The Battle of Brenna concluded not with a bang, but a protracted, agonizing whimper. The combined forces of the Northern Kingdoms, fractured by paranoia and undermined by Aizen's insidious manipulations, crumbled against the relentless Nilfgaardian tide. The strategic blunders, the phantom fears, the sudden, inexplicable panics on the battlefield — all bore the invisible signature of Kyōka Suigetsu. News of the North's decisive defeat reached Vizima in a torrent of despair, stripping away the last vestiges of hope. The city, once a vibrant bastion, now felt like a mausoleum, its streets choked with grief and the grim silence of inevitable conquest.
King Foltest, once a figure of fiery resolve, was utterly broken. The weight of his 'strategic miscalculations,' each subtly guided by Aizen, crushed his spirit. He railed against unseen betrayers, his mind consumed by the very paranoia Aizen had so meticulously cultivated. General Natalis, his pragmatic world shattered by the incomprehensible failures on the battlefield, became a grim, withdrawn figure, unable to reconcile his logical plans with the illogical catastrophes that had unfolded. Triss Merigold, utterly exhausted and mentally besieged by the constant, unidentifiable psychic disturbances, clung to her duties by sheer force of will, her once sharp mind dulled by an ambient, pervasive dread. They were all, from king to commoner, utterly defeated, their wills eroded, their ability to resist profoundly compromised.
Aizen observed this final, agonizing capitulation with a cold, almost scientific satisfaction. The Continent had been systematically broken. The illusion of free will, of sovereign kingdoms, had been meticulously dismantled. The suffering was immense, raw, a visceral testament to the efficacy of his methods. He perceived the collective despair as a vast, shimmering pool of spiritual energy, ripe for the taking. This was the raw material, the foundation for the new world he envisioned.
His time in Vizima's Royal Library now focused on the final, critical pieces of his plan. He delved into the most ancient, esoteric lore concerning the "creation myths" of this world, not for their theological content, but for any hidden references to fundamental energetic principles or forgotten methods of terraforming on a cosmic scale. He sought blueprints for reality itself, hidden within the allegories and prophecies. He found chilling implications that the Conjunction of Spheres was not just an event, but a continuous potential, capable of being triggered and controlled by an entity with sufficient power and the correct catalyst.
The pursuit of Ciri, the Child of Elder Blood, had become a continent-spanning, chaotic hunt by various factions. The Nilfgaardians sought her as a prize for their Emperor Emhyr's dynastic ambitions. The Lodge of Sorceresses, in their desperation for a new power to rebuild their influence, pursued her relentlessly, convinced she was the key to their salvation. Witchers, bound by a mysterious law, sometimes crossed her path, attempting to guide her. Aizen, through his precise manipulations of intelligence and by subtly influencing the 'hunches' of key individuals in each faction, was guiding this chaotic pursuit, herding Ciri towards a specific, highly potent nexus point he had identified in his research – a place where the veil between dimensions was dangerously thin. He intended for her to arrive there at the precise moment her power reached a critical, unstable peak, making her the perfect conduit for his own grand designs.
The Nilfgaardian advance rolled into Vizima, not with a destructive charge, but with the cold, efficient precision of an occupying force. Emperor Emhyr var Emreis, the White Flame Dancing on the Graves of His Foes, established his temporary court within the very castle walls that had once defied him. The transition was remarkably smooth, largely because the Temerian court and populace were too broken, too utterly demoralized by Aizen's hidden influence, to offer any meaningful resistance.
Aizen, still masquerading as Lady Seraphina's quiet ward, moved seamlessly within the newly established Nilfgaardian court. He observed Emperor Emhyr, a man of formidable will and cunning intellect, but ultimately, Aizen noted, bound by predictable human ambitions for conquest and dynasty. He also observed the Emperor's key advisors, his generals, and the powerful Nilfgaardian mages, analyzing their strengths, their weaknesses, and their susceptibility to subtle manipulation. Their ambition, their loyalty to the Emperor, and their arrogance made them surprisingly easy targets for his refined Kyōka Suigetsu. He began planting the first seeds of internal dissent within the Nilfgaardian high command, subtle whispers of distrust between generals, fabricated rumors of rivalries, all designed to ensure that even victory would breed internal weakness.
"The old order has collapsed," Aizen mused, watching Emhyr address his new subjects, his voice echoing across the silent, despondent courtyard. "The kings are shattered, the mages disoriented, the common folk utterly lost. They seek a new master, a new order to fill the void. This is not the end of the war; it is merely the completion of its first, crucial phase. The Continent is now a tabula rasa, cleansed by chaos, ready to be inscribed with my perfect vision."
His ultimate objective was no longer mere conquest or control, but the transcendence of existence itself. He sought to merge with, or absorb, the very essence of the nexus power, to ascend beyond the limitations of this world and even his own former existence, to become a true, absolute deity, capable of remaking reality at will. Ciri, the Child of Elder Blood, was the final, critical component in this horrifying equation. Her power, once fully manifested at the nexus point, would serve as the bridge, the conduit, or even the ultimate sacrifice for his ascent. The stage was set for a confrontation far beyond the understanding of any mortal or mage. The Architect of Lies had completed his grand demolition. Now, the true construction would begin.