The secret to Richard's power is that he seeks the truth. In seeking truth he turns a blind eye to corrupt ideas and embraces the essence of life itself. The Sisters of the Dark assumed the truth to be what they had always been told by others and never thought to verify it themselves, and died for it; but would never have been able to access the power by reason of acting in hate. Richard, on the other hand, intended to use the power to help those he cared about and thus had the ability to harness the power.