GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

The fountain of life is a majestic creature that seems to be adorned with sparkling gems. The gems seem to reflect light from an unknown source. They sparkled in the darkness of the plane so that all could see the majesty of the fountain of life.

No one could deny this majesty. All who saw the fountain of life stopped wondering why the fountain of life doesn't show itself. Something as large as it should not move around for the sake of the world. After all, it is a flying mountain.

But the fountain of life is moving around now. And more than that, it is flying. Four wings extend from its back. These wings are 20 kilometers across. They are also adorned with gems. The gems are on its tail and head too.

The fountain of life has a rather small head. One might call it delicate. It has two smooth horns that lie flat on its head and extend to its neck. These horns are white. They don't sparkle like the white scales on the fountain of life so they don't look like gems. But its eyes do more than sparkle. They glow brightly like two stars. 

The light produced by those eyes seems to almost render reality transparent. They make it so that the fountain of life's gaze can pierce the veil of the law matrix. 

Those eyes are fixed on Rinoz right now. The fountain of life has two of them so the pressure from the fountain of life is double. Rinoz understood that the fountain of life was angry from the gaze that it was giving her. She knows that the fountain of life is not looking at her because she is the only source of light in the dark plane. With anger comes violence. The expectation of violence brought up fear within her involuntarily. 

Rinoz summoned the courage to say, "So you have finally stopped hiding." 

It was a very difficult task so speak. She had to fight the urge not to bow. An aura of raw, iridescent energy enveloped the world. It battered Rinoz's mind and body. It is a formless pressure coming from the fountain of life. The levitating colossus was exuding an overwhelming presence of divine might. 

The air around it rippled with pulsating waves of ethereal light, and motes of luminescence danced in its wake like celestial fireflies. This divine aura is an unmistakable sign of the creature's god-like nature, warning all who behold it of the impending cataclysmic force they face. 

Everyone that is not a titan was frozen. They couldn't protect themselves from this overwhelming presence of world power so they became subject to its pressure. They lost their will to fight. All they wanted to do was to obey. Rinoz didn't succumb to the pressure. She could speak. So she did. But she shouldn't have spoken.

The fountain of life roared, "YOU DARE!"

It is blatant, unmasked, unmistakable, and totally disrespectful to say that it was hiding. So it roared in anger. An awe-inspiring sound emerged from its mouth. Its roar is a symphony of power and authority. It alluded to pride and the hidden ferocity of the fountain of life. 

This sonic force shattered mountains, ruptured the earth, and caused storms to begin ravaging the plane. Hurricanes streaked through the plane. But no one ran. They are too frozen to run for their lives. They died where they stood. Their bodies broke apart and joined the wind as dust and ashes. 

These much death and destruction are but heralds of what more is to come. The fountain of life still has more in store. 

It said to her, "You gnat. You small inconsequential gnat. You ignorant existence. You shouldn't have forced me out into the open. There are some things that should not be revealed or the light of their existence will blind the dim uncomprehending eyes of weak gnats such as you."

Riniz said in defiance, "I had to. You are an invader and I am the savior of the plane. I am the hero of the people and I must rid the plane of you."

"Well, well, well… Look what we have here. A tiny morsel daring to challenge a titan of power made manifest. How utterly amusing. Tell me, our brave little hero, do you truly believe you stand a chance against the convergence of the might of creation and the power over life?"

The fountain of life's eyes glowed with a malevolent gleam as it continued its ridicule. Its majestic divine aura of majesty and world power billowed out of its gargantuan form to batter Rinoz. 

Rinoz was pushed back and against the earth. She couldn't speak anymore. But that's alright. The fountain of life is not interested in hearing what she has to say anyway. 

"I've seen countless warriors like you, boasting of courage and valor. But in the end, they all succumb to the realization of their own insignificance. Your bravado is as fleeting as a candle's flame in the face of the infinite cosmos. You have seen nothing of what this world is made of and you will die as nothing in the grand scheme of things."

The creature of raw power let out a deafening roar which caused the air to crackle with energy, as if mocking her.

"You think you're a hero? That is not something to be proud of. That is a title. It is not a power. Heroes are but ephemeral beings, flickers in the grand scheme of existence. They are but dust that will be swept along the river of time as dead and forgotten things. That is because they were weak. Being a hero is nothing to be proud of if you are weak. You are nothing but a joke if you admit to being a hero when you're weak."

Rinoz finally managed to collect herself. The power of the plane converged upon her due to her title. She glowed brighter like a star. She became the star of salvation and the light of hope in the darkness. Everyone in the plane who gazed upon her had expectations rise within them.

-----

A/N: I'm taking bets. Who do you think will win? Rinoz or FOL.