This place looks like a circular indoor square. There are twelve ice crystal columns standing on the inner side of the ice walls surrounding the square. The square in the middle is a large piece of ice similar to an ice rink. The three of them couldn't help but look down at the ice surface under their feet and found that the ice layer was densely covered with various ice crystal cut surfaces.
As they walked and their angles changed, these facets reflected purple or green light from time to time. Vera looked at the reflected light and then at the huge ice crystal ceiling above her head and found that the ceiling was also divided into twelve facets.
No, not twelve sides.
There are also facets in the ice crystal ceiling, which project auroras again and again. The ultimate goal should be...
Vera took another step with some difficulty, and suddenly her eyes brightened.
It was similar to the feeling of passing by a searchlight and walking right into its beam of light and looking directly into it. Everything in his sight was abandoned, leaving only the watery green light.
It is indeed a spotlight.
Vera looked down at her feet again.
The function of the Ice Palace seems to be to gather light... The ceiling is used to collect the aurora - maybe not necessarily the aurora, maybe any light will do - and then condense it into a beam, which is what I see now, so that it shines straight down and projects onto the ice surface under our feet.
Or, when light shines out from the ice, it can project that light into the sky.
The latter thought shocked Vera, and he immediately realized that this might be the source of the "lake light" and the "cursed aurora".
In other words, they were there, in the heart of the Depp-Valtina Ice Lake.
Vera was observant and saw more, but Grande was trembling with fear.
He didn't see so many details. He only knew that there were more and more frozen statues along the way. When he was outside the ice palace, there were dozens of statues in sight. When he entered the corridor, he could see many human ice sculptures leaning against the pillars and completely frozen. When he arrived in this broken square, the number increased to hundreds. Without exception, these ice sculptures maintained a forward posture with one arm stretched out, and there was always a kind of desire on their faces - as if there was something ahead that they couldn't wait to get.
"okay."
The three-faced man tied the rope to an ice sculpture nearby and sat down. "All we have to do now is wait."
What are you waiting for?
Vera and the other two didn't wonder for long. Soon, they felt the ice under their feet shaking slightly.
The amplitude was not large, not considered an earthquake, but it was followed by a creepy cry - as if it came from under the ice.
what?
They were so shocked that they looked around, supporting each other, trying to find the source of the sound.
But they only saw the gushing light.
Brilliant green light gushed out from the bottom of the lake, becoming stronger and brighter, eventually enveloping the entire ice square, making everything in sight unclear.
What exactly is this?
Was it Solo Lawrence's doing?
Vera was extremely nervous, and at this moment they all heard Robb's voice coming from the light -
"Do you remember Esther?"
Reflexively, they began to recall the little things they had experienced in their past lives with Esther Murphy.
Memories of being her best friend and sharing her bed.
The memory of being her enthusiastic friend and helping her stand up for justice.
And as friends who have developed feelings for each other, they care about each other and have memories of being open-minded.
These memories are like spring water, gushing out unconsciously from the center of the lake of the heart, condensing and concentrating in the eyes in some mysterious way, and projecting light to the surroundings.
The strange crying sound gradually faded away, and the light also began to fade.
When his eyesight recovered and he could see clearly, Vera looked around immediately - he found that since he didn't know when, the entire empty square was covered with ice crystal walls one after another.
They are three-dimensional, overlapping layers, and each ice crystal wall is about two meters long and wide. They are built together in an irregular pattern, filling the space inside the palace, just like a honeycomb made entirely of ice crystals.
Vera was reluctant to use the word "beehive" to describe it.
Ok……
If it weren't for the fact that, except for the small area where they were standing, there was an ice sculpture of "Ester" in other honeycomb spaces, he really wouldn't want to think so.
Chapter 49: From the Center of the Lake
The ice crystal honeycomb is composed of ice walls that extend layer by layer to the ceiling, filling the entire hall space.
Vera didn't know whether there were thousands of small spaces in these hives. He only knew that there was a human ice sculpture in each small room of the hive. Like the walls of the hive, they appeared out of thin air after the green light faded, and the face of each ice sculpture was exactly the same as Esther's.
“Sacrifice”… has been completed?
I’m afraid it won’t be that simple?
Vera immediately went to find the three-faced man and was horrified to see that he had taken out a sharp knife and was using it to cut his face.
From the forehead to the center of the eyebrows, and then from the center of the eyebrows to the philtrum under the nose, the three-faced man dug out the face in the middle - the face that belonged to Maren Murphy and was still wailing softly.
Half turned around, he turned his head to stare over here again. The already horrible face looked even bloodier because a large piece of flesh was missing in the middle, especially the abyss left by the missing part - the trench-like depression directly separated the two different faces on the left and right. It was extremely difficult to imagine what could be more terrifying than such a face.
"So now, let's get started."
He spoke softly in Solo's voice, stretched out his hand, and threw the "long strip of meat" in his hand upwards.
At the same time, the "Aurora" under the ice erupted again.
Endless green light...some of it might be deep, fading towards blue or purple. In Vera's eyes, all of this gradually transformed into a hideous bright red. His consciousness was filled with scarlet, and for a moment he felt that his brain was filled with countless information.
What is this...
His consciousness seemed to be thrown into a mighty whirlpool. Compared with the swirling ocean currents that gathered information, he was like a tiny splash of water, so light, so inconspicuous... He was completely powerless to stop his consciousness from sinking and was quickly being swept in.
Vera felt she was finished.
He had a feeling that if his consciousness was completely sucked into the whirlpool and merged with the swirling ocean currents around him, he would no longer be Vera at all.
He might turn into a monster, an arctic wolf, a white bear, a snow fox, or something else.
If he is lucky enough - according to the description of the Three-Faced Man, he will receive the memories of other humans, and then he will become another person in the future, completely forgetting that he is Vera, and just exist as another person.
Nothing could be more terrifying than this. He tried his best to concentrate and stay awake, trying to resist the pull of the vortex. However, this mysterious and unknown force was not something a mere mortal like him could resist. No matter how hard he twisted and struggled, his consciousness still sank deeper and deeper into the vortex of memories.
At the same time, the Three-Faced Man - it might be more appropriate to call him the Two-Faced Man now - stared at his arm submerged in the green light, with deep coldness printed on both his left and right faces.
"It's time to realize your worth, Maren."
The face belonging to Solo spoke.
“It’s a shame that we’ve ended up in this situation.”
The face belonging to Robbo spoke.
"Goodbye, Maren."
"We'll be here to keep you company soon, too."
"No... Solo... and Robo... How could you betray me..."
The two-faced man withdrew his hand, but the "stick of meat" floated in the aurora, slowly turning its face towards them.
"I am obviously the one you should love the most..."
"My daughter..."
"I am unwilling—"
She was unable to finish her last words.
The Aurora seemed to possess some kind of power. Her carrier meat strip was completely frozen and hardened in the Aurora, and then shattered into powder bit by bit. It was completely integrated into the light curtain, and there was no trace of its existence anymore.
At the same time, in all the "honeycomb rooms" wrapped in the aurora, some of the ice men condensed in these rooms suddenly shattered and turned into ice powder and disappeared.
The remaining icemen also changed. Their faces became more vivid and delicate, and they were closer to the real Esther Murphy.
"Then... what's left is to continue completing all the 'impressions' until she has only one left."
Solo raised his eyebrows, controlled his body, and took a step towards the three students.
"Ok?"
The right foot did move forward, but the left foot remained in place, as if it was stuck on ice and couldn't be lifted.
"Robo."
He frowned, "You still can't make up your mind?"
"...I just think that the final Iceman will merge into Esther. She has copied these images, and then she will accept all the truth."
Robo said, moving his lips.
"She will definitely not forgive us, especially not...me."
"So do you want her to die early with respect for you, or do you want her to live well with hatred for you?"
Solo was almost losing his patience.
"You even gave up on Maren, which is enough to show how deeply you love Esther. As her real father, I recognize your noble feelings. Don't make the mistake. You don't have a choice now."
Indeed it is.
Robbo gradually made up his mind.
He actually knew that the "Solo Lawrence" who was currently occupying his face and sharing the same body with him was not the real Solo. It was just the memory that he had found with great difficulty and was imprinted in the center of the lake before the real Solo's death.
He didn't understand the principle, he just kept moving forward with the thought of saving Esther, carrying the ice and snow... moving forward, moving forward without stopping.
Seven years ago, on the icy lake, he was not even sure if he had touched the palace. His extraordinary powers could not protect him from the extreme cold. He was hungry and cold, fell down, and fainted... In the dim light, he only heard a voice asking him: Why did you disturb my sleep?
"I'm here for Solo Lawrence and Esther Murphy."
Subconsciously, Robbo answered.
"I want to take them back..."
"Even if it costs me my life, I will complete it..."
[Yeah.]
He vaguely heard the voice again.
[…Then I’ll give it to you.]
This is the truth.
That's the whole process.
Robo didn't understand...what was so special about him. There had been people exploring the Arctic ice lake in history. They did it for profit or for fame. These people approached the ice lake with various purposes, but no one had ever returned from there with anything fruitful.
Yes, he was sure of it, now that he also had Solo's memories, he knew that the Treemen had once studied "it", but even the Treemen had gained nothing.
I am just a transcendent who has barely reached the state of 'manifestation', and even the power of 'manifestation' is very limited. Why did I succeed? Why did that thing treat me preferentially?
He didn't know, and he didn't want to know now.
Not important anymore.
Regardless of whether the thing that was forced into his body by that voice at that time - that is, the memory imprinted by Solo Lawrence - can still be regarded as his own, what he said just now is indeed correct.
I had given up Maren to save Esther.
I had actually made the decision long ago, but I just couldn't bear to kill my students.
I am still……
Much more cowardly than I thought...
The welded left foot also took a step forward and pulled back to stand side by side with the right foot.
"Very good, Rob."
The face on the left smiled and continued to speak encouragingly.
"That's it."
“That’s what we exist for…”
[Too disgusting.]
"……who?"
After being stunned for a while, Solo suddenly looked up.
The aurora faded temporarily again, and there were only transparent ice walls all around. He couldn't even see the scenery above the two ice walls.
"The memory is probably not enough now... the personality imprint is not complete, these ice men can't wake up?"
