Misunderstanding

The cave was especially quiet at night. The Three-Eyed Crow, who had become one with the weirwood, was asleep.

Leaf and Bingling carefully made their way past the Three-Eyed Crow and reached the deepest part of the cave.

It was pitch-black inside, impossible to see, so the two could only hold up torches and advance slowly.

Ahead of them was an enormous pit, and the white egg was stored at its bottom.

Using vines as ropes, the two slowly descended to the bottom.

This was where the Children of the Forest stored dragonglass. Pieces of all shapes lay piled haphazardly like ornamental rock formations.

Amid the piles of black dragonglass, the white egg stood out.

Leaf picked up the white egg from the ground and cradled it in her arms. It felt cold and utterly lifeless, giving her a bad feeling. "Bingling, this egg has been here for over a hundred years. It might have gone bad."

Bingling placed her hand on the white egg and infused a trace of mana into it, probing for any life remaining inside. But the mana vanished like a stone sinking into the sea, and she could sense no movement.

She maintained that position, continuously pouring mana into the egg in the hope of receiving a response.

A long time passed. Just as the two were about to give up, a faint heartbeat came from inside the egg.

"It's still alive!" Bingling was overjoyed and momentarily forgot to keep her voice down.

Leaf was still worried. "In its current state, how can you guarantee it will hatch successfully? Bingling, are you really going to take this risk?"

Bingling knew the risks too, but she had no other choice now. "Perhaps I can try nourishing this egg with all the mana in my body."

Several hours later.

Carrying Bingling's corpse on her back, Leaf came before the Three-Eyed Crow. "Greenseer!"

The Three-Eyed Crow heard her call, and his consciousness swiftly returned. "Leaf, what happened?"

Leaf could not hide the sorrow on her face. She laid Bingling's body on the ground. "Greenseer, Bingling's consciousness has been outside her body for three days. Just now, her body suddenly lost all signs of life... Greenseer, how could this happen?"

The Three-Eyed Crow remained silent. He could not understand it either. Generally speaking, the death of a Skinchanger's host would not cause the Skinchanger to die.

Then how had Bingling died?

Ever since Luke entered Winterfell, one strange thing had followed another. First, he had inexplicably become unable to "see" Luke, and then Bingling had suddenly passed away.

The Three-Eyed Crow looked at Bingling's corpse and said gravely, "Go and bring Wind Spirit here."

Wind Spirit was another Skinchanger among the Children of the Forest.

Leaf turned and headed out of the cave, relieved, her anxiety finally easing.

Using Gary to draw the Three-Eyed Crow's attention and give Bingling enough time to hatch had been their plan all along.

Now she could only hope Gary would be clever enough not to let Wind Spirit discover that he could use the White Walkers' ice magic.

A month passed.

After this period of recuperation, Gary could finally walk normally again. The tearing sensation in his body was gradually fading too. Everything was taking a turn for the better.

The only thing worrying him was the lack of news from Bingling.

She had clearly promised to come back and see him in a few days, yet a whole month had passed without any sign of her.

In the Training Yard.

Still not fully recovered, Gary could not exercise strenuously. He stood to one side, watching Robb and the others spar.

After a month of inactivity, he felt as though his limbs were about to waste away.

"Starting tomorrow, I should resume my archery training. Hmm, I need to put blade training on the agenda too... As for magic, I'll set that aside for now."

Gary stretched a little, thinking over his next steps.

"Luke! Luke!"

Arya ran up to Gary in a flurry, holding a raven. She raised the raven high and said excitedly, "Luke, your raven is back! It can talk!"

Ravens could mimic speech anyway. There was nothing unusual about that.

Snow walked over just then and spoiled the mood. "Arya, Luke's raven is dead. I even helped him bury it. How could it possibly be the one in your hands?"

Robb raised a hand and smacked the back of Snow's head. "You idiot, Arya is trying to comfort Luke!"

Snow held the back of his head, suddenly understanding. "Oh, is that what she's doing?"

Gary smiled. "It's all right, Arya. You don't have to go to so much trouble..."

"Luke," the raven suddenly spoke.

Everyone fell silent, their gazes turning in unison toward the raven in Arya's hands.

Gary found the voice very familiar. After thinking back for a moment, he asked, "Wind Spirit?"

The raven nodded and broke free of Arya's hands. "Come with me. I have something to tell you."

It flew out of Winterfell first, and Gary hurried after it.

Faced with this scene, the children remained as calm as ever. Only Theon, whom everyone had kept in the dark, looked utterly shocked. "Don't ravens just mimic speech? Why is that raven so strange, as if it has intelligence?"

Robb changed the subject. "Theon, let's keep practicing with our swords."

In a small grove somewhere outside the city.

The raven perched on a branch and looked down at Gary beneath the tree. It asked, "What happened here? Why did Bingling... die?"

"What? Bingling is dead? How could that happen!" Gary cried out involuntarily.

The raven asked in confusion, "You didn't know? Didn't something happen to her in Winterfell?"

Gary blurted out, "That's impossible. She clearly told me..." He stopped, slowly falling silent.

Had Bingling lied that day? Had her consciousness never returned Beyond the Wall? Had she sacrificed her own life to save him instead?

"Are you here to watch me too?" he asked dejectedly.

The raven tilted its head in confusion. "What's wrong? What exactly happened?"

Gary shook his head. "I'm fine. Leave. You don't need to come back. I don't need protection, and I don't want to be watched."

The raven softened its tone and spoke gently. "Luke, we watched you grow up. You're like our own child. How could we not care about you? The Greenseer did send me here to investigate the cause of Bingling's death. But if you don't want to talk, I won't force you."

It flew down to Gary's feet. "I'll always stay with you. Whenever you're willing to talk, you can tell me then."

Gary gritted his teeth. "I don't want to get you hurt. Leave!"

The raven asked anxiously, "Luke? Why would you say that? Is someone trying to hurt you? A human Wizard? Or..."

"Leave!"

A powerful surge of mana erupted from his body, forcibly driving Wind Spirit's consciousness out of the raven.

The raven's original consciousness awoke. Seeing that it was actually at a human's feet, it immediately screeched and flapped its wings, flying swiftly away.

Gary stood alone beneath the tree, grieving silently.

"Bingling... don't worry. I'll keep living and work hard to grow stronger. One day, I'll fulfill your cherished wish. I'll kill the Night's King and free the Children of the Forest from the shackles of fate."

His eyes reddened, and despite himself, a few tears fell.