"The first chose power..."
"He became divine and has not rested since, because power requires constant maintenance and there is always someone seeking to take it." There was a pause that felt like thinking. "The second chose knowledge."
"She still wanders through reality three thousand years later, still learning, and seems happy with this, though she would argue that 'happy' is not the right word." Another pause. "But you..."
"You chose peace."
"You built a home for people who had none. You made connections that made God unimportant, and now I'm here to give you the same choice I gave them."
Greg said, "A third life."
"New start. No systems. No gods. No divine games. Real freedom from the start."
Greg was quiet for a long time. He thought about Bork's clasp, which wasn't on his cloak right now but which he could still feel the weight of.
