"A shield in the left hand for defense, a sword in the right hand for offense."
Liadrin said, "I was originally a Holy Priest, and the Holy Light granted me powerful healing abilities, but I'm still far from proficient in defense and attack. I hope to strengthen these two aspects."
Ysera chuckled, "Then leave it to me."
She pointed a finger, and green light merged into the shield: "Liadrin, I bestow the defender of truth with the power of nature. No matter what attack this shield suffers, its surface will be covered in thorns, and enemies who attack it will also be entangled by thorns."
She blinked, and another surge of energy merged into the longsword: "I bestow the oathbinder with the power of dreams. Targets struck by it will be affected by dreams, and even the most powerful enemies will become mentally disoriented. If their mental will is not strong enough, they will fall into an eternal dream, never to awaken."
Liadrin quickly bowed, "Thank you, esteemed Dream Guardian!"
Kael'thas teased, "Thorn Aura, Thorn Entangle, Sleep—should I call you Thorn Knight or Dream Knight?"
"Sun, Thorn, and Dream Knight, my Prince," Liadrin mischievously blinked. She wanted Holy, Protection, and Retribution.
Alexstrasza looked at Kael'thas, "Now it's your turn. Have you thought about it?"
Kael'thas shook his head, a bit troubled, "I want to improve my personal strength, but I don't know what aspect to improve. How about you, Your Majesties, decide? I'm fine with anything."
He really didn't know.
Magic mastery and spellcasting ability?
For a mage, knowledge is power. To improve spellcasting ability, one must constantly study magic knowledge.
No one could help with this; he had to rely on himself.
Of course, he could ask Malygos to teach him profound magic knowledge, but he hadn't finished reading the magic books in the Silvermoon City library and the Dalaran library. Too much at once would be indigestible.
Enhance physique, expand mana pool?
The mana a body could carry was limited. Unless Malygos transformed him into an Arcane entity, it would be difficult to improve in this area.
But he didn't even have a child yet; he didn't want to change his life form for now.
Magic equipment?
Perhaps it was the best choice, but besides the Eye of Aman'thul, the focusing iris, the Eye of Dalaran, the Book of Medivh, Aluneth, and Atiesh, there were no other mage artifacts in this world he considered worthy.
The Eye of Aman'thul was in Suramar, the focusing iris was a Blue Dragon artifact, the Eye of Dalaran was Dalaran's national treasure, the Book of Medivh belonged to the Stormwind Kingdom, Aluneth was entrusted to the Blue Dragons by Aegwynn, and Atiesh was in Khadgar's hands.
Each had an owner; he either couldn't defeat them or it was inconvenient to snatch them.
He knew his limits well.
He trusted the judgment of the four Dragon Aspects more than his own.
"Little rascal, you know we won't treat you unfairly, so you're letting us decide?"
Alexstrasza laughed and shook her head, "Is the demon soul still there? Bring it out."
demon soul?
Kael'thas's heart stirred. He guessed something and quickly took out the small golden disc, handing it to the Red Dragon Queen.
"The name demon soul isn't accurate. It was originally called the Dragon Soul."
Alexstrasza caressed the scars on the golden disc and said, "It was made by goblins from gold, but the most important material was Deathwing's blood. The reason this artifact couldn't restrain him was because his blood was incorporated into it."
Malygos frowned, "Alexstrasza, you want to repair it? You know how much harm it brought to me, to us!"
"It was Deathwing who harmed us, it was the demon soul, not the Dragon Soul."
Alexstrasza said, "This artifact contains Deathwing's blood. I have a feeling it will be the only thing that can truly destroy Deathwing. Am I right, Nozdormu?"
Nozdormu was silent for a moment, then said, "The past is blurred, the future is shrouded in mist. My eyes are filled with darkness, and in the darkness, there is a five-colored light. Perhaps it truly is the Dragon Soul, but I'm not certain."
Malygos asked, "You are the Time Guardian, the timeline of Azeroth is under your supervision. How can you be uncertain?"
"The timeline has been interfered with," Nozdormu said concisely.
"Deathwing? No, not him, he doesn't have the ability to touch the time domain. Could it be the Ancient Gods?" Malygos's expression was grave. Nozdormu's eyes were bewildered and confused: "I don't know, maybe it's the Ancient Gods, maybe it's the Dark Titan Sargeras, maybe it's some other power I don't know about."
Kurdran, who had been listening intently to the gossip, suddenly widened his eyes: "Other? There are beings more powerful than you in this world? I've never even heard of them!"
He had heard so much information today that his brain was overloading.
To him, Dragon Aspects, Titan Guardians, Elemental Lords, and Ancient Gods were already legends—no, mythical beings, like the fairy tales he heard as a child.
He grew up listening to stories of the Titans' creation and the Dragon legends!
In this world, there was a power even Nozdormu, the Time Guardian, didn't know about, and it could even interfere with the timeline?
Is this still the world I'm familiar with?
Wait a minute...
He suddenly thought of a question and quickly asked, "So if someone interferes with the timeline, goes back in time and kills my father—ah no,
my ancestor, or steals my mother, leaving my father a bachelor for life, would I not exist? Would I just poof and disappear?"
Vereesa tilted her head in thought: "Huh? That's not right. No matter who married your mother, your mother would still give birth to you, it's just that you wouldn't be your father's son—no, no, you'd still be your father's son, but your father would be a different person—huh?"
She exclaimed, "But if your father changed, your mother might not have a son, and it might not even be you!"
Kurdran immediately became nervous, looking at Nozdormu and saying solemnly, "Great Bronze Dragon Aspect, you must protect my ancestors for eighteen generations—ah no, protect the timeline!"
"...Highlord, just put your mind at ease!"
Kael'thas was speechless: "The timeline of Azeroth isn't actually a line, but a web, a dense, intricate web. Any change in the past will manifest as different directions for the nodes, leading to other timelines, not the one you're currently in."
Kurdran seemed to understand, yet not: "So, I don't need to worry?"
Kael'thas smiled: "No need to worry. You just need to know that all pasts are already determined, and all disturbances to past timelines are part of the past timelines. That's all."
Kurdran became more confused the more he listened: "That's a bit convoluted. Let me think about it properly." Nozdormu shook his head: "Kael'thas, your understanding of time is too shallow. The past is not entirely unable to affect the present. Not everything is within the web of time; some things exist outside of time—"
Kael'thas rubbed his temples, a bit of a headache.
The time setting of this world was a muddled mess; even the scriptwriters probably couldn't explain it clearly.
Forget it, it doesn't matter. Just live his own life!
"You're getting off-topic."
Alexstrasza forcibly returned to the main subject: "Uncertainty means possibility. Since there's a possibility, we should try. We cannot give up any chance."
Ysera nodded, "Sister is right."
Malygos's brow furrowed even tighter: "How do you plan to repair it?"
"The Dragon Soul contains Deathwing's blood, so naturally, we will use our blood to repair it."
Alexstrasza said, "In this way, this artifact will contain the power of all five Dragonflights, and only this kind of power can possibly kill Deathwing."
Ysera nodded and added, "And we don't have to worry about it falling into the hands of Deathwing or other enemies, because four-fifths of its control is in our hands."
Nozdormu also said, "We don't need to inject most of our power into it like we did back then. We only need to inject a negligible small portion, which will be enough to elevate Kael'thas's strength to a new level, giving him a certain degree of self-preservation when facing demigods, or even Deathwing."
Malygos's brows relaxed: "If that's the case, I have no objections."
Alexstrasza looked at Kael'thas: "So, do you agree? It's your spoils of war, the decision is yours."
Just as expected—Kael'thas smiled: "As you wish!"
This must be agreed to!
The demon soul—no, the Dragon Soul—is incredibly powerful, one of the strongest artifacts in all of Azeroth. Only a fool would refuse.
Of course, Nozdormu made it clear that only a negligible amount of power would be infused.
However, what is negligible to a Dragon Aspect may not be to a mortal; a drop of water from the ocean might be more than an entire lake.
Besides, as the Red Dragon Queen said, they certainly wouldn't shortchange themselves.
Subsequently, the four Dragon Aspects successively infused a portion of their blood and power into the Dragon Soul.
The large hole pierced by the Scaled Blade was restored under the melting heat of the Red Dragon's fire.
The disk glowed with a crystalline luster, and five dragon shadows swam within it, reflecting five-colored lights of red, green, blue, black, and gold, symbolizing the perfect unity of power from the five great dragonflights.
"It is yours, Kael'thas."
Alexstrasza handed the Dragon Soul to the Elven Prince: "With it, you can use the power of the five dragonflights, each at the level of an adult Dragon."
Kael'thas took the disk, felt the immense energy contained within, and asked, "Can they be used simultaneously?"
"Yes."
Alexstrasza said, "But you must remember, these powers will run out. Once depleted, it will automatically absorb external energy to replenish itself, but it will take some time."
As for how long it would take, it depended on the energy density of the surrounding environment; the higher the density, the faster the recovery.
If it were in a low-energy density area like Grim Batol, if all five powers were exhausted, it would take at least ten days to half a month to recover.
But if placed in the Sunwell, it might not even take an hour.
Kael'thas mused, "So, it's equivalent to storing five legendary-level spells?"
Alexstrasza nodded: "Any one of them has legendary-level power. If all five are used together, it's equivalent to a normal demigod's strike."
"Demigod?"
Kurdran cried out in surprise, involuntarily looking at his doomhammer.
This artifact couldn't unleash demigod-level power.
Of course, that couldn't be blamed on the artifact.
The artifact itself was at the demigod level; it was his shamanic mastery that was insufficient, preventing him from unleashing the artifact's true power.
But Kael'thas wasn't a demigod either, yet he now possessed the power of a demigod-level strike, and not a demigod avatar like Hakkar's, but a true demigod, which made him incredibly envious.
"No, no, I can't keep idling away my days like this!"
"I'm not even three hundred years old; I'm still young, I can't just lie flat!"
"I need to continue learning shamanic knowledge, learning to communicate with the elements—but there's no one to teach me!"
Kurdran was stumped.
He was the most formidable shaman on the entire Eastern Continent; who could teach him?
"It's okay, it's okay, I'm still very powerful!"
"So what if it's demigod-level? It's only one strike. Kael'thas is only stronger than me in burst state; in normal state, he's about the same as me—"
"Alright, alright, he's stronger than me in normal state too, but not by much."
"And I'm a Gryphon Rider. Although Kael'thas also has a phoenix mount, how can he be as good at aerial combat as us Gryphon Riders?"
"On the ground, I can't beat him, but in the air, he can't hit me!"
Kurdran comforted himself, regaining his confidence.
"This artifact has other uses," Alexstrasza said.
Kael'thas stared at the five small dragons in the Dragon Soul: "Dragon Souls?"
Alexstrasza said, "More precisely, it's a mixture of our five bloods and a tiny bit of will, so it's like our miniature avatars."
"We have enchanted it so you can merge with them and gain the ability to transform."
Kael'thas's eyes lit up: "Transform into a Dragon?"
Alexstrasza nodded: "You can transform into a legendary-level Dragon, gaining a Dragon's physical attributes and racial abilities, but you haven't learned Dragon magic, so you can't cast Draconic spells."
"That's still very powerful," Kael'thas said with a wide smile.
Mages are notoriously squishy; without defenses, an ordinary assassin could kill them.
Mages fear being cornered; they must maintain distance in combat.
Frost Mages have stronger survival abilities, but he specializes in Arcane and Fire magic, not Frost spells.
Although he knew some, his casting ability was far inferior to Jaina's during her later White-Haired Mage era.
Defensive capability had always been his fatal flaw.
Having lived a second life, he was truly afraid of death.
So he rarely fought personally, and almost always called upon companions, always ensuring someone stood in front of him to protect his safety.
But now, things were different.
A Dragon's physical body is far stronger than a High Elf's.
Especially a legendary Dragon; its scales are as hard as steel, and its magic resistance is comparable to epic magical equipment. Ordinary attacks simply can't harm it.
Although it wouldn't grant access to learned Dragon spells, possessing the innate abilities bestowed by the Titans was truly powerful!
"The Dragon form also consumes energy. If merely maintaining the form, it can last about a day and a night. Flying, fighting, breathing fire, etc., will accelerate consumption," Alexstrasza added.
"Can they be merged simultaneously?" Kael'thas asked again.
"No."
Alexstrasza said, "The five dragonflight powers are separate; only through the artifact itself can they temporarily combine to unleash a demigod's strike. Transforming into a Dragon turns you into a Dragon; once separated from the artifact, they cannot be merged."
Kael'thas nodded.
Five legendary spells, one demigod spell, and the ability to transform into five types of legendary Dragons.
Although this artifact was not as powerful as the original demon soul, it had more versatility.
One word: strong!
Spells permanently enchanted on magical equipment can be cast instantly as long as they are off cooldown.
Even though he already knew several legendary spells, those spells required time, but the Dragon Soul did not.
With this artifact, his overall strength would increase by at least one tier.
He would be virtually invincible below the demigod level, and even have a fighting chance against ordinary demigods.
Even if he encountered Deathwing alone someday, there was a possibility of escape.
"Can he also transform into a Dragon? And five kinds?"
"It's over, it's over. Now I can't even win aerial combat, and I can't even run away!"
Kurdran had a long face.
"Wait, that's not right!"
"Kael'thas is my friend, not an enemy. Why am I comparing myself to him?"
"His getting stronger is a good thing. I'll let him take the lead in the future, and I'll deal damage from the backline. How safe!"
Kurdran understood self-adjustment and quickly returned to his cheerful and optimistic state.
"Kael'thas, your contribution is too great. If it only had these few abilities, we wouldn't be able to present it."
Alexstrasza's expression was serious: "We have enchanted the Dragon Soul with spells. It is essentially a container, a larger container than the previous demon soul."
"You can use it to absorb the power of the five dragonflights. The more you absorb, the stronger its power."