>>12154397Arthas warned Illidan to leave Azeroth and never return. Refusal from Illidan initiated a short but intense duel, with Illidan inadvertently leaving himself open. Arthas pressed the advantage, slicing open the demon hunter's chest with Frostmourne. Illidan collapsed in the snow, as Arthas turned towards the gates of Icecrown triumphant.
Arthas entered the hollow glacier and beheld a winding pinnacle chained to the ice. As he strode up the stairs towards his destiny, the voices of those he had forsaken flooded through his mind. He heard Muradin Bronzebeard, Uther, and Jaina calling out to him, yet he ignored them, continuing his ascent. Finally, he reached the pinnacle and before him he saw an icy cask. Inside was a suit of armor, arranged as if seated on a massive throne. Now only one voice spoke to him - the rasping whisper of Ner’zhul:
"Return the blade...complete the circle...release me from this prison!"
With a great cry of strength, Arthas brought Frostmourne to bear against the Lich King's icy prison and with a haunting scream, the Frozen Throne exploded, and shards of the crystal scattered on the ground. With Ner’zhul’s thorny helm at his feet, Arthas leaned forward, picked it up, and placed the unimaginably powerful artifact on his head.
"Now," Ner'zhul's voice echoed within his mind, "we are one!"
In that moment, Ner'zhul and Arthas' spirits fused into a single mighty being, just as the Lich King had always planned. Arthas as a single being ceased to exist, now one half of one of the most powerful entities Azeroth had ever known, the new Lich King.
