Allen put away the Witcher Journal and, following his senses, turned sideways to look. The conical walls were riddled with holes left by Balmur's thrusts—none of them had healed.
At the recessed tip of the cone, no golden-purple light spilled out anymore. It was pitch black. But the pull of fate came from there.
"Allen, are you alright?" Ida Emean's voice reached him.
"I'm fine," Allen quickly replied in his mind. "The golem has been dealt with, I'll head out right away."
Ida Emean acknowledged with a soft sound and said nothing more.
Allen gazed at the source of the fateful pull, hesitated for a second, then reached out his index finger and gently touched the cone's tip.
Ding!
"Detected: Void Crystal of the Ard Gaeth Gate. Absorb?"
Void Crystal… Allen's brows lifted. Yet another part of the Ard Gaeth Gate—something he had never even heard of before.
[Ding! Absorbing Void Crystal of the Ard Gaeth Gate…]
[Ding! Void Crystal of the Ard Gaeth Gate is merging into the Witcher Journal…]
[Ding! Absorbing Void Crystal of the Ard Gaeth Gate…]
[Ding! Guidance Stone of the Ard Gaeth Gate is merging into the Gate's Shadow…]
The familiar class-bell chime echoed in his mind, while a warm surge spread from between his brows through his whole body.
The pull of fate vanished in an instant. The Witcher Journal appeared, lines of system prompts flashing and fading away.
"Bzzzz~"
The wolf medallion hummed in fear. He patted it lightly until it quieted down.
The surrounding space faintly shuddered in response.
Then—
In his mind, the half-transparent emerald gate from the Conjunction of the Spheres, the merging of alien realms, suddenly reappeared. This great creation, known as the *Majestic Gate*, was still less than one-tenth real, mostly illusion.
The majority of components prefixed with Ard Gaeth Gate were scattered across the Witcher's world. Who knew when they could ever be gathered together?
When the phantom of the Ard Gaeth Gate appeared, a hollow gray crystal floated near to far.
Inside the crystal, faint golden magical light shimmered at the bottom, like some kind of liquid—though only a very thin layer.
Ding~
The Void Crystal gently fused into the phantom at the jade gate's left corner, ringing with the pleasant sound of struck jade.
In that instant—
The phantom of the Ard Gaeth Gate solidified, every detail vivid and…
No!
Not vivid—it actually manifested inside the golem's body!
Emerald light shone across the gray-white cavern, as if it were a mine of green jade.
Allen blinked sharply, fearful that in the next second the ground would quake and countless monsters would come pouring out from within the Ard Gaeth Gate to fight him.
But fortunately—
The green gate stayed utterly still, standing silently in the void. It remained like an illusion, overlapping the gray stone of the golem, yet the two did not interfere with each other.
After only a few seconds, it faded and vanished.
[Ding! Absorption of Void Crystal of the Ard Gaeth Gate complete!]
[Ding! Conjunction of the Spheres – Rotfiend (Cooldown 24 days) → Conjunction of the Spheres – Rotfiend (Cooldown Complete)]
[Ding! Conjunction of the Spheres – Drowners (Cooldown 30 days) → Conjunction of the Spheres – Drowners (Cooldown Complete)]
Hm?
Two Conjunction of the Spheress? What does that mean…
Wait!
Could it be…
Allen quickly willed open the Monster Codex.
"As I thought!" His eyes shone with delight.
Beneath both the Rotfiend and the Drowners, a new mark appeared—a black hole rimmed with fiery sparks, spinning as if scorched by flame.
In other words, the Void Crystal of the Ard Gaeth Gate had not only instantly recharged the recently cooled "Conjunction of the Spheres – Rotfiend."
It also unlocked a brand-new slot: "Conjunction of the Spheres – Drowners," fully charged.
Even more importantly—the other monsters' Conjunction of the Spheres marks showed no cooldown times.
Allen did not believe this was just residual energy from the crystal conveniently filling up Drowners.
No—the only possibility was that this new "Conjunction of the Spheres – Drowners" slot (which could be swapped for any other convergence-capable monster besides the Rotfiend) was permanently usable.
Once the current convergences of the Rotfiend and Drowners were expended, both would enter cooldown simultaneously.
Which meant—he no longer needed to wait a month for a single Conjunction of the Spheres. He could now activate two different convergences per month.
This wasn't just two Conjunction of the Spheress!
This was an entirely new weapon powerful enough to shake the battlefield—plus a fixed monthly bonus of at least +15 total attributes.
"I gambled right!" Allen clenched his fists in excitement.
With these two extra convergences, plus the upcoming month's cycle, he'd have four total Conjunction of the Spheress to use for rescuing Hen Gedymdeith.
So long as nothing unexpected happened, before that rescue he could max out all attributes—including the mysterious 199-point extreme value—and undergo a second mutation. It was absolutely achievable.
But before today, with Sol gravely wounded from the Legacy vessel, it had been almost an impossible dream.
The Void Crystal was far more important to Allen right now than even the Guidance Stone or fragments of the Ard Gaeth Gate.
"When I return to Kaer Morhen, I'll immediately use both Conjunction of the Spheress," Allen resolved.
Most of the preparations for rescuing Hen Gedymdeith had finally come together.
Although the second mutation still lacked an advancement in genetic mutagenics, and there was still no way to restore Sol, Allen could at least breathe a little easier now. The heavy burden on his shoulders had been cut in half.
"Whew…"
Exhaling, Allen looked around. Once he confirmed there was nothing else to watch for, he rose and walked toward the mouth of the cave.
He didn't put away the Witcher's Journal, though. Instead, he flipped through the bestiary while walking.
He rarely opened this interface deliberately—usually only when a Conjunction of the Spheres was needed.
Back when he first unlocked it, the only entry was Drowners. Now, the bestiary was practically brimming with creatures.
Drowners, Alghouls, Water Hags, Cyclopes, Rotfiends, Wraiths, Griffins, Monster Nests…
Every monster was vividly illustrated, sorted into categories like necrophages, specters, ogroids, hybrid beasts, and more. It was as if several monsters were truly sealed within the Witcher's Journal.
When he focused on a creature, detailed stats appeared beside it—such as the maximum and minimum height, body length, weight, and number slain.
For example, his Drowner kills totaled 841, followed by Alghouls at 348…
Looking at it gave quite a sense of achievement.
Moreover, completing the first phase of a hunt quest for a monster unlocked the Conjunction of the Spheres function. Completing the second phase (so far only with Drowners) granted a "tracking" ability, which automatically sensed and detected that type of monster within a certain radius.
The Conjunction of the Spheres from the first stage needed little explanation—whether used as a weapon or as an emergency "supply" when resources ran low, it was extremely useful, practically the "core mechanic" of the Journal. Aside from the somewhat long cooldown, there were no real drawbacks.
The second-stage "tracking," however, felt a little redundant. By the time Allen had completed a monster's second-phase hunt, he had already maxed out the use of its mutagen extract. Even those close to him had likely reached the same point, meaning there was little need to track more of that monster.
But looking further ahead—if the Witcher Corps grew larger, or if common mutagen extracts were distributed widely across the school and even sold as specialty goods—then it would be invaluable.
If they could also obtain a few more Guide Stones from the Gate of Ard Gaeth, reducing the monster quotas required for hunt quests, then future tracking would make hunting far easier.
And of course, whenever specific monster materials were needed, the function would be handy.
For now, though, with only the Drowners reaching that stage, the "tracking" ability could only be said to hold great potential.
Overall, the bestiary—so tightly linked with the hunt quests—seemed more like a feature that would truly shine in the later stages.
Allen also couldn't help but wonder what new ability would unlock after completing the third-phase Drowner hunt quest.
As he pondered this, faint firelight flickered at the edge of the cave mouth.
With a thought, Allen closed the Witcher's Journal. The tallying of spoils could wait.
"Allen…"
Stepping past the smooth cave walls, he saw Ida Emean already waiting by the foot of the golem.
Not far away, barely a dozen paces, the tunnel's end lay almost within reach—a reminder of how perilous the battle outside had been.
"If you had taken any longer, I really would've had to leave you behind," Ida Emean said with a wry smile, noticing where his eyes lingered.
After surviving such a grueling fight, the elven sorceress's tone was noticeably warmer.
"That would've been the right call," Allen smiled back, sheathing his sword and leaping down from the cave mouth. "But thankfully, I didn't let you down—we managed to bring the golem down."
"Yes, you're quite remarkable." Ida Emean looked up at the golem, towering still and silent like a mountain. "I've never seen a construct of this scale before, nor even heard of one."
"If I recall correctly, the largest golems currently sold by Rissberg Group's Civil Cooperative Organization stand no taller than two men—about three or four meters at most."
"This one is already six or seven times larger than that."
"What kind of powerful core could possibly sustain such a massive body?"
Ida Emean's expression was one of sheer incredulity.
A Void Crystal… one forged through the Gate of Ard Gaeth, Allen thought.
To pierce through two different worlds and summon a corresponding high-level monster, to amass such vast and pure energy within a crystal, enough to animate a golem the size of a city wall—what was that, really?
If only there were a way to harness all that energy directly…
Allen could have teleported to Ban Ard, slaughtered the entire Sorcerers' Academy along with every Rissberg Group's Civil Cooperative Organization warlock inside it, and then, without rest, used the Wild Hunt's armor to storm Tir na Lia and destroy the Aen Elle homeland itself.
And chances were, even after all that, the crystal would still hold more than enough power.
"There's no need to wonder," Allen said, pointing toward the hollow cavity in the golem's chest. "It's already been dealt with. Once we finish searching this cavern, we can study it at leisure."
"That's true." Ida Emean nodded.
Then, recalling the peril they had just survived, her gaze lingered on the young witcher's face—handsome, still marked with traces of youth. She sighed softly.
"The Child of Miracles is indeed a Child of Miracles."
"I almost envy Vera."
Allen paid her words no mind. His eyes swept over the passage, still nearly blocked by the fallen golem, and he asked absently, "Does Lady Ida Emean not have children of her own?"
Ada rolled her eyes.
"Not everyone is as fortunate as the Crimson Fox, whose love with a witcher miraculously produced offspring."
"The Aen Seidhe sorceresses, owing to the mountain folk's naturally difficult fertility, are scarcely more likely to bear children than when paired with witchers."
"Among the Aen Seidhe, every sorceress is a lifelong priestess."
"We devote ourselves to the gods of the mountain folk and to eternal magic."
Priestesses of the mountain gods… Hearing this, Allen arched a brow despite himself and paused mid-step.
"Then Lady Ida Emean, you as well…?"
"Yes," Ada knew what he was asking. "I am both sorceress and priestess. All the 'Aen Saevherne'—what you humans call elven sages—are attendants of one god or another among the mountain folk."
"And you serve…?"
"You already know." Ada gave a faint, secretive smile.
Do I? Allen froze at her words, lowered his head in thought for a moment, and then realization dawned.
"Yes," Ada's eyes softened with memory. "I was born in Shaerrawedd, the White Rose city that adored the sea. Naturally, I am an attendant of the Sea Goddess."
[Ida Emean had never revealed this secret to anyone—not even Francesca.]
[This elven sage cherished the sea in her heart.]
[There was no shame in it; indeed, one could hardly imagine a love more pure and innocent.]
[She merely disliked baring her feelings openly, preferring instead to lock them away within herself.]
…
[She never wore metals or gemstones mined from mountains, yet pearls, coral, and amber were always with her.]
[Such delicate ornaments comforted her, reminding her of a homeland she had never truly possessed.]
Lines from the chronicles of his past life suddenly resurfaced in Allen's memory. His eyes lifted, and sure enough, he spotted coral nestled in the elven sorceress's vermilion hair.
No wonder such things had been written. So Ida Emean truly was a servant of the Sea Goddess… Allen thought.
But wait.
He suddenly remembered what Ida herself had said not long ago: "Nowadays, in the Northern Continent, few even know of the Sea Goddess. Since Shaerrawedd's fall, no free elf has worshiped Her."
No free elf worships the Sea Goddess, Ada is a free elf, therefore…
"Didn't you say that since Shaerrawedd was destroyed, no one worships the Sea Goddess anymore?" Allen couldn't help but ask.
"I did indeed say that."
The elven sorceress hesitated, then turned her gaze back toward the north, separated by the dim stone walls, and sighed.
"No one worships Her anymore… because She…"
"Has long since fallen into the depths of the sea."
.....
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