The world has changed; only black and white remain.
When Robbie awoke from his coma, he initially thought he had become colorblind.
Seeing the golden Holy Light at his fingertips, Robbie breathed a sigh of relief.
A powerful force enveloped Robbie, Robbie felt the world slow down, like a slideshow playing frame by frame. Even he felt the same way, his arm rising little by little, a frustratingly slow motion.
After a while, Robbie realized that it wasn't the world that had changed, but rather that his own thinking had become faster.
The beautiful female corpse was gone, and nine strange figures wearing crowns and tattered imperial robes surrounded her.
These strange figures had little flesh and blood left, just skin-covered skeletons, lying haphazardly, with grayish-white light flickering in their eye sockets. They held weapons such as swords and staffs, engraved with mysterious Runes, most of which were already destroyed.
Judging from their appearances, one could vaguely discern that there were elderly people, men in their prime, and even a young boy among them. Their injuries varied in severity, and they all looked disheveled.
The surrounding area had clearly been the site of a fierce battle; the walls and floors were damaged in many places, as if ravaged by a terrifying beast. Most notably, there was a depression about three meters in diameter and more than one meter deep in the stone floor, cracked outwards like a spider web, with a clear fist imprint at the deepest point in the center.
Robbie thought the mark looked a lot like his fist.
That's amazing!
He is definitely not human.
"This is a terrifying monster disguised as a human."
"The Power of the Holy Light is far too great; it's completely incompatible with our own power."
"Damn it, he absorbed our spiritual energy. He must have been sent by Azeroth to target us."
"Oh no, he's awake."
"Abandon this place, take our belongings, erase all traces, destroy all runes of the Runes of the Dead. We cannot allow Azeroth to discover the world of the dead."
"But what about our plans? The world of the dead needs a lot of souls."
"I don't want to give up either, but unfortunately this place is about to fall, so I have to make other plans."
Hearing the sound of the Runes, Robbie looked in the direction of the sound and saw thirty-six black Runes floating in the air.
Mysterious Runes, shrouded in an ominous aura, carried a dark, Power of Death.
"These Runes are very useful to me," a strange thought suddenly popped into my head.
As if responding to Robbie's decision, his mental energy began to operate uncontrollably, and the vast mental energy surrounding Robbie was rapidly being consumed. Referring to the thirty-six Black Runes in the air, one by one, Runes of the Dead condensed deep within Robbie's consciousness.
The old man wearing the crown raised his staff and quickly wiped away the Runes in the air, but he couldn't keep up with Robbie's speed in condensing them.
"Oh no! The barrier's power has been breached, and the power of Azeroth has invaded!"
A sound like tearing cloth rang out, a large hole appeared in the wall behind them, all the symbols on the wall went out, and a gentle yet domineering power spread out.
Black and white gradually melt away, replaced by vibrant colors.
With twelve Runes remaining, the colorful pattern was about to spread to the old man, who anxiously stomped his feet repeatedly.
"It's too late, what should we do?"
"It's alright. These twelve Runes of the Dead don't contain information about the World of the Dead. We can leave them to Azeroth. Runes of the Dead can only be used by the dead; they are not a power that the living can wield. And Azeroth is the world of the living."
Old man Wang Guan hurriedly retreated, disappearing into the mysterious black door at the very back.
These crowned dead were extremely efficient. Before the power of Azeroth could invade, they worked together to erase all traces, leaving only rubble and stones. There was no indication that a great battle had taken place. The fist marks on the ground were also destroyed, and the originally scattered Holy Light energy and the black and white intertwined Power of Death all disappeared.
Robbie slowly leaned against the wall and sat down. After completing the thirty Runes, his mental energy was severely depleted, and he felt dizzy, with a series of booming sounds in his ears and a heavy, uncomfortable feeling in his head.
After an unknown amount of time, Robbie opened his eyes and saw Arthas looking at him with concern.
"It's good that you're alright. Luckily, I've mastered the powerful Power of the Holy Light." The Holy Light on Arthas's right hand slowly faded, and he didn't forget to boast a little. Robbie was able to wake up so quickly thanks to Arthas's Holy Light healing.
"What brings you here, Your Prince?"
"I couldn't sleep, so I wanted to come talk to you, but I found you and the female corpse under the bed have disappeared." Arthas feigned anger. "You kidnapped my little lover, of course I had to come after you."
Arthas looked around, puzzled.
"I'm very familiar with Undercity; I've played here since I was a kid. I've never seen this room before. I remember it was a dead end. Robbie, how did you find this place?"
"If I said your lover brought me here, would you believe me?" Robbie said irritably.
This time, I was really badly harmed by that female corpse. If it weren't for the Mysterious Blood within me erupting, I probably would have died in this unknown corner.
Although Runes of the Dead, Robbie didn't know what they were for. The thirty-six Runes lay Anjing in his sea of consciousness, completely beyond his control.
I believe you.
Arthas said with some annoyance:
"The female corpses that followed me, without exception, all eventually disappeared into Undercity. But this is the first time I've brought other people in. By the way, what's going on here? Where are the female corpses hiding now?"
Robbie hesitated for a moment. He wanted to say that he had seen nine mysterious crowned figures, who were the nine missing Kings of Lordaeron, but he found it difficult to explain how he had defeated them.
Robbie didn't want to be mistaken for a monster, as that could easily cause him to lose hard-won friends.
"I followed the woman's body in and immediately passed out. I don't know what happened," Robbie said.
Arthas didn't suspect anything; his attention was completely drawn to the Runes floating in the air.
"Twelve mental energy Runes, hmm, interesting."
Arthas's azure pupils glowed slightly, Runes of the Dead.
He channeled his spiritual energy and condensed the first Rune.
"Oh no, the Runes are drawing my blood!"
Arthas's face turned pale, and he dissipated the Runes as quickly as possible.
"Blood?"
Robbie also became interested and carefully examined the twelve Runes.
The first Rune contains the power of blood, capable of stealing the life force of both the opponent and oneself; the second Rune exudes a chilling aura; and the third Rune is entwined with an Evil presence.
Blood, Frost, Evil —could these be the three Runes Death Knight wields?
So what about the remaining thirty-three Runes?
Unfortunately, these Runes cause immense damage to the user after use; they are a double-edged sword, capable of killing a thousand enemies while injuring eight hundred of one's own. They are indeed only suitable for use on the dead.
Arthas circled the twelve Runes, sometimes lost in thought, sometimes pondering deeply. Occasionally, he would risk condensing one or two Runes, but having learned from his previous mistake, he was much more cautious and dared not condense a complete Rune.
"I see." Arthas's face lit up with elation as he carefully put away the twelve Runes.
"What use do you have for Rune for the dead?"
"Robbie, you're wrong. Actually, we can use these Runes," Arthas said smugly, holding up three fingers. "At least, we can use three of Rune."