Chapter 29 - 25

Silence..

Uncomfortable silence was all that could be felt in Castle Black's meeting room as every brother gawked at Edwyn while Jon reunited with Arya.

It wasn't every day one would meet the prince of the seven kingdoms and the eldest son of the late king Robert Baratheon. Also, the tales of his feats would leave anyone weak in their knees. Be it from fear, awe or attraction.

Edwyn's abilities weren't much of a secret so it didn't surprise the brothers much. Although, it couldn't be said for the captured free folk. They were completely freaked out and they had seen all kinds of horrors beyond the wall.

Edwyn's clones were working hard at replenishing the old dilapidated castle and repairing the wall using ice release. A human creating wood from the ground and breathing out ice was beyond their understanding.

"I knew he wasn't normal.. but this.." Jon said to Arya as he gaped at the site of the clones.

"Everything you've heard about him is true whether you want to believe it or not."

Jon gulped as he thought of how much help Edwyn could provide against the White Walkers. He finally saw some form of hope. With Edwyn and his clones at their side, maybe there was a way to negotiate with the free folk. Jon admired Mance and did not want to see the man and other free folk suffer at the hands of the dead.

Thorne was wounded. He had a window of opportunity. He knew he had to act immediately.

Jon barged in the meeting room and said, "Prince Edwyn, I need your help."

Edwyn stared at him with an unwavering gaze which unnerved the poor man. Without sny change in his expression, Edywn simply got up and nodded.

The two walked through a tunnel to the true north. The moment Edwyn's foot touched the snow beyond the wall, he immediately felt it.

The presence of an inhumane being with an aura as dark as the night sky. It was cold.. colder than anything he had ever felt.

The being was somewhat sentient. It felt that there was something driving the being towards its goal. Edwyn didn't have to guess the goal. He knew the moment he felt the presence.

Extermination of humans.

Like Black Zetsu, who only lived to revive Kaguya, the being's sole purpose was to destroy all life in its path.

Then, he felt the presence of souls trapped in their husks, suffering from the never ending agony of being forcefully bound to the world of the living. Millions of souls screamed to be released from their prison but to no avail. All they could do was watch as the Night King slaughtered their loved ones and trapped their souls in eternal servitude of the being of death.

It boiled Edwyn's blood to know the fate of so many souls. They will never have peace. Such was their bond with the Night King that their only destiny was to perish into nothingness.

'To create such a vile creature.. There has to be an impeccable reason for it.'

Then, he felt other magical presences. Old.. Older than the Night King..

'I need to find them.'

Broken out of his thoughts, Edwyn looked around as Jon and him walked towards Mance's camp.

At first, the free folk wanted to rush at the two and impale them with their spears. But, something about Jon's companion made them hesitate. Born and raised in the wilderness of the true north had made them more intuned with their instincts. And at that very moment, their instincts were telling them, no, screaming at them to not attack.

Even the giants who feared none living were terrified and running away. The mammoths were stomping hard against the ground and pulling with all their might against their binds just so that they could run and hide from the deathly presence of Edwyn.

An apex predator had finally come to a jungle where only the strong survive.

Fear tore through their veins but when they realized Edwyn was not there to attack them, they calmed down.

"Who is he?" Mance asked Jon.

Before Jon could reply, Edwyn interjected and said, "My name is Edwyn of House Baratheon, First of his name, The rightful heir of the Iron Throne. I am here to allow you free passage through the wall if you agree to certain conditions."

Everyone was blown away by his sudden declaration. Meanwhile, Jon couldn't be happier. He didn't even have to explain to Edwyn anything.

"Why?" Mance asked warily.

"I know what you are running from."

Nothing more was said but everyone understood.

Just as Mance was about to ask what the conditions were, a horn blew from south of the wall and riders poured through the tunnels like ants.

Edwyn gritted his teeth and scoffed. With a single stomp on the ground, a ginormous wall of dirt and rock emerged through the thick of the snow and blocked the riders from going further and attacking any of the free folk.

'The arrogance of these nobles.. None of them value the lives of people. F.u.c.k.i.n.g power hungry mongrels. Hold on... They are carrying Baratheon banners.. That murdering bastard, Stannis!'

Anger bubbled in his c.h.e.s.t and Edwyn zoomed towards a horse upon which Stannis rode. The old man couldn't even see anything before he was grabbed from the throat and pushed off hia horse and slammed to the ground.

"Give me one f.u.c.k.i.n.g reason to not bury your head into the ground. You damned fiend.. Murdering your own brother by using a shadow demon, like the coward you truly are. Did you really like that red priestess' c.u.n.t that much?"

After the initial shock came the fear of death. He knew the threat was as real as the sun rising from the east.

Struggling against the tightening grip around his throat, Stannis said in a strained voice, "I did it.. for the good.. of the realm. I regret.. absolutely nothing."

Edwyn stared at Stannis with eyes of a dead man and said, "Wrong f.u.c.k.i.n.g answer. You did it for power. You did it because you wanted to be the king. Nothing more, nothing less. But, you are right about one thing. You have no regrets. You do not regret having the blood of your kin on your hands. Which only means..."

With an inhuman push against Stannis' throat, Edwyn blew up the ground below the man and crushed the man's body above the legs to nothing but red mist.

"... I will have no regret in having yours on mine."

(NAGOT)

A/N: What's up readers?!!! Hope you enjoyed the chappy. ????

Comment and give me your stones!!