When the Dark Seether blazed with fire, no enemy dared stand before its wielder, no being wished to test the sharpness of this broken sword with their own body or defenses.
The fools who had tried such a thing in the past had undoubtedly added to the sword's fearsome reputation.
Vanaar watched the little speck wielding the sword slaughtering his minions, and he felt both grief and terror.
Even such a minuscule being, when holding this sword, could directly threaten him, a powerful ancient god who had existed for countless millennia.
"Stop, stop!" Vanaar shouted as he retreated. "Human, I have a proposal!"
Given his consistently poor impression of the ancient gods, Aiden had no intention of stopping.
Who knew what insidious schemes these fellows, skilled at bewitching hearts, would seize the opportunity to carry out?
Besides, if they wanted to survive in this shattered world, they could only free Ansu from the ancient gods' curse.
Regardless of the reasons, he was not prepared to accept any of Vanaar's proposals.
When Vanaar saw that Aiden had no intention of stopping, but instead continued to wield the Dark Seether and wreak havoc, he felt a wave of dizziness.
"We can cooperate, human! We can deal with the Burning Legion first!" Vanaar shouted, "These demons destroyed this world, they are our common enemy!"
"Deal with the Burning Legion first?" Aiden hesitated.
This proposal was worth considering—if he put aside his subjective feelings, the ancient gods hadn't influenced or hindered the Outland Allied Forces' actions, while the Burning Legion had always been Aiden's mortal enemy.
More importantly, when he wielded the Dark Seether, the ancient gods' legions became completely vulnerable.
The demons, obviously aware of the sword's power, immediately retreated when they saw him obtain it, and were now watching from the sidelines.
With the sword in his possession, he could deal with the ancient gods at any time, but if Kil'jaeden escaped, who knew when he would be able to find him again!
Kil'jaeden had originally been watching the show from the sidelines, quite happy to see Aiden and the ancient gods clash.
Regardless of who was harmed, he would be the ultimate beneficiary.
Hearing Vanaar drag him into it, and seeing the person wielding the broken sword hesitate, he immediately shouted, "You need to think this through, Aiden!
The ancient gods are the common enemy of all forces.
The Pantheon and the Burning Legion may have different stances, but they are completely united in opposing the ancient gods.
They are the instigators of the 'End Time'!"
"End Time again?" Aiden heard this term once more.
Not long ago it was from Archimonde, and now it was Kil'jaeden.
Clearly, both of them believed that the End Time was a cataclysm caused by the ancient gods.
"When the End Time arrives, all worlds will be destroyed!" Kil'jaeden said grimly.
"The Titans use their methods to restrain the ancient gods, and we use our own.
You need to think clearly, my feud with you is merely personal, but once you are seduced by the ancient gods, you will stand against everyone!"
Aiden immediately reacted.
Regardless of whether Kil'jaeden was telling the truth or not, one thing was certain: he couldn't be bewitched by the ancient gods—Deathwing was a cautionary tale.
He couldn't believe anything Vanaar said.
Once he believed the other party once, there would be a second time, and in the end, he might really be brainwashed by Vanaar!
Vanaar watched as the ally he wanted to win over was instantly won over by the Burning Legion.
He was truly hoisting himself by his own petard.
He hurriedly argued, "It's different!
You're talking about the corrupted ancient gods, they are different from us original ancient gods!
The corrupted ancient gods are also our enemies!
I am also resisting the End Time!"
Aiden didn't know what to say.
Clearly, both Kil'jaeden and Vanaar were very clear about the nature of the End Time, only he was an outsider.
But he held the power to completely change the balance of power between the two, so both sides wanted to win him over to defeat the other.
Aiden shouted, "I don't know who to believe, tell me more, I will judge for myself!"
He felt this was an opportunity to learn more secrets.
A dangerous glint flashed in Kil'jaeden's eyes.
He liked to play tricks, but that was to fool his enemies, not to be played by them.
He had an impulse to recall the Dark Seether using Sargeras' soul container—at worst, no one would use it.
But seeing Vanaar before him, he decided to restrain himself as much as possible.
"Vanaar, your defense is clumsy," Kil'jaeden turned to Vanaar.
"Where did the first corrupted ancient god come from?
They emerged from among you, those who claim to be original ancient gods; you say that you and the corrupted ancient gods are enemies, but how can you be so sure that you won't be corrupted?
You say you are resisting the End Time, but the fact proves that there are more and more corrupted ancient gods in the universe, while your kind are becoming fewer and fewer."
He glanced in Aiden's direction, this speech was almost tailor-made for this fellow.
"You will all eventually transform into corrupters.
You simply have no ability to resist corruption!"
Kil'jaeden looked directly at Vanaar, his words as sharp as knives.
"I...I..." Although Vanaar was physically large, he couldn't help but take two steps back under Kil'jaeden's questioning.
"We original ancient gods will find a way to resist corruption!"
Kil'jaeden sneered, he looked at Aiden, "I believe you already have enough judgment of your own."
Aiden was silent for a moment.
From the two, he learned that the ancient gods were also divided into two categories.
One was the original ancient gods like Vanaar, who seemed to be harmless; the other was the corrupted ancient gods like the ones on Azeroth, who were the culprits behind the End Time.
After learning more information, he had even more doubts.
"Why are the original ancient gods corrupted?
What power is corrupting them?
Also, what exactly is the End Time?" Aiden asked three questions in a row.
"The first question," Kil'jaeden replied, "because the dark forces in the depths of the universe are sprouting, and the ancient gods infected by them will be corrupted."
"The second question, it is the power of destruction in the universe that attempts to subvert all existence and obliterate this universe that is corrupting them."
"The third question, 'End Time' is the scene where the power of the ancient gods subverts all worlds—the real world, the Twisting Nether, the past, the future, matter, spirit, all spaces are polluted by the ancient gods and their minions.
This is the End Time!"
Aiden slowly digested this information.
From Kil'jaeden's explanation, he saw a completely different world.
Deathwing's world-destroying seemed to have a new explanation: this was likely just the "End Time" of the planet Azeroth in the myriad worlds of the great universe.
And in the future, other worlds would also be subverted under the pollution of the corrupted ancient gods.
This power would even invade the Twisting Nether, and even all timelines, even changing the past.
But why would there be such a power?
"No!" Vanaar suddenly shouted, "Kil'jaeden, this is just your or the Titans' one-sided understanding of the End Time!"
This plant-based ancient god was extremely nervous, he could already feel that Aiden was now inclined to join forces with the Burning Legion.
Even if not, at least Aiden would fully attack him and his legions.
This was not the ending he wanted.
Hearing Vanaar's denial, Aiden cast a doubtful look over.
It seemed that the Titans and demons had the same understanding of the End Time, but it was still different from what the ancient gods knew about the End Time?
Seeing Aiden look over, Vanaar immediately explained:
"To the entire great universe, the Titans and demons, and even all other species, are latecomers or outsiders!
You simply don't understand the essence of the universe!"
"Why are the original ancient gods corrupted?
What power is corrupting them?
Kil'jaeden, your Burning Legion's and the Pantheon's answers are all wrong!"
Vanaar's opening was like a thunderbolt from the blue:
"The power that corrupts the ancient gods is indeed the power of destruction in the universe.
But this power is not purely for destruction, it exists to correct 'errors'!
Only when errors cannot be corrected will this power attempt to reshape the universe!"
"When the end of time arrives, all worlds will return to the correct path. You saw the corrupted Old Gods invade all worlds and alter the past and future, and that was real! But when all of this is complete, the corrupted Old Gods will have fulfilled their mission! After the errors are eliminated, the universe will be completely reshaped in the power of destruction, and everything will start anew! The Old Gods and their minions will also be completely destroyed!"
Aiden felt it was utterly absurd. According to Vanaar, the actions of the corrupted Old Gods were to destroy the universe and then allow all worlds to be reborn?
In this way, the Old Gods become tools born for destruction, discarded after use, and ultimately contributing to the reshaping of the universe.
It sounds noble—but the cost is the annihilation of all living beings.
Aiden finally asked, "What is the error?"
Vanaar was silent for a moment. He looked at Kil'jaeden, then turned to Aiden and replied, "We are also not sure what the error is."
He seemed a little confused, "But I know one thing—when our original Old Gods first sensed the power of destruction, the world began to evolve, Titans and countless gods began to be born, and living beings began to appear in the monotonous world."
He looked at Aiden, "I don't know if this conclusion is correct: but according to our observations, when the universe becomes diverse and completely different from before, that destructive power has been growing—and the corrupted Old Gods have also increased. And their mission is to eliminate all things that were born after our original Old Gods sensed the changes in the world! So our original Old Gods speculate that these may be the 'errors,' or a part of the 'errors.'"
Kil'jaeden suddenly said at this time: "Did you hear that? This destructive force is going to destroy all existence except for the Old Gods!"
Aiden knew that Kil'jaeden was right. The three questions he had when he learned that the Old Gods were divided into factions had been answered. Perhaps there were some biased words, but it was enough for him to obtain a considerable amount of information.
But when the old questions were answered, new questions followed.
Is it wrong for the universe to be diverse? Is it true that the universe must return to peace and simplicity to avoid disaster?
Or is the power of destruction the life cycle of the universe? When the age of the great universe increases, it will also age and eventually be reborn in destruction?
Aiden felt that he had more questions, but even Vanaar and Kil'jaeden could not provide answers to these questions.
He began to consider his position:
Kil'jaeden came for the Old Gods, and Aiden should not obstruct his actions to eliminate the Old Gods;
And Vanaar is not some fallen Old God. It sounds like he should be an uncorrupted original Old God. He doesn't need to kill a god who is at least harmless at the moment.
After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to help neither side.
Let them fight it out themselves! But there is one condition—
"Vanaar!"
Aiden shouted to this huge Old God, "My friend, Anzu, the Raven God, said that only by killing you can he unlock the curse of the Old Gods on his body. If you can take the initiative to remove the curse on him, I can consider not being your enemy!"
"I agree!" Vanaar hurriedly shouted, and he explained, "If it weren't for him and another little bird using the power of the Titans to try to kill me, I wouldn't have provoked them."
Kil'jaeden frowned upon seeing Aiden's decision:
"So, you are going to cooperate with him?"
"I decided to help neither side!" Aiden took two steps back to show that he was unwilling to intervene in the battle between the two major legions.
"Then return the sword to me." Kil'jaeden said in a deep voice.
"Are you talking about it?" Aiden showed the broken sword in his hand, "I'm afraid not, Your Excellency. If you use it against me, where can I find a weapon that can match it to resist?"
"I can guarantee that I will not use it against you and your people in this world."
"I remember your title—the Deceiver!" Aiden would not be foolish enough to believe Kil'jaeden's guarantee.
With this sword, he can restrain the Burning Legion or any other enemy. Return it to Kil'jaeden? Only a fool would do that!
"Alright, the curse has been lifted!" Vanaar hurriedly interjected. The current result was the situation he was most willing to see: the person holding the Dark Seether does not become his enemy, and Kil'jaeden, without the Dark Seether, would be difficult to threaten his foundation!
"Don't lie to me!" Aiden raised the broken sword to show his power.
"Of course not! I am a reputable Old God!" Vanaar hurriedly shouted.
"Then, goodbye, you two!" Aiden prepared to leave here.
"I'm afraid you can't leave." Kil'jaeden's voice came.
He has now completely given up his luck. Aiden will not voluntarily return the Dark Seether, then he can only take it back himself.
Kil'jaeden took out the bronze disc, "That sword does not belong to you!"
Aiden immediately knew that it was Sargeras' soul container when he saw the bronze disc—Kil'jaeden was obviously prepared!
At this time, a piece of rune information was transmitted to his mind:
"Recall Order"
"From: Sargeras Data Disc"
"Verification Authority: Ordinary Authority"
"Authority Conflict"
"Enable Forced Recall"
In the next moment, the Dark Seether left him like this.
Aiden only felt surrounded by a huge sense of emptiness, and the feeling of being able to fight the whole world alone disappeared without a trace.
The broken sword automatically flew to the bronze disc. Kil'jaeden put away the disc and took a deep look at Aiden. Because of the authority conflict, Kil'jaeden, who only had secondary authority, would not be able to use the Dark Seether again for a long time.
And all of this was because of the appearance of this human.
But Kil'jaeden was obviously not prepared to let Aiden know the truth. He deliberately showed an arrogant smile: "I said, this sword does not belong to you!"
He held the Dark Seether in his hand and used illusion to imitate the illusion that it was ignited by the fire of destruction after it was activated.
Then Kil'jaeden faced Aiden: "You should feel what it's like to be an enemy of this sword."
Aiden immediately remembered that when he held this sword, no one could resist its terrifying power.
He didn't want to use Divine Protection to test whether this sword could break through the invincible protection.
"Quick, retreat!" he shouted.
Kassadin saw the opportunity and immediately dragged him away, using Void Walk to escape from here. He, who had been lurking, finally came in handy.
Aiden saw Kil'jaeden chasing after him, and he was very nervous, fearing that the sword energy that filled thousands of meters would suddenly attack him. And apart from Divine Protection, he couldn't think of any other means that could barely resist the power of that sword.
But he had a hunch that even if he turned on the shield, he might not be able to resist the fire of destruction from the Dark Seether.
Fortunately, Kil'jaeden took a few steps and found that Kassadin was taking the target further and further away, so he finally stopped and turned his target to Vanaar.
Aiden breathed a sigh of relief, wiped his sweat, and said to the others who were meeting him: "It was really close, that sword was too terrifying!"
"Then let's leave quickly!"
"Agreed!"
After leaving the battlefield on a flying ship, Aiden reacted after a while. He patted his head in annoyance: "We were tricked by Kil'jaeden!"
Krasus asked: "What's wrong?"
"Do you remember? Kil'jaeden clearly has the ability to teleport, but he didn't use it at all when he chased me. He deliberately let me leave!"
"Why did he do that?"
"Because," Aiden smiled bitterly, "he probably can't activate that sword."
Kassadin nodded in agreement: "That's right, I can feel that the sword in his hand did not exert the energy fluctuations that the summoner should have used."
"It's an illusion." Malzahar finally concluded.
"Forget it, we were going to leave anyway." Aiden could only comfort himself in this way, "It's just a pity, it would be great if we could really take that sword away!"
He understood that this was just a fantasy. Kil'jaeden holds Sargeras' soul container, even if he masters that sword again, he cannot compete with the sword's original owner for control.