One early morning, Khiara lazily led Lo Quen to a concealed cave entrance.
The underground world was far more magnificent than he had imagined.
Glowing crystal clusters lined the cavern walls, subterranean rivers flowed with faintly luminous liquid, and vast forests of giant mushrooms spread out like parasols. Yet amid this dreamlike scenery wandered twisted monstrosities, all "masterpieces" left behind by the bloodmages of the Great Empire of the Dawn.
Lo Quen held Khiara's hand as they walked, as casually as if strolling through their own garden.
Now and then, a monster would pounce. He merely flicked his hand, and under Khiara's admiring gaze, the grotesque creature dissolved into stardust.
He treated the entire journey as a leisurely holiday.
The two continued deeper underground until they reached the lowest depths, where a magnificent palace of obsidian stood.
Waves of heat rushed toward them as molten lava surged through the fissures.
Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed through the cavern as a colossal figure slowly rose from a pool of magma.
A Flame Demon, the bloodmages' most deranged creation.
It stood over ten feet tall, its body sheathed in dark red scales, molten lava coursing beneath cracked skin. Its head was a warped monstrosity bearing three pairs of blood-red eyes. What spread from its back were not wings, but jagged spines formed from solidified magma.
Each step it took left scorched footprints on the ground.
Its roar sounded like the tearing of the earth itself, as if it meant to swallow them whole.
Lo Quen did not even move, merely lifting his eyes to look at it.
That single glance carried the supreme pressure of the Starforger Dragonlord.
The Flame Demon's scales began to peel away one by one, exposing the seething flesh beneath. It realized in terror that the blood magic sustaining its existence was being forcibly dismantled by a higher power.
Its howl dwindled into faint popping sounds, like bubbles bursting.
The massive body collapsed like a sandcastle. The lava cooled, and in the end, only a pile of dull ash remained.
The battle they had expected ended with effortless ease.
Khiara stood there, speechless for a long time.
The demon she had once believed would demand a terrible price to defeat was utterly helpless before Lo Quen.
For the next month, they continued cleansing the underground world.
By day, they hunted monsters. By night, they entwined beneath the glow of the mushroom forests.
When the last trace of corruption below ground was finally purified, Khiara discovered with joy that she was carrying Lo Quen's child.
Soon after, news of their return to Yin spread. Khiara's swelling belly brought both joy and unease to the other queens.
Joy, because Lo Quen had gained another child. Unease, because Khiara had conceived first.
Under their resentful gazes, Lo Quen had no choice but to begin his "equal distribution" plan.
Over the next three or four months, a peculiar atmosphere settled over the palace.
Aside from Myrcella, every queen's belly gradually began to swell.
While handling affairs of state, Lo Quen also took meticulous care of his pregnant wives.
Looking out over the clear waters of the Jade Sea, he felt it was time to return west.
Before long, Lo Quen led everyone on the journey home.
When the dragons flew above the ruins of Valyria, Lo Quen ordered the group to halt.
Standing alone atop Blooddancer's head, he looked down upon the cursed land.
The Fourteen Flames still spewed black smoke. Twisted monsters roamed among the ruins, and the air reeked of sulfur and decay.
It was time to bring everything to an end.
He closed his eyes, and his Starforged will spread outward like ripples on water.
There was no earth-shaking spectacle, yet subtle changes swept across the entire Valyrian Peninsula.
The black, cursed miasma receded like morning fog driven away by sunlight.
The wandering monsters froze mid-snarl, turning into rigid stone statues before weathering into dust.
The polluted rivers began to clear, and tender green shoots broke through the scorched earth.
Janice and Jaelena were already weeping openly.
They watched their homeland come back to life, saw the curse completely cleansed, and were so overwhelmed with emotion that they could hardly contain themselves.
Lo Quen pulled both of them into his arms, gently stroking their rounded bellies. "I promised you I would bring Valyria back to life. Now, the time has come."
...
Continuing westward, Lo Quen made a few "visits" to several city-states that had yet to submit.
All he did was have Blooddancer circle once above their walls, and the gates of those cities promptly swung open.
When the towers of Storm's End appeared on the horizon, Tyrion, Davos, and the others were already waiting outside the gates.
Meizo also arrived to pay homage, bringing with him the Tattered Prince, who had just finished conquering all the Free Cities.
Inside the hall, Tyrion spoke with his usual humor. "Your Grace, while you were away, I kept the Seven Kingdoms running smoothly and restored them to their former state. Seems even a dwarf can accomplish great things."
Lo Quen, recalling that the Drowned God who had nearly destroyed the world was also a dwarf, nodded with quiet meaning. "Indeed. Never underestimate a dwarf."
Amid the roaring laughter that followed, only a few who knew the truth caught the deeper implication in his words.
Within this castle where he had once taken his first steps, Lo Quen completed his final design for the world.
He not only granted lands to the children of his queens, but also established an entirely new system of rule.
He declared that Daenerys' children would inherit the Seven Kingdoms.
Janice's children would inherit Conquest Keep, the Three Daughters, the Stepstones, Volantis, and all lands south of the Rhoyne.
Jaelena's children would inherit the Valyrian Peninsula, Slaver's Bay, and the lands of the Dothraki.
Chai Yiq's children would inherit the entire continent of Essos east of the Bone Mountains.
Khiara's children would inherit Great Moraq Island, Leng, Little Moraq Island, and the other islands of the Jade Sea.
As for Sansa, Ynys, and Myrcella, their children would hold fiefs not only within the Seven Kingdoms, but also beyond them.
Among these, Sansa's children would inherit the city-states of Pentos, Norvos, and Braavos.
Ynys' children would inherit The Sorrows.
By then, The Sorrows had long since become a normal land again, its curse lifted early on by Lo Quen when he dispelled Prince Garin's malediction, making it fit for the rebirth of a nation.
Myrcella's children, in addition to their claim to the Westerlands, would also gain sovereignty over the Summer Isles and the Basilisk Isles.
Thus, under Lo Quen's division, the entire world was neatly partitioned into several great realms.
...
During the queens' pregnancies, a few small complications arose.
Unable to accompany Lo Quen due to their condition, the queens could not help feeling a trace of guilt as they watched their increasingly "lonely" husband.
They knew well how boundless his energy was, and they worried that other women in the palace might seize the opportunity to worm their way in and threaten their status.
Yet to their surprise, Lo Quen was exceptionally considerate. He showed no dissatisfaction at all, instead devoting even more energy to state affairs and to spending time with them.
Still, the palace was never short of sharp-minded young noble ladies eager to climb the social ladder and transform themselves into phoenixes.
They saw the queens' "predicament" and recognized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If they could win the emperor's favor during this special period, even a single night would bring immense honor and leverage to both themselves and their families.
Moreover, they served the queens day and night and held an important place in their esteem.
And so, with the tacit consent, or even subtle hints, of certain queens, several noble ladies of distinguished birth and striking beauty began carefully seeking opportunities, hoping to display their charm and attentiveness before the emperor.