“Look at me,” Zyung said, and she had no choice but to obey him. The flares of his eyes burned low, like simmering coals.
“Will you send me to salt?” she asked. “Devour me?”
“Perhaps I should,” he mused. “But no. I will speak with you instead.” At his unspoken command, a servant brought her a chair. She lowered herself onto its soft cushion.
What game is he playing now?
“You have two aspects, but a single heart,” said Zyung. “And I know that heart well. You have served me with honor in the building of my empire. You have championed order and peace in all ways. You have killed in my name and built monuments to my glory. You were the first to foster the Ethus Trees which are the soul of my Holy Armada. Yet your uncertainty remains, a seed of doubt buried deep in your immortal being. I have often wondered what fruits will grow from such a seed.”
Does he know of Ianthe’s plans? Does he know of my involvement? He must.
As he must also know about Those Who Listen. Those Who Remember.
But then why allow my continued existence?
This was not Zyung’s way. It never had been.
Unless she did not truly know him at all.
“Why not destroy me?” she asked. The question burst from her. She regretted it immediately. Let him speak plainly, or get on with her annihilation.
He did not answer her question directly. “This great land that we have shaped is a construct built for unity, stability, and peace above all else. One deity serves all the peoples of the Living Empire, one set of laws, one governing body that sits above all others, and humanity thrives in a world free of incessant war and conflict. Yet all of this is but the extension of an idea, Sungui. A theory, if you will. The idea came from me, and most of the Old Breed adopted it. Those who refused to do so fled across the world, and will soon answer for their denial.
“Ideas are thoughts, and thoughts are the manifestations of power. All wise creatures recognize this truth. Yet what is the worth of the idea that is untested, unquestioned, taken on blind faith to be the ultimate truth of existence? I have kept you close to me throughout these millennia not because you are the most faithful disciple of my Great Idea. I have elevated you into the ranks of my foremost Seraphim not because of your fealty, but because you are the question that tests my resolve.
“You are the speck of doubt that floats upon the sea of my consciousness. You are the other side of the coin. No, you are both sides of the coin: A living embodiment of contradiction and duality. I value this quality in you, Sungui. That is why I allow you to doubt me, and to recall the greatness of your own past.
“If you, who doubts the truth of my empire, who second-guesses my conquering of the world and its peoples, who remembers that all of this is only an idea enforced by a single will, if you continue to serve me, then I know that my idea remains worthy. Now, as we prepare to spread our great peace across the second half of this world, I need more than ever to know that you stand with me, despite your doubts.
“The death of a few thousand in war is of no consequence compared with lives of millions who will gain peace from it. If we left mortals to their own rule, mankind would only annihilate itself with hatred and war. Its death will be long in coming, preceded by ages of suffering, blood, and slaughter. Nothing innocent can survive in such a savage world. Man is born of the earth like the beasts of the field, and he carries their vicious nature in his very blood. Yet there is also nobility and love and the potential for immortality there as well. We must foster this potential by denying the savage nature of these Earthborn. We are the preservers of mankind, the lightbringers, the scions of peace. This is the sole reason for the Living Empire’s existence and expansion.
“You are not without compassion, child. In fact, because of your dual nature you love more deeply than all others. I have seen this. You are a creature not only of doubt, but of passion. In this you are much like those we fight to foster and preserve. I ask you to consider all of this as we spread our great peace to the Five Cities and its peoples.
“You want power, you want freedom. Yet these things are already yours, more than any other who walks my domain. I will not remove your doubt by recasting your spirit, and I will not consign you to oblivion. You must choose to serve me freely, and in doing so you will remind me that our cause, our Holy Crusade, is just.
“Before you answer, consider this as well: As the High Seraphim, who were once the Old Breed, are Diminished before me, so I am Diminished before my own creation. I am the Living Empire. The more of myself I invest to preserve it, the more I am bound into its existence. As a rich man is owned by his wealth, so I am possessed by my creation. We are inseparable. You and your brethren serve me, this is true. But I serve the empire, for the reasons I have told you. This is the true source of my divinity: The sacrifice of my infinite potential for the benefit of the world. My power is my empire, and my empire is my power. I serve mankind, as mankind must serve me. There is love at the core of all my crimes, sins, and devastations. This world must be made whole, and I make it so.