"Prophet—"
"Just call me by my name."
"Alright, Lord Medivh," Antonidas said. After using arcane magic to open a portal to the secret vault, they appeared in a treasure trove located in a secret location. Aiden approached a display case. Inside the glass case was a book bound in vellum.
"Is this the legendary artifact you created—the Book of Medivh?"
Medivh looked at it with nostalgia and nodded in agreement. "Yes, it was a mistake I made back then."
"As far as I know, it is an artifact capable of opening the barriers of space and time, summoning creatures from other worlds into this world. And according to the prophecies you and I have seen, someone used it to summon Archimonde, the current leader of the Burning Legion—the question I want to ask is, if it were destroyed, would Archimonde still descend upon this world?"
Aiden had been holding this question in for a long time. He had mentioned this idea the last time he discussed it with Antonidas. Now that the person involved was here, as the creator of this artifact, Medivh should know the answer.
Medivh pondered for a moment before answering, "This is just the simplest way for Archimonde to descend. Even without it, the Burning Legion might find other, possibly more devastating, ways to achieve their goals."
"Or maybe they won't find any at all. Isn't that right?" Aiden retorted.
Medivh frowned, forced to admit that such a possibility did indeed exist.
"Moreover, the westward migration to Kalimdor doesn't necessarily mean reaching a promised land. You should be very clear about what will happen on that land in the prophecies."
The almost cryptic way they were talking left the others completely bewildered. Drenden couldn't help but ask, "What exactly are you talking about? Could you please be clearer? I simply don't understand what you're trying to say!"
Kael'thas nodded in agreement, feeling the same way. The other archmages felt the same.
Antonidas asked, "I just want to know, will this thing really bring great trouble?"
Medivh silently nodded.
"It seems it ultimately doesn't belong to us." Antonidas took out the Book of Medivh. This magic book contained much of the knowledge left behind by Medivh, encompassing many areas that ordinary mages had never touched. Much of this knowledge belonged to the closely guarded secrets of the Guardians of Tirisf throughout the ages.
This was one of Medivh's series of works. Ever since Khadgar brought it back, it had been studied by the Kirin Tor Council. Antonidas himself had learned a lot from it.
Antonidas looked at Medivh, who was looking at the book in his hand.
"Then, it is now returned to its original owner." He returned this artifact containing immense power to its original owner.
Medivh took it, carefully stroking the wooden texture on the book's cover. The magical symbols engraved on it gradually shone with light as he caressed it, as if rejoicing in its return.
The archmages, on the other hand, had never succeeded in extracting even a trace of power from it. However, for them, the knowledge within the book was already invaluable.
Medivh showed a look of relief and pain, and he returned the book to the archmages: "Dispose of it according to your wishes! This is an item wrongly created when I lost my humanity. Keeping it will only remind me of the sins I once committed."
"You don't mind us destroying it?"
"It no longer belongs to me."
Watching the two of them passing it back and forth, Aiden was itching to get involved—if he used this thing as a carrier, he would definitely be able to summon a very powerful hero. But he had already reserved the Skull of Gul'dan, and opening his mouth now seemed a bit inappropriate—it would definitely give people the feeling of being greedy.
Antonidas placed the book back in the display case.
Medivh asked, "So, what is your plan?"
The archmage replied, "We are preparing to reorganize the Alliance, march on Northrend, and eliminate the Lich King, eradicating the threat of the plague and the Scourge at its source. Once the weather warms up, we will launch our offensive!"
Medivh was worried. On one side was the disaster he foresaw, and on the other was the historical process heading towards another turning point. He didn't know which side he should believe in now.
"Then—I hope you can achieve the results you want."
With that matter settled, it was time for the main purpose of their visit to the secret vault. Antonidas led Aiden to a bookshelf, opened the drawer in the middle, and took out a worn, bloodstained canvas bag from inside: "What you want is in here."
Medivh saw the skull lying quietly in the open cloth bag and shuddered. "This, this is, Gul'dan?" His attainments in soul magic were very strong, and his perception was much more acute than others. He immediately sensed a familiar aura from the mental fluctuations emanating from the skull.
'Yes, it is I, Medivh. We meet again, in your world.'
The thought came from the skull.
Antonidas patted Drenden next to him, putting on a helpless look: "You see, these two, one is a prophet, and the other has a prophet behind him. Only we seem like fools, knowing nothing."
Drenden nodded in deep agreement: "Who told us to be mortals."
Medivh sensed the thoughts in the skull. The identity of the owner of this skull reminded him of the great mistakes "he" had committed in the past.
Before he was even born, he was possessed by the dark titan Sargeras, which destined him to a tragic fate. After Sargeras' dark soul awakened, Medivh, who originally possessed the bloodline of a Guardian and was righteous and noble, lost control of his body. He could only watch as his body, controlled by the dark soul Sargeras, carried out the evil plans of the demon lord.
The dark Medivh, while meditating, came into contact with Gul'dan, the most powerful warlock of Draenor. The two spellcasters, each with their own ulterior motives, hit it off immediately. He provided Gul'dan with the coordinates of Azeroth and the item to create the portal, the "Book of Medivh." Gul'dan then used this to create the Dark Portal, leading the Horde to bring the flames of invasion to Medivh's new world—Azeroth.
Afterward, the geniuses of both worlds embarked on a path of self-destruction.
Gul'dan, insatiable in his greed, sought the opportunity to become a god and died in the Tomb of Sargeras.
And after Dark Medivh's actions were discovered, Lord Lothar and Medivh's apprentice Khadgar led an assault on his residence, destroying Medivh's body and banishing his dark soul.
Now, Gul'dan's remnant soul remains in this ugly skull, while Medivh has been resurrected by his mother, the Guardian Aegwynn, using her divine power. The two geniuses who stirred up turmoil in two entire worlds finally meet formally in such a setting.
...
'Medivh, I know the location of the Tomb of Sargeras. Release me, take out the treasures inside, and we can become immortal gods!'
'Quick, quick, let us join forces again!'
Gul'dan's will tempted Medivh, but it didn't know that the current Medivh was no longer influenced by the dark soul. Resurrected, he is a truly pure, righteous, and kind Guardian.
"Enough, Gul'dan, your path ends here," Medivh said softly to the skull.
'No, no, my friend, don't you want to possess god-like power?'
Medivh said in a deep voice: "I have lost my humanity once, and that is a deep enough lesson. Now I only want the people of this world to suffer fewer natural disasters and misfortunes."
'Medivh, my friend, with power, you can better protect your people. You know how powerful Kil'jaeden and Archimonde are. If they descend, can your kindness defeat them? No. Only enough power can defeat them! Quick, release me, let us unite, I can help you deal with them!'
"You are still the same as the old me, but I am no longer the old me," Medivh said with both mockery and self-deprecation. He turned to Aiden, ignoring Gul'dan's enticements, "I will monitor your summoning behavior here. You know what I mean, and I am willing to believe that you are doing it with good intentions. Come, give this evil guy a true death!"
'No, no, you can't do this!' Gul'dan's will roared, 'I know many secrets, I have a way to deal with Kil'jaeden, I can once again lead the orcs and make them submit to humans, I can fight for you, I...'
Medivh casually cast a spell, completely shielding Gul'dan's pleas.
Antonidas patted Aiden on the shoulder and said, "I believe you will bring a powerful hero to the Alliance."
Dreden smiled kindly: "Don't be nervous, I trust your character very much."
Aiden nodded to them and placed the canvas bag in front of him—the Skull of Gul'dan cannot be touched directly with limbs. Otherwise, Gul'dan's evil thoughts will take advantage of the situation.
He immersed his consciousness into the Heart of Valoran. Everyone present, except for Kayle, was seeing this treasure for the first time. However, the energy fluctuations transmitted from it allowed them to recognize that this was definitely not a simple thing.
Aiden once again summoned the Time Guardian, Zilean. The other party quickly appeared before him.
"What is it again?"
"I found a powerful carrier! How do I use it?"
"Use the Transformation Stone. I told you last time. Its function is not only to act as a bridge between the carrier and the summoned, but also to collect some things that you usually don't pay attention to, saving some energy for you to summon heroes. It seems you didn't listen to me last time either."
"Uh, ah, I remember now!" Aiden quickly exchanged for a Transformation Stone with energy points—it was indeed not expensive, only equivalent to summoning one-fifth of a Vayne (Vayne: Why always use me as a unit of measurement!). When he got the Transformation Stone, Aiden also saw its instructions for use: The Transformation Stone can transform powerful carriers to break Valoran's rules and restrictions on the summoned, and it can also collect a certain type of specimen from this world that is similar to Valoran to integrate Valoran's summoned, and it can also convert one type of energy into another type of energy.
The first and third functions are easy to understand, but what does the second one mean?
Taking advantage of summoning the time-charged Zilean, Aiden quickly asked his question.