[Chapter Size: 3200 Words.]
Third Person POV
Space between worlds and time.
...
...
Ciri could not help but feel even more dazed as she saw the desolate space she found herself in at that moment. The portal closed behind her.
All she could see was a vast land in reddish tones. There were no lights on the horizon. Either she was very far from any civilization in that world... or she was in a dead world, as Madara had mentioned when he explained about other worlds and his powers for the first time.
Her eyes turned to the sky. The constellation was completely different from what she knew. But what caught her attention the most was an enormous planet, much larger than the moon of her world. It was aligned — and not just it. It was possible to see other celestial bodies forming a line behind the closest planet.
Just as the unicorn had said... the planets were aligning here...
Based on that, she could also feel a shift in the chaos. It was denser, more violent, and far more abundant. If she cast a spell there, it would be at least ten times more powerful than what she was used to.
But that did not surprise her.
The moment she thought about her time travel — how much time was left before the full alignment and with no clue what to do now — a light appeared beside her. And the unicorn appeared.
"Get on me immediately," he said.
Ciri nodded and leaped, mounting the unicorn.
In the next instant, the unicorn glowed and disappeared.
They reappeared in front of a cave, at another point on the same planet. Ciri could still see the same reddish sky.
"This is a dead planet, isn't it?" she asked, as the unicorn moved into the cave.
"Yes. A planet that was devastated 50 thousand years ago by the White Frost. There was a unique race that lived here. A race that did not exist anywhere else in the universe. They were small, like dwarves, but not as strong, however they were quite technological due to the harsh conditions of their race, they quickly developed their advancement against monsters and other threats. Unfortunately, when the White Frost arrived, they had no way to defend themselves... nor to flee," explained the unicorn, galloping through the cave.
It was possible to feel a certain sorrow in his voice.
"This White Frost... can my husband and I deal with it?" Ciri asked.
"Yes. Even the gods of your world know this. But, in the original future, you had to sacrifice your life. With that other human by your side, your chances of surviving will be much greater — when he unleashes all of his power," replied the unicorn.
Ciri remained silent for a moment, thoughtful. She knew that Madara did not yet have all of his power, but he was very close, he said that he was finally reaching 1/9 of all his abilities.
But there was no doubt, if Madara were with her... they could overcome this together.
That thought brought her more confidence.
"Now we don't have much time to talk about this. We are arriving," said the unicorn.
They arrived at an open area inside the cave, like a large grotto with a pool below them. The unicorn stopped and lowered itself so she could get down.
Ciri dismounted.
She looked around and saw an opening in the cave's ceiling. Through it, it was possible to see the planets aligned at that exact moment.
"This is the Bridge of Time. This place is filled with temporal energy. There are few places like this among the worlds. This is the best location, the greatest accumulation of energy. With the alignment of the planets and the power of your blood, you will be able to travel 300 years into the past," the unicorn informed, while Ciri stared at the greenish water source.
If she were not so nervous, she would certainly appreciate the beauty of that place. But there was no time.
"What should I do?" she asked.
"We have one minute. I want you to prepare yourself. You must jump into the spring. I will invoke the spell, but I will use your own blood and the energy of chaos as fuel."
"And how will I know if I am going to the right place?" Ciri asked, nervously.
"In the same way I sent you to this world. I will also ensure that you land exactly in the Uchiha clan, on the day of the massacre. Remember: you cannot seek anyone other than Madara's parents."
"How do you know where it will be?" Ciri asked, suspiciously.
"Because I was there. Or rather... my past self was," replied the unicorn.
Ciri looked at him, but said nothing more.
"You will have one chance. While they are fighting against the clan's patriarch, using all their strength, you will be able to retrieve Madara's parents without many problems," he explained.
"I... do I need to take off my clothes?" she murmured.
"Only if you want to appear in your underwear 300 years in the past, human," replied the unicorn, there was no malice, only logic.
Ciri sighed softly. "Well... since I don't need to take anything off... I just have to jump?" she asked.
"Yes."
Ciri did not hesitate any longer. She moved forward and jumped into the middle of the pool. The water, extremely dense, enveloped her body, pulling her down before she returned to the surface.
She shook her head and looked at the unicorn above her, whose horn was beginning to glow.
He began to recite ancient words. The pool responded, starting to glow.
Ciri felt the nervousness grow as the unicorn continued the enchantment. The glow intensified.
Then, in the sky above, the planets finally aligned.
She did not know how she knew that... but she felt it. An invisible energy passed through the planet, converging exactly at the point where she was.
Her eyes turned to the opening in the ceiling, where she could see part of the sky.
In the next moment, the pool began to move violently. A strong current formed around her, creating a whirlpool.
Ciri looked around, nervous... and then up.
The unicorn was staring at her.
"Good luck, child of destiny. The time has come for your first trials between time and space to begin. You will have a choice before going to the past. If you want to change something, I will not judge you... but make sure you will still preserve the present," said the unicorn.
With those words, Ciri felt her body being pulled, as the water closed over her. She only saw the surface becoming more and more distant... until everything went dark.
At the bottom of the water, suddenly, that sensation disappeared.
She found herself falling, until she stopped...
There was no more water around her.
Her eyes widened when she realized she was in a completely different place. The environment was filled with stars... but she was not on a planet or any support...
It was as if she were floating in space.
"What is happening?" she exclaimed, feeling her voice echo in that place.
Then a light shone before her and a middle-aged woman in a peasant dress, beautiful, appeared and opened a smile.
"Hello, Mother of Aren." She was surprised to see a manifestation appear before her.
"Who are you?" Ciri murmured.
"I am the one known as the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone," said the figure, taking the form of the Mother.
"Wait... you are the goddess of Nenneke's temple? Melitele! The one who also spoke with Madara once?" Ciri asked.
"How rude of you to speak like that, you should also worship me when my followers took care of you and protected you during your pregnancy." she said.
"Sorry. I'm just surprised that you are here, but where are we?" Ciri immediately apologized.
"It's alright, my girl. We are in a space between our world, after all even though you activated an unprecedented time magic in another place, you are still interfering with our world. And, since I am already familiar with your husband, the gods here decided that I would speak with you."
"But... shouldn't I be going to the past? Why am I here?" Ciri asked immediately.
The goddess only smiled slightly. "I know that you are anxious to save your husband. You want to preserve his existence... and, with that, also that of your child. He is an adorable boy. He is being taken care of by Nenneke and the others, before you ask me."
Ciri relaxed upon hearing that. "I hope so..."
"You were once a maiden. Now you have become a mother. You understand the value of loving a child."
"I would give my life for him without thinking twice," said Ciri, firmly.
"I know. I expect no less from you. But even so... you will not go directly 300 years into the past."
"Why?" she asked, feeling a mixture of frustration and panic.
"Do not worry. I only need to ask a simple question. Because we believe that you can at least see all your choices... You may choose two ways to change the future."
Ciri frowned.
"You can go 300 years into the past and save Madara's pregnancy..."
"Or you can save Cintra from its destruction and remain there protecting the kingdom..."
"What?" Ciri's eyes widened. She had not expected that.
"You will be able to go back in time to the moment when the Nilfgaard army attacked the kingdom. You will be able to fight them. With your current powers, you could devastate their ranks... even completely change the fate of that moment."
Ciri frowned upon hearing that. She could certainly destroy thousands of Nilfgaard soldiers. Perhaps she would not be able to eliminate all of them like now, but she could make them retreat in panic. She could kill their generals... maybe even face the emperor himself.
'No... this is not right...' Not even Madara had done something like that. In a war, he did not act that way. He preferred direct confrontation or indirect strategies — never indiscriminate slaughter.
He would rather lose a war than win that way.
What kind of wife would Ciri be if she betrayed his principles?
He might act like an assassin most of the time... but in wars or direct battles, Madara never attacked like a coward.
Not even Geralt would agree with that.
Even so, a sudden interference crashed into her mind without warning. Suddenly, memories began to invade her mind.
She saw herself devastating the Nilfgaard army. Entire lines being destroyed. Generals being killed one by one by her, unable to react to her sword or powers. The army fell into complete chaos.
They retreated, trying to reorganize.
Meanwhile, the Cintra army, led by her grandmother, watched that in confusion at her interference.
Who was that young woman?
She kept teleporting across the battlefield, cutting down enemies, casting destructive spells that killed hundreds and even thousands of people before disappearing.
When the fight ended, she disappeared.
But she never revealed herself.
She never met her grandmother.
She never spoke to anyone.
She only acted alone.
The army attacked again the next day, she attacked again as well.
She simply disappeared... and then returned to attack.
First she destroyed the front lines. Then she eliminated the generals.
Weeks passed like that.
In the end... Nilfgaard retreated after a month of losses, and no one else wanted to take command, because it was certain death.
Ciri managed to stop Nilfgaard without them killing a single member of the army, and she did not return to her time.
She remained in that timeline, determined to protect Cintra.
For months, she began to attack the key families of the Nilfgaard empire in the south.
Politicians. Generals. Nobles.
This created a huge crisis in the empire.
The emperor himself was found dead.
Ciri became the most wanted person on the continent, after all, by that point, everyone already knew her.
She massacred sorcerers, witchers, and all other kinds of assassins sent to stop her.
No one could stop her.
After a year of chaos, Nilfgaard gave up conquering the North.
But the price was high. Instability. Fear. Blood.
Years passed, Ciri continued to watch Cintra not only from a distance, but also up close, entering the castle and always observing.
She saw her younger self living in the castle as a spoiled princess, by her grandmother's side.
She looked like a cheerful princess... innocent.
Even with rumors about the "platinum-haired woman," her grandmother never placed an official bounty on her. She was one of the few kingdoms that never placed rewards to find the adult Ciri.
But the rest of the North suspected. They thought she was an assassin linked to Cintra.
Even so...
Ciri remained in the shadows.
Always protecting the kingdom. Watching... without ever being part of it again.
Ciri saw her younger self at banquets that night, being praised and courted by nobles — whether nobles of Cintra or even princes and future kings. She had many suitors... Even so, the young Ciri did not seem happy and over the years she realized that this made her even worse...
Something was missing.
That caused pain in the younger one.
Perhaps she had never been meant to live trapped in a castle or be a princess, a future queen... at least not before exploring the world, knowing dangers, emotions, and everything that an adventure could provide.
At the same time, the older Ciri felt immense pain seeing the younger one like that.
While her younger version felt the absence of something, the older Ciri felt that she had lost something important — something that left a deep void in her heart. Something that prevented her from moving forward, that she could never recover and would never heal... and the only reason she did not destroy her own life was the desire to see her grandmother's kingdom prosper.
She wanted to see her grandmother alive.
Ciri watched her younger version in her room, while the older one was hidden in the shadows. The girl was on the balcony, wearing a black dress, with an empty gaze as she watched the city. Thinking... questioning whether the life of a princess was what she wanted... The older Ciri could understand that younger version...
Then, the older one left there and went to another room — a room not used in the castle.
No one could see her walking through the castle.
Ciri had mastered camouflage magic perfectly. She could become invisible, walk freely through the castle. Not even Mousesack would be able to detect her, due to the immense power she possessed.
That made her think.
Soon, her younger version would begin to manifest her powers. That would change everything. Perhaps she would be taken for training with some sorcerer... or even with Geralt, if her grandmother allowed it, which was difficult, she was still stubborn.
But Ciri did not want to think about that anymore, because it made her remember something she had lost every night when she went to sleep since she came to this world, something that corrupted her to the point of wondering if she should just take her own life?
It was too painful.
She entered that empty room and locked herself in, beginning to cry.
Perhaps because she had begun to feel all of that more intensely that night than any other, she did not even notice the door opening.
A silhouette appeared behind her.
"You have become a sad woman."
Ciri looked back in surprise — and saw her grandmother. Her eyes widened.
She tried to speak, but no words came out.
"You don't need to say anything. I know it's you... my granddaughter."
Ciri's eyes widened even more.
"I don't know how you ended up here... but it was you who protected us. Even if that condemned you as the most feared woman on the continent... even so, you protected us," said Calanthe, taking a deep breath as she looked at that older version of her granddaughter. She looked lonely and so sad...
"How did you come here?"
"It's... complicated," Ciri replied, still crying.
"But this didn't make you happy, did it?"
"No... I left things behind."
"Then you shouldn't be here."
"But you would have died if I hadn't... Cintra was destroyed in my future..."
"Yes... that is sad, certainly... but it doesn't seem to have calmed your heart. Tell me... were you happy in the future, before coming back here?"
Ciri took a deep breath. "I was... but I abandoned everything. Even the existence of my son."
Calanthe looked at her firmly. "Then you should not have interfered."
"I just... I can't...", Ciri tried to speak, but couldn't finish.
Calanthe stepped closer and embraced her.
"You do not belong to this time, my granddaughter. Whatever the past, destiny, or the gods try against you, you must not sacrifice yourself for it, even for me or for Cintra... If saving Cintra took something important from you... I would rather see Cintra burned than see you in this state," she said. In truth, she recognized a woman or a man who no longer had a reason to live.
Seeing her granddaughter, a woman who had become so beautiful and powerful... with that light extinguished in her eyes... How did things come to this...? Why did she choose to destroy everything...?
Ciri began to cry against her grandmother's chest. She had never felt that before.
All the memories passed through her mind.
If she chose to protect Cintra... that would be the result.
Ciri fell to her knees, tears streaming from her eyes, as she looked at the goddess before her. She did not know what would happen next, perhaps she would find a reason to live, her grandmother would have taken her in somehow, she could train her younger version... She did not know.
But she knew she did not want to live that!
"That would be the life you would have if you chose to return to defend Cintra. Cintra would be saved... but you would not have Madara, your younger version would also not have Madara..." said the goddess.
"You didn't even need to show me that option!" Ciri replied angrily. She did not want to have seen that. Why did the gods have to show this, they could have simply thrown her 300 years into the past and let her solve things!
"Even so, it is my duty to show you all the possibilities, Mother of Aren," replied the goddess.
Ciri looked at Melitele, still angry.
"I don't want to hear any other option. If I have a choice... just send me 300 years into the past, on the day of the destruction of the Uchiha clan. So that I can rescue Madara's parents and bring them to the future."
The goddess nodded. "Very well... then let's begin."
A light began to shine intensely, blinding Ciri's vision, until everything went completely dark.
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