He lay facedown, listening to the silence. He was perfectly alone. Nobody was watching. Nobody else was there. He was not perfectly sure that he was there himself. A long time later, or maybe no time at all, it came to him that he must exist, must be more than disembodied thought, because he was lying, definitely lying, on some surface. Therefore, he had a sense of touch, and the thing against which he lay existed too. He wondered whether, as he could feel, he would be able to see. In opening them, he discovered that he had eyes. He lay in a bright mist, though it was not like mist he had ever experienced before. His surroundings were not hidden by cloudy vapor; rather the cloudy vapor had not yet formed into surroundings. The floor on which he lay seemed to be white, neither warm nor cold, but simply there, a flat, blank something on which to be. He sat up. His body appeared unscathed. Then a noise reached him through the unformed nothingness that surrounded him: the small soft thumping of something that flapped, flailed, and struggled. It was a pitiful noise, yet also slightly indecent. He had the uncomfortable feeling that he was eavesdropping on something furtive, shameful. He stood up, looking around? The longer he looked, the more there was to see. A great domed glass roof glittered high above him in sunlight. Perhaps it was a palace. All was hushed and still, except for those odd thumping and whimpering noises coming from somewhere close by in the mist. Silver turned slowly on the spot, and his surroundings seemed to invent themselves before his eyes.
A wide-open space, bright and clean, a hall larger by far than the Great Hall, with that clear, domed glass ceiling. It was quite empty. He was the only person there, except for…He recoiled. He had spotted the thing that was making the noises. It had the form of a small, naked Mobian child, curled on the ground, its skin raw and rough, flayed-looking, and it lay shuddering under a seat where it had been left, unwanted, stuffed out of sight, struggling for breath. He was afraid of it. Small and fragile and wounded though it was, he did not want to approach it. Nevertheless, he drew slowly nearer, ready to jump back at any moment. Soon he stood near enough to touch it, yet he could not bring himself to do it. He felt like a coward. He ought to comfort it, but it repulsed him "You cannot help". He spun around. Locke the Echidna was walking toward him, sprightly and upright "Silver". He spread his arms wide "You wonderful boy. You brave, brave man. Let us walk". Stunned, Silver followed as Locke strode away from where the flayed child lay whimpering, leading him to two seats that Silver had not previously noticed, set some distance away under that high, sparkling ceiling. Locke sat down in one of them, and Silver fell into the other, staring at his old headmaster's face. He didn't know how to say it gently "Sir…You're dead" "Oh yes" "Then…I'm dead too?". Locke's smile broadened "Ah. That is the question, isn't it? On the whole, dear boy, I think not". They looked at each other, the old man still beaming. Silver felt like he needed a bit more than this "But I should have died. I didn't defend myself! I meant to let him kill me!" "And that, will, I think, have made all the difference". Happiness seemed to radiate from Locke like light, like fire. Silver had never seen the man so utterly, so palpably content "Explain" "But you already know" said Locke. He twiddled his thumbs together as Silver asked "So the part of his soul that was in me…Has it gone?" "Oh yes! Yes, he destroyed it. Your Core is whole, and completely your own, Silver".
Silver glanced over his shoulder to where the small, maimed creature trembled under the chair "What is that, Professor?" "Something that is beyond either of our help" "But, sir, I don't understand. How can I be alive. You need to destroy the container to destroy the Core". Locke shook his head "In a normal Core Shard, yes. You are not a normal Core Shard, Silver. They require a ritual, a spell, preparation. You were created from an unstable Core's desperate attempt to survive" "But…How did that save me?" "Because, every piece of Finitevus' soul has the same drive. To survive. You know what happened with the Locket and the Web. Your piece did the same, it attempted to stop Finitevus killing you and so killing it. But again, Silver, it is not a normal Shard. It is not near indestructible, it shouldn't risk revealing itself like the others do. It took the full brunt of Killing Curse believing that like it's brothers it would survive it. But all it achieved was saving you from sharing its fate". Silver stared at the old Echidna, impressed but also having a twinge of anger "And you knew this? All along". Locke smile dropped slightly "I guessed, but I didn't know for sure. I am sorry, Silver, that I didn't tell you but I couldn't send you into that Forest on possible false hope". Silver understood this, if he was to die he would have preferred it be on his terms. He changed the subject "Where are we, sir? If I'm not dead" "Well, I was going to ask you that. Where would you say that we are?". Until Locke had asked, Silver had not known. Now, however, he found that he had an answer ready to give "It looks, like Radical Train station. Except a lot cleaner and empty, and there are no trains as far as I can see". Locke chuckled "Radical Train! Good gracious, really?" "Well, where do you think we are?" "My dear boy, I have no idea. This is, as they say, your party". Silver had no idea what this meant; Locke was being infuriating. He glared at him, then remembered a much more pressing question than that of their current location "The Ixis Emerald" he said, and he was glad to see that the words wiped the smile from Locke's face.
He even looked worried "Ah, yes". For the first time since Silver had met Locke, he looked less than an old man, much less. He looked fleetingly like a small boy caught in wrongdoing "Can you forgive me for not trusting you? For not telling you? Silver, I only feared that you would fail as I had failed. I only dreaded that you would make my mistakes. I crave your pardon, Silver. I have known, for some time now, that you are the better man" "What are you talking about?" asked Silver. He was startled by Locke's tone, by the sudden tears in his eyes "The Ixis Emeralds. A desperate man's dream!" "But they're real!" "Real, and dangerous, and a lure for fools. And I was such a fool. But you know, don't you? I have no secrets from you anymore. You know" "What do I know?". Locke turned his whole body to face Silver, and tears still sparkled in his eyes "Master of death, Silver, master of Death! Was I better, ultimately, than Finitevus?" "Of course you were. Of course. How can you ask that? You never killed if you could avoid it!" "True, true". He was like a child seeking reassurance "Yet I too sought a way to conquer death, Silver" "Not the way he did" said Silver. After all his anger at Locke, how odd it was to sit here, beneath the high, vaulted ceiling and defend Locke from himself. There was a pause. The creature behind them whimpered, but Silver no longer looked around "Mephiles was looking for them too?" he asked. Locke closed his eyes for a moment and nodded "It was the thing, above all, that drew us together. Two clever, arrogant boys with a shared obsession. He wanted to come to Vigil's Hollow, as I am sure you have guessed, because of the grave of Galahad. He wanted to explore the place the third brother had died" "So it's true? Galahad and his brothers were-" "The three brothers of the tale. Oh yes, I think so. Whether they met Ixis on a lonely road, I doubt. I think it more likely that they were simply gifted, dangerous wizards who succeeded in creating those powerful objects. The story of them being Ixis' own Emeralds seems to me the sort of legend that might have sprung up around such creations. The Chaos Emerald, as you know now, travelled down through the ages, father to son, mother to daughter, right down to Galahad's last living descendant, who was born, as Galahad was, in the village of Vigil's Hollow".
Locke smiled at Silver who realised "Me?" "You. You have guessed, I know, why the Chaos Emerald was in my possession on the night your parents died. Shadow had showed it to me just a few days previously. It explained much of his undetected wrongdoing at school! I could hardly believe what I was seeing. I asked to borrow it, to examine it. I had long since given up my dream of uniting the Ixis Emeralds, but I could not resist, could not help taking a closer look. It was a Chaos Emerald the likes of which I had never seen, immensely old, perfect in every respect and then your father died, and I had two of the Emeralds at last, all to myself!". His tone was unbearably bitter which Silver couldn't bare "The Chaos Emerald wouldn't have helped them survive, though. Finitevus knew where my mum and dad were" "True. True". Silver waited, but Locke did not speak, so he prompted him "So you'd given up looking for the Ixis Emeralds when you saw the Chaos Emerald?" "Oh yes" said Locke faintly. It seemed that he forced himself to meet Silver's eyes "You know what happened. You know. You cannot despise me more than I despise myself" "But I don't despise you" "Then you should" said Locke. He drew a deep breath "You know the secret of my sister's ill health, what those Muggles did, what she became. You know how my poor father sought revenge, and paid the price, died on Prison Island. You know how my mother gave up her own life to care for Desi. I resented it, Silver". Locke stated it baldly, coldly. He was looking now over the top of Silver's head, into the distance "I was gifted, I was brilliant. I wanted to escape. I wanted to shine. I wanted glory. "Do not misunderstand me. I loved them. I loved my parents, I loved my brother and my sister, but I was selfish, Silver, more selfish than you, who are a remarkably selfless person, could possibly imagine. So that, when my mother died, and I was left the responsibility of a damaged sister and a wayward brother, I returned to my village in anger and bitterness. Trapped and wasted, I thought! And then, of course, he came".
Locke looked directly into Silver's eyes again "Mephiles. You cannot imagine how his ideas caught me, Silver, inflamed me. Muggles forced into subservience. We wizards triumphant. Mephiles and I, the glorious young leaders of the revolution. Oh, I had a few scruples. I assuaged my conscience with empty words. It would all be for the greater good, and any harm done would be repaid a hundredfold in benefits for wizards. Did I know, in my heart of hearts, what Mephiles was? I think I did, but I closed my eyes. If the plans we were making came to fruition, all my dreams would come true. And at the heart of our schemes, the Ixis Emeralds! How they fascinated him, how they fascinated both of us! The Master Emerald, the weapon that would lead us to power! The Sol Emerald, to him, though I pretended not to know it, it meant an army of EXEs! To me, I confess, it meant the return of my parents, and the lifting of all responsibility from my shoulders. And the Chaos Emerald. Somehow, we never discussed the Chaos Emerald much, Silver. Both of us could conceal ourselves well enough without it, the true magic of which, of course, is that it can be used to protect and shield others as well as its owner. I thought that, if we ever found it, it might be useful in hiding Desi, but our interest in the Chaos Emerald was mainly that it completed the trio, for the legend said that the man who united all three objects would then be truly master of death, which we took to mean invincible. Invincible masters of death, Mephiles and Locke! Two months of insanity, of cruel dreams, and neglect of the only two members of my family left to me. And then you know what happened. Reality returned in the form of my rough, unlettered, and infinitely more admirable brother. I did not want to hear the truths he shouted at me. I did not want to hear that I could not set forth to seek Hallows with a fragile and unstable sister in tow. The argument became a fight. Mephiles lost control. That which I had always sensed in him, though I pretended not to, now sprang into terrible being. And Desi…After all my mother's care and caution…Lay dead upon the floor".
Locke gave a little gasp and began to cry in earnest. Silver reached out and was glad to find that he could touch him. He gripped his arm tightly and Locke gradually regained control "Well, Mephiles fled, as anyone but I could have predicted. He vanished, with his plans for seizing power, and his schemes for Muggle torture, and his dreams of the Ixis Emeralds, dreams in which I had encouraged him and helped him. He ran, while I was left to bury my sister, and learn to live with my guilt and my terrible grief, the price of my shame. Years passed. There were rumours about him. They said he had procured a Talisman of immense power. I, meanwhile, was offered the post of Minister of Magic, not once, but several times. Naturally, I refused. I had learned that I was not to be trusted with power". Silver shook his head "But you'd have been better, much better, than Max or Saline!" "Would I? I am not so sure. I had proven, as a very young man, that power was my weakness and my temptation. It is a curious thing, Silver, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well. I was safer at Soleanna. I think I was a good teacher" "You were the best" Silver said. Locke managed a smile "You are very kind, Silver. But while I busied myself with the training of young wizards, Mephiles was raising an army. They say he feared me, and perhaps he did, but less, I think, than I feared him".
Silver gave him a confused look making Locke add "Oh, not death. Not what he could do to me magically. I knew that we were evenly matched, perhaps that I was a shade more skilful. It was the truth I feared. You see, I never knew which of us, in that last, horrific fight, had actually cast the curse that killed my sister. You may call me cowardly. You would be right. Silver, I dreaded beyond all things the knowledge that it had been I who brought about her death, not merely through my arrogance and stupidity, but that I actually struck the blow that snuffed out her life. I think he knew it, I think he knew what frightened me. I delayed meeting him until finally, it would have been too shameful to resist any longer. People were dying and he seemed unstoppable, and I had to do what I could. Well, you know what happened next. I won the duel. I won the Master Emerald". Another silence. Silver did not ask whether Locke had ever found out who struck Desi-Ca dead. He did not want to know, and even less did he want Locke to have to tell him. At last he knew what Locke would have seen when he looked in the Mirror of Erised, and why Locke had been so understanding of the fascination it had exercised over Silver. They sat in silence for a long time, and the whimpering of the creature behind them barely disturbed Silver anymore. At last he said "Mephiles tried to stop Finitevus going after the Master Emerald. He lied, you know, pretended he had never had it". Locke nodded, looking down at his lap, tears still glittering on the crooked nose "They say he showed remorse in later years, alone in his cell at Prison Hall. I hope that it is true. I would like to think he did feel the horror and shame of what he had done. Perhaps that lie to Finitevus was his attempt to make amends" "Or maybe preventing Finitevus from breaking into your tomb?" suggested Silver, and Locke dabbed his eyes. After another short pause Silver said "You tried to use the Sol Emerald".
Locke nodded "When I discovered it, after all those years, buried in the abandoned home of Fajar…The Emerald I had craved most of all, though in my youth I had wanted it for very different reasons…I lost my head, Silver. I quite forgot that it was now a Core Shard, that the ring was sure to carry a curse. I picked it up, and I put it on, and for a second I imagined that I was about to see Desi, and my mother, and my father, and to tell them how very, very sorry I was…I was such a fool, Silver. After all those years I had learned nothing. I was unworthy to unite the Emeralds, I had proved it time and again, and here was final proof". Silver didn't understand "Why. It was natural! You wanted to see them again. What's wrong with that?" "Maybe a man in a million could unite the Ixis Emeralds, Silver. I was fit only to possess the meanest of them, the least extraordinary. I was fit to own the Master Emerald, and not to boast of it, and not to kill with it. I was permitted to tame and to use it, because I took it, not for gain, but to save others from it. But the Chaos Emerald, I took out of vain curiosity, and so it could never have worked for me as it works for you, its true owner. The Sol Emerald I would have used in an attempt to drag back those who are at peace, rather than to enable my self-sacrifice, as you did. You are the worthy possessor of the Ixis Emeralds". Locke patted Silver's hand, and Silver looked up at the old man and smiled; he could not help himself.
How could he remain angry with Locke now "Why did you have to make it so difficult?" "I am afraid I counted on Miss Coral to slow you up, Silver. I was afraid that your hot head might dominate your good heart. I was scared that, if presented outright with the facts about those tempting objects, you might seize the Ixis Emeralds as I did, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. If you laid hands on them, I wanted you to possess them safely. You are the true master of death, because the true master does not seek to run away from Death. He accepts that he must die, and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying" "And Finitevus never knew about the Ixis Emeralds?". Locke shook his head "I do not think so, because he did not recognize the Sol Emerald he turned into a Core Shard. But even if he had known about them, Silver, I doubt that he would have been interested in any except the first. He would not think that he needed the Chaos Emerald, and as for the Sol Emerald, whom would he want to bring back from the dead? He fears the dead. He does not love" "But you expected him to go after the Master Emerald?" "I have been sure that he would try. For him, the Master Emerald has become an obsession to rival his obsession with you. He believes that the Master Emerald removes his last weakness and makes him truly invincible. Poor Infinite" "If you planned your death with Infinite, you meant him to end up with the Master Emerald, didn't you?". Locke casually shrugged "That was not entirely my intention. You know the stories, Silver. The Master Emerald must be won to change allegiance. I'd hardly call an arranged death between two friends as a victory. No, I hoped that the Master Emerald would remain mine at my death thus its power would die with me" "You hoped?" "Oh, well, you see, something else happened that night". Silver for a moment didn't know what he was talking about but then "Before Infinite…You were…".
His eyes widened "But then I…That means…". Locke's smile returned "Yes, I believe so". Silver took a deep breath processing everything he had been told. He then looked around the area "I've got to go back, haven't I?" "That is up to you" "I've got a choice?". Locke nodded "Oh yes. We are in Radical Train, you say? I think that if you decided not to go back, you would be able to…Let's say, board a train" "And where would it take me?" "On" said Locke simply. Another silence and Locke gave him a reassuring look "If you choose to return, there is a chance that he may be finished for good. I cannot promise it. But I know this, Silver, that you have less to fear from returning here than he does". Silver glanced again at the raw-looking thing that trembled and choked in the shadow beneath the distant chair "Do not pity the dead, Silver. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love. By returning, you may ensure that fewer souls are maimed, fewer families are torn apart. If that seems to you a worthy goal, then we say good-bye for the present". Silver nodded and sighed. Leaving this place would not be nearly as hard as walking into the forest had been, but it was warm and light and peaceful here, and he knew that he was heading back to pain and the fear of more loss. He stood up, and Locke did the same, and they looked for a long moment into each other's faces "Tell me one last thing. Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?". Locke beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Silver's ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure "Of course it is happening inside your head, Silver, but why on Mobius should that mean that it is not real?".