LIVE: Azeroth

Chapter 1599 Alsace: The pattern opens
There was a reason for Sarlayan's last reminder. In his impression, Arthas was originally a very emotional person.

Because of Jaina's emotional bias, this guy made a small move against Quel'Thalas behind Terenas' back, just to create trouble for Sharlayan.

This approach of harming national interests and seeking personal gains in return is childish and absolutely unqualified for a crown prince.

Later, he was seduced and corrupted by Ner'zhul, and many of them wanted to prove his ability to his sister. These examples are enough to prove that Arthas is prone to hot-headed and impulsive actions.

"I……"

Arthas shook his head with a wry smile: "Don't worry, Grand Duke Deep Shadow. After several years of imprisonment in the Maw, my horizons have been broadened by those vicious inmates. I have seen through many things in the past. .”

The Shadow Realm brings together the souls of the dead from every planet in the physical universe, and the diversity of species is clearly demonstrated here.

As a part of the Shadow Realm, the Maw is naturally no exception.

The souls who are eligible to be thrown into the abyss are all hopeless people who have committed huge sins during their lifetime.

As long as there is some possibility of self-salvation, they will not be thrown into the abyss that can be entered but cannot be exited, but will be assigned by the arbiter to Revendreth to spend a long time to atone for their sins.

The few years he spent with these inmates were an eye-opener for Alsace.

For the first time, he knew that there was such a vast world outside of Azeroth where he lived.

Life in captivity in Torghast is difficult, and all prisoners will be interrogated and tortured by the warden's men from time to time.

Only those who are willing to "be good" and follow the warden to change the world can be released, while those with harsh words will only be locked up in prison until the end of time.

Unfortunately, most of the prisoners who committed the most heinous crimes were very angry. After all, they were basically the villains of their own world during their lifetime, and they were not so easy to succumb to others.

Sarlayan had previously used the Voice of Reverence to privately invoke the AI ​​arbitrator's judgment power to observe Arthas. In fact, this guy's sins were not enough to be thrown into the abyss.

If he enters the Shadow Realm through normal channels, there is a high probability that he will be assigned to Revendreth to atone for his sins, but entering the Maw is a small probability event.

Unfortunately, Arthas was forced to sneak in. Denathrius directly threw Arthas into the abyss through the special channels he had at his disposal and placed him under the control of the warden.

As the second-generation quasi-Lich King, Arthas' will is much firmer than the first-generation Lich King Ner'zhul.

This can be supported by the original historical information provided by the barrage.

In the original history, Arthas and Ner'zhul's souls would become one and share the same body.

But as the saying goes, there is no room for two tigers in one mountain. One of their souls will eventually become the leader of the body. The winner takes all and the loser eats the dust.

Logically speaking, Ner'zhul, who has a higher soul strength, should easily win this battle for souls.

This is not the case.

Just like Sharlayan's evaluation in his early years, Ner'zhul is a complete coward, and his will attribute is extremely low.

In the years-long entanglement with Arthas's soul, Ner'zhul was unfortunately caught in the biggest weakness in his life - his wife Rulkan.

Arthas took the opportunity to launch a fierce attack, defeating Ner'zhul's psychological defenses in one fell swoop, completely devouring his soul, and then became the true second-generation Lich King.

Although defeating the coward Ner'zhul in a battle of wills is nothing to be proud of, there is a prerequisite that needs to be noted here.

In terms of soul strength alone, young Arthas was far inferior to Ner'zhul who had been immersed in this art for many years.

In other words, he relied on his extremely firm will to finally come back in the ultimate headwind situation, which is very valuable.

During the days of torture in the Maw, Arthas never succumbed to the Warden's persuasion, because he knew that the Warden's plan would inevitably harm the interests of Azeroth.

No matter how many perverse things Arthas had done, they were just disputes originating from within Azeroth. No matter how many intrigues and intrigues he had, they would always end up in the pot. He would not introduce more dangerous external forces to harm his hometown for personal gain. .

After a detailed discussion with Alsace, Sarlayan probably understood what he was thinking now.

First of all, it is certain that Arthas does not want to return to Azeroth.After several years of introspection, Alsace, whose horizons had been broadened by his fellow inmates, had already realized how narrow his ideas back then were and how many loopholes there were in his superficial plans.

Azeroth, which has been updated many times, can no longer be dominated by just a Lich King. Even if Arthas returns to Azeroth again, he will not be able to make any splash.

And after the pattern was fully revealed, he felt guilty for the people he had hurt directly or indirectly, and was ashamed to go back and face them again.

Now that he has made up his mind to stay in the Shadow Realm and start from scratch, the next step is easy to say.

Sarlayan brought Arthas, whose soul had not yet recovered, to the AI ​​arbitrator, and had him accept the arbitrator's trial through formal channels.

As expected, the Arbiter assigned Alsace to Revendreth.

However, due to the private operations of Sarlayan and the Revered Voice, Alsace, who was seriously injured but had not yet recovered, could postpone his departure and recover from his injuries in the Eternal City of Oribos first.

Before leaving, Sarlayan patted the shoulders of Alsace, who was obviously much calmer, with emotion.

"I hope you can really change your mind in Revendres as you said, and I will tell your sister Caliya the good news."

Arthas nodded with a very complicated expression: "Well, at least I can let Calia know that I don't have to worry about my afterlife anymore. Lordaeron, which the Menethil family has guarded for generations, will be left to her."

Saying goodbye to the friends who came to see him off after hearing the news, Sarlayan waved his hand and opened the portal into Zlos, the Blighted Realm, and walked in with Valeela and Onyxia.

After the door to the Shadow Realm was closed, before Sharlayan reopened the passage back to Azeroth, Onyxia suddenly asked: "Salayan, are you sure Arthas' repentance is true?" of?"

"There shouldn't be any fakes."

While adjusting the precise coordinates of the portal, Sarlayan replied casually: "The years of imprisonment have indeed given Arthas a lot of knowledge. His vision is no longer limited to the interior of Azeroth."

"Not to mention the covetousness of the three major forces of the Warden, the Burning Legion and the Void Side, there are many potential enemies of Azeroth in the vast universe...or competitors."

"Instead of wasting energy on endless internal friction, it is better to open up the pattern and look at the vast universe. There will be many challenges in the future waiting for Azeroth to face one by one as it enters the interstellar era."

Valeera asked abruptly: "Do you still plan to continue to lead Azeroth forward in that era?"

"How is that possible?" Sarlayan laughed and shook his head: "Human energy is limited, and I am not the nanny of all people in Azeroth."

"After the three most important hidden dangers have been eliminated one after another and the star soul has officially matured, it will be almost time for me to retire. Otherwise, sooner or later, the damn wear and tear will corrode my spirit beyond recognition."

"It's worn out..."

Onyxia sighed with emotion: "In the past, we Immortals only knew that straining our nerves for a long time would lead to a sharp increase in mental stress. No one had ever summed up the appropriate concept of 'wear and tear'."

Sarlayan smiled and spread his hands: "The dragons who live a very lazy life are actually very difficult to be affected by wear and tear, because you are often sleeping with your heads down."

"It's the four guardian dragons..."

Sarlayan touched his chin thoughtfully: "Considering that Wyrmrest Temple has been at the forefront of resisting pressure for a long time after Ulduar was closed, maybe it's time for them to step back from the front line and have a good rest. ”

"I agree." Onyxia jokingly complained: "But Malygos can take a breather, right? Due to the previous tens of thousands of years of 'passive stress relief period', his mental wear and tear is far worse than Ysera, Nozdormu, and Alexstrasza."

Sarlayan pondered for a moment and then shook his head: "Not necessarily. It may also be that the mental pressure accumulated in the mad state will be greater. The specific situation can only be determined after careful examination."

"What is certain at the moment is that Nozdormu, who holds the power of time, is in the worst condition of the four."

"Okay, let's stop here for now."

Sarlayan raised his hand and waved, and a stable portal appeared in front of the three of them.

"We're home... I'd better prepare for the human shells first."

(End of this chapter)