[ A frown etches into his forehead. That's not what he means. Does John believe him so crass that he would deny how important he is to the Witcher? In this moment of all times?

He exhales. This isn't how he planned to have this conversation, though he supposes it may as well be now as opposed to later. John should know. Geralt is often simply slow to address certain topics. He had not wanted to burden John with something that may never manifest. ]

My path includes you now. I've forged a new one. If I'm to have an end, it won't be as Ciri remembers. And I don't intend to usher it in.

[ Does he believe he has cheated Death? Hardly. She will come for him one day, as she does each of them. But he no longer holds his breath for her touch. He is not afraid of what else she might take from him because he has lost it all and found it again anew. He knows how it feels. He knows exactly how hard he will fight.

And no matter when or how it comes about, John will have a place there. That is the cost, Geralt thinks, of inviting another into your heart. John now has a place in his life, and so he will have a place, too, when that life slips away. ]