Been Waiting a Long Time for This.
The heroes did not hurry to their confrontation with the Lich, the visions they had seen still haunted most, while others wondered about their fates in the alternate timeline. They reached the final chamber of Naxxramas; it was a large circular room with a domed ceiling, and six smaller antechambers around the edge.
On the other side of the chamber to where they entered, stood the Lich King, clearly awaiting their arrival. The moment they were all inside the chamber, a portcullis slammed down behind them, trapping them within the Lich's chamber.
"Welcome champions, I have been expecting you," The Lich chuckled, as ice formed over the portcullis to seal them in. "I trust you are not too tired from defeating my minions."
"I've got enough strength to cleave you in two human!" Gromm roared.
"We need him alive!" Sylvanas hissed.
"But not in one piece," Gromm growled, readying Gorehowl.
Alleria pulled up her hood and moved into the shadows, but Sylvanas' attention was immediately drawn to Grommash, who charged the Lich.
"Lok Tar Ogar!" He bellowed, raising Gorehowl to strike.
The Lich raised Frostmourne, and with little effort, blasted the Orc with unholy energy. Gromm hit the wall and fell to the floor, immediately being encased in ice to pin him down.
"Pitiful," The Lich mocked, as Gromm fought the ice that encased him. "I hope the rest of you have not lost your touch since we last fought atop Icecrown."
"You have no idea," Sylvanas said, stepping forward.
"Still trying to fill the Lightbringer's boots? How pathetic!" The Lich said, walking into the centre of the room. "Come then heroes, time to die!"
With this they charged forth; Arthas, Sylvanas, Muradin, and Thrall engaging the Lich on four sides, while Falstad, Jaina, Vereesa and Hamuul spread out to offer ranged support. Alleria moved around the upper level, sticking to the shadows, and firing arrows to disturb the Lich's sword swings.
"Your attacks lack strength, my minions did their job," The Lich laughed.
Sylvanas summoned the Light to her aid, slamming both swords into the ground and infusing her companions with holy energy. The Lich looked at where her swords had struck and laughed. Knocking them all back, he then slammed Frostmourne into the same spot, and sent unholy energy outward in all directions, creating cracks that criss-crossed up the pillars and meet on the ceiling.
"The Light has no power here," The Lich stated coldly. "Your precious Lightbringer learnt that truth the hard way, you are doomed!"
The Lich raised his free hand, and a dark force sent the heroes flying away from him; when they all hit the floor, the Lich raised Frostmourne high above his head before bellowing;
"Apocalypse!"
Black lightning shot from the tip of the blade in all directions, further weakening the ceiling, and causing the heroes to move around the room to dodge the falling masonry. Sylvanas saw the roof weakening above her, but before she could use it against the Lich, he struck first to use it against them. Chunks of stonework fell down, and before the heroes could do anything, the Lich used more unholy energy to pin them in place, and ensure the debris hit them.
"It's just us sis," Vereesa said nervously, noting everyone else was either unconscious or incapacitated.
"Two little Windrunners, all alone," The Lich laughed, summoning undead from beneath the stone floor.
"The Light is with me, even here," Sylvanas said through gritted teeth, before leaping at the Lich.
She spun her whole body, blades outstretched; and as the Lich moved to block, she fired a beam of holy energy from the Ashbringer crystal imbedded in her chestplate. Vereesa set the undead aflame, keeping them at bay with arcane barriers and frost waves; all the while her eyes scanning the room for her older sister. Sylvanas' spinning attack had pushed the Lich back, but he continued to block or parry her attacks, his glowing blue eyes burning into her soul.
"You cannot win!" The Lich yelled, his booming voice almost deafening Sylvanas, who kept up her relentless assault.
"Neither can you!" Vereesa yelled, hurling a fireball at the Lich.
Though the towering foe managed to sidestep the fireball, the heat and the licking flames ignited his cape. The Lich whirled Frostmourne over his head, a wave of cold air extinguished the flames, before he slammed the sword into the ground again.
'How have we not caused the floor to collapse by now?' Sylvanas wondered briefly.
A crack shot across the floor towards Vereesa, and before the mage could react, a section of the floor shot up and sent her flying into the wall; as she fell to the ground, she became wrapped in the drapes, slowing her fall.
"You dare hurt my sister!" Sylvanas yelled, charging the Lich again.
The Lich chuckled, before blasting Sylvanas with a torrent of unholy energy, forcing the Quel'dorei paladin to stand her ground. Sylvanas summoned as much Light as she could to withstand the unholy onslaught, but her conviction was starting to wane. She was the last one facing the Lich, Alleria was keeping to the shadows for an unknown reason, and the Lich was solely focused on destroying her; which finally made her doubt whether Uther was truly still alive. The acts the Lich had performed, and the ruthless nature of those actions, made Sylvanas doubt whether her mentor could be saved from the Lich's control. This thought distracted her from her current situation, and before she could react, the Lich blasted her with a solid wall of energy, sending her to the floor.
"Pathetic!" The Lich laughed, pinning Sylvanas and Vereesa down with ice. "You are the greatest the Alliance could muster? It's a wonder you were able to defeat me two years ago! But it matters not, everything has played out as I planned, and now the end has come for this pathetic world."
"The Legion will never return!" Arthas said through gritted teeth. "Azeroth stands united, you cannot hope to succeed in conquering the world."
"I sent agents out to sow chaos throughout the 'Alliance', and how can they stand without heroes to guide them?" The Lich stated. "I readied an entire necropolis of foes from your past, not to use against the Alliance, but to wear you down, until your doubts overwhelm you."
"You... You rallied old enemies from across the Eastern Kingdoms, just to wear us down?" Sylvanas said in disbelief.
"And to slow you down," The Lich added. "Now you lie before me, beaten and broken, and completely at my will."
"Then kill us! Demoralise the Alliance by slaughtering their greatest champions!" Muradin yelled.
"Kill you?" The Lich laughed. "I will not kill you, and give you the 'peace' of death! I will raise you to help bring about the end of the world."
The Lich raised Frostmourne above his head; familiar black lightning shot from the tip, bolts striking each of the heroes, channelling unholy energy into their trapped bodies.
The Lich looked around the room, at the heroes struggling in their confines, feeling his power overwhelming their already weakened bodies, struggling against the darkness that was washing over them. Suddenly a hooded figure leapt down from somewhere above him; he glimpsed an Elven bow aimed at his head, and turned slightly to see that the figure's face hidden by a dark green hood.
"Don't you dare!" She yelled. "You will not defile anyone!"
"Brave little elf! You stand alone against the King of the Scourge, you cannot hope to save your friends!" The Lich mocked, not stopping in converting the defeated heroes into his minions.
"You underestimate me!" the figure said, ripping back her hood. "That's a mistake your masters made!"
The Lich froze; something inside him stirred as he laid eyes on the scarred face of Alleria Windrunner, the Elven ranger that had almost stopped Ner'zhul on Draenor.
"Alleria..." The Lich breathed, and Sylvanas' head snapped up in surprise.
"Uther! Fight it! We need you!" She yelled, finding the strength to fight the encroaching darkness inside her.
"The Lightbringer is dead!" The Lich roared, swinging Frostmourne toward Alleria, but at the last second the swing went wide.
"Not yet!" Uther's frail voice came from behind the Lich's helmet.
Uther slammed Frostmourne down again, sending a holy shockwave outward that shattered the bindings which were pinning the heroes down; causing the Lich to bellow with rage. The still-conscious heroes sprung to their feet, quickly moving to force the Lich back toward his throne. Uther and the Lich continued their internal struggle, with the former managing to wrench the helmet from his head, throwing it as far away as he could.
"Uther!" The heroes exclaimed, as they saw Uther's face for the first time since the fight with Deathwing.
The Lightbringer's face was pale and gaunt, his grey hair was now as white as the snow that fell around them, and descended past his shoulders in length. His eyes were still glowing blue, signifying the ever-present threat of the Lich, who blasted them with unholy energy again while they were distracted.
"You will not win!" The Lich roared at the heroes, though Sylvanas knew he was speaking to Uther most of all.
"Against the Legion? Maybe..." Uther said, getting control of his body for the first time in months. "But against you, we will!"
Uther moved towards the discarded helmet, feeling the Lich's eagerness to wear it once more propelling him forward. Instead of moving to pick it up, Uther fought with everything he could, feeling the Light giving him strength again, and cleaved the crown in two with Frostmourne.
The Lich bellowed in pain, before the crown exploded into multiple pieces, and sent Uther flying backwards into the Lich's throne. Frostmourne clattered to the floor at Uther's feet, as he collapsed on to the throne, still visibly fighting the Lich inside his mind.
"I will not fail the Legion!" The Lich yelled. "I cannot fail again!"
"Your reign ends today!" Sylvanas declared, stabbing both of her swords into Frostmourne.
The cursed blade shattered, the hilt and grip remained in one piece, while the rest shattered into countless pieces.
"Sylvanas!" Uther said weakly, now more in control of his body as the Lich's power waned.
They heard enraged roars over the howling Northrend winds, but Sylvanas' attention was solely focused on her pale mentor before her.
"Give me the blade, I will end this!" Uther breathed, struggling to sit up on the throne, the Lich still fighting for control.
"It's done Uther! The helmet is destroyed, Frostmourne shattered, come back to the Light!" Sylvanas said quickly.
"No, the Lich yet lives..." Uther stated. "Give me Frostmourne."
Sylvanas gave him an uncertain look, before kicking the broken blade towards Uther, as the others gathered around her. Uther slowly leant down and picked up the broken blade, feeling the Lich grow stronger as he held the cursed blade in his hands again.
"You need me!" The Lich hissed. "You're a warrior past your prime, you're weak; the Legion will destroy you!"
"I have no intention of letting you live another day," Uther said through gritted teeth, looking at the blade in his hands. "But I know what must be done... And I accept my fate."
As Uther turned the broken edge of the blade toward himself, Sylvanas understood his intention.
"Uther! You can't give up!" Sylvanas exclaimed, as both her sisters moved to hold her back.
"I'm not giving up, I'm ending this the only way it can end!" Uther said, clearly fighting the Lich as he moved the blade closer to his chest. "I have been bonded to the Lich for too long to purge it from my soul, to kill Ner'zhul, I must die!"
"Suicide is a sin," Alleria said softly. "Don't give in to such an honourless end!"
"There is no alternative!" Uther said defiantly. "I'm choosing to fall on my sword."
Sylvanas dropped her swords, and her hands moved beneath her tabard, feeling the warmth of the Ashbringer crystal as her fingers clasped it. As she pulled it out from beneath her tabard, Uther's face showed the slightest hint of a smile.
"Light, give me strength, help me purge the evil from this fallen champion. Help me guide him back to the true path!" Sylvanas muttered, holding the Ashbringer crystal in one hand, as the other undid the Lich's chest plate. "Give him the strength to continue the fight against the oncoming darkness."
Uther's hopeful face dropped, a cruel smile creeping across the gaunt, pale face.
"You've already lost; my agents will cripple your Alliance, the Dark Portal shall open once more, and the Legion will come at last!" Ner'zhul chuckled.
Alleria pried the plates in his armour open, before carefully cutting a hole in the chainmail covering Uther's chest, before Sylvanas pressed the glowing Ashbringer crystal against his skin. Uther's entire body tensed, his breathing quickened as colour began to radiate across Uther's skin from where the Ashbringer crystal touched his chest; a low groan showed that the power of the crystal was hurting the Lich.
"Light protect him," Arthas muttered.
"Fight Uther, fight it!" Jaina said encouragingly.
Uther's lips parted, and an inhuman howl slipped out, before his body began to show signs of recovering its vitality. The remaining piece of Frostmourne clattered to the ground, the skull-hilt eyes almost staring daggers at Sylvanas.
"Is it done?" Vereesa asked cautiously, but Sylvanas held the crystal against Uther's chest in case there was any trace of the Lich still within her mentor.
"It's gone..." Uther breathed, as his breathing slowed again. "I feel whole again... Thank you young one..."
"Can you stand Uther, we need to leave," Sylvanas said urgently, as she heard the communicator in Vereesa's robe beginning to crackle. "Kalecgos has a plan for destroying this floating fortress..."
"It's more than a plan my dear," Kalecgos' voice said from the depths of Vereesa's robe. "It's ready, I'd recommend getting clear as soon as you can!"
"Come on Uther!" Sylvanas said grabbing Uther's wrist, but this made her freeze mid-step.
His pulse was slowing, his was taking long, measured breaths, and as she turned back to look at him, she saw a knowing look in his eyes.
"Go... Stop the Legion..." Uther said slowly. "His agents will strike soon!"
"Uther!" Alleria said, kneeling before him and grabbing one of his hands in both of hers.
"Alleria... you returned..." Uther smiled weakly. "It's good to see you again..."
"You too Uther... Sorry I was gone so long," Alleria chuckled weakly, however the tears in her eyes and emotional weight of the situation did not distract her from the objective. "Listen, where is the Skull of Gul'dan? We need it to stop them opening the Dark Portal!"
"One of its agents took it away when you were facing the visions... They're heading straight for the Portal, you don't have much time..." Uther said quickly, aware of the urgency.
"Who has it?" Arthas asked quickly.
"Who do you think?" Uther looked at the prince with a cold stare. "Its... Its... I..."
Uther's eyes closed slowly, a slow, rasping breath ushering from his lips, and a mournful silence witnessed the passing of the Lightbringer.