Chapter Summaries

After returning to Rivendell, Josh handled staffing and recruitment issues while reconsidering his neglected responsibilities to his students and colleagues. Ciri visited him to ask when they would confront the Wild Hunt and how she could return home, since her teleportation magic did not work in this world.

• Josh returned to Rivendell after two months away, and Frank and List struggled with the work and administration in his absence.
• Josh assigned experienced people to the Shire, brought promising students from the Marvel Universe, and decided to recruit more mages to expand the magic network.
• Josh considered Wina, Ciri, Daenerys, Professor Charles, and Aiden Pearce's needs, then decided Charles and Aiden could rest before the group gathered in the Marvel Universe.
• Ciri entered Josh's office speaking the Muya Continent's language and asked when they would deal with the Wild Hunt and how she could return home.

Josh explained to Ciri why her bloodline magic could not work in his world and agreed to take her back to the Witcher world. He proposed bringing Geralt and other mages to Rivendell to maintain public order, and Ciri agreed to try to persuade them before their planned departure in five days.

• Josh told Ciri that her world had a much lower power limit and that its rules prevented her from using bloodline magic in his world.
• Ciri asked Josh to take her home, and he agreed, saying he also wanted to visit her world.
• Josh proposed recruiting mages and inviting Ciri's adoptive parents, especially Geralt, to help maintain public order in Rivendell.
• Josh considered establishing a mercenary corps in the Witcher world as a training ground for his younger subordinates.
• Ciri agreed to persuade her adoptive parents to come, and she and Josh set their departure for five days later.

Josh arranged for several people to be revived by storing their summoned souls in Magic Crystals, then prepared to travel with Ciri and Akathosh to Ciri’s world. After learning Ciri had arrived around the time she and Dandelion were caught near Hawthorn II’s estate, Josh opened a Void Gate and helped her withstand its pressure.

• Josh took Aiden home, summoned his niece’s soul into a Magic Crystal, and gave Dr. Wu her DNA for cloning.
• Josh praised Dr. Wu’s research and gave the researchers Ares’s corpse to study.
• Josh brought Charles to the Marvel Universe, then summoned the dead requested by Price and the others and took them to Jurassic World.
• Natasha and Avila declined to join Josh on his next trip, so he spent his remaining time with them before departing with Ciri and Akathosh.
• Josh learned that Ciri had arrived when she and Dandelion were discovered near Hawthorn II’s estate, then opened a Void Gate and shielded her from its pressure.

Josh and Ciri arrived in the Witcher world, where Josh disguised her as Daenerys so she could observe Geralt without disrupting the timeline. They found Geralt and Vesemir facing a Griffin, and Geralt recognized Ciri as she emerged from Josh’s portal.

• Josh sensed that the Witcher world had a low magical intensity and realized he and Ciri had arrived near White Orchard Village.
• Josh warned Ciri that encountering her past self could affect the timeline, then suggested she disguise herself and follow Geralt.
• Josh used magic to transform Ciri into Daenerys, and the two traveled toward Geralt while sharing stories about their pasts.
• Josh sensed a Griffin attacking Geralt, Vesemir, and a farmer, then teleported himself and Ciri to the scene.
• Geralt and Vesemir watched Josh’s silver portal appear, and Geralt exclaimed when he recognized Ciri.

Josh reunited Ciri with Geralt, then used reflected Axii magic to learn about Geralt’s search for her and the threat of the Wild Hunt. Geralt agreed to hire Josh, leaving the group bound by a contract and wary of Josh’s power.

• Geralt mistook Daenerys for Ciri, then discovered the Griffin had vanished and met Josh and the talking dragon Akathosh.
• Josh revealed that Geralt had called Daenerys Ciri and offered his mercenary services, prompting Geralt and Vesemir to grow suspicious.
• Geralt attempted to use the Axii Sign, but Josh’s magic restrained Vesemir and made Geralt reveal that Ciri was his daughter and the Wild Hunt was pursuing her because of her bloodline.
• Josh persuaded Geralt to sign a contract for help finding Ciri, then lifted the spells and left Geralt disturbed by what had happened.

Josh explained to Geralt that Ciri had asked him to help against the Wild Hunt, then proposed recruiting Vesemir for a mercenary corps. Vesemir dismissed the offer, but Josh claimed he could restore him to the body of a twenty-year-old.

• Josh told Geralt that he had met and rescued Ciri, who had asked him to help deal with the Wild Hunt.
• Josh formed a lifelike image of Ciri from Silver Mana, convincing Geralt that he had met her, though Geralt still planned to confirm the story with Yennefer.
• Josh stayed at the inn while Geralt went to seek confirmation, and Vesemir asked whether Ciri had truly sent Josh.
• Josh described Vesemir's experience and proposed recruiting him to help establish a mercenary corps.
• Vesemir refused, calling Josh a child, and Josh claimed he could restore Vesemir's body to the age of twenty and warned Vesemir not to call him child.

Josh demonstrated his power to Vesemir by isolating them in a Mirror Space and restoring Vesemir’s youth. He explained that he had agreed to help with the Wild Hunt because someone in this world was important to him.

• Josh told Vesemir he could restore his youth and showed him that the inn’s patrons could not perceive them.
• Josh revealed that they were in a separate Mirror Space, then overwhelmed Vesemir with magic.
• Josh restored Vesemir’s body and abilities to their youthful peak.
• Vesemir asked why Josh had come, and Josh explained that Ciri had found him in another world and that he had come for someone in this one.

Josh explained his plans to Vesemir, who agreed to help establish an independent mercenary corps and teach its members about the world. Josh then made clear that Vesemir would manage the corps and train more Witchers.

• Josh told Vesemir he needed an experienced guide to help establish a mercenary corps and train his students in this world.
• Josh restored Vesemir to his youth and returned him and Ciri to the correct world plane.
• Ciri questioned Josh about frightening Vesemir and his plans, while Vesemir weighed whether to cooperate.
• Vesemir agreed to help prepare an independent, medium-sized mercenary corps that followed Witcher rules.
• Josh told Vesemir he would manage the corps, teach its members the world's basic knowledge, and train more Witchers.

Josh spent the day talking with Vesemir, then played Gwent with him while they waited for Geralt to return. Geralt reported that he had found a lead on Yennefer involving a Griffin, and Vesemir later told him that Josh and his companions came from another world and that he had agreed to command Josh’s mercenary corps.

• Josh and Vesemir exchanged stories about their worlds, and Josh invited Vesemir to visit his territory and join its growing ranks of talented people.
• Josh conjured a complete Gwent deck and beat Vesemir repeatedly, while Ciri watched and Akatosh slept on Josh’s shoulder.
• Geralt returned to the inn and told Vesemir that he had taken a Griffin contract while seeking information about Yennefer.
• Josh offered to help kill the Griffin and said he wanted to make it his mount.
• After Josh and Ciri went to rest, Vesemir told Geralt that Josh’s group came from another world and that he had agreed to command their mercenary corps.
• Vesemir asked Geralt to watch Josh and his companions and discover their true purpose, and Geralt agreed.

Geralt, Josh, and Ciri went to lure the Griffin into an open clearing so Josh could capture it and make it his mount. As the Griffin approached, Geralt asked about the status Witchers might have in Josh’s world, and Josh promised they would be respected there.

• Geralt reflected on Vesemir’s account of Josh’s world and wondered whether sorcerers and mages could leave their troubles behind there.
• Josh and Geralt discussed Josh’s training, Ciri, and Geralt’s dislike of teleportation before Ciri joined them to deal with the Griffin.
• Josh led Geralt and Ciri to a clearing and used magic to activate the Magic Seed he had planted in the Griffin, drawing the creature toward them.
• Geralt asked whether Witchers would face discrimination in Josh’s world, and Josh assured him that people with professions were valued there.
• The Griffin’s sound came from the sky, and Josh announced that the capture was about to begin.

Josh captured a Griffin with a spell, bound it to him, and rode it with Ciri while Geralt reported back to the Nilfgaardian camp. After Geralt and Vesemir reunited at the inn, a group of drunken men and soldiers confronted the innkeeper over alleged collaboration with Nilfgaard.

• Josh immobilized the Griffin with Rune Imprisonment and forced it to accept a master-servant contract.
• Josh rode the Griffin with Ciri to the camp while Geralt traveled separately on Roach.
• Geralt told the commander that the Griffin had been killed, then planned to travel to Vizima to find Yennefer.
• Geralt returned to the inn and invited Vesemir to join him, but Vesemir stayed to work for Josh.
• Drunken men and soldiers surrounded the innkeeper, while a grieving woman accused him of collaborating with Nilfgaard.

Josh used his Wind Blade Technique to kill tavern thugs who were attacking the owner, then he and Geralt left with Ciri. Outside, they met Yennefer, who ordered them to accompany her to Vizima to meet the Emperor of Nilfgaard.

• A group of drunken men beat the tavern owner, and Vesemir warned Geralt against interfering in a political dispute.
• Josh said they should help, then used Wind Blade Technique to dismember the thugs who were exploiting the chaos to rob and kill.
• Geralt, Josh, and Ciri prepared to leave, but Nilfgaardian soldiers arrived with Yennefer, who greeted Geralt and asked who Josh and Ciri were.
• Yennefer told Geralt to go with her to Vizima and meet the Emperor of Nilfgaard, refusing to explain further.
• Josh mounted his royal Griffin with Ciri after Geralt explained that Josh had captured it, and Yennefer warned them to keep it under control.

Josh confronted the Wild Hunt squad pursuing Yennefer and froze nearly all of them with powerful frost magic. He interrogated the lone survivor, who revealed that he could sense the main force but that it might already have moved on.

• Geralt and Yennefer discussed Ciri's danger and Josh's role in helping her as they traveled toward Vizima.
• Yennefer sensed the Wild Hunt approaching, and Ciri spotted its armored riders following the group.
• Josh sent the Griffin against the Wild Hunt, then covered the area in magical frost and froze the riders.
• Josh removed the helmet of the sole survivor and used magic to make him reveal that the main force could be sensed but might have left.
• Josh ordered the survivor to kill himself after learning he could not lead Josh to the main force immediately.

Josh and Ciri reached Vizima with Geralt and Yennefer, where Josh refused Emhyr’s summons and froze dozens of guards who threatened him. Emhyr learned what happened while demanding that Geralt find Ciri, leaving Geralt to prevent a confrontation between Josh and the Emperor.

• Ciri asked Josh where the Wild Hunt had gone, and Josh said they had withdrawn and would come after them again.
• Yennefer warned Josh not to underestimate the Wild Hunt, but Josh insisted its riders were weak compared with the forces he knew.
• At Vizima’s palace, Geralt was taken to meet Emhyr while Josh and Ciri declined to see the Emperor.
• When Emhyr’s guards threatened Josh, Josh froze dozens of them and left one survivor to carry their bodies back to the Emperor.
• Ciri asked Josh whether he would kill Emhyr, and Josh said he would leave her father’s fate to others.
• Emhyr demanded that Geralt bring Ciri back, then learned from the surviving guard that Josh had killed his men; Geralt tried to calm the guard and anticipated trouble.

Geralt explained Josh’s origins, power, and demands to Emhyr, who then went to meet him. Josh confronted Emhyr with his view of the world’s smallness and demonstrated a godlike pressure, leaving Emhyr ready to talk.

• Emhyr questioned a guard about his failed attempt to invite Josh and then asked Geralt to explain who Josh and his companions were.
• Geralt told Emhyr that Ciri had met Josh in another world and enlisted his help against the Wild Hunt, and that Josh wanted to recruit mages and Witchers and establish a mercenary group.
• Geralt described Josh’s immense magical power and warned Emhyr not to treat him like a servant.
• Emhyr went with Geralt to Josh’s room, where Josh dismissed Emhyr’s status and compared his world to a well.
• Josh’s overwhelming presence convinced Emhyr that his personal power exceeded anything Emhyr had imagined, and Emhyr agreed to talk.

Josh persuaded Emhyr to submit, explained Ciri’s timeline situation, and made Geralt forget that Ciri was currently safe so he would continue searching for her. After Emhyr and Geralt left, Josh restored Ciri’s true appearance and told her he found it more attractive.

• Josh used an illusion to make Emhyr believe he could not defeat him, and Emhyr asked about Ciri and the mercenary corps.
• Josh told Emhyr that Geralt still had to search for Ciri and sealed Geralt’s memories of her current safety until he saw the real Ciri.
• Emhyr agreed to let Geralt rest overnight and meet Yennefer before departing.
• Ciri questioned Josh about altering Geralt’s memories, and Josh reassured her that the spell would cause no harm.
• Josh removed Ciri’s transformation magic and told her that her true appearance suited her better.

Josh, Ciri, and Geralt traveled to Velen to pursue a lead on Ciri while Josh discussed the region’s war and the limits of his willingness to help. They entered the devastated No Man’s Land and continued toward the Inn at the Crossroads to find Hendryk.

• Josh and Geralt chose to follow the more promising Velen lead, planning to contact Emperor Emhyr’s spy Hendryk at the Inn at the Crossroads.
• Josh traveled with Ciri and Geralt, while Geralt explained that Velen had become No Man’s Land amid the war between the Northern Realms and Nilfgaard.
• Josh told Geralt he would not establish a mercenary group to provide unpaid help in a world that was not his own.
• After two days of comfortable travel aided by Josh’s magic, the group entered Velen and saw corpses hanging from a tree.
• Josh used a spell to clear the foul air, and the group continued toward Hendryk while Geralt hoped to find Ciri quickly.

Josh and Geralt traveled through war-torn Velen toward Hetherton Village, where Hendryk had likely been killed by the Wild Hunt. After Josh killed a band of soldiers and Geralt questioned their souls, Josh rescued a woman from soldiers, leaving him and Geralt to reflect on how survival in Velen could be worse than death.

• Josh and Geralt learned from an innkeeper that Hendryk lived in Hetherton Village and that strange white light had appeared there the previous night.
• Josh identified the light as the Wild Hunt's work and agreed with Geralt that they had probably arrived too late to find Hendryk alive.
• A group of soldiers surrounded Josh's party at the inn, and Josh killed them before they could attack.
• Josh summoned the soldiers' souls, and Geralt questioned them for information before the group set out for Hetherton Village.
• Josh killed soldiers who were abusing a woman and burned their cabin, then told Geralt that he had done what he had to do despite the woman's uncertain future.

Josh recovered from the horrors of war and helped Ciri cope with her guilt over the devastation caused by the Wild Hunt. After discovering that Hendryk was dead, the group decided to seek the Bloody Baron and a witch, while Ciri asked Josh to hug her.

• Josh reflected on the suffering war inflicted on civilians and decided his future mercenary corps would reject people who harmed or ignored them.
• Josh, Ciri, and Geralt reached the devastated Hetherton Village, where Geralt calmed a survivor and learned that the Wild Hunt had captured Hendryk before massacring the villagers.
• Josh reassured Ciri that he would help stop the Wild Hunt, and Geralt returned with two leads: the Bloody Baron and a witch Ciri had argued with.
• The group agreed to visit the Bloody Baron first and rest for the night, while Josh advised Ciri to find Dandelion before using magic to lure the Wild Hunt.
• Josh promised Ciri he could end the Wild Hunt and the Elf Empire, and she asked him to hug her.

Josh, Geralt, and Ciri went to Crow’s Perch after killing the Bloody Baron’s men, and Josh used magic to force the Baron to meet them. The chapter ended with Josh lifting the Baron into the air and threatening to replace him as Velen’s ruler.

• Josh concluded that the game’s Ciri was far more innocent than the Ciri from the novels after she went to sleep alone following their embrace.
• Geralt, Josh, and Ciri arrived at Crow’s Perch and found its soldiers on alert over the men they had killed the previous day.
• Ciri regretted killing the Baron’s men, but Josh reassured her that Philipp Strenger would not care much about their deaths.
• Geralt began fighting the soldiers after negotiations failed, and Josh trapped them with ice spikes and demanded that they summon the Baron.
• The Bloody Baron emerged with his soldiers, and Josh lifted him into the air while warning that he could give Velen a different ruler.