His emotions underwent a complete transformation.
If joy had consumed him before, now only hatred, rage, and a killing intent so intense that even he had to restrain it remained.
The frozen wind around him began to distort.
Small black cracks appeared in space before vanishing once more.
He needed every ounce of willpower he had left to maintain control.
Because if he lost control...
He could damage the planet.
And that was something he could not allow.
This world was now his new body.
Although he shared it with other beings, that did not bother him much. After all, thanks to that, he had obtained the one thing he desired above all else.
Freedom.
The happiness gradually faded from his eyes.
Images began to surface within his mind.
Faces.
Voices.
Names.
The beings who had betrayed him.
His body began to tremble.
His hands clenched into fists so tightly that his nails slowly pierced his skin.
His jaw tightened.
And for a brief moment...
The sky across the entire planet seemed to darken slightly.
He had thought he could not hate them any more than he already did.
But he was wrong.
Now he understood that his hatred could still grow.
Expand.
Become even deeper.
Even more poisonous.
"At last, I obtained my freedom..."
His voice was low and hoarse.
Heavy.
As though every word carried centuries of resentment.
"And yet I still have to hide because of you."
The space around him trembled.
The suspended snow began to slowly disintegrate into tiny dark particles.
His eyes filled with such pure killing intent that even the natural laws of the world seemed to bend.
He wanted to destroy something.
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to kill.
But he forced himself to remain calm.
Slowly, he raised a hand and partially covered his mouth.
His breathing was unstable.
Violent.
After being imprisoned for countless years...?
After enduring an eternity of silence...?
After waiting for so long...?
Even now, he still had to hide?
His pupils trembled.
"I'll make you pay for this as well..."
His voice dripped with venom.
He had invested an absurd amount of effort into them.
Protected them.
Helped them.
Strengthened them.
All for a purpose.
And yet...
They had chosen to betray him.
His expression twisted completely.
"How could you...?"
The air trembled violently.
The frozen mountains in the distance began to crack.
The Umbra surrounding him churned like an ocean out of control.
His voice rose until it became almost a roar.
"WHO GAVE YOU THE COURAGE TO BETRAY ME?"
The entire sky darkened in an instant.
The dead forest of the Nightmare Realm roared on the other side of the open portal.
Even space itself seemed to tremble beneath his fury.
He had given them everything.
Everything.
They never would have become what they were now without his help.
Even if they didn't know it.
And because of that...
Their betrayal was even more unbearable.
Because despite never truly knowing him...
They had chosen to stand alongside his enemies.
His hands trembled.
Slowly, he raised them before his eyes.
He stared at them for several seconds.
"With these hands..."
His voice lowered once more until it became a cold whisper.
"I will kill every single one of you."
The hatred within those words was absolute.
There was no doubt.
No hesitation.
Only killing intent.
Slowly, he lifted his gaze.
His eyes pierced through the sky.
The clouds.
The atmosphere.
And continued beyond.
Constellations.
Planets.
Distant stars.
His consciousness continued expanding.
He tried to look even farther.
Beyond the universe itself.
But abruptly stopped.
He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"That troublesome couple is still here..."
His voice carried irritation.
Though not hatred.
They were also part of his plans.
And unlike the others...
They had not betrayed him.
Nor were they allies.
But at least they were not enemies.
Not yet.
Sleep began to return.
Heavy.
Overwhelming.
His body was already reaching its limit.
He had forced his awakening too much.
Too early.
Too quickly.
Fatigue slowly spread through every part of his being.
Even maintaining the time stop over the entire planet was becoming difficult.
Slowly, he withdrew his gaze from outer space.
He looked once more upon the frozen world.
And finally...
His eyes settled upon a single person.
Genesis.
The young man remained motionless inside his office in Dalaran.
Frozen alongside the rest of the world.
The false Loki stared at him for several seconds.
Then he murmured wearily,
"Grow quickly, kid..."
His voice no longer carried anger.
Only exhaustion.
And a faint trace of hope.
Because now, everything depended on him.
With the last of his strength, he carefully began erasing every trace of his awakening.
The spatial cracks disappeared.
The Umbra calmed.
The sky slowly returned to normal.
Even the distortions within fate began to hide themselves once again.
He could not allow them to find him yet.
Not yet.
It was still far too soon.
Sleep consumed him more and more.
His eyelids slowly began to close.
It would be a long time before he could awaken again.
But that did not concern him too much.
He had already waited countless years.
He could wait a little longer.
He only hoped Genesis would make the right choice.
Because the time they had left...
Was no longer very much.
At last, he closed his eyes.
And in the very next instant...
Time began to flow again.
Snow continued to fall.
The wind roared once more through the frozen mountains.
The waves resumed their motion.
The creatures of the planet continued their actions, completely unaware of what had occurred.
But although no one knew it yet...
The world had changed.
And the repercussions of those actions...
Had only just begun.