The Temptation of Immortality

"Da~"

The Sorceress abruptly stopped, turned sharply to look at Ianna, and squinted her eyes in warning:

"Don't do anything unnecessary, Ianna..."

Ianna sighed, "Every child should have a mother and a father; this is a truth that existed before the lady existed."

"Vesemir, don't you feel awkward? Why are you running away..."

"I told you, don't do anything unnecessary!" the Sorceress warned again.

They felt the magic in the air begin to vibrate, and a terrifying pressure loomed over their shoulders.

Ianna looked at the Sorceress's unchanging beauty over the centuries and shook her head:

"When opinions differ, is this the only solution you have?"

The Sorceress didn't speak, but just stared silently into her eyes.

"Okay, okay, I understand, I understand!" Ianna waved her hand helplessly. "I won't tell him about your relationship with your son..."

The oppressive force that had been pressing on his body vanished instantly.

However, Ianna could sense that when the words "mother and child" were uttered, the surrounding Chaos Magic was clearly stirred.

"That's really too much, Vesemir!" Ianna sighed again, rubbing her shoulders with both hands.

Vesemir turned her head to look at the sanctuary with a blank expression:

"Ianna, I've been very polite to you."

"I haven't settled those two scores with you yet!"

The old lady raised her eyebrows playfully and sighed:

"Haven't we already calculated it?"

"I'm an old lady who's almost in my grave, and someone used Chaos Magic to scare and lecture me like that. I'll have nightmares again tonight..."

The Sorceress gazed at the deep lines etched by time on Ianna's face.

I recall how clean and fair that face used to be.

Even knowing that Ianna was just habitually making excuses, I couldn't help but feel a little soft-hearted.

"Ianna ..." she sighed, her icy expression softening slightly. "Why won't you use the potion?"

Her delicate, almost invisible pores touched her rough yet warm face.

"Anti-aging elixirs will restore your youth, the Veridian Sigh can add at least ten years to your life, and there are others..."

Ianna felt the cold body temperature covering her face and smelled the unique fragrance of orange mixed with cardamom, and was stunned for a moment.

Then she raised her right hand, touched her face with her cold left hand, closed her eyes, gently shook her head, and interrupted Vesemir:

"Vesemir, I don't need those potions."

Feeling her left hand enveloped in warmth, Vesemir instinctively trembled, and continued to persuade her:

"Since the Veridian Sigh works on you, it means Lady Meritellie tacitly approves... or at least doesn't care that her priests prolong their lives, why..."

"Mother Vesemir ..." Ianna gazed at the Sorceress, then softly interrupted her persuasion.

Vesemir was stunned by the unfamiliar title she hadn't heard in a long time.

"Growing old naturally is the greatest blessing Ms. Meritellie has given me..."

Ianna opened her eyes, which she usually kept squinting, and straightened her body, looking at the Sorceress with seriousness and determination.

Vesemir remained silent.

He looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar face with a complicated expression.

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Ianna said, narrowing her eyes and slightly hunching her back as she smiled and took Vesemir's hand. "We're both equally stubborn, and we can't convince each other..."

"It's been eleven years since we last met, let's talk about something happy!"

Ianna's eyes were kind and gentle.

However, Vesemir could see that in those eyes, which were as clear as when they were young, there was no difference in determination and persistence.

She was serious, and she was right.

Ianna was a stubborn person, just like her.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone eleven years without seeing each other because of a single argument, and neither of them would have taken the initiative to contact the other during that time.

If it weren't for Ailin being troubled by the Evil God, perhaps...

Looking at Ianna's aged appearance, her wrinkled face, and the faint, almost imperceptible aura of death.

Vesemir sighed inwardly, deciding not to persist any longer.

With his head down, he began to recall what was worth sharing from the past eleven years.

But she discovered that most of the time in the past, she had been struggling in a vortex of resentment, self-blame, and escapism...

The truly happy days were almost all within half a year after Ailin passed the Trial of Grasses.

then.

Vesemir then began to tell Ianna about everything that had happened to Ailin after passing the Trial of Grasses.

From using the mirage pearl she gave him as collateral to learn alchemy, to creating the foul-smelling "Killer Whale" that can prolong a witcher's underwater breathing time...

From Drowner Killer to hunting the King of Ice and the Cyclops, to becoming the youngest Witcher Master...

From an ordinary Witcher apprentice in the School of the Wolf to persuading Soyer to establish the Witcher Company...

There are also Heart Essence Fluid, Sword Oil, and magic potions made using unique alchemical techniques, and so on.

Although they were talking about Ailin, Ianna listened with her eyes half-closed, seemingly quite engrossed.

She watched as Vesemir's expression grew increasingly proud and satisfied, occasionally offering a word of agreement; the atmosphere between the two was very harmonious.

There was a garden around the sanctuary, but at this time, few people passed by.

The two strolled slowly, admiring the spring scenery, while talking about a witcher who was still carefully cleaning the sanctuary.

Vesemir had no reservations about Ianna and talked about everything with her.

She even talked about saving Sadia, the death of Haxor and the Conjunction of the Spheres, and the ban'ad wizard being captured and brought back to Kaer Morhen.

There's also her concern about the future of the School of the Wolf, Ailin's future.

When Ianna heard about these major events that affected the countries, she didn't get excited. She just listened quietly and offered a few words of comfort from time to time.

Like a normal mother and daughter who haven't seen each other for a long time chatting.

that's all.

Two hours passed quickly.

"As expected of the Child of Miracle! This little guy really knows how to cause trouble!"

After hearing this, Ianna couldn't help but sigh.

Vesemir gave her a reproachful look, the meaning of which was clear. "How can an older sister say such a thing?"

Ianna chuckled mischievously and put her arm around Vesemir's.

"But they really are quite troublesome..." Vesemir couldn't help but rub her forehead as she thought of the two troublesome male wizards in the dungeon of the Ancient Sea Fortress.

I have a bit of a headache.

"By the way, Francesca, Mary, and Lyra, who do you like the most?"

Ianna's clear eyes, which didn't match her aged appearance, darted around as she asked curiously.

Vesemir gave a light, annoyed rebuke:

"After saying so many important things, you're asking me this?"

"In addition..."

"Didn't you value Lyra quite a bit?"

"It was just a question," Ianna gently shook her head. "Besides, my taking a liking to Lyra doesn't mean I should restrict her. She is free..."

"It always has been..."

Vesemir smiled upon hearing this and casually said:

"As long as Ailin is happy, that's fine. Soyer is no longer a member of the Henrietta Family, so there's no title Ailin needs to inherit..."

"However, Lyra is probably out of the question."

"Although I really like this girl, it's obvious that they haven't spent much time together..."

"So it's Mary?" Ianna asked tentatively.

Vesemir smiled but didn't say anything.

Seeing this, Ianna smiled and didn't ask any more questions.

At this moment.

The two of them ended up circling the garden again, returning to their starting point.

After passing through the area filled with pink and red flowers, continue straight for a short while, and you will reach the sanctuary.

Springtime gradually sets in the west.

Enveloped in a flower-lined promenade, the distant pure white buildings are tinged with flowing red and gold by the sunset.

"It's so good to be young!"

Ianna gazed in the direction of the sanctuary and suddenly sighed inexplicably.

Upon hearing this, Vesemir turned her head and gazed at the face that appeared even more aged in the setting sun.

In a daze.

It seems like only yesterday that this girl, orphaned by war, was sent to the Temple of Melitele.

She couldn't bear it any longer and advised again:

"Ianna, you can change your mind at any time."

"Thank you, Vesemir," Ianna shook her head, "But it's alright..."

She paused, glanced at the sky again, smiled gently at the sorrowful Sorceress, and said:

"It's almost time. Let's call Ailin and go have dinner."

On the other side.

Ailin, who was cleaning inside the church, had cleaned almost the entire area except for the icon.

to be honest.

It was indeed a waste of talent to have a Witcher whose average attributes already exceeded fifty points do cleaning, but the Witcher didn't mind at all.

Not only because he was looking forward to removing the Great Old One's Curse and using the Blink skill to his heart's content for a long time, but also because he needed the help of the Goddess Meritellie.

Furthermore, because...

While cleaning the sanctuary, the focused tranquility seemed to gradually shed the feeling of being burdened.

It's very comfortable.

It's like having a focus buff.

So he kept cleaning and cleaning, and even became somewhat addicted, which made his perception of time much less sensitive.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.

certainly.

Aside from this faint feeling of relief, nothing strange happened that afternoon.

For example, the voice heard when facing that big-eyed Evil God in Viscount Hudson's abandoned mine.

There's also the black smoke of Evil God, imagined to be forced out of the body by a sacred aura.

Nothing happened all afternoon.

This left Ailin feeling somewhat empty inside.

To be honest...

He was quite curious about his origins as the Child of Miracle" and the origins of the Witcher's Handbook.

Before coming here, I thought I might be able to ask the goddess here and find some answers, but I didn't expect that nothing unusual would happen after an entire afternoon.

While I breathed a sigh of relief, I was also somewhat disappointed.

Looking at the spotless sanctuary, Ailin let out a satisfied sigh, thinking:

"They cleaned this place up in just one afternoon..."

"I don't know if Lady Vesemir and Mother Ianna have any other plans for me in the next few days."

Just then.

The Witcher's ears twitched, and he stood up to look at the doorway.

"Knock knock knock~"

"Shhh~"

Footsteps came from one after the other.

The witcher recognized the footsteps of the Sorceress and the High Priest.

A few seconds later.

Ianna and Vesemir then walked in through the door, one after the other.

At this moment.

Ailin noticed something strange.

Although Ianna was still smiling as before, Vesemir didn't seem to be in a very good mood.

Did they have a fight?

The Witcher wondered to himself.

"Excellent, excellent," Ianna said, carefully examining the sanctuary and praising with narrowed eyes, "A thoughtful child, Ms. Meritellie will surely like you very much!"

Ailin smiled.

That's really hard to say...

After all, the goddess had already saved his life from the big-eyed Evil God and had even spoken to him.

Thinking of this, he took out the Goddess Meritellie amulet from his chest and handed it to Ianna:

"Mother Ianna, do you think this amulet can be repaired?"

Ianna took the amulet, glanced at it, and shook her head:

"These amulets are all one-time use and cannot be repaired. I can give you another one."

Ailin regretfully accepted the battered silver amulet and said:

"No need for that, Mother Ianna."

"This is enough for me!"

Then I hung it around my neck.

Although he would certainly not need this after seven days, having been freed from the Great Old One's Curse.

But Ailin still had deep feelings for the amulet that saved his life and witnessed him opening many double-yolk eggs.

Ianna's smile deepened as she watched Ailin's actions.

"Good boy, what's the trouble?"

"But it's getting late, let's go eat first. Your companions should be waiting for us!"

Ailin was indeed a little hungry.

He nodded, put down the rag in his hand, and followed Ianna and Vesemir toward the door.

I just stepped out of the sanctuary.

"Chirp—"

A piercing noise suddenly rang out.

The next second.

Ailin's body suddenly sank downwards, as if falling into the deep sea, and everything went dark.

In a daze.

A very strong gaze was staring at him from behind, forcing him to "look" backward in his chaotic consciousness.

Just then.

"How dare you!"

A loud bang echoed from all directions of the consciousness space.

Countless beams of incandescent light followed closely behind, dispelling the darkness.

"Chirp—"

After a mournful cry.

The Witcher opened his eyes, surrounded by the refreshing scent of oranges mixed with cardamom.

At this moment, he was lying in Vesemir's arms.

"What's wrong, Ianna?" Vesemir asked anxiously. "What happened?"

"Don't worry."

A strange, ethereal voice, as if from a deity, rang out.

Ailin looked in the direction of the sound.

A pair of eyes radiating a milky white, holy light were staring at him.

Behind those eyes, he seemed to see three blurry figures.

But the next second...

They seemed to notice that Ailin had woken up.

The white light disappeared.

Ianna's pure grey eyes remained as kind as ever, as if Ailin was only seeing his illusion.

Immediately afterwards, the Witcher felt his hand being gripped tightly.

A continuous stream of warmth flowed from my palms and spread throughout my body.

The last bit of discomfort that Ailin had was completely gone at this moment.

"It's alright, it's alright..." the old man coaxed softly, "The bad things have all been driven away! All driven away!"

Ianna's coaxing tone towards a child made Ailin almost lose her composure.

"I'm alright now..."

Ailin wanted to stand up.

But Vesemir and Ianna pinned him to the ground and examined him for a while before helping him up.

"What happened?"

The Sorceress frowned and looked at Ianna.

This step was not included in the past when exorcising the Gaze of the Great Old One.

"It's nothing," Ianna shook her head gently, "It's just some bad thing struggling to survive..."