What if? Lorewalker Cho Became Azeroth’s Worldsoul

The Worldsoul Saga’s The Last Titan has been an enigma to me since Chris Metzen first announced the expansion trifecta. Obviously, the Last Titan refers to the Azeroth worldsoul. We know this through Wrathion, who ate the heart of the Thunder King in Mists of Pandaria.

When Wrathion ate that heart, he went into a hyperstate where memories flashed before his eyes, and he repeated the message sent to the Thunder King by the Highfather Aman’thul: “We must rebuild the final titan, do not forget“

As per the Harandar lore, the Titans abruptly removed the worldsoul from the cradle and moved her elsewhere. That trauma caused the Rift of Aln and nightmares to emerge into the real world as echoes of that traumatic event.

The Azeroth worldsoul has suffered considerable stress. First, the Old gods attempted to claim the worldsoul with their shadowy tendrils. Then the Titans came and ripped her from the cradle and put in place mechanical contraptions to infuse her with Order magic for the transformation into the Final Titan. Then Sargeras’s avatar came to Azeroth, and his spirit has been weirdly-not-explained hugging Azeroth for the past 800+ years.

I mean… how the hell are we to interpret the Titans pulling a planet-sized Sargeras off the core of Azeroth in that World of Warcraft: Legion cinematic? For Sargeras to be that big, he must have been leeching the worldsoul somehow.

Probably, the Light has also attempted to infuse the Azeroth worldsoul with those giant crystals crashing through the surface and landing deep in the ground.

Then there was that weird Zorval cinematic with Death or Domination magic funneling from Zereth Mortis to the engine beneath Icecrown Citadel — which I assume was going straight toward the worldsoul.

Now Xal’atath is at the core of the world of Azeroth trying to claim the worldsoul.

It is unknown how the worldsoul will wake up and rise. What does that entail? Have you even tried to ponder that?

I have no idea how things will go. But there are certainly a few scenarios I can conjure up.

Scenario #1 (variants)

For the worldsoul to emerge, there is likely going to be some sort of cataclysm 2.0 that’s gonna completely alter the world map.

If the worldsoul went bonkers with its traumatic ripping from the cradle, one that is being bombarded with Void, while also Titan Order — that’s gonna destabilize her bad. We might have to fight the worldsoul — and we have already done so before… in Argus.

We helped restore another worldsoul … in K’aresh.

Two worldsouls in our resume. What’s the common denominator between the worldsoul of K’aresh and the one in Argus? Their world is destroyed. Floating continental 0chunks of the former planet. Is this what Azeroth going to look before or after “The Last Titan” expansion? Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms, floating in space as the planet cracks into pieces?

Will that cracking be caused by the emergence of the worldsoul as a Titan, or a Voidish-Titan hybrid?

Or… will Alleria follow on the steps of her mentor, Locus-Walker, and decide she must destroy Azeroth in order to prevent Xal’atath from consuming Azeroth’s worldsoul? Will Alleria cause Azeroth to crack into large continental chunks floating in space like Outland, K’aresh, and Argus are?

If any of those world-shattering scenarios are the creative team’s current direction — that’s going to be a massive rework of Azeroth as we know it. Not only transportation, ecosystems, oceans, but also new skyboxes with maybe Kalimdor floating in the distance in the sky (seen from Stormwind).

I really can’t even believe that one. It would be a shock. That could be a long-term or permanent thing. That’s gonna freak out the playerbase.

Scenario #2

Let’s say scenario #1 never happens. The world isn’t shattered into floating continental chunks. However, a worldsoul emerging from the core is definitely going to cause a Cataclysm 2.0. There is no way around that one. The Last Titan is defeated. Now what?

That’s another scenario that worries me. Why?

One has only to look close to the storytelling in the past few expansions.

The Jailer reclaimed the Arbiter’s sigil, stolen from him eons ago by the covenant leaders. With the Arbiter gone, someone stepped in to fill the absence of the Arbiter. Out of the blue, Pelagos went with the player into Zereth Mortis, and his character had been getting some spotlight here and there before that… preparing the way for the reveal: Pelagos becomes the new Arbiter. This is no ordinary thing. Pelagos basically leaves his freedom behind to take a mantle that binds him in Oribos forever, so to speak. He sacrificed himself.

There is the K’aresh storytelling as well, in The War Within expansion. A villain listened to Ve’nari and decided to give up its own spirit to bind it with the remains of K’aresh’s worldsoul to restore it. Another sacrifice. If there is something about storytelling is… we might be getting a glimpse into what’s gonna happen in the Worldsoul Saga. That’s chilling if true.

Who would sacrifice to restore the Azeroth worldsoul… or even… replace the worldsoul, to become the new worldsoul? NOW… that’s a very intriguing and scary scenario.

Would Thrall step up and decide he will sacrifice his life to become Azeroth’s worldsoul? If he does, would that be a permanent thing or for a few years?

That would leave Thrall’s wife, sorta a widow. She would have to step up and become Thrall’s replacement in future expansions. There is also both of Thrall’s children — who by now are young adults, to take on Thrall’s role in the game while he is… one with the worldsoul.

But… what if Thrall does offer to become the worldsoul, and someone in the Alliance protests? If you become the worldsoul, what’s to say you won’t favor the Horde over the Alliance in your duties? Creating famine on Alliance lands, while rewarding Horde lands with resources? Causing earthquakes in our lands, and so on?

Now in that variant, that would look in some way like what happened in Icecrown Citadel. If you remember, Tirion Fordring decided he would stay behind and don the Helm of Domination as the new Lich King. But Bolvar Fordragon interrupted and convinced Tirion to let him do the deed. That — with a combination of what happened when Garrosh was defeated. Thrall wanted to bash Garrosh’s skull on the ground — and Varian Wrynn stopped the Doomhammer with his sword. The Alliance has a beef with Garrosh, too. It’s also their call to decide how to bring Garrosh to justice, not just Thrall’s. Then, the Pandaren stepped in, and as a neutral party, they brought Garrosh to Pandaria — (in the World of Warcraft: War Crimes novel that is).

So what if it is not Thrall who replaces the worldsoul as the new worldsoul — or as a binding spirit to restart the Azeroth Worldsoul (after the epic raid battle). As done with K’aresh’s worldsoul. Did anyone notice in Midnight the new Lorewalking quests are by Li Li Stormstout? That tells me something about plans for Lorewalker Cho.

What if this Thrall and Alliance debate happens at the moment of deciding how to replace the worldsoul… then Lorewalker Cho steps in? He knows about the story of all cultures. Who better to be fair and neutral than one that knows everyone’s story objectively. With patience. Love. Altruism. Maayyyybe?

Scenario #3

Spinoff of #2. Maybe rotating who is the worldsoul every few years? Thrall starts as the new worldsoul. A few years later, Jaina becomes the worldsoul. A few years later, Vol’jin becomes the new worldsoul. Wait? You missed that one spoiler in the Shadowlands? If you played as a Night Fae covenant member, Vol’jin’s spirit is bound to the remnants of Rezan’s spirit. Vol’jin/Rezan are now in a Wildseed awaiting to be reborn someday.

Scenario #4

Throw the kitchen sink out the window. Azeroth is destroyed. Only the player and maybe a few survive. Whether a few aboard the Vindicar, or via Nozdormu or Chromie spiriting us away into the timestream.

This scenario is bonkers. We become Timewalkers. We are stranded in the past, trying to change things to avert the destruction of Azeroth. But… it is a permanent thing. Azeroth as we know it isn’t back for several expansions. Full World of Warcraft lore reset.

This one is very very dangerous. This could kill World of Warcraft if Blizzard does a Warlords of Draenor-style revamp that becomes a permanent Azeroth status quo set in the past with an alternate storyline. What if an event in the past that was supposed to happen, changes … then the future changes as a domino effect of that alteration.

A good time would be The War of the Ancients.

But… another good time could be shortly after the foundation of Quel’Thalas with the Sunwell established.

This could be an era during the Troll Wars, with Quel’Thalas seeking the help of Stromgarde, training humans to be mages.

Another good time would be when all 7 Human Kingdoms are established. This would be Aegwynn’s time-era. 800 years before the Dark Portal.

The only problem with any of these is The Horde dilemma. There is no Horde in any of those time eras — except in Draenor.

Scenario #5

Murazond said: “The End Time, I once called this place. I had not seen, by then; I did not know. You hope to… what? Stop me, here? Change the fate I worked so tirelessly to weave? You crawl unwitting, like a blind, writhing worm, towards endless madness and despair. I have witnessed the true End Time. This? This is a blessing you simply cannot comprehend.”

That’s some loaded talk.

Nozdormu once called that future “End Time” but Murozond saw the actual End Time.

That means… whatever happens at the end of Midnight or somewhere in The Last Titan expansion might be what Nozdormu will witness to be the True End Time. I think that witnessing the True End Time is going to trigger Nozdormu to become Murozond. I fear that once Nozdormu takes that step, he will recruit the player and take us back in time to help his first steps as Murozond.

Or we might have to ally with recently-transformed-Murozond out of necessity (i.e. Xal’atath/Locus-Walker/Alleria/Player temporary alliance during K’aresh campaign in The War Within), then we’ll have to go back in time to fix whatever happens at the end of Midnight or in The Last Titan.

It’s difficult to even theorycraft what’s going to happen after the Worldsoul Saga. Yes, we stopped Nozdormu from becoming Murozond in Thaldraszus — but… big clue. He did not see the True End Time yet. That means: Nozdormu might still become Murozond in the near future when he witnesses the True End Time. What sounds to me candidate for a True End Time is the destruction of Azeroth — which can happen when Aln’hara emerges from the core of Azeroth as a chick pops out of an egg-shell, or Xal’atath consuming the worldsoul and all of existence. This could terrorize Nozdormu, and in a last minute ditch, jump into the timestream as the world ends — as he recovers from the initial shock — he decides the plan to change that outcome, becoming Murozond.

If this is the path the Creative Team is going for … then you have to ponder what exactly is the role of the player here. Does Nozdormu spirits away the player before the world ends, and we are their first recruit as Murozond? Or is it Chromie who spirits us away? Or… Medivh?!

Medivh would make a whole more sense. In fact, it was Medivh who helped Thrall figure out how to find Nozdormu — who became integral in the fall of Murozond. Who better to save us from the True End Time and set us into the path of the Timewalker to reset the timeline?

I look forward to see what Blizzard’s creative team has in store for players in World of Warcraft: The Last Titan. Make sure to follow @blizzplanetcom or Facebook.com/blizzplanetcom for updates.

BlizzCon is in September 12-13, 2026. Merely two months from now. I’m usually invited to the World of Warcraft Alpha/Beta test. I will provide feedback on what’s going on in World of Warcraft: The Last Titan when the time comes, through articles and gameplay videos.