Chapter 5
1470words
"It's no longer eroding me," he said, summoning energy. Golden flames and black smoke simultaneously emerged from his fingertips. "It's more like... some kind of container."
Liora placed the ore close to her mentor's notes. The Titan runes on the pages instantly interlocked with the ore patterns, like a key inserted into a lock.
"Look here," she pointed at the three-dimensional star chart that appeared. "The distribution trajectory of the Kaja Vein completely overlaps with Azeroth's Soul Anchors!" On the star chart, the location of the South Sea Islands flickered with the brightest light point. "Mimiron's laboratory should be right there—the journal says he modified the goblin genes to establish a 'neural connection' with the ore."
Zik suddenly slapped his thigh and pulled out a yellowed family journal from his backpack. "My great-great-grandfather mentioned it! Back then, the goblins found 'talking stones' in the South Seas Islands, and later Mimiron came personally to modify the mining equipment."
He pointed at a doodle in the journal showing a goggle-wearing goblin next to a massive metal construct. "This thing is called a 'Star Soul Resonator'—it can amplify the perception range of the ore!"
Valery's sin stone suddenly shook violently, projecting a blurry image: seven Reaper Medals hovering above the Ruins of Andorhal, with the Kaja Vein below emitting a dark red glow.
"They're going to initiate the ritual early," her voice carried a gravity. "The sin stone has detected the medals absorbing anchor energy. With each anchor point destroyed, the rift in the Unbound Space doubles in size."
The team decided to head to the South Seas Islands immediately.
Zik modified the resonance device with the newly obtained pure ore, embedding a blood crystal of Kael at the top of the device. It was formed by fusing his blood with ore, and the energy reading instantly rose to 98%.
"With this baby, we can locate the ruins even in the deep sea."
He patted the device with a smile, but Liora knocked him on the head. "Don't get cocky. Mimiron's laboratory is surely full of titan mechanisms."
The portal opened in the tropical jungle of the South Sea Islands. Humid air mixed with the smell of sea salt and sulfur. The ground was covered with thick moss, and occasionally metal pipes protruded from the surface.
Zik's device emitted urgent buzzing sounds, guiding everyone toward a cliff covered with vines. Faint goblin-style gear patterns could be seen on the cliff face.
"This is the place." Zik pressed the button on the device. The cliff suddenly trembled, revealing a metal passage covered in oil stains.
The light bulbs on both sides of the passage lit up in sequence, illuminating mechanical debris scattered across the floor. Clearly something had destroyed this place from within.
After going a hundred meters deep, the view suddenly opened up. It was a massive underground laboratory, with a crystal of Kaja ore dozens of meters in diameter floating in the center, surrounded by twelve bronze-colored titan devices. The holographic projections on the walls were still running, displaying Mimiron's experimental records:
"Experiment #372: Successfully modified goblin gene sequences using astral energy. Test subject Zik Blastcore (first generation) can now sense the 'pulse' of Kaja ore—confirming that the ore serves as the 'nerve endings' between the astral soul and the surface."
"Experiment #419: Soul Anchor installation complete. These devices distributed throughout Azeroth connect to the cosmic soul through Kaja Veins, forming a 'stabilization network' for the Unbound Space. Warning: Once anchor energy falls below threshold, spatial barriers will develop cracks."
"Experiment #500: Void energy detected infiltrating the veins... Must strengthen anchor defenses. Activating 'Construct Guardian Protocol'."
Liora's gaze was drawn to a small line of text in the corner of the projection: "Void energy in contact with Kaja ore produces 'Aberrations'—they devour soul energy, yet fear the genetic material of creatures modified by the cosmic soul." She looked sharply at Zik. "Your family's genes can counter those Void invaders!"
Just then, the laboratory door suddenly exploded open. Leo led four members of the Harvesters of Shadow charging in, their fractured medallions emitting a crimson glow, instantly locking onto the Kaja Crystal in the center.
"Thank you for helping us find the Titan's anchor data," Leo's whip coiled around the crystal. "Once we absorb the energy from this ore, the ritual in Andorhal can be initiated ahead of schedule!"
Kael immediately drew his longbow to full, releasing an arrow interwoven with gold and purple energy toward Leo's medallion.
This time, the arrow didn't cause an explosion, but instead attached to the medallion like a magnet. Golden energy began to break down the black shadows.
"It's working!" Kael exclaimed with surprise, discovering that the energy balance within his body could neutralize the medallion's power.
Valery raised the Sin Stone. The fragments resonated with the Titan devices in the laboratory. All twelve instruments simultaneously shot out energy beams, forming a protective shield around the crystal.
"Mimiron's defense system still works!" she shouted, but then saw one of the Reapers pull out a black crystal and insert it into the device interface—it was the Void-corrupted core stolen from Ulduar.
"Break!" The Harvester sneered as he injected energy, instantly causing cracks to spread across the protective shield.
Seeing this, Zik grabbed a mechanical wrench from the ground and charged toward the Harvester. "My grandfather's legacy, how dare you destroy it!"
His palm touched the void crystal, suddenly activating the goblin genes within him. The crystal began to melt. "Well, I'll be damned! I really can counter this thing!"
Liora seized the opportunity to browse through Mimiron's terminal logs and pulled up the anchor repair program. "We need to synchronize the Kaja ore with the astral energy! Kael, use your energy to connect with the crystal; Valery, the Sin Stone can guide the flow of astral energy!"
The three immediately took action. Kael placed his palm on the Kaja Crystal, golden-purple energy spreading along the crystal's patterns; Valery's sin stele hovered above the crystal, projecting a "guiding array" composed of shadow energy; Liora chanted Titan runes, activating the auxiliary functions of twelve instruments. The crystal gradually emitted a dazzling white light. Screams of Void Corruptors came from outside the laboratory—those monsters attracted by the energy were being purified by the crystal's power.
Seeing the situation deteriorate, Leo swung his whip to wrap around Zik's ankle, pulling him toward himself. "Stop this now!"
At this critical moment, the laboratory floor suddenly cracked open. Three five-meter-tall Titan constructs emerged from the ground. Their cores were embedded with small Kaja minerals, and their arms transformed into energy cannons aimed at the Harvester.
"Construct protection protocol activated." A mechanical voice echoed in the laboratory. "Eliminating threat targets."
The glow of the energy cannon illuminated Leo's terrified face. He hastily threw out the medal fragment to block it, but it was directly shattered by the energy blast.
"Impossible..." Leo's body began to dissipate. "The Harvesters of Shadow will never fail!"
Seeing their leader destroyed, the remaining Harvesters retreated. The construct didn't pursue them, but instead turned to Liora, offering a bronze plate covered in runes. "Soul Anchor repair protocol core—please proceed to Andorhal to activate the final defense."
Liora took the bronze plate and discovered that the runes on it perfectly matched the last page of her mentor's notes.
"This is the key to repairing all the Soul Anchors," she looked at everyone. "But there will certainly be more Harvesters waiting for us in Andorhal."
Zik stroked the central Kaja Crystal, feeling the warm energy transmitted by the ore. "My grandfather was right. Goblins aren't just good at making money—we're also the 'guardians' of the astral essence." His device suddenly lit up, displaying the status of anchor points across Azeroth. "Three anchor points have been destroyed. Andorhal is the fourth, and the largest one."
Valery's sin stone projected the latest images: Alliance and Horde armies were gathering at the outskirts of the Ruins of Andorhal, both sides poised for battle, each believing the other was responsible for destroying the anchor points.
"We must stop the ritual before they go to war," determination flashed in her eyes. "This time, I will not let the Jailer's shadow loom over the world."
As the team left the laboratory through the portal, the central Kaja Crystal suddenly shot a beam of light, penetrating the clouds, pointing directly toward Andorhal.
That was the signal from the World Soul, and also a declaration of war against the Harvesters of Shadow. Liora gripped the bronze tablet in her hand, knowing that the true final battle was about to begin.
