The Shallowness of Ice Palace

Chapter 34 The Shallowness of Ice Palace

"The pride in suffocating people

The arrogance of tearing out the mortals

The greed of the Souls

Let me bravely embrace it, o Great Flame!"

I cast the magic flame on my body before I go further into Ice Palace.

Even though there was no cold wind in this place, the damn cold spread from the surrounding environment still made my body tremble.

At least now, the magic flame had warmed my body.

From inside the Fortress lies a straight road that connects directly with the Ice Palace.

I can feel the weather become cold as I go through the road.

The road was also slightly slippery because it became an Ice road.

In front of Ice Palace, I see a large stone vessel full of water.

It's made me wonder for a while when I see the giant blue crystal floating at that vessel.

"What's that blue crystal?"

I asked curiously.

"It's the Ice Core that Ice Queen had made for streaming her Ice Touch to the gravel on that vessel."

Amdarais explained while pointing out the water on the vessel.

I just realized he's not pointing to the water, but a lot of blue jade lies on the vessel's surface.

"Is that… the 'raw magical blue gemstones?"

"Yep, The Dark Elves and Halflings will take it to their place to develop it into their magical blue gemstones."

"Hmm… so this is what the Dark Elves and Halflings want from the Ice Queen…."

"Not that precisely. The Dark Elves and Halflings want the Ice Queen joins them in their war. But she can only give this raw gemstone if they stop pleading with her."

I remembered that story.

However, the Fortress is destroyed now.

The Dark Elves and Halflings who 'guard' on that Fortress have already been obliterated.

Is the blue crystal still needed after that chaos?

Probably not.

But that would be a different story if the Dark Elves and Halflings still had their troops to fix this mess.

After my curiosity answered, I walked past the vessel to the edge north until I arrived at the high ice fence covering the Palace without any knob.

Since I have no idea to open it correctly, I aim at the Ice Fence and then shoot it with massive Fire Arrows.

The Fire Magic creeps the Ice Fence until it melts entirely.

"Am I being too rough on this?"

I asked Amdarais with a lot of thought.

I mean... I came to the Ice Palace to learn Ice Magic Spell properly with the Ice Queen, not to destroy her Palace.

"That fence is an Ice Trap. Anybody who touches it would be thrown an Ice Gust."

Amdarais reassured me.

From that explanation, I guess it's safe to consider that anything in this Ice Palace is a trap for anyone who comes here.

Ice Fence is a 'borderline,' so the Dark Elves and Halflings do not dare to enter the Palace.

I continued my walk through the hallway until I arrived at the enormous hall.

The hall feels spacious entirely because there's no furniture or any items.

The hall's walls, floor, and ceilings are covered by ice.

It makes me feel like I just came inside the ice cave, not an ice palace.

When I look up, I see lots of hallways on each floor above the hall.

There are four floors in the Palace.

Is the Ice Queen in there?

"We go to that room, Rezvan."

Amdarais pointing at the door on the north edge of the hall.

"The room had long stairs to the secret library on the ground. The Ice queen must be there."

He is adding his explanation.

I thought there would be some kind of 'throne room' in here, which I presume would be the place for the Ice Queen.

But apparently, it's not.

"The Ice Queen loves to read?"

I asked curiously.

"Kind of. She wants to stay in a place where there are no people who disturb her."

"No wonder the library is on the underground."

I muttered.

"In that library lies the knowledge we need for learning the Ice Magic Spell. That's our main reason for coming here. We must make Ice Queen give us permission to read all of that."

Amdarais tell our main objective repeatedly.

"Not by force, right?"

"Don't be silly, Rezvan. You're a strong Magician, but the Ice Queen is dangerous for your current skill. So don't make her your enemy."

"Alright, almost forget the Dark Elves and Halflings are afraid of her."

I nodded while continuing walking to the north edge.

But suddenly, my body feels tingling.

The Soul's Spirit resonance affirms something that calls me inside without voice.

I stopped my step for a while, then looked at the fourth floor.

It's the highest floor on the Palace, but I can sense the mysterious call sourced from there.

Should I go there?

It took a minute to contemplate that hallway on the fourth floor.

"What's wrong, Rezvan?"

Amdarais asked me, confused.

"I want to go there first. No harm, right?"

Amdarais look at the fourth floor.

"I don't know. But why, though?"

"It's just a curiosity of mine."

"' Curiosity killed the cat,' you know."

"Nah, I'm not a cat. I'm a Magician. A supreme Magician wannabe, right?"

I pretend to act arrogant just to sound confident.

Amdarais shrugged, giving up questioning my decision.

I hurriedly ran to the stairs on the edge west until I arrived at the fourth floor.

From there, I stopped for a while to see the hallway.

As I sense it with Soul's Spirit, I don't see any threats or traps.

I took a cautious step as I moved through the hallway.

There's a lot of room with an open door along the hallway.

I know the room and all the furniture, like beds, tables, carpets, etc., is frozen like anything in this Ice Palace.

Still, it bothers me when I see frozen Dark Elves lying on the bed.

I see more thoroughly from their faces and body; the Dark Elves is male and female.

Is the Dark Elves die frozen?

Even if the Dark Elves die, why the Ice Queen should place them in the room like a frozen statue?

"I know them. They're Ice Queen parents."

Amdarais' sudden comment made me widen my eyes.

"What? Is she killed her parents?"

"They only get frozen. They might still be alive if the Ice Queen release its Ice Seal from them."

I still don't understand the reason behind it.

Looking at the many rooms in this hallway, plus other hallways on the second and third floor, I presume there are many Dark Elves sealed with Ice Magic like this.

"You seem to know well the Ice Queen, Amdarais. Do you also know the Ice Queen's reasoning?"

"' Eternal peace,' if I can answer it shortly. The Ice Queen believes the Ice Seal gives her parents, her son, her cousin, her nephew, and all of her families their eternal peace 'inside' the Ice Seal."

"That's almost no difference from killing them into an ice cube."

"They had a long, almost eternal, rest by the Ice Seal. For the Ice Queen, that's the Eternal Peace. She doesn't want her family getting involved by The Dark Elves, Halflings, or any other Monsters' malicious plan for controlling her family life."

I took a breath for a while to grasp Amdarais's story.

The Ice Queen's decision to seal her own family is still baffling and puzzling.

I'm averting my look from the room to the edge of the room since the mysterious call still reminds me.

Hopefully, it's not from other Dark Elves begging for help after getting sealed by the Ice Queen.

Without words, I continue to walk to the edge of the hallway.

The sound of a bird chirping welcomes me as I move inside.

Under the radiance of sunlight from the glass ceiling above, I can see a vast garden in this Palace.

I slowed my step through the grass, the flower fields, and the birds that flew out from their golden cage.

I'm stopped as I see the Dark Elves male with his long white and purple coat sitting on the side of a water fountain at the center of the garden.

The male Dark Elves is tall with long silver hair, playing his flute calmly while some blue feathered birds chirp near him.

The flute's soothing music is similar to the mysterious call to my Soul's Spirit.

Is he the one who calls me to this place?

The Dark Elves stopped playing his flute, staring at me with blue eyes.

It's strange to admit it, but for me, this Dark Elf is very handsome with his calm gesture.

"Long time no see, Amdarais."

The Dark Elves smiled while looking at Amdarais behind me.

"I'm already guessing you're not sealed by her."

Amdarais answered it calmly, just like in an intimate conversation.

"Do you know him?"

I whispered to Amdarais.

"He's the Ice Queen's husband. His name's Vaeral."

The Dark Elves smiled again when looking at my surprised face.

He's the Ice Queen's husband?