Savior, Chosen One

In her old age, Meritellie is dignified and solemn, a stark contrast to her carefree girlhood and loving maternal state.

It's somewhat like the stern and solemn appearance of Nannick in his old age as described in the original book.

It perfectly matches the image of the gods in Ailin's mind.

So, without thinking, he straightened up and looked in the direction the old woman was pointing.

I didn't notice anything at first glance.

However, after Ailin took a closer look...

Where the golden wheat fields met the starry sky, a faint, chilling blue light seemed to emanate from them.

More importantly.

It was after he realized the difference between it and the Mai Lang Star space...

What is that...?

I... how...?

The Witcher's mind seemed to freeze, his consciousness rapidly stagnating.

"Wake up!" the old woman whispered hoarsely in my ear.

A warm current flowed through my entire body.

"Whoosh—hiss—whoosh—hiss—"

The Witcher shuddered violently, breathing heavily.

Carrying a thin, icy mist, it resembled a long dragon of fog, surging towards the golden wheat field.

It took a long time for it to gradually disappear without a trace.

With Meritellie's help, Ailin expelled the chill.

But after a long time, my thoughts, which had been almost frozen, gradually warmed up.

After regaining my senses.

He was so frightened that he immediately turned his head away, not daring to look over again.

The chill that could freeze one's mind was truly terrifying.

Just thinking about it for a moment makes my scalp tingle and my hair stand on end.

"What... what is that?" Ailin answered in a trembling voice.

But the next second, his mind thawed and he guessed a name.

"Know that the Time of Sword and Axe is approaching, and it will be the Era of the Cold Wolf and Blizzard."

"The world will Die in Frost and Reborn Under the New Sun."

The old woman chanted a prophecy familiar to everyone on the Northern Continent in her hoarse voice.

"Frost, white light, White Frost ..." The old woman gazed at the light that was gradually freezing the divine kingdom and said softly, "It has many names, but no one knows what it really is."

"Even the gods cannot know?"

"Especially the gods, they cannot know," the old woman replied, tilting her head and looking at him with her cold, golden eyes.

The Witcher was taken aback by what he heard.

Especially the gods...

That statement seems to have a deeper meaning!

Before he could ask, the old woman began to explain herself:

"Gods are prisoners of the world. We share the authority bestowed upon us by the world, but we are also unable to escape it. We become the world's regulatory rules and a barrier against external influences."

"Therefore, we cannot know what happens outside of this world."

"And when we realize that we are being affected, we have already become estranged from the foundation upon which we depend for survival, and have been forcibly blindfolded and silenced..."

"But according to the prophecy, the frost shouldn't have arrived yet?" the Witcher asked, puzzled.

In the original timeline of the novels and games, hundreds of years later, even after the profession of Witcher had disappeared, Frost had not yet arrived.

but.

In the original work, the frost is more like a natural cycle of an ice age than some kind of supernatural power.

Moreover, it clearly contradicts the earlier description of Wild Hunt being chased by Frost, as well as a series of descriptions of Frost.

The Wild Hunt can traverse all realms.

One Witcher world might enter an ice age, but it's impossible for every world to enter an ice age one after another, right?

At least with the current mindset of Witcher, it's difficult to understand how a normal, unadulterated natural cycle could achieve this.

Therefore, in reality, the Witcher has never used this somewhat ambiguous and contradictory concept from the original work to align with the prophesied Frost.

But no matter what.

Although there have been some differences between the actual events and some parts of the original game, the main timeline has remained largely unchanged.

therefore...

Why was Meritellie affected by the frost hundreds or thousands of years earlier than expected?

"Not yet?" The old woman chuckled softly. "The frost has already arrived, perhaps even before the gods were blinded, it had already begun to affect the world..."

"Hmm?" the Witcher asked in surprise.

"Do you think the decrease in monsters is really because you demon hunters are killing too many?" the old woman asked.

"Isn't that right?" Ailin was taken aback by his words.

The old woman shook her head:

"No, at least it's not the most crucial factor."

"The Magic Tide is waning, affected by the White Frost, just like my divine kingdom is gradually losing its vitality."

"Monsters that rely on magic to reproduce naturally find it difficult to reproduce."

"Compared to the reduced number of monsters, the number of monsters hunted by witchers is only a very small fraction."

The Witcher fell silent.

It wasn't that he didn't believe the old woman's words.

only...

Why would He expose these things, the weakness and helplessness of a god, to an ordinary mortal?

"What can I do?" he asked.

The old woman smiled, looking at Ailin with appreciation, and said:

Just do what you're supposed to do.

Do what I'm supposed to do?

Ailin was taken aback.

What should I do?

Witcher... hunting monsters?

Or perhaps...

Ailin turned his head to look at the old woman and swallowed hard.

The old woman smiled kindly and pointed to another direction in the sky.

Although the Witcher was somewhat puzzled, he still cautiously glanced at it.

Um?

Where the old woman's wrinkled, weathered finger pointed, a faint, chilling blue light appeared, revealing a ripple almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

At the center of the ripples, the pale blue light was almost as faint as the pure black of the starry sky.

The blue color deepens from the center outwards, but even at the edges it is lighter than in other areas.

"This happened on the first day of the spring equinox," the old woman said. "A green light pierced through my divine kingdom. It was also on this day that the connection between the divine kingdom and the real world deepened."

"Otherwise, on the eve of the May Festival, I might not even be able to do something like appearing in a dream."

spring equinox...

The Witcher thought for a moment.

Wasn't that the day of the Apprentice Combat Tournament between the School of the Wolf and the School of the Cat?

so...

"That's right, it was the Conjunction of the Spheres," the old woman explained. "The Conjunction of the Spheres, which connects the two worlds, broke the seal of the White Frost."

"Moreover, for nearly a month afterward, the power of the White Frost that enveloped the divine kingdom gradually diminished."

"The divine kingdom is a barrier to the world, that is, a part of the world, so our world has obviously benefited a lot from it, delaying the arrival of the White Frost harvest..."

"So, Child of Miracle, initiate the next Conjunction of the Spheres as soon as possible. This is something only you, with the power of the Ade Gais Gate, can do."

The Witcher wasn't surprised that the old woman knew he was the Child of Miracle.

After all, this was something even Ianna, the High Priest of the temple, knew.

However, the abilities of Ade Gais Gate...

It's worth pondering that Meritellie seems unaware of the existence of the Witcher's Handbook.

As for the Conjunction of the Spheres as soon as possible...

Since Meritellie only mentioned the fluctuations at the vernal equinox, then a normal Conjunction of the Spheres would certainly not meet the requirements.

It would at least require completing the "Planetary Alignment" quest in the second phase of the hunt, but that...

The Witcher hesitated, which was uncharacteristic of him:

"The Wild Hunt may be chasing the fluctuations of the Ad Gais Gate, and their frequent use of Conjunction of the Spheres will surely attract them."

"It's too dangerous for me to face them directly now."

"It's alright..." Upon hearing this, the old woman simply tapped the Witcher's forehead with her index finger.

A large amount of information was transmitted.

[Title: Meritellie's Concealment Ritual]

[Type: Magical Ritual]

[Requirement: Ritual Studies LV1]

Materials: Chalk*2, Sulfur*2, Magic Dust*1, Mercury Solution*

[Function: Creates a ritual array capable of concealing spatial fluctuations.]

[Note: In essence, this is not a concealment ritual, but more like remotely transmitting a message like "Mom, I'm hungry." All subsequent concealment processes will be remotely controlled by the recipient of the message using Divine Power.]

"If you don't want to attract the Wild Hunt, you just need to set up this magic circle in advance."

"However, it was a very minor Conjunction of the Spheres..."

"Just like the seed you summoned on May Festival, the spatial fluctuations are very weak."

"If the Wild Hunt isn't nearby, it's hard to detect, or you can just choose a non-open-air location like a cave or crypt."

"But..."

The old woman paused, then sighed and said:

"What's really making you hesitate isn't the Wild Hunt, is it?"

This is a certainty, not a question.

The Witcher remained silent.

to be honest.

Having experienced so much since his transmigration, he doesn't consider himself a pretentious person.

He didn't hesitate to kill the School of the Cat scum, who was also a witcher.

If any troublemaker dares to steal his reward money, he will dare to take action against them.

Even if it is the ruler of a country, if anyone dares to harm what he values, Ailin will make him suffer a horrible death.

The tragic state of Koban Ade after his Planetary Alignment is still vivid in my mind.

Blood flowed like rivers, and corpses littered the fields.

He didn't like the city, but there were always innocent people in that city. Were all the people who died evil?

Moreover.

If the "Planetary Alignment" event after completing the second phase of the hunting mission has already caused such a stir, what about the third and fourth phases?

Could an accident affect a city like Arland, known for its simple and honest people?

Ultimately.

He was just an ordinary person born in an orphanage, and he didn't have the heart of stone to sacrifice ordinary people for his own benefit.

So in his previous life, even though he graduated many years ago and had such good performance every year, he was just a powerless middle manager.

So the old woman was right.

He did hesitate.

Moreover, he has been hesitant ever since leaving Ben Ade.

He actually had requests from water ghosts along the way, and they were all on the way, but he was somewhat reluctant to do them.

But now.

The true/false questions have been updated.

The weight of innocent people has been diminished by the great mission of saving the world, and something called the greater good has been placed on the other side of the scale.

What should he choose?

"Will this save the world from the White Frost?" the Witcher asked, somewhat conflicted.

The old woman looked at him with pity and shook her head:

"I have no idea."

"But at least every bit of time gained increases the chances of the world being saved."

I don't know... maybe...

Aren't you going to try to convince me?

The Witcher looked over in surprise upon hearing this.

Didn't I just tell him to activate the Conjunction of the Spheres as soon as possible?

Why is there a change in wording now?

The old woman's expression was calm:

"As I said, the more divine a being is, the more difficult it is to fully understand White Frost."

"So I can't actually be sure which option is better."

"From the surface, as the owner of the Adagath's Gate, it should be beneficial to the world to have as many Conjunction of the Spheres as possible on the largest scale."

"But..."

The old woman paused for a second, as if recalling something.

"Although I was deceived by White Frost for a long time, and a lot of things have happened in reality, there is one thing I think is right."

The golden eyes stared solemnly at the Witcher:

"Humanity has never needed a god!"

"Child of Miracle, since you were conceived by humankind, you are a miracle chosen by the world."

"Then I'm more inclined to trust your choice."

The Child of Miracle... yet another Child of Miracle...

Choosing the future on behalf of humanity sounds cool, but Ailin only felt an overwhelming weight on his shoulders.

"How is the Child of Miracle chosen by the world?" the Witcher couldn't help but ask.

Is it simply because he's a time traveler?

Can outsiders make choices about fate in place of humans in the Witcher world?

As for White Frost, he has no information at all, so how can he make a choice?

The old woman was silent for a moment, then shook her head and said:

"This is not something you can know right now. It's not that I'm unwilling to answer, but that I can't answer."

Is it that mysterious?

Ailin wanted to continue questioning, but her body felt light and airy.

He glanced down at it.

His body became somewhat transparent, and inside, a colorful sphere, just like the one in the dream scene, could be seen.

"Time's up," the old woman said. "Do you have any questions?"

The inexplicable buoyancy grew stronger, and the Witcher's feet left the ground, floating in mid-air.

The old woman was right.

His time for communion with the gods was coming to an end, and he was about to leave Meritellie's divine realm.

Is there anything else you want to ask?

He still had a lot of questions to ask...

However, most of the questions related to White Frost seem to go unanswered.

The Witcher pondered deeply, countless ideas arising and disappearing in his mind.

Oh, right!

"If we do nothing, how much time do we have left?" he asked anxiously. "When will the White Frost descend upon the world?"

The old woman shook her head. "Originally it was about a thousand years, but since the Wild Hunt appeared in the nearby Spiral last month, the time has been shortening. Now it's about eight hundred years..."

Seeing that the Witcher was about to transform into a ball of light and fly away, He waved his black robe to stabilize Ailin's figure, and then said, "So the legend of Ain Siddi before humans set foot on this continent is correct. White Frost is indeed chasing the Wild Hunt."

And it happened last month...

The Wild Hunt were indeed after the Gate of Ad Gais.

Those damn Long-ears!

Etc!

Perhaps he wasn't unable to find information about White Frost...

However, this was not the time to think. He felt his body getting lighter and lighter, and even Meritellie's strength was becoming difficult to suppress.

Suddenly remembering that there were still nine treasure chests in her inventory that she hadn't opened, Ailin quickly asked, "Can the goddess bless me and make me even luckier?"

The old woman smiled, a rare occurrence for her. "I have no power over good fortune or destiny..."

Um?

However, there was no time to ask any further questions.

Meritellie's power suddenly disappeared.

Caught off guard, the Witcher suddenly sped off into the boundless starry sky.

How did Meritellie, who had no power of destiny, manage to draw the winning numbers five times out of five?

The next second.

Just as the barrier of the divine kingdom was close at hand, a golden light suddenly caught up and disappeared into the witcher's spherical body.

A playful voice came from beside me.

"Don't get it wrong again, Witcher..."

"I am the goddess of fertility, harvest, and childbirth, the guardian of eternal maidens, mothers, and old women..."

"Meritellie!"