GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

The higher the risk, the higher the reward. Soverick had help in ending the era of the gods and he was rewarded with a stake in the plane. The Tree father, Helios, and Aeternus subjugated the plane on their own. They were rewarded for their efforts with total control of the plane.

There are pros and cons to the different situations. Soverick will continue to have help from the racial council when the era of conquest comes but Legion will be on its own regarding the Zargoth plane. Virut plane is also much stronger than the Zargoth plane. So even though Soverick doesn't have total control of his plane, his plane will surely perform excellently in the era of conquest.

Zargoth has come under the control of Legion. That means they will have to bear the cost of participating in the era of conquest and they will also get to keep the reward of the performance of the plane to themselves. Still, they will need to strengthen the plane and its inhabitants in the short window that they have before the era of conquest comes. That's why they are creating an alternative path of power for giants of order.

An entire plane has become the tool of a single entity. It is an epic development but it isn't unique. It is not the first time it is happening nor will it be the last. Things like this will happen with increasing frequency as the era of conquest draws closer. Having a say in the affairs of a plane is like putting stock or investing in the realm of high heaven. You get to reap benefits if the realm performs well during the era of conquest.

Legion-5's father also has total control of a plane. Legion-6 is in a plane under the control of a demon god. The dragon clone, legion-8, is even doing more than gaining control of the dragon home world. He is giving them a taste of well-deserved Chaos.

The Zargoth plane is currently under their control but the fight isn't over though. They still have to defend their control from invaders. Other demons will invade en mass now that the divine plane is not protecting the plane anymore and there are no gods to resist their invasion.

Then there are the old gods that managed to switch to the path of perfection. They couldn't come to the plane before because of the blockage of the divine plane and because the planar portal to the ancestral battlefield has been locked. Now they can enter the plane through the void.

Some will come for selfish reasons. They will come to snatch control of the plane from the tree father. Some others will come with the good of the plane at heart. They will come to make the plane better and to liberate them from the oppression of demons. They will come for various reasons, but one thing is certain. There will be conflict.

END OF VOLUME 3

Intermission.

Somewhere out in the void universe in the upper realm.

The upper realm is rife with conflicts. It is the favorite pastime of immortals. What else can you spend your immortal life on? Will origin gods spend their time painting or dancing? Maybe. But they can also paint and dance while they fight. There's nothing that says they can't fight and do other things too.

Origin gods can fight over the most ridiculous things. One of the most common conflicts occurs because of ownership and property. It is not a ridiculous reason to fight but it is very common. Stealing is a common crime because it is the only way to acquire anything nowadays when the previous owners refuse to die and let the younger generation inherit their things.

Wealth is not redistributed in the upper realm, so you have to kill the previous owners and take their stuff for yourself. They will come back from the dead and bother you about their stuff that you took which leads to more conflict. Immortality has not brought peace to the universe. It has only brought the opportunity to concoct neat ways to fight.

Stealing is the order of the day amongst immortals. No one owns anything anymore. You're only holding it temporarily before the next person takes it from you. Getting attached to something is a good way to hurt your feelings. Possessions come and go in the upper realm.

A lot of stuff has been stolen. Virtually anything that can be stolen has been stolen. The most common items stolen are soul stones for their miraculous properties of healing the soul. These soul stones are produced in soul springs on the immortal continents. The immortal continent is indestructible so soul springs can't be stolen but the ownership changes hands either by hook or crook.

Groups of Origin gods band together and fight over these soul springs. Soul stones are then used to heal the wounds that the Origin gods sustained during the fight. Then they jump back into the fight because they have to defend their stolen stuff from those who will like to steal it from them. That's how it usually goes.

Origin essence is better than soul stones but Origin gods have a limited amount of origin essence that they can produce. Soul stones on the other hand are a wonderful alternative. It may be a poorer alternative since an origin god can't grow stronger with it but it is readily available and can be accumulated. All you have to do is claim ownership of a soul spring.

The importance of soul stones is usually the major reason that conflicts start but other stuff propagates conflict. Old bitterness and hatred escalate the matter of theft. Disrespect and any other things can make the conflict go on and on even without bothering about the soul spring anymore.

Conflict by theft is not avoidable. There's no way about it. You can't take a soul spring away and stay in isolation. An immortal continent is immovable. As long as you have a soul spring, the conflict will come. So conflict is as unavoidable as the immortal continents are as immovable.