Looking at the werewolf's corpse, I regained my senses, and my breathing became irregular. Dizzy and out of strength, my body collapsed, but as I was about to hit the ground, someone caught me.
"Are you okay?" Geralt asked, looking worried.
"Geralt, it's good to see you," I said to Geralt between two breaths.
"You look like a mess. I think Vesemir will have to give you more witcher lessons," Geralt said, joking.
"Stop making me laugh; I feel like I'm going to collapse any moment," I said, laughing despite the pain.
"Yes, sorry. I'll prop you up against this wall."
Geralt placed me against the wall and sat down next to me. I then noticed that he was also injured on his face.
"Nice scar near your eye. Triss is going to give you a hard time," I said, half-joking and worried for him.
"Stop it, leave me alone about that. For now, tell me what happened. Despite all the training we've done, you've never been this bad, and your body is as cold as death," Geralt said, looking concerned.
"I call it the heating state. My body pushes its limits to the maximum; it reduces blood flow to the extremities to limit thermal exchange and boosts adrenaline in my body. It's thanks to the ice power within me that I can do this. But as a result, my body cools down like a block of ice, and I become fragile for a while," I explained to him.
"But seriously, I've never seen werewolves like these in the books,".
"Me neither, I assure you. The conjunction of the spheres can cause mutations, but not as much as these two wolves. They were specialized in their own domains; you did well," Geralt said, proudly looking at me.
"But Aiden, it wasn't a coincidence. They were waiting for us because we are getting closer to the secret, especially the fresco. It reveals everything about their objective: they seek to resurrect the alpha," I said.
"Let's study the fresco more closely. Maybe we missed something," Geralt replied.
"Aiden, you can stay seated if you need to," Geralt suggested.
"No, just help me up," I said.
Geralt stood up and extended his hand. Taking it, he helped me up, but I almost fell again. However, I managed to catch myself on my feet, and as we moved towards the fresco, we studied it more closely.
"I don't see anything emerging..." I said before stopping abruptly, staring at a part of the fresco.
"What is it, Aiden? You suddenly turned pale, well, paler than usual."
"Look at the cage, there are inscriptions."
Geralt focused on the cage and used his witcher sense. Words almost faded by time appeared.
"Only a soul of incredible purity can resurrect our alpha in all its grandeur."
"Even if I understand now what they are seeking, how is it terrible? Purity is impossible in our current world," I said. Then Geralt understood.
"A child."
"Yes."
"But wait, even if there are children in the village, it doesn't mean they are pure. Every soul is tainted from birth, and it requires a soul with near-perfect purity," said Geralt, confused.
"Yes, a girl named Alice," I said, still looking at the fresco with anger, as I had now understood their goal.
"Why her?"
"Deaf, difficulty speaking, but always happy, ready to take on others' burdens while hiding her loneliness and sadness. Isn't that what we call a saint?" I said to Geralt seriously.
Then Geralt turned around, took my sword, and handed it back to me.
"We need to hurry and get back to the village. We can't let them proceed."
We rushed towards the village despite our injuries. A child's life was at stake.
But as I ran, I couldn't help but reflect. Why did I want to save her when, in the city, I didn't care about a child's death?
Why now?
Is it hypocrisy? Maybe...
Is it because she deserves a second chance? But didn't the child in the city deserve a second chance too?
Is it the mutations? No, I don't feel anything different.
I don't know.
As we neared the village, we could see smoke rising through the clouds. Seeing this, I turned my gaze to Geralt and said:
"Geralt, we need to hurry!"
"Yes, and prepare for conflict and drink the rest of the potions," said Geralt, speeding up.
--------
Arriving at the village, we could see the houses on fire and various corpses littering the streets. But the worst part was that among these bodies were children, and words were written on the ground: "Traitor, Justice."
Looking in horror at the scene before me, I had brief flashbacks of the streets of Cintra in flames and the bodies that lay there. I shook my head to regain my composure.
"This is horrible. I've seen a lot in my life, but this is among the most horrific things I've witnessed," said Geralt with a look of disgust.
Searching for Alice and the woman who accompanied her, I spotted her with a hole in her chest made by a claw. Rushing to her, I knelt beside her. Seeing me, she lifted her head with difficulty and said weakly:
"Sav...e Ali..." she said before the life faded from her eyes, tears streaming down her face.
Clenching my fists in anger, I promised myself I would save Alice. As I stood up, I saw Geralt crouching near a path leading to the forest. Approaching him, he said to me:
"There are tracks of two wolves, an adult man, and small footprints like those of a child," Geralt said, analyzing.
Kneeling beside him, I said, "It must be Alice. I didn't see her body, but her mother asked me to save her before she died," I said angrily.
Looking at me, Geralt stood up, placed his hand on my shoulder to help me up, and said seriously, "Control your anger, it won't help to let it consume you."
Looking at him with anger, I said, "How can you not be angry seeing this?" I said, pointing at the bodies.
I felt Geralt's hand tighten on my shoulder. When I looked at his face, I could detect no emotion, only a cold expression.
"I'm just as furious at them, but I prefer to direct this anger towards the responsible ones rather than let it consume me. So, Aiden, take a deep breath and hold on until we find those bastards and make them pay," Geralt said, removing his hand and drawing his sword before walking, following the tracks.
Watching him, I took a deep breath to calm my anger. I drew my sword and followed Geralt, not realizing that my eyes were glowing much more, with a faint dark hue in the depths of my pupils.
--------
"Master, I don't understand why we are waiting for these witchers when we could use this human to restore your former strength," said a human figure kneeling before the silhouette of a white wolf on a throne, where a frightened little girl was sitting on her knees.
Then, with a voice that was part man and something more than a man, the figure said:
"Randwulf, you unfortunately cannot understand," said the wolf, shaking his head and touching Alice's cheek with his claw, as she continued to tremble.
"You see only what you hope for, but unfortunately for beings like me, we understand the current state of the world better than you do."
Randwulf said with an interested and eager expression, "Master, tell us the truth, for we are ignorant."
The white wolf stopped, took Alice by the head, who was still crying, and placed her in a cage where two wolves were raising the cage high.
The white wolf turned to Randwulf and said, "A being has appeared that should never have been born, and that is something terrifying."
The white wolf approached the kneeling Randwulf, crouched to meet his gaze, and said in a much colder and more serious tone:
"This being is our savior or our destroyer, and I am the first person to put him to the test. Honestly, if he fails, I would rather end his life now than see him grow."
Randwulf, still ecstatic, said with an air of reverence, "Who is this being that the master must test?"
The white wolf stood up, looked at a nearly faded fresco, and said, "Hrívë oialëa, your sornë is soon to arrive for its trial."
Then the white wolf turned back to his throne with a murmur and said, "I hope, Aquila, that you will succeed in this test, because if not, there will be nothing left for the future." Then silence returned to the cave, where only Alice's cries remained.
(Hello everyone, it's your author speaking. I would like to share a little information with you: my exams are approaching, so I will only be posting on the weekends. But don't worry, as the exam period lasts only three weeks. After that, I will return with one chapter a day, and maybe even two if my story attracts the attention of more people. After all, you have to stay positive in life! ^^
Have a great day, from your author.")