[Please add reviews each 5 will add new chapter]☻
Chapter 14: The Weight of Choices
POV: Adam
The Golden Sturgeon's common room felt like sanctuary after three days of blood and moral complexity, but even sanctuary couldn't wash the taste of necessary killing from Adam's mouth. He sat at his usual table, mechanically cleaning werewolf oil from his sword with a rag that came away stained dark red.
Seven levels. Two hundred thirty crowns richer. One village saved.
The werewolf materials lay spread across the table like evidence of violence that could never be undone—hide that would make excellent armor, fangs that could be crafted into weapons, organs that alchemists would pay premium prices for. Physical reminders of a young man who'd died wearing a monster's face.
Did the right thing. Had to do the right thing. But why does it feel like I failed?
Adam's hands moved without conscious direction, folding and refolding the bloodstained cloth while his mind replayed the moment when supernatural fur had receded to reveal human features slack with death's peace.
There are ways to break curses. I didn't try. Didn't even consider it until after he was dead.
"What happened?"
Ciri's voice cut through his self-recrimination like a blade through silk. She stood beside his table with the careful posture of someone who'd learned to read emotional devastation in the set of shoulders and the way hands moved without purpose.
She waited for me. Heard I returned and came looking.
"It was a werewolf," Adam said, meeting her green eyes with honesty that felt like bleeding. "Young guy, cursed. I killed him."
Ciri slid into the chair across from him without invitation, her gaze taking in the materials spread across the table and the hollow expression he couldn't quite manage to hide.
"You did what you had to."
The words should have been comfort, but they felt like absolution he didn't deserve.
"Did I? There are ways to break curses. Mousesack could have—"
"You're one person." Ciri's voice carried the firm authority of someone stating objective truth. "You can't save everyone."
But I should try. Shouldn't I? If there's a chance, any chance, shouldn't I try?
"I'm terrified," Adam said, the words escaping before he could stop them. "Of failing. Of not being strong enough when it matters. Of watching people die because I made the wrong choice."
The confession hung between them like a bridge neither had expected to build. Ciri's expression softened, royal composure giving way to something more vulnerable and recognizably human.
"I'm terrified too," she said quietly. "Of living up to my mother's legacy. Of being the princess everyone expects me to be. Of disappointing grandmother when she's already lost so much."
She understands. Of course she understands.
"We're both terrified of failing the people we care about," Ciri continued, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Yeah. We are."
The silence that followed felt different than the comfortable quiet of friendship. This was the stillness of two people discovering they weren't alone in carrying weights that felt too heavy for their shoulders.
Then Ciri leaned forward, resting her head against his shoulder with the trust of someone who'd found safe harbor in an unexpected place.
Heart racing. Don't move. Don't breathe. Don't break this moment.
Adam sat perfectly still, feeling the warmth of her presence and the steady rhythm of her breathing against his chest. They stayed like that for long minutes, neither speaking, both drawing strength from contact that said more than words could contain.
[Relationship +7]
Current Points: 70/75
Status: Very Close Friend - Deep emotional vulnerability shared
Almost there. Almost to whatever comes after friendship.
"Adam."
Mousesack's voice carried the gentle authority of someone who'd learned to move through emotional landscapes with careful steps. The druid approached their table with the measured pace of someone who'd somehow known exactly when he'd be needed.
How does he do that? Show up exactly when the world feels like it's falling apart?
"You carry the weight of that death," Mousesack said, settling into a chair with movements that spoke of old bones and older wisdom. "Good. It means you haven't lost your humanity."
Ciri lifted her head from Adam's shoulder, but didn't move away entirely. Her presence remained close enough to provide comfort while allowing space for conversation that might require privacy.
"Sometimes there are no perfect choices," the druid continued, his voice carrying the weight of someone who'd made similar decisions across decades of service to causes larger than personal comfort. "Only necessary ones. The werewolf was killing innocents. You stopped it. Honor that choice instead of mourning the alternatives you didn't have time to explore."
How do you live with it? The knowing that every choice costs something?
"How do you live with it?" Adam asked, giving voice to the question that had been eating at him since leaving Bronwater.
"By making sure the deaths mean something. You saved that village. Those people will live because you chose to act instead of hesitating. That matters more than the theoretical possibility of a cure you didn't have access to."
The wisdom felt like cold comfort, but it was truth. Hard truth delivered without sugar-coating or false reassurance.
A hundred crowns. For the village. To help them rebuild.
Adam counted out coins from his earnings, setting aside a stack that represented nearly a third of his total wealth. Symbolic gesture that wouldn't erase guilt but might help people whose lives had been shattered by supernatural violence.
"For Bronwater," he said to Mousesack. "To help them rebuild."
[Donation: 100 crowns to Bronwater Village]
[Reputation +10 additional (now +35 total)]
[Action recognized as Merciful despite earlier killing]
The druid nodded approval, understanding the gesture's significance without need for explanation.
"Guilt is the tax we pay for caring about consequences," Mousesack said. "Feel it. Learn from it. But don't let it paralyze you when action is required."
The next day dawned gray and threatening, clouds gathering like an omen of storms to come. Adam returned to the training grounds with intensity that bordered on desperation, pushing his body and abilities through exercises designed to squeeze every possible advantage from Level 7 statistics.
Fifteen days until Nilfgaard arrives. Time to see how much stronger I can get.
Ciri matched his energy without question, her own training taking on new urgency as if she'd absorbed his determination through some form of emotional osmosis. They sparred with controlled violence that spoke of people preparing for real war instead of recreational combat.
[Training XP: 40 points]
[Airbending Development: +20 XP]
Getting stronger. Both of us. But is it enough?
The question haunted every movement, every technique, every moment of progress that felt both meaningful and insufficient. Level 7 was respectable for someone who'd started as a complete amateur, but Nilfgaardian mages and professional soldiers operated on entirely different scales of lethality.
Make every death mean something. Every choice. Every scar.
Guilt wouldn't stop the invasion. Regret wouldn't save the kingdom. Only strength would make a difference when the black banners appeared on the horizon.
Fifteen days left. Not enough time. Never enough time.
But time was all they had, and Adam intended to use every second of it.
The afternoon sun broke through the clouds as he and Ciri finished their session, painting the training ground in shades of gold that felt like hope despite everything.
Hope. For someone strong enough to change the ending. For choices that matter. For people worth fighting for.
Fifteen days to save the world.
Starting now.
MORE POWER STONES == MORE CHAPTERS
To supporting Me in Pateron .
Love [ In The Witcher With Avatar Powers ]? Unlock More Chapters and Support the Story!
Dive deeper into the world of [ In The Witcher With Avatar Powers ] with exclusive access to 30+ chapters (up to chapter 35 + 5 chapters every week) on my Patreon, plus new fanfic every week! Your support starting at just $5/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes like [ Game Of Throne ,MCU and Arrowverse, Breaking Bad , The Walking dead ,The Hobbit,Wednesday].
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!