Third Person’s POV

The ceiling towered high overhead and was supported by huge blue crystal pillars that emitted a soft, frosty glow.

Countless magical inscriptions covered the walls, hidden beneath layers of faint mist and icy light, while the floor itself reflected the surroundings like smooth frozen glass.

It was clearly the work of a treasurer who was skilled in space magic. He had skillfully designed this building to look modest from the outside while creating an expanded pocket dimension inside it that housed such a huge space.

It was obviously meant to be a secret space, so the money and connections required to construct such a thing must have been mind-boggling.

But such a marvel that was obviously impossible for a normal person had not been very difficult for the son of the Ice Emperor and the grandson of the city lord of the Froststar city, Erius.

At the very end of the hall stood three small gates, each covered in different magical symbols and connected to unknown destinations beyond.

The moment the outer door closed behind them automatically, the hall became completely silent.

Ivan removed the magical blue shroud from the coffin and also withdrew the enchanted chains wrapped around it before placing the heavy structure carefully upon the ground.

Then, without saying a single word, he began examining the restrictive spell covering the coffin lid.

The atmosphere turned solemn instantly.

For nearly ten minutes, Ivan remained entirely focused upon the coffin, his sharp blue eyes scanning every rune and magical pattern covering its surface while his fingers occasionally traced through the air as if calculating invisible circuits.

During all this time, neither Erius nor the wood elf woman dared disturb him.

Even the green-robed wood elf, who herself was already a powerful Sky Realm mage, remained absolutely silent and respectful as she clearly understood the terrifying gap that existed between her and the old man before her.

She herself had only recently stepped into the Sky Realm and currently stood at the first stage of the Sky Realm, the Realm of Blue Heaven.1

Meanwhile, Ivan Froststar, at minimum, was a terrifying existence who at least stood at the Realm of World Opening.

And there was even a possibility that he had already stepped into the dreadful Realm of Life Origin, the final threshold before the sacred and nearly unreachable Heaven Connection Realm.

As a Sky Realm mage herself, the wood elf woman understood far better than ordinary people exactly how monstrous the gap between those realms truly was.

The difference between those stages was not merely about mana quantity or magical strength.

It was the difference between ants and dragons.

Because of that understanding, she held genuine respect toward the old man who outwardly appeared no older than a man in his early fifties, yet ruled one of the most powerful domains of the Northern Glacial Region.

There were many Sky Realm mages and aura masters throughout the northern lands, but there were very few true lords.

To become a lord of a domain required far more than strength alone.

One needed overwhelming power, terrifying talent, ruthless intelligence, and extraordinary luck filled with opportunities, and one capable of crushing countless competitors along the way.

Finally, after several more moments of silent observation, Ivan slowly reached into his storage ring and withdrew a silver brush covered in faint icy blue runes.

The moment the brush appeared, a subtle fluctuation spread through the hall.

Ivan covered the tip of the silver brush with his mana before beginning to draw directly upon the restrictive spell covering the coffin.

Blue runes flowed from the brush tip smoothly and rapidly, connecting together into complicated counter circuits with astonishing precision.

The speed at which he drew them shocked the wood elf deeply.

Her beautiful green eyes widened beneath her hood before she instinctively turned toward Erius and sent him a quiet sound transmission.

’I did not know your grandfather was also an inscription master skilled in dismantling magical restrictions.’

Hearing her surprise, Erius smiled faintly.

Without even turning toward her, he replied calmly through sound transmission as well,

’There are many things you still do not know about my grandfather, Elis.’

As he said those words, admiration and almost worshipful respect flashed openly within his cloudy blue eyes without any attempt to conceal it.

At that moment, Ivan finally completed the final rune.

He placed his palm upon the coffin lid and injected mana into the blue rune circuit he had just created. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Instantly, the newly formed blue inscriptions lit up brilliantly and collided against the white restrictive rune circuit originally placed upon the coffin by the Ice Emperor’s sister.

The two magical formations clashed violently.

Blue and white light flickered repeatedly across the coffin surface as both circuits continuously attempted to erase one another.

After a few moments, the white restrictive spell finally began breaking apart.

Its runes destabilized one after another before they dissolved entirely beneath Ivan’s counter formation.

The restriction vanished completely, and seeing this, Ivan Froststar finally smiled for the first time since arriving there, as he felt a sense of satisfaction that his young grandson couldn’t understand.

However, the smile disappeared almost instantly and was replaced by a solemn and serious expression.

Slowly, he reached forward and opened the icy coffin lid.

Cold mist poured outward immediately.

And within the coffin, lying silently in frozen slumber, rested what appeared to be nothing more than a cold corpse.

At least, that was what Erius thought the moment his eyes landed upon the pale young man lying motionlessly within the icy coffin.

The young man’s skin possessed an unnatural, frozen paleness, while his closed eyes and unmoving body made him resemble a perfectly preserved corpse buried beneath eternal frost for countless years.

Yet despite that deathly stillness, both Erius and the wood elf woman were visibly startled the moment they saw his appearance clearly.

The young man looked far too otherworldly.

His long violet hair spread around him like frozen silk and shimmered faintly beneath the cold mist pouring out of the coffin, while his facial features were so perfect and refined that they almost lacked the flaws and imperfections of a normal human being.