A World Without Magic No More
Richard walked into the Temple of the Winds by himself. Kahlan and Zedd watched worriedly behind him. The last time he was in the Temple, he had to have been betrayed by the woman in white; the woman he loved with all his heart. Kahlan unwittingly betrayed Richard and broke his heart, allowing Richard to enter through the Hall of the Betrayed. But he did not have to go that way this time.
After defeating the Imperial Order, using the power of the Boxes of Orden combined with the Sword of Truth, Richard brought the Temple of the Winds out of the Underworld and into the world of life. He also created a new world; a world without magic, a Creator, a Keeper, or anything. It was a world where only man could build what man wanted - living fully to their potential as nothing but men.
At Kahlan's insistence, Richard wanted to see this new world. He could not bear to see his half-sister again, it would be too sad for him. That was why he was in the Temple of the Winds. It would allow him to travel to the world he created, but in the far future. He could see what had happened to the descendants of the people that had left his world at the end of the war. Perhaps their punishment had gone on long enough. These souls did not need to be punished for the actions of their ancestors.
Putting the Boxes together in a center pedestal somewhere deep in the Temple, Richard plunged the Sword of Truth into the boxes. With the combined magic of Truth, Life and Death, and the Winds, Richard could go anywhere he wished at any time. He chose the world without magic far in the future. He was instantly enveloped by lightning so dark it seemed to suck the light away from the bright white lightning also being generated from the boxes. Soon, he, his sword, and the Boxes were no more.
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Richard emerged in a room filled with marble and long pews. The Boxes of Orden sat on an altar covered with a white cloth. He put the Sword away in its scabbard, and threw the black boxes into his pack. The lights seemed to just be alive - how was this possible without magic?
Hearing a noise, Richard went out the front doors and gasped. Buildings as tall as palaces in Aydindril and higher rose all around him. What seemed to be boxes of metal with wheels on them moved around freely. People sat inside these boxes in seats, and one of them was always behind some sort of wheel. He reached out with his senses. No, there was no magic here. He made sure to put a ward around himself so the Chimes that he banished here would not steal his magic, nor the power of Orden, but he noticed with a start that he could not sense them around him. Logically, the man who banished them to this world would be their primary target should he enter. But they were nowhere to be found. Running his fingers through his hair with a sigh, Richard seemed dumbfounded at this new world. One far beyond his comprehension.
