“Help,” I pleaded to my friends.
We’re with you. Their voices echoed in my thoughts, and power flowed through our bonds. Pure jinsei filled my core again, and then again after I’d emptied that. But even when I’d emptied myself a third time, the flame still guttered and nearly went out.
I replayed the clues that had been written on my map.
Four minds to open the way.
Four kings to summon the spark.
Four winds to find the path.
Four elements to fuel the fire.
There was only one way ahead. A sacrifice had to be made.
I snapped the chain around my neck and looked at the greatest treasure cultivators had ever created. The Heart of Eternity would give me anything I’d ever wanted. Immortality. Power.
Without a second thought, I hurled the key into the Forge’s belly.
The ancient treasure shattered. The black core at its heart exploded with a million sparks that radiated heat with the power of tiny suns. The elemental shell exploded and poured its power into the Forge. A chain reaction of detonations rattled the great machine, until it filled with flames.
“Welcome, child of darkness,” a voice intoned from all around me. “You have come far to stoke these ancient fires. What is it you seek?”
It was all I could do to hold my ground and not flee from the voice that shook the walls with its primordial strength. I cycled my breathing to clear my thoughts and banish the fear from my aura, then stated my purpose as clearly as I could.
“Mortals have stepped off the path laid out by the Grand Design,” I said, “and the Empyrean Flame has sent me here to create a new force to guide us.”
The small fire suddenly grew larger, its flames licking out of the Forge to mark its surface with soot. “What you ask is no small task. Are you prepared to make the necessary sacrifice?”
What kind of question was that? Of course I was prepared. I’d already thrown the greatest treasure known to man into the Forge.
“Yes,” I said. “I am prepared.”
“What is it you desire for this new force to guide mortals?” the Forge boomed. “Speak carefully, for your words will lay the foundation for all that is to come.”
Wait, Eric’s thoughts rang in my head, loud and clear. Don’t say anything until we all agree, Jace.
We don’t want to repeat the same mistake that got us into this mess, Abi added, his voice weak and thready.
Mortals are flawed, Clem continued. We can’t put the power to interpret the Design into anyone’s hands.
During my long nights of meditation, I’d thought about that very thing. The problems we’d run into weren’t caused by the Design, but by the humans who interpreted it in self-serving ways. And, while it was tempting to say we didn’t need a Design at all, that clearly wasn’t true. Without a map for guidance, mortals would easily fall prey to creatures like the warped and the Locust Court.
We should let everyone have the power to see the Design, I offered. To keep liars from seizing control of divine guidance.
After a long moment of consideration, Clem’s words echoed in my head. We can’t make everyone oracles. But we need to put some controls over those who interpret the Grand Design.
Agreed, Eric and Abi said at the same moment.
We argued back and forth on how to present that point, and I told my friends I wanted to fight back against something that had bothered me about the Design since I’d first heard about it. That got some pushback from Eric, but Clem and Abi finally convinced him that I had a point. After a few more minutes of argument, the three of us agreed on what I would tell the Forge.
“I ask that this Design be interpreted only by those who speak the unvarnished truth,” I said, “so that its intent can never be twisted.”
“Done,” the voice boomed.
“And no mortal shall be bound by the fate laid out for them in the Grand Design. Those who work hard and strive to better themselves should be able to rise above their destiny,” I added. “Those who are gifted with a powerful and privileged fate should not be guaranteed such, if they prove unworthy in life.”
The Forge’s fire grew white-hot and churned in the machine’s belly. A bellows chuffed and puffed somewhere out of sight, and steam whistled and rumbled in the pipes that surrounded me. The heat pressed against me like a fist, crushing the air from my lungs and wringing more sweat from my pores.
“So shall it be, Jace Warin, Chaos Core,” the Forge intoned. “But there is a price for this, and you must be willing to pay it.”
“Yes. I already have, mighty Forge. The Heart of Eternity—”
“No,” the Forge declared. “That was a mere trinket, of use only to mortals. Your sacrifice must be greater because you seek to wield the primal power of creation. Only your true heart’s desire will suffice.”
The Forge seized my thoughts and shook them like a kid rattling a piggy bank to get the last coins out of its belly. My every thought and memory was laid bare, and it pawed through my mind for the one thing that had defined my struggle. It found the core of my being and plucked it out of the muddy mess of my mind so I could see what it had found.
“This is your sacrifice,” it intoned. “While every other mortal shall be free of the shackles of fate, you will be bound by the destiny defined by the Grand Design. While others may rise or fall according to their fortunes and efforts, you shall know the path laid ahead of you is unchanging, and unchangeable. To grant freedom to others, Jace, you must be willing to deny it to yourself.”
My heart sank. All my
