There are three Riddle Pillars on the walls, each with three sides carved with a snake, a whale, and an eagle, representing Akay, Sun, and Kyne of the Nordic Pantheon, respectively.
Sun is Shor's Shield-Friend and Shield-Bearer, said to have sacrificed himself during the war between the Nordic Pantheon and the Foreign Pantheon. He first guarded the Whalebone Bridge in Shor's divine realm, Sovngarde. Only those who pass his trial can cross the bridge and enter the Hall of Valor. To be honest, when Simon played the game back then, he just thought Sun was a useless gatekeeper; he never imagined his background was so significant, which truly surprised him for a while.
Akay is a hostile deity within the Nordic Pantheon. His existence is a hybrid theological concept, a combination of Akay, the God of Life and Death Cycle among the Divines, and Malacath, the Daedric Prince of the Spurned and Ostracized. He is considered a convergence of the two.
There is no need to elaborate on Kyne.
The three Riddle Pillars need to be rotated to specific sides. This is simple: the three slots where the stone pillars rest each have unique features—one lets light through the top, one is overgrown with weeds, and one has water dripping, corresponding simply to the soaring eagle, the lurking snake, and the swimming whale.
Simon solved the riddle, but unfortunately, the mechanism was useless due to years of disrepair. He pulled the switch, but the gate wouldn't rise. Left with no choice, he had to revert to his old ways: forcing the door open, no explanation needed.
As they ventured deeper, large clusters of Light Spheres sprang out, lazily dancing around the two, forming a fluttering blanket that illuminated the dark tomb. It felt as if they were immersed in a shimmering Sea of Fluorescent Light, a rare and spectacular sight. The spheres emitted crisp chirps, like crickets sounding from an empty valley, chattering happily. Beneath this deep, chilling ice mountain, their presence made all fear vanish into thin air.
Serana spun around, admiring the misty mirage. She chuckled, "What an incredibly beautiful sight. I'm glad to have you here to share it with me."
Simon nodded. "Me too."
They arrived at the Prayer Room, which ended in a Riddle Door. Usually, in Nord ruins, the sides of such rooms feature relief carvings of the major deities, but this tomb only had plain stone bricks, confirming its extreme antiquity.
Taking out the Coral Dragon Claw he had bought from Birna, Simon examined the patterns on its palm: snake, wolf, moth.
The wolf corresponds to Mara. In Nord mythology, she is Kyne's handmaiden.
The moth corresponds to Dibella, Shor's Bed-Wife. Although both are wives, Kyne is Shor's War-Wife, so these two feminine Aedra have distinct functions.
After rotating the Riddle Door's three Rotating Rings into the correct sequence and unlocking it with the Dragon Claw, the Riddle Door, having endured millennia, still functioned. It rumbled down, revealing the Burial Chamber behind it.
A broken rectangular Throne faced away from them. A phantom black shadow wearing a Battle Helmet circled out from in front of the Throne. This was Yngol's Essence Spirit, the ghost of an unyielding warrior remaining in the world. The moment he appeared, all the Light Spheres vibrated and surged into the shadow's body like a tide, condensing a solid Spectral Body for the warrior and enveloping his withered corpse in heavy Ebony Armor. Ice-blue flames flickered in his eyes.
Ice mist permeated the faintly lit tomb. Yngol's ink-black shadow roared, raising his arms, releasing a hazy white light around him, like a torch burning itself out.
"Son of the Sky, fight! Never stop!" The language he spoke was exceptionally ancient, even rougher than the Old Nordic of the First Era. Simon didn't understand much of it, but he instinctively grasped his intent.
Yngol, completely consumed by a mad bloodlust, raised the spectralized Ebony Longsword in his hand and slashed toward Simon.
The Troll raised his hand and seized the arm of the ancient predecessor. The phantom Spectral Body felt like gelatin; he experienced a distorted sensation, like grasping a thin curtain. It slipped away instantly, the Spectral Body passing through his palm and continuing to bring the longsword down.
Simon knew that to harm a Spectral Body, it was best to use attacks with mystical attributes such as Silver Weapons, Daedra weapons, Enchanted Weapons, or magic. He had originally wanted to grant this deceased warrior a final courtesy using a warrior's method, but it seemed that was now impossible.
"Sun, Soul Sear, Inferno!"
A golden torrent, like a river overflowing its banks, caused the temperature of the tomb to rise sharply. Yngol's shadow Essence Spirit gradually vanished within the flames.
"Well done. Child."
A whisper sounded in the void, followed by complete silence.
Serana walked up to the Throne and saw a withered skeleton wearing a helmet leaning on the seat, covered in moss. At a light touch, it turned to dust, leaving only the Horned Helmet intact.
The helmet had a simple Frost Resistance Enchantment, not due to Runic Inscription, but an effect generated after being steeped in souls and Magical Energy for millennia.
Simon tried to put the helmet on—his head was too big, it got stuck, failure.
Serana: "Why don't you try turning into your human form?"
"Forget it," Simon muttered. He didn't intend to let Serana see his youthful human form.
The two followed the well-like staircase at the end of the Burial Chamber out of the Barrow, standing atop a tall stone hill by the coast. A refreshing wind blew from the sea. Simon listened to the sea breeze's song, gazing at the jagged, fragmented Tidal Flat. In a trance, he seemed to see the Sea of Ghosts under the night sky, raging with wind and rain. Countless ships bobbed and sank amidst the churning waves. They overlapped, stacked like dense insects forming a vast shadow, like a thick mat obstructing the seawater. The ships were filled with strange humanoids and Exotic Beasts, their torsos shattered, their spraying blood dyeing the dark ocean crimson.
The hallucination flashed and vanished. Simon closed his eyes and rested for a moment.
Serana: "What's wrong?"
"Just some hallucinations, nothing serious."
"But you look terrible. For a moment, I even thought you had disappeared."
"It's just the curse of magic on me, perfectly normal."
"Don't push yourself."
"I won't surrender to death, don't worry about me." Simon gently kissed Serana on the forehead. "As for you, live for yourself from now on, and stop blindly following strange guidance."
"You're different from most of us, White Mountain. Normally, you really don't seem like a Nord. You're more similar to the temperament of the Dwemer. Speaking of which, when I was young, I saw a few Dwemer Spell Books in the study, but they're long gone now. Otherwise, I could have helped you."
"I never intended to look for a capable helper, Serana. I just wanted to witness the world's beauty with someone. Originally, having Jonas was enough, but he has his own path to follow..."
"Alright, alright, shut up already. I've already agreed to stay with you, so don't push your luck."
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