The black-red blood-flames had vanished at some point.
Aegon's consciousness returned from a chaotic void, like a drowning man finally breaking the surface.
Countless fragmented images crashed together and re-formed in his mind—
Finally, the darkness that swallowed him whole, and within it an ill-timed, crisp—
Clink!
[Deep within the Valyrian Ruins—check-in successful!]
His thoughts froze on that line.
Aegon's eyes snapped open; violet pupils first lost focus, then sharpened.
Before him lay the familiar rubble, scorched and strewn with stones.
The corpses of Crows Eye and the Ironborn lay tumbled everywhere, long grown cold.
Aegon rose. Instead of the expected agony of a body falling apart, he felt a near-uncanny surge of energy—full, vibrant.
He checked himself at once: the cracked left leg moved freely, the dull ache in his chest was gone, and even the bone-deep gash across his wrist had faded to a pale pink seam.
The corpses around him—each twisted in its own way—reminded him the brutal fight had been no illusion.
The system? It could only be that.
Check-in successful?
Aegon frowned.
Curiosity burning, he focused and called the system panel again.
At his summons, information surfaced in his mind, naturally understood.
[Initial quest completed… meets criteria for deep binding… full system load complete.]
Aegon blinked, the corner of his mouth twitching.
'So all those years I was running around with a trial version?' He couldn't help the grumble—he'd risked his life on a demo?
'This Becoming a permanent employeeexam is straight from hell; one wrong move and it's permanent deletion.'
He settled his thoughts and began studying the 'official' system.
The panel was clearer, its assessments more detailed, even carrying human-like comments.
The map guidance function remained.
Most eye-catching was the lottery option below.
It had changed from 0 to 1.
Check-in reward from the Valyrian Ruins? Aegon murmured.
Reading the shifting commentary, he muttered, 'Feels like some AI's watching me…'
He tried asking in his mind.
No reply.
Yet he sensed his message had been read—and ignored… damn.
Aegon curled his lip, wishing for a one-star rating option.
His gaze returned to the single lottery chance.
No telling what would come out.
With a thought he confirmed the draw.
No flashy effects; the panel simply showed: [Drawing…] [Draw successful] [Congratulations—obtained MonsterVerse King Ghidorah!]
Reading the panel, his breath caught.
Ghidorah? The one he knew?
Compensation, maybe?
Suppressing his excitement, Aegon looked around for the titanic triple-headed silhouette.
Nothing.
The ruins stood empty but for corpses and stones.
He glanced down—and finally spotted something by his feet.
About the size of… a stool?
Covered in pale-gold scales, its three heads nuzzling one another, six molten-gold eyes blinking up at him in bewilderment.
Aegon: … Looking at the footstool-sized Ghidorah, the corner of his mouth twitched.
At that moment a stream of knowledge surfaced—not cold text, but instinctive understanding:
[Warning: fundamental differences in world law and energy strata.]
[Target 'Ghidorah' is originally shaped by its native world's physics, energy density, and conceptual rank. Current world (codename: A Song of Ice and Fire) cannot support its full form.]
[Individual now in 'concept seed' state, compressed and restructured per local rules. Growth will sync with host interaction, adaptation, and energy intake.]
[Decompression initializing… adaptive fusion… current form stable.]
Aegon understood—
The system had zipped Ghidorah and sent it over; he'd have to extract it himself… While he pondered 'extraction' and 'adaptation', the bench-sized Ghidorah's three minds were chaos and confusion.
One instant it had been in a raging sea, locked in earth-shaking combat with that thick-skinned lizard, gravity rays and atomic breath raising thousand-meter tsunamis.
The next, a force beyond comprehension—seemingly from the world's core—ripped its essence from that battlefield.
Dizziness, disembodiment, then… landing.
The view changed.
Everything was now colossal.
Broken stones loomed like hills, fallen columns like sky-piercing trees, and the armored creature before it—Ghidorah's three minds blanked in unison.
So big!
That was its first thought.
A creature this size existed?
Taller than that fat lizard!
The downward gaze stirred something instinctive… pressure?
No, not just pressure—an odd, subtle pull, as if an invisible thread linked them.
Then it saw the giant crouch and extend a hand toward its middle head.
Touch me?
Despite the budding closeness, the pride of a king of beasts flared.
Touch me? You dare?!
The center head jerked back; the side heads bared needle-sized fangs.
A thin, hissy growl rumbled from three throats, six golden eyes wide, broadcasting Keep away!
Aegon almost laughed at the bristling bundle.
Ignoring the empty threat, he firmly, curiously, laid a finger on the middle head and rubbed.
Cool, smooth scales—tougher than they looked.
Hiss—! Ghidorah froze, all three heads rigid.
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