stormwind City, and he will lead his army out directly through it. Of course, I believe that under His Majesty's wise leadership, the Alliance will surely be victorious."

"However, this is only the prelude to the apocalypse; the real crisis is far from over."

"The real crisis? Isn't the elemental army's invasion of Stormwind City the real crisis? Then what is the prophet of the real crisis?"

Before I answer your questions, may I ask you a question? Do you both have this feeling that there are many things in this world that make you feel uneasy?

"Is something wrong?" Jaina murmured, repeating the black-robed man's words, her eyes unfocused, as if she had thought of something.

Varian Wrynn also seemed to be deep in thought.

"That's right, you can feel it, can't you? You can feel that there are too many coincidences in this world, too many phenomena that are incomprehensible. In fact, this is not an illusion, because the fate of all of you is actually in the hands of an unseen hand."

"What exactly is that invisible hand?" Jaina asked anxiously.

The man in black robes stopped there, then suddenly smiled and didn't continue.

"However, even if I told you the truth, I suspect you wouldn't believe it, because the answer is too astonishing. So I won't reveal the answer yet. Let's see if my prediction is accurate first. Only when you completely believe me will I reveal the truth."

After speaking, the man in black bowed. "Then, please allow me to take my leave."

"Hmph, I never said I was going to let you leave. You don't actually think you can get out of this cell, do you? This is a magic-suppressing prison," Varian said coldly.

Jaina nodded. "That's right. There's no magic in this world that can escape from the Arcatraz. You're not going anywhere until you answer our questions."

"Don't try to show off your magical knowledge to me, little girl. The magic you know is nothing more than a castle built of building blocks. The real magic in this world is far beyond your imagination, like this one I'm using right now—"

As the man in black robes spoke, he snapped his fingers, and then vanished into thin air the next second.

Varian and Jaina exchanged a surprised glance, both seeing a hint of astonishment in each other's eyes.

"Do you think this person's words are credible?" Jaina asked in a deep voice.

"I don't know, but it's always good to be prepared. If I've prepared and his prediction doesn't come true, it'll just be a false alarm. But if his prediction comes true and I haven't prepared, the resulting losses will be something I can never forgive myself for."

As he spoke, Varian turned and walked towards the outside of the dungeon. "I will immediately mobilize troops, arrange plans, and prepare for the attack. Lady Jaina, I hope you can be by my side to assist me when the crisis breaks out, and also to see if the prophecy spoken by that man in black is true."

"I will obey your command, Your Majesty," Jaina said, and then followed her out.

Early the next morning, Varian summoned the major Grand Marshal and generals of Stormwind City to begin arranging the defense and to devise a plan for a city defense operation three days later.

Considering that the attackers are elemental creatures, we need to prepare for fire, water, wind, and earthquakes. Then, we just have to wait for the crisis to break out.

The other leaders of the Alliance were also kept behind by Varian under various pretexts. These were all top heroes of the world, and each of them had a powerful guard with them. If they could stay and assist, they would be a great fighting force.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Early that morning, Varian Wrynn and Jaina climbed the walls of Stormwind Keep, waiting for the appointed time to arrive.