GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

Mihila noticed that he was communicating with them with his divine sense. That could only mean one thing.

"You have also awakened your soul. I am proud of you." She was impressed with his progress. She hadn't expected that of the three of them, soverick would be the first one to awaken his soul.

"I didn't expect this. Then again you were the most intelligent one so it isn't surprising when I think about it." Her transmissions then took on a demanding tone. "Ghoto what do you have to say to your son?"

"That is impressive." Ghoto finally snapped out of his stupor.

Soverick remained impassive. He had used his divine sense so that they can infer his double progress themselves so that he wouldn't waste so much time on chit-chat. So he cut to the chase before they start going on a tirade.

"When can I enroll in the academy?" He asked.

Ghoto chose to reply. "I am sorry but you won't be able to go soon."

Soverick didn't like the sound of that. He knew they wouldn't like him to leave his siblings behind but he didn't think they will stop him outright. Their refusal mattered little to him but he would like to see if he can amend the situation before resorting to other means. So he asked.

"Why not?"

"My father is coming over. He would like to see his grandkids. You won't be able to leave until he has seen you."

"I don't need to be here for that. You can just show him a picture of me."

"That won't do. My father is rather eccentric and he is set in his ways. I don't want to refuse him." Ghoto explained, his voice bitter. Soverick realized that he was wrong after all, whatever was bothering Ghoto is his business. It might even delay him.

"Is that why you have been moppy?" Soverick asked.

Ghoto's face changed. "I have not been moppy."

"You can choose to believe whatever you want, but I have some advice for you. Be more like me, I don't care about what my father thinks of me. So the opinion of my father holds no sway over me."

Ghoto's face twitched. He knew that, but to hear Soverick say it so candidly stung him.

Soverick ignored the awkward silence and continued. "Why is he coming now of all time when I need to leave?"

Ghoto sighed. "You have been in seclusion for some days now so you don't know that a war summons has been called by the racial council. My father has decided to honor that call. He will come here on his way to participate in the battles at the front line."

"Oh, I see." Soverick realized again that this was in fact his fault. But that didn't mean he would delay his progress for it, he would at most be sympathetic. There was no way he was going to spend his time waiting for an old geezer stuck at the sovereign realm.

"Either way. I will leave in a week. Your old man better be here by that time or I'll leave. You tell him to hurry up. I'm already doing him the favor of one week. I wouldn't even spend that much time for you. He better appreciate it." Soverick declared then he left. He needed to prepare anyway but he didn't tell them that so that they will think he is being considerate enough.

They watched him leave, Mihila with amusement, Ghoto with awe. "I wish I had that gusto," Ghoto said. His words made her chuckle.

"It is a different time now. In our time, a brat like that would have been neglected by his parents and made to suffer for his arrogance. Times have changed."

"You forget that leaving Soverick alone is exactly what he wants, so it won't be a punishment for him if he is neglected," Ghoto said but Mihila's glare stopped him short. So he changed the subject.

"Yes, even the era of the gods is about to end. But Soverick is right, I should not care about my father so much. He was never there for me when my mother and I needed him. I am a grown man." Ghoto rubbed his head. He was still young for a king but the knowledge of the impending arrival of his father was making him weary.

"Grown man or not. Your father is a sovereign. He can still whoop you." Mihila tried to lighten the mood.

"Are you sure you don't want to follow me? You would be able to let go, cause some damage to the gods and have fun at the same time."

"It is okay. You can go and fight the gods. Like father like son, rushing over to bully the gods when they are down on hard times. Someone has to stay here for the kids you wanted so badly."

"Sure, the kids are important, but they will be at the academy. Who will watch my back?" Ghoto begged.

"Your father can protect you." Mihila waved his worries away. She didn't think there was any palpable threat to Ghoto. She didn't think much of the gods anyway.

Ghoto gave up on changing her mind. He wanted to join the war so that he can get the funds and contributions for an upgrade on his weapons. He had been using a low-grade origin weapon for a while it needed an upgrade. He wanted something befitting a king of law. War and strife also create opportunities for people to rise. Wars in the plane are pretty rare due to the strict enforcement of peace and order by the racial council.

Fighting begets fighting. Strife begets strife. In a situation where there is extended lifespan and accurate memories, slights or grievances are hardly forgotten. People will remember for years what a certain person did to another. Things escalate when it comes to the matter of strife among true immortals. True immortality is the major reason why large-scale wars have been banned in the plane.

A mortal debt collector can die and thereby releasing the debtors from their responsibilities. But an immortal debtor cannot die, at least not completely. They will never forget their due or their feelings of hatred till eternity. The way to end future strife by uprooting roots and possible threats will not work here. The worst part is that the hatred will be passed on to their offspring which will further escalate the matter.

So the racial council also banned unsupervised wars on the plane. Only mortals with limited lifespan get to kill each other en mass. At least the entire bloodline of a mortal is easily traced and uprooted. An end can be put to conflicts of such a level. It is also why empires can only be created with the permission of the racial council because any form of authority and social hierarchy will produce dissent.

Even if the empire is allowed, royalty has to be below the level of transcendence. Immortals are not allowed to interfere in the ruling of mortals. A mortal empire can break up and crumble, and mortal kings will die and change, but an immortal ruler will never change. It will stifle growth and development if there is no change in the ruling system.

Origin gods can only duke it out in the upper realm. The upper realm is sturdy and is where they can let loose. Fighting someone that you can't kill or get rid of might discourage some from fighting at all, but for others, it only means you get to kill the same person over and over again. That's why the upper realm is full of conflict and why even immortals must band together to survive. Sovereigns have to tread lightly in the upper realm when even origin gods without support become easy prey. Origin gods form groups which mean conflict can escalate into cosmic wars of epic proportions and it just never ends. They will only recover for a while before they start massacring each other again.

Fighting never ends. It is the curse of immortality to have an eternal enemy. The upper realm is strong but it is not conducive to anything less than immortal. Imagine just walking about and a stray attack from some Origin gods fighting each other hits you. Sometimes you survive, sometimes you don't and you die. If you're an origin god yourself, you will simply complain, rant a little about the lack of safety in our society, and probably ask for compensation. You might receive the compensation because the people responsible don't want another enemy. You also might die again because their long life has made them acquire many enemies, so what's having another enemy going to change?

But if you are a Sovereign, you will certainly die from the stray attack. Your life and story will end there. You will not get to bicker with your killers about compensation. Your grudges and grievances will end with your death.