Preparations

Aegon the Conqueror knighted me...

Aerion stood still for a while, bewildered. He was truly Aegon the Conqueror... or at the very least, a very convincing clone. Aerion liked to think that Aegon's soul was placed in that body for a bit so that they could meet.

Now he should have returned to a better place... the afterlife.

Aerion grasped the sword Aegon had given him. He had no doubts about the sword's name. It fit its description perfectly... a bastard sword that could be used with one or two hands, made of valyrian steel, a ruby for a pommel and two dragon heads on each end of the guard. It had to be long lost ancestral blade of the Targaryens, Blackfyre!

Aerion smiled.

With this blade, I, Aerion Targaryen, shall reconquer Westeros!

~

It took Aerion a while to find the first platform again, but he did it. The cloaked man looked half-asleep as he sat at his stall. He was awakened by Aerion's presence.

"Finally, that took longer than I expected. And you're eye... you used Izanagi, wise indeed. You would have failed without it."

Aerion nodded. "You're right... but where's the Heavenly Fire Demon?"

"Ahh, him? He's still doing his trial."

"Is he doing well?"

"Yes, he should be done in a month or so... his trial is longer, but it will reward him greatly as it did you."

"A month? Isn't that a bit too long?"

"It is what it is, you got a problem?"

A slight one... sigh.

~

Aerion woke up. He noticed that his left eye was blinded and took note that Izanagi was a special exception to the dungeon's laws. Usually, any damage he received in the dungeon wouldn't affect his real body. He shrugged, it would only affect him for a few days... nothing to be worried about. All he had to do was cover up his eye and it would be all fine.

He looked around and saw no signs of Tai Xia, she had probably woken up way earlier than Aerion did. After all, she didn't have to face off half a dozen bosses in a dream and walk an absolutely brutal staircase to heaven.

Aerion got dressed and then looked at the things he had gained from his floor seven journey. The Heavenly Cultivation pill could instantly make him breakthrough any stage in any realm below the Divine Origin realm. It would be best used at Sovereign 10... which meant that Aerion wasn't going to use it anytime soon. Blackfyre was a Divine Origin sword, according to his observe ability. It was noticeably light and sharp, as a valyrian steel sword should be. Aerion could swing it with relative ease in the Draconic Heart state. It also worked well with the fire element, a bonus.

Now, getting a Divine Origin version of Blackfyre and being knighted by Aegon himself was amazing... there's no doubt about that. But he had gained something as important, if not more; the World Teleportation Portal! The thing that will allow him to return to Westeros. Unfortunately... Aerion didn't know where it was! Aerion was starting to think he got scammed by the cloaked man but then he found it, after half a minute of investigating. His dungeon ring had gained a red gem which was glowing frequently. He tapped the gem.

"Think of the place you want to go to..." The cloaked man's voice echoed.

No, not now.

Aerion moved away his finger from the ring... he still had a few things to do before he could comfortably leave. If he had gained this ring around a year ago, he would've left without hesitation. But things have changed. He can think of many reasons as to why he should stay. He decided to give himself one to two months to do everything he wants to do before he leaves. Conquering Westeros and then stabilising the Seven Kingdoms after becoming King will take a while. He didn't even know how the portal worked... does it have a cool-down or can it be used at will? Besides, his left eye was blind... he needed some time to recover.

~

The Dragonsguard focused on their training, seldom going outside. They were determined to be the strongest they can be as the date of the tournament was coming closer and closer. Though the date was a year and a half away, they had to catch up with the Divine Phoenix Empire's disciples who were miles ahead. Every second counted in this scenario. The Heavenly Demon hadn't returned yet and this made Aerion rather anxious. He had spent most of the month with his wife and Izanami but there were a few other things he did.

He earned a lot of money by strengthening weapons through his forge and making pills by using the refining abilities of the Sky Poison Pearl, it was a quick and easy business. Many travellers going into the Wasteland of Death needed some better gear and Aerion was happy to provide... for a decent price, of course. Oldtown residents got a 25% discount which made quite a few wealthy people want to move there (Noble Rogue Sect members got a 35% discount). Naturally, no sect dared to move into Oldtown due to the Noble Rogue Sect's presence. There had only been one sect in Oldtown and that wasn't ever going to change. This increase in citizens led to the Noble Rogue Sect expanding further and making the Fortress even bigger, preparing to increase their number of disciples.

Aerion was relaxing on the grass near the Dragon's Palace when he saw a floating figure. He recognised her face... she was one of the Seven Fairies. The one he knew the most, in fact, Chu Yueli. The sun didn't fit her icy features but she was still extraordinarily beautiful. Aerion smirked.

"What might one of the Seven Fairies of the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace want from me?"

"The Palace Mistress decided to make use of your services and strengthen our Sky Profound weapon, the Ice Phoenix Snowflower Ribbon."

"Sky Profound? Tsk, tsk, tsk, that won't be cheap."

"How much is it?"

"Eh... three million purple profound coins? I'm willing to down the price to two million since I'm a guest elder and all. What do you think?"

Chu Yueli tossed a storage ring with the money and ribbon inside of it.

"Here."

"While you wait, why not speak to Lai Mei? I'll only take a few minutes."

"Have it your way."

Damn, she's so direct today... maybe I should tell her of my current cultivation strength. Emperor Profound Seven... now that would most definitely lead to a reaction.

Aerion led Chu Yueli to Izanami and left shortly after to his chambers. He closed his eyes and walked up to the forge. He scratched his head, unsure of what to do. Two million was a large amount of money... even for a sect as powerful as the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace. He had to do something special. It's certainly a weapon that focuses on the ice element... but Aerion had never trained the element or used it seriously, despite him having the water seed.

"Hahaha, you are a master when it comes to wind and an unmatched prodigy when it comes to fire. But... the other elements, you are a complete amateur!"

"Thanks for the encouragement, Dragon. Remind me... can you breathe anything other than fire? No, I don't think you can."

"Alright, you got me on that one. The next good dream you have is going bye-bye when you reach the best part."

"Oh... that's truly unfortunate. Now, let me concentrate."

Aerion activated his Sharingan and started to imitate Izanami's frozen cloud profound skills. At first, he wasn't too pleased. But as the minutes passed, he added a few special touches of his own to the Frozen Cloud Arts and this led to him creating a different version of the Frozen Cloud Arts (it also made his job easier). He didn't have the time to create the profound arts... only the ice itself, a good foundation. It was sharper and colder than the ice of the Frozen Cloud Arts but used more profound energy and covered less area as a result. It took him only two hours thanks to his Sharingan and 'absolute control' ability granted by the water seed.

"All done... this should serve me well."

Aerion dumped the fancily named Sky Profound ribbon into the forge and while it was being reforged, he added his ice to the mix. The fire of the forge quickly shattered the ice and a heavenly ribbon emerged, floating in the air. The air around it grew cold, probably cold enough to kill any ordinary person instantly. But the two beings present were far from ordinary.

"Ah... you did it, I thought you'd fail."

"Positive thinking."

Aerion grabbed the ribbon and returned to the real world.

~

"You said you'de only take a few minutes."

"Eh, I had do make some adjustments."

Aerion handed the ribbon to Chu Yueli and she was instantly impressed.

"So cold... yet soft at the same time."

"They don't call me the greatest blacksmith of all time for nothing."

"I doubt your the greatest..."

Ah, she hurt my feelings. Why are these fairies so cold?

"But you'll get there one day." She wisely changed the subject. "Now that our business is done... I have to return to the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace."

"You want me to escort you?"

Chu Yueli retorted. "I can protect myself."

Aerion shrugged. "Very well."

Jasmine chuckled when Chu Yueli left.

"It's funny, is it?"

~

One day, the Heavenly Fire Demon returned and he was clearly stronger than before. He was unusually quiet and spent most of his time meditating. Aerion decided to approach him about it.

"What's wrong? You seem different."

"You do too. You look more relaxed as if a giant weight was lifted off your shoulder... it is the same for myself."

"That's a good thing..."

"Come here."

The Heavenly Fire Demon patted Aerion's head and moved back seconds later.

"I have granted you great wisdom... it is your choice if you will use it, for I will not."

The Heavenly Fire Demon returned to the dungeon while Aerion was busy making use of the 'great wisdom' he had been granted. It wasn't wisdom... it was an entire library of profound skills! Based on the sword and hand-to-hand combat. It was a calmer and more arrogant fighting style, one that could trigger the enemy into making mistakes. Aerion decided that he wouldn't delve into it now, saving it for later.

~

Aerion had finished preparing a few days later, he had left the Heavenly Fire Demon to protect the Noble Rogue Sect and Dragonsguard incase Rotias attacked once more. Aerion wanted to leave by himself, but Izanami insisted on coming with him. This soon led to Robb wanting to come as well... then Tai Xia... then the rest of the Dragonsguard. Aerion firmly said no to the Dragonsguard as they had to get stronger, he also said no to Tai Xia for obvious reasons and Izanami... there wasn't any real reason he could say no. Robb was a difficult decision but in the end, Aerion agreed to it. Since he could catch up with some Heavenly Cultivation pills in the future.

Aerion had left the Dragonsguard with a million purple profound coins to spend as they wished while he was away. The Heavenly Fire Demon was tasked with protecting them, helping them train and making sure they don't do anything foolish.

And that was that... Aeron was ready.

"I'm not sure if it works with multiple people, but it's worth a shot. Robb, Izanami, touch the gem."

"A gem... a gem is going to bring us back?" Robb asked.

Aerion nodded. "Yes, but it's not just a gem... it's a portal."

"Where do you want to go? Tell me..." The voice echoed.

Bring me to the known world... my aunt and uncle, to be specific.

"Easy."

They vanished into thin air.