"Cooperation? In what way?" Xavius narrowed his eyes.
"Simple. You want the Emerald Dream, I want the Broken Isles. Our goals don't clash. And our greatest obstacle… is the Temple of the Moon. Am I wrong?"
"You… you're after the Tear of Elune?" Xavius' eyes widened in shock. This human's courage was unbelievable!
Why was the Temple of the Moon the biggest obstacle to corrupting the Dream? Because within Val'sharah's temple rested a supreme artifact—the Tear of Elune, one of the Pillars of Creation. With that artifact present, it was nearly impossible to drag the night elves into corruption.
That was why, in the original story, Xavius' most important step to twisting the Dream completely was first corrupting the Tear of Elune.
But that was a relic left by a true goddess, Elune herself! To touch it might draw down her wrath.
Xavius suddenly felt unease. At this time, he had not yet reached the arrogance he would later show during the Legion's return. For now, he still carried real fear of Elune.
Back then, during the Legion's return, the Burning Legion was also there to take the first blows. But now… things were different.
"It's not me who wants the Tear of Elune—it's you, Lord Xavius. I have little interest in it. Once the matter is done, it will belong to you," the Shadow Weaver said, shaking her head. "And rest assured, my master has already set the qiraji swarm against the night elves in Kalimdor. Their main forces can't spare any strength for Val'sharah. As for Elune… she did not appear even in the War of the Ancients. With your experience, what is there to fear?"
Yes… during the War of the Ancients, Elune never showed herself. So why would she come out now, just for one Tear of Elune?
Xavius' eyes darted quickly, calculating the gains and losses. There was no doubt—the Tear of Elune would bring immense benefit. With it in his grasp, the green dragonflight would be powerless to stop the Nightmare's spread. Perhaps even Ysera herself…
As he thought, greed flickered in Xavius' eyes. "Tell me exactly how we'll cooperate," he said at last, restraining his desire and focusing on her words.
"Simple. All you need to do is…" The Shadow Weaver smiled faintly and began laying out her plan to Xavius.
Of course, the plan left out some key truths. After all, Ancient One and Abbendis' true purpose was never just to work with N'Zoth. On the contrary, to them, N'Zoth was nothing more than another "battery" for Ancient One's greater design.
——
While war raged across Azeroth and dark plots stirred beneath the surface, Josh sat peacefully at the foot of his castle hill, fishing.
"Sir, the results are in—Mr. Nixon has won the election!" Just as Josh pulled a fish from the water and tossed it into his basket, his chief butler, Francesca, came up behind him with the report.
"As expected, isn't it? If Nixon still managed to lose, he might as well hang himself with a noodle," Josh replied casually. "What I want to know is—how did Kennedy take it?"
They were speaking of the just-ended U.S. presidential election. Of course, the one who won the White House was Nixon, the candidate Josh had quietly supported—not the would-be "emperor" who had once tried to make peace with him but was always just a toy in Josh's eyes.
"He's furious. Though he hasn't attacked you directly, he's made some statements harmful to our industries and to Austria," Francesca answered.
Josh chuckled. "Good. Let him be angry—he won't have the chance much longer. Pass down the order—execute the 'Wild Imagination' plan. Hm… let the Winter Soldier handle it. He's already neck-deep in debt; one more won't matter."
To Josh, this so-called "Emperor" was nothing more than a bored diversion now—and not even a real "emperor." He'd toyed with him long enough. Now it was time to send him off.
Over the past year, the rest of the Kennedy family had all met their ends through various "accidents," leaving only him behind. In truth, it must have been lonely. Better to let him reunite with his family sooner.
"Understood, Boss!" Francesca nodded without surprise, gladly accepting the command before leaving.
Josh returned to his fishing at the lakeside. Before long, the float on his line began to stir again.
Josh gave the rod a light tug—nothing moved??? What kind of joke was this? In this world, was there really a fish he couldn't pull up?
Not believing it, he yanked harder. He wasn't worried about the line breaking either—it was made of nano-vibranium. It looked thin, but even a blue whale couldn't snap it. And yet, the catch refused to come up.
Alright then… this clearly wasn't about a fish.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" Josh shouted warily, divine armor instantly covering his body. He was a hair's breadth away from drawing the Sword of Rupture.
But the next moment, a surge of great force pulled at his hands, trying to drag him into the lake. Josh felt it, and instead of struggling, he let himself be pulled under. He wanted to see who dared stir up trouble on his land.
Once he was in the water though, he broke into a grin. There, floating in a swimsuit, was a stunningly beautiful "mermaid," smiling brightly at him.
Who else could it be but his long-lost wife?
"My love, you're finally back—I've missed you so much!" Josh instantly dropped his guard and blinked beside Margaret, pulling her close. "You look well. No trouble on your side, I hope?"
Though they were underwater, the water meant nothing to them—they had long since transcended such limits.
"I'm fine! I couldn't move during my entire advancement, but I could still sense everything outside. Arishem took me to the Celestials' domain, what they call the Primordial Land. There, I met the other Celestials. With their help, I completed my advancement smoothly, and now I can fully control my powers." Margaret smiled gently.
"I can tell. You're so strong now, I bet you could squash me with one hand," Josh shrugged. "But that doesn't matter. Welcome home."
"Thank you. But do you remember what I told you before I advanced?" Margaret asked.
"What?" Josh blinked, confused. Did she?
"I said I still want a child," Margaret said with a soft smile.
"Uh… that has to happen naturally. And this place… isn't really the best for that, is it?" Josh's eyes widened.
"I think it's just right. It's not like we've never done it in the water before…" Margaret's smile turned sly as she grabbed Josh's collar.
——
Meanwhile, Francesca had just left the lakeside, heading toward the castle on the hill, when she suddenly felt the ground tremble behind her. She turned back—and her eyes went wide.
What the hell… a tsunami? No, a lake-quake?!
Terrified, she bolted, but only after a few steps she remembered—Josh was still at the lake.
Though he was powerful, she felt she had to at least check what was happening.
And besides, she wasn't just an ordinary person anymore. A little water wasn't going to hurt her. So she hurried back toward the lake.
Barely a minute later, she came back the way she came, her face bright red.
Really now… Sir and Madam were too wild. And the noise they made was way too much.
Is this the power of gods?
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