“This is impossible!”
The Frost Giant Elder cried out, his pupils reflecting the approaching light of death.
The seven layers of ice crystal shields he had hastily constructed shattered like thin paper before the Blade of Destruction. Even the gemstone on his scepter cracked from the sheer overload of energy.
Starlight had gambled correctly. Although he couldn't fully analyze the depths of his opponent's magic, he was certain of one thing—the magic used by the Frost Giants was far too ancient and lacked the cohesion he was familiar with.
Much like the spells Taros once used, these ancient techniques relied on overwhelming mass and volume while neglecting concentration.
If the opponent could have compressed their mana twofold, even his Power of Destruction wouldn't have broken through so easily, and it certainly wouldn't have achieved such a surprising effect.
Just as the battle reached its decisive moment, the entire space suddenly trembled.
The eyes of the female statue behind the Frost Giant Elder snapped open, projecting two beams of rose-red light that seemed almost physical.
Three inches from the Elder’s forehead, the Blade of Destruction was frozen in mid-air by this spontaneous radiance, before silently dissipating into nothingness.
“Again...” Starlight frowned slightly. In just a few days, his Power of Destruction had failed him for the second time.
“Enough. Everyone, stop.”
Suddenly, an ethereal and majestic female voice rang directly in everyone’s minds, much like the effect of Noah’s soul link.
The moment the voice spoke, the five Frost Giants froze as if turned to ice. They immediately retreated to the sides and knelt, pressing their foreheads to the floor in a gesture of absolute humility.
“Who is it? Stop hiding and come out!” Po Kong demanded loudly.
A soft sigh echoed through the chamber. “Sigh... Have I not been here all along? Why would I need to hide?”
This time, the voice didn't ring in their heads but actually came from the direction of the ice crystal throne. The red lips of the female statue moved slightly, and her long eyelashes fluttered as her eyes opened.
“Eh?! The... the statue is talking?!” Maela stammered, stepping back and nearly dropping her staff.
“Little dwarf girl, that isn't quite right. I am not a statue...” As the voice trailed off, the figure seated upon the ice crystal throne began to move slowly.
As she spoke, the stone shell covering her body began to crack and crumble.
First the chest, then the arms, the waist, and finally that flawless face.
Once the greyish-white shell peeled away, the skin revealed beneath was as translucent as the finest crystal, yet possessed the soft, supple glow of life.
When the final piece of the shell fell to the ground, the woman on the throne stretched her body elegantly.
Standing about fifteen meters tall, her proportions were breathtakingly perfect. Beneath her crystalline skin, pale blue energy veins were faintly visible.
Most striking were her eyes—the left was as clear as a polar glacier, but within the right danced the rose-red flames Starlight had seen before.
“Now, let us introduce ourselves properly.” She leaned forward slightly, her voice carrying the majesty of countless ages. “I am Jörð, the guardian of this frozen land.”
“Jörð?”
Starlight was stunned. He had no memory of such a name in all his studies. But how could a being with such power be unknown?
In contrast to his confusion, Stark flipped up his faceplate and shouted in shock, “Jörð... Jörð... Earth? You are the Goddess of the Earth?!”
“Oh? Well done! I am glad someone still remembers my name... How many years has it been since anyone called me that?”
Hearing Stark’s words, Jörð was clearly pleased, and a small smile appeared on her radiant face.
In an instant, the entire space shifted according to her emotions. On the walls that flowed like water, lush green vines suddenly sprouted, only to wither into brilliant ice crystals a moment later. Those falling crystals then transformed into tiny flowers in the air, raining down upon the chamber.
The miraculous sight left everyone breathless, but it also confirmed their suspicion—they were facing a deity who had survived since the Age of Gods!
Jörð stepped lightly down from her throne, her crystalline gown rippling with light as she moved. Despite being over ten meters tall, she didn't seem the least bit clumsy.
She leaned down toward the four of them, her heterochromatic eyes shimmering with the divine light of one who perceives all things.
“What a coincidence this is... a descendant of Mars, a young girl who possesses the same crystal power as I, and two holders of the ‘Stone of Creation’... one of whom is even an Elemental Saint Body. Hahaha, what an interesting combination.”
“By the way... I sense a familiar scent on two of you. Have you met Ignis?” Her gaze finally settled on Starlight and Stark.
With just a glance, this ancient deity had easily seen through everyone. Before her, everything was as transparent as crystal, and nothing could remain hidden.
“If... you are referring to the being that awakened within the Stone Troll Emperor, then yes, we have met,” Starlight replied cautiously, his voice dry from tension.
Seeing Starlight’s stiff manner, Jörð chuckled softly.
She reached out with a slender finger and tapped the center of her forehead. In an instant, her massive body glowed with a soft light and rapidly shrank until she was the size of an ordinary human.
“I suppose my size made you nervous? I am not that short-tempered fellow; you don't need to be so formal with me.”
She then turned and began to pace slowly, murmuring to herself, “Stone Trolls... interesting. But that certainly does seem like something he would do.”
The 'he' Jörð referred to was clearly Ignis, the Fire God. Though they had a thousand questions, Starlight and the others didn't dare interrupt a deity.
After a long silence, Stark finally spoke up carefully. “Um... Lady Goddess, I’m curious. Why would Lord Ignis, the god the dwarves believe in, reappear from within the body of a Stone Troll? That’s definitely not how the legends go!”
“Oh? You're actually worried about that? Well, it makes sense; you wouldn't know the truth in this era.” Jörð thought for a moment before answering. “Because whether it’s the dwarves, the Stone Trolls, or the Frost Giants—you all share the same ancestor.”
“What... how is that possible?!”
The statement was like a thunderclap, leaving all four of them standing there in a daze.
Was she joking? Stone Trolls, Frost Giants, and dwarves—three races that seemed to have nothing in common—shared a single ancestor?
Jörð ignored their shock and waved her hand, condensing the images of the three distinct races in the air. As her fingers moved, the three figures in the illusion began to evolve backward.
The dwarf’s beard vanished, the Frost Giant’s frame became slender, and the Stone Troll’s rocky armor melted away... finally, an ancient race as towering as a mountain appeared before them.
“This race, which has long since vanished into the river of time, was called the Titans. They were created by Ignis and me, using ourselves as templates.”
Jörð’s voice suddenly became ethereal and distant, as if coming from the other side of history.
“However, throughout a long evolution, the branch that received the Fire God’s blessing gained craftsmanship and became the dwarves. The children who followed me and adapted to the extreme cold eventually became the Frost Giants. And the branch that sank into the darkness of the deepest ley lines... they became the Stone Trolls.”
As she spoke, the entire space constantly transformed—from flowing lava to vast glaciers, then to the cracking of the earth.
Starlight and the others held their breath as they watched this ancient history unfold.
Eventually, the visions faded into a brilliant light. As the gods departed, the three races drifted further and further apart.
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