On One Side a Palace, On the Other a Tomb Quest Guide In Genshin Impact

On One Side a Palace, On the Other a Tomb is a World Quest chain added in Genshin Impact 7.0. It is the final questline you need to complete to obtain all three Eye of Graeae fragments in Snezhnaya. The chain is split into two back-to-back subquests — To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown and The Stone Beasts, Like Ghouls Seated — and ends with a boss fight against a two-headed flying creature named Zver inside the Pale Crown Palace. Finishing it rewards the Pebble of Crystalline Essence and unlocks the next part of the Snezhnaya story. This is also one of the key quests needed to fully open up the White Birch Snowgrave region for exploration. Before you start, make sure to check out our guide on To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown for a detailed look at the first subquest, and our coverage of how to collect all Eye of Graeae fragments if you are still missing any.

TL;DR – On One Side a Palace, On the Other a Tomb at a Glance

• A two-part World Quest chain in Genshin Impact 7.0 set in White Birch Snowgrave
• Unlocks after completing Hesperides of Love and Hate and In the Dwelling of Life
• Subquest 1: To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown — travel through the snowstorm, summon the hidden train, and solve the laboratory puzzle
• Subquest 2: The Stone Beasts, Like Ghouls Seated — explore the Pale Crown Palace, solve griffin statue and Prime Ice puzzles, climb the Suspended Tower, and defeat Zver
• Key mechanic: Use the rifle (TPS mode) to shoot Zver’s Anemo Orbs to interrupt its attacks
• Reward: Pebble of Crystalline Essence and the final Eye of Graeae fragment. Next quest: An Ark That Used to Be a Soul

On One Side a Palace On the Other a Tomb

How to Unlock On One Side a Palace, On the Other a Tomb

This questline is gated behind two earlier Snezhnaya World Quest chains. You must complete both before it becomes available.

• Hesperides of Love and Hate — the first major Snezhnaya questline. Complete our Hesperides of Love and Hate quest guide if you need help with it.
• In the Dwelling of Life — the second questline, which restores the next Eye of Graeae fragment. See our In the Dwelling of Life quest guide for the full walkthrough.

After finishing both, the On One Side a Palace, On the Other a Tomb chain starts automatically. The chain begins with the first subquest, which triggers when you talk to the Eye of Graeae at the Central Station in Snezhnaya.

You cannot enter White Birch Snowgrave freely. The blizzard and cold in the far north kill your entire party instantly without the Eye of Graeae’s protection. There is no shortcut — following this questline is the only way in.

Subquest 1 – To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown

The first subquest takes you from the Central Station through the snowstorm and into a hidden memory space before dropping you at the gates of the Pale Crown Palace. Here is a condensed walkthrough of the key steps. For the full step-by-step breakdown, read our dedicated To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown quest guide.

Talk to the Eye of Graeae at the Central Station

Teleport to the Central Station in Snezhnaya and find the Eye of Graeae inside his train carriage. Speak to him to begin the journey north. Stay close to him throughout the outdoor sections — he protects your party from the lethal cold. If you stray too far, the frost starts killing your team immediately.

Clear the Ice Path and Reach the Statue of the Seven

Follow the Eye of Graeae northeast through Pilgrimage to the Sacred Gorge. Two types of obstacles block the route. Small ice walls are cleared by grabbing a Basic Heat Source and melting them. Larger Prime Ice blockades are removed through the Prime Ice Construct menu → Remove. Keep pushing forward until you reach the Statue of the Seven in White Birch Snowgrave. Unlock it — this is your fast travel anchor for the whole northern area. You also unlock the Continental Explorer: Snow-Blanketed Nation (I) achievement here.

Find the Hidden Tracks and Summon the Train

From the Statue, follow the Seelie nearby or climb the upper stairs. Remove the ice blocking the path, then use the elevator in the lower-left area. Head north, jump and glide to reach a tower, and climb to the console at the top. Claim the Precious Chest near the console first — do not miss it. Then select Place on the console to set down the Eye of Graeae. This summons the hidden train. Glide down to the station, board it, and select Sit to depart.

Solve the Laboratory Puzzle

Aboard the train, you enter a strange memory space. Head to the open office and interact with the message board. Pick up the Snegovik Laboratory Key and Cat Food from the food bowl on the table. Use the key on the nearby locked door, then break the Prime Ice on the table inside to reveal Someone’s Notes. Read the note, then shake the mountain painting on the wall twice until it reveals a hidden passage. Drop through and the door seals behind you.

Investigate the blue message board to see the Unnamed Potion Formula. Approach the scale on the table and place any three items on it — there is no wrong combination. The Traveler solves the puzzle automatically. Claim the Precious Chest and leave the room. Place the Cat Food in the bowl beside the staircase door. The cat startles Vsevolod into opening the door. Go up to the second floor to trigger the Aksinya cutscene, then wake back on the train.

The train arrives at the Pale Crown Palace. Run up the stairs and unlock the Teleport Waypoint. This ends To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown and immediately starts The Stone Beasts, Like Ghouls Seated.

Subquest 2 – The Stone Beasts, Like Ghouls Seated

The second subquest is the heavier half. It takes you through the Pale Crown Palace exterior, the Frozen Royal Hall, and the Suspended Tower before a boss fight against Zver. There are multiple puzzle types to solve along the way. You can find an in-depth guide to the palace puzzles in our Stone Beasts, Like Ghouls Seated quest guide and the royal hall door specifically in our how to open the door to the Royal Hall guide.

Enter the Pale Crown Palace Exterior

At the palace exterior, the outer wall gates are covered in ice. Head to the left pathway, defeat the three fae enemies, and deconstruct the Prime Icicle blocking the outer wall. Go up the staircase to reach the Frozen Royal Hall entrance.

Collect rifle ammo from the chest outside the palace before going in. You will need the rifle (TPS mode) repeatedly through this subquest. Use it to shoot flying enemies near the entrance, then place a Basic Heat Source to melt the ice blocking the doorway. Open the Exquisite Chest once the fliers are down.

Griffin Statue Puzzle – Open the Palace Doors

Inside, you face the griffin statue puzzle. Place the ice cubes on the blue pressure plates to unlock the statues. Then push each griffin statue until it aligns with the central platform. Once both statues are aligned, the palace doors open. This is the most common sticking point in the quest — if a door refuses to open, check that both statues are fully aligned and that no pressure plates are empty.

Activate the Prototype Kresnik’s Torch

Enter the main hall and look up at the Prototype Kresnik’s Torch hanging from the ceiling. Use the rifle to shoot the crystal ore on the torch to activate it. Place a cube on the pressure plate nearby and shoot the mechanism to activate the lift. Clear the monsters that emerge, then explore the upper floors for a Common Chest before taking the lift higher.

Reach the Suspended Tower

Solve the upper-floor griffin statue and heat source puzzle to open the upper door. Continue through, collect 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 — a critical save point before the final challenges.

Climb the Suspended Tower

Zver first appears in a cutscene here. The Suspended Tower has three puzzle steps that many players get stuck on:

• Step 1 – Rotate puzzle blocks: Rotate the blocks and place heat sources to melt the ice blocking the bridge path. Work across the platforms.
• Step 2 – Plug the pipe: Place a heat source near the pipes to melt the ice, then plug the heat leak. Rotate a block to align the bridge platforms and cross.
• Step 3 – Final griffin puzzle: Solve the last griffin statue and heat source puzzle at the top to open the final gates. Open the Exquisite Chest here, then ride the elevator up to the boss arena.

Defeat Zver – Boss Fight Guide

Zver is a two-headed flying beast, the companion of the Belyi Tsar who has been guarding the Tsar’s final resting place inside the Pale Crown Palace. The fight takes place in the arena at the top of the Suspended Tower using the rifle in TPS mode as your primary weapon.

The key mechanic is simple but easy to miss: when Zver starts charging an attack, it spawns Anemo Orbs. Shoot those orbs with the rifle to interrupt the charge and stop the attack. If you ignore the orbs and let the charge complete, Zver unleashes a powerful attack and the fight drags on significantly longer.

Between charge windows, keep firing on Zver’s body to deal steady damage. Once its health is depleted, a dialogue cutscene plays. Zver is defeated and the Tsar’s tomb becomes accessible. You can then claim the final Eye of Graeae fragment.

Quest Rewards

• Pebble of Crystalline Essence (key item for the next questline)
• Final Eye of Graeae fragment
• Primogems, Mora, Hero’s Wit, and Mystic Enhancement Ore (split across both subquests)

Completing On One Side a Palace, On the Other a Tomb also adds the next mission, An Ark That Used to Be a Soul, to your quest log. That questline is part of the Her Palace Collapses Into the Blizzard series — the final chapter of the Snezhnaya story, where you learn the true identity of the Goggles, discover Aksinya’s motives, and get a glimpse of the previous Cryo Archon’s persona.

Puzzle Quick Reference

• Laboratory scale puzzle: Place any three items — the Traveler solves it automatically
• Griffin statue puzzle (ground floor): Place ice cubes on blue pressure plates, push each statue to align with the central platform
• Griffin statue puzzle (upper floor): Same method — plates first, then push statues into alignment
• Suspended Tower bridge: Rotate puzzle blocks to line up platforms, then place heat sources by frozen mechanisms to melt the ice
• Zver boss: Shoot the Anemo Orbs with the rifle whenever Zver charges. Ignore them and the fight gets much harder

Tips and Common Stuck Points

• Stay close to the Eye of Graeae outdoors. The cold in White Birch Snowgrave kills your party fast if you stray from him.
• Grab the Precious Chest at the tower console before placing the Eye of Graeae. Once you set it down, the train departs and you cannot go back.
• Palace gates not opening? An unsolved griffin statue alignment or an un-melted ice block is almost always the cause. Check all pressure plates and heat source placements before looking elsewhere.
• Unlock the Suspended Tower waypoint. The tower section is long and has multiple elevator rides. Having that waypoint saves a full replay if you have to log out and come back.
• Stock up on rifle ammo from any nearby chest before big combat encounters. Running out mid-fight against Zver makes the boss significantly harder.

After completing this questline, the White Birch Snowgrave area opens up fully for exploration. There are many chests and activities to find here, including entries for the Remnant Incense Guide Everfrozen Earth chest set. You can also check out how to go to White Birch Snowgrave for broader area navigation, and our Snezhnaya Shrine of Depths locations to find every Shrine key in the region. If you want to keep up with Snezhnaya’s related quests, the Forbidding Doors of Melancholy quest and A Great Heart Fettered by Slender Chains quest are both worth completing before moving on.

Genshin Impact is free to play on PC via the official HoYoverse website, on Android via Google Play, on iOS via the App Store, on PlayStation, on Epic Games Store, and on Xbox.

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