The strange "egg"

The North, Sea Dragon Point Peninsula, Crystal's Scar, castle laboratory.

Inside a massive crystal prism, a mass of black, viscous matter writhed in a Dragonglass culture solution. It looked like a lump of tumorous flesh. From time to time, strands of black, threadlike material emerged from its body and probed the Dragonglass walls, seemingly searching for a way out.

Near the Dragonglass prism, Maester Albert was writing something with a quill. Two or three meters away stood another man: none other than "Eel" Ralf, the head of Eddard's Alchemy Workshop.

At that moment, "Eel" Ralf was casting magic with a piece of Fire Dragonglass in his hand. Guided by his mental power, waves of scorching heat erupted around his body.

Recently, "Eel" Ralf had been using his Demon Child bloodline to cast a summoning spell capable of summoning a Magma Demon. This was a new ability he had awakened after becoming fully familiar with his bloodline.

With the aid of the Children of the Forest's pure, eternal souls, Ralf intended to summon a demon from another world through the principle of equivalent exchange. This was also Eddard's exploratory experiment in demon summoning. If Ralf succeeded, the bloodline wizards serving Eddard would gain another means of fighting in the future.

Boom...

With a surge of scorching energy, a monster resembling a mass of magma appeared near "Eel" Ralf. The Dragonglass in his hand crumbled to dust as the magma appeared.

"Woo..."

Strange, mournful cries suddenly came from the magma monster's body. The monster had no fixed shape or facial features, but after sensing Ralf's form, it began transforming into a human shape. Before long, a fiery creature resembling a twisted Evil Spirit appeared before him.

Sensing "Eel" Ralf's movements, Eddard and Maester Albert stopped their work. Behind them, the black mass also underwent certain changes upon witnessing this, seemingly responding to the creature's appearance.

"Woo..."

Sensing the black mass's reaction, the magma monster let out a series of strange whimpers, seemingly afraid of the lump of flesh behind Eddard and the others. After sensing the magma monster's fear, the lump inside the Dragonglass Pillar slowly returned to normal and even stopped probing the crystal pillar.

"Woo..."

Once the magma monster sensed that the other creature posed no threat, it too returned to normal and began hissing at "Eel" Ralf, seemingly trying to ingratiate itself with him.

"Eel" Ralf instinctively reached out to touch the magma monster. As he extended his hand, the strange creature gradually merged into his body. Its entry brought abnormal changes to Ralf's body: cracks appeared across his skin, as though scorching lava and flames were about to burst out through it.

"This power is incredible! I feel as though I could even melt steel now. This feels wonderful."

"That's only an illusion. It's a particular sensation caused by uncontrollable demonic power entering your body, an effect of demons' chaotic blood. It's precisely this strange condition that keeps those creatures in a constant state of chaos and slaughter. Remember this feeling, and don't let it control you."

In response to "Eel" Ralf's excited words, Eddard offered a direct explanation to keep him from losing himself in his power. Magma Demons ranked slightly above Demon Children, but the creature Ralf had summoned was considerably weaker, not even as strong as Ralf himself.

"Yes,

Lord Eddard, I'll keep working hard. I believe I can break free of my bloodline's shackles and become something stronger." Both "Eel" Ralf and "Housecat" Bran had considerable talent. As the first subordinates to undergo the procedure, their power had continued to grow. "Eel" Ralf's demonic bloodline, in particular, was already showing faint signs of an impending breakthrough, something extremely rare even among demons. Perhaps once his bloodline had fully merged with his body, he would have more opportunities to advance. This summoning experiment had been arranged for that very purpose.

"Good. Keep at it! You'll certainly grow stronger and stronger."

After exchanging these words with "Eel" Ralf, Eddard turned with Maester Albert toward the strange lump of flesh behind them. Maester Albert recorded certain data and observations on paper. The interaction between the Magma Demon and this strange mass of flesh, in particular, had made him appreciate this peculiar creature's unusual qualities.

"A strange organism suspected of being connected to the Drowned God. Possesses certain characteristics of an octopus and seems capable of altering its bodily tissues..."

While Maester Albert took notes, Eddard silently observed the strange lump's movements beside him. This was the peculiar stone egg he had obtained from "Sea Lion" Alan Farwynd.

Ever since obtaining it, Eddard had been studying it, hoping to find clues connected to the Drowned God. After placing it inside the Dragonglass prism, Eddard had used blood to cultivate the egg, because it had seemed very interested in blood during his glimpse back through time.

The experiment's results had indeed matched Eddard's expectations. After being nourished with fresh blood, the damned thing had suddenly reacted and then taken on its present appearance. Eddard had subsequently tested the lump's reactions with all kinds of blood. After absorbing those different kinds of blood, it had grown larger and larger. Now it was about the size of a yoga ball, and even Eddard's Golden Eye could not discern its true nature.

"All right, that'll do, Maester. Let's try to find out what this damned thing is!"

Crack...

At Eddard's command, Maester Albert broke an opening in the Dragonglass prism. As the opening appeared and the culture solution drained away, the black lump reacted. It extended several tendrils to probe the gap, then poured out through it like modeling clay being squeezed.

"Hiss..."

Upon touching the layer of Dragonglass on the floor, the black mass gave a strange, low cry. Then, like the substance in a Pharaoh's Snake experiment, it began growing wildly. Before long, the enormous black mass had reached the top of the wall.

"Hiss..."

Realizing something was wrong, Maester Albert and "Eel" Ralf rushed in front of Eddard. Flames rose from their hands as though they had been set alight.

At the sight of the flames, the lump let out low cries of fear. Points of firelight reflected by the Dragonglass struck the monster like laser beams. These beams seemed to be its natural enemy. Beneath their light, the monster's body contracted repeatedly, seemingly resisting the damage it had just suffered.

Snap...

"Hiss..."

Noticing this, Eddard snapped his fingers. At the sound, numerous protrusions appeared on the laboratory's Dragonglass walls. Under the influence of these protruding Dragonglass Pillars, the refracted beams of firelight scattered in every direction, piercing straight through the monster's body.

Fear and pain filled the monster's hissing. Its body then twisted and shriveled, losing all the terror and might it had possessed at first. When it stopped shrinking, a strange lump of flesh roughly the size of a human remained somewhere the beams could not reach.

"Hiss..."

Just then, low cries rang out, filled with appeasement and pleas for mercy. Eddard had "Eel" Ralf and Maester Albert lower the flames in their hands. Once the beams of firelight disappeared, the glass lamps used for illumination produced no such beams, nor did their light fall directly on the monster's body, giving it a little respite.

"You can understand what I'm saying, can't you? Lower your defenses and accept my power. I can give you a chance to live."

After hearing Eddard's command, the monster struggled briefly, seemingly torn over whether to obey. But Eddard gave it no time to think. He summoned several mirrors directly onto the crystal walls, and dense beams of light instantly hemmed the monster in.

"Hiss..."

Punished by Eddard, the monster let out a painful wail, its hissing filled with pleas for mercy. Once Eddard sensed that it had opened its mental defenses, he used the Golden Eye to pull it into the Dream World. This strange organism was a creature of pure energy. Once inside the Dream World, it could be analyzed by the White Holy Tree-or directly modified.

As Eddard entered the Dream World, a chair made of Dragonglass appeared beneath him, catching his falling body. Such precise control drew repeated exclamations of wonder from Maester Albert and "Eel" Ralf.

"Whew..."

After entering the Dream World, Eddard's body seemed to be liberated. It instantly grew larger, and the tentacled demonic eyes on his head began attacking the monster that had just entered the Dream World.

"Hiss..."

Sensing Eddard's terrifying "true form," the monster immediately began screeching as though begging for mercy. Its body kept shrinking back, but an invisible force field held it in place.

Boom...

Just then, the monster seemed to suffer some kind of provocation and erupted. Immediately afterward, an oppressive presence bearing terrifying power appeared within the Dream World.

It was a horrifying monster made of tumorous flesh, eyes, and tentacles, without a single superfluous organ anywhere on its body. It looked utterly disgusting, though Eddard was hardly any better. With the monster's appearance, it also occupied a considerable portion of the Dream World's ocean.

"So you couldn't hold back after all? Should I call you the Old Gods, the Drowned God, or perhaps the Cold God?"

"Foolish... mortal... go... kill... death..."

Following Eddard's words, intermittent mental messages appeared within the dream space. Yet the messages that appeared this time could not be pieced together into anything complete.

Ever since learning of the grievances between the Lord of Light and the Cold God, Eddard had been pondering the Cold God's identity. Through this series of deductions, he had arrived at a bold conjecture: the concept of a trinity, or rather, multiple beings in one. The ancient, long-standing Taoist tradition of China had a saying: "One qi transforms into the Three Pure Ones."

Thus, after considering the identities of the gods manifested in this world and combining this with certain memories of the Lord of Light, Eddard had arrived at a bold theory: most of this world's gods were actually parts of the two beings known as the Lord of Light and the Cold God.

Thinking it over carefully now, it was not without reason. The Old Gods, the Drowned God, the Cold God, the Lady of the Waves, the Lord of Storms, and the Lord of the Skies were all connected, to varying degrees, to the deity of the dark side. Meanwhile, on Essos, where the Lord of Light resided, the former Faith of the Seven, the Many-Faced God, Mother Rhoyne, and the Lord of Light himself were all connected, to varying degrees, to the deity of the light side.

The very reason Eddard had brought the lump of flesh into the Dream World was to lure this being out through it. Whoever it was, as long as there was something to gain, Eddard wanted to try. At present, Eddard could already be considered to have reached an agreement with the Lord of Light, so there was nothing to fear in dealing with this being. Whatever happened, he would have to confront it sooner or later.

"Then let's see whether you have what it takes to deal with me!"

After dodging its attack, Eddard immediately launched an attack of his own. This world had been born from him and could be called a part of him. Moreover, after obtaining the powers of demons, the Heart Tree, and Dragonglass, Eddard's control over these powers had grown increasingly strong.

At Eddard's command, all the power within the Dream World was mobilized. At the same time, the Drowned God's power manifested as well. Under his control, the Dream World's ocean surged into towering waves, their terrifying force seeming ready to destroy the entire world.

Eddard, who had gathered three powers within himself, completely released his body's restrictions and expanded it without limit, forcibly withstanding the attack through physical strength alone.

Afterward, Eddard used his tentacled demonic eyes to trap the mass of flesh within the ocean, then channeled all his power toward the Dragonglass side. Stimulated by this, the Dragonglass grew wildly and soon sealed the monster away.

The power of Dragonglass was sealing and corrosion. Stimulated by the other two powers, the Dragonglass grew wildly, soon trapping the monster that represented the ocean. Watching the surrounding ocean region turn entirely to crystal, Eddard finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just wait for my world to assimilate you! You're destined to become a part of me, unknown god-or should I say, Your Divinity, the Drowned God!"