After an emotionally and energy-consuming battle against the god-serpent Jormungand, the elves finally got the long-awaited victory.
It was all thanks to the participation of a blood elf in this expedition.
Without Tristan, the magus level elves might have given up and found no way to defeat this terrible ancient monster. They would need to resign themselves to being trapped in that layer for decades, waiting for their descendants to embark on the next expedition to the mist.
After pulling out the spirit soul from the mythical creature, Tristan and the others could be completely sure that the monster had been completely defeated.
And after the ancient monster was defeated the world within the layer experienced a great earthquake. The shaking of the ground beneath made the giant pillars that became the monster's throne slowly begin to break and then collapse to the ground.
Luckily all the remaining elves could float in the air, so they didn't have to struggle to avoid the falling debris of the pillars that were starting to crumble.
However, it didn't end there.
After the pillars shattered and razed to the ground, Tristan could hear a very loud cracking sound from above the very dark sky resembling the giant cave roof.
When he raised his head to look at the sky, he could see a crack was starting to appear as a result of the ceiling having been destroyed like it was splitting into several pieces.
A very bright light began to try to penetrate through the cracks, and it didn't take long for the cracks to spread longer and wider–
CRACK!
"What happened?" Queen Leena had flown over to King Ivaasar because she didn't want to be separated from her husband once again.
"Something we've been looking for, Leena."
Meanwhile, seeing what had just happened above at the cave's ceiling, King Castian had already shot high into the increasingly cracked roof.
CRACK!
Cracks in the ceiling of the cave widened, and rocks and dirt began to fall from the ceiling in various sizes.
Tristan dodged all the falling objects deftly. And the bright light above was finally able to enter to illuminate the contents of the cave.
Even Tristan's eyes needed time to adapt to so much light since they had been accustomed to darkness for days. So he and the others had to blink more than three times until their eyes got used to the incoming light.
Outside, above the giant cave that no longer had any protection against the sky, Tristan could see a land floating in the sky.
The land, at first glance, looked like another island that was indeed located in the air with three layers of soil that had different colours.
The very base had the same dark brown colour as the soil on the planet where the Asgardians live. While the second layer looked slightly greyish, and the structure was filled with sediment or solidified rock. Meanwhile, the last highest layer looked very fertile, overgrown with various types of trees, and the ground was covered with very green grass.
"What is that place?" Tristan had no idea that such a place existed. He had only seen floating plains drifting through the sky in fantasy films so far.
"The gate to the ancestors," King Castian looked very excited. His eyes gleamed at the sight of the plains.
"We're going there now. The elves must return to their home."
Without waiting for the others because they were still disappointed with those who decided to defend the blood elf, King Castian had already shot out of the cave and with the help of the air he had manipulated using magic, he and Osgiliath were trying to reach the flying ground.
The remaining ones looked at each other for a second before nodding and following King Castian.
Tristan didn't need to create a foothold to fly because the bloodgem dragon would take him to the floating plains for him
After being free out of the cave below that giant land, Tristan could feel the very refreshing cool air playing with the pores of his skin.
He looked around, and his eyes found the ruins of a familiar castle. Tristan could see the damaged structure more clearly because the mist that previously enveloped the place was now gone.
It was as if by defeating Jormungand, the magic that created the mist within the ancient Asgardian area had finally disappeared.
Tristan flew higher and higher so that he began to be able to see the contents of the dead forest around the castle. He could see the night wolves and dark wolves who were still trying to hide in the forest as if they were afraid that the elves who had defeated their leader would come back to finish them off.
Tristan again filled his lungs with very refreshing air. He had almost forgotten what it was like to breathe in such fresh air because he had been underground for too long, and the air beneath the ground was very humid.
He looked back at the plains floating above him. As he got closer to the plain, he could see that it looked like it was moving or rotating at such a low speed. He needed to stare at it without blinking for several minutes to catch its movement.
It seemed that the rotation was meant to keep the floating plains from falling from the sky and crashing into the Asgardian lands below.
He still didn't know, what the function of the plains was and why the elves were so happy after seeing it.
However, as he got closer to the plains, Tristan could feel an enormous force coming from the direction of the plains.
"Nara, can you feel it?"
"Yes, My Monarch. I can feel a lot of spirits up there."
Tristan increased his vigilance. Even though the elves were sure that they were very close to the place they called home, Tristan could sense a powerful barrier magic power. It was as if the barrier was trying to block anyone who came near.
However, once they reached the surface of the land and landed on the very green grass covering the ground, nothing awaited them but a giant pile of stones that made Tristan remember a prehistoric monument in England, the Stonehenge.
Tristan firmly believed that the array of stones standing in front of him was much larger. He could also see that even though the colours on the stones were different because they were darker than the real Stonehenge.
"I can't believe this day has finally come." King Castian was already walking swiftly on the ground.
As if he already knew the place very well, he walked without using any assistive devices and with no hesitation.
Osgiliath walked beside him, while the other magus level elves decided to follow the high elve king.
Tristan ordered his two dragons to turn back into human-like forms. It was so that they wouldn't be too conspicuous if it turned out that on the floating plains there was an enemy hiding.
However, once again, Tristan's suspicions meant nothing.
He simply walked after King Castian and the others, past the gigantic rock formations that stood so tall on top of the land. However, the high elve king ignored the objects. It was as if his eyes had been locked by something that was his goal from the start.
And after walking for a while, the king stopped at a pair of large giant stones that were standing parallel to each other.
The stones in front of him were the only stones covered with vines on the surface as if they could be the support of life.
There was a large gap for people to pass in and out between the pair of stones. However, what made King Castian's spirited smile on his face vanish in an instant was,
There was a giant stone statue resembling a human, complete with armour and a sword drawn towards the stepping stone below, which blocked the giant gap between the two stones.
"Asgardians." King Castian growled again in disappointment.
Meanwhile, Tristan walked closer to the statue. Indeed, the shape of the gigantic statue was completely human-like, a man with a thick beard and an extremely burly body hidden behind his strong-looking armour.
From the type of armour the statue was wearing, Tristan realized that he had seen that type of armour when he was fighting against the humans from Asgardian.
Without waiting any longer, King Castian summoned several black clouds above the sky to destroy the statue using one of his strongest magic.
[Thunderstorm]
BLARR!
A lightning bolt struck directly at the stone statue, but it didn't work or make the slightest damage.
Instead, Tristan could feel a movement from the statue, while the magical power of the barrier in that place seemed to solidify even more.
At that moment, he realized that the statue's eyes had a different colour and flashed with life, a voice came into all of their minds.
"I am Heimdall the Bifrost gatekeeper"