Hiss-ROAR!
The malformed dragon's soul was consumed by resentment and fury. Its skin, unprotected by scales, was a mass of exposed, fragile nerves. Every movement brought excruciating agony.
Yet it thrashed and chased wildly, trapping itself in an endless cycle of pain.
Daeron's initial fear was gone, replaced by a faint, indescribable sadness.
It wasn't that the family had no dragons.
It was that every dragon capable of hatching on its own had turned out to be a congenital deformity.
His hands were trembling slightly.
In his eyes, this wasn't a monster or an abomination, but property that rightfully belonged to his family.
A dragon! A real, living dragon!
It had only become malformed because the magical tide was insufficient.
"If it had been in my hands, it would never have ended up like this."
Daeron thought of the newly discovered clutch of eggs, his heart heavy with regret.
With this thought in mind, he decided not to leave. He would end this malformed dragon's suffering.
A hatchling was only the size of a cat. A six-meter-long dragon body meant it had lived for at least three years.
If it were a healthy dragon, he would have turned and run.
But a deformed creature with no limbs, no scales, struggling to even move, whose only attack was breathing fire? He was confident he could kill it.
Shwing!
Neptune's Greatsword was drawn, its azure blade a stark contrast to the cavern's gloomy red.
Click-click-click!
The Magma Duggy scurried sneakily, trying to bite Daeron's legs.
This was the reptile monster that had bitten Prince Lewyn.
"I don't know how you came to be, but you did a good job."
Daeron swung the greatsword. Sparks flew as it struck the Magma Duggy's iron shell, failing to kill it.
However, forcing it back repeatedly dealt significant damage to the creature.
He didn't attack it again but charged toward the malformed dragon thrashing in the rocks.
Squelch!
A thrust of his sword easily pierced the malformed dragon's flesh, spraying out foul blood as hot as magma.
Daeron dodged quickly to avoid being burned to a crisp.
Hiss-ROAR!
Injured and enraged, the malformed dragon acted like a mindless beast, rearing its head and spraying fire wildly, filling the cavern with thick smoke.
Daeron fought and retreated, luring the malformed dragon and the Magma Duggy together toward the pile of purple-red crystals.
The malformed dragon wasn't hard to deal with.
Aside from its powerful fire, it was pathetically weak in every other aspect—essentially a stationary damage sponge that breathed fire.
Once the two monsters were close.
Daeron used a rock to launch himself into the air, landing on the malformed dragon's back, gripping Neptune's Greatsword with both hands pointing down.
"Goodbye!"
With that, he drove the azure greatsword straight down, piercing the weak point where the malformed dragon's skull connected to its spine.
The pitiful dragon collapsed with a crash, its body, filled with nothing but pain, finding release for the first time.
Click-click-click!
The massive dragon carcass fell, landing squarely on the Magma Duggy. The gushing, scalding dragon blood drowned it.
The Magma Duggy was heat-resistant, but it couldn't withstand temperatures comparable to magma.
It died instantly, its body emitting thick smoke.
Daeron immediately retreated, running a good distance away before diving into a corner, covering his ears, and opening his mouth.
When a Magma Duggy dies, it causes a small explosion.
BOOM!!
The Magma Duggy's corpse exploded. The shockwave blew the malformed dragon's carcass into two pieces and cleared all the nearby rocks.
When Daeron stood up again, three items had appeared out of thin air in the clearing, alongside the dragon corpse.
A giant, deep purple tooth, two Solar Essences, and a pile of Cinder Shards rich in fire magic...
Only killing monsters dropped materials.
Daeron collected the precious materials and walked to the malformed dragon's corpse, speculating, "Did you eat Magma Caps to survive with such a deformed body?"
He remembered the gnawed roots of the fungi.
Most likely, after hatching, the malformed dragon accidentally ate the Magma Caps spawned by the Dragonmont, and their powerful vitality allowed it to survive tenaciously.
And eating the vitality-filled mushrooms made it special.
Similar to the special cow owned by Count Owen's family.
That was why it dropped a Dragon Tooth upon death and even spawned a Magma Duggy.
Dragon Tooth: Legend says these are the teeth of ancient serpents. The enamel is made of pure iridium!
Even in the game, this was a precious material needed in the late game.
"But you're not a serpent. You're a dragon."
Daeron pulled out Neptune's Greatsword, which he hadn't had time to retrieve earlier, bringing with it a spray of dragon blood.
"Prince!"
"Prince, are you alright!?"
Barristan and Ser Jon rushed into the cavern, just in time to see Daeron stepping on the dragon's head and forcefully pulling out his greatsword.
"..."
Ser Jon's face flushed red, overcome with excitement.
Barristan's mind went blank, and he blurted out, "The Bold Prince."
Daeron glanced back calmly.
---
Nightfall.
Shaena was left in Elia's room, where Elia pulled her aside for a quiet chat.
She hadn't met Rhaegar's family during the wedding.
Meeting Daeron for the first time had left a great impression on her.
Elia naturally felt fond of and close to this quiet little girl.
Especially since her marriage to Rhaegar had a lot to do with Shaena herself.
"Do you want to rest for a while?"
Elia helped her change into a nightgown and took out a comb, intending to brush her hair.
Shaena gazed toward the Dragonmont and whispered as if sensing something, "They are coming back."
"Who?" Elia paused.
Shaena: "The dragons!"
---
The Dragonmont.
An area had been cleared. A large pile of wood was stacked to form an altar, surrounded by bright torches.
Daeron stood in the center of the altar, placing three dragon eggs in order.
One was completely red with golden specks and black spirals.
One was largely cobalt blue with a gradient of blue-purple to honey-yellow.
One was deep green with a shell that seemed shrouded in black mist, appearing both black and green.
These three eggs were recovered from the ruins of Whitewalls, the Hightower of Oldtown, and the depths of the Dragonmont, respectively.
"Tonight, I will bring you back to the world."
Daeron took out the Dragon Tooth, three Solar Essences, and over a dozen Cinder Shards, piling them around the eggs.
Just in case, he also laid the two halves of the malformed dragon's corpse at the base of the altar.
To hatch dragon eggs, all that was needed was vitality and fire magic.
Solar Essence replenished vitality. Cinder Shards provided abundant fire magic.
The Dragon Tooth connected to the dragon bloodline.
The corpse of the malformed dragon might have unexpected effects.
Daeron: "It must succeed!"
The moment he killed the malformed dragon, he had an epiphany: dragons would return to the world.
Stepping down from the altar, he took a torch from Davos and threw it heavily onto the pile.
Whoosh!
The wood ignited instantly, turning into a massive bonfire that lit up the night sky.
Barristan said, "Prince, step back a bit. The fire is still building."
Seeing the bones of the malformed dragon and understanding what Prince Daeron was doing...
His previous understanding of the world was completely overturned. All he could do was silently stand by the Prince's side.
Daeron said nothing, staring intently at the bonfire.
Seeing this, Barristan sighed softly and signaled Ser Jon and Davos. The three of them spread out to guard the perimeter.
The Dragonkeepers on the mountain had been bribed and wouldn't appear before dawn.
But hatching dragon eggs was a huge event. If successful, there would be three dragons.
At this moment, anyone who approached was an enemy.
The fire burned, the wood resin crackling and popping. It was the only sound that could mask their heavy breathing tonight.
Thump! Thump!
His heart beat like a drum, threatening to leap out of his throat.
Daeron clenched his fists, blood rushing through his veins. He could barely contain himself.
Time passed, second by second...
Midnight, 00:00.
The bonfire was still raging, but there was no movement or strange sound.
Daeron went from nervous to expectant, from expectant to anxious, and finally to panicked, his heart palpitating.
"Something's wrong. Why is there no movement yet?"
He realized something was bad.
Davos, ever the talker, quickly tried to comfort him. "Prince, the fire is still strong. Perhaps it needs more time."
"No! It's not a matter of time!"
Daeron's mind raced, racking his brains to figure out which step had gone wrong.
Dragon Tooth, vitality, fire magic...
The three requirements were met.
What was the scene when Daenerys hatched her dragons?
Daeron's eyes flickered as he replayed the scene in his mind.
Drogo's life brought vitality, the witch brought fire magic, and Daenerys stepped into the fire herself...
"Dragon blood!"
Daeron's heart sank. "The Dragon Tooth purifies the dragon blood, but for the hatchlings to break their shells, they need the blood of the true dragon bloodline as a catalyst."
In other words, a blood sacrifice.