The snow fell relentlessly, covering everything in a thick white mantle. The cold was merciless, biting everything in this frozen landscape. Yet, Aiden felt nothing. Neither the icy wind that whipped his face nor the harsh chill against his skin. He moved forward in this heavy silence, only interrupted by the crunch of his boots on the frozen snow a sound almost unsettling in this expanse of bright white. Around him, the landscape seemed frozen, like a lifeless, immaculate painting that revealed no sign of life.
"Where am I?" he murmured, lost. The vastness surrounding him seemed to offer no hope, a world frozen in cold. He stopped for a moment, his thoughts swirling like snowflakes. "Why... why am I so calm?" he murmured, almost to himself, hoping the universe would provide an answer. He should have felt fear or at least a shiver, but instead, there was nothing. This calm unnerved him, rendering him strangely distant.
As he walked, he spotted the remnants of a village buried under mounds of snow a macabre vision of petrified homes, frozen for eons. A dull fear crept in as he approached an even more disturbing scene: three figures lying in the snow. His heart raced as he drew closer, hoping to find a sign of life. But he stopped, struck by the tragic sight.
A man and a woman, curled up against each other, surrounded a small figure. A child. All three were frozen in the cold, their faces etched with fear, their eyes closed forever. Despite the horror of the scene, Aiden still felt nothing. No cold, no shiver. Just a strange detachment, as if he were watching a scene from a distant dream.
"Why am I so... detached?" he asked, his gaze fixed on the immobile bodies. "It's like this reality doesn't touch me." His words, little more than a whisper, faded into the vast silence. What he saw should have disturbed him, plunging him into anguish. But instead, an almost surreal calm kept him at bay from this chilling truth.
He continued on his path and reached a snowy summit. From above, he discovered an oddly bright landscape: a sun shining in a pure blue sky illuminated the snow with a cold, white light that never melted it. At the center of this white desert, a shimmering orb pulsed like a frozen heart, casting snowflakes into the air and adding more snow to this already buried world. Aiden stared at it, both fascinated and anxious. "What's happening to me... why am I insensitive to all this?" he murmured, looking at his hands as if hoping to find an answer to his torment.
As he pondered these questions, a sound of footsteps approached from behind him. Turning abruptly, Aiden saw a humanoid figure, almost completely covered in ice, as if she had become part of this frozen landscape. Cold radiated from this mysterious figure, adding to the strangeness of the situation.
The figure stopped next to Aiden, her gaze fixed on the shimmering orb. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she said in a chilling voice, echoing like a whisper from a forgotten world. Not understanding the intent behind the question, Aiden responded, concern tinging his voice, "Who are you?"
At that moment, the figure turned her gaze to him, and a wave of cold washed over him. Her icy blue eyes showed no sign of warmth or emotion, and Aiden felt his heart tighten. Before he could articulate anything further, a piercing cry from an eagle shattered the silence. The eagle landed gently on the figure's arm. It was a majestic bird, with feathers as white as snow, and mesmerizing eyes icy blue and sparkling green that seemed to pierce Aiden's soul.
The figure stroked her eagle gently, a fleeting glimmer of tenderness crossing her impassive face. "Aquila, everything in its own time," she murmured, like a promise laden with mystery.
Aiden felt a surge of hope mixed with anxiety. This being, this entity, might know why these events were unfolding and why he was here. "Why am I here?" he asked urgently, his heart racing, a sudden warmth flooding his being.
The figure studied him for a moment, her expression impassive. "Because I wanted to show you something and explain what the term 'Aquila' truly means, doesn't it?"
She then turned her gaze back to the orb, a disturbing light in her eyes. "Do you see that orb? It's what your world calls the biting cold, or the Prophecy of Ithlinne a relentless cold that could annihilate worlds indiscriminately unless the girl of ancient blood destroys that orb at the peril of her life."
Aiden insisted, "Ciri is the one you're talking about, isn't she?"
The figure continued to contemplate the orb, her expression darkening. "Unfortunately, the orb has become more powerful than it should have. The girl of ancient blood will have no chance against it unless she is accompanied by her champion, the one who will aid her in her quest with his power."
She fixed her gaze on him intensely, and Aiden felt a pressure in the air. "You see, the world is governed by different gods some forgotten, others worshiped, as in yours. But all worlds have forgotten the four primordial gods who created the land of your world. It is we who shaped the various lives that inhabit your earth."
Aiden furrowed his brow. "But why me? Why involve me in this? I'm just a simple witcher."
The figure conjured four symbols in the air: a shard of ice, an autumn leaf, a rose, and a sun. "These symbols represent my siblings and me. My brother Lavas, symbol of autumn, embodies change, decline, and melancholy. My sister Tuilë, representing spring, is the symbol of rebirth and hope. My sister Nimloth embodies passion and love, and finally, I, Hísië, symbolize death and mystery."
The symbols glowed for a moment before disappearing, and the figure fixed her gaze on him again, her piercing look unyielding. "We are the creators of different worlds and living species. Tuilë gave birth to life, Nimloth watched over the emotions of those beings, Lavas nurtured new ideas, and I took care of the death of all things. But while peace thrived in our land, a child who should never have appeared was born the child of Tuilë and me."
She looked back at the orb, her expression filled with sorrow. "Our daughter, Morniel, was our love, our treasure, but her sins grew without our knowledge. It was too late before we intervened, as secretly, she created monsters, emotions for humans laced with sins, seeking to destroy her kin. In fact, she created what you call…" The figure paused for a moment, her gaze intense. "You call it the Conjunction of Spheres."