CHAPTER 98
The North, Castle Cerwyn.
It was noon, and the once-peaceful castle had already been consumed by blood and fire.
Under Euron's indulgence, the Ironborn had transformed into a pack of completely unleashed beasts that thirsted for blood and suffering.
They surged through the streets, slaughtering everyone they encountered, whether soldiers, old men, women, or children.
Cries, pleas, wild laughter, and the sounds of weapons tearing through flesh intertwined into a horrifying symphony.
At the highest point of Castle Cerwyn, Euron stood clad in smoke-black scale armor, his single visible eye half-closed as he savored the city's lamentations.
"Such heavenly music..."
Euron gazed over the castle consumed by blood and fire, his face filled with intoxicated enjoyment.
"Go fetch my Shade of the Evening. I want a drink."
The mute crewman of the Silence standing behind him immediately moved with mechanical obedience, descending the tower stairs and disappearing from sight.
After conquering Torrhen's Square, Euron had not lingered.
He led his army onward, burning, killing, and plundering without making any effort to conceal his movements.
Only after every nearby village had been reduced to ashes did Euron drive his captives toward Castle Cerwyn.
During this time, he won the loyalty and admiration of countless Ironborn through brutality and unrestricted plunder.
Even Aeron Greyjoy, known as Aeron Damphair, found his influence steadily diminishing.
Aside from a few loyal followers, many Ironborn who had once followed him now gravitated toward Euron.
Faced with this situation, Aeron, who feared his elder brother deeply, did not dare voice his anger.
Instead, under Euron's orders, he supervised the cutting of nearby trees, forced captives to construct battering rams, and then drove those same captives toward the walls.
Because Castle Cerwyn's defenses were insufficient and utterly incapable of resisting them.
In only a single day, the castle faced imminent collapse.
Ser Cley Cerwyn, heir to House Cerwyn, realized the situation was hopeless.
Taking his family and roughly a hundred soldiers, he fled through the northern gate toward Winterfell.
Castle Cerwyn consequently fell.
Yet Euron neither pursued the fleeing Cerwyns nor hurried toward Winterfell.
Instead, he devoted himself to slaughter and terror within the castle.
At that moment, a crewman of the Silence carried half a barrel of Shade of the Evening up the tower and quietly placed it behind Euron.
The man then set down a wine cup decorated with gold and black onyx upon the barrel.
Hearing the movement, Euron turned around and opened the barrel.
He picked up the cup and filled it.
Bringing it to his nose, he inhaled deeply.
Although the liquid carried an indescribable odor, Euron's face showed only enjoyment.
"Mmm."
"A truly mellow fragrance..."
Ever since capturing a Qartheen vessel and tasting Shade of the Evening for the first time, he had become hopelessly addicted.
Wherever Euron traveled, Shade of the Evening accompanied him.
More important than the taste itself was what happened after he drank it.
Every time he consumed three cups, he would hear the voice of a god.
Gulp.
Euron drained the dark blue liquid in a single swallow and released a satisfied sigh.
"The time is ripe."
"Send word below. Gather the frightened sheep together and imprison them. Stop the indiscriminate killing."
"I still need these captives to attack Winterfell."
The mute crewman immediately turned and departed.
But after only two steps, Euron called out again.
"Also, bring my lovely brother here."
The crewman continued on his way without hesitation and vanished from the tower.
Euron paid him no further attention.
He simply refilled his cup and continued drinking Shade of the Evening.
One cup.
Two cups.
Three cups.
Four cups.
Five cups.
Then, once again, he heard the familiar voice.
"Well done, my child."
"Ah, great god, I shall offer the entire world to you."
"My child, there is no need to rush. The funeral dirge of the old era has already begun. We need only proceed step by step."
"Yes, great god. I will capture the dragons and burn every weirwood tree."
"My child, I shall grant you a prophecy."
"When the red comet streaks across the sky, you will encounter your destined enemy."
"Enemy?"
"Go conquer. Go plunder. Go seize everything that belongs to him."
"Only then will you be able to..."
"Able to what?"
Euron could no longer hear clearly.
His expression became urgent as he gestured wildly toward the heavens.
But in the eyes of Aeron, who had just arrived atop the tower with the Silence crewman, Euron looked utterly insane.
One moment he laughed.
The next he cried.
Then he danced and spoke to empty air.
As though some invisible being stood before him.
Aeron stared at his raving brother, and a complicated mixture of satisfaction and pity flickered in his eyes.
"Drowned God, please take him away."
As Aeron prayed silently, Euron suddenly turned and noticed him.
Instantly, Euron's expression returned to perfect calm.
Seeing the look on Aeron's face, he immediately understood that his brother had witnessed everything.
A smile slowly appeared on Euron's lips.
"Do you think I'm mad?"
"It must be so."
He answered his own question confidently.
"After all, my lovely brother has always wished misfortune upon me."
His voice carried malicious amusement as he ripped open the humiliations buried deep within Aeron's soul.
"Do you remember when we were children?"
"You and Urri lived in chambers high above Pyke."
"Whenever I came to visit the two of you, I could always hear your prayers."
"You prayed exactly as you are now."
A cruel smile spread across Euron's face.
"I've always wondered. Back then, did you pray for me to choose you or to spare you?"
The words tore open old wounds in Aeron's heart.
He glared furiously.
"Defile your own brothers and the gods will punish you!"
"Gods?"
Euron burst into laughter.
"Who understands gods better than I do?"
He stared directly at Aeron.
"Horse gods. Fire gods. Golden gods with jeweled eyes. Gods carved from cedar. Gods carved into mountains. Gods with no form at all."
"I know them all."
"I've seen people offer flowers before them."
"I've seen goats, bulls, and children slaughtered in their names."
"I've heard prayers spoken in dozens of tongues."
"Prayers for wealth. Prayers for protection."
"Prayers for protection from the plunder of the Silence."
Euron laughed endlessly.
"But when I stripped them naked, let their blood flow into the sea, and planted my seed in their screaming women, where were their gods?"
Aeron pointed a bony finger at him.
"They pray to trees, golden idols, and goat-headed monsters. Those are false gods."
"Only the Drowned God..."
"The Drowned God?"
Euron interrupted with disdain.
"What's the difference between him and those gods made from wood and gold?"
Thinking of how he had murdered his brothers and suffered no punishment, Euron spat contemptuously.
The gesture enraged Aeron.
But before Aeron could respond, Euron stepped forward.
Using his cup, he filled it with Shade of the Evening from the barrel.
"Compared to my god, what is the Drowned God?"
"Come."
"Drink."
"Then you will see the true gods with your own eyes."
Ignoring Aeron's resistance, Euron seized him by the throat and forced the dark liquid down.
The smell of ink and rotting flesh assaulted Aeron's senses.
Despite himself, he swallowed every drop.
Immediately afterward, he doubled over and retched.
Then he spat toward Euron.
"I curse you!"
Euron remained completely unconcerned.
Instead, he said with fanatical excitement, "Once you see the true god, you will thank me."
"And believe in me."
"Aeron, my brother, you are about to witness the truest vision in all the world."
In his dazed state, Aeron suddenly saw Euron transform.
The man before him became a towering and twisted monster with a single black eye and ten long arms, sailing upon a sea of blood.
Each arm dragged the corpse of a different god.
The Father.
The Mother.
The Warrior.
The Maiden.
The Smith.
The Crone.
Even the Stranger.
Beside the Seven hung countless grotesque and unfamiliar deities.
Even the Drowned God was there, half-devoured by crabs, the rest swollen and rotting.
Aeron clutched his head in agony and collapsed to his knees.
"No..."
"It's false!"
"It's all false!"
"This is only an illusion!"
Beside him, Euron laughed triumphantly.
Tormenting his younger brother brought him immeasurable pleasure.
After a long while, Euron finally stopped laughing.
His gaze shifted northward.
There, an even more interesting prey awaited him.
"Gather everyone."
"We will take Winterfell within three days."
"I will make that Stark girl experience what it means to become a woman."
"Hahaha!"
Following Euron's command, the Ironborn roared in excitement.
Driving their captives before them, they began their march toward Winterfell.
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