Rolynd didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to think.

Had he won? Was that it?

He didn’t know how he should feel. Or think.

Did this make her a hero? Or just a fanatic?

Was it righteous? Was it good? Or evil?

Miretrix seemed disappointed. She had fallen into an uneasy silence. Any witty remark she may have had for Lucina would only fall on dead ears now.

Protea seemed rather unsurprised by Lucina’s choice. Perhaps this outcome had been foreseen by her, either as Blue or Catherine.

And Elwin… Elwin also did not know how he should feel. He had wondered why Lucina, someone capable of such terrible cruelty, had managed to pass ADAM’s trials, but now he knew. Her conviction was honest, even if it was misguided in his eyes.

ADAM continued to observe his aspirants, but his gaze slowly came to rest squarely on Elwin.

“What is your wish, Elwin of Ellenia?” the Golden Master asked when Elwin, who seemed to be deep in thought, did not meet his gaze.

It was a good question. Elwin, who had already been unsure of how to best turn his desires into a wish, had only been processing the implications of the other’s wishes rather than thinking of his own.

Justice. That word kept appearing in the discussion between Rolynd, Miretrix and Lucina as they made their wishes. It seemed that no matter the origins or personal motivations of the three leaders, each of them valued that concept. And yet, the three of them could not agree on what it meant. Or perhaps, a single wish was incapable of making true justice a reality.

As a child, Elwin had always taken justice to be a virtue, something to be desired, because the world was an unfair place. Justice was a balancing force to make things right. But recently, he had come to understand that word in a different way.

Kari had used that word, and with the same vehemence as Lucina, Rolynd and Miretrix had.

Why?

They each believed that they had been wronged. Elwin realised.

And perhaps it was true, they had been wronged. But from a certain perspective, being unfair and unjust was the nature of the world. Was fairness really something to strive for then? Could it really be ‘right’? Should it be desired, if it did not belong to the natural order of things?

Elwin turned and looked at Protea. She had been different. Blue had been endlessly wise, and in her wisdom, she had chosen to change herself to suit the world, rather than try to change the world to suit her.

Which course of action was better? Which did Elwin see as better fulfilling his desires?

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“I am unsure,” Elwin said, finally replying to ADAM after a long silence.

“What do you desire?” ADAM asked him.

“It is difficult to put into words,” Elwin responded.

Gweddihew regarded Elwin with interest. “Power? Wealth? Kingship? Glory?” she asked him.

“No, none of those things.” The elf replied.

“Happiness?” Miretrix asked.

“No, I think I am happy enough. With all your wishes, everything has worked out. The people I care for are safe. I have achieved what I set out to do when I entered the Labyrinth.”

“And what if something threatens them, or yourself, in the future? Will you not wish for something to prevent that?”

“With the wishes that you have wrought, if and when such tragedies come to pass, I do not think I should be one to try and prevent them. If this war has taught me anything, it's that life is a fleeting journey. Resisting change will only lead to disappointment, one way or another. Continuity is an illusion; everything changes. Nothing lasts forever.”

“So you desire nothing?” Rolynd asked him.

“No, not that either. I just want things to be better. I want people to be better.” Elwin replied.

“Well, until you can define what ‘better’ means, you are stuck here,” Rolynd said. “And I don’t intend on leaving until I know what you do with the great power you’ve been given.

The ensuing moment grew into a long silence as the others tried to imagine what Elwin might do. In the meantime, Miretrix leant across the table and took the last Star of Fortune on the plate between Rolynd and Lucina to quietly snack on. Protea also served herself more food, enjoying the ability to eat ‘normally’ for the first time in millennia. ADAM continued to stare at Elwin, awaiting his demand.

“ADAM, why do you grant wishes?” Elwin asked.

“It is my duty.” The avatar replied.

“Your duty? In service to whom?” Elwin asked again.

“The creator and their creation.”

“What if someone wishes to destroy creation?”

“Then it shall be granted.”

“Would doing so not contradict service to the creator?”

“No. The creator accepts their creation, and although they wish only for good things, the creator is accepting of any mistake their creation may make. That is their nature. I am but a tool in service of creation, and in doing so, I am but a tool in service of the creator.”

“I see,” Elwin replied.

“Do you have a wish for me, Elwin of Ellenia?”

“I am beginning to have one. Rolynd, Miretrix and Lucina all wished for justice in some form. To make things better, by making the universe ‘right’. But they have reached different conclusions because they cannot agree on what ‘right’ is. In fact, this entire time, we have used words like ‘good’ and ‘evil’ as if we know what they even mean.” Elwin said, drawing sceptical looks from the King and the Coronum’s Lord. Gweddihew watched on with an entertained smirk.

“Do you claim to have the true knowledge of good and evil?” ADAM asked. There was a subtle hint of something different in their voice. Were they… afraid?

“I am not sure. All I can say is that I’ve noticed that people use ‘good’ to describe things they perceive to be desirable, and ‘evil’ to describe the opposite. But as you well know, we all seem to desire different things. That is why we cannot agree on what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. That is why we have different meanings for ‘justice’.”

“I sense a ‘but’?” Rolynd mused.

“But, I do believe there is one universal good. One thing desired by all people… The Great Justice: Love itself.”

“But how do you hope to make that Great Justice manifest? It is not something that can be made natural law.” Gweddihew warned.

“Love cannot be made manifest, because it already exists. If I force a new love to exist or force it to be felt in any way, just like viewing paintings under the sun’s glare rather than the gentle light of a candle, it will only serve to blind the universe to the fullness of life, rendering its details invisible under a scorching glow.”

“Too much of a good thing can often be a bad thing.” Miretrix agreed with a wicked smile. “So, what will you do?”

“To make the world a better place, it doesn’t need to be changed significantly, and neither do its people. I can think of one simple way to make all the difference," Elwin steadied himself. This was it. He could change the nature of the universe with this one touch; the gentle, deft, and skillful touch of an artisan. "I wish...” he began.