The main gate of Karazhan was tightly shut, its ancient iron grates covered in rust and numerous cobwebs.
Even though Deadwind Pass was rarely traveled, Medivh's dark power permeated the area, allowing many resilient lifeforms to survive, some even undergoing bizarre mutations due to the influence of the dark energy.
However, Arthas and his companions did not intend to enter Karazhan from here, or rather, they never planned to enter the 'upper levels' of the tower from the start.
Indeed, Arthas's objective for this trip was the darkest and most dangerous place among Karazhan's countless secrets: a place filled with various incomprehensible empty structures, horrifyingly deceased corpses, and mountains of piled-up white bones of unknown races and creatures.
Some say it was a cellar used by Medivh, after being possessed by Sargeras, to vent his inner dark will, while others claim it was a labyrinth built by summoned demons; rumors abound, but whatever its origin, it was certainly not for any good purpose.
The underground labyrinth of Karazhan was fraught with danger, and most areas contained nothing but cursed undead and various magical traps, yet few of the mages and scouts sent into the cellar by the Kirin Tor ever returned alive.
And those who did survive had not even stepped into the core area of the labyrinth, merely exploring the periphery before being scared away by the terrifying scenes within.
The people sent by the Kirin Tor to investigate Karazhan were not timid individuals; among them were even some desperadoes and magic fanatics, but even they were scared away by what was in the cellar, which speaks volumes about how much darkness was hidden within Karazhan's abyss-like underground world.
Arthas also had no intention of venturing deep into that labyrinth; he wasn't sure if there were any treasures inside, but if he accidentally triggered a trap left by the Dark Titan himself through the Guardian, even he couldn't fully guarantee the safety of his group.
His objective was singular: to find those few Black Knights cursed by Sargeras, and the things they had hidden.
"The wall behind here is hollow," Jaina's detection magic quickly pinpointed the mechanism in the crypt; she summoned a magical hand and continuously felt along the wall until it pressed against a loose brick.
She exchanged a glance with Arthas, and after confirming it was correct, she pressed it down.
After a low grinding sound of bricks, the previously seamless wall shifted inward at an angle, and damp, somewhat decayed air flowed out.
Lothar took the lead, raising a torch and walking at the very front; when he saw the winding passage behind the wall, he was also somewhat amazed, "I've been to Karazhan so many times, and I never knew Medivh built such a secret passage in the crypt outside the Mage Tower."
"Most of Medivh's life was controlled by an extremely dark will, and sometimes he himself wasn't even aware of what he had done," Arthas explained. "Be careful, we've triggered a mechanism, and those Black Knights might have already noticed."
"I've already set up detection magic for alerts, increasing the sensitivity to undead and curses. If those guys are truly here, we'll know immediately."
Although Jaina had spent most of her time in the ivory tower of Dalaran, she had now experienced the baptism of war multiple times; both the Battle of Mount Hyjal and the campaign to conquer Molten Core had greatly benefited her.
As a genius, when she combined practice with theory, her strength naturally advanced by leaps and bounds, especially considering the beings they had faced, whether they were high-ranking demons of the Burning Legion or Elemental Lords from the Firelands, all were beings beyond the reach of mortals.
After battling these legendary creatures, Jaina's understanding and comprehension of magic far surpassed the ceiling that ordinary mages could touch.
She was now a top-ranked Archmage in Dalaran, and in frost magic, even Antonidas had nothing left to teach Jaina.
Next, Jaina would continuously hone her spellcasting skills, perfect the structure of runes and Arcane, and increase the amount of mana she could control and use; one day, she would surpass her teacher and become the foremost legendary mage in all of Azeroth.
And this was basically the ceiling for all mages, unless one possessed extraordinary Arcane talent like the Blue Dragon and could perceive Azeroth's ley lines and use their power, or like Azshara and the successive Sun Kings, possessed extra-planar mana sources like the Well of Eternity and the Sunwell; otherwise, the Arcane power mortals could control also had a limit.
"This crypt is deeper than I imagined..." Lothar, holding the torch, suddenly stopped. Jaina and Arthas heard his words, took a few steps forward, and stood side by side with Lothar. In the torchlight, the spiraling stone stairs broke off beneath their feet, and below them, they couldn't even see if there was a path.
Arthas moved his foot and kicked a small stone; the stone fell under gravity, and after a short while, the sound of a pebble hitting water echoed.
"At least dozens of meters high... the torchlight can't reach the bottom, there's a pool there." Lothar estimated the height; the torchlight was insufficient to penetrate the darkness between them, and a subtle dark magical energy surged within the crypt, significantly shortening the distance light could travel.
Arthas condensed a ball of Holy Light and threw it forward, manipulating the Holy Light to illuminate the path below.
"I see a foothold," Jaina nodded. Under Arthas's illumination, blue Arcane light shone in her eyes, and the power of the ley lines began to be leveraged by her.
Arcane light flickered in the crypt, and in the next second, the three had already arrived at the next foothold.
However, the space disturbed by the teleportation spell had not yet settled when Jaina's expression suddenly turned serious; she spoke rapidly, "The spell's magic has disturbed certain entities. Be careful, my magic trap has been triggered."
"I feel it too... the aura of the undead, are they those Black Knights?" Lothar's hand was already on the hilt of the runeblade on his back; as a Death Knight, he was very familiar with the scent of the undead.
"It shouldn't be," Arthas used his hand to hold up his cloak; the Holy Tome at his waist emitted a soft glow, illuminating this underground space and giving them sufficient visibility. "Although Black Knights can ride their cursed warhorses through the sky, such a narrow spiral staircase is not a suitable combat ground for them. If it really were them, we wouldn't have anything to worry about—"
"Arthas, Marshal Lothar, I see them... it's a group of floating ghosts!"
Jaina's voice rang out; above their heads, near the recently broken staircase, transparent spectral monsters were gathering.
Arthas looked at the swirling staircase, covered in frost and cold, and said with a mix of amusement and helplessness, "Jaina, you overdid it. They were just some ordinary wraiths."
"You told me to go all out against enemies, and besides, this really was just an ordinary spell," Jaina replied, not even a little out of breath. The magic she had just used was child's play for her.
"Luckily, you used Frost magic. If it were Ronin, we probably wouldn't have died at the hands of the wraiths, but would have been buried alive right here."
The area above their heads was almost completely frozen by Jaina, and those seemingly somewhat dangerous wraiths were instantly frozen into ice shards in every sense by the surging magic.
Now, even Arthas and Lothar could no longer sense the aura of death, but only the biting cold of frost.
Although he verbally told Jaina that she should control her power, Arthas was quite happy in his heart, because this spell showed that Jaina had clearly improved a lot since their last battle in Molten Core.
Even Lothar praised Jaina's brilliant performance, "You are the youngest and most talented mage I have ever seen. If you ask me, few of those old scholars in Dalaran can compare to you."
"Thank you for your compliment, Grand Marshal," Jaina said, performing a simple bow as a gesture of thanks.
"Don't call me Grand Marshal anymore. I'm just an ordinary ghost now," Lothar waved his hand casually, "The Grand Marshal of the Alliance has already died beneath Blackrock Mountain—this is a heavy burden, even I would find it heavy."
"You will always be the Grand Marshal in our hearts. Without you, the orcs would have long ago destroyed human civilization, enslaved our people, and run rampant in our homeland."
Lothar was noncommittal, simply nodding, "Since we've dealt with these ghosts, we should continue forward. These cursed souls indicate that we are closer to that hidden Dark Vault."
But before the three could even take a step, a sinister and terrifying roar echoed in the darkness, "Who dares to step into my master's vault! You damned mortals will be cursed forever!"
"It's the Black Knight—be on guard!" Arthas stepped beside Jaina, and the Holy Tome at his waist erupted with brilliant Holy Light, instantly reassembling into the warhammer, light of dawn.
"I found them," Jaina said coldly, the Arcane glow in her eyes shining brighter. She cupped her hands, and Frost and Arcane energy merged into a pair of giant hands, pushing aside the gradually thickening darkness.
The Black Knight themselves were not to be feared; they were merely a group of cursed misers and merchants. But who knew if the curse left by the Dark Titan would have other effects? After all, these villains and thieves had stolen treasures and artifacts from countless dangerous places to enrich Medivh's vault. Although they were immortal due to this curse, if they didn't have some skill, the mere existence of those who guarded the treasures would have been enough to ensure they never returned.
Arthas calmly observed the spreading black mist. It was almost connected to the surrounding dark environment and rapidly swallowed the already dim light, causing the area Lothar's torch could illuminate to continuously shrink.
Jaina was channeling magic to counter the strange darkness created by the Black Knight, while Lothar held his torch in one hand and took out the runic greatsword from his back with the other.
"There's quite a number of them," Lothar said in a deep voice. The undead's special vision allowed him to spot the enemies hidden in the black mist. These fellows, due to the Dark Titan's curse, had turned into grotesque monsters that were neither human nor ghost.
Demon, undead, and human—three completely unrelated characteristics were blended together in them. In Lothar's soul perception, these creatures were even more bizarre and deformed than the initial version of the soul fusion bodies of the Scourge.
They were not purely undead, but strange beings whose souls were connected to the Twisting Nether, and whose flesh was reinforced by fel and shadow. A curse composed of three powers crawled all over their souls and bodies. Perhaps only a Dark Titan like Sargeras could transform mortals into such monstrosities with a simple curse.
"These guys' abilities are very strange; the space we're in is expanding," Jaina warned, "They want to create an environment that favors them. Magic can't stop this process, only delay it. Arthas, we need to deal with them quickly, otherwise, who knows where this pitch-black mist will trap us."
"Don't worry, with me here, they won't succeed," Arthas first cast a layer of Holy Light protection on Jaina to prevent sneak attacks from the Black Knight. At the same time, his gaze also turned to the Black Knight approaching with the darkness.
Arthas could see far more than Lothar and Jaina. He unhesitatingly swung his warhammer, driving the Holy Light like a tide to crash into the rolling black mist, making the entire space tremble. At the same time, such a heavy blow shook a Black Knight out of the darkness.
The Black Knight, clad in black heavy plate armor and riding an undead warhorse that snorted ghostly blue mist, stumbled out of the black mist. Once deprived of the mist's protection, his presence was immediately locked onto by Jaina and Lothar.
Jaina separated one hand to conjure a fierce cold wind. The Black Knight and his mount were enveloped by this Frost power, and solid ice immediately locked them in place, unable to move.
Lothar seized the opportunity, lunging forward. The runic sword glowed with an icy blue light, and a brutal yet deadly violent strike came down, almost cleaving the Black Knight and his horse in half.
Annihilation!
After the physical slash, the runic power intertwined with the surrounding ice power, and a coldness capable of freezing and obliterating souls erupted on the Black Knight.
Without even a decent counterattack, this Black Knight was slain by Lothar.
Arthas, on his side, also easily dragged two Black Knight out of the darkness with chains of condensed Holy Light, swinging his warhammer once on each side, crushing both their heads and their horses' heads into dust.
However, the expressions of the three grew increasingly serious. They were all top performers in their respective fields. The previous attacks indeed destroyed the Black Knight's material form, but even though they had specifically added power that could harm souls, they still failed to completely destroy the Black Knight's souls.
"No wonder they're so arrogant. Without prior preparation, even several Archmage wouldn't be able to completely kill them. Being stuck with such immortal monsters, anyone would find it tricky." Arthas deeply realized that the Black Knight were not beings that ordinary attacks could annihilate; the terror of the Dark Titan's curse was evident.
However, this did not mean their attacks were useless. Even if the Black Knight could escape complete death through special methods, the three fallen Black Knight's reconstruction speed was noticeably slower, suggesting that their souls and bodies had still suffered considerable damage.
"Kill these foolish mortals! My master will want that warhammer in that person's hand!"
Eredin, the leader of the Black Knight, did not retreat at all because of the death of one of his subordinates. His sanity had long been twisted, turning him into a monster driven by greed and desire. When he saw Arthas's warhammer, he instinctively wanted to seize it like his other treasures.
"Arthas, can the Holy Light dispel this accursed darkness? They're getting closer, and I can't handle it!"
Jaina increased her magical output by another notch. While it was far from her limit, if she continued like this, the stability of the cellar might not hold up.
Arthas's warhammer was heavy and swift, repelling Black Knights that assailed him from the darkness one after another. However, he discovered a problem: "No… we can't use the Holy Light. The true core of these guys is bound by fel, and this strange darkness is also space warped by fel. If we use the Holy Light, there will be a violent explosion."
"A violent explosion? How violent?" Jaina threw out a crystal of ice, which exploded on a Black Knight, freezing it to dust.
"It won't hurt us, but this underground space will definitely be completely destroyed," Arthas concluded.
The Black Knights didn't put too much pressure on the three of them, but the three of them also had no way to deal with these undead monsters. If they used stronger power, the surroundings would probably be completely destroyed. But if they didn't use stronger power, they couldn't completely kill these guys.
"If it really doesn't work, we'll just teleport away first." Jaina also felt it was very tricky. How long would it take to end this dragging fight?
Eredin, upon realizing his subordinates couldn't resolve the three living individuals before him, immediately flew into a rage. He loudly reprimanded his subordinates, "You incompetent fools! Has the power bestowed upon you by your master been eaten by dogs? Hurry up and deal with them!"
Under Eredin's urging, the Black Knights' offensive became even more fierce. Lothar parried a Black Knight's sword, then backhanded to deal with another, frowning as he said, "Endless and relentless, these cursed undead truly are troublesome."
"Sir Lothar, pull back a bit and help me protect Jaina."
Arthas suddenly said this.
"Have you found a solution?" Lothar was a bit curious, and at the same time, he retreated with his sword.
"I'll have to try to know if it works. I'm not a prophet." Arthas's warhammer smashed a Black Knight into a cloud of black mist, and the golden Holy Light continuously attacked the domain filled with dark power.
Lothar knew what kind of power Arthas possessed. Since he asked him to protect Jaina, Lothar naturally went all out. As he moved, he skillfully used runic power to carve several runes on the ground.
"Jaina, prepare a few more layers of magical protection for yourself. Arthas is about to get serious."
A pale purple anti-magic field quickly formed, starting from the runes Lothar carved. As Lothar perfected the protection, he also reminded Jaina to prepare her defensive means.
"Getting serious—hmph, he really is hiding something from me." Jaina pouted, tapping her staff on the ground. A double-layered shield of frost and Arcane surrounded Lothar and herself. At the same time, she added several temporary barriers to strengthen the defense.
Although she was somewhat bothered that Arthas was hiding something from her, ever since she witnessed Arthas fighting Ragnaros, she understood that her prince seemed to have far exceeded everyone's imagination.
Arthas held the hammer handle with one hand, smashing a Black Knight away. His free right hand gripped the void, and in the darkness, a faint blue glow became strikingly visible.
Eredin, whose will had been filled with greed, suddenly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. After being afflicted by this terrifying curse for so many years, aside from facing the entity that had imposed the curse on them, he had never felt such horror as he did at this moment.
The other Black Knights also instinctively quickened their pace in attacking Arthas, but Arthas's warhammer gave them no opportunity. The ranged assistance from Lothar and Jaina also made the Black Knights' progress difficult.
The unease in Eredin's heart grew more severe. If not for the curse preventing him from escaping the process of "acquiring treasures," he would have even entertained the idea of fleeing immediately.
The leader of the Black Knights, once a caravan leader, realized that whatever Arthas intended to do, he could not allow him to succeed. Thus, he even went so far as to damage the integrity of the dark domain to interrupt Arthas.
The power of the curse was drawn by Eredin into his longsword. Jaina, despite being within multiple layers of protection, still shivered as if targeted by something terrifying.
"What is that thing!" Jaina gripped her staff tightly, staring intently at Eredin's blurry shadow in the darkness. "Arthas, be careful!"
Lothar also frowned, not because that malice affected him—the cold will of the undead exempted him from such influence. He sensed something else, something more dangerous, which made him unconsciously tighten his grip on his sword hilt. He had already replenished the consumed runes with Death energy, and now he could unleash his full power again at any moment.
The curse that Lothar and Jaina could feel was felt most clearly by Arthas, who was closest to it—it was the core left by the Fallen Titan within the Black Knights, entwined with his will and authority.
It seemed that Eredin, after enduring prolonged torment, had also learned how to "utilize" this power.
However, rather than utilization, it was more like a plea for the Fallen Titan to bestow a negligible fraction of his power to enhance his own strength.
That power was too weak to even attract the Fallen Titan's attention. It was merely a single, tiny glimpse of the Fallen Titan's true form, a "shortcut" Eredin could perceive due to the curse imposed by him through Medivh. It was a unilateral bestowal from this Legion deity to his humble servant.
Eredin seemed to have used this power to deal with many opponents. While he feared the Fallen Titan, he also greedily craved power—that was his nature, and also the "curse" of being cursed.
Arthas had already seen through Eredin's intentions. Unfortunately, Eredin's schemes were ultimately destined to fail.
—The faint blue light condensed into a narrow line, instantly elongating in the darkness, like an infinitely extending thread, piercing through the darkness and disappearing into the void.
Eredin's cursed blade had just lifted, and the undead warhorse beneath him was about to charge, but then it instantly froze.
The Black Knight leader looked with disbelief at the blade in his hand. The curse covering it, which he believed to be invulnerable and unbreakable, along with the blade and the plate armor on his chest, had all been pierced by a blue line.
"No—this can't—"
A frantic cry emanated from the darkness. Moments later, with a dull thud, Eredin fell from his warhorse, crashing heavily onto the ground. The dark spiritual light in his shriveled eyes gradually faded.
...
"Hmm?"
In the dark and profound universe, a scar-like, dark green fel mark stretched across countless star systems. The deity seated on a throne made of the corpses of shattered planets slowly opened his eyes, looking into the deep darkness of the cosmos.
Soon, he closed his bronze eyes, which surged with flames, and leaned back on this "Throne of Witnessing Destruction," pulled by countless demons, heading towards the next world destined for annihilation.