Chapter 34: Strange Dreams

After she fell asleep, those terrible memories she thought had passed resurfaced.

Viserys glared at her with a ferocious expression.

"You don't want to awaken the wrath of the sleeping dragon, do you?"

She was adrift on the vast sea, with thunder and rainstorms above. She was alone in a small boat, constantly at risk of being swallowed by the waves.

Far ahead of her was a black dot, appearing very tiny due to the distance, but she could still make out that it was a small island with a dragon-shaped castle on it. Viserys stood there, towering like a giant.

She didn't know how to steer the boat, so she could only let the waves push her towards it.

"You don't want to awaken the wrath of the sleeping dragon, do you?"

Viserys waved his hand, his fist striking her body like a storm. His fingers were like snakes, biting her body, squeezing, twisting, and pinching.

He screamed sharply, "Dragonstone, King's Landing, the Iron Throne, the Seven Kingdoms, all taken from us, and we will take them all back!" He howled madly, his nails digging into her skin.

Blood welled up from the scratches he made, seeping from her torn skin.

"You don't want to awaken the wrath of the sleeping dragon, do you?"

She saw the small boat drifting closer to the island with the dragon-shaped castle.

The closer she got, the smaller Viserys' towering figure appeared, and the punches landing on her felt like gentle breezes. Had she forgotten that pain? The storm seemed to be gradually calming, and the gigantic waves were becoming smaller. She saw a red-painted door. "Home," she whispered softly. "That's not . . . home."

"The wrath of the sleeping dragon, right?"

"With family..."

She saw half of Viserys's face smiling at her, and his throat produced two kinds of sounds simultaneously.

"Sleeping dragon."

"Where there is family."

Her shoulder burned with pain, and Viserys smiled at her from ahead. She was getting closer; the island with the dragon-shaped castle was just in front. She gathered her courage and stood up. Viserys gave her an approving look.

"..."

The venomous words faded with the wind.

"Where there is family, there is home."

The small boat required no steering; she was getting closer and closer, and Viserys opened his arms to her.

"No!"

She heard a voice from behind.

She turned around and saw a ghostly great hall.

Ethereal spirits lined the sides of the long hall, faintly visible in their ancient royal attire, holding pale flame swords.

Their forms were wispy, with hair that was sometimes silver, sometimes golden, sometimes bright as platinum, and eyes of opal, amethyst, tourmaline, and jade.

"No!" they cried out, "No!"

She looked back, confused. The spirits' eyes were full of reproach, looking at her as if she were a little girl who had done something wrong.

The small boat required no steering; she was getting further and further away from them, closer and closer to Viserys.

She felt bewildered.

At that moment, the small boat stopped, halting on the sea. In front of her was her smiling brother Viserys, while behind her were the reproachful eyes that left her feeling lost.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

No one answered her.

Darkness enveloped her.

Dots of purple starlight emerged from her body, swallowed by the ethereal, deep whirlpool of darkness. When she recovered from her confusion, she found herself outside the now-familiar curtain of darkness.

Her body was burning. She looked down and saw more sparks scattered across her body. The places where the sparks were emitted a searing heat that seeped into her skin, flowing through her bloodstream into her body.

"This means your bloodline is awakening. Don't forget, we are the true dragon heirs, with blazing flames burning in our blood."

This was the last thing she thought before falling into the void.

"Huff.. huff.." She awoke abruptly, tasting iron in her mouth; she had bitten her lip at some point during her dream.

She recalled the bizarre images from her dream, reflecting carefully upon waking.

The reproachful eyes of those ghosts left a deep impression on her.

"What did I do wrong?" she asked herself.

She couldn't understand what it meant. She sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard. The night outside was deep, with stars dotting the high sky. The sea breeze carried a salty scent into the room, and the night was cool as water.

It was only then that she realized the shoulder that had tormented her so much she could barely sleep seemed to hurt less.

The next day, during her usual walk to the pavilion where she could hear the waves after lunch, Dany mustered the courage to tell Viserys about her dream in complete detail.

For the first time since he was struck by lightning, she saw a trace of panic on his face.

But Viserys quickly concealed his panic. "Dany, tell me the truth, in your previous dreams, did you also see me treating you cruelly? Were there those ghosts?"

"This is the first time I dreamt of ghosts," Dany answered cautiously.

"I was... scared."

Her courage was growing, but she couldn't help averting her eyes when she spoke about such things.

She glanced sideways and saw that Viserys was just listening intently to her.

Only then did she add, "I-I was scared of you. I don't know why, but in the previous dreams, the fear surged up suddenly from deep within, like the tide in the morning at the beach. But after the dream, the fear would disappear like the receding tide at dusk."

"Oh." Dany saw an unprecedented heaviness on Viserys' face. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, all he said was, "...Hmm."

Dany couldn't help but feel uneasy. "What's wrong?"

"Tired of walking," he suddenly said. "Let's just sit here and rest for a while, alright?"

Viserys sat down on the edge of the pavilion with a blank expression, looking out at the Narrow Sea, his gaze fixed on the far horizon as he fell into deep thought.

Viserys had once thought that the arrival of the red comet would be his moment. Now, it seemed it might be his doom.

Looking back, were those purple specks of dust he consumed through dreams truly dragon souls, and only dragon souls?

Were the "not me" parts in Daenerys' dreams really brought about by the remnants of dragon souls, or were they magic hidden within Targaryen blood?

He knew that in the original story, when Daenerys was cursed by the sorceress with black magic, there was a similar description in her dreams—ghosts of ancient kings.

That was the moment when Daenerys was about to become the Mother of Dragons. Unlike the rushed depiction in the TV series, in the original story, Daenerys experienced a Lovecraftian dream.

After waking up, she remained in a mysterious state, guided by some enigmatic force to perform what seemed like a magical sacrifice. Driven by this mysterious power, Daenerys threw herself into the flames and eventually hatched three dragons.

Were the ghosts in her dreams merely illusions? Dead entities? Magical visions triggered by the awakening of her powers?

Or were they magical projections cast by some mysterious being through the bloodline due to the low ebb of magic, causing it to sleep somewhere?

Viserys had to consider this possibility: if this magical force was rooted in the bloodline, based on the connection between the bloodline and a mysterious being, then when he entered the body of the last Targaryen, consuming his soul and memories, occupying his body, did that mysterious being know?

When he gained power by entering Daenerys' dreams and consuming those purple specks of dust, did that mysterious being know?

Was his behavior disrupting the original arrangement of that mysterious being?

The answer was already quite clear.

Viserys had suspected that there might be "the gaze of a god" upon Daenerys—if it truly was a god. Yet, as nothing happened, he felt the risk wasn't significant. He thought perhaps It tacitly approved of his actions or was unaware.

Now it seemed It hadn't approved or been unaware; It simply hadn't been able to interfere in reality yet.

The benevolence of Helya had made Viserys complacent in the world of Ice and Fire.

It was clearly trying to crazily hint at Daenerys to stay away from Viserys, but for some reason, Its will couldn't be fulfilled. The purple specks of dust Viserys had consumed must have affected Its mystical connection with Daenerys to some extent.

To be honest, until just now, Viserys was still feeling smug because yesterday he had Daenerys touch two dragon bones containing dragon souls, successfully activating two pieces of magic.

In his plan, collecting dragon souls could be done gradually since there was still plenty of time before the red comet's arrival. Even if only one in ten, twenty, or even one in a hundred dragon bones contained usable dragon souls, he could afford to be patient.

But now, it seemed he couldn't afford to remain at ease.

From the moment he came to this world as Viserys, he had unknowingly made an enemy of himself.

Was reconciliation possible?

The thought made Viserys want to laugh.

Not to mention that he had no idea where to find a place for reconciliation, he couldn't transform into a dragon without Daenerys. Would the other side be willing to hand Daenerys over to him?

After a long silence, Viserys' unconfirmed emotions made Daenerys uneasy. She couldn't help but ask, nervously, "What are you thinking? What's wrong?"

"...Daenerys," Viserys heard her uneasy question and turned to her, saying seriously, "The road ahead will be difficult, filled with dangers and brambles. Are you willing to walk with me?"

She didn't understand but sensed there was deeper meaning in his words. "What?"

"It's okay. Give me your hand." Viserys took her hand. "Come, let's keep moving forward."