The deepest part of the dream

Gary and Snow parted ways after breakfast.

Snow went to the Training Yard with Robb and Theon to learn swordsmanship from Ser Kesso.

Gary headed outside the castle alone to practice Archery.

The weather was terrible that day. Dark clouds had covered the sky since morning.

The wind was strong, too, making Gary's practice extremely difficult. His arrows were blown off course before they had flown very far.

He tried a few more shots, but still could not get around the problem.

Left with no other choice, he gave up on his practice for the day.

Boom!

A white flash suddenly streaked through the dark clouds, followed immediately by thunder that resounded across the sky.

It looked as though a torrential downpour was coming.

Gary quickly gathered his things, slung on his quiver and Wooden Bow, and ran back into Winterfell.

The heavy rain arrived as expected, washing over the ancient castle alongside flashes of lightning and peals of thunder.

Inside their room, Gary had just changed out of his drenched clothes when Snow returned.

Having stayed to spar with Robb in the rain a little longer, he was in an even worse state than Gary. Not only were all his clothes soaked through, but his boots were full of water, squelching with every step.

"Luke, it's pouring out there! I'm freezing to death!"

Snow closed the door, then stripped naked without standing on ceremony with Gary. He went bare-bottomed to the wardrobe and put on whatever clothes he found.

"It's so cold, Luke. I'm going to bed first..."

Gary deftly lit the stove. "Come warm yourself first. Get the chill out, or you might catch a cold."

Shivering, Snow came over to the stove and held out his hands to warm them. "Luke, won't I be disturbing you like this? Aren't you practicing Magic today?"

"It's fine. Missing a day of practice won't set me back much." Gary already had something on his mind that day. Without being able to concentrate, his practice would be far less effective anyway.

The two sat chatting by the stove for several hours before going downstairs together for dinner.

At the dinner table.

Arya looked at the pouring rain outside the window and said to Catelyn, "Mother, I want to sleep with you tonight."

Both Catelyn and Eddard were taken aback. She answered, "Arya, you're not a little baby anymore. You need to learn to sleep on your own."

"But the thunder outside is so loud..." Arya protested with a frown.

Catelyn stroked her head and said, "You can sleep with Sansa tonight."

The couple had heard about the quarrel between their daughters. But squabbles between children were perfectly normal, so they had not taken it too seriously, believing it would blow over in a few days.

Arya shook her head in refusal. "No, I don't want to sleep with Sansa."

Sansa let out an angry laugh. "He's only been here a month, and you already like him that much?"

Seeing things heading in the wrong direction, Robb hurriedly gave Gary and Snow a meaningful look.

Snow understood. He took the bewildered Gary with him and quietly left the table to return to their room.

Only after they had gone upstairs did Robb say, "Sansa, this is between you and Arya. Don't drag other people into it."

Sansa felt terribly wronged. Her eyes reddened, and she demanded in a tearful voice, "Robb, you're my brother! Arya is my sister! Why are you all helping an outsider?"

Robb said calmly, "Luke isn't an outsider. His name may not be Stark, but he's still part of House Stark."

"That's right! I like Luke, and I don't like you!" Arya shouted.

Sansa cried even louder, giving Eddard and his wife a considerable headache.

Eddard raised a hand. "Enough, both of you, be quiet! Luke's status hasn't been settled yet. Keep your distance from him. Don't get too close."

Seeing her father stand up for her, Sansa gradually quieted her sobs.

Arya unhappily put down her fork. "I'm full. I'm going upstairs."

She slipped off her wooden chair and ran upstairs without looking back.

"Robb! This is your fault! Is this how you look after your sisters as their eldest brother?" Eddard stood up and reprimanded him in a low voice.

"They're your sisters, not your enemies!"

Seven-year-old Robb flushed red. "Father, Sansa started it! You know Luke is a little stronger than most, but he's never hurt anyone. What danger is there? Why drive him away?"

Eddard cast a discreet glance at Catelyn and said, "Did I ever say I would drive him away? That's all your own speculation! And over these ridiculous guesses, you deliberately gave your own sister the cold shoulder?"

Looking at Eddard's angry face, Robb suddenly understood his painstaking intentions. His father seemed to be scolding him, but his words were actually backing them up!

He immediately admitted his mistake. "I handled it badly. I'll make it up to Sansa properly."

Then he smiled at Sansa. "Sansa, stop crying. Luke keeps a Raven that will talk very soon. You'll definitely like it."

A Raven? Who would like a big, pitch-black bird like that?

Five-year-old Sansa pouted. "I don't like Ravens. I want a different pet."

"All right, what do you want? We'll go catch it for you." Robb sighed in relief and answered with a smile.

Catelyn's face betrayed no emotion, but the loathing in her eyes deepened a little.

Night fell.

The downpour outside showed no sign of stopping, and the clamor of the rain had a magical, sleep-inducing effect.

Lying in bed, Gary recalled the feeling of entering the dream the night before and slowly drifted to sleep...

"Little Gu, want to queue up together?"

"Get lost, you deadweight!"

Inside a college dorm room, several shirtless young men were cursing as they hammered at their keyboards.

Gary floated beside them, looking at his college-aged self and his former roommates.

He could not help marveling. "How amazing. So dreams can be controlled like this?"

He gazed absently at the computer screen, which showed the game he had once loved most. After graduating and entering the working world, however, he had rarely found time to play.

Those were the days...

Gary waved his hand, and time inside the dorm room sped forward. In just a few seconds, several months had passed.

At last, he found the right point in time, and time returned to its normal pace.

This was the very day his good-for-nothing friend had recommended Game of Thrones to him.

"Little Gu, have you watched Game of Thrones?"

"The American show? I don't really watch those."

"Give it a try. It's pretty good."

"No, not interested."

"The female lead shows her tits..."

"After all that crap, just send me the link!"

As the familiar opening music played, Gary, floating off to one side, also fixed his eyes on the computer screen.

His purpose in recreating his memories was, of course, not to look at breasts. He intended to take this opportunity to revisit the plot points he had forgotten and make plans for the future.

Unfortunately, he had only watched the first six seasons.

By the time the last two seasons came out, he had already started working. At first, he had no time to watch them. Later, he heard that the ending was terrible, which left him even less interested in catching up.

While Gary watched episodes of Game of Thrones inside his dream, things were happening in the outside world as well.

Knock, knock, knock.

Woken by the knocking, Snow glanced at the soundly sleeping Gary, then got up to open the door himself.

Outside, Arya stood clutching a pillow, looking pitiful. "Snow, where's Luke?"

"Luke is already asleep. And Arya, it's very late." Snow crouched down and asked, "Why aren't you sleeping? What brings you here?"

Holding her pillow, Arya walked into the room. "The thunder is too loud. I can't sleep."

She looked around, quickly located Gary's bed, and climbed straight onto it, slipping under his blanket.

Snow chuckled, then yawned and reminded her quietly, "Then sleep properly. Don't disturb us."

"Mm, I know." Arya obediently lay beside Gary and waved at Snow. "Good night, Snow."

"Good night."

Snow closed the door and went back to bed.

Gary deliberately increased the playback speed and finally finished the first season after three hours.

"Hmm, I actually missed so many details before. Let me make a proper note of them."

After noting down several key points, he prepared to jump forward in time again to watch the second season...

Bang!

The entire dream began to shake as though an earthquake had struck.

"What's going on? This..."

This had happened before. Back when he was Beyond the Wall, the Three-Eyed Crow had entered his dreams to teach him. One day, the lesson had run too long, and this was what had happened when Aunt Ye shook him awake.

Could someone be moving my bed?

Is it Snow? Or that Raven?

Something was happening outside. To be safe, Gary decided to leave the dream and return to reality...

"Luke, where are we?"

Arya's voice? How could it be in my dream?

Gary stiffly lowered his head and found the adorable Arya clutching the hem of his clothes, looking around in surprise.

"Luke, these people's clothes are so strange. And why could I see my parents when that little box was opened?"

Arya saw Game of Thrones playing on the laptop?

Gary forcibly shut down his memory, and the scenery around them instantly changed, bringing them to the grass outside Winterfell.

He swallowed and asked, "Arya, is that you?"

He did not know how to tell whether this Arya was the real Arya or a false Arya he had inadvertently created.

"It's me, hehe. Luke, you still haven't answered me. What was that little box just now..."

Like an endlessly curious child, Arya floated all around. Finally, she returned to Gary's side and pressed him about the laptop she had just seen.

Gary thought of a simple way to determine whether Arya was real.

He gathered a mass of magical energy in his left hand, taking complete control of the dream, and said, "Arya, I want you to slap yourself."

The entire dream was now under his control. If this Arya was part of the dream, she would certainly be affected as well.

Arya punched Gary and said angrily, "No! I'm not hitting myself. I'm going to hit you!"

Gary was horrified. She was actually unaffected? "You're the real Arya? Then how did you get in here?"

Arya did not answer. Her face full of curiosity, she floated over to Gary's hand and poked the mass of magical energy. "Luke, what's this thing?"

"Don't touch it!"

Gary hurriedly dispersed the magical energy in his hand, but it was already too late.

Under "attack" from outside, the mass of magical energy instantly retaliated.

Bang!

Countless streams of energy poured out, and the entire dream shattered like a mirror.

Gary watched helplessly as the unconscious Arya fell into the endless darkness. Gritting his teeth, he followed her.

Together, they fell into the deepest part of the dream...