"No!"
Magni raised his hand, stopping the two children from trying to persuade him. "I am the King of the Dwarves, we are the sons of the Titans, and deeply connected to the earth. This should be done by me."
Brann heartily agreed with his older brother's words, just like every time he went on an adventure, he always took the lead and never hid behind others!
"That's right, children, we Bronzebeard dwarves would never let others face unknown dangers while we hide in a safe place!"
"Oh, right, right, right. Then, in a high-profile place, you hold this ceremony, and then your whole person turns into a glittering diamond man. That's your destiny, old Bronzebeard!"
These mocking words instantly enraged old Magni. Just as he was about to blow his beard and glare, ready to teach this disrespectful person a lesson, he saw the person clearly, and his expression instantly changed.
"Hahaha! Galen, you've arrived!"
Magni and Brann rushed to the entrance of the Royal Hall with joyful expressions, giving Galen a big hug!
"Welcome to Ironforge, Galen!"
Brann blurted out, "Where's the booze, Galen? I know you must have brought some with you. The Bronzebeard family's stock has already been distributed to the clansmen, and we've been parched for ages!"
"It's all with Muradin. You can go ask him for it."
"Ahhh! Muradin, you dare hog it all! I knew there was something fishy about you volunteering to welcome Galen. Hand over the fine wine!"
The combined age of the three Bronzebeard brothers is four figures, and now they're still acting disrespectfully in front of their two grandchildren.
Galen ignored them and stepped forward to examine the two children. They possessed the aura of Ysennah and Karados.
"Anduin? Thorgrimm?"
Galen recognized them by the totem poles hanging from their waists.
"That's us, Uncle Galen!"
"Mm, good children!"
Galen reached out and patted the heads of the two children respectively.
After praising them, Galen turned around and interrupted the three Bronzebeard brothers who were wrestling together. Then, the six of them, four adults and two children, found a room to sit down. The adults began to share the fine wine, and the two children enjoyed roasted lamb, Dalaran cheese, and grapes.
After Magni took a huge gulp of fine wine, he asked, "Galen, you said if I perform this ancient ritual, I'll become a large diamond man?"
Galen wasn't like Magni, who hadn't had alcohol in centuries. Plus, with two admiring youngsters present, he had to be elegant.
Galen picked up his wine glass, took a small sip, and then slowly said, "Didn't you already know that humans, dwarves, and gnomes all come from the same source? We are the products of the stone vrykul, earthen, and mechagnomes after the Curse of Flesh."
"Yes, after returning from Uldaman and Ulduar, I told them about the origin of the dwarves, that we dwarves are the descendants of the earthen. But what does this have to do with the ritual on the stone tablet?" Brann said, grabbing his large mug and taking a hearty gulp of ale.
Magni and Muradin also stopped and waited for Galen to continue.
Galen took the translated text from Magni's hand and read it out loud: "Listen, we are the earthen, spirits of the land... For those unwilling to return home... You shall return to your former appearance, you shall return to your old home, you shall become one with the mountains."
"Dwarves are creations of the Titans. If Magni, you pass the ritual, then you will restore your former appearance, at the cost of your life, because this ritual can lift the Curse of Flesh in your bloodline, restoring the earthen's stone body, and the hardest kind at that."
Diamond body!
In short: Diamond Man.
After Galen finished speaking, he scanned Magni from head to toe, then muttered to himself, "Actually, becoming a diamond man isn't bad. This way, your whole body is impervious to blades and fire, and you can maintain eternal life. It's practically a godhood ritual!"
Anduin and Thorgrimm, hearing Galen's last few words, their eyes lit up with a look of eagerness to try.
Pa!
Pa!
Muradin gave Anduin and Thorgrimm each a flick on the forehead, then sternly educated them, "A tall building rises from the ground. All strength needs to be accumulated step by step through your own efforts. That kind of unearned power will only harm you!"
"Understood, Teacher Muradin!"
"Mm!"
At this time, Magni also reacted, and even imagined himself shining brightly all over.
"Ah! No, I refuse!"
Magni shuddered and quickly refused.
Brann also shook his head at this time and said, "We only care about the origin of the dwarves and don't want to reclaim the mission of the dwarven ancestors. I think you humans are the same."
"That's right, reversing the Curse of Flesh and returning to the pure Titan creation state does indeed grant a hard body and eternal life."
Galen wasn't surprised by the Bronzebeard brothers' choice. They were all rational people.
"We've discovered the Curse of Flesh until now, and tens of thousands of years have passed. We have our own way of life. Once we return to the origin, we'll be forcibly modified into pure stone vrykul and pure earthen, losing our original emotions and rationality, becoming a creation that only follows the procedures set by the Titans!"
This was what the Bronzebeard brothers couldn't accept the most. If the result of the ritual could be reversed at will, such as like opening the Avatar state, turning into a diamond man during battle, and returning to a flesh-and-blood body after the battle, then the Bronzebeard brothers would probably compete to be the first to perform such a ritual.
For rationalists like them, ensuring free will was the most important thing.
As for the mission, that's the earthen's business. What does it have to do with us dwarves!
"Very good!"
As the last grape popped into Anduin's mouth and the last drop of ale flowed into Magni's mouth, the King of the Dwarves patted his belly and waved his hand to Galen, saying, "The ritual is canceled. We should all get some sleep. As for the frequent disasters, let the shamans investigate."
"That's right, Galen. Originally, we wanted to use the ritual to find out the cause of those disasters in Azeroth. Now that the ritual path is blocked..."
Brann also looked regretful. He originally thought that the stone tablet he brought back from Ulduar would be useful, but now it can only be taken as an antique for collection!
"Actually... this ritual isn't impossible to perform!"
Galen looked mysterious, successfully arousing the curiosity of the three Bronzebeard brothers and the two children.
"Augh!"
Brann shouted, "Damn it, Galen, I knew you had a backup plan, teasing us for so long!"
"Speak quickly! Tell me, is there any way to salvage this ritual?!"
Magni was equally impatient, pressing for answers. He couldn't bear to lose their brewery again; the people would go mad!
"Salvage?"
Salvage my foot! Galen wasn't a pure mage nor a pure shaman; his theoretical knowledge was severely lacking, and his spellcasting relied entirely on cheating. Even someone like Thrall, a world shaman, needed to return to Nagrand to retake his graduation exams. Forget about improving the ritual.
"This ritual was likely developed over thousands of years by some ancestor; it's already close to perfect. We couldn't possibly improve it in a short amount of time."
The Vrykul of the Dragonflayer Clan, the Tol'vir of the Neferset tribe in Uldum, and those Mogu – so many Titan creations afflicted by the Curse of Flesh desperately sought to restore their stone bodies. In the end, only Lei Shen relied on the Engine of Nalak'sha, and the Neferset Tol'vir sold out their race to Deathwing, relying on his dominion over the earth, to succeed.
And this ritual only required drinking a cup of special potion and reciting a few incantations to return to their ancestral form!
Damn!
For those descendants of Titan creations who desperately wanted to lift the curse, this was an absolute steal!
And Galen happened to have someone like that under his command.
Moreover, Galen had promised to help him lift the curse; wasn't this the perfect opportunity?
"Here's what I'm thinking: you proceed with the ritual as planned, but swap out the person performing it!"
"Swap who?" the Bronzebeard brothers asked in unison.
"Do you remember Utgarde Keep in Northrend?" Galen hinted.
Brann was the first to react: "You mean the Dragonflayer Clan! That's the Vrykul clan where your human ancestors came from!"
"That's right. Back then, deformed children appeared in the Dragonflayer Clan due to the Curse of Flesh, and King Ymiron ordered them killed. If he had succeeded, I'm afraid there would be no humans in Azeroth today."
"When I subdued them, I promised to lift their Curse of Flesh and restore their stone bodies. This time, let Ymiron perform the ritual!"
The Bronzebeard brothers exchanged glances again, then nodded furiously like chickens pecking at rice!
The next day, the ritual proceeded as usual.
Among those who came to the Throne Room to witness and attend the ceremony were Bronzebeard dwarves, Wildhammer dwarves, Dark Iron dwarves, gnomes, and humans.
To everyone's surprise, the towering Vrykul King Ymiron, clad in iron armor, entered the Throne Room once more.
Magni stood alone on the platform where the three thrones were located, surveyed the crowd in the hall with anticipation, and then announced directly: "Let the ritual begin! The performer of the ritual is the Vrykul King Ymiron from the Storm Peaks Province!"
"As you all know, we dwarves, gnomes, and humans all share a common origin. Originally, I thought I was the one with the purest ancestral blood!"
No one in the hall refuted this point. Dwarves, humans, and gnomes were different; only those with the purest blood among them could unlock the power of their bloodline: Avatar.
And the Bronzebeard brothers, Kurdran Wildhammer, and the original Emperor Dagran Thaurissan had all proven this point.
And also Moira Thaurissan. It was because she could also activate Avatar that she was able to secure the throne of the Dark Iron dwarves in a short period of time!
"But I have discovered someone whose bloodline is even closer to our ancestors, and that is the Vrykul King Ymiron!"
Everyone nodded again, indicating that there was no problem with this.
Seeing that no one in the Throne Room questioned him, Magni announced directly: "Let the ritual begin! The longer we delay, the more the poor Azeroth suffers. Let us heal this wounded and pitiful world. I swear it by my blood and bones, earth and stone, let the land be healed!"
Ymiron glanced at Galen at the front of the crowd, then stepped forward to the center of the Throne Room.
Brann also stepped forward, holding the broken stone tablet in his hands, with a dwarven apothecary holding a crystal bottle filled with murky liquid standing behind him.
Ymiron took the stone tablet. The inscriptions on it were in Titan script, and the Vrykul's writing was inherited from Titan script, so he glanced at it and indicated that there were no problems.
Brann, knowing that the translation he had prepared was not needed, retreated into the crowd.
Then Ymiron began to recite the incantations on the stone tablet!
"This is the reason for being one with the mountains, the method. Behold, we are earthen, spirits of the land, the souls of the land belong to us, the pain of the land belongs to us, the rhythm of the land belongs to us. We sing its song, weep for its beauty. For those who do not wish to return home, we are the children of the earth, this is the reason."
"Galen."
Brann came to Galen's side and asked softly: "The inscriptions on this talk about earthen, Ymiron is a Vrykul, is this okay?"
"Is there a better way? Or do you want to go up and become a diamond dwarf?"
Galen wasn't sure either, but he had to pretend.
He thought that since earthen were stone creations, and Ymiron was a stone Vrykul before the Curse of Flesh, everyone was made of stone, the properties were the same, just different sizes, so the ritual should be the same, right?
The ritual continued. As Ymiron chanted, Galen felt the temperature in the Throne Room drop, becoming very cold without him realizing it.
Galen noticed Anduin trembling slightly beside him. Originally, the temperature in Ironforge was quite high due to the presence of the Great Forge. Anduin was only wearing a lining and a noble's robe, and the sudden drop in temperature caught him off guard.
Galen reached out and put his hand on Anduin's shoulder, pulling him closer.
Anduin only felt a warm force pass from that large hand into his body, warming him all over. Moreover, Galen's embrace was very safe, making Anduin feel very comfortable.
"Dip a bit of the soil of creation, drink it into your belly. Speak why you have come here, the mountains will answer. You will return to your former appearance, you will return to your old home, you will be one with the mountains."
When Ymiron reached this point, the dwarven apothecary stepped forward and handed the murky potion to the towering Vrykul King.
Ymiron bent down, took the potion, and threw it into his mouth without hesitation, chewing it up together with the bottle, swallowing even the shards of the crystal bottle!
"I place myself within the earth, and become one with it. I am one with it, listening to the mountains answer."
Galen remembered that this was the last sentence in the inscription. Once this sentence was finished, the ritual would be complete!
The Bronzebeard brothers and the members of the Explorers' Guild also knew that the ritual would be completed once this sentence was finished. They also stared at Ymiron with anticipation!
He had completed the ritual. Could he hear the earth speaking?