N'Zoth is the God of Nightmares; its power doesn't lie in energy, but in its eerie abilities.
Three years ago, during the Nightmare Invasion, Haweis almost succeeded in merging reality and dreams, becoming the ruler of Azeroth. At that time, Aiden harnessed the will of the entire world to unleash a blow that surpassed the gods, finally killing it. And Haweis was merely a relatively important minion under N'Zoth's command.
Now they face an Old God many times more powerful than the Haweis of that time.
The heroes who could reach N'Zoth's core were all individuals of unwavering will, yet even so, when facing this hideous and terrifying black mist, fear still arose in their hearts.
A strong intuition told them that anyone who dared to venture into the black mist would undoubtedly encounter the most terrifying things in the world.
"Everyone, next we will be fighting our own emotions. N'Zoth's Nightmare Essence will project the most fearful and terrifying aspects of our inner selves and infinitely amplify them. This is each of our own battles; there is no aid, only ourselves to rely on. Only heroes who conquer fear are qualified to kill N'Zoth and end it completely!"
Aiden spoke, telling the heroes before him in advance what was about to happen. This was the final threshold before killing N'Zoth, but it was not so easy to cross.
There were 109 heroes before him, but perhaps less than one in ten would be able to go with him to kill N'Zoth in the end.
He was even prepared to fight alone.
Aiden, however, was confident he wouldn't be frightened by N'Zoth's tricks.
If it were possible to display personal attributes in a data-driven way, he could already form a level suppression against N'Zoth; all of the opponent's tricks would be ineffective in the face of the power gap.
However, this was indeed a trial of the spirit, and those who successfully passed it would undoubtedly have unlimited prospects.
Of course, even if someone couldn't pass, it didn't mean they would stagnate.
As soon as Aiden finished speaking, one fellow was the first to rush into the black mist.
Undoubtedly, that was Vel'Koz, the Eye of the Void.
This is a guy completely without fear; in some ways, it is practically N'Zoth's nemesis—if it were a bit more powerful, it would be even more truly deserving of the name.
"This is a game for the brave, how could I be absent!" Garen, the Might of Demacia, also charged in with his greatsword.
This general could be said to have kept his promise—"I will lead the charge!"
Well, this time Vel'Koz got there first.
Those who had made it this far would not be truly frightened by the hideous black mist, nor would anyone hesitate when faced with a challenge.
The heroes rushed in almost vying for the first spot.
Aiden found it a bit strange that the last ones remaining, besides himself, were Kayle—this angel was never afraid of challenges.
Kayle seemed to see his confusion, and she revealed a smile, saying, "My sister is trapped in the material library, isn't she?"
Aiden suddenly understood, saying, "That's right, in this regard, she is not as good as you!"
Kayle let out a low laugh, then flew into the black mist with great pride.
At the same time, in the place where Aiden and the others had initially left the material library, the 110th hero suddenly appeared; it was none other than Morgana, the Fallen Angel.
She looked around, found there was no one else, and immediately said to herself gleefully, "Hehe, Queen Morgana saw through everything long ago!"
She thought she was the first one out, but after waiting only a short while, Morgana realized something was wrong—she clearly felt the aura of a group of heroes leaving, including that annoying sister of hers, Kayle.
Morgana was instantly startled, her face losing color: "I've been left behind?"
—
Most people have things they fear, and what's more, N'Zoth can utilize almost all negative emotions, not limited to fear, but also greed, tyranny, arrogance, lust, and so on...
Another Old God, Y'Shaarj, was also skilled at manipulating emotions, but Y'Shaarj's usual method was to absorb these negative emotions from mortals to evolve into Sha, which, while terrifying, were more outwardly manifested.
N'Zoth, on the other hand, was more adept at using negative emotions to weave terrifying nightmares.
Reality is difficult to manipulate; while the Sha are powerful, they can still be killed by people, whereas dreams are a place that can be woven at will. This is N'Zoth's absolute domain; in this domain, it fears no one, and anyone who dares to enter this domain will experience the terror of the nightmare!
Now Yasuo was getting a taste of that bitterness.
Nightmares are bad dreams, and dreams have no logic; people in dreams cannot truly think rationally, which gives N'Zoth, who can manipulate nightmares, a great deal of room to operate.
For example, Yasuo, the Unforgiven, was encountering trouble.
Once, in Ionia, Yasuo was tasked with protecting an elder. At that time, Ionia was being invaded by Noxus, and the battlefield situation was very unfavorable for his homeland.
Yasuo was a renowned sword genius, and in his youthful arrogance, he believed he could completely change the tide of battle with his own strength. Therefore, he abandoned his post to seek trouble with the invaders. By the time he returned, the elder he was supposed to protect had been killed.
Individual power seemed insignificant in the face of war between nations; even someone as close to a god as Lady Soraka, the Starchild, could not change the course of the war alone, let alone Yasuo?
But at that time, he didn't understand this truth at all, which led to his ruin and disgrace, and even imprisonment—because the elder died from Wind Technique, the very swordsmanship that Yasuo was famous for, and which was unheard of elsewhere in Ionia.
Yasuo fled Ionia burdened with the charge of treason; all his former comrades believed he had killed the elder, but he himself knew the real culprit was someone else.
He wasn't afraid of death, but he was afraid that the true murderer would get away with it. He fled Ionia only to investigate thoroughly and clear his name.
For years, he had been hunted by his former comrades, classmates, and countrymen. To survive, he had no choice but to fight back, which resulted in his hands being stained with the blood of those closest to him, including his own brother.
It was only after joining the League of Legends that Yasuo was able to clear his name with the help of the League organization. However, he could no longer seek revenge on the true culprit—because the real murderer was also a hero protected by the League—Riven, the Exile!
It is true that there was no second person in Ionia who knew Wind Technique, but outside of that nation, there was someone who knew Wind Technique, and this person happened to be in Noxus and participated in the invasion of Ionia.
She, too, left the army because her hands were stained with the blood of innocents and she ultimately doubted her mission, becoming a wanderer and eventually joining the League of Legends.
The true culprit had been found, but at that time, they were serving different masters, and Riven assassinating the elder was merely following orders.
Now that neither of them was accepted by their own countries, Yasuo naturally had no reason to seek vengeance on Riven.
These past few years were the most unbearable part of Yasuo's life.
He could avoid being confused by the timelines in the material library, the records of himself from birth to the present, but he had no way to confront his most bleak past.
And in the nightmare, these past events were rewritten:
When he felt his existence, he found himself back on the battlefield of that time.
His sword pierced through the chest of the elder he was supposed to protect. Until the moment he fell, the elder's eyes still held a look of disbelief—why, why would Yasuo assassinate him?
Had he already betrayed Ionia, intending to offer this as proof of loyalty?
Yasuo pulled out his sword, feeling somewhat lost at this moment.
His classmates around him looked at him with angry and sorrowful eyes; their red eyes showed undisguised hatred.
"Kill Yasuo!"
"Kill this traitor!"
"Avenge the elder!"
These skilled swordsmen rushed forward with swords, filled with grief and indignation.
Yasuo couldn't help but take a step back.
Although he knew Wind Technique, he couldn't possibly face a dozen or so skilled swordsmen alone.
And just as he was about to be cut into a thousand pieces by these swordsmen, the sound of arrows fired from strong bows and crossbows suddenly ripped through the air from all around.
More than half of the dozen swordsmen were hit by arrows and fell to the ground.
Then a group of Noxian soldiers charged out from all sides, led by a female officer wearing exquisite black leather armor covered by a blood-red cloak.
She held a runic greatsword in her hand and charged first into the remaining few Ionian swordsmen who had survived the arrow rain, wielding the runic greatsword with agile movements, killing all the swordsmen as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.
Then she sheathed her sword and looked at Yasuo, extending a hand: "Yasuo, welcome your defection from the darkness to the light, serve our Noxus!"
Yasuo reached out and shook hands with the Noxian female officer.
One of the swordsmen who had fallen but not yet died stared at Yasuo with eyes full of intense hatred, and even after taking his last breath, that gaze made Yasuo feel as if he had thorns in his back.
He looked closely and saw clearly that it was his own brother—Yone!
Yasuo thus became a true traitor.
A voice inside him told him this wasn't real, things shouldn't be this way, something must be wrong, how could he be a traitor?
However, whenever he doubted, his brother Yone's dying gaze, full of intense hatred and refusing to close, made it impossible for him to excuse himself.
He was a true traitor.
—
N'Zoth is the absolute king here; it manipulates everyone's dreams, wantonly tearing open the deepest wounds in these heroes' hearts.
What people fear most, it presents to them. Most people cannot escape the pursuit of their inner demons, because their enemy is not N'Zoth, but themselves.
People like Yasuo, who are affected by the negative emotions deep within their hearts and cannot distinguish between reality and dreams, are not a minority.
Unless they are heroes with flawless spirits like Vel'Koz, or with wills as strong as Aiden, no one can easily pass this nightmare challenge.
But mortals will not willingly be N'Zoth's slaves; there will always be those who can overcome themselves.
The old Paladin Tirion Fordring returned in his dream to the end of the eighteenth year after the opening of the Dark Portal.
That was the time he was charged with a crime for harboring the Orc veteran Eitrigg; he was tried by the Alliance in the Hall of Justice in Stratholme.
This time, Aiden did not appear to disrupt the proceedings and defend him; he was sentenced to exile, while Eitrigg was to be executed.
He decided to break into the execution to save Eitrigg's life, which was also what he did in the classic storyline.
Also coming to rescue were over a hundred of the strongest Orc warriors led by Thrall.
They did indeed rescue Eitrigg, but just as they succeeded, the Knights of the Silver Hand surrounded them.
Uther, Saidan Dathohan, Alexandros Mograine, Gavinrad... these renowned Paladin leaders surrounded the old Fordring and the Orcs.
"You have indeed allied with the Orcs!"
"Traitor! Traitor to the nation!"
"Tirion Fordring, you have disappointed me greatly!"
Even Arden, Fordring's most loyal captain of the guard, looked at him with extreme disappointment, his lips trembling as he said, "My lord, come back, your wife, your child, and your people—are you abandoning us?"
"No, I cannot violate my oath, Eitrigg did not..." Tirion Fordring and the Orc Eitrigg became friends after fighting, becoming close friends who abandoned racial prejudice and hatred.
He promised the other party could operate within his territory, on the condition that they did not endanger his people or the safety of Lordaeron.
Eitrigg indeed did not do that. It was precisely for this reason that Tirion risked defying the world to come and break up the execution.
And before Fordring finished speaking, Thrall, who was beside him, roared with the Doomhammer raised: "Kill them!"
The Orc warriors charged fearlessly towards the Paladins of the Silver Hand at their chieftain's command.
Fordring could not attack the Orcs, because they had come to save Eitrigg. He also could not attack the Paladins, because they were his closest comrades in arms.
He stood frozen in the middle of the battlefield, motionless like a puppet.
An old man in a rough cloth robe suddenly appeared before Fordring's eyes. He had been a priest for most of his life, his figure was somewhat short and stout, and he looked very amiable, with a smile on his face that made people feel calm and peaceful.
But when this old man looked at Fordring, it was as if he were looking at filth in a sewer, full of disgust: "Traitor, I have no student like you!"
This short, stout old priest was Archbishop Alonsus Faol of the Church of the Holy Light.
He creatively combined the characteristics of warriors and priests, pioneering the Paladin profession; the first five Paladins of the Silver Hand were all his students.
Fordring was, of course, also one of them.
"No, teacher, I am just upholding my oath!" Fordring argued. "I am not a tra—"
However, before he could finish this sentence, he saw an Orc charge forward and cleave off Archbishop Faol's head with an axe.
This Orc picked up the head from the ground, turned around to look at Fordring, and grinned at him—the murderer who killed Archbishop Faol was none other than Eitrigg...
The scene shifted, and he thus became a human Paladin—a former Paladin—loyal to the Orcs—because he had lost the ability to call upon the Holy Light.
He acted as the vanguard for the Orcs, leading a group of warriors who had also betrayed humanity and the Alliance, launching an attack on the Alliance.
And when he had arranged his formation, a young and valiant Paladin on horseback slowly rode out from the enemy's ranks.
Fordring looked closely and immediately cried out in surprise: "Taelan?"
This person was actually his son, Taelan Fordring!
Delayed by something, will update one chapter first, and add more later.