Pushing open the basement door, Ed shivered at the chill in his face - none of the ice cellars in the castle were so cold.

"The last time I left, I sealed the entrance with ice. Iss told him, "The door is broken." ”

Ed grinned. He knew that the concise phrase "the door is broken" might contain many thrilling details, such as deadly traps, imminent crises, and so on...... However, the frozen entrance blocked all the problems that he had not yet exited.

He had never seen such a beautiful Ice Gate.

The crystal clear ice is like a crystal, but there is a silver light flowing through it, as if it is inlaid with Mithril, snaking soft water lines and delicate ice flowers...... There seem to be some small runes hidden in it.

Ed looked at his friend with an almost adoring gaze, but Ise turned his head a little awkwardly.

"It's not ......," he said, "and I didn't do it exactly. ”

At this moment, he suddenly remembered a problem - he sealed the door...... He may not be able to open it.

He pretended to calmly reach out and press it against the ice, but the ice did not shatter under his strength. The silver light trembled slightly, like a thin silver snake that had been awakened, twisting its body gracefully and kissing his palm gently.

The light spread like water, and the ice melted quickly and silently, and the cold water vapor dispersed in the air, leaving no trace of water.

Iss lowered his hand, annoyed at his carelessness - Ed was right, there must be something hidden here...... And the last time he took the remnant of the Sword of Acton here, he thought that it was just the remnants of the labyrinth, and he didn't take it to heart at all.

Ed poked his head behind him, his face still full of surprise and admiration.

"It's my first time here. He said, "Is there really a lot of relief in there?"

As he spoke, he was unconsciously stunned—he should have never been, but a vague and fragmentary picture inexplicably floated in his mind: a deep passage, a cloud of white light rolling around, a stone statue......

“...... Ed!" Iss called out impatiently to his friend who was always distracted.

Ed hurriedly followed.

It's really cold in the labyrinth – it's impossible not to be cold in a place that's almost completely frozen. The ubiquitous silver light blended almost perfectly with the ice, supporting the cracked rock, which seemed to collapse at any moment.

Ed's excitement was not at all diminished by the cold. He grabbed Is, insisted that he see the rows of coats of arms carved into the walls, and told him incessantly: "I know this! This is the Bomaris family...... And this...... Wait! this is engraved on the ring they brought back from the Tomb of the Headless Ghost in Norvi......"

Then it occurred to him that the ring most likely belonged to Jay Oylan.

This silenced him for a moment, until he saw the largest relief in the labyrinth.

“...... What a pity. ”

He looked with regret at the reliefs in front of him, divided into three pieces by two cracks, carved with dragons that obscured the sky, and in the flames and thunder that descended from them, humans, dwarves, and elves fought side by side, guarding a city with countless spires. The three Sages standing on the wall, one of whom had what seemed to be the Staff of Eternity in his hand.

My heart throbbed. Ed silently looked away.

It's just that Alami has long been lost in time...... It's very similar to Ankland.

The sudden discovery made Ed a little uneasy, but Ise had already walked over without stopping.

The deeper you go into the labyrinth, the clearer the strange feeling becomes—he's been here. Ed looked around, and even grabbed Isis as he walked through a fork in the road.

"It should ...... It's this ......," he said, hesitantly.

Isis looked at him suspiciously: "...... Do you feel anything?"

“...... I feel like I've been here......" Ed muttered.

Almost without hesitation, Iss made his choice - he turned to the passage to which Ed was pointed.

The rest of the road was untraveled by him, and Ed became the one who led the way. He always seemed to be less determined, but they went all the way down without any traps or dead ends.

Eventually, however, the water pouring into the labyrinth from the Vinez River blocked their way.

The road is broken. In front of them was a dark lake-like pool of water that looked bottomless.

"I think I can go on......" Ed muttered a little frustrated, "maybe you should go the way you remember......

“...... Do you have water in your head, too?" Ise, feeling that with him, even he was always stupid, and for a moment he was so angry that he almost wanted to kick him into the water, "The water of the Vinez River poured in, and half of the labyrinth was destroyed...... No matter which way you go, you will only end up being stopped by water!"

“...... Oh. Ed bowed his head in disdain, crouched down and poked at the surface of the water unwillingly. Is's fingers flicked involuntarily, and finally he couldn't resist that little impulse—

He lifted his leg and kicked Ed into the water.

“...... Sooner or later, it's going to get wet anyway. With a faint hint of guilt, he shrugged at Ed, who was splashing in the water with a blank expression, and walked over and dragged him deeper into the water.

The water is much clearer than in summer, and it is even warmer under the water than on the water. While Isis was still sensing the direction of the water, trying to determine the position of the stone statue, Ed had already swam to the left.

Isis silently followed. The faint silver light in the labyrinth could not illuminate the bottom of the water, and the surroundings were soon pitch black, but it was not long before a faint glow shone in the darkness.

The faint silver light reached out to them, almost with a hint of joy, and a thread of it wound up, gently carrying them to the bottom.

A deep black shadow greeted you. The statue of the goddess half-collapsed in the water appeared in front of them, with a square jaw, a straight nose, thin lips tightly closed, and in the darkness, those overly rigid lines seemed to be much softer, so that the serious and resolute face showed a little melancholy and sadness that could not be brushed away for no reason.

Ed stared blankly at her. He'd seen her...... And not just because she has the exact same face and posture as the statue of the goddess on the island of the Holy Sepulchre.

Now he was finally sure that he had really been here.

"There's a ......"

He spoke, and cold water poured in, blocking back his trance-like whispers.

He had been here, after Vala's death...... In the anger and grief of losing his mother, he almost drew the sword of Acton in desperation...... It was because of the little sadness on the face of the goddess that he hesitated.

If it weren't for that moment's hesitation, the whole castle would have collapsed with the destruction of the labyrinth, wouldn't he have killed his friends......

He was glad he hadn't made that terrible mistake...... But it's not like he's not stupid.

.