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To
the
Void "I
am
not
here
to
argue
with
you,
Lews
Therin,
so
there
is
no
need
to
prepare
yourself
for
an
argument,"
Artur
spoke
blandly.
"Indeed.
The
what
are
you
here
for?"
"To
show
you.
All
words,
over
the
span
of
what
amounts
to
two
thousand
years
in
the
material
world,
though
we
did
not
feel
it
for
that
length
in
the
World
of
Dreams,
have
come
to
nought.
The
world
cannot
afford
to
wait
until
we
convince
by
word
that
you
are
needed
to
fight
the
Dark
One.
But
there
are
other
ways."
"You
mean
to
show
me,"
the
Dragon
gazed
consideringly
at
the
former
High
King
for
a
long
moment,
and
then
shook
his
head.
"I
know
of
only
one
such
way,
without
using
the
Power,
which
you
do
not
possess."
"I
don't,"
Artur
agreed,
"But
as
you
say,
there
is
one
other
way."
"You
need
my
consent
for
that,"
the
other
said,
with
a
slight
smile.
"I
doubt
you
will
get
it."
"Why?
What
are
you
so
frightened
of?"
Birgitte,
who
had
been
previously
silent,
spoke
up
now
in
demand.
"Have
you
ever
underwent
such
a
thing,"
Lews
Therin
hissed,
"Facing
every
moment
of
every
minute
of
every
hour
of
every
life
you
ever
lived?
Remembering
it
all
in
such
clear
detail
that
it
is
as
though
you
were
not
only
reliving
it,
but
in
magnification?
Remembering
everything?
I
have
no
desire
to
relive
any
of
it.
There
is
enough
pain
for
a
thousand
*worlds*
within
those
memories."
'You
barely
remember
any
of
them.
Your
last
life
is
too
fresh
in
your
mind,
too
real
for
you.
You
remember
the
shadows
of
some
other
lives,
but
it
is
though
you
are
seeing
them
through
smoked
glass,
as
though
they
never
happened
to
you.
You
are
not
just
Lews
Therin
Telamon.
That
is
but
one
passing
identity
in
the
soul
of
a
recurring
entity
who
has
been
born
a
hundred
thousand
times
and
more,"
Fery
stepped
into
the
archway
that
led
into
the
room
where
the
trio
stood,
speaking
the
words
as
though
reciting
a
passage
in
a
textbook.
"If
you
consent
to
do
this,
you
will
remember
more
than
individual
lives,
Lews
Therin.
You
will
remember
yourself,
in
whole,
not
just
in
part,
or
in
fact.
Fact
is
nothing.
I
can
recite
to
you
the
names
and
descriptions
of
friends
and
enemies
alike
that
I
have
known,
but
that
does
not
mean
that
you
will
know
anything
worth
knowing.
Cold
facts,
yes,
but
you
will
not
them,"
Artur
continued
Fery's
line
of
thought.
"It
will
happen
eventually,
Lews
Therin.
You
will
loose
track
of
your
memories
from
your
most
recent
life,
and
then
you
will
no
longer
answer
to
this
name.
The
only
reason
we
must
urge
this
remembrance
is
that
there
is
not
enough
time
for
it
to
come
naturally.
That
could
take
a
hundred
thousand
years
or
more.
You
will
be
needed,
very
soon,
I
think,"
Birgitte
added.
"Very
soon,"
Lews
Therin
mused,
"You
do
not
seem
to
understand
that
I
have
no
desire
to
undertake
rebirth
again.
Now
or
ever."
"It
will
fade,
in
time,"
Fery
noted
impassively.
"I
doubt
that.
I
very
much
doubt
that."
"Which
is
our
point,"
Birgitte
put
in.
"If
you
do
not
take
some
measure
of
detachment,
the
world
will
pay."
"You
use
your
words
in
that
hope
that
I
shall
be
moved
by
them,
that
your
concern
for
that
world
which
has
cost
so
much
by
it's
very
existence
will
be
carried
through
by
myself,"
the
Dragon
mused
absently.
"I
know
this.
But
it
is
not
for
this
reason
that
I
will
agree
to
undergo
this.
Oh,
no.
Not
for
this
reason
at
all."
Looks
were
exchanged,
eyes
flashing
from
one
face
to
another
as
three
beings
of
the
World
of
Dreams
gazed
upon
their
renegade
companion,
startled
by
his
sudden
seeming
agreement.
From
almost
anyone
else,
such
a
seemingly
simple
statement
would
not
be
worthy
of
worry.
But
this
was
no
ordinary
being,
and
the
seeds
of
worry
were
indeed
planted
within
them.
*
*
*
The
Void
was
an
ocean
beyond
comprehension,
vast
beyond
belief.
Lews
Therin
smiled
ironically
as
he
gazed
over
it.
"I
wanted
to
throw
myself
in
with
the
dead
souls,
not
very
far
back
in
time.
I
wonder
if
you
can
still
sense
the
whisper
of
a
whisper
of
who
those
souls
once
were.
A
ghost
of
a
dead
ghost."
"I
know
you
did,"
said
Fery
impatiently,
ignoring
the
rest
of
the
other
man's
statement.
"I
wonder
if
I
would
know
her
if
I
touched
her
echo,"
Lews
Therin
whispered.
"We
are
not
here
for
her.
We
are
here
for
you!"
Fery
spat
irritably.
"You
do
not
like
me.
You
never
have.
Why
is
that?"
Lews
Therin
spoke
in
that
manner
he
had,
making
the
other
feel
as
though
he
were
the
center
of
the
universe,
all
of
his
attention
focused
upon
the
projected
brilliant
importance
to
the
answer
to
his
question,
but
Fery
laughed
sneeringly.
"There
is
nothing
to
like
about
you,
Dragon,
nothing
to
like
about
a
creature
made
for
but
one
purpose,
a
creature
who
repeats
such
patterns
as
he
cannot
break
over
the
endless
cycle
of
time.
Nothing
to
like
at
all
about
a
man
who
is
willing
to
put
himself
above
everything
that
is,
so
that
he
may
weep
over
a
lost
soul,
and
wish
for
True
Death.
Leap
in
blindly,
leap
into
the
Pit
of
Doom,
I
would
tell
you,
were
not
made
for
that
purpose
that
makes
you
what
you
are.
A
necessary
creature,
but
still
loathsome.
You
will
know
when
you
remember.
Perhaps
that
is
why
this
is
necessary.
Perhaps
the
end
of
your
most
recent
life
is
not
all
that
you
are
loathe
to
remember.
The
Light
knows,
it
is
far
from
the
worst
in
your
history.
Go
into
the
Void,
Dragon,
go
into
the
darkness
and
invite
the
memories
of
all
that
you
are
and
ever
have
been.
Remember
not
the
inconsequential
names
you
have
bore
over
the
Ages
of
the
Wheel,
but
rather,
above
all
else,
your
essence.
Remember
that
purpose,
and
perhaps
you
shall
have
the
answer
to
your
question."
Lews
Therin's
eyes
crackled
like
a
simmering
fire,
not
exploding,
but
waiting
for
the
right
time
by
which
to
burn.
"When
I
remember,
I
will
judge.
And
then,
Fery,
we
shall
see
if
my
purpose
warrant's
your
words,"
his
voice
was
a
soft
hiss
as
he
spoke
to
the
man
who
had
been
chosen
to
occupy
him
to
the
edge
of
the
Void,
to
watch
that
he
did
not
throw
himself
into
the
whirlwind
in
which
he
could
destroy
himself.
Fery,
who
had
ever
remained
detached
and
disdainful
of
the
being
known
by
a
merid
of
names
throughout
Time,
but
ever
holding
the
power
of
the
Dragon
creatures
he
was
now
titled
after.
Until
now.
Now,
Fery
had
come
forward,
pulled
close,
though
for
what
reason,
it
could
not
be
yet
said.
"Out
To
the
Void,
I
step,"
the
Dragon
whispered
now,
"Into
the
Void
I
plunge."
And he did.
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