Soridormi's departure eased the tense atmosphere on the scene. However, before she left, she designated an adult Bronze Dragon to take her place, prepared to monitor the subsequent actions of Andreas and his group throughout the entire process.
This Bronze Dragon had a strange name; despite being female, she had taken a male Bronze Dragon's name—Chronormu.
According to the naming conventions of the Bronze Dragonflight, male names usually ended in "-ormu," while female names mostly ended in "-ormi."
Chronormu was clearly very resistant to her non-mainstream name. Before Andreas could even open his mouth to greet her, she issued a preemptive warning.
"Let's get one thing straight first: don't call me by my true name. I don't like it. Just call me Chromie."
Andreas paused for a moment, and then a flash of realization crossed his eyes.
So it's you.
"Alright, Chromie."
Turning to look at Arygos, who had a conflicted expression, Andreas said with a smile, "My apologies, we got a bit sidetracked. Now, let's get back to the main topic."
Alexstrasza also shifted her gaze toward Arygos. "Whether to bring Sindragosa's remains back to Dragonblight for burial is a question that must be decided by the Blue Dragons themselves. At most, we can only act as executors."
Just as Andreas had said, the Void Lords could not enter the material world. Rather than worrying about their threat—which would be like 'the man from Qi who feared the sky would fall'—it was better to focus on the present and find a way to deal with their pawns: the Old Gods.
After Deathwing's betrayal, Malygos was the individual with the strongest combat capability among the Dragon Aspects. Whether it was passive defense against the Old Gods and the Burning Legion, or launching an active offensive against them, Malygos's martial prowess could not be ignored.
If he could regain his sanity and return to being that wise Spell-Weaver, the significantly weakened Dragonflights would gain a powerful ally. Conversely...
Arygos also knew that he was currently standing at a major crossroads.
Bringing back Sindragosa's remains offered only two possibilities.
First, it might drive the delirious Malygos even more insane, potentially causing him to lose his mind forever.
Second, it might act as a 'hair of the dog' remedy to snap Malygos back to his senses; perhaps a properly buried Sindragosa could, to some extent, soothe the trauma in his heart.
Arygos hesitated for a long time and found himself unable to make a decision. The Blue Dragon Prince said with a bitter face, "My apologies, may I have a moment to discuss this with my consort, Saragosa? This choice concerns the future of the Blue Dragonflight; I cannot make this decision autocratically on my own."
Alexstrasza nodded with an understanding smile. "Of course. Go ahead; we will continue to wait patiently here."
"Everyone, I shall take my leave for now."
Arygos bowed politely to the group, casually tore open an irregular portal, and stepped inside.
"Whew~"
The tense atmosphere dissipated temporarily with Arygos's departure. Celeste, who hadn't dared to breathe heavily until now, let out a long sigh of relief.
Sinestra, who had been relatively silent earlier, suddenly chuckled and asked Andreas, "Do such magnificent and world-shaking events often happen around you? No wonder Ony has stayed by your side for so long."
Andreas gave a bitter smile and spread his hands. "How could such things happen often? If it weren't to correct the stubborn notions of the Bronze Dragons, I wouldn't have..."
"Ahem!"
Chromie, who was hovering outside the tower flapping her wings, coughed intentionally, a look of displeasure clearly appearing on her face.
"Mortal, I'm still right here. You're being a bit too brazen."
Andreas pressed his hands together and apologized with a smile, "My apologies, I meant no ill will, I'm just discussing the matter as it stands."
"Hmph~ Never mind."
Chromie's dragon body suddenly flickered with light, and then she transformed into a very youthful-looking female Night Elf.
"...A child?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Andreas immediately realized the problem.
"Wait, that's not right. Aren't you an adult dragon? Why..."
The delicately featured Chromie put her hands on her hips and tilted her head up. "I like looking like this. What? Do you have a problem with that?"
A blue whelp, left behind by Arygos to temporarily maintain order, whispered a complaint from outside the tower: "What could anyone do even if they did have a problem? It's the Great Demon King Chromie..."
"Hmm?"
Hearing the whispered comment, Chromie's eyebrows shot up. "Kalecgos! Get your butt in here!"
Oh?
Andreas turned curiously to look at the whelp, who was even smaller than Onyxia. The name caught his interest.
Eranikus looked helplessly at the Blue Dragon who was darting around, attempting to use the tower's pillars to hide from Chromie's gaze. Chromie was currently rolling up her sleeves, looking as if she intended to give this bratty dragon a good thrashing.
"That's enough, Chromie. You're quite old already; why are you fooling around with the children? Besides, Kalecgos isn't wrong. You should reflect on your own behavior."
Chromie felt no shame in bullying the young. She tilted her head up triumphantly and said righteously, "It's because these little guys are causing trouble all over the place every day. I'm just teaching them the principle of being a low-profile dragon."
Andreas gave a subtle roll of his eyes and turned to look at Leticia, who seemed a bit downcast, reaching out to ruffle her hair.
"What's wrong? Why so quiet all of a sudden?"
"Andreas..."
Leticia looked somewhat uneasily at the surrounding dragons, who still bore unfriendly expressions. "Did I cause trouble for you?"
Andreas paused, then curled his finger and gave her forehead a sharp, yet gentle, knock. "What are you thinking? I'm not so easily affected by you. What I said just now was because I wanted to say it. Don't go taking the blame upon yourself."
"Oh..."
Although she nodded and agreed obediently, Leticia's mood still didn't recover.
Andreas shot a look at Celeste nearby. The sensible eldest daughter of the Sunstriders immediately understood and led Leticia aside, trying to chat about happy things to change her mood.
Leticia was lively by nature. Under Andreas's guidance, she had gradually shed the shackles her parents had once forced upon her, revealing her true personality.
However, because she had encountered multiple tragedies in succession during her childhood, she could still be quite sensitive at times.
Out of guilt for the involvement of the Moonsong family, Andreas had taken over the responsibility of raising Leticia when she was only in her teens.
To Leticia, Andreas was less of a mentor and more of a foster father with a rather novel way of interacting.
Leticia, who had lost her relatives at a young age, placed great importance on Andreas and Shandris, who had looked after her as she grew up.
She believed her earlier loose tongue had triggered the major argument between Andreas and the Dragonflight, and she worried that Andreas had left a bad impression in the hearts of the dragons.
Andreas didn't have time to focus on Leticia at the moment; Kalecgos, who had just been scolded by Chromie, was looking at him with an eager, challenging gaze.
"Kalecgos, was it?"
Andreas looked at the young Blue Dragon in confusion. "Something on your mind?"
Amidst the frigid Arctic snowfields, Kalecgos excitedly snorted two puffs of hot air from his nose. "Mortal! I shall punish you for your previous insolence toward the noble Dragonflight. Accept my challenge!"
"...Huh?"