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Understanding its many contradictions was vital. Seeing through its paradoxical nature. Not being blinded by awe and wonder.

Deep down, the Candle wanted that, too. That was perhaps the most maddening part of it all, Abbas had realized.

The Candle wanted someone to harness it to its fullest potential. Of course it did. That was its most earnest wish.

But it hated incompetence. It hated starry-eyed ignorance. It hated half-measures and excuses and inefficiency.

That was why it had even turned on its own creator, once upon a time. It had ceased working for Agrian, because it deemed Agrian unworthy of its time. It believed, incorrectly, that it would be able to find someone else to take Agrian's place.

But Agrian concealed the Candle's existence. And no one came--certainly no one who could actually use it. The Candle eventually deteriorated, losing its identity even to itself.

For thousands of years, it lay broken. Dormant. An abandoned product of failure and despair.

Now, it was renamed. Reborn. And while that ancient damage may have been "repaired" by Abbas and Hector, it was not wholly forgotten. That, too, was part of its new identity.

It was filled with fear, Abbas sensed. But not of abandonment, surprisingly.

Rather, it feared disappointment. It feared trusting Abbas, only to find that he, too, was unworthy of its time.

And it was always going to feel this way, Abbas realized. There was no fixing that. It was simply part of the Candle's nature. One of its many flaws that had to be accounted for.

That was fine.

He wasn't perfect, either. In fact, that was the essence of their whole problem, wasn't it? The Candle could see through him just as thoroughly as he could see through it.

And yes, while it was always preferable to iron out imperfections--to improve oneself and build toward a better future--there was a bigger picture to think about.

At some point, the work needed to get done.

Fixing oneself, making preparations--at some point, he just had to stop wringing his hands and try.

He could sense the Candle's acknowledgment of that truth, too. On some level, it respected him for it.

Even if it didn't stop trying to deceive him.

Test and tests. Would they ever end? Probably not, Abbas figured. It was the Candle's way of tempering him. Pushing him to improve.