"Come, Prince Arthas, we will give you a gift."
Ashbringer and Frostmourne, guided by Arcane power, arrived at the center of the magic circle.
Compared to their initial states, both weapons had undergone extremely massive changes, even catching Khadgar off guard.
The metal blade of Ashbringer was completely consumed by Arthas's Holy Light, and the core crystal of the holy sword continuously flowed with pure Holy Light power at all times.
This Holy Light was even a bit too intense, causing the metal, which was affinity with Holy Light, to be unable to withstand it, and cracks appeared one after another.
However, these cracks not only did not affect the stability of the entire sword, but the Holy Light energy instead found a better outlet, so that each time the sword struck, it was equivalent to enduring a Holy Light explosion.
Even more miraculously, although this Holy Light destroyed the metal, it still connected the entire sword. If Ashbringer's blade truly cracked, its power would likely continue to increase.
As for Frostmourne…
Everyone's first reaction upon seeing this sword was an instinctive stiffening of their bodies, even if they were the most top-tier mages in this world.
Because this sword had drunk the blood and souls of countless heroes, champions, mages, and even gods.
Any living being who saw this weapon, which had brought endless suffering and death to Azeroth, would instinctively tremble and feel fear.
Although they all knew that this was not the demonic sword that had destroyed most of the continent of Lordaeron and killed countless heroes and powerhouses, they could still feel the soul-shaking sense of terror.
More importantly, this Frostmourne did not indiscriminately absorb every soul it killed; Arthas always chose the most powerful and evil parts for Frostmourne to digest.
Therefore, even though Frostmourne had not yet seized too many souls, it still exuded a terrifying might.
The runes of Guardian Odin also significantly increased the power of this sword, and these runes also temporarily allowed Arthas not to worry about Frostmourne's limits.
Khadgar looked at these two artifacts, and he was also somewhat surprised.
They were originally top-tier weapons, but under Arthas's use, they could be further strengthened.
Especially these two swords, if one's strength was insufficient, then it would not be the person wielding the sword, but the sword controlling the person. Although such a user could also exert some strength, they could not reach the highest level.
Therefore, the wielder of Ashbringer was always carefully selected, and even Mograine's son, Darion, was unable to fully exert its power at that time.
There was no need to mention Frostmourne; even Arthas, the moment he obtained this sword, had his eyes confused by Ner'zhul's endless malice.
It itself was a symbol of ill omen and misfortune. Arthas's ability to wield this weapon as if it were nothing was enough to show that he was an existence with an indestructible will, from power to will.
"I would like to ask, how did you avoid being affected by Ner'zhul's power?" The mage's curiosity made Khadgar unable to ignore this question.
"I took the sword, killed him, it's that simple." Arthas said very concisely. To him, this was indeed nothing particularly important.
He knew Ner'zhul's weaknesses and soft spots, and understood the modus operandi of the Dreadlords, but they only thought he was an ordinary proud and high-spirited prince.
In addition to the intelligence gap, they also severely underestimated Arthas's strength. Before the Third War, the Burning Legion's understanding of mortal strength was actually quite vague.
Conquering countless worlds made them explode with arrogance. They completely looked down on the native inhabitants of Azeroth, but this was precisely the fundamental reason for their every failure.
If the Burning Legion could always be as cautious as the Dreadlords when playing their schemes, no matter how tenacious Azeroth was, it would not be able to survive the Legion's invasion.
However, speaking of which, if the Burning Legion were truly cautious and proceeded step by step, then perhaps joining the Burning Legion earlier would be more promising.
Azeroth, no matter what, was only a Titan soul still in slumber, but the mastermind behind the Burning Legion was indeed the strongest Titan in the universe, a truly real god.
When the Void Lords could not directly interfere with the real plane, Sargeras was definitely the strongest entity in the entire real plane.
Heh… Speaking of this, Arthas felt tired.
He was never satisfied with the status quo, because in Azeroth, danger always lurked. Before completely defeating these existences coveting Azeroth, Arthas dared not stop.
Khadgar also secretly marveled at Arthas's casualness. It was likely that the strength of the prince before them was far greater than any of them could imagine.
This point also further strengthened Khadgar's determination to give Arthas a gift.
"Perhaps we cannot survive the Burning Legion's furious attack, but I hope that this power from this world can give you a greater chance of winning."
Khadgar said resolutely. They had reached a critical juncture of life and death, but as long as there were people in this universe fighting against the Burning Legion, they would be eternal allies.
What's more, Arthas came from the past; he was everything they had once yearned for.
"Come, Arthas, accept our power and reclaim the future we once missed!"
Surging Arcane tides crashed against the top of the Violet Citadel in waves. Under the focus of several Archmages, the violent Arcane energy was tamed into controllable enhancement rays.
This level of energy could not complete precise enchantment operations, but quantitative change also brought about qualitative change. Under the scouring and reshaping of massive Arcane energy, even a piece of scrap metal could become a divine weapon.
However, this enhancement was not entirely without restrictions. At the very least, it could not be a weapon completely contrary to Arcane power, and weapons enhanced using this power would be more difficult for the user to control.
However, these restrictions were not a problem for Arthas. His power completely surpassed the two artifacts. He could suppress the weapons and would not be taken over by them.
"Crack—"
A crisp sound changed Khadgar's expression. He hurriedly guided the magic power away from Ashbringer, but his movements were still half a beat too slow.
The Arcane energy seemed to have disordered the Holy Light energy connecting the metal cracks, and the entire sword became extremely unstable. After a brief pause, the Holy Light became even more violent than fel, and Ashbringer let out a mournful wail, its blade shattering instantly!
The council members immediately erected magic shields, but Arthas was even faster than them. The rising Holy Light power instantly enveloped the entire spire, even overpowering the Arcane energy they were guiding.
Bang!
A violent shockwave erupted at the top of the tower, and the council members' magic shields swayed precariously under the energy impact.
A moment later, the aftershocks of the energy dissipated, and several council members and Khadgar all looked at the shattered Ashbringer with lingering fear.
The explosion just now was very fatal. The flying sword fragments and the eruption of the two energies could very likely shatter their temporarily created shields. Fortunately, Arthas was quick-witted and protected the entire tower top with Holy Light.
Otherwise, the entire Violet Citadel might have been blown away.
"This… how is this possible? Although Arcane energy is vast, it shouldn't cause such a violent reaction from Holy Light power!"
Khadgar was at a loss, shocked and embarrassed—he wanted to help Arthas strengthen his weapon, but he ended up blowing up Ashbringer.
The other council members also could not understand. As a divine sword, Ashbringer was probably not far from having its own consciousness, but they were there to strengthen the weapon, not destroy it, so it should not have caused such a violent reaction.
Although Arcane energy can sometimes be extremely violent, it is itself a very pure energy. Except for fel, it can perfectly fit with almost all other powers.
Arthas picked up a piece of the blade. After a simple observation, he shook his head and said, "This is not your fault. The blade of this sword has indeed reached its limit."
The Holy Light power he infused into Ashbringer exceeded the limit that many weapons could withstand, but because this sword had a special core, most of the power would be contained by this core, reducing the burden on the blade to its lowest.
Moreover, Holy Light was not the cause of this accident.
"This sword has fallen before. Although the crystal can withstand the unpredictable changes in energy, this blade is made of metal that can best unleash Holy Light power—the power of necromancy was originally suppressed by Holy Light, but it seems that those Arcane powers awakened it."
Energy changes are elusive. Even if Arthas had a certain affinity for Holy Light, Death, and Arcane, and could withstand energy transformations himself, it did not mean that Ashbringer had the same ability.
It seemed that its blade cracking was not just because the Holy Light was too strong; the foundation of this sword's blade had already developed problems.
"But it doesn't matter. The power core of Ashbringer is this crystal, and it was not damaged in the explosion just now. Instead, it was strengthened by the Arcane energy."
Arthas reached out to clear the metal fragments still lingering around the crystal in the air, and touched the Holy Light crystal—after the strengthening just now, this Holy Light crystal, evolved from a Naru core, seemed to have awakened some other power.
It's just that Arthas couldn't confirm what this power was right now. After all, it was the core of a weapon and required a corresponding vessel to exert its full power.
Next, Arthas inspected Frostmourne and found that the sword had not sustained any damage. The Arcane energy had indeed improved Frostmourne in all aspects.
The Arcane energy strengthened the metal of the sword and also enhanced Frostmourne's power to seize souls. Indeed, in terms of pure necromantic energy, Arcane did provide a considerable boost.
Of course, Frostmourne also underwent some changes, and Arthas needed some time to re-adapt to its changes. However, what was very interesting was that Frostmourne now seemed capable of manipulating a small amount of Arcane energy.
This small amount of energy could not allow it to directly use Arcane to generate attack capabilities, but it could allow Frostmourne to maintain a simple illusion.
With this cover, Frostmourne could hide its true appearance and appear as an ordinary weapon. Only with strong magical interference or when Arthas intended to unseal the sword's true power would it reveal its true runeblade form.
This wasn't a major function, but Arthas could temporarily use it as a regular weapon—although Frostmourne wasn't the most suitable weapon for direct combat in his eyes, its quality still surpassed most mortal craftsmen's works.
A small coincidence caused Arthas to temporarily lose Ashbringer, but he still had another handy weapon, so the impact on him was not significant.
Arthas looked at the Holy Light crystal, which was emitting a faint humming sound, and said to Khadgar, "Khadgar, please take this crystal to Tirion. Although Ashbringer is shattered, it's not difficult to forge a new 'Ashbringer' using this crystal, and its power will even be stronger than the old one."
Khadgar waved his hand, "Arthas, Ashbringer is a better choice in your hands—didn't Tirion also say that you are the one most suitable to wield this sword now?"
"But I can take the time to find a replacement for Ashbringer, while you all need the power of this weapon now." Arthas had already taken the fragments of Frostmourne, which would prevent the birth of a pair of twin swords. In his opinion, this world needed the power of the crystal more.
Khadgar sighed, his usually optimistic face clouded with a hint of gloom. "What we lack has never been a sword, Arthas. What we truly lack is hope, and you have brought us the most precious hope in these difficult times.
Varian and Tirion both survived that brutal battle because of you, and the nightmare of Val'sharah was curbed by your own hands.
Arthas, you have already done so much for us, and these deeds have given us hope of defeating the Burning Legion."
He turned and walked to the high tower's balcony. Even from here, he could see the dark green clouds above Broken Shore and the fel spear piercing the sky.
"We have fought for decades, never giving up. Various catastrophes and disasters have made the lives of Azeroth's inhabitants suffer immensely, but even so, we still live tenaciously.
Arthas, do you… do you know, I have thought countless times, what would our world be like if my teacher had not been possessed by the Dark Titan, if the Dark Portal had not opened, if Lordaeron had not been destroyed?
Unfortunately, for us, that is the past, history. Even if the Bronze Dragon used the power of time to change a story, it only led to another unknown world.
Only you are our true hope in this endless suffering, a true, visible hope.
There are many things that, for you, are not history, not the past; they are your present, your future."
Khadgar took a deep breath and turned to Arthas. He regained his smile, even though behind him was the evil gateway of the Burning Legion, he still smiled.
"Arthas, this is a gift from 'the future' to you, and it is our hope—hope that, on the other side of our world, the sky above Broken Shore will still be clear and cloudless.
This is our hope."