"Don't rush. I still have one last question." Dany raised her hand and said, "Was the First Long Night really something the Greenseers caused to destroy humanity?"
Brynden sighed helplessly. "The coming of the Long Night was a manifestation of the world falling to a lower energy level. It had nothing to do with the White Walkers or the Cold God.
You must have noticed—the White Walkers never truly disappeared. They become active with the arrival of the Long Night, but it isn't their activity that brings the Long Night.
Of course, that doesn't mean the two are unrelated.
They complement each other. The coming of the Long Night makes the White Walkers active, and their activity sustains the Long Night.
If the White Walkers aren't destroyed, the Long Night will continue. Eventually, the Cold God will succeed in rewriting the world's laws for the new era, plunging the world into an eternal night.
Perhaps this decaying world of ours will stop its fall and remain balanced with the regions 'beyond the world,' which is what the Cold God desires. Or maybe the fall will continue at the same speed—or even accelerate to the very bottom.
No one knows the final outcome of the Cold God's plan to reshape the world, but one thing is certain: whatever happens, all life under the sun will perish.
However, at the beginning, even the Greenseers didn't understand the connection between the White Walkers and the Long Night.
They naively believed the White Walkers were like the wargs' animal companions—controllable, submissive, and harmless to the world.
After all, the Cold God was also the Mother Goddess we once worshiped. The Greenseers believed in Her and gained new magical knowledge from Her.
Then, the first Greenseer transformed himself into a White Walker, and everything spiraled out of control."
"So, the Cold God deceived you? But there are still many First Men who worship Her," Dany said with a frown.
"Rather than say the Cold God deceived the Greenseers, it's more accurate to say that Greenseer deceived his own people.
Don't be fooled—though birthing a new Greenseer now is nearly impossible, in ancient times, there were many among both the First Men and the Children of the Forest.
A Greenseer is a talent. The Three-Eyed Raven is an identity. The difference between them is vast.
Take me and Bran, for example.
I was the Three-Eyed Raven, while Bran was simply someone who had awakened the Greenseer's gift.
At that time, Bran was entirely a Stark—he had no interest in saving the world or protecting all living things.
If Bran thought the Cold God's 'Long Night Plan' sounded reasonable, he could have easily become one of Her chosen. After all, the Cold God is still an Old God—the Mother Goddess Herself.
But the Three-Eyed Raven will never acknowledge the Cold God's creed.
The mark of millions of years of inheritance has carved the duty of 'guarding all life' into the very soul of the Three-Eyed Raven.
Forget blood or kinship. If the Mother Goddess threatens the world—or if sacrificing Her could save it—we would not hesitate to send Her on Her way."
Holy hell. That was… utterly defiant.
Even knowing how deeply the Three-Eyed Raven's indoctrination runs, Dany was still stunned.
Because the Three-Eyed Raven really meant it. To build the Wall, he had literally sent the Gatekeeper God on His way.
That was…
Suddenly, Dany felt a little less hatred toward Brynden, who had once tried to manipulate her thoughts.
Would you hate a computer program that lacks all human emotion?
Hatred was pointless.
"Will Bran try to manipulate me like you once did?" she asked warily.
"Even if he wanted to, he won't—at least not yet. He hasn't completed the final step of his inheritance," Brynden said.
"Then tell me—what else do you need from me?" Dany asked through clenched teeth.
"Who can say what the future holds?"
"Can the legacy of the Three-Eyed Raven ever be ended?" Dany pressed.
"Killing me and Bran won't help. The earth and the trees have recorded everything. In fact, there was a gap of several centuries without any Greenseer before me. I had no teacher—everything I learned came from the dark, silent, and frozen roots of the Weirwood trees," Brynden replied.
"Fine, you win. I give up."
This damned land of Westeros was becoming truly unbearable.
"Actually, with your current strength and growth rate, no one can secretly scheme against you anymore. Once you receive my gift and fully awaken your potential…"
"What gift?" Dany asked.
"A bowl of weirwood seeds," said Brynden.
"Weirwood seeds? Are they that precious? Can they unlock human potential?" Dany asked skeptically.
South of the Neck, weirwoods were rare, but in the North, they were common trees—and beyond the Wall, they grew everywhere.
"They're not ordinary seeds. You'll understand once you consume them. I assume you've guessed it already—we need your help. If the seeds don't work, you can leave anytime," Brynden said.
"You want me to save Jon Snow? Then you've chosen the wrong person. I can't do it. I resurrected the High Sparrow only because his case was unique. Jon Snow doesn't even believe in the Seven," Dany said, shaking her head.
"You guessed right—it's about Jon," Brynden said, turning his head. His single eye gleamed with strange light as he looked at Dany. Just as he habitually began to lower his head—to let his hair cover the right side of his face—he suddenly froze.
He remembered what the Dragon Queen had said earlier about him being "vain."
He wasn't vain, but he no longer wanted to show his vulnerability or self-loathing—though he'd never admit it.
So, stiff-necked, with his crimson right eye staring straight into hers, he said meaningfully, "It's not entirely your power that will bring him back. If there were no difference before and after his resurrection, what would be the point of letting him die?"
Dany's eyes widened, her voice trembling. "Let him die? You were behind that?"
"It was fate's design—just like yours. And just as you defied fate, we intend to change Jon's predetermined destiny," Brynden said in a low, eerie tone.
"Explain yourself clearly. What exactly is Jon Snow?" Dany demanded.
"Fate has already changed. There's no point discussing what will never happen again," Brynden replied.
"At least tell me who's friend and who's foe," Dany said coldly.
"There is no love without reason. Those who shape destiny act only for their own benefit. Your power and gifts will always provoke envy. Everyone is your enemy," Brynden said solemnly.
"Then tell me—what was his original fate?" Dany insisted.
Brynden frowned but said nothing.
Dany's expression remained resolute as she stared him down.
Finally, Brynden turned away and sighed. "You were meant to fall in love with Jon. For him—for the people of the Seven Kingdoms—you would willingly sacrifice yourself, offering your flesh and soul to awaken the Lightbringer. Jon would then wield the sword to end the Long Night.
He would inherit your dragons, become the new King of the Seven Kingdoms, and found a new Targaryen dynasty.
Yes, just as Aemon suspected—Jon is also a Targaryen, the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, the true child of prophecy."
For a long moment, Brynden heard no angry roar from the Dragon Queen.
No white dragon flew over for a furious brawl. She merely tilted her head in thought, her expression strange.
Something was off.
Brynden frowned in confusion.
He was silent for a while before hearing her say, "Why does that sound so much like the story of Azor Ahai forging his sword?"
"History keeps repeating itself. Eight thousand years have passed, and the Lightbringer has lost its original divine power. It needs to be reactivated—you should understand that.
Last time at Castle Black, you already awakened it once, using your magic and the power of your soul."
Brynden spoke cautiously, his tone and expression careful, as if afraid of awakening someone's ancestral "Sleeping Dragon's Fury."
Daenerys wasn't angry. She simply asked with curiosity, "The spirit inside that magic sword—is it Azor Ahai's, or his wife's?"
She truly wasn't angry.
She would never be like Nissa Nissa, offering her soul to a scoundrel.
"Nissa Nissa" even sounded like "You fool, you fool." And she was no fool!Since she and the original host were two different people, why should someone else's story affect her mood?At most, she would just keep digging deeper holes for Jon in the future.
Uh, she forgot—poor Jon had already fallen into one of her deep holes and lost his head.
"Do you believe in reincarnation?" Brynden asked.
"Doesn't the prophecy of Asshai always proclaim that the savior is the reincarnation of Azor Ahai?" said Daenerys.
If this were a world of classical xianxia, Daenerys would have naturally believed in reincarnation. But Westerners neither liked nor believed in such things.
It was simple logic: if your soul has already met God and gone to heaven to enjoy eternal bliss, why would you need to be reborn?Easterners hope for a better birth in their next life, while Westerners care only about living this life well. What happens after death is for God to decide—hell or heaven.
Sure enough, Brynden shook his head. "True reincarnation has never existed. The dominion over the world of the dead is held by several death gods, just as Westeros has hundreds of lords.
The Cold God commands the greatest share of death's power, like a king on the Iron Throne. R'hllor controls part of the death realm, much like one of the seven great dukes.
Perhaps in the future, you might become the Stranger yourself, gaining a place in the realm of death—a lord in your own right.
But no death god can grant a lost soul an entirely new life imprint.
A soul can be resurrected, or even reborn by borrowing a body with a similar destiny, but it can never gain a brand-new life imprint."
"So, for Jon Snow to become the reincarnation of Azor Ahai, he must die first? Then, when the Lord of Light resurrects him, Azor Ahai's soul would replace Jon's?" Daenerys asked in shock.
"Something like that. But it's not a case of one soul displacing another—it's more of a fusion. On the surface, Jon would lose some memories and emotions, gain a few new habits.
To ordinary people, it would seem like nothing more than aftereffects of resurrection. They wouldn't realize he had fundamentally changed.
But you, I, and Jon—we're not ordinary people. We'd know the transformation is absolute.
Even greater than the difference between Catelyn Tully and Lady Stoneheart. Stoneheart only lost part of her soul; Jon would lose a part—and gain another."
"The next Three-Eyed Raven, Bran, is like us. He wouldn't want his family to turn into someone else."
"Uh, Jon may be my nephew, but if giving Azor Ahai his body can save the world, I suppose that would be an honor for our family," Daenerys said shamelessly.
Brynden's expression twisted.
After a long silence, he sighed. "If you don't change fate first, then to save the world along the destined path, Bran and I would have to ensure Jon becomes Azor Ahai reborn."
Truly heartless, those emotionless Three-Eyed Ravens—how ruthless!"If you don't want to follow R'hllor's script, then don't let Jon die in the first place. Why keep tossing him back and forth?" Daenerys complained.
"Have you ever considered what Azor Ahai's soul could bring to Jon?" Brynden asked meaningfully.
"The fate and luck of the savior?" Daenerys said mockingly.
"Luck?" Brynden repeated the word several times before grasping its meaning.
"Perhaps there really is such a thing as luck." He nodded seriously. "We came to you because we need your help—to let Jon seize the destiny that belongs to Azor Ahai."
"How would I do that?" Daenerys asked in surprise.
"Do you remember using that sorcery to erase my soul?"
Brynden's red eyes glowed with blinding light, revealing the violent turmoil in his spirit.
Though both were merely soul projections, he stepped closer, lowering his voice as if afraid some unseen eavesdropper might overhear their secret.
"The soul of the Three-Eyed Raven is far stronger and more resilient than the remnant of Azor Ahai. Even R'hllor himself cannot compare to us.
If you could erase my soul and seize the Greenseer's meditation technique from me, then you can easily wipe out Azor Ahai's remnant consciousness and leave his destiny to Jon."
"You're planning to betray R'hllor?"
Daenerys was stunned by Brynden's audacity and ambition.
"Since when were the Greenseers and the Lord of Light such close allies?" Brynden sneered coldly.
(End of Chapter)
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