“Are they... performing some kind of ritual?” Po Kong asked in a voice that was barely a whisper.
No one could answer that question, but as they ventured deeper, everyone felt a bone-chilling cold crawl up their spines.
This wasn’t just physical cold; it was a primal, instinctive dread of the unknown.
After nearly half an hour of silent stalking, the four of them finally reached the heart of the island. If nothing went wrong, their destination lay just ahead.
Soon, a wide clearing of snow opened before them. In the very center stood a pitch-black stepped pyramid.
The ancient structure, ten stories tall, stood in eerie contrast to the surrounding world of ice and snow. Its surface was covered in a strange material that was neither stone nor metal, gleaming with a fine luster under the moonlight. Despite the swirling blizzard, not a single snowflake clung to its surface.
Hundreds of Frost Giants knelt in concentric circles around the pyramid, their massive frames casting distorted shadows upon the snow.
Low, heavy chants rumbled from their throats, the ancient syllables weaving into a solemn resonance within the freezing wind.
“Can either of you understand the Frost Giant tongue?” Po Kong asked Stark and Maela as he watched the bowing behemoths.
Both shook their heads, indicating they had no idea.
Moen might have known something about such ancient languages, but she wasn't with them, so they had to let the matter drop.
“Let me see... From this angle, I can use instant movement to take us directly inside that building. Want to check it out?” Starlight inquired softly after mentally calculating the distance between them and the pyramid.
“We’ve come this far. No point in turning back now,” the other three replied in unison, their eyes flashing with resolve.
Starlight took a deep breath and reached out to his companions.
With a faint, almost imperceptible flash of light, the four figures vanished like ripples on water.
A second later, they landed silently in the shadows of the pyramid’s entrance. Seizing the moment when the Frost Giants bowed their heads, they slipped inside like four specters.
Thick black stone walls blocked out the howling blizzard, yet the temperature inside was even more piercing than on the plains. With every step, the cold intensified, as if countless icy needles were burrowing through their pores and into their marrow.
“Something’s not right...” Starlight suddenly stopped and pressed his palm against the wall. “The length of this corridor has already exceeded the pyramid’s actual dimensions.”
The interior was far too vast, completely inconsistent with the size they had seen from the outside.
They had walked at least a hundred meters since entering, yet the passage hadn't turned or descended. This was clearly a problem.
“This must be some kind of spatial magic, right?” Maela looked up, the patterns on the ceiling reflected in her crystal-like eyes. As a mage, she possessed a basic awareness of space.
“Yes, and it’s highly sophisticated,” Starlight nodded slightly. “I can’t feel any trace of a spell being cast... It’s as if the space itself was formed naturally this way.”
Even Yserazor, the Rift Dragon King, could not alter the structure of an entire space so seamlessly.
After several more minutes of cautious advancement, a faint blue glow emerged at the end of the corridor. The objects within were blurry and indistinct.
Just as they reached the source of the light, Starlight raised his hand, signaling them to stop.
“Wait, there’s something ahead...” he whispered, condensing a wisp of mana at his fingertips and probing forward.
When the mana touched the edge of the blue light, ripples spread through the air like a finger touching the surface of water.
Po Kong reached out curiously, and his fingertips immediately met a strange sensation. It was a transparent barrier like water—cool, soft, and incredibly elastic. When he withdrew his finger, the “droplets” it carried hung in the air for a moment before slowly falling back into the barrier, creating tiny waves.
“It doesn't look dangerous. Should we go through?” Maela swallowed nervously.
Indeed, Starlight felt no malice or danger from the barrier. He let out a slow breath. “Follow me.”
He stepped into the light curtain first. As they passed through, they felt their bodies enveloped by a cool substance, a sensation as wonderful as sinking into the clearest lake on a summer day.
Starlight could hear a strange humming in his ears and feel the mana flowing across his skin.
When the last of the coolness slid off their shoulders, the scenery before them had completely changed. They stood in the center of a massive spherical space. The surrounding walls were made entirely of flowing “water” that drifted into the air, defying all laws of physics.
Countless starlight-like red points of light flowed beneath the “water’s” surface, converging toward the ceiling and illuminating the space like a dream.
In the center of this bizarre space of liquid mana, five Frost Giants—far larger than their kin—knelt on one knee. Their silver-blue bodies were covered in ancient tattoos, their muscles bulging like granite.
Before them sat a female statue over ten meters tall, perched upon a throne of ice crystals.
Her expression was cold and perfect, her long hair cascading like a waterfall, with every strand carved to life. Beneath her slightly lowered eyelids, her half-closed eyes seemed to hold a soul-piercing pressure.
The rose-red points of light converging from the surroundings fell slowly from above, merging into the statue’s hair like snowflakes.
“What... what kind of statue is this? Why is the pressure so terrifying?” Po Kong’s voice caught in his throat as he stared at the towering female figure. He could feel his hands trembling uncontrollably, his body instinctively resisting the presence, yet a mysterious fighting spirit within him grew stronger.
But to Starlight, Maela, and Stark, it was a different story. This unknown female statue was far too familiar; in both material and scale, it was nearly identical to the statue of the Fire God Ignis they had seen in the temple.
“Beep... Lifeform signature detection complete... Count: Six.”
Suddenly, a notification sounded from beneath Stark’s faceplate, snapping the four of them out of their shock.
It was this sudden sound that caused the five Frost Giants immersed in the ritual to snap their heads up simultaneously!
The runes on their foreheads flared to life as they glared in unison at the group’s location.
“We’ve been spotted? But weren't we...” Stark’s words trailed off. He realized that the mimicry coating on their bodies had vanished completely.
“Damn, it was that water curtain!” Starlight realized instantly. The cool sensation they felt while passing through had washed away their camouflage, leaving them completely exposed.
Before the words were out, the eldest Frost Giant in the center stood up. He pointed a crystal scepter at them and let out a thunderous roar: “Intruders!”
Instantly, the other four giants erupted with a terrifying aura. Like four moving mountains, they charged toward the group. They showed no fluctuations of mana or battle qi, yet the raw power they exuded was enough to make anyone shiver.
“I’ll hold them off. Little Star, cover me and look for an exit!” Without hesitation, Po Kong lunged forward to meet the nearest Frost Giant.
“I didn't get enough of a fight with those Stone Trolls the other day! Since you’ve got ‘Giant’ in your name, you’ll have to do!”
Rate on N.U.
