Chapter Summaries

At the feast, Geralt told He Shenyan about Anderson’s mother and admitted he had taken Anderson from her without asking. Anderson agreed to find Vilya, and He Shenyan prepared to take them to her.

• Vesemir sang a ballad and, overcome with drink, recited the names of the dead as Anderson led him back to his room.
• Geralt asked He Shenyan whether prophecies came true, then recited the prophecy of the White Wolf and the Black Wolf.
• Geralt told He Shenyan that Anderson’s mother was Vilya, a scholar he had known in Rivia, and explained how he had taken Anderson from her as a newborn.
• He Shenyan challenged Geralt for deciding Vilya’s future without her consent, and Geralt admitted he had acted partly for selfish reasons.
• Geralt said he wanted to find Vilya, and Anderson agreed to go with him without holding a grudge.
• He Shenyan told Geralt and Anderson to finish eating and dress presentably so they could go find Vilya.

He Shenyan brought Vilya face-to-face with the son she had feared was dead, after Geralt revealed he had taken the child away sixteen years earlier. The chapter left Vilya and Anderson alone together while He Shenyan and Geralt returned to Kaer Morhen.

• Vilya remembered the child she had never seen and feared he had died during Witcher training.
• He Shenyan visited Vilya and asked whether she wanted to see her child, prompting her to warn him against using the matter to threaten her.
• He Shenyan opened a portal, and Geralt and Anderson entered Vilya’s office.
• Geralt apologized to Vilya for taking her child away, and Vilya recognized Anderson as her son and wept.
• He Shenyan led Geralt back to Kaer Morhen, where Geralt asked whether he had done something wrong.

Geralt and He Shenyan went fishing, and He Shenyan revealed that the river temporarily overlapped with a dark ocean world. Anderson reunited with his mother, Vilya, and they shared a quiet, emotional moment.

• Geralt questioned He Shenyan about his fishing experience and his past in Skellige.
• He Shenyan magically caught a strange black fish with a glowing head, then showed Geralt that the river had become a dark, seemingly bottomless expanse.
• He Shenyan explained that he had briefly made two worlds overlap and urged Geralt to fish, but Geralt refused.
• Anderson sat with Vilya, the mother he had never met, and told her that the people at Kaer Morhen had treated him well.
• Anderson took Vilya's cold hand, and they smiled at each other through their tears.

After reuniting with his mother, Anderson walked Vilya home through Wyzima, where assassins ambushed them. Anderson killed the attackers, and Vilya resolved to make those responsible pay.

• Vilya and Anderson spent the day talking, then walked through Wyzima as Jimmy kept their secret.
• Anthony gave Vilya a bag of apples, and she shared one with Anderson on the way to her villa.
• Anderson sensed danger at Vilya's gate and pulled her aside as arrows struck where she had been standing.
• An arrow pierced Anderson's shoulder, but he killed three attackers with a short sword while Vilya armed herself with a crossbow.
• Inside the villa, Vilya treated Anderson's wound, and he urged her to leave with him because it was unsafe.
• Vilya, furious that someone had tried to kill them, vowed to make the attackers pay.

He Shenyan and Geralt discovered that Will Gimo had sent the killers after Vilya because she refused to endorse Narcotic Powder. Geralt and He Shenyan set out to find Will Gimo, while Anderson stayed behind to protect Vilya.

• He Shenyan revived a dead attacker, who revealed that Will Gimo had sent the killers.
• Geralt asked Vilya about Will Gimo, and she explained that he had tried to make her claim Narcotic Powder was harmless.
• Geralt decided to hunt Will Gimo and ordered Anderson to stay with Vilya; He Shenyan joined him and protected the villa with three arrays.
• Geralt led He Shenyan through the Temple Quarter’s alleys and recalled how Will Gimo had robbed and slaughtered a merchant family seven years earlier.

Geralt told He Shenyan how Will Gimo’s crimes drove him to seek revenge, and the two tracked Will to St. Lebioda’s Hospital. There, they found the hospital overrun by people hollowed out by The Void, and He Shenyan prepared to face whatever Will had become.

• Geralt explained that Will Gimo had bribed Maribor’s mayor and escaped after harming a five-year-old girl, and said he intended to kill him that day.
• A Black-Robed Mage attacked Geralt, but He Shenyan trapped and destroyed him with magic.
• He Shenyan learned the Black-Robed Mage’s information from his mind and led Geralt to St. Lebioda’s Hospital.
• Geralt and He Shenyan found the hospital staff hanged and the surrounding poor transformed into empty shells by The Void.
• He Shenyan burned the hollowed people and restored Geralt’s composure, then said they would face the main course Will had prepared.

Geralt confronted Will Gimo while He Shenyan went to Black Tern Island to stop The Void from entering the world. After He Shenyan destroyed a creature that had emerged through the rift, the Lady of the Lake appeared, and the chapter ended with her claiming he need not worry about the rift.

• The Mage transformed Geralt’s steel sword into an anti-magic blade bearing glowing runes and golden flames, then left Geralt to fight Will Gimo.
• Geralt charged Will Gimo as He Shenyan traveled to Black Tern Island and discovered The Void was corrupting it.
• He Shenyan found a rift above the island’s lake and destroyed a juvenile creature from The Void with blue flames.
• The Lady of the Lake emerged from the rift, recognized He Shenyan as a disciple of Ancient One, and said she traveled between worlds.
• He Shenyan asked the Lady of the Lake to let him close the rift, but she told him not to worry after burping.

The Lady of the Lake revealed that she had eaten The Void and dragged He Shenyan into the lake. With The Void gone, Geralt faced Will Gimo alone and prepared to kill him.

• The Lady of the Lake said she preferred eating her own kind and confirmed she had eaten The Void.
• The Lady of the Lake pulled He Shenyan into the lake and kissed him despite his refusal.
• Geralt fought Will Gimo, who claimed a thousand souls protected him from death.
• Will Gimo knocked Geralt down and boasted that he would torture and consume him.
• The Void vanished with the thousand souls, leaving Will Gimo human again.
• Geralt picked up the burning sword and raised it to kill Will Gimo.

At Kaer Morhen, He Shenyan and Geralt traded accusations until the Lady of the Lake appeared and asked for the silver-haired girl he had rescued. The girl woke, recognized the Lady of the Lake as her sister, and was warmly embraced by her.

• Geralt teased He Shenyan for leaving him to fight alone, while He Shenyan admitted he had been with the Lady of the Lake; Geralt refused healing so He Shenyan would remember his wounds.
• Vilya visited Kaer Morhen to see how Anderson was living and planned to write a book challenging stereotypes about Witchers.
• The Lady of the Lake emerged from a water barrel and asked He Shenyan to hand over the silver-haired girl he had found.
• He Shenyan took the sleeping girl from his Magic Backpack, and the Lady of the Lake woke her with a touch.
• The girl greeted He Shenyan, then called the Lady of the Lake her aunt before correcting herself to sister; the Lady embraced her affectionately.

He Shenyan met Seyani, the Lady of the Lake, after Merlois revealed she was a Nymph and left through a water barrel. Seyani asked He Shenyan to save a world, offering herself as compensation, but he had not yet agreed.

• Merlois introduced herself as a Nymph who wandered between worlds and explained why her kind sought humans with high moral standards.
• Merlois jumped into the hall's water barrel and vanished, then the Lady of the Lake emerged from it.
• Seyani introduced herself to He Shenyan and flirted with him until he demanded to discuss business.
• Seyani asked He Shenyan to save a world whose people faced destruction because of one person's mistake, and offered herself as payment.

Seyani showed He Shenyan a world doomed by catastrophe and admitted that her failure to protect it had caused its destruction. He refused to help until she revealed she knew Swallow’s whereabouts, then bound her to a White Tower Council contract requiring her to tell him if he saved the world.

• Seyani explained that Nymphs could not use their power to change worlds and warned He Shenyan about the cost of choosing knights.
• Seyani showed He Shenyan the world’s devastation and future destruction, then confessed that her mistake had doomed it.
• He Shenyan refused to save the world because he did not know what had gone wrong and had other responsibilities.
• Seyani claimed she knew Swallow’s whereabouts, and He Shenyan restrained her and demanded a contract witnessed by the White Tower Council.
• Seyani agreed to tell He Shenyan where the Swallow from his memories was if he saved the world, and the White Tower Council established the contract.
• He Shenyan released Seyani into her lake on Black Tern Island and did not return to Kaer Morhen that night.

He Shenyan and Geralt spent the winter and spring at Kaer Morhen before traveling to Cintra, where Geralt hoped to take commissions and He Shenyan planned to collect books. They arrived to find the city unnaturally quiet and heavily patrolled, leaving Geralt suspecting a political problem.

• He Shenyan stayed at Kaer Morhen with Geralt, set up portals, and watched Anderson grow closer to his mother, Vilya.
• By early May, Geralt had mastered the flames and runes of He Shenyan's sword and set out with him for Cintra.
• Geralt and He Shenyan traveled south through several regions and reached Cintra after two months.
• Geralt and He Shenyan entered Cintra and found its streets nearly empty, with guards patrolling in groups and residents shut indoors.
• Geralt suspected the city's silence was caused by politics, while He Shenyan examined Cintra's architecture and disliked the royal palace's golden spire.

Geralt and He Shenyan stayed at an elf proprietress’s inn, where He Shenyan exposed her magical disguise and stopped her spell. The proprietress, realizing she was outmatched, began explaining matters in the area after He Shenyan asked her about them.

• Geralt found a small inn run by an elf and rented two rooms for himself and He Shenyan.
• He Shenyan cleaned their table with magic and told Geralt to wait for a good show.
• The proprietress approached with their food, and Geralt noticed that her face had changed dramatically.
• He Shenyan questioned the proprietress about her beauty and the inn, then stopped her attempt to cast a spell by saying, “Forbidden.”
• The proprietress acknowledged that He Shenyan could easily kill her, and he asked her to tell him about the area.
• After a silence, the proprietress began to speak.

He Shenyan brought Francesca Findabair to his Mage Tower, where she witnessed Andrea casting spells in a way she had never seen. He questioned Francesca about the elves’ arrival in this world and Ciri, then admitted he had learned of those secrets from her mind, leaving her furious and humiliated.

• He Shenyan concluded that the sorceress’s magic relied on controlling and suppressing elemental Chaos Energy, then took her through a portal to his Mage Tower.
• Francesca watched Andrea directly command magical energy, and He Shenyan told Andrea to drink her milk and care for her health before continuing her practice.
• He Shenyan introduced himself and asked Francesca whether he should call her Enid an Gleanna or Francesca Findabair.
• Francesca tried to charm He Shenyan, but he remained unmoved and asked how the elves crossed worlds and where Ciri was.
• When Francesca demanded to know how he knew those secrets, He Shenyan said he had read them from her mind, and she angrily asked what he had seen.

He Shenyan compensated Francesca for looking through her memories by giving her extensive magical knowledge. After waking, Francesca learned that Andrea could demonstrate the spells and began considering the significance of what she had received.

• He Shenyan admitted he had seen Francesca's memories and offered compensation, and Francesca asked for his magic.
• He Shenyan gave Francesca a ball of light containing two methods of spellcasting, then stopped her from trying to eat it and transmitted the knowledge into her.
• Francesca woke to find Andrea waiting and learned she could leave through a portal or stay and ask Andrea questions.
• Andrea demonstrated transfiguration, and Francesca thanked her before examining the knowledge He Shenyan had imparted.
• Francesca suspected the vast magical knowledge was also a warning, while Andrea returned to reading.

He Shenyan studied Francesca's memories and traced Elder Blood to Cintra's queen, Calanthe Fiona Riannon, and Princess Pavetta, giving him a lead in his search for the Swallow. He returned to the inn, where Geralt complained about cooking, and suggested they meet the king, which Geralt resisted.

• He Shenyan reviewed what Francesca's memories revealed about the elves, Ithlinne's prophecy, the White Frost, and the Swallow.
• He Shenyan traced the Elder Blood lineage to Calanthe Fiona Riannon and Pavetta, though he could not determine which inheritor was the Swallow.
• He Shenyan returned to the inn and found Geralt eating a poorly roasted potato he had cooked himself.
• Geralt complained that He Shenyan had left him to cook, and He Shenyan joked about his culinary skills.
• He Shenyan asked whether Geralt had considered meeting the king, and Geralt said he wanted no involvement with kings.

He Shenyan brought Geralt to Queen Calanthe’s banquet in Cintra, disguising him as a nobleman while pursuing the truth about the Swallow and Ithlinne’s Prophecy. They entered the hall and met Calanthe, and Geralt learned the fabricated story behind his identity.

• He Shenyan explained that Calanthe’s banquet was meant to arrange Princess Pavetta’s marriage and build an alliance with Skellige, but said he had come to investigate the Swallow.
• He Shenyan used an illusion to hide Geralt’s white hair and cat eyes and presented him as an East-born baron.
• He Shenyan and Geralt arrived at the banquet hall, where Queen Calanthe welcomed He Shenyan and invited Geralt to sit.
• Geralt asked about his disguise, and He Shenyan told him he was supposedly a heartbroken poet and painter devoted to someone long dead.

At Calanthe’s banquet, He Shenyan noticed that Eist Tuirseach was hiding his true appearance beneath a glamour. Princess Pavetta arrived, and He Shenyan was troubled by her age as Calanthe treated her beauty as a way to secure a profitable match.

• Eist Tuirseach approached He Shenyan, toasted him, and said he had brought his nephew to meet Pavetta.
• He Shenyan used magic to pour wine and then rudely asked Eist for a quiet moment alone.
• He Shenyan told Geralt that Eist’s appearance and mind were concealed by a glamour.
• The herald announced Pavetta’s arrival, and the fifteen-year-old princess entered the banquet hall.
• Calanthe watched Pavetta as though she were a commodity, then frowned after a servant and a guard captain whispered to her.

Urcheon of Ebbing arrived at Queen Calanthe’s feast to claim Pavetta under the Law of Surprise, citing the promise King Roegner made after Urcheon saved his life. He declared that Pavetta had belonged to him since birth, leaving Calanthe and the gathered suitors facing his claim.

• Calanthe allowed Urcheon of Ebbing to enter, and the Mage told Geralt that Calanthe had once asked him to arrange a silent killing.
• Urcheon entered the feast in spiked armor, refused Calanthe’s demand to remove his helmet, and explained that a knight’s oath forbade him from showing his face before midnight.
• Urcheon recounted how he had rescued King Roegner from a ravine fifteen years earlier and said he had come to collect the promised reward.
• Calanthe threatened Urcheon, but he insisted she knew the reward had been the first thing Roegner found at home without his knowledge.
• Urcheon identified Pavetta as that reward and announced to the gathered knights that she had belonged to him since birth.

At Queen Calanthe’s banquet, He Shenyan confirmed that Urcheon’s claim under the Law of Surprise had to be honored, and Urcheon revealed his hedgehog-like face. Pavetta chose to leave with him, but Calanthe summoned the guards as Pavetta’s uncontrolled magic surged through the hall.

• He Shenyan asked Calanthe whether Urcheon’s claim was true and said the promise had to be honored.
• At midnight, Calanthe demanded that Urcheon reveal his face, and he removed his helmet to show his hedgehog head.
• Calanthe asked Pavetta whether she would leave with Urcheon, and Pavetta answered yes.
• Urcheon asked Calanthe to bring Pavetta to him, but Calanthe called the guards instead.
• As Pavetta screamed and magic filled the hall, He Shenyan told Geralt that Pavetta was a Source who could not control her powerful magic.