The Witcher: Chimera Part 2, 2077

Chapter 4: Drowners, Krakens and The Memorial

…

The NCPD dispatcher rubbed her temples as the night shift dragged on, the quiet hum of monitors and the occasional radio chatter filling the room. That quiet was abruptly shattered as the emergency line buzzed, the frantic tone of the caller crackling through the speaker.

"911, state your emergency."

"This is, this is Wilson down at the docks! By the river!" The man's voice was a mixture of panic and exhaustion, barely coherent as he shouted into the receiver. "We've got, God, I don't even know what the hell these things are! We pulled some bodies outta the water, human, but not human! They're, they're fish! Humanoid fish or somethin'!"

The dispatcher straightened in her chair. "Sir, slow down. Are you saying you found bodies?"

"Yeah, but they ain't just bodies!" Wilson cut in, his voice trembling. "We got a bunch of 'em tangled in the nets, but they weren't dead! They were thrashin', snarlin', trying to bite through the damn nets!"

There was a sharp sound of static on the line, followed by muffled shouting and what sounded like an animalistic snarl. The dispatcher's blood ran cold as a voice in the background screamed, "One's loose! It's loose!"

"Jesus!" Wilson yelled, his voice distant but audible over the commotion. "It's ripping through the nets, GET IT BACK! DON'T LET IT REACH THE WORKERS!"

The line filled with a cacophony of guttural growls and panicked shouting. The dispatcher leaned closer to her console, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she pulled up the dock's location. Before she could speak, the unmistakable sound of gunshots rang out over the call, followed by the heavy clanging of metal crates and frantic screams.

"Wilson? What's happening?! Are you safe?!" the dispatcher asked, her voice rising.

More growls erupted on the other end, and Wilson shouted something incoherent before his voice came back in a panicked rush. "One of them's down! No, wait, shit! It's still movin'! PUT ANOTHER ONE IN ITS HEAD! JESUS, MAKE SURE THOSE THINGS ARE DEAD!"

The dispatcher's eyes darted to the officers around her, signaling them to listen in. "Officers are en route. Stay on the line with me. How many are there?"

"I-I don't know! Five, maybe six? There's more in the water!" Wilson's voice cracked. "Just hurry up! And bring that guy, the one on the news! The one with the swords and the cat eyes! Veylan! This is right up his alley!"

The dispatcher exchanged a tense look with the lieutenant standing nearby. "We'll send him if we can get in contact. Officers are on their way, stay safe, Wilson."

"I don't care what you do, just hurry!" Wilson shouted, and the call ended with another sharp burst of static, leaving the dispatcher to stare at the screen.

"Jesus Christ," one of the officers muttered, reaching for his radio. "We're really callin' him, huh?"

The dispatcher nodded, already pulling up Veylan's direct line through the NCPD's emergency contacts. "Yeah. If anyone can handle whatever the hell that was, it's him."

…

The faint glow of the rising sun seeped through the blinds of his apartment as Veylan adjusted the straps on his steel sword. His armor was lighter today, meant more for mobility than heavy protection. Shade, his onboard AI, buzzed softly through his earpiece.

"Reminder: breakfast was skipped again. This is the third time this week."

"Noted," Veylan muttered, securing the last of his gear. His thoughts drifted to the events of the past few days—the alghouls, the earth elemental, the monolith—and how much worse things could get. His instincts told him there was no end in sight.

The soft chime of his encrypted phone snapped him out of his reverie. He tapped the earpiece to answer.

"Veylan."

"This is the NCPD," a dispatcher's voice said, laced with urgency. "We've got a situation near the docks. Dockworkers pulled what they thought were bodies from the water, but they weren't dead. Some sort of… humanoid fish creatures. One of them broke loose, attacked workers, and now they're under armed guard. They're requesting your assistance."

Veylan frowned, his cat-like eyes narrowing. "Humanoid fish creatures?"

"That's right. Aggressive, resilient, and there's more of them in the water. One worker mentioned seeing eggs, too. Whatever this is, it's escalating."

Veylan leaned against the counter, processing the description. "Drowners," he said, his voice grim.

There was a pause on the other end. "Drowners? As in, the monsters from your world?"

"Exactly. If they've shown up here, you've got a serious problem. They're not just aggressive, they reproduce like fish. Fast and in overwhelming numbers. If their eggs aren't destroyed, they'll keep multiplying."

The dispatcher's tone tightened. "How bad are we talking?"

"Bad," Veylan replied. "If they reach open ocean, they'll spread everywhere. No riverbank, no coastline, no large body of water will be safe. They'll infest every waterway, attack anything that moves, and drag people down to feed their nests."

On the other end of the line, the dispatcher swore under her breath before relaying the information to someone nearby. A muffled voice responded, too faint for Veylan to make out.

"What do you recommend?" the dispatcher asked finally.

Veylan exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "First, secure the area. Any eggs you find need to be destroyed immediately, fire works best. Second, build structures to isolate the infected zones. Use nets, barriers, anything to stop them from reaching larger bodies of water. You'll need to contain the spread before it gets out of hand."

The dispatcher hesitated, then said, "Understood. I'll relay this to the officers and the dock workers. Can we count on you to handle the ones already there?"

"I'm on my way," Veylan said. He grabbed his medallion and strapped it around his neck, feeling its familiar weight. "Just make sure your people are prepared. And tell them, if they see something moving in the water, don't get close. These things will pull you under before you can scream."

The dispatcher gulped over the line. "Got it. Good luck, Veylan."

He ended the call and slung his gear over his shoulder, heading for the door. Shade's voice chimed in, his tone neutral but pointed.

"Statistical probability of spreading to open ocean: 46%. Recommendation: prioritize eradication of nests and egg clusters."

"Already working on it," Veylan muttered, mounting his bike. As the engine roared to life, he couldn't shake the weight of the problem. Drowners weren't just monsters, they were an infestation.

And if they weren't stopped here, they'd turn this world into a nightmare.

…

Veylan sped through the crowded streets of Night City, the sun glinting off the silver accents of his bike. Shade's voice echoed in his ear.

"Reports indicate twelve additional hostiles have surfaced at the docks. Reinforcements are engaged but struggling to contain the situation."

"Figures," Veylan muttered, leaning into a turn as the docks came into view. Smoke and gunfire filled the air, a sharp contrast to the lapping waves of the river.

He skidded to a stop, drawing the attention of several NCPD officers taking cover behind crates. V was crouched nearby, firing off rounds from his trusty pistol, the chaos of the scene reflected in his cybernetic optics.

"About time you showed up!" V shouted as a drowner lunged from the water, only to be gunned down midair. "These things just keep coming!"

"Hold them off!" Veylan called back, unsheathing his steel sword with a smooth motion. He surged forward, his medallion vibrating furiously against his chest as he closed in on the horde.

The riverbank was crawling with drowners, gaunt, gray and blue-skinned humanoid creatures with glowing eyes and webbed claws. Their guttural growls mixed with the panicked shouts of dockworkers and the sharp cracks of gunfire. A water-hag emerged from the water, her grotesque, sinewy frame dripping with sludge as she let out a piercing shriek.

"Keep the workers back!" Veylan shouted, planting his feet as the hag advanced. With a quick gesture, he unleashed Aard, a burst of freezing air slamming into the hag and encasing her in a jagged prison of ice. She let out a final screech before Veylan drove his sword into the frozen form, shattering her into a hundred shards.

"Damn," V muttered, briefly pausing to reload. "That's one way to handle it."

Veylan didn't respond, already pivoting to face the next wave. He threw up a Quen shield, deflecting a drowner's claws as it lunged at him. With a single, calculated strike, he severed its head and spun to impale another. Around him, NCPD officers were holding their ground, gunning down Drowners as they charged.

One officer shouted into his comms, "We've got at least twenty more here! They're everywhere! We need reinforcements now!"

Veylan glanced toward the water's edge. More shapes were surfacing, their glowing eyes cutting through the murky depths. "They're multiplying too fast," he growled, slashing another Drowner. "They've already started spreading inland."

V stepped beside him, firing two clean shots into the head of a Drowner attempting to flank them. "You're saying this is just the start?"

"Exactly," Veylan replied grimly. "If we don't destroy their nests and eggs now, they'll infest every river and waterfront."

The comms crackled with frantic voices.

"This is Unit Delta, reports of Drowner sightings near West Riverfront! We need backup!"

"This is Unit Echo, we've got more of those things coming up by the marina! Civilians are panicking!"

Veylan clenched his jaw, his glowing eyes scanning the river. "It's worse than I thought. They're already spreading downstream."

V cursed under his breath. "Alright, what's the plan?"

Veylan tightened his grip on his sword. "We split up. You and the NCPD focus on keeping civilians safe and clearing out any Drowners near populated areas. I'll track down the nests and destroy them."

"And the eggs?" V asked.

"They burn," Veylan replied. "Fire's the only way to stop them from hatching."

Another officer shouted, "Incoming!" as three more Drowners lunged from the water. Veylan moved like a blur, activating Igni with a sharp gesture. A wave of fire engulfed the creatures, reducing them to ash before they hit the ground.

V nodded, his expression set. "Alright, you go do your thing. We'll handle the rest."

"Good luck," Veylan said, sheathing his sword momentarily as he summoned his bike with a tap on his communicator. As Shade brought the engine to life, he glanced back at the chaos one last time. "You're going to need it."

V smirked faintly. "Right back at you."

As Veylan sped off toward the next hotspot, the NCPD scrambled to regroup, and V turned back to the remaining officers. "Alright, you heard the man! Let's make sure these things don't get any further!"

The battle at the docks was only the beginning, and Veylan knew it. If they didn't act quickly, Night City's waterways, and beyond, would be crawling with Drowners before the day was out

…

The city was on the brink of an infestation.

The sharp scent of gunpowder and burning flesh filled the air as V fired another shot into the skull of a charging drowner. The mutated, waterlogged corpse collapsed into the pavement, its unnatural screech cut short as another round of bullets tore through its chest. Behind him, a group of Valentinos were laying down covering fire, mowing down the clusters of drowners emerging from a half-flooded tunnel.

"This is fucking insane!" one of the gang members yelled, unloading his rifle into another wave of creatures. "They just keep coming!"

"Then don't stop shooting!" V snapped, ejecting his empty mag and slamming in a fresh one. He flicked open his comms. "Judy, talk to me! What are we looking at?"

Inside the hastily set up tactical headquarters, an abandoned NCPD warehouse, Judy and a collection of tech experts, fixers, and ex-corpo strategists were huddled around a massive digital map of Night City. Screens glowed with heat signatures, movement trackers, and incoming reports, all being updated in real-time.

Judy's fingers flew across her keyboard, compiling reports from multiple sources, NCPD officers on the ground, Arasaka drones, and gang spotters keeping watch on the streets and canals. When she finally cross-checked the reports, her breath hitched.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath. The moment she pulled up the full-scale heat map, the room went silent.

Her voice was tense as she relayed the update. "V, we've got 1400 confirmed drowners and water-hags in the city's waterways… and that's just from what we can see."

A ripple of stunned silence spread through the comms before someone cursed loudly.

"Mother of God," one of the Valentinos whispered, staring at the map.

Another fixer, a former Militech strategist, looked over the cluster reports with visible dread. "They're moving in packs. Thick clusters of them are swarming the sewer systems. If they reach the underground metro lines or the power grid-."

"Night City's fucked," Judy finished grimly.

V took a deep breath, shoving down the immediate weight of the numbers. They had no time to dwell on it. No time to hesitate.

"Alright, we deal with it one wave at a time," he said, reloading his gun. "Judy, send me the latest hotspots, anywhere we can bottleneck these bastards and take 'em out in bulk."

"On it," Judy responded, rapidly updating the tactical interface. She highlighted three key perimeters where the drowners were swarming toward densely populated areas.

Priority One: The flood canals near Watson, where a water-hag nest had been spotted spawning dozens of drowners every hour.
Priority Two: The industrial drainage system in Santo Domingo, if they got through there, they'd be in the main metro tunnels.
Priority Three: The coastline near Pacifica, where the Voodoo Boys had spotted hordes of them moving in groups, adapting their hunting strategies.

"This is a full-scale extermination op now," Judy continued, her voice sharp with urgency. "I'm sending every confirmed infected zone to your HUDs now. We need every available fighter on the ground."

V nodded, already moving. "Got it. Everyone, coordinate your attacks! I want crossfire teams at every choke point! Valentinos, hold the line at Watson, NCPD, push back the ones in Santo Domingo. Voodoo Boys, if you're still in Pacifica, cut off their path before they reach the ocean!"

The comms lit up with confirmations.

"Valentinos are in position!"

"Pacifica is locked down, we're moving in!"

"NCPD squads en route to industrial drains!"

V ducked behind cover as another pack of drowners surged from a half-submerged sewer tunnel nearby. The Valentinos near him cursed as the creatures skittered forward, their glowing eyes locked onto their next meal.

V activated his Sandevistan, his reflexes going razor-sharp as time slowed. He unloaded an entire clip into the closest three, their bodies bursting with thick, black ichor, before pivoting and lunging forward with his monowire, slicing the legs off the fourth.

His comms crackled with new intel.

"V!" an NCPD captain barked into the feed. "We're seeing mutations! Some of these drowners are bigger, faster than the others—some of them are even using the goddamn terrain like they know how we're coming!"

V's heart pounded. "You're telling me these fuckers are learning?"

"Looks that way!" the officer confirmed, the sound of gunfire rattling in the background. "We just lost a whole squad at the *East Marina—*we thought we had 'em cornered, but they set a trap! Came at us from underneath the boats!"

"Shit," V hissed. "Judy, get me a map of the underground—tunnels, sewer lines, any place these things can use to ambush us!"

"Already working on it!" Judy replied, dragging blueprints onto her screen.

V turned to the nearest Valentinos captain. "We need fire, and a lot of it. These things won't stop unless we burn the nests."

The gang member nodded, already signaling his men. "We'll set up flame traps along the alleys. Just make sure we don't get caught in the firestorm."

V grinned, despite the insanity of the situation. "Wouldn't dream of it."

More gunfire erupted from the industrial drainage systems, where NCPD forces were trying to hold their ground. The monstrous roars of water-hags echoed through the tunnels, the ground shaking under their immense weight as they burst through the grates, flinging sewer water and corpses into the air.

V flicked open his comms one last time.

"Alright, listen up! We don't stop until every last one of these things is dead. No one backs down. No one lets these things spread any further. This is our city. We take it back."

From every corner of Night City, voices confirmed their orders. Gangs. Cops. Nomads. Fixers. Arasaka.

For the first time in history, every faction was working together.

And if they failed, Night City would drown in monsters.

…

Five hours later…

The last of the detonation charges had been set.

Veylan stood ankle-deep in the murky river, his body slick with sweat and the grime of battle. His Witcher medallion hummed violently against his chest, sending sharp vibrations into his skin. The air stank of gunpowder, burning flesh, and sewage, but the nests, the cursed heart of the infestation, were finally rigged to blow.

"Charges are ready!" he called into his comms.

From a nearby boat, V and a squad of NCPD demolition experts made the final preparations, the tension so thick it felt like a noose tightening around the city.

Judy's voice crackled through their radios. "We need to do this now! We've got reports of drowners still breaking through sewers near Heywood, and if they get into the deeper metro tunnels-!"

"We know!" V snapped back, wiping blood and black ichor from his face. "Veylan, hit it!"

Veylan exhaled, his hands igniting with Igni's orange glow. His fingers traced the symbol for detonation in the air, and with a flick of his wrist-.

BOOM.

A chain of massive explosions erupted along the riverbanks. The shockwaves sent walls of water crashing into the shore, sending pieces of drowner nests, mutated eggs, and monstrous bodies flying in every direction. A black cloud of smoke and mist rose into the sky, blotting out the sun.

For a brief, fleeting moment—silence.

Then came the deep, guttural groan. A sound so massive, it made the air itself shudder.

The ripples in the river didn't calm. They intensified.

Shade's voice buzzed in Veylan's ear. "Something massive is approaching. Size estimation, larger than any known aquatic lifeform. Surface breach imminent."

The comms exploded with panicked voices.

"Holy, what the fuck is that?!" an NCPD officer shouted.

"Something's moving! It's still alive!" a Valentinos sniper gasped from his perch.

V turned to Veylan, breathless, gripping his rifle. "Tell me you've seen worse."

Veylan didn't answer. His glowing cat-like eyes were locked onto the river—watching the dark massive silhouette rising from the depths.

And then-

The water erupted.

A titanic form burst through the surface, sending waves crashing into the streets like a small-scale tsunami.

A monster the size of a skyscraper.

Its massive, serpentine body coiled as its tentacles slapped against buildings, shattering concrete like toothpicks. The beast's glowing, abyssal eyes locked onto the city, reflecting the neon skyline like twin black mirrors.

And its mouth, Gods, its mouth, was lined with countless needle-like teeth, twisting within its jagged mandibles, snapping hungrily as it let out a piercing, earth-shaking screech.

Judy's voice was barely audible over the chaos. "Is that-?! IS THAT A FUCKING KRAKEN?!"

One of the Arasaka operatives on the line, who had remained unnervingly calm all day, suddenly cursed in Japanese. "Shinda… Kami no tame ni, sore wa honmono no kaijū da..." (Dead gods… that is a real kaiju...)

Veylan's medallion was vibrating wildly.

He knew this thing. He had read about it in old texts, in legends passed through Skellige's ancient bloodlines.

"A Mylingar Kraken," he murmured. "A deep-sea horror… a leviathan of the drowned dead."

V pulled his gun, backing away. "Yeah? Well, great! How the fuck do we kill it?!"

The Kraken's tentacles lashed out, wrapping around a Valentino's armored truck, lifting it into the air like a child's toy. The occupants barely had time to scream before it crushed the vehicle like a soda can, ripping it in two and sending flaming debris raining down on the city streets.

Panic overtook the comms.

"It's tearing through the waterfront!"

"We need heavy artillery!"

"Fall back! FALL BACK-AHH-!" -static-

"All squads! That thing is moving onto the main roads! If it gets further inland-!"

"-It's already on land, WE CAN'T STOP IT!"

The monstrous tentacles continued their rampage, wrapping around buildings, pulling itself onto the pavement, crushing entire blocks beneath its weight.

The Kraken had left the water.
And now, it was in the middle of Night City.

Veylan drew his silver sword.
His voice was calm, but his grip tightened.

"We kill it."

V stared at him like he'd lost his damn mind. "Are you—are you insane?! That thing's as big as a fucking megabuilding! You wanna stab it to death?!"

"Not just with a sword." Veylan's eyes burned green, his Elder Blood igniting beneath his skin. Magic pulsed in his veins, raw power drawn from the monoliths, from the cursed energies that had followed him into this world.

The Witcher exhaled, stepping forward as the Kraken's abyssal eyes settled on him.
The beast growled, its mandibles twitching, tasting the air.

It recognized something old in him. Something ancient.

And Veylan smiled, rolling his shoulders. "Come on, then."

He raised his sword as the beast shrieked, a noise that split the heavens.

This thing wasn't going down without a fight.

…

The titanic Kraken let out a monstrous, ear-splitting shriek as it hauled its massive body onto the streets of Night City. The beast's tentacles lashed out, wrapping around nearby buildings and ripping chunks of reinforced steel and concrete from their foundations. Streetlights shattered, power lines snapped, and abandoned vehicles were flung like discarded toys.

The skyline trembled as the monster's mandibles twitched hungrily, its deep, abyssal black eyes gleaming in the neon-lit chaos.

And in the middle of it all-.

Veylan charged.

His silver sword ignited, the flames of Igni superheating the blade to the point of glowing red-hot. He dashed through the wreckage, his movements swift, precise, his Witcher reflexes sharper than ever as he dodged a crashing tentacle that obliterated a street in an instant.

"Concentrate fire on its tentacles and eyes!" Veylan bellowed over the comms, parrying a tentacle strike mid-air, his blade cleaving through the thick, rubbery flesh with a burst of searing fire. The severed appendage thrashed wildly before crashing onto a pile of debris, twitching and oozing black ichor.

"If we can separate them and blind it, we can kill this thing before it has a chance to fight back!"

NCPD, Valentinos, Arasaka, and even Voodoo Boys units heard his call.

"Focus fire! Take the eyes!"
"Drones, move in, keep it distracted!"
"Heavy artillery en route, ETA six minutes!"
"Somebody tell me why the FUCK we're fighting a goddamn SEA MONSTER IN THE STREETS?!"

Gunfire erupted from all sides.

The beast screeched, recoiling as concentrated heavy fire slammed into its massive tentacles. Explosions ripped through the battlefield as rocket launchers locked onto its writhing appendages, sending flaming chunks of flesh raining onto the ruined streets.

Veylan sprinted toward another flailing tentacle, jumping onto a nearby wrecked truck for leverage before leaping straight into the air. His blade gleamed, and with a twisting slash, he sliced clean through the limb, the sheer heat of Igni cauterizing the wound instantly.

The Kraken howled, thrashing wildly, smashing its remaining tentacles against the surrounding buildings.

A Valentino sniper perched high on a crumbling rooftop took careful aim.

"Got a shot! Taking it!"

The high-caliber round tore straight through one of the Kraken's massive, black eyes.

The creature howled, its body convulsing violently as it flung chunks of debris into the air.

"It's working! Keep hitting the eyes!"
"It's starting to slow down!"
"Veylan, you're keeping it busy, but we need a way to FINISH IT!"

Veylan barely had time to breathe before the Kraken retaliated.

One of its remaining eyes locked onto him, its rage now fully focused on the Witcher.

A tentacle, nearly twice the size of a train car, came crashing down toward him.

Veylan barely managed to dodge-roll, feeling the shockwave of the impact nearly throw him off balance.

"Veylan! Talk to me!" V's voice cut through the comms.

The Witcher gritted his teeth, gripping his sword tighter. "We're getting close! But this thing isn't going to drop easy! We need a deathblow!"

"Yeah, working on it! Keep it busy!"

Veylan turned his attention back to the beast, his mind racing.

They had already weakened its limbs.

They had blinded one of its eyes.

But even wounded, this thing was far from finished.

And then it hit him.

Veylan narrowed his glowing green eyes, staring up at the Kraken's massive, gaping maw.

The mandibles twitched, its throat pulsing with abyssal energy, shifting, convulsing—

"It's about to scream!" he realized in horror.

"EVERYONE, BRACE!"

The Kraken's massive, jagged mouth opened wider than ever-.

And then-.

It roared.

The force rippled through the city, shattering glass, toppling vehicles, and hurling people through the air like ragdolls. The shockwave sent Veylan skidding backward, his boots dragging deep trenches into the pavement as he fought to remain standing.

For a brief, horrifying moment-.

Everything went silent.

Then-.

"Veylan! That thing's mouth-!"

Veylan's breath came sharp. "It's vulnerable."

V's voice clicked through the comms. "Then let's blow its fucking head off!"

A familiar sound rang through the air-.

Heavy artillery.

Veylan barely had time to smirk before the sky lit up.

A Militech airstrike was inbound.

The Kraken's remaining eye widened, its tentacles thrashing wildly as it sensed the incoming devastation.

And then-.

The first missile hit.

A deafening explosion consumed the beast's open maw, tearing straight into its soft, vulnerable insides.

The Kraken let out one last, piercing shriek as the fireball engulfed it, its entire upper body crumbling under the force of the detonation.

One final missile struck the center of its skull-.

And the Mylingar Kraken fell.

Its lifeless body collapsed onto the ruined street, sending shockwaves through the battlefield. Smoke and debris filled the air, the monstrous corpse twitching before finally going still.

The city was silent.

Then-.

Cheers erupted over the comms.

"IT'S DEAD! HOLY SHIT, IT'S DEAD!"
"You seeing this?! We actually fucking DID IT!"
"Somebody get a drink, I NEED a drink after that!"

Veylan let out a slow breath, his hands still gripping his now-extinguished sword.

His medallion had finally stopped vibrating.

It was over.

For now.

V walked up beside him, wiping blood and sweat from his face.

"Well," he panted, shaking his head. "That's another thing to check off my list of completely fucking insane."

Veylan smirked, sheathing his sword. "Welcome to my world."

…

Half a day later, another issue presented itself…

Cleanup.

As the Kraken's corpse smoldered in the ruins of downtown, and the last of the drowner nests had been confirmed destroyed, the people of Night City, cops, fixers, corps, and gangs alike, were left with a problem no one had ever prepared for.

How do you clean up the aftermath of a monster war?

The rest of the day unfolded in three key stages.

Veylan stood at the center of the NCPD's impromptu command center, a large holo-table displaying the entire city map in front of him. He had been coordinating with both city officials and underground factions, all working together for one reason: handling the monster remains before they became another problem.

V, standing beside him, crossed his arms. "So let me get this straight," he muttered, looking at the reports. "The bodies of these things can be harvested?"

Veylan nodded. "Drowners and Krakens aren't just mindless beasts. Their bodies hold rare ingredients, things we could use. Alchemical agents, mutagens, even venom sacs that could be synthesized into anti-venom or medication. But if we don't handle them right, their remains will rot and turn into something worse."

One of the NCPD scientists, a cybernetically-enhanced biochemist, adjusted her visor as she read over Veylan's notes. "You're saying their mutagens could be useful in pharmaceuticals? We've been running tests, and their chemical composition is completely alien. Some of this DNA structure doesn't match anything from Earth."

Veylan exhaled. "Which is exactly why we need to process it correctly. If we don't, the wrong hands might weaponize it instead."

Across the holo-table, a City Council rep, one of the few uncorrupted officials in Night City, looked at the readouts, rubbing his temples. "So you're saying we're dealing with potential medical breakthroughs… and a potential bioweapon crisis at the same time?"

Veylan smirked, folding his arms. "Welcome to monster hunting."

The Kraken remains, meanwhile, were being handled with extreme caution. Arasaka had secured the largest chunks of its corpse, running scans on the massive teeth, reinforced skin, and mysterious glowing organs. Scientists were theorizing that some of its unique properties could be adapted for cybernetics, armor plating, or even energy storage.

One techie murmured, "This thing's hide withstood tank rounds. If we can synthesize its properties into armor plating-."

"-or into weapons," an NCPD officer muttered darkly.

Veylan wasn't thrilled that corporations were already looking for ways to profit off of this catastrophe. But if this world was anything like his own, he knew that controlling the remains before they were exploited was his best bet.

Despite the victory, concerns remained.

"We need to be 100% sure we got all the nests," Takemura said finally after a moment of thought, standing near one of the military-grade containment teams. "The last thing we need is another infestation weeks from now."

Veylan tapped his Chimera medallion, feeling its faint vibrations. His magic could sense lingering traces of drowners, but no new nests.

"We got them all," Veylan confirmed. "But that doesn't mean there won't be more in the future."

Judy, monitoring environmental drones from the NCPD hub, cut in. "We've had sewer divers confirm that the tunnels are clear. No more eggs, no more clusters."

V let out a breath. "Good. Last thing we need is a fucking sequel to today's nightmare."

Still, biohazard teams burned every last organic fragment they could find. High-pressure chemical sprays sterilized the water, and drone units deployed sonar waves to scan for any hidden threats.

With most of the remains either harvested or destroyed, Night City could breathe again.

For now.

By late evening, Veylan had finally returned to the command center, where the first full report had been compiled.

Judy, V, Panam, Takemura, and Saul sat around a table, reviewing what had been salvaged.

Drowner Remains: Harvested for alchemical ingredients, mutagens, and potential anti-venom. Some biotech firms were already vying for samples.
Kraken Remains: Heavily guarded. Most of the bones, hide, and organs had been secured for military and cybernetic research.
Environmental Impact: The waterways were still recovering, but thanks to rapid containment, the infection hadn't spread further.

V ran a hand through his hair, exhaling. "I can't believe we actually pulled that off."

Judy, still scanning through data on her tablet, shook her head. "It's far from over. Night City just had a monster invasion, and you know the corpos are gonna spin this into something."

Takamura, standing by the window, finally spoke. "This will not be the last time we face something from your world, Veylan. Will it?"

Veylan looked at the data, the remains, the mutations, the theories. His glowing eyes flickered as he thought back to how that blasted spell had brought him here in the first place.

"…No," he admitted. "If these monsters found their way here, more will follow."

Silence settled over the room. No one wanted to say it, but they all knew it was true.

V sighed, cracking his knuckles. "So what? We just keep fighting these things whenever they pop up?"

Veylan smirked, picking up his sword and resting it on his shoulder. "That's what I do."

Panam let out a low whistle. "Guess that makes you Night City's first Witcher."

Judy, despite the weight of the situation, chuckled. "Hell, I'd read that comic."

The mood lightened slightly, but the underlying tension remained.

There were still so many questions left unanswered.

And Night City wasn't ready for whatever else might be out there.

Veylan rolled his shoulders, stretching as he mentally prepared for the uncomfortable truth.

Something about this whole situation wasn't natural.

He turned to the others, V, Judy, Panam, Takemura, Saul, all of them watching him, waiting.

"Something's off," he said finally. "About this whole damn thing."

V leaned back against the table, crossing his arms. "Yeah? You wanna elaborate on that? Because personally, I'd like to think this was just some once-in-a-lifetime clusterfuck."

Veylan's glowing eyes flickered in the dim light. "It's not."

He let the words settle for a moment before continuing, his voice edged with something distant, like he was piecing together fragments of a puzzle that had too many missing pieces.

"When a true Conjunction of the Spheres happens," he explained, "you see it in the sky. Worlds literally collide, for a split moment, planets merge, dimensions bleed into each other, and then when the moment passes, creatures and monsters get displaced. That's how my world ended up with humans, elves, and magic in the first place."

Judy frowned, her fingers hovering over the digital map still displaying the locations of the drowners and Kraken remains. "But that's not what happened here."

"No," Veylan confirmed. "I was sent here by a spell. A ritual done by the Crones—monsters, witches, ancient horrors from my world. That wasn't a Conjunction. That was forced displacement."

Takemura, arms crossed, narrowed his eyes. "Then these… monsters that followed you. You believe they were sent here by the same method?"

Veylan hesitated. "No," he admitted. "I don't think they were sent. I think they're ripples."

V pushed off from the table. "Ripples?"

"Like tossing a stone into a pond." Veylan's gaze was sharp, thoughtful. "A large enough impact creates aftershocks, waves that move outward from the center, disturbing the balance."

Judy's face paled slightly. "So you're saying when those Crones yeeted your ass through a portal, it did something?"

Veylan nodded. "That's my theory. Tearing a hole between worlds doesn't just close cleanly. It leaves an imprint, a weakened point between realms. If these monsters—the drowners, the alghouls, the elemental, the Kraken—if they're showing up after I got here, then that means something is still bleeding through."

A long silence stretched through the room.

Panam sighed, rubbing her temples. "So what, we just deal with the fallout every time some new horror crawls out of the woodwork?"

Veylan tilted his head. "That depends."

"On what?" V asked.

Veylan's golden-green eyes flickered, his gaze distant again. "On whether it's still going on or if they are getting weaker as time passes?"

And no one had an answer for that.

Because deep down, they all knew that this has never happened before based on what Veylan has said.

…

The day had been long, exhausting, and brutal, but even after slaying a Kraken and dealing with an infestation of monsters from another world, Veylan still had one more thing to do.

Honor the dead.

The gathering place Misty had arranged for Jackie's traditional memorial was quiet and intimate, lit by soft candles and decorated with small offerings—tokens of remembrance, of love, of respect.

Jackie had been V's closest friend, and by extension, someone who mattered to Misty. And for that reason alone, Veylan had stepped forward to help prepare the memorial, setting things up alongside V.

Veylan knelt near the small ornate urn containing Jackie's ashes, his glowing eyes scanning the symbols and personal items Misty had arranged for the ritual. He didn't know Jackie personally, but he could tell—this man had been a warrior. A good man.

V stood off to the side, phone pressed to his ear, speaking to Jackie's mother, Mama Welles.

"Sí, señora… Todo está listo." (Yes, ma'am… Everything is ready.) V's voice was softer than usual, carrying a rare gentleness. "Jackie's ashes are safe, the memorial is set up. I promise I'll take care of everything."

Veylan wasn't listening to the words as much as he was focusing on the tone—the weight of loss, the burden of responsibility.

Mama Welles' voice, though laden with grief, carried gratitude.

Jackie had been kept out of the hands of the corpos.

And that meant everything.

V ran a hand through his hair, nodding at nothing in particular. "Sí, señora… I know. We all miss him."

Veylan, still kneeling by the offerings, suddenly felt something.

A shift.

A faint, but undeniable presence.

His Chimera medallion gave the lightest vibration against his chest, an almost whisper-soft tremor.

The air was colder now, but not in a menacing way. It was… watchful.

Veylan rose to his feet, his gaze narrowing as his senses reached outward, tracing the magical residue like following a thin, silver thread.

He turned slightly toward V, his voice calm but clear.

"…There's something here."

V glanced at him, still on the phone. "Huh?"

Veylan took one slow step forward, scanning the edges of the room. "Not a monster. Not a threat. But something… spectral."

His senses led him toward the urn, the core of it.

His eyes flashed with faint greenish light as he focused.

Then he realized.

It was tied to Jackie's ashes.

His breath came slow as he whispered, almost reverently, "…A specter."

Veylan turned to V, holding up a hand for silence.

V, eyes widening, muttered something quickly to Mama Welles before lowering the phone slightly.

"What do you mean, a specter?"

Veylan exhaled, gaze shifting again, following the trail of spiritual energy, letting his magic-infused sight guide him.

"…I think he's still here."

The realization hit like a hammer.

Jackie's spirit hadn't moved on.

Veylan followed the faintest traces of ethereal energy, his footsteps near silent, leading him toward a dimly lit room, where Misty sat, her eyes closed, lost in thought.

And beside her-.

Sitting there, arms crossed, watching everything unfold with a familiar warm but knowing smirk-.

Was Jackie Welles.

His spectral form flickered, a faint, blue-tinged apparition, but solid enough for Veylan's Elder Blood-infused sight to see clearly.

Jackie looked at him, tilting his head slightly. "Huh… So you can actually see me, huh?"

Veylan's expression softened slightly.

"…Yeah."

Jackie exhaled, looking down at his own ghostly hands, flexing them slightly, his gaze full of understanding.

"Damn," Jackie muttered, chuckling softly. "Ain't that somethin'."

Veylan stepped closer, his voice even. "How long have you been here?"

Jackie sighed, leaning back. "Dunno. A while, I think." His gaze flickered toward Misty, who was still unaware, staring at the candle in front of her. "Didn't wanna spook her or nothing. Just… wanted to be close."

His voice dropped lower, more reflective. "Didn't think I'd be stickin' around. Thought when I went out, that'd be it. But…" He glanced toward the urn. "Guess I got a few things left to see before I go."

Veylan watched him carefully. "And you're not… stuck? You're not bound here against your will?"

Jackie shook his head. "Nah. I can feel it. I ain't cursed. Ain't no vengeful spirit or none of that bad mojo."

He smiled faintly.

"I just ain't ready to go yet."

Veylan nodded slowly, understanding.

Jackie had fought, lived, and died on his own terms—but his soul still lingered, not because of rage, or sorrow, or some unfinished vengeance.

But because he wanted to be here.

Wanted to see the people he loved one last time.

And when the time was right…

He would move on.

Veylan took a steady breath before turning toward Misty, who was still lost in quiet thought, unaware of what was happening around her.

"Misty," Veylan said gently.

She blinked, looking up at him with tired, questioning eyes. "Yeah?"

Veylan glanced at V, then at Johnny Silverhand, who had been eerily quiet. The old rocker had his arms crossed, his flickering holographic form standing near the doorway, his expression unreadable.

Johnny, being a ghost himself, had noticed Jackie the moment Veylan did.

"Shit," Johnny muttered, running a cybernetic hand through his glitching hair. "You weren't kidding when you said you could see the dead."

Veylan exhaled. "This isn't like you, Johnny. Jackie isn't some lost soul trapped between worlds. He's here because he wants to be."

V narrowed his eyes. "Wait, you're telling me Jackie's ghost is here?"

Misty stiffened. "Jackie?"

Veylan nodded. "Yeah. He's sitting right next to you."

Misty froze. Her breath hitched, her hands clenching around the edge of the table as she slowly turned her gaze toward the empty space beside her.

"…I don't see anything," she whispered, her voice trembling.

Veylan sighed, stepping forward. "That's because you're not attuned to it. Not yet."

He lifted his left hand, the pale scars of old runes and sigils faintly etched into his Elder Blood-infused skin.

"I can fix that," he murmured.

V tensed. "Wait, you're not gonna do something weird, are you?"

Veylan smirked faintly. "It's already weird."

He reached into a small leather pouch at his side, pulling out a tiny silver dagger—one made for ritual purposes. With the ease of a man who had done this a thousand times before, he dragged the blade across the tip of his finger, drawing a single drop of blood.

The moment the droplet touched the ground, it glowed a deep emerald green.

Veylan murmured a few ancient words, the same kind of shadowed, forgotten dialect that sent shivers down the spine of anyone who heard it.

The room shifted.

The air thickened, like the entire space had been gently nudged between two realms.

And then-.

Jackie Welles flickered into view.

His spectral form was no longer just a faint whisper or a lingering presence in the air—

Now, to V, Misty, and anyone present, Jackie Welles was right there.

Sitting beside Misty, arms crossed, wearing that familiar shit-eating grin he always had.

"¿Qué onda, cabrones?" he said with a chuckle.

Misty gasped, hands flying to her mouth. "Jackie…?"

Jackie's grin softened. "Hola, Misty."

Her eyes filled with tears, her fingers trembling as she reached out—her hand passing through his form, but she felt something. A faint warmth. A lingering presence.

"Is it really you?" she whispered.

Jackie nodded. "It's me, chica."

V let out a breath, running a hand down his face, staring at his best friend—his brother in all but blood.

"Jackie…" he muttered, barely believing what he was seeing.

Jackie turned his gaze toward V, smirking. "You really gotta stop lookin' so damn surprised, mano. Ain't like you haven't seen weirder shit before."

V barked out a laugh, shaking his head. "I mean, yeah, but-" He motioned vaguely to Jackie's very-much-still-there ghostly form. "This is a whole new level of fucked."

Johnny wasn't laughing. He was just staring at Jackie with an expression that Veylan had never seen on him before-.

Something like understanding.

Jackie noticed it too, tilting his head slightly.

"…You're a ghost too, huh?" Jackie asked.

Johnny huffed. "Something like that."

Jackie's grin faltered slightly, and he nodded in understanding. "Damn. Guess we both got a raw deal, huh?"

"Yeah," Johnny muttered. "But I think yours is better."

Jackie looked around at the others, the people he cared about most.

"…Damn, I missed you all," he admitted.

Misty wiped a tear from her cheek. "Jackie… why are you still here?"

Jackie sighed, rubbing his ghostly hands together. "Dunno. I just… ain't ready to go yet." He looked at V, then back at Misty. "Wanted to see you all one last time. Say what I gotta say. And then…" He rolled his shoulders. "I'll move on."

Veylan leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching quietly.

Jackie turned to him. "This your doing, mano?"

Veylan nodded. "I just gave them the sight. You were already here."

Jackie's grin widened. "Appreciate it, man."

Misty sniffled, wiping at her tear-streaked face. "Jackie… what do you need? What can we do?"

Jackie exhaled, looking around the room one last time.

"I just wanted to be here," he admitted. "See my mom, see my friends. Make sure you're all okay."

He turned to V. "That includes you, cabrón."

V smirked slightly, nodding. "I know."

Jackie sighed, the weight of everything finally settling. "I don't got long. But… maybe I can visit my mom before I go."

Veylan gave him

nod. "I can make sure she sees you. One last time."

Jackie looked at him, eyes grateful.

Then, turning back to Misty and V, he gave them one last smile.

"Don't go forgettin' about me, alright?"

Misty let out a soft, broken laugh, shaking her head. "Never."

V reached out, not to touch him, but to acknowledge him.

Jackie fist-bumped the air where V's hand hovered. "Take care of yourself, mano."

V swallowed thickly. "You too, Jackie."

Jackie let out a content sigh, standing up, his form flickering faintly.

"Well… guess it's time to go home."

Veylan stepped forward, the spell still holding, guiding Jackie's presence so that his mother, Mama Welles, could see him before he moved on.

And as Jackie's spectral form faded, the last thing they saw was his smile.

…

The gathering was warm, filled with laughter, stories, and the clinking of bottles. It was the kind of sendoff Jackie Welles would have wanted, one filled with family, friends, and the people who gave a damn.

Mama Welles stood by the altar, quietly arranging candles and offerings, whispering soft prayers for her son. She had already shed her tears, and though the pain of losing him would never fully fade, there was a quiet acceptance in her eyes now.

Jackie, in his spectral form, stood beside her, watching with a gentle smile. He reached out, though his fingers only ghosted through the air, unable to touch her. But she paused for a moment, her hand hovering over her heart, as if she could feel him.

"Gracias, Mamá," Jackie whispered, his voice full of warmth. "Por todo."

She exhaled, closing her eyes, and continued her quiet prayer.

Veylan leaned against a nearby table, nursing a beer, watching as Jackie made his way through the gathering. He didn't need to say anything, this was Jackie's moment.

The specter moved among old friends, sharing words, reminiscing, cracking jokes. He clapped his ghostly hand over a Valentino's shoulder, even though the man couldn't feel it, and laughed at a joke that no one else could hear.

Jackie turned to Misty, and her breath hitched, her fingers gripping the charm around her neck. "Jackie…"

He looked at her, softer this time. "You're gonna be okay, Misty."

She nodded, swallowing thickly. "You always knew how to take care of people, didn't you?"

Jackie chuckled. "Someone had to."

Veylan took another sip of his beer, watching as Jackie embraced the night, said his goodbyes, made peace with the world.

And then, finally, the time came.

Jackie turned back to Veylan, standing before the altar, hands at his sides.

"Guess that's it," Jackie murmured.

Veylan nodded. "You ready?"

Jackie exhaled, looking up at the sky, at the stars twinkling above Night City. For a moment, he just stood there, taking it all in.

Then he grinned, that familiar cocky, fearless, unshakable smile.

"Yeah," he said. "I think I am."

His form began to fade, piece by piece, the edges of his spirit dissolving like smoke caught in the wind.

V lifted his beer in a silent toast, watching as his best friend slipped away, beyond the veil.

Misty wiped at her eyes, but she smiled.

Johnny just stood there, watching, unreadable.

Jackie let out a soft breath as he prepared himself for what was next.

"See you, cabrones."

And just like that. He was gone.

The night settled into quiet stillness, the warmth of his presence lingering just a little longer before finally fading into the ether.

Veylan finished his beer and set the bottle down with a soft clink.

"Rest easy, Jackie."

…

Royce stood in the underground lab, arms crossed, his cyber-optics glowing a dull red as he watched his best chemists and ripperdocs work through the biological materials they'd managed to snatch from the cleanup zones.

The Kraken flesh, a massive slab of rubbery, bioluminescent tissue, lay preserved in a temperature-controlled vat, still faintly pulsing with an eerie, residual energy.

The drowner remains had been broken down into their base organic compounds, the sickly green-blue tissue proving remarkably resilient, even after death. The blood alone was already being processed for testing, given its peculiar properties when mixed with human bio-filters.

Then there was the Kikamora's corpse, still oozing dark, resinous fluids, its exoskeleton tougher than high-grade plasteel, and its glandular extracts showing… interesting properties.

Royce grinned, licking his teeth.

"So, what the fuck we got?"

One of his men, a scrawny, nervous-looking techie patched to the gills with cybernetics, handed over a datapad containing a list of the most promising compounds they'd managed to extract from the monstrous remains.

…

Extracted Substances – Initial Findings:

Kraken Neuromuscular Enhancer

Derived from the Kraken's tendril fibers, this compound enhances muscle density and reaction time by nearly double for a limited time.

Side effects: Unstable nerve response, risk of cardiac failure if overdosed.

Potential Use: Combat stims for mercs, netrunners, or cyberpsychos willing to push their limits.

Drowner Mutagenic Stimulant

Extracted from drowner spinal fluid, when processed correctly, increases lung efficiency, allowing extended breath control and oxygen retention—perfect for underwater operations or escaping smoke-filled combat zones.

Side effects: Can cause severe addiction, skin discoloration, and temporary aggression.

Potential Use: Smuggling ops, high-risk infiltration, or sold as an expensive black-market "diver's drug."

Kikamora Exoskeletal Reinforcement Compound

A special resin secreted by the Kikamora's armor plating can be synthesized into a biopolymer that, when injected, briefly strengthens bone and dermal plating.

Side effects: Causes uncontrollable muscle twitching and a risk of bone overgrowth if taken in excess.

Potential Use: Combat applications, or possibly as a black-market alternative to subdermal cybernetic reinforcements.

"Siren's Kiss" – Neurotoxic Hallucinogen

Derived from a mixture of drowner brain fluid and kraken chromatophores, this compound causes short-term, highly vivid hallucinations and enhanced sensory perception.

Side effects: Risk of psychosis with prolonged use.

Potential Use: Recreational drug trade, or black-market interrogation serum.

Hybrid Bio-Cybernetic Adrenal Enhancer

By fusing Kraken neural pathways with certain drowner gland secretions, they had managed to create an unstable but incredibly powerful stimulant that could allow cyber-enhanced individuals to temporarily process bio-feedback at 300% efficiency.

Side effects: Extreme hyper-aggression, risk of cyberpsychosis, and intense withdrawal symptoms.

Potential Use: For those willing to burn hot and fast, mercs, gang enforcers, and corpo black-ops.

…

Royce read over the findings, his cybernetic jaw twitching with amusement.

"Now, that's some real fine alchemy right there, chooms."

He tapped the datapad, his metallic fingers clicking against the screen.

"Alright. Now we gotta field test this shit. Find me some cybered-up freaks willing to take a few risks… or just pick up some desperate gutter-rats. Don't matter. Someone's gotta balance the dosages."

One of his enforcers smirked. "You think we can sell this shit to the corpos?"

Royce snorted. "Nah. Not yet. Corps like their shit all neat 'n packaged. We ain't givin' 'em a clean product. This? This is Maelstrom shit. Gotta be raw. Gotta be unpredictable. Let the streets test it first."

The enforcer grinned. "Yeah… I like the sound of that."