The Gate God pondered and said, "If I intended to hand the Divine Kingdom over to the Green Prophet, I would have done so ten thousand years ago.
The Seal of the Green Prophet concerns the power of space and time, and can even interfere with destiny. It is already strong enough. With or without my Divine Kingdom, it makes little difference to any of you."
"But now the Seal of the Green Prophet is shattered," Bran replied.
"That is the Green Prophet's business." The Gate God's voice grew distant. "I said it before. My Divine Kingdom was never meant for you.
In my prophecy, it belongs to a great human king of noble character.Now that another calamity descends upon the world, in this era when gods and demons walk among mortals, human rulers without power surpassing gods and demons will see even the loftiest ideals wash away like sandcastles on the beach.
So eight thousand years ago, at the moment of my death, I decided that when I faded into nothingness, what I left behind would become the sharpest sword in the hands of the great human king."
"Jon Stark is noble of heart, sincere and kind, destined by fate to be the savior. As the only living child of Rhaegar Targaryen, he is also the rightful human king of the Seven Kingdoms. Why not entrust your Divine Kingdom to him?" Bran demanded.
"At first, I truly did intend to choose him as my successor," the Gate God hesitated.
"Why change your mind now? Is it because of R'hllor? But Jon has already completely severed his fate-bound entanglement with R'hllor." Bran cried in disbelief.
"Heh heh heh," R'hllor laughed with contempt.
You think you can escape me? Dream on!
"It has nothing to do with R'hllor," the Gate God said, his tone layered with complexity. "As long as this world can be saved, even if the Divine Kingdom I bestowed upon a human king ultimately falls into R'hllor's hands, I would not mind. But"
"But what?" Bran asked anxiously.
"Jon Stark is very good, but Daenerys is better."
If one can drive a Ferrari, why ride in a van?
That was what it boiled down to.
"Mother Goddess, do not be deceived by Daenerys. She is hypocritical and vain. Not only does she lack love for Westeros, she even harbors deep disgust for this land," Bran pleaded urgently.
Well, the Dragon Queen could fool the heavens and earth and perhaps even fool herself, but she could never fool the omniscient Three-Eyed Raven.
"In truth, I also despise Westeros as it is right now," the Gate God muttered gloomily.
"What?" Bran was stunned.
"Once, this land was a peaceful paradise. There was no scheming, no slaughter, no lies or deception, no betrayal or broken vows. All living beings opened their hearts and chanted the same song in their different voices.
The Westeros of today feels unfamiliar. It is like a festering swamp, filling me with disgust and the urge to flee."
Bran's face twisted.
You are the Mother Goddess of Westeros! Do you not fear breaking the hearts of millions when you speak like this?
Hearing the Gate God disdain Westeros nearly made Bran's heart split apart.
"Jon will change everything once he ascends the Iron Throne," he said sorrowfully.
"Perhaps. Jon Stark may restore the knightly glory of hundreds or thousands of years past. But regardless of what he does, it only resets the cycle anew."
"Daenerys is not as perfect as you think," Bran pleaded.
"She is certainly not perfect. But she is undoubtedly the best there is.
Sigh, the others are simply far worse.
At the very least, since she came to Westeros, she has never once committed an act of betrayal or broken oath.
Even if she is, as you claim, hypocritical or vain, no matter her true nature, everything she says and does heralds justice and mercy.
In twelve thousand years of Westerosi kings, she is not the first to care for all peoples, but she is the only one willing to pay the price for her compassion.
Bran, tell me. Name a king who has taken all of his wealth to feed ordinary folk who bear no relation to him. Remember, all of it."
Bran remained silent for a long moment before forcing out, "If Jon had that much gold, he would also buy grain and aid the starving."
"Perhaps. But the truth is that in ten thousand years of human history, among countless kings, only Daenerys has truly done it." The Gate God replied calmly.
"She has dragons, and Slaver's Bay, and more grain than she could ever need. She lacks nothing and has no need for gold. That is why she can be so generous," Bran lamented.
The Gate God sighed with bitter amusement. "And with no gold, the other kings would die? They do not lack wealth. They simply cannot fill the pit of their greed.
Power and wealth are no different.
If I gave ten parts of power to kings who cannot restrain their desires, they would spend nine parts on themselves and devote one to noble ideals.
Jon Stark is better. He would spend only six parts on himself.
Daenerys surely has mortal desires too, but they are small, long since satisfied by her own strength.
If I give her ten parts of power, she will use all ten to make the world better.
Knowing that, how could I choose anyone else as heir?"
Weariness surged over the Gate God like a breaking tide. As he spoke those words, he felt his moment finally arriving.
"BOOOM!"
Without warning, an overwhelming aura erupted from the blue star, expanding outward like a nuclear explosion.
The shapeless yet solid shockwave pushed back storms, waves, clouds, shadows, sunlight, ice, snow—everything.
"Ah! The old block of wood is about to perish completely! Hurry, stop him! Do not let him hand the Divine Kingdom away!"
Patch-Face was blasted beneath the sea, but his spirit voice still echoed. He no longer called the Gate God "Lord" and tore away all pretense as he prepared to seize the Divine Kingdom.
"Everyone strike together! Take whatever you can! Whoever grabs it keeps it! Whatever you do, do not let that mortal queen take all the spoils!" From the shadows, the enraged roars of demon gods echoed.
"Weng…"
A ring of azure wind lit up around the cyan star.
Then the dim sky beneath the wind ring gradually faded, and a wisp of thin golden red evening glow was projected from within.
Gradually, beneath the cyan wind ring, an image of another world emerged, the scene of Meereen at that moment.
The cyan star had actually opened a spatial portal.
"Ah, a spacetime gate. That old block of dead wood has opened a spacetime gate. Hurry, stop Him!" a roar of shock and fury came from the Eye of the Storm.
At this moment, all the surrounding demon gods knew they could no longer hold back.
"Everyone, disperse. My legacy belongs to the Human Emperor of great talent and ambition, who works tirelessly and strives to build a beautiful new world. That person is Daenerys Targaryen."
The Gate Guardian gathered his last strength, his voice like thunder, resounding through heaven and earth. "My power shall become the blade in her hand, helping her cut through thorns and overcome all obstacles, and ultimately find a path of light for this endlessly falling world…"
Suddenly, a burst of highly energetic and bizarre music came from the other side of the spacetime gate.
Because the music was too strange, and because the scene shown beyond the gate was too unexpected, the Gate Guardian's final declaration came to an abrupt halt, and the demon gods' charged attack also paused.
It was a sky garden filled with blooming flowers and lush green trees.
Musicians played strange, fast-paced music that made one want to twist their waist and shake their neck.
In fact, more than a dozen beautiful young girls on the lawn, along with two centaur girls, were bouncing and jumping as if having epileptic fits.
The Dragon Queen herself had joined in.
She wore loose silk robes and trousers. Her silver hair was braided into more than a dozen small plaits, each tied with bells. Standing behind a drum kit, sleeves rolled up, she held drumsticks in both hands, rapidly striking leather drums and gongs, shaking her head and body. The bells on her braids chimed crisply with each movement.
Above her head floated a mass of green wildfire, a mass of golden dragonflame, a mass of blazing white holy dragonflame, a mass of red bonfire flames, as well as purple and cyan flames produced by burning metal powders provided by fire mages.
The multicolored flames cast flickering, ghostly light and shadows over the garden. Combined with the strange fast-paced music, light and sound formed an indescribably bizarre harmony.
"Your Majesty, Jenny has not yet been found, and yet the Long Night has already arrived. You cannot live in drunken dreams and indulge in pleasure like this," an elderly man with white hair walked over, deeply worried, and loudly admonished her.
The music stopped abruptly, and the dancers ceased their swaying.
"Sigh, I've fought wars my whole life. I finally managed to settle down a bit. Can't I enjoy myself?" the Dragon Queen said impatiently.
"But Jenny…"
"She's a grasshopper after autumn. She'll be dealt with sooner or later."
"The Long Night…"
"The White Walkers are blocked by the Wall." She waved her hand, dismissing the old man, then shouted to the dancers and musicians, "Continue the music, continue the dance. Eh?"
The Dragon Queen suddenly raised her head. The casual look on her face vanished completely, replaced by a sharp, fierce expression. Her eyes flashed like lightning as she stared straight toward the direction of the spacetime gate, though in truth there was only a dim evening glow there, nothing to be seen.
"What kind of demon dares to spy on me? Are you tired of living?" the Dragon Queen shouted angrily, then turned and called out behind her, "Valyrian Steel Guards!"
The dancers, musicians, maids, and old Aemon all changed expression. Without wasting words, they swiftly retreated.
Clatter, clatter. The sound of armor colliding came from behind the performance area.
A group of soldiers in bright silver armor rushed over, swords drawn and shields raised, layering themselves around the Dragon Queen to protect her at the center.
Well, although the Dragon Queen began to enjoy life after achieving some success midway through her rise, her vigilance had not decreased. It was even stronger than during wartime. In battle she often wore armor and wielded a sword, and thus feared assassins less.
"Eh, Gate Guardian?" Dany sensed a familiar aura and hesitantly called out, "Gate Guardian, do you need my help with something?"
Not only was there the divine power fluctuation of the Gate Guardian, there were also more than a dozen strands of sinister, dark divine soul power.
Most likely, the Gate Guardian was together with more than a dozen evil gods.
What were they doing?
Dany guessed that the Gate Guardian had been targeted by evil gods and had come to seek her aid.
Thinking this, she immediately entered her Dragon Spirit state.
Five giant dragons opened their cold, vertical pupils. The nine-colored vortex in her sea of consciousness spun at high speed. They opened their mouths, magic gathering in their throats, and dragonflame erupted.
The five streams of dragonflame from the five giant dragons converged above Dany's head. Five lines merged into a single point, forming a fireball.
The fireball, condensing the magic power of five giant dragons, nearly twisted space itself, and also jolted awake the group of demon gods opposite, whose jaws were practically about to drop.
"Uh, is this the great talent and ambition, the tireless pioneer who cuts through thorns and strives to build a beautiful new world, chosen by you, you dead block of wood?" The dark demon god in the shadows spoke in a strange tone. One could imagine how twisted His expression must be at this moment.
"Mother Goddess, she lives in drunken dreams, indulges in pleasure, and behaves strangely. She truly cannot bear such a great responsibility," Bran said quietly.
"Lord God, I've followed you for several million years as well. Hand the divine kingdom over to me. This kind of degenerate mortal is not worth entrusting with such an important task," the Eye of the Storm declared righteously.
"Sigh, long ago, she left a spiritual imprint in my divine kingdom. This matter has already been decided."
The Gate Guardian sighed. The cyan star turned into a streak of light and was about to rush into the spacetime gate.
(End of chapter)
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