Cain started to walk, and Emere walked next to him.
“If this is a dream, I must be asleep in Lukan’s tavern.”
“You are. The Circuit of Destiny has countless paths connecting itself to all parts of the world. They watch the world through them. I found one such that led directly to you. The Circuit must have created it to contact you.”
Emere frowned. “If something like the Circuit had contacted me, I think I would remember.”
Cain shrugged. “You would be surprised. Anyway, I used that path to bring you here. I thought I would need the help of our Ebrian friends, but you were as easy to get to as they were, thanks to the Circuit’s path, and the statue you hold now even in your sleep.”
“The wooden idol is magical?” Emere asked, incredulous.
“Yes and no. The item itself is just a wooden carving, but it contains residual power from the Ebrian’s prayers. That’s how I could contact him even from inside the Circuit.”
“Subdirector Septima told me you were trapped here.”
Cain didn’t pause in his pace. “I am. You are only visiting with your mind, but I’m trapped in the Circuit of Destiny, both body and mind.”
Emere followed Cain’s gaze toward the flock of birds in the sky. There were no signs of them getting closer.
“Where are we going?” he asked Cain.
Cain didn’t answer the question as he continued. “Two years ago, the Circuit of Destiny showed me the battle happening in Arland, showed me Loran and Arienne and told me to decide their destiny. I refused.”
“Why?”
“I came to the Capital alone as a child, with no money or family. I lived that way for a long time. I was captured by the Ministry of Intelligence and threatened by them. So I know all too well what it is to have your destiny held in someone else’s hands.”
Emere stopped walking. “We can only choose between the choices given to us. Who would call it destiny if we could make every choice about our lives? If it were me, I would have considered it my own destiny and helped Arland.”
“I see your point. But I’ve fought against people who thinkit is their right to do whatever they want with others’ lives. They tried to trigger a Star of Mersia in the center of the Empire, and I knew I had to stop it. That’s actually when I first encountered the Circuit of Destiny…” Cain trailed off. “And something must’ve happened then because the Circuit kept in contact with me ever since. It was always taking Fienna’s form…”
His mention of the name “Fienna” was imbued with sorrow. Emere wondered who she was. Perhaps she was someone who was waiting for Cain to return to the outside world. He was reminded of Rakel, and he wondered if she was thinking of him.
“The Circuit of Destiny has the power to act,” continued Cain, “and a will of its own.”
Emere raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean? It’s just a machine, like all Power generators are.”
Cain shook his head. “No, Councillor. It’s an amalgamation of a few hundred sorcerers, the best the world had ever seen. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to call it a god, assembled by man.” Cain sounded vaguely disgusted. “Think about it, Councillor. It would be stranger if itdidn’tend up having a will of its own.”
Emere didn’t know what to make of this revelation. If the Circuit of Destiny had a will of its own, were all Power generators conscious? Were they not just corpses, but people trapped between life and death? Was the entire world being powered by undead sorcerer slaves? His stomach turned. It was horrifying just to entertain the thought.
Still incredulous, Emere asked, “Yet the Senate and the ministries are unaware? If it is a god as you say, or even just some undead monster, the Office of Truth—”
“The Office of Truth made this monstrosity, did they not? Would they ever admit that they, of all people, created something that goes directly against their own dogma? When they believe it is so vital to the supremacy of the Empire?”
Emere was reminded of Ludvik’s words.Grand Inquisitor Lysandros once said the Circuit of Destiny was the true power of the Empire. A god-like power, made by man.Perhaps the Empire needed its own god, after killing off every such being it encountered.
Cain continued.
“But you are right. It is a machine in the end. It needs someone to give it a purpose. It can’t choose to do something without an order, which is why it kept coming to me. I began to wonder what it was the Circuit of Destiny really wanted me to do, so I dug into it, trying to see what it hid from me. I was successful for a time, but I was caught in the end. Now, I can’t get out of the Circuit’s dream world.”
“I wish I could help you,” said Emere.
Cain gave a reassuring smile. “It may look like I’m just whiling away the hours in here, but I’m working even in this moment to learn what I can about the Circuit from within. That’s how I managed to bring you here… and how I can show you this.”
They were suddenly atop a building. Beneath them was a derelict city, a fire burning through a slum. The sudden change in scenery elicited a gasp from Emere.
“Where is this?”
