In the wake of everyone's departure from the Prince's Grand Hall, the man, now seated alone upon the throne, slowly lifted his right hand.
Due to severe burn injuries from the past, Bèixī rarely exposed his skin to outsiders, regardless of whether it was winter or summer. Maintaining this practice for a long while, his face was perpetually veiled by an iron mask, never once removed. Few remembered his appearance, and his clothing was always thick, not revealing an inch of his skin.
At this moment, his hand emerged from the wide sleeve of his robe, surprisingly pure and flawless like white jade, without a trace of burn scars, and none of the former charred blackness.
Following, a black mist gently rose from the palm of his hand.
He couldn't see the black mist harbored within himself, yet he could stimulate them to surface. He knew this was the source of his power, also the seed once bestowed upon him by His Majesty.
Possessing this 'seed' allowed it to take root and gradually grow robustly.
Across the Narrow Sea in Pentos, it was afternoon, but within the Red Keep, Viserys had just finished lunch.
After the family meal, Arya, holding their daughter Diana, went for a siesta. Children, currently in their growing phase, had no concept of day and night, sleeping whenever they wished.
After lunch, Daenerys ran out to play with her best friend Missandei; they were to attend a class together in the academy in the afternoon.
Daenerys was interested in medicine, learning medical knowledge with Samwell Tarly from Archmaester Ambrose, while Missandei was more interested in the humanities.
Her linguistic talent was high, mainly attributed to excellent memory—able to remember much of what she read. Viserys could discern that Missandei's mental strength was indeed inherently stronger than most, perhaps a unique talent she was born with.
Had she grown up in Westeros, she might have been considered an alternative to Bran Stark as a three-eyed raven.
However, Bran came from the mystical Stark family lineage; he was a warg. All Stark family members were wargs, but there were differences based on mental strength. Perhaps Bran still had an advantage over Missandei.
The girl from Naath chose to study economics, perhaps because poverty in her early years had frightened her. Even though Missandei lived in the Red Keep as Daenerys's handmaid, she was very frugal, feeling that wasting anything was a sin.
Her greatest dream was to become wealthy, then benefit her hometown, making the entire Naath prosperous instead of being oppressed and enslaved daily. Therefore, she chose the school of economics.
Fortunately, the schools of medicine, economics, and theology were not far apart, all located in the central position of King's Landing, near the Great Sept of Baelor.
The large circular plaza had several main roads of King's Landing, leading directly to various major places in the city.
Silent Sister Street led to the Dragonpit, now the military academy, while the central main road northwest led to King's Landing's primary scattered market, Cobbler's Square. The southeastern central main road led to Aegon's High Hill, the Westerosi royal palace, and the main concentration of nobility in King's Landing, also called 'King's Mountain' by the people.
After silver-haired beauty Daenerys left, only Viserys and Renys were left chatting in the Red Keep's dining room.
"By the way, Viserys,"
Renys was just about to say something, but at this moment, the silver-haired young man's eyes flickered slightly.
"Bèixī?"
Because the 'seed' was implanted in Bèixī, Viserys, as the 'source,' could communicate with him directly through the black mist.
But Bèixī rarely contacted him directly using this method; unless it was a big issue, Bèixī wouldn't use it for casual conversation.
"Your Majesty."
On the other side of the Narrow Sea, the iron-faced man sitting on the throne in the Pentos Prince's palace gently closed his eyes.
This was a kind of telepathic communication; he could express whatever he wanted directly, similar to the connection between Viserys and his companion Balerion.
Dragonriders and their dragons all had a connection, but the link between Viserys and Balerion was far stronger than that of ordinary dragonriders.
The two of them were not only master and servant but also battle companions and friends.
Viserys could feel the fluctuations in Balerion's status, and Balerion could also sense Viserys's emotions.
After Bèixī expressed everything he wanted to say, Viserys fell into a moment of contemplation.
"The Pirate Governor?"
"Salladhor Saan?"
He seemed to have some impression of this man, who claimed to be a friend of the 'Onion Knight' Davos Seaworth, which reminded Viserys even more of his identity.
This pirate governor seemed to be a character who appeared in the original trajectory, helping Stannis attack King's Landing, hoping to get a hefty bonus and title. However, Stannis was defeated in the Battle of Blackwater Bay.
Although he was later ennobled as 'Lord of Blackwater,' Salladhor Saan never received Stannis's reward and eventually left him, disheartened.
However, in the current trajectory, Viserys's appearance was not just a butterfly flapping its wings, bringing about a tornado.
His emergence almost caused a huge shock to the entire world, from the Bone Mountains to the Sunset Sea, and might even affect the world's end east of the Bone Mountains.
The reappearance of dragons brought the Targaryen family back to the Iron Throne, the decline of the Free Cities, the rise of a prosperous great nation in the West, and a Khal among the Dothraki unifying all the Khals. Now, for some unknown reason, all the grassland knights were heading east.
Therefore, a small pirate influenced by Viserys to change his original destiny to become a so-called governor was naturally unsurprising.
"Tell this Pirate Governor that the Iron Throne will not provide him any support."
"Let him deal with the rest himself."
Viserys contemplated for a moment, and the attitude he gave could be considered tacit approval, but he would not intervene directly.
A Pentos, destroyed and then rebuilt, was not worth him sending troops to invade. That would alert the surrounding Free Cities.
Although the Free Cities are now declining and have lost their position as the world's leader in the West, after all, a camel starved to death is bigger than a horse. Viserys did not want to add trouble when the North and Dorne were not completely stabilized.
After all, a bigger enemy has not yet appeared.
The five-year period prophesied by Melisandre was not long or short. After the Night King recuperated, the next step would inevitably cause greater turmoil to sweep across the Seven Kingdoms.
Viserys has never forgotten that he still has such an enemy waiting for him.