Chapter 17: Arcane Showdown

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Silithus XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Deep under the howling deserts of Silithus, within a desolate underground temple, a dark figure approached the innermost chamber. Upon walking inside, a large eye emerged from the shadows and stared at the newcomer intently.

The newly arrived visitor was adorned head to toe in an unusual tattered yellow robe with a hood covering the face. The figure was clearly male, but no distinguishable traits of humanity were present as the robed stranger's hands and face were practically unseen in the shadows.

"C'thun, I see you are keeping well down here. How many generations have you waited in this crumbling ruin? This is hardly comparable to your palace of old." the figure stated calmly.

C'thun's eerie voice quickly filled the room, "You are not welcome here within my temple…"

"Is that so? Well, perhaps you should leave guards to protect it…I find it amusing how noticeably empty your palace lies. Has your power waned so much since those mortals invaded this place? Or have you grown complacent living beneath the sands?" the cloaked figure replied with an evident smugness.

The Old God's eye began to glow as the room visibly darkened, "You would do well to heed my warning…I will not tolerate your presence for much longer."

"Very well…then I will get straight to the point. As you are no doubt aware, N'zoth has fallen," the cloaked figure explained.

C'thun's dark voice sounded less calm than normal, "Indeed…I witnessed the battle quite recently."

"Then you must understand the importance of my visit?" the figure inquired full of condescension.

"Enlighten me," C'thun replied venomously but still calm.

The cloaked individual clutched his staff tighter, "The Lich King has made it clear that he intends to kill all of us. That is of course a matter of concern, but it is not why I am here. The Elder Gods sent me…"

"So that is why you abandoned N'zoth to his death…" C'thun interrupted carelessly.

The figure stared at C'thun's eye, "I hardly call that abandonment. I was under the impression that he could not be slain by anything short of a titan's power. It was quite disturbing news…from what I understand the Dragon Soul was involved."

"What did the Outer Ones want with you, Hastur? I thought we agreed that we would not call upon them," C'thun changed the subject. His evil threatening tone added weight to the demand.

The cloaked being chuckled malevolently, "It was one of them that contacted me. They are aware of the growing power of our mutual enemy. Cthugha wanted me to convince you to join them."

"How convenient…exactly why are they interfering here to begin with?! You called them didn't you?!" C'thun hissed.

"Surely you must understand the power they wield? Cthugha, Nyarlathotep, Shub-Niggurath, and the Sultan himself. If things keep going as they are, then those of us here are doomed…we need their help to defeat him," Hastur explained.

"No…their presence will call the titans back. It will force us out of the shadows. You were impatient, Hastur. Nothing good will come of this. The world will soon become a battlefield," C'thun sounded distressed for the first time.

Hastur laughed, "That is exactly why Cthugha asked me to contact you…for the knowledge of your power. You slew a titan eons ago…As did Yogg-Saron. The Sultan himself demands your obedience now."

"The Sultan is awake?" C'thun questioned with a subtle touch of concern in his voice.

The yellow robed figure nodded, "Yes…now do you understand the significance of my visit?"

"What of Yig? Where does he lie on this matter?" C'thun asked slowly.

"His role differs from yours…he has retreated into the Loa realms to gather power for the upcoming battle." the robed man stated.

C'thun's dark voice rumbled angrily, "And what will you be doing during any of this? Watching from the sidelines as you always do? Why is Azathoth awake? Where is he now?!"

"Is that concern I hear in your voice? Perhaps you should accept my offer then. I imagine you are the Lich King's next target…" Hastur laughed.

"Answer me, Hastur…where is the sultan now?" C'thun reiterated with deadly malice in his voice.

"The Sultan still lies imprisoned within the heart of the Twisting Nether trapped between planes. Many of the others have agreed to join together and free him," Hastur explained.

"Where are the rest of the Outer Ones? You said Cthugha was the one who contacted you?" C'thun asked.

Hastur chuckled malevolently, "Curious are you? Interesting…I never expected that you possessed such intrigue with the unknown."

"Do not waste my time, Hastur…" C'thun hissed darkly causing the entire temple to rumble clearly indicating that his body had some freedom.

The yellow-robed god looked around surprised, "So you've been free this entire time have you? Then I was right…you have grown complacent. However, I will answer your question nonetheless…the Living Flame is at the vanguard of the Burning Legion. As for the others…I couldn't say. Though know this…Nyarlathotep IS coming. The prophet will not be pleased by your inaction." Hastur stated darkly.

"So be it," C'thun replied hatefully.

Hastur simply grinned evilly, "One way or another, you will help us C'thun. Even if we have to use impractical methods…I will send Al'Akir to assist in your defense nevertheless. You will need all the help you can get once the Lich King sets his sights upon you."

"How generous an offer…" C'thun said venomously calm. It was clearly obvious to him that Hastur was leaving his favorite minion there for another reason…to watch him.

As Hastur turned to leave the Old God's chamber, another light chuckle could be heard, "Oh, and there is one more detail I forgot to mention regarding two suspicious mortals…" Hastur spoke again as he stood at the end of the hallway leading out of the massive chamber, "we know…"

C'thun simply said nothing as his massive eye stared blankly at the other being. The Old God's lack of response caused Hastur to cackle malevolently, "The next move is yours…hope that it proves to be more successful than N'Zoth's."

'It will be…' C'thun thought darkly. 'The Eclipse will happen soon. When it does, I will rise to make my move…'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Shadowfang Keep XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Within Shadowfang Keep, a countless heap of dead bodies littered the stronghold. The walls were covered in burns and the ground coated in blood. Three figures casually exited the scene of the crime crossing over the narrow bridge back on the path.

"Too bad they didn't have a cure…" Zelfrax chuckled amusedly as he looked up at Ritssyn. The orc simply shrugged carelessly before directing a curious gaze towards their third companion.

The worgen warlock Zinnin frowned as he turned to look at the gnome, "It doesn't matter in the long run anyways. How has progress been with the rest of the council? What news do you two have of Kanrethad and Jubeka?"

"Funny story…it would seem Kanrethad got captured by the demon lords. He found a primordial ember on Xerreth from what Shinfel says. Of course since Jubeka was foolish enough to engrave her sigil on his hand, she got captured too," Zelfrax explained thoroughly.

Ritssyn simply snorted, "There always was something strange between the two of them. I wouldn't doubt if they were keeping us out of the loop. I have heard nothing of primordial embers…"

"That sounds just like Kanrethad…he would gladly kill us all and keep the secrets to himself if he knew we wouldn't band against him," Zinnin noted with a nod of understanding.

"It seems like Jubeka is the only one of us he trusts…but those two hate each other don't they?" Zelfrax piped in curiously.

The orc cocked his head, "Hmm…that is an interesting observation. I never noticed that until just now."

"By the way," Zinnin interrupted, "where is Shinfel? I was so busy killing back there that I forgot to ask you two."

Zelfrax laughed wickedly, "Oh she's tagging along with the 'Heroes of Azeroth' right now haha. She says she saw all the things that happened regarding the Lich King. Apparently he's resurrected the Scourge now and recruited blue dragons. It's a long story…we didn't really get the details from her."

"Arthas…he's still alive?" Zinnin asked bewildered.

Ritssyn simply sighed, "Yes…but that is not really our problem now is it? I'm more interested in the details of the ritual. Of course the only people that know about it are Shinfel and Kanrethad…and neither one are trustworthy enough for my liking. "

"Do you think…" Zinnin began, but was quickly interrupted.

"Don't be ridiculous…It's hard enough imagining Jubeka being in on a scheme with Kanrethad…let alone that bitch Shinfel," Ritssyn spat.

Zelfrax brought a hand to his chin, "Well they are partners…it's not entirely unfeasible for Kanrethad and Jubeka to be part of a conspiracy to deceive us."

"You and Shinfel are also partners…and as I recall that's a match made in hell," Zinnin laughed.

The gnome cackled along with him, "I suppose you're right, Zinnin…though I don't think any of this really matters until we actually get them back."

"Shinfel insists that they're needed for the ritual…well all of us are technically," Ritssyn added.

The worgen simply nodded at both of them, "Very well…where is she now?"

"Dalaran last we saw her…she told us to meet there, but it might just be a better idea to go ahead to Shattrah and wait for her there. The three of us would look awfully suspicious cruising into a mage city," Zelfrax answered.

Zinnin scoffed, "There's something off about Shinfel…I don't like her ordering us around. I'm surprised you two would agree to go rescue Kanrethad and Jubeka. It's even more strange that she would suggest it. Why exactly are they necessary for this ritual?"

"You're asking the wrong people…we know as much as you do, Zinnin," the orc sighed in annoyance, "I don't know about you two, but I don't trust the three of them. We should stick together in case Shinfel tries something funny."

"Well she's always had a few loose screws in her head if you know what I mean…and I think she and Kanrethad used to know each other before the council formed." the gnome nodded.

"Tch…the more we talk about this, the less I want to save Kanrethad and Jubeka. We should seriously pry Shinfel for information, because I'm not going into this ritual blind," Zinnin stated annoyed.

"Don't you worry, Zinnin, we'll make her talk. And once she tells us the plan, we're going to make sure that slimy bastard Kanrethad tells us everything he knows once we peel his sorry ass out of Xerreth. That's the only reason I'm doing this." Ritssyn hissed.

"I see…well in that case, let's be on our way," the worgen stated.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Fallen City of Ny'alotha, with Arthas XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Arthas stood over Azshara, a brief but unexpected grayness filled his vision robbing all color from the surroundings. He looked around curiously and quickly realized that time had in fact stopped for some unknown reason.

He himself appeared unaffected, much to his relief, but the surging vibrations within his sword arm quickly caught his full attention. Glancing down at his blade, Arthas noticed Frostmourne glow an eerie purple. It shook violently in his grip forcing his arm to move on its own.

"What the?" he questioned aloud as he held on to the hilt tighter. The blade raised by itself and pointed back towards the Maelstrom much to his surprise. There he saw it…a festering untapped gathering of shadow. This chaotic amalgamation appeared to move despite time being frozen.

'What is going on? Why is time frozen? Isn't this the dragon's power? Could this be the dragon soul? Or something else? And what the hell is that?' Arthas wondered as he flew into the sky to get a better look at the gathering mass of darkness. He soon picked up speed as its formation began to cause worry in the back of his mind.

'What is that…is it N'zoth reforming?'

Upon reaching the unusual phenomenon, he noticed the shadows compress as they soon formed into a blackened orb. He stared at it incredulously wondering what it could possibly be until his eyes finally widened in realization, 'This is that Old God's Soul? I thought I destroyed it…'

"The Souls of Gods cannot be destroyed…but they can be devoured," a dark but recognizable voice whispered in his mind.

Arthas looked down in surprise towards his blade. "Frostmourne…"

"Consume the Dark Soul…it will make us more powerful." the blade whispered in his mind as he stared at the blackened mass of spiritual energy.

'What will happen if I do…' Arthas wondered as he contemplated the situation for a moment.

However, before he could reach a decision on his own, Frostmourne started glowing. It said nothing else as the blade literally rose his arm for him.

Before he could bring the blade's tip to the soul however, a Golden blur intercepted him. "Stop Arthas! Don't touch that thing!" a super worried Nozdormu commanded as he flew in front of the Lich King.

"Nozdormu? So you're the one that froze time then…" Arthas noted as he examined the dragon's concerned features.

The bronze aspect panted heavily as he looked down at Arthas who was hovering below him, "You managed to kill it…"

Arthas nodded his crowned head, "Yes…that's one less problem to deal with am I right?"

Nozdormu twitched his neck sporadically as he stared at the Lich King, "But…you were supposed to lose this battle. The timeline isn't 'That One' then…No no no no no. NO! It's 'the other one'….no yes? ARRRRGGHHHH!"

"Nozdorumu, are you alright?" Arthas asked with deep concern as the dragon twitched psychotically.

The Lich King's runic blue eyes widened in surprise as Nozdormu glared at him furiously, "You'll ruin everything! It can't end like this! You cannot be allowed to live!"

The Lich King quickly noticed his body turning gray as Nozdormu appeared to be blink warping around him. 'He's trying to freeze me too?! What the hell has gotten into him?!' Arthas wondered shocked.

Thankfully however, the power of the dragon soul within him quickly reversed the situation. Allowing him just enough time to avoid Nozdormu landing a killing blow. His eyes shot towards the dragon in horror as the bronze aspect appeared nearly feral.

Nozdormu flew after him again, but was easily avoided as Arthas flew out of the dragon's path. The Aspect of Time growled as he spotted the golden glow radiating from Arthas' chest, where the Dragon Soul was clearly residing.

"It seems I am too late to stop you here…no doubt you are too powerful to destroy this late in the timeline. I'll have to go back…I will unmake this mistake!" Nozdormu ranted before taking off at breakneck speed immediately causing time to start flowing again.

'What happened to him? Didn't he mention something about going crazy in another timeline before?' Arthas wondered as he returned to where N'zoth's dark soul floated.

The Lich King stared at it so intently, that he could vaguely make out his reflection upon the near glass like appearance of the blackened, ethereal spirit energy.

'I cannot leave this monster's soul here like this…no doubt nothing good will come of me taking it, but I must not let it fall into the wrong hands. Only I have the power to keep this thing in line…' Arthas mentally pepped himself as he willingly jabbed Frostmourne through the dark amalgamation.

A blackened column of spiritual power erupted skyward upon absorbing the Old God's soul. Arthas felt himself being lifted high into the air just from the eruption of power alone. Arthas looked down at his hands amazed as his body appeared to be glowing in runic black energy with a bluish purple outline. Frostmourne's very blade, visibly darkened upon consuming the soul and carried the same aura.

Arthas' Twilight ethereal wings were now darker, but appeared relatively similar in color. However, instead of two, he now had four much to his shock. They appeared larger too as he could see them outstretched further than he remembered.

'This power…it's unlike anything I've ever felt before. This is the power of a god…' Arthas thought to himself as it exploded all across the horizon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX At the Sunwell, with Sylvanas XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Banshee Queen came barreling through Quel'Danas with a look of grave concern on her face. She immediately pushed past any Shattered Sun guard dumb enough to stop her and found Lor'Themar who was surrounded by many of his advisors as well as several people from Shattrah. One of which was Voren'thal the leader of the Scryers.

"Yes, I see…so Hobb and Vyara stole and attunement from the sunwell? I assure you Regent Lord that they were under no such orders from us. Those two have gone rogue and sided with the Lich King," Voren'thal stated seriously.

The regent lord shook his head and sighed, "It made no sense to me at the time…but not even hours later a portal opened up in the sky. Many of the rangers on duty reported seeing the Lich King triggering the Sunwell's power. It fired through the portal. Are you saying you have no idea what the Lich King possibly wanted?"

Before Voren'thal could reply, Sylvanas stepped between them, "Where did he go?! Why was Arthas here?!"

"Calm yourself, Lady Sylvanas…we were discussing that. Nothing is concrete yet," Lor'themar raised a hand to calm the Banshee Queen.

She crossed her arms and scowled, "Find me those rangers who were on duty! I want to know what they saw!"

"I'm afraid that's impossible, Lady Sylvanas…the ones nearest to the sunwell have gone crazy it seems," Lor'themar replied sadly.

Sylvanas' eyes widened, "What?!"

"Many of them have been muttering inconsistencies to themselves. Whatever they saw must have been horrifying indeed…especially if the Lich King was there." Lor'themar elaborated.

The undead elf thought for a moment, "You said Arthas triggered the sunwell, correct? Could he have been battling an old god?"

"That is preposterous, Lady Sylvanas…why would the Lich King be involved in a battle with one of those things? In fact don't they all lie imprisoned beneath Azeroth?" Lor'themar scoffed.

Sylvanas frowned, "It seems Thrall neglected to tell you a few things…Arthas has gone mad with power and declared war against the Old Gods and the Burning Legion."

"What?!" Lor'themar's eye widened.

Voren'thal nodded, "She's right, Regent Lord…in fact it might explain why your rangers went crazy looking up into the portal above the sunwell. Perhaps Arthas sought to use the sunwell's power to nullify it somehow?"

'He was actually fighting an Old God…' Sylvanas thought shocked, 'he better not be dead…not before I can kill him myself. I wonder if he's alive?'

"What should we do now then?" Sylvanas asked aloud more to herself than the others.

Before either one could answer, all three sense a powerful arcane surge. It soared through the skies caused many of the magical spires nearby to overload and explode.

Everybody ran outside shocked. "What on Azeroth was that?!" Lor'themar gasped.

"Arthas…" Sylvanas said aloud.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Gilneas, With Mortukai XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Deep within a Gilnean prison, Mortukai sat chained against the wall. His undead features appeared more brutalized than normal as he had recently suffered torture from his worgen captors. The Forsaken Mage's eyes widened shocked as he looked out the window, 'That power! Is that Arthas fighting?! I wonder how his battle fares…'

"You there…mage, eyes front!" the prison guard barked at him causing the mage to look forward again. Mortukai simply sighed, "I should have gone with him…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Coastline South of Gilneas XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ritssyn, Zinnin, and Zelfrax all three were fast on their way to the dark portal. They wanted to take a portal directly to Shattrah, but Dalaran appeared to be the only city capable of sending people cross world at the moment, and they knew it was likely close enough to the Dark Portal where it would negate the point of going to the city itself.

As they flew along the coastline, an arcane wind blew all three off their "acquired" gryphons sending them plummeting to the water.

The gnome, Zelfrax, quickly broke their fall with magic and managed to teleport his companions on the ground safely.

Ritssyn glared into the distance, "What the hell was that?!"

The worgen warlock Zinnin shook his head, "There must be a great battle waging in the distance for echoing power to extend here."

Zelfrax sighed, "Don't just stand there gawking all day…we need to move,"

"That power…could it be the Lich King's?" Zinnin asked.

The other two warlocks looked pale at his suggestion, "I hope not…" Zelfrax said worried.

Ritssyn thought for a moment, "I wonder if Dalaran will feel that arcane wind…it seems like it came from the Maelstrom. Maybe it was the Lich King."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Dalaran XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dalaran, which was now above the Dark Portal had a vast array of mages, within and below it, near the Dark Portal preparing to transfer the city cross world.

Rhonin along with many of the high ranking mages there channeled their power, preparing Dalaran for its mass teleportation through the conduit Dark Portal below. The leader of the Kirin Tor had been pestered constantly by his minions about why they had to go to the portal itself.

Unbeknownst to them, the transfer of something as large as Dalaran required an already stable portal open, which allowed for easier transfusion across such a large distance.

The city was finally prepared for teleportation, before a super massive arcane wind blanketed the air causing it to shake momentarily.

Jaina who had been standing nearby glanced towards Rhonin worriedly, "What was that?!"

Rhonin stopped everything he was doing as his eyes shifted northwest, "That power came from the Maelstrom…it has to be Arthas."

Jaina shot a worried glance into the distance, 'What on Azeroth could have unleashed that kind of power? He must really be fighting an Old God then…'

A considerable distance out near the edge of city wall of Dalran sat a cruel blood elf warlock. Shinfel's eyes widened as a grin plastered her face, "That has to be Arthas…is he actually fighting an Old God? Hahaha!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Ashenvale, South of Hyjal XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Deep in the Ashenvale forest, a large assembly of Alliance and Horde Champions fought against an army of cultists and elementals. Many of them were surprised by the new arrival of fire and wind elementals which aided their enemies in burning the forest.

Thrall's back up proved to be a godsend to many of the over-exerted night elves and tauren who had been working tirelessly to hold the enemy at bay. The cultists had been using guerilla warfare tactics to cause as much damage and chaos as possible, but thankfully, the newly arrived heroes had done wonders to hold them at bay.

Sarkon held his staff up conjuring a stafall of arcane bolts to rain down upon many unfortunate foes. Ironhoof and Anerius were both on the front lines carving through the enemies as Aveil shielded them with her elemental magic and healed their wounds.

Tirion and Darion fought on the front lines with the majority of their underlings, including the human paladin Seirian, many of his underlings, and Thrall himself. The others were all spread out helping various druids against the newly arrived elementals.

Darion turned towards Tirion with a frustrated growl, "They just keep coming…I had no idea the twilight's hammer numbered in the thousands!"

Tirion dispatched several unfortunate cultists before responding, "They seem to be gathering for some reason…I wonder why?"

Answering his question, a two headed ogre appeared at the forefront of the cultist ranks. Everybody stopped briefly to examine the newcomer. Cho'gall approached imposingly as he stomped towards the enemy line without a shred of fear.

His wild head spoke up manically, "Kill them all! Kill them all! The Master grows impatient!"

The other head quickly added, "Elementals! Forward! Do not stop until Nordrassil burns!"

Immediately identifying the ogre as their leader, Tirion charged in towards Cho'gall with the Ashbringer raised high, "Halt! You will not pass us! Warriors hold the line!"

"Somebody put these fires out!" Hamuul Runetotem demanded. The Tauren Archdruid was working behind the line to prevent the elementals from wreaking more destruction.

Darion turned towards his death knights, "Knights of the Ebon Blade, stop those elementals! We can hold the line here! Thassarian, Koltira, I'm counting on you! Hurry!"

"We're on it!" Koltira replied before he, Thassarian, and many Ebon Blade Death Knights rushed to assist the druids. The argent crusade paladins stood behind Tirion as he stood against Cho'gall.

The Alliance and Horde champions quickly pushed back the remaining cultists, forcing them to run behind their master. They all stood side by side behind Tirion as the cultists fled behind Cho'gall into a large mob. This left a large line of enemies on either side facing each other down.

Cho'gall stared at Tirion and laughed, "Do you know who you're dealing with?"

"That must be Cho'gall…the one Shinfel spoke of," Seirian spoke up causing Tirion to nod.

"You know Shinfel? I'm sorry to hear that…" the calmer head of Cho'gall replied.

Ironhoof glanced over at Anerius and Aveil who both shared his shocked expression.

Darion cocked his head, "You know her?! Start talking ogre!"

"You mean to tell me that you do not recognize a warlock when you see one?" Cho'gall laughed at them.

Annoyed with his tone, Kurga quickly stepped forward, "What cult is she a part of?! Tell everyone here!"

"Cult?" Sarkon asked shocked, "you're saying one of my officers was part of a cult?!"

"Uh oh…this can't be good. I think the old guy's about to lose it," Anerius shook his head.

Sarkon roared angrily before snapping his staff in half quickly alarming everybody present, "I've had enough of this! Somebody explain to me why a cultist was allowed to follow us around?! None of you knew?!"

Seirian sighed, "I had my suspicions…she seemed awfully knowledgeable about the Twilight's Hammer, but it wasn't really my place to accuse your people personally. Especially after her remarks against me…people would see it as a personal matter."

"Just so we're clear, Lieutenant General, I never once liked her. We didn't let her sit with us at the lunch table," Anerius tried to make light of the situation to ease the tension.

It appeared ineffective as the tauren spit on the ground, "First Raze, and now this…just how far does the corruption run within our ranks?! Are you in on this too, Kurga?!"

The Tauren turned towards the female orc imposingly causing her eyes to widen. The orc shook her head, "Of course not, Sarkon…I was not allied with her. I hated Shinfel."

"Yet you appeared to know about her cult affiliation…how convenient!" Sarkon growled.

Cho'gall's rational head shook carelessly, "How amusing…you were allied with a member of the Black Harvest this entire time and did not know it? You are right to be angry…Shinfel is a two faced troublemaker."

"Black Harvest?! Gods no…don't even tell me we had one of those fiends with us this entire time," Sarkon snorted in disgust.

"Can't trust dem warlocks for nutthin…" Aveil nodded with a look of disgust.

Tirion visibly tensed at the mention, "Black Harvest?! I've heard of this cult before…"

"Well I would hope so…they're only the most infamous cult in Azeroth! Their council is supposedly made up of the most powerful warlocks in the world!" Sarkon growled annoyed.

Cho'gall laughed, "Do you wish to know their names? I can tell you…Kanrethad, Jubeka, Zinnin, Zelfrax, Ritssyn, and Shinfel rule it…"

Seirian's jaw dropped, "What?! You're telling me we had a Black Harvest Council member spying on us this entire time?!"

Sarkon didn't take it much better as he stomped the ground and kicked up dirt snorting loudly as if ready to charge Cho'gall.

"Ironhoof," Seirian called out to the tauren warrior nearby signaling him to help restrain the druid. Several nearby champions carefully prepared for the worst as Sarkon glared at Kurga again, "YOU KNEW! DIDN'T YOU?!"

"I couldn't tell you…" Kurga replied fearfully as her leader charged a starfire bolt of magic in his hand.

Cho'gall's frantic head laughed interrupting the scene, "She feared the tenets as all warlocks should!"

"So…you held up information that could have potentially prevented this because you were afraid of dying?! That is pathetic coming from an orc! You have no honor!" Sarkon roared.

"You don't understand Sarkon…I had no proof, and nothing good would have come of me discrediting another member of our group," Kurga tried to explain.

"Yet you be a warlock though…she means she don't be wantin to discredit da warlocks." Aveil added as she glared at the orc doubtfully.

Kurga was shocked by Aveil throwing fuel on the fire. Sarkon looked as if he was about to attack her, but Ironhoof, and Seirian quickly held the druid back.

"After all we've been through! I can't trust any of you?!" Sarkon demanded almost emotionally. It appeared the stoic, patient druid had many pent of feelings rising to the surface as he held his head down bitterly.

"Enough! Get a hold of yourself Sarkon. We will discuss this later! Right now the Twilight's Hammer needs to be stopped!" Thrall announced being the voice of reason. The orc quickly pushed through the ranks next to Tirion and Darion.

Both of them appeared relieved by the shaman putting a stop to the internal dispute.

Before anybody else could add their two cents to the conversation, a sweeping surge of arcane power blindsided everybody present. Every elemental in the air was blown to the ground and many of the less stalwart warriors were knocked off their feet.

"What the hell was that?!" Anerius demanded angrily as he stood up and dusted himself off.

Cho'gall turned towards the East, "Ah…that must be the Lich King's power."

Tirion's eyes widened as he looked into the distance, "Arthas…by the light, what is happening out there?!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Deep within Hyjal beneath the roots of Nordrassil, a very concerned Ysera looked up from the pool of water which showed Arthas glowing with terrifying dark power, "Arthas defeated N'zoth…that's unbelievable."

Malfurion who stood nearby was amazed by the news as he and Maiev both traded looks of relief. However, their relief was short lived as Maiev noticed the dark power surrounded Arthas, "What's happening to him?"

Alexstrasza, who had recently arrived watched the pool with silent concern, "The Dragon Soul is reacting in ways I never anticipated…how did Arthas even absorb it anyway?"

"Perhaps Neltharion gave it to him…" Ysera replied causing her sister's eyes to shoot up.

The Aspect of Life frowned, "What about Neltharion's Soul? Unless…"

"I think he stored part of his own soul within the Dragon Soul. How else would Arthas be able to wield it in such a way?" Ysera replied.

Alexstrasza frowned, "How did Arthas appear all the way out there again? It's as if time skipped ahead. One moment he was at the city, and the next he was absorbing power…"

Immediately upon saying it aloud, the red aspect realized Nozdormu must have been involved.

"Ysera…where did Nozdormu go after that battle in Icecrown?" she asked her sister for clarification.

The green aspect looked over at her, "The Caverns of Time I believe…"

"We need to check on him…I fear something may have happened," Alexstraza said worriedly.

The green dragon shook her head, "Not before I see how this ends…it looks like Arthas captured Azshara."

Maiev traded an amazed look with Malfurion before asking, "Arthas captured Azshara?!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX At the Maelstrom, with Arthas XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Arthas was quickly brought back to his senses as he contemplated the scene with Nozdormu minutes prior. He had a feeling the first time he met the Bronze Aspect that something was strange about him. Had he in fact been the catalyst for the dragon's change? He honestly had no clue…but pushing those thoughts aside, he turned his attention back towards Ny'alotha.

As he landed at the wrecked palace, below a floating Naxxramas, he quickly regrouped with his minions who all seemed shocked for one reason or another. "Arthas, what just happened?! You were standing there one second and then the next there was this explosion out in the distance?!" Vyara demanded shocked.

Many of his scourge captains and lieutenants nodded in agreement. Kel'thuzad himself appeared focused on keeping Azshara restrained, as did Illidan, but both briefly made eye contact with Arthas clearly shocked by what had happened.

Falric stared at his additional wings and darker aura of runic energy, "Master…you seem more powerful than before."

Malygos' jaw hung agape as he stared at Arthas incredulously, "It can't be…you absorbed its soul? How is that possible? You were standing here just moments ago. I saw no such occurrence! But that power echoed through the skies…"

"I'll fill you in on the details later Malygos…but it has something to do with Nozdormu," Arthas replied.

The aspect of magic looked shocked, "Nozdormu?! Yes…we have much to discuss then."

"Master you have more wings now..." Zeliek spoke up for the first time in a while. The passive Horseman appeared amazed by the sight of the four wings which glowed darkly.

Arthas nodded, "I'll tell you about it later, Zeliek."

"Never mind that for now…what should we do with her?" Deathwhisper interrupted as she walked towards Arthas with her arms crossed.

The Lich King turned his cold gaze upon the restrained highborne queen. Azshara's golden eyes widened in disbelief as Arthas walked back over to her ignoring the continued questions and concerns of his minions.

She was clearly worried as the glowing, winged Lich King stopped in front of her kneeling figure. "Release her…" Arthas commanded darkly.

Many of the surrounding people traded confused looks. Kel'thuzad nodded his skull head, "Of course master…"

"As you say, Arthas…" Illidan added as he pulled back both war glaives. He kept them readied however as his glowing green eyes remained focused on Azshara. Her body reverted from its ethereal stasis form back into a physical one. The arcane aura radiating quickly healed Illidan's inflicted wounds from her body as well as the burns from earlier.

This display surprised many. Malygos however seemed unsurprised, "Arcane regeneration…I suspected you possessed this power."

"I am a master of magic, Malygos…even more so than you," the elf said as she sent a sharp glare towards the blue dragon.

"I knew that we could not defeat with magic alone. I did not use my full power against you…it was my duty to keep you occupied until Arthas was victorious," the dragon countered.

She shook her head, "A glorious job, you did then…the fact that it took all of you to even hold me speaks in and of itself. Do you think me beaten so easily? I didn't even have time to release my full power yet."

"Nice bluff, elf, but we don't buy it!" Faerlina shouted at the highborne queen. Many surrounding necromancers nodded in agreement. Even Kel'thuzad did as he spoke up again, "You were quick to phase out of the physical plane when you lost the upper hand. Even you must recognize the might of the Scourge!"

Illidan clutched his glaives tightly, "It could be another one of her tricks…she isn't a predictable foe."

"I'll admit, you caught me off guard…but I am immortal. Eventually, you would have had to let me go. N'Zoth's defeat, while impressive, does not extend to me. I am the most powerful being ever born of Azeroth…even Elune fears my power." Azshara boasted.

"Why did you align with N'zoth then if you were so powerful?!" Illidan demanded angrily. It was clear that this issue was one of the reasons he disliked her so much at the moment.

The woman simply sighed, "Convenience I suppose…that creature controlled the remnants of the Well of Eternity. Obviously, serving it was the best way to preserve the highborne and our power."

"By turning into twisted Naga? I hardly consider that preservation…more like corruption," Illidan spat.

"That means little from the likes of you people. You're a lich, you're a vampire, and you're a demon-hunter who just so happens to be a demon," Azshara said as she looked between Kel'thuzad, Lana'thel, and Illidan.

"So, you think you're the most powerful being on Azeroth? Care to test that theory?" Arthas interrupted as he stomped imposingly towards the now freed elf queen.

The highborne queen looked worried for the first time in her life, much to Illidan's amusement as Arthas directed a dark, serious look down at her.

"Wait! I have a question for you, Lich King," Azshara spoke seriously.

Arthas twirled Frostmourne around his hand as he stared at her intently, "Yes?"

"That power that erupted in the distance…did you…did you actually consume N'zoth's soul?" she asked half-amazed, half-horrified.

"Of course I did…" he replied darkly, "it was too dangerous to leave there. Which makes me wonder what to do with you? Obviously, you're a threat to Azeroth, yet here I wonder why I should spare your life?"

"You would consider it even after all of this?" she asked surprised.

The Lich King glanced over at his minions, particularly Malygos and Illidan, "There are others whom you have wronged who stand here with me. I will let them speak before I decide."

Malygos took the que as he instantly spoke up, "She is dangerous Arthas…and cunning. Her corruption of the elves is what led to the misuse of magic in the first place. Not to mention…she doesn't seem all that fazed by the Old God's death."

"Malygos has a valid point…though there is no telling what the effects of the Old God were," Illidan nodded.

Arthas stared at Azshara curiously, "So explain to me, the ideal scenario for you at this point."

She frowned, "I suppose you wouldn't consider just letting me go?"

"Don't even count on it…you know a lot about what's going on right now, and I want answers," Arthas replied.

Azshara sighed in annoyance, "So am I to be your prisoner then? How ineloquent…"

"Imprisonment doesn't sound like a half bad idea. She is very knowledgeable and may know things you don't," Illidan added.

Malygos directed a curious expression towards the demon night elf, "You seemed intent upon killing her earlier…"

The demon hunter smirked, "Oh she should can still die first…maybe it will knock her back into reality."

Azshara looked around disbelievingly, "That's preposterous! You can't kill me…I'm an eternal!"

"So am I…" Arthas countered with a dark grin. Many of his minions cackled evilly at his remark causing Azshara's eyes to widen further.

Kel'thuzad's low rumbling laugh quickly followed, "I suggest a proper reeducation in the hierarchy of power here."

The elf queen cracked a fist and scowled uncharacteristically, "What are you saying? You think you can kill me?! IF you really wish to test your power against mine then I won't hold back!"

Faerlina simply scoffed, "People should know when they're conquered…"

Falric who was standing nearby shook his head, "Would you, Faerlina? Would I?"

"Regardless…I have to agree with Faerlina. Azshara's kidding herself if she thinks Arthas can't defeat her," Marwyn added.

"Teach that highborne bitch a lesson!" Lady Blaumeux exclaimed joyfully.

Deathwhisper crossed her arms at the horsewoman, "That's one way of putting it I suppose."

"Look at her…she's scared! Hahahaha!" Thane laughed hysterically causing the nearby Zeliek to frown.

The paladin shook his head, "Please, stand down, Lady Azshara…"

Rivendare rolled his eyes at the man, "Oh shut up will you? I can't wait to see this battle…"

"Quit laughing you idiots…Azshara is no joke. She is the queen of all elves. Her power shouldn't be mocked," Lana'thel scolded the horseman as well as Heigan and Noth who were both exchanging crude jokes.

"What will you do now, Azshara?" Illidan added as he stared at the queen intensely.

Azshara defensively glared around at the Scourge leaders making fun of her. She gritted her teeth, "You may have defeated my army and slain the Old God, but you can't kill me! Stop laughing at me!"

Her anger at the situation only caused them to laugh more.

"Silence! All of you! This is not the time for that…" Malygos shouted annoyed.

"Speaking of your army…I will see to it that your precious little highborne servants become minions of the Scourge!" Kel'thuzad laughed.

"Damn you!" Azshara cursed uncharacteristically as she glanced around the city worried. Through her arcane insight she could clearly see many Val'kyr and necromancers resurrecting the defeated Highborne.

Illidan seemed shocked by Azshara's use of vulgarity, "I think you truly struck a nerve, Kel'thuzad."

Arthas walked closer as he gripped Frostmourne tightly, "Everybody shut up and back away…"

His minions gave him curious looks as they obeyed giving Arthas a considerable amount of room. The Lich King held his arm up and immediately called a downed elvish sword to his hand. He tossed it at Azshara's feet much to her disbelief, "Pick it up."

"What?" she asked shocked as she looked down at her weapon uncertainly. She seemed surprised that Arthas was actually about to duel her one on one.

Illidan's eyes widened surprised, "What are you doing Arthas?"

The Lich King glanced over at his horned companion, "I'm doing as you both suggested…knocking her back into reality."

The Scourge leaders all started to laugh again at Azshara's over-the-top expression of frustration. Azshara cracked both fists and growled causing an explosion of arcane energy to erupt everywhere quickly shutting them up. Kel'thuzad and several other necromancers quickly raised a ward to block it from doing too much damage. Arthas merely held his hand up and deflected the power behind him causing a city-sized arcane explosion to erupt behind him in the distance.

The queen called the weapon to her hand and panted angrily as her body became infused with arcane power. "I've never had to do this before…but it seems you leave me little choice! I will not stand here and be ridiculed! I am a goddess!" she roared as her body appeared to turn into arcane power.

She levitated off the ground and sent a colossal surge of arcane energy in all directions. Malygos' eyes widened shocked, "She's turning into an Archon! Everybody get behind my shield!"

Following the dragon's command, many of the less powerful Scourge members got behind the powerful arcane shield created by Malygos. Kel'thuzad however, chose to remain out of it and watched the transformation with a genuine fascination.

Vyara gasped as she glanced up at the colossal dragon, "Lord Malygos, what did you say that was?!"

"It's called an Archon," Lana'thel answered in his stead, "It is the highest achievable level a mage can reach through arcane power. It is similar to the light's version of an angel or the fel magic alternative of demonic metamorphosis I've only heard of them in stories…I never knew such power could actually be reached."

"That power…could it be the power mom and dad were searching for?!" Hobb exclaimed amazed. His sister's eyes shot towards him, "Hobb…are you saying this is the power Kael'Thas was after?"

"It is in fact what Kael'Thas longed for…though he never quite achieved Archon after siding with Kil'jaeden…" Illidan summed up for the two blood elves.

Azshara's body began to glow more powerfully than anything Arthas was anticipating. His eyes widened surprised, 'This power…the pressure behind it is unbelievable. She surely was not exaggerating about it earlier.'

The Lich King turned towards his minions concerned, 'I can't fight her this close to the rest of them. It would surely destroy everything here.'

As if reading his concern, Malygos quickly flew out of his arcane shield and launched a powerful field around Arthas and the transforming Azshara. He released as much of his power as possible causing the sky to visibly crackle with power.

Arthas turned towards the dragon surprised, "What are you doing Malygos?"

"Transporting you to the Eye of Eternity. If I don't her magic will kill everyone here!" the dragon explained. Not moments later, a singularity formed between Arthas and Azshara opening into a portal. It immediately forced both of them through it and sealed behind them.

Upon doing so an arcane nova exploded through the skies launching in all directions.

Afterwards, Malygos landed down at Ny'alotha and panted heavily, "I knew she had an ace up her sleeve…that was my last resort to stop her from destroying the ley lines."

"I told you not to mock her…" Lana'thel said annoyed to many of the scourge lieutenants and captains who seemed shocked.

"What just happened? Why did you send the master away?" Deathwhisper demanded of Malygos.

The dragon continued panting, "Archons are an anomaly...especially ones with that level of power. If I left her here it would have surely wreaked unimaginable havoc on Azeroth."

"You said you sent them to the Eye of Eternity? I don't think that was a good idea…archons can absorb all magic nearby," Illidan stated seriously.

The dragon nodded, "I know…but I have faith that Arthas can handle her."

"What should we do now?" Falric asked Kel'thuzad, who was the second in command there. The Lich shook his head and cackled, "Continue as normal…resurrect the remaining highborne, and find a way to get this city back in the air. The master might consider it a useful hub."

Illidan sighed, "It is a shame that we will not get to see the battle…"

"We actually can watch it through the focusing iris there, if you wish," Malygos replied.

Everybody instantly perked up as they gathered around the dragon. "Move it, you whelps! Let me see!" Razuvious pushed his way to the front of the crowd. All of the Scourge Lords eagerly watched as Malygos focused a magical display in front of them.

"This will interesting to watch…" the aspect of magic said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Eye of Eternity, with Arthas and Azshara XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Arthas and Azshara both entered the Eye of Eternity, an explosion of power quickly caused a vortex to surround them. The arcane magic was clearly reacting to both of their spiritual powers, but Azshara appeared to actually be absorbing all of the surrounding magic.

Arthas watched in amazement as her Archon form finished its metamorphosis, "You're a lot more powerful than I gave you credit for…I can see why Elune was so afraid of you now,"

"Hahahaha! You spoke with her did you? How interesting…what did she tell you about the power of Eternals?" Azshara laughed.

"Not as much as I would like…" he replied.

Her glowing form and ethereal magic body was quite a remarkable sight. She seemed almost as if she was a celestial being. Arthas couldn't help but stare in awe of it, "This Archon power of yours…what is it exactly?"

"It's the arcane version of spiritual ascendance. Similar to you in some ways, Lich King…" she replied.

Arthas merely shook his head, "So you were merely playing N'zoth's game then? In order to regain control of the Well of Eternity?"

"Exactly…I'm surprised you caught on so quickly. Although, unfortunately, I cannot sense the well's power anymore. I take it you must have damaged it if you were able to kill the Old God?"

"I destroyed it on this side…no good can come of that portal staying open!" Arthas shouted.

Her face was hard to make out under the arcane body, but he could clearly see her lips frown upon hearing his statement. "It is of no matter…I will simply create another one out of the sunwell."

"You're mistaken if you think you're actually going to defeat me! Frostmourne Hungers!" Arthas roared powerfully causing the vortex to stop spinning around them and explode.

Not even seconds later, her arcane form charged him at a speed even he couldn't believe. Arthas narrowly dodged it as he flew up only to meet with another charge from below.

This time he parried her assault as Frostmourne deflected her arcane snake sword sending her off trajectory. Azshara twirled it around her head causing the weapon to magnify in size. As the snake sword broke apart, each section formed some type of arcane rune on it before the blade came twisting towards Arthas.

He hacked away relentlessly to parry the gigantic arcane weapon, but each time Frostmourne collided with a rune enchanted section, he was met with a powerful explosion. This continued for several moments as each blast staggered him bit by bit.

He growled furiously as his body glowed brighter. With as much strength as he could muster, he raised Frostmourne above his head and cut her sword apart, piece by piece.

They quickly reformed, but not before he flew in close with his blade poised to strike. Azshara narrowly raised the hilt to parry it, but was unable to hold back the force behind his attack causing both to go spiraling further into the Eye of Eternity.

Thinking fast, Azshara wrapped her blade around Arthas wrist and brought his sword arm down narrowly preventing Frostmourne from stabbing her.

They struggled like this for a moment before Arthas brought his gauntleted fist across his restrained arm prying the weapon off by force. This actually drew blood much to Azshara's satisfaction, but her enjoyment was short lived as Arthas instantly back-handed the archon elf loosening her hold. With brute strength he cut off the closest part of the snake sword causing the remaining part of her sword to go shooting into the distance leaving the wrapped part around his arm still.

Arthas wasted no time swinging his rune blade at her, but was blocked by a powerful arcane shield radiating from her other hand. The Archon's shield began to grow in size and soon flew towards him. The Lich King's eyes widened as a beam of arcane energy followed it sending him flying.

He flew for what felt like minutes before realizing he was much closer to the literal Eye of Eternity than before. Arthas briefly turned around, 'Was she trying to push me over here?'

Answering his confusion Azshara blink warped in front of him with a deadly grin, "So you've finally noticed have you? The Eye of Eternity is connected to the Arcane Voidstream in the spirit world…you know what that means?"

"Oh no…" Arthas said aloud shocked as Azshara held up an arm causing the Eye to spiral its energy towards her hand. As she absorbed it, her body grew in size and glowed even brighter.

"The power contained here is sufficient to slay a god…Malygos was a fool to send us here. Now you will die, Lich King!" She hissed evilly.

Arthas strategically glanced around for any sign of what could stop her. He thought quickly as he flew between the oncoming arcane power and her hand. It cut off her incoming power as Arthas blocked it with Frostmourne.

The Lich King held up his blade and absorbed the arcane power into it, 'As I thought…this works both ways. Malygos must have known that, otherwise he never would have risked this.'

Azshara actually laughed at his display, "Hahaha! You think you possess greater mastery of magic than I? Then let us see who the true master of the arcane is! I will destroy you with the Eye of Eternity itself!"

The incoming magic quickly overpowered Arthas as he could barely hold it back. Seconds later it forced him to pull Frostmourne away. The blade was crackling with enormous arcane power and felt as if it weighed a hundred times heavier than its original weight.

Arthas struggled to hold it still in his hand as the blade vibrated powerfully. He looked back up at Azshara who was literally absorbing as much power as possible from the Eye. "Yes! Yes! Come to me magic! All the arcane magic in the world is mine to command!"

'I've had about enough of this…' Arthas thought as he gripped Frostmourne with his both hands.

He instantly reared the weapon back and fired a crystal-like arcane spear at her. It was followed by a stream of runic frost magic giving it the appearance of a jagged comet. The attack blind-sided Azshara as she absorbed power and sent her spiraling out of control embedded with the spear.

She howled painfully as the spear began to crystallize around her body. Thinking fast, Arthas pointed Frostmourne towards the Eye of Eternity, 'Let's hope this works.'

Without a second to spare, he unleashed a surge of elemental power from Frostmourne releasing all the absorbed arcane power from earlier and reversing the flow of magic. This actually caused the eye to temporarily stop spinning.

Azshara seemed shocked by the action as she quickly broke free and attempted to draw more power from the Eye of Eternity. Unfortunately, the stagnant magic would no longer move as Arthas flew towards her.

The queen glared at him angrily, "What did you do?!"

"I've stopped the flow of magic…you won't be able to absorb anymore with the pressure of my power holding it back! No more games…now it's a real fight," Arthas responded with a bloodthirsty enthusiasm.

"How dare you! Magic obey me!" Azshara shouted into the calm void doing anything she could to draw more power in.

Arthas simply shook his head, "Why do you need more power? Are you afraid you can't beat me without it?"

"ARRGH!" she screeched in pure fury as her body exploded with power. She channeled all of her absorbed power into her sword and cracked it like a whip causing many subsequent explosions to follow.

The Lich King grinned eagerly as he flew towards her and engaged in a deadly contest of blades. Azshara appeared much faster now than before and enchanted each and every attack with a multitude of various elements.

Fire, frost, and arcane attacks all combined with varying levels of power. Had he not been as powerful as he was, Arthas knew this would have easily demolished a lesser foe. He twirled Frostmourne in quick powerful flurries unleashing its runic arcane power combined with lightning, frost, and shadow magic.

Quickly seizing an opportunity to strike, he swung Frostmourne transversely forcing Azshara to parry vertically. He immediately grabbed her wrist much to her surprise and squeezed tightly. She grimaced in pain, but soon cried out in agony before Arthas threw her up higher.

The trajectory from the throw was hard to stop as she tried to regain her bearings. However, before she had recovered, Arthas appeared above her and came flying down with Frostmourne ready to pierce her body. As a last ditch effort to stop this, she held up her free arm and launched a powerful fireball staggering Arthas midair and slowing her trajectory.

Her success was short lived as he dove through the fire and delivered a fierce kick towards her face whilst simultaneously deflecting her massive snake sword. He brought his blade in for another jab, but was unsuccessful as she flung out her sword and wrapped Arthas' body with the blade. As the snake sword outstretched, smaller arcane bladed like thorns extended from the sides wrapping the Lich King thoroughly.

She continued channeling power causing the sword to wrap around him excessively. Arthas grimaced in pain as his wings, arms, and legs were now nearly immobile from the wrapped sword.

Azshara peeled off the hilt of her sword and from the hilt a small blade of pure arcane power emerged. It quickly focused into a weapon sharper than anything he had ever seen. She panted heavily before smiling, "It's over…"

Seconds later she threw the blade at him perfectly causing it to spin ready to decapitate the man.

Arthas calmed himself as he took a deep breathe. As soon as he did this, time seemed to slow down. He felt an unusual sensation within his chest and could barely see the golden power glowing from within the tangled mass of the snake sword immobilizing him.

Time slowed even further as he relaxed his muscles. His body began to grow heavy soon afterwards turning into what he could only describe as some type of metal. Half a second later, time returned and Azshara's sword came flying into his neck. Unfortunately for her, it did no good as the Lich King's metal skin was unaffected. As the sword bounced off his neck, It soon reverted back to normal much to Azshara's surprise, but not before some type of blue fire spread across his body. It was blue and molten in appearance as it quickly dissolved through his restraints.

"What the?!" the queen gasped in horror.

Her surprise was short lived as Arthas darted towards her with deadly killing intent. Without her weapon she could do little to hold him back and just fired repeated arcane blasts and fire balls. They were unsuccessful as he flew through them.

She held up both arms and focused the most powerful beam of energy she could muster, "Just die already!"

Arthas countered her beam as he held up his hand. The Eye of Eternity itself started spinning again as he released this power.

Desperate to push him back, Azshara tried absorbing power from it again with as she maintained her beam. The odds seemed to shift back to her favor as Arthas was pushed back by her attack. She screeched powerfully into the attack, "You cannot defeat me!"

Arthas continued channeling his attack, but was being pushed back by Azshara again towards the Eye of Eternity. The closer they got to it, the more powerful her attack seemed to become.

Arthas grimaced painfully as the arcane magic began to sear his skin. It felt as if a thousand burning, jagged crystals were rubbing the inside of his skin. Pushing through the pain, he channeled as much power as he could through Frostmourne and swung into Azshara's beam.

The power released from the blade briefly split the beam in half, giving Arthas the split second he needed to unleash another arcane spear from Frostmourne. The jagged, comet like bolt flew down the middle of her beam and nearly reached her before exploding within the closing gap.

Much to Azshara's horror, this attack caused her to lose sight of Arthas. She glanced around worriedly before a ball of blue fire collided with her blindside

"Ow!" she cried painfully as the blue molten fire burned her.

She barely had enough time to recover as Arthas came in for another melee attack. Without her sword, she knew she'd be defenseless up close. Desperate to stop him from stabbing her, Azshara grabbed his sword arm with both hands and pushed with all her might.

Arthas pushed back with only one arm and was quickly overpowering her. She could do little to resist as he punched her face repeatedly to weaken her hold. Finally, he managed to peel one of her arms away and held it tightly before ripping Frostmourne free of the other.

Azshara could not react fast enough as Arthas moved like a blur. Her eyes widened in horror as she looked down wondering how Frostmourne had pierced her. An arcane nova soon followed as her Archon form dissipated. Moments later, Arthas felt himself being sucked through a nearby, newly formed portal.

He came flying through it with Frostmourne still embedded in Azshara's chest. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and fear as Arthas came crashing down into Ny'alotha impaling her to the ground with Frostmourne.

She lied upon the ground in utter disbelief and quivered in pain as she began to shake. The queen barely managed to cough up blood as Arthas walked over her. His body which burned with blue fire earlier, was now reverting back to normal.

Arthas' minions all looked overjoyed at his victory, but most of all, Illidan who was amazed by the battle he had just witnessed. Nobody said anything as they watched Azshara struggle to look up at Arthas.

"I lost?" she said aloud more to herself than him. It seemed as if she was trying to make sense of the situation.

The Lich King nodded his head, "I pierced your heart…" He pulled the blade from her chest causing blood to pool around her body.

She felt her vision darkening as the sound of Arthas' minions laughing and cheering began to fade out. His voice quickly brought her back to consciousness, "But your soul is mine now…and I've decided to keep you."

'What…' she thought almost intoxicated as the quick loss of blood overwhelmed her mental function. Death was close as she soon faded into unconsciousness. It didn't last long however as her senses soon returned.

Moments later runic power surrounded her body as Arthas pointed Frostmourne towards her, "Arise, Azshara…welcome to the Scourge."

She cried out in agony as the runic power turned her undead. Although it was different than other undead transformations Arthas had previously done. Hers was imbued with some type of golden energy as well. Arthas himself was surprised by this, 'What is that? I don't recognize that power…'

Azshara quickly sat up as her wounds began to heal. She looked down at the wound Frostmourne had inflicted and was amazed as it closed up immediately. 'Is this the Dragon Soul's power? That doesn't look like a normal undead resurrection,' Arthas thought intrigued.

The Highborne queen looked around silently almost as if she was embarrassed by her position. Everybody watched her reaction curiously as she cautiously stood up. Azshara looked at Arthas uncertainly, "What did you do?"

"Made you mine," Arthas said crudely without giving much thought to the implications behind his statement. He immediately realized that it came off the wrong way as Azshara looked at him incredulously, "What? You wanted me?"

Arthas pretended to be oblivious as he ignored her question, "You will make a fine addition to the Scourge, Queen Azshara…"

"I'm undead?!" she shrieked in horror as she looked around at the Scourge leaders' amused expressions. Arthas quickly calmed her as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Relax…you still look the same. In fact, you look better than before…"

She looked up at him confused, "Now what am I supposed to do?"

"Join me…and start by telling me everything you know about the Old Gods," Arthas replied.

Azshara seemed shocked by the situation, "'Join you?' Am i your servant now?"

Illidan was quick to voice his opinion, "It is a foreign concept to her, Arthas…you're the first person to ever humiliate her in this manner. She will need time to adjust."

The Highborne Queen turned towards Illidan with a saddened face, "Illidan…I lost?"

The former night elf nodded, "Yes…Azshara. Everybody has to lose sometimes. Even Arthas and I have lost battles before."

She turned towards Arthas for confirmation. He nodded his head in agreement, "Illidan is right…in fact, I would have been dead had it not been for the aid of my minions…or friends rather."

"So I belong to you now?" Azshara asked causing most of Arthas female entourage to visibly tense up. She awkwardly bent her knee as if unaccustomed to the scenario, which she clearly wasn't.

"How can I serve you…master?" she said more to herself than him.

Arthas sighed, "Stand up and tell me what you know about the other Old Gods."

"Master, perhaps we should bring this conversation to Naxxramas while the lower ranks get the city in a suitable condition," Kel'thuzad interrupted respectfully.

The Lich King gave the lich an approving look, "I didn't even think of that…good idea, Kel'thuzad. Get all available minions to work on that. Place the Necropolises around the city edges and leave Naxxramas at the center. We'll fortify this place into a super necropolis."

"My nerubians can handle that," a newly arrived Anub'Arak spoke as he turned towards Kel'thuzad, "I will oversee the construction myself."

"I will send all available mages and necromancers to aid you," the lich nodded in response.

"Everyone with the exception of the assault leaders is to assist Anub'arak in whatever he needs…Vyara, Hobb I want you two to come with us to Naxxramas. We have a lot to talk about," Arthas commanded.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Okay so there's another chapter. So yeah some more crazy stuff went down this time. Was anybody expecting Arthas to fight Azshara? C'mon you knew that was coming…anyways on to my usual pointless commentary:

So yeah…those warlocks are up to no good again it seems. The Black Harvest is plotting something sinister indeed.

Alright so we have one Old God dead, but now how will the others react? What is C'thun planning? What eclipse is he talking about? What are the other Old Gods up to? What do the Elder Gods want? All of this stuff will be answered eventually.

I wonder what Azshara has to say now that she's a part of the scourge…what is next on the agenda for our lovable band of anti-heroes and villains?

On a side note, I'm starting to wonder if the summary for this story is misleading? Some poor unsuspecting reader probably started it in the hopes of an Arthas redemption/feel good fic and ended up with this crazy fanfic's story. Somehow I'm just picturing somebody reading this from start to finish thinking, "What the hell is happening?!" lol. You just wait confused reader...I'll show you how deep this rabbit hole goes.

So anyways…thanks for reading and bearing with my crazy story. Hopefully I'll finish it one day…