"For Euron?" Willas looked at Lynd in confusion and said, "Tell me more detail."
Lynd said in a deep voice, "If the Others can cross the sea, what good is the Wall?"
"Impossible," Willas immediately retorted, "The Others cannot cross the sea, because an ancient curse prevents them from entering the ocean, just as they are restrained by dragonglass."
"But what if someone helps them cross the sea?" Lynd told Willas everything about Euron and the Ironborn who had turned into wights found in Valyria.
The Commander's adjutant on the side also listened with curiosity, holding his breath when he heard about the experience in Valyria, afraid that his breathing would be too loud and disturb Lynd's narration.
"Euron?" After listening to Lynd's narration, Willas murmured a few words, then fell into contemplation.
Lynd did not disturb him, standing in front of the ice pillar, waiting for his answer.
After a long while, Willas recovered from his contemplation and said, "The Others cannot cross the sea; this is an ancient curse that cannot be broken. However, there is a method that can temporarily disable the curse."
"What method?" Before Lynd could speak, the Commander's adjutant on the side involuntarily asked.
Willas did not blame the Commander's adjutant for speaking out, and continued, "The Others can only temporarily lift the curse and cross the sea by boat when they are near a God-Hater."
"God-Hater?" Lynd hesitated and said, "This doesn't seem difficult to find. Among the mages under my command, many do not believe in gods, and many Archmaesters at the Citadel also do not believe in gods."
"No, you are mistaken! I am talking about a God-Hater, not an unbeliever." Willas corrected Lynd's mistake, saying, "Although unbelievers do not believe in gods, they still show some reverence for gods. But a God-Hater intensely dislikes gods, even hostile to them. The gods he is hostile to are not a specific god, but all gods—good gods, evil gods, true gods, false gods. As long as it is related to gods, he utterly detests and hates it. His only purpose in life is to destroy all gods."
"There are even such people?" Lynd was also surprised by what Willas said. He considered himself well-read, but he had never seen any records about God-Haters in books.
Willas continued, "Although a God-Hater despises all gods, contradictorily, his body is a perfect vessel for gods. Any religious ritual can imbue a God-Hater with the power of gods, and he will hear the whispers of gods at all times. Can you imagine? For a day, a month, a year, or even a lifetime, someone you utterly detest and hate will whisper in your ear. Even the most normal person would probably go mad."
Lynd now understood why Euron was so deranged; clearly, his soul had been tormented to pieces.
"You don't have to worry about the Others using a God-Hater to cross the sea," Willas then said, "Eternal Winter has not yet arrived, the extreme cold climate has not yet moved south, and the power of the Wall has not disappeared. Under these circumstances, even if the Others cross the sea to the south, his power will quickly disappear, and he will be weaker than an ordinary person."
Lynd's expression became serious, and he said, "No matter what, I need to find Euron as soon as possible and deal with him."
Although Lynd had made finding Euron his top priority, he currently had no clue as to Euron's whereabouts.
"I might know where Euron is now." Willas seemed to be able to read Lynd's thoughts and said, "You just mentioned that Euron stole the corpse of an ancient survivor from Sea Kings Palace, then destroyed the natural nodes in the Neck, Gods Eye Lake, and other places, and then went to Valyria to take the altar where the dragon horn was placed. Then his purpose is only one: to complete a sacrifice against the gods, just like the ancient race that had not yet become Others in ancient times."
Lynd was somewhat confused by this and asked Willas to explain in more detail.
Willas organized his words and said, "With the ability of the Others, they should be able to awaken the corpse of that ancient survivor. Euron very likely obtained the detailed ritual of the ancient gods' sacrifice from that corpse. The natural nodes in the Neck and Gods Eye Lake preserve the ancient gods and the natural contract of the entire world. The altar where the dragon horn was placed should be one of the altars used for the sacrifice ritual back then. That's why I said he wants to complete a sacrifice to the gods, just like the ancient race did back then. Now, he only lacks a suitable sacrifice location. And as far as I know, there is only one place in the entire world where a sacrifice to the gods can be completed, and that is Styria, the City of Night in the far east. That is the place cursed by the gods after the ancient race completed their sacrifice."
"Styria?" Lynd hesitated upon hearing this. He vaguely remembered the name of this city; it seemed Archmaester Marwyn had mentioned it when referring to Asshai, saying there was a city even more terrifying than Asshai, and that city was Styria.
"What impact will Euron's sacrifice have on the Others?" Lynd asked curiously.
"No impact." Willas gave an unexpected answer, but then changed the subject and added, "But a mad god will appear in this world. There will be no need to wait for Eternal Winter; the entire world could be destroyed because of it."
Lynd was shocked upon hearing this, and the Commander's adjutant next to him had to lean against the Wall to steady himself, listening dumbfounded, feeling as if he had heard some secret he shouldn't have.
"If I am not mistaken, Euron should be trying to sacrifice himself, and not to a specific god, but to all gods that have appeared from the past to the present." Willas explained in more detail, "Think about it: a God-Hater with a perfect divine vessel sacrificing himself to all gods. The only result is that all gods will pour their divine power into the offering. In this way, he will possess the divine power of the gods. If he is lucky enough not to be killed by the divine power of the gods on the spot, then he will achieve an unprecedented ascension to godhood through the divine power of the gods, becoming a mad God of Gods. At that time, he will kill the gods and destroy everything in the world."
"Madman! What a madman!" The Commander's adjutant was too shocked by Willas's words to speak.
Lynd, however, had calmed down and asked, "Are gods that easy to kill?"
"Sometimes gods are great, capable of controlling the power of all things and displaying mighty miracles. Sometimes gods are also very fragile; a gentle breath is enough to kill a god, like blowing away a wisp of smoke." Willas revealed the secret of gods, then very seriously said to Lynd, "Lynd, you must stop Euron. Although his sacrifice is very difficult to succeed, it is not absolutely impossible to succeed. We cannot give him even a sliver of a chance to succeed."
"I understand." Lynd nodded and did not linger, turning to leave the ice cave.
The Commander's adjutant also wanted to leave with Lynd, but Willas called him back, keeping him in the ice cave.
Lynd looked back and felt a magical fluctuation in the ice cave. He figured Willas was probably erasing part of that person's memory to prevent him from spreading what he heard and causing unnecessary panic.
After leaving the ice cave, Lynd did not linger. He rode the Lava Dragon and flew away from the Wall, heading south.
It took almost an entire night for Lynd to fly back to Summerhall Castle as the morning sun shone upon the land.
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