Pentos.
Magister Illyrio Mopatis's mansion was as luxurious as ever.
The man, whose physique was as corpulent as a mountain, was uncharacteristically agitated at the moment.
He wasn't lying on his soft couch today; instead, he was pacing anxiously back and forth in his study.
His expensive silk robe clung tightly to his body with sweat, outlining his exaggerated belly.
"Magister, you've been pacing for almost an hour now."
A servant by his side cautiously reminded him.
Because Lynn seemed to strongly disapprove of slavery, upon hearing the news, Illyrio had dismissed all the slaves in his mansion overnight, fearing he might anger Lynn.
"Shut up!"
Illyrio waved his hand impatiently.
Only one word was furiously circling in his mind.
Sugar.
White sugar.
When Jorah Mormont, travel-worn, appeared before him and placed the small silk pouch on his table, he was initially dismissive.
But when he put the powder, whiter than snow, into his mouth, the Magister, who had tasted countless delicacies in the world, completely lost his composure.
It was an extreme sweetness, enough to make one's soul tremble.
Pure, noble, without a trace of impurity.
He instantly understood the terrifying value this thing represented.
The nobles of Westeros would wage war for it!
No, not just Westeros!
Essos, Sothoryos, the entire world would fall into madness for it!
"My Lord, Lord Lynn said..."
Jorah's voice at the time was calm and confident.
"He is willing to lease all your merchant ships in exchange for the exclusive trading rights to this white sugar."
Illyrio's heart skipped a beat at that moment.
He knew this was a business that could change the world's order.
But he also knew it meant a complete break with Meereen and Yunkai.
The fleets of those two city-states had already blockaded the entire Slaver's Bay.
However, just as Lynn had expected.
No merchant could refuse a three hundred percent profit.
Illyrio was not just a competent merchant.
He was also a top-tier speculator.
Illyrio suddenly stopped, and a greedy glint erupted in his small eyes hidden behind layers of fat.
"I will have all my fleets set sail immediately!"
"Go to Lys, Tyrosh, Volantis!"
"Buy up all the grain, iron ore, and cloth on the market for me!"
"Then, transport it all to Astapor!"
"Magister, what about the fleets of Meereen and Yunkai...?"
"Tell them to get lost!"
A ferocious expression appeared on Illyrio's face.
"Tell them if they dare touch one of my ships, Lord Lynn's dragon will burn their cities to glass!"
He didn't believe Lynn would send a dragon for him.
But he understood the principle of a fox borrowing a tiger's might better than anyone... Astapor, mansion.
Lynn's face showed a knowing smile after hearing the news Jorah brought back.
Everything was within his plan.
However, just then, an Unsullied Guards hurried in.
"My Lord."
"Viserys has been apprehended."
He knelt on one knee.
The smile on Lynn's face disappeared; he hadn't had time to deal with Viserys before.
Now that the biggest problem was resolved, it was time to address Viserys's attack on Daenerys.
Lynn nodded.
He turned and walked towards Daenerys's room.
Jorah tried to follow but was stopped by a look from Lynn.
The door was not closed.
Daenerys was sitting by the window, looking at the busy figures outside, lost in thought.
Her profile, in the afterglow of the setting sun, was as beautiful as a painting, yet carried a lingering sense of melancholy.
"I heard."
Lynn walked behind her and gently embraced her.
Daenerys's body trembled slightly, and she rested her head on his chest.
"I'm fine."
Her voice was muffled.
"It's just... a little sad."
"I thought he at least retained a shred of Targaryen dignity."
"But he didn't."
"He's like a mad dog backed into a corner, only wanting to drag everyone down to hell with him."
Lynn didn't offer any words of comfort, only tightened his arms.
"I'm sorry."
Daenerys suddenly looked up, a hint of guilt in her purple eyes.
"If I hadn't been meddlesome, going to find the maester..."
"It's not your fault."
Lynn interrupted her, leaning down to kiss her forehead.
"You're just too kind."
"Kindness is not a weakness, Dany, never."
"But for some incorrigible people, mercy only makes them worse."
Daenerys fell silent.
She knew who Lynn was talking about.
"What do you plan to do with him?" she asked softly.
"Everyone must pay the price for their mistakes."
"Death is Viserys's final destination."
Lynn's answer was simple and direct.
Daenerys's body stiffened.
She had anticipated this outcome, but hearing it firsthand, her heart still felt squeezed by an invisible hand.
"I understand."
She closed her eyes, burying her face deeper.
"I just... don't want to see his hateful face again."
"Alright."
Lynn looked at her.
"Then let him make his final contribution to House Targaryen."
That night.
The Plaza of Punishment.
Torches illuminated the entire plaza as if it were daytime.
The Unsullied, fully armed, stood silently around the plaza, forming an impenetrable wall of humanity.
Their faces were devoid of any expression.
In the center of the plaza, a tall wooden platform had been hastily erected.
Viserys was firmly held down on the platform by two Unsullied.
His hands were broken, and his mouth was gagged, so he could only emit desperate whimpers from his throat.
He looked at the object lying quietly on a velvet cushion at his feet.
A dragon egg.
It was entirely black, covered with intricate dark red patterns, as if magma slowly flowed within it.
Viserys's pupils suddenly constricted.
He instantly understood what Lynn intended to do.
He began to struggle frantically, his pale purple eyes filled with pleading.
Lynn didn't look at him.
His gaze fell on Daenerys beside him.
Daenerys had changed into a black gown, her silver-gold hair fluttering in the night wind.
Her face was expressionless; she just quietly watched her brother, who was writhing on the wooden platform, already looking inhuman.
"Some say that only death can repay life."
Lynn's voice echoed in the silent plaza.
"Others say that only life can buy life."
"Today, we shall verify an ancient prophecy."
After he finished speaking, he drew a dagger from his waist.
It was not longclaw, but a dagger polished from dragonglass, completely black, emitting a faint chill.
Step by step, he ascended the wooden platform.
Viserys's struggles grew more violent.
Lynn knelt down and pulled the cloth from his mouth.
"No! You can't do this to me!"
Viserys's scream pierced the night sky.
"I am the true Dragon!"
"My blood is noble!"
"You cannot use it for such a filthy ritual!"
"I am your King!"
"Dany! Save me! Save me!"
Daenerys merely looked at him coldly, without a word.
"True Dragon?"
Lynn smiled.
Lynn gripped Viserys's chin and placed the edge of the dragonglass dagger against his neck.
"A dragon who would betray his own sister, who cannot even control his own emotions?"
"You are not a dragon, Viserys."
"You are just a talking bug."
Having said that, Lynn no longer hesitated.
His hand moved, the blade fell.
Pfft—!
The sharp dragonglass easily slit Viserys's throat.
Hot blood gushed out like a fountain.
Viserys's eyes widened.
The light of life rapidly faded from his pupils.
Lynn grabbed his hair and aimed his neck at the black dragon egg.
"By the blood of the King, I call upon your spirit!"
The hot Targaryen blood poured entirely onto the cold dragon egg.
A miraculous scene unfolded.
The black dragon egg, upon contact with the blood, had its dark red patterns begin to glow faintly.
It was as if a dry riverbed was being re-infused with the water of life.
The entire dragon egg began to tremble gently.
But that was not enough.
Lynn looked up at the sky.
Winter was already circling overhead, its three massive heads curiously looking down at everything below.
"Winter!"
Lynn let out a call.
"Dracarys!"
Winter let out a low roar.
It took a deep breath.
The next second, scorching dragonfire descended from the sky, precisely enveloping the glowing and heating dragon egg.
King's blood and dragon's breath.
Crack—
A sound like the breaking of all creation echoed in the silent plaza.
A crack appeared on the surface of the black dragon egg.
Then came the second, the third... countless cracks, like a spider web, rapidly spread.
Boom!
The eggshell shattered completely.
A hatchling dragon, entirely black with only its spine and the edges of its wings adorned with an eerie blood-red, poked its head out of the broken eggshell.
It shook off the viscous liquid on its body and curiously surveyed this new world.
When its gaze met Lynn's eyes, it let out a clear cry, filled with filial affection.
"Screech—!"
It took shaky steps with its tender limbs, wobbled to Lynn's feet, and affectionately rubbed its small head against his boots.
In the plaza, eight thousand Unsullied, after a brief moment of dead silence, unanimously knelt on one knee.
They raised their spears, offering their most fervent respect to Lynn with synchronized thuds!
You have killed Viserys Targaryen, experience +0.2
Lynn ignored the system prompt in his mind.
His gaze, passing over the newborn hatchling, fell upon Daenerys.
Daenerys's face was already wet with tears.
She looked at the newborn black dragon, a mix of emotions in her heart.
The old Targaryen, with the draining of Viserys's blood, was dead.
And the new Targaryen would be reborn from these ruins of blood and fire.
"Grey Worm."
Lynn's voice rang out.
"Yes, My Lord."
"Cut off his head, and preserve it with lime and spices."
Lynn glanced at Viserys's still-warm corpse.
"I will need to take it with me when I return to Westeros."
He bent down and picked up the black hatchling that was constantly rubbing against him.
The little one was light, but its body was warm.
Lynn looked at its golden eyes, like molten lava, and suddenly smiled.
"From now on, you shall be called Night Fury."
Lynn, holding the hatchling named Night Fury, walked down the platform and approached Daenerys.
"Do you like it?"
Lynn held the hatchling out to her.
"It will be with you from now on."
Daenerys extended a slightly trembling hand and gently stroked Night Fury's smooth and warm scales.
The hatchling purred contentedly.
She looked up at Lynn's eyes, which seemed particularly deep in the firelight, and nodded vigorously.