Arc 4 - Palace of Memories

South of Gods Eye is a river that empties into Blackwater Bay.

Ikarus follows its shore, training his chakra control in the mornings and nights. He sometimes runs through the water during the day.

He wants to be good enough to last on top of the water for at least 15 hours straight.

During the last few days he came to understand better the limits of his body, he can run at full speed for almost 30 hours straight before collapsing. The problem is that after those 30 hours he needs at least a whole day to be 100% again. A day when he is almost as helpless as an ordinary twelve year old.

What he doesn't know is his top speed, when he pushed the limits of his body after finding the destroyed farm he didn't run in a straight line. When he collapsed he was near Stony Shore but he doesn't remember how many turns he took, or if he ran in a straight line.

His memories of those days are somewhat hazy.

He is currently running at about 50 kilometers per hour, at that speed he can run all day long without bringing his body to the brink of collapse.

If he ran in a straight line he would get there much faster but since he has to follow rivers and roads to avoid getting lost he is covering much more distance.

Although he has already traveled more than a third of his way, Ikarus is not satisfied. He had a significant delay. When he was crossing the swamps he ran out of food and had to hunt. He got lost in the swamps for a day and a half.

That day and a half could cost Aemon his life.

To make up for lost time Ikarus reduced the hours of rest. Three hours of sleep should be enough.

"Shinobi are superhuman after all." He murmurs.

His eyes change between hollow and rage.

His emotions change every two steps, one moment he feels nothing but cold hollowness and the next his blood boils with the heat of a thousand suns.

Insufficient food, lack of rest, and emotional chaos are taking their toll on him. His tanned complexion is somewhat pale, his eyes have dark shadows under them and a slight sinking is beginning to show in his cheeks.

Ikarus doesn't feel or ignore the state of his body.

He only has one goal in mind.

"I have to fulfill my mission." His voice comes out a bit creepy, as if he wasn't the one speaking.

***

The river he is following joins another, the flow increases quite a bit.

Near the river you can see Goldroad.

"If I followed that road I would come straight to Casterly Rock, I could find Scar(Tywin) and slaughter him and his entire pack of hyenas hiding behind lion skins."

The temptation is strong.

With his emotions so out of control, anger easily takes over.

"My mission." His eyes have a strange sparkle every time he says the word mission.

His body moves automatically.

`Follow the river bank.`

After a couple of hours the river meets Kingsroad again.

"If I follow this road south I'll get to Dorne, if I follow it north I'll get to King's Landing."

His eyes are directed to the north, to the capital. He has a haunted look and his body shakes.

***

|A toddler is running through a large garden, picking the flowers that seem most beautiful to her. After having as many flowers as she can hold in her little hands she runs towards a big tree.

In its shadow is a red blanket and on the blanket two women are sitting.

The first woman was slender and small, with big lilac eyes and fine, pale, porcelain skin, near translucent. Her long silver-gold hair was pulled back into an elaborate braid. Her red dress was simple but elegant.

The second woman was slim and slender, with olive skin, large dark eyes and long, thick black hair that falls in ringlets to the middle of her back. Her full lips smiled lovingly at the child.

On one of her hands, she was holding a cup of tea while the other was placed in her grown belly, she was very pregnant.

"Mama! Look!" The child ran into her arms.

She quickly set the teacup down and caught the girl laughing.

"Careful Rhae, you might hurt your little sibling." Her grandmother's voice is soft as she scolds her.

The girl, barely a baby, comes out of her mother's arms and knees hugging her belly.

"Sowwy baby" she murmurs in her adorable voice.

"We are fine Rhae, but be more careful next time." Her mother's voice is soft and melodic, like that of a fairy.

"I pwomise" The girl says solemnly, nodding her head seriously.

"Good. A Martell always keeps their promises."

"And what do you have in your hands, sweet child?"

Rhaenys distributes the flowers between her mother and her grandmother.

A boy a few years older joins them a moments later.

The boy, a miniature male version of his mother, takes Rhaenys's hand and drags her toward the flowers.

"Ser Ron taught me how to block with a sword Rhae! I'll show you how!"

He picks up some sticks and teaches her what he learned in his swordsmanship lessons.

The two of them have a great time, running and playing in the garden under the watchful eye of their mothers.

Their fun is interrupted by the arrival of a running servant.

"Prince Rhaegar!" She gasps.

"Calm down and tell me what happened!" The princess demands. The children approach their mothers, still holding hands.

The servant takes a deep breath and opens her mouth.

"The prince has taken Lord Stark's daughter!"|

Ikarus wakes up drenched in sweat.

His dream was beautiful, apart from the end nothing bad happened. But his heart aches and he gets a terrible migraine.

"First Riku and now Rhaenys." He mutters bitterly. "Who's next Francis?"

***

The soul is a Palace of Memories.

Each room contains all the memories of a lifetime. When that life ends that room is closed and sealed.

A new room forms within the palace, a new room for a new life.

It is an endless cycle. The soul keeps reincarnating and the Palace keeps expanding.

But what happens when several lives mix?

What happens when a life transmigrates in the body of one of its past lives, in the world of another of its past lives?

Chaos.

Cracks begin to form in the doors and small abysses of their contents escape and then...

***

NOTE:

Sooo I am feeling like shit, as in I wanna die.

Luckly is not COVID but still...

Thanks to eveyone who is been supportive, reading your kind words really helps during this shity moments.