[Chapter Size: 2700 Words.]
Third Person POV
Skellige.
...
...
Mousesack arrived some time later. While everyone was talking in the room, he couldn't help but freeze completely the moment he saw them. The next instant, he quickly walked over to Ciri and hugged her tightly.
"Ciri..." he said in a hoarse voice.
"Hello, Mousesack. I'm so happy to see you again," she replied, wearing a huge smile, while the old druid still seemed unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Ciri... you... you really came back..." he murmured, before stepping back and looking at Madara again.
"We're back." Madara said.
"I heard some news about the turmoil on the Continent. They said some kings had died... so it was you?" Mousesack asked, now thinking about it with them standing there.
"Is that how you greet us after all these years without seeing us?" Yennefer couldn't help but remark sarcastically, crossing her arms.
Mousesack glanced at her and shook his head. "Of course I'm happy to see you. I'm just very surprised... I'm still trying to process all of this."
He walked over to Madara, greeting him with a handshake before pulling him into a hug. After all, the two of them had been just children when he taught them the Common Tongue inside the castle more than fifteen years ago.
His attention then shifted to the little boy standing on the floor. "So this is Aren... You've grown up and are becoming quite an interesting little boy," Mousesack said, while the child simply stared back at him, looking a little confused. "You probably don't remember much about me. I visited you when you were just over a year old to see how you were doing, but after that I was never able to return to the Continent. My duties here in Skellige became too demanding, though I kept some contact with Nenneke through a few acquaintances..."
"Wait... Wait a moment..." Bran interrupted the conversation after coughing a few times. "You mean you were the ones responsible for the kings' deaths?" he asked, surprised and curious, yet at the same time completely stunned. He had already heard part of what was happening on the Continent from Mousesack, but he had never imagined that all of it had been their doing.
"Terrible timing for me to be stuck in bed..." Bran muttered. "Damn... I'm dying, and the Continent just keeps getting more interesting." he lamented.
"I suppose you don't even know what happened yesterday in Nilfgaard, do you?" Yennefer asked with a hint of mockery. Had no one managed to contact them and tell them what had happened?
"Well... I received a few requests through the megascope, but I haven't had time to listen to them yet."
"Seriously? With all this chaos happening on the Continent, you still managed to stay out of the loop?" Yennefer looked at him in disbelief.
Mousesack merely sighed. "I was worried about the king's health, preparing potions for him. In any case... you can bring me up to date. What else have you done that's so shocking?"
"Mom and Dad defeated the bad people from the south!" Aren answered loudly before any of them could speak, making everyone turn their eyes toward the boy.
Bran immediately smiled. "Really? Then tell me... bring a little joy to an old man before death." He gestured for Aren to come closer before turning back to his parents. "Tell me... what did you do to the Nilfgaardians?"
"Hey, don't talk about death like that in front of my son," Ciri complained, pouting slightly. "Besides," she continued, "now that we're here, we can get you out of that bed easily."
Bran merely smiled. "I'm not interested in that. If you're about to tell me there's a cure for me..." he began, but interrupted Ciri before she could answer. "Now tell me what happened in the south."
"Well, as you can probably imagine, we dealt with Nilfgaard's army. Compared to the one from years ago, it was only about a third the size of the force Emhyr managed to gather back then, which is actually surprising considering how few years have passed. Even so, every last one of them was crushed by Ciri and me," Madara replied casually.
"Last night, we invaded the capital of Nilfgaard. I threatened the entire city and executed Emperor Emhyr in front of the entire population." Madara said it with the same calmness as always. By then, the news had already spread across the entire Continent. Everyone knew that the Emperor had been beheaded before his own subjects.
Bran's and Mousesack's eyes widened. For a few seconds, they remained silent.
Then Bran broke into a mischievous smile and burst into laughter, only to be interrupted by a violent coughing fit. "Cough... cough..."
"Th-That's the best news I could have heard in my entire life!" he said, overjoyed. "My brother... My brother has finally been avenged."
He lifted his eyes toward the ceiling. "Do you hear that, you old bastard? I'll be by your side soon enough, Eist. And if by any chance you haven't heard this story yet... I'll tell it to you myself when I get there."
Bran kept laughing as he stared at the ceiling, as though he were truly speaking to his late brother. No one interrupted him. Everyone knew how much he had loved the former King Consort of Cintra. After all, Eist had married Calanthe years after the King of Cintra died, long before Ciri was born. And Eist had been the closest thing to a father she had during her childhood.
After that, they continued talking about everything they had done since returning. Mousesack and Bran were completely unaware of the recent events and listened carefully to every detail.
"So... Cintra will finally be rebuilt," Bran commented more cheerfully, turning his gaze toward Ciri.
"Yes," she replied, her expression now serious. "Cintra will be restored."
Bran simply nodded. "I know it will. Your grandmother would be very proud of you. I already told you that on your wedding day, but... you've surpassed every expectation. Not even she could have imagined the woman you would become. In fact, both of you have surpassed everything, and the future will be whatever you decide it to be..." Bran said. They were essentially the ones setting the new rules of the Continent.
Then he turned his eyes to Aren. "And this boy will also show the world extraordinary things. After all, he's your son."
"Hey!" Ciri immediately protested, pulling Aren closer to her. "Stop putting so much pressure on my son. We hear that kind of thing all the time. He doesn't need to put himself in danger just because he's our son." As she spoke, Aren looked completely lost. At the same time, a burning feeling welled up inside him, wanting to prove that he was worthy of his parents. Because everyone always said the same thing...
And of course, Aren was special. But Ciri didn't want people to place unrealistic expectations on him. All she wanted was for her son to have a peaceful childhood and life, unlike the countless dangers that she and Madara had been forced to face.
"So Nilfgaard has been defeated... and now you're going to reclaim Cintra. It seems things change so suddenly..." Bran commented before coughing again.
Then he looked at Madara once more. "Do me a favor. Take Mousesack with you as well."
"Bran..." Mousesack said. The old king immediately raised a hand, interrupting him.
"I know. I know you're still reluctant to return to Cintra."
It was true. Mousesack himself had admitted that to Ciri years earlier, shortly before her wedding to Madara.
Ciri looked at the old druid in surprise. He remained silent, the conflict written plainly across his face. After everything that had happened to Calanthe and the fall of Cintra, he had never stopped blaming himself. He still carried the burden of believing he had failed his queen.
"Well... I'm not going to force you," Ciri replied with a small smile. "I told you that years ago. Cintra's doors will always be open to you, Mousesack. And when the time comes to gather our people once again, we'll certainly need your help..."
That was true. Not every survivor of Cintra would welcome them with open arms. The vast majority had been waiting for their return for years, but there were still those who harbored resentment. Some believed that Madara and Ciri had remained safe while their people suffered. It was an unfair belief, since they had been nothing more than children at the time. Even so, there would always be people convinced that they had possessed enough power to save the kingdom.
"Well... we'll still have plenty to talk about, but this isn't the time," Bran said, settling more comfortably into the bed. "I need to rest for a while. Enjoy our city. My castle will always be open to you, without any restrictions. You know you've always been like a daughter to us," he said, looking at Ciri.
She simply nodded.
"Come back later. On second thought... I'd also like to talk to this boy for a while. Maybe I'll still be able to pass on some of my experience before I leave."
Everyone began leaving the room after that. Madara, however, remained still for a few moments. As soon as they were alone, he walked over to the bed.
"You know my wife was telling the truth, don't you? We really can cure you now."
Bran simply smiled. "I know. I know you two are special. But that's not what I want." His tone was sincere. "I don't want to live much longer, Madara. My time has come. Maybe I could live long enough to see you and Ciri rebuild Cintra... maybe even to watch that boy grow up. But I'm already old. I no longer see any reason to keep going."
He took a deep breath before looking back at the ceiling. "My son is already a grown man. My wife..." He let out a small laugh. "She's more stubborn than any warrior on these islands." Then he looked back at Madara. "I've lived more than long enough. It's time for the throne to pass to someone else."
"The throne of Cintra is returning to you. Skellige's throne should belong to the one most worthy of it. Perhaps to my son. Perhaps to Crach's children... I heard his daughter intends to compete as well." Bran laughed again.
"If her father is stubborn... then listen when I tell you that girl, Cerys, is even worse."
Madara nodded. "Very well. Go and get some rest, Bran. You always reached out a hand to us whenever we needed it. Even when we were fugitives with Nilfgaard hunting us down, we knew we could come here, and you would take us in even if it meant facing the Empire's entire military mobilization... You always wanted to protect Ciri. All I can say is that I'll do everything within my power to make sure Skellige prospers in the future," Madara said.
Bran simply nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Madara. Now go. Spend some time with your wife and your son. Those moments are precious."
Madara merely smiled and left the room. Outside, he found Ciri and Mousesack on one of the balconies, talking about everything that had happened over the past three years. Ciri was telling him a little about the adventures they had experienced in other worlds, while Madara carried Aren in his arms and showed him the scenery of the islands from some of the castle's open areas.
From there, it was possible to see a large part of Skellige, including a place that was especially meaningful to them.
"See that place over there? That's the field where your mother and I got married," Madara said, while the boy looked toward the open area overlooking the sea, asking all sorts of questions.
"And the dragon, Dad? That man said you and Mom flew on a dragon."
Madara smiled. "Yes. A real dragon. I haven't summoned him since we came back, but I'll show him to you later. First, I need to take care of a few things with your mother. In a few days, we'll go to the place where the dragons live. What do you think?"
Aren's eyes immediately lit up. "Yes, Dad! I'd love to see that!"
The two continued talking for quite a while, until the afternoon began to fade. Shortly afterward, Madara teleported alone to the top of the highest mountain on the islands, north of Ard Skellig Castle, where the old house in which he and Ciri had spent their honeymoon stood. They would return there from time to time to spend a few days together.
When he arrived, he found the house completely buried under snow and partially destroyed by the passage of time, but that wasn't a problem. Madara formed a series of hand seals and used Mokuton to completely rebuild it, clearing away all the snow and restoring the structure as though the years had never passed. As soon as he finished, he returned to bring Ciri and Aren. He wanted to show his son the first home the two of them had built together.
Meanwhile, on the Continent...
Slow footsteps echoed across the vast, devastated battlefield. Bodies still lay scattered everywhere, mixed with the completely charred forest that Madara had created before destroying it.
Bare female feet walked across the ruined land. The woman stopped for a moment, crouched down, and touched the scorched earth with the tips of her fingers. A faint, mischievous smile appeared on her lips.
"Finally... Could it really be him?" she murmured.
"Hey! You! Who are you? What are you doing here?" a voice called from the distance.
The woman slowly turned her head to see three knights approaching. She had sensed their presence long before, but simply hadn't cared. They were soldiers from Temeria's army, sent to investigate all the destruction in the north over the past few days.
When the men finally drew near, they couldn't hide their surprise at her appearance. She wore a long black dress that accentuated her pale skin and crimson hair, which burned as intensely as her flame-colored eyes. Her beauty was enough to start a war between kingdoms.
She looked at them for a brief moment. The very next instant, all three horses panicked at nothing more than her gaze, neighing in terror. One of the knights was thrown to the ground, while the other two couldn't even control their mounts as they bolted across the battlefield. It was as if the animals had encountered a natural predator—the worst predator imaginable.
The third man fell to the ground, dazed. Still lying there, he looked back at the woman.
"Sh-She... she's a witch!" he pointed at her, unable to think of any other explanation.
The woman merely shook her head. A moment later, the entire area around her burst into flames. The temperature rose to an unbearable level, forcing the soldiers to retreat in terror as they felt their skin begin to burn.
Without a second thought, he struggled to his feet as best he could and fled, feeling his skin scorch.
She didn't even bother looking at them again. She merely bent her knees slightly before shattering the ground beneath her feet, launching herself into the sky at incredible speed.
She continued searching each of the battlefields. In one of them, she found the enormous crater that had carved through the entire region. In another, she saw a battlefield consumed by flames, and she knew it had been created with lightning magic...
Anyone who tried to approach her was simply ignored. It was only when she reached the fourth battlefield that she finally stopped.
Her eyes fixed on the gigantic oval-shaped stone embedded in the ground. A slow smile spread across her face.
There was no longer any doubt. Every new trace confirmed it, but the sight of that stone, as massive as a mountain and driven into the earth by sheer force...
'He had returned. After three years of waiting.'
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