Iris von Everec’s Greatest Fear

Iris von Everec’s greatest fear takes shape as the Ethereal, a nightmare wearing the face of her husband, Olgierd von Everec. It lives in the painted world inside Iris’s mind in the Hearts of Stone expansion. The bestiary warns that the mind holds many dangers, such as fears, painful memories and old wounds, and that these can be as deadly as any monster. Of all the things that prowl Iris’s dream, the Ethereal is the most dangerous.

It is not one opponent but six. The figures wait around the room, and only one fights at a time. Each one that falls wakes the next, and each is stronger than the one before. They fight like Olgierd himself, with fast sword strokes and charging lunges.

You face it at the end of Scenes From a Marriage, after restoring Iris’s memories in the Painted World. Reading Olgierd’s farewell letter, which he left her along with a single rose, sets off the fight. Before that, Geralt has to get past the Caretaker in the garden and the arachnomorph specters in Iris’s memories.

Combat strategy

Don’t let them gang up on you. At the start, back off to the far end of the room and let each Ethereal come to you alone. Hitting a dormant figure, even by accident, wakes it up, and two or three at once can kill you fast, even with a strong Whirl build. The last two are about as strong as Olgierd himself, so treat them with respect.

Use specter oil on your silver sword.
Counterattacks are the most reliable tool, and the bestiary itself recommends a well-timed counter.
Normal strikes can be parried, but the charging lunge can’t, so sidestep it.
Keep Quen up, ideally with the Active Shield upgrade.
Drink Blizzard to make the timing easier.
Back away from the dormant figures so you only wake one at a time.