Chapter 24: The Father-in-Law Comes Calling

The night in Dustwallow Marsh was thick with damp fog, shrouding Onyxia’s lair in a hazy gloom. Moonlight filtered through sparse clouds, casting mottled shadows across the muddy ground like countless prying eyes.

Deep within the lair, mountains of "Blackwing High-Yield Fertilizer" sacks glowed with an eerie, grayish-white hue under the dim light of swamp gas lamps. Each sack was placed with mathematical precision; viewed from above, they formed a massive runic array—a trap of some kind.

"Everything here must be moved," Dren whispered, huddled in the shadows, his voice barely audible. His grime-streaked fingers gripped a manifest tightly. "Yes, right there."

Onyxia stood beside the piles in her high elf form, her golden hair still shimmering with a soft luster in the dimness. Her slender fingers nudged the sacks with the elegance of one setting a table for a banquet.

"Must this batch be shipped tomorrow?" she asked, tilting her head slightly, her voice laced with amusement.

Dren wiped cold sweat from his forehead. "The goblins have been hounding us for weeks. They’ve nearly sold out—"

His words died in his throat.

The insect chirps of the marsh abruptly vanished. The fog froze in mid-air. Even the water droplets dripping from the cavern walls hung suspended.

Dren’s blood turned to ice. He turned his head slowly toward the lair’s entrance.

A towering figure already stood there.

Deathwing remained in his humanoid form, his black hair streaked with dark red, like cooling magma. His golden, slit-pupiled eyes burned in the darkness, sweeping over the piles of fertilizer, over the high elf illusion Onyxia carefully maintained, and finally settling on Dren in the shadows.

In that instant, Dren felt a thousand blades pierce his soul. His knees buckled involuntarily, and his teeth began to chatter. This was the crushing weight of the World-Breaker—no magic was needed; his mere presence was enough to shatter a mortal mind.

"Fa...ther..." Onyxia, in her high elf guise, struggled to maintain the illusion, though her voice had begun to warp.

Deathwing walked forward, his boots making no sound on the wet stone. His gaze fell upon the nearest bag of fertilizer, his fingertip tracing its surface.

"Lady Katrana Prestor," he said, his voice low and calm, yet causing the temperature of the lair to plummet. "The jewel of Stormwind’s nobility, the most trusted advisor to Bolvar Fordragon." He suddenly crushed the bag in his hand, grayish-white powder cascading from his fingers. "And now, you play with manure?"

Dren’s breathing hitched. He saw Onyxia’s illusion flicker unstably; beneath the elegant face of the high elf, obsidian dragon scales appeared and vanished.

Most terrifying of all, Deathwing had not even released his dragon aura yet.

From deep within the marsh came the agonizing wails of dragonspawn guards—the mere unconscious pressure of the World-Breaker was enough to drive these lesser beings to madness. Dren heard heavy thuds outside the lair, followed by the harsh scraping of scales against stone; the guards were dying in agony, falling silent within moments.

Deathwing finally turned his full attention to Onyxia. The corners of his mouth curled into a chilling smile.

"My dear daughter," he whispered, "when did you start... needing a mortal to tell you how to arrange your toys?"

As the final syllable fell, the high elf illusion shattered like glass. Obsidian scales surged over Onyxia’s body like a tidal wave, her dragon wings snapping open with a force that sent debris flying.

"Run!" she roared at Dren before fully shifting.

Dren did not need a second warning. He scrambled toward the pre-dug escape tunnel. Behind him, he heard Deathwing’s cold laughter: "Is this your beloved pet? A stray dog? Abandoning you without a second thought the moment danger arrived?"

As Dren vanished, the entire lair trembled. Onyxia had fully assumed her true form, her black scales gleaming like metal under the crystal lamps. She stood before the tunnel entrance, her dragon eyes locked on her father.

Behind her, hidden beneath the scattered fertilizer bags, the runic array began to emit a faint blue glow.

Dren stumbled into the escape tunnel as the roar of collapsing rock echoed behind him. His heart hammered against his ribs, and his eardrums throbbed from the cacophony of the two black dragons clashing.

"How dare you—!"

Deathwing’s bellow sent a physical wave of sound crashing through the air. Dren felt as if he had been shoved violently from behind, sprawling forward. He struggled to his feet, his palms sliced by sharp rocks, blood and cold sweat mingling on the damp ground.

*Don't stop.*

He forced himself to keep crawling, the narrow tunnel filled with the sound of dragon roars and crumbling stone. *Just a little further.* He thought, pushing forward with every ounce of strength.

In the main hall, Onyxia’s wings were fully unfurled, her dark scales reflecting a cold, metallic sheen. She guarded the entrance to the tunnel, a low, guttural growl rolling in her throat.

Deathwing remained in humanoid form, but shadows and magma boiled around him. He stared at his daughter, his golden slits narrowing to thin lines.

"Your human pet, he certainly fled with conviction."

His voice dripped with mockery, but carried a hint of... disappointment.

Onyxia’s tail lashed out, striking the ground and sending shards of rock flying.

"He is not a pet."

Deathwing sneered and took a step forward. The movement alone caused the temperature in the lair to spike, instantly scorching the moss on the walls.

"Then what is he?" the World-Breaker’s voice rumbled like thunder. "A mortal who teaches you to play with manure? A worm who dares to scheme against the creations of the Titans?"

Onyxia did not answer. She tensed her muscles, her claws digging deep into the stone, preparing for her father’s assault.

But Deathwing did not strike immediately.

He slowly raised a hand, palm upward.

"Look at yourself."

"You were once the spawn of the World-Breaker, the blood of Deathwing," he said, his voice almost gentle. "And now? You hide in a marsh, haggling with goblins, letting a human teach you how to handle fertilizer."

Onyxia’s pupils trembled, but a second later, she bared her fangs.

"At least I know what I am doing."

A flicker of genuine fury ignited in Deathwing’s eyes.

"You think you are defying me?" His voice now vibrated with the power of a dragon’s roar. "You are merely playing a pathetic game of house!"

*BOOM!*

He finally unleashed his dragon aura.

The physical pressure swept through the lair like a tsunami. The walls cracked instantly, and the lamps exploded one by one. Onyxia was knocked back several steps by the shockwave, her claws carving deep furrows into the floor.

But she did not fall.

"Playing house?" she looked up through the pressure, her golden eyes burning with a light Deathwing had never seen. "And what of you, Father?"

Her voice no longer trembled.

"For ten thousand years, what have you been doing?"

"Madly trying to destroy the world?"

Deathwing’s pupils constricted.

Deep in the tunnel, a pre-set portal awaited. Dren passed through it, emerging into a safe house on the outskirts of the marsh. He shakily triggered the mechanism on the wall, sealing the basement and cutting off the worst of the dragon aura.

He collapsed, gasping for air, his ears ringing.

Before him sat three prominent knife switches, connected to three simple Voltaic batteries.

Back in the dragon lair, Onyxia’s eyes remained locked on her father. Her claws tightened, carving more grooves into the floor.

Deathwing’s gaze swept over the overturned bags, the grayish-white ammonium nitrate powder scattered across the floor, revealing the blue runes etched into the rock beneath. The runes pulsed rhythmically, like a heartbeat, forming a massive energy array.

His lips curled into a mocking smile.

"A runic trap?"

His voice was low and disdainful, as if judging a child’s doodle.

"When did you... become so naive?"

Onyxia did not answer, but her wings shivered, and the muscles beneath her scales tightened.

Deathwing sneered and took a step forward—

*BOOM!*

His humanoid shell shattered.

Shadow and magma intertwined as the World-Breaker revealed his true form. Obsidian scales stood up like blades, and lava-like veins pulsed through the gaps in his armor, bathing the lair in blood-red light. The shockwave of his transformation alone shattered the walls, sending stone raining down like hail.

"This level of rune..."

His massive claw slammed into the ground—

*CRACK!*

The runic array exploded instantly.

The blue energy pathways shattered like brittle glass, the runes extinguishing one by one into dissipating magical dust. The entire lair shook violently, but Deathwing’s form remained unmoved, his golden eyes filled only with icy mockery.

"Is that all?"

His tail swept out, sending the scattered fertilizer bags flying, the ammonium nitrate powder drifting through the air like snow.

"Your rebellion... is just this petty trick?"

Onyxia’s breathing grew shallow, but she seemed to shrink back, a flicker of fear and panic appearing in her gaze.

Deathwing noticed, letting out a scoff as he pressed forward.

"What game are you playing?"

His dragon wings spread wide, casting a shadow over the entire lair. His daughter was indeed retreating, step by step, in fear. Confidence surged through him; the familiar sensation of dominance and control returned.

"Let me see... what else you are capable of."

As Onyxia backed toward the rear wall, the fear in her eyes suddenly vanished. She took a deep breath, her dragon maw parting to reveal sharp fangs.

"As you wish... Father."

The next second, her form contracted sharply; the obsidian scales faded, and she returned to human form.

Deathwing narrowed his eyes.

"Do you think you can escape?" his voice dripping with heavy sarcasm.

"Surprise~!"

His mockery cut off abruptly.

A golden light burst forth behind Onyxia. Two small hands reached out from a rift in time, grabbing her by the collar.

"Pardon the intrusion!"

Chromie’s face squeezed out of the rift, her signature bronze dragon pigtails singed and curled by the heat. She grimaced as she hauled Onyxia into the rift, simultaneously tossing a smoking hourglass at Deathwing.

"A gift—no wait, have some Sands of Time!"

The hourglass shattered into golden mist upon contact with his scales, the laws of time wrapping around the World-Breaker’s limbs like chains. But the binding was not as effective as hoped—Deathwing merely struggled, and the sands crumbled away. For a dragon of Chromie’s level, fully freezing an Aspect was still beyond her reach.

"Bronze dragon tricks..." Deathwing sneered. He felt he only needed a few seconds of exertion to break free from the temporal bonds, and then he would have a long talk with his daughter and the bronze dragon about the nature of life.

Half of Chromie’s body was already back in the rift. With no time for banter, she pulled the door shut and vanished. A flash of bronze light faded, leaving only the frozen Aspect of Death in the dragon lair. He suddenly felt a surge of panic, as if something terrible were about to happen.

He remembered the mocking shape of his daughter’s lips before she vanished:

*The times have changed, Father.*