Chapter 2246 Qualification <TOC> Chapter 2248 Calculation
Translator: SumTLMan
After Angel followed Frost Iseth through the pure white gate, he still felt somewhat dazed.
Unexpectedly, Frost Iseth had agreed so readily.
It was known that the sages and monarchs of other domains, even if they were inclined to cooperate with Angel, had not nodded in agreement directly. They planned to first meet with Sage Magu and then decide after meeting with representatives from the Savage Grottoes.
Now, Frost Iseth had not set any conditions and had expressed support; even though she provided a set of reasons, Angel was still shocked. After all, Angel himself understood how the suggestions in —The Future Possibilities of the Tidal Realm— were so revolutionary to the usual norms of elemental creatures.
“Do you have something on your mind? Are you worried about your companions?” At this moment, the voice of Frost Iseth came from ahead.
Angel looked up to see a… snowball in front of him.
To be precise, it was a floating snowball, which was Frost Iseth’s transformed form.
Since the pure white gate was designed for the human form, and the corridor inside was quite low, Frost Iseth’s original form could not enter. Therefore, Frost Iseth had to shrink and transform.
However, Angel did not understand why it had turned into a snowball.
Could it be that this was the form of Frost Iseth as a sprite? Although Angel had some guesses, he was tactful and did not ask.
“Is there anything for them to worry about?” Angel replied. This time, entering the pure white gate, only Angel and Eremy, who was hidden in the shadows, were present. The other elemental creatures, including Toby, were outside.
“If it’s not the companions you’re worried about, then why the furrowed brows? Could it be that you’re worried about yourself?” The snowball in front paused and turned to glance at Angel.
Looking at the disproportionately large eyes on the snowball, Angel instinctively averted his gaze.
Indeed, the contrast between this image and the noble, icy demeanor of the queen on the frozen throne was stark.
Though her tone remained indifferent, the impact was significantly lessened with this appearance.
“Does Highness intend to separate me from them and then defeat us one by one?”
“No.”
“Then, what do I have to worry about?” Angel said, “I trust Highness.”
The eyes on the snowball quietly observed Angel for a while before looking away and continuing forward.
“You and he are very similar,” Frost Iseth’s voice echoed in the tranquil corridor after half a minute.
“By ‘he,’ does Highness mean Mr. Feng?” Angel asked.
The snowball hummed in affirmation, then softly said, “That air of self-righteousness about you is very much like his.”
Although Frost Iseth’s remarks were critical, her tone did not carry any hint of criticism; instead, it was filled with deep nostalgia. It was like a girl unable to forget her first love, intending to speak ill of them yet, in the memories that surfaced, her heart and eyes were filled with only their goodness.
Angel looked deeply at the snowball in front of him: “It seems, Highness Frost and Mr. Feng are indeed very familiar with each other. Your relationship must be good, right?”
Frost Iseth did not answer but merely snorted lightly, as if with disdain. However, Angel had been paying close attention to Frost Iseth, so he clearly saw that when he asked this question, her figure imperceptibly paused for a moment. Although she quickly adjusted back, it was evident that her heart was not as disdainful as it appeared on the surface.
From these details, Angel already knew the answer to his question, so he did not pursue further but instead changed the topic: “Earlier outside, Highness Frost, you agreed so readily, partly because of Mr. Feng, right?”
The snowball turned her face, glancing at Angel with peripheral vision: “Have you been thinking about this all along, furrowing your brow?”
Angel did not deny it and nodded in acknowledgment: “After all, on my journey here, I’ve met many elemental monarchs, and you are the only one who agreed directly.”
Angel had even secretly thought, upon leaving the Fire Domain, that Frost Iseth of Marlaya Mountain would probably be the most difficult to deal with. Now, it seemed he was completely wrong.
Frost Iseth hummed softly, “They have not made a decision, simply because from the moment of their birth, they have been in a well, even if they speculate about the outside world, it is mere conjecture. Naturally, they do not know that the sky outside is actually infinitely larger than they imagine.”
“Has Highness ever left the Tidal Realm?” From Frost Iseth’s words, Angel read this implication.
Frost Iseth: “I have not been to the Wizarding World, but I have traveled to the Void with Mr. Feng.”
It is precisely because she has been to the Void and learned some information about the endless Void, knowing that there are countless worlds beyond the distant Void, larger than the Tidal Realm, that it gradually accepted the fact that the Tidal Realm is actually very small, and she herself is even smaller.
Although at the moment, Frost Iseth was struck by this realization, even wanting to escape this fact, with the passage of time, that experience of going to the Void brought her countless returns. Among them, the greatest gain was learning to revere, recognizing humility; at the same time, she also stepped out of the current framework and truly saw the world beyond the well.
It is precisely because Frost Iseth’s vision changed, that she was not limited by the framework of the Tidal Realm. With this premise, she understood that to truly transcend and collaborate with powerful human wizards was absolutely the best choice.
Of course, this was just what made Frost Iseth open to the idea of collaborating with human wizards. The reason she agreed to Angel so readily had another most important reason.
“You once said that you believe in me,” Frost Iseth quietly looked at Angel and said: “I want to give you these words as well. Because you are the one whom Feng has been waiting for, I believe in Feng; hence, I also believe in you.”
Angel was momentarily taken aback. Although he had roughly guessed that Frost Iseth’s agreement was so readily given, likely due to Feng’s influence, he hadn’t expected this influence to be so profound.
Frost Iseth almost had a blind faith in what Feng said.
Could it be that his previous feeling was correct? Could it be that there was something between Feng and Frost Iseth…
Angel shook his head, discarding the gossiping thoughts. Although his question had been clarified, Frost Iseth’s words had raised a new doubt in Angel.
Angel asked, “Why would Mr. Feng take Highness to the Void?” And why not go to the nearby Wizarding World, but instead to the Void?
Hearing this question, Frost Iseth suddenly smiled and said, “You will know the answer to this question soon.”
After speaking, Frost Iseth did not continue the conversation with Angel but quietly led the way.
After walking through the corridor for about five minutes, finally, a bright light appeared ahead.
Perhaps because they had spent a long time in the dark corridor, the light ahead was not dazzling, but it was hard to distinguish the scene behind the light at first.
“We’ve arrived,” Frost Iseth said, stepping into the light first.
Angel did not hesitate and stepped into the light. As the white spots before his eyes gradually faded away, Angel finally saw the surroundings.
It was a tower-like ice chamber, illuminated brightly by a constant light source at the very top.
Due to the spaciousness of the ice chamber, Frost Iseth also transformed from a snowball shape back into the four-meter-tall figure of a snow queen.
Clack, clack, clack——
After regaining her true form, Frost Iseth did not stop moving and walked towards the side of the ice chamber until she reached the ice wall at the end.
Angel noticed that the ice chamber was very spacious, with nothing but ice-made tables and chairs. Therefore, Angel followed Frost Iseth to the vicinity of that ice wall.
Directly in front of this ice wall, there was a throne. Similar to the frozen throne outside, but less extravagant in design.
Judging from the size of the throne, it was not made for humans, suggesting that the owner of the throne was still Frost Iseth.
Beyond the throne, Angel’s gaze was drawn to the ice wall.
On the ice wall, there was a painting: A snow queen, wearing a crown and holding a scepter, sitting on the throne, her head held high, looking down upon all beings.
The artist of this mural was undoubtedly Feng, and the snow queen in the painting was, without question, Frost Iseth.
Frost Iseth gazed at her own image within the mural, an almost imperceptible sigh escaping her lips before she turned and walked beside the throne, staring intently at a certain spot directly in front of it.
Angel followed her gaze, only to discover nothing there, just an empty space.
“Originally, he stood right there, looking at me, and then he created this mural,” Frost Iseth said softly.
Angel paused, carefully observing and comparing, and realized that what Frost Iseth had said might indeed be true, as the throne in the mural and the one before the ice wall were identical. From the perspective of view, he might indeed have stood in that position, observing while painting the mural.
“It’s just that, at the time, I was sitting on the throne, clearly daydreaming, but the expression he painted me with is this,” Frost Iseth whispered to herself, “So, in his eyes, is this what I am supposed to be?”
Angel did not interject at this moment because he did not know the answer, and he believed that Frost Iseth might not actually need one.
All he needed to do was quietly wait for Frost Iseth to emerge from her reminiscence.
After a half-minute, Frost Iseth let out a long sigh and sat down on the throne.
“I apologize, it’s been a long while since those boring days passed, so whenever I see a flash from my memories, I can’t help but want to immerse myself in it,” Frost Iseth told Angel.
“Boring days? Highness seems not satisfied with your current life.”
“I just feel that these boring days have lasted too long. However, now that you’ve appeared, I believe the boring times will end soon,” Frost Iseth implied in her final remark.
Angel seemed to think of something and prepared to inquire further. However, Frost Iseth shook her finger, “These matters are not important, let’s get back to the main topic. Regarding Mr. Feng, if you have any questions, you can ask them now.”
Angel: “What did Mr. Feng say about destiny, and did he mention me?”
“I once asked Mr. Feng about the question of destiny, and his answer was that it’s indescribable. So, I don’t understand destiny very well either,” Frost Iseth said. “Perhaps you could ask Eskimo, he has a far greater understanding of destiny than I do.”
Angel: Eskimo? Never mind then.
Frost Iseth: “However, although Mr. Feng did not answer what destiny is, he did mention some tangential topics, such as the direction of destiny.”
“He said that destiny has many directions, and different choices will lead destiny to go in different directions. He also cited himself as an example, saying if he had not opened that book, he would not have come to the Tidal Realm, nor would he have saved the collapsing elemental realm, thus there would not be the current world of the Tidal Realm, let alone…” Frost Iseth paused here, her pure white pupils slowly lifting to look at Angel: “Let alone someone following in his footsteps to come here.”
Angel understood that the person Mr. Feng mentioned, who was undoubtedly following in his footsteps, referred to Angel himself.
Clearly, Feng had anticipated the current situation, which means that Angel had indeed stepped into the trap Feng had set.
However…
“Why me?”
Frost Iseth shrugged: “I don’t know about that. Perhaps only when Mr. Feng returns, and you ask him, will he be able to provide an answer.”
“Mr. Feng has been away from the Tidal Realm for thousands of years, who knows how long it will take for him to return.” Angel sighed, it seems that the truth will not be known for the time being.
At that moment, Frost Iseth suddenly said, “Who said that Feng has been away from the Tidal Realm for thousands of years?”
Angel was stunned: “Hasn’t he?”
Frost Iseth shook her head: “Mr. Feng did indeed leave the Tidal Realm for the first time about three thousand years ago at the time of the initial settling after of the catastrophe. However, Mr. Feng actually came back once after that.”
Feng returned to the Tidal Realm?!
Angel had visited several realms, but no sage had ever said that Feng had returned after leaving! Including Gentle Wind Uranos of White Cloud Hamlet, who also never mentioned it.
Given the situation at the time, Angel believed that they definitely weren’t intentionally hiding it, so there was only one possibility.
“They actually didn’t know about Feng’s return to the Tidal Realm!”
“When did Mr. Feng come back?” Angel hurriedly asked.
Frost Iseth paused: “Six Hundred Years Ago.”
Six hundred years ago? When Frost Iseth mentioned this time, Angel suddenly remembered a conversation——
“I spent several years in the Ice Valley with the human who called himself ‘Feng.’ During those years, Feng helped me build this crystal ice palace and taught me how to paint. The mural of Bina Jonis in the palace was drawn under his guidance.”
“Feng actually came to the Ice Valley? When was that?”
“Six hundred years ago.”
The above is a conversation between Angel and Odeklaes, the ruler of the surface layer Ice Valley of the Abyss.
Six hundred years ago, Feng not only visited the Tidal Realm but also went to the Abyss? How could the timing be so close?
While Angel was pondering, Frost Iseth added: “The destiny I mentioned earlier, was also something Feng talked about six hundred years ago when he returned to the Tidal Realm.”