Ciri.

—

Seeing the sorceress only smile mysteriously without any explanation, Richard decided not to pursue the matter further. Wanting to get closer and check on Ciri, he was stopped by his memory of his swordsmanship teacher. Looking at Geralt, who stood in his way with a hand ready to draw swords, he couldn't help but be puzzled.

"Geralt… Relax. He's not our enemy. He's not with the Wild Hunt. See that golden rooster? Did your memory not awaken when looking at Kambi? When we were forced to drink its blood? And then forgetting all of our memories? Eredin or any of the Aen Elle would never let Kambi out of their hands, especially not to humans like him."

"Yeah… You're right. Sorry, whoever you are."

Nodding his head since he knew Geralt was only acting out of instinct, seeing a beast's DNA in his body, Richard simply replied, "It's okay. And, I am Richard."

"Geralt. And she is Yennefer."

Seeing that the Witcher was already in a relaxed posture, he finally stepped in closer and looked at Ciri, who no longer looked like a frozen corpse. "How is she?"

"She will get better. Maybe in a few years, she can finally walk again."

Frowning upon hearing Yennefer's diagnosis and finally realizing how much Ciri suffered as a result of battling the White Frost, Richard then asked a different question while ignoring the sound of Geralt grinding his teeth, "When will she wake up?"

"Maybe a week, a month. I am not sure."

Looking closely at the person who brought him here with part of her destroyed power, and then turning his gaze to the burnt hand of her mother, which hindered the magical power needed to heal the ashen-haired lady, Richard sat beside them and offered, "Give me your hand. I think I know how to make the recovery faster."

"Truly?"

"Yen."

"It's okay, Geralt. He will not harm her. Because I sensed some of his lingering power inside Ciri before I started to heal our daughter. He had every chance to harm her before we woke up, and now is certainly not the time."

Looking at Geralt and then Yen, Richard then started to explain, "Before you woke up, there was this white substance wreaking havoc inside her body."

"So, she decided to destroy fire with fire. Oh, Ciri, my Ciri. What have you done, girl?"

Continuing, "I know I am not a match for that thing. So I guided the special Blood in her body to become one with that white substance."

Seeing Yennefer snap her head, looking at him with murderous eyes, Richard answered in a depressed tone, "I had no choice. I didn't know how to extract it. And if I left it as it was, there was a high chance she would die with the white substance."

"Yen. I would prefer Ciri to be absolutely able to open her eyes again, rather than leaving it to some probability. Even though I love to respect her decision regarding something, this is just not it. I don't want to see our Ciri die just to save the world from the White Frost. And… And remember her cry that was ringing inside our heads? She couldn't hold on much longer."

"I know. I am just mad."

Knowing that it was his fault, to begin with, to rob the ashen-haired lady of her choice, Richard offered his hand to Yen once again, "So let me take responsibility. I will guarantee that she will have a fast recovery."

Receiving Yennefer's hand and placing his other on Ciri's heart, Richard once again activated his Sun Breathing technique. Giving both of them equal vitality that they could draw upon, and in return, they could make use of it to have a fast recovery. Like the Sun that lights up the earth, providing them with a comfortable place to grow, Richard's Sun Breathing did the same here, solely giving their Source body a chance to brim with vigor and vitality.

"Is this what it feels like to be Klara Larissa de Winter? Marvelous."

"Yen. Ciri."

"You are right. I got lost in the moment."

Noticing Yennefer's burned hand quickly healing, leaving smooth skin just like before, Richard once again employed all of his strength as he had when he helped Ciri fight the White Frost inside her body.

Dum, dum. Dum, dum.

His burning mark once again turned golden like the photosphere of the Sun, and Richard's heartbeat could be heard outside. Geralt and Yen were surprised to hear the heartbeat, with the latter crying out in screeching pain, "This is too much! Too much!" Made him turn off the flaming mark abilities, realizing the sorceress was not like Ciri, who could take the full power of his vitality.

"Yen. You okay?"

"Yeah. I am good. He just wanted to speed up the process, but I couldn't keep up with him. As a result, I was in a great deal of pain."

"What about Ciri? Is she in pain?"

"The opposite. Ciri wanted more. Richard, is that the power you transferred to her when she was still fighting the White Frost?"

Nodding his head, he simply answered, "Yes. For a whole day straight."

"Then I am glad. I am glad you did what you did. I am glad you chose what you chose. I just can't imagine what a great deal of suffering Ciri needed to face when she needed that power for a whole day straight."

Shaking his head, he wanted to reply, "It's okay. There is no hard feeling. It just—" but was cut short by Geralt's exclamation.

"Ciri! Ciri! Can you hear me?!"

"Geralt… She is still weak. Don't make a loud sudden noise."

Looking at the fluttering eyes of the ashen-haired lady, Richard finally sighed in relief. Thirty minutes later, she finally woke up from the coma.

Opening her eyes weakly as if a heavy weight was bearing down on her consciousness, Ciri looked at the three of them. "Geralt... Mother... And... who are you..."

Wanting to take his hand back from her chest and introduce himself, Richard suddenly saw Ciri weakly trying to hold his hand. As he tried to gently pry her fingers from his arm to introduce himself, he saw her grip tighten, as much as a weak patient's strength could muster. Scratching his head awkwardly, he then clumsily held her hand to keep giving her vitality. After a couple of tries, he finally managed to introduce himself, "Richard Harris."

Feeling the gentle warmth, Ciri looked up and pleaded, "Never leave me... I beg you..."

Looking deep into the Transparent World and seeing that some of her genes were still broken, Richard nodded and smiled, "Sure."

Seeing this man's assurance, Ciri unknowingly sighed in relief, afraid of the idea of his absence. "Good... good..."

"Geralt, did you see what I'm seeing?"

"Yeah, but there's no sign of a Djinn here."

—