Arthas slowed Invincible, circling the spiraling ice ramp along the edge of the Frozen Throne tower. Amidst the torrent of souls and the endless chill wind, he heard a faint song.
No, to be precise, it was an elegy.
An elegy sung for a fallen prince and a lost kingdom.
Through the misty snow and the pale light reflected from the ice, Arthas saw a familiar figure climbing the ice ramp.
He wore black plate armor carved with skull patterns, and his tattered blue and gold cloak was stained black with dried blood.
In that person's hand was also Frostmourne, the cursed runeblade.
Arthas silently dismounted from Invincible, stared at the figure, hesitated for a moment, then pursued him.
Invincible neighed and vanished into the shadowy mist.
Two similar figures, one in front of the other, the pale hair of the one in front contrasting with Arthas's golden hair, seemed like a black and white reflection.
Halfway up the Frozen Throne, that figure stopped, looked up at the peak of the Frozen Throne again, and slowed his steps, but a moment later, he continued forward.
"There is no turning back now."
A familiar yet hoarse voice echoed in Arthas's ears, but this voice did not seem to come from outside; instead, it was as if Arthas was talking to himself.
The Prince watched the figure about to reach the top of the Frozen Throne, quickened his pace, and charged up, wielding Frostmourne.
Just as he was about to catch up to the figure, it suddenly stopped and turned around—pale skin, messy stubble, dry, lifeless gray hair, and a face identical to Arthas's.
"Arthas" met Arthas's gaze, but his eyes pierced through the true Prince, falling on the seemingly endless path behind him, surrounded by abyss-like ice caverns.
Arthas took a deep breath, raised his sword, and walked step by step to "Arthas's" side, sweeping with his gauntlet.
"Arthas's" figure rippled like a disturbed water surface, then dispersed into the air with the flow of souls and wind.
—This was not the Lich King's trick, but a true illusion seen by living beings in this place where reality and death intersect.
Arthas watched his other self accept the fate of corruption, ultimately choosing to ascend the Frozen Throne and merge with the Lich King.
Even though he was no longer that "Arthas," watching his own illusion take that step still filled him with mixed emotions.
Fate is the most unpredictable script; even Bronze Dragons, who are merely spectators, eventually become characters in the play, and no one has ever unraveled this vast web.
After the illusion of "Arthas" dissipated with the wind, Arthas took a deep breath and looked up at the massive ice crystal at the top of the Frozen Throne.
That was shadow ice from the Twisting Nether, and sealed within it was a deeply sinful soul, also the fuse that led to the orcs' seduction by the Burning Legion—Ner'zhul.
This former chieftain of the Shadowmoon Clan, the orcs' Shaman elder, was intricately linked to the orcs' corruption, and the destruction of the orcs' homeland, Draenor, was also his doing.
Before Draenor was on the verge of collapse, the old Shaman obtained an artifact called the "Sargeras Scepter," whose greatest function was to tear apart the space between the Twisting Nether and the material universe, opening semi-permanent portals.
Draenor was already corrupted by fel and beyond salvation. Ner'zhul attempted to open interdimensional portals to find new worlds for the orcs to invade or inhabit.
However, his plan ultimately failed, and it was even possible that the Sargeras Scepter falling into his hands was a trap from the beginning.
Ner'zhul did not consider Draenor's capacity; the collapsing world simply could not withstand numerous interdimensional portals. Those large portals, similar to the Dark Portal, ultimately caused a massive explosion.
The entire planet Draenor was torn apart in this explosion, leaving only a few shattered continents floating in the endless void.
And Ner'zhul was also discovered by Kil'jaeden, the leader of the Burning Legion and the Deceiver, because of this explosion. The head of the Burning Legion was furious about the orcs' failed invasion of Azeroth.
He used magic beyond mortal comprehension to tear Ner'zhul's body apart, preserved his soul, and gave it to the Nathrezim, where endless torment awaited Ner'zhul.
Ner'zhul, who wished for death, pleaded with the Demon Lord for a chance to atone. So Kil'jaeden swiftly killed Ner'zhul and resurrected him in another ghostly form.
the Deceiver sealed Ner'zhul's soul in a massive shadow ice crystal, forged it into an eternal prison, and cast him into Azeroth, instructing him to raise an army of the dead to dismantle Azeroth from within.
And five Nathrezim descended upon Azeroth as Ner'zhul's "jailers," both to supervise Ner'zhul and to prepare for the Burning Legion's next invasion.
Thus, Ner'zhul proclaimed himself the "Lich King" and began to build an Undead army with the assistance of the Dreadlords, naming it the "Scourge," meaning: the bane of all living beings.
But Ner'zhul was not truly willing to be a lackey of the Burning Legion; he was merely feigning compliance due to Kil'jaeden's immense power.
A traitor is always a traitor. After Ner'zhul gained sufficient power, he began to plan to eliminate the Legion's spies within the Undead Scourge.
The Dreadlords were also busy completing Kil'jaeden's tasks, and Ner'zhul's previous obsequious behavior made them completely drop their guard.
Now, Ner'zhul has learned to merge the consciousness and souls of the Undead to strengthen himself. He can now spread his consciousness to almost every corner of Azeroth through the power radiated by the shadow ice of the Frozen Throne.
This is also why Kel'Thuzad, far away in the Eastern Kingdoms, could hear the Lich King's summons.
When Arthas stood before the Lich King Ner'zhul, he also felt the powerful oppressive presence emanating from the Lich King.
Ner'zhul's body had long been annihilated; his soul was confined within the ice, and sealed with him was a pitch-black suit of armor.
No, it shouldn't be described as pitch-black, but rather that the armor seemed to absorb all light and thought. Ordinary people would feel their souls being torn apart just by staring at it for a while.
"Do you think, that wielding Frostmourne, makes you strong enough to face the Lich King's might?!"
Ner'zhul's soul whisper echoed in Arthas's ears. This voice contained magic filled with hatred and resentment, attempting to influence Arthas's mind.
However, Arthas had long known that he would face the Lich King one day, and he had tempered his mind to be as indestructible as pure steel.
The Lich King's whispers were like a fierce wind howling through the mountains, yet they could not shake the mountains in the slightest.
"Your mind is indeed strong, but can you face the darkness within yourself?"
The scene of the Frozen Throne suddenly vanished, and Arthas found himself in a chaotic battlefield.
It was a scene where Arthas's relatives and closest friends were massacred and desecrated by the Scourge. They fought bravely but ultimately fell into the sea of Undead.
And the butcher wielding Frostmourne was Arthas himself.
"Arthas…you were like a son to me... how could you have forsaken the Light…"
Uther was covered in blood, lying on the ground. The Light failed to protect this great knight. After he fell, he rose again as an agent of darkness, his warhammer pointed at his former comrades.
"Arthas noo...."
Jaina's soul was ripped from her corpse by Liches, transformed into a mad banshee through a ritual filled with pain and torment.
Muradin and Brann's heads were severed by the Scourge's Death Knights and impaled on spears; the King of Stormwind was struck in the heart by dark magic while defending his son and queen, falling forever, and Queen Tiffin and Prince Anduin were also mercilessly slain by the Scourge.
Ranger-General Sylvanas's corpse hung high on the outer wall of the Naxxanar (Floating City) "Naxxramas." When Arthas looked, he saw countless other Alliance heroes' bodies displayed there as trophies.
"Arthas my son, what are you doing?"
And before Arthas was King Terenas, his own father, whose chest he had pierced.
"Succeding you father..."
The hellish scene was enough to break the spirit of any brave soldier, but Arthas stood in the center of the battlefield, even with his father's blood still dripping from Frostmourne, Arthas showed no sign of fear or collapse.
"A good display. It seems you put a lot of thought into preparing this."
Arthas was expressionless. If such an illusion could make him succumb to his inner darkness, how could he live up to his other identity?
"If I were merely a paladin, seeing everything I loved desecrated like this would likely plunge me into uncontrollable guilt."
"But, Ner'zhul, what I have experienced and envisioned is far, far darker than this!"
Arthas's tone was unremarkable, but Ner'zhul, observing in the shadows, sensed something amiss.
The Frostmourne in the Prince's hand began to emit a blue glow, the soul light, noticeable like fireflies, swirled, and a corner of the illusion began to collapse.
In its place, another scene appeared.
In the endless void, one half was filled with emerald green fel flames, and the other half was entirely a vast, purplish-black abyss. The Lich King instinctively used his mind to probe the unfamiliar space.
…
"Bang!"
The illusion maintained by the Lich King suddenly shattered. Arthas reached out and caught a fractured shard of the illusion, watching it completely dissipate in his hand.
"Your curiosity is still as strong as ever." Arthas put away Frostmourne, took The Light's Vengeance from his back, and walked step by step towards the shadow ice crystal.
With each step, the oppressive feeling from the Lich King grew stronger, but these could not stop Arthas's progress, because the Lich King's probing just now had instead wounded his mind.
Because he had gazed directly upon an existence he should not have, that surge of madness and destructive will almost broke through his defenses.
Despite being wounded, Ner'zhul's power was still beyond mortal level. On the Frozen Throne, even ordinary demigods would be crushed by him on a soul level.
But he happened to encounter Arthas, an anomalous "paladin." Compared to other Paladins who are too rigid and bright due to their faith in the Light, Arthas, beneath his bright exterior, possesses a truly dark heart.
Where the Light does not shine, there will surely be dense shadows.
As a composite of Light and Death, Arthas had been manipulating death and toying with souls even earlier than Ner'zhul. Ner'zhul's grasp of his weaknesses was fundamentally flawed.
Not to mention his understanding of darkness—Arthas's comprehension of the world's shadows was far greater than Ner'zhul's.
He even understood Ner'zhul's weaknesses, one of which was his curiosity.
If not for his strong curiosity about the void, often using his Shamanic soul abilities to roam the astral planes, the orcs would not have been targeted by the Burning Legion so quickly.
Arthas used the higher rank of his power to inversely invade Ner'zhul's illusion, showing him a glimpse of something fundamental.
The Lich King, of course, uncontrollably spread his soul energy to investigate, and naturally, Arthas turned the tables on him.
"Don't celebrate too soon… Human, you will belong to me eventually!"
Ner'zhul's voice contained anger and resentment. He was tortured to death, then resurrected as a ghost confined in armor and ice; his world was brutally destroyed, and Ner'zhul's hatred was the source of his power.
Accompanying the Lich King's whispers, a massive arm made of ice and shadow emerged from the glacier, followed by the other side.
Although his body was firmly confined and unable to move, this did not mean the Lich King could not affect matter with his soul power. The Frozen Throne, located in the rift between worlds, was the source of his power.
"I am the only master here!"
Arthas's gaze was cold, his hands gripping The Light's Vengeance tightly. Against these puppets extended by the Lich King's power, Frostmourne, which had not yet absorbed a large number of souls, had little effect.
The previous battles had already expended the collected souls. As for Mal'Ganis's soul, Arthas had other uses for it; he did not intend to waste it on Ner'zhul.
So he decided to send this lonely ghost off with the Light.