Chapter 23 - Death
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The meeting ended in a bad mood. Jaina, who had long expected this to end, could not suppress her inner loss. She recited a spell and appeared in the quiet mage area and came to Breed's residence. Sylvanas told the female mage that she could find her here.
Standing at the door, Jaina heard the elves and humans talking inside. They seemed to be having a happy conversation. On several occasions, Jaina heard Brad's laughter.
She turned around and prepared to leave because she was really unwilling to tell what happened at the meeting. If an old man in his twilight years heard that his son was not only not dead, but also turned into a dead soul, who could withstand the pressure.
"Don't worry, she's coming back soon. She set out to see the king two hours ago, and now she should be back soon."
Jaina frowned. Are they talking about themselves? Curiosity made her stop again and listen to the sounds inside the room.
"I want to say thank you in front of Ms. Prodmore. I, the old man, have put a lot of thought into her. And I also want to ask her to promise me something. Theramore is now in Dalaran's giant pit, and I want to go and see my home when I go back. I haven't been home for almost twenty years."
Marys Farm? Jaina immediately thought of that place. She had no reason not to agree to Brad, not to mention that she had not returned to the old Kingdom of Lordaeron for many years. But are they still familiar with that place? Is there any outline of the past?
The one I love deeply is left with only some wreckage of walking in this world. It is something that no one wants to see. People would rather remember what they were like. Remember that they were once full of vitality, health, happiness... they were once living people.
The anger ignited in Jaina's heart again, and she was worried that she would not forget Tyrande's words. The words expressed in the words of the leader Kadore were probably the only thing that made her feel that something was reasonable.
Maybe I should ask others what they think.
...
Nathanos was surprised that he had been doing nothing for so long, and he did not stop in front of him or after death. He suddenly stepped back from the heavy burden and made his subconscious mind think of rest. It sounded ridiculous, but he did not even open his eyes now. It turned out that the uniqueness of the undead was not tired, which was limited to the body, and there was still a way of thinking for the living.
He didn't care at all how long he had been lying on the branches, and was unable to enter sleep had never bothered him like he was now. He longed to enter a dream not to experience the feeling of comfort in his whole body when he woke up, but because sleep can prevent his brain from operating for the future of the forgotten. What's bad is that dreams cannot favor him. And whenever he no longer focuses on his eyes, he will start to think about the future of the forgotten.
If he was asked about the meaning of his action, he would say: Under my leadership, the Forgotten have won again and again, but as long as the enemy still exists, our existence is not yet stable.
"Yes, my kid, at least for now."
It was his mother's voice, the real voice, not his own illusion. He wanted to turn his head in the direction of the sound, but he just said calmly: "Who is it? Get out!" The mother's soul had already rested in peace and had not communicated with him for many years. Now speaking to him in a slightly sarcastic tone can only mean that this guy who stole his mother's voice was a fool. Or the other party knew that he could see through this trick and was just teasing him. No matter what the result, Nathanos vowed to make him pay the price.
His thoughts caused the other party to laugh loudly, and the sound was as if it was whipping his soul. Nathanos finally couldn't help but open his eyes, stood up and turned around. To his surprise, he was no longer in his original position, but in a dark, tomb-like space. The mother was really floating in the air in front of him, in the state of soul, and on the other side was a guy with a very ferocious and terrifying expression like a ritual mask. The Withering One thought was Naozu, but he was an orc, and the person in front of him was a troll.
"Daphne, take a good look at what your good son is thinking. I brought you to see him, but he was rude to me and wanted me to pay the price. How could you raise such a son?"
Nathanos set his eyes on his mother, and after confirming that it was correct, the scarlet light in his eyes instantly dimmed.
Daphne comforted Nathanos and said to the troll: "His attitude towards you is just because he mistakenly thinks you imprisoned me. Since it is a misunderstanding, as long as you make it clear, it will always be solved."
"It seems that your son has not inherited the good habit of talking." The troll screamed and stretched out a bone finger to point at the Withering One: "Remember who I am, Nathanos?"
Nathanos curled his lips, his eyes as hot and bright as his burning rage. He seemed to calm down, "I'm not surprised why you knew my name, because I remember you too, even though I had just recovered from freedom at that time. You are Loa, the trolls believed in, and your name is Bonsandy."
"Fortunately, you have a good memory!" Bonsandy floated in the air and looked at Nathanos, "It just became much weaker."
The words of Death were true, but he just stroked the hair on his forehead back, his eyes also staring at the other person with a fiery look. "Do you want to give it a try?"
Bonsandy immediately responded to Nathanos's provocation. He suddenly appeared in front of the Withered One and warned: "It is best to remain silent when listening to me, otherwise I will tell you what consequences the noisy guy will bear." This sentence worked, but it was not Bonsandy's threat, but as he approached, Nathanos had an extremely familiar feeling, and he would also have the same feeling when facing the Lich King.
"If you want to threaten me, it may be more useful to do it directly." Nathanos did not give in.
The undead was surprisingly bold, Bonsandy thought so. He did not appreciate this kind of act of showing off, "What you said makes sense."
With a dramatic sigh and a wave of death's hand, Daphne's figure, which was originally in the state of soul, became more transparent. For a moment, Nathanos still believed that it was just a bluff, but it was not. The mother's smile remained, slowly disappearing in front of him.
"Enough!"
The troll Death stopped and looked at the Forgotten Leader like a toy. Before Nathanos changed his mind and agreed to make a compromise, Bonsandy spoke again: "Enough?"
At that moment, Nathanos curled his lips and struggled in an angry silence, "Yes, don't torture her. Tell me what you want?"
"To be honest, I even have some doubts about whether you can meet my needs."
"My power is unquestionable," the Withered Man's right hand was clawed, and a force that did not belong to Bonsandy was stirring in a rage. He could hear, and Bonsandy could also hear, countless souls were wailing in pain, they were being torn.
The troll Loa slowly landed on the ground, and the bottom of his cane suddenly hit the ground, and all the restless souls that were restless due to Nathanos immediately calmed down.
"This is the last time I've provoked me." Bonsandy's tone was no longer joking. "But you have also won the opportunity to work with each other."
His words are clever, "cooperation" rather than "serving" or "obeying". This made Nathanos interested.
“What cooperation?”
Bonsandy's eyes became bright, and he first sarcastically rebuked: "You are an unpleasant guy, Nathanos. Your existence has seriously damaged the interests of the gods who are in charge of the dead."
"It seems you are not the only god who knows death." Nathanos responded. Unexpectedly, the troll Loa came to his face again and pointed a finger at his chest.
"Yes, I should even kill you now," he said, but he changed his words: "But that doesn't solve the problem. You have too many dead people around you. Most of them are absolutely loyal to you. Death does not accept the souls of believing in others."
"You mean, is it you who should be loyal to my people?"
Bonsandy grinned, revealing her dry fangs. Most of the Loa gods are in animal form, but he chose the appearance of a troll. So he is as treacherous as the race he represents, Nathanos is ready to attack Bonsandy, and as long as the other party asks him to give his people, he will pull out Salamani without hesitation.
"I don't want your men." Bonsandy's words made the Withered temporarily let go of the thoughts in his heart. "What I need is that you can lead the war."
"War?" Nathanos repeated, "You mean the war between the tribe and the alliance?"
“It’s obvious.”
"Ha!" Nathanos laughed without any sense of humor, "I don't need to do anything at all. They will fight by themselves. This is a destiny. After the Battle of Theramore, there is no peace between the alliance and the tribe. If you want to fight, just wait."
"No, no, no." The god of death shook his head, retreated a few meters, and snapped his fingers. A strange and mysterious throne appeared behind him. Sitting on it, he reminded Nathanos of the Lich King. "That's really insignificant. What I want is a full-scale war."
"All-round war?" The undead under the throne opened his eyes wide.
"That means everyone." The troll Loa spread out and raised his hands. "The tribes, alliances, the Forsaken, and even the Pandas are all involved. I might as well tell you that a navy full of Zandala trolls is looking for Pandaria. It is only a matter of time before the mist of this continent is pushed away."
"So you want to bring the war here?" Nathanos said angrily. He liked Pandaria. Although he had not been in this continent for a long time, the quiet atmosphere here was completely different from that of Kalimdo and the Eastern Kingdoms. It was a place where he could temporarily get rid of his burden. What's more, Pandaria had what he needed, and he didn't want the Alliance and the Tribe to stop him.
Perhaps seeing through what the Withered One thought, Bonsandy laughed wildly. "You don't seem to be willing, but don't forget what war is, Nathanos. Honor and justice are all stupid lies. Every side in the war knows to fight for two words, that is profit. Imagine how broad Pandalia is, the fertile land, rich ore, and even the Panda people may become slaves. Will the leaders of the alliance and the tribe give up? Will you... give up again?"
"Don't confuse me with Wrien and Hellscream, I will never... fight for the sake of profit."
There was another sneer, but Bonsandy did not continue to sarcasticize Nathanos, but said with great recognition: "Yes, you are fighting for the 'need' and meeting my needs will help you find what you want."
"You don't know what I want at all."
Death stood up from the throne, and this time he did not flash to the withered eyes, but walked towards him step by step with a cane. Then his free hand grabbed Nathanos' left sleeve. "I don't think so." He said, "Your needs are so easy to guess."
"So what if I guess it right? Without your help, I can still find what I want."
"Hahaha! You don't know at all, and you don't even know the dangers of lurking on Pandaria. That's why you lie leisurely on the branches and pretend to sleep. You may still have time, but what about the Forgotten? Can they wait?"
"With me here, the forgotten will not die."
Bonsandy walked around Nathanos, put his hands on his shoulders, and said in an emotional tone: "How long can you last? I can guarantee that you will die before you find a place where you can perform the ceremony."
"Isn't it good for you to die?" Nathanos only glanced over his right shoulder, but Bonsandy had returned to the throne.
"When the benefits lost are greater than the benefits gained, it is a loss-making transaction. If you agree to my cooperation requirements, it is the real benefit for me."
"I'm not a Lich King." Nathanos rebuked: "I won't use blood to satisfy anyone's request."
"That may be because the conditions I offer are not enough to make you excited. No matter what, if you are unwilling to act, I can only force you, for example, I will guide the alliance and the tribe to find Pandaria, and then let the Pandas choose their respective camps of the red and blue sides." Bonsandy heard Nathanos' grinding teeth and continued calmly: "Of course, you may be able to stick to the matter, but I am happy to provide you with the motivation to participate. As long as I improve my chips a little, you don't want to know why your mother's soul appears here?"
The loud sword unsheathed echoed around, Nathanos pointed Salamani at Bonsandy without saying a word, but he needed Death to give himself an explanation.
"Put your toy away, it's useless to me," Bonsandy said with a smile, but Nathanos was unmoved. "First of all, I did not imprison your mother's soul, she had returned to her place."
"If that's the case, she shouldn't have followed your call."
"I brought her, but it doesn't mean I controlled her." The troll Loa noticed the confusion in the eyes of the Withered One and couldn't help but smile: "It turns out that you don't understand the world after death. It seems that the Lich King acted too fast when he killed you. You were pulled back into your body before you even stepped onto the other side."
"The world after death?" Nathanos murmured, slowly lowering his sword-raising hand.
His actions further confirmed Bonsandy's conjecture, "You don't think that people will not feel their consciousness like they sleep after they die."
Isn't it? Nathanos's rage fire was extinguished. He argued with the person in charge of death to death was undoubtedly a joke, but what his mother had just appeared, and he would not be deceived. In the end...
"What exactly does the 'that realm' you mean in your mouth? Tell me."
Bonsandy fell into silence, but Nathanos saw that it was hesitation, and for a moment he grabbed the weakness of the god of death. "If you want me to help you, answer my question." As he said, Bonsandy's eyes were filled with anger, as if he had no choice.
Chapter completed!