Walking across the Ice Abyss was actually quite difficult, even for the Ascended. It could not be called a struggle for every step, but it was certainly exhausting.
Descending from the hills onto the level ice plain, the wind and snow still raged, though they were somewhat milder than at higher elevations. Compared to the surrounding icy cliffs, sheer walls, countless ravines, and deep valleys, the ice plain was formed from a pure shell of ice. It lay low and flat, and in temperatures dozens of degrees below zero, even ordinary ice was as hard as steel.
Yet strangely, upon this flat and solid ice plain, there would occasionally be one or two—or even many—enormous ice funnels and pits leading straight down into the deep, dark earth. At first glance, they did not seem like much, but the longer one stared into their shadowy depths, the more dizzy and entranced one became.
No one could understand how these holes had formed, or why they were so smooth and even.
If they fell into one, Ian would be fine enough with Fairy Wings, but Isengard and Master Gose would certainly be done for—there was no way Ian could carry someone out of such a smooth, sturdy ice pit.
But while they were crossing this dangerous ice plain, Isengard reported some unexpected information that even Ian had failed to notice.
"You mean that beneath these glaciers, some enormous steel structure is giving off heat... and those melt caves on the ice plain were melted out by the hot air released from those steel structures?"
It was not that Ian doubted Isengard.
The other boy's growth along the way had been plain to see. This young master of the Ellen Family had become strong enough now, with enough will to drive his power