Capítulo 789: Chapter 789: Entering the Cave
The final homeland of the Children of the Forest still maintained some of its former appearance, yet there were clear signs of numerous invaders having been here.
The Night King had once led the army of the dead to conquer this place, but for what purpose, no one knew.
"Viserys," Daenerys asked, tightly grasping her brother's hand, afraid to let go as broken skeletons littered the ground beneath their feet, making her somewhat timid. "If this colossal weirwood is the Old Gods, then how did they die?"
Viserys held a torch, illuminating the surrounding darkness. "It's obvious," he replied, his pale violet eyes reflecting the firelight as he surveyed the dilapidated surroundings, the gnarled weirwood roots, and the skeletons strewn about. "The White Walkers killed it."
The two continued descending, with all colors gradually fading away, leaving only black soil and white wood.
The cave beneath the heart of the Old Gods was like a hidden paradise, with countless intersecting paths, forks, and stone chambers—a fitting final home for the Children of the Forest. Most of these chambers housed skeletal remains, not left by invaders, as Viserys had seen during his first visit. There was even an underground river and a narrow stone bridge in this subterranean world.
Viserys led Daenerys across the stone bridge, where the stone chambers displayed skeletons impaled by weirwood. As they passed, the skeletons simultaneously opened their eyes, making clicking sounds as if trying to speak but unable to utter a word.
Daenerys was startled once more. This place was like the seventh level of hell, filled with corpses and eerie phenomena, especially knowing that the Old Gods' corpse stood above their heads, making the atmosphere even more unsettling.
"Viserys, slow down," she pleaded, not daring to walk behind him and instead nestling into his embrace.
Daenerys wasn't the only one sensing this unease. It was Viserys' second time here, but with the world's first weirwood having died here years ago, he too felt the ominous atmosphere permeating this underground realm.
However, Viserys' purpose was to see the bottomless pit. Leaf had once warned him that no one who entered this cave could come out alive, hinting that it might lead to the underworld or that some monster lurked below, waiting for prey to come knocking.
Compared to Leaf's theatrical and mysterious monster tales, Viserys was more inclined to believe that this place led to the underworld, as he had once seen an obsidian spearhead here and glimpsed a vision of the Children of the Forest battling fire-breathing worms countless years ago.
Viserys also harbored a suspicion that the Night King's relentless search for the Old Gods' whereabouts might have been to find this cave leading to the underworld.
"Is that so?" he wondered.
However, when they finally reached the deepest part of the cave, standing before the bottomless pit, Viserys' torch had burned down to its last embers.
The pit before them wasn't particularly large, barely enough for one person to pass through. The depths of the cave were shrouded in darkness, blacker than pitch, thicker than tar, darker than a raven's feathers. Light was an unwelcome intruder, fleeting and ephemeral.
Viserys tossed the last remnants of his torch into the pit, but the depths seemed to be veiled in a thin mist, dimming the light considerably.
The torch's final glow burned out in the cave, quickly plunging the surroundings into complete darkness. Viserys placed his hand on the rock at the pit's edge, his pale violet eyes gleaming faintly.
"Viserys?" Daenerys, huddled beside him, naturally noticed his unusual behavior. In the pitch-black darkness, she could only find solace by his side, feeling as if even her connection to Viserion outside had been severed.
But Viserys didn't respond to the girl's voice, for his eyes now beheld a different scene.
He invoked the Old Gods' power, using the rock above the cave as an anchor to retrace the past, back to the moment before the Old Gods' death.
Viserys now stood at the cave's entrance, with Daenerys no longer by his side, as they existed in different times. The sounds of wights rampaging filled the air, but none dared approach this place, seemingly avoiding something.
Suddenly, the outside fell silent.
Viserys stood alone at the edge of the bottomless pit, his eyes stirring slightly as he raised his head to gaze into the distant darkness.
Though deep underground without light, both had exceptional eyesight.
The Night King, wearing a broken crown of pale ice, stood not far away, quietly watching Viserys, who returned his gaze—a stare that transcended time and space.
The Night King discovered the future Viserys standing there but, after a long silence, decided to ignore him.
He couldn't stop Viserys from observing, just as he knew Viserys couldn't cross time to stop him.
The Night King took half a step back, turning to look behind him. A white-haired White Walker voluntarily stepped forward, unable to see Viserys and unaware of why the Night King had remained silent for so long. Without hesitation, it entered the bottomless pit.
"As I thought," Viserys mused, watching the White Walker descend into the pit, a restless urge stirring within him to follow.
After all, he was merely a spiritual body, and this was a past event.
However, Viserys ultimately restrained his impulsive desire, choosing to endure. When he turned back, he discovered that the Night King and the White Walker had already vanished.
"Not waiting for it to come out?" Viserys was slightly startled, then fell into contemplation.
After an unknown amount of time, Viserys finally came back to his senses in the darkness.
He sat on the ground at the cave's edge, leaning against a nearby wall. The cave's temperature was quite warm, and Daenerys still waited by his side, having fallen asleep while holding him at some point.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder