A/N: Hello everybody and thank you all for bearing with me the last week or two! I know this is later then i normally update, but i had a bit of a setback these last two weeks. University finals and essays are plentiful for me with the semester coming to an end, and also i had a problem with my computer. My laptop, quite literally a few hours after posting the last chapter somehow someway broke on me. It was a hardware issue, my keyboard quite literally stopped working, if not for it being a touch screen i wouldnt have even been able to get into it. So unfortunately i had to send it for repairs. It was the laptop i used for school and for writing so it was a bit neccessary xD I had to switch over to my old laptop which runs extremeley slow. Not to mention i had to rewrite all i had wrote xD

But i have this chapter done now, the next one is as well. I'm about to start writing the final battle. I don't know if i'm going to do what i did with the Battle of Kaer Morhen and just wait until i'm done all the parts to post them quicker. This would mean about two three weeks of a wait, but when i do finish they will come quick and fast. I'm not sure however, but for now i want to ask you all bare with me while i have this old laptop for the next few weeks haha as i also still have school to finish for the semseter. As usual thank you all so much, i LOVED writing this chapter, and i can't wait for you all to read it!

The Witcher: Through the Worlds

Chapter 84: The Cave of Life II

Narrator: In their mission to save Dominik's younger sister Bella from the clutches of the Wild Hunt, Dominik, Ciri, Geralt and Yennefer all traveled to the island of Undvik in Skellige. They made their way to the village of Brekka, the village that Bella once lived in, after losing her memory at the sack of Cintra. Dominik's plan was to find the sword that once belonged to he and Bella's grandfather Sir Ryland, which one day would have been passed down to Bella and he. This was the one object from their past Bella had with her after the sack of Cintra, so Dominik hoped the sword could help jar her true memories, after she was brainwashed by the Wild Hunt. However, to find the cave, Dominik and Ciri must navigate the treacherous Cave of Life, a magical cave in Skellige, where within, you must face and conquer the three greatest fears of your life. The reward for survival, the chance to speak with a loved on whom has passed, one who you need to speak too most. The sword is buried deep within the cave, in its main chamber. So in order to help save Bella, Dominik and Ciri both venture into he cave, where they must conquer their truest, deepest fears…

"One more… just one more…" Ciri muttered to herself as she saw the exit to the corridor she had gone down.

This was the last chamber, the last fear she had to face. Compared to the previous two, the corridor she had walked down then was much shorter. She assumed this was to make it even more difficult when you went and faced your last challenge. Leo Bonhart, and the Rats. She had no idea what else could be waiting for her, and automatically her thoughts went to Dominik as she got closer to the next cavern. She wondered what he could possibly be facing. She liked to think she knew what his worst fears were, they were similar to fears she had.

Being alone, losing each other again. She hadn't had to face down any challenges like that so far, but she wondered if he had faced anything like that. He would make it through she knew he would. Dominik surviving wasn't her concern.

It was the black smoke that was already billowing when she entered the chamber.

"Well that certainly was fast…" She said, as the only light she could see in the room, was the bright blue brazier of fire.

As soon as she set foot past the exit, she heard a light rumbling of rock. Sure enough as she looked back, the tunnel she came through closed, sealing her inside. The tips of Ciri's fingers twitched, as she readied her hand to reach for her sword. In both of the previous chambers, it had taken a while for the smoke to appear, for her visions, her fear to appear.

But now, she walked up to the fire, it sounded as if it was a bright blue heartbeat. It danced in Ciri's eyes as she looked into the coals. A cold chill ran down her spine, as the black mist churned, and churned, but she kept her eyes trained on the fire. For a moment, she almost thought she could see her own reflection in the flames. Closing her eyes, an uneasy tingle ran down her back, weaving its way around into her stomach. Her gut wrenched, as she balled her gloved hands into fists and shakily sighed.

"Anything that comes… you're ready… you're ready," She said. Her voice was low, and with each passing second, she shook more.

What was it that she had to face? Why was whatever it was taking so long? The more she thought, the more monsters, the more fears came to her mind. With all she had seen, all she had experienced, there was any number of horrors that could be coming out of the mist.

Vilgefortz? No, Bonhart mentioned him in the first challenge. Auberon? No, I didn't fear him, I simply hated him. Dominik's death? It's a fear yes, but one that already haunted her dreams, I doubt the cave will pick something so… simple.

Both of her previous challenges had deeper meanings behind who she fought. She wasn't afraid of Bonhart, she had killed him once, and she simply hated the man. She was afraid of her past traumas, coming back to haunt her, and ruin her attempt at a new life now. She also wasn't afraid of the Rats. Even when she was with them before, she could have killed them if she wanted, but she hadn't, because she was a foolish girl, and the need for companionship and safety had taken hold. She did fear however, that deep down perhaps she still was Falka, that person she had become.

What could it be now…. Eredin?

Yes, she did fear Eredin. Feared the King of the Hunt getting his hands on her, feared he'd use the blood in her veins to destroy her world, her friends, Geralt, Yen, Dominik. It was almost every night that she saw Dominik getting stabbed in the leg, Eredin's blade cutting across his cheek. His scar had healed well. Ciri still found him as handsome as ever. But whenever she saw it, she was reminded of that battle. Him fighting Eredin. For her. All while she was unable to do anything to help him.

She had almost lost him then, and it was because of Eredin. He had almost died, been seconds from death in her arms. It was a nightmare she saw almost every night.

Armored boots clunked behind her, echoing off the walls in the mist, and her shoulders tightened. Taking in a deep breath, she gripped her hand around the hilt of her sword.

He's just an illusion… you can do this. Certainly, the apparition wouldn't have Eredin's skill or powers. It had happened in the previous chambers. The Bonhart she fought, wasn't nearly as skilled as the real thing. The Rats, while having her powers made the fight almost effortless, would have put up at least a bit more a fight in real life. The challenges, they were meant to shake you, and Ciri wouldn't be.

"Cirilla. Your time is now." The deep voice said.

Ciri's heart dropped. It wasn't Eredin.

"Do you hear me girl? It is time. This is what you were born for, this is your purpose. You will be Queen of this land, that is your purpose."

He isn't real, he isn't real. Ciri slowly slid her sword off her back, turning around, her teeth grinding. Chills ran down her chest, that day at Stygga Castle, that traumatic day, it all came back to her. She didn't want too, but she soon looked up into the dark, cold, foreboding eyes. The eyes of her father.

Emhyr.

"You don't scare me," She said, her breathing quickening. "You never have, you never will. Now fuck off, this caves tricks can't scare me."

The emperor shook his head, a bone chilling smile. "I would not be here… if you didn't fear me, my daughter."

"Don't fucking call me that, you fucking degenerate," She snapped again, her arms shaking as she pointed her sword at the man. "I'm no daughter of yours!"

He wore the same thing he had that day at Stygga Castle. The day, he wanted to take her, to rape her, to force her to bear a child from him. Royal, regal black armor, that golden fucking sun Ciri was sick of seeing plastered on his chest. A broadsword hung from his belt. He wore that same mask of arrogance, and superiority that he always did.

No, I'm not afraid of him! The cave got it wrong, he doesn't scare. The thought repeated over and over in her mind. However, he arm still shook as she held her blade. The idea of being the room as this man, of being in his line of sight, of his hands being on her, it made her fumble for her sword.

Above it all, however, was the thought of him taking away her freedom. Of taking her and using her for his own selfish purposes.

No, there was no deeper meaning, no hidden message in this final challenge.

She simply faced down, the man that she feared the most.

Emhyr scoffed. "But you are, my daughter. Look me in the eyes, you know it's true, you know it is no lie."

Ciri knew it wasn't, but it was simply something she didn't want to believe.

"You'd be surprised at the lengths people go to, to deny something that's true, when they don't wish it to be… I'm no different. I'm no daughter of yours." Ciri said, trying to keep a steady tone.

The Emperor scoffed again. "And who is your father then? The witcher? Gregory? Both lesser men. Neither hold the kind of powers I-."

"Gregory and Geralt are twice the men you'll ever be in your sad pathetic life! Don't you dare say a word against either of them, they've done more for me then you've ever done, or will ever do!" She said, her heart, lurching up into her throat.

"And yet, Gregory is dead, his wife is dead. He discovered exactly the type of power I wield," Emhyr said, his voice calm, confident and composed. "And soon, the witcher will die as well. After that, Gregory's little brat, and with them gone you will-."

"I'LL KILL YOU! THAT'S WHAT I'LL FUCKING DO, IF YOU LAY A FINGER ON EITHER OF THEM!" She erupted, her sword leveling towards the man's throat. "You won't have them, and you won't have me!"

Emhyr reached out, casually moving away the point of her blade. "Oh, but I will. You are my daughter; thus I get to decide what is best for you. You will become Empress, whether you like it or not, that is your fate, it was already decided when you were born."

"My fate is my own! I make my own path!"

"Do you truly believe that?" Emhyr said, pacing around her with a dry laugh. "Even now, you let others decide your fate. You let the sage manipulate you twice, you are nothing but a child, who knows nothing of the way of the world. And most importantly, you are my daughter, so I will be the one to decide what is best for you."

"You'll decide fuck all that's what you'll decide!" She said, her skin, prickling as she closed her eyes and shook her head. "You won't force me to do anything, you want nothing but what's best for yourself!"

A small chuckle left the man. "Aha… oh Ciri. I didn't expect you to be so selfish. I offer you, the largest empire the world has ever seen… and you still refuse? I wish to gift it to you."

"You don't want to 'gift' it to me! You want me to inherit the mess you've made!" She spat, her face getting hot as her sword pointed again. "The nobles seek to depose you, they plot your assassination, and the only way to save yourself, is to abdicate to me! After that, you'll marry me off to one of them, to squelch their anger, why you get off scot free!"

Another laugh from him. "Aha… and you do not see all the good you'd be able to do for the people of the continent as Empress? How much of a difference you can make?"

"You've tainted the name of Nilfgaard for years to come with your fucking wars!" She said, anger spilling from her like a fountain. "I refuse to take control of an empire that sacked and burned my home. I can make a difference plenty, as a witcher! We save people, save people from monsters… monsters like you!"

"You're as utterly selfish and deluded as your mother," Emhyr said with scorn, narrowing his eyes down at Ciri. "You refuse… even though you call me a monster, you have a chance to depose this monster and take over yourself. Again it matters not, you will do as you're told, you will come with me…."

A cold chill erupted up her body. Shaking, she remembered him trying to drag her away, drag her away at Stygga Castle in tears, to take her and go through with his sick, twisted plan.

"I'm going nowhere with you…" Ciri said, shaking her head, her eyes narrowing. "After what you tried to do to me… you don't even deserve to be in the same room as me."

"This nonsense again?" Emhyr said, rolling his eyes as if the entire situation annoyed him, as if it wasn't a big deal. "What I tried to do; I did for the good of the realm."

"YOU WANTED TO FUCKING RAPE ME, TO MARRY ME, YOUR OWN DAUGTER YOU SICK FUCK!"

"But I thought you weren't my daughter?"

"You're a bastard, a sick, twisted bastard," She sneered, shaking her head. "You're the most delusional, arrogant man in this world. You wanted to rape me, to force me to marry you, for me to have your fucking child, while I was a child myself, and your fucking daughter!"

"But I did not, in the end, I decided to let you go, did I not?"

"Oh, how fucking kind of you!" Ciri said sarcastically, in a mocking tone as the black mist continued spinning around them. "You only almost dragged me from the fucking castle, with me in tears, intent on fucking raping me. You only fucking stopped because of what Yennefer said, because you got called out for your sick, twisted plans. You are nothing but a degenerate, a bastard, what fucking man decides he wants to rape his own daughter!? What man even thinks of doing something like that!"

"It was for the good of the realm," Emhyr said with a wave of his hand. "The prophecy stated that a child of mine and yours would rule over the entire continent,"

Ciri's inside twisted again. "You'd rape your fucking daughter… all so you could rule over all?"

"So our child would."

"A CHILD YOU HAD WITH YOUR FUCKING DAUGHTER!"

"I've not time for your incessant prattle," Emhyr said with a wave of his hand again, his voice getting darker, and darker as he looked at her. "I will rule over the continent anyhow, after my conquest is finished."

"You won't…. Adda is going to kick your fucking ass. I don't even know why I'm arguing with you. You aren't real, you're so illusion this cave has cooked up for me." Ciri said, her teeth grinding.

Emhyr laughed. "HA, I fear no widow. But… you are right, daughter. I may not be real; I may be an illusion from this cave… but you know what? When you walk out of here… I'll be out there…. And I will still get my hands on you."

The words made Ciri's back shoot straight up, all color draining from her face.

He was right.

The previous two challenges, Bonhart, the Rats. She was able to get through those challenges easily enough, partly because in the back of her mind, she knew they were gone. If she escaped the cave, she'd never see Bonhart or the Rats again.

However, this case was different. Emhyr wasn't just in that cave across from her then. He would out there, expecting to get his hands on her after this was all over.

"You won't…. I won't let you, Geralt won't let you, Dominik won't let you," She said, her voice getting lower, her eyes looking down at her sword hanging from her hand.

Dominik had sworn, Geralt had sworn. Emhyr wasn't going to get his hands on her again. She was silent, her hands, trembling around her blade. Was she truly afraid? He had terrified her enough the first time she saw him.

No, you're not afraid, you're not afraid.

But when his armor clunked, and Ciri could feel his presence walking around her. Each step like an echo in a canyon, a bell ringing right next to her ear.

"The Witcher, is disposable enough," Emhyr said with a wave of his hand. "And as for Gregory's brat… he will be dealt with, just as Gregory was. Do you not understand, daughter?"

He got close, his lips, only inches from Ciri's ear as he lumbered over her. "You belong to me. Your life is mine to do with as I see fit. If I tell you that you will be empress… you will be empress. You're lucky I don't resort to my old plans… now, when will you finally accept this?"

Her spine trembled. The very cells in Ciri's body caught on fire. She gripped around her sword, her eyes closed, trying to ignore the words, but they cut through her, pierced her like an arrow.

This is a challenge, there's a deeper meaning. You just need to figure out how to conquer it, conquer him.

She kept her eyes closed, probing her mind, for any possible solution. In the first chamber, to advance, she had to come to realize, that her past didn't matter. That Dominik, Geralt, everyone was there with her now, that she couldn't let what happened frighten her. In the second challenge, she had to come to grips with what she had done. She had to kill Falka, convince, and finally help herself realize, she wasn't that person. The both of them had been harrowing, seeing Bonhart, Mistle, the Rats, all had opened up old wounds that she long thought dead. Both had required her to think, the fear had layers to it.

It wasn't complicated now. There was no deeper meaning.

She was simply afraid.

"You've seen what happens to those who defy me," Emhyr said, standing right behind her, her voice raking against her ears. "Gregory died… his little brat will die…. You want to kill me, don't you?"

Ciri said nothing, a long, deep breath leaving her as she worked to control her anger. Because if she didn't, she was afraid she would end up bringing the cavern down around her.

Emhyr laughed. "Ha… of course you do. But you will not. You are many things dear daughter. But in the end… you're still just a little girl. Now, here is what will happen… I will finish my conquest of the continent, then you will become empress. You will come to Vizima with me, learn from me…. Gregory's brat will be killed, he is a complication. A husband will be found for you, someone more… suitable-."

No.

"NO!"

Magic erupted from her limbs, as Ciri's hand shot to her waist. With the magic spurring on her arm, she unsheathed her dagger, turning around, aiming right for Emhyr's eye socket. The blade moved with more speed then Ciri had ever mustered, and a loud squelch hit her ears.

But her blade had missed its mark.

Emhyr had raised up a hand. Ciri's blade sank deep into his palm. Blood, and black smoke oozed from it, as Ciri tried to yank it free, but with a close of his fist, Emhyr yanked the weapon out of her hand. The emperor looked at the weapon, scoffing as he looked down at her disapprovingly. The smoke around him billowed, as all Ciri had to illuminate her vision was large brazier of blue fire. It crawled and snaked up his body, as he scoffed again, tossing her dagger to the side, drawing his longsword from his hip. The steel was awash with black smoke, as he shook his head down at her.

"You surprise me, I thought you have been more efficient," He said, his sword dipping towards the floor. "Why bother with this daughter? You will not kill me. You are many things… but you are not a patricide."

The man before her had been responsible for her misfortunes. If he had never used her mother, burned Cintra, she could be living there now. She could be Queen, reluctantly, but Ciri always assumed she would have grown into it, so long as she was allowed to be with Dominik. Bella would still be with them, alive, herself. Gregory perhaps would be her guard captain, and if she were lucky, Dominik her betrothed, all though the odds of that were slim. Either way she would have been with him. They would have been happy. Geralt would have come eventually, destiny leading him to her. Everything would have been alright, better.

But no, her life had been ripped from her, all for Emhyr's arrogance. And then even afterwards, he had helped with the coup of Thanedd, with the evidence being Cahir had come for her there. And then for years, he continued to chase and chase her.

Finally he had found her, and she would have preferred being dead to the fate Emhyr had in store for her at Stygga Castle. He wanted to control her then, just like he did now, and it terrified her in that cave, as it did that day in Stygga Castle.

He had been responsible for Gregory dying, for all of Cintra being burned. He had haunted her dreams, terrified her all her life.

The only time we can be brave… is when we're afraid. It was her grandmother's favorite saying.

Ciri grabbed up to the hilt of her sword again, seeing through the black mist, with the light of the magic that emanated from her limbs.

"Well… it's lucky you're no father of mine then," She said, looking up at Emhyr, her sword leveling, the magic spurring through her body. "My life is nobody's except my own… you won't have me."

"Oh… but I will," Emhyr said, pointing his sword out to her. "Either you die here, or you escape… and I have you out there."

"We'll see about that…." Ciri said, gritting her teeth, and lunging forward, the magic igniting her limbs.

She lashed out, her magic pushing her forward in a teleport. Ciri expected her blade to easily cut through him like butter, like it had in the previous chambers. However, it seemed that the last chamber was the most difficult for a reason. A puff of black smoke appeared, and Emhyr disappeared just before she could cut him down. A blade whizzed behind her. Ciri ducked forward, just narrowly avoiding the steel, before spinning back around in time to parry a strike from the left.

"You will never be free of me girl; you will never be free." Emhyr hissed, his blade locked over Ciri's.

Her teeth grinded, and when her arms started to buckle she teleported, reappearing behind him, going for a thrust. Another puff of smoke, and for what felt like hours, they almost played tag. Ciri teleported forward, but smoke would meet her vision, and she'd have to teleport away again. Her sword clanged against his, as they darted towards each other in puffs of black and blue magic, and Ciri finally came out to a stop, heavily breathing as sweat dripped down her forehead.

"Dammit…" She cursed, before turning around just as she heard armor clunking again.

"When will you realize daughter," Emhyr said, skulking towards her, black swirls of magic radiating around his arms. "That all your efforts are pointless. You are mine; your future is what I decided to make it."

His eyes were similar to Bonhart's, to those of the Rats now. Black smoke, with two blood red iris's, as his sword flashed.

"My future is my own!" Ciri said, parrying, spinning to go for a strike at the back.

A teleport, and then a thrust came near her back. She dodged at the last second, and it saved her life. Ciri hadn't taken any hits from the previous two fights, but it turns out the damage was indeed real. Steel cut across her corset, through it and into the side of her torso. She yelled out, nearly dropping her sword, as she clutched at her torso.

Blood. She pulled her hand back, and it was coaxed in crimson. Barely having time to react, she slashed her sword forward and parried another strike, spinning to safety and leveling her sword with one hand, as her other stayed on her waist.

Emhyr scoffed a laugh, looking at his sword. His sword, that was dripping her blood.

"Bah, is this really it?" He said with disinterest. "I thought that the witchers would have taught you better. It matters not, when you are empress, when you rule the realm, you'll have no need for any of this. I'll leave it to your husbands' discretion."

Ciri looked down at her bleeding torso, her bloody hand.

Her blood. The course of every problem she had ever had in her life.

Along with the man standing across from her.

She looked up, into Emhyr's beady eyes, his cruel, cold eyes. Ciri never like to admit it, but she could always see herself in the man, in his eyes, in the symmetries of his face. It had terrified her at first, looking even somewhat like him, being born from him, him being attached to her in any way.

But you're your own person now. He doesn't define who you are… you define who you are. They were words she remembered speaking to Fiona, back in Claywitch, words Dominik had repeated to her, multiple times. That was what would happen. She had decided on the life she wanted to live long ago, and it had been reaffirmed after her and Dominik's trip to Claywitch.

He was waiting for her; Dominik was waiting for her in the main chamber. Fiona was waiting for them in Claywitch.

She looked up, into the eyes of the creature that was her father. The blood, crimson red eyes, in the sockets of black smoke. His sword dipped at his side, and Ciri saw the arrogant, cold, chilling look in his gaze. The one before her, had magic in his eyes yes, it was an illusion created to scare her.

But it didn't scare her any longer.

A deep pot of rage stewed in her stomach. She removed her hand from her torso, bringing both up to her blade. Blue shot into her eyes, around her arms, around her sword, as she ignored the flaring pain in her torso. Shifting her feet, she leveled the blade, the rage spilling over.

"I'll leave it up to my own discretion thanks…" She said, magic brimming in her eyes. "You'll have no say in the matter… you won't have much say in anything for much longer."

A laugh came from him. "Aha… and why do you say that dear daughter?"

A small smile tugged at Ciri's lips. "Because I'm not your daughter. And no matter what, no matter how much land you conquer, how many people you control… the one thing you'll never control is me…"

"Your mother said the same," Emhyr said. "And despite Gregory's best efforts, she died, and so did he. Soon, his son will die, the witcher will die. And you'll be left with just me…"

"Gregory, Geralt… Dominik. All of them, are twice the man you'll ever be, in your sad, miserable, pathetic life." Ciri said, the smirk fully forming now. "Besides, even if I did somehow lose them both. You'd never get control of me, I'm too much for you to handle."

"You will be handled; we'll do something about this rebellious side of you."

"Like you tried to do with my mother?" Ciri said, almost cheekily. "You failed with her… so that was why you got her killed. You'll pay for her death, for Gregory's, for all the homes you've raised. Adda, is going to kick your ass, and one day, all of your sins will come back to haunt you. It'll be slow, painful, and I only hope that I'm there to see it."

Emhyr scoffed again. "I tire of your prattle, you're as much of a brat as your mother was."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It wasn't," Emhyr sneered. "It's as I said, you either die here… or I get you out there."

Ciri's eyes flashed blue again. "Come on then and try 'Duny'. I've never fought a hedgehog before, I normally find them quite cute."

"SILENCE GIRL! I AM YOUR FATHER AND YOU WILL SPEAK TO ME AS SUCH!" The apparition flared, black smoke shooting erratically.

Ciri managed a scoff, twirling her sword in hand. "Struck a nerve? I think, you're the pathetic one, the sad one. Because you know deep down, that's all you will ever be… a cursed hedgehog!"

Emhyr screamed, as the magic shot around him. He lashed out with a powerful strike from the right. Ciri's eyes flashed, as she saw the opening perfectly. She raised up and quickly parried, spinning to the Emperor's side, and cutting her blade across his torso. Another scream, as he tried to whirl back around and cut across her back. Ciri ducked and rolled forward, scooping up the dagger Emhyr had tossed aside.

"YOU IMPUDENT CHILD! I AM THE EMPEROR!" He screamed, raising his blade to bring it down onto her. "I AM YOUR FATHER; YOU WILL DO AS I-."

A loud squelch cut him off, as Ciri's dagger jutted out from his ribs, right between the slits of his armor. The dagger jutted out of Emhyr, blood cascaded slowly down his armor, bleeding the stones beneath them. Ciri half expected him to puff into black smoke, but to her surprise, and slight satisfaction he stayed there. His blade dropped from his hand, and both of them went to the dagger jutting out of his ribcage. Blood, more of it continued to pour from him like fountain, and Ciri slowly rose to her feet. Emhyr had hunched over to hold his hands against his torso.

Now Ciri stood over him as he was speechless, pained, just like he had done to her only minutes prior.

"Dominik taught me about that spot," Ciri said slowly. She walked over, grabbing the hilt of her dagger.

When she did, Emhyr tried to pushed forward, to grab her, but he stiffened, unable to move. Slowly, he fell to his knees, as Ciri kept her hand on the daggers hilt. Blood slowly started to spew from the corners of Emhyr's mouth as he looked up at her. The pain, the pale face, the eyes, the eyes, that were now filled with fear, she saw it all in him then.

It was a look she had many times over the years, all while he had hunted her.

"A witcher from the School of the Cat showed it to him," Ciri said, pushing on the dagger, further up into Emhyr's ribs. He croaked out again, blood spewing from his mouth as Ciri looked him in the eyes. "A large cluster of veins gather there. If you hit it just right… a man bleeds dry in minutes. It doesn't matter who he is… see that? You're just a man…"

"I… am… the Emperor child…." Emhyr croaked, his breathing labored, as his eyes didn't leave Ciri, the life slowly draining from them. "Even…. When you… leave… you… will still… have to… contend with me."

"You're right," Ciri said, pushing the blade further up into his ribs, and leaning her head closer to his ear, as his pained groans filled her mind. "But you see… you don't scare me anymore… so Dominik and I will deal with you, just like we'll deal with Eredin, and all the others who have chased me…"

Emhyr looked like he was about to saw something else, but with her magic still moving her faster, Ciri pulled the dagger from the man's stomach and cutting it across his neck.

There was a gurgle of blood, before Emhyr dropped to the floor like a sack of flower. As the black mist of the cave slowly parted, revealing the cavern floor she had been familiar with, the ground lapped up his blood. The Emperor of Nilfgaard's blood watered the stones below her, the blood of the man who made her life hell, the blood of her father.

No… not my father. He never was, and never would be.

As the mist finally cleared, Ciri waited for the body to disappear. Her legs finally started shaking when she didn't. Looking down at her dagger, it had been cleared of blood. Shakily sighing, she slid the dagger into her belt, reaching a small distance away to retrieve her sword, and sliding it onto her back. She looked down at her hands, and her glove was still bloody. She winced from the pain that flared in her torso, cursing that the blood from Emhyr hadn't been real, but hers had.

"Dammit… I'll need to have Freya patch me up…" She muttered to herself, looking down at her blood corset, a hole now in the side of it and rolled her eyes. "And I really need to get myself some proper armor-."

She was cut off by the sound of clunking armor. Instinctively she reached to her blade. Her hand went to the grip of her sword, and she turned, her stomach dropping.

"Congratulations…" Emhyr's body said, blood still seeping from his throat and ribcage. "You've passed… let the person, who can help you most come to you… and may you take the lessons you learned today… and carry them with you."

Her eyes widened, as her arms shook. She almost thought it was another trick, but soon she heard the familiar rumble of stone. Turning around, she saw a final corridor open. She just had time to be amazed, and when she turned back around, Emhyr had disappeared, leaving a puff of black smoke in his wake.

He's still out there… looking for you, he still is trying to control you. The thought raced through her mind, but quickly she shook it away. It was replaced by one singular thought.

"Dominik…" She said, eyeing the final corridor, and sprinting for it.

Dominik had promised to meet her in the main chamber. It was where the sword to help Bella had to be.

And apparently, would let her speak with the person who was gone, that could help her the most.

She didn't care. She just wanted to see Dominik again, the memories of the challenges, all looping into her mind. Bonhart, Mistle, Emhyr, all of them. She prided herself on being strong, but if being with Dominik, and having him back since they reunited had taught her one thing. Was that you didn't need to shoulder fear alone.

He would be there, waiting for her, just like he always would be.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Nothing was happening.

"Shit… this can't be good," Dominik muttered, standing aimlessly in the middle of the third chamber he had come too. "And… again no sword, can't believe my fucking luck…"

The chamber was empty again, nothing but smooth gravely stone that he had become accustom too in the last two chambers. No stones jutting up, no alcoves in the walls. Just a smooth, circular room of stone, with small slits letting sunlight beat down onto his back as he stood. It was almost sunset. Geralt and Yen would surely be ripping their hair out searching for them, and he wasn't particularly excited for the hiding he and Ciri would get when they saw them again.

However, Ciri was all he was currently worried about.

Standing there, nothing happening around him, all he could see was the visions from the previous challenge. Her being raped, her being degraded. All because he wasn't there.

It was something that would be etched into his mind for the rest of his life. In that moment, all he wanted to do was hold her. Hold her, and not let her go. Tell her how much he loved her, how sorry he was. But Ciri wouldn't want pity, this he knew.

She was the strongest person he knew, and they were together now. That was what mattered.

After what felt like an hour, nothing still happened, and he sighed. "Fuck… well guess I could try meditating."

Meditating for him didn't work like a mutated witcher. Geralt he knew could sit for hours in the same spot. The day could go by around him, and he could stand hours later with it only having felt like a few minutes. Dominik couldn't do that. However, it didn't stop him and Ciri both from learning the techniques at Kaer Morhen. He got down to his knees, adjusting his swords, and placing his hands in front of him. In the ideal situation, he would have lit a fire, but he had nothing to burn then. So he sat there on his knees, the cold air of the cave darting up his spine.

Align yourself, clear your mind, be at peace. With the day he had, he certainly could have used some peace. He didn't know how long until the final battle, it could be another few days. He needed to find the sword, send the dream to Bella, and finally prepare himself. He didn't know how he would, but he needed to do something. With all that in mind, a few minutes of meditating he knew could do wonders for him.

He remembered when Geralt gave him his first mediation lesson. They hadn't even gotten to Kaer Morhen yet. It was during their days traveling. Dominik himself hadn't slept much, still not fully trusting the witcher, and wanting to make sure Ciri slept on the road. Geralt saw this and saw the anxiousness in him. So to help, he showed Dominik how to align himself, how to clear his mind, to meditate, and try to find peace, if not for a moment.

It had worked then and worked many times for him on the road over the previous years.

But it didn't nothing then.

All he saw, was Ciri. Mistle's hands invading her body, hearing her sobs while it happened. He heard Auberon, degrading her, calling her repulsive, before she cried, holding the ring around her neck the entire time, begging, pleading for him.

He passed the last challenge, he would protect her, he'd never leave her side again. He knew this, yet still, no matter how hard he focused, he couldn't find the normal inner peace that came when he mediated.

And a jolt of pain, piercing into his inner thigh interrupted him.

"GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH FUCK!" He fell on his back, rolling in as his leg writhed as if a sword had been plunged into his thigh.

Guttural screams left him. The pain shot up his body, his chest, into his throat. Only once in his life had he felt pain of such magnitude. Rolling, writhing on the ground he couldn't think. Pain. That was the only thing that raced through his mind, how much pain he was in. He grabbed on his inner thigh, where the pain was at its epicenter, screaming the entire time, his voice echoing off the enclosed walls of the cave.

When he managed to blink, he finally saw the black smoke begin to churn in his vision.

"AHHHHH FUCK! FUCKING FUCK!" He said, screaming again, as new pain course through his veins.

He squeezed at his leg, trying anything to make the pain go away. It was in vein, because the fire that sparked in his inner thigh traveled up his body again. His vision went blurry, the cave and smoke around him began to all become invisible to him. All he could focus on was the throbbing of his inner thigh. His mind muddled, as he tried to figure out, what possibly could have happened.

His question was answered when he pulled his hand off his thigh.

Blood coaxed his glove.

He managed to widen his eyes, and then suddenly, the pain stopped. His heart fell to his boots, his blood, turning to rivers of ice in his veins. Still feeling throbbing in his leg, he looked down at his inner thigh. Shakily breathing, he reached and pressed his hand to it again.

"Wh… what… how?" He said, completely befuddled, as he pulled his glove back to see covered in his own blood again. "No… no, no, no, no…."

Looking at his throbbing inner right leg, he saw blood, pooling out and seeping through the leg of his trousers. Panic welled up inside him, the river of ice that was flowing in his veins coming to a stand-still. With trembling hands, he furiously clamped his hands over the wound.

The wound that Eredin had inflicted upon him.

And he knew what his final challenge was.

"Shit… no, no I'm not ready, fuck…" He said, his heartbeat rapidly increasing as he scrambled to clamp both hands down on his inner thigh.

No… no I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid.

Only he was.

After minutes, of furiously trying to press down on his leg, quick, panicked breaths leaving him. No, it couldn't happen, he wasn't ready to face him again yet. The last time Ciri had almost died, he had been on the brink of death after their fight. He had known of course he would have to face him again. The prophecy, the prophecy that Connor of Lod had heard, the reason that he went and faced Eredin. It was his family lines destiny to protect the Elder Blood, it was his destiny to protect Ciri, to keep them safe. It fell to him to do what his ancestors couldn't. To do what Alexander, Connor and Lara of Lod couldn't. It was his destiny to defeat him, Dominik's destiny to finally put an end to the Hunt chasing after Lara Dorren's line, to finally give Ciri that life she deserved.

But in that moment his arms couldn't stop shaking. He grabbed onto his inner thigh to stop the blood, his mind, thinking about nothing, but the blade entering his fleshed, piercing deeply into his leg almost completely clean through to the other side. He had been beaten. Beaten badly. If not for Ciri, he would have died that day at Kaer Morhen. If he couldn't defeat him then, what chance did he have now? What chance did he have in a few days' time when the real final battle came? He had never told Ciri, but each night he felt his inner thigh throb, the scar on his cheek tremble. They weren't in pain, but for a moment it felt as if someone were dragging a cold blade across them.

"Shit, shit, shit…" He said, his throat closing up, as he finally pulled his hands back, the blood that had congealed on his gloves dominating it.

His eyes widened when he saw the blood keep spilling from him. It poured from his thigh like a keg, not stopping, only throbbing and sending horrid trembles up his body. Blood was everywhere, pooling beneath him, as all he could see around him was black mist and blue flames. The blue flames contrasted the crimson piling beneath his body. He looked down at his hands, blood slowly spilling down his wrists, seeping onto his skin, flowing under his armor and up his arms.

He couldn't end up like he did last time. Ciri would never make it if he did, but he couldn't face him, he simply wasn't ready. He couldn't even control his powers properly, still had plenty left to learn in terms of witcher combat and most importantly hadn't gotten out of the cave. He had promised Ciri to meet her in the main chamber, now he would have to beat him there as well as in a few days on the outside.

And all the confidence he had tried to build up over the previous few weeks was gone.

All he could remember, was his cold, near dead body hitting the sands of Kaer Morhen.

"No… shit… fucking…. SHIT," He said, his breathing quickened even more, as he shakily clamped his hands over his thigh again. "I gotta… shit I gotta-."

He was cut off by a sharp pang across his cheek. With trembling hands, he shakily pulled off his blood-soaked gloves. He reached up, slowly dragging his hand across his face. The stinging got worse, and he sharply winced as he pulled his fingers back in front of him.

More blood. Below him, blood dropped in small droplets.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

The sound of his own blood hitting the cavern floor echoed. Scrambling, Dominik pulled his glove back on, getting to his knees as his blood continued to spill, slowly dripping from his cheek to the floor below.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

It didn't stop, and all he could do was shakily try to control his breathing.

You need to do this. You have to.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

This isn't real. It's all an illusion, none of it's real, it's supposed to test you, it isn't real.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

But it is…. Even if you escape here… he's still out there, and you'll have to face him soon.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

You almost died last time, if not for Ciri you'd be dead, and if not for you almost dying, she would have as well.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

It doesn't matter… this is for her. This is for Bella. You need to get up.

Drip. Drip.

If I get up… if I face him again… I could die, and if I die Ciri could die. Geralt, Yen, Triss, Faram, Freya, George, they could die. Bella… Fiona… they could die. If I get up and face him… he'll kill me, and all of them could die.

Drip.

"But if I don't… then they'll all die for sure…"

That one, singular truth, outweighed all of his fear.

The cave apparently could get things wrong. Eredin himself wasn't his truest, deepest fear.

It was losing to him.

"Come… come on get your ass up… Fucking come on Dominik get your ass up…" He said, reaching behind his back, and slowly drawing Fate.

The silver raked out of its sheath. Digging the point into the ground below him, the black mist slowly starting to clear around him.

Drip.

Looking at the pool of blood that had dripped from his cheek, he sucked in a deep, slow, controlled breath. He wiped his cheek with his sleeve, ignoring the sting he wiped the falling blood from his scar. In front of him, a large brazier of blue fire crackled loudly, shooting up to the top of the cave, and he almost fell backwards. The roaring of the flames hit his ears, as he steadied himself on one knee. Using the tip of his silver dug into the ground he knelt up straight on his knee that had just been bleeding, where his wound was. It still stung, but he ignored the pain, as the flames shot up.

His eyes widened when for a moment, he saw himself in the flames. In that moment, he gazed at his reflection in the flames. Blood smeared his right cheek, soot and ash covered everywhere on his face. His eyes were sunken, sullen, tired, but narrowed and determined.

"You… can't scare me…" He said, grunting as he used the tip of his sword to push himself to his feet.

He didn't tear his eyes from the blue flames, because now he saw something else.

A snowy courtyard, soldiers of the Wild Hunt. Imlerith, Caranthir, Bella or 'Baelen' as he knew her as then. Ciri was knelt clutching at a wound on her stomach, crying out, her sword out of reach. Her ashen hair fell in twisted locks down her shoulders, as she cried, and watched as Dominik lunged forward with a silver dagger in his hands.

His leg stung again, his cheek. He watched, as for a few moments he lunged at Eredin, all the fatigue he felt at that moment coming back to him then. No magic whirled from him, he had used everything he could, and Eredin made him pay for it. He watched in the flames, as Eredin knocked his dagger from his hand, spun, and plunged his blade deep into Dominik's leg.

A sharp pain, rushed through his thigh, but he dug his silver's tip deeper into the ground to steady himself. Gritting his teeth, he watched as Eredin removed his blade from Dominik's blade with a loud squelch, before spinning and cutting it deep across his cheek.

It felt like a hammer had been smacked into the right side of his face them as the flames shot back into the brazier. Grunting he stumbled for a minute, closing his eyes and absorbing the pain.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

His eyes shot open, and he rubbed his armored sleeve across his cheek again, taking he pain as it came.

No… not again.

When his eyes opened, the brazier, the fire, was all gone. All he saw, was small tendrils of black smoke seeping up through the base of the cavern walls. The torches of small blue fire were still there, but it was the rays of the sunset coming through the ceiling that gave him the most light. He relished the feeling of the sun on his back before more mist began to seep into the cavern.

He let out a steady breath, moving his legs into the right position, and placing his sword out in front of him. Placing both his hands on his knees, he took in the first calming breath he had for hours, sucking in the musty, dank air deep into his nostrils.

"Align yourself… calm your mind…" He said. All his thoughts went to Ciri. To the life they were going to have. A small smile came to his face. "Be at peace…. You can do this…. For all of them… you have to try…"

A cold chill shot through his spine. Cold wind shot through the cave, but he kept his eyes closed, focusing solely on readying his mind.

Another breath, this one the steadiest yet. "Align yourself… calm your mind…. Remember why you're here…"

His breathing steadied, long, deep, in through his nose, out through his mouth. The icy air nipped at his nose, his ears, yet still he kept his focus.

Another breath. "Ciri… Bella… Geralt…Yen…. Fiona… you can do this…"

It was his destiny. He didn't know if he could kill Eredin. He still didn't know how to fully keep control of his powers. He didn't know if he could match the King's swordsmanship, his magic, his stamina, his strength.

But it didn't matter, because he simply had to try.

A final breath, this one cleansing, cleaning his mind. "It's your destiny… you promised. Remember why you're here…."

He sucked in one last calming breath, and when he did a new scent attacked his nose.

Sulfur.

"Remember why you're here…" He said quickly, keeping his eyes closed, staying seated in the meditative position, his silver sword laying in front of him.

The wind started howling. It was as if he were in wind tunnel, as the noise of the howling gale circled in the cavern.

"Breathe… calm yourself…calm your mind," He said, his eyes still clamped shut.

The clunking of plate came next. Footsteps.

The breath he sucked in was quick. "Easy… just breathe…"

Footsteps again, the sound of clunking armor. Of plate.

Skeletal plate.

"For Ciri…. For Bella…For everyone…" He said tightening his hands into fists.

This wasn't the final battle. He wasn't facing the real thing. But if he couldn't do it now, then he stood no chance when the real fight came.

His inner thigh twitched, then his cheek, then his hands started to shake again.

A loud thud could be heard over the galling wind around him. The cold seeped into his bones, deep into his cells, the prickliest cold he had ever experienced. A second thud came, the clunk of the armor still coming out over the wind.

Along with the raking of a blade. A blade, who's touch he was familiar with.

One last breath, deep, steadying, the last true one he'd take for the next several minutes at the least. He had no idea if the illusion would be able to match the skill of the real thing. In his first challenge, he was almost sure Cahir was more skilled a warrior then what he faced, but he couldn't take any chances.

The wind howling reached its apex. The smell of sulfur was overwhelming in his nose, as well as his medallion vibrating rapidly around his neck right next to the blowing swallow.

"The only time we can be brave… is when we're afraid," He whispered under his breath. His father's favorite quote, one he learned from Queen Calanthe.

The wind's howling was finally overtaken, by a deep raking, piercing voice speaking over it.

"You are doomed boy… she will be ours."

He shot his eyes open, specks of blue magic dancing in his peripheral vision. Reaching down, he clutched one hand around the hilt of Fate and ignoring the tingling in his thigh, pushed himself to his feet.

Turning around, he was met with his worse fear.

"Over my dead body…" He said, his eyes locking with the slits of Eredin's faceplate.

Black smoke, and red eyes filled the slits of the King of the Wild Hunt's helmets. He lumbered over Dominik still, his massive blade rested on his shoulder. Despite the cold wind blowing around them, in the torches on the wall, he casted a shadow that overtook Dominik by several inches. Under the sleeves of his armor, Dominik's hairs stood up, a sick, icy, painful chill ran up his limbs as he curled his fist tighter around the hilt of his silver.

For a minute his knees buckled, as the light from the blue flames danced and reflected off Eredin's armor. Frost built up on it, small wisps of ice spewing like miniature clouds.

And I have to kill him… twice.

Eredin kept his blade on his shoulder and pointed his armored hand to him. "Do you truly believe… that you can defeat me boy?"

"No… I don't know," Dominik answered honestly. "But I do know… that I have to try."

A bone chilling chuckled, came from behind the faceplate. Dominik shifted his trembling legs, bringing both hands to the hilt of his silver as he leveled it.

Eredin's gaze turned back to him. "Your ancestors… tried boy. All three of them tried, and all three of them died…"

"Alexander would have killed you, had you not stabbed him in the back like a coward."

"Alexander was a fool. Leila was a fool. Lara was a fool," The King said, his voice still carrying over the wind around them. "All of them fools… to try and oppose my power. You are a fool as well. And you will die a fool."

"Rather die a fool then live as a coward," Dominik shrugged, his eyes narrowing up to the red glowing eyes of his faceplate. "I won't run from you…. I'm going to make you pay for everything you've done. To this world, to all the worlds. For all the villages you've burned. For Folan, for Vigi, for Declan, for Arno, I will make you pay…. For what you did to Ciri… and to my sister, I will make you pay."

Eredin laughed again. "I know not the names you speak. But your sister… she is weak, nothing but a pawn under my control… and when she has served her purpose-."

"I won't let that happen!" Dominik hissed, the blue magic in his peripheral growing wider and wider. "She's stronger then you think! I will get her back, help her realize who she is…. And when she does, the two of us, Ciri… we're going to kill you together."

"Your sister already knows who she is. She has a new purpose, the only purpose that a filthy half-breed like her is good for," Eredin said, his blade lifting from his shoulder. "Serving her superiors… serving us. She will do just that… or she will die."

A flash of bright blue appeared in Dominik's vision, the fear that he felt, slowly melting away in the gale he stood in. That fear began to melt, slowly molding, melting, transforming.

Transforming into rage. A rage that pierced him, screamed inside of him, blinding him.

"We'll see about that…" Dominik said, the words laced with venom. "You'll have to kill me first…."

"That can be arranged… I would have already. Had it not been for Zireael."

"Yes… if not for her I'd be dead," He said, glancing quickly down at the swallow dangling from his neck. "If not for her… I'd have died years ago. I won't let you take her… and I'll kill you for what you've done to her."

"Oh, will you now?" Eredin said, the flames and ice dancing still on his skeletal armor. "And how do you plan to do that? How do you plan on succeeding where your ancestors failed?"

Dominik shrugged again, both hands staying on his sword. "I'm not sure… but I'll find a way."

"A bold plan… a stupid one… but bold," The King said. "You are just as arrogant as your ancestors were… and you shall die just as they did… I will finally fulfill my promise… take vengeance on your filthy ancestors. Vengeance, for the theft they committed."

Dominik scoffed. "You know… I didn't think you liked Avallac'h that much. But you're helping him get revenge on Cregan and Alexander, all because he got rejected."

"You know nothing boy," Eredin said, his voice growing darker as the blade, that had once almost killed him, pointed out towards him. "Your despicable ancestors… they dared take what wasn't there's, a theft… that you will pay for."

"Lara Dorren was a person, with her own mind, and wants. She didn't belong to anyone."

Eredin laughed. "Aha… her blood, her power rightfully belonged to us. Besides… that was not the only thing… that Alexander stole from me."

Dominik faltered, for just a moment. "What?"

The King shook his head, smoke billowing around his feet. The cold wind picked up again, the frost and blue flames, started rising on Eredin's skeletal armor, and Dominik leveled his blade again. Slowly raising his blade, Eredin looked over at him.

"You will die here… and even if you do not, you will when you face me out there," The King said, his head sharply turning to him. "Either way you failed boy… who knows, perhaps you've already failed… in protecting Zireael in this cave."

Ciri…

Dominik's eyes widened, and the rage that had been bubbling, a biproduct of his fear melting away finally spilled over.

"WHERE IS SHE? WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Another demonic laugh rose over the wind. "Aha… what does it matter? Either you both die here in this cave… or you both die out there. The only question… which one of you will I kill first? Or… perhaps both at the same time. You can sit and watch… while I bleed her dry."

A flash of bright blue magic erupted in Dominik's eyes. "NO!"

The first lunge he made, was fueled on by the swirling magic that incased his limbs. Seeing his arms move at speeds he didn't know possible for himself, he lashed out, and the loud clash of blade rang out over the wind in the cave.

He parried from the left and right, Eredin moving at speed incredible for someone his size. Dominik threw a quick flurry of strikes, spinning off one attack and leaping from the side. Eredin whirled and parried his blow, and a loud *BOOM* erupted, as he got sent stumbling backwards. The rapid clunking of armored boots whirled him back up, as he got up just in time to get up to his knees to bring his sword up to block Eredin's blow.

The massive overhead strike caught on the hilt of his sword, and he took the advantage he saw. Thrusting his hand forward, he channeled the chaos from his magic, all into one sign. An Aard blast ripped from his hands and smacked into Eredin's sword hand. The King's blade didn't leave his hand, only sending him stumbling back, but that was all Dominik needed.

Shooting up from his knees, magic spurring him on he leapt and thrusted. Eredin saw him in time and backed up, but Dominik pressed his assault.

The rage boiled on inside of him. Around him, his magic shot at erratic angles, as all he could think about, was how much he wanted to plunge a blade into Eredin's neck, how much he wanted to kill him, kill him, have his blood splattered onto the stones for what he had done to Ciri, what he had done to Bella, everyone, every village he raided, every person he enslaved. It all brimmed up inside of him, and the magic responded by pushing him and pushing him.

He threw out a series of strikes, but Eredin parried them all effortlessly, the black smoke that billowed around him seeming to do the same.

I need to do something.

Eredin was tall, lumbering over him. He lashed out with a massive strike from the right, and Dominik just had time to raise a blade to parry. The strike hit his blade and a loud *BOOM* erupted, sending up a large pillow of smoke and sending Dominik stumbling backwards to his knees near the wall.

He coughed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Gotta get outta here… gotta get to Ciri."

It was almost surely the cave messing with him, trying to rattle him, but it didn't change his urgency. He wasn't making any progress, and he could already tell that whatever the apparition was, it didn't have Eredin's true skill. It wasn't nearly as skilled and quick as when he fought the King of the Hunt at Kaer Morhen. Dominik could remember the magic, the icy magic that spurred on Eredin's movements, that bone chilling feeling that went up his arms during that fight whenever their blades met. No, the apparition he faced now, wasn't nearly as skilled as the real thing.

And yet I'm still having a hard time… I'm still losing.

He needed to do something, even with his magic, his powers surging through him, he needed to find a way. The blue light erratically shot from him, as his anger continued to spike, his anxiousness, eagerness to leave urging him to move. His mind had one goal, and that was to get out of that room, and to the main chamber to get to Ciri.

His thoughts were cut off, by a burst of black smoke from his right. He heard the whoosh of Eredin's blade and ducked quickly making it smack into the wall. The strike Eredin threw had been so powerful, spurred on by the black smoke that it cracked the very wall. Dominik tried to scrambled, but a massive, armored hand punched across his face.

Blood spurting from his nose he stumbled to the ground, his sword clattering to the ground. He cursed as he felt his nose twisted, blood spewing and dripping onto the stones. With hardly enough time to regain his vision, he heard another loud whoosh and his head shot up. Eredin's blade came down for him. Dominik barely rolled out of the way, scooping up his sword, and finding himself trapped against the wall.

A cackling laugh came from Eredin. "Aha… come now boy… what chance do you possibly have?"

Do something for fuck's sake. He looked around the room, nothing was going to be able to help him, all he was his blades, and his back against the wall.

My back against the wall… tight, enclosed space for now…

Dominik's head perked up as he adjusted his stance, bringing both hands to his blade, and holding his blade diagonally across him, ready for the next set of blows.

If you want to master the School of the Bear, you need to ground yourself! Faram's booming voice overtook all in his head, just as Eredin lashed back up out at him again.

Digging his feet into the ground, and raising his blade, Dominik put everything he could into the parry he threw. He felt his magic around him ease, starting to hum more around him, as opposed to erratically shoot. A loud *BOOM* erupted as Eredin got sent stumbling. Normally he would have lashed out, but he noticed that Eredin didn't get sent back far.

Ground yourself. He dug his feet deeper into the ground, and waited for the next onslaught of attacked, which Eredin quickly came with. After regaining his footing Eredin lashed out with a flurry, now with both hands on his blade. Dominik, weathered the storm, rooting himself to the spot, only moving in a small area, with each move of his feet, each parry he threw precise and right on target. He moved his feet in precise side-steps and spins, but waited, and waited, and waited.

Eredin lashed out from his right, and Dominik parried, sending Eredin into a spin. Dominik knew the strike was coming for his back, and guessed correctly, tossing his sword up and blocking the strike Eredin threw. As soon as the sword made contact his, Dominik spun, getting around to Eredin's back and seeing the golden opportunity Bear School tactics always present, and lashed out at Eredin's unguarded back. The King turned just in time and managed to get his sword up to block. Eredin managed to get the block, but it was too late, and with a *BOOM* Dominik's sword ricocheted up, and smacked into Eredin's faceplate, bringing it to the ground with a loud *CLANG*.

Dominik brought his guard back up, quickly glancing at Eredin's face. The same long flowing black hair came from the apparition, but just like the previous visions, this one had black smoke where his eyes should be, along with smoke blood red iris's. Blood pooled from Eredin's cheek, as the King snarled, now more apparition then what Dominik knew in real life.

It lunged out again with more quickness then Dominik had seen all fight, and grounding himself again, Dominik took the flurry of attacks. Now however, they came quick, and with each strike a small *BOOM* sounded as the magic around him had calmed to a steady hum. However, he could feel his bones draining. A pang shot through his crooked nose, blood spilled from it, as his cheeks were sticky and hot with blood and soot. He needed to end it, and he only could move for so much longer, all of his magic had taken everything he had out of him.

Eredin came again, and Dominik's eyes widened as he ducked, and rolled down out of the way, wincing at the pain shooting through his bones as he saw the wisps of magic coming from his limbs, and brewing still in the corners of his eyes.

Channel your chaos, your feelings and emotions. Focus them all into your cast, feel the chaos swirling in you… and fire. George of Toussaint's words. The School of the Griffin's tactics for channeling more power into signs.

Eredin came lunging with another massive assault. With speed at first, he lashed out with a quick series of attacks, parrying them all, Dominik waited, and waited, the icy gale around them, the wind howling, chilling his bones, but they were quickly thawed by how quick he moved. One strike came from the right, Dominik raised and parried, spinning and getting to the King's side, and channeling everything he had into his hands, he had one more large burst of blue light flash in his vision.

Channel your feelings, your emotions, channel your chaos. Everything he had seen, fought since he entered that fucking cave came into his mind. He was driven by one solitary thought at that moment. It wasn't to see a dead loved one, it wasn't even to find the sword in that very moment.

He needed to get to Ciri, he needed to hold her, and simply have her in his arms.

"ARGHHHHHHH!"

Thrusting his hands forward and forming the proper sign with his fingers a large blast of Aard erupted into Eredin with a loud *BOOOOOOM* and finally Eredin was knocked off his feet. Dominik felt as if his skin was ripping off his palm, as the magic erupted with a violence, sending a large wave of energy smashing into the King and sending his large body skidding to the middle of the cavern.

After the sign left his hand, Dominik stumbled forward, his knees buckling and his face erupting as his broken nose ached. For a moment he thought he may have won, but then he saw Eredin stir, his massive skeletal armor singed, but he was still moving.

His eyes flashing blue again, Dominik formed the proper hand sign, and an eruption of flames shot up his silver sword. He would never forget the first time he saw George use the tactic in the cave outside Oxenfurt, the first time that he had fought Bella. With the flames, erupting around his sword, he rushed forward again, just as Eredin got to his knees. He noticed around him the wind had died down, the smoke had disappeared, but he refocused on Eredin who had just gotten to his knees, and with the flames erupting with the magic in his eyes Dominik leapt and spun to bring the blade down.

Eredin looked up with his smoky black eyes, and he just barely blocked the strike in time. With renewed speed Dominik lashed out, Eredin finally going on the defensive. With each fiery strike that landed Eredin yelled out in anger, the flames catching onto his armor as Dominik threw strikes upwards towards the King's chest. Eredin may have lumbered over him, but Dominik used the height to his advantage. He struck up towards his shoulder, but Eredin blocked and Dominik duck, spinning and cutting the flaming blade across the King's torso. A loud demonic scream, more apparition then Eredin hit his ears, as the King turned with a massive strike to his right.

His eyes widened; Dominik managed to parry but the strike was so powerful it sent him stumbling to the left. Seeing the perfect opportunity again, he used the momentum he had stumbling, and dug his foot into the ground. Remembering the one move that had worked at Kaer Morhen against the real Eredin, he fainted, spinning and thrusting his blade forward towards Eredin's neck as he leapt up.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Eredin's screams were demonic, and quickly changed to a gargle of blood. Fate stabbed into Eredin's neck. Dominik quickly removed the sword as he landed, the flames that had been burning on his sword, singing and setting Eredin's skin alight. First his hair, then the wound that was pouring blood from his neck, then his skin, before it traveled to his smokey eyes. The flames died from Dominik's sword, but not wanting to take any chance, he lashed out, cutting across the King's chest, bringing him to his knees.

"ARGHHHHHHHH YOU WILL DIE BOY!" The King screamed, fire burning his throat, blood gushing from the wound his sword had caused.

"WHERE'S CIRI!" Dominik said, remembering Eredin's words.

A loud gurgle came from Eredin's throat, his head slumping backwards, the large stab wound in his neck opening. Dominik leapt back, as black smoke erupted from the apparition's neck. He fell backwards onto his stomach, covering his head as his sword clunked to the ground. Black smoke erupted in the cavern around him. Dominik clamped his hands over his head, the smoke whizzing past him like wind. His nose ached, and when he finally heard the smoke stop swirling he opened his eye and shot to his knees.

A loud *CLUNK* hit his ears, and he watched as the fake Eredin's body slumped to the ground. Breathing heavily, he reached and retrieved Fate. Trembling he slid the silver back into place, slowly getting up to his feet.

As soon as he got to his feet, his knees buckled, and he stumbled forward onto his knees.

He coughed up blood, from his mouth, from his nose, from his cheeks, it all dripped onto the stones of the silent cavern.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

"GAHHHH SHIT!" He said, feeling his nose erupted into pain again.

Gingerly he ran his finger down his now crooked nose and winced. He had a broken nose plenty of times, but that one felt particularly painful. Normally he'd find a mirror, and crack it back into place, but then he didn't have a mirror or any time. Shaking the entire time, his bones completely drained, white spots dancing in his vision, Dominik got to his feet.

One thought on his mind.

"Ciri…." He said, wincing through the pain, as he slammed into the far wall. Pounding the wall with his fist he cursed. "FUCK! Where's the door! It's supposed to open now, CIRI!"

"Congratulations."

Dominik whirled around, his hand going to his sword again. His eyes widened, as the apparition of Eredin, black smoking eyes and all stood before him, no injuries at all.

He went to pull Fate from his back. "WHERE IS SHE!? WHY ISNT THE-."

"You've passed… let the person, who can help you most come to you… and may you take the lessons you learned today… and carry them with you," Eredin said in a deep, calming voice that certainly wasn't the one Dominik heard at Kaer Morhen and in his dreams.

His eyes widened before Eredin disappeared in a puff of black smoke. A loud rumbling sound came from behind him and Dominik stumbled again. Turning, he saw the corridor open, and his eyes widened, but the first step he took his fell forward, onto his stomach again. Blood slowly trickled from his nose. His gloves, were marred, covered in crimson while ash and dried blood stained his cheeks. His nose ached more with every passing second, and his legs felt like they were made out of jelly.

But as soon as he hit the ground, he pushed himself to his knees. The swallow dangled around his neck in his vision, and Dominik grabbed it, pushing himself to his feet.

And he stumbled forward, holding onto the walls of the corridor. All of the visions, all of the challenges, it all smashed into him.

"Ciri… gods Ciri…"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Ciri ran, she didn't stop running, her path illuminated by the sporadic blue torches on the wall. It was just her luck that day that the longest tunnel was going to be the last one. Blood trickled from the hole in her corset, she winced, but the wound was nothing compared to getting to the main chamber. Dominik was there, he'd be there, he promised her he'd meet her there, and that was all she cared about now.

"Dammit, where's the fucking exit," She muttered to herself, her legs moving in large strides, as she pulled up to catch her breath at a small alcove with a burning torch.

Leaning her hand against the wall, she looked down at her gloved hand.

Blood. Her blood stained her glove, as she steadied her shallow breathing. She looked down the corridor, grabbing the ring with her other hand, as she narrowed her eyes.

No torches.

"Wh… what…. No… no torches, what? How…" She started, wincing as she gripped tightly onto her torso again. "Come on… come on Ciri, you need to move."

Pushing her feet forward again, she started running. She moved, and moved, and plunged into the darkness. She cursed herself for not having Dominik teach her Igni yet, she would have given anything to be able to produce flames from her hands then.

Blackness circled her vision. She looked in front of her face and couldn't even see her hands. Black, nothing but black and a small part of her thought she was going to fall into an abyss. This was supposed to be a reward, but certainly nothing about the experience had been rewarding so far.

And she would have tossed away the chance to talk to any of her dead loved ones, if it just meant that she could see Dominik then. All she could see, were the challenges. Bonhart, Mistle, Emhyr. Her skin crawled, as if Mistle's fingers were dragging along her skin, she felt the sting of her gums from fisstech stuffed up her mouth. And worst of all, she could still feel Emhyr's cold stare.

She ran for what felt like an hour. Her legs almost gave out, her feet hurt, her bones aches, her torso flared, shooting pain up into her chest with every single step she took. A pounding headache flared at the base of her skull, pounding like a mace into her brain.

One step, boom. Another step, boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

Stumbling she couldn't see anything as she regain her footing.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

"Gods… gods… Dominik… anyone… gods…"

Tears pricked at her eyes. All the memories she had worked to suppress, all the pain from seeing the apparitions, from fighting, from everything she had endured in that cave, all of it kept pounding rapidly into her brain.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

She just wanted to see light. All around her, the darkness penetrated her, she couldn't see her feet, her arms, anything in front of her at all. All she could hear was her boots hitting the stone beneath her, and the pounding of her rapidly beating heart, and her brain feeling as if it would burst from her head. The pain from her torso got to her chest, a stabbing pain shot through her sternum, shooting up into her throat, distributing through her body, and a tear finally fell, the feeling of the droplet trickling down her cheek intensified with not being able to see anything in front of her.

"Please… when does it end," She said, finally feeling her feet slow, before shaking her head, a shaky sob leaving her. "I promised… come on. Come on Ciri…."

One last push, she pushed her legs forward again, fighting through the pain and fatigue. But as soon as she did, she finally stumbled forward, unable to steady herself.

"Gods, fucking FUCK," She cursed, as she surprisingly hit the ground, quickly pushing herself up to her feet again and still running. "When does it end!? Isn't this supposed to be a fucking- SHIT!"

She fell, and with a loud smack, she felt her face hit the ground. Luckily, she was able to avoid a broken nose by using her hands to break her fall, but the pain shot through her wrists, her arms. Cursing she winced again, pushing herself up to her feet. She had been running for what felt like an hour, so her eyes had been so adjusted to the darkness she closed them when she fell.

But that was when light pierced her eyelids.

"What… what the…" She said. Ciri's eyes fluttered open, the tears still welling in her eye sockets and coming down her cheeks. "Where… where am I?"

Ciri could have sworn she hadn't seen sunlight in days. But it pierced in through two sets of giant glass windowpanes. Intricate designs circled the windows, as she looked down at the stone floor she had landed on. Groaning she pushed herself up to her feet, still adjusting to her the sight of the sun again. Squinting, white spots danced in her vision as she blinked it clear, relishing the feeling of sunlight beating down on her neck again. She looked down at her outfit first, seeing how completely filthy she was. Her top was covered in ash, soot, dirt and blood along with her trousers. She could taste blood on her lips, more than likely from biting down too hard as she fell. Her knees still shook, as she winced and looked down at her hand. Blood still covered her glove, but she could see the bleeding was slowing.

"Dammit… I'll need to stitch it," She said, groaning again and wiping her eyes, finally taking a look at her surroundings. "Now.. where am I? Fuck I… I certainly aren't in the cave anymore…"

A set of large wooden doors stood as entrance. Ciri sighed and groaned again, moving her arms and turning, as she became familiar with all the surroundings.

It was easy, because slowly she realized, she was indeed familiar with them. Remarkably familiar.

Particularly the banners. Three golden lions, on a blue field.

"Cintra… what… what…" She said, rubbing her eyes again, sure that she was dreaming, that she had passed out on the cave floor.

But it was all coming back to her. She hadn't been there in eleven years, but as she stood, moving in circles, it all came back. The banners, the weapons lining the walls, the pillars, the architecture, the windows. Still in disbelief, she walked to one of the windows, and her heart lurched up to her throat.

"It… it's all there…" She said, her voice low, barely a whisper.

The city was intact, just as she remembered it. It sprawled out below her, just like it was.

Somehow, a small smile creeped onto her lips.

"Ha… I… I think… I think I can see Dom's house…" She said, narrowing her eyes, and a small laugh, which turned into a cough left her. "I… I wonder if…"

She turned and saw it. Sitting under a large banner, the largest in the room, was the throne. Made of wood, carved to perfection, she could remember all the times she stood at the foot of it. Her grandmother would sit, Gregory would stand on one side, Eist on the other, and herself next to him. Her grandmother would render judgements, knight men, and every day she would remind Ciri to keep her eyes on what was happening, and pay attention, for one day it would be her job.

But Ciri most of the time was distracted. Distracted by Dominik making faces at her in the crowds of people gathered. Sometimes she knew her grandmother caught her. However, each time she did, she would look angry for a moment, before a smirk would come to her face, one to Gregory's as well. She had remembered in the ball room not far from there, on a balcony not far from there, had been the first place she met him.

And now she was back, somehow she was back, and despite it all, a small smile came to her. She turned back to the throne, and slowly, her boots thumping against the stone she approached it, the throne she was supposed to sit in one day.

Would her grandmother have let her be with Dominik? Ciri had many marriage proposals set up for her in her younger years, much to her ire, but for some reason her grandmother had pulled her out of them all. Ciri didn't know if it was because Calanthe saw Ciri's reaction, or for other reasons, but either way a part of her was thankful. In the almost year she had spent with Dominik in Cintra after meeting him, her grandmother hadn't talked to her of marriage once.

Gregory would joke that maybe Calanthe would let Dominik and Ciri get married, making the two of them King and Queen. Ciri would blush, but always deny she had feelings for Gregory's son, insisting that Dominik was simply her best-friend.

That was still true to that day, and it turns out all the times Gregory had teased her about being in love with his son, the man had a point.

Gingerly she ran her hand along the arm of the throne. Seeing it, feeling it, it made the tears Ciri had been welling up in Ciri's eyes slowly fall.

She had no idea how she was there, but she still had no idea where Dominik was. Her bones still ached, her stomach still bled, her mind was still awash with all of the horrid things that had been brought back to her.

"Gods… I… I wish you could see this," She said, a small sob leaving her. Wiping a hand across her cheek, she shook her head, a small smile coming to her face. "You… you always joked that I looked good sitting in the throne…. Gods Dominik I… I need to-."

She was cut off by the great oaken doors plowing open with authority. What followed made Ciri freeze, her hand on the arm of the throne.

Footsteps, and a voice. A voice she hadn't heard in over a decade.

"Well, well, well. Dirt, grime and blood all over your clothes. Holes in your corset and trousers, hair a frizzy mess. All of those I'll admit a part of me expected to see," The voice said, an amused tone to their voice, before Ciri heard a scoff. "But tears? Now that is something I did not expect."

Ciri never turned around faster in her life, as the footsteps came closer. And when Ciri finally found who the voice belonged too, her own caught came out in a sob.

You've passed… let the person, who can help you most come to you.

She never would have guessed it would be her, but Ciri sobbed still, unable to move from where she stood in front of the throne as she approached.

A laugh left her, just as Ciri remembered it sounding like. "Ha… I remember when you were younger, you used to hate standing here… change of heart?"

"Gr…grandmother?" Ciri's voice broke, the tears falling down her cheeks in waves,

Calanthe smiled, her warm wrinkled eyes meeting Ciri's. "Gods you look like your mother… If Eist could see you now…"

Ciri shook her head. She was dressed not too dissimilar to how Ciri was. The former Queen of Cintra's long ashen grey hair fell down her back in straightened waves. She wore brown trousers, and hunting boots, a white linen tunic with a tightened corset around her waist.

Ciri always remembered her complaining about stuffing herself intro a dress when she didn't have too.

"You… but… but grandmother you…" Ciri's words caught, looking down at her grandmother before her, only a step down from where she stood. "You… you're real…"

Her grandmother's warm smile washed over her. "Of course I'm real girl! Gods… look at the woman you've grown into… your mothers doppler…. Well! Don't just stand there!"

She opened her arms, and Ciri felt herself melt like a little girl again. Skipping the step, she slammed into the woman. Ciri was still shorter than her, so she wrapped both her arms around her grandmother's waist. Arms wrapped around her neck, a hand holding onto the back of her head, a gentle hand running through her hair.

Calanthe was warm. She was warm. She was real, and Ciri sobbed.

"You… but… but you-." Ciri started, tears waving down her cheeks as her head buried into her grandmother's chest, all the pain she felt temporarily gone.

"Shhh… give me a minute girl," Her grandmother said. She planted a kiss on the top of Ciri's head, before a small scoff left her. "Gods look at you… you're huge."

Another sob left Ciri, her tears dripping onto her grandmother's tunic. She had been hurting, hurting and aching. Her body still did, her legs wobbled, buckled, but for that moment she didn't care. For years, she had wondered what her grandmother would think. What she would think of the things she had done, the woman she turned out to be. She wasn't sure how the cave believed her grandmother was the person she needed most.

However, Ciri didn't care. She melted into her grandmother's embrace. Sobbing, breaking down, her mind a blur, as all she could focus on was holding onto her.

After a few precious moments however, she remembered the one thing she had wanted to say to her grandmother from the moment she learned what really happened in Cintra.

"I… I missed you…. I've missed you… I… I'm sorry," She said, sobbing loudly, her wet eyes slowly blinking up at her grandmother.

Calanthe light laughed, holding onto her, gently wiping her thumb across her cheek to wipe the tears away.

"Oh sweet girl… what do you possibly have to be sorry for?" She said, her voice soft.

Ciri sniffled and shook her head. "They… they came for me. In Cintra… Emhyr he… he sacked the city… burned it, killed everyone. Gregory, Sofia, Eist… all… all to get me…. It's always because of me… everyone's always after me."

"Oh my dear… you're not at fault, not at all," Calanthe said, pulling Ciri's head into her shoulder again and shaking her own. "You cannot control the circumstances of your birth. You cannot blame yourself for being born… you must learn this Ciri. Now come, wipe those tears. You're the lion cub of Cintra, don't let that bastard have your tears."

Sniffling again, Ciri reluctantly let go of her, wiping her tears with her sleeve. "I don't deserve to be called that…I was never going to live up to you… I haven't, and I never will."

A laugh left her grandmother, as she reached out and cupped Ciri's cheek.

"You shouldn't live your life, trying to compare yourself to me," Calanthe said, smiling her infectious smile as she shook her head. "Your story is your own Cirilla, and only you will be able to decide if you're satisfied with how that story goes. Don't live your life, trying to live up to standards you feel are set by others."

"It's hard… when so many around me, so many I know have done so many great things," Ciri said, sniffling and wiping away the tears. Looking down at her boots she shook her head. "It's also hard… when everyone seems to have plans for me… no matter what I think."

A smile crossed Calanthe's lips. "Well… not everyone as you said. So, how is Dominik? Gods, I miss that boy. Made me want to pull my hair out on multiple occasions the both of you… but from what I saw, and what I have seen, he's grown to be just as great a man as Gregory."

The thought of Dominik, jarred Ciri's memories. The cave, the challenges.

Her eyes widened. "Dominik! Gods I… I need to find him, in… in the cave he could still be-."

"Easy, easy child," Her grandmother said, the smile still on her face as she held Ciri's shoulder. "He's alive, a bit banged up, but alive and on his way to the main chamber as we speak."

"What? How do you know?" Ciri said, her voice breaking again.

Calanthe chuckled. "Aha… well it's been because I've been watching the both of you of course, have since Cintra. The one's we love, never really leave us my dear."

Ciri tilted her head. "You… you really have? Me and Dominik both?"

"Of course I have! Me, Gregory, Sofia, your mother, all of us have," Her grandmother said, chuckling again as she crossed her arms. "Aha… looks like Gregory was correct. Could never separate the two of you as children, that remained true."

A cold chill ran down her spine. "Then you… you saw everything… everything I-."

"You did what you had to do to survive my dear," Her grandmother said softly, her hand resting again on the crook of Ciri's neck. "You and Dominik both…. And I couldn't be prouder, of the woman you've grown to be, and the man he ended up becoming. Do tell him that for me when you see him yes? Aha… as I said, I do miss that boy."

Ciri's face heated up, as he rapid heartbeat slowed. She looked at her grandmother's wrinkled face, but could still see the spark, the fire that gave her the nickname 'the lioness.'. It had been something she yearned for all these years, the one chance to know what her grandmother thought. Calanthe was hard on her yes, but Ciri loved her, nonetheless.

She was proud of Ciri, and Dominik was safe. Finally, Ciri was able to breath normally, as a small smile tugged at her lips as she looked at her grandmother.

"He… he really is as great as Gregory was," Ciri said, the smile growing. "I'll tell him. I know he misses you as well."

"He was always such a sweet boy. Sweet, but protective. Cunning as well, inherited the best from Gregory and Sofia both he did," Calanthe said, her lips turning into a smirk. "And he would have made a fantastic King."

Ciri's eyes widened. "What? King? King of what?"

"Of Cintra of course!" He grandmother said, seemingly trying to stop herself from chuckling at Ciri's bewildered face. "Yes… I do believe the two of you… you would have ushered in a new age, not just for Cintra, but for the continent."

Ciri could do nothing but gape. The revelation meant nothing now of course, but hearing it, it turned her mind to mush.

"You… you mean to say that…" She managed, shaking her head in disbelief. "That… that you would have let us-."

"Gregory and I had both agreed to it. You two tried to hide it, but it was obvious to just about anyone in the palace how enraptured with each other you were," Calanthe said, sighing as her smile slightly dipped. "It was going to be a surprise for your 12th birthdays. Dominik was going to begin coming to the castle every day."

"He… already came to the castle every day," Ciri said.

Her grandmother chuckled. "Aha… well yes, but he would have come for more than just spending time with you causing mischief….. No Gregory was going to move himself, Sofia, Bella and Dominik all to the castle. And every day… Dominik would have started joining you for your lessons. The two of you both would have learned the ins and outs of governing, economics, trade. And then like I said, it was to be a surprise on your twelfth birthday's… or when one of us inevitable found you both exploring each other's mouths."

Ciri went red, getting another laugh from her grandmother.

"And well… after that, we would announce to Cintra, and to the rest of the Kingdom's… the betrothal between you two," Calanthe said, smiling at Ciri's bewildered look.

Dominik and she, King and Queen of Cintra. It was something that she had cooked up in her wildest fantasies when she was eleven, back when she and Dominik first met, and she had the largest crush on him. The crush eventually resulted in the love they had now, but when she was eleven, Ciri had been afraid nothing would ever be able to become of it, despite how she felt.

And apparently her worries had been for nothing.

"You… you really would have let us be together?" Ciri said. "You… would have let him be King, what would the rest of the North had thought? Is that why you didn't come to me with any marriages after I met him?"

A scoff left her grandmother. "Yes, yes, the rest of the North would have pouted. But it would have put someone I trust completely on the throne next to you. Someone, who I knew would treat like you deserved to be treated. Someone, who loved you unequivocally for who you were and not what your title was. And most importantly… someone who you loved just as fiercely."

"Well… Dominik certainly fits all those categories," Ciri said, her face getting red as she looked down at the ring around her neck.

Calanthe smiled, reaching out and gently holding the ring in her hand. "Yes… he does. And besides, after seeing your reactions to the other marriages I set up well…. I decided that I wasn't going to make the same mistake with you and Dominik… that Ryland and I made with Pavetta and Gregory."

Ciri looked up at her curiously, remembering something Dominik had told her. "Mistake? What mistake? Is… is it true that Gregory and my mother they… they were once-."

"Together? Well, I wouldn't call it 'together' necessarily," Calanthe said, a sign leaving her as she met Ciri's eyes. "Like you and Dominik, they were close from a young age. It was clear they both had feelings for one another… they were just much better at hiding their affections then you and Dominik were."

"So… they were together?"

"Well… to be honest I believe they may have just not acted on any of those feelings for many years. You see, Ryland and I made it clear from a young age they couldn't be together. I was a fool then…" Calanthe said, sighing again as she shook her head. "But… once when they were sixteen, Ryland and I caught them together, kissing in the garden. Ryland and I… didn't react how we should have. We put an end to it right there… a mistake it was."

A multitude of thoughts ran through Ciri's mind, and one came to the forefront.

"That… that means that Gregory could have been my father?" She said, knowing that Gregory had been the closest she had in her early years anyhow.

Calanthe chuckled. "Ha… I guess he could have been yes…. But that also would have meant Dominik would have been your brother."

Ciri almost gagged and quickly shook her head. "Yes… good point, now I need to get that thought out of my head."

Her grandmother laughed, the infectious smile reappearing on her face. "Aha… yes, I regret a great many things my dear… but the fact you two have each other… that you're happy with each other… I'm happy about that. An in-love Queen makes for a better Queen, I learned this while I was with Eist…. And I'm glad I didn't make the mistake with you… like I did with your mother."

Ciri shook her head. "What… what happened? After you told them they couldn't be together?"

Calanthe sighed. "Well, they obeyed out wishes. They loved each other still… but they were simply the best of friends after that. A few years later, Gregory met Sofia… and your mother met 'Duny.'."

Ciri winced at the mention of Emhyr, the wound in her torso stinging.

"You should have killed him that night he came…" Ciri said, crossing her arms.

"I think about what would have happened if I had every single night," Calanthe said, looking and meeting Ciri's eyes. "But if I had… I would have had to have Gregory… and Geralt killed as well, and I don't think that would have been something you wanted."

Biting her lip Ciri nodded, remembering the words of the apparition in the last challenge she faced.

Either you die here…. Or I get you out there.

Her grandmother must have seen the nervous look in her eyes because she raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're nervous." She said.

"How can you tell?" Ciri said back.

A smile crossed her grandmother's lips. "Because you always bit the inside of your lip when you're nervous, have since you were little… you're worried, aren't you?"

"An understatement."

"What are you worried about?"

A cold chill ran through her again. Everything flashed in her mind. Emhyr, Eredin, the Hunt, Bella. Dominik almost dying at Kaer Morhen. The thought of all the people who were going to be fighting, possibly going to their death in the next few days all because she was leading the Hunt there.

And above it all, the fact there was the possibility, that after the battle she still wouldn't be free, despite her and Dominik's best efforts.

"I… don't want to lose anyone else," Ciri said, shaking her head and looking up at one of the people she lost. "So many people I love… they've died because of me. You, Gregory, Sofia, Bella… Dominik almost died at Kaer Morhen and-."

"Yes… he was keeping his promise to me," Her grandmother said, a small smile coming across her lips. "Protecting you with everything he has. And you my dear, gods the warrior you've become. I must apologize for not letting you learn all those years; I could only imagine how good you'd be had I let you!"

Ciri sighed and shook her head. "I didn't do anything! He almost died, and all I could do, was sit there and watch. For so long, I've had this power in me, a power that's been destroying my life and yet I still can't control it!"

"You've shown pretty good control if I do say so myself," Her grandmother smirked. "I'm not an expert on magic by any stretch, but you seem to know what you're doing."

"And still so many have died for me! Died because, I was simply around them!"

"You must let go of this my dear," Calanthe said, reaching out and holding a hand onto Ciri's shoulder. "All of those who died for you… they made their own choice. You can't wear them as your own. You know what I, Gregory, Sofia and I'm sure everyone else you can think of that had perished would want most? It would be for you, to live the life you deserve. That's why we made the choices we did child, because we cared for you, deeply, and wanted you to be happy. And I can speak for Gregory, Sofia, and your mother as well, when I say, we would give our lives a hundred times over after seeing how happy you are now."

Tears stung at Ciri's eyes. She thought of Gregory's kind eyes, his smile, how he told her before on multiple occasions, he saw her as one of his own. She could see Sofia's beautiful smile, her long blonde hair, and the loving green eyes that Dominik had inherited.

She thought of her mother who she never knew but had given everything for her.

She looked at her grandmother and slowly shook her head. "But… I didn't want any of them to die… to die for me."

Calanthe sighed, pulling her close. "I know my dear… and we didn't particularly want to die either. But as you know… for the one's we love we would do anything… and I'm so proud of what you've made of the sacrifice we made."

Ciri hugged her and felt the warmth of her touch wash over her. Her skin tingled under her sleeves, as she thought about everyone else who could die now, who could die in a few days. All of them, fought for her, fought for the continent. And they had to do it because of her. It was all so she could get that life she always wanted. It was a was a life, she knew she deserved, but of course there was still complications. There always was.

Her grandmother must have felt her tense because she looked down at her. "You're still worried?"

Ciri slowly nodded, not daring to let go of her. "I have so many people… pulling me in one direction or another. So many have plans for me… Avallac'h, Emhyr, the Lodge of Sorceresses… I can shoot them down as much as I want but… but I fear that they'll try and drag me away anyhow…"

Calanthe tilted her head, narrowing her eyes. "And answer me this my dear… what is it that you want to do?"

"To be with Dominik," She said without thinking, her arms tensing again. "And do what we were meant to do… to save people, but it seems that other people will still want control of me… want to be a part of it."

"None of that matters my dear," Calanthe said, looking at her, and pointing her finger sternly, like she always had when she was younger. "You are the only one who can write the story of your life. You Ciri, and you alone determine how it progresses, how it ends. You talked about this many times, I've seen it."

Biting her lip she remembered the times her grandmother spoke of. The previous few weeks she had grown proud of herself in a way. She had been standing up for herself, showing, that she had agency in her own life.

However, with each passing day, each day the battle drew closer, the aftermath of the battle if there was to be one creeped closer into her mind. What would Avallac'h want from her when the battle was over, what was he planning? What if Emhyr, decided to chase her and Dominik both after the battle was over, not stopping until he got what he wanted. Or what if the Lodge, decided that they were going to have her join one way or another? Several powerful sorceresses certainly had the power for something like that. How could she subject Dominik to that? What kind of life would that be?

This of course, was all contingent on them actually surviving the battle with the Hunt in the first place.

"I don't know… each day that it gets closer… all I can think about," Ciri said with a shudder, looking and meeting her grandmother's eyes. "All I can think… is how even if I survive this fight… more will come… that my fate will be controlled by someone else."

A moment of silence passed, as her grandmother examined her face. Calanthe looked down at her. The wise eyes Ciri had missed, the one's she hadn't seen in years looked exactly the same as she remembered. Her grandmother smiled, reaching out a hand on her shoulder, that warmed Ciri to the bones.

"You learn a great many things when you die my dear. I for one… learned in the power of destiny," She said, the smile not leaving her. "Destiny is a fickle thing. Sometimes, it's pre-ordained, like you meeting Geralt, or Dominik being there to protect you…. But destiny my dear, can also be whatever we decide we want it to be."

"And what if my destiny… is to be controlled for a power I never wanted?"

"Is that what you want?"

"No."

Calanthe smirked. "Then it won't be! As simple as that! As I said, sometimes destiny leads you to the most important people in your life, puts you in positions that you're meant to be in, like you being with Dominik, like Geralt finding you and raising you. However… those instances of destiny, lead you to the part in your life, where you can make your own."

"But what if-."

"There are no buts my dear! Destiny will only take its course and control your life when something is truly meant to happen, like you meeting Dominik and Geralt. However now, in this moment, your destiny, your life, your story… is going to be whatever you decide it is," Her grandmother said. Calanthe smiled, pointing her finger to Ciri's heart.

"The life you live, the choices you make, are all apart of your story," She said, smiling as she met Ciri's eyes again. "Nobody in your life, can tell you how to write your story. Not even Dominik or Geralt, although I imagine they'd support whatever you decide to make of it. This is your story Ciri. We all have a many chapters in this great story of life. Some parts we can't control, but most of them we can… particularly the ending. It is up to you my dear, to write how your story will end."

Ciri faltered, stumbling over her words. "But… but what if I make the wrong choice?"

Calanthe shook her head. "Ciri my dear… there is no wrong choice because the only people you need to satisfy with the ending of your story, are the ones who love you…. And if they truly love you, they won't try to make you write it a certain way."

Write your own story.

It was a phrase in a way she had been saying to herself for weeks. It had been what Dominik was telling her for weeks.

When this is over, we do what you want to do. Nobody is going to control what you do again.

She believed him, and she believed her grandmother.

Ciri buried her head into her grandmother's shoulder again, as the tears slowly started falling from her eyes again. She knew what the cave had meant now. See the one who you need the most. All her life, her grandmother had always been the one to give her the kick she needed when she was younger. She had been the first role model Ciri aspired to be. Ciri wanted to be stern and strong, but also kind, compassionate when she needed to be, and above all she wanted to have as much agency as she always saw her grandmother have, surety in the decisions she made.

And this decision, the decision on how her story was going to end was one she had been sure in since she was eleven years old. A few things had changed, some people had been added to it, but overall it was the same.

She would live it.

"Thank you…" Ciri said through the tears, her face still buried into her grandmother's shoulder, as she felt herself melting like a young girl again. "I miss you… you… Gregory, Sofia… I miss you all… every day."

Calanthe ran her hand through Ciri's hair, squeezing her as tight as she could. "And we all miss you my dear… but gods are we proud of you. You're resilient, you're tough as nails… but you're also kind, caring, loving… and you're still going to do great things, just like we all expected."

"I'll keep making you proud… all of you, I promise," She said, sniffling as she looked up to meet her grandmother's eyes. "Dominik and I… we both will. We… we'll stop them, we will."

"I know you will dear… want to know how I know how?" Her grandmother said, the infectious smile coming back as she looked at Ciri. "Because we could never pry you two away from each other when you were younger! And well… that seems to be the case still. I must admit, the two of you are just as adorable as when you were younger."

Ciri's face got red, as she could remember in that moment every little escapade her and Dominik went on in Cintra. Each time they snuck out into the town late, that he stayed in the palace till late hours of the night, them raiding the kitchen, playing knucklebones on the balcony. Yes, she had been smitten from the minute she met him. The first boy she met, that treated her as if she was a real person, not just some princess.

And now he was waiting for her in the cave, as she remembered what really was happening.

She stiffened in her grandmother's arms, and Calanthe chuckled.

"Aha… yes, speaking of him, you'd best be getting back to him," She said, smiling down at her as she stepped back, her hand staying on Ciri's shoulder. "He'll start to worry soon… and besides, you two have some more business to take care of."

The reality of what was happening jolted back into Ciri's body. The cave, the challenges, Dominik, finding the sword to help Bella.

But she looked up at her grandmother. Her grandmother standing right in front of her.

A shaky sob left Ciri, as she dug herself into her shoulder again. "I… I don't want you to leave…I miss you… I miss you every day. I… I don't want you to go yet."

Calanthe laughed again, gently caressing her cheek, down her scar. "My sweet girl… you've been managing without us brilliantly for eleven years…. Besides, the one's we love never truly leave us. Me, Gregory, Sofia… we're always watching over you, remember that."

Reluctantly, Ciri let her arms slide from her grandmother's side. Calanthe smiled at her once more, slowly shaking her head.

"Besides… you have other people who are taking care of you now, one's who I, Gregory, your mother… am eternally thankful for," Calanthe said, smirking as she crossed her arms. "Do me favor yes my dear, and tell the witcher, that I do apologize for being for lack of better words, such a rude bitch."

Ciri chuckled, the tears falling from her eyes and nodded. "I… I will. I… I'll tell him."

Her grandmother nodded again, the smile not leaving her. "And as I said, do tell Dominik I said hello, that I miss him as well… and thank him for me… for keeping the promise he made me."

Ciri slowly nodded again, the tears not stopping. Never had she felt so conflicted. She didn't want to leave, didn't want to leave that room with her grandmother. Because there, she had someone she loved, cared about, felt safe with, and currently, there was no battle. All her loved ones were safe, and perhaps if she had stayed there, they would stay that way.

On the other hand however, the persons he'd come to love more than anything was waiting for her. She had promised him she'd meet him in the main chamber.

And no matter how they both felt, what condition either of them were in, Ciri would always feel safe with Dominik. It was because wherever he was, that was home.

Calanthe smiled at her, leaning down and planting a kiss on Ciri's head. "Never forget… how proud I am of you Ciri."

Ciri hugged her once more, squeezing around her waist, as her grandmother did the same around her neck. The warmth of the embrace, and of the sun streaming in through the windows seeped into Ciri's skin. Slowly, her grandmother pecked the top of her head again, lingering her hand on Ciri's cheek, before she sighed and took a step back.

A small bit of panic arose in Ciri, as she stepped forward. "I… I don't know if I can beat them… grandmother I… I don't know if I can win…."

Calanthe stopped in the middle of the throne room and smirked at her. "Why do you say 'I'?"

Ciri narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What?"

Her grandmother laughed. "Aha… you keep saying that 'I don't know if I can beat them'…. Are you going to face the entirety of the Wild Hunt by yourself?"

"No…"

Another laugh left her. "Aha! Then it means you know you're going to have allies by your side. Dominik, Geralt, your friends… together, you can, and you will beat them back. Would you like to know why?"

Ciri nodded and Calanthe laughed. "Ha… because they underestimate you. They underestimate you, because you're human, and a woman to boot! But… I think you'll show them what you can do."

It was said when she was growing up, that her grandmother was partly such an effective leader because of the confidence she exhumed. Ciri learned that Queen Calanthe's confidence, her personality was infectious. She had also taught Ciri, that the ability to inspire came from your confidence, and it was something Ciri always tried to emulate.

Ciri got a taste of that confidence then, as her grandmother smiled at her, speaking as if the outcome was a forgone conclusion.

Slowly Ciri nodded, and Calanthe's smile didn't waver. The former Queen of Cintra, her grandmother, the lioness, one of her heroes, continued to walk towards the exit of the throne room. With each step she took, the aching in Ciri's bones returned, her torso started to sting, and her headache returned. She saw black smoke begin to billow from the walls around her.

She ignored it however and focused solely on her grandmother walking away.

Calanthe's footsteps echoed in the hall, as the smoke started to cloud Ciri's vision more and more. However, her grandmother stopped at the door, and turned back to her.

The infectious smile didn't leave the Queen as she nodded at Ciri again. "Remember Ciri, this is your story. Write your own ending my dear…"

And Ciri saw her grandmother turn to leave, before the black smoke overtook her vision.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Pain. That was all Dominik could feel, as the darkness had gone on for what felt like hours. He moved at a snail's pace, which didn't help him any. He didn't even have the energy to produce flames from his hands to illuminate his way, so he walked through the endless darkness.

Alone.

He found it slight ironic. Being alone again, he always thought that was his worse fear. He assumed the cave couldn't find a way to manifest that fear, but he faced it now. A fourth challenge.

But he didn't care. All he cared about was getting to Ciri.

"Come on… come on… move your ass…" He said, his legs still buckling with every step he took.

All he could hear was the rapid thumping of his own heartbeat, and the pounding of his heavy footsteps. Pain coursed through his nose, as he was sure that he looked worse then he had in some time then.

But it didn't matter. He didn't care about anything, except getting to the end of that cave.

So when he tripped forward, his legs finally giving out from under him he cursed louder then he had in months.

"GODS FUCKING DAMMIT! FUCKING FUCK!"

All he wanted was to get to Ciri, to find the sword, and then get out of that fucking cave. He still saw the horrible visions from the challenges, everything Ciri had gone through because of him. He just wanted to hold her, feel her arms around him, tell her again how sorry he was. It had to have been hours since he saw her, since they split at the beginning of the challenge.

And after being gone from her for all those years, those few hours simply felt like too long.

"Fuck… fucking… fuck," He said, groaning as he tried to push himself up from the ground. Rapidly blinking his eyes he had been walking for so long, he felt like the bottoms of his boots had to have been scuffed off by then. "Some fucking prize… I thought this was-."

He was cut off by a bone chilling gust of wind. Shaking right away, he was afraid for a moment he'd have to deal with Eredin again, that perhaps he had really failed his challenge. However, after the chill, he could feel sunlight trying to pierce his eyelids. He sucked in a breath of clean air, which was a welcome change from the dank must he had been breathing in the cave for the previous few hours.

"What… fuck…" He cursed again, blinking his eyes open, to see he was on all fours on a wooden floor.

After a moment, the white spots stopped dancing in his vision, and he was able to lift his head.

He noticed the throne, the banner, and his heart leapt in his stomach. With a jolt of energy, he shot to his feet stumbling as he did before grab a windowsill to steady himself. The cold breeze hit his face, and his nose stung from the cold, but it was surprisingly pleasant to him. He sucked in another clean breath and managed to gaze out the window.

Beautiful sprawling forests, mountains with snow covered peaks. A gorgeous orange sunset was gently peering in the distance, the great oaks that seemed to go on for hours were caked in snow. He could hear the distant howl of a wolf along with the sounds of the forest, which he didn't know he missed so much during the previous few weeks. One thing he had enjoyed about the Path, was the serenity he could bring himself to feel. Sometimes he'd find himself simply laying in the soft grass on a cliffside, in the forest, simply looking and admiring the scenery around him, listening to the pleasant sounds of birds, insects, wolves, it all managed to bring him small moments of peace. He sometimes went out of his way to climb high up cliffs or mountains, he even often climbed trees, all in search of a good view.

The view he saw then as he gazed outside that window was easily the most beautiful he had ever seen.

And Dominik had seen it before.

A small scoff left him, as he mimicked the old man's voice. "Castle Lod, in the beautiful mountains near Lan Exeter, a small keep… but home nonetheless."

He managed to let a smile tug at his lips as he drug his hand across the windowsill. He remembered seeing the castle in his vision with Alexander, and he remembered that window in particular.

It was at that window, Alexander and Lara Dorren had held Lara and Cregan's child Riannon, a short while after Cregan had been killed. Before Riannon would be taken to Redania.

Where Alexander promised Lara his line would always protect hers. Where his destiny began.

Scoffing, his pain momentarily forgotten Dominik looked at the banner hanging behind the small throne. The throne room was nothing like the one back in Cintra. It was smaller, wooden floors and pillars, a smaller but elegantly carved throne. Behind it was the banner, a black field with a dragon's head, and two crossed swords. Dominik always assumed Alexander and Cregan chose the lion as a sigil because of their connection to Kilgarrah. Kilgarrah, who Bella was currently controlling.

And remembering that, and what had happened in the cave all came back to him. He remembered what he had doing, and he was sure that he had to be dreaming.

"Shit… I need to find Ciri," Dominik said, biting his lip as he took one last look outside at the gorgeous view before turning and shaking his head. "I'm passed out, I have to be… come on, I need to wake up-."

The doors opening cut him off.

"Aha you look like hell my boy! Couldn't you have at least popped your nose back into place before you came?" A teasing voice said.

Dominik whirled around to the front of the room, and his mouth dropped.

"A…Alexander!? How… how are… what," He said shaking his head as he basked in his ancestor's presence, unable to form words.

Alexander scoffed, an absolutely delighted smile on his face before he teasingly rolled his eyes. "Baha well it's good to see you again as well lad! Seems we both look a little different then the last time we spoke."

"You… you're not old!"

His ancestor laughed again, holding out his arms and looking down at himself. "Haha you saw me in the visions lad! GODS did I ever miss being this fit. No more back pain, dry mouth, losing my eyesight, spending hundreds of years in a journal really does a number on you… and I was finally able to rest thanks to you my boy."

Alexander like he had said, was young again. Dominik remembered the old man's streaky grey hair and long beard from when Dominik saw him last. His trip into the journal, speaking with Alexander for the first time had felt like months prior, but in reality was only a few weeks.

And he had missed the old man since then.

Let the person who can help you most come to you. Dominik almost scoffed, and for a short moment, couldn't believe the cave's power.

For weeks, he had wished he could have just one more conversation with his ancestor. Alexander had sacrificed everything for his family. After making the pledge that he and his line would protect his brother and Lara's, he was the one to keep the Wild Hunt and the Aen Elle, Avallac'h and Eredin distracted so they wouldn't go after Riannon, Lara's child. He had died, Eredin had stabbed him in the back, while he and Kilgarrah defended Castle Lod from the entirety of the Red Riders by themselves. And as if dying wasn't enough, Alexander had concealed a part of his consciousness in his journal, so that in the future, should any of his descendants need guidance, which Dominik had desperately needed and still did, he could be there.

For centuries, he hadn't been able to see his family. He hadn't been able to see Cregan, Lara, his child Connor and Lara, all so he could help Dominik then, help him keep Ciri safe.

And now Dominik needed him even more. So much had happened since he last saw his ancestor in that vision. His powers, the magic that he had inherited from Alexander and his children had grown, they were so close to finally confronting Eredin.

Most importantly of all, another one of Alexander's descendants was alive. Bella and Dominik, they were the last members of the Line of Lod, the one's Eredin was planning on killing, before he took Ciri for himself.

And Dominik still didn't know if he could beat him.

Dominik felt tears prick at his eyes. Alexander looked young again. He wore a long black doublet and brown trousers. His boots and gloves were finely made, with gold stitching. Gold stitching adorned his robe as well, where Dominik saw a swallow, a swallow for his 'little sis' Lara Dorren, and the coat of arms of his family, the dragon head. His hair was no longer grey and balding. Alexander had neatly combed blonde hair, a perfectly trimmed beard, both of which gently blew from the breeze coming in through the window.

And his eyes. Dominik didn't know if he would have recognized Alexander if not for his eyes. A warm, bright emerald green. The same eyes his children Lara and Connor of Lod had, the same eyes Dominik's mother Sofia had. And the same eyes Dominik himself had.

Alexander must have seen him gaping because he laughed. "Aha… it's good to see you again lad. A lot has happened since we last spoke mhmm?"

The first few tears fell down Dominik's cheeks. "Yeah… yeah a… a lot has. I… I'm so sorry…"

Alexander scoffed with a smile again. "My boy, what could you possibly be apologizing to me for?"

Dominik shakily sighed, tears falling as he met his ancestor's eyes. "B…Bella… my… my sister I… I let them… I let them-."

"You didn't let them do anything my boy," He said, his tone wise and knowing, shaking his head as he reached a handout on his shoulder. "You're not at fault… you're doing what I told you mhmm? Remember what I said about family?"

"You never give up on your family… no matter how lost they seem," Dominik said, his voice breaking.

Alexander smiled softly. Dominik looked into his eyes, felt the man's strong hand on his shoulder. The way he spoke, the wisdom he exhumed from his words, from his eyes, his calming tone, his warm presence and reassurance.

Avallac'h may have called himself a sage, however Alexander was the first man he ever met, who he genuinely believed fit what he always thought a sage should be.

"Aye lad… we never give up on them, just like you won't give up on your sister," Alexander said, his warm smile not leaving him. "That is why you entered the Cave of Life after all mhmm? I must say, I am utterly touched that you consider me the one you need most my boy! I guess my dashing good looks and charm really-."

He was cut off when Dominik hugged him. He had been trying to hold back the tears, not wanting to cry and appear weak in front of Alexander. But after everything he had seen in the cave, everything he knew was coming, he had just needed to hug someone. Dominik's tears fell onto Alexander's robe, and the old man laughed.

"Aha… it truly brings me great joy to see you again my boy…" He said, hugging him back, patting his back and running a hand through Dominik's dirty hair. "Ha… you and your Cirilla both have gotten into quite a few adventures already… a child surprise eh?"

Dominik sniffled, scoffing a sob and wiping the tears from his cheek. The smile came back to him, as he stepped back and met Alexander's eyes.

"Yeah… yeah Fiona she… gods she… she's the perfect mix of me and Ciri…" He said, before shaking his head the smile growing. "You… you saw that?"

"Saw you and Cirilla almost kill a fucking dragon? Of course I did!" Alexander said, laughed as he crossed his arms and scoffed again. "And when you trounced Avallach's lab, and the sorceress, that Yennefer drew a mustache on his portrait! When you all smashed everything to bits, HA, I nearly pissed myself laughing!"

Dominik chuckled, wiping the last of the tears from his cheeks. Hearing Alexander bring up Avallach's lab however, reminded him of one of the hundreds of question he wanted to ask his ancestor.

"Ha… that was gratifying I won't lie," He said, looking and meeting Alexander's eyes with a curious smile. "And… when I was there… I figured out about Leila, what… what she did for you, Lara and Cregan… and what they did to her because of it. How come you didn't tell me you had a wife? I mean I assumed you did since you had children, but you never mentioned her when I saw you the last time."

For a moment, Dominik was worried that he would upset Alexander. However, that thought was dashed from his mind when he saw the fond smile that grew on his ancestor's face, and the tone of longing he spoke with.

"Ha, I would have liked to, but we had much more important topic at hand then. But gods… my Leila. The most amazing woman I've ever met in my life. We couldn't stand each other at first! HA, we almost killed each other, quite literally!" He said, laughing as the fond smile grew on his face.

Dominik looked at him confused. "You… almost killed each other?"

"Oho that we did. Made me even more attracted to her in the end to be honest. Bloody woman went toe to toe with me!" Alexander said, laughing as he looked fondly out the window. "As I'm sure you read, all the Aen Elle, Avallac'h, Eredin, Auberon, were looking for Lara after Cregan and I took her back here. Leila however, found her first. She snuck into the castle, found Lara in her chambers. Leila tried to get her to come back, I was up in the middle of the night going for a piss, and I found Lara's chamber door open."

"You met your future wife while you were going to take a piss?"

Alexander scoffed with a laugh. "Aha, it appears I did. At first, I just thought Cregan was sneaking into Lara's chambers, he did that often, surprised her with flowers and the like in the mornings. I found Leila there, and before Lara could say anything well… Leila started blasting and so did I!"

"And you said she almost beat you?"

"Oh she did, got the best of me, I got the best of her, a draw I'd say," Alexander said amusingly. "We fought and nearly brought the castle down we did. Lara and Cregan managed to stop us before we killed each other. After that, Lara told Cregan and I who she was, explained to Leila what she was doing with us."

Dominik scoffed a smile seeing the fond smile on his ancestor's face. It was the same look he got whenever he saw Ciri, the look of a man in love, however a small look of sadness was locked behind his eyes.

"So… what happened after that?" Dominik asked. "In the vision I saw, when Lara had Riannon, Connor and Lara were already a few years old."

The bright smile on Alexander's face slightly fell.

"Well after that, Leila and I we… butted heads for a bit. She was worried Lara's life was in danger there, that the wrath of the Aen Elle would follow her, and endanger not just her, but the entire continent," Alexander explained, a small smirk coming to him. "She was right in a way but… she saw the love Cregan and Lara had, and eventually well… I wore down her stubbornness."

"And… Connor and Lara came soon after?"

"Well, took about a year or so, a lot of arguments, both of us being too proud for our own good but… eventually yes," His ancestor said, scoffing a smile. "Most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life… and gods did she love Connor and Lara. Cregan and Lara were in love long before then yes but, they were a bit more hesitant to have children, for obvious reasons."

Dominik nodded in understanding. "Yeah... she was Lara's best-friend wasn't she? She understood Lara's choice to stay with Cregan, to live at Castle Lod?"

"Of course she did! Leila loved Lara for Lara, not because of her powers. Leila saw how happy Lara and Cregan were, decided to stay a good stroke of luck for me!" Alexander said, the smile slowly fading as he sighed. "I wish she would have stayed, but she was too damn noble for her own good my Leila was… we could've raised the twins together… could barely move for weeks after she left."

Dominik's gut stirred, as he remembered combing through Avallach's notes about what happened to Leila back in Tir'Nala.

"Like I said… I read about what she did when she went back to Tir'Nala," He said. "She was brave… and I'm guessing if not for her I wouldn't even be here."

"Aye… none of us would," Alexander said, sighing as a flicker of sadness appeared in his eyes. Quickly however, his ancestor smiled back down at him. "I see her in you lad."

"You mean because of the colorful magic?" Dominik said.

Alexander laughed. "That's a part of it yes, taught me a great many things my Leila did… but not just the magic. You have her tenacity, her dedication, her protectiveness and loving spirit… her courage, and most importantly you have her sense of family…"

The word family slammed into Dominik like a brick. He saw the look on Alexander's face as he looked at him. Dominik could almost swear that in the few times he'd seen his ancestor he'd never seen him not smiling, not confident. It was a trait that he wished he could have right then. He wanted to bask in the praise, enjoy it, but hearing that word, family, he was reminded of what he had come to the cave in the first place for.

He shakily sighed as he looked out the window over the beautiful snowy landscape. Alexander came and joined him; his ancestor sighed as he laid his hands out of the windowsill.

Alexander looked down at him. "You're worried."

"What gave it away?" Dominik said.

His ancestor laughed. "Ha… well you're even more brooding then you usually are."

"I am not usually brooding!"

"Oh but you are lad," Alexander said with another laugh. "The minute you take your Cirilla away and you're brooding all over the place!"

"Yes well… if I can't convince Bella… break the spell Eredin has over her I'll die… and then Ciri won't kill her… so she'll die," Dominik said, goosebumps traveling up his arms. "I… I don't know if I'll be able to fight her when the time comes."

"You've said before that you'd do it if you had too."

"Yeah… and I will but… but I don't know if I can," He stressed, running a hand through his messy hair. "I won't kill her… I won't be able to do it. Fuck I… I don't even know if I can swing my sword at her now, knowing it's her…. And… and what if… what if everything I try fails and I.. and I have too-."

"Easy, easy lad," Alexander said, turning to him from the window. "You're not going to be saving anyone with your nerves shot like they are now."

Dominik shook his head, his hands trembling. "I can't calm down…. I need to not only get through to Bella, save her, but I also need to fucking fight Eredin again, and I don't know if I can fucking win! I don't know if I can beat him, he nearly killed me at Kaer Morhen."

"You just killed him in the cave."

He met Alexander's eyes and rolled his own. "That cave version of him was nothing compared to the real thing, and I almost died…. My powers still nearly knock me out after each use. There's only so much Ciri can show me."

Alexander scoffed. "You've improved much since I last saw you lad. You're almost there, there have been times where I've seen you achieve control."

"Yes, well almost control, isn't control," Dominik said, sighing as he looked at his shaking hands. "I know I have to try… I can't just sit back but… but I have no idea what how I'm going to do it… if I even can do it. You couldn't beat him; Connor and Lara couldn't beat him… what chance do I have?"

A long silence passed. Dominik didn't look up at Alexander, reserving himself to looking out over the countryside again. He told himself that if he ever got the chance, he'd take Ciri to see the view he stood in now. Castle Lod had to still be at least standing up in Kovir, perhaps he could take Ciri there after everything was over, maybe even Fiona or Bella.

But the lingering issue, was that they had to survive first, he had to save Bella, he had to kill Eredin, and most importantly he had to make sure Ciri survived.

His nose ached from the awkward angel it sat at, and he just finally begun to have feeling in his legs again. Although if he started walking he assumed that he would fall flat on his face. He was barely in a state to be standing let alone fighting. He tried to calm his shaking hands, but nothing worked. He would leave that vision with Alexander, he'd go back to Ciri, he'd find the sword and get his message to Bella like he planned. In a day or two, they'd lay out a plan, just like Kaer Morhen he'd assign his friends where to go, where they'd fight, assign them tasks.

Also just like at Kaer Morhen however, he didn't know if it would be enough, if he would be strong enough.

Alexander sighed and broke the silence. "Aye… it's quite a shit situation you're in isn't it lad?"

Dominik felt himself snap. "Of course it is! What the hell did I ever do to deserve this!? More importantly, what did Ciri or my sister do to deserve any of this!? Ciri couldn't control the blood she was born with, how the hell is it fair, that she had to run her entire life because of it!?"

"It isn't fair you're right," Alexander said calmly sighing and shaking his head. "And believe me when I say, Lara and Cregan… they're beyond sorry for the life she's had to live, they never intended to have a child."

"AND THAT ISN'T FAIR EITHER!" Dominik said, pacing as he felt his anger melting into the pit of his stomach. "If they wanted to be together, then they should have had that right! If they wanted to have a child, they should have had that right! And why couldn't they be!? Because Avallac'h couldn't handle rejection!? Because the elves decided what Lara's life would be!? Why the fuck couldn't she have had a say in it!?"

"Again, you're right lad," Alexander said with a shrug. "You're not telling me anything that I don't already believe."

Dominik ignored him however, continued his pacing.

"And… and my sister! Fucking Bella was the sweetest person you would ever meet," He said, feeling the tears threatening to loose from his eyes again. "She was the light of everyone's life that she met! She was, sweet, caring, kind, loving AND SHE WAS GOOD, BUT THEY TURNED HER INTO SOMETHING THAT SHE ISNT! SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"She didn't… you're right," Alexander said softly, reaching a handout on his shoulder. "Cirilla doesn't deserve this, your sister doesn't deserve this… and you don't deserve this my boy."

Shakily Dominik sighed, meeting his ancestor's intense eyes. "All… all I ever wanted, was to be with Ciri…. Protect her, be with her, have my sister, my parents, Geralt, Yen, all of them…. And now… I could lose all of them… all because I wasn't strong enough."

The tears came, and Dominik was ashamed crying so much in front of Alexander. He didn't want to appear weak, but the challenges in the cave, the previous few days, all of them had broken him down, down to the point where her quite simply couldn't hold anything in anymore.

It was all unfair, none of it was fair.

A cold chill from the window swept through his messy hair, making his nose sting again. He winced as he tried to frantically wipe the tears from his eyes. A part of him was expecting the vision to end soon, the visit with Alexander to end soon, and he would be kicking himself for doing nothing but complaining the whole time as opposed to actually asking questions that could help him.

However, Alexander was still there. His green eyes looked so much like his own, so much like his mother's that his insides stirred. Still, his ancestor didn't lose his smile.

"Life sometimes as you know lad… simply isn't fair," Alexander said, sighing as he shook his head but smiled still. "And a lot of the time, we simply can't do anything to control the circumstances, you can't change what happened, and what's happening."

Dominik wiped tears from his cheeks and scoffed. "Gee… real uplifting message old man."

Alexander laughed and smirked at him. "We can't control the circumstance and change what happened, but you know what we can control… is how we react to it. Tell me lad, what're you going to do when you face your sister?"

"I don't know!" Dominik said, sniffling as he wiped more tears. "If I have to fight her I will but-."

"Then that's what you do! Who said you ever have to kill anyone in a fight?" Alexander said, his gaze not leaving Dominik's. "But you know as well as I do boy, you can't simply sit around and complain about it being unfair. You need to take action and be decisive."

"And what if I can't convince her? Like I couldn't convince her the first time I saw her!?"

"You never know what will happen. There's a chance of failure, in everything we do in life my boy. You could fail at cleaning your sword properly and cut yourself. You could fail at putting your pants on in the morning, and next thing you know, you're wearing your pants backwards!"

"A lot more is at stake than me just wearing my pants backwards," Dominik grumbled. "If I fail here… then I lose everything."

Alexander simply shrugged. "You can't live your life with a fear of failure, even in extreme cases such as this my boy. If you can't be confident for yourself, at least do it for those around you. Your Cirilla was just as distraught as you were about your sister… be confident for her. You will be able to overcome this, and you quite literally can't stop… do you know why?"

Dominik's stomach dropped as he slowly nodded. "Because… you never give up on your family… no matter what."

"Exactly," Alexander said softly again. "And you won't give up on your sister… I know you won't, you're too much like me, too much like Connor and Lara, too much like Leila…. You will face your sister… and it's like I've heard you say… she's not gone, you know her, know that better than anyone."

Be confident for Ciri's sake. It was something that he had been trying to do, but as the battle got closer and closer it had been slipping. Biting his lip he could taste the metallic flavor of his blood. Hearing Ciri's name reminded him how she was in the cave, waiting for him now. And Bella was also out there, waiting for him, waiting to face him again just like he was for her.

He'd get her back. He would never give up on her, never abandon her, not again.

Shakily sighing he nodded. "I… I do. She's still that person… I know she is. But… but I don't know if I can fight her. And what about Kilgarrah? It makes sense now why he's with the Hunt, but even with Bella being there… how come he's been listening to her?"

Alexander scratched his blonde beard and sighed. "It is as I said boy, Kilgarrah will never harm you. As for why he's following your sister's orders well… one thing we both always said, was that we believed, the biggest way a person learns, is from their mistakes. It's more than likely… he's going along with what Bella orders even if it's for the Hunt… because he knows deep down how she feels about what she's doing."

Dominik's blood thinned, remembering the destruction of Lofeton.

"It's true… she has done things, horrible things," He said shakily. "Things that I know she doesn't want to do. Things I know that aren't her… it has to be tearing her to pieces inside…."

"Yes… and my guess is Kilgarrah is going through with these deeds… to show her the error of her ways," Alexander said, his face faltering for a moment. "That poor girl… there's no telling the horrors that Eredin has subjected her too. Kilgarrah I assume has been trying his best… but she needs you my boy… now more than ever."

His spine tingled again. Dominik shakily sighed and nodded. He had seen dreams of Bella's 'training' and knew exactly what Eredin planned to do with her. He was going to kill her, Eredin wanted to not only kill Ciri now, but his sister as well.

It was Eredin, it was always Eredin. His fingers curled, as he remembered the last challenge in his cave. His nose tingled; he could feel the blood seeping into his skin under his armor. He had nearly died simply fighting the King's apparition, it had nearly killed him, and Dominik had to push himself to limits. He could still feel the fatigue, his legs ached as he stood across from Alexander then.

But it was as his ancestor said, and as he said to himself in the cave. He couldn't simply sit there and complain. For everyone's sake he needed to figure out a way to defeat Eredin, some way to stand up to him. He remembered all the times he had used his powers, in his first fight with Eredin was the time when he felt them come out at full force for the first time. He had no idea to that day how they activated like they did, but all he could remember was that even more so then his face and leg, the pure amount of strength he exhumed had been what hurt the most.

However, there had also been times like at Claywitch when he fought Drogar to save Fiona. His powers had come out then yes, and in an extraordinarily strong way. However, unlike Kaer Morhen, after that he had been able to move, he was fine. Of course there had been smaller times, like in Avallach's lab, when his magic would hum around him, and he felt as if he was in control. Bella had seemed to be in control of her powers, at least to a degree, and that was what scared him, how she could possibly be so in control.

He met Alexander's eyes and slowly nodded. "I'll get her back… but… how the hell does Bella know how to control her powers so well? I assumed it had something to do with us being part elf, and Eredin and Caranthir knowing it."

Alexander scoffed. "Bah, Eredin knows your magic more then he even showed the girl… extremely well in fact."

Dominik tilted his head at his ancestors' sharp tone. "What… what do you mean?"

Alexander rolled his eyes. "Well you see, just as Avallac'h was supposed to marry Lara… Leila was supposed to be married as well. I never met Eredin obviously until my death but… he was supposed to be the one to marry Leila."

He felt as if a brick had been thrown at his face. Besides… that was not the only thing Alexander stole from me. The words that the apparition spoke pierced into his ears. Suddenly he felt his skin crawl, as he scoffed and looked at Alexander.

"You're telling me Eredin was in love with my ancestor!? That he was supposed to marry her… and that's a reason why he hated you so much?"

Alexander laughed. "Bah, love? Oh no, absolutely not. Leila couldn't stand him, and Eredin quite frankly couldn't stand her either, but they were supposed to be married yes. Eredin however, only did it to get himself closer to Lara, closer to Auberon since Leila was a member of Lara's personal court. He maneuvered his way into marrying her, in hopes of getting his hands-on Lara, or killing Auberon so he himself could become King. It's a part of the reason Leila stayed here with us."

Dominik scoffed. "Well… looks like he got what he wanted in the end."

"Aye… he did," Alexander said with a quick shake of his head. "When Leila stayed, he lost his connection to getting to Lara, and possibly the throne, that is why he'd been hunting us. That, and well, partly for his own vanity and pride."

Biting his lip, Dominik shook his head. "And now… he has a chance to wipe us all out…. He wants to use Bella to kill Ciri, kill me as the perfect insult to our line… and then invade. It's why he spent so long training Bella."

"And his arrogance will be his downfall," Alexander said quickly, as if Dominik was onto something. A smirk appeared on his face. "He taught your sister how to use her powers, Caranthir trained her yes but… not the proper way. He's taught her to use her anger, her hatred, her bitterness and resentment as fuel to spur on her magic and powers."

"But I thought you said Eredin knows how our powers work?" Dominik said.

Alexander nodded and looked deep into his eyes. "Aye, he does, and I assume he taught your sister the wrong ways on purpose. You see… your powers my boy, to achieve complete control, you must be in control of your emotions. True control, comes from controlling your mind, from memories of love, happiness, goodness, it lets you see clearer, let's you achieve that control!"

The answer had been so obvious, that Dominik mentally slapped himself for not realizing sooner. He remembered back to the fight with Drogar in Claywitch, when his powers gave off a steady hum. He and Ciri had just saved Fiona, he had been thinking of all the things they'd do, where they'd go, training her, it had been a long time since he felt excitement like that. So when Drogar came, he was calm, able to think about nothing except beating him so that they could go and do all the things Ciri and he had planned for Fiona.

And in that moment he had achieved control if just for a minute. Looking and meeting Alexander's eyes, he slowly shook his head.

"So… all the times that it shot around me, that… that it drained me," Dominik said, the realization coming to him. "I was always angry… scared… and that made it harder to control."

"Yes my boy… that's exactly how it works," Alexander said, the smile slight fading from his face. "Eredin… he's filled your sister with nothing but hatred, resentment and anger. This… will make your magic powerful, it gives it more raw power then even when you're filled with the opposite… but you can't control it… and-."

"And it could kill her… so he doesn't care, he just wants her to be as powerful as possible…" Dominik said, his hands curling into fists. "I'm going to kill him… I don't know how… but even if I die doing it… I'm going to fucking kill him."

Alexander squeezed a hand on his shoulder. "Fight him yes my boy… but don't do it with anger in your heart."

"You expect me not to be angry, fighting the one who's chased Ciri and brainwashed my sister?" Dominik said, shaking his head. "The one who's responsible for my friends being dead? How can you expect me, not to be angry while I fight!? To do it for revenge and-."

"Do it… to protect the ones you love, and in the memory of the ones you've lost," Alexander said softly, his piercing gaze looking down at him.

Dominik faltered, and melted. Shakily he sighed, looking down at his gloved hands. He could remember all the way back to Novigrad, seeing his hand actually smoking after a fraction of his power unleashed. And then, by the time he got to Kaer Morhen, his entire body went white after he nearly died. Freya had told him multiple times; his body had been as white as a ghost while she operated on him. Dominik's cheek tingled, and gently he ran his hand along the scar, looking out over the beautiful view. The snow-covered peaks, the miles upon miles of great oaks, the distant views of Lan Exeter. He shivered from the cold, sucking in a clean breath as he curled his fists.

Around his neck, he could feel the swallow, his medallion both bouncing off his large chest. His armor was scorched, dented, caked in sweat and blood. His nose ached from still being crooked, and his legs trembled.

But the view he saw still took his breath away, and for a minute he felt at peace.

"Beautiful… isn't it?" Alexander said, turning to look out the window with him. "Perhaps you can take Cirilla here one day mhmm? Castle's still standing."

Dominik scoffed, but smiled. "Yeah… I've been thinking about that. Maybe I can bring Bella too… this is really where it all started, where we all became connected."

"Aye lad… it is. And it's as I said, I can rest in good conscious," Alexander said, his signature smile note leaving. "Because I know our destiny is in good hands… Cregan and Lara believe it as well."

"They do?"

"Of course they do," Alexander said, smirking as he turned to Dominik. "You and Cirilla, remind them of themselves…. And the same goes for me. Brings me, Connor, Lara, Cregan and Lara both… more joy they I could describe, seeing you together."

His words made Dominik's head shoot up, as he didn't hear one certain name. Remembering what he had heard in Avallach's lab, he met Alexander's eyes.

"And… not Leila?" Dominik said, amazed at the possibility. "Does… does that means he's really still alive? That… that I could find her?"

Alexander's smile fell as he sighed. "Yes my boy… my Leila… gods, had no idea she was alive until I died. I wish I had gotten to see her… but if she's alive then well… she's alive for a purpose."

"A purpose?"

"I know not what it could be lad, but knowing my Leila, it's a good one," His ancestor said, shrugging as the smile returned to his face. "She was a big believer in destiny, in prophecies, claimed she could predict bits of the future. Who knows? Perhaps she's still alive, so that you can go and find her my boy."

The idea of one of his ancestors being alive, it baffled his mind. Dominik knew that Eredin and Avallac'h were both hundreds of years old yet looked extremely young. Leila could be the same, or perhaps like Alexander she had trapped her consciousness in a journal somewhere.

Or maybe she was truly in hiding in another world, and he and Ciri could find her.

Dominik met Alexander's eyes and nodded. "I'll find her. Ciri and I, and Bella we… we'll find her, I promise. I'll tell her you're waiting for her, and… and well… I don't know what I'll do, but I'll find her I swear."

Alexander laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder again. "Aye.. thank you lad. Gods do I miss that woman…"

"Do you have any idea where she is? Couldn't you see her once you died?"

"I thought I could… but since I can't it can only mean one thing," Alexander explained. "She could just be concealing herself with magic or… she could be in another world. More than likely Tir'Nala. 'The best place to hide from your enemy is sometimes right under their nose'. She used to say that often."

"I'll find her! Ciri's been to Tir'Nala, maybe we could-." He started, his excitement getting the best of him, but Alexander however cut him off.

"Ahaha easy lad easy… you have a much more important quests first," He said, squeezing Dominik's shoulder with a small smirk forming. "Besides… you should be going to find someone else first… I'm sure Cirilla could do with seeing you right now."

The smile Dominik had faded. He looked first at the smile Alexander still had, before behind him, Dominik saw black clouds of smoke slowly coming upwards from cracks in the walls. Panic built up in him, and he turned to see the smoke slowly seeping through all the walls. Flashbacks to the challenges, the cave hit his mind, his nose started to ache, and his legs shook more. He took a longing look outside the window, the same window at which his destiny began hundreds of years ago.

The view was slowly being overtaken by black smoke.

Dominik shot back around to Alexander. "No! You can't leave yet; I still have so much that I need to ask! So… so much I wanna talk about, I'm not ready, I'm not ready for this fight yet!"

Alexander laughed. "Ahaha well the fight is soon my boy you better get ready! Do some push-ups! Sharpen your swords and maybe-."

"Now's not the time for jokes old man!" Dominik stressed, his eyes widening, and he desperately looked up at his ancestor. "I… I'm still scared, I don't know how to make it go away."

"Good, that's good, any sane man would be afraid," Alexander said, smiling still as he reached out to hold Dominik's shoulder again, squeezing it. "But you, will conquer that fear my boy… you are ready."

Dominik scoffed and shook his head, latching onto Alexander's arm. "The fuck I am! Eredin nearly killed me at Kaer Morhen, and the projection in the cave-."

"You killed it, end of story," Alexander said, smiling as he looked down at him. "Remember my boy, you don't just do this for yourself. Hell, you're not even doing this because it's your destiny. In the end, you don't give a damn about my promise to Lara, about the fact this is your legacy, and I know you really don't."

"What!? How could you say that? You stayed alive to help me, Lara and Cregan they died so their line could survive," Dominik said, tears coming down his cheeks as he shook his head. "This is my destiny, it's what I was meant to do, of course I care-."

"I'm not saying you don't care a bit lad," Alexander said. "I'm saying… that in the end, none of that matters…. You're doing this… for love. The woman, that you love is in danger. The sister, that you love, is in danger. Your family new and old, they are in danger… and that's why you're doing this… for love. And if you inherited anything from me, from Leila, from your mother and father, from Geralt and Yennefer, from your Cirilla even… is your capacity to love, for family. So that, my boy, is why you are ready… and you will succeed."

Dominik's mouth went dry as he gaped at his ancestor. The words penetrated him, fell into the depths of his very soul. Black mist continued to swirl around them, as they played back in his mind.

You're doing this… for love.

For Ciri. That's all it's ever been for, for the life we deserve.

Tears fell, crawling down his cheek and down his neck. Dominik looked up at Alexander, who hadn't stopped smiling. Crying, and without thinking, he hugged the sage again, tightly wrapping his arms around the man again. For a moment he squeezed, not wanting to let his ancestor go, to go back to the cave, and face the reality of what was coming.

But Ciri was there, and he wanted more than anything to hold her again.

"I… I'm gonna miss you old man…" Dominik said, sobbing as he squeezed tighter. "Thank you… thank you for… for everything. I… I don't know where I'd be without you."

Alexander laughed, pulling away and smiling at him. "Aha… you'd be alright lad. You're tough, brave, and every single bit as stubborn as I was."

The two of them both laughed, as Dominik reluctantly felt Alexander's hand leave his shoulder. Smoke started coming up quicker, as Dominik saw it slowly envelope the window he was looking out of. Alexander smiled, walking over to the door of the throne room, and Dominik followed, standing a few meters away from his ancestor.

The person he had needed most in that world in the moment. The cave had been right.

Alexander smirked and looked back at him. "Good luck Dominik. Remember, you're not alone in this fight, you not only have Cirilla at your side and your friends… but someone else now."

Dominik's eyes widened. "You… you mean Bella?"

"Of course I do!" Alexander smirked one last time, narrowing and meeting Dominik's eyes. "Do not make the same mistake that Connor and Lara made my boy. And remember… to trust in the ones you love, trust their instincts and judgement. A time soon will come when you're face with two choices."

"Choices!?" He said, shouting as the mist became thicker.

Alexander nodded. "When they come, remember… trust in the ones you love, trust their judgement and support them…. You will get that life you deserve my boy. You only must push a little bit more."

That life he deserved. That life with Ciri, all he ever wanted.

He quickly nodded. "Thank you again… I… I'm going to miss you…"

A laugh left his ancestor. "Oho don't worry my boy! We'll see each other again one day. And I look forward to that day… we are family after all!"

Dominik just had time to smile before Alexander pushed open the door, and when he did the black smoke took over his vision.

But he didn't care because he was going to see Ciri again.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"GAHHH SHIT!" Ciri said, screaming as for a few moment she felt like she was falling. As soon as she hit the ground, pain coursed through her, but she ignored it and shot up, rapidly trying to take in her surroundings. "Grandmother!? Grandmother, where-."

A loud gush wave of running water hit her ears, cutting her off before her nose was attacked by the scent of fresh air. Initially she coughed, seeing the black smoke dissipate around her. After coughing and smacking it away, she looked, and her eyes widened when she saw the source of the noise.

"A… A waterfall? How… what," She said, trailing off as she looked at the top of the cave.

The light from the sunset pierced through the top of the cave. A large, wide-open ceiling, where water came crashing down into an abyss. Ciri groaned as she got up to her feet feeling the pain flare up in her torso. She grabbed the hole in her corset, and slowly walked towards an edge she saw.

"Good god…" She said, looking down into the abyss.

A small bridge of land stretched out with the waterfall crashing onto it. The center was drenched with water, as the column spirted the liquid out onto the other sides into the blackness below. Ciri could hear the rushing of a river below where the water fell, but she was too busy to search further, as she basked in the glow of the sunlight peering in from above, all while her grandmother's words rang in her head.

Write your own story.

She would, for her, for her mother, for Gregory, for all the ones who had sacrificed themselves so that she could be there now.

The first thing she needed to do however was find Dominik and find the sword. Ciri was elated to be able to see her grandmother, but she would have been pissed if she survived the three challenges, experienced all those horrible things over again just to not find what they had actually come for.

"Okay.., find Dominik, find the sword," She said to herself, looking out beyond the waterfall and smiling when she saw the light. "Well, at least we have an exit residue trail leads there."

Beyond the crashing waves of the waterfall over the bridge, was a portal. It was swirling white, and by focusing she was able to tell where it led. They had their way out, now she just needed to find what she had been looking for.

"I hope he's alright," She said, biting her lip, and wincing from the fatigue again. The sunlight hit her face from above, and she shakily sighed. "Well… at least I can see the fucking-."

"CIRI! CIRI!?"

She whirled around, her heart beating out of her chest. All thoughts of the sword, of the sunlight, of everything that had happened left her. Rushing away from the waterfall, she saw that the room really did have no other exits outside of the portal, but it was extremely beautiful. Some lush green grew along the walls, flowers even jutted out. Down near the base of the bridge, she looked desperately trying to find where his voice had come from.

After everything she saw, Bonhart, Mistle, Emhyr, having to relive everything that had happened, she needed him, she wanted him, she just wanted him to hold her. She had so much pain coursing through body, so much fatigue, both physically and mentally. Her brain was still aching from the constant headache, and her clothes were still marred with blood, her hair surely looked a mess. A small part of her wanted to try and fix her appearance.

But how bad she looked was nothing compared to how bad Dominik looked, as he stumbled to his knees, scrambling to get up once he saw her.

"Dominik!" She said, rushing down the bridge, right up to him as he fell again. Ciri caught him, and he felt like a sack of flour as they both fell to their knees. "Gods… gods Dominik what happened to you!?"

"Ciri… Ciri… gods… gods you're alright," He said, his voice coarse and rough, as he coughed and Ciri saw the blood.

Blood was everywhere. Like they were back on the Isle of Mists they had both fallen to their knees. Dominik's breathing quickened as he looked at her. Ciri grabbed his hands, blood covered them both, it covered his cheeks, his armor. His face, his scar was covered by soot and ash, his shoulder was bleeding along with his nose being clearly broken. It stuck to the right at an odd angle, and Ciri looked aghast at how pale he was. Shakily she sighed, and pulled his head into her shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing with as much as she could muster in her own weakened state.

"Gods of course I'm alright. Dominik…" She said, sobbing as she felt him weak in her arms, she pulled back and cupped his face. "You're bleeding and… and gods your pale."

Despite her frantic worries, despite her tears, he could only look at her. He pulled back, and simply looked at her with his mouth agape. Tears welled up in his eyes as well, Ciri could hardly remember a time when she had ever seen him look so distraught. He didn't answer her question, which only made her worry more. She could see the look plastered on his face, a look of regret, dread, like he was remembering something horrific.

She was about to say something when he finally moved. His hands gently trailed up her waist, and like they normally did they sent tingles into her stomach. She wanted his hands on her, wanted him to hold her, for them both to leave that cave. However, he stopped when he reached her corset, and finally his eyes left hers and looked down at the blood coming from her wound.

"You… you're bleeding," He said shakily, his one hand clamping over her wound. His other trailed up behind her neck as he looked at her. "Ciri…."

"I'm bleeding yes but I'm fine, gods Dominik you're bleeding too," She said frantically again, cupping his face as she looked at him. "You… you're pale, and… and gods look at your nose, it's broken. What… what did you see what did this?"

He didn't say anything again. At the mention of whatever challenge it was he had to face, he sobbed. Never in her life, for as long as she'd known him saw him start to cry so suddenly, and so fiercely. Tears welled up and fell in streams down his dirty cheeks. She nearly jumped from him suddenly pulling her as close as he could to him. His one arm wrapped completely around her waist, while the other went up into her hair, running his fingers through her dirty ashen locks as he pulled her too him.

"D…Dominik what… what's wrong gods," She said, as right away she wrapped her arms back around his neck.

He completely sobbed into her neck. Ciri felt his tears rushing down her shoulder as with each sob he squeezed her again. She had never seen him in such a state, not even after they had discovered about Bella, not the day after he was almost killed in Novigrad. Never in Ciri's life had she seen him cry like this, and with every sob she felt her own heart fracturing more and more. There was so much pain, so much regret and sorrow in his sobs, tears started coming down Ciri's face herself.

She knew that the challenges had to be horrible for him as they were for her, but never did she imagine they'd make him like this. He was the strongest person she knew, one who she often looked too for strength herself.

But then, as he sobbed in her arms he was more vulnerable then she had ever seen him. And Ciri didn't know what to do other than to hold him. He sobbed, sobbed and sobbed into her neck. He was breaking in front of her, and all she could do was hold him back, hold her one arm around his neck while her other gently combed her fingers through his brown locks.

"I'm sorry…. I'm sorry Ciri gods… gods I'm sorry…" He said between his sobs, each word making him cry more and squeeze harder.

She brought her lips near his ear, planting a firm kiss on the side of his head as he didn't remove his sobbing face from her neck. She leaned her lips to his ears and gently spoke.

"It's alright, gods Dominik whatever it is it's alright," She said quickly, trying to be as gentle as possible. Ciri kissed his wet cheek as firmly as she could. "What is it? Dominik what is it, I can't help you unless you tell me."

"I saw you… I saw you gods I saw you," He sobbed. "I wasn't there, gods I… I wasn't there and for that Ciri I'm so sorry… I love you… I love you so much and I wasn't there."

"Wasn't there for what, Dominik please, please stop crying," She said desperately, pulling his head from hers and gripping his face gently in her hands as she met his eyes. "Please… please relax. I'm here… I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. Tell me… tell me what happened."

He shook his head, tears still falling down his cheeks. "I… I saw you… gods Ciri I… I saw you. It… It showed me what happened in Tir'Nala, and… and with… with her. Gods I… I couldn't close my eyes, it… it made me watch, watch while… while you…"

He couldn't finish, and Ciri's blood momentarily ran cold.

She knew what had him so rattled now. He had to watch her be raped, watch her with Auberon. Remembering the events herself shook her for a moment, but they were chased from her mind when he hugged her tight again.

"I wasn't there… I knew… I knew something bad would happen if you went to Aretuza. I had dreams, I knew, and I didn't do anything. I… I should have done something," He said, sobbing with each word. "I should have convinced Geralt to let me go… I should have been there for you… for you like I promised. I promised I'd protect you, so many people I'd protect you and… and I just let-."

She cut him off by kissing him. She pulled his head away from her shoulder, and pressed her lips onto his, with more passion then she had ever mustered. He shut up right away and melted into her. Ciri kept her hands cupped to the side of his face, not even thinking once about coming up for breath. All she knew was that he was hurting, that she didn't want him to feel any more pain from this. What happened to her in the visions he saw, would live with her for the rest of her life.

But she had conquered it, and she was going to make sure he could as well.

She moved her lips with him, and his hands explored every little nape of her back. Sharp, pleasurable tingles ran up her spine, as he used one hand to pull her as humanely close as possible to him. His other hand traveled up her back to her hair, as he grabbed gently held the back of her head and pressed her lips harder to him. Ciri didn't stop until she quite literally couldn't breathe. With her heart, racing out of her chest, breathing heavily she gently pulled away from him.

After she did, he kissed her again, and she kissed him back. One more kissed turned to two, to three, four and five. This carried on between sobs for several minutes. His lips tasted like a mix of blood and dirt, but Ciri could still taste the sweetness to them, and she couldn't get enough. Finally they both needed to breath, their rapid heartbeats and breathing needed to be settled. She gave him one last long, lingering kiss, before slowly pulling back and leaning her forehead against his, tears still falling from both their faces.

She wanted to make him smile, to see that smile on his face again, the smile she loved. A small one tugged at the corners of her own lips, as she looked into his wet emerald eyes with hers.

"I… I saw… I saw my grandmother," She said, sobbing herself, as Calanthe's face vividly appeared in her mind while she held onto his neck. "After the challenges…. We… we were in the throne room. I… I saw Cintra… and… and then I saw her she… she was real."

His watery eyes looked deep into hers. "And… and you're alright? She… she helped you?"

Ciri nodded, tears streaming down her cheek as she remembered her grandmother's words. She looked deep into Dominik's eyes, and could still see that goofy boy she met in those halls, that her grandmother had adored. The one who would make silly faces at her during ceremonies to get them both in trouble.

The boy she had fallen in love with.

The boy that apparently, would have been the King of Cintra alongside her.

She gently stroked her thumb across his cheek and nodded. "She… she did, gave me some advice and… and she wanted me to tell you… tell you that… that she's so, so proud of the man that you've grown up to be…. And she said… said thank you… thank you for keeping your promise to her… to protect me… protect me with everything you had."

She saw his lips turn up, and that single motion of seeing his lips curl up in the slightest was enough to make her heart flutter. He sobbed again, but scoffed a laugh at the same time, gripping onto her and quickly nodding, as he was losing the battle to fight back his smile.

He leaned and kissed her again. "I won't let them have you… I won't let them…. I promise, I promise. I… I am going to give you that life you deserve…"

"And I'm not going anywhere, I swear it," She sobbed. A smile came to her face as well as she wrapped her hands on the back of his neck. "I won't leave you… not again, I won't leave you I swear it."

The next kiss was sweeter, more delicate, and it sent the most amazing tingles down Ciri's stomach. The sounds of the waterfall gushing over the bridge behind them hit her ears, the sun beat down on them both, and even with his currently crooked nose Ciri had never found someone more beautiful.

"You're so beautiful," He said suddenly, smiling as she looked back at him.

She scoffed a sobbing laugh. "And so are you… who… who did you see?"

Gently Ciri wiped the tears from his cheeks as he smiled again, that beautiful smile she loved was finally back.

He met her eyes and she melted. "Alexander says hello… it… it was hilarious he… he didn't look like an old man like the last time I saw him."

Ciri's eyes widened at the revelation as she played with his brown locks. She knew that Dominik had been desperate for any guidance regarding his powers.

"And what did he say? And… and what about the other challenges-," She started, but he cut her off by shaking his head.

"Ciri I… I don't wanna talk about them now," He said as she could hear the ache in his voice. He kept that smile and held her as he spoke. "He… he told me a few things, helped me better understand my powers. I… I think I'm ready now… we're going to get Bella back… and I won't let them get their hands on you."

He spoke with such certainty and assurance that Ciri couldn't help but smile. The two of them could discuss the challenges later. For now, she just wanted to be there with him, to revel in the fact they had both survived, and they were both going to be living into the night.

And most importantly, what she had been relishing ever since it happened, most importantly they were together.

She saw him about to say something else but cut him off with a quick kiss. Her lips hit his, and when she pulled back, she saw the all too familiar sight of his red cheeks. That goofy smile she loved was plastered to him, and Ciri couldn't resist the giggle that came to her.

"Has the storm passed?" She said, her hand gently caressing the right side of his face.

He let out one last shaky sigh but smiled as he nodded. "Yeah… you always did know how to calm me down didn't you?"

"It's just one of my many natural talents," She said, gently wiping the last of his tears from his cheeks.

"And there are a lot of them," He said with a small, cheeky smile. "Think one of them will be getting us out of the verbal lashing Yen's going to give us when we get out?"

Ciri scoffed, her hand right near his cheek, determined to do one last thing before she left.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll be able to talk out way out of it," She said. Ciri quickly shot her head to the other side of the cave, her eyes widened. "Did you hear that!?"

He looked at her confused for a second, before turning to where she looked. "Umm no, I didn't hear anything, what are you-."

CRACK.

"FUCK!" He said, falling onto his back grabbing his now completely straight nose.

Ciri smiled triumphantly as she got to her feet, walking over to Dominik who was writhing as he held his now not broken nose.

He met her eyes and scoffed. "What the hell!?"

"You're welcome," She said, crossing her arms as she was barely able to control her laughter.

"For fuck's sake you could have counted to three or something," He moaned, as he sat up.

Ciri rolled her eyes. "If I had counted down you would have been a baby and whined about it."

"I'm whining about it now!"

"Yes, just considerably less than you would have," She said, reaching down her hand. "Now come on, we need to-. Dominik… what is it?"

"Ciri… look," He said, his eyes fixated on a large boulder on the edge of the abyss.

"Dominik what-." She started, but she didn't have a chance to finish.

Dominik shot up on his own, new energy seeming to flow through him. With the light that was coming down from the ceiling into that cave, Ciri was surprised she hadn't seen anything. Quickly she followed him over to the massive boulder resting on the edge of the abyss that fell into the river below. Dominik slid to his knees, digging his hands through the dirt, as he tossed aside what Ciri saw ended up being an old leg bone. She was about to ask him what in the world he was doing, but her breath caught in her throat when she finally saw what he had seen.

A shimmer of light in the sun. The shimmer of steel. Her cat medallion lightly hummed at her waist, and Ciri darted onto the ground next to him.

He huffed and puffed as he finally dragged the bones of what was almost a whole skeleton and tossed them aside. Once what they were looking for was finally clear, he looked at her, and on both their faces a large smile formed.

"Is… is that-." She started, but barely able to contain his excitement he nodded.

"It is… I'd recognize the pommel anywhere," He said, reaching forward with a scoff. "No idea how the guy made it down here… but this is it."

A skeleton was laid out against the boulder, and Ciri saw what it was clutching. Her smile couldn't be contained, as she recognized the blue magical runes, the steel that still shimmered, and most of all, the lion's head carved into the white pommel.

Coram. The sword. Dominik's family's sword. The whole reason they had come, their key to saving Bella.

Ciri scoffed as Dominik yanked the blade from the skeleton's dead hands.

"Gods you're right. How the hell did he get here," Ciri said, as they both got to their feet. She watched Dominik and shook her head. "He got passed the challenges and somehow got into this part of the cave."

Dominik examined the blade like it was a holy object. She didn't press him, seeing how big a moment it was for him. She knew the sword had meant a lot to him for more reasons than just because it would help them get Bella back. She could remember going to Dominik's house, sneaking there and seeing the sword on the mantle. Dominik's grandfather Sir Ryland had carried it, and every household guard before him. It was traditionally passed to the next guard captain, which was always their son or daughter in the case of Dominik's family. The tradition went on for hundreds of years, however Sir Ryland broke that tradition.

Gregory Dominik's father still became guard captain, general of the armies and the Queen's right-hand man yes… but Sir Rylan had left the sword to his protégé, Dominik's mother Sofia. Gregory she remembered, told her he was angry initially at first, however he eventually fell in love with Sofia, and respected his father's wishes.

Dominik had been set to inherit it before the sacking of Cintra, and now Ciri watched as he gently ran his hands along the runes.

The sword was truly one of the most beautiful Ciri had ever seen. It was a bit shorter than their witchers blades. The crossguard went straight out and curved up at a ninety-degree angle while it was painted black. The hilt was wrapped in tight brown leather, while the lion pommel was white. The true majesty lay in the blade, however.

Coram was a dwarven sihil. They were forged in Mahakam by dwarves and imbued with magic runes to enchant it. The runes kept the blade razor sharp, and Ciri saw that it was no lie. Dominik even ran his hand along the steel and yanked it back when he cut himself on the edge. Even two years in a dank cave couldn't dull the edge. The most beautiful part for Ciri always, was the dark blue magic runes that lit up now and then along the wide steel.

The rumors were that a sihil could cut through almost anything. Seeing the blade then, Ciri was inclined to believe it was true. Any knight, any warrior would have been lucky to carry such a weapon.

And it was their key to Bella.

Dominik scoffed as he looked back at her with a smile, "Don't know how he got here… but I'm not gonna complain. We got it… Ciri we actually did it!"

She chuckled at his enthusiasm. She watched as he took a step back and gripped the blade in his right hand. He took a few effortless swings, the blade whizzed through the wind, and Ciri couldn't stop smiling at the elated look on his face.

Smiling still, she came up next to him after he had finished. He held the blade out in both his hands again, smiling and shaking his head in disbelief.

"I'll get her back… I promise," He said, smiling as he didn't take his eyes off the blade. "I'll give this back to her… it'll be where it belongs… and she'll remember."

Ciri looked at him curiously. "Yes… you told me you wanted to get it to her. What do you plan to do? Are you going to keep it until we see her again?"

He shook his head and looked at her. "No… that'll be too late, we probably won't see her again until the battle… I need her to see it before then."

She remembered him mentioning this before, but simply ignored him because she saw no way it was possible. Now, she saw the look of confidence he had, and her curiosity peaked.

"Okay… but how do you plan on getting it to her?" She asked, as the sun sparkled off the sword's silver. "Are you going to walk up to Eredin's ship and drop it off? Going to send it in a package?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "No, I'm not."

She scoffed. "Well Dominik you can't simply give it to her before the battle, what do you plan on doing with it?"

Sighing he met her eyes. "You're going to think I'm crazy."

"I won't I swear, try me. What's your plan?"

He bit his lip again and looked up into the sky through the ceiling. "Well… I can't get it to her myself… but I think I knew someone who can."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Ciri had lied to him, she had thought he was crazy, and she didn't hesitate to tell Geralt and Yen after the verbal lashing they both had given the two of them.

"Dominik, darling you know I'd never insult your intelligence," Yennefer said as they all walked behind him. "But this plan is quite frankly, ridiculous, idiotic."

"She's right Dom," Geralt pipped up next. "I always try to support your decisions, but like Yen said… this is fucking ridiculous."

"He's right," Ciri said worriedly, rushing up next to him. "Dominik you know I love you, and I've even supported your plans in the past when I've known they were stupid-."

"What!? Like when!?" He said incredulously as they all came to a stop on the beach.

Ciri rolled her eyes. "A lot more than you'd think, but my point being, this is stupid and reckless."

His annoyance rose for a minute, but when he looked down at the sword in his hand he saw Bella. He saw Bella admiring it with him in their living room. She'd cuddle up into him when they were younger, he'd cuddle up into their mother and for hours she'd regale them with stories of the sword. It was a symbol of their family.

A symbol of who they were, where they came from, and Bella knew it. Even when she had lost her memory and lived in Skellige, she knew the sword was connected to her past, and couldn't let it go.

His plan as his family so lovingly put it, was extremely stupid, and could very well get them killed.

However, he couldn't not go through with it.

The sun had gone down, and after the portal in the cave's final chamber transported them back to the entrance to the cave they were lucky enough to still have some light out. Geralt and Yen like they assumed had been frantically looking for them back at the village. Yen had plenty of stern words for them, but after some coaxing, and a huge that felt like it almost popped Dominik's bones apart she had calmed down. They had both told small bits about what they had faced in the cave to them both, but Dominik still wasn't ready to talk about it all.

If he blinked, he swore he could still see Ciri with Mistle, stuck in Tir'Nala, or hear Eredin's demonic cackle from his last challenge. All Ciri had said was that her final challenge was Emhyr, and it only reinforced how much Dominik wanted to kill him. However, he decided to focus on the good that came out of their journey to the Cave of Life. Mainly him getting to speak to Alexander. Leila of Tir'Nala was alive, and one day he'd go to find her.

But more importantly, he knew how he could control his powers now. He didn't know if he would be able to do it right away, but he knew. And even more importantly, he knew exactly what Eredin had done to Bella. He trained her to use her powers the wrong way. Him and Caranthir had manipulated her, brainwashed her, showed her the wrong ways to effectively use her powers to where it would eventually kill her.

Thanks to Alexander, he now knew how to match her, and if his plan worked then he would be one step closer to getting her back.

He turned back to Geralt, Yen and Ciri. "Well, do you three geniuses have any better ideas!?"
"YES!" All three of them said at once.

He faltered for a second at how they somehow managed to speak all at once, but quickly shook his head in response.

"But I bet none of them would be as quick as this one," He said, the cold air sweeping across his hair as he looked at them. "Look… I know this may seem crazy, but please… the three of you have to trust me. This will work, I know it will… please."

He had picked a beach as the spot, it was plenty large enough and there wasn't another person for miles. His hand gripped around the hilt of Coram, his family's sword which he wouldn't have for much longer. It belonged to Bella; he knew that deep in his heart. The sword was her birthright as much as it was his, and destiny had chosen to have it end up with her in Skellige.

The sword had chosen her in a way, and now he was going to get it back to her.

All three of them seemed to falter. Geralt and Yen looked nervous still, but just as always Ciri was the first to have his back. She sighed with a roll of her eyes but looked at him and her smile quickly returned.

"Alright… I trust you," She said, coming up next to him and gently holding onto his arm. Ciri smiled up at him, meeting his eyes and nodded. "Sorry I jumped all over you it's just…."

"Yes, yes I know," He said with a sigh. "This is probably really stupid…"

"Stupid yes… but over the last few weeks I've learned that you've grown pretty intuitive," Geralt said, a smile forming on his withered face. "If you think you can pull this off, then I won't stop you."

Yennefer looked at them all like they were crazy. His mother however saw the look in his eyes. Her violet gaze shifted up to the sword in his hand, and eventually she sighed coming up next to him as well.

"I'll be on standby to open a portal," She said, looking at all three of them. "If this goes south and we have to leave, be ready alright?"

"Thanks Yen…" He said, the smile creeping back to his lips.

The sorceress sighed and held a hand to his face. "This is a great thing you're doing… now go on."

He nodded, and felt lips hit his cheek. Smiling, he turned at Ciri who winked at him as she pulled away from his cheek. Geralt smiled at him, and with the three of them around him, Dominik felt at that moment he could do anything. Sighing he nodded back at them, gently handing Ciri the sword. She gently took it from him, and Dominik turned around, walking towards the edge of the water. The sea lapped up over the rocky shore, as he quickly scanned the large stretch of beach that he had led them too.

After a moment he did a double take, realizing he recognized it.

It was the exact beach that Bella had teleported too after Cintra. She had been here; his sister had been there. The whole idea of her being alive, was still something that he couldn't wrap his head around. His little sister, Bella, she was alive.

And now she was in danger. He wouldn't let her down again, not like he did back in Cintra.

He had the spell from Alexander's journal ready, he had been studying it for days. He also knew exactly which memory he was going to choose to send to her. It wasn't going to be the memory of what really happened that night at Cintra. If she saw that, she would simply say that it was fake, that it couldn't be true. Besides, he remembered her saying that her dreams had been conflicting with what Eredin and Caranthir had showed her. So, he assumed that she had seen glimpses of what happened in Cintra, what really happened that night.

No, he had picked that day that Bella finally called Ciri 'Big Sister'. He would never forget it, the memory lived vividly on in his mind to that day. His father had been stuck in meetings with Queen Calanthe that day, leaving he and Ciri with Anton for the day. That had been the reason he needed to speak to Anton at Kaer Trolde.

It was the first few days of spring, and Anton had taken the three of them, himself, Ciri and Bella out to the lake. Snow still covered the ground in small piles, and the three of them had all bombarded Anton and the other guards that had come with a snowball barrage. It was truly one of the best days he could remember. Anton and the guards followed them through the woods, while Dominik, Ciri and Bella hid to ambush them when they could. He would never forget them all hiding behind a small cliff in a pile of snow. Bella had laughed more that day then he ever saw. That adorable smile his sister got was something he'd never forget. She hugged them both, and that was when apparently she and Ciri sprung the secret plan of ambushing him two against one.

After getting thoroughly trounced and covered in snow, Dominik had scoffed pretending to be angry at the betrayal. Ciri laughed while Bella had smirked.

"Ha! Well Ciri's my big sister, and she's better with snowballs, so I joined her side." Bella said, a winning smirk on her face.

Ciri froze, dropping the snowball, unable to keep the smile off her face. "B… Bella you… you really mean that?"

Bella laughed. "Ha of course I do! Like Dominik's my big brother, you're basically my big sister. And when the two of you eventually get married, you'll be my big sister for real!"

Ciri and he had both blushed beat red at the comment, only making Bella laugh more. Bella had run off to throw snow at the guards and Anton who had finally found them. Meanwhile, Ciri had hugged him as tightly as her young arms could muster. Dominik could see how much it meant to her, having Bella call her that. It had been one of the best days of her young life, and one of his.

Because it meant that they were all a family. And now, they were going to get her back. The memory was ready, the spell was ready, and now all he needed was to get her the sword.

Dominik himself couldn't walk onto the Nagalfar, however there was someone who can. Someone who was Bella's only other link to her past.

Shakily sighing he could practically hear Ciri, Geralt and Yens shift behind him. He waded to about ankle deep into the water, unsure why but decided to use the spell as far away from everyone as possible. He wasn't sure how he would do it, how to make the magic activate, but he knew the words to the spell, they had been burned into his brain since the Battle of Kaer Morhen, and since his first visit with Alexander.

Now it was just a matter of activating his powers and achieving control.

True control comes from controlling your mind, from memories of love, happiness, goodness, it lets you see clearer, let's you achieve that control.

Memories of love, happiness, and goodness. Alexander's words echoed through his mind. The answer that had been so simple, yet he still hadn't figured it out. He still felt his knees wobbling from the cave, but he ignored it, only looking back to the three standing behind them.

Ciri was a vision in the sunset light, even in her beaten state her eyes sparkled, her smile ever present. Yen and Geralt both looked at him with confident smiles, even if within Yen's eyes he could see them shifting anxiously. A smile crossed Dominik's face.

They were all he needed for memories like that.

They had been his second family. He would never forget the days they spent in Ellander. Every morning he'd wake up to Ciri, eagerly bursting into his room, before they went to train with Geralt, hunt, fish, swim, spend time together. Even with Ciri training to try and control her powers with Yen, it felt as if they were a real, normal family for that year. It had been some of the happiest moments of his life.

And then came the darker years, his years alone. At times, he thought that he would never see any of them again. There had been so many points he wanted to give up, wander into a monster den unprepared, join the army and fight Nilfgaard, throwing himself into the battle until he died. So many times he considered ending it himself. He had nobody anymore, not until that day at Claywitch.

Now they were back. Ciri was back, he could hold her, kiss her, actually have that life he wanted with her. They even had Fiona waiting for them now, a child surprise, the idea of he and Ciri raising and training her still made him giddy to that moment. Geralt and Yen, a set of parents that he had been lucky enough to find after his were killed. Not many people were so lucky to get another chance like that.

He smiled, as he turned back towards the churning Skellige waters out in front of him.

"Okay… please don't eat me, please don't eat me, please don't eat me," He said, slowly raising his hands, just like he had seen Bella do at Kaer Morhen, just like he had seen Alexander do at Castle Lod while fighting against the Hunt… with only one ally.

He kept his hands in the air and thought about all the times that he would get to spend in the future with his family. With Geralt, with Yennefer, his friends, with Ciri and Fiona.

And soon, with Bella as well.

His eyes shot open, and they were incased in a bright blue light. Magic shot to his palms, as all he thought about was getting the sword to Bella, to getting Bella back.

"AE CALLAN AEN TAEDH FLUAE TE ZVAERE! CAEMM AEP MAE A OBYE DEIN MAE," He shouted. Magic whirled around him for a moment, shooting from his palms towards the sky as he went on with the incantation. "CAEMM AEP MAE…. KILGARRAH!"

A loud *RIIIIIIIIP* shot through the air, as right away after the spell finished he stumbled backwards onto the sand. His legs finally gave out from under him, but thankfully Geralt was able to run up behind him and catch him. He felt his head go faint, groaning he gripped his head and blinked trying to clear his vision. All that he could see was specks of blue light fluttering around him.

"Dominik! Dom are you alright," Ciri said frantically. When Dominik didn't answer, she slapped him across the face.

He recoiled, but finally saw straight. "OW! What the hell was that for?"

She breathed a sigh of relief in front of him and shook her head. "You weren't responding, it looked like you were going to pass out."

Yen came up next to him as well, fussing over him. His mother took over for Ciri in front of him, grabbing his face and looking deep into his eyes. She examined him and sighed.

"Between your trip to the cave and the spell now, you're drained darling," She said worriedly, steadying him as she looked into his eyes. "You must rest, no more magic or fighting for the rest of the day."

Dominik scoffed. "Yes mother…. Did… did the spell at least work?"

Ciri looked up in the sky, Coram still in her hands. "At Kaer Morhen a portal opened right away…"

"Yes… and I can feel a great deal of magical energy, but there's no portal in the air," Yen said, turning back to face him. "Are you certain you said the correct words?"

Dominik nodded, his head still buzzing. The last thing he needed, was for the plan not to work because he had forgotten the words to summon Kilgarrah.

Bella had mentioned how she spoke to Kilgarrah often. And if he couldn't get onto the ship himself, then it was his hope that the dragon could.

If Alexander was correct, then Kilgarrah wouldn't harm him or anyone with him. He could only hope the old man didn't go senile in the journal.

He nodded again and sighed, looking at Yen and Ciri both. "I'm pretty sure yeah, been having nightmares about it for weeks… if we did all this to-."

"Heads up…" Geralt's gruff voice said, as the older witcher slid steel from his back. "Looks like we got company…"

Dominik whirled around, his hand instinctively going to his blade as well. Next to him, Yen and Ciri did the same, the three of them all rushing up next to Geralt. The sun was finally going down, the last bit of sunset was casting its rays out over the beach they were on. He quickly saw what Geralt was talking about. From the brush, above the dunes of the beach, Dominik didn't see a massive white dragon.

Only one man.

And when he locked eyes with Dominik, he stepped in front of his family.

"No… put your weapons away…" He said slowly, sliding his silver back onto his back.

Geralt looked down at him. "You mean to say…."

"Kilgarrah…" Dominik said slowly, as the dragon in human forms gaze followed him as he approached through the dunes.

Ciri took an anxious step next to him. "I didn't know he could appear as human."

"Most dragons have the ability of polymorphy," Yen said from next to Geralt. "And it seems… Kilgarrah takes his appearance to heart."

Kilgarrah's hair, was snow white. It fell in long curls down his shoulders, over a roughly stitched together padded white gambeson. A scarf was strapped around the gambeson's neck, while he wore tight trousers, with brown hunting boots and gloves. He appeared to be no older then forty he was rough and worn, three long marks cut down across his face. His nose was crooked, but somehow with a neatly trimmed white beard, Kilgarrah maintained a rugged handsomeness. At his waist was nothing but a sheathed dagger, but the air of power around the man as he stopped in front of them pierced into Dominik's very soul.

He stood only meters away from a dragon, the same one that had fought the Wild Hunt with Alexander so many years ago. As Kilgarrah came to a stop, Dominik could practically feel ice radiating from him. A cold chill ran through him as he stood in front of his family. Ciri quickly came to his side with the sword in her hands, gripping onto his arm and nodding up at him. He looked back across and finally gaze right into Kilgarrah's eyes, only a meter away from him.

Amber gold iris's, that held centuries of strength and wisdom inside of them.

For a moment, all he could do was stare at the dragon, but a squeeze from Ciri made him find his voice.

He let out a long breath and nodded. "Ceadmil… Kilgarrah. My name is-."

"I know your name boy…" Kilgarrah said, his voice deep and rough, like a true dragon. He nodded at Dominik and looked between not just he and Ciri but Geralt and Yen as well, before turning his gaze back to him. "Ceadmil… Dominik of Cintra."

The dragon looked over to Yennefer and Geralt next. "Daerienn…. Gwynbleidd."

Next he turned and looked down at Ciri. "And you… luned y Lara… daughter of gull…. You look just like her you know… and you boy."

Kilgarrah turned his piercing gaze to Dominik. "You don't look like Alexander…"

"So I've heard…. My sister doesn't look much like him either," Dominik said carefully.

Kilgarrah nodded. "Aye… neither of you do… except for the eyes. I see him in them… I see him in you both."

Ciri looked up at him, tensing as she grabbed his arm. Behind him, he could see Geralt shifting anxiously as well next to Yen, who hadn't let go of him.

Dominik bit his lip, turning back to the dragon. "You aren't bound by oath anymore…. Alexander, he showed me your fight against Eredin… his death… he released you."

A tense silence passed before Kilgarrah nodded. "This is true…. Alexander was the greatest man I've ever known. Myself, and my child survived because of him. He was noble, good… and I owed him my life."

"But you choose to follow his descendant's commands," Dominik said. "You came when I summoned you, you've listened to Bella's commands…"

At the mention of Bella Kilgarrah's head sharply turned to him. "I followed her orders… to save her boy."

"But to do so, you had to destroy a village of innocent people," Ciri snapped from next to him, looking fiercely up at the dragon. "And you attacked Kaer Morhen, helped killed friends of mine, nearly killed more! You're not under a spell, you're acting of your own free will."

Dominik looked down at her wide eyed. "Ciri-."

"It is alright… her anger is understandable," Kilgarrah said, his deep voice calm and assured as he looked at Ciri, pointing to the scars on his face. "I regret what I did girl… and I paid the price. I knew not you were summoning Villentretenmerth."

"But you knew what she was doing was wrong," Ciri said again, shaking her head. "You know what will happen if the Hunt gets my blood, yet you still help them and-."

"I help Alexander's descendants' girl. I swore, that should any of them ever lose their way… that I would be there to remind them of the person they are," Kilgarrah said, his nostrils flaring as he looked at them both. "I may not be fond of humans… but I am no monster, I do not slaughter innocents."

"The graves at Lofeton would beg to differ…" Ciri said, and Dominik looked down at her again.

"Ciri now's not-," He started, but he was cut off by Kilgarrah holding out his hand.

The dragon looked back down at Ciri. "You may not believe me girl… but I regret every day what I have had to do… but my oath, my word is my bond. I swore to Alexander, that I would help his descendants… no matter what it did to my own conscious."

Ciri scoffed. "And how is slaughtering innocents helping Bella!?"

"Because… it helps her see what she has become," Kilgarrah said, and Ciri shrunk, looking at the dragon curiously.

Kilgarrah sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before shaking his head. "She speaks to me almost every day, summons me almost every day now. She used to see me as naught but a weapon, but now… now since the massacre, I have seen the change in her. It weighs on her mind; it fights at her conscious…. And I know that she regrets it."

Ciri floundered as she bit her lip and looked at Dominik. Dominik let out a shaky breath, hearing that his sister had regrets, that she was fighting, he had to be careful to contain himself. Alexander had been right. Kilgarrah did this, did what Bella said in order to help her see what she was doing was wrong.

Dominik looked and met the dragon's eyes. "How… how long have the fake memories been breaking? How long have her real ones been leaking through?"

"For a few months," The dragon responded, shaking his head. "She had dreams… of you, and you girl, but mostly… of her brother. She began to have them night after night… and began to question what Eredin showed her."

His eyes widened. "Then they must be wearing off… she's fighting off the influence."

"And she will lose… she has been fighting it for months and will lose if you do not do something boy," Kilgarrah said, for the first time his voice was anxious as he peered into Dominik's eyes. "I have tried every day to remind her who she is… but she is wrought with despair. She feels nothing but pain, rejection, bitterness and anger… a thirst for vengeance."

The small bit of excitement drained from him. "I… I tried once…. I picked the wrong words."

"You did yes…" Kilgarrah said, shaking his head. "I remember the night she returned… in tears, it only reaffirmed what she thought."

"Then… then there isn't any chance?" Ciri said shakily from next to him.

Kilgarrah looked directly down at him, shaking his head. "There is a chance… every day she fights off their influence. She has dreamed every night, dreams of the truth. I do what I can for her… but each day it is as if she fights a battle within herself."

Dominik heard the care and sincerity in the dragon's words. He slowly nodded, understanding the severity of the situation.

"Thank you… for doing what you can for her. You seem to care about her a great deal," He said, meeting the dragon's gaze.

Kilgarrah shook his head. "Do not thank me boy… the things I've had to do weigh heavy on me, and after this is over… I must and will repent. My first act of repentance however… will be seeing the two of you survive this fight… that I keep my oath. You are correct…I care about her a great deal. For months, I've watched the battle she's waged within herself, seen the torture and misery that she feels in the Hunt's ranks."

Ciri shakily sighed from next to him. "I… I don't understand. If the Hunt treats her so poorly… why does Bella stay?"

Kilgarrah met her eyes. "It is because she-."

"She believes it's what she deserves… where she belongs," Dominik said, his heart shattering into pieces as he met Kilgarrah's eyes. "I… I abandoned her, and… and she thinks that I'll do it again…"

His heart splintered further, as he saw his dream from the previous days. Bella waking up amongst the corpses at Cintra, no memory, scared, alone. He could hear her screaming at him, shouting how he had abandoned her, abandoned her for Ciri.

Ciri stilled his beating her by gripping onto his arm. "Dominik… we will do this, I promise."

"She is right boy," Kilgarrah said, turning his golden gaze to Dominik again. "Only you will be able to help the true person she is, win the battle that's raging within her. It is as I said… two people fight within your sisters' body now… and one will prevail. You boy… you will face her again… it is unavoidable."

Dominik bit his lip. "I know it isn't… I… I have to fight her… I have to make her remember. I won't give up on her… I won't."

"And I won't either," Ciri said, just as determined as him, holding the sword up to him. "I don't care what she tries to do to me… we'll do this. We'll help Bella win the battle… not Baelen."

Baelen. Dominik could remember when he first fought her in the woods outside Oxenfurt. Never in his life had he fought an opponent with so much power. It was as Kilgarrah described, and as Ciri said. Baelen was the one who hated them, the one who had almost killed him, fought him, summoned Kilgarrah to do all the horrible things she had done. Bella was a completely different person.

And now, his sister was fighting to regain control. Her and Baelen wrestled for control in one body. Just like Ciri, just like him, Bella had never stopped fighting. Bella was there, his sister was alive, she wasn't gone, he knew it.

"She slips through from time to time…" Kilgarrah said, bringing his attention back to the dragon, his white hair blowing in the wind. "Sometimes I'll see her… and she's crying, speaks of wishing she could spare the people she's killed, shows regret, longs for what she had. Her memories… her true memories are fighting the ones Caranthir and Eredin placed… but she can only fight them on her own for so much longer. I cannot help her how she needs to be helped… but you can boy."

Dominik gently took Coram from Ciri's hands. "I know you've had to do things you didn't want… things that… aren't who you are. And… and you did it all to try and help Bella… thank you for that."

"Do not thank me again boy…. I do not deserve it for what I have done," Kilgarrah said, sighing as he looked at the sword. "But… I will always do what I can… I owe Alexander that much…. You both remind me of him, in many more ways than just his eyes."

Dominik took one last longing look at the sword, before turning back to Kilgarrah. "I… know that you've done so much for me already, for Bella already… but I need you to do one more thing for me."

Kilgarrah eyed the sword. "Aye… I am bound by my oath boy… what is it you would have me do."

He sucked in a breath, looking at the runes, and running his hand along the lion pommel of the sword. Ciri gripped his arm, meeting his gaze with a smile, and he almost scoffed. He looked back at Geralt and Yen, smiling encouragingly at him.

They had all actually done it. At one point through the cave, he had wondered if it would be worth it.

But it was… because he was one step closer to getting his sister back.

He met Kilgarrah's eyes and held out the sword. "I want you… to give this sword back to my sister… where it belongs. Tell her… tell her I said… I said that I love her… and that I won't give up on her… no matter what."

A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, we have officially one last chapter before the final battle begins. From chapter 1 of this story I have been planning, writing, doing everything I can to bring you all an amazing witcher story. I wanted to bring you all the story of Dominik of Cintra and make it believable that in a different universe this actually could have happened. I wanted to give Ciri the true love that she deserves. And most importantly, I wanted to give us all more witcher content.

And now we're only 1 chapter away from the final battle, from the climactic conclusion to The Witcher: Through the Worlds. The story of the young wolf and the swallow, at least the main story is almost complete. They fought tooth and nail to reunite, and now they fight to live the life that they always wanted. The ending is going to be extremely dramatic, action packed, and we'll finally see the destinies of Dominik and Ciri both come full circle.

Next chapter will be a calming chapter, with plenty of romance and friendship, a final calm before the storm. Dominik and Ciri will spend some time with their friends, and we'll see the final, FINAL preparations for the final fight on Undvik.

Now THIS chapter however, brings us the end of the Cave of Life arc. Dominik and Ciri face their final challenges, their greatest fears. Ciri, being controlled and taken by her father, and Dominik… the fear of facing Eredin again after what happened at Kaer Morhen.

After that, we have some sweet reunions. Writing Ciri seeing her grandmother again was something that I've wanted to do from the very beginning. Queen Calanthe was originally going to appear to Dominik in his dreams after Kaer Morhen, but I deiced to switch it to her coming to Ciri now. She gives Ciri the kick in the ass she needs, along with reminded her to write her own story.

Dominik on the other hands, sees someone who he's needed since he saw him last. Alexander appears to him, and gives Dominik some interesting information. Eredin and Leila of Tir'Nala were supposed to be married, and now Eredin and Caranthir also have been grooming Bella to die after she's completed her purpose. Dominik's powers activate and are controlled by good, loving happy memories, to be in control of his powers he must learn to be in control of his mind…

And he does just that later, when he summons the dragon Kilgarrah. We learn more about Kilgarrah, and why he's done what he has… all to help Bella, to keep his oath to Alexander. Now, he'll be giving Bella back the sword, in hopes that it'll help her remember the person she truly is.

As usual everyone if you really like this story, and you want to see fanart for everyone in this story go and follow my Instagram! dominik_of_cintra is the Instagram, go and follow that for fanart, and writing updates! I get new fanart often so be sure to go follow for some amazing picture of Dominik Ciri and everyone between!

So now again as usual everyone thank you so so much for reading. We are almost finished and I cannot wait for you all to see what I have planned for the final battle! So please favorite and follow if you want to stay up to date, and please review if you have time! Thank you all again stay safe and I'll see you all next time!