Arthur and the group reached an empty cavern near the mountain top. There were only a few hundred meters before they reached the front steps of the ice castle.
The weather, luckily, stayed good during their journey. But now, they were far above the ground, and breathing was getting harder. Also, the air was immensely cold that could freeze an ordinary person within seconds.
''What should we do when we arrive at the castle?'' Xerxus asked while rubbing his legs, trying to keep them warm.
''We most likely have to fight,'' Amour said while trembling in the cold.
''Arthur, I think you should stay behind.'' Xerxus said while voicing his concerns, ''Your level is below us by a great amount.''
''I know that I am not as strong as you four, but I am not useless.'' Arthur said while looking at his hands that were bulging with veins, 'Inside my veins, immense power is flowing…'
''Fine, but be careful.'' Xerxus sighed after not being able to change his mind.
''Alright, let's go before we freeze to death,'' Arthur said and was first to leave the cavern, soon followed by others.
They climbed up the steep hill and soon saw the entrance of the ice castle.
As the name suggested, ice engulfed the entire castle. The front gates were frozen solid and slightly transparent. They could see the inside of the castle, barely.
They could see nothing except ice-covered furniture and long stairs that led to the second floor.
Arthur stopped in front of the gates and put his palm on them. With a small amount of power, he fully opened the tall gates.
They entered the castle while a cold wind blew past them. The ice castle looked abandoned as they couldn't hear any voices.
''Stay on your toes…'' Arthur said and walked up the long stairs, followed by the four men.
After entering the second floor, they spread around and checked all the rooms. They were all empty and covered in ice.
They re-grouped in front of other stairs that led to the third and final floor. Following Arthur, everyone walked up the long and cold stairs.
The handrails were sculptured and looked mesmerizing as the ice shone under the sunlight. The ceiling had windows that allowed plenty of light to enter the castle.
Soon, they reached the third floor and saw a long corridor with ice-sculptured statues. The ceiling glistered in frozen ice.
Arthur grabbed the hilt of his sword as he started moving. They slowly walked past the frozen statues and soon reached the end of the corridor.
The end of the corridor had large ice doors.
This time, Arthur kicked the doors open and drew his sword. After the doors slammed open, he kicked the floor explosively and jumped into the room.
The sword cut through the air, and a flaming sea appeared in the middle of the throne room. However, the ice didn't melt as the scorching flames burned the floor.
The four men grabbed their weapons and jumped into the room. They carefully checked around the throne room, but it was empty.
''No one is here?'' Amour frowned while holding his two-handed axe.
Kalzer silently scanned the walls while holding Odin's spear with a firm grip. First time since the start of the journey, he revealed the famed Gungnir, Odin's weapon.
The Gungnir's blade was stone gray, and the shaft was pitch dark like forged by using black dragon's scales as material.
Isaac held the Silvercloud with his right hand and used his perfect eyesight to look around the throne room. Even he came to the conclusion that the ice castle was empty. Maybe the so-called The Man At Peak didn't even exist and was nothing but a fairy tale.
Swoosh…
However, the temperature suddenly increased, and the ice started growing thicker. Arthur and the rest dropped their gazes and saw their shoes frozen solid!
''?!'' Their eyes shook, and suddenly laughter echoed across the room.
''Hehehehehe!''
They turned towards the source of the laughter and saw a person sitting on the window frame next to the enormous square-shaped window. As the light shone on his face, his fragile blue-skinned face revealed an amused smile.
The strands of his ice-blue hair looked icy.
On his left hand, a cane made of ice increased the cold and density of the ice.
''Wait, is he?!'' Arthur immediately thought that he knew that person. He opened the interface and pulled out a book with different fairy tale creatures on the cover.
''Why are you reading a book about fairy tales at this moment?!'' Xerxus screamed while trying to run. However, the ice had already engulfed his legs and continued nearing his chest. At this rate, he feared they all would get cocooned by the ice!
Arthur looked at his trembling ice that started turning blue. That frightened him, but he started quickly flipping through the pages.
Flap, flap, flap!
After fifty pages, he stopped with a surprised look.
Then, he looked back and forth between the icy-haired young man and the page that showed a picture.
''I-It's really him!'' He cried out in surprise and dropped the book to the ground.
''Who is he?'' Isaac asked while standing still, not even attempting to break the ice.
''Jack Frost!'' Arthur's voice resounded in the room.
''Hehehehe.'' Jack Frost giggled with a childish expression, leaning against the window; he said, ''Wow, this is the first time anyone recognized me.''
''Jack Frost?'' Xerxus paled considerably, ''That mischievous brat from a fairy tale where he was the bringer of ice and snow, but was also a complete pain in the ass?!''
''That's him!'' Arthur shouted while amazed. He thought he would never be able to see Legend in the flesh before death. Today, one of the rare Legends that still roamed the world stood before him.
Jack Frost whirled the cane around, and the ice-covered globe shone in radiant blue. That caused the ice to stop spreading.
Smack, smack!
Amour smashed his axe against the ice without any fear. If the ice suddenly broke, he would also cut his legs. However, there wasn't even a tiny speck of hesitation in his features.
''Jack Frost, may we have a word?!'' Arthur shouted, trying to attract the Legend's attention.
''Hmm?'' Jack Frost stopped giggling and looked at Arthur with his ice-blue eyes, ''Son of Primordial, what may you want from me?''
