Chapter 9

Their grotesque bodies fell through the air towards us. They had leapt from treetops, their claws outstretched to plunge into our throats.

On the ground their deformed limbs carried them forwards, their foul stench contaminating the air.

They moved as if they were part of some sickening dance, their shrieks overlapping to form a twisted and hateful song

I lowered my head, hiding the excited gleam in my eyes.

I would enjoy killing them.

Geralt's sword darted forwards. He moved with strange grace and the Nekker's throat seemed to be guided onto the tip of his blade.

Twisting his body he thrust his sword forwards. The Nekker didn't even see how it died as the body of its brethren, still speared on Geralt's sword, crashed into it.

Geralt grunted and pulled his blade free. A twisted grin further distorted his features.

I muttered under my breath, "I can't let you have all the fun."

I thrust both hands forward.

Then the havoc began.

The ground rumbled, jagged spears of earth exploding upwards.

Invisible blades of air burst forth, slicing through bone and flesh with sickening ease.

All around the trees shook and gently swaying branches grew impossibly fast to pierce through Nekker's chests before flinging their bodies skywards.

Geralt watched this all with wide eyes. He continued to kill but his movements lacked the vigor they once had.

While Geralt struggled to get over his shock I was having the time of my life.

The elements rejoiced at my commands and my heart pounded in my chest. With every turn and twist of my hands the world was molded as I desired.

It did not matter how many came. All of them would perish under my power.

The battle continued for several hours, the monsters seemed to be endless but I could sense their numbers were dwindling. Thousands lay dead, their dead bodies piled high.

I had grown more creative with my magic. Earthen golems fought side by side with Geralt, their stone hammers caving in Nekker's chests.

So overwhelming was the smell of blood that I could taste it in my mouth.

Eventually, rather disappointingly I felt, no more Nekkers came forth.

Geralt was exhausted and covered in wounds. In truth his assistance was not needed but I wouldn't say that and hurt his feelings.

I was neither hurt nor tired. My mind was robust beyond imagination and I recovered almost instantly from the mental fatigue that came with manifesting and manipulating chaos.

Had I fought with steel rather than magic I still wouldn't have been tired.

Geralt panted breathlessly and sank to the floor, "I shall rest."

I nodded, "Good. I shall clean up the last of them."

Raising my hands above my head I closed my eyes and took hold of vast quantities of the earth element. I merged my perception with the earth beneath my feet and searched for the Nekker's burrows.

I was shocked at what I found.

An incomparably large cavern was connected to a huge web of tunnels. In this cavern tens of thousands of white pearls covered the walls and ceiling. Inside each one was a developing life.

There was still one more piece to the puzzle.

Positioned in the center of the cavern was a exceedingly large crystal. It cast a strange purple light that illuminated the rock and fell upon the Nekkers' larvae.

Whatever this crystal was, it was clear it was the source of the Nekkers' population explosion.

Manipulating the earth to become soft I pulled the countless corpses deeper and deeper down. For some time it seemed to rain in the underground cavern as Nekkers bodies fell like ugly grey raindrops from the ceiling.

The crystal seemed to sense this and vibrated, releasing a huge quantity of purple light that filled the cavern with unmoving shadows.

The corpses of the Nekkers reacted fiercely to this purple light and their flesh grew wildly. The piles writhed from the motion and bodies tumbled down.

But the purple light could not go against death. The Nekker corpses eventually ceased to move and the cavern fell still once more. I could almost feel the crystal's dismay.

I knew that I could not leave the cavern as it was. I did not want to imagine what the crystal's retaliation could lead to.

"Let no one discover this place." I whispered and allowed my thoughts to freely change reality.

In a Nekkers stomach something started to grow. Soon a green shoot broke out from its skull. The plant paused for a moment, seeming to wonder why such a heavy weight rested on top of it.

Then it continued to germinate. One shoot became two and the seed's roots spread across the sea of corpses.

When the crystal detected this invader it hurriedly released more purple light. Unfortunately my plans were not so easily ruined.

Roots as thick as a man's waist slowly snaked towards the crystal. Helpless to stop this, the crystal could only spew out even greater quantities of purple light as roots slowly encased it.

I had no way of keeping such a large crystal with me as I travelled and storing it closer to human civilization could only bring danger.

So it would remain here, hidden away by countless layers of nigh-unbreakable rock and guarded by this unique plant of my own creation that countered its strange purple light.

No one but a mage could get past the magical defenses and uncover this secret. Were they so determined to do so I would ensure that they never made such a foolish choice again.

The purple light tainted all it touched. Even the mighty earth spirits paid it a wide berth for fear of the corruption brought about by the purple light.

This crystal nor the scourge of Nekkers had ever been mentioned in the books, games or the show.

I knew that the Battle of Sodden had yet to pass. If he hadn't met me Geralt's adventures would've ended today. It would be impossible for him to save Ciri from the belly of a monster.

That meant...

The world was changing.

This was no longer the Witcher universe I knew.

I had already affected the plot of this world, otherwise Geralt never would've remembered the young son of a wealthy noble contractor, no matter how polite or cute he was.

But this crystal meant something else.

Destiny was changing. The strings of fate were being cut and twisted by unknown forces. This world was spinning off its course, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

Geralt's gravelly voice sounded in my ears, "Let us leave, night is falling."

I stared at him and said nothing.

A key character of this universe had nearly died in an unassuming forest. What did this mean for the rest of the world.

Only time would tell.