After passing through the stone passage, the space ahead suddenly brightened. At the far end of the hall stood a familiar figure. Geralt leaned against a stone pillar, adjusting the straps of his gloves.
He raised his head at the sound of footsteps and saw Ron emerge from the shadows of the passage, with Keira following half a step behind. Geralt's gaze lingered on them for a moment before returning to the path ahead.
"Let's go," the witcher said in his usual detached tone, then turned and headed deeper into the ruins.
Passing through the rift, the three of them saw from afar a group of Wild Hunt warriors withdrawing through another portal on the platform opposite.
The outlines of their armor flickered within the light, their faces hidden behind skull masks. Geralt urged them on and quickened his pace after the Wild Hunt.
By the time the three charged onto the opposite platform, the main force had already vanished, but the energy left behind by the Wild Hunt's departure tore open a rift.
Bone-piercing cold, carrying shards of ice, burst from the rift. The ground instantly froze beneath a thick layer of frost, and the temperature plummeted.
Wild Hunt Hounds kept rushing out of the rift. Larger than ordinary wolves, their bodies were covered in mane like icy spikes, and they exhaled corrosive white mist as they pounced on the three of them.
Keira raised a shield against the freezing assault, while Geralt's Aard sent the hounds flying.
Ron swung his sword down at a lunging hound. Chips of stone scattered by the greatsword rolled a few circles beneath his feet before coming to rest at the shield's edge. The frost-white rift finally closed, and the last hound's corpse dissolved into ice fragments.
As the shield's final ripples faded,