"Anyway, this can't be something left behind by the Explorer's League," Magni exclaimed. "Any Dwarf can tell the age of these models at a glance… How did they do it?"
Observing the Uldaman map in this exhibition hall closely, almost every palace, every corridor, and every street was scaled down proportionally, and these scaled-down models were made so perfectly that there was no difference from the actual objects except for their size.
Magni searched carefully on the map, and according to the characteristics of the buildings and the route he had taken, he found the hall where he and Arthas were located.
"These ancient runes… seem to mean 'exhibition hall' or 'map room'?" Magni was also a little unsure. Although he was one of the founders of the Explorer's League, his brother Brann's archaeological attainments were indeed higher than his.
If Brann were here, he would be overjoyed and meticulously examine this precisely crafted map from beginning to end.
Although after countless years, the other exhibits in the exhibition hall had been buried in the soil, mostly scattered around the archaeological site in incomplete pieces, it could be seen from the peeling soil layers that this hall once had a glorious period.
Arthas observed the hall, but he wasn't as excited and thrilled as Magni, as he already had a general understanding of Uldaman's situation.
"Magni, let's admire the artifacts later. We need to first…"
"Arthas, what do you think this is? I feel like the roof of this model looks a bit like… a keyhole?" Magni examined a model building in front of him. This building was the only model in the entire map model that was not a replica of an existing building.
Arthas was about to say it's best not to touch those strange locks, but before he could speak, he heard the sound of gears turning.
"Arthas, did you hear that?" Magni obviously heard the sound as well, as such a turning sound was quite noticeable in the spacious and quiet hall.
"Yes, Magni… I think we might be in trouble."
Arthas's hand was already on the hilt of Frostmourne. His eyes were fixed on the direction from which the gear sound came—a newly unearthed bronze door.
"Damn it, no way. Besides those trogg kobolds in this ancient city, what other strange things could there be?" Magni, hearing Arthas, also complained, tightening his warhammer and battle-axe.
"In any case, it won't be something easy to deal with…"
Arthas could already feel that a sleeping entity was awakening, and she was behind that door.
At this moment, Arthas was very puzzled. He remembered that to open this door, a special key needed to be inserted into the keyhole Magni had just discovered to trigger Uldaman's mechanism and awaken the entity within the door.
And that key was originally supposed to be kept by the Earthen of Uldaman, but due to the trogg's riot, the key had also broken into several fragments, scattered throughout Uldaman.
Why had the mechanism of this door been triggered now, just by entering the exhibition hall?
Arthas couldn't quite figure out what had gone wrong. He didn't want to awaken the sleepers in Uldaman too early, as their attitude after waking up would likely not be very friendly.
After all, for those who had been sleeping for a long time, their first reaction upon seeing Arthas and Magni would be that creations contaminated by the Flesh Curse had "invaded" Uldaman.
"Arthas, do you know what's behind that door?" Magni also stared intently at the door, quietly asking Arthas.
"Inside is one of Uldaman's Guardians… Her name is Ironaya, one of the first creations of the Titans."
Arthas shared all the information he knew with Magni without reservation. "As one of the Titans' first creations, her strength far exceeds mortal imagination, but waking from slumber will certainly affect her sanity and strength."
The Titans' metal and stone creations were very mysterious; even the Scourge found it difficult to fully understand their souls. Perhaps those Titans followed a path completely different from existing necromancy.
Arthas could only vaguely sense a soul awakening, but he couldn't influence the process of this soul's awakening. However, he did notice that Ironaya's soul did not seem to have recovered to a very powerful state.
It seemed that, apart from the few Guardians personally blessed by the Titans with authority and power, other creations were still affected by time. At least, these tens or even hundreds of centuries of slumber prevented her from reaching her peak state.
However, after the door opened, Arthas and Magni's vigilance turned into confusion: no stone giant emerged from the room beyond the door.
Arthas originally wanted to leave, but after checking the soul fluctuations again, he chose to stay. "Magni, keep watch for me. I'll go see what's going on."
"Hey—are you crazy? You don't know what happened in that room! Hey!" Magni whispered, calling out to Arthas repeatedly, but Arthas was determined to go and had no intention of stopping.
He walked into the immense room, which was incredibly large for a human, and with a raise of his right hand, a Holy Light slowly illuminated, brightening the somewhat dim room.
Guardian Ironaya was reclining on a stone platform resembling a bed. Her eyes were tightly closed, and although her soul was fluctuating, she had not awakened from her slumber.
—Her soul's awakening process stopped before completion, much like a car running out of fuel in its final stages of driving. Although the soul fluctuations remained steady, they couldn't reach the critical point that would allow her to awaken.
Arthas directed the Holy Light towards Ironaya's face. He looked puzzled as he placed a hand on Ironaya's stone-carved body.
"Arthas?" Magni approached the doorway, asking Arthas, "What's going on inside?"
"She should have awakened, but for some reason, she stopped at the final stage," Arthas withdrew his right hand. Ironaya's soul was not cursed or fragmented. Although her long slumber made her soul seem somewhat inactive, it was completely intact.
"Whoa… She's a really big one…" Magni's eyes almost popped out the moment he saw Ironaya.
Dwarves were not unfamiliar with large stone golems or other stone creations, but the face of this female giant before them was incredibly soft, without any harshness from carving or chiseling, giving a sense of natural perfection.
Compared to her, the creations made by Dwarves and Gnomes, passed down from their memories, were as crude as toys hastily assembled by children.
Moreover, most importantly, Magni felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity and closeness from this sleeping female giant.
Magni was somewhat confused; he didn't know where such emotions came from. "I feel a bit uneasy… This female giant gives me a very sad atmosphere… Is it some kind of magic?"
A sad atmosphere?
Arthas was momentarily stunned when he heard Magni's words, then immediately had a bold idea. He controlled the Holy Light used for illumination and sent it in front of Ironaya.
He began to continuously inject more power into the Holy Light. His skin, covered by armor, shimmered with a metallic luster, and the runes representing the Holy Light flickered on and off.
Like breathing, the continuous flow of Holy Light power caused the Holy Light flame, originally the size of a lamp, to gradually grow larger and warmer. After ensuring it could encompass the female giant's massive body, Arthas stopped guiding the Holy Light.
This seemingly aimless action made Arthas feel that, under the warm Holy Light, the female giant Ironaya's soul, which had once again fallen silent, was gradually becoming more active.
In other words, this light gave her a feeling of warmth, pulling her out of that elusive state.
This Holy Light also dispelled the inexplicable melancholy in Magni's heart. As a son of rock and mountains, he could easily sense the emotions of the Stone Guardians, who had a deep connection with the Earthen.
This was the source of the sorrow that welled up in Magni's heart. Ironaya was indeed awakening for some reason, but lacking the magical stimulation from the key, her awakening process was imperfect, stopping at the very last moment.
Arthas's actions helped this Guardian gradually regain consciousness, and the Holy Light, being a gentler energy, prevented the female giant from being as agitated and wary as she would have been if awakened by the key.
Ten thousand years passed like a dream, and the female giant's dreamlike murmur echoed through the room.
"Tyr… Is that you?"
She opened her eyes, Ironaya looked at the warm Holy Light in front of her, sighed, and pulled it closer to her with her hand.
Rocks do not shed tears, but she, born from rock, felt sadness again after ten thousand years.
Ironaya propped herself up, sat up from the stone platform, and looked down at Arthas and Magni, hiding her sorrow.
"Did you awaken me, successor of Tyr, and descendants of the Earthen?"
Her resonant yet gentle voice rang out, completely unlike the somewhat frantic and extreme roars Arthas remembered—it seemed the Holy Light had pulled this Guardian out of her agitated state of recovery.
"You and I should both be glad that it wasn't Uldaman's protective mechanism that awakened me, otherwise, I, having just awakened, would have attacked the 'invaders' of Uldaman without hesitation."
Ironaya sighed softly. The moment she fully awakened and established a connection with Uldaman, she already understood the city's current state. Uldaman, as a sanctuary, had been completely buried under the dust of time, with most facilities and functions abandoned.
What was worse, those failed creations that were originally sealed somehow broke free and were wreaking havoc throughout Uldaman, and the stone statues that were supposed to be Guardians had become indiscriminate due to disrepair over the years.
This once incredibly grand and glorious city ultimately could not defeat time, and even she herself almost lost herself during this long slumber.
If it weren't for that familiar yet strange Holy Light awakening her dormant soul, perhaps the moment she awoke, her Guardian rationality would have compelled her to fight fiercely against the invaders.
"I think this isn't entirely our doing. I merely awakened your sleeping soul at the very end."
Arthas felt no tension facing Ironaya. He was already certain that this female giant would no longer attack him and Magni without reason.
"Sometimes, success and failure are just one last step apart, successor of Tyr." Ironaya seemed to hint at something, but she immediately changed the subject. "Besides you, I also sensed another group of Earthen descendants on the outskirts of the palace… But why do they carry the scorched scent of the Fire Lord?"
"You must be referring to the Dark Iron Dwarves. They violated an ancient oath and made a foolish decision using a spell to summon Ragnaros in their homeland, which also enslaved their race to the Fire Lord forever," Magni answered Ironaya's question.
"Ragnaros… I'm afraid he did all this not just out of his nature, but also for revenge against us." Ironaya shook her head. The Elemental Lord had, after all, entered this world again. His enslavement of the Dark Iron Dwarves was a retaliation against the Guardians from ancient times.
She was somewhat concerned about the fate of the Dark Iron Dwarves, but it was their own doing. Uldaman and the Guardians now had no spare strength to deal with this escaped Ragnaros the Firelord.
Ironaya looked at Arthas and said softly, "Successor, you awakened me. With your help, I can awaken my colleagues in this ruin. After that, we will answer your questions, but I also have some questions I wish to ask you."
"No problem."
The female giant nodded in agreement. She turned and walked to the other side of the room, pressing a spot on a wall covered with carvings, and a stone slab resembling a control panel extended from the wall.
Ironaya pressed her massive stone palm onto it, and amid a dull rumbling, a section of the wall slowly opened.
"Follow me. Although Uldaman's energy supply is almost cut off, there is still an emergency passage that leads directly to the Seat of Khaz'goroth. There we can meet the sleeping Archaedas."
Led by Ironaya, Magni and Arthas entered this stone door, following the female giant down a spiral stone staircase, directly traversing Uldaman's complex areas and entering the sacred Seat of Khaz'goroth.
The doors here were still tightly shut, but Ironaya pushed them open directly. The interior of the Seat of Khaz'goroth was revealed to mortals for the first time after a long period of time.