—
Although he would have loved to pound the ground in rage—because once again, information about Rience being in Cintra had slipped through his mind, and only a few hours after the Elder Blood had activated, Vilgefortz had already begun to act—Gustave was unable to have an emotional outburst, knowing the Witchers around him could hear his heartbeat.
Yet it seemed he still couldn't calm himself down, because just like the other two pieces of information that had slipped through his mind, Rience's presence in Cintra had also vanished from his thoughts due to how very tiny the information was. So, even as he repeated his mantra again and again to steady himself, Gustave simply couldn't.
He found himself thinking that his laziness over the three years since arriving in this world had become a real flaw—one that, if not for his ancient grandmother, would likely have doomed him to countless horrors the moment he first arrived.
Refreshing his awareness of the threats in this world and in his immediate surroundings—because he refused to be surprised again as he had been when Rience appeared in Cintra out of nowhere—Gustave couldn't help but feel a chill.
There were many dangers that had slipped through his thoughts simply because his mindset was still focused on Witcher 3–level threats.
Like Avallac'h. He still carried the old stigma in his head—that Avallac'h was the same as the pre-game version who still had Auberon alive and who had not yet been broken by Eredin.
So when he refreshed his memory again, he forced himself to remember who this Elven Sage actually was: a mad-scientist type who viewed humans as nothing more than mongrel apes, long before he was forced to tone himself down after seeing his own creation, Caranthir, take someone else's side instead of his.
And not only that. In Witcher 2, the Isle of Avalon is mistakenly called the Isle of Avallac'h, and it's placed very close to Lyria and Rivia.
Even though he knew it was just a naming error from the developers back on Earth, now that he actually lived in this world, he couldn't just brush that mistake aside. It might be true information—or at least something he needed to consider.
Not to mention that Avallac'h was also the Elven Sage who possessed the ability to perceive destiny. He knew Avallac'h was likely already aware that he was a guest from another world, considering the Sage could read every plot Ciri was meant to go through in the books.
If not for the confirmation from the Devil that his fate was already set in stone upon arriving on the Other Side—and the presence of his ancient grandmother—Gustave knew Avallac'h would probably have already captured and experimented on him simply because of his peculiarity.
But because the Elven Sage was a firm believer that destiny, one way or another, always fulfills itself, Gustave was able to live in relative peace, knowing the Aen Elle hadn't started hunting him.
However, while the Elven Sage believed wholeheartedly in destiny, Gustave himself did not. He trusted in Schrödinger's Quantum Science Theory: that as long as something remains unobserved, destiny can still go both ways.
So he knew the Devil's reassurance back then had just been meant to make him lower his guard—filling him with bloated pride that he was "destined for great things."
So, with the sound of clapping and laughing echoing around him—before being abruptly silenced when Ciri's eyes briefly turned green—and his own heart pounding in rage and fury as if he wanted to atomize the entire world, he was finally soothed by Vesemir's voice—just enough to calm his anger, even if only slightly.
"What happened to you, child? Your face… it looks like you wanted to burn this world to ashes."
Exhaling as he forced himself to calm down—because he really didn't enjoy this constant battle of wits that everyone in this world seemed so damn good at, to the point that he would need to start the battle earlier just to gain the upper hand—Gustave finally answered after a brief moment of silence, letting his anger settle.
"Why did people want to kidnap Sister Ciri and kill me, Master Witcher? Gustave doesn't understand. It's like Gustave's efforts over the past few weeks—or even the past month—weren't enough, and now it seems I need to act even sooner."
Stunned and puzzled by what the toddler boy was saying—and equally astonished at the intelligence and way of speaking of this bright child, reminiscent of the famous Alzur from the history books—Vesemir paused to think.
He realized that, just like Alzur in his early life, who wanted to turn Witchers into super-knights, this boy's mindset would likely be shaped in a similar way. But unable to craft a great speech, and being a simple Witcher with standard-level eloquence, Vesemir just replied from experience.
"It's the way of the world, child. Things happen—good ones, bad ones. What's already passed can't be changed, so there's no use dwelling on it. What matters is what you do right now, in this very moment. That's what shapes the next step. All you can do is take care of what's in front of you and do it the best you can."
"The future? Nobody knows. But what you do in this moment? That counts. Every choice, every little action, it all adds up. So don't get lost worrying about what's already gone or what's yet to come. Focus on what's here, and handle what's right in front of you, child."
His mind worked at full capacity, connecting Vesemir's wisdom with Schrödinger's Quantum Science Theory: that if something is unobserved, it exists only as a possibility.
Suddenly, he had an epiphany about how to hide himself from destiny, fate, and the many horrors of this world that could read the trajectory of his life.
And knowing that the activation of his own version of the Elder Blood would bolster his Beyonder abilities to navigate this crisis—this seer-like insight of gods, demons, and sages—he stood up to thank Vesemir.
Although it would not magically undo his past mistakes, like the information that had slipped through his mind—which he needed to accept as part of the experience, just as Vesemir had said—the old Witcher's wisdom still gave him both an idea and a measure of comfort.
"Thank you for your wisdom, Master Witcher. If you need me for anything, just tell me. Gustave will try his best to fulfill your wish."
"Are you sure about this, kid? You really think you can pull it off with those tiny little hands of yours?"
Seeing the smirk on Lambert's face, Gustave sighed to himself, knowing this guy wasn't taking him seriously. But since Gustave wanted Lambert to assume him to be just a toddler-like boy with a highly intelligent mind, he simply accepted being mocked by the prick.
"Yes, Sire Witcher. Gustave will try his best to fulfill your wish."
"Oh, really? Then maybe you can start by crafting us Grandmaster Wolf Armor… I'd pay to see that."
"Lambert, that's enough."
"Hahahahaha—"
"Yes, I can, Master and Sire Witcher. Just give me two to six years, and Gustave can make you the armor."
Seeing all the Witchers present stunned, followed by Lambert's uncontrollable laughter, Gustave sighed once again to himself and expanded his Spirituality [Knowledge] ability to glimpse the diagram of the Grandmaster Wolven Gear in the armory chest of Kaer Morhen.
He knew they would not give him the diagram officially. So instead, he decided to steal it, knowing it would be difficult and require extra effort to convince them—especially since his toddler act had become too believable in certain situations.
—
Under the quietly falling snow of winter outside the window, Gustave and Ciri spent about two hours by the kitchen fireplace under the care of the Wolf Witcher.
During this time, as they talked, he planted a seed of suggestive doubt in Adon, who wanted to go to Toussaint, encouraging him to be more careful there so that the original timeline, where he died, would not occur.
Not only that, but during this time, the timid Ciri—experiencing her first encounter with an assassin—kept glancing at Geralt out of instinct.
The Witcher, however, instead of looking at Ciri, stared at Gustave intensely. Gustave realized that this protagonist's father was far too dense to understand that the child in question might actually be a girl, leading Geralt to assume that Gustave himself was the child after their conversation about Cintra, where they had come from.
But before he could explain to Geralt that he was not, in fact, the Child of Surprise, and that it was actually the person beside him—currently hugging him like a koala—Gustave heard the sound of space tearing outside the castle. Instead of feeling excited that they might finally be going home, his expression turned cold once again.
Although they were not Vilgefortz's minions, the threat was a hundred times worse, because through his [Knowledge] ability, he saw Naglfar in the sky—in other words, the forces of the Aen Elle coming to reclaim their own creation now led by Auberon instead of Eredin.
He knew they had arrived because of the massive amount of Elder Blood power being used by Ciri, like a shark sniffing blood in the ocean.
Yet it still puzzled him why they had decided to act now, unlike in the book, where they would simply wait for Ciri to come to them, knowing that those with seer abilities usually remained calm and patient, manipulating the timeline to their desire from the comfort of their homes.
To make matters worse, even Avallac'h, who respected destiny so deeply, was now working side by side with his creation Caranthir—something that had never happened in the Witcher 3 timeline.
Looking at the full group of Elven sages, he finally understood the answer when he noticed the concentration of Ice Magic directed toward him.
The reason was probably that the moment he began theorizing Schrödinger's Quantum Theory, Avallac'h and many other Elven sages—or anyone with seer abilities—were unable to see the future connected to him. That's why they had become agitated, making him realize why they were here now.
Seeing death approaching and feeling a sense of déjà vu from the Witcher 3 scene, anxiety slowly rose within him. Glancing at his tiny hands, incapable of doing anything, and seeing the Ice Magic slowly gathering on the ship, he shouted, "Enemy attack!"
The Witchers' heads snapped in the same direction, and they immediately proceeded to create a protective bubble around the Queen in perfect synchronization.
Fwoosh! Boom! Chriiing, Chriiing, Chriiing!
"What happened?!"
"Up there."
Kaer Morhen was leveled instantly; everywhere he looked had turned to ice. Gustave watched the second round of Ice Magic gathering with a look of despair. With Vesemir's hand on his shoulder, he suddenly jolted, refusing to let fate dictate the course of his life.
Spitting on the destiny that sought to force the timeline back to its original path, Gustave pushed his mind and his two abilities to the limit.
The Five Rune Essences were analyzed again and again, as he sought to connect them to the Time-Independent Schrödinger Equation. Finally, he found a connection that could send a signal to the cryptographer Rune Mage relatives in Cintra.
"Master Witcher, wait! Do you have Stribog, Dazhbog, Zoria, Devana, and Morana runestones?!"
"Huh? Child, you don't need—"
"Master Witcher, answer me!!!"
Coën immediately handed over the five runestones from his pocket to the brilliant toddler he had met in Angren. He didn't know what this child intended to do with them, but the hope of living was better than simply dying together in the rubble of the castle.
Fwoosh! Boom! Chriiing, Chriiing, Chriiing!
Gustave arranged the five runestones in a wave pattern, following the stationary wave of the Time-Independent Schrödinger Equation that he had already vectorized onto a 2D plane. Enduring a second bombardment of Ice Magic, he shouted to the crying Ciri beside him,
"Ciri, pour everything you have into these runestones!"
"Hick, hick…"
"Big sister Ciri!!!"
Quivering hands pressed against the ground, directly at the center of the wave pattern of the five runestones, Gustave saw her eyes glowing green from drawing too much power—not through possession.
Immediately afterward, the largest door of his life appeared before him, leading to the Cintra Magic Academy, already filled with knights, mages, and druids who seemingly knew what was about to happen.
At the front, Calanthe, her eyes glowing green and clad in battle armor, charged into the Ard Gaeth on her mount, sword drawn and aimed at Naglfar in the sky.
"For Cintra!!!"
With Ice Magic, Summoning Magic, Rune Magic, Druid Magic, and Elemental Magic all flying through the sky in a full-blown pandemonium, Gustave watched the battlefield turn into complete chaos.
The Aen Elle had even dragged their own White Frost summons into this world just to distract the Cintrian army—anything to buy enough time to fire off one last spell bombardment aimed solely at killing him.
"Big brother Alvin!"
But the effort seemed futile, because the cryptographer relative—whom he now recognized from Ciri's excited reaction as Alvin from Witcher 1—surprised him by essentially cheating space itself.
With the most sophisticated Rune Magic he had ever seen—like watching someone program a spell as if it were software—he saw Alvin bend the space in front of them, send the incoming spell bombardment back, and then proceed to solo Avallac'h, who was two levels above him in sheer firepower.
"Ciri, Gustave! Come, children, quickly!"
Tearing his gaze away from the Witchers cutting down stray hounds and ice elementals to cover Naglfar's retreat, Gustave turned to Ermion and his druids, who had created a protective bubble to shield their escape.
But before letting himself be carried like a baby to ride on the bear, Gustave looked at Calanthe's glowing green eyes.
Deciding he needed to do something about it, he pushed every bit of his spirituality into his [Knowledge] ability, studying Alvin's Rune Magic—especially the activation keys—before finally allowing himself to be scooped up and taken away on the bear.
Having finally grasped how to activate his Elder Blood latent gene and transform himself into a sorcerer, Gustave triggered it… only to wear a dejected expression when he realized he wasn't truly destined to wield magic like a sorcerer who casts with a simple wave of the hand.
But it didn't matter. Power is powerful depending on the one who wields it.
With that belief, Gustave used his [Recall] ability, pulling his entire being backward and forward through time for just 0 point Googolplex seconds, using every bit of quantum theory he knew to make himself effectively hidden from everything.
And "everything" meant both physical reality and divination-based reality—he was hidden so well that he suspected he might eventually be erased from history altogether if he didn't interact with the timeline again.
Although it would take thousands of years for that to happen, he knew this was only the beginning. He might lack firepower, but with science he had lethality, enough that he deduced even gods wouldn't know where he was unless they physically laid eyes on him.
Feeling suddenly lighter, Gustave looked at Ciri, who stared at him warmly for a moment before her expression snapped back into its usual fear. Sure enough, in that instant he got confirmation that his magic worked even against deities, and that his ancient grandmother believed he no longer needed her anti-seer protection.
With that newfound independence—like feeling countless unseen gazes finally disappear—Gustave settled in and simply enjoyed the fireworks, occasionally gasping as he watched the magic unfold and absorbed every piece of mystical knowledge it offered.
—