'That's not for you to know right now.'
'But they destroyed the Drakusa,' Church said. 'They were a real threat. The Drakusa did everything they could to wipe them out, but the Caraprix committed genocide.'
'The Drakusa had the potential to become agents of change, but they chose to direct all their abilities to their own ends. They ignored the greater good. They desired power, for themselves. They crushed other races that fell before them. If they had been true to who they were, perhaps the golden age could have been ushered in a long, long time ago.'
'So you destroyed them?'
'Me? No. The Oldest Things in the Land are agents, just like you, Church. We worked and strove and failed, sometimes. But did Existence wipe out the Drakusa? Yes. They chose to work for the Void, though they didn't understand it in their terms. Innocence does not mean weakness.'
'How many races fell, like the Drakusa?'
'Every race has a choice: act for the greater good, bring magic back into the world, or support the aims of the Void,' Carlton said. 'Free will, Church. There is a pattern, but everyone has a choice. The only rule is they must accept responsibility for their actions. If you seek out personal power and lay others low, do not be surprised when a higher power decides to do the same to you.'
'Sounds very Old Testament to me.' Church watched the Caraprix change and for the first time felt awe: he could see something wonderful in the very essence of them.
'Everyone has a choice. Fragile Creatures didn't fail. You didn't fail.'
Church steeled himself. 'There's no point talking. Let's do this.'
'You're ready?'
'No. But I'll do my best.'
'That's all anyone's ever asked of you, Church. And you've never let anyone down.'
Carlton led Church back to Ruth and Tom who waited by the cave he thought he had visited in a dream when he had been in the Sleep Like Death. Whatever lay inside made his perception skew wildly. He saw a network of lights, a mandala, a rotating crystal, and then the image his mind found easiest: an enormous machine of cogs and gears with a protruding lever.
'Just like before? Pull the lever?'
'It'll be easier this time,' Carlton said.
'Symbols,' Church whispered to himself before announcing, 'This could be the last gasp of my dying brain. The final shape of the hallucination. Pull the lever and it's all over. Is that what it is? The lever is death?'
'It's whatever you believe it to be,' Carlton said.
Ruth kissed him on the cheek. 'Just remember, whatever happens, we've won. Against all the odds, we've rid the world of corruption. It's been a long, hard struggle, but we've won.'
'What kind of world will you make, Church?' Carlton asked.
'A good one,' Church replied. 'I hope.'
'Jack?' Tom caught his attention. 'You're a good man. Don't forget that.'
Church placed both hands on the lever and steadied himself. He looked to Tom and then Ruth and drew strength from the absolute trust he saw in their eyes.
'Every happy ending is a new beginning. Come on, Church — pull the lever,' Ruth encouraged.
He hesitated for a long time.
Her final words were a whisper, a prayer, a promise from the depths of her heart. 'You can do it, Church. I trust you. I love you. I'll love you always… and for ever.'
He pulled the lever.
