Chapter 224: The Forbidden Zone of Life
Bound by his status as Drogon's subordinate God, Adins never strayed far from Blackwater Bay, venturing only into the surrounding deep seas to hunt from time to time.
After exchanging greetings, Drogon got straight to the point.
"Can spiritual gods influence the thoughts of ordinary people without them realizing it? Or interfere directly with their minds?"
Adins pondered the question before answering.
"Powerful spiritual gods can indeed influence the thoughts of ordinary mortals without them noticing, but doing so requires considerable time and effort."
"As for interfering with someone's mind... what exactly do you mean?"
"They really do have that ability..."
Drogon's suspicions deepened.
"What I mean," he explained, "is invading a person's mind—or even their dreams—and driving them insane, or fundamentally changing their personality."
Ever since discovering the sinister presence lurking within Daenerys's dreams, Drogon had begun connecting it with her strange behavior during the day.
It also reminded him of her father, the Mad King Aerys, and the bouts of madness that had plagued House Targaryen throughout its history, especially during the Dance of the Dragons.
He had long suspected that Targaryen madness wasn't caused solely by generations of inbreeding.
The gods themselves might also have had a hand in it.
Last night's discovery had only strengthened that suspicion.
Originally, Drogon believed that after the defeat of the alliance of gods, gods like R'hllor had abandoned their attempts to manipulate Daenerys.
Her normal behavior over the past months had gradually put his mind at ease.
But he hadn't expected them to continue working in secret...
Right beneath his nose.
It was as though they were taking advantage of the fact that, despite being a physical God, he had no easy way of striking at incorporeal gods.
After hearing the explanation, Adins hesitated before speaking.
"I've only ever heard that the Lord of Light, R'hllor, can subtly influence a person's subconscious, nudging their thoughts and decisions."
"I've never heard of him completely altering someone's personality."
"So the madness of King Aerys and the Targaryens wasn't R'hllor's doing?" Drogon asked, surprised.
Adins blinked in confusion.
"We've discussed that very question ourselves."
"The occasional bouts of insanity among the dragonlord families of Old Valyria—and later House Targaryen—have always puzzled the gods."
"But we never found a definitive explanation."
"Most of those families practiced close blood marriages, so we eventually concluded that their mental instability was simply the result of generations of inbreeding."
Still unconvinced, Drogon pressed further.
"You're certain it wasn't R'hllor?"
Adins nodded firmly.
"It couldn't have been."
"If R'hllor truly possessed that kind of power, he could have simply driven the dragonlord families into slaughtering one another."
"We would never have needed to expend so much effort destroying the Valyrian Freehold ourselves."
Drogon fell silent.
So...
He had wrongly blamed R'hllor and the other gods.
They weren't the true source of Targaryen madness after all.
Then...
Where had that strand of sinister intent come from?
As he pondered the mystery, two possibilities quickly emerged.
The first...
The Great Other, whose power shared the same origin as the Night King's grotesque black flesh.
The second...
The mysterious black stone.
The evil presence he had sensed possessed the same chilling malice and madness that radiated from the Night King's flesh.
There had to be some connection between the two.
Turning back to Adins, Drogon asked,
"What do you know about the black stone?"
He had already questioned Adins extensively about the Great Other.
But he had never asked whether the sea god knew anything about the mysterious black stone.
Adins thought for a moment.
"You mean those enormous black stones?"
The moment Adins asked that question, Drogon realized he probably wouldn't get much useful information from him.
Sure enough, Adins admitted that the only black stone he had ever seen was the Seastone Chair on the Iron Islands. As for the other black stone structures scattered across the world, he knew nothing.
Then again, expecting a sea god to be well-versed in mysteries found on land had been a bit unreasonable.
"What about the Deep Ones?" Drogon asked instead.
"Are they actually real?"
In Drogon's opinion, if Adins wasn't familiar with land-based mysteries, he should at least know something about legendary sea creatures.
"You mean the fish-headed, humanoid creatures?" Adins asked.
"Those are the ones."
Adins nodded.
"They do exist."
Seeing Drogon's interest, he continued.
"Far to the east of the Shivering Sea lies an archipelago known as the Thousand Islands."
"The islanders there have pale green skin and are completely hairless."
"The God they worship is the Fish God."
"I once explored the seabed near those islands and discovered traces of the Deep Ones."
"I even found an enormous palace beneath the sea."
"A palace... under the sea?"
Even Drogon couldn't hide his surprise.
"Yes."
"I originally intended to investigate it."
"But the closer I got..."
"The more I felt an overwhelming evil lurking inside."
"So I turned back."
"Even you were affected by it?" Drogon asked, astonished.
He hadn't expected something powerful enough to make Adins retreat.
"I instinctively knew I shouldn't go any farther."
Adins sounded somewhat embarrassed.
Drogon understood immediately.
The sea god had been afraid.
For a God who ruled the oceans to abandon his curiosity and withdraw without investigating...
Whatever lay within that underwater palace had to be unimaginably terrifying.
"I strongly advise you not to investigate it either."
"And under no circumstances should you sail east of the Thousand Islands."
"That region has become a forbidden zone for all life."
"A forbidden zone?"
Drogon hadn't expected such a place to exist in this world.
"Yes."
"It lies at the easternmost edge of the Shivering Sea and is also known as the Frozen Sea."
"The surface is perpetually covered by icy mist."
"From a distance it looks like ordinary fog."
"But the instant anything touches it..."
"It freezes solid."
"Even you can't withstand it?" Drogon asked, noticing the unmistakable fear in Adins's enormous white eyes.
"A small amount doesn't matter."
"But if I were completely engulfed..."
"I doubt even I could escape."
Drogon couldn't help comparing the icy mist with his own dragonfire.
Judging from how badly Adins had been burned by his flames, the sea god's physical defenses weren't particularly impressive despite his overwhelming strength.
He was then reminded of the time the Night King had frozen him with ice magic.
The Frozen Sea's mist was probably comparable in power.
After all, for the Night King to freeze the body of a fire dragon until it became stiff with ice had already been an incredible feat.
Of course...
The Drogon of today was nothing like the one back then.
He had devoured the Night King's divine spark, and ever since that battle had continued growing stronger through his Devouring ability.
If he fought Adins again now...
Drogon was confident he could defeat him in only a few exchanges.
"The Frozen Sea contains more than just the icy mist," Adins continued.
"There are also countless frost creatures nearly as large as I am."
"They breathe freezing frost capable of encasing their prey in ice."
"As big as you?"
Drogon's eyes narrowed.
In this world, a creature's size was usually directly proportional to its strength.
If they were nearly as large as Adins, then even if they were weaker, the difference couldn't be significant.
"Have you fought them?"
"I once encountered a six-armed naga while exploring the Frozen Sea."
"She had the upper body of a human and the lower body of a serpent."
"She was incredibly ugly..."
"But unbelievably powerful."
"Our strength was evenly matched."
"Unfortunately, I couldn't withstand the constant blasts of freezing frost she breathed."
"In the end, I had no choice but to retreat."
After listening quietly, Drogon finally asked,
"Was she already at the level of a god?"
Adins slowly shook his head.
"Perhaps not a true God..."
"But she was frighteningly close."
Even now, merely recalling that encounter left the sea god visibly shaken.
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