[Whoosh!]
With a powerful beat of her wings, Keltullis sliced through the clouds.
After riding atop the Ice Giant, Johnny now sat excitedly on the red dragon's shoulder, gleefully shouting once again.
Fortunately, both the red dragon and the giant were remarkably tolerant of the Godling.
Myrhyff had acquired a druid's wisdom, and the red dragon—perhaps during her long life—seemed to have encountered these innocent beings before.
Their dispositions were already friendly, and with Lann's command, the Godling had accomplished in a single day what he had never achieved throughout his long life.
"Lann, Lann! We're here, we're here! Up ahead is Bald Mountain—the place where those three witches hold their Walpurgis Night gatherings!"
Upon hearing the Godling's direction, Keltullis immediately gave her tail a whip and plunged downward, descending with roaring winds.
With a thunderous "Raaawr!", the presence of a top predator sent Bald Mountain into chaos—nekkers, ghouls, and even trolls fled in a panic from the land.
They wouldn't be disturbed again.
Lann chuckled as he gave Keltullis's neck a light pat, then swung down from her head.
He looked around for a moment, frowning.
Nothing here seemed particularly unusual. Lann didn't sense anything like the energy that once enveloped him within the Elemental Circle at Kaer Morhen—no force ready to whisk him away.
He then tried activating the [Dimension Travel] skill, only to find the response no different from usual.
Could this entire trip have been for nothing?
What he sought might not be laid bare before him. At worst, he could do some searching. Who knows—there might be an unexpected surprise?
Lann pondered for a moment, his amber-gold pupils suddenly contracting. The view atop Bald Mountain lost its color before his eyes, replaced by stark monochrome lines.
It was the long-neglected [Witcher Senses]!
At his current level of strength, there hadn't been much need to rely on such fine-tuned perception. The Lion of the North could brute-force his way through most situations now.
But this time, the long-dormant ability actually uncovered something unusual on the mountain peak.
—The barren summit bore clear traces of artificial tampering and arrangement.
Lann called the Godling over to help search more closely. Most of the clues they found were remnants of fire pits, wild feasts, or other unspeakable activities.
Just as he was frowning deeper at all this—
Johnny suddenly cried out in surprise: "Lann, Lann! There's something really special here!"
Lann followed the voice, but before he could make a move, the dormant power within his body suddenly began to boil on its own.
Emerald-green motes of light started to swirl around him involuntarily. Lann's eyes widened in shock.
It was the power of the Elder Blood—something never before seen. It had awakened!
He quickly turned toward the direction Johnny was pointing. It looked like solid ground, but now he knew—it was definitely not that simple.
Without hesitation, he summoned the Ice Giant. Like a massive door, its hand slammed into the hardened earth. With a cascade of dirt and stone tumbling down, what had once been buried deep beneath was finally revealed to Lann.
"What is this?"
Something cone-shaped rolled out with a rumble. At first glance, it looked like it had been forged from steel, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that it was organic—a keratinous structure, etched with spiraling, patterned ridges.
Even though it was now caked in dirt and gravel, its former beauty—comparable to that of a work of art—was still evident.
Lann cautiously took it in hand. The touch was smooth and cool, like a top-grade gemstone.
At the same time, the Elder Blood within him surged so intensely it was nearly boiling. The glowing emerald motes fully linked into a single stream, wrapping around his body like flowing ribbons—as if urging him to act.
Weighing the item in his hand, Lann suddenly had a thought.
After a brief moment of reflection, he clenched both hands—and with a sharp crack, broke the rare, spiraled artifact clean in half under Johnny's astonished gaze.
"Johnny, hold onto this. Whether I can return from the other side—whether I can come back at all—depends entirely on this thing," Lann said as he tossed one half of the spiral cone to the Godling.
The motes of light around him didn't dissipate. The power inside him remained fully awakened. Lann gave a satisfied nod.
So far, he had confirmed that this mysterious spiral cone could definitely link his world to the world of the Aen Elle elves. But getting back—that was another story.
He didn't just need a way in; he needed a reference point for the way out. Charging straight into enemy territory without a way home? If he got stuck there, then what?
As for whether breaking the spiral cone might render it useless—Lann could only say: better to not go at all than to go and never return. Besides, there had to be other ways.
"Where are you going?" Johnny asked, confused, as he took the half-piece.
"Just laying the groundwork for a future battlefield," Lann said with a grin. "Wish me luck."
As he spoke, the emerald ribbon of light swirling around him suddenly merged into a single radiant stream, forming a giant cocoon that wrapped around his entire body.
In the next moment, with a flash as dazzling as the sun itself—
He vanished.
[Dimension Travel] — Activated!
…
Lann stepped into the Astral Realm for the first time. Before him stretched a vast, hazy expanse of gray chaos, where only glimmering stars offered the faintest sense of direction.
But when he focused his gaze, he was stunned to discover that each of those stars was in fact a self-contained world.
Closest to him—nearly brushing against the world he had come from—were four massive spheres, each composed of earth, fire, water, and wind.
Upon sensing Lann's presence, they stirred slightly. But once they recognized who he was, they swiftly spun away—circling like satellites around Lann's world—until they passed beyond his view.
"Heh."
A cold sneer escaped his lips. So these were the four Elemental Realms that had once, through the Elemental Circle, coveted his power.
Farther in the distance, countless other stars flickered and shimmered. Lann could faintly make out swarms of black specks moving within them—interweaving into the life song that defined a living world.
Unfortunately, when he tried to move toward those distant stars, it felt as though a crushing weight had settled on his back. When he summoned his power to resist it, the magic within him dropped suddenly—like a diver plunging into the depths.
At this rate of consumption, he could manage a few circuits around his own world—maybe play a few rounds of hide-and-seek with the Elemental Realms. If he pushed himself with elixirs, he might even be able to catch one.
But reaching those farther stars? That was out of the question for now.
—No. One star was different.
Lann felt it instinctively as he raised his hand. In his palm, the broken half of the spiral cone responded—like a key unlocking the path to a specific world.
Suddenly, the crushing burden on his back vanished. And with a simple thought, he left his place behind.
First came the flash of light—
Then, darkness.
...
Lann opened his eyes, dazed, struggling to adjust to the disorientation of his first traversal. His vision slowly cleared.
He leapt to his feet, scanning his surroundings.
Something crunched beneath his heavy steel greaves. He looked down. Bone.
A skull, a tibia, ribs, femur, pelvis…
It seemed he was walking through a massive ossuary—a battlefield that had once been soaked in blood.
These bones must have belonged to the defeated. After all, only the vanquished are left without the time to bury their dead. Lann saw no sign of the enemies they had faced.
Strangely, the bones were still fresh—not yet worn by time or wind. It had been a while since these warriors died, but not long enough for decay to fully set in.
Lann didn't bother pondering how long they'd been dead or what had killed them. His goal had already been achieved—
He had crossed into another world.
The World of the Aen Elle elves.
Closing his eyes, Lann felt it—just as expected.
The [Teleport] marks on Ciri, Geralt, and House were all suppressed by an invisible force.
Yet amid that subdued web of sensations, a previously elusive mark suddenly lit up.
A smirk tugged at Lann's lips.
It was the mark on the Wild Hunt's commander—Eredin.
"I'll let you live a little longer," Lann whispered.
He had confirmed he could reach the World of the Aen Elle. The crucial piece of the puzzle was now in hand. That meant there was no need to rush anything else.
All that remained was to wait patiently for Adda's child to be born. Once that happened, and he gathered the six bearers of the Elder Blood—himself, Ciri, and the three dryad sisters—they could channel the power of time and space together. With it, they would open a massive interdimensional portal and bring their army through.
As for how large that battle should be—that was a question requiring careful planning.
After all, even the Aen Seidhe elves still living in Lann's world couldn't clearly say how large their kin's population was, or how they were distributed.
If they could sweep through and eliminate the enemy in a single strike, that would be ideal.
But if things didn't go as planned—if his abilities were exposed too early, alarming another group of world-traveling beings—it might stir up a mess he wasn't ready for.
And he still had Nilfgaard to worry about.
"Guess I'll head back for now—hmm?"
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---