To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown is the first quest in the On One Side a Palace, On the Other a Tomb questline in Genshin Impact 7.0. It kicks off right after you finish the In the Dwelling of Life series and sends you deep into the frozen north of Snezhnaya — a region so deadly that the cold will kill your party if you try to enter without following the right steps. The quest takes you past a brutal snowstorm, through a hidden memory space, and ends at the gates of the Pale Crown Palace. Along the way you can also collect Precious and Luxurious chests that contribute to the Remnant Incense Guide Everfrozen Earth set. Before starting this quest, make sure you have all Eye of Graeae fragments collected, as the quest revolves around placing the Eye at the hidden tracks console.
TL;DR – To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown at a Glance
- First quest in the On One Side a Palace, On the Other a Tomb World Quest chain in Genshin Impact 7.0
- Unlocks after finishing In the Dwelling of Life and being able to board the train in the Great Deeds on the Tundra Archon Quest
- Takes place in White Birch Snowgrave — the deadly frozen north that cannot be entered without following this quest
- Key steps: Talk to Eye of Graeae → clear ice path → summon hidden train → solve the memory space puzzle → feed the cat → reach the Pale Crown Palace
- Rewards: 40 Primogems, 30,000 Mora, 4 Hero’s Wit, 4 Mystic Enhancement Ore, 350 Adventure EXP
- Completing it immediately starts the next quest: The Stone Beasts, Like Ghouls Seated
How to Unlock To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown
This quest unlocks automatically once you are able to board the train during the Great Deeds on the Tundra Archon Quest. In practice, this means finishing the entire In the Dwelling of Life quest series first. After that, head to the Central Station in Snezhnaya and find the Eye of Graeae inside one of the train carriages. Speaking to him begins the quest.
There is no shortcut into White Birch Snowgrave. The blizzard and extreme cold will kill your entire party outright if you try to enter without the Eye of Graeae’s guidance. You cannot fix the train to the Pale Crown Palace without his assistance either, so following this quest chain is the only legitimate way in. If you need to reach this area first, see our guide on how to go to White Birch Snowgrave.
Step 1 – Talk to the Eye of Graeae at the Central Station
Teleport to the Central Station in Snezhnaya. The Eye of Graeae is inside one of the train carriages — look for the quest marker above his carriage. Speak to him and he will tell you that one of the fragments of his power is located behind Zapolyarny Palace, where the Tsar’s White Birch grows. He will then guide you north toward White Birch Snowgrave.
Stay close to the Eye of Graeae during the walk north. He is actively protecting your party from the killing cold. If you wander too far from him, the frost debuff will start damaging your team. Keep him in sight at all times until you reach the Statue of the Seven.
Step 2 – Find a Path Into the Mountains
Follow the quest marker as the Eye of Graeae leads you into the northern zone. You will arrive at the Pilgrimage to the Sacred Gorge area in the northeastern part of Snezhnaya. Unlock any Teleport Waypoints you pass along the route — this saves you a lot of time if you need to backtrack later.
As you push deeper into the mountains, two types of ice obstacles block the path:
- Small ice walls: Grab a nearby Basic Heat Source and interact with it to melt the blockade. The prompt appears automatically when you get close enough.
- Larger Prime Ice obstructions: Open the Prime Ice Construct menu and choose Remove to clear them. For help with the Prime Ice system, see our guide on how to remove and manage Prime Ice Constructs.
Keep following the route through the icy cave passages. The objective will update to “Advance into the snowstorm” once you clear the main blockade inside the mountains.
Step 3 – Advance Into the Snowstorm and Find the Statue of the Seven
Push forward through the snowstorm while staying near the Eye of Graeae. The route is mostly linear here. The storm makes visibility poor, but the quest marker stays visible so just follow it.
Keep going until you reach the Statue of the Seven in White Birch Snowgrave. Interacting with it gives you a moment to breathe, and the quest objective changes to: Find the mechanism for the “hidden tracks.” This Statue is your main safety anchor in this area — unlock it for fast travel.
Step 4 – Find and Summon the Hidden Tracks Mechanism
From the Statue of the Seven, look for a Seelie floating nearby and follow it. If no Seelie appears, head up the stairs past the Statue to reach the upper floor of the structure. Either path leads to the same place.
Once you are on the upper floor:
- Remove the ice blocking the way using the Prime Ice Construct menu
- Glide down to the left corner and use the elevator there
- Continue north following the quest marker, then jump, glide, and climb the tower ahead
- At the top of the tower, claim the Precious Chest next to the console before doing anything else
- Select Place on the console to set down the Eye of Graeae
Placing the Eye on the console summons the hidden train. A short sequence plays as the ancient tracks appear from beneath the snow. When the train arrives, glide down to the station and board it. Select Sit when prompted, and the Eye of Graeae will start the vehicle.
Step 5 – Investigate the Strange Space
Once aboard the train, the Traveler falls into a strange memory-like state. You find yourself alongside two figures — Izmaylov and Azazel — who are discussing events from the past involving the newly appointed Tsaritsa. The quest objective changes to: Investigate the strange space.
Here is what to do in the memory space:
- Head to the open office and interact with the message board by selecting Message. A note left by Pavlina tells you where to look next.
- After reading the board, an arrow will point to a food bowl on the table. Interact with the bowl to receive the Snegovik Laboratory Key and some Cat Food. Keep both — you will need them shortly.
Step 6 – Investigate the Next Room
Use the Snegovik Laboratory Key on the nearby locked door. Inside the next room, investigate the Prime Ice on the table to shatter it and reveal someone’s hidden notes. Read the note.
After reading the note, you will hear a faint meow from the other side of the room. Walk to the mountain painting on the wall and shake it hard. Keep shaking it — do it twice — until the frame falls away and exposes a hidden passage behind it.
Follow the hidden passage and drop down to find the cat. The moment you land, the doors seal shut behind you and you are locked inside the secret room.
Step 7 – Find a Way Out of the Sealed Room
Do not panic. The room has a puzzle that lets you out. Look for the blue message board and investigate it. It displays a diagram called the Unnamed Potion Formula. This is your clue for the scale experiment.
Walk to the scale on the table and investigate it. Place any three items from the room onto the scale. There is no wrong combination here — the Traveler will work out the answer on their own no matter what you place. Just keep selecting items and putting them on the scale until the revelation cutscene triggers.
Once the experiment completes, you receive a key and the Precious Chest in the room becomes claimable. Open it, then leave the room through the now-unlocked exit.
Step 8 – Open the Door in Front of the Staircase
Outside the secret room, approach the door in front of the staircase. Vsevolod is on the other side and will not open it. Your solution: use the Cat Food you picked up earlier.
Place the Cat Food in the bowl next to the door. The cat will knock a potion bottle off a nearby table, startling Vsevolod into rushing over to check on it. The distraction works — he opens the door in the process. Go through and head up to the second floor.
Step 9 – Search the Second Floor and Trigger the Cutscene
Go up the stairs to the second floor and explore the area until a familiar female voice starts a cutscene. This reveals a flashback of Aksinya speaking with the Eye of Graeae, adding more context to the history of the Pale Crown Palace and the Tsar’s tomb. After the cutscene, you wake back on the train with Paimon and the Goggles, the journey complete.
Step 10 – Reach the Pale Crown Palace and Unlock the Waypoint
The train arrives at its destination. Step off and you are now outside the snow-covered Pale Crown Palace. Run up the flights of stairs inside the palace entrance and unlock the Teleport Waypoint at the top.
Reaching that waypoint ends To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown and immediately starts the next quest: The Stone Beasts, Like Ghouls Seated. That quest has you exploring the palace interior itself and solving its ancient mechanisms, so make sure your team is ready before continuing.
To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown Quest Rewards
- 40 Primogems
- 30,000 Mora
- 4 Mystic Enhancement Ore
- 4 Hero’s Wit
- 350 Adventure EXP
Tips and Things to Know
- Never stray from the Eye of Graeae outdoors. The cold in White Birch Snowgrave kills your party fast. Stay within his protection radius at all times during the outdoor sections.
- Claim the Precious Chest at the tower console before placing the Eye. Once you set the Eye down, the train sequence begins and you cannot go back to grab it.
- The scale puzzle has no wrong answer. Just place any three items and keep trying. The Traveler solves it automatically after a few attempts. Do not waste time trying to figure out a specific combination.
- Unlock every waypoint along the route. White Birch Snowgrave opens up fully after this quest, so having waypoints in place saves significant travel time when you explore later.
- If you leave the memory space and get lost, open your quest journal, set To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown as active, and use the navigation option to return to the memory space entrance.
After finishing this quest, the On One Side a Palace, On the Other a Tomb chain continues. You can also loop back to pick up more exploration content you may have missed in the south — such as the Remnant Incense Guide Everfrozen Earth chests, the Hesperides of Love and Hate quest, and the A Great Heart Fettered by Slender Chains quest. For a wider look at what the region has to offer, check out all Local Legends in Snezhnaya and the full Snezhnaya forgeable weapons guide to gear up before tackling the Pale Crown Palace interior.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you unlock To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown in Genshin Impact?
The quest unlocks after completing the In the Dwelling of Life quest series and reaching the point in the Great Deeds on the Tundra Archon Quest where you can board the train. Once those conditions are met, go to the Central Station in Snezhnaya, find the Eye of Graeae inside his train carriage, and speak to him to begin the quest automatically.
How do you get past the snowstorm in To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown?
Stay close to the Eye of Graeae at all times during the outdoor sections. He protects your party from the lethal cold in White Birch Snowgrave. If you stray too far from him the frost damage starts immediately. Follow his path, clear ice walls with Basic Heat Sources or the Prime Ice Construct Remove option, and keep moving toward the Statue of the Seven.
How do you solve the scale puzzle in the secret room in Genshin Impact?
The scale puzzle in the sealed room has no specific correct answer. Simply approach the scale, pick any three items from the room, and place them on it. Keep placing items in different combinations until the Traveler’s revelation cutscene triggers on its own. The game is designed to let you stumble onto the answer naturally regardless of what you choose.
What quest comes after To Gaze Upon the Dreaming Pale Crown?
Unlocking the Teleport Waypoint at the Pale Crown Palace ends this quest and immediately starts The Stone Beasts, Like Ghouls Seated, the next chapter of the On One Side a Palace, On the Other a Tomb questline. That quest takes place inside the palace itself and involves solving ancient griffin statue mechanisms to open the main hall.
