Game of Thrones: Second Son of House Targaryen

Chapter 423: The Death of the Night King?

The sight of the Lightbringer in Daenerys's hands clearly unsettled the Night King. He stared at the blade as though confronting a mortal enemy—or perhaps even his natural nemesis. For a fleeting moment, Viserys saw something unexpected in the Night King's icy gaze: fear.

So, that thing really is the real deal, Viserys thought. His earlier doubts about the Lightbringer’s authenticity—once only 30%—now rose to 70%. Yet even in the face of his unease, the Night King maintained his composure.

Despite holding the powerful weapon, Dany was unable to intervene in the furious duel between Viserys and the Night King. Their clash was a tempest, a storm of overwhelming force, and anyone who ventured too close would be torn apart. Dany, already showing signs of pregnancy, could only stand anxiously on the sidelines.

The intensity of the battle grew with every strike, the sound of weapons colliding reverberating like rolling thunder. Amid the chaos, Viserys shouted at Dany, his voice sharp with urgency:

“Get out of here! It’s dangerous!”

Before she could respond, four new figures emerged near the Icebone Tower—White Walkers, far more powerful than the rest. Viserys’s heart sank. These were the same elite White Walkers he had fought as a shadow self recently. Their speed and strength were extraordinary, and the prospect of more than ten of them on the field was a nightmare he didn’t even want to imagine.

“Go!” he bellowed again, swinging his halberd in a sweeping arc toward the Night King. The blade cut through the air with a high-pitched, tooth-rattling whine.

The Night King recognized the force behind the strike and chose to dodge rather than block it. His piercing blue eyes glowed brighter as he looked toward the newly arrived White Walkers. In an instant, they charged at Daenerys as though following a silent command.

The four white shadows moved in perfect synchrony, closing in from all directions. For a terrifying moment, Dany thought it was the end. Yet just as they were about to strike, something unexpected happened: the White Walkers stumbled and collapsed at her feet.

One of their weapons had even grazed her deerskin boots. As Dany looked down in astonishment, she noticed something bizarre—their feet were fused with the ground. They weren’t standing; they were stuck. The icy surface had somehow swallowed their lower legs, leaving only their tops visible, with some trapped below the ankles entirely.

Realizing the strange turn of events, Dany turned to glance at Viserys, who was once again locked in combat with the Night King.

“Is this some new magic? Interesting,” the Night King remarked, casting an almost curious look at his immobilized subordinates.

Meanwhile, Rhaelarion, the silver dragon, swooped down from above, unleashing a torrent of dark dragonfire.

The flames flooded the ice cave, filling the air with blazing heat. Dany stood unharmed amidst the inferno, protected by an invisible shield—a testament to her abilities as both a warg and a fire mage. The flames danced harmlessly around her, licking at the ice without reaching her skin.

Elsewhere, the armies of the North and the Night’s Watch were retreating, their objectives largely achieved. The Night King’s irritation was palpable; the operation was slipping from his grasp. He turned his cold, calculating gaze toward Daenerys, a snarl escaping his lips as he lunged toward her.

Rhaelarion, her dragon, belched black fire to intercept him, but the Night King, a non-burner like the Targaryens, advanced undeterred. His weapon swung toward Dany with deadly precision.

Before the blow could land, Viserys struck from behind, stabbing his halberd into the Night King’s back. The blade barely managed to carve a half-inch gash in his icy armor.

Making a split-second decision, Viserys threw his weapon aside and tackled the Night King, locking his arms around him in a desperate embrace. The cold radiating from the Night King’s body was excruciating, sending violent shivers through Viserys, but he held on with iron resolve.

Then, with a horrifying crack, the Night King’s head rotated a full 180 degrees. Their noses were almost touching as the icy monarch stared directly into Viserys’s eyes.

“You’ve fallen into my trap, Viserys,” the Night King hissed.

Viserys’s heart sank as he realized the ice armor on the Night King’s back had melted without his noticing. Their bodies were now fused together in a chilling embrace, chest against back. He tried to pull away but found himself completely immobilized.

The realization struck him like a thunderbolt: the Night King had learned the Linking Spell that Viserys had just used—and not only that, but he had refined it. The sheer speed of his adaptation was terrifying.

Viserys’s eyes flicked to the crown of ice thorns on the Night King’s head. Suddenly, he understood—it wasn’t a crown at all. It was made of the horns of a dragon. The Night King, like himself, was a freak of nature, a being intertwined with dragons in ways Viserys couldn’t yet comprehend. With those horns, it was no wonder the Night King’s talent for magic was extraordinary.

The ice under them cracked ominously as the Night King began dragging Viserys toward the crevasse at the base of the Icebone Tower. His intentions were clear: he wanted to capture Viserys alive.

Both Viserys and Daenerys realized the danger at the same time. Dany rushed forward, Lightbringer in hand, and slashed at the Night King’s body.

“Let him go! Let go of him! Let go!!!”

The blade, blazing with yellow and red flames, struck against the Night King’s icy armor, but it barely left a mark. The sparks it produced were more dramatic than the damage it inflicted. His armor was too tough, too impenetrable.

Viserys, desperate to free himself, began silently reciting the counter-spell for the Linking Spell. But it was useless. The Night King’s modified version of the spell was unrecognizable. He had already taken it beyond its original form.

As the Night King and Viserys neared the edge of the crevasse—less than five meters away—Dany struck with all her strength. Still, her attacks couldn’t penetrate the ice armor. She was relentless, her blows sparking against the unyielding frost, but to no avail.

Viserys’s mind raced, and a bold idea struck him. He shouted at Dany, his voice urgent:

“Dany! Attack from my direction!”

“What?” she replied, confused.

“Through my body! His front isn’t armored!”

For a moment, her hesitation was palpable. Viserys’s chest was pressed directly against the Night King’s back. The ice armor that protected him was intact everywhere except where their bodies were fused. If Dany wanted to strike the Night King’s vulnerable side, she would have to pierce through Viserys.

The Night King, hearing Viserys’s command, chuckled darkly. His thrust toward the crevasse grew more forceful. “You’re full of surprises, Viserys,” he murmured. “But I won’t kill you. Not yet.”

“Cut the crap!” Viserys spat back, his voice laced with defiance. “If you don’t kill me, I’ll kill you first!”

Their faces were so close now that their noses almost touched. The icy breath of the Night King brushed against Viserys’s skin, but he didn’t flinch.

Above, the Yellow Dragon circled, raining fire down on the White Walkers and wights trying to intervene. Benerro and the others watched from the dragon’s back, his expressions was a mixture of horror and admiration.

Benerro muttered under his breath, “This is the fate of Nissa Nissa.”

From the sky, Hali watched the desperate scene and tried to land her dragon to help, but Viserys roared furiously, “Get back there! Don’t make things worse!”

Hali froze in fear at his command. Her dragon had already touched down, but she didn’t dare dismount after Viserys’s outburst. Instead, she turned her focus to the Icebone Tower, shouting a command to her dragon, “Dracarys!”

Viserys, caught up in the chaos, hadn’t even considered this possibility. “That’s a good idea!” he admitted, rallying himself. The silver dragon nearby joined the attack, and two streams of dark dragonfire engulfed the tower. For a fleeting moment, it looked as if the strategy was working—cracks appeared, and the tower began to collapse.

But before hope could take root, the Night King turned his head and exhaled a thick mist of ice. The freezing breath surged over the tower, sealing its cracks and restoring its integrity.

Dany and Hali, moments ago filled with hope, were crushed with despair once more. The Lightbringer was their only option now.

“I can’t die!” Viserys bellowed. “Hurry!”

But Dany hesitated, her hands trembling around the hilt of the Lightbringer. She was torn, tears spilling from her violet eyes. She knew nothing of the panel that Viserys had, nor could she imagine how he might survive such an attack.

Two meters from the crevasse. The cold air emanating from the crack was sharp and biting. Viserys braced his foot against the edge, straining every muscle to hold back the Night King’s relentless push.

One meter.

Suddenly, a claw-like hand emerged from the icy crevasse and gripped Viserys’s ankle, pulling it downward. He growled in defiance, shouting to Dany, “Do it, Dany! Or do you want to leave our child without a father?”

His rebuke broke through her paralysis. Determined, she positioned herself behind Viserys, her mind racing as she tried to avoid his vital organs. Summoning all her resolve, she plunged the glowing blade of the Lightbringer into Viserys’s back. It passed through his abdomen and pierced into the Night King’s exposed chest.

The reaction was immediate. The Night King’s face contorted in agony, his blue eyes blazing briefly before dimming.

“Deeper!” Viserys urged.

Dany pushed harder, driving the blade further into both men. Nearly a third of the sword remained exposed, flames dancing along its edge.

The Night King let out a guttural, inhuman cry, a sound like shattering glass and collapsing glaciers.

“Didn’t think so, did you?” Viserys sneered, meeting the Night King’s eyes in a final, triumphant mockery.

Cracks began to spread across the Night King’s body, starting from his neck and branching out like veins across his face and head. His icy form looked like a fractured sculpture, teetering on the brink of collapse.

Boom!

Half of the Night King’s head exploded, shards of ice flying everywhere. Some struck Viserys’s face, drawing blood, but he barely flinched. The Night King’s remaining lower face emitted a pitiful, ragged wail as his body continued to disintegrate.

The hand clutching Viserys’s ankle suddenly weakened. Sensing his chance, Viserys shifted his weight, slamming backward to drive the remaining third of the Lightbringer deeper. The Night King’s arms, which had been wrapped around Viserys, exploded into fragments, scattering across the icy ground.

Piece by piece, the Night King’s body shattered—first the arms, then the legs, then the torso—until only chunks of ice of varying sizes remained. Some were as small as fists; others were as large as a human head.

Freed from the Night King’s grip, Viserys staggered back from the crevasse, the Lightbringer still lodged in his body. Dany hurried to his side as they prepared to leave.

“Is the Night King dead?” she asked, her voice trembling with hope and fear.

Viserys shook his head but said nothing, his expression unreadable.

Before he could elaborate, an ominous suction force erupted from the crack, pulling in every fragment of the Night King’s shattered remains. The icy pieces vanished into the abyss, leaving Viserys and Dany standing alone in the eerie silence.