The Grand Capital was a fortress of polished granite and white marble, dazzling in its virtuous splendor. At its highest point, the Aetherium University towered—a monolithic structure of shimmering, rune-inscribed walls.
Kael'thas and Theon, now uneasy travelling companions, stood before the massive main gate. It was flanked by statues of the Four Heroes—Seraphin, the Paladin, and the three others who had pierced his essence three centuries ago.
Theon spoke, his voice hushed. "This is it, Vane. The pinnacle."
Kael'thas stared up at the university's central spire, recognizing the subterranean architecture beneath the flawless stone. The main lecture hall, the Sanctum of Heroes, was directly above his former Throne of Final Decree.
"Pinnacle?" Kael'thas murmured, a dark reverence in his voice. "It is a tomb."
He stepped through the gate. The threshold shimmered with a potent anti-magic ward—a powerful sensor designed to neutralize any unauthorized magical signatures.
The ward washed over Elara Vane. It registered the minute, acceptable magic of a young, talented human scholar. The Arch-Fiend essence, cloaked in Elara's compliance and hidden beneath layers of adapted Binding Theory, passed through undetected.
Kael'thas took a deep, steadying breath of the clean, scholarly air. He stood in the heart of the Hero Faction's power, within the walls built over his own ruined command center. He was surrounded by the descendants of his conquerors, disguised as a timid student.
They think I have come to study, Kael'thas thought, looking down at Elara's small, trembling hands, which now possessed the power to arrest time. They are wrong. I have come to research the vulnerabilities of my former executioners.
The second life of the Arch-Fiend, Lord Kael'thas, had begun right on top of his old grave.
The story now moves to the Aetherium University, placing Kael'thas/Elara directly among the world's most powerful magic users and the Hero Faction's archives.