Chapter 2244 Troysa <TOC> Chapter 2246 Qualification
Translator: SumTLMan
Dangros, a creature of fire, never imagined that one day he would arrive at the stronghold of creatures of ice. Nor had he thought that, while still in his sprite phase, he would directly confront the supreme ruler of the Marlaya Mountain.
Now, all these unforeseen events had one by one come to pass.
As they emerged from the bottom of the Mena River, led by Troysa, Dangros caught sight of a crevasse in the ice mountain valley, hidden amongst the ice.
Through the crystal-clear ice, he could distinctly see pillars standing within the ice layer, extending deep into the ice, encircling a palace. This was the heart of Marlaya Mountain, the headquarters of the ice elemental creatures.
In front of the crystal palace’s grand entrance, there was a vast expanse of white snow mist, within which one could faintly discern a humanoid silhouette standing four meters tall.
According to Troysa, the figure hidden in the snow mist was none other than Highness Iseth.
Although Dangros knew that following Angel, he would inevitably meet this “old friend” from the Fire Domain, the reality of the moment still seemed surreal to him.
This sense of surrealness persisted until Angel actually entered the crevasse in the ice layer and stepped into the vast snowstorm.
“Troysa says you wish to see me? For matters concerning the future of the Tidal Realm?” came a voice, cold in tone, appearing without warning. It was impossible to discern the source of the voice amidst the snowstorm, as if it came from everywhere.
Angel halted his advance, lifting his head to look forward.
Although Dangros saw nothing, he could feel that, deep within the wind and snow that obstructed their view, a pair of eyes was quietly watching them.
“Yes,” Angel replied softly. “It’s not just for the matters of the future of the Tidal Realm, but also related to Mr. Feng.”
The howling wind and snow lasted for a dozen seconds before that cold voice sounded again: “Then continue forward, I will be waiting for you at the end.”
After the words were spoken, the wind and snow gradually lessened until it disappeared completely.
Once the wind and snow had vanished, their vision was unobstructed, allowing them to see the ice columns on both sides of the crevasse and the crystal palace standing at the end of the columns.
The only difference was that the vaguely visible human silhouette in front of the crystal palace had now vanished.
“The one who just spoke…” Dangros swallowed hard, “Was it Frost Iseth?”
Although it seemed like Dangros was muttering to himself, his gaze was directed towards the mermaid figure floating next to Angel——Troysa.
Troysa glanced at Dangros and said slowly, “Besides Highness, who else do you think it could be?”
Dangros choked and said nothing more. Although he is usually bold, it doesn’t mean he is foolish. Now, in the heart of enemy territory, surrounded by enemies eyeing him fiercely, it was better to keep a low profile.
Dangros hugged the Blood Night Sanctuary, pretending to be non-existent. Seeing this, Troysa scoffed and whispered, “Coward.”
Upon hearing this, Dangros’ eyes reddened once again with shame and anger, but due to the current circumstances, it refrained from speaking out.
Troysa did not further provoke Dangros, instead, she turned her head towards Angel and said, “The palace of Highness is just ahead, please follow me, sir.”
Angel nodded and followed Dangros towards the edge of the ice.
Minutes later, they stood outside the gates of the crystal palace. From there, one could vaguely see shadows moving within the palace, suggesting the presence of many creatures gathered inside.
Troysa noticed Angel’s gaze and explained to him, “Those are elemental sprites.”
According to Troysa, aside from Frost Iseth and Sage Eskimo, only ice and water elemental sprites had the freedom to come and go from this crystal palace. Other elemental creatures, including Troysa herself, needed the consent of Frost Iseth to enter the palace.
“Highness did not permit me to enter, so I can only take you this far,” Troysa paused before whispering to Angel, “As long as you come with friendly intentions, I believe Highness will not make things difficult for you.”
This last statement was clearly a reminder from Troysa to Angel.
Angel responded, “I understand.”
Troysa nodded, said no more, and gently turned into a mist of water, disappearing from sight.
Angel then looked at the companions on either side of him, a flying pig, a three-headed lion dog, and the hidden Speedling, and then said, “Let’s go in.”
After finishing his statement, Angel no longer hesitated and directly stepped into the crystal palace.
…
The interior of the crystal palace was even larger than Angel had imagined, and the arrangement inside the crystal palace also took Angel by surprise.
It was like a giant theater simulating the four seasons. In the four corners of the crystal palace, there were scenes corresponding to the different seasons: a spring flower garden, summer verdant trees, autumn bountiful fruits, and a winter ice lake.
Countless ice elemental creatures moved through this “Four Seasons Theater,” and there were also some water elemental creatures among them, but they all stayed in places with lake water.
The arrival of Angel and his companions caught the attention of these elemental creatures, who all stopped their playful antics and curiously stared at them.
However, despite their intense curiosity, none of the elemental creatures approached, and even those closer to them would actively move away.
Undoubtedly, this was due to the restraint of Frost Iseth on them.
Angel himself had no intention of approaching the elemental creatures. After looking around, he finally focused his gaze on the depths of the palace.
A towering ice throne.
At that moment, there was no one on the ice throne, but Angel could faintly feel the waves of energy emanating from near the throne. Moreover, Eremy was also sending him warning signals from the shadows, indicating the presence of a high-power transcendent being near the throne.
Without any incident, Frost Iseth was near the throne.
After determining the direction, Angel did not hesitate and walked forward.
When he was thirty meters away from the throne, the throne that could bear the sky giants began to gather snow and wind.
Angel stopped when he was twenty meters away from the throne. At this time, the snow and wind on the throne had transformed into a cold, aloof woman, about four meters tall, clad in a snow-white fur robe, wearing a frost crown, holding an ice scepter, and with silver hair.
Ignoring the difference in size, this “woman’s” appearance was very pleasing to the eye, except her expression was very cold, which momentarily made Angel mistake her for Witch Sineva of the Frost Moon Alliance.
However, although Sineva also had a cold demeanor and frost-like silver hair, she possessed the power of flames, with eyes like burning blood. Hence, Sineva’s aura was a mix of ice and fire, while this crown-wearing “woman” was entirely of ice.
Being seated on the throne and wearing a crown, along with the construction of the snow and wind, it goes without saying that the person was none other than the monarch of Marlaya Mountain.
“Highness Frost,” Angel performed a half bow, touching his chest. Lobert and Cupid, standing by his side, also bowed their heads.
The only one holding its head high was Toby, perched on Angel’s shoulder.
Frost Iseth’s gaze swept over Angel, Lobert, Cupid, and then lingered on the shivering Dangros, finally resting on Toby.
Looking at Toby and recalling the message from Troysa not long ago, a barely discernible flicker of hidden light appeared in her pure white eyes.
After a long while, Frost Iseth finally withdrew her gaze and nodded at Angel, saying, “Did you just mention Mr. Feng?”
Angel nodded, “Yes, I came to this realm following Mr. Feng’s footsteps.”
Frost Iseth glanced at Toby, then back at Angel, and murmured softly, “Is that so…”
Angel also heard Frost Iseth’s whisper and curiosity flashed in his eyes: “Your Highness seems not surprised by our arrival?”
Frost Iseth did not respond, not out of disdain, but because her gaze was fixed on the distance, as if lost in memories.
At that moment, next to the huge ice throne, a hunched figure slowly emerged.
“It’s because this is destiny,” said the hunched figure.
It was a half-human ice elemental creature with a lizard’s skull for a head, looking very ancient. Not only was its back hunched, but its lizard skull was also drooping almost parallel to its heels. However, it had two long whiskers that supported the weight of its head, preventing the skull from touching the ground.
Angel looked at this ice elemental creature, and although he did not recognize the newcomer, deducing from what Troysa had mentioned earlier, aside from elemental spirits, only two individuals could freely enter the crystal palace. Excluding Frost Iseth, the identity of the newcomer was clear.
“Are you… Sage Eskimo, sir?”
“Indeed, it is I.” Eskimo extended his slender hand to stroke his protruding whiskers, smiling warmly.
After confirming the newcomer’s identity, Angel curiously asked, “May I know what destiny you were referring to earlier?”
Eskimo sighed softly, “Your arrival is guided by destiny.”
Hearing the familiar charlatan’s rhetoric, a hint of helplessness flashed in Angel’s eyes. Although Eskimo didn’t reveal any significant information, from this single statement, Angel could almost guess the story behind it.
“Is this something Mr. Feng mentioned?” Although it was a question, Angel’s tone was incredibly certain.
Eskimo replied, “You know too? Well, that makes sense, as you are an important part of destiny’s closed loop. It’s understandable that you would know.”
Eskimo’s response confirmed Angel’s suspicions without a doubt. However, Angel couldn’t help but silently critique that Eskimo was definitely putting on airs of being profound.
Angel, not being a prophecy wizard himself, had a friend who was a genius in the prophecy field. Thus, he had a certain understanding of prophecy.
There’s a theory in prophecy that within a closed loop of destiny, no one except the operator executing the loop would comprehend the loop’s truth. Because once the people within the loop grasp the truth, the closed loop of destiny would cease to exist, akin to the concept that “observation leads to collapse.”
Therefore, Eskimo’s statement, “You are an important part of destiny’s closed loop, and it’s understandable that you would know,” is fundamentally incorrect.
It’s likely that Eskimo picked up bits and pieces from Feng and cobbled them together to form his current narrative.
Although Angel felt a strong urge to criticize, facing an old man putting on an act, he restrained himself, letting him maintain his façade completely.
Angel’s inner thoughts were unknown to Eskimo, who continued to mutter softly, “This is destiny, oh, destiny…”
The aged voice, the expression of gazing into the distance, along with the surrounding echo; if a naive person were here, they might truly be captivated by this scene.
Yet, Angel remained expressionless.
Convinced wholeheartedly? Hardly. It was merely exquisite acting.
Angel silently cooperated, expressing surprise, “So it is Mr. Feng who has the capability to decipher destiny and foresaw today?”
Eskimo, however, simply smiled without giving a direct answer, “If you really want to know, it’s better to let Highness tell you. It would be presumptuous of me to say.”
Angel nodded in understanding, shifting his gaze from Eskimo to The Frozen Throne above.
At that moment, Frost Iseth seemed to have also regained her composure, letting out a light sigh.
Angel asked, “Does Your Highness have something on her mind?”
Frost Iseth shook her head, her expression still cold, “I was just reminded of some memories.”
“Is it about Mr. Feng?”
Frost Iseth did not deny, saying, “Yes.”
After finishing the statement, Frost Iseth did not elaborate further, swiftly moving past the topic and refocusing on Angel: “Mr. Feng has spoken of many paths of destiny, mentioning that perhaps in the future, someone might follow in its footsteps.”
“So, are you the one he spoke of?”
Upon concluding, Frost Iseth’s gaze suddenly sharpened, the atmosphere around them shifted, and the pressure escalated abruptly, as if intending to scrutinize Angel from the inside out thoroughly.
Faced with the sudden surge of intimidation, Angel showed no reaction, for Eremy, who was always on guard, had already revealed his shadowy form, shielding Angel from the pressure.