Chapter 788: Resolving the Heartache

"This is the Frostfang."

"We're approaching the territory of the Thenns."

The Thenns were a brutal tribe, said to eat human flesh raw. However, even the most savage of races could not withstand the onslaught of the White Walkers. They too fled south in disarray, ultimately perishing in the North.

Beyond the Wall, there was no longer any sign of human activity. It had become a paradise for animals. The terms "wildling" and "free folk" had vanished into the annals of history, becoming a thing of the past.

Most of those who were once considered wildlings had now suffered the same fate as the Thenns - their tribes wiped out. The few lucky ones who had survived the southern nobles' army's extermination and the cold winds of winter were no longer wildlings.

Having grown accustomed to the warm, pleasant climate of the south and the days of being able to eat their fill instead of feasting one day and starving for three, no one wanted to return to their homeland.

As a result, these free folk who once claimed they would never bend the knee had now knelt, obediently becoming citizens of the Empire, toiling diligently to secure their livelihoods.

Most of them lived in the Vale and the Westerlands, with a small portion residing in the Riverlands. This was because the Vale and the Westerlands were mountainous, and many wildlings who had escaped the Neck had taken refuge in the mountains, allowing them to survive the conquest war and live to see the era of the Valyrian Empire.

"Thenns?"

Naturally, Daenerys had never heard of these wildling tribes, as she had not participated in the previous war against the White Walkers or the subsequent civil war. At that time, she had been left all alone in Pentos.

"This tree is huge."

Subsequently, Daenerys saw the embodiment of the Old Gods. However, this colossal weirwood tree was now dead. Its branches and leaves had long since withered, losing their once-golden luster. The pale trunk had become decayed, seeming as though it would crumble with the wind.

This weirwood tree was the largest in the entire world. The face the Children of the Forest had carved into its trunk was also enormous. However, at this moment, it appeared as though the face on the tree trunk was shedding tears of blood, sending a chill down one's spine.

Daenerys even shivered slightly.

"What happened to it?"

Viserys, holding Daenerys' hand, stood before the embodiment of the Old Gods. He raised his head to look at the enormous weirwood tree, his voice slightly low as he spoke.

"It died."

Upon hearing this, Daenerys was somewhat curious. She had not expected Viserys to recognize a tree.

"You know it? Who is it?"

"It is the Old Gods of the North."

Daenerys asked, and Viserys replied in a calm voice.

"Old Gods?"

However, his answer stunned the silver-haired girl. She turned her head to look at Viserys in disbelief, never expecting to hear such a name from his mouth.

Yet, when she saw that the expression on Viserys' face did not seem to be joking, she covered her mouth.

"How is this possible? Can gods also die?"

"Do Leaf, Robb, and the other Northerners know that their god is dead?"

The fact that gods could also die, especially that they too had perished in the cold winds of winter like humans, deeply shook Daenerys.

She had only heard Viserys and others mention that war, but she had never imagined what kind of enemy they were facing. Even gods would die at their hands.

"Gods also have their hierarchy and the law of the jungle applies to them as well. Of course, weak deities can die, Daenerys."

"If you don't want to die, you can only become stronger, at any cost."

Viserys' voice did not carry much fluctuation.

"Leaf and Snowhair were brought here by me. She knows the Old Gods have died."

"But the Northerners don't know."

Outside, it was freezing cold, naturally not a place for conversation. Daenerys followed behind Viserys into the cave beneath the roots of the weirwood tree.

It was a hidden cave that one might easily miss if not paying attention. However, although the Old Gods had died and this place had been overrun by the White Walkers once before, it seemed that some of the Old Gods' barriers still remained.

Viserys led Daenerys inside. Instantly, they could feel the surrounding temperature rising, far less cold than the outside world.

If the outside was a harsh winter, then the world inside the cave was akin to a slightly chilly spring or autumn.

"The temperature here is different!"

"Is this the power of magic?"

Daenerys, holding Viserys' hand, entered the cave. Viserys picked up a broken branch from the ground, perhaps a root of the weirwood tree, and lit it as a torch to dispel the darkness and illuminate the world within the cave.

In fact, after Viserys and Daenerys had a private conversation some time ago, the knot in her heart had been untied.

Daenerys was naturally worried that Viserys would abandon her, not want her. Viserys was her one and only, her everything.

If Viserys really did that, it would trigger the flaw in her personality. She would certainly go mad.

However, the reality was that Viserys did not do so. He was indeed a little unsure of how to handle this relationship, just as Missandei had guessed.

Even though he had lived two lives, Viserys felt somewhat at a loss.

He had watched Daenerys grow up, even from the time she was a baby in swaddling clothes. He could deal with other women with ease and had no shortage of lovers, but Daenerys' pure physical relationship with them was different.

Therefore, one of his personal habits was that when he did not know how to make a decision, he would choose to put the matter aside for the time being and wait until he had figured it out later. However, he had not expected that this attitude of temporarily putting things off would anger little Dany.

Nevertheless, after a frank exchange between the two not long ago, the issue had been resolved.

Daenerys did not want to marry anyone other than Viserys. Firstly, it was because of the Targaryen family tradition. Daenerys had an even heavier mental burden than Viserys. Secondly, with Viserys as a precedent, she could no longer look up to any other man in this world.

Besides Viserys, who dared to marry Daenerys?

Even if Viserys wanted to marry Daenerys off, there would probably be no one who dared to take her as a wife, fearing that their head would be lost before the bride even entered the door.

Therefore, when the two had a frank conversation and Daenerys insisted that she only wanted to marry him, Viserys had agreed to take her as his empress in the future.

However, Daenerys was not like Alayaya and Rhaenys, or most women in this world.

Even before she had entered the door, she had already shown some early signs of a future queen's personality, with a strong sense of possessiveness.

She had even previously expressed dissatisfaction with her elder sisters Alayaya and Rhaenys, who had come earlier, and was furious about the fact that Viserys had several lovers.

In particular, she had once witnessed her best friend, the Little Rose Margaery Tyrell, in Viserys' bed.