The Divine Hunter

The cataclysmic battle had come to an end. Part of the sewers lying under the ruins of Maribor were still standing strong. Alzur and the grandmasters led the group through the dark, squalid passages. At the end of the journey, they came to a chamber made of stone.

The chamber was not grand in scale, but it was gorgeous, appearing to be a fusion of a library and an alchemic laboratory. Bookshelves stood before the walls of the room with thousands of books lining the racks. Outside of the bookshelves lay agitators, centrifuges, and operating stations, as well as vials and vessels typical of a laboratory. Each piece was beautiful and expensive.

There were also plump couches as well as glasses and plates made of gold and embedded with gemstones. Alzur did not live a frugal life. He pointed his chin at an ancient table beside a bookshelf, where one beautiful bottle stood.

“The bottle of a djinn?” Roy’s eyes shone. He rubbed the bottle with his hand. A djinn wish came with a great deal of limitations, but it had many uses. One of which would be to grant a sorceress, whose womb had shriveled, the ability to conceive.

“We have expended nine out of ten bottles. This is the last one we have.” Alzur’s eyes roved across the expectant witchers. “Three wishes it contains, but beware. Once you have released the djinn, hold the bottlecap and make your wish as quickly as you can, or it might just pull a prank on you. These books are Cosimo’s, Idarran’s, and my collection.” Alzur looked at the books with love and a sense of pride. “Magical training is not the only topic they cover.”

“Do they include the spells you made yourself?” Coral interrupted, her eyes shining. She could cast Alzur’s Thunder, but it was an incomplete version. Even so, that spell’s power was incredible. So incredible, it was almost forbidden.

Triss was curious as well.

“The complete Alzur’s Thunder, Alzur’s Shield, Alzur’s Double Cross, and my lifetime’s experience in magic are included within this collection. And that’s not all. These books contain many records involving genetic modifications. The Trial for the first witchers, Idarran’s modified animals, and his mutated plants. I believe they can be of assistance to you.”

Kalkstein was grinning so widely, it almost seemed like a leer.

Serrit, the one with the best sense of them all, found a few exquisite rosewood crates behind the bookshelves. He opened it up, and a beam of light shone into the air. Orens, crowns, and gemstones sat within the crates, almost blinding everyone with their splendor.

“With these in our hands, the brotherhood will not have to worry about its finances for the next twenty years.”

“If we’re talking about comparison by weight, gemstones and jewelry are the items with the least worth in this place,” Alzur said. “But from this moment on, they belong to you.”

The group exchanged a look. They were pleased. Pleased that their hard-earned victory was not in vain.

Erland held his hands before his chest. Earnestly, he asked, “Now that you’re happy, can you have mercy and grant us our little wishes?”

“Are you sure, Erland?” Coen clenched his fists. He looked dismayed. “Is the perfect world even more valuable than reality itself?”

“My heart died the day the avalanche fell.” Erland shook his head, staring at the brazier in the corner, as if he could see familiar faces dancing within. “I kept on living until now just to change that day.”

Elgar and Arnaghad were standing with him, and they nodded. Vesemir thought it was a shame. He failed to change Elgar’s mind. Only Ivar changed his stance and joined the Viper School. He looked at his old friends, lamenting. It had only been just under thirty years since he worked for Alzur. His obsession didn’t run as deeply as the other grandmasters’.

After witnessing the brotherhood’s roster and Roy’s power to turn time back and chase the Most High away, his opinion had slowly changed. If he joined the brotherhood, he would eventually do battle with the Wild Hunt and reach his dream. There was no need to risk going to a perfect world.

***

Roy took out four pieces of the Most High’s essence. “Alzur, once you ascend to the perfect world, what will happen to the Alzur of that dimension?”

“We shall enter their bodies, and our souls will merge,” said Alzur honestly.action

That’s just like how I descended. Roy scanned Alzur and the three grandmasters who were ready to go. In the end, he set his sights on Arnaghad, the burliest among them. “Then there’s one last thing to do. You and I have a bloody score to settle,” Roy said. “I haven’t forgotten about that day in the castle of Cintra. I haven’t forgotten how you cut up my corpse.”

Felix tensed and tried to say something, but couldn’t. Arnaghad hung his head low. He was always the most unwelcome and unrecognized person among the group. It had always been that way. He took a deep breath and looked at his old friends and mentor. Then the Bear looked at the agates in Roy’s hand.

There was no fear in his eyes, and he looked ahead with sharp eyes. The brazier’s flames illuminated him. He was like a condemned inmate going to the gallows. “No need for talk. Do it, Roy. Make it quick.” He held his head high, revealing his neck in full view. “I spared you no mercy. It is only fair that you wish to kill me, but I only have one wish.” He looked at Erland and Elgar. As if saying his last words, he said, “You two, we’ve fought together so far. Please save a spot for me in the perfect world. This time, let me be a regular witcher, just like how we planned.”

Elgar and Erland looked at Roy. “We will bear the weight of his crime.”

“Sorry, but I do not take payment from those who do not owe me.”

Roy unsheathed Aerondight.

“Roy!”

“Kid!”

Gasps filled the air of the chamber, but the flash of silver light flew ahead faster. The air hissed, and blood spilled. Roy might be weakened, but his blade was still sharp enough to cut through flesh.

To everyone’s shock, the Bear’s body broke into pieces. His limbs were cut off, and only little stumps of his legs were holding him up, a pool of blood forming around his body. He was pitiful, laughable, and almost amusing. Even though Arnaghad had his limbs cut off, all he did was grunt and frown. He looked up at Roy, his face the color of clouds.

The chamber fell silent. Some witchers had looks of pity on their faces. Some closed their eyes seeing a witcher harming one of his own.

“Listen here, Arnaghad.” Roy pulled his blade back from Arnaghad’s neck and went down. He grabbed the Bear’s collar and stared into his emotionless eyes, as if he could see Arnaghad’s long and ice-cold soul within them. “We’re even now.” Roy grinned and nodded at the Bear. The brazier’s flame illuminated his face, and it was a look of relief.

The grudge was water under the bridge. They were no longer enemies. What Roy did next shocked many of those present. Only Coral and Letho appeared to know this would happen.

“And now, my brother, I shall grant you your wish, as a witcher myself.” Roy held the piece of essence close to Arnaghad’s lips, and he gave him his prayers. “Find your humanity. Find your heart. Find that which you have lost. Find redemption, and turn a new page in your life.”

Roy’s voice echoed in the chamber.

Arnaghad swallowed the priceless essence. At that moment, his cold, dead heart was starting to crack, and an ugly smile curled his lips. He looked at the weakened Roy and felt a surge of warmth swimming across his body.

Crimson light burst forth from Arnaghad, the Cleansing Flame burning him. Red light illuminated the chamber, brilliant and dazzling. There were bizarre scenes playing in the flames. Scenes where Arnaghad was smiling, angry, grateful, and wallowing in sadness. Everyone closed their eyes.

And then, Arnaghad broke into pieces, disappearing into slivers of smoke as the flames burned him, leaving nothing but a pool of blood and severed limbs behind.

Auckes gulped. “You sure he went to a perfect world instead of getting destroyed? Are you guys sure you don’t want to reconsider this?”

Alzur, Elgar, and Erland exchanged a look. As if they were going to celebrate a new lease on life, they smiled, hugging their successors and bidding them goodbye.

“I leave the Griffin School of this world in your hands, Coen. One word of advice. Do not forget about valor, but be sure to show it to the right people. Don’t be blind in your kindness. Most importantly, take care of yourself and the people around you.”

“Vesemir, never walk alone. Never abandon your brethren.”

“Roy, hold on to your humanity, just like how you did moments ago. Never allow the desire to consume to instead consume you.”

Erland, Elgar, and Alzur gulped down the crystals and shattered into pieces, swallowed by balls of crimson flames. A long silence ensued.

Coral held Roy’s arm. With uncertainty, she asked, “Does a perfect world really exist among all the parallel worlds?”

Everyone looked at Roy. The young witcher held the last piece of essence, staring at the air. For a moment, he thought he saw the Most High leaping between the world tree’s branches, its tentacles wriggling. “Yes.”

***

Within the void, time and space were born. Within chaos, they entwined. Within them, a perfect world was woven.

In a bright laboratory within Morgraig, a boy about the age of ten woke up from a long coma. He had bushy eyebrows, a round nose, and lips that were not too thick. The boy was pale from malnutrition. He tilted his head, staring at his slender arms and gaunt body in shock. Awe etched itself on the boy’s face.

“Congratulations, Arnaghad.” A magical light shone upon a man before him. He was handsome, had black, curly hair, and was wearing a blue robe. The man extended his hand, his eyes twinkling with delight. “You have passed the Trial without any complications left within you. Now hold out your fists.”

The boy did as he was told. He could feel a surge of power flowing across his slender, pockmarked arms. Within his hands was strength that exceeded a normal adult’s.

“Do you feel that? From here forth, no one will be able to push you around anymore. You shall use this power to protect yourself and the people. You shall chase the darkness away.”

“Alzur! I-Is everyone alive?” Arnaghad asked, his voice trembling. He was nervous. This would be their reunion after hundreds of years.

“This is a miracle. It’s unlike the survival rates we calculated in Morgraig. A beautiful, curvy sorceress in a blue robe came up and held Arnaghad’s hand. “A hundred percent survival rate. Madoc, Ivar, Elgar, Erland, Jagda, and you. All six of you lived.”

Arnaghad looked around at the other kids who had just woken up around him. They too were on operating tables.

“What a relief.” The sorceress shuddered, but she was still looking at the boy with love. “Or I would live my whole life in regret.”

Alzur held the woman’s arm. Their eyes met, and love swam between them. Arnaghad grinned. This was just like how they planned. Lylianna survived and became a sorceress. She stayed with Alzur. The first experiment wasn’t done in Rissberg anymore either, but Morgraig. The thirty-two tragic deaths never happened here. They never existed. This was the miracle created by the Most High’s essence.

He was the one who gulped it down first. Erland and Elgar shouldn’t have arrived just yet. As for Alzur, he went to another parallel world.

Noticing Arnaghad’s look, Lylianna asked, “What’s the matter, child? Are you alright?”

“I miss home.” Arnaghad rubbed his cheeks, his eyes getting red. Sobbing, he said, “When I get better, can I go home? I want to see my parents. And my brother. And sister.” There was longing in Arnaghad’s eyes. Reminiscence filled his voice. The emotions he’d forgotten and the memories of his family he’d locked away came back to him with full force, nourishing his cold, dead heart. “It’s been too long since I saw them. Feels like a few lifetimes.”

“I don’t remember you being one to exaggerate. That’s Ivar’s specialty. You’re only ten years old. Barely even a lifetime.” Alzur patted Arnaghad’s head. He said, “We’re creating the strongest warriors, not cold-blooded butchers. Rest up for a couple of days, and I shall open up a portal home for you. But remember to come back.” Alzur said sternly, “The next step of your training will begin soon. For our dream, understand, Arnaghad?”

“To rid this world of the monsters hiding in the shadows. To create a safer world for humanity,” said Arnaghad loudly. He grinned, and then he shed tears of joy. This time, I will hold on until the end, he told himself in his mind. I will not walk alone again this time. There was light shining in the boy’s amber eyes. Delight and hopes for the future filled him up.

***

Years passed. A castle stood on the top of a lush mountain within the wilds of Poviss. Within the spacious courtyard, a bonfire flared. Silvery moonlight shone upon the ground, where men with beastly eyes stood.

“Do you know why Kaer Seren was moved from the cliff overseeing Kovir’s coast?” A long-faced witcher in knightly armor took off a piece of scalding, golden-brown roast pork from the grill. He radiated the air of a scholar. The witcher slowly tore off a sliver of the pork and popped it into his mouth.

“Don’t keep us hanging, Keldar. Talk!” a young voice urged.

“Calm down, brat. You keep being impatient, and one day, a troll is going to teach you a painful lesson.” Keldar shot the young man a look. “Many years ago, a group of evil sorcerers set their sights on Kaer Seren’s book collection. A collection they yearned for but couldn’t possess. They blamed us for the plague that spread in Vizima and planned to start an avalanche on Dragon Mountains. On a scale hitherto unheard of. They planned to bury me and more than sixty brethren in icy graves.”

He paused. A young apprentice quickly turned on the barrel’s tap and filled a glass with wine. He handed Keldar the alcohol, and the witcher continued animatedly, “Fortunately, Erland observed the skies the night before and predicted this disaster. He then extinguished it.”

A group of young witchers sat around the bonfire, holding their heads high. There was excitement and worship in their eyes, and the medallions hanging from their necks were glimmering in the flames’ light.

“Erland defeated a group of evil sorcerers alone?” A lad with tri-colored eyes and pockmarks on his chin asked.

“Oh, that’d be an unbelievable feat, but no. Erland asked for some help in the form of legendary individuals. Alzur, Cosimo, and Lady Lylianna, so to speak. The creators have always been on good terms with us. They led a group of allies to the battlefield and beat those b*stards all the way back where they came from, but to prevent any disasters like that from happening once more, Kaer Seren was moved from the coast to this castle in the mountains of Poviss. Alzur and Erland used that chance to hold an extraordinary speech and turned our infamy around in the lands of the north.”

Keldar sighed. “That’s why you almost never hear anyone calling us mutants or abominations now. Of course, discrimination and prejudice still linger, but the people are starting to acknowledge our efforts in helping the needy. They’re acknowledging our contributions to the world. Showing us the respect we deserve. We’re not just slaying evil monsters now, but we’re also helping villages, towns, cities, and nations liaise and de-escalate conflicts. If wars were to break out, we would be helping the people evacuate. The people before you built that foundation with their lives.”

“Erland, instead of drowning yourself in past glories, why don’t you teach the kids something more useful?” A towering man with Mohican hair and a tattoo on his profile came in with a curvy woman with graying hair. They stood around the bonfire as well. The light shone on the man’s face. There was majesty there, but also love.

“Erland!”

“Lady Jagda!”

“Grandmaster!”

“Why don’t you take the stage, then?”

The young Griffins were buzzing with excitement, staring at Erland. Erland looked around. There were 120 witchers here—half having gone through life, the other half young and inexperienced. This was the perfect world. The avalanche had never happened here. A sizable portion of the population had thrown away their prejudice. The Griffin School had made knights of themselves, ones worthy of respect and acknowledgment. Knights who the people did respect. He turned his head and smiled at the woman beside him. She had amber eyes and graying hair the length of her hips. He and his lover, Jagda, were finally reunited. Everything was going perfectly. Their ship was going to sail through the storm of life.

“Children, only a few suggestions. Remember to protect yourself even when you’re trying to do good. Do not be like the old me. I was stubborn and foolish. Some people do not deserve any protection. As witchers, we must be responsible for ourselves and our brethren.”

An old witcher took a big swig of alcohol and roared, “When we fall and bleed, we care not for coin and deed.”

Then, Griffins both young and old sang loudly in their nest, safely tucked away from the world. Their collective voice echoed through the night, with the light of the bonfire and the scent of alcohol following in its expansive wake. The song they sang filled the air of Kaer Seren. Their voice flew high across the towers, and then, they traveled through the northern lands. In the end, they soared toward the world out there.

***

Years later still, a battle broke out at Kaer Morhen. Shouts and flames that danced across the walls were growing fainter. Elgar swung his sword as fast as possible, and he leaped into the mob without any hesitation. White light danced across the necks of the thugs, and blood splattered. The Wolf cut down three enemies in one instant. Another two came charging at him, but he crouched and got out of their swords’ way.

As he blocked their attacks, a ball of fire blasted their backs. A witcher with a tattoo on his face and a griffin medallion hanging around his neck burned an ambushing thug with Igni. Underneath the banyan tree in the center of the courtyard, a burly witcher with a bear medallion leaped into the air and swung his weapon down on a pair of thugs, splitting them in half.

Atop of the watchtower, a slender witcher with changing eyes thrust his blade backward, the viper medallion laying across his chest swaying. The sorcerer who teleported to the back of the witcher had a ball of fire dancing on his palm, but he charged into the witcher’s blade like he wanted to kill himself. The sorcerer held his neck, but blood was already spilling. He fell backward, his legs convulsed, and he stopped moving.

Before the drawbridge of Kaer Morhen was a witcher in light armor. He had dark, catlike eyes and moved and reacted as quickly as a cat. The witcher swung a thin, bluish blade that was sharp as a razor. He leaped across the drawbridge and swung his blade three times. Three corpses rolled into the moat, their blood splattering the battlefield.

Similar deaths happened across Kaer Morgen. Witchers from Wolf, Viper, Cat, Griffin, and Bear Schools as well as a dozen in-house sorcerers were battling together, weathering the storm of fire and blood. In less than two hours, the hundreds of thugs and sorcerers who tried to invade the fortress were all dead.

Elgar led a group of muscly Wolves and stood on top of the mountain of corpses within the castle. He bowed at the grandmasters and brethren who came to his aid.

“Don’t do that, mate. It’s not even a chore, dealing with these greedy, worthless fools. This isn’t even a warmup.” Erland’s hair swayed in the air. He looked solemn. “This isn’t the other world. The order broke up because of the difference in our Trials, not because of our ideologies. We established our own schools for our group’s better development. Remember what we promised before we came to this world? Witchers work together.”

“Whenever anyone is in trouble, everyone’s going to help.” Arnaghad was smiling brightly and happily. This was the perfect world they’d been trying to make. The plan they’d been trying to complete for two hundred years.

Elgar was at a loss for words. Everyone was here. He looked around, and the witchers who lived, a hundred of them, were tearing up too. “Clean this place up, people. “We’re having a drink tonight. Let’s see who’s the best drinker among us.”

***

In another unknown space-time, birds were chirping within the woods of evergreen plants. Brilliant sunlight shone on the blooming roses and jasmines around the hill. A blanket of mist swirled around the mountainside, and a patch of purple orchids cascaded from the ceiling of a cave, weaving themselves into a pleasant-scented curtain.

Alzur woke up on a simple haystack within this comfortable cave. He looked around, dazed. Magical crystals shone on the two hundred strollers in the main chamber of the cave. Cosimo, beard long and graying as ever, was there. A lovely middle-aged sorceress and Idarran, Alzur’s protege, were casting spells along with Cosimo.

The light of magic danced in the air, weaving itself into a beautiful river. Glass bottles were turned into bees that had just returned from work. They buzzed around the air, feeding the gurgling babies in the strollers.

“To the usual place, Alzur.” Cosimo noticed his student waking up. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. “She’s waiting for you there.”

She? Alzur’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly changed into simple clothes and pinned a lily emblem on his chest. Quickly, hurriedly, he left the cave.

He saw her beside a roaring waterfall cascading off a cliff. She too was in simple clothes, but it didn’t take away from her beauty. The woman was dangling her legs off the cliff, the spraying water splashing her smooth, silky face. A hint of red flickered on her cheeks, and the golden sunlight draped her hair in a sheen of gold.

She was like the statue of a goddess crafted from marble. Alzur was enthralled. He had waited for centuries for this. Had given up everything for this. Alzur held his breath and approached the woman. He carefully sat beside her, too scared to even make a sound, as if the faintest whisper would shatter this beautiful illusion.

Alzur quietly looked down with her, enjoying the beautiful scenery unfolding underneath them. The flowers were blooming. Deers, storks, and dogs were lapping up water from the stream. The beasts were double the size of their regular counterparts. They were stronger. More full of life.

“My love, even now, I cannot believe that we and a group of children are spared from the Most High’s purification.” Lylianna rested her head on Alzur’s shoulder and smiled sweetly at him. There was curiosity in her eyes. “Everyone was burned into nothingness. We’ve scoured the whole world, and we’re the only ones left.”

“Perhaps it took a nap and missed us. Or perhaps it spared us because we have a great dream,” Alzur said, motivation steadily rising. “It wants us to educate these children and start another cycle. We shall be humanity’s pioneers and sow the seeds of civilization. We shall guide them and create a new world free of war. A human civilization free of sin. Under our guidance, humanity will change. The monsters hiding in the darkness, and the darkness hiding within humanity’s heart will all disappear. This is our perfect world.”

Lylianna stared at Alzur with worship and passion.

“More importantly, we are together again.” Alzur put an arm around Lylianna’s shoulder. “But now, we have an urgent matter awaiting our attention.”

“What is it?”

“There are five more boys than girls among the babies. Do you know what that means?” Alzur gazed at his lover, trying to make up for the centuries they’d lost.

“What are you trying to say?” Lylianna’s cheeks grew rosier, and there was embarrassment in her voice.

“We need to make more girls.”

Lylianna giggled.

The sprays from the waterfalls hopped into the air. Sunlight shone through them, and through the beads of water, a rainbow appeared, connecting the two silhouettes on the cliff, until time immemorial had passed.

***

End of arc

***

***