[Chapter Size: 2600 Words.]
Third Person POV
Empire.
...
...
"Ciri..." Emhyr murmured before closing his lips. "...You look a lot like your mother," he finally said, in the Northern Tongue.
She stared at him for a moment, never losing the extremely cold glint in her eyes as she looked at her supposed father.
"Geralt told me how he saved you from your curse. He said you were a cursed man transformed into some kind of hedgehog-like creature. And yet, while everyone feared you, my mother saw far more in you than a monster. She saw someone polite, honorable, and brave." She continued, her eyes still faintly gleaming as she looked directly at the man.
"Even back then, among all the suitors seeking my mother's mother's hand, she chose you. She chose to stay by your side, even with your appearance. Geralt removed your curse, but you changed over the years. You became someone my mother no longer loved."
It was on the night Geralt lifted the curse that he invoked the Law of Surprise, and Pavetta was revealed to be pregnant in the very next moment, meaning the child would be destined for the witcher.
In any case, Ciri's words made the entire castle tremble from the loss of control over her magic, stirred by the turbulent emotions of that moment. Everyone looked around in alarm as the structure shook. Some believed the beast standing in the middle of the city was responsible for it.
Emhyr, however, never took his eyes off his daughter. He kept a serious expression and did not answer the accusations, nor did he try to justify those words. Silence was his only response.
"I know you caused my mother's death," she said, making the castle tremble once again.
At that moment, she moved, pulling her arms away from Madara and rising from the throne.
"My mother realized there was something strange about you. That you were hiding things, and in the end, she discovered that you were planning to take me to Nilfgaard aboard the ship that was originally bound for Skellige. You intended to use me for your political games within this empire..."
"My mother hid me away in Cintra, leaving me with my grandmother. You didn't even realize it until you were already halfway there, out at sea. When you found out, the two of you argued. Then you pushed her into the sea while she drowned." Ciri spoke, and with every step she took, the entire castle trembled as she walked away from the throne.
Emhyr remained silent until then, but finally decided to answer her. "I did it because I knew your potential. I knew you were the key to the future."
The men around them watched the entire scene in confusion, looking at the woman approaching while making everything shake, now even more bewildered by their emperor's words. Was this truly his daughter?
"Of course... the prophecy, isn't it?" Ciri said mockingly. "Vilgefortz contacted you back then. He knew your worth, and he also knew the value of the blood the Fionas carried. After all, there was a prophecy that the Child of Destiny would become the ruler of all worlds. You thought it might be me... or one of my children."
"You listened to that mage, but your plan failed. And when my mother fell into the sea because of her fight with you, you had no choice but to return to Nilfgaard and claim your place as the heir to the former emperor, the one who had been cursed and forced to flee to the North. That was when the story everyone knows truly began."
She was already walking along the long carpet, aligned with the emperor, while everything around them began to shake even more violently. Dust and small fragments fell from the ceiling as the men watched the woman with growing fear.
"I understand that you hate me. I won't deny that I caused you pain as well," Emhyr said.
"Oh, really? Just as I expected..." Ciri replied with a cold smile. "Back then, I was just a naïve girl. I knew nothing about politics or war. But then, all of a sudden, soldiers from the South invaded Cintra, destroyed my home, my grandmother died, and I had to leave everything behind and flee because I had no other choice."
"Later, I found out that the one responsible for all of it was none other than my own father. The very man everyone said had died alongside my mother."
"You believe I wanted your mother's death. You're wrong. What happened that night was the result of choices that slipped beyond my control. I never intended to kill Pavetta."
"Don't you dare say her name!" Ciri's voice roared, making everything tremble instantly. The advisors, the guards, and even Emhyr himself lost their balance and fell to the floor. At the same time, a furious roar echoed from the gigantic beast standing in the middle of the city.
"Don't you dare say her name!" Ciri glared at the man, fury roaring within her. Emhyr, now lying on the floor, showed a glimmer of fear in his eyes for the first time.
At that moment, the doors of the hall burst open. Realizing that something was wrong, several soldiers rushed inside.
"Emperor!" the men shouted in the Nilfgaardian tongue.
The scene was bizarre. The emperor lay on the floor of the great hall alongside his advisors and royal guards, while a single woman remained standing, very close to them, staring at him with fierce eyes.
The soldiers quickly drew their swords.
Ciri cast nothing more than a single glance at them. The glow in her eyes made it clear that no one was going to interrupt her.
She simply slapped the air.
A wall of energy as large as the doors of the throne room instantly materialized, surging forward with overwhelming force. The soldiers did not even have time to react. The barrier passed straight through their bodies, disintegrating every piece of metal in their armor, along with their skin, muscles, organs, and bones, reducing them to nothing but dust.
The wave of energy swept through more than a dozen soldiers, reducing every one of them to ashes.
Emhyr had to swallow hard at the sight before him, while the entire castle continued to tremble from the rage Ciri felt at that moment.
She wanted to kill him.
She wanted revenge.
And she stared without looking away at the one man she wished to kill with her own hands.
An overwhelming force flooded not only Emhyr, but also every advisor and guard, causing them to collapse to the ground instantly, as though an entire mountain were pressing down upon their bodies.
"Ciri... Please..." Emhyr said through gritted teeth, feeling as though he would be crushed on the spot. "Just listen to me."
Ciri stared at him for a few seconds. Madara said absolutely nothing. He merely watched everything from the throne.
Little by little, the trembling began to subside. She finally eased the pressure of her magic, allowing everyone to breathe again as they gradually freed themselves from that suffocating force.
Emhyr dropped to his knees, gasping for breath, looking at himself with unmistakable fear.
"Ciri... Listen to me..." he continued with difficulty, trying to catch his breath.
She simply watched him in silence.
This time, she waited. She wanted to hear what he still had left to say.
Even shaken, Emhyr was the emperor. He would not remain on the ground before everyone. He slowly stood up and faced his daughter once more. Despite his caution, he still tried to maintain the dignity befitting his position.
"I know you harbor bitterness toward me, but let me tell you something... something important. Whoever you think you are... you are still my daughter. My heir."
"Oh, really?" Ciri replied in a dark tone. "I thought you'd already found a woman you intended to marry using my own name.... Is that true, Emperor of Nilfgaard?"
Her words dripped with contempt. "It disgusts me that you once intended to use me... to marry me...?" Just saying those words filled her with overwhelming revulsion. It was the most repulsive thing she had ever uttered in her entire life.
"Yes. I considered that possibility. The throne required a successor whose legitimacy no one could question. It was a political necessity," Emhyr said.
ROOOOOAAAARRRRR
The fox roared, and the palace shook as if it wished to kill Emhyr after hearing his answer. Even Madara's chakra surged, making the castle tremble even more violently, this time because of him.
Ciri simply stared at him. If she had still held even the slightest doubt before, hearing those words now and remembering everything Vilgefortz had planted in that man's mind left her feeling nothing but disgust.
"Listen, Ciri... You are Nilfgaard's heir, the successor to the Golden Sun. Everything I build should belong to you. You should rule Nilfgaard. Everything, from the far South to the mountains of the North, belongs to you. It is yours by right. You are the true Empress of the Continent."
As he spoke, Ciri's expression was nothing but one of revulsion.
"You make me sick..." She raised a hand to her face and turned her back to him.
She could no longer bear to look at him. She had to do something before she completely lost control.
"Ciri. With me, the world will be in your hands. You must rule the world alongside your husband... and I can help..." He never finished the sentence.
Ciri could not bear to hear another word. A sword slowly materialized in her hand.
At that instant, the entire world seemed to slow down.
The world stood still.
Every movement she made left a trail of greenish light in the air. She spun around, her expression consumed by pure fury, and swung her sword toward Emhyr's neck, bringing the blade so swiftly that he did not even have time to react.
When the tip of the sword was only millimeters away from touching the skin of Emhyr's neck, she felt an impact.
The very next instant, time resumed its normal flow. A metallic clash echoed throughout the hall.
Ciri's eyes widened as she saw Madara holding a kunai, blocking her sword and preventing the blade from cutting through the emperor's neck.
At the same time, Emhyr felt his body lifted off the ground. Madara had seized him by the throat with one hand.
"You can't do this..." Madara said to Ciri in a serious tone.
Ciri, however, said nothing. She remained motionless while the sound of the clashing blades continued to echo throughout the castle.
The men behind Emhyr were completely panic-stricken. None of them could do anything except watch. The emperor had nearly been executed by his own daughter before their very eyes.
Madara simply hurled Emhyr several meters away.
The man hit the floor with a groan of pain. Then Madara turned his attention back to Ciri, still holding her sword.
The two of them took a small step backward at the same time.
He looked at her.
She looked back at him.
Lost within those emerald eyes, Madara saw every detail perfectly. Tiny droplets slowly began to form in her eyes.
Within seconds, they became tears that streamed down her cheeks.
Ciri simply looked at him as she cried.
She did not say a single word.
Madara walked over to her, completely ignoring Emhyr, who was coughing while several men rushed over to help him.
Without saying anything, he pulled Ciri into his arms and embraced her. "Let me handle this. Go back home, Ciri."
She remained still for a few seconds, her lips trembling as the tears continued to fall.
"I can't let you do this. I know you want revenge. I know how much you hate him. But this will leave its mark on you as well. Let me deal with him. Let me stain my own hands. I can't let this happen to you."
Ciri simply nodded in silence. Madara gently raised a hand and wiped the tears from her face. Then he leaned in and placed a soft kiss upon her lips.
"Go to the North. You need to stay with our son." She looked at him and simply nodded.
Madara lightly touched her shoulder.
The next instant, Ciri vanished.
Almost at the same moment, a sorcerer emerged from behind one of the pillars near the throne and rushed toward Emhyr, who was lying on the floor, taking advantage of Ciri's disappearance.
"Your Majesty! Are you alright?"
"Get me out of here... Now..." Emhyr said between coughs. After seeing Ciri leave, he knew he was going to die.
The sorcerer nodded quickly.
The two disappeared through a portal, shattering a magical teleportation stone, leaving behind only the advisors, the royal guards, and Madara.
Madara remained completely calm, merely staring at the place where Emhyr had stood only moments before.
Ciri reappeared at the temple in the North. She stood still for a moment, taking in the structure around her.
She could see Eira and Toto in the courtyard. Eira looked at her the moment she noticed her. But a single glance was enough to realize that something was wrong.
Without saying a word, Ciri entered the temple. She crossed the courtyard and found Geralt talking with Hilda. Nenneke was somewhere nearby. She also recognized another voice.
It was Yennefer.
For a brief moment, Ciri pleasantly wondered when she had returned. But she quickly pushed that thought aside. Far more important things weighed on her mind.
She walked through the temple's corridors. It was already the middle of the night, and at that hour, Aren would normally already be asleep.
Ciri looked at him with gratitude when she found him playing with some of his toys, which moved on their own through magic, while a small crystal of light illuminated the room.
He certainly should have been asleep. That was why Aren was surprised when he looked up and found his mother standing in the doorway, silently watching him.
"Mom..." he said, startled, already expecting to be scolded, just as Hilda would have done if she had caught him awake at that hour.
But Ciri simply walked over to him, knelt down, and pulled him into a tight embrace.
"Mom..." Aren repeated, now somewhat surprised and even uncomfortable as he realized she was crying.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart... May I lie down with you for a while?" Ciri asked, her voice choked with tears.
"Did something happen, Mom? Are you hurt? Where's Dad?" he asked, his face filled with concern. Ciri simply gave him a sad smile as she hugged him.
"You're a wonderful son..." Ciri replied, gently caressing his face. "Always worrying about your parents like this. We're alright. I'm just... a little sad. Is it okay if I stay with you for a while?"
Aren simply nodded. With his tiny hands, he gently wiped the tears from his mother's face.
Ciri led him to the bed and lay down beside him. Meanwhile, she felt his little hands touching her face with tender, heartfelt concern.
She realized that she could not have been more grateful for her son's love. It was one of the most precious things she had in her life now.
And it was exactly what she needed at that moment.
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