After Draenor was reshaped, some of Azeroth's orcs returned to their homeland, and some draenei stayed behind. Together with the original arakkoa, ogres, and gronn, they formed the major forces of this world.
These major forces all had some contact with Azeroth. A few years ago, everyone fought side by side here, jointly resisting the Burning Legion's invasion.
This time, after Aiden arrived, the major races gathered in the neutral arakkoa capital, Skettis, to discuss important matters together.
Aiden teleported to Shattrath City after its reconstruction. After learning of this news, he rushed there and met some old acquaintances—the arakkoa leader Terokk, the gronn demigod Gruul, and Thrall's grandmother, Greatmother Geyah, were all present.
"Is that you?" Gruul's single eye widened greatly, clearly surprised by Aiden's appearance.
The others were the same. During the Outland War, Aiden was the hero who saved them all. After the teleportation array between the two places was opened, the connection between them became even closer. Now that Draenor was facing a crisis again, they were discussing how to solve it, but they didn't expect Aiden to return!
"Hello, old friends," Aiden said with a smile as he greeted them.
"You've come at the right time, Lord Aiden. We are discussing something," Terokk said, recounting some of the strange things that had recently happened on Draenor:
In recent days, "earthquakes" have been occurring everywhere throughout Draenor. In some places, the tremors are average, while in others, they are relatively strong. If it were a normal earthquake, it would be fine, but what earthquake would occur continuously for several days and become increasingly strong?
Moreover, during this period, the primal thorn beasts on the ground suddenly went berserk. These guys were originally mainly fighting against the Magnaron, but now they suddenly launched attacks on other races. In recent days, many tribes and cities have been attacked.
Everyone had experienced the Outland War and knew that an ancient god with terrifying power was still sealed underground, so everyone speculated that this ancient god must be restless.
That's why the major forces united to discuss how to deal with it. However, there is still no effective solution because Vaarnal is too powerful, far beyond their ability to resist. Even if the remaining two guardians—Ansu and Rukhmar—were invited, they probably wouldn't be able to deal with that guy.
"Tell us, what should we do?" Gruul said somewhat roughly.
He had such a simple and direct personality that everyone was used to it. After all, the word "politeness" didn't exist in the gronn's dictionary.
"This time…" Aiden hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell the truth. "This time it's very troublesome. According to the information I have now, Titan imprisonments have failed in several worlds that I have explored. I'm afraid the entire universe is like this. In other words, before long, all the ancient gods who were once conquered and imprisoned will return to freedom."
Terokk exclaimed in shock, "Is that why Vaarnal is restless underground?"
"Yes," Aiden nodded. "Before I left, it was still a primal ancient god, but when I came this time, I found that it had basically fallen."
The fallen ancient gods have the ultimate goal of destroying everything and ushering in the "End of Time." Everyone knows what Vaarnal's fall represents.
"Then what should we do?" Greatmother Geyah became very confused. "No wonder the elemental spirits have become very restless recently. It seems they have also sensed the changes in the world."
"If it dares to come out, we'll beat it to death!" Gruul fiercely pounded his strong chest with both fists, making a muffled sound like a drum, and his single eye turned red, looking murderous.
That idea is certainly good, but Vaarnal is too powerful. In terms of strength alone, it is more powerful than any ancient god Aiden has ever seen. After falling, it will further enhance its strength. Without an indestructible artifact like the "Flame Ripper," it would be difficult to contain it.
The fully unsealed Silver Judgment in Aiden's hand is a complete artifact that is no weaker than the Flame Ripper. He is not unable to defeat Vaarnal, but the price will be very heavy—because once Vaarnal is freed, the entire Draenor will probably collapse. The people living on this planet will experience destruction even more severe than when Ner'zhul tore the world apart with portals more than a decade ago, which could mean that ninety percent of the people remaining on Draenor will perish.
And once a war breaks out, it could completely destroy the entire world!
Aiden didn't have any good solutions for a while. The root of the problem is not how to fight the ancient gods, but how to prevent the Titan imprisonments from collapsing again. Otherwise, after countless ancient gods in the universe break free, all the worlds will probably be smashed to pieces. That wouldn't be the real End of Time, but it wouldn't be far off.
"I'll try to reinforce the seal while Vaarnal hasn't regained its freedom," Aiden said with a frown.
He has the highest authority, and it is not too difficult to seal an ancient god who has not yet broken free. Moreover, Vaarnal is not completely fallen now. Its reason is still fighting with madness, and there is no result yet.
If Vaarnal can slightly control its desires, it will definitely make Aiden's sealing behavior more effective.
This ancient god is not a true enemy to Aiden in the true sense. Years ago, the other party helped him clear away the fog and realize the truth of the world. When other people and other settings were repeating the system's lies, only this enemy, who should have been completely opposed, said the truth, which was invaluable. And this truth helped Aiden in unimaginable ways.
So, unless absolutely necessary, he doesn't want to kill Vaarnal.
They hadn't seen each other for several years, and Gruul didn't know that Aiden's strength had reached a level that it couldn't even look up to. The gronn demigod's eyes were suspicious: "Aiden, can you do it?"
Aiden was amused by this big guy. He chuckled and said, "Come on, Gruul, hold out your hand."
"What for?" Gruul didn't know what Aiden wanted to do, but he still held out his left arm—this gronn demigod's palm was bigger than Aiden's entire body, and he was a creature known for his strength. Tearing down a city wall with his bare hands was just a piece of cake for him.
Aiden summoned the Silver Judgment and said, "Catch," and placed the sword flat on Gruul's palm.
The others all looked puzzled, and Gruul didn't know what Aiden was up to. This sword was just like a toothpick to him. Was it sent to pick his teeth?
But as soon as the sword touched his palm, he felt a huge force coming from above, as if a mountain was pressing down.
Gruul's expression changed immediately. He exerted force on his arm, trying to lift it up, but his palm was still pressed to the ground, and with a bang, the floor cracked.
Gruul's skin turned brown, and the veins on his arms bulged, thicker than buckets. Even if it was a real mountain, it would have to be overturned under his great strength, but the sword was still steadily pressing in his hand, making it impossible for him to move it even a bit.
Gruul simply didn't believe it. He reached out with his other hand, trying to lift the sword with both hands, but after trying several times, he was panting with exhaustion and still couldn't succeed.
"I'm not playing, I'm not playing!" Gruul shouted, admitting defeat. "This sword is evil!"
Aiden went forward with a smile, held the hilt of the sword, and took back the Silver Judgment. Gruul immediately felt the "mountain" pressing on his hand disappear.
"Are you convinced?" Aiden asked.
"Convinced, convinced!" Gruul grunted.
He thought it was some kind of magic and challenged Aiden to an arm wrestling match. Although one of his fingers was thicker than Aiden's entire arm, Aiden still agreed. The result was obvious, the demigod known for his infinite divine power lost again.
The others also realized that after not seeing him for several years, this lord's strength had far exceeded their imagination.
After leaving Skettis, Aiden came to the sea alone and once again projected his soul, diving into the ground. Soon after, he sensed the huge will underground—the ancient god Vaarnal.
As before, Vaarnal launched a mental attack without discrimination, but this time Aiden did not dodge, but resolved them one by one. The two were deadlocked for more than an hour, and the crazy mental attack finally stopped because Vaarnal was a little tired.
After the crazy will subsided, Vaarnal's reason finally took over the dominance of the body. It sent a weak and bitter voice to Aiden: "You're back… See, my body has proven everything. I… I've been corrupted by the Titan's energy of creation…"
"Yes, I know, I already know," Aiden responded.
The ancient gods themselves are only dominated by the instinctive power of the universe to correct mistakes. They don't know anything about systems or games, and they don't know the origin of the imaginary world, so now Vaarnal also knows what is happening but doesn't know why. But it didn't lie. Everything it told Aiden at the beginning has been confirmed one by one.
"I said, the next time we meet, we may be enemies. My reason can't last long. If you have anything to say, say it quickly… Maybe a few days, maybe ten days, at most a month or two, and I will completely fall and become one of 'them.' By then—"
"Them" refers to the fallen ancient gods, whose mission is to cleanse all life in the universe and destroy all order. The ones in Azeroth and those in Silithus are all like that. Among the ancient gods Aiden has seen, only Vaarnal a few years ago was still a primal ancient god.
From this alone, it can be seen that the instinct of the universe has already affected most of the ancient gods. The real End of Time has never stopped. No matter what Aiden has done, no matter how he has influenced the historical process of Azeroth or other worlds, these are only insignificant in the grand scheme of things.