"Viserys. Targaryen, you are finally here. Welcome to my 'throne', which is also my 'cage', and you, the beautiful His Highness Daenerys Princess."
Brynden's voice was not transmitted through the spirit before, but came directly from the withered lips. It sounded hoarse and dry, as if two rough stones were being rubbed together.
He raised a hand with great effort, pointed at two relatively flat stone piers next to him, and said, "Two of you, please sit down. Time is running out. The wind and snow outside are intensifying. That is a precursor to Cold God's anger."
Viserys sat down directly as instructed, while Daenerys stood aside hesitantly, looking at the dried corpses with a worried expression. She didn't know what kind of person was willing to stay with these bones all the time.
Viserys noticed Little Sister's discomfort, gently patted the back of her hand to signal her to relax, and then pulled her to sit next to him.
The face half embedded in the roots of the tree said, "Viserys, we have met twice before, but this is the first time we have really met. The first time I met you was in your dream. At that time, you were only six years old. You stayed in King's Landing's Red Keep and didn't understand anything. But at that time, your mouth was already very powerful."
"The second time was at Haunted Forest. You took Dark Sister from Children of the Forest, but I was busy avoiding Night's King's pursuit and couldn't really meet you. In the end, I only let an incarnation of Three-Eyed Crow deal with you, and it was burned to death by your King Ghidorah."
"This is the third time. This time you took the initiative to come to me. It seems that you are ready to talk to me."
Viserys looked straight at Brynden, interrupted him straight to the point, and said, "Brynden, I'm not here to catch up with you this time, so don't say any unnecessary words. I'm here to see Horn of Winter. Is it in your hands?"
Brynden's remaining red eyes narrowed slightly, and he couldn't help but make an ugly arc at the corner of his mouth, saying, "Horn of Winter is indeed here with me, but do you think I will hand it over to you easily? Especially when you are followed by four Dragons, and an aura that makes even me shudder."
"If you really don't want to give it to me, why would you bother to find the remaining spiritual consciousness of Old Gods? I'm not here to ask for it this time, I'm here to exchange it."
Viserys said, "I know you are using those Old Gods, and they are also using you. What they want now is to maintain balance, and to make this long war last forever, so as to gain faith and strength, rather than really ending them."
"I am just what they want to push out, a being who can defeat Night's King in this life. They are also using Lord of Light and Cold God to use war to perfect the power of faith that they previously despised, and then regain their lives. As for how many people will die during this period, they don't care at all, but I am different. I want to end it all."
Viserys paused, tightened Daenerys's hand, and continued, "I can help you cut off the connection with Old Gods, and even free you from the shackles of this tree. In exchange, you only need to give Horn of Winter to me."
Brynden was silent for a long time after listening to Viserys's words. His eyes wandered back and forth on the faces of Viserys and Daenerys. Finally, he let out a long sigh, and the voice was full of endless sadness.
"Relief..."
He murmured to himself, a trace of longing flashed in his eyes, but was soon replaced by calmness, and said, "Child, you are too naive. Do you think you can gain freedom by cutting off the connection between me and this Weirwood tree? On this tree, I saw the past, the present, and countless possible futures."
"I also know the weaknesses of Cold God and Night's King, as well as the conspiracy of Old Gods, and even some of Lord of Light's plans, but I also know that there are some results you want, and the price is something you can't afford."
"So, I can't let you take away Horn." Greenseer finally said.
"Why?" Viserys couldn't help but stand up. Now he even wanted to let King Ghidorah kill this Weirwood directly, but he was just afraid that once Horn of Winter was destroyed, Wall would collapse with it. After all, no one had ever used it before.
"Because it is the key to the collapse of Wall, and Wall is the last line of defense to prevent Others from going south."
Brynden, or Greenseer's voice suddenly became very slow, each word seemed to be squeezed out from the depths of the tree roots, and said, "Take Horn away, if it accidentally falls to In Others's hands, Wall will collapse. If you leave it with me, I can ask Children of the Forest to hide it, somewhere Others will never find it."
"But how long can you hide?"
Viserys said, "Others probably knows you are here now. They will set up a blockade outside. Although your barrier can block them, it can't block them for long. Once you are Night's King Mark it and it will find you, and Horn will also fall into its hands. You know, I will not let this thing stay in Beyond the Wall. The best choice is to take it south of Wall."
Greenseer did not answer immediately. He stared at Viserys with his one eye. After a while, he continued to speak and said, "Yes, you are right. Night's King is indeed looking for me, but you also know that I have found a new heir."
"Bran. Stark has accepted part of my inheritance in Winterfell. When he comes here to inherit all my inheritance, and when his power is strong enough, he can succeed me and become the new Greenseer. At that time, Horn will continue to be guarded by him."
"Bran is still in Winterfell. His leg injury also prevents him from moving freely. He doesn't even have a chance to cross Wall now, and Night's King is already searching for you." Viserys said, "Do you think you can survive until Bran grows up?"
Greenseer was silent again, and only the shimmering light of the luminous moss was left in the cave. The Three-Eyed Crow would occasionally make a low hoarse cry when it was not controlled by Greenseer.
"So you're not here just for Horn." Greenseer finally spoke.
"Yes." Viserys said in a calm tone, "Give me Horn, and I will help you solve the Others blockade outside first, so that you have enough time to hand over the complete inheritance to Bran."
"I can even leave you a road in the south. If things really come to a worst, you can retreat to Winterfell. There are also many ancient Weirwood there, as well as the Bran you want."