195: Northrend Expansion Pack 1

Guardians of the Star Core and the War of Evernight

In the 3700th year of the Silver Moon Era, in the northern part of the Northrend Continent, the aurora in the sky suddenly shattered into countless silver-white fragments, and the desolate roar of an ancient beast echoed from beneath the ice plain.

The Dwarf forging master, Brum, struck the final blow before the furnace in the Blackrock Mountains.

The Dwarf Crown suddenly cracked, revealing a spherical gem with a faint blue glow at its core—that was the legendary “star core anchor” that supported the world's barrier.

At this moment, it was visibly dimming at a speed perceptible to the naked eye.

“The world is collapsing.”

Brum held the broken hammer handle, his bushy beard covered in forge dust.

Three hundred years ago, he had seen records of the “anchor” in his grandfather’s diary: when the star core anchor completely loses its luster and the sealing array becomes completely ineffective, the “Star Devourer” sealed in the Evernight Rift will descend upon this world, using its powerful dark energy to devour all existence.

Snapping out of his distant memories, Brum placed the star core anchor into a mithril box, rode his war ram through the deep mountain tunnels filled with corpses, and rushed overnight to the Holy Light Cathedral of the Human Kingdom.

…

The Human Paladin, Ayla Valerion, was kneeling before the Holy Light statue, polishing her armor.

Her father was a hero who fought against the Undead Legion ten years ago, but in the final battle, he was accidentally dragged into the rift of the Abyss Valley by the Star Devourer's shadow tentacles, and his whereabouts have been unknown ever since.

Ayla caressed the holy mark on her armor, her gaze shifting, lost in thought.

Suddenly, urgent hoofbeats sounded from outside the hall.

Brum pushed open the cathedral doors, holding the mithril box, and quickly walked into the main hall of the cathedral.

“Only by gathering all three star core anchors can the rift be sealed again.”

Brum placed the now dim star core anchor on the Holy Light Stone, its faint glow illuminating his solemn face.

“I’ve brought the Dwarf’s piece.”

“The other two, one is in the Tree of Life in the Elven Forest, and one is in the Tidal Shrine of the deep-sea Naga.”

“It's time to set off!”

“Yes, … it's time.”

Ayla tightened her grip on the Holy Light Sword at her waist, and the inscriptions on the blade lit up one by one.

Those were marks bestowed by the God of Light, and they would guide Ayla through the forest mist, to the deepest part of the Elven Forest.

…

Without further ado, the two chose to depart immediately.

From the high-hanging sun to the setting sun.

After several hours of arduous travel, Ayla and Brum finally arrived at the Shadow Wasteland.

Here, the plants along the way had all turned into terrifying black shadows, various birds had bat wings, and all flora and fauna were twisted.

“Holy Light Slash!”

Ayla swung her sword, severing the pouncing shadow vines, and Holy Light burst forth from the blade, yet it could only barely illuminate a ten-step radius.

“Evernight is spreading faster.”

Brum watched the ever-expanding darkness in the sky, pulling out a flame rune from his backpack to illuminate their surroundings.

“Three more days, and even the Elven Forest will be devoured.”

“Let’s keep moving.”

…

At dawn the next day, Ayla and Brum finally saw the outline of the Elven Forest.

The once verdant tree canopies had all turned scorched black, and the power of darkness was destroying this forest.

They continued deeper into the forest.

Passing through layers of forest barriers, the core of the Elven Forest was now within reach.

The Elf guardian, Leah, knelt before the Tree of Life, fending off an endless surge of shadow creatures with her bow and arrows.

Her silver hair was stained with pitch-black blood, which was very unaccustomed for an Elf who naturally loved cleanliness.

However, at this critical moment, she could only suppress her discomfort and fight with all her might.

Just as Leah had only three enchanted arrows left in her quiver, Ayla's Holy Light Sword carved a path of hope for her.

The light of Holy Light was reflected in Leah's pupils, and her eyes suddenly reddened.

Ten years ago, she had seen Ayla's father, that Paladin who used his body to block the shadows of the rift, allowing her to evacuate the young Elves.

Now, his daughter once again brought hope to her, and to the Elf race.

With the efforts of Leah and the other two, the shadow creatures were quickly slaughtered.

“Let’s seal them first, otherwise we won’t even have a moment to catch our breath.”

Brum’s words were very reasonable.

Ayla plunged her Holy Sword into the roots of the Tree of Life, temporarily sealing the generation of shadow creatures.

“The core of the Tree of Life has been corrupted by shadows.”

Leah led them to the base of the tree, where dark mist emanated from deep within the tree hollow.

“The star core anchor is inside the tree's heart, but only by purifying the corruption can it be retrieved.”

The three exchanged glances.

What else could they do? Fight.

Brum pulled out the Sacred Fire Hammer from his backpack, Leah applied holy water to the arrows she had just conjured, and Ayla returned to pull out her Holy Light Sword.

“Get ready!”

“Charge!”

Ayla and the other two rushed into the tree hollow together.

“!”

In an instant, the shadows at the heart of the tree suddenly condensed into a giant hand, which seized Leah with lightning speed and dragged her into the darkness.

Ayla leaped up, her Holy Light Sword cutting off the giant hand, but the shadow giant hand took the opportunity to ambush her, and her left arm instantly lost all sensation.

Leah, who had been rescued, seized the chance to shoot a holy water arrow, and the fletching exploded in the tree's heart, eliciting a painful howl from the depths of the shadows.

In an instant, the already weakened Holy Sword seal was shattered, and an endless stream of shadow creatures surged forth again.

Brum tossed Ayla a Holy Healing Potion, then swung his hammer, crushing all the approaching shadow creatures.

“Leah, we’ll cover you!”

“Okay!”

After taking the potion, Ayla was fully revived.

With the help of Ayla and Brum, Leah gradually approached the core of the Tree of Life.

“Now!”

The opportunity was fleeting, but Leah, as the guardian, saintess, and eldest princess of the Elf race, would not miss this decisive moment.

“Roar!!!”

A brilliant, deep green pillar of light pierced through the shadow power entrenched at the core of the Tree of Life.

“Hammer of Sacred Fire!”

“Divine Light Slash!”

Brum and Ayla followed closely, completely annihilating the shadow power.

The moment the black mist dissipated, a blue-glowing star core anchor rolled onto the ground.

…

Two of the three anchor stones had been collected; the last one was in the Tidal Shrine in the deep sea.

Leah created an underwater breathing barrier with Elf magic, and the three of them dove into the deep sea.

The shadows beneath the surface were even denser, and all kinds of fish had transformed into shadow forms.

Fortunately, these minor monsters posed no threat to Ayla's group.

The gate of the Tidal Shrine was sealed by magic, and many corpses of Naga Temple Guards lay before it.

Clearly, the Naga had fought to their last breath to protect the star core anchor against the shadow creatures.

Ayla placed the two star core anchors on the door, and the seal opened with a sound.

Inside the shrine, the Naga Queen’s corpse lay on the altar, her trident plunged beside the last star core anchor, blocking the erosion of the shadows.

When the third anchor stone was retrieved, the seabed suddenly trembled, and the shadows of the Evernight Rift spread along the ocean trench.

The three immediately used the power of the Ocean Trident to surface, only to find that half of the Northrend Continent’s sky was covered by darkness, and the sky was darkening at an accelerating rate.

“We must embed the star core anchors into the rift’s sealing altar before the Silver Moon completely disappears.”

Brum examined the star core anchors, finding their blue light so faint that it was almost imperceptible.

“Once the Silver Moon extinguishes, the Star Devourer will fully awaken.”

A crisp whistle sounded.

The Heroic Spirit, Giant Eagle, responded to Ayla’s summons.

The three immediately mounted the Giant Eagle and began to rush towards the Dark Rift.

…

The rift was located at the center of the Northern Ice Plain, and it had now expanded into a hundred-mile-wide black hole, with shadow tentacles waving at its mouth, devouring everything around it.

Ayla raised her Holy Sword, and the inscriptions on the blade resonated with the three star core anchors, casting light across the entire ice plain, and countless shadow creatures vanished into dust under the Holy Light.

Leah shot enchanted arrows, and a rain of arrows formed a magical barrier around the rift, blocking the attacks of the shadow tentacles.

The Giant Eagle shrieked, then plunged headlong into the deepest part of the rift, finally crashing hard at the bottom of the rift.

As a Heroic Spirit, its mission ended there.

The three, who had jumped off the eagle's back beforehand, supported each other as they fought their way towards the sealing altar.

…

“We’re here, this is it!”

“Quick! Insert the star core anchors!”

Ayla and Leah were responsible for covering, while Brum took the star core anchors from his backpack and pressed them into the grooves in the center of the sealing altar.

“The slot for the last anchor stone is blocked by shadows! This shadow power, it can’t be cleared?!”

Hearing Brum’s voice, Ayla spared a thought to look at the altar.

“...Wait, this shadow power is!”

“So that’s it, ‘Star Devourer,’ you’re trying to use my dad’s power to force me to give up?”

“Even if I have to use my own life to nullify this shadow power that shares my origin, I will never let you break through the seal!”

“I have a way, let me clear the slot!”

Brum tacitly took over the covering duty.

It was only when Leah’s cry of alarm sounded that Brum suddenly understood the true meaning of the change.

“Ten years ago, my father sacrificed himself for the continuation of my life.”

“Now, it’s my turn to return it!”

Ayla’s Holy Sword erupted with unprecedented light.

She leaped onto the sealing altar, using her body to block the attacks of the shadow creatures, and plunged her sword into the slot with her right hand; the shadows eroded her body along the blade, but she smiled as she pressed the last anchor stone into the slot.

The moment the three star core anchors were embedded in the altar, a blue-white pillar of light shot up into the sky!

The black mist that permeated the entire continent was forcibly sucked back into the Dark Rift, and the cracked sealing array once again emitted a bright light.

The colossal blue-white pillar of light once again drove the “Star Devourer” back to its sealed place.

“Foolish mortals, your resistance is futile.”

“I have an endless amount of time to wait, and sooner or later, I will break through the seal and completely devour this world.”

“This time you succeeded, but can the three heavily damaged races last until the next time the seal needs to be reinforced?”

“Next time, I will use more covert and efficient methods to attempt to break the seal.”

“Pray, pray that three thousand years from now, there will still be beings like you on this continent.”

The Star Devourer’s seductive whispers echoed within the Dark Rift, leaving people unsettled for a long time.

Of course, for the three tribal heroes with top-tier minds, the Star Devourer’s whispers were, at best, rather grating noise.

More than the annoying whispers, Brum and Leah were most concerned about Ayla.

As the sealing array fully lit up, Ayla’s body gradually began to transform into Holy Light particles, drifting towards the sky.

“So, this is how the northern aurora is formed… it’s truly beautiful.”

“…”

“…”

Brum and Leah knelt on the ice plain, silently watching Ayla’s body slowly dissipate, finally disappearing completely.

Only two tears, falling to the ground, witnessed the demise of the Human hero.

…

Years later, towns were re-established on the Northrend Continent.

People erected a stone monument on the ice plain, before which Holy Light flowers, Sacred Fire runes, and Elf bows and arrows were placed year-round.

Whenever the Silver Moon rose, the stone monument would glow faintly, reflecting the aurora in the sky—that was Ayla’s soul, transformed into a new Star Core Guardian, forever protecting the world she deeply loved.