Blessings

Once all of the dragons had been put down, Aerion rested on a bench and gazed at the full moon. His Kingsguard stood watch and waited for something to happen. Meanwhile, one of the Soul Knights walked into the courtyard and forced a fellow with a very distinguished golden Kraken etched onto his clothing. His mouth was tightly covered with rope and so only unintelligible mumbling could be heard. Overall, his body didn't look in the best shape.

"I found this man in one of the chambers in the palace." The Soul Knight announced.

"Is that the banner of House Greyjoy?" Oswell noticed. "That's impossible... we were the only ones to venture in the past, were we not?"

"The banner of House Greyjoy?"

Aerion stood up from his bench and looked at the restrained man. One eye was as blue as the summer sea while the other shined black and seemingly blind. The man had pale skin and handsome with black hair and a dark, outgrown, beard. Clearly, his stay in Valyria hadn't been pleasant as there were numerous cuts across his body. Even scars...

"Intriguing."

Aerion grabbed his knife and cut off the rope covering the man's mouth.

"Who are you?"

"The more suitable question is who are you, my radiant saviour?"

"If you are from the same period of time, you will know my name. I am Dragon Emperor Aerion of the House Targaryen. Now you will answer my question before I use less... desirable means."

"Ah... to think that all of my misfortunes would lead to you, the Dragon of the Seas himself! Being alone in this cruel world... I thought that this cursed place would be the end of me."

Aerion glanced at his dagger and set it aflame.

"Wait... wait! I am Euron of House Greyjoy!"

"I've heard stories of you... and none of them were pleasant, Euron."

"I am truly honoured to have someone as mighty as you know my name. I do have to admit, you are the one person that I admire. To set sail with only three ships and conquer all nine Free Cities in only a year and a half... that is something that only you, the Stormcaller, can accomplish."

"If you release me, I swear that I will not do anything that displeases you. Only a fool would dare... and I am no fool."

"We will see about that." Aerion cut loose his binds. "How did you find yourself here?"

"I sailed my ship, the Silence, into the ruins of Valyria. As the smoke grew thicker within the smoking sea, a kraken emerged from the sea and dragged my ship into sea... I was, however, unfortunate enough to jump onto land before the ship drowned."

"Then... these valyrians took me as a slave. The one that owned me was not pleasant, revelling in my torture... you see, that is where I got all of these cuts from. From this experience, I came to understand that my old methods were quite extreme... and began to regret. I would rather have died than continued living at that time..."

"For you to save me from that life, I am truly grateful."

"I see..."

Suddenly, the entire world froze. Not a single thing moved... not the flowers, not the wind, not the moon and no mortal being. Except for Aerion.

"I should have come earlier... but you know, I'm quite the busy God." The Transcendent Being descended, in his saint disguise. The golden mask was now silver and black, matching the colours of his brilliant robes.

"You have completed this great trial and for that, I congratulate you."

"Where is the Divine Potion of Strength?"

"Oh, that? Well... I am the one who distributes the potion personally." The Transcendent Being landed on the ground. "Come, let's take a nice and short walk around a place more pleasant."

"... Alright."

Instantly, they appeared in a wonderful world. A paradise that made even the lands of Valyria seem wilted. The air... oh, the air was magical... divine, even. In fact, the entire world could only be described as divine. Aerion felt his magic grow at an exceptionally supreme rate with every moment that passed. And he was merely taking a walk!

"What is this place?" Aerion inquired.

"When I created it, I granted this world the name 'Seventh Heaven'. Its very purpose was to grow my strength... at that time, of course. It has grown much more powerful since then and so have I. Now, I no longer have anyone to surpass... in that aspect, this world is useless to me."

"Then what do you use it for?"

"To rest."

Aerion frowned. "A being like you requires rest?"

"No, I do not require it. It is just something I've grown a habit of. As someone who does not need to fret about growing old... nor anything else, for that matter, I can rest for all eternity if I wished."

"But that would be quite uneventful. And so, I only do so occasionally." He turned to face Aerion. "Do you know why you matured so swiftly in the mind?"

"... You intended it so?"

"Yes... well, that was obvious." The Transcendent Being chuckled. "At that age, you would have made me seem slow in comparison... even though I was a heavenly genius myself."

'He's closer to you than you might think...'

Aerion had remembered the system's words. Although those words had been brushed aside quite some time ago, they emerged now as everything began to add up in his mind.

"Well, well... it seems that your suspicions are growing." The Transcendent Being chuckled. "Though it couldn't be possible, now could it?"

'Could it be?'

'Well done, little dragon. It seems that I have underestimated you... indeed, you are worthy of the name Aerion Targaryen.'

"... The name Aerion Targaryen..."

"We share a most wonderful name." The Transcendent Being nodded.

"So you are... me?"

"Well, not quite. You and I are similar, yet our paths are vastly different. We share the same family, ancestors and name. But... we are not the same. I came before you... as a matter of fact, I created you."

The revelation was mind-numbingly shocking and even Aerion had to take a few moments to comprehend what he just heard. This would mean that not only is travelling between past and present possible, as his journey to Valyria proved, but also creating separate dimensions was possible.

"... Why?"

"For my own selfish desires... on one part I needed something to amuse me after I transcended and on the other, I wanted to see how the timeline would change." Aerion the Transcendent turned around and walked forwards. "Anywho, it seems that you've done well for yourself. A suggestion before I grant my blessings... you should learn to be forgiving."

"At least, consider the feelings of those around you before you draw your blade. Some people can be redeemed... others less so. I'll let you think about that later."

Aerion listened carefully to every word.

"Now, your main blessing for completing this great trial includes the World Sovereign's Boots, a free reforge by Your's Truly and another blessing that you will appreciate."

"The piece of armour will appear when you return. In regards to the reforge, if the Tyrant's Blade isn't to your liking, I can create a different type of weapon from it."

"Can you create two?"

"Hmm..." Aerion the Transcendent nodded. The Tyrant's Blade appeared in front of him and split in two. A shimmering silver bastard sword and a black-emerald dagger, both of which seemed oddly familiar yet vastly different. "Is this what you wanted?"

"Yes... this is precisely what I wanted."

"I made use of the dagger that you were so fond of, along with that shattered blade laying around somewhere in that cellar. Of course, some changes were made... as you should have noticed."

Aerion looked for his dagger and it was, indeed, gone. He grabbed the magnificent black-emerald dagger and sheathed it into its rightful place. Then the bastard sword... as he had no suitable sheath, Aerion just grabbed it out of the air and held it in his hands.

"Thank you."

"Ah... no need to thank me. Although, I'd like to know what you intend to name the two weapons."

"Ambition and... Instinct." Aerion replied. "The reasons why I used them for the first time."

"I see. Well, in regards to Ser Jaime Lannister and Prince Viserys of House Targaryen, I will bless Jaime with a form of Physical Enhancement and Viserys... hmm."

"Hmm?" Aerion inquired.

"Well, you accomplished something that I did not as a mortal. You have already, in a way, healed Viserys without my intervention. He's not perfect... but he's not an embarrassment either. I can only help him soar higher at this point. Would you rather a formidable warrior or a brilliant mind?"

"A brilliant mind...?"

"That's what I would've asked for in your boots... hahahaha. Now, this shall be the end of our little walk. I will send you back home along with those who came with you."

"Wait... how am I to give life to and crack those three dragon eggs?"

Aerion the Transcendent turned around, his face still hidden by the mask. "It will take a little bit of genius and luck. You'll figure it out."

~

And so, Aerion returned to Valyria and time continued. However, they all stood on a field of grass and no buildings were present. Himself, the Kingsguard, Viserys, Euron Greyjoy and all of the original Soul Knights were present. The rest of the undead had vanished and joined him as souls. Some of his belongings laid behind him in an organised fashion. The fire mountains around Valyria were no more... instead, there were many streams of shimmering blue waters.

"Where are we now?" Viserys shook his head and observed the surroundings.

'Was this what he meant by the other blessing?'

Aerion was visibly surprised as he looked upon true paradise.

"Home... we've returned to our time, I'm sure."

"Oh? So the ruins of Valyria are no more?"

"It seems so... instead, we have a paradise to rebuild upon."

He removed his boots and put on the World Sovereign's boots which made him move more swiftly despite being heavy to the hand. Then he turned to his pile of belongings and took out all three dragon eggs. The rest that he had collected were no more, unfortunately... but he did not need more than three.

"It's time to crack open these wonderful children."

Aerion placed down all three dragon eggs.

"Do you even know how to accomplish that?" Viserys questioned.

"No, not really. But I will use all the magic at my disposal. Now I suggest all of you watch silently as I need to focus on the task at hand."

Aerion released his scarlet flames from one hand and emerald flames from the other, engulfing all three dragon eggs with a mixture of both. Then, once the flames had begun to burn all three, he withdrew Instinct and cut open a wound in his hand.

'Through Fire and Blood, you will rise...!'

With his blood streaming onto the scarlet-emerald flames, they grew even more fierce.

Crack... crack...

All three dragon eggs began to crack at once as the flames roared.

CRACK!

The dragon eggs broke open all at once, leading to the inferno of flames soaring into the sky. After a minute of burning, the flames faded to reveal a single dragon.

A tiny little dragon, small enough to fit on a man's shoulder, descended onto the ground. Aerion grabbed the dragon before it could fall onto the ground. Its scales were as dark as a moonless night at first glance, although Aerion could see a tone of dark-emerald as the sun shined on it. The little dragon's heads had emerald eyes similar to that of a Soul Knight. But Aerion knew that... without a doubt, this dragon was alive.

Its most distinct feature, however, was its three heads.

"What should I name this worthy dragon?"

Aerion wondered as he smiled upon it with great pride.