The arcane energy, a swirling vortex of raw power, converged upon Kel'Thuzad's upper body, culminating in a cataclysmic explosion!
A blinding flash of blue-purple light erupted, forcing everyone present to instinctively shield their eyes from the intense brilliance!
No one had anticipated such devastating power from the seemingly unassuming little blue dragon princess, still in her dragon form. The arcane energy unleashed by Stellagosa was unlike anything they had ever witnessed!
...
Only Onyxia, in her guise as Katrana, being a dragon herself, detected the discordant and volatile energy fluctuations emanating from Stellagosa's draconic form!
It was the raw, untamed power of the Well of Eternity!
Enduring the searing radiance of the arcane explosion, Katrana's keen draconic senses scanned Stellagosa, who had reverted to her humanoid form, her face pale but resolute. Katrana's gaze finally settled upon the young dragon's waist!
There, nestled against her form, was a delicate and exquisitely crafted crystal vial!
The semi-transparent vial shimmered with an ethereal glow, its surface adorned with what appeared to be iridescent droplets, swirling with inner light!
It was a vessel that had once contained water from the Well of Eternity!
The implications of this discovery were immediately clear to Katrana!
A wave of conflicting emotions washed over her: astonishment, envy, and a simmering resentment.
From the moment of her birth, she and her brother Nefarian had lived in fear of their father's tyrannical rage, never experiencing a moment of paternal affection. Now, she realized that her father, after his rebirth, lavished such care and attention upon a mere blue dragon!
She recalled the tales her father had shared, the three vials of Well of Eternity water he had obtained from his enigmatic master. He had used one and a half vials to fuel his own ascension to the early stages of demigodhood, a full vial to empower the legendary blade Quel'Serrar, and half a vial to amplify the deceptive powers of the Orb of Deception!
Three vials... three vessels that had held the very essence of the Well of Eternity!
And her father had gifted one to this little blue dragon, while she and her father's other offspring received nothing!
Father! she thought, her inner turmoil a tempest of conflicting emotions. You are biased beyond measure!
Humph! she scoffed inwardly. It is merely a vial that once held the waters of creation! It contains only a paltry remnant of that power! Who cares?
Katrana knew the truth. Her master possessed seven full vials of Well of Eternity water!
Full vials!
It was at that moment that a long-suppressed desire, a seed of ambition that Onyxia had buried deep within her heart, resurfaced with renewed vigor!
She was no longer content with being merely her master's mount, his obedient servant!
She yearned to become his mistress, his equal!
After all, she reasoned, her mind racing with newfound resolve, the master already has several mistresses. What harm would one more do?
Yes! she affirmed to herself, her eyes gleaming with a newfound determination. Onyxia, you can do this!
While Katrana's mind was consumed by these thoughts, the blinding light of the arcane explosion finally subsided. The assembled heroes, initially expecting to find Kel'Thuzad's shattered remains, were confronted with an unexpected sight: a massive block of shimmering blue ice!
Encashed within the ice block, Kel'Thuzad's broken and battered form could be vaguely discerned, a grotesque tableau of frozen agony!
The cunning archlich had used his ultimate defensive spell, Ice Barrier, to shield himself from the devastating arcane onslaught, clinging to life by the barest of threads!
Jaina, a fellow master of frost magic, was the first to react, her voice sharp and urgent!
"Everyone! Quickly, seal off all possible exits! Prevent him from escaping!"
"Rhonin! Little Star! Let us combine our arcane powers to warp the very fabric of space, preventing him from teleporting away!"
Jaina's strategic mind worked swiftly. To ensure Kel'Thuzad's complete and utter destruction, she even produced a precious and potent magic enchantment scroll, its surface crackling with arcane energy, intending to use it to block all extradimensional travel within the chamber!
With grim determination, the assembled heroes tacitly prepared their most powerful offensive abilities, bracing themselves for the moment when the Ice Barrier, renowned as the mage's ultimate defense, would finally shatter, leaving the archlich vulnerable!
"No!"
The once-arrogant and indomitable Archlich Kel'Thuzad, now severely wounded and battered, was facing an onslaught of unimaginable power!
Rhonin, empowered by his arcane mastery, unleashed a devastating Pyroblast. Stellagosa, in her humanoid form, unleashed a barrage of pure arcane energy. Jaina conjured a storm of razor-sharp Ice Shards. Varian prepared to deliver a Shattering Throw, an attack designed to shatter magical defenses. Liam aimed his hand cannon for a precise headshot. Chen Stormstout channeled the elemental fury of Wind, Fire, and Lightning. Rexxar commanded Misha to unleash a devastating Kill Command. Lirath nocked his bow, preparing an Aimed Shot of lethal precision. And the two tauren warriors, Baine and Mayla, prepared to unleash their combined might in a pair of earth-shattering Giant Smashes!
Yet, amidst this symphony of destruction, no one noticed the most potent source of damage, the spell that would ultimately seal Kel'Thuzad's fate: a single, devastating surge of pure Holy Light, channeled with unwavering conviction and righteous fury!
Finally, the Archlich, his skeletal form wracked with unimaginable pain, raised his skull towards the heavens, unleashing a silent, mournful wail. A torrent of dark energy and glacial frost erupted from his every orifice, dissipating into the surrounding air, a final, desperate gasp of unholy power.
It was over!
Jaina breathed a sigh of relief, the tension draining from her body.
They had slain Kel'Thuzad!
"His remnant soul is still lingering within Naxxramas!"
Katrana declared, her voice calm and authoritative, her keen draconic senses detecting the ethereal presence flitting through the necropolis.
Liches were unique among the undead, the most powerful and cunning of all necromancers. Every lich possessed a phylactery, an object that anchored their soul to the mortal realm. As long as the phylactery remained intact, a lich could cheat death, allowing their soul to escape their destroyed body and return to the phylactery, where it would slowly recover from its injuries.
Once fully healed, the lich could then fashion a new body for itself, returning to the world of the living, reborn and renewed!
In the original timeline, Naxxramas had been raided twice by adventurers. The first time, above the Eastern Plaguelands, Kel'Thuzad was slain, but his phylactery was recovered by the Argent Dawn.
After Kel'Thuzad's demise, a traitor within the Argent Dawn, Father Inigo Montoy, used a valuable piece of jewelry to trade for Kel'Thuzad's phylactery from the adventurers. He then secretly transported the phylactery to Northrend, where the Lich King resurrected the archlich, explaining Kel'Thuzad's presence in Dragonblight during Highlord Tirion Fordring's Northrend campaign!
Katrana, drawing upon her innate draconic senses, a talent inherited from her Black Dragon heritage, could perceive Kel'Thuzad's fleeting soul, its essence drifting aimlessly within the confines of the necropolis.
"Jaina," Katrana said, her gaze fixed on the young sorceress, "you must take control of this floating city and use it to assault the Wrathgate. I will pursue Kel'Thuzad's soul and ensure its destruction!"
"Katrana, are you suggesting that you face him alone?" Jaina asked, her brow furrowed with concern.
Jaina was still largely unfamiliar with this enigmatic noblewoman, this countess with dual citizenship in the kingdoms of Alterac and Stromgarde. She had arrived unannounced and offered her assistance, joining the infiltration team on her own initiative!
It was only because of her status as the Countess of Stromgarde and her demonstrated healing prowess that Jaina had agreed to allow her to accompany them.
"I will not be alone," Katrana replied, a hint of a predatory smile playing on her lips. "Chen and Rexxar will accompany me."
Upon hearing Katrana's words, a realization dawned upon the others, including Jaina, Varian, and Liam. They finally understood the countess's true allegiance: she was a member of the Argent Crusade!
"Very well," Jaina conceded, her expression thoughtful. "We will find Naxxramas's main control center and take command of this necropolis. Kel'Thuzad's soul... we leave in your capable hands."
...
Meanwhile, on the ground below, the Scourge continued their fanatical resistance against the Alliance's assault on the Wrathgate!
The Lich King had established the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, his elite vanguard of death knights. This fearsome quartet consisted of the human death knights Baron Rivendare and Thassarian, the Nightborne death knight Mel'andrus, and the high elven death knight Kuldira!
Their presence on the battlefield had brought the clash between the Black Blade Knights, composed of the Lich King's death knights, and the Holy Knights of the Alliance to a bloody stalemate!
The Scourge's primary advantage lay in their seemingly endless legions of low-level soldiers, who relentlessly swarmed the Alliance paladins, testing their stamina and resolve!
Fortunately, the Alliance forces were bolstered not only by the stalwart Knights of the Silver Hand but also by the elite Knights Templar, warriors of unwavering faith and unmatched martial skill!
When the battle reached its most intense, with the tide of the conflict hanging precariously in the balance, the Knights Templar, with their resplendent armor and unwavering discipline, entered the fray, flanking the Scourge forces and shattering their arrogance, turning the tide of battle in the Alliance's favor!