“Hard to find? Even something that Amir finds difficult to find? More than those Sacred Artifacts…”
Although Histori felt quite puzzled, seeing that Amir seemed to have no intention of continuing the conversation, she turned around, waved her hand dismissively at Histori, and began to stride forward.
Seeing this, Histori wisely shut her mouth and stopped asking what Amir was looking for.
She simply followed silently behind Amir, stepping in the orderly footprints left on the snow, keeping her head down as she trailed after her.
They walked on in silence through the wind and snow until the blizzard gradually subsided and everything around them began to become clear again.
“We’re almost there.”
Amir suddenly stopped in her tracks and pointed ahead with one hand.
Histori poked her head out from under her fluffy cloak and looked in the direction Amir was pointing.
Amidst the swirling white snowflakes, a massive palace entirely carved from azure ice stood quietly before them like a giant beast lurking deep in the polar region.
Above the archway of the great ice hall, a strange totem was faintly carved.
By its shape, it seemed…
To be an apple?
Amir stepped forward, calmly walked up to the huge icy archway, and then drew the greatsword from her back, ready to carve a small door in it.
But before she could act, the seemingly heavy door, as if frozen for tens of thousands of years, silently swung inward, opening a wide gap large enough for several people to pass through side by side.
“…”
Amir raised an eyebrow slightly and waved behind her.
“Come on, stay close.”
“Isn’t this a trap, Lady Amir? The door opened by itself…”
“That’s exactly why I’m telling you to stay close.”
Amir said matter-of-factly to Histori, then resolutely stepped into the icy corridor ahead, which glowed with a faint chill.
“Fine, fine. Whatever you say. I’m just a little decoration anyway.”
Histori took off her hood, carefully glanced around, then hunched her neck and slipped in after Amir.
After passing through the extremely long corridor with abstract murals carved into both walls, they arrived at a vast throne hall so spacious it felt somewhat oppressive.
The ceiling of this hall was so high it was almost invisible, supported by twelve thick ice pillars.
The floor was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the faint blue glow of the ice crystals on the dome above.
Moreover, there were no servants or guards.
In this vast hall, which seemed large enough to hold thousands, only one person sat on the rough-hewn throne at the far end.
It was a tall, humanoid creature with skin as gray-white as rock.
It wore only a simple animal-skin battle skirt, and its exposed arms and chest were covered with cracked lines.
“So, is this the palace of giants? But… Lady Amir.”
Histori lowered her voice and tugged at the edge of Amir’s cloak in confusion.
“Is… he the legendary giant race that splits mountains? He looks at most about three meters tall! I feel like the trolls in Shadowdeep Town are almost as tall!”
“Be careful. Don’t underestimate him.”
Amir scolded Histori quietly, her fingers tightening around the greatsword.
“The giant race can indeed reach dozens of meters in height, but those are just brutes with slow movements.”
“For them, the smaller the size, the easier it is to control their strength, and their intelligence multiplies. They become very troublesome opponents in battle.”
So that’s it—the essence is concentrated.
If normal giants are fifty or sixty meters tall, then this three-meter one must be the essence of over a hundred giants compressed…
Just as Histori and Amir were discussing this privately, the three-meter-tall gray-white giant on the throne slowly stood up.
“Hero of the United Kingdom, please allow me to correct your wording slightly.”
A deep, resonant voice boomed through the empty hall.
“The reason our giant race becomes smaller is not because we become more dangerous or aggressive. This wisdom is not born for battle.”
“After discarding the redundant parts of our physical bodies, our souls become purer, and we understand the essence of the world more clearly.”
As he spoke, he took a step toward them, and the entire palace trembled slightly from that step.
Just as Amir tensed her whole body, ready to meet him with her pitch-black greatsword, the giant king suddenly made an unexpected move.
“Apologies. I haven’t walked in a long time, so I can’t control my strength well.”
He calmly bent down, picked up a thick, simple ancient book from the stone platform beside the throne, and then, as if handing over an ordinary newspaper, extended it toward Amir.
“Take it.”
The giant king gazed quietly at Amir with his pure white eyes and said calmly—
“Strangers swept along by fate, you braved the polar blizzard to come here. This is what you seek, isn’t it?”
An eerie silence spread through the ice hall.
Both Amir, who was ready to fight, and Histori, who was far behind and prepared for self-defense, were stunned.
“Um, Your Majesty the Giant King, shouldn’t the Sacred Artifact be the lifeline of the giant race… or a spiritual symbol? You’re just handing it to us like that?”
Even Amir, usually calm and indifferent, hesitated and frowned slightly.
She didn’t take the ancient book but squinted her eyes and questioned—
“…Could it be that your Sacred Artifact, too, has some problem?”
“Problem?”
Hearing Amir’s question, the giant king shook his head.
On his stern, rock-like face, a calm smile actually appeared.
“No, that’s not a problem. On the contrary, it pointed out the final direction for me and for our entire giant race.”
He slowly opened the heavy book and said in a deep voice—
“Two months ago on that day, the last prophecy emerged in this Book of Prophecy, which has guided our giant race for tens of thousands of years.”
“After the dwarves and elves lost the favor of the deities, the Giant King will personally give the Book of Prophecy to the dark-haired, dark-eyed stranger, thus marking the end of the golden age.”
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