Consequences

Inside Snow's room in Winterfell's Main Castle.

Under everyone's gaze, the enormous ice egg slowly cracked, then rapidly melted and evaporated, revealing the wooden bed encased within.

The two on the bed slept in each other's arms, seemingly still deep asleep, completely unaffected by the world outside.

Robb came to the bedside and called softly, "Arya?"

Arya happened to wake just then. She looked at Robb in confusion. "You're Robb? I'm back! Luke, we're back!"

Gary opened his eyes and smiled. "Arya, those were only dreams. You don't need to take them so seriously."

Arya couldn't understand the language of the country in the dream and had been a mere bystander the entire time. But that hadn't stopped her from admiring its beautiful foreign architecture and stunning foreign martial arts.

Seeing that the crisis had passed, Snow relaxed as well. He teased them with a smile. "You two had a lovely dream, but you certainly put the rest of us through a lot."

Gary sat up and asked, "Did something happen?"

Robb explained briefly, "You slept for an entire day and night. Mother thought Arya had gone missing and is searching the castle. If Mother finds Arya here, she'll definitely think Luke deliberately hid her."

He instructed Arya, "Arya, go downstairs and find Mother yourself right now. Just say... say you fell asleep hiding in a wardrobe and only just woke up."

Arya also knew that her mother disliked Gary. "Yes, I understand."

She got out of bed, put on her boots, and ran out of Snow's room.

The way Sansa looked at Gary had changed, from her former fear to her present awe. After all, he was a Wizard out of legend! A living, breathing Wizard who could use ice magic!

But whenever she remembered how she had targeted Gary before, she felt too embarrassed to remain in the room.

"I... I'll go check on Arya."

"Wait, Sansa." Robb stopped her. "Now that you know about Luke, there are some things you'd better not tell Mother."

Sansa blushed. "I understand. You... all don't need to worry."

Snow added with a serious expression, "And Father. Yes, and Theon. You can't tell either of them."

"Yes, I'll keep this secret safe." Sansa suddenly felt that at this moment, she too had become part of the "Wizard squad," and her spirits lifted considerably.

Over the past month, she had felt terribly lonely and sad because Robb and Arya had deliberately given her the cold shoulder. In truth, she had long wanted to make up with them and rejoin their little group.

Now that the opportunity was right before her, she naturally couldn't let it slip away.

Robb knew nothing of Sansa's thoughts and feared she would ruin things. So he decided to go with Sansa to keep an eye on Arya. "Snow, stay here and explain things to Luke. I'll go downstairs with Sansa. Hopefully, we can dispel Mother's suspicions."

And so the two of them left the room as well.

Snow, who stayed behind, began explaining the situation to Gary, starting with Arya's sudden arrival the night before, then the ice egg that had inexplicably appeared that morning, and finally the attention Arya's disappearance had attracted.

Last came the ice egg melting away and Gary and Arya waking up.

An ice egg?

Could it be some sort of self-defense mechanism?

Gary hadn't expected things outside to have been just as eventful.

Just then, the Raven, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke. "Human hatchling named Snow, you should leave as well. Luke and I have something to discuss. Please give us some space."

"Oh." Snow scratched his head in confusion. Strange, the Raven's tone didn't sound like that of Luke's pet. Rather, it sounded like one of Luke's elders.

He closed the door for the human and the Raven inside, then stood waiting in the corridor.

The Raven said gravely, "Luke, I fought the White Walkers thousands of years ago. No one understands the White Walkers better than we Children of the Forest do."

The Raven paused, then flew to the head of the bed. "There is no mistaking it. This cold, sinister ice magic within you is the White Walkers' power."

Gary was inwardly alarmed and gave an awkward laugh. "Bingling, could you have made a mistake?"

He wanted to keep explaining, but a ringing suddenly filled his ears, making him feel intensely uncomfortable.

"Buzzz..."

Gary immediately felt dizzy, and warm liquid trickled from his eyes and nostrils...

What was happening?

He could see the Raven's beak moving but couldn't hear the voice.

"Luke, what's wrong? Why are your eyes, nose, and ears all bleeding?"

Gary wiped some of the liquid from his eyes and held it up to look. His hand was covered in a red, sticky liquid. Blood?

"Urgh!"

He vomited a large mouthful of blood, instantly staining the brown blanket red.

"Luke!" the Raven called anxiously, but Gary couldn't hear.

Gary felt weak all over, his muscles limp and his bones aching sharply. His brain felt as though it were about to burst, painfully swollen.

He couldn't help worrying that his head might actually explode.

"Urrgh!"

He vomited another large mouthful of blood. This time, there were actually tiny fragments of internal organs in it.

Sensing that something was terribly wrong, the Raven hurriedly called Snow in from outside and told him to find someone to help at once.

Gary's vision went black, and he lost consciousness completely.

A full three days passed before Gary regained consciousness and woke up.

He lay alone beneath an enormous Weirwood. No one else was nearby, only a Raven perched on one of its branches.

Beside the Weirwood was a hot spring, its billowing white steam making the place seem like a fairyland.

"You're awake?" The Raven looked listless, seemingly exhausted.

Gary felt the Weirwood beside him releasing an invisible warmth that eased his pain. "Bingling? Is this... Winterfell's Godswood?"

In the northwestern corner of Winterfell stood a freely growing wood known as the Godswood. Its dense vegetation formed a broad canopy that blocked out the sunlight.

In the southeastern part of the Godswood stood a very thick Weirwood, still bearing a face carved by the Children of the Forest.

This tree was older than Winterfell itself. It had taken root here long before House Stark built the castle.

Most people in the North were descendants of the First Men, and, like the Children of the Forest, they worshipped the Old Gods. The other six kingdoms worshipped the Seven.

That was why Winterfell had always preserved its Godswood, along with this Heart Tree-a Weirwood with a carved face.

The Raven flew to Gary's side with great difficulty and almost failed to keep its footing. "Luke, what on earth did you do? Your entire body looked as though it had been crushed by an enormous surge of mana. Not a single part was unharmed. If Winterfell hadn't had a Heart Tree whose power I could draw on to heal you, you'd have been cold and dead long ago!"

It was that serious?

Gary stood up. Though he still felt somewhat weak, he felt much better overall.

The Raven said wearily, "You'll have to manage the rest of your recovery yourself. I'm exhausted and will probably need to rest for a while. This Raven can't withstand the Heart Tree's mana. Once I leave it, it will die. Don't worry yourself over it. I'm fine."

"Are you really all right? Bingling, you mustn't lie to me." Gary was filled with regret. If he hadn't behaved so recklessly in the dream, he wouldn't have dragged Bingling into this.

The Raven continued, "I'm fine. You don't need to worry. But you... I must remind you that you cannot use magic until your body has fully recovered. Otherwise, if your old injuries flare up and your body collapses, not even the gods will be able to save you."

No using magic? So that meant no using mana.

Hearing this, Gary understood how serious the situation was. He had clearly been so cautious before, yet after letting himself go just once, he hadn't expected...

"Bingling, my magic..."

Knowing what he wanted to say, the Raven interrupted him. "Don't worry. For now, I won't mention to anyone else that you can use the White Walkers' ice magic. But you must also know your limits. Don't immerse yourself too deeply in this power. Otherwise, you really will become a White Walker."

Gary hesitated to speak. If, like the White Walkers, he used the Other God's energy as his source of mana, he might truly become the Other God's servant.

Fortunately, his source of mana was the Mysterious Crystal, so he had no such concern.

After turning it over in his mind, he ultimately still didn't tell Bingling about the Mysterious Crystal.

The Raven seemed unable to hold on any longer and slumped straight to the ground. Its neck drooped weakly. "I've spent three days channeling mana into you without sleep or rest. I'm truly exhausted now. Luke, take care of yourself. I'll come find you again after a while."

"Get some proper rest. I'll be fine." Gary waved goodbye.

The Raven gave him a long look. "Remember what I told you!"

"Yes." Gary nodded in agreement.

After receiving his answer, the Raven slowly closed its eyes and passed away peacefully.

Today is the last day of 2021. Wishing everyone abundant blessings and the fulfillment of all your wishes in 2022!