American comics: Praising the sun, starting from Gotham!

Good books are never stopped being updated, waiting for you to appreciate them.

Faced with the surging tide of frost-covered vengeful spirits, Xiu En merely glanced at them with a bored expression.

He extended a finger and gently tapped Peter Parker, who was shivering and teeth chattering beside him.

A warm golden light instantly enveloped Peter.

The bitter cold was instantly shut out, giving Peter a feeling of comfort as if he were soaking in a hot spring.

Fine golden lines appeared on his red and blue bodysuit, contrasting with the original spider web pattern, making it look like a brand new, upgraded battle suit.

"I'll give you a constant temperature buff, so you don't get too cold."

Xiu En casually threatened him.

"Consider these mobs as practice for you."

"Practice, practice?"

Peter felt the warmth and power within him and was momentarily stunned.

Xiu En smiled, took a step forward, and faced the approaching army of vengeful spirits.

He slowly opened his arms.

A soft, warm golden light emanated from him.

Wherever the light shines, time seems to slow down.

The wraiths, brandishing their icy claws and baring their fangs, all froze in place. The moment their bodies came into contact with the golden light, they began to turn transparent.

Through that thin, icy shell, Xiu En saw the distorted and tormented phantoms of souls imprisoned within.

Those souls wore ancient furs and armor, retaining the tall and imposing silhouettes of frost giants, their faces etched with resentment and despair.

"Oh? It's a buy-one-get-one-free canned food. It's covered in ice, but inside is a soul."

Xiu En uttered a knowing whisper.

"No wonder the big tree was crying; its child has been turned into popsicles."

The sunflower also put away its disgusted expression, and its two leaves drooped down.

"Then let's free them."

Xiu En closed his eyes, and the spreading golden light became softer and warmer.

Within the light, it seemed as if an invisible hymn was being sung, carrying a power to soothe the soul.

The frost wraiths, enveloped in light, ceased their attack. Golden light was reflected in their empty eye sockets, and their rage and hatred quickly subsided.

Their icy shells began to disintegrate from the inside out, turning into the purest white ice crystals that drifted into the air.

The remnants of the frost giants, now freed, stretched out their twisted bodies in the golden light, their pain and resentment transforming into peace and liberation.

One by one, towering phantom souls bowed their heads silently in the direction of Xiu En, performing a giant's salute, before transforming into specks of blue light and dissipating on the land where they had lived for generations, returning to the cycle of the World Tree.

Within minutes, the surging army of vengeful spirits was completely exorcised, leaving only the dreamlike blue specks of light slowly drifting away under the gray-white sky.

Peter kept his mouth open the entire time.

He watched as those once hideous and terrifying vengeful spirits peacefully dissipated in the golden light.

So, fighting can be this gentle?

"Alright, little spider, stop daydreaming."

The sunflower patted Peter with its leaf.

"The road ahead is clean."

Xiu En opened his eyes and looked ahead.

As the vengeful spirits were purified, the towering, ominous frozen throne in the distance became clearer in the field of vision.

The countless blue lights gathered in the air to form a winding blue stream, swirling around, and finally coalesced into a semi-transparent phantom of an ice giant in front of Xiu En and the other two.

The outline of this phantom was clearer than any of the previous ones. He did not bow, but stared intently at Xiu En with his eyes made of starlight.

[An unfamiliar sun... Thank you for your kindness.]

An aged voice resounded directly in the minds of the three, a voice that was the final collective thought of these remnant souls.

Fimbulb Winter... is not a curse, but part of a cycle... When the king grows old, winter comes, taking away the old life and making way for the new.

But... this time, King Laufey... refused to sleep forever.

The giant's phantom raised its arm, pointing to the distant, solitary, and ominous frozen throne.

A shattered image then appeared.

That was a much warmer Jotunheim than it is now, where frost giants hunted and lived on glaciers.

In the center of the image is King Laufey, in the prime of his life, holding a massive ice spear that exudes a chilling aura, looking majestic and awe-inspiring.

The scene shifts, and Laufey appears aged, with cracks appearing on his skin that signify the passing of life.

According to tradition, he should have entered the temple to embrace the winter of Fimbulb, allowing his life to return to the World Tree and provide nourishment for the birth of the next king.

But he didn't.

His obsession with power and fear of death led him to make a decision that went against his ancestors' wishes.

He attempted to forcefully suppress the arrival of Fimbulwinter using his own power.

The voice of the phantom soul carried endless sorrow.

Winter has been enraged… It is no longer a lullaby that brings sleep, but an endless hunger that devours everything. It has turned against the king and will drag all of Jotunheim into eternal silence.

"So, this is a story about an old king who was afraid of death and ended up making a mess of things?"

[...That's one way to understand it.]

The giant phantom seemed taken aback by this summary, but continued speaking.

The one on the throne is no longer King Laufey… but the embodiment of Fimbulwinter. At its core lies King Laufey's twisted soul and the ice spear that symbolizes royal power.

"Ice spear?"

Xiu En's eyes lit up slightly; it sounded like a decent collectible.

Peter listened with a chill running down his spine. The amount of information was overwhelming—kings, winter, souls—it was completely beyond the knowledge of a high school hero.

He could only silently memorize it, feeling that he could talk about it with his friends for three days and three nights when he got back.

Please... liberate our king... and liberate our world...

The giant phantom's body began to become transparent, turning into specks of starlight.

The throne... lies at the northernmost edge... following the direction of the wind...

The last glimmer of blue light dissipated in the cold wind, leaving only the distant, frozen throne, like a silent tombstone, awaiting their arrival.

"Okay, the navigation is now online."

Xiu En clapped his hands and looked in the direction of the throne.

"Let's go see that old king who doesn't want to retire."

Xiu En walked on the ice field.

The cold wind made him not want to fly.

This place was extremely monotonous, with nothing but the howling cold wind and the unchanging black ice beneath one's feet.

The sunflower perched on Xiu En's shoulder, idly tapping its flower head with its two leaves.

It also disliked the biting cold wind, the sound of which was so sharp it sounded like someone scratching a blackboard with their fingernails, making its flowerpot wrinkle.

Following the direction of the wind...

It mimicked the tone of the phantom soul from before and uttered a complaint.

Then, it seemed to have thought of something fun. It straightened up, its round flower head bulging slightly, as if it had taken a deep breath.

The next second, a sharp, thin, piercing whistle echoed across the desolate ice field.

"Beep—!!!"

The sound was extremely penetrating, perfectly masking the sound of the wind.

Peter, who was bored and dozing off, was startled by the sudden noise, almost triggering his spider-sense. He looked up abruptly and stared blankly around.

"What's that sound? An alarm? Is there a fire alarm here too?"

Xiu En also stopped in his tracks. He turned his head curiously to look at the sunflower on his shoulder, its flower head turning bright red.

"You were just bragging?"

Xiu En's projection asked with great interest.

The sunflower seemed a little embarrassed when he looked at it, and its whistle stopped abruptly. It rubbed its flower head with its leaves and muttered something under its breath.

"I just wanted to learn what the wind was calling... and this is what happened."

"It sounds nice."

Xiu En gave his evaluation very seriously, and then spoke in an encouraging tone.

"One more, the last one was a bit short, I didn't get enough."

"It sounds good?!"

Peter almost shouted out loud.

"Sir, that sound is even worse than Mr. Flash's chainsaw! My head is still ringing!"

"You don't know how to appreciate it."

Shuen glanced at Peter, then continued to look at the sunflower with expectant eyes.

Sunflower was somewhat embarrassed and angry after being praised by Xiu En.

It raised its flower head, tucked two leaves into its waistband, and struck a haughty pose.

"Stop blowing! It's so noisy! Hurry up and move on, stop dawdling here!"

After saying that, it smacked Xiu En's head hard with its leaf.

Xiu En wasn't angry; he just chuckled twice and continued walking towards the throne.

This time, however, besides the sound of the wind, there seemed to be a suppressed laugh echoing in the air, making Peter feel very uncomfortable.

Amid the almost eternal howling wind, Shum carried Peter with steady steps.

Bored, the sunflower began to poke at the blue ore in Xiu En's arms with its leaves.

Suddenly, it stopped moving. The flower head jerked up, and the two large leaves turned to the left front like radar.

"what?"

The sunflower made a questioning sound.

"Xiu En, stop for a moment."

Xiu En stopped in the direction it was pointing.

"What's wrong?"

"there……"

Sunflower's voice carried a hint of uncertainty.

"It looks like there's a seed that's about to freeze, very faint, but it's still throbbing."

Peter looked in the direction the sunflower was pointing and saw only a continuous stretch of black ice hills, no different from the surrounding scenery.

"Is there anything there? I don't see anything."

Peter asked in bewilderment, his mask's built-in thermal imaging system also indicating that there was only a deathly, cold silence ahead.

Xiu En narrowed his eyes, channeling his divine power into his pupils.

In his eyes, beneath that seemingly ordinary ice mound, some huge and regular outlines were vaguely visible.

That was the structure of the houses, a village completely frozen in ice.

In the very heart of the village, a tiny spark of life, like a candle flickering in the wind, stubbornly shines.

"A village was buried."

Xiu En said.

There's still one survivor.

Without saying much, he carried the raw ore and strode towards the ice hill.

Upon arriving at the ice mound, the black ice emanated a chill even more biting than the surrounding environment; it was the ice of despair, mixed with the power of Fimbulwinter.

Xiuen extended his right hand.

This time, a ball of flame the size of a basketball leaped from his palm as if it were alive, landing lightly on the black ice surface.

The black ice layer, upon contact with the flames, transforms into pure energy particles at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to the air.

The golden fireball glided across the ice like a skilled skater, silently smearing away the thick layer of ice in its wake.

The village of frost giants, which had been sealed away for an unknown period of time, was revealed below.

Huge stone houses, rough tools, and ice sculptures of frost giants, each retaining its final posture from life.

The golden fireball stopped in front of the largest stone house in the center of the village, then dissipated into specks of light.

The ice there has been completely cleared, revealing what lies beneath.

A massive, noble-looking frost giant knelt there with his arms wrapped around himself in a protective posture.

Beneath him was a pentagram ritual.

His body had been completely corroded by the gray-black frost, and he had lost all signs of life.

But within his embrace, he protected a gap.

The faint glimmer of life that the sunflower sensed came from the gap in his embrace.

"Oh my god..."

Peter muttered to himself.

Shuen silently stepped forward, reached out, and gently touched the ice sculpture of the giant father.

The ice sculpture shattered with a crash, turning into a sky full of ice crystals.

The ice crystals dissipated, revealing what he had guarded until his death.

It was the size of a human child, and its entire body was crystal blue, like a sleeping frost giant cub.

A thin layer of frost covered his body, and his faint heartbeat was like the last hope in winter.