Chapter 6
2250words
Thirty representatives clad in elite armor sat around a hastily constructed stone table. The air was thick with hostility—denser than gunpowder smoke.
Ever since soul rifts appeared in Elwynn Forest, and Alliance soldiers discovered arrows bearing Horde insignias, trust between the two factions had completely vanished.
Liora unfolded the star chart, her fingertip tracing over the blinking red dots. "Currently, four Soul Anchors are on the verge of collapse, with the main anchor at Andorhal losing energy at the fastest rate. According to Titan documents, these anchors connect to the World Soul through the Kaja Vein. Once they all fail—"
"The same rhetoric about 'shared crisis' again!" The leader of the Order of Pure Light from the Alliance, Elias, suddenly rose and slammed the table, his holy light armor reflecting a blinding radiance. "Yesterday in Elwynn Forest, our paladins witnessed blood elf rangers casting spells near the rift! Kael Darkblade, do you dare claim this has nothing to do with you?"
Kael abruptly stood up, the gold and purple patterns at his collarbone flickering with anger. "That was a frame-up by the Harvesters of Shadow! My squad was pursuing corrupted undead at that time. Those arrows were planted evidence!"
He pulled out a medal fragment confiscated from Leo. "This is the real threat—the Jailer's remaining forces want to destroy the world by exploiting our conflict!"
"Ridiculous!" Grom Hellscream, the chieftain of the Blood Oath Clan, sneered coldly. His battle axe carved a deep mark on the stone table. "You humans can't even solve your own undead problem, yet you have the audacity to condemn the Horde? The undead crawling out of the rifts in Tirisfal Glades are wearing Lordaeron helmets!"
Valery's sin stone suddenly emitted a warning tremor. She pointed to the edge of the stone table—where black mist had seeped out from nowhere, with the vague forms of Order of Pure Light soldiers' corpses floating within it.
"Enough!" she shouted harshly. "The Harvesters of Shadow have infiltrated our meeting!"
Before she finished speaking, more than ten masked assassins sprang out from behind the ruins, their weapons smeared with void venom that could suppress magic.
The ice wall hastily summoned by Liora was easily cleaved by the assassin's battle axe. A Horde shaman had no time to react before being struck by poison, his body instantly petrified.
"It's people from the Order of Pure Light!" Kael recognized the emblem on the assassin's cloak. He drew his bow to shoot golden-purple arrows, only to see Elias suddenly step in front of the assassin, deflecting the arrows with a holy light barrier.
"So you are indeed working together!" Fanaticism flashed in Elias's eyes. "Only by thoroughly purifying all 'shadow-tainted ones'—including Blood Elves and Venthyr—can we save Azeroth!"
Amid the chaos, Zik's resonance device suddenly emitted a piercing alarm. The screen showed energy curves in Elwynn Forest spiking sharply. "This is bad! The anchor point is about to explode!"
He pulled up the real-time footage—a massive black rift had opened in the wheat field. Countless souls were being sucked into it, villagers fleeing in panic, while the armies of the Alliance and the Horde were still attacking each other.
"We must go to Elwynn Forest immediately!" Liora tried to organize a rescue effort but was blocked by soldiers from both sides.
An Alliance mage was chanting a fireball spell, aimed directly at Kael. "Let's deal with this Void-corrupted one first!"
Kael dodged the fireball, but found the energy within him beginning to spiral out of control. Golden-purple patterns spread to his cheeks, visions of the Void appearing before his eyes.
"Don't force me!" Energy of unprecedented magnitude gathered on his longbow. "If you don't move aside, I will—"
"Stop at once!" Valery slammed the Sin Stone violently on the ground, causing shadow energy to explode outward from her center, knocking everyone back. The Sin Stone projected a shocking scene: at the Ruins of Andorhal, five Harvester medals were already in position, the Kaja Vein emitting dark red light, and countless Void Corruptors pouring through the rifts. "Look what you've done!" her voice filled with despair. "The Harvesters of Shadow have used our conflict, and they're about to complete the ritual!"
Elias remained unmoved, raising his Light Scepter. "This is the necessary path to purify the world! Even if we sacrifice a few anchor points, it's worth it as long as we eliminate all shadows!" His followers raised their weapons and surrounded Valery.
"Let's go!" Liora made a split-second decision, casting a spell to open a portal.
Kael covered the injured shaman as they retreated toward the portal. Zik threw the resonance device at their pursuers—the explosion released Kaja stone smoke that temporarily blocked the Order of Pure Light's advance.
As the portal closed, they heard a tremendous boom coming from Elwynn Forest. The Soul Anchor had completely collapsed, and the shockwave flattened half the village.
Liora slumped to the ground as the red dot representing Andorhal began flashing on the star map. "Less than twelve hours until the ritual activates."
"The Alliance and Horde have completely severed ties now," Kael said gravely while wiping grime from his longbow. "The Order of Pure Light and the Blood Oath Clan are inciting more people to join their extreme actions."
Zik suddenly remembered something and pulled up the communication records on the device. "The Silver Covenant! They have always remained neutral, perhaps they will help us!" The Silver Covenant was a neutral organization composed of high elves, dedicated to maintaining magical balance for years without being affected by factional conflicts.
The team immediately headed to the ruins of Dalaran—the temporary base of the Silver Covenant.
After explaining their purpose, the leader Vereesa Windrunner fell into deep thought. "I can provide supplies and a base, but I cannot involve my people in factional wars."
She pointed out the window. "Look, the armies of the Alliance and Horde are already gathering in the Wetlands. Full-scale war is imminent."
In the secret base of the Silver Covenant, Liora studied the runes on the bronze plate. "Repairing the Andorhal anchor requires three things—pure Kaja ore, a starlight energy conduit array, and... the sin energy of a Redeemer." She looked at Valery. "Only your sin stone can neutralize the medallion's domination power."
Kael attempted to control the energy balance within his body, forming a stable orb of golden-purple light at his fingertips. "I can provide a medium for the Star Soul energy, but we need Zik's device to amplify the energy range."
Zik was modifying a new resonance device, embedding bronze plates into its core. "This baby can now simultaneously locate the positions of both the medal and the anchor point." The screen displayed a three-dimensional map of Andorhal. "The Harvesters of Shadow have set up void barriers around the anchor point; we can only enter through the Kaja Vein entrance underground."
Just then, the base's alarm suddenly went off. Vereesa rushed into the room. "The Order of Pure Light is attacking! They say we're harboring 'shadow traitors'!"
Outside the window, countless holy paladins approached riding gryphons, their armor engraved with runes that read "Purify All."
Elias's voice came through amplification magic: "Surrender Valery and Kael, or the ruins of Dalaran will cease to exist!"
Liora quickly made a decision. "Vereesa, help us buy some time! We're going to Andorhal now!" She drew a teleportation array. "Once we repair the anchor point, we can prove our innocence!"
When the portal lit up, the base's gate was breached by the Holy Light. Kael fired his last arrow, slowing down the pursuers, and the four of them hastily rushed into the portal.
Before departing, Liora saw Vereesa raise her bow and engage in fierce battle with the Order of Pure Light. "Hold on," she thought silently.
The portal opened in the forest outside the Ruins of Andorhal. The sight before them was chilling: massive Kaja Veins protruded from the ground like twisted black blood vessels, with five Reaper Medals hovering above the veins, forming an eerie magical array. The Void Corruptors around them sensed their arrival, emitting sharp shrieks as they lunged forward.
"Split up!" Liora shouted. "Valery and I will activate the guidance array. Kael and Zik, clear out the Corruptors and find the mine entrance!"
The battle erupted instantly. Each of Kael's gold-purple arrows cleansed a patch of Void Corruptors; Zik's modified bombs released Kaja ore powder upon explosion, temporarily freezing the Corruptors' movements; Liora led Valery toward the anchor point's center, the bronze plate in her hand emitting a warm glow.
Just as Liora was about to touch the anchor point, a dark figure descended from above—it was the leader of the Harvesters of Shadow, a mysterious person wearing a half iron mask.
Holding the final medal fragment in his hand, he sneered. "Your timing is perfect. The ritual requires both a 'Star Soul Medium' and a 'Redemption Sacrifice' to complete."
The mysterious person flung out chains, entangling Valery's sin stele and dragging her toward the center of the magic array. Seeing this, Kael rushed forward desperately, only to be blasted away by void energy released by the mysterious person. "Kael!" Liora cried out in alarm. Then she witnessed golden-purple energy suddenly erupting from within Kael's body, resonating with the Kaja Vein at the anchor point. The vein emitted a dazzling light, temporarily forcing back the mysterious person.
"Quickly activate the guiding array!" Kael struggled to stand, the energy within him becoming unstable. "I can't hold on much longer!"
Liora immediately embedded the bronze plate into the anchor point, while Valery raised her sin stele to connect with the bronze plate.
The moment the sin stele touched the bronze plate, a pillar of light shot skyward, responding to the Kaja Crystals in the South Sea Islands from afar.
Seeing this, the Reaper leader roared and embedded the final medal into the magical array. "The ritual can no longer be stopped! Azeroth will become part of the Void!"
The magical array suddenly erupted with intense energy waves. The Ruins of Andorhal began to shake violently. Zik's device screen showed that the rifts in the Unbound Space were expanding at an alarming rate. "Have we failed?"
Liora looked at the bronze plate in the light pillar and suddenly discovered that the runes on it were beginning to reconfigure. "No! The Titan documents spoke of 'balance', not 'purification'!" She turned to Kael. "Your energy—the balance between light and shadow—is the key to activating the repair program!"
Kael understood Liora's meaning. He walked to the center of the light pillar and placed his palm on the bronze plate. Gold and purple energy spread along the mineral veins, intertwining with the void energy of the ritual. A miracle occurred—the void energy began to be neutralized, and the expansion rate of the rift gradually slowed down.
But the Reaper's leader would not let them succeed. He pulled out a void dagger and stabbed toward Kael's back. "Let's perish together!"
At this critical moment, an arrow of holy light struck the leader's wrist. Vereesa arrived riding a Gryphon, followed by the Silver Covenant's elite forces. "I told you, you wouldn't have to fight alone!"
The leader, seeing the situation turn against him, tried to escape, but was ensnared by Valery's sin stone. The sinful energy from the stone erupted, shattering the leader's mask—revealing Marcus's face.
"It's you!" Valery was shocked. "Didn't you help us before?"
Marcus sneered. "I was merely using you to find a way to complete the restoration ritual! The Jailer's plan will finally be fulfilled by me!" He tried to detonate the void energy within his body, but was restrained by Kael's gold-purple energy.
"It's over." Liora chanted the Titan runes as the bronze plate emitted its final glow. The void energy in the mine vein was completely neutralized, and the rift began to contract. Marcus screamed in the energy burst, his body gradually dissipating.
When everything returned to calm, the armies of the Alliance and the Horde arrived at Andorhal. Elias and Grom, seeing the scene before them, lowered their heads in shame.
Liora walked up to them, displaying the neutralized void energy. "This is our true enemy. If we continue fighting amongst ourselves, Azeroth will eventually be destroyed."
Elias removed his helmet and sighed. "I was wrong. The Order of Pure Light is willing to set aside prejudices and cooperate with the Horde."
Grom also put away his battle axe. "The Blood Oath Clan will also cease hostilities and guard the anchor point together."
Liora looked at the united Alliance and Horde soldiers, her heart filled with hope. But she knew this was only a temporary victory. Although the rifts in the Unbound Space had contracted, the root problem remained unsolved. She looked at the bronze plate in her hand, where a new line of runes appeared: "Deep within the earth, the Worldsoul Core, source of balance."
"It seems our journey is not over yet," said Kael, his eyes gleaming with determination.
Zik's device suddenly lit up, displaying energy fluctuations from deep within the earth. "Next destination, the planet's core!"
Valery stroked the Sin Stone and said softly. "This time, we won't allow any divisive conspiracies to succeed."
The four team members exchanged smiles and headed toward the planet's core. They knew greater challenges awaited them, but as long as they remained united, there was no difficulty they couldn't overcome.
