The comforting, limitless heat rushed back into his veins. His absolute immunity to fire returned, settling over his skin like a warm blanket.
Alaric backed away from the glowing green crack in the floor. He stepped out through the shattered main doors and down the stone steps into the open courtyard, putting distance between himself and the collapsing hall. His six Blood Knights moved smoothly with him, keeping their heavy swords raised.
"System," Alaric said out loud, his eyes locked on the crumbling throne room. "Is there a way to stop the wildfire from blowing the rest of the city?"
The blue screen hovered in front of him. It flickered for a second. It stayed completely silent. It didn't offer a single suggestion, warning, or strategy.
Then, the entire foundation of the Red Keep exploded.
The ground didn't just shake; it ruptured. The heavy stone floor, the Iron Throne, and the thick walls of the Great Hall were blown outward in a massive, violent eruption of dust and rock. Alaric dug his boots into the courtyard dirt, raising his arm to shield his face from the flying debris.
From the massive crater where the throne room used to be, something pulled itself out of the deep earth.
It was a skull. A dragon's skull, large enough to swallow a whole merchant wagon in a single bite. But it wasn't just dead bone. Thick, unnatural flames poured from its open jaws and empty eye sockets. The fire wasn't the green of wildfire or the orange of normal woodsmoke. It was pitch black, swirling with violent, angry streaks of blood-red fire.
The giant beast dragged its massive, fossilized shoulders out of the rubble, snapping its jaws. The heat radiating from it was intense enough to warp the air.
Alaric lowered his arm. He stood in the courtyard, staring up at the towering monster. For the first time since the System awakened, his calm mask broke. He was genuinely dumbfounded. He just blinked, his grip loosening slightly on the Red Eclipse.
"What...?" Alaric muttered, staring at the black flames.
A bright red box suddenly snapped into his vision, flashing urgently.
[NEW EMERGENCY QUEST GENERATED]
[Target: Reanimated 'Balerion the Black Dread']
[Objective: Destroy the undead construct before it burns the capital to ash.]
[Reward: 50,000 MP]
[Failure: Total annihilation of King's Landing.]
Alaric let out a slow, steady breath. The shock faded, replaced by cold, hard focus. He tightened his grip on his sword and looked at his thirty-foot stone gargoyle, which was currently pulling itself from the rubble nearby, raising its giant axe.
"Well," Alaric said flatly. "That explains the silence."
Miles away, just outside the city walls, the massive army camp was in total chaos.
A hundred thousand men watched the sky turn black. Horses reared up, kicking at the dirt and snapping their tied reins. Soldiers dropped their bowls and weapons, pointing up at the high hill in the distance.
From the camp, they couldn't see the giant flaming skull of the dragon. All they saw was the Red Keep falling apart. Thick green and black smoke poured out of the castle windows. The high red towers swayed and cracked, dumping tons of stone into the city below.
Then, the dark clouds directly above the Keep ripped open.
Every man in the camp saw it. A massive, heavy shadow dropped straight down from the sky. It tore through the dark smoke and crashed directly into the top of the castle. A second later, a deafening boom rolled over the fields, vibrating through the dirt under their boots. A single, bright beam of sunlight pierced the hole in the clouds, shining right down onto the ruined Keep.
Mace Tyrell took a shaky step back. His silver wine cup slipped from his fingers and hit the dirt.
"By the Seven," Mace choked out, his face completely pale. "What was that? A falling star? Did the sky just fall on the castle?"
Olenna Tyrell stood near the front of her wooden wheelhouse. Both of her hands gripped the top of her cane tightly.
Deep in the winding streets of the lower city, Arya Stark's lungs burned.
She ran as fast as she could, dodging terrified people who were screaming and pushing past her. The sky above them was completely black. Sickly green smoke poured out of the sewer grates, smelling like burning acid and rotting eggs.
Ahead of her, the man in the plain brown tunic didn't slow down. He moved through the panicked crowd like a ghost, shoving people aside to clear a path.
Ned Stark limped heavily right behind the man. He leaned hard on a wooden crutch, his face pale and tight with pain. His injured leg slowed him down, but he forced himself forward. Septa Mordane ran next to him, holding her heavy dress up out of the mud, crying quietly as she ran.
A loud, bone-shaking crack echoed over the city.
Ned stopped. He turned around, shifting his weight to his good leg, and looked back up Aegon's High Hill.
Arya stopped next to him. She looked up and her breath caught in her throat. The massive red towers of the Keep were cracking. Huge chunks of stone were breaking off and falling into the green smoke below.
"Sansa," Ned breathed. His eyes went wide. He gripped his crutch tight and actually took a step back toward the hill. "Sansa is up there."
The man in the brown tunic turned around instantly. He stepped directly in front of Ned, blocking his path.
"Move," Ned growled, his voice rough. "My daughter is in that castle. I am going back."
The man didn't flinch. His face was completely calm, completely empty of the panic around them. "Keep moving, Stark."
"Get out of my way!" Ned yelled. He grabbed the front of the man's tunic with his free hand. "I am not leaving her to burn!"
The Blood Scout didn't even try to push Ned's hands away. He just looked at him with dead, flat eyes. "Lady Sansa is already outside the walls. My Lord ordered his personal guard to take her out. She is safe."
Ned froze. He looked at the crumbling castle, then back at the strange man who had kept them locked in a dark cellar for weeks. "How do you know that?"
"Because my Lord commands it, and we do not fail him," the Scout said simply. "Now keep walking, or you will die here for nothing."
///
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