Location: The Narrow Sea - The Flagship Dragon's Breath
The journey from Meereen to Westeros took weeks. The massive armada—a mix of Ironborn-style reavers, Volantene galleys, and Qartheen trading ships—cut through the dark waves of the Narrow Sea.
On the deck of the command ship, Ren stood at the bow. The air was getting colder. The humid heat of Essos was replaced by the biting salt spray of the west.
[System Notification]
[Entering Region: Westeros.]
[Local Magic: Low (Suppressed by the Maesters).]
Daenerys walked up beside him. She wore a heavy cloak lined with fur, shivering slightly.
"I was born on Dragonstone," Daenerys whispered, looking at the fog ahead.
"During the worst storm in living memory. That's why they call me Stormborn."
"The storm is calm today," Ren said. "But the castle isn't empty."
"Stannis Baratheon holds it," Daenerys said, gripping the railing. "The Usurper's brother."
"Stannis is in the North," Ren corrected, checking his intel map (updated by Saya). "He sailed to the Wall to play hero. He left a skeleton crew behind. We aren't fighting a King today, Daenerys. We're evicting a squatter."
Dragonstone emerged from the mist like a jagged tooth of black rock. The castle, shaped by ancient Valyrian magic to look like crouching dragons, was imposing and grim.
There were no enemy ships in the harbor. Stannis had taken his fleet.
Ren turned to Grey Worm.
"Secure the beach. Unsullied first."
"Yes, Commander."
The landing craft hit the black sand. The Unsullied poured out, shields locked.
Ren, Daenerys, and the Harem Squad followed.
Ren stepped onto the sand. He knelt down and touched the ground.
"Cold," Ren muttered. "And full of Dragonglass."
"Dragonglass?" Hirano asked, lugging his gear crate onto the beach.
"Frozen fire," Ren said. "Obsidian. It kills White Walkers. We're sitting on the biggest ammunition dump in the world."
Ren looked up at the castle gates. A small garrison of Baratheon soldiers stood on the battlements, looking terrified at the sight of thousands of Unsullied and six dragons circling overhead.
"Surrender!" Ren's voice was amplified by Telekinesis, booming over the roar of the waves. "Open the gates, and you live to serve another day. Keep them closed, and I melt the stone around you!"
The castellan didn't hesitate. The gates groaned open.
The Baratheon stag banner was lowered.
An hour later, they were inside. The castle was dark, smelling of sulfur and salt.
They gathered in the Chamber of the Painted Table—a massive room dominated by a wooden table carved in the shape of Westeros.
Daenerys ran her hand along the wood. She touched King's Landing.
"We are here," she whispered.
Ren stood at the head of the table. His team—Maggie, Saeko, Saya, Annie, Andrea, Amy, Shizuka, Hirano—lined the walls. Tyrion Lannister (who had joined them in Meereen as an advisor, smuggled by Varys) poured himself wine.
"So," Tyrion said, looking at the map. "Here we are. Cersei is in the Red Keep. The Tyrells control the Reach. The North is... complicated."
"We strike King's Landing," Yara Greyjoy (who had allied her ships) suggested. "One day. We burn the fleet, we storm the city."
"And kill fifty thousand civilians?" Tyrion countered. "You want to be Queen of the Ashes?"
"We don't need to storm the city," Ren interrupted.
Ren walked to the table. He picked up a marker—a carved dragon piece.
He placed it on Casterly Rock.
"The Lannisters draw their power from two things," Ren said. "Their gold (which they ran out of) and their reputation."
He looked at Annie.
"Annie. You, Saeko, and the Unsullied take Casterly Rock. It's impregnable to armies, but not to a Titan who can climb the cliffs."
"And you?" Daenerys asked.
"I'm going to the Reach," Ren said, placing another marker on Highgarden. "The Tyrells have all the food. Cersei needs food. I'm going to remind Olenna Tyrell that flowers burn."
"We split the army?" Saya asked, frowning. "That's risky."
"It's not a split," Ren said. "It's a pincer. We starve King's Landing. We take their home. And then..."
Ren looked at the North of the map. The Wall.
"Then I go North."
Later that night, Ren was in his quarters, organizing his Inventory.
He had 5,850 Points. He needed to spend them before the war escalated.
[Shop Transaction]
[Purchase: Universal Comms System (Earbuds x10): 1,000 Points. (Instant telepathic-like communication for the team across continents).]
[Purchase: Titan Stamina Vial x5: 2,500 Points. (Instantly restores Shifter stamina. Crucial for Annie or Ren).
Remaining Balance: 2,350 Points.]
Ren handed the earbuds to his team during dinner.
"Put these in," Ren ordered. "Range is planetary. If Annie gets into trouble at Casterly Rock, I want to know instantly."
Suddenly, the door to the war room creaked open.
A woman in a red dress entered. She looked older than Kinvara, but her eyes burned with the same fanaticism.
Melisandre. The Red Woman.
She had stayed behind when Stannis left.
She looked at Daenerys, then she looked at Ren.
She walked straight to Ren. She touched his chest.
"You," Melisandre whispered, her eyes widening. "You have no heart."
Ren grabbed her wrist. "I have a pump that moves blood. That's enough."
"No," Melisandre stared into his eyes. "I looked into the flames. I saw the Prince That Was Promised. I saw the Warrior of Light."
She looked confused.
"I thought it was Stannis. Then I thought it was Jon Snow. But you... you burn brighter than both."
"I'm not your prince, Red Woman," Ren said, releasing her hand. "I'm the Sovereign."
"Names do not matter," Melisandre said, backing away. "The Night King wakes. He has seen you."
"Seen me?" Ren asked.
"He is a greenseer," Melisandre warned. "He sees through the eyes of the ravens. He saw the white dragon. He saw the white giant."
Melisandre pointed North.
"He is not marching for the Wall anymore, Ren. He is waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"For you to bring him a dragon."
Ren walked out to the battlements of Dragonstone. The wind was howling.
He looked North.
Through his Hawk-Eye Serum (shared via Andrea's link) and his System Sight, he tried to peer into the distance.
[System Warning]
[Psychic Intrusion Detected.]
Ren blinked.
Suddenly, he wasn't on Dragonstone.
He was standing on a plain of ice. The wind was silent.
In front of him stood the Night King.
The Night King didn't have a sword. He held an ice spear.
Behind him stood hundreds of White Walkers. And behind them... thousands of wights.
But that wasn't what made Ren's blood run cold.
Standing next to the Night King was a familiar figure.
Chrome armor. Dented, broken, but repairing itself with blue ice magic instead of nanomachines.
The Arbiter.
She hadn't died. The system glitch sent her... here. To the land of Always Winter.
The Night King placed a hand on the Arbiter's shoulder. Her red visor flickered blue.
She looked at Ren.
"Target Re-Acquired," The Arbiter's voice echoed in Ren's mind, distorted by the Night King's magic. "Alliance Established. Protocol: Extinction."
Ren gasped and snapped back to reality on Dragonstone. He was sweating.
"Ren?" Daenerys touched his arm. "What is it?"
Ren looked at her, his face pale.
"Change of plans," Ren said grimly. "We take Westeros fast. We burn Cersei if we have to."
"Why the rush?"
"Because my 'Janitor'," Ren said, gripping the stone railing until it cracked. "Just teamed up with the Devil."