A cold, suffocating sensation preceded his awakening.
Aemond Targaryen opened his eyes and found himself lying on a cold, damp stone floor.
His forehead ached, and the faint scent of blood wafted through his nose.
Not long ago…
He was in the middle of a storm, riding Vhagar…
"Aemond! Thief! Coward!"
"What right do you have to call us bastards?"
Aemond rose, clutching the wooden sword he'd seized, and looked at the three young men and two young women standing before him.
The leader was Jacaerys Velaryon—brown-haired and brown-eyed, handsome, but now crippled by rage.
Behind him walked his brother, Lucerys, and the younger Joffrey, all three pairs of eyes fixed on him.
They also had wounds on their faces, and it was clear they had just been in a fight.
"Aemond! Thief! Brown-eyed!"
"What right do you have to call us bastards?"
The marks clearly showed they had just been besieged five to one.
At that moment, a finger scratch on Aemond's left cheek made him feel a slight heat.
Aemond held the wooden sword he had drawn.
"Speak! Shameful boy!" Lucerys stepped forward and clenched his fists.
"The seeds of hatred are sown here, and eventually they grow into poisonous trees that destroy the entire kingdom…"
He lost an eye in that episode.
"Vhagar chose me."
"Besides, dragons never belonged to the Velaryons."
"Dragons belong only to the Targaryens."
"Remember, it was a Targaryen who gave you the right to ride dragons."
"And I apologize for calling you bastards."
The children were momentarily taken aback.
Aemond's sudden apology and denial plunged them into an incredible silence.
Aemond had been very powerful just a moment ago.
"Thief!"
"You should be ashamed!"
"It was His Majesty Viserys who gave Rhaena and Baela primary rights to ride his mother's dragon!"
And he rode the dragon without permission, you know, as soon as a dragon acknowledges its master, unless the original rider dies.
But this is what he did, what does it have to do with him now?
This feeling of anguish and the indescribable silence silenced him.
"You're just like your bitch, a shameless thief!"
"I want to steal the throne, steal the dragon, steal everything that should belong to my mother!"
And this phrase finally ignited something deeper in Aemond's heart.
This feeling belonged not to the time traveler, but to the humiliation, anger, and loneliness that had been building up in the original body for years.
Since childhood, his brother Aegon had mocked Aemond along with these three boys, claiming he was fit only to ride pigs and calling him a freak.
Now the other side had publicly insulted the original mother, Queen Alicent.
The lingering humiliation was like a volcanic eruption, and no matter how hard he tried to remain calm, he couldn't suppress it.
This dangerous, irrational rage.
Aemond felt his blood boil.
"You are a wild seed." Aemond slowly straightened, half a head taller than Lucerys, his wet silver hair pressed against his cheeks, his violet eyes locked with theirs, murderous intent clear in them.
"You can do that again."
Lucerys was startled by Aemond's swiftness, but heard the savage air cursed.
Lucerys snorted and leaned down.
His older brother, Jacaerys, saw his younger brother being beaten and growled as he charged.
But Aemond grabbed Lucerys by the shoulder and pushed him toward Jacaerys.
The two boys collided and retreated.
Rhaena, Baela, and Joffrey picked up rocks from the dragon's lair and pelted Aemond with them.
Aemond was unable to dodge and suffered several wounds.
But he had no desire to win. A deep sense of his mind told him he could no longer fight.
He didn't want to cause trouble, but he wouldn't let anyone get the better of him.
"How dare you!!" gasped Lucerys, falling to the ground, his eyes reddened.
And Jacaerys, as the eldest brother, saw that his second brother had gone mad, and their only option was to attack together.
Realizing the situation was hopeless, two little girls, Rhaena and Baela, screamed, trying to attract the attention of the Dragonstone guards.
Joffrey saw his brothers arguing with Aemond and wanted to help.
Joffrey rolled to the ground and began to cry.
Jacaerys, too, his eyes reddened.
Aemond felt a surge of helpless rage in his heart.
Fists, claws, knees… Children driven mad allow a fight to quickly escalate into a life-or-death struggle.
Aemond felt his opponent's fist hit his cheekbone, and his ears began ringing.
But he also grabbed Lucerys by the hair and slammed his head into the ground.
One, two.
Lucerys' broken head bled.
"You dog! Let go of my brother!" Jacaerys struck from the side.
Aemond was thrown back, his back hitting the stone wall with a dull pain.
His eyes were slightly blackened.
In the midst of the chaos, Aemond noticed something more in Lucerys' hands…
It was a dagger, inlaid with obsidian and pearl.
It was powerful enough to easily cut through flesh, cartilage, and even… eyes.