"How is this possible?!"
Archlich Kel'Thuzad huddled in his phylactery in horror. Although this was the foundation of a Lich's existence, at this moment, he felt no sense of security whatsoever.
Because the person holding his phylactery was someone he knew all too well—his former "master."
"It seems you really don't want to see me, Kel'Thuzad?" Arthas had by now shed the appearance he used to deceive others and returned to his original form.
"You, me? This!"
Kel'Thuzad stammered, wanting to say something, but he couldn't make sense of it. For the first time in his life, both alive and dead, he felt the sense of bewilderment as sanity slipped away from him.
Just a moment ago, Arthas had appeared behind him and utterly destroyed his Lich body with a single sword strike. Kel'Thuzad, caught by surprise, hadn't even had time to react before his soul instinctively fled back into his phylactery.
Subsequently, Kel'Thuzad, who had intended to use the magic within the Sanctum of Domination to reshape his Lich body, found that he couldn't do so at all. His proud magic had been completely thwarted by a clever method, and the phylactery, which protected his soul's core, had now become a cage trapping Kel'Thuzad.
Instantly transforming from the Archlich of the Sanctum of Domination into a prisoner at someone else's mercy, this drastic sense of disparity was simply too frustrating. Kel'Thuzad didn't even know how he had been defeated by Arthas.
Perhaps he had truly served the wrong master?
For a fleeting moment, such a thought flashed through Kel'Thuzad's mind, but he quickly dismissed it—without a doubt, this Arthas was definitely not the Lich King he knew.
"What do you want to do? Are you also after the grand goal Zovaal spoke of?"
Helpless, Kel'Thuzad, in this final moment, maintained a mage's original intention, which was to possess intense curiosity: Arthas had been infiltrating the Forsworn for so long, undetected even by Sylvanas and Zovaal, which showed that what Arthas was plotting was definitely not ordinary.
"Did you really believe Zovaal's sweet talk? You don't seem as smart as the Kel'Thuzad I knew."
Arthas's words made Kel'Thuzad feel a hint of annoyance, "My entire life has only been dedicated to pursuing the ultimate Arcane, and Zovaal just happens to be the one holding the key to the door of the Arcane!"
"He won't share any secrets with you. For Zovaal, everything is just a pawn in his hand. You are nothing more than a discarded piece, just like that fellow below, who can be abandoned at any moment."
Arthas shared a scene with Kel'Thuzad, who was now only a soul—it was Sylvanas being besieged by the heroes of Azeroth.
It must be said that Sylvanas, having received a portion of Zovaal's blessing, had transcended the limits of mortals. She appeared effortlessly at ease in this fierce battle.
Kel'Thuzad calmly watched Sylvanas's ghost-like figure on the battlefield and said disdainfully, "She is just buying time. Those ignorant mortals have fallen into her trap."
Arthas did not refute at this moment, "Indeed, Sylvanas is buying time for Zovaal, and now, it is enough."
As soon as he finished speaking, the chains wrapped around the Soulforges suddenly trembled violently. After a brief tremor, the chains attached to the Soulforges straightened one by one, as if the other end of the chains was firmly attached to something.
"Zovaal won."
Kel'Thuzad's words were concise; although he wasn't clear about the specific battle process between Zovaal and the Primus, judging from the current outcome, the ritual Zovaal performed, based on the entirety of Maw and Torghast, Tower of the Damned, ultimately ended in Zovaal's victory.
He successfully anchored Oribos and Maw together. Now, Zovaal, who had been banished by the Eternals, could finally return to the seat of power he once possessed.
However, Kel'Thuzad didn't understand why Arthas could still watch Sylvanas and their battle with such composure. Didn't he know that Zovaal's objective had already been achieved?
Arthas did not answer Kel'Thuzad's question this time. He merely looked in the direction the chains spread, until the eternal city, standing in the Shadowlands, appeared in his sight.
He took out Frostmourne, shattered Kel'Thuzad's phylactery, and absorbed the Archlich's soul into the sword. Kel'Thuzad expressionlessly allowed Arthas to do as he pleased; he knew he was a loser, so whatever fate befell him was not unexpected.
However, the endless torment and pain imagined from Frostmourne did not appear. After a brief darkness, he found himself seemingly standing on a vast, snowy plain.
Kel'Thuzad looked at his hands in confusion—they were the hands he had when he was in his human body, so much so that they felt somewhat unfamiliar to him.
But what puzzled Kel'Thuzad even more was, was this what the inside of Frostmourne was like? This vast, seemingly boundless snowy plain was completely different from the narrow darkness of countless souls being rubbed and squeezed together in his memory.
"Kel'Thuzad."
Hearing someone call his name, Kel'Thuzad subconsciously turned around, but upon seeing the other's face, his pupils trembled fiercely.
"Rhonin…?"
What shocked Kel'Thuzad even more was that behind Rhonin stood an endless, boundless crowd, like the snowy plain itself. Kel'Thuzad recognized some of them, but many more were strangers to him.
Among these people were youths, as well as elders and children; there were humans, as well as elves and orcs. It seemed that this place contained all the deceased of all ages and races on Azeroth.
How many souls had Arthas absorbed? What did he intend to do with these souls?
Before Kel'Thuzad could open his mouth to ask, he found his spirit body moving uncontrollably. He passed through the crowd, surrounded by a sea of people, like a traveler visiting not beautiful scenery and wonders, but countless unfamiliar or familiar faces.
They looked at him with different eyes; some with disgust, some with curiosity, and some with pity and reluctance.
These gazes initially made Kel'Thuzad feel somewhat at a loss, but gradually, he began to grow angry.
He roared, "Arthas, what do you want to do?! Is this an illusion you created?!"
However, no one answered him. Kel'Thuzad continued to drift in the sea of people. He cursed loudly, trying to enrage the master of this place, but gained nothing. Gradually, his shouts and curses were drowned out by the human tide. Kel'Thuzad's proud spells and research, at this moment, ultimately amounted to nothing.
He was merely one of the countless departed souls of Azeroth.
Outside of Frostmourne, Arthas looked at Kel'Thuzad, who was swallowed by the sea of people, and sighed slightly, shaking his head. For the people inside, who Kel'Thuzad was didn't matter at all, because they were now gathered together under Arthas's power, with only one purpose: to end all of this.
After dealing with Kel'Thuzad, the battle on Sylvanas's side had also entered a fierce stage. Her arrows, overflowing with dark energy, shattered several platforms in the Arbiter's chamber, forcing the heroes of Azeroth back onto the central main platform.
There, the "enemy" they least wanted to face appeared.
Anduin raised Unholy sword, and the Commanding Power from Zovaal immediately imprisoned everyone. However, this time, Jaina had already prepared, and furthermore, the power Anduin could wield was always far less than Zovaal himself. Her pre-prepared protective magic activated the moment Jaina's throat was seized by the Commanding Power.
The extreme cold temperature completely dispelled the surrounding dark energy. After breaking free from the confinement, Jaina had no time to breathe. Her hands immediately unleashed frost magic, and dense ice crystals instantly covered Anduin's legs, freezing him in place, unable to move.
"I'll hold Anduin back, you go deal with the Banshee!"
"Bang!"
Before Jaina's words even fell, the violent trembling of space made everyone present feel fear overflowing from the depths of their souls—Zovaal had arrived!
Zovaal's tall figure stepped out of the portal. His right hand was still burning with dark green flames, but Zovaal clenched his right fist indifferently, and these flames were extinguished by an invisible force.
He didn't even look at the mortals who were facing him as if facing a great enemy; his gaze was fixed solely on the Arbiter, who was in a deep sleep.
Sylvanas also stopped drawing her bow at this moment. A barely perceptible smile appeared on her face. After getting rid of her entangled opponents, her body transformed into a black mist and flew towards Zovaal.
They had won!
The moment Zovaal successfully reached Oribos, it felt as if everyone present had entered an ice cellar, making their souls and blood seem to solidify.
Jaina gritted her teeth, resisting the powerful pressure from Zovaal, and tried to counterattack with magic, but found that due to Zovaal's presence, even Arcane energy was expelled from this space, and she was temporarily unable to use any powerful magic.
"It seems everything is over."
Sylvanas glanced at the disheveled crowd. Her task was complete; now she only needed to wait for Zovaal to finish his business.
"Finally, the last key."
Zovaal gently raised his arm and, from a distance of hundreds of meters, hooked his finger at the Arbiter. Invisible death energy instantly destroyed the Arbiter's form, and powerful energy surged towards the core in the Arbiter's chest. This was precisely the last key Zovaal had sought for countless years—his own original power!
That core, containing the powerful essence of an Eternal, slowly flew towards Zovaal under his control. Although its speed was not fast, everyone present was powerless to resist this process.
Could they only watch as Zovaal destroyed the Arbiter and absorbed her power?
"No…"
Jaina held her staff, wanting to do something, but saw that Anduin had already broken free from her frost magic and swung his sword, slaying two Death Knights who tried to obstruct Zovaal.
Great despair surged from Jaina's heart: Was everything truly over?
Just when everyone thought all was lost, behind Zovaal, a golden-blue stream of light, nestled within the endless river of souls surrounding the Arbiter's chamber, quietly and swiftly arrived, approaching Zovaal's back in an instant.
Everything happened too quickly, even Zovaal himself didn't detect any abnormality. The golden-blue light suddenly struck Zovaal.
"Souls?"
Zovaal's momentum instantly stalled. This golden-blue radiance was the counterattack of countless souls, gathered by Arthas, lives lost under Zovaal's conspiracy. Those mortals, whom he considered worthless, at this moment launched a counterattack against the god of death!
A mortal is a small existence, but when countless mortals gather together, even gods they dare to fight.
Every soul roared within Zovaal's body, every unwilling person launched their final charge against the god of death. They had no swords, but they had almost infinite memories and thoughts, and the powerful Anima that erupted violently crashed and destroyed within Zovaal, the original Arbiter's, body.
Even without the function of being the Arbiter, Zovaal, as the original Arbiter, would still be affected by these souls, just as he used Argus's soul to defeat the current Arbiter. Zovaal never expected that he would also have his mind defeated by someone using the same method.
In this brief moment, his resilient mind was flooded and filled with countless pieces of information, causing Zovaal's body to experience severe jolts and stagnation, like a machine that had lost its lubrication.
At this moment, the Arbiter's core was also pulled by another invisible force, and the origin of that force was precisely at Anduin's location.
"Hmm?"
Sylvanas was stunned for a moment by the sudden change. By the time she reacted, she only heard Zovaal's intermittent voice, "This, no… im— "
Before Zovaal could finish his sentence, his entire body was pierced by countless chains of Domination. His limbs, shoulder blades, chest and abdomen, and even his throat were pierced by black chains. These chains carried immense power, firmly suspending him against the building behind him. The once arrogant Zovaal was now the most disheveled prisoner!
Although she didn't know what was happening, preventing that core from flying towards Anduin was absolutely no problem!
With this thought, Sylvanas immediately drew her bow and notched an arrow. A sharp arrow, condensed from dark magic, shot from the string directly towards Anduin. Anduin, who was originally controlled by The Jailer, lost Zovaal's control and seemed to become a puppet without a string, standing blankly in place, waiting for the arrow's arrival.
But the scene she envisioned, where the arrow struck his forehead, did not happen. In a flash of lightning, a sky-blue sword light blocked the arrow's path, shattering the sharp arrow into black mist.
Arthas, who walked out from behind Anduin, held Frostmourne, gripping the Arbiter's core firmly in his hand.
"The keys are indeed complete."
Under Sylvanas's shocked gaze, Arthas swung his blade, forcefully tearing off the Four Covenants' sigils from Zovaal, who was bound beside him, and integrating them all into the core.
"But your soul cannot be wasted either."
The next second, Zovaal's cosmic soul as an Eternal was continuously drawn out by Frostmourne. The master of Maw, the original Arbiter, the betrayer of the Shadowlands, like a hanging roasted duck, was stripped of his last shred of power amidst unwillingness and confusion, revealing a mechanical appearance similar to an artificial construct.
"This… this is impossible…"
Sylvanas looked at Arthas in horror. She didn't understand why this person suddenly appeared before her, and suddenly defeated the immensely powerful Zovaal, eradicating an Eternal like a weed. "You were already dead, and it's impossible for you to have such power!"
In a hysterical roar, Sylvanas transformed into a deadly banshee and lunged at Arthas, just as she had fearlessly charged at Death Knight Arthas outside Silvermoon City years ago.
—But the result was the same.
Sylvanas's hand came down, resting on Frostmourne's blade. The runeblade once again pierced her abdomen, but this time, Sylvanas did not feel the pain of her soul tearing, only a deep sense of powerlessness.
Arthas pulled out Frostmourne, briefly gazed at Sylvanas, who lay on the ground, then no longer paid attention, but looked at the Eternal's core in his hand, which contained almost infinite energy.
The core of a god!
.....
The world in Arthas's eyes was like a painting soaked in ink, blurring into large black and white masses that rapidly merged and dissipated, constantly forming new appearances.
This was the sight of traversing planes. After obtaining the Arbiter's core, Arthas did not stop for a moment. Using the coordinates Jaina had previously set up in Dalaran, he directly pierced through the planar veil from Oribos.
After Zovaal's death, the shattered veils of Maw and Icecrown Glacier would also quickly close automatically due to the loss of their orchestrator's support. Arthas had to leave the Shadowlands before that happened.
It was fortunate that the other Eternals were still entangled in trouble. The Primus had been defeated in his battle with Zovaal. Although his life was not in danger, he had certainly been banished by Zovaal to some remote interstice for the time being and would not be able to return to Oribos anytime soon.
As for the remaining mess in the Shadowlands, Arthas was not concerned, because with Zereth Mortis not successfully invaded by Zovaal, it possessed the function to restore order to the Shadowlands.
In fact, if the other Eternals had chosen to completely destroy Zovaal instead of imprisoning him, a normally functioning Zereth Mortis would have quickly made up for the missing Arbiter.
However, the four Eternals chose another method, which was to strip Zovaal of his power, banish him to Maw, and use the stripped power to create the current Arbiter.
As for the value of Zereth Mortis itself… the most significant thing there was the ultimate engine in the center of the Sepulcher that could reshape the entire Shadowlands. However, that thing required sufficiently powerful energy to unleash its full power.
Even Zovaal at his peak had to rely on the power of Azeroth's World-Soul to drive this "instrument," which shows how much energy this thing consumed.
As for the other facilities in the Sepulcher, they were, in plain terms, merely engineering products left behind by The First Ones to stabilize the Shadowlands, and their technological content far exceeded the comprehension of mortals, and even the Eternals. For the current Arthas, they were undoubtedly a tasteless and regrettable burden.
Titan technology could still be reluctantly learned and used with the help of the Guardians on Azeroth, but even the Eternals didn't fully understand The First Ones' technology, and Arthas didn't expect to learn it in a short period of time.
Moreover, he had already intercepted the key to Zereth Mortis—the five Eternals' sigils—from Zovaal's hands, so he wasn't afraid of not having a chance to go there later.
At this moment, in Antonidas's secret chamber in Dalaran, Jaina, who was calibrating the teleportation array, felt a surge of energy. The familiar spatial fluctuations made her realize that the anchor point had been activated.
And at this time, there would only be one person who could connect to this anchor point, and that was Arthas.
Sure enough, as the spatial fluctuations gradually reached their peak, that familiar figure appeared before Jaina's eyes.
"Arthas!"
Upon hearing Jaina's call, Arthas responded with a smile, but soon he couldn't smile anymore.
Jaina landed a sharp uppercut on Arthas's abdomen, meeting his solid abs head-on. Arthas instinctively wanted to tighten his muscles to resist the impact, but upon remembering it was Jaina's punch, he quickly relaxed, so as not to injure Jaina's finger bones with his hard muscles.
Although Jaina had used all her strength, and she possessed a body that could be considered strong and healthy for a mage, her fist was no different from a soft caress in front of Arthas's already inhumanly sturdy physique.
"Hiss!"
As Arthas expected, when Jaina's fist hit his abdomen, she immediately let out a cry of pain. This was not the sensation of hitting flesh at all; instead, it felt like punching a hard mithril alloy.
But Jaina kept a straight face, enduring the pain as she reprimanded, "Do you know how long you've been gone? Three whole days! You said you'd only be gone for a day or two!"
Arthas took the opportunity to grasp Jaina's hand, which was still on his abdomen, using Holy Light to ease her pain, and tried to clear his name: "Uh… there was just a small error, isn't that normal?"
"It's not normal at all. For these three days, I tried to contact you in various ways, but there was no response at all. Do you know what that means?"
Jaina pulled her hand out of Arthas's grasp, still with a cold expression, and asked, "Where on earth did you go?"
"I just went to get something."
Seeing that Arthas was still being evasive, Jaina grew a little angry again, but after a while, she sighed helplessly and asked, "Are you alright?"
"Of course, I'm fine. Oh, and I brought you a gift."
Arthas gently took something out of his embrace. Jaina looked and saw that he was cradling a blue flower she had never seen before.
Upon closer inspection, she realized that the deep, ocean-blue stamens and petals were actually transparent, and what truly adorned this striking deep blue was the wondrous energy flowing within, an energy Jaina had never witnessed.
Upon seeing this bouquet of flowers, Jaina felt her heart suddenly calm down. The anxiety and unease she had felt these past few days worrying about Arthas quietly dissipated, and the mental exhaustion from regularly checking the teleportation array every day also seemed to have been replenished considerably.
"What is this?"
Jaina carefully took the flower.
"It is said to be a flower that blooms on the banks of the River Styx, capable of bringing peace and tranquility."
"She's beautiful… but how do I preserve her?"
Like holding a fragile work of art, Jaina held the seemingly delicate flower with some unease, afraid that any casual movement might cause her to wither.
"Don't worry, this flower isn't that fragile, and you can do this—"
Arthas lifted the pendant on Jaina's neck, guiding Jaina to press the petals against the ornament. The magnificent flower actually merged into the necklace, imprinting a unique pattern on it, like a sapphire inlay.
"This is amazing."
Jaina held the pendant, examining it repeatedly, seemingly eager to understand how it was done. Arthas, beside her, smiled without speaking—of course, this was not a flower from the banks of the River Styx, because besides wailing souls, nothing grew by the real River Styx.
He had researched this flower from the magic of the Night Fae. When the Forsworn invaded the Forest Heart, Arthas had conveniently protected the Winter Queen's garden from being ravaged by the Forsworn, and as "payment," he picked one from it.
For the current world, this ordinary flower from the Winter Queen's garden was a unique item, and Arthas used his own power to imbue this flower with the power of tranquility from Ardenweald.
Just as dew nourishes flowers, this flower would nourish the wearer's spirit and soul, replenishing the wearer's mental exhaustion. Even after the power within it was depleted, it would automatically recover like the cycle of life and death, making it an invaluable treasure for spellcasters.
But for Jaina, this flower, personally given to her by Arthas, was more important and precious than its actual effects.
—And thanks to this gift, Jaina's anger had completely subsided.
Before leaving Dalaran, after Arthas and Jaina restored everything in Antonidas's secret chamber, Jaina hesitated for a moment before closing the transfer anchor point connected to Oribos.
"Is it okay to just cut off this anchor point? There should still be quite a few people from this timeline left in the Shadowlands, right? How will they return to the mortal realm?"
It was normal for Jaina to have such doubts, because after the veil closed, the connection between the Shadowlands and the mortal realm would inevitably return to its previous state, and existence between the two realms would no longer be easily passable. She worried that those trapped in the Shadowlands unable to return to the mortal realm would bring many unnecessary troubles to this world.
But Arthas gave a reason, "Don't worry about them. The Eternals won't let a group of living beings remain in the Shadowlands for too long. Once the order of the Shadowlands gradually recovers, even if they can't return, the Eternals will help them."
It must be said that, in Jaina's opinion, Arthas's statement was somewhat… unethical, as if he intentionally left those people in the Shadowlands.
However, in reality, Arthas did indeed intentionally leave them stranded in the Shadowlands. If he brought these guys back, the Eternals would have fewer troubles to deal with, and by the time they recovered, he would be the one in trouble.
For this, he even left another gift for the people of the Shadowlands.
-----------------
"I must be seeing things."
In a grand hall in Oribos, Thrall seemed not to have fully recovered from the battle in the Arbiter's chamber, but in fact, besides him, no one else had completely accepted this inexplicable victory.
Baine's tauren face showed no expression, but his features were almost squeezed together, clearly indicating he was not in a good mood. "The Banshee and The Jailer have been defeated, but why am I not happy?"
"Then you'll have to ask yourself, Bolvar."
Naval Commander Jaina stared at the Grand Duke of Stormwind with questioning eyes. In the previous battle, the moment Arthas appeared, she noticed that Bolvar's expression was unnatural.
Although that could also be interpreted as shock, Jaina felt it was clearly an expression of surprise, which made Jaina immediately realize that Bolvar must know something internal.
"This… how should I explain this?"
Facing the complex gazes of the crowd, Bolvar finally understood what it meant to be at a loss—compared to the others who had arrived in the Shadowlands early, he remained in Azeroth due to fears of being influenced by Maw, yet he became one of the few informed individuals in this bizarre event.
"Well, actually, it's quite simple to explain. It's just that Arthas and… Jaina from another timeline came to our world through some means and helped us defeat The Jailer."
After explaining the matter as simply as possible, Bolvar clearly saw that the others didn't believe his words at all, but he only knew a little about Arthas's whereabouts; how could he explain exactly what happened?
Moreover, he hadn't expected why Arthas, who should have been in Azeroth, would suddenly appear in the Shadowlands, effortlessly defeat the invincible Zovaal, and even steal his thunder, taking all of the Arbiter's power and the marks of the four Eternals.
Bolvar even now felt that everything that happened was too sudden and fantastical.
But there was one person present who didn't think so, or rather, one Eternal who didn't think so.
Primus emerged from his meditation, turning his gaze to the mortals who were pressing Bolvar, and helped him out, saying, "Do not blame Bolvar; that one had planned all of this long ago."
After Zovaal was defeated and Primus rushed back to Oribos, understanding the beginning and end of the situation, a long-sealed memory suddenly surged in Primus's mind—it was a memory he left behind when he was the Runecarver.
However, this memory had been sealed in his mind by some entity, and it was only after Zovaal was defeated by Arthas and Arthas left the Shadowlands with Zovaal's legacy that Primus caught this fragment buried in his vast, misty memories.
"All of us became part of his plan, including Zovaal."
Primus didn't know how Arthas had learned of Zovaal's plan, even knowing Zovaal's hidden identity as the original Arbiter. Zovaal was even temporarily defeated in will by Arthas using the same method he himself had used against the Arbiter.
Seizing the opportunity to take the Arbiter's power, Arthas easily dealt with the chaotic Zovaal. As for the remaining Sylvanas and Anduin, without Zovaal's presence, they were merely insignificant dust to Arthas.
Throughout the progression of the plan, Zovaal, who believed he controlled everything, "voluntarily" became Arthas's pawn, helping him incapacitate all the Eternals of the Shadowlands and eliminating all obstacles that could prevent Arthas from obtaining the Arbiter's power.
As for Zovaal himself, Arthas had long prepared a complete set of measures to deal with him, which is why this powerful Eternal appeared so vulnerable in Arthas's hands.
"Look on the bright side, at least with Zovaal dead, the Shadowlands and our world are safe—I think."
After discussing for a long time with no result, Baine could only helplessly utter such a sentence, which was also a form of self-comfort when at his wit's end.
"On the surface, that's true, but in reality, none of us can be sure that this 'Arthas' poses no threat to our universe."
Thrall thought of the Scourge that the Lich King once used to sweep across Azeroth, and he was not very optimistic. This no-longer-young orc looked at Jaina—his old friend might be the one who understood Arthas best here.
But Jaina had been silent since learning about Arthas's origins from Bolvar, so it seemed no advice could be gotten from her for a while.
However, there was still a very significant problem before them: after Zovaal's defeat, without the power of this Eternal, the veil between the mortal realm and the Shadowlands had gradually been repaired, and they had to find a way to return to their own world.
But before leaving the Shadowlands, they had to first awaken Anduin and discuss how to deal with Sylvanas.
Yes, Sylvanas was not killed by Arthas's sword; on the contrary, there wasn't even a wound on her abdomen, almost making everyone believe that seeing Arthas pierce Sylvanas with Frostmourne at that moment was an illusion.
Primus glanced at the still unconscious Sylvanas, sighed, "It seems the one who took the Arbiter's power had already made plans early on; she is the last problem left for us."
.....
Arthas was currently unclear about what exactly was happening in the Shadowlands, but he had a general guess: the living beings temporarily remaining in the Shadowlands should be dealing with the harm caused by Sylvanas and trying to awaken Sylvanas for judgment of her wrongdoings.
Meanwhile, the forces of the Shadowlands would have to dedicate themselves to reshaping their sigils and homelands; although the Forsworn and Zovaal had failed, the damage they inflicted on the Shadowlands had not fully disappeared, and even the gruesome wound on the chest of Archon Kyrestia, one of the Eternals and the ruler of Bastion, had not yet healed.
The scars left by the weapon Zovaal meticulously crafted to plunder the sigils of the Eternals were not so easily erased, just as the harm his meticulously planned scheme of countless eons caused to the Shadowlands could not be eliminated in a short time.
The only problem was that the passage of time in the Shadowlands was not the same as in the real plane, and since he was no longer in the Shadowlands, Arthas temporarily had no way of knowing the specific developments there, but these were not particularly important issues.
Because he had almost everything he wanted, he just needed to find Wrathion and get the remaining part from him.
Eliminating Zovaal was, of course, also part of this deal—as long as the veil of the planes had not healed, Azeroth remained in danger, and her World-Soul naturally fell into slumber to avoid the scrutiny of dangerous entities.
But now, when everything returned to peace, Azeroth's dormant World-Soul would send out a call of revival to her children.
After a brief separation, Wrathion returned to Stormwind again; his destination this time was The Gilded Rose, a renowned inn in Stormwind.
This inn, located in the prime location of the Trade District, had not changed its address since Stormwind was rebuilt. Many famous heroes and champions of Azeroth had stayed here to rest, and a large number of celebrities and leaders had also lodged here.
Wrathion this time chose not to appear in his shapeshifted form, which stood out in a crowd, but instead dressed very discreetly in a hooded cloak that concealed his face.
The waiter at The Gilded Rose noticed the new guest and courteously stepped forward to ask, "Hello, sir, how may I help you?"
"Someone is meeting me here."
"Alright, sir, may I ask for the name of the person?"
The waiter quickly pulled out a small notebook, which recorded the guests who had recently booked private rooms at the inn.
"Arthur."
"Arthur… Okay, no problem, sir, would you like me to take you there?" The waiter quickly scanned the notes in his notebook and found the name Wrathion mentioned.
"No need, just tell me where the room is."
"Upstairs, turn left, the second guest room on your right. Have a pleasant day, sir. If you need anything, there's a butler bell in the room; you can call us anytime."
With the waiter's guidance, Wrathion quickly arrived at the room he was looking for. He politely reached out and gently knocked on the door.
When the door opened, Wrathion saw Arthas, who gestured into the room, "Please come in, Wrathion."
Walking into the sitting room of this suite, Wrathion pulled off the cloak covering his head. "I didn't expect you to solve all the problems so quickly? When the Dragonshrine guards said they found the anomaly in Icecrown Glacier had disappeared, I was a little incredulous."
"This isn't my doing. Someone had already planned all of this; I was just responsible for fanning the flames."
Arthas appeared quite humble; he showed no particular reaction to Wrathion's praise.
Wrathion was noncommittal about Arthas's words. Although he didn't know what exactly happened, one thing he was clear about was that after the veil gradually recovered, most dragons felt a sense of being summoned.
"Do you know what's going on?" Wrathion's purpose in meeting Arthas this time, besides completing their transaction, was to ask about the reason for this feeling.
In his opinion, if Arthas knew the reason for the veil's rupture and had done something to restore the veil, he might also know related information.
Arthas had no intention of being stingy about this matter, but before telling Wrathion, he smiled and extended his hand towards Wrathion, "Where's what I want?"
Wrathion didn't hesitate much. He had specifically come today for this matter, so he directly took out a magical package. "It's all in here. As we agreed, it's all yours now."
After taking the package, Arthas opened it, glanced inside, and then casually tossed it aside. Wrathion was a little surprised but didn't say much.
Wrathion was not disappointed; Arthas told him part of the truth, "That is Azeroth's call."
"Azeroth?"
Wrathion had known for a long time that the planet beneath their feet actually had its own life, but over the long ages, Azeroth had always played a silent role, seemingly never giving any specific response to other life on the planet.
The only response they received from Azeroth was the voice heard by Magni, who called himself her speaker, but that was in the past tense; Magni could no longer hear Azeroth's words.
"A detailed description would be very complex, but this matter is indeed somewhat related to you dragons."
"Where do I begin?"
Wrathion became interested; he didn't dislike this feeling of uncovering a mystery.
"Take out the scroll I gave you."
Although somewhat puzzled, Wrathion still complied, taking out the scroll he had always carried with him.
Arthas looked at the scroll, extended his hand, and pointed into the void, removing the last seal on the scroll.
Wrathion was somewhat overjoyed. He glanced at Arthas, then reached to unroll the scroll and explore its secrets.
However, at this moment, Arthas suddenly stopped him, "Are you sure you want to look now?"
This made Wrathion's hand stop abruptly. He looked at Arthas suspiciously, "Can't I look now?"
"Of course not, but I think you should perhaps save it to open with your kin, shouldn't you?"
Arthas's words made Wrathion fall into brief thought. Soon, Wrathion nodded and said, "You're right, this is, after all, about the home of all dragons. So, are you going to tell me about that feeling now?"
"That's right. After Azeroth's World-Soul revives, the powers intimately connected with this planet will also revive, and magic and elements are among the most important of these.
"And ten thousand years ago, the Guardians of the Dragon Isles, who had fallen into slumber, will also gradually awaken."
Arthas's words made Wrathion's smile freeze on his face.
.....
There were quite a few Ancient Guardians on the Dragon Isles, but without exception, they all fell into slumber along with the land, hoping to preserve themselves and the dragons' homeland during those chaotic times.
However, the dragons did not expect that the end of that war would be the beginning of a cataclysm; the violent upheaval completely disfigured the original landscape of Azeroth, splitting the complete continent into countless plates, and the Dragon Isles consequently vanished into the vast ocean.
The dragons could have found their homeland—if they hadn't chosen to hide the existence of that land in the first place.
But if the Guardians above were to awaken, it would mean they would restart the facilities on the Dragon Isles as agreed, and then they could use the reactivated beacon to locate the Dragon Isles' existence.
"So you were deceiving me?"
Wrathion's voice carried a hint of anger, but his rationality still allowed him to control his temper; he frowned and demanded, "You knew perfectly well that the Dragon Isles would eventually call out to all dragons on its own, so you took advantage of this window to gain sufficient benefits from me?"
"Don't put it so harshly; I never forced you to do anything."
Arthas paid no mind to Wrathion's temper; he walked to the table, poured himself a cup of black tea, and calmly held the teacup as he walked to the window, looking at the bright sunshine and verdant garden outside, slowly savoring the tea produced in Stormwind.
Wrathion stared at Arthas, his grim expression softening a bit; as Arthas said, they had engaged in a mutually agreeable transaction, and he had no standing to accuse Arthas's actions—he just couldn't quite accept being the one taken advantage of in this transaction.
Moreover, he had also realized something: the Star Soul would not revive without reason; otherwise, over the long course of time, the Dragon Isles should have reappeared in the eyes of the world long ago, not just shortly after Arthas appeared.
Calmed down, Wrathion could think normally again; he quickly opened the scroll Arthas had given him, but after scanning the first line of content, he closed the scroll with a look of shock.
The Black Prince carefully put away the scroll and looked at Arthas with a complex gaze, "I truly understand you less and less."
After the veil of Icecrown Glacier shattered and then reformed, and Azeroth's dormant Star Soul suddenly revived, no matter how much Wrathion didn't want to connect these events, he now had to start considering the connections behind them.
He didn't know exactly what Arthas had done to their world during this time, but Wrathion also realized that Arthas might have always been instigating these strange anomalies; he might not want to harm Azeroth, but that didn't prevent him from using Azeroth as bait to achieve his own goals.
"I should go."
After a long silence, Wrathion managed to utter half a sentence; Arthas nodded understandingly, waving his hand to indicate he was free to leave.
Arthas watched Wrathion leave the room; he knew Wrathion must be extremely wary of him now, but that wasn't important; let the dragons handle their own affairs; what he had gained from Wrathion was enough to compensate for some deficiencies.
Some time after Wrathion left, the door was knocked on again.
"Come in."
The person who pushed open the door and entered glanced at Arthas, "You went to the world of the dead before, didn't you? When will Bolvar and the others return? Our world still needs them."
Alleria leaned against the doorframe, but contrary to what she said, Arthas sensed that this elven ranger was clearly concerned about other issues.
"You specifically came over; you must have something to say, right?"
Arthas invited, "If so, would you mind coming in and sitting for a while?"
Alleria shook her head, "I have to go back to Stormwind Keep later to help Turalyon with official duties; the King is missing, and Genn and Bolvar also ran off to another world, so there's a large backlog of documents and matters to handle in Stormwind."
At this point, Alleria paused, and with a slightly envious look, she said to Arthas, "Your world must be very beautiful, right?"
Arthas's hand holding the black tea paused; he placed the teacup on the table and asked, "Why do you think so?"
"Because of your existence," Alleria said very earnestly.
"I can only say it's not bad, but our world still faces the threats of the Old Gods and the Burning Legion," Arthas was not shy about discussing their timeline, "Before defeating these two enemies, it's far from being called beautiful."
Alleria, however, shook her head, seemingly not wanting to talk about that; this usually straightforward ranger hesitated for a short while, then continued, "You saw Sylvanas, right? How… how is she?"
When Sylvanas's name was mentioned, Alleria's expression was particularly complex; during the long campaigns in the Twisting Nether, she constantly thought of her homeland and loved ones; even the cold and ruthless void could not conceal her longing to return home.
And ever since she saw Arthas again, the voices in her ears had been urging her to ask Arthas about the other side; the whispers hinted that Arthas had once met Sylvanas.
"I didn't kill her, but she probably won't be coming back."
Hearing Arthas's answer, Alleria seemed to let out a sigh of relief, but quickly her expression darkened again, "Perhaps death is a release for her."
Sylvanas had committed numerous crimes, and Alleria deeply recognized this; the sister she deeply loved had vanished along with the homeland of their memories, leaving behind only a disgusting, ugly monster.
Alleria took out a pendant; she held the pendant, her eyes full of nostalgia, and after a moment of struggle, she suddenly made a gesture that somewhat surprised Arthas.
The elf clutched the pendant and threw it towards Arthas.
Arthas hadn't quite expected Alleria to do this, but he agilely caught the pendant; when he clearly saw Sylvanas's name engraved on the brass pendant, "This is…"
"I don't need it anymore; I should have thrown this thing into Windrunner Spire back then."
Alleria sighed, "But I still softened; I kept it with me, hoping that one day my sister would also return—but now I know that day will never come."
The elven ranger's voice was filled with weariness, "Do me a favor; please take this pendant to the Sylvanas of your world; the me there should still be lost in the Twisting Nether, but with this pendant, it should bring Sylvanas peace of mind."
"Please tell my sister that her eldest sister will always love her, no matter which world."
After leaving the pendant, Alleria did not linger and departed from The Gilded Rose.
For Arthas, it was also time to leave; he crushed a magic crystal, and blue Arcane light enveloped his body.
Moments later, he vanished from The Gilded Rose inn.
Elwynn Forest's gentle breeze was replaced by Tanaris's hot and dry winds, and the bright, soft sunlight transformed into a scorching sun radiating intense heat.
Arthas squinted slightly, just as he was adapting to the drastically changed climate, Jaina's voice reached his ears.
"So, is everything handled?"
"Mission accomplished."
Arthas's answer made Jaina breathe a sigh of relief.
This meant their adventure on this timeline had finally come to an end, and they could finally leave this world that felt both familiar and strange to Jaina.
As early as their first arrival on this timeline, Jaina had left an Arcane coordinate near the Caverns of Time in Tanaris, so that she and Arthas could return to this area filled with mysterious time magic at any time.
"Since everything is ready, I will start the return ritual."
After seeking Arthas's consent, Jaina immediately began casting the magic Nozdormu had taught her.
Originally, Jaina's ability alone would not have been enough to locate their specific timeline among the countless time flows, but when in the special area of the Caverns of Time, the vague time magic became clear, no longer untraceable as it was before.
Coupled with the mark Nozdormu had left on them in advance, as long as no accidents occurred, they would easily return to their own timeline.
After a period of waiting, under Jaina's control of her magic, golden sand flowed around them like a river.
The wondrous time magic began to connect to their bodies; Arthas and Jaina both felt that familiar sense of repulsion, like the buoyancy experienced when sinking into water.
This timeline began to push them out of the world.
No matter how many times she undertook similar time travel, Jaina was still deeply awed by the otherworldly scenery.
They seemed to be in the endless cosmic void, where time at this moment materialized into rivers before their eyes, intertwining and arranging in the boundless black void, with individual rivers converging in different places.
After a brief sensation of weightlessness, Nozdormu's mark summoned them, and Jaina quickly locked onto their original timeline.
However, when the magnificent river of time vanished from Jaina's sight, the first words she heard were not Arthas's voice, but Nozdormu's slightly anxious and perplexed inquiry.
"Jaina? Why are you alone?"
-----------------
Arthas was gone.
When Jaina brought this news to Calia, the temporary Regent Queen of Lordaeron immediately realized the seriousness of the problem—unlike any of Arthas's previous departures, this time he had truly vanished without any warning.
Jaina had heavy dark circles under her eyes, and even the Anima pendant Arthas had given her had repeatedly fallen silent due to energy depletion over the past few days.
Since returning to their original world, she had been tirelessly searching for Arthas's whereabouts.
Nozdormu was responsible for searching for Arthas in the time flow, while Jaina began looking for any traces he might have left on Azeroth.
For this, she searched tirelessly and continuously for several days with high intensity, until she was too exhausted to even cast the most basic teleportation magic.
Nozdormu had not received any useful information either, so Jaina could only return to Lordaeron first to inform Arthas's family of the news.
"I... I can't find Arthas, it's all my fault... I shouldn't have been distracted during the teleportation."
Jaina leaned dejectedly against the headboard, constantly muttering words, almost all of them self-reproach.
Calia held her tenderly, gently stroking Jaina's long hair, and comforted her, "It's not your fault, Jaina."
While Jaina was distracted, she quietly used a calming Holy Light spell on Jaina, making her temporarily fall asleep.
Calia knew that Jaina had not closed her eyes for days and nights in search of Arthas.
She had never seen Jaina like this; even her dazzling golden hair seemed to have lost its luster due to its owner's exhaustion.
After confirming that Jaina was truly asleep, Calia tucked her in and quickly hurried away.
She swiftly entered a conference room, where Lordaeron's main generals had already gathered, awaiting Calia's arrival.
"What about His Majesty's disappearance?"
Uther asked urgently when he saw Calia enter the conference room.
"There's still no news.
I have already entrusted other members of the Alliance to secretly search for Arthas's whereabouts, and even the Dragonflights, Malygos and Nozdormu, two Guardian Dragons, are willing to help."
Despite having sought all possible assistance, Calia could not calm down, because when the combined might of all Azeroth was searching for Arthas's whereabouts, they still had no news.
This indicated that the situation had very likely escalated to the worst-case scenario—Arthas was no longer on this planet.
And precisely at this time, they also encountered some other troubles, which was why these generals were gathered here today.
Uther laid several battle reports on the conference table.
"The search for His Majesty's news cannot stop, but we must deal with the enemies invading the kingdom's borders at this time."
Since Arthas and Jaina left this world, a large number of Naga traces have appeared along the coast of the Kingdom of Lordaeron.
Reports of Naga and Murloc attacks on coastal villages and ports, large and small, have come from Tirisfal Glades to the Eastweald region.
The most severely affected area by the Naga invasion was Southshore in Hillsbrad, where the Naga had even occupied a long coastline, posing a serious threat to surrounding ships and even the port.
Southshore, a vital stronghold of the kingdom, boasts a large population and Lordaeron's most important port.
If it were to be occupied by the Naga, a large number of passing ships would be unable to dock, and even support from other Alliance members would have to take the slower land route.
"Our soldiers have reported seeing some previously unseen marine creatures attacking Lordaeron's towns under the command of the Naga.
I asked the people of Kul Tiras, and they said those are monsters only deep-sea Naga would control, usually very difficult to find in shallow waters."
Mograine reported what he knew with a solemn expression.
This Naga invasion was definitely not the usual minor skirmish by a single Naga clan; these Naga had a common master behind them driving them to attack Lordaeron