The next morning, when Dany entered the lab and saw the old man, he was bent over, observing the state of the greyscale virus beneath the liquefied dragon dung.
Quaithe and Lalesa were on the other side, preparing potions.
"President Bu Tian, you're here at the lab so early."
Wearing a deep purple, form-fitting leather armor that accentuated her youthful and vigorous figure, Dany strode energetically over to the old man from Yi.
The old man's name was Bu Tian, the brother of the current emperor of Yi's grandfather, and the president of the Necromancer Association.
It wasn't just Quaithe who had helped seal the dungeon on Thunder Island—Bu Tian had been one of the responsible mages as well.
After learning that Quaithe would temporarily leave Thunder Island for Slaver's Bay, Bu Tian had taken an interest: first, he wanted to see the dragons and the Queen of Dragonbirthing; second, he was highly intrigued by the legendary Seer's Lens; third, a greyscale plague had erupted in Yi.
Upon receiving Quaithe's request, Dany immediately approved.
Not only could the old president help research a cure, but in her recent development of the "Ghost Cultivation Meditation Technique," she had encountered several necromantic challenges and hoped to consult him.
Bu Tian stared at Dany for a long moment, then sighed, "Your Majesty, you're incredibly young."
"Hehe, and you, sir, are still full of vitality. You didn't sleep all night and yet remain full of energy. I heard you asked for some dragon dung as soon as you arrived?"
Dany was also observing him. In Bu Tian's pupils, she saw a vast sea of silver-gray mist.
His magical power surpassed even Quaithe's.
"Dragon dung can suppress greyscale," Bu Tian said.
Dany was startled, then her expression grew thoughtful. "You've known this all along?"
"I read something in an ancient text once. The Valyrians fed magical herbs to their dragons and obtained dragon dung that could cure plagues," Bu Tian explained.
"I see. Then do you also know—"
Buzz—
Just as she was curiously asking, Dany suddenly froze. Her radiant violet eyes turned vacant.
It was as if someone had pressed the pause button on a robot.
She was forcibly drawn into her dragon-soul state, her soul entering Big Black's body.
"The Father's face is strong and stern, the Mother brings forth life and mercy, the Maiden blesses all women with protection…"
A thousand voices echoed in unison, singing the Hymn of the Seven in Dany's ears, while a hazy image flickered before her eyes.
It looked like the Great Sept of Baelor, filled with lit candles.
…
On the day of Cersei's walk of atonement, the black dragon's speech had already shocked the world. Even more shocking were his words: proclaiming the Seven's prophecy about the Long Night, and recognizing the High Sparrow as the Son of Light.
That proclamation spread like wildfire and stirred a tsunami of religious fervor across the Seven Kingdoms, putting the Iron Throne on high alert toward the current church.
Technically, the War of the Four Kings was over. Once the Ironborn rebellion settled down, the Seven Kingdoms would return to a surface-level unity.
Therefore, appeasing and winning over Euron Crow's Eye became the Iron Throne's top priority.
Of course, if Euron dared to rebel, Regent Kevan Lannister wouldn't hesitate to eliminate him.
The fleet from the Arbor had already crossed the Summer Sea south of Dorne and returned home, giving the Iron Throne the confidence to say to Euron: surrender, or die.
If negotiations failed and the Ironborn refused to return the Shield Islands at the mouth of the Mander, or insisted on raiding the Reach, then the Arbor fleet would immediately sail north. Together with the Mander River fleet from Highgarden, they would launch a pincer attack on the Ironborn occupying the Shield Islands.
In many ways, the Lannister "old dog" Kevan had managed to clean up the mess Cersei left behind.
He appointed Maester Pycelle as Hand of the King, made the famed naval commander Paxter Redwyne Master of Ships, and named the brilliant land general Randyll Tarly Master of Laws.
At this moment, the Lion and the Rose—the Westerlands and the Reach—were more tightly allied than ever.
With the Riverlands, the Stormlands, and the North all severely weakened, this alliance had become the dominant power in the Seven Kingdoms.
—The Vale was slowly falling under Littlefinger's control, but among the nobility, Littlefinger was never seen as a true threat.
Dorne remained stable, showing no signs of rebellion, and Prince Doran even agreed to send his niece to join the small council.
Thus, as long as the marriage between Cersei and Euron succeeded, the "Tommen Dynasty" would essentially stabilize.
At that point, the Iron Throne would make its move against the church.
The High Sparrow had judged both Margaery and Cersei, dragging the honor of two great houses through the mud.
He had also usurped powers that rightly belonged to the king.
No matter who sat the Iron Throne, they were bound to clash with the church and the High Sparrow.
What made Kevan and the others even more furious was that the High Sparrow had allied with the Targaryens.
So long as the Iron Throne reached an agreement with the Ironborn, and Cersei married Euron, and the Ironborn once again swore fealty, the Throne would strike the church immediately.
The High Sparrow was no fool. He understood this perfectly.
He also knew that once the church's military strength was restored, a conflict between spiritual and royal authority would be inevitable.
There was no way to reconcile the differences between the church and the Lannisters or the Tyrells.
So the High Sparrow acted decisively, showing no mercy to Cersei.
That was why, when the church follower "Caisha" proposed the dubious idea of mortgaging the church's treasury, he agreed without much hesitation.
He needed money to arm the church.
If the church didn't strengthen itself soon, once King's Landing's government regained full control, the underfed and poorly equipped Poor Fellows and Warriors of the Faith would be slaughtered by the Iron Throne—just like the Targaryens did in the past.
Because of that, the High Sparrow placed extraordinary importance on the matter of the holy black dragon becoming the Protector of Light.
He needed to leverage the dragon's influence to expand the church's power.
It was obvious.
Ever since the black dragon accepted baptism and joined the church, countless knights had swarmed in, seeking to convert to the Seven and become Warriors of the Faith.
Even more nobles and devout followers had donated money and goods to the church.
The High Sparrow deeply understood the dragon's symbolic power in Westeros—a true dragon was like a divine imperial seal.
So, he had craftsmen work day and night, building statues of the black dragon beside the statue of the Maiden inside the Sept, and beneath the preaching platform outside.
By evening, the statue was finally completed.
The High Sparrow led over a thousand monks and septas to kneel before the Protector of Light in prayer.
As the Seven's representative on earth, the High Sparrow did not kneel.
But all the other clergy were clearly of lower status than the Seven's guardian.
Even kings had to kneel before the High Septon, so ordinary monks kneeling before the dragon was perfectly reasonable.
Over a thousand people prayed together, asking the black dragon, Protector of Light, to bless the church with prosperity and strength.
Take note—
They were clearly praying to Big Black, not the Seven.
And that raised a problem—Big Black was a demigod.
A demigod could sense and absorb faith.
If an ordinary demigod were to establish a small church, even if two thousand people prayed to them at the same time, it wouldn't generate even a trace of divine power.
The number of believers is simply too small, and their prayers too brief.
In this era of low magic and weak martial power, divine power is as scarce as magical energy.
And yet, the Faith of the Seven is something special—it has existed for at least eight thousand years.
It began with the Andals on the Andalusian Plain, and for the following six thousand years, the entire Westeros—except for the North—worshipped the Seven, with tens of millions of believers.
Even putting everything else aside, tens of millions of people worshipped the Seven for six thousand years.
The divine power accumulated through that would surpass even Christianity on real-world Earth!
Even in this fantastical world of ice and fire, it ranks as the most powerful faith.
Indeed, the divine power of the Faith of the Seven surpasses that of the Lord of Light.
At present, the followers of the Lord of Light far outnumber those of the Seven.
But four hundred years ago, during the height of Valyrian dominance, the Church of R'hllor was limited to the continents surrounding the Jade Sea in the East.
Worse still, R'hllor was nearly destroyed by the Valyrians and went into hiding for thousands of years, only recently reemerging.
Therefore, the Faith of the Seven remains the most powerful in the world.
But there's a problem: the Seven are merely seven aspects of the human spirit—seven forms of humanity, each representing a virtue (see note).
In the material world, the Seven are nothing more than seven wooden idols.
The Seven do not truly exist.
Their divine power had nowhere to go—until today, when the High Sparrow erected a statue of the Bright Guardian within the church, recognizing his role under the Seven.
Now, the Black One had become the sole deity of the Faith of the Seven, its only master—even though the High Sparrow and the church do not see it that way. They believe the Bright Guardian is merely the mount, enforcer, or pet of the Seven.
Previously, the Black One had divinity and magical power but lacked divine power. He wasn't a true demigod.
At this moment, divine power surged toward him. Instinctively, he activated the Nine-Colored Vortex, attempting to absorb the sudden influx of what he thought was "natural magic."
Just as he would during normal training, drawing in ambient magical particles from the world.
Then the Black One realized that, with his "dimwitted" intellect, he couldn't handle this extraordinary force.
He was simply too young—still just a baby dragon.
So, he sought out his mother.
The Black One actively merged souls with Dany.
In the next moment, Dany's soul entered the soul sea of the Black One. She became the pilot of the "Bright Guardian Black Dragon Gundam" form.
Human and dragon souls merged into one. Her soul became his, and Dany took over, processing the overwhelming information and immense power.
> "The maiden dances through the sky, dwelling in a lover's sorrowful sigh,
> Raising her torch against the sun, bringing freedom, lighting heaven.
> The Seven gods created us, always listening to our prayers.
> Close your eyes, all troubles gone, the gods will watch you, little one."
Then, Dany heard the High Sparrow leading a thousand priests in devout song.
They were singing the Hymn of the Seven, praising the new Bright Guardian.
She could even vaguely see the High Sparrow and the others.
But it was blurry—like a TV with poor signal, the screen covered in static.
Even as she increased her power—intensifying the consumption of divine energy—she still couldn't make out the scene on the "other side."
If she couldn't even see them clearly, how could she possibly contact the High Sparrow?
Thus, she couldn't respond to the believers' prayers.
This state of divinity left Dany feeling inexplicably irritated. She wanted to change this.
Just as humans need air, and fish need water, gods need believers—they must establish a connection with them.
This sudden craving felt strange, almost instinctual.
The divine instinct craves faith.
Now that Dany had entered a divine form, she was subject to divine instincts.
If Jon were to enter a dog's body and see steaming fresh feces, his dog-mouth would surely drool.
That's a dog's instinct.
Dany didn't realize this. She was still operating as a mortal, trying to accomplish what only a true god could barely achieve.
Indeed, demigods cannot directly respond to prayers—it's too costly. Pure divine power isn't enough.
They usually rely on additional power gained through offerings to grant prophecies, divine boons, or magical abilities to their followers.
If a true god were present in the material world, they could communicate with believers effortlessly—but unfortunately, they reside in the astral realm.
The astral realm exists on a higher energy level, and to bridge the gap between it and the material world, a god must expend tremendous divine energy.
Dragons, however, can serve as bridges—stepping stones between the two energy levels—greatly reducing the energy cost.
Thus, during the age of waning magic and extinct dragons, true gods rarely answered ordinary prayers. But when Dany hatched her dragons, not only did R'hllor immediately grow active, but the Drowned God and the Storm God also began displaying divine signs.
But back to the point—
Under normal circumstances, neither Dany nor the Black One is a true god. She can't communicate with the High Sparrow. The fact that she can even see a vague phantom is already a miracle—mainly because of the massive divine power the Faith of the Seven has built up.
She should stop trying and instead focus on studying divine lore. Perhaps she could create a blood sacrifice ritual.
Let the High Sparrow offer blood sacrifices to the Bright Guardian.
With the power from such offerings, the Black One could, like other demigods such as the Black Goat of Qohor, pierce the divine veil and establish temporary contact with the High Sparrow.
Yes, ninety-nine percent of demigods rely on blood sacrifices.
That's why such rituals are so widespread.
Other offerings can be used as well.
For example, the Lust Goddess of Lys accepts sacrifices through wild acts in the Garden of Desire.
Dany could end this attempt to respond and instead find Quaithe to help the Black One compose a prayer chant to be used while burning offerings.
Then, she could teach the chant, specific to the Black One, to the High Sparrow.
Next time he prays, the High Sparrow could burn a few people alive and establish contact with the Black One.
But the Dragon Queen is no ordinary mortal!
She had heard the Gatekeeper's Song of Wind. Rather than giving her the song, the Gatekeeper taught her how to sing her own.
In her urgency, Dany unconsciously entered a state of "Wind Song Enlightenment"—merging her thoughts with the wind.
In the next moment, her eyes and ears followed the breeze, crossing thousands of miles, and she saw, heard, and arrived at the Great Sept of Baelor.
> The Father, a middle-aged man, embodies justice.
> The Mother, an adult woman, offers mercy.
> The Warrior, a fighting man, symbolizes courage.
> The Smith, a laboring man, stands for diligence.
> The Maiden, a young girl, represents purity—now imbued by Dany with the attributes of freedom, purity, and light.
> The Crone, an elderly woman, represents wisdom.
> The Stranger is the final fate of all—a symbol of death and awe of the unknown.
---
(End of Chapter)
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