Valyria IX

It was the third day after King Ghidorah's Nirvana.

Viserys sat cross-legged in the center of the cave, surrounded by sparse clusters of glowing energy. This strange energy had formed from the residual higher-dimensional energy of King Ghidorah's Nirvana mingling with the native magic. Now it was flowing into his body at a rate visible to the naked eye.

To explain how this had happened, one had to go back three days, to the moment King Ghidorah had been reborn.

"Bondmate, the energy here is dissipating." King Ghidorah's thoughts passed directly into Viserys's mind, the voice like a three-part harmony. "The power I released during my Nirvana, together with the magic that remained here, is returning to this world's source. I can help you absorb this energy. It should raise your tier of existence."

"What should I do?" Viserys asked.

"Touch my middle head."

Viserys reached out and pressed his palm against the dark gold forehead scale of the middle head. The instant they touched, warm energy surged into him through his arm, like liquid metal flowing through his veins.

"Relax. Let the energy flow through your blood rather than forcing yourself to absorb it. But you must learn to control the flow. Too fast, and it will burst your body apart; too slow, and you will waste it."

Viserys adjusted his breathing.

On the first day, Viserys felt his body being rebuilt.

Energy coursed through him, washing through every inch of flesh. Beside him, King Ghidorah guided him. "This body of yours is too fragile, bondmate. Among one race of carbon-based life forms I once encountered, even the most ordinary individual had three times your physical capabilities."

The transformation caused no pain. It felt more like a steady breeze brushing through his body. He could hear faint sounds from within himself-his bones growing stronger.

By nightfall, he could crush stones with his bare hands.

On the second day, the energy began seeping into his magical circuits.

"What you call 'magic' is, to my eyes, merely an inefficient way of using energy." A hint of disdain colored King Ghidorah's thoughts. "Let me teach you true energy manipulation."

Viserys's original magic had been like rough hemp rope. Now King Ghidorah was unraveling it, restructuring it, and weaving it into fine silk cord. Viserys learned how to compress his magic to increase its power, along with several other magical applications.

He experimented in the cave.

He raised his hand, and a deep red fireball the size of a fist condensed in his palm. Then it shot forward, blasting a scorched crater two meters across into the rock wall.

"You are improving quickly," King Ghidorah remarked. "But you still have far to go."

On the third day, Viserys began strengthening his mental perception.

With his eyes closed, he could "see" the clusters of energy more clearly than before. He could also "see" events taking place farther away than ever. He could even see Westeros, where something cold was awakening in the north.

"That is Night Lion's presence." King Ghidorah's thoughts grew wary. "Your perception is sharper than I expected. That is good, but dangerous as well. Others can sense your probing, too. For now, we had best avoid making contact with them lightly."

"Now try focusing your will to control the little black one," King Ghidorah instructed. "There is no need to speak. This is an advanced application of this world's dragon-tongue magic: becoming one with the dragon."

Viserys concentrated, reaching out to connect with the distant black dragon's consciousness and imagining himself becoming the dragon. When he opened his eyes again, he saw through the black dragon's eyes. He could also give it commands directly, without speaking Valyrian. In truth, this was more like an advanced form of skinchanging; ordinary skinchangers could not control magical creatures.

Back in the present, Viserys absorbed the last trace of energy, rose to his feet, and stretched his limbs.

He seemed to have grown a few centimeters taller, and his muscles had become leaner and more defined. The most obvious change was in his eyes. Deep within his formerly pale violet irises, a faint golden sheen now swirled.

"Very good." Approval filled King Ghidorah's thoughts. "Your physical capabilities are now at least three times what they were. More importantly, your tier of existence has risen, and my essence has altered the nature of your magic. From now on, you have a natural affinity for fire, frost, and gravity."

After taking a moment to feel the changes in his body, Viserys looked at King Ghidorah. "We should leave."

Just then, the massive black dragon, Blackflame, landed outside the cave. Viserys had only just given the dragon that name.

The dragon lowered its head before King Ghidorah and gave a deep rumble, a gesture of submission.

"It remembers my presence." All three of King Ghidorah's heads turned toward the black dragon. "Though I am newly reborn, my essence has not changed. In its simple understanding, I am its 'mother' as well as its king."

Viserys picked King Ghidorah up. Though now the size of a full-grown tiger, the creature was surprisingly light, as though cast from hollow metal.

"When will you be able to fly?"

"I need more time. My wings have yet to develop fully." King Ghidorah folded the pair of thin, membranous wings. "For now, let it carry us back."

Viserys mounted the black dragon's neck and set King Ghidorah on its back. As the black dragon beat its wings and took to the air, the Valyrian Peninsula soon fell away beneath them.

Seen from above, the apocalyptic landscape of the Valyrian Peninsula was still shocking. But Viserys noticed that the distorted magical fields were slowly weakening. King Ghidorah confirmed his observation. "My Nirvana consumed most of the abnormal energy that remained here. With time, this place will gradually return to normal. Of course, that will take years, perhaps even decades. But at least the lethal magical contamination will fade first."

"What does that mean?"

"It means this land can be inhabited again," King Ghidorah replied. "You can establish a new kingdom here without worrying that your subjects will be twisted into monsters by magic."

Something stirred in Viserys's heart, and a plan began to take shape.

After they had flown for a while, Satheryen's Obsidian Castle came into view.

The black dragon caused quite a stir when it landed in the castle courtyard.

Ser Arthur approached with the soldiers. They had spent some time around the black dragon already, and though they held it in awe, they were not terrified. But when Viserys climbed down from its back carrying King Ghidorah, everyone froze.

At first, utter silence fell over the courtyard.

Then came a chorus of gasps.

"Seven above..." A young soldier's spear fell from his hand.

King Ghidorah's three heads turned slowly, six golden eyes sweeping over the crowd. The creature exerted no oppressive aura, yet that innate presence alone made most of them instinctively step back.

"Everyone." Viserys's voice rang out clearly. "Allow me to introduce King Ghidorah, the pinnacle of Valyria's magical civilization, the king among dragons. The Doom did not destroy this creature, who waited in slumber until this day, awakened by my blood-the blood of a Targaryen Dragonlord."

He extended his right hand, palm upward. King Ghidorah's left head lowered while the right head rose, forming the sigil of House Targaryen.

"King Ghidorah has acknowledged me," Viserys continued. "I believe you understand what that means."

Ser Arthur was the first to drop to one knee. "You are the king of the true dragons. There can be no doubt."

Then Ser Alliser and the surviving soldiers knelt throughout the courtyard. Even the remaining members of the Naharis family, after a brief hesitation, chose to kneel and pay homage.