Memories

The black-and-red Bloodflame had dissipated at some point.

Aegon's consciousness returned from a chaotic void, like a drowning man finally struggling to the surface.

Countless fragmented images collided and reassembled in his mind-

Last came the darkness that had swallowed him whole, and within it, that crisp, utterly incongruous sound-

"Ding!"

[Deep within the Valyrian Ruins-check-in successful!]

His thoughts froze there.

Aegon's eyes snapped open. His violet pupils were unfocused for a moment before swiftly sharpening.

Before him lay the familiar ruins, strewn with rubble and scorch marks.

The bodies of Crow's Eye and the Ironborn lay scattered haphazardly across the ground, long since cold.

Aegon rose. The expected agony of his entire body falling apart never came. In its place was an almost uncanny vitality, a sense of brimming energy.

He quickly checked himself. His fractured left leg moved freely, the dull pain in his chest had vanished, and even the cut on his wrist that had exposed bone was now only a pale pink line of new flesh.

The bodies around him, each bearing different wounds, reminded him that the brutal battle had been no illusion.

The system? It could only have been the system.

Check-in successful?

Aegon was puzzled.

Driven by an intense desire to investigate, he focused and summoned the system panel again.

As he called it up, information naturally surfaced in his mind, its meaning immediately clear.

[Initial task completed... deep-binding conditions met... full system loaded.]

Aegon froze, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"So that really was just a skin trial pass all along," Aegon couldn't help grumbling. Had he really spent all these years risking his life with a trial version of the system?

That test to unlock the full version was downright hellish. I nearly got my save deleted for good.

He gathered his thoughts and began studying this "full version" of the system.

The system panel's layout was much clearer. Its status assessments had become more detailed, and it even offered comments with a touch of personality.

The Map Guidance Function was still there.

What stood out most was the draw option below.

Its original "0" had become a "1."

"Did checking in at the Valyrian Ruins give me a draw?" Aegon murmured.

Watching the system's ever-changing comments, he began to wonder, Is there some intelligence behind this system secretly watching me?

Aegon tried asking it mentally.

There was no response.

Yet he had a vague feeling that his question had been left on read.

...Fuck.

Aegon curled his lip, wishing there were an option to leave a bad review.

His gaze returned to the draw option, with its single available chance.

I wonder what I'll get.

With a thought, he confirmed the draw.

There were no flashy effects. The panel simply displayed: [Drawing...] [Draw successful.] [Congratulations! You have obtained Monsterverse-King Ghidorah!]

His breath caught as he read the system panel.

King Ghidorah? The one I know?

Is this compensation?

Aegon suppressed his excitement and looked around, searching for the towering, mountain-sized silhouette of a three-headed dragon he expected to see.

Nothing.

The ruins were empty save for corpses and rubble.

He instinctively glanced down and finally spotted something at his feet.

The creature was about... the size of a stool?

Covered in pale gold scales, its three heads were huddled together, rubbing their necks against one another. Six eyes like molten gold regarded him with a somewhat bewildered look.

Aegon: ...

Looking at the "stool-sized edition" of King Ghidorah at his feet, the corner of his mouth gave an almost imperceptible twitch.

Just then, a stream of information naturally surfaced in his mind-not as cold text, but as an intuitive understanding:

[Warning: fundamental differences exist between world laws and energy tiers.]

[The original form of the target "King Ghidorah" was constructed upon the physical laws, energy density, and conceptual standing of its native world. The material foundation, magical environment, and maximum rule-bearing capacity of the current world (designation: A Song of Ice and Fire) cannot support the instantaneous manifestation of its complete form.]

[This individual is currently in a "conceptual seed" state and has undergone preliminary adaptive compression and reconstruction according to the rules of the current world. Its growth will proceed in tandem with host interaction, compatibility with world laws, and energy absorption.]

[Decompression process initializing... adaptive integration in progress... current form stable.]

Aegon understood-

So the system had zipped King Ghidorah into a compressed file and sent it over. I have to unzip it before I can use it...

While Aegon pondered "decompression" and "adaptation," the consciousnesses within the three little heads of the stool-sized King Ghidorah at his feet were even more chaotic and bewildered.

One moment, it had been locked in world-shattering close combat with that damned thick-skinned, fat lizard in a raging sea. Gravity beams clashed with Atomic Breath, whipping up thousand-meter tsunamis.

The next, an utterly incomprehensible, irresistible force, seemingly originating from the very foundation of the world, had brutally seized the core of its existence and forcibly "ripped" it out of that familiar battlefield.

Dizziness, a sensation of being stripped away, and then... landing.

Its view had changed.

Everything had become impossibly "huge."

Broken stones looked like hills. The collapsed pillars in the distance resembled giant trees holding up the sky. And this standing creature before it, clad in strange armor...

All three of King Ghidorah's consciousnesses blanked out at once.

So big!

That was its first thought.

How could such an enormous creature exist?

It's much taller than that fat lizard!

The gaze looking down at it instinctively made it feel a certain... pressure?

No, not entirely pressure. There was also a strange, faint pull from the very core of its existence, as though invisible threads connected them.

Then it saw the "giant creature" crouch and extend a hand, apparently intending to touch its middle head.

Touch me?

Despite the inexplicable sense of closeness growing within it, the pride and dignity of the king of monsters instantly surged.

Touch me? You think you're worthy?!

Its middle head jerked back, while the heads on either side bared tiny pointed teeth, smaller than grains of rice and utterly unthreatening.

Thin, would-be vicious hisses squeezed from its throats. Its six golden eyes widened, trying to convey its fervent wish: Keep your damn hands off me.

Aegon nearly laughed aloud at the little creature's bristling display.

Completely ignoring its blustering threats, he firmly, and with a hint of curiosity, set his fingers atop the little middle head trying to dodge him and gently rubbed it.

It felt cool and smooth, its scales tougher than they looked.

"Hiss-!" King Ghidorah went rigid, all three heads freezing in place.