Game of Thrones: The Road to Pirate King

Chapter 306 Death and Rebirth

At this tense, life-or-death moment, an anxious female voice rang out from the heights of the Tower of Bliss, like cold water poured onto boiling oil: "Stop! Be quiet!"

Everyone instinctively looked up and saw Ashara Dane's figure peeking out of a window in the tower.

Her once beautiful face was now filled with tension and exhaustion, and what was most shocking was her outstretched hands—covered in glaring, still-dry bloodstains.

Before anyone could ask a question, Ashara shouted with all her might, her voice piercing the hot desert wind and reaching everyone's ears clearly: "Stop hitting her! Lyanna—Lyanna is about to give birth!"

These words were like an invisible spell, instantly freezing all movement and killing intent beneath the tower. The sword froze in mid-air, the angry question stuck in the throat.

Euron, Eddard, Oberyn, and even the three Kingsguard who were determined to die, all froze in place.

The impending arrival of new life, in the most primal and irresistible way, forcibly interrupted this duel woven from the obsession with death.

Ashara's cry was like a thunderclap, exploding in Eddard Stark's ears.

"Is she about to give birth?"

He muttered to himself, seemingly unable to comprehend the meaning of those words. Then, a terrifying and clear thought pierced his mind like an icicle. A child? Whose child? It could only be—Réaga's!

His gaze suddenly shot to Ser Arthur Dayne beside him, seeking a denial, even a lie. However, Ser Arthur met his gaze and nodded slowly and heavily, confirming the worst possibility.

"Yes," Arthur's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable certainty. "Prince Rhaegar's actions may—violate social norms. But between them, there is genuine love."

"Truly in love?!"

Eddard's pent-up shock, worry, and fear about his sister's fate were ignited by those words, transforming into a raging inferno. He took a leap forward, almost roaring at Ser Arthur, his voice trembling with extreme anger: "She's betrothed to Robert Baratheon!!! It's a marriage arranged by our father, known throughout the Seven Kingdoms!!! And now you're talking to me about true love?!"

The roar echoed through the desert, filled with the pain of betrayal and the incomprehension of this so-called "love".

The order and vows that maintain the world seem to crumble in the face of "true love," which makes him feel a sense of anger and fear of his foundation collapsing.

Ed's anger was like a volcano about to erupt. He wanted nothing more than to rush up the tower, grab his sister's shoulders, and demand to know what she was thinking, why she would betray her family and marriage for a man who already had a wife, putting herself in such a wretched situation!

But the piercing screams that followed from the tower were like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing his anger. The voices belonged to his sister, Lyanna, filled with the pain and struggle of childbirth. At that moment, the most primal worry and concern deep within his blood completely overwhelmed all moral anger and rational questioning.

He was like a dire wolf trapped in a cage, restless and utterly powerless. He could only pace aimlessly back and forth beneath the round tower that imprisoned his sister, on the scorching red sand. Each painful groan emanating from within the tower clenched his heart. His fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms; all his anxiety, fear, and helplessness manifested in this futile back-and-forth walking.

Oberyn braced himself against the ground with his spear, frowning as he gazed at the familiar figure in the tower window, and murmured the question that had been nagging at him: "Ashara? What's she doing here?"

Euron crossed his arms, his gaze still fixed on the entrance to the Tower of Bliss, and replied calmly, "Of course, I called her. She just returned to Falling Star City to pack her dowry." He paused, a subtle smile playing on his lips. "The original intention was for her to persuade her stubborn brother not to block our way. Unexpectedly—" He glanced at the tower, "and now she's become our midwife."

"Midwife?" Upon hearing this, Ed turned sharply and glared at Euron, his eyes filled with suppressed anger. But at this moment, he was worried about his sister's safety and ultimately did not lash out.

In this anxious wait, where time seemed to stand still, a clear and vibrant cry of a newborn baby, like the first ray of dawn, suddenly came from the top of the tower, clearly piercing the silent and oppressive sky of the Dorne border.

The brief solace brought by that cry symbolizing new life, before it could transform into joy or other emotions in anyone's heart, was shattered completely by Ashara's more urgent, tearful cry from the tower: "Ed! Come up here quickly—Lyanna—she's dying! Your sister has something to tell you!"

This cry was like a death knell, striking the hearts of everyone.

Eddard Stark's expression froze instantly, his initial relaxation upon hearing the baby's cry plunging him into a chilling abyss. He could no longer care about anything else; like a wild beast breaking free of its cage, he charged recklessly towards the tower entrance.

This time, the three white-robed knights—Jero, Arthur, and Oswell—did not move an inch to stop them.

They silently stepped aside, clearing the way to the tower. It was as if, with Lyanna's passing, the ultimate meaning of their vow to protect her had vanished. Like three soulless white stone statues, they stood atop the red sand, their eyes filled only with endless grayness and death, devoid of any desire to fight.

Time flowed slowly in the deathly silence, each second as heavy as iron. Finally, a figure reappeared at the narrow entrance to the Tower of Bliss.

Eddard Stark descended step by step, his movements stiff as a marionette. His face was expressionless, as if all joy and sorrow had vanished with the lives on the tower, leaving only a cold, chilling numbness. His arms carefully embraced a blood-stained figure—Lyanna, her pale face resting on his shoulder as if she were merely asleep, but the soaked white cloth beneath her and the large patch of piercing dark red proclaimed a cruel reality.

Close behind him was Ashara Dayne. Her beautiful face was streaked with tears, and her eyes were red-rimmed. But her attention was focused intently on the tiny baby wrapped in soft fabric in her arms.

The baby, oblivious to everything around him, was waving his tiny hands and feet restlessly and making soft babbling sounds. His vibrant life force contrasted sharply with the deathly stillness in Ed's arms, creating one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the world.

They walked down the tower step by step, into the scorching sunlight, into the silent gaze of the crowd.