The fruit grove turned out to be an overgrown garden, the remains of some Valyrian noble's estate now reclaimed by nature. The purple fruits hung in clusters from twisted trees whose bark shimmered with an iridescent quality I'd never seen before. I gathered as many as I could carry while the Cannibal watched with barely concealed impatience.
"MORTALS AND THEIR CONSTANT NEED FOR SUSTENANCE," he grumbled in my mind. "SUCH INEFFICIENCY."
"Yeah, well, we can't all subsist on... whatever it is you eat," I replied, biting into one of the fruits. The sweet, metallic flavor was still strange, but not unpleasant.
"I CONSUME WHAT I PLEASE. LESSER BEASTS. OCCASIONALLY LESSER DRAGONS." The Cannibal's mental voice had a certain pride to it. "IT HAS BEEN SOME TIME SINCE I REQUIRED FOOD."
"AND FEAR NOT. I HAVE NO DESIRE TO CONSUME MY OWN RIDER. IT WOULD UNDO THE BOND WE HAVE FORMED." He made that rumbling sound again. "BESIDES, YOU WOULD LIKELY GIVE ME INDIGESTION."
"Your concern is touching," I muttered, finishing my breakfast and tucking several fruits into my shihakushō for later. "So what's the plan? Just fly straight west until we hit Westeros?"
"NOT QUITE SO SIMPLE." The Cannibal's massive head swung toward the horizon. "THE SMOKING SEA IS TREACHEROUS, EVEN FOR ONE SUCH AS I. STORMS BREW THERE UNLIKE ANY KNOWN ELSEWHERE, BORN OF THE DOOM'S LINGERING MAGIC. WE MUST NAVIGATE CAREFULLY."
"Huh. Magical storms." I said, climbing back onto the dragon's neck. "Any other cheerful news before we take off?"
"ONLY THAT THE JOURNEY WILL TAKE SEVERAL DAYS, AND WE MUST CROSS THE FULL WIDTH OF THE SEA BEFORE FINDING SAFE HARBOR ON THE OTHER SIDE." The Cannibal seemed to consider something. "THOUGH YOUR PECULIAR ENERGY MIGHT PROVE... INTERESTING... WHEN IT ENCOUNTERS THE STORM MAGIC."
"Interesting how?"
"WE SHALL DISCOVER TOGETHER, SHALL WE NOT?"
Before I could protest that ominous statement, the Cannibal launched himself skyward with a powerful thrust of his hind legs. My stomach lurched as we shot upward, the ruined landscape falling away beneath us. I'd thought I was getting used to flying, but the sheer acceleration still caught me off guard.
As we gained altitude, I could see just how vast Valyria had been. The ruins stretched for miles in every direction, a once-great civilization reduced to ash and broken stone. And beyond it—the Smoking Sea, aptly named for the steam and fog that rose from its dark surface.
The Cannibal banked, setting a course westward. His massive wings beat steadily, carrying us toward that foreboding expanse of water. The rising sun at our backs cast long shadows ahead of us, giving the steam an eerie, almost sentient quality as it writhed and twisted upward.
"You mentioned the Targaryens yesterday," I said, trying to distract myself from the increasingly unsettling view below. "They're the ones who rule Westeros now? With dragons?"
"YES. THOUGH THEY ARE BUT A PALE SHADOW OF WHAT VALYRIA ONCE WAS." There was something like contempt in the Cannibal's mental voice. "THEY ESCAPED THE DOOM ONLY BECAUSE ONE OF THEIR HOUSE—DAENYS THE DREAMER—FORESAW IT. THEY FLED TO DRAGONSTONE, TAKING FIVE DRAGONS WITH THEM. FROM THERE, AEGON THE CONQUEROR AND HIS SISTER-WIVES USED THEIR THREE DRAGONS TO SUBJUGATE THE SEVEN KINGDOMS OF WESTEROS."
"Sister-wives?" I choked. "As in... he married his sisters? Plural?"
"THE TARGARYENS WED BROTHER TO SISTER FOR GENERATIONS TO KEEP THEIR BLOODLINE PURE." The Cannibal seemed amused by my disgust. "YOUR WORLD DOES NOT PRACTICE THIS CUSTOM?"
"No! Definitely not!" I shuddered. "That's... just wrong."
"DIFFERENT WORLDS, DIFFERENT WAYS," the dragon replied philosophically. "THE VALYRIANS BELIEVED THE BLOOD OF THE DRAGON MUST REMAIN UNDILUTED TO MAINTAIN THEIR BOND WITH DRAGONS AND THEIR MAGICAL ABILITIES. THE TARGARYENS MERELY CONTINUED THE TRADITION."
"Still gross," I muttered. "So these Targaryens—they know Valyrian magic?"
"SOME SMALL FRACTION. MUCH WAS LOST IN THE DOOM. WHAT REMAINED FADED OVER GENERATIONS." The Cannibal's wings adjusted slightly, catching a thermal that lifted us higher. "BUT THEY REMEMBER MORE THAN MOST. AND THEIR LIBRARY AT DRAGONSTONE—THE ISLAND WHERE THEY FIRST SETTLED—MAY CONTAIN RECORDS THAT COULD HELP YOU UNDERSTAND HOW YOU CAME TO BE HERE."
That was the most encouraging thing I'd heard since arriving in this world. "Dragonstone. Got it. That's our destination then?"
"PERHAPS. THOUGH KINGSLANDING—THE CAPITAL CITY THEY BUILT—MAY OFFER MORE RESOURCES." The Cannibal seemed to consider. "WE SHALL DECIDE WHEN WE REACH THE SHORES OF WESTEROS."
The conversation died as we reached the edge of the landmass. Below us now was nothing but the churning, steam-shrouded waters of the Smoking Sea. Even from our height, I could see that it wasn't normal water—its color shifted between deep blue, purple, and occasionally a sickly green where gases bubbled up from below.
"BRACE YOURSELF," the Cannibal warned suddenly. "WE ENTER THE SEA'S DOMAIN NOW. THE AIR CURRENTS BECOME... UNPREDICTABLE."
He wasn't kidding. Almost immediately, we hit a pocket of turbulence that made the dragon's massive body shudder. I gripped tighter, my knuckles white against the black scales. Another violent updraft caught us, driving us higher with alarming speed, then just as suddenly dropped away, leaving my stomach somewhere above us.
"Is it always like this?" I called out, trying to keep my voice steady.
"NO. SOMETHING DISTURBS THE SEA TODAY." The Cannibal's wings worked harder, fighting against chaotic air currents. "PERHAPS IT SENSES YOUR FOREIGN ENERGY."
Fantastic. Even the local weather didn't like outsiders.
For hours we flew, battling increasingly violent air currents. The Cannibal maintained a stoic silence, focused on navigation, while I concentrated on not being sick or thrown off. The steam grew thicker around us, reducing visibility to almost nothing at times. Occasionally, dark shapes moved beneath the water's surface—things far too large to be normal sea creatures.
By midday, the clouds above had darkened ominously, and the first rumbles of thunder reached us. Lightning flickered within the storm clouds, but strangely, the bolts seemed to travel horizontally rather than striking downward, as if searching for something.
"UNUSUAL," the Cannibal remarked, watching the lightning dance above us. "THE STORMS RARELY FORM THIS QUICKLY."
"Maybe we should find somewhere to land until it passes?" I suggested, eyeing the increasingly violent lightning.
"THERE IS NOWHERE TO LAND IN THE SMOKING SEA, FOOL BOY, SAVE FOR A FEW TREACHEROUS VOLCANIC ISLANDS THAT ARE MORE DANGEROUS THAN THE STORM ITSELF." The dragon beat his wings harder, gaining altitude to try to rise above the worst of the clouds. "WE PRESS ON."
A deafening crack of thunder shook the air around us, and suddenly the steam parted to reveal a wall of dark clouds directly ahead, roiling with unnatural lightning that pulsed with colors no lightning should have—purples, greens, and sickly yellows.
"That doesn't look natural," I said, stating the obvious.
"IT IS NOT. MAGIC STILL LIVES IN THE STORMS OF THE SMOKING SEA." The Cannibal's voice had a grimness to it now. "HOLD FAST, ICHIGO KUROSAKI. WE CANNOT GO AROUND—THE STORM STRETCHES TOO FAR. WE MUST GO THROUGH."
Before I could protest, we plunged into the storm wall. Immediately, darkness enveloped us, broken only by the eerie flashes of colored lightning. Rain lashed at us from all directions, not just from above, defying the laws of physics. The Cannibal's wings fought against gale-force winds that seemed to change direction every few seconds.
A bolt of purple lightning struck uncomfortably close, and I felt a strange resonance with my own reiatsu. It was like the storm was responding to me somehow, reaching for my spiritual energy.
"The storm—it's reacting to me!" I shouted over the howling wind.
"YES. YOUR ENERGY CALLS TO THE OLD MAGIC," the Cannibal confirmed, banking sharply to avoid another lightning strike. "THE REMNANTS OF VALYRIAN SORCERY RECOGNIZE SOMETHING IN YOU."
That wasn't comforting at all. The storm intensified around us, as if drawn to my presence. Lightning strikes came closer, each one sending a strange tingling sensation through my body when it hit nearby.
Then, without warning, a massive bolt struck us directly.
I expected pain, but instead felt a rush of power surge through me, similar to the sensation when I'd first bonded with the Cannibal. The dragon roared—not in pain, but in what sounded like surprise. Lightning crawled over his scales, illuminating them from within, following the veins of gray that ran through the black.
"What's happening?!" I gasped, watching as the electricity seemed to flow from the dragon's body into mine and back again, creating a circuit.
"THE STORM MAGIC—IT RESONATES WITH OUR BOND," the Cannibal's mental voice sounded almost awestruck. "THIS IS... UNPRECEDENTED."
The lightning continued to dance around us, but now instead of striking randomly, it seemed to flow with us, creating a brilliant cocoon of electric light that illuminated our path through the storm. The winds, while still fierce, no longer buffeted us from all sides but instead formed a channel of relatively calm air.
"Are we controlling the storm?" I asked, incredulous.
"NOT CONTROLLING. HARMONIZING." The Cannibal's wings caught the air currents with new precision. "YOUR REIATSU AND MY FIRE—THEY SPEAK TO THE OLD MAGIC IN A WAY I HAVE NOT WITNESSED IN DECADES."
For nearly an hour we flew through the heart of the storm, wrapped in our strange lightning cocoon. The experience was terrifying but also exhilarating. I could feel the ancient magic responding to us, neither friendly nor hostile, just... curious, like it was examining this new configuration of energies.
Finally, we broke through the far side of the storm wall, emerging into calmer air. The lightning that had surrounded us lingered for a few moments, dancing across the Cannibal's wingspan before reluctantly dissipating. I exhaled shakily, realizing I'd been holding my breath.
"That was..." I struggled to find the right word.
"ENLIGHTENING," the Cannibal finished, a hint of satisfaction in his mental voice. "YOUR PRESENCE IN THIS WORLD CONTINUES TO PROVE... INTERESTING."
I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not, but I was too exhausted to care. The adrenaline of our storm passage was fading, leaving me drained. The constant vigilance required to stay mounted on a dragon during a magical storm had taken more out of me than I'd realized.
"How much farther?" I asked, trying to mask my fatigue.
"WE ARE PERHAPS HALFWAY ACROSS THE SMOKING SEA," the Cannibal replied. "THE HOUR GROWS LATE. WE SHALL NEED TO FIND ONE OF THE STONE SPIRES TO REST FOR THE NIGHT."
"Stone spires?"
"VOLCANIC PILLARS THAT RISE FROM THE SEA FLOOR. SOME REACH THE SURFACE AND PROVIDE SMALL PERCHES. NOT COMFORTABLE, BUT SAFER THAN FLYING THROUGH THE NIGHT."
As the day's light began to fade, we spotted one of these spires—a jagged column of black rock rising from the steaming waters below. The Cannibal circled it once before landing carefully on its relatively flat top, a space barely large enough for him to perch with his wings folded tight.
I climbed down stiffly, my legs wobbling after hours in the air. The stone beneath my feet was warm, almost hot, suggesting the volcanic activity below wasn't entirely dormant.
"Not exactly five-star accommodations," I muttered, sitting down with my back against one of the Cannibal's forelegs. I pulled out one of the purple fruits and ate it slowly, watching the strange colors play across the surface of the Smoking Sea as the sun set.
"REST, FOOL BOY. TOMORROW'S JOURNEY WILL BE NO LESS DEMANDING." The Cannibal curled slightly, his body heat providing welcome warmth as the air cooled. "I SHALL KEEP WATCH."
"You don't sleep?" I asked, suddenly curious about dragon biology.
"NOT AS YOU DO. DRAGONS ENTER A STATE OF REST WHILE REMAINING AWARE OF OUR SURROUNDINGS." One massive yellow eye regarded me. "A NECESSARY ADAPTATION WHEN ONE IS BOTH PREDATOR AND PRIZE."
I nodded, understanding the logic. Something that powerful would always have enemies—or hunters seeking glory.
As darkness fell completely, the sea below took on an eerie phosphorescence, glowing with faint blue light in some places. Strange calls echoed across the water occasionally—some like whale song but distorted, others like no animal I'd ever heard.
"More things I don't want to meet, I'm guessing," I said, nodding toward the source of one particularly unsettling cry.
"WISE ASSESSMENT. THE CREATURES THAT SURVIVED THE DOOM WERE CHANGED BY IT, BECOMING MORE DANGEROUS THAN THEIR ANCESTORS." The Cannibal's voice had that teacher-like quality again. "THE SMOKING SEA HIDES MANY SUCH ABOMINATIONS IN ITS DEPTHS."
I pulled Zangetsu closer, taking comfort in the familiar weight of my Zanpakutō. "You know, for someone who claims to be just a dragon, you sure know a lot about Valyrian history and magic."
The Cannibal was silent for a long moment. "I HAVE LIVED MANY YEARS, ICHIGO KUROSAKI. I HAVE SEEN MUCH."
"How many years, exactly?"
Another pause. "DRAGONS DO NOT COUNT TIME AS HUMANS DO. SUFFICIENT TO SAY THAT I HAVE SEEN CENTURIES PASS."
Not an exact answer, but an old man nonetheless. I leaned back, watching the alien stars appear overhead.
Despite the uncomfortable perch and the unnerving sounds from below, exhaustion eventually won out. As I drifted toward sleep, I thought I felt something—a faint, familiar presence at the edge of my consciousness.
"Old man Zangetsu?" I whispered mentally.
For just a moment, I felt a response—not words, but a sense of reassurance, like a hand on my shoulder. Then it was gone again, fading like mist. Still, it was enough to give me hope. Whatever was blocking our connection wasn't absolute. Maybe, as I learned more about this world and its magic, I'd find a way to restore that bond fully.
With that thought, I slipped into dreams filled with lightning dragons and storms that spoke with familiar voices calling me from across an impossible distance.