The Grand Army marched out of the ice tunnel and into a sprawling, subterranean cavern.
Lucifer halted his Nightmare Steed. The Aether-Steel Dragoons hovered to a stop behind him.
The Radiant Arch-Seraphs and the Star-Kissed Elves fanned out, securing the perimeter.
They stood at the edge of the Silent Kingdom.
It was an entire city buried beneath the Northern Glaciers. Towering spires of carved sapphire, massive domed cathedrals, and wide courtyards stretched into the darkness.
But the city was not empty.
The streets were filled with people.
Thousands of figures stood frozen on the pristine ice avenues. Merchants holding out frozen coins. Guards reaching for their swords.
Mothers clutching their children. Every single one of them was encased in thick, flawless, transparent blue ice.
"They were flash-frozen," Elara whispered. She rode her mount beside Lucifer, her golden eyes scanning the horrifying statues.
