Aegon seized the moment while Viserys was in the midst of awakening and transformation, swinging his sword at Davos' skull to force him back. Then he turned and bolted toward the Gods Eye.
But Viserys' counterattack came almost instantly—more than a dozen lead blades fanned out like a deadly kaleidoscope, surging toward Aegon with full force. He was clearly enraged now.
Unlike the thin stabbing strikes from before his awakening, these elongated lead blades were thick, heavy, and crushingly powerful. Each one matched Aegon's strength on its own, and now over a dozen were converging at once.
Gritting his teeth, Aegon pushed his demonic energy to eighty percent—the absolute limit for the Dragon's Kin. One fraction more, and the awakening would be permanent, with no return to human form.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
He fought desperately, but several blades still pierced through. Luckily, his full plate armor absorbed the worst of it, leaving him only rattled.
Then the blades began coiling around him, some probing into the seams of his armor.
"Kekeke… Die!" Viserys hissed, driving the lead blades closer. His cheeks seemed formed from overlapping strips of lead, layered like the pages of a book.
The five-finger-wide blades hemmed Aegon in completely.
One glance at the Gods Eye, now only a few paces away, made up his mind. He drove his demonic energy to ninety percent.
He shifted its nature to match Davos' explosive energy.
The violent surge detonated outward, shredding the dozen blades to fragments.
Though caught in the blast himself, Aegon angled the explosion to hurl his battered body toward the lake.
...
When the smoke cleared, his form was cracked and half-awakened—his lower legs bent backward at the joint, feet reshaped into massive axe-blades, and from his back sprouted flesh-wings studded with sword-like protrusions, badly torn by the explosion.
Splash!
He hit the lake.
Viserys blinked, unsure why he would so stubbornly dive in. Could he have some ability tied to water?
The answer came quickly.
From somewhere, Aegon produced an algae-green crown of deadwood and jammed it onto his head.
[Item: Driftwood Crown]
[Type: Accessory]
[Quality: Blue]
[Rating: 59]
[Effect: Grants the wearer the ability to breathe underwater. Implants in the mind a map to the Water Palace.]
[Note: You have earned an audience with the Tentacle Horror.]
It was a relic from his past life, taken during his conquest of the Iron Islands and assault on Nagga's Cradle. He had never worn it before, wary of gifts from the gods. But now, with his life hanging by a thread, caution no longer mattered.
The moment he donned it, he found he could breathe easily underwater. The crown's dangling strands of waterweed writhed to life, coiling around his brow as tiny wooden spines sprouted from them and sank into his cerebral cortex.
A voice rang in his mind—neither male nor female—echoing deep within and guiding him along an unseen path beneath the lake.
He swam toward it, and the waters around him parted on their own.
His swimming became swift and sure. More importantly, the wild surge of demonic energy at ninety percent began to subside.
Splashes and whistling sounds broke the calm—lead blades stabbed down into the water, one impaling a fat fish. A dozen more spun like drills, shredding it into pulp.
Aegon spared a glance at the spiraling blades closing in, frowned at Viserys' blurred silhouette above, and dove deeper.
...
Viserys felt Aegon's demonic energy fading and panic gripped him.
If Aegon escaped and told Maegor about his plot to lure him to Heart Lake for assassination, he would be finished. Even his grandmother, Septon Rhaenys, could not save him then.
With Aerea of the Red Party now bonded to Balerion—and given her closeness to Aegon—she would no doubt unleash the Black Dread to take revenge. The White Party's strength already lagged far behind the Red.
He would likely be sacrificed by his own faction to appease the Red Party's fury.
The truth, however, was worse than he imagined.
The moment Aegon realized he had been set up, he had sent his dragon, Ghidorah, flying to King's Landing to summon aid.
That had been nearly an hour ago—more than enough time for a dragon to arrive.
But Ghidorah never reached Aerea. It had been spotted by the Red Keep's guards, who reported it to Maegor.
Maegor, with Cannibal at his side, intercepted the young dragon and guessed it had come seeking help.
Though unaware of the exact danger, Maegor mounted Cannibal, secured Ghidorah on the great dragon's back, and set off for Heart Lake Town at full speed.
An adult dragon's pace far outstripped that of a young one, and now Maegor and Cannibal were closing fast on the town.
...
On the shores of Heart Lake Town.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Viserys no longer cared about leaving traces. The platinum-lead blades on his body contracted and braced, and he leapt straight into the Gods Eye.
The clash of metal rang in the water as he locked onto Aegon's demonic energy and gave full chase.
Viserys might not have been strong in combat, but as a support-type dragonborn, his magic perception was V-level. Unlike Aegon, who could only sense the magic in his immediate surroundings, Viserys could lock onto a target from miles away. Once he memorized the signature of someone's demonic energy, he could pinpoint their location with frightening precision.
No matter how fast Aegon swam or how deep he dove, Viserys kept his position locked.
Aegon pushed toward the source of the call. Only in that direction could he move without the water's drag; anywhere else, he would just be a man with the ability to breathe underwater.
Through the Driftwood Crown, Aegon could sense the danger still behind him—a massive presence of magic trailing him unerringly. He didn't need to guess who it was.
The dragonborn could stay submerged for a long time, but they were still no match for someone who could breathe freely underwater.
For now, all Aegon had to do was keep moving. As long as Viserys didn't get his hands on him, the odds of victory were his.
...
No one knew how deep the Gods Eye truly was.
Following the voice, Aegon swam for a while. The light dimmed until the water around him was nearly black, broken only by the occasional flicker of strange, oversized fish.
"Hundreds of meters deep, at least," he thought, studying the shadowy surroundings.
The oppressive darkness and creeping cold gnawed at him. He was forced to stir a bit of his magic to keep the chill at bay.
Viserys, however, had stopped diving. He lingered above, clearly waiting for Aegon to run out of breath and surface.
But Aegon's breath-holding far exceeded his expectations. Nearly half an hour passed, and Aegon remained still, not a single bubble escaping.
Viserys' patience frayed. He tried lowering lead blades to strike, but Aegon moved through the depths with slippery ease. To reach him, Viserys would have to merge all his blades into one—and a single blade was no real threat.
Aegon dove deeper still. A massive chasm split the lakebed below, schools of bright, unfamiliar fish gliding in and out.
A ten-meter squid-like monster drifted lazily near the rift.
It was then Aegon noticed—the waters within the chasm were salty.
"Does this mean… if I pass through, I could reach Ironman's Bay in the Sunset Sea? Maybe if I go even deeper… I could find the Drowned God's Water Palace."
He didn't rush in. The moment he stopped, the voice in his head grew sharper, urgent, urging him to enter the abyss. He ignored it.
Even when the seaweed barbs of the Driftwood Crown quivered against his brain, he remained still.
...
Viserys, trapped in the shallows, was growing desperate.
He had surfaced three times for air; Aegon hadn't surfaced once. It was becoming clear—he would never catch him.
The attempt to kill Aegon and steal Visenya's eyes had failed. Now came the cost of failure: exposure.
Just the thought of Maegor's unfathomable strength and ruthless decisiveness made his skin crawl.
Perhaps, he thought bitterly, fleeing to Essos was his only way out.
Then—movement.
Aegon was rising. Viserys' eyes lit with glee.
"You finally couldn't hold it in, could you?" he thought with a silent laugh.
In truth, Aegon's mind had just reconnected with Ghidorah. Through the powerful Blood Sorcery of resonance, he could communicate with his dragon over distance—but only within limits.
When Ghidorah began searching the lake's surface, Aegon knew his rescue had arrived. It was time to turn the tables.
He angled toward Heart Lake Town and began his ascent.
The shallower he went, the more lead blades closed in. When five surrounded him, they suddenly shot upward, vanishing as if yanked away.
Aegon's lips curved in understanding. He kicked upward without hesitation.
...
Breaking the surface, he saw why the blades had disappeared.
Maegor stood atop the cabin of a moored boat, his face dark as stormwater, eyes fixed like daggers on Viserys—pinned beneath Cannibal's talons.
When Aegon surfaced, Maegor gave him the slightest of nods.
"Father, I didn't expect you to come," Aegon said with a smile.
Ghidorah swooped down from the sky and landed on his shoulder, but the dragon's weight shoved him straight back into the water. Man and dragon floundered for a while before finally making it ashore.
Aegon coughed up lake water, realizing that while he hadn't drowned, Ghidorah's little stunt had nearly finished him off.
Viserys had already reverted to human form, naked and pinned into the dirt under the dragon's claws. Forcing a sheepish grin at Maegor, he said, "Uncle, I was just playing with my cousin, only joking, hehehe…"
"I don't see this as a joke—especially when it involves unleashing a great demon and a dragonborn awakener," Maegor said coldly, the Blackfyre sword pointing toward Davos's awakened corpse.
Aegon glanced at the body. The skeletal horse's head was shattered, the bone crushed in a way that could only be the work of Cannibal's claws.
In this world, dragons remained the ultimate power. Even though the emergence of dragon demons had birthed warriors far stronger than common men, they were still no match for an adult dragon.
"I only meant to test my cousin," Viserys said with a strained smile. "You know I've always served as the deputy commander of the Demon-Hunting Knights. Training new recruits is part of my duty. Please don't misunderstand—I'd never truly harm my own kin. Isn't that right?"
"Oh? And who was it just now shouting for my eyes, claiming they were the 'Strongest Eyes' and only you were worthy of them? Alas, cousin Viserys, should I dig them out for you right now?" Aegon asked with open mockery.
Viserys's smile froze, and he stopped trying to explain. He knew it was over—perhaps even the end of his life.
"Enough. You're coming back to King's Landing.
Attempting to murder a Pureborn is punishable by the execution of nine generations. That is the law set by the Emperor. Considering your royal blood, only you will die," Maegor said impatiently, waving for silence.
He leapt from the cabin roof and landed on Cannibal's massive head.
Roar! Cannibal let out a thunderous cry, flapping its wings and taking two heavy steps before launching into the air.
Viserys, gripped tightly in the dragon's claws, coughed blood from the crushing force, but dragonborn vitality kept him alive—for now.
Aegon thought his part in this was over.
Instead, Cannibal wheeled in the sky, dove, and seized him in its other claw.
Aegon wasn't held tightly; he climbed up to sit on the back of the dragon's talon, flying alongside Maegor toward King's Landing.
...
The next day, tens of thousands gathered outside the Red Keep's outer walls.
A massive guillotine had been erected before the Dragonlord's Gate, and bound beneath it with thick steel chains was a silver-haired, golden-eyed dragonborn—Viserys, brought back by Maegor.
Drugged with poppy anesthetic, his limbs hung limp, unable even to blink.
Once a proud Pureborn prince, he was now chained at the Dragonlord's Gate like a dog, drawing stares from across King's Landing. It was the kind of scandal seen only once in a century.
Whispers were already spreading—this was the opening move in what would be the fiercest clash yet between the White Party and the Red Party.
Thousands of Imperial Guards kept order before the guillotine, while several grand eunuchs stood beside it, reading aloud the crimes of Prince Viserys:
"Kinslaying—punishable by beheading at the Dragon Gate."
Yet Maegor had given no date for the execution, a detail whose meaning was impossible to ignore.
...
[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]
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