The surrounding atmosphere began transforming into something from a necromancer's fever dream, as if reality itself was being smothered under a blanket of supernatural darkness. Everything within sight became veiled in what appeared to be malevolent black snow, while the bone-chilling aura radiating from Frostmourne drained the life from half of Eversong Forest, leaving it the color of a corpse's complexion.
Sinister black veins reflected in Dar'khan's emerald eyes—telltale signs of someone who'd been intimate with dark magic far longer than was healthy, though he usually concealed this damning evidence with magical trinkets and careful illusions.
Absolutely correct—the mightiest fortress crumbles fastest when the termites are already eating it from within.
Not a single soul would have suspected that Dar'khan Drathir, guardian of their precious magical barrier and esteemed member of the Silvermoon Council, was actually a corrupted zealot who worshipped dark magic and lusted after "eternal life" with the desperation of a drowning man!
The most shocking revelation? He wasn't even a card-carrying member of the Cult of the Damned.
This was a delicious surprise that Lich King Ner'zhul stumbled upon during one of his casual divine reconnaissance sweeps of Quel'Thalas. The two villains bonded faster than thieves discovering a mutual love of treasure.
As a Silvermoon Parliament member, Dar'khan's political advancement had hit a concrete ceiling harder than a troll's head. He could neither ascend to the Solar Council nor seize the royal throne, and facing his inevitable mortal expiration date, he seethed with the fury of a caged beast.
That festering paranoia and bottomless hunger for power had dragged him into damnation one compromising step at a time.
The most prosperous kingdoms invariably nurture the most spectacular corruption.
Dar'khan was undoubtedly the crown jewel of treachery.
This massive magical defense network that had cost Quel'Thalas a king's ransom in resources, manpower, and gold couldn't possibly be entrusted to one individual—even someone as trusted as Dar'khan. However, neither the Sun King nor the Silvermoon Council anticipated that the secondary magical key rested in the capable hands of the shrewd Ranger General Lor'themar Theron. Lor'themar, Dar'khan, and the Elf Paladin Liadrin who'd defected to Duke were closer than siblings!
Dar'khan had swindled the magical access key with the ease of taking candy from a particularly gullible child.
The magical foundation of the Eversong Woods barrier naturally drew power from mana veins extending from the Sunwell itself. Dar'khan applied the Lich King's corrupted teachings to reverse-engineer the entire system with diabolic efficiency.
Not only did he shatter their magical protection, but he weaponized the very power meant to defend them, creating a colossal interdimensional gateway that rivaled the infamous Dark Portal in scope. This allowed millions of elite Scourge forces assembled in Dalaran to teleport over 2,000 kilometers instantly, materializing in Eversong Forest's heart like a divine army of destruction.
Watching Arthas stride toward him and receiving praise from the Death Knight commander, Dar'khan trembled with ecstatic anticipation. "Your appreciation overwhelms me, Your Majesty the Lich King, and your praise honors me beyond measure, Lord Arthas. Might I inquire about the promise you made regarding my... compensation?"
"Patience, ambitious fool! Come, place your hand upon Frostmourne's hilt!" Arthas suddenly drove the cursed blade into the earth with theatrical flair. Everyone present could feel supernatural cold spreading through the ground like liquid death seeking victims.
The quivering Dar'khan hesitated momentarily, but quickly realized that betraying the high elves had burned every bridge behind him—his only path led deeper into darkness. Gritting his teeth, he grasped the legendary sword's hilt with both hands, and surprisingly, his fingers weren't severed by the blade's edge. Instead, the racing coldness from the cursed weapon claimed his life faster than a striking viper.
Dar'khan was deceased.
Yet death proved merely an intermission, not a finale.
Behind his newly frozen corpse, a lich materialized in flowing blue and white robes. Despite his ghastly transformation, keen observers could still recognize the pale, bluish features of Antonidas, former Archmage of Dalaran, who'd traded his humanity to become the most powerful lich among the undead legions.
Old Antonidas extended his skeletal hand and placed it against the thin ice coating Dar'khan's back.
Rather than touching solid matter, the lich's palm passed through the ice as if it were liquid, reaching directly to the frozen traitor's spine.
"Magical circuits... reconstruction commencing! Expanding pathways... excellent raw material!" Within mere heartbeats, Lich Antonidas withdrew his hand, and the ice encasing Dar'khan exploded like a magical grenade.
"Magnificent! Is this death's intoxicating power? Is this the ecstasy of immortality!? Glorious! How absolutely delicious! How magnificently addictive it makes me feel!"
Dar'khan returned to unlife as one of the undead. The final traces of warm blood had drained from his flesh, and the elements dancing in his palms had transformed entirely into writhing dark energy.
"Analysis?" Arthas inquired with casual interest.
"A lich who transforms willingly possesses at least thirty percent greater power than one created through force," Antonidas reported with clinical detachment.
"Excellent news!" The Fallen Prince laughed with genuine delight.
At that moment, Dar'khan was astounded to discover that Arthas still hadn't withdrawn Frostmourne from the earth!
Beneath their feet, what had begun as gentle rustling transformed into massive vibrations that felt like geological surfing.
What in the name of all hells was Arthas accomplishing?
This demonic prince who'd murdered his own father and mentor while condemning millions across multiple continents to hellish torment now wore a grin that could terrify demons themselves.
"I've despised high elves since childhood. Back then, I wondered how my father could claim the Menethil royal bloodline was the most noble in existence when these creatures considered themselves superior to me? So I've been absolutely dying to witness the expressions on those self-proclaimed aristocrats' faces when their precious protective shell gets smashed to splinters!"
If anyone possessed the ability to see through solid earth, they would observe the magical energy flowing through mana veins—stretching from Sunstrider Isle to Silvermoon City, then from the capital to Eversong Forest—rapidly transforming from scorching hot currents into streams of glacial magical death.
Antonidas employed his mastery of magical circles to reverse this massive torrent of arcane power. The energy became corrupted beneath Arthas' cursed blade, then flowed in complete opposition toward Silvermoon City.
"Witness this spectacle! All you self-proclaimed noble long-eared pretenders, descend to hell! And afterward—I demand every last one of you grovel at my feet like the insects you truly are!"
Fire clashed with ice!
Two completely opposing magical forces collided underground with the sound of reality being torn apart. In that cataclysmic instant, the entire foundation of Eversong Forest blazed with magical energy. From the forest's center extending north to south, the five-kilometer-wide woodland became densely saturated with magical runes alternating between blazing yellow and glacial white.
Throughout the forest, underground illumination flickered like a supernatural strobe light. An aerial view would reveal a massive magical network resembling tree roots spreading beneath the entire woodland.
"! Flee for your lives!" Sylvanas managed to scream this warning.
Tragically, how many souls could possibly escape in such impossibly brief moments?
In the south, the magical devastation passed through the Eastern Temple and extended beyond the forest boundaries, while in the north, it carved straight through Silvermoon City's heart. A colossal barrier of energy erupted from underground and stretched to the heavens, bisecting the entire Elven Kingdom like a cosmic blade.
As if the universe had paused to savor the moment, an absolutely catastrophic explosion detonated across the land.