On One Side a Palace, On the Other a Tomb: Full Walkthrough (Genshin Impact 7.0)

The northern reaches of Snezhnaya open up through a chain of quests that ends with a fight against the flying boss Zver inside the Pale Crown Palace. The run mixes Prime Ice construct puzzles, a rifle you fire from a third-person view, and several train rides that carry you into the White Birch Snowgrave region. Everything below moves you from the first train boarding to the final reward in order.

Quick answer: Board the train at Central Station and follow the Eye of Graeae north, melt blocked paths with a Basic Heat Source, solve the laboratory scale puzzle and griffin statue puzzles to open the palace, then beat Zver with the rifle by shooting its Anemo Orbs. Completion hands you the Pebble of Crystalline Essence.

What you need before the questline starts

This questline is gated behind two earlier Snezhnaya questlines tied to restoring the Eye of Graeae fragments. You cannot brute-force your way into the White Birch Snowgrave region. The storm and cold north of the map kill your party instantly, and the train to the Pale Crown Palace only runs with the Eye of Graeae’s help.

Requirement	Detail
Prior questline 1	Complete Hesperides of Love and Hate
Prior questline 2	Complete In the Dwelling of Life
Starting quest	To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown
Companion needed	Eye of Graeae (follow its markers throughout)
Enemy level	Around level 72 along the mountain path

Once both earlier questlines are cleared, the mission chain begins automatically, opening with To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown. Skipping dialogue keeps the whole run tight if you only want the fragment and the fastest route through.

Reach the Pale Crown Palace (To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown)

Teleport to the Statue of the Seven in Snezhnograd, then glide down along the railway tracks toward the Central Station entrance. You can also teleport straight to the Central Station waypoint if you have it.

Follow the golden quest trail up the stairs inside the station and enter the train car. Speaking to the Eye of Graeae here triggers the cutscene that carries you north.

Exit the train and follow the snowy tracks toward Jack Frost Village. Clear the level 72 enemies on the path, climb the cliffs, and activate the Teleport Waypoint on the mountain.

When you hit the broken railway blocked by ice near the Tsar’s White Birch area, open the construct menu and build a Basic Heat Source to melt the ice wall. Remove the construct afterward so it does not block the path, then continue inside.

Push through the blizzard and unlock the Pilgrimage to the Sacred Gorge Teleport Waypoint. Head toward the beacon of light in the distance.

Use a Snowball Launcher construct to activate the distant mechanism, then climb up to the Statue of the Seven and unlock it. This grants the Continental Explorer: Snow-Blanketed Nation (I) achievement.

Climb the palace’s exterior walls and icy branches, enter the Orderbearer’s room, read the Records of the Orderbearer, and open the Precious Chest. A cutscene then shows a train flying toward the palace.

Glide down to board the flying train and ride it into a strange interior space. This is where the laboratory section begins.

Solve the laboratory and free the cat

Read the messages on the wooden board, then pick up the Snegovik Laboratory Key and the Cat Food. Use the key to open the locked door and read Someone’s Notes on the table inside.

When you hear a cat meowing, shake the picture frame on the wall to reveal a secret passage. Enter it, open the chest, and collect the items, then find the striped cat inside the laboratory.

Read the Unnamed Potion Formula on the board and interact with the weight scale on the table. Place the Yellow Crystal and Kresnik Kristall on the scale to weigh them, then combine them into the reagent bottle to create the potion. Open the nearby Precious Chest while you are here.

Feed the cat with the Cat Food. The reaction opens the gate holding Vsevolod. Head up the stairs to the second floor to trigger the Aksinya cutscene and return to the train cabin.

You arrive at the Pale Crown Palace exterior, unlock its Teleport Waypoint, and complete To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown. The next quest, The Stone Beasts, Like Ghouls Seated, begins immediately.

Open the palace with the rifle and griffin puzzles

Collect rifle ammo from the chest outside the palace, then use the rifle to shoot the flying enemies. Place a Basic Heat Source to melt the ice blocking the doorway and open the Exquisite Chest once the fliers are down.

At the griffin statue puzzle, place the ice cubes on the blue pressure plates to unlock the statues. Push each griffin statue until it aligns with the central platform, which opens the palace doors.

Enter the main hall and spot the Prototype Kresnik’s Torch hanging from the ceiling. Shoot the crystal ore on the torch to activate it.

Place a cube on a pressure plate and shoot the mechanism to activate the lift. Clear the monsters that emerge in the hall, explore the upper levels for a Common Chest, then activate the lift to climb higher.

Solve the upper-floor griffin statue and heat source puzzle to open the upper door. Continue through, grab the chest along the path, and glide across the gap using the wind currents. Activate the next lift to reach the Suspended Tower and unlock its Teleport Waypoint.

Prime Ice puzzle solutions

Three puzzle types repeat across the palace. Keep these solutions handy as you climb.

Puzzle	Solution
Laboratory scale	Read the Unnamed Potion Formula, weigh the Yellow Crystal and Kresnik Kristall on the scale, then combine both into the reagent bottle
Griffin statue	Place ice cubes on the blue pressure plates to unlock the statues, then push each into alignment with the central platform
Suspended Tower bridge	Rotate the puzzle blocks to line up the bridge platforms, then place a Basic Heat Source by the frozen mechanisms to melt the ice

Climb the Suspended Tower

After Zver first appears in a cutscene, rotate the puzzle blocks and place heat sources to melt the ice blocking the path. Work your way across the tower platforms.

Place a heat source to melt the ice near the pipes and plug the heat leak. Then rotate a block to align the bridge platforms so you can cross.

Open the Exquisite Chest, then activate the lift to reach the top of the tower. Zver appears again as you near the summit.

Solve the final griffin statue and heat source puzzle to open the gates. Open the last Exquisite Chest and ride the elevator up to the boss arena.

Defeat Zver (On One Side a Palace, On the Other a Tomb)

The final quest of the chain, On One Side a Palace, On the Other a Tomb, ends with the fight against the flying boss Zver. Use the rifle as your main weapon here.

When Zver starts charging an attack, it spawns Anemo Orbs. Shoot those orbs with the rifle to interrupt the charge and stop the attack.

Keep firing on Zver between its attack windows. Once its health is gone, Zver is defeated and a dialogue cutscene plays.

Note: Destroying the Anemo Orbs is the key mechanic. If you ignore them, Zver completes its charging attacks and the fight drags on.

Reward and what comes next

Beating Zver completes On One Side a Palace, On the Other a Tomb and awards the Pebble of Crystalline Essence. The quest log then adds the next mission, An Ark That Used to Be a Soul, so you can continue the story straight from there.

You will know the run worked when the questline shows as complete, the Pebble of Crystalline Essence lands in your inventory, and the new quest appears. If the palace doors or gates refuse to open, an unsolved griffin statue alignment or an un-melted ice block is almost always the reason, so recheck the pressure plates and heat source placements before moving on.