Chapter 291: Absorption and Bestowal

In the distant city of Pentos, time passed swiftly. More than a month had passed since Viserys's coming-of-age ceremony. From the New Year's Eve of 291 AC when the city was seized, a year had almost passed, filled with numerous events.

The morning sun streamed through the window, illuminating the elegant bedroom. Under the golden canopy, Arianne was still sound asleep, exhausted from the previous night's activities. Despite her stamina, even she couldn't withstand such exertion.

Viserys, however, was up at his usual time. He rarely slept in. The silver-haired young man sat on the edge of the bed, bare-chested, dressing himself. He found it hard to fall back asleep once awake.

Viserys's mind was filled with many matters. Being a king, although prestigious and powerful, was far more stressful than being a farmer. There were many things to consider.

Every morning, even if he wanted to sleep in, the thoughts in his head would keep him awake.

At that moment, he heard a soft noise. A black cat, moving with agile steps, appeared from the window sill. It was 'Balerion,' the little black cat Rhaenys had brought from the Red Keep.

Back then, Balerion was a cute little kitten. Now, after so many years, Viserys had already held his coming-of-age ceremony, and 'Balerion' had grown from a kitten into an old black cat.

Its body had become quite plump, its walk a bit wobbly. However, its balance was still good, allowing it to move freely on the narrow window sill. Its diet in the castle and palace was good, and it lived a life of luxury.

Its head, however, remained the same size as when it was a kitten, looking somewhat disproportionate to its plump body. It looked around, not noticing anyone watching it. Then, it lazily collapsed on the window sill, not afraid of falling. Its round body stretched a bit, yawning lazily.

However, not long after the old black cat lay down, it noticed that the master of the room was awake and sitting on the bed, watching it. The black cat licked its paw and meowed softly, showing no intention of leaving.

The only ones who dared to occupy Viserys's room in the Palace of the Nine Towers were the old fat cat and no one else. Balerion had been the 'bully' of the castle in Andalos, and seamlessly became the ruler here in the Nine Towers.

The few wild cats that used to live in the palace had their faces scratched and were chased around by Balerion when he arrived, eventually all fleeing the place. Only then did Balerion return, satisfied, to continue his nap.

Viserys watched as the big fat cat claimed his balcony as its own and showed no intention of leaving. He shook his head and turned his gaze away.

Perhaps it was because the cat shared the same name as the black dragon. After being influenced by the dragon's domineering aura, Balerion had indeed become much braver.

To distinguish between the cat and the dragon, when they were both present, Viserys referred to them as 'Big Balerion' and 'Little Balerion'. The old black cat was much older than the black dragon and had even been forced to help Rhaenys hatch dragon eggs, so it was naturally 'Big Balerion'.

The black dragon was still a child, despite its size. The big fat cat, although small in appearance, was thriving among the dragons.

When the three dragons were young, the big fat cat often played with

them, even lying on their backs. Later, it mysteriously disappeared from the castle for a few days, only to be found frolicking in the royal forest with the older dragons.

Ever since Big Balerion and Little Balerion became friends, the former had become much braver and its body had grown significantly, much to Rhaenys's annoyance. She suspected that Balerion had been sneaking off to the royal forest to get extra meals from its dragon brethren.

The dragons, in turn, were very friendly towards the big fat cat, often catching wild game, roasting it, and offering it to their feline brother.

Ignoring the fact that a certain big fat cat had claimed his balcony, Viserys turned his gaze away. After buttoning up his clothes, he stood in front of the bedroom's silver mirror.

The full-length mirror, crafted by the artisans of Myr, was a valuable piece. However, such exquisite craftsmanship had become increasingly rare since the destruction of Myr by the Dothraki.

Viserys stood in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection. Then, black mist gradually filled his eyes, enveloping the entire room and shrouding Viserys's figure.

After some time of accumulation, he now had enough black mist to support another 'level up'.

The ancient High Valyrian text appeared, representing the corresponding abilities with 'Water', 'Fire', 'Earth', and 'Moon'.

This time, Viserys elevated his strength to the extraordinary realm, and also raised his prided mental ability another notch, nearing thirty.

The average person's attributes fluctuated around ten, but special individuals like Gregor Clegane, the Mountain, had terrifying strength and constitution. Even with the enhancement of magic, Viserys's grip strength at that time was not as great as his, but the Mountain had not reached the extraordinary ability.

Now that Viserys had broken through to the extraordinary, apart from a significant increase in strength, he naturally awakened a new ability.

That was the ability to freely absorb and bestow black mist.

"Absorb and bestow?" Viserys stood in place, pondering this ability he could now comprehend.

Now, as he stood in front of the silver mirror, he raised his hand, forming a claw-like shape. He wasn't sure if others could see it, but a cloud of black mist appeared in his palm.

Viserys had a hunch that if this black mist was bestowed upon others, it might grant them unexpected special abilities.

For instance, could it help others increase their strength?

The thought flashed through Viserys's mind. However, without testing, he wasn't sure of the exact use of this ability.

Absorption and bestowal. Bestowal meant bestowing the black mist onto others, while absorption meant extracting the black mist from others.

Viserys had previously speculated that the black mist might be the spiritual energy within a person, similar to a soul.

Therefore, when he killed someone with his own hands, he would extract the soul from their body, causing them to die completely.