Lich ( Final Fantasy ) Lich is the Fiend of Earth from the original " Final Fantasy " . He appears at the bottom of the Cavern of Earth . He is undead with the appearance of a skeleton . Story . As the Earth - elemental fiend , he drains the power of the Earth Crystal , rotting the soil in Melmond . Lich was the third fiend to awaken , doing so shortly before the Warriors of Light set out on their quest . When the Warriors arrive at Melmond they find the earth rotting and people dying . They learn a vampire is blamed and travel into the nearby Cavern of Earth to defeat it , but upon returning to the town they see the earth is still decaying . Using the Star Ruby found in the cavern to gain passage through the Giant ' s Cave , they travel to the Sage ' s Cave where they are told by Sadda that the vampire was only working for a greater force : Lich . The Warriors return to the Cavern of Earth where they find the Earth Crystal . After confronting Lich , the party prevails . The Earth Crystal shines again , and the land rots no more . Later , the Warriors fight a younger version of the Lich in the Chaos Shrine 2000 years in the past . They defeat him once more , preventing him from journeying to the future and causing the earth to rot in the first place . Battle . First battle . Lich has a 75 % chance to cast a spell and 25 % chance to attack each round . Lich ' s physical blows have a chance to paralyze whoever it hits . His spell cycle is as follows : Blizzara → Sleepra → Haste → Thundara → Hold → Fira → Slow → Sleep Lich is the hardest boss faced at that point in the game . As an undead enemy , he is weak to Dia and Fire . Lich is a proficient user of elemental spells and can complement his physical prowess with Haste . Strategy . Utilizing Fira , Red Fangs or Firaga if available would prove effective . Mere physical attacks will not be very effective ; if one uses physical attacks , they should be augmented with Haste and / or Temper . It is recommended that the party use a White Curtain , Blue Curtain and Red Curtain , or alternatively the spells NulFrost , NulShock and NulBlaze to halve the damage caused by Lich ' s elemental spells . The party should increase evasion with Invis or Blink to avoid his powerful physical blows and decrease the chance of getting paralyzed . In the NES version , a lucky pair of shots with FIR3 and DIA3 can , potentially , kill Lich in one round ( as the spells do extra damage to undead and both have high - end damage at or over 200 , while Lich only has 400 HP ) or at least leave him in a state where one more round of spells will assuredly kill him . This tactic is less advisable in later versions , as Lich ' s HP has been doubled ( or more ) . Second battle . When the Warriors of Light travel through time they must fight the Lich of the past . The " Lich Room " in Chaos Shrine contains many of the monsters from the Cavern of Earth and the stairway to the next floor is guarded by the past Lich , a fixed encounter which can be triggered many times by walking through the same spots . His spell cycle has been altered to use only level 8 black magic : Flare → Stop → Warp → Kill All of his stats are improved and he loses his weakness to fire . Strategy . Everyone should resist Time and Death elements . Physical attacks can prove to be a help against Lich , by augmenting them with Haste , Temper and Saber . For attacking with magic , White Mages / Wizards should cast Diaga or Diaja , while Black Mages / Wizards should use Thundaga or Flare . For versions earlier than " " , players may wish to hold off on attack magic to conserve their spell charges , as Lich is only the first of several upcoming boss fights and there is no way to replenish charges while inside the dungeon .