The fall of Vizima and the complete subjugation of Temeria cemented Nilfgaard's dominance over the Northern Kingdoms. Emperor Emhyr var Emreis, a figure of imposing authority and sharp intellect, now held court in the conquered capital, his pronouncements echoing through halls that once belonged to Foltest. The transition was swift, brutal in its efficiency, but curiously lacking the prolonged resistance that such a conquest should provoke. Aizen, moving silently as Alaric within the Emperor's new court, understood why: the will of the North had been irrevocably broken long before Nilfgaard's legions even arrived.
Aizen found Emhyr an intriguing, if predictable, new challenge. The Emperor was driven by ambition, a desire for a unified, orderly empire under his rule, and a peculiar, almost obsessive, focus on his daughter, Ciri. His court was a viper's nest of rivalries, betrayals, and thinly veiled power struggles – a perfect environment for Aizen's manipulations. He meticulously observed Emhyr's inner circle: the ambitious generals vying for favor, the cunning spymasters weaving their own webs, and the austere Nilfgaardian mages, whose rigid adherence to their own doctrines made them blind to the true nature of the power at play.
His primary objective shifted to subtly influencing the Emperor himself. Emhyr was too shrewd for direct illusions of events. Instead, Aizen aimed to shape his priorities and perceptions, making him increasingly fixated on certain goals while subtly undermining others. He used Kyōka Suigetsu to subtly amplify Emhyr's existing ambition for Ciri, making her retrieval not just a political necessity, but an all-consuming, almost mystical quest. He would cause Emhyr to 'feel' an inexplicable urgency regarding specific, often unreliable, intelligence reports concerning Ciri's whereabouts, making the Emperor commit valuable resources to futile pursuits, thus weakening his focus on consolidating his new territories.
Aizen's research in Vizima's vast archives continued, now with a new urgency. He accessed heavily encrypted Nilfgaardian imperial records, detailing their own intelligence on Elder Blood prophecies and their attempts to harness magical artifacts. He found disturbing accounts of Imperial experiments with interdimensional portals, their failures resulting in catastrophic reality distortions. This reinforced Aizen's understanding: raw power was insufficient; precise control and a true understanding of the fundamental energies were paramount. He sought the complete "blueprint" for reality manipulation, a comprehensive understanding of the Hōgyoku's function within this new world's context.
The hunt for Ciri escalated dramatically under Emhyr's direct command. Nilfgaardian patrols fanned out across the Continent, their movements guided by their Emperor's increasingly singular focus. Aizen, through his subtle manipulations of Emhyr's spymasters and intelligence officers, ensured that Ciri's chaotic movements, while seemingly random, were subtly funneled towards the pre-identified nexus point he had researched. He introduced phantom informants, created illusory sightings in strategically irrelevant locations, and subtly shifted priorities in their search, all designed to shepherd Ciri towards her ultimate, fated destination.
Simultaneously, Aizen began sowing seeds of discord within the Nilfgaardian high command. He used Kyōka Suigetsu to subtly alter the perceptions of key generals, making them 'misinterpret' each other's orders, 'misremember' crucial strategic briefings, and perceive slights where none existed. These were not grand illusions of betrayal, but subtle nudges that fostered resentment and distrust – a general would believe his rival was taking undue credit, an admiral would feel his authority subtly undermined by a subordinate. The vast, efficient Nilfgaardian war machine began to develop unseen internal friction, a slow, inevitable grinding that would consume it from within.
One afternoon, Emperor Emhyr held a strategic meeting with his most trusted generals and mages. The discussion revolved around the next phase of the Northern conquest. A veteran general, Marshal Menno Coehoorn, proposed a logical, methodical approach. Aizen, serving refreshments, subtly projected a powerful, subliminal suggestion into Emhyr's mind, a vision of grandeur and immediate, total victory that contradicted Coehoorn's caution. He made Emhyr 'feel' that Coehoorn's prudence was, in fact, cowardice, a lack of faith in the Emperor's divine destiny. Simultaneously, he subtly twisted Coehoorn's own perception of Emhyr's reaction, making the Marshal feel unjustly criticized, sowing a flicker of resentment.
Emhyr, his eyes narrowing, dismissed Coehoorn's plan with uncharacteristic bluntness. "No, Marshal. We will strike swiftly, decisively. The North is broken. It is time to complete the subjugation, not to dither." The Emperor's pronouncement was met with silent surprise from his court, but no open dissent.
Aizen's influence was now extending to the very top. He was not just influencing individual pawns; he was shaping the strategic decisions of an empire. The Nilfgaardian war machine, for all its might, was slowly being redirected to serve a purpose far beyond the Emperor's comprehension.
"They grasp at power," Aizen observed, gazing out from his window at the imposing castle courtyards, now filled with Nilfgaardian banners. "They believe themselves conquerors, masters of their destiny. Yet, they are merely tools, instruments of a greater, unseen will. Their ambitions, their fears, their very lives, are merely components in the grand design of my ascension. The Continent is now a single, vast chessboard, and I am preparing for the final, irreversible move."
He could almost feel the presence of Ciri, a faint, chaotic beacon of Elder Blood power, drawing closer to the nexus point. The pieces were converging. The culmination of his efforts, the moment of his ultimate transcendence, was within reach. The path was cleared, the catalysts were in motion, and the world lay unsuspecting, ready for its final, terrifying transformation. The Architect of Lies was ready to shed his disguise and claim his true dominion.