Do gods exist?

Leaf stood alone before the Weirwood.

"Greenseer, Luke is still young. Besides, we haven't taught him any way to protect himself over the years. All he has is brute strength. He'll have a hard time surviving south of the Wall, where people's hearts are so complicated..."

The Three-Eyed Crow opened his eyes and said calmly, "Don't forget, this is the front line of the war. For him, it's safer south of the Wall."

He stroked the scar on his chest, puzzled. Why had the wound that had ached for twelve years suddenly stopped hurting?

Had the magic lingering in the scar disappeared?

Leaf was still a little worried. "But..."

"Don't worry. I've already made arrangements to ensure he'll never lack food or clothing for the rest of his life." The Three-Eyed Crow interrupted Leaf, then continued:

"Our mission is to stop the White Walkers from crossing the Wall. The survival of every living creature in Westeros is at stake. When necessary, anyone can be sacrificed, including you and me. You must not let personal feelings interfere with our work."

Leaf's brow furrowed deeply. She knew her own fate all too well and could only yield.

At the first faint light of dawn, Gary woke drenched in sweat, as though he had broken free of a nightmare. He stared blankly at his hands, dazed.

His left eye had returned to its usual pale blue, as though that glimmer of green had never appeared.

"Look, he's awake."

"Luke, did you have a nightmare?"

Several Children of the Forest sat around Gary, all watching him with concern.

"I did, but luckily, none of it was real." Gary wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and chuckled.

"Huh? Where's Aunt Leaf?"

One of the smaller Children of the Forest answered in a soft voice, "Leaf went to get something. I'll go hurry her along for you." Without waiting for Gary's reply, she skipped away.

Gary seemed preoccupied. He pushed aside the hay covering him and told the Children of the Forest around him, "I'm going to see my teacher. I'll be right back."

With that, he got up and left.

The Children of the Forest left behind could not help exchanging glances.

"What's wrong with Luke? He looks like he's afraid of something."

"Shuizhu, was there something wrong with that soup you made earlier? Is that why Luke felt unwell after drinking it?"

"Nonsense! How could it..."

Out of concern for Gary, the Children of the Forest suddenly began bickering.

Before the Weirwood, the Three-Eyed Crow was "sleeping" as usual.

He was not truly asleep; only his body was resting. His consciousness had long since wandered far away, deep into the Lands of Always Winter, secretly monitoring the White Walkers' every move.

"Teacher..."

Faintly hearing Gary calling him, the Three-Eyed Crow drew his consciousness back and slowly opened his eyes.

Seeing that the Three-Eyed Crow was awake, Gary hurried forward to ask his questions, but did not know how to begin.

Seeing this, the Three-Eyed Crow could only reassure him. "What do you want to ask? Gather your thoughts. There's no hurry."

"Teacher, do gods really exist?" Gary thought for a while before asking.

The Three-Eyed Crow fell silent for a moment, then asked in return, "Why do you ask?"

Gary did not answer him. Instead, he continued, "You worship the Old Gods, most people south of the Wall worship the Seven, and the people of Essos worship the Lord of Light. Do the White Walkers have a god of their own, then? The Other God, for instance?"

The Three-Eyed Crow's expression changed drastically, turning extremely grim. "Where did you hear about the Other God? Who told you?"

Of course, he had heard it from a priest who served the Lord of Light in the television series Game of Thrones.

Naturally, Gary could not answer that way, so he could only make something up. "I just said it offhand... Teacher, have you ever seen a god? If gods exist, why have they never appeared before humans? If gods don't exist, where does magic come from?"

"Enough!" The Three-Eyed Crow flew into a rage and snapped, "I'll pretend I never heard any of that. Get out!"

Gary froze for a moment. He saw utter loathing in the Three-Eyed Crow's eyes, and perhaps... a trace of fear.

It seemed that even after all these years, the Three-Eyed Crow had still not let down his guard against Gary. It was as though, in his eyes, Gary was still that King of the White Walkers.

Yet after twelve years together, Gary had actually begun to sense, however vaguely, that the Three-Eyed Crow was extremely wary of him.

The "good teacher and trusted friend" he was in everyday life was nothing but a false disguise.

That was precisely why Gary had chosen not to reveal his identity as a "transmigrator" to the Three-Eyed Crow.

But even so.

He still felt grateful to the Three-Eyed Crow. Not only because the Three-Eyed Crow had once saved him, but also for all those years of teaching.

Without the Three-Eyed Crow's arrangements, Leaf would not have raised him for twelve years, and he would never have met so many adorable Children of the Forest.

Gary said no more and turned to leave.

He wandered outside the cave and stood in the snow, pondering as the cold wind blew over him. Since the Three-Eyed Crow had given him no answers, he could only think it through himself.

Did gods actually exist?

Looking at the plot of Game of Thrones as a whole, miracles such as resurrecting the dead and foretelling the future had indeed occurred. Yet not a single shot had ever clearly shown a god.

The existence of gods had always been vague and elusive.

Yet both last night's nightmare and the Three-Eyed Crow's loss of composure just now had indirectly corroborated their existence.

Perhaps his dream really was another life of his. Had he been deceived by an unfamiliar god and become his accomplice in destroying the world?

That god who controlled the White Walkers... he was probably the Other God mentioned by the Lord of Light in Game of Thrones, wasn't he?

The Other God, the Seven, the Lord of Light, the Many-Faced God... if these gods really existed, why couldn't they appear in the mortal world?

Could there be some sort of agreement between them?

In Game of Thrones, the Lord of Light seemed to be a relatively righteous god. If he could find him, perhaps he would have a way to send him home.

Gary shook his head and immediately rejected the idea. As the saying went, once bitten, twice shy. The Other God's lies still echoed in his ears, forcing him to abandon that option.

Right, shouldn't his most urgent task be figuring out just what that Green Crystal was? Something even a god would seize by force had to be a rare treasure.

If it could bring him across worlds, perhaps it could send him back, too?

Gary had learned from the dream that the Green Crystal had not shattered twelve years ago. Its true form was hidden somewhere inside his body.

But how was he supposed to find it? Was he supposed to do what the Other God had done in his dream, cut himself open first, and search carefully through his insides?

Forget it. He wasn't a god. He had no way to bring himself back to life.