After defeating Ragnaros, Arthas no longer needed to stay in Blackrock Mountain; there was nothing left there worth his time.
With Thoras and Magni left to guard the Dark Iron Dwarves, and Muradin and Bolvar arriving to rendezvous, the Burning Steppes and Searing Gorge were now completely open.
Of course, the very top of Blackrock Spire, Hordemar City, which was Blackwing Lair, remained sealed, serving as Onyxia's hiding place.
Shadowforge City was still enveloped by that magical barrier. Ansirem had no immediate plans to remove the barrier, firstly because he had deciphered some extraordinary things from its structure, and secondly, Shadowforge City still needed to be sealed off as the attitude of the Dark Iron Dwarves inside remained uncertain.
Arthas didn't know whether Thaurissan, who had left alone to settle the final score with the Fire Element, was dead or alive. The outcome no longer mattered; his life or death would not significantly impact the Dark Iron Dwarves going forward.
As for Arthas himself, he planned to return to Lordaeron first to handle some remaining matters. The development of Blackrock Mountain could be left to the Stormwind Kingdom, Ironforge, and Gnomeregan.
The hidden dangers that had blocked the Alliance in the Eastern Kingdoms were mostly cleared, and apart from the Trolls hiding in the deep mountains, no one could influence the Alliance's power.
The situation in Kalimdor was self-evident. After repelling the Burning Legion, all races, including the Night Elves, were recuperating, and the Alliance's Tauren allies, having moved to a new home, still needed time to develop and grow stronger.
Jaina, however, did not return to Lordaeron with Arthas. She planned to go back to her mage tower in Theramore to prepare some things, and then return to Dalaran to meticulously study her staff.
This obscure weapon had undergone a transformative change in her hands. It was no longer an ordinary staff; if reinforced with the right methods, it would become a divine artifact, no less powerful than any legendary weapon.
However, the theoretical knowledge and power system involved were too vast, as it had received power from one of the world's oldest Elemental Lords, touching upon a domain Jaina had never understood.
Remember in one second.
She needed time to digest this part of the power and knowledge, and she also felt a sense of urgency—though she had done her best to advance in magic, she was still greatly outpaced by Arthas.
Including her, the Alliance leaders who participated in the battle of Molten Core couldn't help but fantasize about Arthas's strength. Among them, Magni, who had seen Guardian Archaedas with Arthas, perhaps had the most reasonable conjectures.
But it was only speculation. Even during the decisive battle with Ragnaros, Arthas clearly held back. To this day, they had not seen a time when this Prince was out of his depth; he always seemed to have reserves.
When Arthas walked out of the Royal Mage Tower in Lordaeron, he was accompanied by only two figures: one was Sylvanas, wearing a hood but not deliberately concealing her identity, and the other was Tulani, wrapped in a cloak so wide it dragged on the ground, not even revealing her hooves.
If she hadn't been with Arthas, the royal guards would have immediately apprehended such a suspicious-looking person.
Although Sylvanas had returned from the battlefield, her expression showed no sign of relaxation; on the contrary, her face was ashen, clearly indicating something was troubling her.
As for Tulani, she had never seen a human civilized city before and was curiously observing every plant and tree in the royal garden.
"If you don't mind, let's go to my study first. It's close to the garden and a good place for tea and conversation."
The two "attendants" naturally had no objections to Arthas's suggestion. They were guests, and it was perfectly fine for guests to follow the host's lead.
As soon as she sat on the sofa in the study, Tulani somewhat eagerly untied her cloak. Although the covering garment was quite wide, being constantly wrapped like that still made her feel suffocated.
After escaping the "claws" of the cloak, Tulani breathed a sigh of relief. "I feel the sunlight is much brighter."
"Lordaeron's climate is always good, and the lighting in my study is considered one of the best in the palace."
Arthas brewed a cup of green tea for the two ladies. "Green tea leaves" were imported from the Western Plaguelands and were relatively less consumed in Lordaeron; nobles preferred other beverages over this slightly bitter liquid.
Arthas wasn't particularly fond of this tea either, but he did have a considerably large merchant guild under his command. As the big boss of this guild, he would occasionally receive "specialties" from all over the world.
His reason for brewing tea was simply to quickly clear out the accumulated stock; otherwise, before he finished drinking, the guild would send another large batch of expensive specialties.
If he really couldn't finish it, Arthas could only ask Calia to distribute it to the palace attendants and servants; otherwise, wasting it would not be a good thing.
But the two ladies certainly didn't know Arthas's thoughts. Tulani felt nothing; she still only had a superficial understanding of this world. Although she had some concept of "tea" as a beverage, she didn't realize the value of this slightly bitter clear liquid.
After Draenor was shattered, water resources became scarce, and water sources generally needed to be purified and treated in special ways before they could be consumed. Even purified water was far less palatable than this tea, so Tulani drank it with great enjoyment.
Sylvanas, on the other hand, took a delicate sip, moistening her lips slightly. The peculiar taste of the tea first made her frown slightly, then her brows relaxed. "I didn't expect you to like a drink with such a unique flavor."
"It's not about liking it, or rather, any drink is the same to me, whether it's tea or wine, there's no difference." Arthas took a sip himself, which helped alleviate the feeling of anxiety from staying in that dreadful place, the Burning Steppes, recently. "If you like it, I can send you some."
"Thank you, I actually quite like it," The taste of the tea reminded Sylvanas of some past events. After thanking Arthas for his gift, she seemed to hesitate to speak.
Arthas, who was helping Sylvanas choose a tea box, noticed her expression. He lowered his head, fiddling with the tea leaves, and casually said, "If you have anything to ask, you can just say it. Given our relationship, there's no need to be so formal."
Arthas's words made Sylvanas hesitate for a moment, but she still chose to speak her mind.
"That runeblade... when I saw it, I felt like I was dragged into an illusion."
Arthas didn't even look up, but what he said astonished Sylvanas greatly, "Did you see the fallen Silvermoon City, did you see your own death?"
Sylvanas looked at Arthas in shock, and subconsciously asked, "How did you know? I did see it, Silvermoon City was breached by an endless undead army, and I also fell into a sea of undead... Quel'Thalas's ever-springing forest was covered in a deathly silence."
Hearing this reply, Arthas stopped what he was doing, raised his head, and looked at Sylvanas with bright eyes. "And what else?"
Sylvanas was silent for a moment before continuing, "I also saw you... You were holding that sword, you were the leader of the undead army, and you were the one who took my life."
Arthas listened to every word, and sighed: Frostmourne's power was somewhat beyond his imagination, or rather, the source of this power seemed to transcend the boundaries of time and space, allowing Sylvanas to see events that occurred on another timeline.
This made Arthas even more suspicious of the sword's origin. Did Frostmourne truly come from the Burning Legion's Dreadlords? Could weapons forged by these Dreadlords truly penetrate the barriers of time?
He shook his head, temporarily putting aside this somewhat complex and eerie question, and instead answered Sylvanas's confusion.
"What you saw was not an illusion. To be precise, it was something that might happen on another timeline."
Sylvanas was stunned. She understood every word Arthas said, but put together, they were so incredible.
"What did you say?"
Arthas added, "You should know about the Dragon Legion, right? Among them, there's a most mysterious and elusive Legion, the Bronze Dragon. These dragons control the power of time and can travel through the river of time, and these 'branches' of the river normally do not intersect or affect each other."
"I thought that was a legend." Sylvanas honestly spoke her mind, "Red Dragons, Black Dragons, Blue Dragons, even Green Dragons, there are basically records of them being seen with one's own eyes. Only the Bronze Dragon, although their names are in the material that have been passed down, no one has ever seen a true Bronze Dragon."
"Because time is on their side," Arthas said, "Perhaps you've already seen them, you just don't know it; and for them, they might have known you for a long time, just not known you now."
"Stop!" Sylvanas rubbed her temples. "This is too confusing. Let's continue talking about the runeblade's illusion."
"As I said, that wasn't an illusion, just a projection of another world. However, as for why you saw everything we haven't experienced, I'm not entirely sure either." Arthas stroked his chin.
Sylvanas, however, still looked at Arthas, who could only smile helplessly. "I know what you're worried about, but that's not me, at least not the me you see before you."
"I know, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here chatting with you, but pointing an arrow at your head." Sylvanas nodded, "But, even if that's not our future, that runeblade... it's still too dangerous. I don't think you should carry it. What if... what if your mind is corrupted by it...?"
It seemed she was still worried about the possible future.
"Frostmourne is indeed very dangerous, in anyone's hands it is like that." To her surprise, Arthas affirmed this point very surely.
But Arthas's next sentence completely left Sylvanas speechless.
"But with this sword in my hand, it's the safest, even safer than destroying it."
"Your face doesn't even blush when you say that. Is this what a Paladin of the Silver Hand is like?" Sylvanas's original serious mood instantly broke, and she teased Arthas rather ungraciously.
"I didn't lie, why should I feel ashamed? The paladin's holy scriptures didn't say I couldn't even speak the truth."
"To be precise, that's more like arrogance." Tulani, having finished her tea, added somewhat eagerly, but before she could finish, Arthas glared at her.
The Soulbinder had no choice but to glumly continue being inconspicuous.
"In short, the matter of Frostmourne is more complicated than you might guess. This sword is tied to many issues, and I keep it not just for its power, but for the answers to those issues."
Arthas temporarily ended the topic, because it was not yet time for Sylvanas to understand some things. If he forced an explanation, he didn't know how long it would take to clarify.
"Of course, when you believe I have fallen, please do not hesitate to point your bow at my head, and then do not hesitate to shoot through it."
Sylvanas opened her mouth, but the words she wanted to say still didn't come out. In the end, it just turned into, "We won't let you fall."
"Actually, that day will never come." Arthas said with a smile, then his expression suddenly became a little strange, and he reached into his drawer.
The two ladies were silent at this moment, each lost in their own thoughts, until Arthas took out a letter and opened it. Sylvanas noticed that the wax seal on the letter seemed to be the emblem of the Silver Hand.
A letter from the Knights?
Arthas took out the letter. He didn't know what was written inside. If it were truly urgent, his teacher Uther wouldn't use this method to tell him. This meant that this letter, which had been placed in his study at some unknown time, should be about something formal but not urgent.
The content of the letter was not complicated; Arthas only took a little over a minute to read through the entire letter. He placed the letter on the table and propped his forehead with one hand.
This was indeed a "big deal," and it wasn't particularly urgent, but agreeing to it would certainly bring a considerable amount of trouble.
Yet, this matter was very beneficial for the development of the Alliance. Arthas just wasn't sure why those old Paladins, who had received the blessing of the Holy Light and were almost free from the limitations of age, would entrust this matter to him.
"Such an expression is rare on you." Sylvanas leisurely enjoyed Arthas's rare conflicted look.
Arthas said nothing, picked up the letter with two fingers, and raised it in Sylvanas's direction.
Sylvanas didn't stand on ceremony. She went up, took the letter, and after a quick glance, her expression also became strange.
"A 'student' from Quel'Thalas?"