Chapter 205: Bran's RescueNew4 days ago
Jacob and his group stood a short distance from the cave entrance, their eyes fixed on the massive weirwood tree atop the hill where the cave was hidden.
Lydia shivered. "I don't like that tree. It feels... wrong."
Jacob nodded. "I can feel it too. There's something dark about it. Something hungry. It feels like a supernatural creature."
Stiles's eyes widened. "A supernatural creature?"
Jacob said, "Yes. It feels like a monster, not just a tree."
Allison studied the tree. "Could it attack us?"
Jacob shrugged. "I don't know. But you guys should stay alert. Let's go."
The snow crunched beneath the hooves of their horses as they approached the cave. But before they could take more than a few steps, figures emerged from the darkness of the cave's entrance.
Twenty small, humanoid figures emerged, their yellowish-green eyes glowing with ancient malice. They stood no more than four feet tall, with gray-green skin that looked more like bark or moss than flesh. Clad in rough-spun garments, they carried obsidian weapons—daggers, spears, and strange black spheres.
Stiles stared at them. "What are those creatures?"
Samwell's voice was filled with wonder. "Those are... those are the Children of the Forest. I've read about them. They were supposed to be extinct."
Malia's eyes glowed red. "Are they good or bad?"
Jacob used his X-ray vision and looked deep into the cave. He saw Bran—alive, sitting near a weirwood root with Meera and Hodor and his wolf Summer. They were looking at Bloodraven, who was still in pain from Lydia's attack. A few Children of the Forest were tending to him.
Knowing that Bran was still safe and now that he saw where he was, he could teleport to him anytime. Jacob turned back to the group.
"The Children of the Forest," Jacob said, his voice calm, "are the original inhabitants of Westeros. They lived here long before the First Men arrived. They were creatures of nature—you could call them treehuggers if you want."
He paused. "But humans drove them to extinction, so in desperation, they used dark magic to create the White Walkers as a weapon."
Stiles frowned. "So they're not bad?"
Jacob shook his head. "I didn't say they're not bad. They also practice ancient blood magic, and their entire network of trees grows more powerful by absorbing life force and human blood. They casually sacrifice people to get what they want."
Jon's eyes narrowed, and he put his hand on Longclaw's pommel. "So they are the ones who created the Night King?"
Jacob nodded. "Yes. They made him. And then they lost control of him. The White Walkers turned on them, and the Children of the Forest were nearly wiped out. The ones who survived retreated to the far north, hiding in caves like this one."
He looked at the Children of the Forest standing before them. "And they still practice blood magic. They still kill humans to fuel their dark rituals."
Malia growled. "Then they are bad people, right? Should we kill them?"
Jacob's voice was flat. "If they stand in our way, yes. We will kill every last one of them."
One of the Children of the Forest—a female with sharp features—stepped forward. Her name was Ash, and she carried a spear with a dragonglass head.
"Who are you people?" Ash demanded. "And what are you doing here?"
Jacob said in a cold voice with an evil smirk, "We are here for that old creepy voyeur. Bloodraven."
Ash's eyes narrowed. "What do you want from him?"
Jacob's smirk widened. "His life."
Without a shred of hesitation, Ash raised her spear and shouted a command in her ancient tongue. "Attack!"
The Children of the Forest raised their hands and threw the dark spheres—magical fire grenades crafted from dragonglass and magic. The spheres glowed blue and flew fast toward Jacob and his group.
Jacob simply waved his hand.
The spheres stopped in mid-air, reversed direction, and flew back toward the Children of the Forest.
The Children of the Forest panicked. They tried to run back into the cave, but it was too late. The spheres exploded on impact, killing a few instantly and engulfing several others in fire. They ran around screaming while on flames.
Tormund dismounted his horse and ran toward them screaming. "Do you know how many Free Folk died because of the White Walkers?" He cut a screaming one in half with his axe. "Do you know how much we suffered because of the White Walkers?" He cut another one.
Ash said in her language to the Children of the Forest that were not hurt by the magic bombs, "Let's go back inside!" She escaped inside the cave, and five other Children of the Forest who were not on fire followed her.
Tormund managed to catch up with one of the five fleeing ones and cut her head off. "Die, you little cunt!" he shouted.
Then he was about to run inside, but Jacob said, "Don't go inside alone, Tormund. It's dangerous for you in there."
Tormund stopped, turned around, and began finishing off the Children of the Forest still burning on the ground.
After killing them all, he returned to the group and looked at Brienne with a foolish, lovesick grin, clearly expecting her to be impressed.
Brienne sighed and ignored him.
Stiles stared. "I didn't know people in this world had bombs."
Jacob said, "They don't have gunpowder as far as I know. But they have something called wildfire. As for what these guys are using, it's magical bombs."
He dismounted Shadow and took a step forward. "Alright. Let's go in."
The others all dismounted and followed him.
---
Deep Inside the Cave — Hidden Chamber
Behind a hidden door that Meera and Bran had never reached or even known about, the tunnels twisted and turned, lit by glowing roots that pulsed with a sickly red light. They led to a chamber in the heart of the roots of the giant tree, just under the chamber where Bloodraven was fused with the roots. The walls were covered in carvings—ancient symbols of weirwood trees, of the Children of the Forest, of the First Men.
And blood.
There was blood everywhere, and it was fresh—steam still rose from it. It stained the walls. It pooled on the floor. It dripped from the ceiling.
Ten Children of the Forest were there with nineteen dead corpses—wildlings and stray rangers captured over the months.
Leaf—one of the ten Children of the Forest—held a struggling human. The man was a ranger from the Night's Watch. He was thin, ragged, terrified. His wrists were bound. His eyes were wide with fear as he had witnessed the death of the nineteen people who were prisoners with him.
Leaf raised an obsidian dagger. She whispered an incantation in her ancient language.
Then she slit his throat.
The man's blood sprayed across the weirwood roots. The roots absorbed it—along with all the blood in the chamber. The blood vanished into the wood, feeding the ancient tree. Then the roots started moving and stabbed into the dead bodies, absorbing them.
The bodies shriveled and turned into bone and skin that dried in moments, becoming like they had been dead for years.
---
Lydia stopped dead in the middle of the tunnel. Her eyes glowed white.
"Jay," she said, her voice distant and cold. "I can feel it. Death. I think they killed people for blood magic."
Jacob frowned and used his X-ray vision, searching the tree. "How many? And where?"
Lydia's voice trembled with rage. "I can feel twenty dead people." She looked down. "Underground."
Jacob looked down with his X-ray and saw them in a chamber. He saw ten Children of the Forest and saw roots absorbing dead corpses and turning them into dry husks.
Jacob's expression darkened. "We're too late. They killed them all. And they're using the blood and the corpses to feed the tree for some reason."
Allison frowned. "How do you know that?"
Jacob said, "I can feel it now that we're inside the cave." He thought, 'I can't feel a thing. I just used my X-ray vision and saw them. But I will never tell them that. I will never tell them about my X-ray vision.'
Lydia narrowed her eyes at him. "I feel like you're hiding something from us."
Jacob said, "I'm not hiding anything. Let's hurry and rescue Bran."
He walked ahead, and everyone followed him through the tunnels.
But just as they took a turn, the Children of the Forest started attacking them.
They emerged from the shadows of the tunnels, throwing obsidian spears and launching dark magic—waves of shadow that tried to swallow the group whole. They screamed their ancient war cries, their eyes burning with hatred.
Jacob raised his hand. A shimmering energy shield surrounded everyone.
"They're using dark magic," he ordered. "Stay inside the energy shield."
Allison raised her hand. Ice arrows shot from her palm, each one finding a Child of the Forest. They pierced through the small creatures, killing them and pinning them to the walls.
Malia raised her hands and pointed them like guns. Lightning bullets crackled from her fingers, striking the Children in the chest, in the head, in the heart, leaving bloody holes. They died before hitting the floor.
Sansa and Lydia's fire attacks burned them to ash.
Stiles sent Lightning Weasels chasing after the Children of the Forest, electrocuting them to death.
The Children fell. One by one, they died.
Jacob frowned and thought, 'If I remember correctly, there were only six Children of the Forest in the cave with Bran and the Three-Eyed Raven in the show. But now there are more—we just killed forty of them, and there are a few more of them with Bloodraven and ten underground.' He shook his head. 'Well, it doesn't matter. I guess this is a real world, and things could be different from the show.'
---
Soon, they reached the chamber where Bran was with the Three-Eyed Raven.
The chamber was filled with the roots of the weirwood tree, coiling through the walls.
Bloodraven—the Three-Eyed Raven—was tangled in the roots. He was a wrinkled old man that seemed more corpse than living being. His skin was pale, stretched tight over his bones, and a red birthmark on his cheek resembled a raven painted in blood.
Blood was dripping from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
He was looking at Jacob's group—and especially Lydia—with fear.
Leaf was already back with the ten Children of the Forest that were with her underground.
The ten Children of the Forest joined fifteen others to protect Bloodraven. They stood in front of him with spears.
Bran sat nearby, his hand grasping a root of the weirwood tree and his eyes white and empty. Meera was crouched beside him, her face full of fear. Hodor sat beside them, saying "Hodor" over and over, his massive body rocking back and forth.
Summer, Bran's direwolf, was growling at Jacob and his group until he caught the Starks' scent and saw his brothers Shaggydog and Ghost. He stopped growling.
Leaf cast a wary glance at Jacob's group, then hurried to Bran's side with a bowl of red liquid, attempting to make him drink it.
Jacob waved his hand. The bowl flew from Leaf's grasp and landed in his hand.
She gasped and took a few steps back toward Bloodraven.
Jacob sniffed the bowl.
"Herbs and blood," he said. "Human blood."
Sansa and Arya ran to Bran.
Sansa killed the Children of the Forest that tried to get in their way. She burned them without hesitation, her face cold with fury.
Jon followed them, his sword ready.
Sansa caught Bran and shook him, but he didn't wake up.
She glared at Meera and said, "What did you do to my brother?"
Meera stammered, "Brother?"
Arya put her dagger at Meera's throat. "Speak, if you don't want to lose your head."
Jacob said, "Easy, Arya. The girl isn't an enemy. And Bran is fine." He looked at Lydia. "Wake him up. Just call out his name with your banshee voice."
Lydia walked toward Bran and called out his name using her banshee voice.
Bran blinked. His eyes slowly returned to normal. He looked around, confused, then saw his family.
"Sansa?" he whispered. "Arya? Jon?" A happy smile appeared on his face. "You're alive."
Sansa hugged him. "Yes. Rickon is here too."
Bran looked around. "Where?"
Arya pointed behind Jacob. "Over there."
Jacob said to Rickon, "Go see your brother."
Rickon hesitated, looking at the Children of the Forest.
Jacob said, "Don't worry. We won't let them touch you."
Rickon then walked toward them with Osha and Shaggydog.
One of the Children of the Forest, filled with rage at the death of her companions, tried to attack Rickon. Jacob used his telekinesis and turned her into a bloody mist.
Leaf and the other Children saw what happened to their companion. Fear flickered across their faces—but it was quickly swallowed by hatred and rage. They all attacked.
Jacob used his telekinesis again and turned them all to a bloody mist. He saw the bloody mist get consumed by the tree but didn't try to stop it. He smirked and thought, 'I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of monster this tree is.'
Meera saw Leaf and the Children of the Forest turn into a bloody mist and screamed in fear and pain, as she still thought of them as friends.
Lydia put a calming hand on Meera's shoulder. "Girl, calm down. Those creatures are evil and dangerous that's why we killed them."
Meera stopped screaming, and her tears stopped—not because she trusted Lydia, but because she was scared Lydia would kill her.
Bran pointed at Jacob. "Who is he? And why did he kill Leaf and the others?"
Sansa said, "He is my husband. And he just saved your life."
Bran frowned. "Saved my life?"
Sansa nodded. "Yes. The Children of the Forest aren't your friends. They were trying to help Bloodraven take over your body."
Bran said, "Who is Bloodraven?"
Arya turned and pointed her dagger directly at the old man entwined in the roots of the tree. "Him. He is trying to take over your body."
Bran's brow furrowed. "What? No. The Three-Eyed Raven is my teacher. He's been helping me—"
Lydia shook him. "He's been lying to you. He's not a teacher. He's a parasite."
Jacob stepped forward. "His real name is Brynden Rivers. He was a Targaryen bastard—a spymaster, a kinslayer, a man who murdered his own family to gain power. When his body started to rot, he came here and merged with the tree. And then he waited."
He looked to Bran. "He was waiting for a powerful skinchanger—someone like you, with the potential to become a greenseer. Someone whose body he could steal so he could leave this cave and rule Westeros."
Bran's face went pale. "That's... that's not true. He told me—"
"He told you what you wanted to hear," Jacob cut him off. "He's been manipulating you since you were in Winterfell."
Jacob turned to face Bloodraven.
"Am I right, Brynden Rivers?" Jacob asked.
Bloodraven tried to sound as kind as possible. "Everything you said is a lie. I do not want to take over Bran's body, and I don't want to rule Westeros. I am the living memory of the world. My mission is to ensure the survival of humanity by preserving its history."
Jacob laughed. "Yeah, sure. You're just a selfless old man who happens to live in a tree and spy on everyone in Westeros."
Bloodraven's tone turned cold. "I'm not spying. I'm recording history. I am the Three-Eyed Raven. The keeper of history."
Jacob shook his head. "No. You're a creepy old man who spies on people while they dress, sleep, and die. And you expect us to believe you don't have ulterior motives?"
Bloodraven's eye narrowed. "You don't understand what's at stake. The Night King is coming. Without my guidance, Bran cannot stop him."
Jacob raised his hand. "I don't have time to listen to your nonsense."
A massive fire serpent materialized from his palm.
"So goodbye," Jacob said, "you old creepy voyeur."
The fire serpent lunged. It engulfed Bloodraven in a torrent of white-hot flame.
Bloodraven screamed—a high, thin sound that echoed through the cave. His body withered, crumbled, and turned to ash. The roots around him blackened and snapped.
The weirwood tree shuddered and groaned. Its leaves fell like rain.
Stiles looked around. "What's going on? Why do I feel like this tree is moving?"
Jacob's eyes glowed red, and he said with a smirk, "It's awakening. And it is not a tree. It's a monster. A powerful ancient monster."
Just then, they heard a loud roar that vibrated inside their chests, and the ground started shaking around them.
Jacob turned to them. "This is going to be fun. But let's get out of here first."
He wrapped everyone in his telekinesis and teleported them outside beside their horses. They all raised their heads and watched as the giant weirwood tree kept roaring, and all its branches started moving and fusing together.
The tree was transforming.
Chapter 206: The Jubokko – Part 1New2 days ago
Jacob and his group watched as something ancient, something hungry that had been sleeping for thousands of years, finally awoke.
The weirwood tree twisted and expanded, transforming into a colossal, towering upper half of a giant monster fused to the hill from the waist down. Its face was a twisting mass of knotted bark with malicious, blood-red glowing eyes. Its giant clawed wooden hands thrashed wildly.
The monster roared and slammed its massive hands into the earth. Instantly, the ground beneath the group ruptured. Hundreds of jagged, spear-like wooden spikes shot out of the snow like a rapid-fire artillery barrage.
Jacob wrapped everyone in his telekinesis and teleported them far away.
Stiles stared wide-eyed at the massive tree creature in the distance. "What kind of monster is that?"
Jacob said, "That's not any monster. That is a demon."
Stiles's voice cracked. "A demon?"
Jacob was looking seriously at the tree monster that was now trying to free its legs from the ground. "Yes. Just like the yeti we fought before, and R'hllor, who we met yesterday."
Lydia said, "That thing is very powerful. And I feel like it's getting stronger by the second."
Allison asked, "Jay, do you know what kind of demon that thing is?"
Jacob nodded. "Yes. If I'm not wrong, that's a Jubokko. They exist in our world too, but they are not this strong."
Lydia asked, "What's a Jubokko?"
Jacob explained, "It's a Japanese mythical creature. At first, the Jubokko is just a malevolent, vampiric tree, but after feeding on the blood of fallen warriors and massacre victims on battlefields, it eventually transforms into a full-fledged demon."
He grinned excitedly. "And this one has roots all over Westeros. Imagine how much blood and how many corpses it fed on for God only knows how long. Add to that the fact that the Children of the Forest were feeding it with blood and corpses for thousands of years." His eyes gleamed. "I can feel it. It's very powerful. Powerful enough that I'm feeling real danger from it."
His aura started to leak, and he stepped forward. "You guys sit this one out. I want to fight it alone."
Malia said, "Let us help."
Jacob shook his head. "No. I never get the chance to go all out, and this is the perfect opportunity."
Allison said, "Fine. Just be careful. And don't play around and get hurt."
Jacob smiled. "I'll be careful."
Just then, the Jubokko tore itself free from the hill and took a few steps forward. Towering at nearly two hundred feet (60 meters), it fixed its glowing red eyes on Jacob, feeling his dragon aura that he was no longer hiding. It felt danger from him, but its eyes were filled with greed and hunger. It wanted to consume his blood and devour his body.
Jacob said, "Wait here. I'm going to bring Melissa. She needs to see how the Jubokko fights. She might learn a move or two."
Allison said, "Bring my parents too."
Jacob nodded and teleported to Serendell. Soon he came back with Melissa, Erica, Chris, Victoria, and Shireen, who no longer had any scars on her face.
Melissa looked at the tree monster and asked, "Is that the Jubokko?"
Jacob said, "Yes. Do you want me to help you tame it, or just kill it?"
Melissa thought for a moment. "You said it feeds on human blood, right? So I don't want it. I would love to have a tree monster pet, but not this one."
Jacob said, "Alright. I'll just kill it then."
He turn to Bran with an evil smirk. "Brother-in-law, let me heal you first."
He waved his hand, and Bran—who was in Jon's arms—flew to him. Jacob made him lie on the ground face down.
Jacob said, "This is going to hurt."
He used his X-ray vision and located the exact place where Bran's spinal cord was injured. Before Bran could react, Jacob punched him there, breaking his back and making the injury new. Bran screamed in pain.
Jacob then quickly used his Healing Touch. A white light from his hand enveloped Bran's entire body and healed him completely.
Jacob kicked him lightly. "Okay, stop screaming and stand up. You're already healed."
Bran stopped screaming and sat up. He felt no pain in his body, and when he tried to move his legs, they moved. His eyes filled with tears, and he burst out crying.
His siblings gathered around him, hugging him with happy smiles on their faces.
Jacob said, "Alright, you guys can hug later. Right now, you need to leave this place."
Sansa hugged Jacob and kissed him deeply. "Thank you."
Jacob smiled. "That's nothing. You could've healed him with your fire too, remember?"
Sansa said, "Thank you anyway."
Arya helped Bran stand, as his legs were still too weak from not walking for years. He looked at Jacob. "Thank you for healing me."
Jacob said, "You're welcome."
Bran hesitated and said, "But did you have to break my back? I feel like that was personal."
Jacob said innocently, "You're just thinking too much. And I had to break your back to make the injury new. Only then could I heal you, because I can't heal old injuries that are already healed."
Bran said, "Sorry, I shouldn't complain. Thank you, really, for healing me."
Jacob nodded. "You're welcome. And one more thing." He looked at Meera, who had happy tears in her eyes. "Meera dragged your sled through freezing blizzards for years. She defended you from wights and lost her brother Jojen for you. She sacrificed so much for you." He turned back to Bran. "So you will treat her right. Do you hear me? Or I don't mind breaking your back again."
Sansa looked at Meera and said, "Jay, is what you said true?"
Jacob said, "Yes."
Sansa turned to Bran. "Then you better treat her right, or I will help Jay teach you a lesson."
Bran said awkwardly, "I-I will never mistreat her. She... she is my friend."
Sansa smacked the back of his head. "Just a friend? You're an idiot."
Arya looked at Jacob. "By the way, Jacob, can you heal Hodor? He lost consciousness after you killed Bloodraven and hasn't woken up."
Jacob looked at Lydia. "Lydia, can you read his memories and see what happened?"
Lydia nodded, walked to Hodor—who was lying on the ground—and put her hand on his head. Her eyes glowed white, and she went into a trance.
After a long moment, she removed her hand, her eyes returned to normal, and she stood up.
"His mind is in chaos," she said. "He has two sets of lifelong memories that seem to be merging right now. One is the life Sansa and the others know—where he was a simpleton who only said the word 'Hodor.' The other is a life where he was never that. In that life, he was a great warrior who grew up learning to fight alongside Sansa's father, her aunt Lyanna, and her uncles Brandon and Benjen."
Jacob said, "I see. Bloodraven was likely responsible for Hodor's condition. He must have traveled back into the past and tampered with Hodor's mind—but we killed him before he could do it. So now Hodor is becoming normal again, regaining his intelligence. If that makes any sense. I hate time travel."
Lydia nodded. "That's probably what happened, yeah."
Just then, the Jubokko roared again and began approaching them.
Jacob took the Flying Carpet from his pocket dimension and handed it to Allison. "Take everyone into the sky."
Allison nodded, controlled the carpet with her mind to expand, and after kissing Jacob and saying, "Be careful," she took Jeff in her hands and led her Nightmare Horse and Jacob's onto the carpet.
"Bring your horses," she called out. "Let's go. I don't know how strong that tree demon is, but you definitely don't want to be here on the ground when Jay is fighting with everything he's got."
Malia kissed Jacob. "Have fun."
Melissa and Lydia kissed him and asked him to be careful, but Sansa was worried and didn't want to let him go from her hug.
Jacob smiled and kissed her. "I'll be fine."
Lydia caught her hand. "Let's go. Don't worry about him. He's very strong." She dragged Sansa to the Flying Carpet.
Jacob watched as they all got on the carpet with the horses and flew high into the sky to a safe distance. Then he turned back to the Jubokko.
His eyes glowed crimson. He stepped forward and started releasing his aura with each step. A pulse of energy began getting out of his body, growing with each step into waves of energy. Then finally, he released his full aura.
A destructive, massive shockwave erupted from his body in all directions. Snow flew away, exposing the frozen ground beneath. Cracks and fissures spidered outward from him as the center. The frozen trees of the haunted forest within a hundred meters around him were torn apart and sent flying away.
High above, the other horses—other than the Nightmare Horses—became restless and terrified. Ghost and Shaggydog started whimpering and tucked their tails between their legs as they felt Jacob's aura. Arya's body started shivering too, as she felt a terrifying fear from Jacob.
Arya's voice trembled. "What's going on? I've felt his aura before, but never like this. Why does he feel so terrifying? Why can't I stop shaking?" She glanced at the others. "And why aren't any of you feeling a thing?"
Erica was shaking too. "I feel it too."
Malia said, "It's because you two are werewolves. That's why you're feeling terrified. Melissa, Allison, Lydia, Sansa, and I are Jay's wives. We don't feel fear from him—it's the opposite. We feel stronger when he releases his aura."
Arya looked at Stiles, Jon, and the others. "What about them?"
Malia shrugged. "Because they're normal humans. Humans are too stupid to feel anything."
Chapter 207: The Jubokko – Part 2New2 days ago
Back on the ground, Jacob faced the Jubokko.
The Jubokko felt Jacob's full aura and stopped dead in its tracks. It realized that Jacob was very dangerous and would not be an easy meal. But it did not give up on devouring him. If anything, its greed only grew stronger.
Jacob teleported, closing the distance between them to thirty meters.
The Jubokko thrust its giant hands into the ground. All the trees around them in the haunted forest shook, then started twisting and transforming until they turned into tree monsters—each ten feet tall, with weapons and shields made of wood.
The Jubokko roared, and the tree monsters charged toward Jacob.
Jacob smiled. "Let me try my new toy on these weaklings first."
He took out the Portable Energy Machine Gun and opened fire on the tree monsters charging at him.
The energy bullets were incredibly powerful—each one destroyed several tree monsters before disappearing.
Jacob screamed with excitement as he showered the tree monsters with energy bullets, turning them into broken wood.
After destroying all the tree monsters, Jacob stored the machine gun in his pocket dimension and started taking his clothes off until he was only in his underwear. Then he shifted into his humanoid dragon form.
Black scales covered his entire body. His head turned into a dragon's head, and wings grew from his back. He grew taller—but he didn't stop at four meters. He let his body grow to thirty meters. Then he coated his body with fire, knowing fire was the Jubokko's weakness.
Jacob opened his mouth and unleashed his fire breath—a massive cone of fire that went straight for the Jubokko.
But the Jubokko sank its hands into the ground, calling forth a wall of roots thick enough to stop the inferno.
Jacob teleported behind the Jubokko and unleashed a lightning breath that went straight through the giant demon's body, burning a giant hole in its chest and destroying everything inside.
The Jubokko roared in pain and swung its massive arm at Jacob.
Jacob teleported away and watched as the hole in the Jubokko's chest regenerated. The Jubokko was even growing bigger, and Jacob could feel it growing stronger.
---
Meanwhile, Across Westeros
In the godswood of Winterfell, the ancient weirwood tree stood silent and still, its red leaves rustling in the cold wind.
Thirty Bolton soldiers were nearby, patrolling the grounds. They had been ordered to guard the castle, to keep the peace, to ensure the Boltons' grip on the North remained unbroken.
They didn't see the roots coming.
The ground beneath them erupted. Thick, gnarled roots shot up from the earth like serpents. They wrapped around the soldiers, squeezing the life from them. The roots pierced their armor, their flesh, their bones.
The soldiers screamed—but only for a moment.
The roots absorbed their blood, their flesh, their very essence. Within seconds, the soldiers were reduced to dry husks, their armor clattering to the ground as their bodies crumbled to dust.
One soldier had been at the edge of the attack. He had seen his comrades die. He had seen the roots drain them dry. He had seen the weirwood tree shrivel and die after absorbing the soldiers.
He ran.
He ran through the halls of Winterfell, his heart pounding, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He burst into the great hall, where Roose Bolton sat at the high table, his cold eyes fixed on the terrified man.
"My lord!" the soldier gasped. "The tree! The weirwood tree! It... it killed them! It killed all of them!"
Roose Bolton's eyes narrowed. "Explain."
The soldier told him everything—the roots, the screams, the withering tree.
Roose Bolton's face remained impassive, but his hand tightened on the armrest of his chair.
"Send men to investigate," he ordered. "And burn that tree. Burn it to ash."
---
Highgarden
In the godswood of Highgarden, the three weirwood trees known as the Three Singers stood in a quiet grove. They had been there for thousands of years, tended by the Tyrells, respected by the gardeners.
When the roots began to move, the gardeners didn't understand. They thought it was a trick of the light, a strange dream, a hallucination.
Then the roots struck.
The gardeners were pulled into the earth, their blood drained, their bodies reduced to dust. The Three Singers absorbed them, then withered and died, their leaves turning brown, their bark cracking, their roots crumbling.
The gardeners who had been further away watched in horror. They ran to inform their lords.
---
All Over Westeros
The attacks happened everywhere.
In the Riverlands, at the weirwood at Raventree Hall, the ancient tree attacked the Blackwood family as they prayed. It absorbed them, then withered and died.
In the North, at the weirwood in the Wolfswood, the tree attacked a group of hunters. They never returned.
In the South, at the weirwood in the Stormlands, the tree attacked a group of travelers who had stopped to rest.
In the Vale, at the weirwood in the Eyrie, the tree attacked the guards who were standing watch.
Everywhere, the pattern was the same. The weirwood trees were attacking. They drained their victims of blood and life, then withered and died.
The people of Westeros were terrified. They didn't understand what was happening. They only knew that the gods they had prayed to were now killing them.
---
Back to the Battle
Jacob watched as the Jubokko grew—until it reached one hundred and twenty meters in height. Its body was a towering colossus of twisted bark and burning crimson leaves. Its eyes glowed with malicious hunger. And Jacob could feel a terrifying energy inside it that made him feel extreme danger.
But he grinned in excitement.
'Finally,' he thought. 'An opponent that will let me use my full strength.'
The Jubokko opened its mouth and unleashed a dark green energy breath toward Jacob with the speed of lightning.
Jacob teleported out of the way. The beam struck the ground behind him, carving a trench fifty meters deep and a hundred meters long.
Jacob's eyes widened. 'That would have hurt.'
The Jubokko swung its massive arm. Jacob barely dodged as the limb crashed into the earth, creating a crater.
Then the Jubokko raised its hands and unleashed Spore Bombs—clouds of glowing, green-black spores that spread through the air. They exploded on contact, releasing clouds of acidic gas that corroded everything they touched.
Jacob used his telekinesis to push the spores away from him. They hit the remains of the tree monsters scattered on the ground, melting them into black sludge.
Jacob flew high into the air, dodging another energy breath and a barrage of wooden spikes that erupted from the ground.
He raised his hand and unleashed a massive lightning bolt. It struck the Jubokko's shoulder, tearing a chunk of wood the size of a house from its body.
The Jubokko roared in pain—but the wound regenerated almost instantly.
'This thing heals too fast,' Jacob thought. 'I need to overwhelm it.'
He teleported directly in front of the Jubokko and unleashed a volley of punches—each strike carrying the force of a meteor. His fists pounded into the tree demon's body, cracking bark, splintering wood, creating craters with every blow.
The Jubokko stumbled backward.
Then it retaliated.
It raised both hands and slammed them into the ground. Thousands of roots erupted from the earth, forming a cage around Jacob—a prison of wood and thorns.
Jacob laughed. "You think a cage can hold me?"
He unleashed a massive wave of fire from his body. The roots blackened and crumbled.
Jacob teleported, appearing high above the Jubokko. He raised both hands and summoned a massive storm of lava that rained down on the demon like a volcanic eruption. The molten rock splashed against the Jubokko's bark, burning deep craters into its body.
The Jubokko screamed. It slammed its fists into the ground, and hundreds of massive wooden spikes erupted from the earth, chasing Jacob through the sky. Jacob dodged, weaving between them, using his telekinesis to redirect the spikes back at the Jubokko. They impaled the demon's body, but it regenerated almost instantly.
Jacob teleported directly in front of the Jubokko's face and unleashed a Fus Ro Dah—a concussive blast of pure force that obliterated the demon's head and the upper half of its chest. The rest of its body stumbled backward and crashed to the ground.
But the Jubokko regenerated quickly, stood up, and roared in fury. It swung its massive arm. Jacob caught the arm with his telekinesis and stopped it mid-swing. Then he released a torrent of magma from his mouth that consumed the demon's arm, shoulder, and half its face.
The Jubokko healed once more. It raised both hands toward Jacob, and a volley of massive, razor-sharp spines shot through the air at him.
Jacob aimed with both hands too and sent lightning bullets, destroying all the spines. Then he used his heat vision and shot two red beams from his eyes.
The Jubokko raised a wall of roots from the ground to protect itself, but the two beams cut through the thick root wall with ease and cut one of the Jubokko's arms from the shoulder. But again, it regenerated fast.
---
The fight raged on.
For an hour, Jacob and the Jubokko clashed. The sky was filled with fire and lightning and dark green energy. The ground was scarred with craters and trenches. The haunted forest around them was reduced to a wasteland—a barren, blackened plain.
Jacob unleashed everything he had. He used his fire, lightning, magma, and earth. He created storms of lightning that rained down on the Jubokko. He summoned pillars of flame that rose from the ground and engulfed the demon. He used his heat vision to carve deep trenches into its bark. He teleported constantly, striking from every angle, never letting the Jubokko land a solid hit.
But although the Jubokko couldn't land a hit on Jacob, it had immense amounts of energy. It kept regenerating. It kept fighting. It kept attacking tirelessly.
And then, after fighting like that for another hour, something finally changed.
The Jubokko's regeneration slowed, and it started losing height—becoming a few meters smaller every time it regenerated from a severe wound. Its attacks also became weaker.
Jacob realized what was happening. The Jubokko was running out of energy. It had been storing blood and life force for thousands of years, but the battle had drained it. Every time it regenerated, it consumed more of its stored power. Every time it attacked, it burned through its reserves.
And now, it was weak.
The Jubokko, realizing it was losing, tried to escape. It sank its hands into the ground, trying to merge with the earth and flee through its roots to where Jacob couldn't follow.
Jacob smiled.
"Not so fast."
He stomped his foot. The ground around the Jubokko solidified, turning to solid rock. The demon couldn't escape.
The Jubokko roared in frustration. It tried to attack again, but its energy breath was weaker now and slower. Jacob didn't even bother to teleport—he just moved aside to avoid them. Its spore bombs barely exploded. Its wooden spikes looked scary but with not enough energy to support them, they were just as strong as normal wood, and Jacob burned them to ash with a wave of his hand.
Jacob sighed. "Well, this was fun. But you're too weak now. It's time to end the fight."
Jacob flew high above the Jubokko, hovering in the air. He opened his mouth, and fire began to gather above it—he didn't release a fire breath. Instead, a ball of fire began to gather, growing bigger and bigger. He poured almost all his energy into it.
The fireball grew into a miniature sun—a sphere of white-hot flame so bright that it turned the sky, which was starting to darken, into day. The heat was so intense that the snow on the ground melted and started to boil.
Then Jacob compressed it.
The sun shrank. It grew denser, hotter, more powerful. The pressure was immense—a weight that threatened to tear a hole in space.
Then Jacob shot it at the Jubokko.
The fireball struck the demon and detonated.
The explosion was like a nuclear blast. White light erupted from the impact point, expanding outward in a sphere of absolute destruction. The shockwave flattened everything in its path—trees, rocks, mountains—all turned to dust. The heat was so intense that the air itself ignited. The ground turned to molten glass. The sky turned white.
And the Jubokko screamed.
The demon tried to regenerate, but the fire was too hot, too powerful. It burned through the demon's body, vaporizing its wood, its bark, its roots. The Jubokko's body disintegrated—turning to ash, then to nothing. Every trace of the ancient demon was wiped from existence.
The explosion continued to expand, threatening to consume everything in its path. It was so massive and powerful that the wildlings far away at Hardhome saw it and felt it. The brothers of the Night's Watch on the Wall saw it and felt it. The ground shook across the North.
---
Far in the Sky, Where Allison and the Others Were Watching the Battle
The moment the fireball exploded, it was so bright that it blinded Allison and the others for a second. When she opened her eyes, Allison saw the shockwave coming. Her eyes widened.
"Everyone, shield! Now!" she shouted.
Lydia, Malia, Melissa, Sansa, and Kitty acted instantly. They raised their hands and combined their energies with Allison, creating a massive energy shield around the Flying Carpet and everyone on it.
The shockwave struck the shield. The barrier held, but they were pushed higher into the sky. The horses whinnied in fear. The direwolves whimpered. Jon, Samwell, Davos, Podrick, Tormund, and Edd clung to each other in panic and terror. Rickon was hugged by Osha, but he wasn't scared—he was looking at Jacob, who was still in his humanoid dragon form hovering in the sky, with bright admiring eyes.
Bran and Meera were too shocked to feel fear. They just watched the mushroom cloud of the explosion with wide eyes and gaping mouths.
Stiles whistled. "Jacob's attack is like a nuke."
Chris said, "I never thought he was this strong."
Victoria looked at her daughter. "Is this his full strength?"
Allison shook her head. "I don't think so. He still hasn't used his Fire Domain, which can make his fire attacks far more powerful."
Jon blurted, "Are you kidding me? All of this, and you still say he didn't use his full strength? This is not something humans can do."
Lydia said, "Jay isn't human. He's a dragon. And believe it or not, he is still in his growth stage."
Jon said, "I've never heard of a dragon that has this much strength and can cause this much destruction."
Lydia said, "I'm not talking about dragons from your world. I'm talking about dragons like my husband."
Jon asked, "Are there more creatures like him?"
Lydia said, "Yes. There are more people like Jay out there. And not just dragons—there are all kinds of powerful creatures. Like this Jubokko he just fought. It's very powerful. It's just that because Jay is too strong, you think it's weak."
Jon shook his head. "I don't think the tree monster was weak. I don't think it was weak at all. That thing could wipe out everyone in Westeros without us even having a chance to fight back—even if we had Targaryen dragons."
Malia said, "I wonder how powerful Jay's parents are."
Melissa said, "He said they were way more powerful than him now. So they should be terrifyingly strong."
Arya asked, "Are they dragons too?"
Malia said, "Only his mother is a dragon. His father is a phoenix—like Sansa."
Jon looked at Sansa. "What's a phoenix?"
Sansa said, "It's a fire bird. I'll show you later."
When the explosion finally subsided, Allison and the others deactivated the energy shield.
Everyone looked down.
The battlefield was gone. In its place was a massive crater—a mile wide and hundreds of meters deep. The edges of the crater were glassy and smooth, the rock melted by the heat. Steam rose from the ground. The air was thick with ash.
The Jubokko was gone. Vaporized. Destroyed.
---
Jacob descended slowly, landing at the bottom of the crater. His body was exhausted—his energy reserves were nearly empty—but he was satisfied with the battle and his last attack.
He stood in the center of the crater, surrounded by glassy rock and drifting ash. He closed his eyes and concentrated.
He couldn't feel the Jubokko's presence. It was gone. Truly gone.
He shifted back to his human form and teleported to the ground above the deep crater.
He sent a telepathic message to Allison.
[You can come down now.]
He took a carcass of a Sker Buffalo and used his own fire element to cook it to perfection in seconds. Then he dug in, eating with both hands and as fast as he could.
Allison and the others landed beside him and descended from the Flying Carpet.
Stiles ran to Jacob and said, "Dude, that was awesome. By the way, can I borrow that machine gun of yours to play with?"
Allison said, "He must be very hungry right now. So Stiles, let him eat first, then talk to him—unless you want him to beat your ass."
Stiles stepped back and looked at Allison gratefully. "Thank you for reminding me. I remember the last time I stole his food. He made me fall from the sky for thirty minutes. It was terrifying."
Malia and Kitty stepped forward and joined Jacob, starting to eat.
Allison said to Jon and the others, "You can eat if you want. Just go to the other side of the buffalo. And make sure to stay away from Jay, Malia, and Kitty. They don't like sharing food."
Jon said, "Thanks, but I'd rather not eat at all. What if we ate from the other side and they think we stole their food?"
Arya dragged Jon. "Don't worry and come with me. You're going to love this meat. It's like nothing you've ever eaten before." She took him to the other side, and after taking a bite, Jon forgot about his reservations and started cutting meat and eating.
Soon, everyone joined in, and they didn't stop until they were full.
Jacob, on the other hand, kept eating for an hour. He didn't stop until he ate three tons of meat.
He burped and rubbed his stomach in satisfaction. He was about to store the cooked buffalo when Jeff approached him, letting out an eager noise and looking between Jacob and the buffalo.
Jacob said, "Alright, you can eat it."
Jeff let out a happy sound. Then, in front of everyone, his small body extended until he became bigger than the Sker Buffalo and ate the twenty-something-ton carcass in one bite. Then he shrank, ran to Melissa, jumped into her arms, and went to sleep.
Tormund said, "I didn't expect the doggy shark was a monster too."
Jon sighed. "I can't handle any more shocks today."
Jacob said, "Alright, I need to go take a nap to fully digest what I just ate and regain my full energy. Then we can continue looking for Benjen."
Allison said, "It's almost night anyway. So let's go back home and come back tomorrow."
Jacob wrapped everyone in his telekinesis and teleported back to Castle Black. He left Tormund, Davos, Edd, Samwell, Podrick, and the still-unconscious Hodor there. Then he opened a portal to Serendell and took everyone else there.
Jon, Bran, Rickon, Brienne, Osha, and Meera were shocked seeing the beauty of Serendell.
Jacob said, "Sansa, Arya, you girls show them around."
He kissed his wives and said, "Goodnight."
Then he hugged Malia and teleported to his room with her.
In his room, Malia smirked. "I thought you were tired and wanted to take a nap."
Jacob smiled. "I still have some energy to spare."
He kissed her and carried her to the bathroom, where they started a two-hour love-making session before they returned to bed.
As they lay in bed, the system sounded in Jacob's head.
[Reminder: You successfully finished the quest of saving Bran Stark from being possessed by Bloodraven. Do you want to sign in, Host?]
Jacob yawned. 'No. Leave it until tomorrow.'
He hugged Malia closer and called it a night.
Chapter 208: Finding Benjen6 hours ago
Jacob woke the next morning and looked at Malia, who was sleeping next to him, hugging him with both her arms and legs like a koala. Her face was peaceful, her breathing slow and steady.
He kissed her forehead gently. She stirred but didn't wake.
He said to the system in his mind, 'System, do a daily sign-in first.'
[Daily Sign-In Successful. Rewards Obtained:
1️⃣ 60,000 Coins
2️⃣ Headphones
3️⃣ Cinnamon Rolls x100]
Jacob read the rewards and thought, 'The cinnamon rolls are nice, I guess.'
'System, do the quest sign-in.'
[Quest Sign-In Successful. Rewards Obtained:
1️⃣ Whomping Willow Seeds (Harry Potter): A small pouch containing 100 seeds from a Whomping Willow. When planted, they grow into defensive, violent trees that attack anyone with bad intentions toward you and your family.
2️⃣ Conqueror's Haki (One Piece): The ability to exert your willpower over others, projecting it as an overwhelming pressure. Its basic uses include domination (intimidating or temporarily taming animals and weaker-willed individuals), incapacitation (releasing a powerful burst that knocks out those with weak wills), and exerting enough pressure to damage physical objects. Those with stronger wills can resist or ignore its effects. The ability can be refined and strengthened by increasing the user's overall power.
3️⃣ Lembas Bread x600 (The Lord of the Rings): Elvish waybread. One small bite can fill a grown man's stomach for an entire day. Lightweight, never spoils, and provides sustained energy without weighing you down. Tastes faintly sweet and honey-like.]
Jacob read the first reward and thought, 'I'll give the Whomping Willow seeds to Melissa and let her deal with them. Maybe after we build our own castle in Westeros, she can plant a few around it.'
He moved to the second reward and got excited. 'Oh, Conqueror's Haki. That's a great reward. I can probably knock out any human with no supernatural powers. It's a good ability for aura farming. And if I combine it with my dragon aura, I can probably knock out any supernatural creature that gets intimidated by my dragon aura—like Scott.' He smirked. 'Too bad he isn't here, or I'd try it on him.'
He read the last reward. 'Lembas bread? Well, it's better than getting something perverted again.'
He tried to free himself from Malia, but she tightened her grip and opened her eyes sleepily.
"Where are you going?" she mumbled.
Jacob kissed her lips. "I'm going to do some training." He kissed her again. "Go back to sleep. It's still early."
Malia released him, closed her eyes, and went back to sleep.
Jacob got out of bed, covered her with the blanket, put on his clothes, and teleported to the wilderness of Serendell.
---
Serendell Wilderness
Jacob stood in an open field surrounded by rolling hills and tall grass. In the distance, a herd of bison grazed peacefully. They were almost double the size of normal bison after living in Serendell for a few months.
He addressed the system. 'System, merge the Conqueror's Haki into my body.'
[Are you sure, Host?]
'Yes.'
Jacob felt a warm energy bloom in his head, spreading through his body like a gentle wave before disappearing.
[Conqueror's Haki has been merged successfully into your body, Host.]
Jacob closed his eyes and focused on the new ability. He could feel it—a pressure building inside him, a weight of willpower waiting to be unleashed. It was like a muscle he had never used before, tense and ready.
He teleported closer to the herd, landing fifty meters away. The bison raised their heads, their nostrils flaring, sensing something dangerous.
Jacob took a deep breath and released his Conqueror's Haki.
A wave of invisible pressure erupted from his body. The air itself seemed to warp. The grass flattened in a perfect circle around him. The bison's eyes went white, and the entire herd collapsed—all of them unconscious.
Jacob scratched his head. "Oops! It seems I used more power than I intended. I only meant to knock out one of them."
He looked at the fallen bison and sighed. "I need to train a bit, I guess."
For the next two hours, Jacob trained his Conqueror's Haki. He used it on the poor animals living in Serendell. He practiced releasing it in controlled bursts, learning to target specific individuals within a group. He practiced using it to intimidate animals without knocking them out—making them freeze in place, making them flee in terror, making them submit and lie down.
By the end of the two hours, he had mastered the basics. He could knock out a single animal in a herd without affecting the others. He could intimidate an entire group without causing them to lose consciousness. He could target specific individuals with surgical precision.
Satisfied, he teleported to Saphira, spent some time with her and the baby wyverns, then teleported back to the palace.
---
Palace Corridor
Jacob appeared in the hallway and found Stiles just waking up. His hair was a mess—sticking up in every direction. One leg of his sweatpants was hiked up to his knee. His t-shirt was tucked into his pants in the front but hanging loose in the back.
He was shuffling toward the dining room, half-asleep, muttering something under his breath.
Jacob smirked and released his Conqueror's Haki, targeting him.
Stiles didn't know what hit him.
One moment he was walking. The next, he was on his knees, his hands pressed against his temples. His vision blurred. His head felt like it was splitting in half. Sweat poured down his face. His heart hammered in his chest. He felt an overwhelming pressure—like a mountain was pressing down on his soul.
And he felt terror. Absolute, primal terror. He felt like he was targeted by something ancient and powerful, something that could crush him without effort.
He turned around and saw Jacob smirking at him.
Jacob stopped using his Conqueror's Haki. "I'm surprised you didn't faint."
Stiles gasped for air, his body shaking. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a trembling hand.
"What... what did you do to me?" he demanded, his voice cracking.
Jacob shrugged casually. "I just tried my new ability. But it seems it didn't work on you."
Stiles staggered to his feet. "Didn't work? I felt like my head was about to split in half! And you were terrifying a second ago! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
Jacob waved his hand, using his Healing Touch. White light enveloped Stiles, healing his headache instantly.
"Here. You're all good now." Jacob passed him and walked toward the dining room. "Let's go eat."
Stiles followed behind him, muttering in anger. "Don't try your abilities on me. I'm not your guinea pig, you scaly bastard."
Jacob just laughed and kept walking.
---
Dining Room
Everyone was already there.
Jacob's wives sat around the table—Allison, Lydia, Malia, Melissa, and Sansa. Kitty was sitting on her high chair. Chris and Victoria sat together, deep in quiet conversation. Erica sat next to Natalie and Noah, who had joined them for breakfast. Jon, Bran, and Rickon were seated together, looking overwhelmed by the sheer amount of food on the table. Osha sat beside Rickon. Meera sat next to Bran. Brienne and Arya sat across from Shireen, who was happily eating a bowl of fruit.
Jeff was curled in Lydia's arms, his small body rising and falling with each breath.
Cogman was serving food.
Jacob kissed each of his wives and took his seat. Stiles slumped into his chair next to Erica, still grumbling.
Jacob took a bite of his food and looked at Jon. "Jon, what do you think of Serendell?"
Jon sighed heavily. "It's a beautiful place. But to be honest, I'm still trying to understand everything I've seen since I met you. Especially your fight yesterday with that tree monster." He paused. "And Sansa and Arya showed us something called a movie last night. It confused me."
Jacob looked at Sansa.
Sansa smiled. "I showed them The Lord of the Rings movies. They were shocked when they saw Father's doppelganger."
Jacob nodded. "I see." He looked at Jon. "That's not Ned. That was just an actor from our world."
Jon said, "I know. Sansa and Arya explained that to me. But still, Boromir looks exactly like Father. And sounds exactly like him. The only thing that was different is that if Father was in Boromir's place, he would never have tried to steal the ring from Frodo. He was an honorable man."
Jacob's expression turned thoughtful. "Yeah. He was an honorable man. And that honor is what got him killed."
Jon glared at him.
Jacob shrugged. "Don't look at me like that. I learned about your world's past, and I saw what your father did in King's Landing. His obsession with doing the right thing blinded him to the cutthroat reality of King's Landing. Instead of playing the political game, he made several fatal, honor-driven mistakes." He met Jon's eyes. "And his worst mistake was warning Cersei."
Jon's voice was tight. "What do you mean by 'warning Cersei'?"
Jacob set down his fork. "Ned showed Cersei his evidence about her children being Jaime's bastards. He did this to give her a chance to flee with her kids before telling King Robert. That gave her time to orchestrate Robert's accident." He paused. "He also rejected Renly Baratheon's help. Renly offered Ned a hundred swords to seize Joffrey and Cersei in the middle of the night. But your father refused because dragging children out of bed went against his honor."
He paused. "While I admire him for that, that kind of honor has a terrible price to pay—and he and your family paid it."
Arya's voice was cold. "I will make Cersei pay for what she did to my family."
Lydia shook her head. "I still can't believe that this Cersei you're talking about slept with her brother and gave birth to three children from him."
Jacob took a bite of his food. "It's normal for siblings to marry each other in Sansa's world. Well, not normal—but the Targaryens were doing it for years."
Allison made a face. "That's gross."
Jacob pointed his fork at Bran. "The reason Bran was crippled was that he caught Cersei and her brother doing it."
Lydia looked at Bran. "Really?"
Bran nodded. "Yes. I was climbing the First Keep tower like I usually did, and I found them there. Jaime caught me and pushed me out the window."
Arya's eyes glowed yellow. "Jaime is going to pay for that."
Brienne sighed but said nothing.
Jacob changed the subject. He looked at Cogman. "Did you build the satellites yet?"
Cogman shook his head. "Not yet, sir. I'm still working on them. Some things I ordered haven't arrived yet."
Jacob nodded. "I see."
Lydia said, "By the way, Jay, Kai and Mika are getting married in three days. Melissa and I will be busy helping them. You should be there too on the day of the wedding."
Jacob smiled. "Sure. Just remind me so I won't forget."
They continued eating and talking.
---
After Breakfast
Jacob gave Melissa the pouch of Whomping Willow seeds. She opened it and examined the small, dark seeds inside.
"Are these really Whomping Willow seeds?" she asked.
Jacob nodded. "Yes. Plant them here in Serendell if you want, and maybe plant some around our future castle in Westeros."
Melissa smiled and put them in her ring. "I will. And I'm looking forward to them growing—maybe I can make some potions from their leaves, bark, sap, and fruit." She kissed him and said, "I'll go plant some of them right now." She left in a hurry.
After that, Jacob went fishing with Chris, Victoria, and Allison in the lake.
The four of them sat on the shore, their fishing lines cast into the still water. The sun was warm. The breeze was gentle.
Chris broke the silence. "So, what do you want to talk to us about?"
Jacob said, "I got five hundred serums that will give normal humans superhuman strength, speed, agility, endurance, and accelerated healing on par with a beta werewolf." He looked at Chris. "What do you think we should do with them?"
Chris leaned back, thinking. "Five hundred enhanced soldiers would give us a formidable core for our army. We could use them as an elite unit—shock troops for the toughest battles, or rapid response forces, or use some of them as guards for our future cities."
Allison added, "We should keep some serums in reserve. If we conquer more territory, we'll need loyal commanders to hold it. Giving serums to proven leaders—especially those who've already shown their loyalty in battle—would be a wise investment. But we need to choose people who will follow orders, who won't abuse their power. Otherwise, we will have to kill them if they turn out to be bad people and waste the serums."
Victoria said, "I would need some of the serums too to build my law enforcement department."
Chris said, "My suggestion is this: we give the serum to our most trusted warriors. The samurai—Kai, Ōishi, and the three hundred elite samurai who came with them. They're already disciplined. They already follow orders without question. They already have a warrior's mindset. With these serums, they'll be unstoppable."
Jacob nodded slowly. "That's three hundred serums right there. What about the other two hundred?"
Chris said, "Give Victoria a hundred. And keep the remaining hundred until we find more people we can trust. Maybe some of the Free Folk who prove themselves. Maybe some of the soldiers who surrendered to us at Castle Black. But we don't give them out until we're sure."
Victoria said, "We should also consider the long term. You said we'll visit other worlds in the future—worlds stronger than Sansa's. We'll need soldiers who can fight in those worlds too. So give me just fifty and save some serums for future recruits from other worlds."
Jacob said, "The samurai will be the core of our army, and we will always take them with us to new worlds. But you're right—I should keep some serums for future worlds. So we'll give three hundred serums to the samurai in a few days. Victoria, you can ask me for the fifty serums when you need them. And the other hundred and fifty we'll hold onto for now."
Allison asked, "What are we going to do today?"
Jacob said, "We'll find Sansa's uncle today. Then we'll go see the Free Folk and see if they'll accept me as their king. If they do, we'll help them move south of the Wall and find a place for them to live. Then we'll take our army and start conquering Westeros—starting from Winterfell."
Chris shook his head. "I suggest we conquer only the North for now. Establish our kingdom there. Turn it into a proper kingdom with laws, healthcare, an education system, an economic system, and agriculture. We need roads to connect our cities and towns. We need to build a foundation before we expand. If we conquer too much too fast, we'll stretch ourselves thin. We'll have rebellions, supply issues, administrative problems. Better to start small and grow strong."
Victoria added, "If we do this right, the people of the North will see us as saviors, not conquerors. They'll follow us willingly, and any hate or resistance against us will disappear. And when the rest of Westeros sees how prosperous the North has become, they'll want to join us too."
Jacob nodded slowly. "Okay. We're in no hurry. We'll do as you said."
Allison asked, "So what's the name of our kingdom?"
Jacob shrugged. "I don't know yet. We'll talk about that after we take Winterfell and decide where to build our capital."
They kept talking for hours—about the challenges of building a kingdom from scratch.
Then they went back to the palace and had lunch with everyone.
---
After Lunch
Jacob opened a portal back to the Game of Thrones world and went through with Allison, Malia, Kitty, Sansa, Chris, Victoria, Stiles, Arya, Jon, Bran, Meera, Brienne, Rickon, and Osha.
It was early morning in Westeros.
Chris and Victoria stayed at Castle Black with Davos. They wanted to learn more about Westeros's history, politics, and military tactics from him.
Jacob teleported the others to the place where he had fought the Jubokko the day before, bringing Tormund, Edd, and Samwell with them.
They looked at the crater—a hundred meters deep at its center, where Jacob's last attack had struck and detonated, then gradually shallowed out toward the mile-wide rim. The ground still radiated heat. Steam rose from the edges. At the bottom, glassy rock caught the pale morning light and glittered like scattered shards of mirror.
Samwell shook his head in disbelief. "This place will probably become a lake in the future."
Jacob was about to take out his compass to find Benjen, but he stopped. He looked far into the haunted forest, where the fight hadn't reached and the frozen trees still stood.
"I'll be right back," he said.
He teleported.
A moment later, he returned with a man on a horse wearing dark clothes and covering his face.
Jacob smiled. "Well, I found Benjen."
Jon's eyes widened. "Uncle Benjen?"
Benjen dismounted and took down his hood. His face was pale, his eyes glowing faintly blue. He looked at Jon, then at the others—Sansa, Arya, Bran, Rickon.
"Hello, Jon," he said warmly. "Sansa. Arya. Bran." He looked at Rickon. "And little Rickon. Look at you. You've grown."
They greeted him warmly, tears in their eyes.
Arya stepped forward. "We came to take you back with us."
Benjen shook his head. "I can't go back. I'm already cursed by the White Walkers."
Jacob walked toward him. "Let me help you with that."
Without warning, he thrust his hand into Benjen's chest.
Benjen gasped. His eyes went wide.
Jon said nervously, "What are you doing?"
Sansa said, "Relax. Jay isn't hurting him. He just wants to take out the piece of dragonglass the Children of the Forest had shoved into Uncle Benjen's chest to stop the spread of the White Walkers' dark magic."
Jon sighed in relief. "I see."
Jacob pulled out the piece of dragonglass and tossed it aside.
Benjen collapsed to his knees.
Jacob used his Healing Touch. White light shot from his hand and enveloped Benjen's body. The wound on his chest healed completely. The dark magic was purged. The cold, dead feeling in his bones vanished.
Benjen looked at his chest. The wound was gone. No scar. He felt warm again. He felt human again.
And then he shivered. The cold of the North hit him for the first time in years.
He covered his chest with his cloak and looked at Jacob in wonder. "Thank you. But who are you? How did you heal me?"
Jacob said, "I'm Sansa's husband. I used one of my abilities to heal you. Sansa will explain everything later." He paused. "Now tell me—were you here yesterday?"
Benjen shook his head. "I heard a loud explosion and saw a large fire from far away yesterday. I came to see what happened. I only arrived this morning."
Jacob nodded. "I see. I thought you were here yesterday and I didn't feel your presence."
He took out the Flying Carpet and enlarged it. "Let's go to Hardhome. Sansa, Arya, explain to your uncle about me and what happened here on the way."
Everyone climbed onto the carpet. Jacob took out his compass and followed the direction to Hardhome.
The carpet lifted off and flew at high speed, carrying them toward Hardhome.