Chapter 162: Memoirs

"Regardless... this is an important discovery," said Viserys, suppressing his inner greed and clenching his fists. "If the opportunity arises in the future, it might be worth investigating."

Although the Valyrian ruins were incredibly dangerous, they were of great importance to Viserys.

"I have a feeling..."

"The secret hidden by the black mist may lie within this lost civilization."

The Targaryen family was once one of the ancient forty houses in the Valyrian Freehold.

As someone with Valyrian blood, Viserys could see the black mist that others could not, which wrapped around him.

This black mist would display its host's current state in Valyrian script, and actively killing and plundering the souls of others would only strengthen the growth of the black mist.

The connection between the black mist and the Valyrian civilization gradually became more apparent.

These relics, seemingly brought back by Gerion Lannister from the Valyrian ruins, were all imbued with a faint black mist.

For the first time, Viserys saw this black mist in a place other than a dead body, further solidifying the hidden connection between the two.

Viserys then put away the map on the parchment scroll and opened the diary left by the 'maester.'

As expected.

The diary chronicled the story of Gerion after he left Lannisport at the age of eighteen.

The long ten years were condensed into this thin diary.

Gerion had once sailed to Volantis aboard the Laughing Lion, but half of the crew abandoned the journey upon hearing that Gerion planned to venture to the legendary Smoking Sea, so he had to purchase slaves to replace them.

In the days that followed, Gerion was busy preparing to enter the Valyrian ruins, even experiencing several instances of deception, narrowly escaping death, and almost losing everything. Desperate, he once considered suicide.

The words here were filled with sadness.

Fortunately, Gerion eventually pulled himself together, organizing a small fleet to venture into the Smoking Sea.

Viserys was engrossed in reading Gerion's diary.

It was more of an autobiography than a diary. If Gerion had been willing to publish it, he would have undoubtedly made a fortune.

However, from the moment he organized the fleet to enter the Smoking Sea, Gerion's writing underwent a drastic change.

Although Viserys tried his best to imagine, he could not comprehend the transition from the initial ambition, to the joy of seeing the Valyrian ruins, and then finally, to the depths of despair...

What had they experienced?

"Tentacles?"

"Feelers?"

"A huge tentacle swept away a sailor. He screamed, and then he was dragged into the inky black sea."

This part of the diary was a memoir written by Gerion after escaping the Valyrian ruins. He also recorded his own reaction at the time.

"I felt like I had lost my mind."

"My legs felt as if they were filled with lead. I desperately wanted to escape, but I couldn't move. I could only watch as the sky-blocking tentacles kept sweeping away the sailors..."

"They didn't even scream. I thought they had been dragged underwater and drowned..." .

"However—"

"As I trembled and hid in a crevice on the deck, I saw with my own eyes a crewmember being wrapped up by a massive tentacle."

"Then, with tremendous force, the creature stripped the flesh from his body, leaving only a skeleton that fell into the black sea."

Gillyan's writing was filled with terror.

Sigh...

Seeing this, Viserys couldn't help but feel his breath quicken a bit. He took a deep breath, gripping the memoir tightly, his fingernails turning white.

"Is this... a sea monster?"

Viserys tried his hardest to imagine the scene of a colossal deep-sea squid, the size of a three-masted ship, attacking humans.

However, Gillyan's account only allowed Viserys to associate the deep-sea squid with the words 'tentacles' and 'arms.'

Moreover, it seemed that there was more than just one. In Gillyan's description, there were even more bizarre creatures attacking them.

Fortunately, although the crew suffered heavy casualties, they still fought back, severing several of the sea monsters' tentacles, and ultimately escaped the attack to reach land.

"These sea monsters seem to fear this land greatly. They stop once they reach a certain range, but they also seem unable to leave, forever guarding the depths around the Valyrian peninsula."

"Otherwise, if these monsters escaped, Seven Hells! Who knows what horrors they would unleash?"

These were the exact words from Gillyan's memoir.

The fleet lost several ships, and then, through luck and sheer determination, finally broke through the monster-infested sea and the boiling mists to reach the edge of the Valyrian peninsula. The sea monsters didn't dare to pursue any further and retreated on their own.

"Perhaps this catastrophe created them, after all, I've been to many places, and nowhere else in the world has such creatures, except Valyria."

"Therefore, they are unwilling to leave. If they leave, they stop growing, but if they get too close to this land, they might die."

The following words were Gillyan's direct link between the sea monsters and the catastrophe, and he made a guess of his own.

However, no one could confirm his words.

Viserys then flipped the pages to the next section.

He was already starting to regret giving Gillyan a cup of poisoned wine. If he had known that Gillyan knew so much, he would not have let him die like this.

But it was too late now. The poison had been given, and it was impossible to take it back. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before he heard of Gillyan's death.

Viserys shook his head with regret but had no choice but to continue reading.

Next, Gillyan's memoir reached the land of Valyria.

They had paid a heavy price to break through the Smoking Sea and finally set foot on the mysterious and terrifying land of Valyria.

Many of the crewmembers and even slaves on Gillyan's ship refused to continue exploring because they were utterly terrified. They even captured Gillyan, wanting to kill the man who had deceived them.

However, Gillyan, though frightened, still fully utilized his gift of eloquence and ultimately persuaded some of the slaves and crewmembers to spare him.

After all, the ships had suffered severe damage and couldn't immediately return. They needed to repair them on the spot.

They had no choice but to move forward.

However...

On the very first night after these survivors landed on the island, something terrifying happened again.