39. Maldelan’s Interference with Fate

The Atar'mal Crystal, an ancient relic of the Eredar, is a truly miraculous existence.

It appeared at the very dawn of Eredar history and remains deeply intertwined with the fate of their race, yet its true capabilities have always been a mystery. The progenitor wizard Ougure once used it to tame the elements, and in a moment of crisis, Velen used it to invoke the manifestation of a Holy Naaru. It would reveal different wondrous properties quite unexpectedly; Velen even discovered that the object could amplify his own gift of prophecy.

Ultimately, however, few could clearly define the specific nature of the Atar'mal Crystal’s magic. Even Xal'atath, who once stood at the pinnacle of the Eredar spellcasting hierarchy, could only offer conjectures.

But Dick was an exception.

He was likely the only Eredar in this era who understood the secret of the Atar'mal Crystal. This relic was suspected to be linked to the mysterious Primordial Naaru—those born from the first burst of Holy Light during the ordering of Light and Shadow. Even among the Naaru, a mythical race famed for their vast numbers across the stars, the Primordial Naaru were exceptionally powerful and rare.

Yet, the Atar'mal Crystal was merely a remnant. It did not grant its user the power to achieve transcendence overnight; instead, it offered an enhancement to certain forces—an empowerment that could only truly manifest once the crystal had shattered into its seven constituent shards.

There was the Heart of Fury, which governed rage; the Shadow of the Verdant Leaf, which bestowed concealment; the Soul of Song, which strengthened prophecy; the Shield of the Naaru, which dominated defense; the Eye of the Storm, which manipulated energy; the Kiss of Fortune, with its unpredictable shifting; and finally, the gem most closely linked to the Holy Light: the Brilliant Sun.

The most exquisite detail of all... was that this final gem was currently in Dick’s hand.

You might have thought he had picked up a random shard just moments ago.

No. Not at all.

It was precisely because he held this artifact that Dick dared to initiate a final duel on the world of Argus against Xal'atath, a foe far stronger than himself. Every piece of the Atar'mal Crystal possessed its own unique power, and the Brilliant Sun—ignited for the first time by Dick’s own Holy Light—began to reveal its ferocity in the heat of battle. When Dick clenched it into a heavy fist and hammered it against Xal'atath’s fel shield, the "Enlightened One," who had previously dismissed such crude melee attacks, had his expression shift violently in an instant.

Well, considering his overly dramatic "flaming skull" appearance, the change in his expression was more evident in the way the flames winding around his skull flickered violently into a grotesque, jagged form. He had sensed the abnormal restlessness of the burning crystal in Dick’s grip.

But at such close quarters, it was too late to retreat. Xal'atath could only roar and sacrifice the nearby rampaging Felguards to conjure a thicker barrier—yet it was utterly futile.

"BOOM!"

It was as if a heavy-duty bomb had detonated between them. The violently erupting Holy Light tore through all of Xal'atath’s shields with destructive force, leaving a horrific, explosive wound upon his resurrected fel-infused body.

The initial burst of the Brilliant Sun sent Xal'atath flying. The disheveled Enlightened One rolled twice on the ground before scrambling up, possessing none of the dignity expected of an ancient legend.

This duel, which should have been one-sided, was thrilling from the very start. The scene left the surrounding Man'ari warlocks in a state of bewildered shock. Was Dick, this mortal Vindicator who burned his own life force to break through to the legendary rank, truly this formidable? Even after the blessings of world-power had been stripped away, could he still face the Enlightened One head-on?

Even though Xal'atath was unwilling to accept Sargeras’s blessing in such a decrepit state to complete his glorious ascension, his current body had still been tempered by fel energy. Its power should not have been something a Vindicator, exhausted from constant fighting, could contest.

Yet, that was exactly the case. If his body had not been infused with fel energy, that single point-blank burst of Holy Light would have been enough to crush him.

"What a pity," Dick said with a helpless expression.

His plan had indeed been to catch Xal'atath off guard—to use his ignorance of the Atar'mal Crystal’s true mystery to end him with a surprise strike. But as it turned out, an old legend truly had a few tricks up his sleeve. During the seemingly clumsy knockback, Xal'atath had mitigated the majority of the Brilliant Sun’s energy through a series of demonic sacrifices. The cost was a row of "spectating" demons falling dead for no reason.

However, who cared about the physical or mental well-being of demons? No one! Not even they cared about themselves! On the contrary, because Dick’s outburst had sent Xal'atath flying, the irritable demons began to cheer. They didn't care who won; they only wanted to see a bloody, visceral slaughter! Wow, to witness such a brutal clash of power—it would be worth dying just to see this!

As it turned out, the Eredar truly had a natural talent for becoming gladiators.

"So, is this the true way to use the Atar'mal Crystal?"

Xal'atath stood up from the ground, reached up to grab the edge of his skull, and with a *click*, snapped it back into place. He ignored the wounds burned into his chest and abdomen by the Holy Light, instead observing the now-dimming Brilliant Sun in Dick’s hand with a look of curiosity. In the Vindicator’s grip, the artifact resembled a small sun that had fallen into the mortal realm.

He said, "The Atar'mal Crystal has been passed down in our hands for tens of thousands of years, yet you are the first to unleash its true wonder. That strike just now was truly impressive."

"Unfortunately, it was just a little short."

"You were too eager, child. You should have unleashed your kill-shot while I was casting magic and unable to dodge."

"But it can be used many more times, Enlightened One," Dick said, gripping the Brilliant Sun tightly. "You had better be careful from now on. Don’t look so pathetic in front of your master. Lord Sargeras is not an easy superior to please, especially when you are nothing more than expendable cannon fodder."

"You have been asking me questions all this time; let me ask you one!"

His hooves pounded the earth. With a burst of strength from his legs, he lunged at Xal'atath, clutching the sharp Naaru shard. With every swing, he cleaved the demons pouring out of the fel vortex into dancing ashes. As his momentum accumulated, he roared, "The Dark Titan uses you to clear the threats of the Void; He deems it an act of justice. But what happens after the victory? Xal'atath, tell your followers loudly! After you have flattened the star-sea and completed the crusade, what then?"

"Will the Dark Titan truly allow an army that knows only destruction to continue roaming the star-sea He has ‘purified’?"

"BANG!"

The heavy swing of the Naaru shard collided with the demonic spine staff Xal'atath raised. The immense fel power allowed Xal'atath to withstand the blow, and with a roar, he kicked Dick in the chest, pushing the Vindicator back.

"You will all die!"

Dick regrouped and charged again. His strength was burning, his mind was burning, and even his flesh was burning in the golden holy flames. This was not just the convergence and condensation of legendary power; it was the final, desperate burst of a life-or-death struggle.

In terms of raw strength, he was no match for Xal'atath. He could only rely on this relentless, berserk assault to win a glimmer of victory. As for how he would escape this demon-occupied world after defeating Xal'atath, he did not know... but he didn't care!

If Old Haddon could survive on the corrupted Argus for over twenty thousand years, he could do the same! Even if his body shattered, even if his spirit sank, even if he lost the Light, he would persevere. He would hold on until the day Old Velen and Father Haddon returned to Argus with a million Highlords!

Only when he saw with his own eyes that the world-oath of Argus had been fulfilled could he allow himself to end his second life.

"You will be strangled by Sargeras’s own hands! Like tools whose final value has been squeezed dry, it is only a matter of time before you are discarded!"

He roared, a final outpouring of fury. With every swing of the sharp Naaru shard, he fought with increasing ferocity.

The silent Xal'atath parried with his staff, shifting between offense and defense. He took every opportunity to smash out balls of corrosive fel energy, hanging more and more curses upon Dick, accompanied by the draining and conversion of his life force.

He knew everything Dick said was the truth. He knew that Dick’s "prophecy" would likely come to pass after the Burning Crusade was finished, but having stepped onto this path, there was no turning back.

"You are leading your people toward death... you are merely delaying the arrival of the end."

The crazed Vindicator held the recharged Brilliant Sun high and threw a heavy punch forward. But Xal'atath sneered and executed a Demonic Teleport, blinking away and choosing a "lucky spectator" from the surrounding demons to take his place.

With a deafening boom, the erupting Brilliant Sun instantly incinerated the terrified Succubus into ash.

Xal'atath, reappearing in the rear, elegantly spread his left hand, then closed his fingers. As if a command had been issued, the dozen curse effects hanging on Dick erupted simultaneously.

Dick, who had been charging like a rampaging thunder-beast, was instantly drowned in agony. His body and mind felt as though they were being torn apart.

It was no illusion. The explosion of fel-fire and shadow turned him into a sacrifice. As his life force ebbed, he became a living seed of demonic energy, his flesh used to summon a Doomguard that tore through space. Upon landing, the Doomguard swung a massive blade of destruction, delivering a vicious blow to Dick.

It was a standard execution strike, but before it could land, it was blocked by a thick layer of Holy Light.

Divine Shield.

Protecting himself from the injury while simultaneously cleansing all negative curses, Dick stood up inside his "turtle shell," waved his hand to cast a High-level Heal on himself, and followed with several Flashes of Light to top off his precarious health bar. The moment the Divine Shield ended, his Spirit of Redemption was summoned into the form of a Guardian of Ancient Kings.

He attacked alongside his phantom spirit. In no time, they hacked the Doomguard to death on the battlefield. However, Xal'atath had already created distance; the spellcaster held the advantage necessary to decide the outcome of the battle.

The Enlightened One, with his burning skull, strolled leisurely, casting Dark Fury and Death Coil repeatedly, forcing Dick to undergo a mental check against fear every single second of his charge. He knew that if he were broken even once—if he fell into panic for even a second—Xal'atath could finish him off as easily as slaughtering a pig.

He could not dodge, and he certainly could not retreat!

Another Dark Fury exploded, causing Dick to cough up blood. Xal'atath sneered, manipulating the blood to infuse it with fel energy, causing it to erupt around Dick and reigniting the curses upon him with vicious, smoldering heat. The fel-tainted blood dripped onto the ground like fuel, triggering an explosion of hellfire. Though Dick, with his wings unfurled, purified it with a Burning Consecration the next second, those few seconds of delay left him cursed once more.

Warlock combat styles were always ruthless, even more so when Xal'atath was a master of all three Warlock disciplines. He was proficient in curses, destruction magic, and demon summoning; fighting such a master was essentially equivalent to Dick fighting an entire walking demon legion by himself.

The distance between him and Xal'atath was widened again, and amidst the demons constantly summoned from the fel vortex, victory seemed increasingly out of reach. Especially when the Holy Light-infused Guardian of Ancient Kings dissipated into a beam of light with a final roar—it meant Dick’s "Ardent Defender" had been triggered.

He had "died" once just now, saved only by the protection of the Light from the pursuit of death.

But the Vindicator was waiting for this very moment!

As the Guardian of Ancient Kings collapsed, it ignited its final energy in an explosive display, turning into a strike of Holy Vengeance that cleared all the lesser demons entangled around Dick. As he raised his head, revealing a ferocious grin, a chill rose in Xal'atath’s heart.

He began his charge.

Propelled by the flapping of his radiant wings, Dick’s charge this time was faster and fiercer than ever before, while the halos of light radiating from his side prevented other demons from coming to assist.

The moment Xal'atath used Demonic Teleport to shift his position, Dick pivoted and poured all his kinetic energy into the Brilliant Sun in his hand. The instant Xal'atath reappeared, he threw the fully charged diamond like a flying axe.

No matter how powerful a warlock was, it was impossible to change position again once the beacon of a Demonic Teleport had been set! In other words, the location where Xal'atath would appear after this teleport was already locked by Dick. Just as he had been "taught" earlier, Dick’s killing blow should be used when the opponent was unable to dodge—exactly like this situation, where Xal'atath was completely unable to evade during the recovery animation of his teleport.

So, please, enjoy this Hammer of Wrath Pro Max version!

The Brilliant Sun, having drained Dick’s Holy Light to complete yet another charge, turned into a flashing meteor the moment it left his hand. Amidst the roars of demons shielding their blinded eyes, the brilliant spear of light struck Xal'atath square in the chest.

Then, a violent explosion engulfed everything.

The holy flames formed during the radiant burst were even brighter than the golden stream of light; the milky-white fire clearly possessed a higher temperature, causing even Xal'atath to scream in agony. He struggled to scramble out of the area scorched by the holy flames, thrashing about like a burning pillar, calling upon a rain of fel-fire to suppress the flames consuming his body.

This shell was merely a vessel for his soul. For a master warlock, the flesh was a burden that could be discarded at any time; the integrity of the soul was paramount. But the problem was that this holy flame was attached to his body and burning his very spirit, which was enough to make even Xal'atath lose his composure.

He knew clearly that Dick’s legendary advancement was complete! The Holy Light had granted him greater power, and he was the first victim of that power.

Indeed, that was the truth. The moment Dick landed the killing blow, and the moment all his strength was drained by that strike, the golden runes jumping before his eyes reconverged, shining as if in celebration:

[External power connected!]
[Power path: Holy Light Primordial Force.]
[Access method: Converge/Strengthen/Blessing.]
[You have proven your morality and vow to the Holy Light; legendary promotion complete!]
[Legendary Talent "Ashbringer" acquired!]
[Demons purged by you will have their souls incinerated, unable to return to the Twisting Nether for resurrection.]
[Legendary Talent "Light-Forged Knight" acquired!]
[The Holy Light grants you the honor of riding a holy warhorse; this mount can change its appearance and abilities according to the situation.]
[Legendary Skill "Avenging Wrath" replaced by "Seraphim"; grants you more powerful explosive holy power enhancement for a short duration.]
[Legendary Skill "Holy Nova" acquired!]
[Your "Holy Prism" and "Hammer of Wrath" skills have been upgraded to more powerful forms, passively applying the "Holy Fire Incineration" effect to enemies.]
[Legendary promotion complete, third profession slot unlocked!]
[Legendary promotion complete, Legendary/Hero class slot unlocked; detected classes available for transfer: "Sun Herald" / "Light-Forged" / "Archon".]
[This transfer requires special material: Holy Remains [2/1].]
[Warning!]
[Individual life status is in an extremely dangerous condition; please evacuate the battlefield immediately!]

"Heh..."

Such a perfect promotion should be celebrated. However, the problem was that Dick had no chance to escape the battlefield now.

To be honest, having fought to this point, he hadn't planned on running anymore.

He had managed to transfer more than half of the Eredar away before Sargeras arrived, averting the total annihilation of the Eredar civilization; he had personally slain four demonic demigods during the thirty-day decisive battle of Argus, forcing Sargeras to intervene personally to clean up the mess! He had transferred the fragments of the Argus world-soul's will, striving to prevent the birth of the Annihilator ten thousand years later.

He hadn't been in this world for long, but he was undoubtedly a true legend!

Ha, this life was worth it!

"Xal'atath! Look at me!"

Dick propped himself up with the blood-stained Naaru shard, utilizing the stamina and holy power restored by the legendary promotion to trigger one last burst. Amidst the cool, radiant glow of the Seraphim, his wings of light turned into milky-white beams behind him, and his whole body seemed to be draped in divine armor.

In his desperate, final charge, he roared like a divine manifestation of the Light:

"You want an answer? I will give you one! Sargeras can kill me, but He cannot scare me! I know where His soul will return, just as I know you will be cast into the abyss! This is the fate you expect and submit to, while I fight against it!"

"Unstoppable! Unblockable!"

"Before it, you and your master are cowards! But I am a fighter!"

"You have no right to stop me, and even less right to judge me!"

"BOOM!"

The blocking demons were pushed back by the holy collision. In the midst of Dick’s pounce, Xal'atath only had time to cast his soul fire. But the Vindicator, having already cast aside his life and death, didn't dodge at all. He took the killing blow head-on and lunged forward. In the agony of his left leg bursting, he pinned Xal'atath’s shoulder with his left hand, and the Naaru shard in his right hand, glowing with brilliant light, savagely pierced the Enlightened One’s fel-driven heart.

"I will send you to hell with my own hands! You weak piece of trash! The moment you chose to betray your people and world for your so-called 'salvation,' you lost all dignity and the right to live!"

He grabbed Xal'atath’s burning skull and ripped it from his spine.

He cursed, "May you spend an eternity in the Maw, may you eventually turn into a pathetic Stygia, and may your foul, cowardly soul deserve only to be tasted by wild dogs... I curse you! You coward who only dared to kneel before the strong to beg for a path to live!"

"However, I have already received the blessing of the Fel, child."

Xal'atath’s skull let out a regretful sound in Dick’s hand. He said, "That was a good fight! Diacum, you are right; a dark soul like mine deserves only to go to hell... So, I wish you a safe journey on our trip to hell together."

"BOOM!"

Pure liquid fel energy erupted from Xal'atath’s torso, like magma being ignited from beneath the earth, instantly swallowing the radiant Dick and the nearby demons who couldn't dodge in time.

Xal'atath destroyed his own torso to bury the last hero of the Eredar civilization. Perhaps out of kindness—he didn't want Dick to face a fate as miserable as his own or Kil'jaeden's. Perhaps out of malice—to use this mutually assured destruction to reduce Dick to ashes.

But it was all over.

A newly ascended legend could not survive such a wash of fel energy.

Dick was dead! The champion of the Holy Light died on the day the Eredar civilization set, sinking into a deep sleep amidst the weeping of the world of Argus... or did he?

"Hmm?"

Dick also thought he was a goner. Xal'atath’s final eruption was too violent; even the ground of the Seat of the Triumvirate shattered because of it. It was the first time he had utilized the power of the "Greater Demon Lord" bestowed upon him to trigger a spectacle of destruction. But Dick opened his eyes amidst the agonizing weakness.

He felt his body had been partially melted, but the call of death had not yet arrived. Through his struggling vision, he saw a thin but wall-like light barrier around him—it was this that had protected him during the final annihilation.

But this was not his own Holy Light.

Dick turned his head with great difficulty and saw Mal'dalan kneeling beside him, as well as the Naaru escape pod rapidly descending from the sky. Beside the old Vindicator were the faint, dissipating points of a teleportation spell.

Mal'dalan had maintained the protective stance, but his life force and all his Holy Light had been poured into this final sanctuary. Through that screen of light, Dick reached out his only remaining left hand, which had been incinerated down to the bone.

He wanted to grasp Mal'dalan’s fingers. But the moment they touched, the old Vindicator’s fingertips began to crumble like wind-blown sand.

"That holy primordial light taught me this trick last night..."

His body was like a weathered statue, full of cracks as it lost its luster. Vindicator Mal'dalan wore a final smile.

He said to Dick, "Although it can only be used once, He was still generous enough to grant me the power to turn and shake fate, just like you, Diacum! He instructed me to come here to save you! Just as He sent you to save us..."

"Dick, no matter how hard the future is, you must remember the Holy Light..."

"He makes us eternal."

In this final farewell, Mal'dalan, who had performed a "Divine Intervention" and traded his life for another, was scattered by the weeping winds of Argus before Dick’s eyes. He had used his one and only chance in life to interfere with the course of fate, saving the person he had to save. Like collapsing quicksand, he remained forever on this land he loved, leaving behind only a battle-scarred Heart of Argus pendant, which Dick gripped in his hand.

"No... don't..."

Dick struggled to gather the ashes. But he had reached his limit.

In his final vision, he saw the children rushing toward him in the beam of light. He saw the weeping Nerei picking him up from the scorching ground, shouting something at him. He saw the strange shards gathered onto his body, held by Farea and Tramon. He saw the crying twins and Imira working together for the first time to cast a teleportation spell, trying to send them back to the escape pod.

His vision swirled.

Dick tried to stay awake, but in the dimming of his spirit, he saw Sargeras above the firmament, and vaguely saw another weak, humanoid radiance waving goodbye to him, as well as a streak of light that cut through the star-sea and vanished in a flash.

It looked exactly like the legendary Primordial Light that tore through the darkness and brought light during the great ordering of Light and Shadow in the universe. Under its illumination, endless fragments of the Argus world-soul were scattered into the star-sea.

Like twinkling starlight, and also like meteors flying in reverse. Every Eredar who left was a star; the starlight they gathered would eventually form a lighthouse, illuminating the way home for the wanderers.

"I'm sorry..." he said.

"There is no need for that; you have done very well, Diacum," said that voice.

"Rest now, my brave child. May you be treated kindly by fate, and may your journey be smooth."

And so, in the farewell of the Argus world-soul baby, the exhausted soul fell into a deep sleep. Just as he had when he first arrived in this world.

——————

"I command you! Shoot it down!!!"

The disheveled Dreadlord Tichondrius, his wings mangled by Dick, roared at the Mo'arg engineers at a fel cannon emplacement:

"Shoot down that Naaru escape pod! Don't let them leave! The Dark Titan is watching!"

The Dreadlord’s eyes were full of resentment. He didn't want the last of the Eredar to escape the battlefield so brazenly. In his heart, he cursed that the so-called Enlightened One was truly a piece of trash, unable to finish off even a small Vindicator who had just entered the legendary rank, completely forgetting the embarrassing fact that he had tried to ambush Dick with the power of a demigod and had been smashed by the opponent with a single blow.

That was no ordinary Vindicator...

The Mo'arg engineers dared not defy the command of a greater demon. It immediately drove the biological fel cannon to aim at the gem-like Naaru escape pod hovering above the battlefield. But just as it was about to fire, a terrifying shadow unfolded behind it.

The Mo'arg was scared to death. It turned its head to see an Eredar with crimson skin and wings on his back staring at it coldly, and then it died. This was the price for rudely staring at a greater demon lord.

"Kil'jaeden! What are you doing?" Tichondrius cursed. "Are you going to let the enemies go? Who gave you the gall!"

"He promised me!"

The ascended Kil'jaeden remained expressionless. Appointed by the Dark Titan himself as the commander of the Burning Legion, he didn't care about the Dreadlord’s personal vendettas, simply saying, "Do you want to go against the will of the Dark Titan? At least for today, no more Eredar will die in this world, because He promised me! Also, Tichondrius! You incompetent fool, you should address me as 'Commander'!"

"But I forgive you for your rudeness, you pathetic, failing trash."

"Get out! Don't appear in front of me, at least not today."

The Dreadlord looked furious. But under the cold gaze of the surrounding Man'ari warriors who were holding weapons, gathering in greater numbers, and looking at him as if he were already a dead man, he finally dissipated into a cloud of bats. He didn't even dare to let out a fart of dissatisfaction.

"Talgath."

Kil'jaeden watched as the escape pod flew back into the high sky and disappeared into the gloomy clouds. He said to the ferocious but still loyal Man'ari leader behind him:

"Send something to them for me..."

"Is it a souvenir, Commander?"

"No, it is a declaration of war! It is a warning, and even more so, an intimidation. Of course, you can also interpret it as a souvenir; after all, I... no longer have any use for it."

***

Ps1: The most enduring legend about the Brilliant Sun diamond concerns the forging of the Ashbringer. For many years, most players and even some official sources were convinced that the holy crystal Mograine used to forge the Ashbringer was the legendary Brilliant Sun diamond. This is actually a very romantic and narratively reasonable theory. However, I don't know if the developers were drunk, but they didn't adopt this wonderful rumor when they introduced the Brilliant Sun; instead, they arranged it as a racial side quest for the Allied Races. The text reveals that the Brilliant Sun has actually been on Argus the whole time, kept by the Man'ari. Frankly, this text, clearly written by someone who likes to indulge in self-amusement, greatly diminished the prestige of the Atar'mal Crystal and the Ashbringer. However, according to the Chronicles and current player speculation, the "Dark Crystal" used to forge the Ashbringer likely came from the Void crystal on the body of the Dark Star, K'ara. This thing is roughly on the same level as the Atar'mal Crystal. After all, nobody knows which level of Naaru the Atar'mal Crystal came from, so if this theory turns out to be true, the prestige of this artifact isn't too bad after all.