The Ice Warrior must overcome his deepest fears in the "Mirror of Shadows" to obtain the first key. Then he has to get past Tharos, the ever-watchful dragon, keeper of the second key, who is under a spell. The dragon is defeated after a long fight, but the Warrior does not take the opportunity to destroy him, thus releasing Tharos from the spell. The Warrior and Tharos then become allies. Tharos takes the Warrior on his back, and they fly to a distant valley where the altar of Ikaren is. There, in a mystic cave, he finds the third key. Near that altar is a hidden passage leading to a great hall, where the ancient wizard Aresius awaits the arrival of the Chosen One. Aresius watches over the Ivory Gates, the passage to a wonderful land.
The Ice Warrior and Tharos go through the gates and they make their way past a beautiful valley and a desert, to end up in a deserted place. Suddenly, ghosts and undead come from all sides, rapidly closing in on the Warrior. But Tharos repays his debt and rescues the Warrior, and together they fly away from this hell. It is a wonderful flight, until the sky turns dark and everything gets cold. Tharos tells the Warrior that this is the Dark Fortress of the Abyss, rumored to be the place where the Emerald Sword is hidden. When they fly over the fortress, winged demons appear. Tharos leaves the Warrior on the highest tower while he fights the demons. The Warrior opens a trapdoor and enters a great hall, to find the Emerald Sword, which he takes from its place. The guardian of the sword appears and nearly kills him, but Tharos appears and throws himself on the guardian, giving the Warrior enough time to recover and mortally wounding the monster. They quickly make their way out and fly back to a more pleasant world. Once they go back through the Ivory Gates, the Warrior notices that Tharos is mortally wounded. Tharos dies soon after, and the Ice Warrior angrily swears to kill the Dark Lord Akron with his own hands.