Chapter 32: Connections

The rope was then cut.

Accompanied by a desperate roar from below, followed by a brief pause, a dull sound finally emerged as if a heavy object in a torn sack had fallen to the ground.

Thud—

All sounds ceased, leaving only the relentless waves.

The 'Bloodhand of Lys' had fallen to his death from the cliff.

Viserys stood alone atop the castle, staring into the dark abyss below. The grappling hook on the other side also fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Viserys leaned on the stone window, breathing heavily.

"It's over."

Due to his insufficient height, he had to lean out of the window's edge and draw his sword to sever the assailant's rope, causing him to fall to the cliffs below.

Although it was midnight and the castle's exterior was shrouded in darkness, making it impossible to see anything below from the window, Viserys was confident that the man was dead.

There was no need to check.

Having lived on Dragonstone for half a year, Viserys was not as carefree as Rhaenys, having memorized the complex terrain of the castle.

Moreover, he had heard the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground. Undoubtedly, the man hadn't fallen into the sea but had crashed onto the rocky beach below, dying from a bloody head wound.

...

"I... killed someone again."

And now.

The boy jumped down from the stone window, leaned against the corridor wall, and slid to the cold ground, not wanting to move even a finger.

Viserys was so exhausted that he was somewhat drained. If not for his strong desire to survive, he might have been unable to run during the chase.

He sighed as he sat on the ground, then lifted his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

The blood splattered on his face had mixed with the fresh sweat, creating an eerie contrast when combined with the boy's innocent and adorable features and his clear, purple eyes.

Such an outwardly innocent and cute little boy had, in a short time, killed three vicious mercenaries using various methods such as ambushes, hiding, and scheming.

Viserys' molten silver-like hair clung to his cheeks as he caught his breath, trying to calm his rapidly pounding heart.

Only then did he have the time to think back on the entire incident.

"What on earth... happened?"

When he was suddenly attacked, Viserys didn't know what was going on, only that these people were trying to kill him.

Then, he desperately ran for his life, hiding and ambushing the mercenaries to survive.

However, even now, he didn't know who these people were and why they wanted to kill him.

Viserys' first thought was that King Robert wanted to exterminate him, and his first assumption was almost entirely correct.

As for who these people were, it reached the limits of Viserys' knowledge.

He knew very little about the continent of Essos across the Narrow Sea, except for the parts documented in his favorite travelogues.

...

As for the mercenaries and the so-called Company of the Courageous, Viserys knew nothing about them.

His attention then shifted to the black smoke he had just absorbed from killing those men.

Clang...

He drew the dagger in his hand slightly, its clear blade still stained with speckles of blood.

It was left from killing the first mercenary.

Under the firelight, the blade reflected a faint glow. Viserys stared at this reflection for three seconds.

Whoosh~

The black mist reassembled itself.

The High Valyrian script for sun, moon, water, and earth was still displayed.

Viserys didn't know the true nature of this black mist, but there was one thing he was absolutely sure of.

This black mist, his "golden finger," had an inexplicable connection to the Freehold of Valyria, which had been destroyed centuries ago due to the "Wrath of the Gods."

When he had been crowned on Dragonstone half a year earlier, he had fainted under the gaze of the Seven and dreamt of many strange things.

The most memorable and extensive of these dreams was of an apocalyptic catastrophe.

Volcanoes erupted, the earth split apart, magnificent cities were destroyed, and the land shattered into numerous islands.

The most prosperous civilization in human history, even hailed as the one "capable of challenging the gods," was wiped from the face of the earth.

The remnants of Valyria became the "Smoking Sea" and "Demon Lands" in people's mouths, seemingly still carrying a strong influence or cursed power, remaining untrodden by humans for nearly four hundred years.

And its secrets remained there forever.

The Targaryen family was once a part of Valyrian civilization.

Twelve years before the apocalyptic disaster, a prophetess was born in a relatively powerless family within the Freehold of Valyria.

She foresaw the impending catastrophe and persuaded her entire family to flee to Dragonstone, an outpost near the western continent of Valyria, thus escaping the disaster.

This relatively powerless family within the Freehold of Valyria went on to conquer Westeros and rule the land for nearly three hundred years – the Targaryen family.

Viserys had learned all this after landing on Dragonstone, poring over the records stored there, as Dragonstone was the Targaryen family's stronghold.

At the same time, the maester had also told Viserys many stories about Valyrian civilization.

After all, this was the history of the Targaryens. While understanding the history of other noble families, one should naturally also know their own family's past.

"Perhaps...one day I will unlock this secret."

Viserys stared at the swirling black mist, including the High Valyrian script within it, and silently vowed to himself.

[Viserys Targaryen]

Sun affinity: 5

Earth affinity: 6

Water affinity: 8

Moon affinity: 20

There was also a wisp of black smoke lingering outside the black mist.

He had deliberately controlled it after absorbing it from the first mercenary he killed, not allowing it to merge directly into his body.

Viserys wanted to try if he could control this wisp of black smoke to enhance the abilities he wished to strengthen.

He didn't absorb any black smoke from the two enemies he killed afterward. Viserys guessed it might be related to him using ranged weapons to kill them.

The condition for absorbing black mist from the enemy must be killing them personally, having direct contact with them to draw their power.

As for the true nature of this power, Viserys was equally uncertain.

Had he absorbed their souls?

Or was it the life force that had not completely dissipated from their bodies?

...