"Clang!"
The Hammer of Kaz'goroth struck down, radiating a dazzling array of colors.
Gale picked up the Sunstreak Bow from the anvil and handed it to Salador. Salador joyfully accepted it, kneeling on one knee to receive the Sunstreak Bow. Feeling the enhanced power of the bow, Salador devoutly said, "Master, Salador is willing to fight to the death for you."
"I'd rather you all live!"
Gale looked at the Kaldorei around him; these were his most elite subordinates. Each one was a talent he valued, and he didn't want any of them to die in the War of the Ancients.
The others, hearing Gale's sincere words, prostrated themselves. They had never seen such a benevolent noble, who not only treated them well but also arranged their families properly.
Gale waved his hand, "Rise, all of you!"
"Rielly, bring me your staff!"
Rielly quickly offered his staff. Gale took it, placed it on the anvil, raised the Hammer of Kaz'goroth, and struck the nash's eye.
"Clang!"
Under the dazzling light, nash's eye mutated and perfectly fused with the staff. The entire staff became enveloped in water currents, then gradually transformed into a crystal. Sunlight shone upon the crystal, sparkling with a seven-colored radiance.
Gale returned the staff to Rielly, "Rielly, you and Salador will go to Gale's Tower together and bring Sethonis and Lu'anna back."
There were five pieces of equipment with loa components. Kana was temporarily unable to leave, so Gale could only upgrade the other four first. The Hammer of Kaz'goroth was a cheat when it came to crafting weapons; one strike could shape any desired weapon.
He hadn't fully understood the mysteries of the Hammer of Kaz'goroth yet, otherwise, he could try to forge Titan artifacts.
A few days later, Sethonis and Lu'anna arrived in Shadanil. They weren't alone; they also brought Aeon.
After entering the barrier, Aeon became exceptionally excited. It joyfully flew freely in the sky, unconstrained and utterly at ease.
Gale was very happy to see Aeon. Aeon also affectionately rushed into his arms, just like a child seeing its "mother."
"It seems you really like it here."
Aeon nodded, emitting a clear, melodious sound.
The sound resonated in Gale's mind, transforming into a female voice: "Yes, I love it here very much."
Gale looked at Aeon in surprise, "Was that your voice?"
"This is soul communication," Aeon said. "My strength is still too weak to speak aloud. But I can use soul power to express my meaning. This expression can transcend language; any creature can communicate directly."
Gale marveled, "What an incredible skill."
"Of course, I'm very clever," Aeon said proudly.
Aeon's arrival slowly eased Gale's tense nerves. After upgrading Sethonis and Lu'anna's weapons, he did not let them take Aeon away.
Late at night, Gale sat at his desk, designing upgrade plans for navoli's swift blades, draksa's duskblade, Luden's Surge, and evernight guardian.
These four pieces of equipment all required complex upgrade plans, specifically how to incorporate orichalcum and enchanted thorium ingots. To be honest, this kind of plan was a bit thankless; it would be faster to simply forge new artifacts using enchanted thorium ingots.
However, Gale did not give up on upgrading them. On one hand, these items held sentimental value; Navoli and the others had used them for a long time and cherished them.
On the other hand, complex upgrade plans could hone his forging skills. He had hit a bottleneck while studying the Hammer of Kaz'goroth and needed to change his approach, to brainstorm and find other uses for the Hammer of Kaz'goroth.
Aeon flew in, circled Gale's head several times, then landed in front of him.
"Master, you seem to be troubled by something."
Gale didn't pay much attention, "You noticed?"
Aeon nodded, "I sense a soul power, hidden deep within your heart. It seems to be luring you, leading you to some secret."
Gale chuckled, "Little one, what you're seeing must be my ambition."
"No!" Aeon directly denied Gale's statement. "That is not an inherent soul power within you, but an external one. It's like the curse you once had, only more subtle, more insidious."
Hearing this, Gale's expression grew serious.
He took out the Reaver's Scythe and used its soul power to cast a spell on himself. The soul power struck his body, which slowly turned transparent. In the position of his heart, there was a mass of black soul power.
"That's it!" Aeon cried out, then plunged into Gale's body, pushing that mass of soul power out.
As the soul power left his body, Gale's mind instantly cleared. He had always thought that the sense of crisis he felt earlier was fear of the Burning Legion. Foresight had many advantages, but it also came with drawbacks; the Burning Legion's power was indeed despair-inducing.
Now it seemed that this soul power was the real culprit behind his sense of crisis.
Gale's eyes held a murderous intent; he knew he had been tricked. He violently swung the Reaver's Scythe, severing the soul power.
"Boom!"
The soul power exploded, and an image appeared before Gale's eyes.
It was an underground cave, and in the center of the cave was a massive creature. Its entire body was covered in fanged mouths, and huge tentacles writhed menacingly, as if ready to devour anyone.
"Ah—!"
Aeon shrieked, rushing into Gale's arms, trembling: "What is that monster? It's so terrifying!"
"Hmph!"
Gale snorted, and holy light burst forth from his body, shattering the illusion.
Aeon felt a bit better then, but its spirit was weak, and it seemed a little drowsy.
Gale used the Reaver's Scythe to check Aeon's condition. It was just too exhausted from resisting the illusion. Even though it was composed of divine power, it was still a soul entity, and its energy depleted much faster than a living creature's.
Placing Aeon on the table, Gale gritted his teeth firmly.
Yogg-Saron!
When he had killed Ulgineis, he had wondered why Yogg-Saron had let him go so easily. Now it seemed Yogg-Saron had already made his move back then. However, it didn't choose direct revenge but wanted to achieve some unspeakable secret through him.
Looking at the design blueprints in front of him and his actions during this time, Gale roughly understood Yogg-Saron's purpose.
It wanted to create a key that could open its prison!
In the history of Warcraft, this key was the Demon Soul. Gale's appearance gave Yogg-Saron another option. Diversifying bets was always less risky than putting all his eggs in Neltharion's basket.
Go on, dream your pipe dreams!
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