Among the Nephilim, the Throne Trials were never regarded as re
cultivation challenges.
They were a pilgrimage.
A sacred passage passed down through generations of Nephilim blood. One hundred and eight chambers lay scattered throughout the domain, each representing a fragnt of ancient will. Every chamber conquered left behind a mark of legacy-so granted power, others comprehension, and a rare few reshaped destiny itself.
But Ery and his companions had not co seeking inheritance.
They did not linger before the chambers, nor did they carefully unlock each legacy as tradition dictated. With the old maps prepared and the updated routes taken from the Nephilim nobles, they moved with efficiency-breaking only the chambers that barred their path and bypassing those that had opened within the last three years.
Ti mattered more than fortune.
They pressed deeper into the Frozen Throne.
As the days passed, however, the tension between Eeshoo and Jinkan continued to worsen.
At first, the silence between them was rely uncomfortable. Later, it beca suffocating. They exchanged no words, no glances, coordinating only through necessity.
A week into the domain, as they reached the boundary of the Inner Core, that tension finally beca a liability.
The chamber before them dwarfed all others they had encountered. Towering frostbound pillars lined the path, each carved with divine runes that pulsed faintly, as though breathing. At the far end stood a female statue of ice, her expression serene yet rciless, radiating a pressure so dense it weighed upon the soul itself.
Jinkan broke the silence at last.
"Do not be stubborn," she said. "You cannot clear this alone."
Eeshoo did not look at her. Instead, his gaze shifted toward Ery's Dark Avatar.
"We've checked all other paths," he uttered calmly. "She must be inside the core area." After a pause, he added, "I can deal with the ice elentals. But I need you to try break the seal."
Ery nodded without hesitation.
"All right... Let's do it."
The mont they stepped into the chamber, the domain responded.
Dozens of ice elentals manifested at once-but these were nothing like the ones they had faced earlier. Their bodies were encased in layered crystalline armor, their forms sharper, more defined. Each wielded frozen weapons, hovering in disciplined formation as if commanded by unseen will.
Eeshoo moved imdiately.
One arm ignited with solar fla, forming a blazing barrier that repelled the freezing pressure. With the other, he summoned his spirit weapon, its burning arcs carving through the advancing elentals. Each strike shattered armor, lting ice into steam before it could reform.
Ery did not look back.
His attention was fixed entirely on the statue.
Breaking a seal of this magnitude demanded more than brute force. Tradition dictated that a pilgrim must endure the freezing authority of the domain, allowing it to invade body and soul, then resonate with it through one's own law of ice. It was a test of alignnt, not resistance-a process that had taken Eeshoo nearly an hour in previous chambers.
Ery stepped forward and whispered a single na.
"Daurgototh.""
The Khaos Guardian of the Death Gate answered.
Ghostly blue fire surged through Ery's Dark Avatar, not burning but devouring entropy itself. The freezing authority of the statue poured into him like an endless tide, threatening to lock his consciousness in eternal stillness. Daurgototh restrained it, binding the cold within controlled silence, allowing Ery to endure without surrendering.
Runes flared across the statue's surface.
Then, they began to fold.
The seal unraveled in minutes.
With a thunderous crack, the statue's authority shattered. Every ice elental froze mid-motion before dissolving into nothingness, their forms erased as though they had never existed.
The chamber fell silent.
Ery collapsed to one knee as the remaining legacy surged into his soul. Ancient words echoed within him-laws of ice, cycles of stillness and flow, resonance between heaven and earth. Ti lost aning as comprehension
took hold.
An hour passed.
When Ery awakened, the world felt subtly altered, as though the Frozen Throne itself acknowledged him.
When they resud their advance, the Frozen Throne revealed another guardian.
The passage ahead trembled as an ancient beast erged from the ice-a monstrous fusion of dragon and turtle. Its colossal body was plated with overlapping glacial scales, each one etched with natural runes ford over countless ages. A massive shell curved over its back like a frozen fortress, while
a draconic head rose from beneath it, exhaling mist so cold it crystallized the
air itself.
The creature blocked the path completely.
This ti, Ery's Dark Avatar stepped forward.
In his grasp was [Frostveil], the top-grade weapon seized from Draven the
Raider.
What he unleashed was the sword's inherited legacy, [Swordfang Cascade], a
technique whose mastery was made possible by the Dark Avatar's newly gained
comprehension from the statue.
Dozens of crescent-shaped blades of compressed frost erupted, cascading forward in overlapping waves.
The ancient beast roared as the attacks tore through its scales, frost spreading rapidly across its body as the cold invaded its core.
The battle was brutal but short-lived.
With a final, echoing crash, the creature collapsed, its massive body shattering into ice and ancient bone, scattering across the frozen ground.
Silence followed.
Eeshoo stood still, watching Ery.
His expression had changed-subtly, but unmistakably. There was no praise, no comnt, yet the way his gaze lingered spoke of reassessnt.
Jinkan approached next, curiosity lighting her eyes as usual.
"You've gained so new insights, haven't you? Congratulations."
For a brief mont, she considered suggesting they clear additional chambers,
harvesting more legacies while the opportunity was present.
Ery shook his head.
His purpose had never wavered.
He was not here for power.
He was here for Klea.
Even so, not every chamber could be avoided. As they navigated the
increasingly complex inner core of the domain, obstacles beca unavoidable. Each chamber grew harsher than the last, forcing them to confront trials
head-on.
It was here that Jinkan truly proved her worth.
She deployed high-grade artifacts with precision and foresight. Stabilizing collapsing terrain, and shielding them from sudden environntal anomalies. Eeshoo adapted quickly, adjusting his actions to harmonize hers. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the frost between the two forr lovers began to crack as necessity forced cooperation.
Their teamwork sharpened.
And with each chamber cleared, Ery's comprehension deepened further. The laws of ice no longer felt foreign. They responded to him, echoing his
intent, guiding his blade and steps alike.
Yet despite everything-
There was still no sign of Klea.
No trace of her aura
No remnant of her presence.
The absence gnawed at Ery's thoughts, growing heavier with every step.
At last, they arrived before the final chamber.
This ti, Eeshoo stopped.
He did not step forward imdiately. His gaze lingered on the massive, sealed
entrance, his expression darkening.
"She couldn't have been inside the final chamber all this ti..." he said slowly.
"I think she is-"
He did not finish the sentence.
Jinkan inhaled softly, then nodded in agreent. "This is where the Ancient Goddess resides," she said quietly. "It is extrely dangerous." She hesitated, then added, "You might not like what you find."
Ery's Dark Avatar stepped forward without hesitation.
"I need to see it my self" he said
"I need to know."
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