Game of Thrones: Rise of the Supreme Dragon Queen

As Dany prepared to open the next wooden door, Drogon extended his long, serpent-like neck, letting out a sharp cry. Smoke curled between his teeth, the urgency in his call clear even without her slipping into her dragon-bonded state.

"What's wrong?" she turned her head to ask.

But as soon as she looked back, Dany was shocked to see the torches behind her extinguishing one by one. The long corridor seemed like a strand of noodles being slurped into the mouth of some unseen beast lurking in the darkness.

"Shit!"

She cursed and sprinted away.

It felt like she had been running for over an hour when she finally reached the end of the corridor. Ahead of her wasn't a wall but an endless, dark abyss.

There was no door on the right wall, leaving her only the last door on the left to enter.

Just as she was about to step inside, she froze in her tracks.

Could my stamina really be this good? Running at full speed for hours with a dragon on my back? Impossible!

Even without the burden of Drogon's weight, no marathon runner could sprint at full speed for over half an hour.

Was this magic? Or had she been trapped in some sort of illusion all along?

Yet Drogon behind her was undeniably real. Her dragon-sight had detected no abnormalities either. Dany was confused.

Suddenly, from the depths of the darkened corridor where the torches had gone out, came the sound of heavy, deliberate footsteps. Something was dragging itself forward along the faded carpet.

Drogon screeched again, urging her to move.

With a sigh, she stepped through the last door.

Beyond it lay another series of square stone chambers. Four doors. She turned to the one on the right.

This time, exhaustion finally set in. Her body ached, her mind was foggy, and she felt utterly drained.

Square stone chamber, square stone chamber, square stone chamber.

Right, right, right.

Anyone repeating the same action in identical surroundings would have felt dizzy and worn out.

When Dany decided to sit in the next chamber to rest, she entered a damp stone room. Across from her was an oval-shaped door resembling a gaping mouth, and standing outside on a patch of shaded grass was the warlock Pyat Pree.

"Done with the Undying so soon?" he asked in disbelief upon seeing her.

"Done? I didn't even meet them!" Dany replied, panting.

"You must have gone the wrong way. No matter, I'll guide you." He stepped into the stone chamber and extended his right hand toward her.

Dany stepped back, her expression skeptical. "What are you? You look almost exactly like him."

"I am Pyat Pree! Have you gone mad?" His blue lips parted in confusion.

"It's probably night outside by now. I don't have time to waste with some monstrous imposter," Dany muttered. She entered her dragon-dream state to rest briefly, then walked toward the door on the right.

"No!" Pyat Pree screamed. "No, come back! Come to me, to me-me-me-me—"

His face began to cave inward, and from the gaping wounds in his flesh crawled pale, bloated maggots.

The room shifted again. Dany found herself in a stairwell, its heights so vast that she couldn't see the top.

Once more, she began to doubt herself. Could this all be an illusion?

The House of the Undying had no towers, its buildings were known to be low and flat. Where had this staircase come from?

But now that she had entered, there was no turning back. She couldn't ask Pyat Pree for help, nor could she retreat.

And so, she climbed. Her waist ached and her legs throbbed, forcing her to rest in her dragon-sight state every now and then.

Time blurred. After what felt like an eternity, she finally reached a hallway. On the right was a row of wide wooden doors, half ajar.

The wooden door was crafted from ebony and weirwood, its black-and-white grain twisting into peculiar spiral patterns. The design was mesmerizing, exuding a strange beauty, but the longer Dany stared, the more it seemed to carry a sinister and cruel aura.

"This..." Dany suddenly snapped to attention.

Images from the show flashed in her mind. Wasn't this reverse spiral pattern the very magical symbol used by the White Walkers?

"Could it be a universal rune used by mysterious entities?" she wondered, lightly tracing her fingers over the carved lines as her thoughts raced.

Behind the door was a grand hall filled with extravagantly dressed sorcerers.

Some wore luxurious robes of white ermine, crimson velvet, and golden fabric. Others donned ornate armor encrusted with jewels. There were also those who wore tall, pointed hats adorned with stars.

Among them were female sorcerers, their attire even more opulent and striking.

Beams of sunlight filtered through the stained-glass windows, filling the hall with the world's most enchanting music. Even the air seemed to shimmer with vibrancy.

A man dressed like a king rose from his seat and smiled at Dany. "Daenerys of House Targaryen, welcome, welcome. Come, join the Eternal Feast. We are the Undying Ones of Qarth."

"We've been waiting for you for a long time," said a woman at his side.

She was dressed in a gown of rose-red and silver, exposing one flawless breast in the Qartheen fashion.

The King of Sorcerers said, "We knew you would come. A thousand years ago, we foresaw this moment and have been waiting ever since. The comet was our guide for you."

A warrior clad in gleaming emerald armor added, "We will share our knowledge with you, teach you to wield magical weapons. Come now, join us. You've passed all the tests. Stay for the feast, and all your questions will be answered."

A handsome young man smiled and said, "Would you like me to teach you the ancient Valyrian spells of mystery? Come closer, hurry."

Dany ignored them. Once she had entered the ebony and weirwood door, she had scanned her surroundings and discovered another, smaller door hidden behind the main one.

It was on her right.

The towering wooden door had almost entirely concealed it. Most people would have missed it, falling prey to whatever awaited them in the hall.

Having found the small door, Dany took her time turning back to the elaborately dressed sorcerers. "Alright then, teach me your spells."

"Come closer, and I will," the handsome sorcerer beckoned with a smile.

"Ah, do me a favor: paint your lips blue, make your skin a bit paler, and then try impersonating the Undying again!"

With that, Dany dismissed them, pushed open the small door, and stepped through without a backward glance.

The room she entered was narrow and dimly lit, its cramped space pressing in on her. The four walls bore no other doors.

Though puzzled, Dany assumed she had finally reached her destination.

Her gaze settled on a long stone table dominating the room. Around it stood ghostly blue silhouettes, their forms flickering faintly.

Above the center of the stone table, a human heart hovered in midair—decayed, swollen, and discolored with a sickly purple hue. Yet it still beat, each pulse producing a deep, resonant thrum and emitting waves of dark blue light.

"I am Daenerys of House Targaryen. Are you the Undying Ones?" Dany asked the spectral figures.

Inwardly, she scoffed. These beings had decayed to the point where only their souls remained, yet they dared to call themselves "undying."

Perhaps the earlier trials had numbed her fear. Despite being in a haunted chamber with a gathering of ghosts, Dany felt no terror.

The figures remained still, neither speaking nor turning to acknowledge the intruder. But as soon as Dany's words fell, a fragmented voice echoed through the chamber.

"Mother of Dragons... Daughter of Death... Mother of Dragons... Slayer of Lies... Mother of Dragons... Bride of Fire," it murmured, a sound that was both a whisper and a moan, reverberating eerily in the darkness. "Mother... of... Dragons."

The voices were varied—some male, some female, some elderly, and others youthful—as though a chorus of the damned greeted her from the crevices of hell.

The floating heart continued its rhythmic pulsations, sometimes glowing faintly, sometimes fading into darkness, its beat quickening slightly.

"It's me. I am the Mother of Dragons," Dany declared.

The scene in the room began to change. The pale blue figures gained color, as though a 3D printer had suddenly brought them to life.

By the faint, eerie blue light emanating from the rotting heart, Dany could see the two figures at the ends of the long stone table.

To her right was an old man—so ancient that he seemed to embody the very essence of age itself. His face was a map of deep wrinkles and liver spots, entirely devoid of hair. His blue-purple flesh clung tightly to his skull, and even the whites of his eyes were a dull blue. His lips and nails were so dark they appeared nearly black.

To her left sat an old crone, equally ancient. Her white silk robe seemed to have rotted and fused with her decaying body, resembling a corpse unearthed from its grave. One withered breast was exposed, adhering to Qartheen custom, its tip dark blue and sharp, as tough as rawhide.

Dany had a sudden realization: these were all dead beings. Their bodies had perished decades, perhaps centuries ago. The strange heart above the table was preserving their fragmented souls.

It seemed as though her thoughts were detected by the Undying. A faint, fragile voice whispered, "We... are not dead... we live... we live... we are waiting... we know all..."

"What are you waiting for?" Dany asked sharply, her wariness growing.

"Waiting... for you. We know all, Mother of Dragons. What do you seek from the Undying?" a deep voice replied.

"What can you offer me?" Dany countered.

"We... know everything... the past, the future... all is before us. We possess the wisdom to conquer death."

Dany suddenly understood. Qarth had sent her to the Undying to gain a prophecy about the future.

But she had already seen the ending of Game of Thrones. What value could a prophecy hold now?

Unless the ending had changed—changed because of her.

Still, compared to receiving a large watermelon, Dany was more interested in acquiring the knowledge of how to grow one.

What she truly desired was magical skill.

"I wish to learn a magic that suits me. I want to master the Valyrian art of dragon-finding," she said.

"She wishes... to learn Valyrian sorcery," the deep voice said mockingly. "Tell her... tell her... she..."

Dany's wariness heightened, but before she could react, a deep indigo light flared in the darkness, followed by countless images flashing before her eyes.

(End of Chapter)

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