Ciri.

—

Taking a deep breath to enter the Selfless State so that his fragile emotions cannot be seen, Yoriichi now returns to being a gentle smile demon slayer who remains dead calm in all situations. No matter how dire or anguished the situation is—similar to when he was tested repeatedly by O'Dim and Radovid—his Selfless State ensures that he will not react too strongly, with only one or two tears slipping through.

As for why he does not dull his fragile emotions permanently to avoid being affected by those tests, it is because he knows that what makes quantum entities like him unique is their ability to experience all kinds of sensations. Unlike O'Dim, who cannot feel anguish and desperation when faced with infinity and instantly changes his mindset to either 0 or 1—in other words, to destroy the world or to become the highest—Yoriichi embraces the full range of emotional experiences.

Faced with the sadness and anguish of not being able to glimpse even the edge of true infinity, a human like him is able to come to terms with it, humbling himself to try his best. In return, after accepting that he cannot become infinity while still wanting to participate in the physical world, he discovers how to peek into that infinity. Not only does he glimpse it, but he also receives the inspirational revelations placed throughout the multiverse by its Designer, such as why the two Doctors named themselves Order and Chaos instead of using their own names.

That's why, for him, it is better to be a humble, ordinary human full of creative inspiration who can shed his mortal body whenever he wants, as he looks down at the ground for the mathematical equation. Rather than a powerful human that is no longer a human with the goal is only looking up at the sky, trying their hardest to shed their mortal body, forsaking what makes humans special in the first place.

But he knew that such a line of thinking would only hinder him from seeing the bigger picture, as these two concepts can be woven together to create something new. Therefore, he smiles giddily because once Yin and Yang work together in harmony, as the Doctor designed, they will merge to create a world so vast that they can touch the hint of infinity. Because of this, he has decided that he cannot view any positive viewpoint with one-sided prejudice but must receive it with open arms.

Seeing that time will return to normal one minute later due to the aftereffects of his high level, he flies toward the designated space just before stopping the world's time to confront O'Dim. Looking at the ground where Ciri and Moiraine are, Yoriichi smiles at the two people from his pack whom he has not seen for such a long time. 

As one minute passes and time returns to normal, he continues to fly with the vampire groups before slowly bringing them down to the ground. Turning around and walking to stand in front of Ciri, he touches her rough cheek and feels the texture under his thumb. 

After two eons, three eons, five eons, and then losing track of time in lonely despair, he is finally able to see the ashen-gray-haired lady's chest rise and feel the rhythm of life once again. Remaining silent for many hours, Yoriichi then, with a gentle smile on his face, says, "Long time no see."

"Ouch, finally! My leg is cramped up, you know!"

Chuckling, he says, "Sorry, I forgot. My mind still isn't adjusted yet."

Sitting on the grassy ground to relax her leg muscles, she then asks, "What is happening to you? Because whenever I look at you, I suddenly feel this heartache in my chest, like we were once separated by a very big chasm. Only after a long time did we finally meet again."

Smiling meaningfully, knowing that quantum entities like them are not constrained by the concepts of time and space, he simply says, "Yes, we are."

Sitting on the grassy ground to overlook the entire landscape in the misty morning, Yoriichi continues, "But you don't need to worry. It is fixed now." Pausing, he adds, "And I will never let that happen again. If I ascend, I will bring everyone with me."

Placing her hands on her Zireael swords, Ciri asks, "You're not being manipulated to feel melancholic again, are you? Who is the Mythic Path holder this time? Don't worry—whoever they are, my sword is ready to slash that bastard in two."

Chuckling at her readiness to combat his stupidity, Yoriichi says, "Sorry, young lady, but this time, I don't think a sword will be of much help. So, good luck with that."

Lying on the ground with his hands behind his head, he then closes his eyes and adds, "Still, thanks for the thought."

After minutes of constant silence, he feels wet lips touching his own, followed by the pounding of a heartbeat connected to a slightly heavy chest. Opening his eyes and seeing Ciri already snuggled into his chest after performing a guilty action, Yoriichi just chuckles. Freeing his hand from his head to hug her, he then stays silent, feeling her cooling breath in rhythmic harmony with his own.

After a long time spent relaxing on his comfortable chest, she suddenly asks with a heavy breath of tiredness, "Should we resume our journey? Toussaint is already locked down."

Stroking her head in a rhythmic pattern and gently loosening the knot in her long, beautiful hair, Yoriichi smiled and replied, "It's okay. We can take our time. You don't need to worry about the Conjunction aftermath anymore."

"Hmm? Why the sudden unwind?"

With her tied-up hair now freed, Yoriichi gently caresses it and says, "I realize that there is more to life when we slow down to experience it."

"Why do I feel like you're becoming more and more like Vesemir?"

Chuckling, he answers, "Well, I think passing through eons certainly taught me something."

Opening her eyes and placing her chin on his chest to look him in the eyes, Ciri raises her eyebrows and exclaims, "You certainly have a weird poetic way of speaking whenever you become melancholic. Are you sure you're not being manipulated?"

"Relax, young lady. This time, there's nothing like that."

Rolling her eyes at being called that, knowing their age difference is probably only one or two years, Ciri returns the jab, "Whatever you say, old man."

"Oh yeah, speaking of Vesemir, how is he? Did you guys find him?"

Her chest beating loudly from the sudden warmth that doesn't come from temperature, Ciri answers, "He is alright. Yen and Geralt found him in Nilfgaard. Specifically, it was Tzarina Katarin who found him when she conquered lands northward from the Aen Elle."

"Where is he now?"

Her heart thumping loudly, she replied with a choked-up voice, "H-he is in Kaer Morhen."

"Hahaha, as I thought."

"Hmm, y-you know him? Y-you know that place?"

"Shhh. It's a secret."

"W-what—"

"Anyway… Should we greet this Vesemir? According to the Geralt database, he is the oldest living Witcher with a lot of experience and wisdom. Recruiting him for the Demon Slayer Corps would be beneficial, especially since we don't know much about managing a military organization."

—