Chapter 43: Climbing Crystal Mountains

As they finally walked out of the forest, the cold breeze had blown into their faces. Without the trees blocking out most of the wind, they were even more vulnerable to the cold here.

Speaking of the temperature, they swore that it had gotten even colder here compared to when they first arrived in Snow Land.

"Whew... It feels good to be out of that forest." Lubert sighed, looking at the mountains ahead. "But how are we supposed to trek those mountains?"

"Bro, we always do stuff like this," Malion pointed out. "I think we know how to get through a place like this."

"Oh... You're right about that. I don't know about the others..."

"We'll be fine," Mars assured. "It's not like it's going to be dangerous or anything..."

"Fair enough," Malion shrugged. "Let's check this place out, shall we?"

They made their way ahead, where a pathway leading to the mountains stood. The only thing they could hear was the sound of the crunching snow made by them as they walked. Somewhere beyond these mountains...was the Frozen Palace, home to Queen Crysolice.


"Your Highnessssss!" cried an incoming Darce that barged into Crysolice's throne room. Before it could speak up, the room became more frigid than before. "I-It'sss way too c-cold in here!"

Before it could question the cold, the ice monster found its answer when snow was covering the majority of the floor, and the window was open, letting in the cold wind. Crysolice sat on her throne, creating snowflakes from her white gloved hand. Her cold eyes eventually looked at the Darce that entered.

"Why are you here?" Crysolice asked.

"Well..." the Darce hesitated for a moment. Hearing bad news was never something Crysolice wanted to hear, and usually she never took it too well. Letting out a sigh, the Darnce finally spoke. "The Chosen Ones... They've gotten out of Shirori. They're now traveling through Crystal Mountains. Those heroes will be here soon..."

The Darce recoiled in an instant. It was expecting her eyes to glow blue, and her hair to flow upward as she would fire an ice beam its way, thus being frozen forever and most likely dead. But when the Darce opened its eyes, it saw none of that.

"They are? Well... I guess that means we should send some of the Frigids to get them." Crysolice said emotionlessly. "And maybe they could help too."

"Them? Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure they'd be helpful."

"What about the Ssshadow Sssirensss?"

"We won't be needing them. They'll help us if the heroes get here."

"Oh... Then I guessssss I'm allowed to go off?" the Darce asked.

"Yes. Please do." Crysolice suggested.

Nodding, the Darce left the room, but without closing the door. Crysolice sighed, and with her ice magic, she blew a strong, cold wind that shut the door. Now that she was alone again, she stood from her throne and walked over to the open window where the balcony lied.

Using her ice powers once more, she created more snowflakes that flew off from the wind. It was absolutely beautiful. This gift was almost a blessing to her.

Unfortunately, she never considered this power a blessing.

As she continued to look out at the snowy land, she closed her eyes and let another tear fall from her face and turn into ice.

"They will come here... I know of it..." Crysolice mumbled. "And soon I won't have to bear this curse..."


From traveling through a small cavern with a steep incline, the seven heroes had finally arrived at Crystal Mountains. Luckily, the path they were walking on was covered by two walls, preventing them from falling. But what made this place stand out compared to the likes of Shirori and the previous parts of Snow Land were the mysterious crystals with snowflakes inside.

Chalk was the only one to get up close to the crystals and poke them. But, as per usual, he was pulled away. Unsurprisingly, he complained about it.

However, they were not alone. More Frost Piranhas emerged from the ground to take a bite out of them. Lighten was prepared for it, though. Slicing at them from their stems, he was able to take them out in a single blow.

Some Darces tried getting in their way at the upper portion of the incline. Lubert had his staff ready and fired a laser at the closest one. While it didn't kill it, it was stunned long enough for Mars to finish it with a charged shot.

With the way clear for now, the seven reached the top of the incline, and to their dismay, it was blocked by a barrier. However, above it was a red button much like the ones they saw in the forest. Lubert aimed his staff at it and fired, breaking the barrier.

Before going through the small cavern, Chalk had found a bush beside them. Searching through it, he found a pebble inside.

Item: Pebble

A rock that only does a little bit of damage.

Chalk frowned at the item. A pebble? Really? Like there was any point in something like this! It was a pebble, for crying out loud! A completely pointless item that wouldn't do a thing against enemies!

...But, he kept it anyway as they headed into the small cavern ahead.

Much to the surprise of the seven, the cavern was not what they anticipated. The crystals on the floor were not just transparent, but there were some that were purple, green, and yellow. They gave off this radiant glow that seemed to make the cavern resemble those colors.

Many had smiled as they stared at the pleasant scenery while walking. However, little did they know that they were being watched...

Hanging from the ceiling were ice bats that stared down at them with their icy blue eyes while their wings wrapped around their bodies. As the heroes walked further away, the bats opened their wings and flew after them.

One of the bats had flown toward the closest one, being Lighten. This was it. Just one touch, and he would be frozen!

As it got closer, Lighten had stopped and drove his blade into the Crystat without opening his cape. The icy bat fell to the ground in pain, its shrieks being heard by the other heroes. Turning around, they looked down at the injured Crystat until it stopped moving and exploded into icy dust.

"Whoa... What the heck was that?" Chalk gawked.

"We're not alone," Lighten warned, pointing his sword at the rest of the Crystats behind them.

"More bats? Come on..." Mars groaned, aiming her Arm Cannon and open firing. The Crystats were quickly, performing barrel rolls to avoid her shots. Zanex had managed to get one of them by summoning a Materialized Sword that impaled it and let it explode. Malon found himself throwing hammers and getting in a defensive position just to be on the safe side.

But thankfully, Chalk's Paint Missile was able to take care of them when he fired at one of the Crystats. With the others close, they were caught in the explosion, killing them off in the process.

"Geez... How many bats are we going to run into today?" Lubert asked.

"Those were no ordinary bats," Lighten noted, his eyes shifting to the group. "Those bats in the forest probably wouldn't do much if they hit you. The ones we just killed? There's a chance they might freeze us upon contact."

"That's-a no good," Malion replied. "But how do you know this?"

"They're covered in this icy aura. No ordinary bat would carry it. There's a chance that Crysolice might've made them..."

"I'd say yes, but I have no idea what Crysolice looks like," Mars said with a shrug.

With that out of the way, they carried on. While some had their weapons ready in case if more Crystats came, some were too busy admiring the crystals. There were some crystals that were pretty large too, with one to the right being stuck to the wall.

But despite not running into any more enemies in the cave, they did run into one issue...

"Oh, no..." Nebule sighed. "A dead end."

"So... We're backtracking?" Chalk asked.

"Pretty much," the blonde boy answered, going back the other way. "Come on, guys."

"Right behind you, Nebugo!"

As Chalk followed behind, Lighten had done a double-take.

"Does he really not know his name?" Lighten gawked.

"I'm not sure..." Malion trailed. "I don't know if he's doing it on purpose, or he just doesn't care."

"Hmmm... Well let's hope he actually calls him by his real name, for Nebule's sake..."

The group was more than thrilled when they began their journey backwards in the cave. But as they passed by the crystal on the wall, Mars had come to a halt when she placed her two fingers on her visor. With her visor on, she spotted a hidden passageway.

"Uhhh... Guys?" Mars spoke up. "You might wanna check this out."

The others stopped and took a look at the crystal Mars was pointing. From taking a closer look, they could spot a hidden passageway through the crystal. Zanex wasted no time and drew Yami, slicing the crystal in half to reveal the path ahead.

"Well... I guess that's one way to solve that..." Malion trailed.

The rest of the pathway wasn't anything special aside from there being more crystals. However, at the end of the cave, they did spot two Darces that fired shards of ice their way. Good thing Lubert had made a barrier to block them. Afterward, they easily took care of the ice enemies.

As they stepped out of the cavern, they had quickly stopped when a large snowball had rolled aside, barely crushing their feet. It had rolled down the cliff nearby, falling not too far below.

"And here I thought we'd be finished with snowballs too..." Nebule sighed. "I'm starting to not like this place..."

Nevertheless, they continued up the incline spiraling around the mountain they were on. There were a few other snowballs that came down their way, but Zanex's blade, combined with his Darkness Flame took care of it no problem. Nebule even shot some fire arrows at a few too.

Upon reaching the peak, they were greeted by two Darces, who looked as if they were waiting for them to arrive.

"Well, looksss like they're here," the first Darce spoke. "Ssshall we welcome them?"

"Of courssse," the second nodded, creating a blade made of ice in its right hand. "I've been looking forward to thisss moment for a while!"

With weapons made of ice ready in their hands, they charged forward. That was, until large chunks of ice flew past them and came toward the heroes. Lighten had quickly jumped into action and deflected them from hitting Nebule, Chalk, and Malion.

"Whoa..." Nebule gaped, astonished by Lighten's actions. "Thanks for that, Lighten."

"Don't thank me now," Lighten advised. "Pay attention!"

More ice chunks came their way when Nebule looked ahead. He was prepared for it this time and punched at them to fire a cyclone that blew them away. The remaining ice flew toward the Darces, but they were also prepared to dodge the attack too.

As the ice chunks flew away, a new figure made its appearance through ice crystals materializing in between the two Darces. It, too, sported dark blue skin, but it was mostly covered in large ice chunks that acted like armor. It even wore a helmet made of ice that hid its face, with the exception of its white, frigid eyes. Although humanoid, it sported a tail with ice crystals on it.

"Who's this?" Chalk asked.

"I am a Frigid," the Frigid introduced, cold breath coming out from its helmet. "Her Majesty had requested our assistance. So you're the ones who are out to kill her?"

"Well, we want the Land Tablet she has," Nebule replied, glaring at the new enemy. "But if we have no choice but to kill her for it... Then yes."

"I see... Then I cannot allow you to go any further." the Frigid stated, an ice blade suddenly materializing on its arm. "You all must die!"

The Frigid charged at the heroes with its blade ready. Nebule took action by blocking its attack with his sword, and while trying to push it away, Chalk fired a red Paint Missile at the two Darces. While they were lit on fire, Malion performed a Hammer Spin that knocked them off the peak.

To Nebule's dismay, the Frigid was easily pushing him back when another ice blade appeared on its other arm. However, he suddenly thought of an idea that made him smirk. He lifted one of his legs and aimed his foot at the Frigid. While it paid attention to him, his boot fired a burst of flames that forced the Frigid back. This gave Nebule the opportunity to strike it with a fire slash, and after Chalk painted it red, Lighten finished it off with a Sword Beam.

"Yeah! We beat it!" Chalk cheered, celebrating with a little dance.

"I fear there are still more ahead," Lighten warned. "It's best that we stay on guard."

"Yeah yeah, we get it," Mars grumbled. "The place is dangerous, we just need to be ready. How many times have we heard that before?"

"I wasn't even counting," Chalk proclaimed.

"Hmph, whatever. Let's move on."

"Yeah, I guess we should," Lubert nodded, unsure of what to say. He looked on ahead and spotted a bridge made of ice. The only problem? It was broken. ...But, they swore they could see something transparent on the gap. It resembled the broken part of the bridge when they got closer.

When Chalk took a look at the bridge, he instantly got his paintbrush ready and fired a glob of white paint. With this, the ice bridge began to reform, and it had led to the next mountain ahead.

As they got onto the second mountain, a Frost Piranha had surprised them. It was closest to Malion and tried to take a bite out of him. He easily put up his shell to block the attack, then Lubert swung his staff to finish it off.

This mountain, compared to the previous, had a pathway leading up to a tall wall. There was a bit of an incline, so their movement was slowed down. To make matters worse, more snowballs were coming their way. Thankfully, they didn't have to worry about smashing them, considering that they had much more room to move. Because of this, they were able to reach the wall with ease.

Now they were met with a brand new obstacle: a climbable wall.

"You know... I never say stuff like this... But I'm glad we all are wearing gloves." Nebule commented as he looked up at the cold, rocky wall.

"Yeah!" Chalk nodded, only to look at his hands and notice no gloves. "Oh..."

"At least you have two hands to climb," Mars noted, looking at her hands. "I'll probably have a tougher time!"

Nevertheless, they all put their weapons away and started their climb up the wall. Despite the height of the wall, there were some crystals hanging that acted like platforms. There, they were able to get some rest whenever they got tired, then they would proceed up again afterward.

Mars, surprisingly, did not have a hard time like she thought. At first, sure, but then she realized that her Grapple Beam could be used to pull herself further up. Chalk, however, was not so lucky...

Everyone found themselves panting as they reached the top, choosing to take a break. When they were done, they looked ahead and saw a barrier blocking their way. After searching, they spotted a button trapped in an ice crystal to the left. Zanex had sliced it, and with his Ball Slam, he was able to break the barrier leading ahead.

"Nice work, Zanex!" Malion smiled, giving the hedgehog a thumbs up. But that didn't last very long when Zanex simply moved on ahead without making eye contact, much to Malion's surprise. "Huh..."

"I don't know about you guys, but there's something strange going on with him ever since we left that town..." Lubert trailed.

"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing," Mars agreed. "Usually he'd make some kind of rude comment toward us, but he's a lot more quiet than usual..."

"Obviously there's something going on with him..." Nebule trailed, looking over at Zanex. "And I plan to find out..."

They followed Zanex to the path that was ahead of them. Unfortunately, there were times that the path became more narrow. It didn't help that some Crystats were flying around. But some simple ranged attacks were all that was needed to take care of them.

Another cave awaited them, but unlike the other, this required some climbing when they were led into another climbable wall. Like before, they made their way up and found more crystals not only on the walls, but the ceiling too.

This cave also had another similarity to the other. A dead end awaited them as they walked through the narrow path. But this time, there was a crack on the wall. Knowing what to do, Nebule pulled a bomb out and dropped it in front of the wall. With an explosion, the way outside was revealed.

Two pathways that circled around part of the mountain appeared as they stepped outside. There were no sight of any snowballs coming unlike before, and there was a rocky ceiling above them. But, they did have a nice view from where they stood.

"Well... I must admit that it looks pretty nice here." Mars remarked. "But that target is ruining it."

"Target?" Nebule gawked, taking notice of the target in midair. Remembering what happened last time, he got an arrow out and fired at the target. It exploded, revealing some Magic Powder that he received.

That wasn't the only thing they found around here. Over to the left path was a Darce and Frost Piranha guarding a chest. By defeating them, they were able to open the chest and find a green Mushroom.

Item: Ultra Shroom

One of the tastiest Mushrooms out there! Replenishes a large amount of your health.

"Ultra Shroom? Say, Lubert, haven't we eaten one of these before?" Malion recalled.

"Yeah! It was really good!" Lubert nodded. "Trust us, guys. You'll really like it!"

"Can we eat it now?" Chalk asked.

"No, only when we need to," Nebule answered, putting the Ultra Shroom away. "Anyway, let's check the other way."

They made their way back to where they first were, then headed the right way. Two Frost Piranhas and a Darce had tried stopping them, but they proved to be no match for the seven heroes.

As they reached the end of the pathway, they had come across a door with an ice lock covering it. Chalk smiled, knowing what to do, and he created an ice key through his Paint Morph ability.

As the door was unlocked, Chalk was the first to go through. The others were about to follow, but the sound of his loud voice caught them off guard.

"What the... Who the heck are you?"

Nebule was ready to enter the door, but it flung open, and to the six were left with surprised looks as two Chalks now stood before them.

"Whew, that was close. For a second, I thought something bad was gonna happen! Isn't that right, me?" Chalk turned to the other Chalk with his dumb smile, only to suddenly perform a double-take. "Hey... Why is there another me?"

"Another me? I should be asking the same thing!" the other Chalk replied.

"Wait... What's going on here?" Nebule gawked.

"I wanna know too!" Chalk two spoke, pointing at the other. "Why is this fake here?"

"Fake? But look at me! I'm Chalk!" Chalk one stated, pointing at himself.

"No, it's me! Even ask Nebule!"

"No way, he knows that we're buddies! He even knows that I'm cooler than him! Just ask him!"

"Fine, then we'll let him decide who the imposter is," Chalk two said, turning his attention to Nebule. "You know what to do, buddy!"

"Yeah..." Nebule nodded, his sword ready. With all his might, he swung at the second Chalk.

Just as that happened, the second Chalk was covered in purple smoke. As it cleared, a ghost-like creature with a small, red ponytail, and gray feet took its place. Despite the sheet having a hole to look like a happy mouth, it has curved downward, while its eyes had a look of shock.

"Yeeeeow! That hurt!" the Duplighost cried. "How did you know that I was the real one?"

"Because if there's one thing I learned from Chalk, it's that he doesn't say my name," Nebule explained. "Plus, it's obvious he thinks he's cooler than me. That just made it easier to figure out who was the real Chalk."

"Yeah!" Chalk added. "So beat it!"

"Beat it? How about I beat you instead!" the Duplighost cackled, raising its two arms. It leaped upward in the form of the missile, ready to dive at them.

...However, since there was a ceiling above them, the Duplighost had hit its head instead.

"Ow..."

As it landed in front of the group, it began to see stars briefly before finally passing out.

"Uhhhh... We...did it?" Mars said, sheepishly giving a thumbs up. "Go...us?"

"I guess we can go?" Nebule shrugged, opening the round door inside of the mountain. Again, they were met with an interior full of crystals. But this particular area was round and not a narrow path, unlike the others. There were plenty of ice blocks covered in a blue glow all over the place, and in front of them was a statue with three blades, much like the one they found in Levith's Temple.

And once again, Lubert's gauntlet was reacting to it.

"This again?" Lubert wondered, looking down at his gauntlet. "I guess I'm able to use that statue with this like before."

"Yeah, you should," Nebule said, unable to thaw the ice blocks with his sword. "Our own weapons aren't doing any good."

Lubert went to work, and by swinging his right arm, the spectrum arm created activated the statue and moved it forward. The ice blocks surrounding this area easily broke, clearing a path. But, it wasn't enough, so Lubert kept doing the same thing until it was clear of ice. All that remained was a barrier blocking the path ahead and a statue made of stone over by the left.

Seeing the lightning sign on it made Nebule run after it. Luckily, since his Titanium Boots had the abilities from his previous boots, he was able to perform a Lightning Crash that shattered the statue and revealed a blue ! Switch underneath. With a single kick, the barrier shattered.

There was another narrow path leading back outside, but along the way, they spotted three items embedded in the wall. In order, they were a Shooting Star, Thunder Rage, and an Ice Storm. Considering that they were there for the taking, Malion grabbed the Shooting Star.

Just as he did that, a barrier had suddenly appeared before them. Eyebrows were raised, and attacks against the barrier were fruitless. There wasn't even a sign of a switch either.

As they tried to ponder over how to get through the barrier, Malion looked at the Shooting Star in his hand, and out of curiosity, he put it back in its place. The barrier in their way was now gone.

"Oh... So if there's something there, the barrier won't be in the way..." Lubert trailed. "Do you think we can switch the Shooting Star for something else?"

"I don't know..." Malion trailed. "I mean, we don't want to give up our items if they're useful..."

That was when it hit Chalk. Looking into his items, he pulled out the Pebble he had gotten earlier. He took the Shooting Star and replaced it with the Pebble. As expected, no barrier was there to get in the way.

"Well I guess we found an answer," Mars said. "Where'd you get that Pebble?"

"I found it," Chalk answered.

"Where- Actually, maybe that's not important." Nebule decided. "Let's just keep going."

The way out had took them near a climbable wall that led to the top of this mountain. It wasn't a long climb, so getting to the top wasn't too difficult. But when they got there, they were greeted by another Frigid and three Darces.

"So, you've come at long last..." the Frigid trailed, two ice blades retracting from its arms. "If Queen Crysolice sent us after you guys, then that must mean you're a big threat."

"Of course we are," Mars smirked. "We beat a monster taking people's dreams and a parasite. You shouldn't be any different."

"We also took on a sand knight and this guy carrying a scythe," Chalk added.

"And I took on a dragon," Nebule also added.

"Is that so?" the Frigid replied, getting in a fighting stance. "Well... We Frigids are no pushover. I'll do what I must to destroy you!"

The Frigid charged at the closest one to it, that being Lighten. He put his sword in front of him to block its attack, while the three Darces fired ice shards at the others. Zanex had teleported behind one of them and drove his blade into the Darce. Malion threw hammers at the other two, while Lubert and Mars finished them off with their ranged attacks.

As for the Frigid, it appeared to get the upper hand when it managed to kick Lighten away. While he was knocked on his back, the Frigid leaped in the air and prepared to drive its blades into the masked warrior.

And then Lighten had used his cape to disappear, catching the Frigid off guard.

"What? Where'd he-"

One second later, the Frigid was sent flying off the mountain by a powerful slash. Lighten had appeared behind the enemy, swinging his sword faster than Zanex.

"That takes care of that," Lighten sighed, looking over at the next mountain. "Perhaps past this mountain is the palace..."

"I hope so," Nebule nodded. He looked in the distance and spotted a blue ! Switch. "I see a switch... But I don't know if there's anything that can help us activate it."

"No problem," Mars smirked, firing a shot at the switch, making a bridge made of ice appear. "See? Easy!"

"...How come you didn't shoot the other switch that Lighten flew over before?" Lubert questioned.

"You mean the one near that town? Huh... Why didn't I?"

As she pondered over that question, they made their way over to the next mountain. Compared to the others, it didn't look too big, but they were surprised to be greeted by another Darce. But it hardly lasted a second after Zanex sliced it in half.

Eyes were blinking at that single attack, but they rolled with it and continued on. This mountain actually had crystals on the snowy path they walked, and a few of them contained some Star Pieces or Magic Powder. To them, this was definitely something they needed.

But their way forward was at a halt when there was a large gap between them and the next part of the mountain. There wasn't much below, but it was possible to climb back up from where they stood. The only thing they could see near them was a pedestal made of ice with an opening shaped like a diamond.

It didn't help that there was a barrier too, preventing anyone from flying across.

"Wait, we've got no way across? That's dumb." Chalk pouted.

"Yeah, it kind of is," Mars agreed. "This area's a little big, so I guess we should look around?"

"We might as well," Malion decided, choosing to see what was around. After all, they didn't search everywhere.

And they were right when they didn't search everywhere when they were surprised by some Frost Piranhas and Crystats. The latter were standing on a few of the crystals, and they attacked once they got close. But like with the other enemies, these went down pretty quickly.

As Nebule finished a Frost Piranha, he stumbled upon a crack on the wall. Curious, he placed a bomb in front of it and let it explode. His eyebrows immediately raised when he spotted a door with an opening in it.

"I swear I've seen a shape similar to that..." Nebule thought. He pondered over what it could possibly be, but his eyes widened when he remembered. The blonde pulled out the Shaman's Crystal and inspected it, then he looked at the opening on the door. "Guys... I think I found something!"

Hearing his voice, the others ran over to Nebule, but they instantly stopped when they got a glimpse of the door. It was slightly reflective, as if it were made from ice.

"Whoa... I don't think I've seen a door like that before." Malion remarked.

"The opening looks just like the crystal Merlo gave us," Lighten recalled.

"Yeah," Nebule nodded. "I think we found Merlo's ancestor."

He placed the Shaman's Crystal in place, and once he stepped back, the door began to rumble. Everyone watched with anticipated looks as it slowly began to open into what looked like a shrine.

"Well... Let's hope we're not intruding this ancestor..." Lubert trailed.

"Maybe this ancestor whatchamacallit will give us Jelly Ultraz!" Chalk proclaimed.

"It's a spirit. They can't make food..." Nebule groaned. "But he or she might have something to give us...I hope..."

Taking a deep breath, Nebule stepped foot into Crystal Shrine, with the others following.


"Yeesh, how long have we been in this annoying forest?"

"It hasn't been long, Toadburt. We'd probably be here longer had it not been for these footprints."

"Well I don't like this place, Goombi! I prefer it back home where it was nice and wa- Hey, why is it green here?"

The others had come to a halt when they noticed their surroundings had completely changed. Gone was the cold, snowy ground, and in its place was bright green grass that looked like it fit during the summertime. There was even a clear pond, along with a house nearby as well.

"Well this is new," Bonnie commented.

"It's definitely not natural," Koopo added. "Someone must have magic strong enough to keep this area warm."

Toadburt approached the pond and dipped his finger in it. After twirling it around, he pulled it out and blinked in surprise. "This pond isn't even freezing! How the heck is this even possible?"

"That would be thanks to the aurora in the sky."

The sound of the old voice got the four to turn to the house and spot Merlo walking out. Like them, he was left in surprise.

"So there are more going through this forest too?" Merlo gawked. "Well this is a surprise..."

"More? What do you mean?" Goombi asked.

"And who the heck are you?" Toadburt added.

"Now now, let's not start asking too many questions," Merlo suggested, moving his hands to get them to settle down. "I am Merlo, a shaman who lives in this area of Shirori. It is thanks to my magic, with the help of the aurora, that keeps this place warm and lively. As for more... Well, there were seven others who came here recently."

"Seven?" Bonnie gawked. "So I guess that masked guy is with them now..."

"We were wondering... Were they carrying anything that was sparkling and shaped like a star?" Koopo questioned.

"No..." Merlo pondered. "But they were carrying weapons. I even used my magic to upgrade one of their weapons. Why do you ask?"

"We're looking for the seven Crystal Stars," Goombi answered. "With them, we plan to put an end to the Shadow Queen once and for all."

Merlo nodded, only to suddenly freeze in place. "Did you just say the Shadow Queen?"

"Yes."

"You're... You're really taking a big risk by going up against her. Her power is so great that none of us shamans are able to stop her."

"We know that," Bonnie nodded. "But the Crystal Stars are the only thing that are strong enough to stop her. It is why we need to find the one located here."

"Hmmmmm... I see..." Merlo trailed. "If what you're saying is correct, then I will do what I must to help you."

Clasping his hands together, Merlo began to concentrate on a spell that was glowing white. He too was glowing in the process. When his eyes flashed, he thrust his hands forward and fired a spell at the weapons the four were carrying. They glowed as well, but only temporarily.

"What did you do?" Koopo questioned.

"I gave you a boost of power into those weapons," Merlo explained. "Not only are your abilities with that weapon greater, but you have each been given a new ability as well. For you, Toad, by concentrating enough power into that sword, you can fire a projectile from it. For you, Goomba, your book can identify any opponent and their weak points. For you, Boo, I have given you the Shaman's spell. Defensively, it can protect you against dangerous attacks, but offensively, it can be very deadly, especially to the likes of the Shadow Queen. Finally, for you, Koopa, not only can your sword cut through metal, but you can summon waves of energy that can hit multiple opponents in the vicinity."

"Wow... That was very thoughtful of you." Bonnie gaped.

"It'll help me kick Blondie's butt, that's for sure!" Toadburt said proudly, putting his hands on his hips.

"Speaking of that..." Goombi started. "Those seven you mentioned... Where did they go?"

"They're heading straight for Queen Crysolice's palace," Merlo answered. "They said they were seeking the Land Tablet there. I had given them a gem that would hopefully open the way to the palace... If you're quick, you might be able to get to them."

"Thank you," Bonnie said gratefully. "Let's hurry up! I'll try to make us transparent so we can get through these obstacles quickly!"

"Understood," Koopo nodded, and he and the others hurried onward.

"Let's just hope things are going all right for the Chosen Ones..." Merlo trailed. "Merlon REALLY needs to get that message I sent them."


The first thing that caught their attention were the long, reflective ice crystals that were embedded on the walls. While the floor wasn't as reflective, it was definitely shiny. It made things better when it wasn't slippery as well.

However, despite how nice this square-shaped room looked, there was hardly anything around. No magic, no fountains, no nothing. Just a plain, empty room.

"Wow..." Chalk trailed. "This place stinks!"

"I'm surprised by how empty it is..." Lighten trailed. "You'd think this shrine would have a bit more to it..."

Curious, Mars activated her visor and searched the room. She wasn't so surprised when the wall ahead had a section that was invisible.

"Illusions," Mars sighed. "Why do wizards use illusions?"

"'Cause they're wizards," Chalk answered.

"Actually, they're shamans," Nebule corrected.

"Well, regardless, just go straight. There's something through there."

Heeding Mars's words, the group had walked ahead. Nebule was the first to check out the wall ahead, and to make sure Mars was right, he placed his hand on the wall. Well, he would've, had it not phased through the wall.

Now this had surprised him, but regardless, he walked through the wall into a smaller room. The first thing he noticed was the crystal in front of him, with an object in the shape of a diamond inside.

"Hey... Maybe this is what we need to cross that gap!" Nebule gasped.

"Well that's a relief," Lubert added.

As they got a better look at the crystal, sparkles began to rain down. Looking up, they saw a spirit materializing above it. The figure resembled a female shaman and wore a lavender cloak and red shoes. Her hair was curled and flowed from the sides of her hood, while a small curl hung on the top. The spirit's eyes were green, and much like other shamans, a star orb was hanging underneath her hood.

"At last... The Chosen Ones are here!" the shaman spoke. "I'm so glad you found this place. I've been expecting you."

"So your Merlo's ancestor?" Malion asked.

"Correct. I am Madam Merlar, the ancestor to Merlo and Merlon. It's safe to assume that you know of them."

"Yeah, pretty much," Mars nodded.

"The spirits have told me so much about you," Merlar explained. "They said that you'd be making your way here, and through Merlo, you would reach my sacred shrine. You see, I guard the way to the Frozen Palace, just to make sure that Crysolice's most dangerous power does not get past the barrier."

"So, you set up that barrier..." Lighten trailed.

"Indeed I did. It was the only way, considering what has happened to this place. Did you know that this land was once very beautiful? There was no sign of snow, and these mountains didn't exist. It is thanks to the Shadow King and Queen that Crysolice had turned this place into a frozen wasteland. And for the people here... There were no survivors."

Zanex's fist began to shake upon hearing that last sentence.

"Anyway, there's something important I must tell you all. You must listen to every word I say!" Merlar advised, making the group raise eyebrows. "Due to time, I will try to keep it short. But you still must pay attention, especially to the key points!"

The heroes shrugged. It was only going to be brief, so why not?

"OK... So, where to begin? Oh, right! It all began long ago... Back then, I was pretty young, and quite beautiful... And I was also alive. While I was practicing my magic, something strange had happened that day... It left me in awe! I...was...and...everything looked... It was...none other...and...than...then that...and I..."

By the time she started midway, no one had been paying attention to her tale. Her story was so uninteresting that everyone found their eyes slowly closing.


"...and that's why you must get to Crysolice and lift the curse from Snow Land. However..."

As Merlar looked down at the seven, her eyes widened at the sight of them sleeping.

"Hey! Were you people even listening?!"

The sound of her loud voice immediately woke up the seven and got the drowsiness out of their eyes. Unsure of how to reply, they all have her assuring nods.

"Yeesh! Kids these days..." Merlar grumbled. "It's like they don't have respect for spirits. Very rude!"

"Ummm... But we did listen." Nebule said.

"OK, then what did I say about how this place came to be?"

"Errr... It started to snow?"

Despite the sheepish look he gave her, Merlar had placed two fingers under her chin and slowly nodded.

"Hmmmmm... All right, then. As I was saying, you're going to need this Ice Stone if you want to reach the Frozen Palace. I'll give it to you."

With her magic, she was able to let the Ice Stone phase through the crystal and fly into Nebule's hands.

Item: Ice Stone

A beautiful, sparkly stone. It is the key to reaching the Frozen Palace.

"With that stone, you should get to the Frozen Palace without any problems. ...Well, unless you count Crysolice's cold spell. But, well, you guys are heroes. You're used to that stuff." Merlar explained, shrugging at her last sentence. "...Hmm. Are you guys sure you listened to my short tale?"

"Oh, yeah. We did." Malion lied through a nod. "It was very entertaining."

"All right... But maybe one day I will tell you the full story. Until then, I wish you the best of luck!"

With that, her spirit slowly faded away, and the heroes made their exit. They made a mental note to never come back here again.

As they left, Merlar's spirit reappeared, looking more annoyed than usual.

"These generations of heroes..." Merlar sighed. "Maybe Merlon should've gotten some older ones. They would've been more considerate! Oh, whatever. There's not much I can do about it."


The heroes wasted no time in placing the Ice Stone in place. This caused the entire mountain to shake as a road of ice began to rise from the ground. The barrier that was in the way shattered, causing a heavy wind to blow in their direction.

"Merlar wasn't kidding when she said that Crysolice had some intense magic through this barrier..." Nebule commented, covering his face with one of his arms. "But... We have to keep going."

They moved onward, crossing the glacier and progressing through the large, snowy pathway. The further they walked, the closer they were to reaching the darkness that was ahead.

And the closer they were getting to the Frozen Palace, the more dangerous it would be...

As they stepped into the darkness once more, they were stopped by a couple of Frigids near a hill. Unlike the others, they didn't waste time in making introductions and charged forward. Malion had them stunned thanks to his Pulse Boots, and he immediately cleared out of the way as Mars incinerated them with her Zero Laser.

"Man, it feels good using this again," Mars smirked.

With them out of the way, Nebule decided to scout ahead, using his boots to speed up the hill. He did run into some Darces that were at the top, but he was able to hurt them with his Star Boomerang and then finish them with a Sword Beam. As he killed them off, he gasped as he spotted something off in the distance.

"Hey, guys! Check this out!"

Curious, the others trekked up the hill and reached where Nebule stood. His finger was pointing directly at an ice palace that was sitting on a lone mountain.

"Is that...?" Lubert gawked.

"Yeah... That's it." Lighten nodded.

"It doesn't look like there's a way over there though," Mars mentioned, pointing at the broken ice bridge. "Looks like this Crysolice doesn't enjoy company."

"Or maybe she's antisocial," Chalk guessed.

"Don't know. Think you can fix this bridge, Chalk?"

"Uh huh!"

Chalk immediately got to work, firing globs of white paint at the gap. A sparkling new ice bridge had been created, but it stood out from the other ones. For some reason, this bridge...just looked better. Maybe it was through Crysolice's magic?

Well, that didn't matter now. They stepped foot onto the bridge and started to make their way onto the lone mountain ahead. For a bridge made of ice, this sure felt sturdy.

"Whoever this Crysolice is, she must be really good with ice magic," Malion said. "I wonder how she got them?"

"Maybe her palace might give us some clues, bro," Lubert deduced.

"Yeah, maybe..."

As they stepped off the bridge, they approached the palace entrance. For being on a lone mountain, it sure was big. Big enough to even be a castle... It actually had some resemblances to a castle, but it was mainly made of ice. The front entrance was big as they reached it, and an emblem of an ice crown was depicted on it.

Strangely enough, there were no guards in the way...

"So... Are you guys ready?" Nebule asked.

"Of course," Lighten asked, the rest giving nods.

"All right..." Nebule turned to the door, and placing his hands on it, he began to push the door open.

As the door closed behind them, four other heroes were not too far behind.


At first, I felt it would've been ridiculous for the Four Heroes to reach the Frozen Palace by the end of the chapter. ...But then I remembered that Merlar's tale lasted for a while and wasted the others' time. So... Yeah. I guess it makes more sense for them to be not too far behind when you think about it.