Above the Arctic Ocean, the polar night had already fallen. Aurora borealis spanned the sky from the north, sweeping across the entire firmament at an incredible speed—a sight known as the "Goddess's Skirt." Those fortunate enough to witness this wondrous spectacle could only raise their hands in awe. The auroras filled the sky like a mighty army galloping through the night, while beneath them, the sea churned with violent billows. Floes collided on the crests of waves, and icebergs rose from beneath the surface, yet bolts of lightning wreathed in fire plummeted from the heavens, shattering the unformed icebergs into dust.
Golden light ignited in the deep sea, like the breaking of a dawn. The thunderous roar of horse hooves broke the vault of the sky, momentarily subduing even the sound of the raging waves. A massive whirlpool emerged in the ocean like a bottomless maw, as if preparing to swallow the very heavens.
As the whirlpool expanded further, the world suddenly plunged into absolute stillness.
Chapter 43