—
Closing the final volume of Lord of Mysteries, Gustave couldn't help but sigh in melancholy. As with every piece of media he consumed, once it was over, there was an emptiness that couldn't be put into words.
It was like saying goodbye to a best friend moving to a distant place — you could only nod silently and wish them the best, knowing you wouldn't meet very often anymore. That was the feeling Gustave experienced every time he finished a series.
Tracing his fingers over the rim of the Lord of Mysteries cover, he reluctantly stood up and placed the book on the display shelf where he kept all his favorite things.
He slowly admired the rest of his collection — Skyrim, Shadow of Mordor, Dragon Age: Inquisition game discs, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Wheel of Time, and Mistborn neatly lined up on the shelves. Gustave's eyes finally landed on The Witcher 3.
Feeling nostalgic for the first piece of media that had made him fall in love with the medieval fantasy genre, Gustave glanced at the wall clock before picking it up and walking over to his gaming station.
"One game before going to sleep," he murmured.
But out of nowhere, a blinding light appeared, reducing everything to ashes before Gustave could even react.
"People of Earth, your attention please. This is Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz of the Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council. As you will no doubt be aware, the plans for development of the outlying regions of the Galaxy require the building of a hyperspatial express route through your star system. Regrettably, your planet is one of those scheduled for demolition. The process will take slightly less than two of your Earth minutes—"
"Well, it appears our recent hire is a bit overly proactive. Very well then — commence demolition."
—
Waking up to a blinding light that hurt his eyes and pain that coursed through his entire body, Gustave couldn't help but groan in agony. Through his blurry vision, he saw the silhouette of a giant woman in front of him. She clapped her hands at the sound of his groan, her gesture carrying what he could only interpret as relief.
But when the loud clapping echoed painfully in his ears, Gustave groaned again, unable to endure the sharp sounds that followed each time the giants made their celebratory gestures.
The worst part was that, with his weak and fragile body coupled with the lingering pain and soreness he was experiencing, all he could do was endure being passed around from one towering, colorful silhouette to another.
One after another, he was handed along until he finally came face-to-face with a figure whose mere presence made him feel unexpectedly calm. Cradled in her arms and staring into those two blurry eyes, Gustave instantly understood — he had been reborn.
Held tightly by the person he presumed to be his mother, the pain and exhaustion slowly melted away, replaced by a sense of pure comfort and peace.
But that comfort and peace did not last long. Something at the edge of his vision — and at the edge of his hearing — seemed to crawl toward him, trying to invade his mind.
Whether it was because of his intelligence, far beyond what a newborn should possess, or the circumstances of his full-memory reincarnation, he was able to pick up on the murmurs and ravings he had ignored earlier due to the pain.
The more he listened to those voices, the more he realized — he could no longer think as sharply as an adult. Emotions such as fear and dread slowly crept into his mind, gnawing away at his ability to think clearly.
Grief and sorrow that came out of nowhere began to consume his thoughts. Filled with anxiety, Gustave wondered why his mind no longer worked properly whenever he heard the ravings echoing at the edge of his perception. Apprehension turned into anger, and he flailed his tiny body, trying to swat away the twisting shadows that slowly crept into his field of vision.
The silhouettes of the giants moved in panic, their stuttering, booming voices far too loud for his fragile ears to bear — worsening his condition and accelerating the madness that threatened to devour his sanity. Countless emotions surged within him; he wanted to scream "Stop!" at whatever force was tormenting him.
But no matter how much he begged or cried, the maddening whispers would not cease. Fear and trepidation crashed over him as he realized he was about to lose himself entirely. In desperation, Gustave scrambled to think of something — anything — that could drive away the hysteria.
He prayed to God, begged the devil, yet nothing worked. Just as he felt his mind beginning to unravel, his desperate search for sanity halted — when he suddenly remembered the moment he had closed the Lord of Mysteries book.
Clinging and anchoring himself to every bit of knowledge and every emotion he had felt while reading that novel — especially the giddy amusement at discovering that one of its characters, Roselle, bore his own first name as a surname — Gustave felt the ravings and twisting shadows begin to recede, slowly ebbing away like the tide.
And just like that, having averted the crisis that had come upon him so suddenly, his mind — out of nowhere — became ten times sharper than ever before. Memories from his first life to his second rebirth, which had once felt like an impenetrable fog, now returned to him in vivid detail — every moment, every sensation.
Not only that, but when he opened his eyes and gazed upon the world once more, he found himself able to sense and absorb the unknown knowledge that seemed to permeate the very surrounding around him. In a way, it felt as though he were downloading information from the world directly into his mind.
Marveling at this peculiar ability after escaping the brink of madness, Gustave suddenly froze as his new knowledge and his old memories began to compare themselves — aligning, merging, and connecting all at once.
'What the… Did I just get reborn into the Witcher world?'
—
It had been five months since Gustave was reborn into the world of The Witcher. Now that his newborn senses had finally stabilized, he was able to confirm through observation and physical evidence that he truly had been reincarnated into this world.
Unlike the mystical means granted by his [Knowledge] ability — which allowed him to directly absorb information from his surroundings into his mind — this confirmation came from something far more tangible. His mother herself was undeniable proof of the peculiar circumstances of his reincarnation.
Meve — the future Queen of Lyria and Rivia, the protagonist of the standalone Thronebreaker game tied to The Witcher series, and the very same woman who would one day knight Geralt and officially grant him the surname "of Rivia" — was the proof that confirmed Gustave's belief: he had truly become a resident of this medieval fantasy world.
He didn't know how he had arrived here, nor how such an impossible thing could have happened. The immutable laws of science he once knew had been completely overturned. Yet one thing was certain — he was now living within a mystical reality far beyond the bounds of logic and reason.
Thankfully, due to his enhanced mind and the mysterious ability he had awakened after enduring that raving madness which once tried to consume him, Gustave was able to deduce and grasp the outline of what had happened. He was not left in the dark with the clueless innocence of a newborn.
Having confirmed for himself that the fictional worlds of media were not mere intangible creations of imagination, but actual existing universes, Gustave formed a bold theory about his own world — Earth.
He speculated that his world possessed a unique "specialty": whenever someone created a story, they unconsciously birthed an entirely new universe. And when someone died, that connection could somehow take effect.
Just as the Marvel universe possessed superpowers, Harry Potter had magic, and Naruto wielded chakra, Gustave theorized that his own world's specialty resembled that of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — particularly the Painter family, who could create worlds and weave magic through their painting.
The difference, however, was that while the Dessendre family of Clair Obscur consciously used their powers, the people of Earth were completely unaware of theirs — only realizing it after death.
Able to create entirely new universes through every form of media available, the people of Earth unknowingly produced tangible proof of new worlds filled with mystical wonders — worlds that, upon their deaths, they could truly enter and experience firsthand.
After pondering further on the mechanism behind his world's hidden power, Gustave concluded that his peculiar reincarnation into The Witcher world was the result of an ironic ritual triggered at the moment of his death. Holding a Witcher game disc while his mind lingered on the Lord of Mysteries novel had formed two symbolic anchors — two "pillars" that explained his bizarre circumstances.
The physical object he held had become the physical pillar, drawing his soul into The Witcher universe. Meanwhile, his final thoughts had become the metaphysical pillar, granting him the extraordinary powers of a Beyonder — abilities born from Lord of Mysteries, specifically aligning with the Paragon Pathway, due to his memory of the character Roselle Gustav, who shared a similar name as his own.
Thus, in conclusion, his death had become a bridge: the physical object in his grasp tied him to the world he was transported into, while the spiritual bond to his final thought granted him the metaphysical essence that transformed him from an ordinary human into something more mystical.
—
"Gustave, it's time for cho-cho milk, my dear."
Shivering and squirming as he heard his mother's voice treating him like a baby, and embarrassed by how compromising the whole situation was — the direct result of his reincarnation — Gustave once again acted like a prodigy baby to escape the ordeal, just as he had done in the past few months.
It was a beneficial act, too. Pretending to be a genius baby not only distracted him from the discomfort of being an infant but also helped him better assimilate his newfound powers as a Savant — a kind of method acting.
Of course, he had to be careful not to overdo it. In a paranoid medieval world like this, anyone too far from the norm risked being branded a monster.
Crossing his tiny arms in mock defiance, Gustave pouted and declared, "No."
Looking at her youngest son, surrounded by a pile of books as if he could actually read them, Meve smiled and walked closer to scoop up the little scholar.
Using her best playful, baby-talking voice, she teased, "What's the matter, my tiny prodigy? You don't want to drink directly from Mommy?"
Twitching an eyebrow at how absurd and mortifying this was — an adult soul treated like an infant — Gustave fought to keep his composure and continued his act.
Putting on a solemn, resolute pout with his lips protruding in exaggerated seriousness, he replied in baby talk, "Yes… shame, shame… like Mama, like Papa… grown, grown…"
"Hahahaha!!!"
Meve burst into a fit of laughter, her booming voice echoing through the chamber. She could hardly contain herself, and the nearby maids soon joined in, giggling at the little prince's words.
Wiping away tears after a few seconds, Meve finally caught her breath and said, "Oh dear, how unbelievably cute you are! Do you know that?"
But shaking her head, she added with mock sternness, "Still no. Mommy wants Gustave to drink from Mommy. No negotiation. Period."
Panicking — fully aware of how stubborn his mother could be once she decided something — Gustave racked his brain for a solution. Activating his mystical [Knowledge] ability, he scanned his surroundings and quickly identified a potential escape within the pile of newly delivered books.
Through his ability, he instantly absorbed the contents and titles into his mind — and one particular adult novel stood out: The Queen's Confessor. With an internal smirk, Gustave pointed at the book and said, "But shame-shame, Mama-Papa… there…"
Following the direction of his tiny finger, Meve glanced at the book in curiosity — and then immediately turned red with fury upon recognizing the title. It was a well-known, mature-themed novel.
Setting Gustave down and forgetting all about feeding him, she snatched the book and shouted, "Who's the one that put this filth in here?!"
The maids froze in horror. Gustave knew if he didn't intervene, those poor girls might be executed over something so trivial. Quickly scanning the book with his [Knowledge], he discovered a note written on the fifth-to-last page — a sultry exchange between two lovers, one of whom was unmistakably his philandering father, King Reginald.
Gustave pointed again and said, "Dada write-write… end-end-end-end-end…"
Understanding her son's broken words, Meve flipped to the end of the book, finding nothing. Then she remembered he had said "end" five times. On the fifth-to-last page, her eyes widened as she recognized Reginald's handwriting.
She stood abruptly, face twisted in rage, and bellowed, "REGINALD, YOU FUCKING WHORESON!!!"
Storming toward the door, she stopped just long enough to remember her baby still hadn't been fed. Turning to one of the trembling maids, she ordered, "You. Fetch my milk from the cellar and feed my baby. Gustave is hungry."
"Y-yes, Your Highness!" the maid stammered.
"And when I see that bastard—just you wait!" Meve shouted as she marched out, the incriminating book clutched in her hand.
Just like that, Gustave watched his mother stomp out in fury, having diverted her wrath toward his father — and, in doing so, he had averted another kind of crisis: a crisis of dignity. One that, to him, felt just as dire as the threat of losing his mind to Beyonder madness.
As for the maid tasked with feeding him, Gustave wasn't too concerned. They wouldn't dare force him if he started crying and acting like a spoiled baby — not when making him cry could very well get them hanged by his overprotective mother.
And so, safe once more, he immersed himself in the endless sea of knowledge flowing directly into his mind through his enhanced [Knowledge] ability, analyzing everything that had happened, to understand the patterns behind these events — to build a foundation for deciphering the strange and mystical reality he now inhabited.
—