That Which Survives

Kaer Morhen – Three Days Before the Trials

The boys were summoned after sunset.

Eight of them, standing in the old hall beneath the wolf-headed banners. The hearth burned low, casting long shadows across their faces.

Cain stood beside Callum—silent, tense, jaw tight. Across from them, Vesemir stood with Coën, Lambert, and a steel-clad figure Cain had only seen once before: Eskel.

Vesemir's voice was quiet when he spoke. But there was weight in every syllable.

"You've all made it farther than most. You've trained, bled, and survived what many wouldn't dare. But the real Trial begins now."

He looked at each of them—not as children, but as soldiers.

"What we put you through next will break you. Not all of you will come out alive. That is not a threat. It's a fact."

He paused. No one spoke. No one moved.

Then, Vesemir began the breakdown.

"The Trial of the Grasses," Vesemir said, voice firm, "is first. You'll be bound to a table and injected with alchemical compounds—mutagens, toxins, magical reagents harvested from monsters. You'll sweat, scream, convulse, and burn. Many die before the second day."

Cain swallowed hard.

"Those who survive the Grasses develop enhanced senses—night vision, reaction speed, the first signs of mutation. But it comes at a cost. Your body will begin to change. So will your mind."

"The Trial of the Dreams"—he continued, gaze darkening—"is what comes after. You'll be sedated, but not unconscious. Fed a dream-inducing toxin that opens the doors of your mind. You'll confront fears, memories, and visions—some real, some not. Some... ancestral."

Cain felt a chill.

"Many go mad during this phase. The body can survive. The soul might not."

Callum's knuckles went white, but he didn't break eye contact.

"The Trial of the Mountains" came next.

"No medicine. No warmth. We take you into the mountains with nothing but your will. It's not a fight against monsters. It's a fight against the cold. Against hunger. Against your own mind. You'll be left there for three days. If you return—on foot—you pass."

And finally...

"The Trial of the Sword."

Vesemir stepped forward, placing a hand on a worn training blade embedded in the wall.

"No more wooden sticks. No more guided drills. We put steel in your hands and throw you against illusions, constructs, and real beasts. You fight, wounded, exhausted, mutated—but alive. Or not."

Silence.

Then Vesemir finished:

"If you survive all four… you'll be Witchers."

[Quest Triggered – "The Crucible of Change"]Enter the Trials of Kaer Morhen.

Objectives: Survive the Four Trials.Reward:– Class: Witcher (Wolf School)– Unique Evolution: [Elder Blood – Stage One]– System Upgrade: Mutation Sync

Failure: Death.Permanent.

Cain didn't sleep that night.

Neither did Callum.

🔹 The Trial of the Grasses

He screamed.

They all did.

Cain couldn't count the number of times the needle pierced him. Couldn't feel his legs after the second day. His skin boiled. His throat bled from screaming. His bones cracked like dry wood under pressure.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think.

Time disappeared.

[Mutation Threshold Passed – Vitals Stabilizing…]Pain Resistance: +2Mutation Sync: 43%

Body adapting… Blood unlocking…

He heard them die.

One by one.

Choking. Seizing. Drowning in their own blood. Even in his haze, Cain recognized each voice.

Until only Callum's scream remained beside his own.

Cain clenched his teeth, forcing his body to keep breathing, to keep enduring.

🔹 The Trial of the Dreams

The world bled into fog.

Cain's mind unraveled—then reformed in a field of white frost and forgotten stars.

He stood—whole again—beneath a sky that pulsed like a heartbeat.

And from the horizon came a voice.

"Cain…"

A woman's voice. Ageless. Vast. Filled with ice and fire both.

"You do not remember… but we do. Our blood remembers. Our time comes again."

Cain turned, but saw only shadows.

"Who are you?" he asked.

A figure appeared—a woman with silver-white hair and golden eyes like his. Her skin shimmered with strange runes, and her cloak was woven from frost.

"You are of my line. You are the last root… and soon, the first bloom."

[Elder Blood Resonance Detected]Awakening Initiated – Stage One

You have inherited dormant blood from an ancient lineage of timewalkers, sorcerers, and queens.

Mutation compatibility: Reinforced.Resistance to magical corruption: +10%

Trait Unlocked: Dreamwalker (Passive – Locked)

Cain awoke gasping. Still bound. Still alive.

But something inside him was… different now.

🔹 The Trial of the Mountains

The cold didn't bite—it devoured.

Cain's fingers went numb on the first day. His lips cracked. His muscles screamed from carrying Callum half the way when his partner collapsed from a frozen gash on his leg.

They survived off roots, melted snow, and half a squirrel Cain snared with thread and luck.

He thought they'd die out there.

But Cain wouldn't let it happen.

Not to Callum. Not to himself.

On the third morning, they limped—frostbitten and starved—back to Kaer Morhen's gate.

Two boys where there had been eight.

🔹 The Trial of the Sword

They were given silver and steel.

They bled again—this time with awareness, clarity. The constructs were fast. The illusions were cruel. Cain fought beside Callum, parrying for him, flanking, redirecting strikes.

And Callum saved him when he nearly collapsed from a phantom venom-spitter's bite.

Back-to-back, bruised and bloodied, they stood in the hall of illusions until the mist faded and silence returned.

[Final Trial Complete – "The Crucible of Change"]

Class Gained: Witcher (Wolf School)Mutation Level: Stabilized – AdvancedElder Blood: Stage One Activated

New Ability Gained: Reflex Trigger (Passive):Your body reacts before your mind registers danger. +5% dodge chance against ambushes or sudden strikes.

Trait Evolved: Cold-Blooded – IntermediateYou remain calm and aware under extreme duress. Reduces panic, increases focus, and enhances resistance to fear-based magic.

Cain sat beneath the same banner they'd stood under days ago.

He looked around the hall.

The beds were empty.

Only two remained.

Callum, staring at the fire in silence.

And Cain, his golden eyes glowing softly in the dark.

He wasn't afraid anymore.

Because he had survived.

And now…

He was a Witcher.