GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

Guntu followed the gaze of the son of legends and saw nothing but a forest. The Virut plane is mostly forest except for the places with cities. There are no roads on the ground since their transportation system is mostly airborne. The need for wood is also low so the forest has been kept mostly alone. Cutting down a forest can antagonize an old monster that used to live in these woods so it's not worth it to tamper with the forest.

The love for trees is still deeply rooted in the hearts of many in the race of battle sage monkeys. Times may change, and eras may be swapped, but some individuals that lived through it all are still alive. Trees might have lost their purpose, but there are world gods who still love the trees they had to fight tooth and nail for. You can imagine what such powerful entities can do to you if you dare touch what they have very fond memories of. If you are an Origin god, you will wish you could die.

So the trees are left alone. No one tears down old structures and forests to build new, hip things like parking lots or shopping malls. It doesn't change the fact that the forests have lost their use. What could be special about a forest that is enough to make them stand around doing nothing for weeks?

Guntu didn't bother to ask that because the rehearsed reply of "You'll see" did not interest him. What interests him is how the son of legends didn't feel restless and sickly with the suppression. He had been holding back because it might be personal. But now he can't hold back anymore.

So he asked, "How are you not affected by the suppression, or is that you are affected but you don't show it?"

The son of legends answered immediately as if he was expecting the question, "Imagine a lake in a frigid region. The surface of the lake is frozen over due to the cold temperature and the wind is howling like ice blades."

The white eyes of the son of legends remained locked onto the forest but his actions and voice became more animated. "Beneath the lake is a dormant volcano that is somehow keeping the water in the depths warm. Living on the surface will be tough and no matter how resilient you are, the freezing wind will continue to sap the life out of you."

As he spoke, an image of what he was describing was being outlined in the air. Guntu considered how he did it as the air shimmered with vibrant colors as if it were a painting.

The display looked simple, something that could be easily achieved by a transcendent with their solidified divine sense but Guntu is sensitive enough to know that this creation is not entirely based on a divine sense. Instead, the son of legends used his divine sense to split the water droplets in the air and held each individual dot still while the rays of light are diffracted through them. It is how rainbows are formed but the son of legends was forming a vibrant painting with it.

The arrangement and angles of each dot are such that the light they produce is amplified in some places or eclipsed in others to create this fine imagery. The son of legends had turned something simple into something difficult and it was amazing how easy he could achieve it.

'He has to be holding more than a billion dots of water in place with his divine sense and yet is still able to choreograph their effect. Is this the difference between me and someone ready to become a world god?'

Guntu was half impressed and half depressed. Destruction is easier to do than creation. Destruction had always come easily to Guntu but he knew it would not lead him forward. Destruction for destruction purpose cannot lead him forward. He has to temper destruction with creation but he could not see how to.

A world god cannot create a world with just destruction. Guntu can't even weave the tapestry of an image using the laws of water, air, light, darkness, and earth. Anything he touches is destroyed.

The son of legends continued to talk, oblivious to the emotional turmoil within Guntu. Or maybe he isn't, someone with the eyes of sages cannot be underestimated.

"Normal space is the area above the frozen lake. It is specifically the space of a plane. The freezing wind is the force of suppression. The thick frozen top of the lake is a high energy barrier, it is difficult to breach."

"As its name suggests, you need to have achieved a high energy state to breach the barrier. But once the barrier is breached you get access to the warm depths. You are safe in the depths, the freezing winds can't reach you and the volcano keeps you warm. But you need to be able to survive underwater without air. Only those that have achieved a high energy state can traverse the depths. If you can survive in the depths, you can now control a lifeless puppet to remain active on the surface from the safety of the depths."

The images depicted the new additions to the story. It showed a person with the same likeness as the sun of legend in the depths and another one on top of the ice. The only difference between them is that the one in the depths is 3 dimensional while the one above is 2 dimensional, like a cube and square cardboard. One is fleshed out while the other is surface thick.

"No matter how cold the wind is it can't affect me and the puppet is lifeless so it can't feel a thing. What you're seeing right now is my puppet. The real me is within the depths of space. You can still kill me but it will require more power than usual. The conversion of a low energy state into a higher energy state is horrendously inefficient."

"But the suppression of the plane cannot affect me as long as I don't return to normal space. If I were a true world god then I'll be unapproachable to you no matter how short the distance between us seem. Now do you understand why I don't feel suppression sickness"

Guntu nodded solemnly. Anyone would understand with such an over-the-top explanation and a showy display of painting skills.

The son of legends continued. "I am only halfway there and I am longing for the same thing as you. I want to become the volcano instead of the person seeking refuge in the depths. I want to be Immovable and calm while hot lava brews within my depth. An eruption of mine can turn the entire frigid zone into lava and ash. Imagine that, lava and ash."

Guntu didn't have to imagine it. The images showed the profound effect of the eruption and Guntu watched as the law of fire wove itself seamlessly into the tapestry. The image depicted scenes of destruction but there was no actual destruction in the tapestry. It was just destruction being mimicked by creation.

Guntu felt sore. Even his specialty can be mimicked. "At least you're halfway there. With creation anything is possible." He said.

The son of legends laughed and waved the images away.

Within the Divine Plane of the Virut Pantheon.

God King Ode, the supreme god of the Virut pantheon finally made his decision. After weeks of agonizing indecision and no forthcoming help, he decided to activate the "Last Days" protocol.

"Nothing has changed for the better. It is out of my hands." He lamented as he checked the state of the divine kingdom.

There have been more celestial gods due to the forced battles between grand gods. But no miracle happened. No special celestial that can change the course of battle appeared. The celestials they acquired are also being starved of divine energy. Faith in them had long reached rock bottom.

Then there are the demons. The demons are assaulting the gods like predators moving in to finish a wounded prey. Their eternal rivals sensed weakness in the god's defense and were locked on to them like a canine beast on a bone.

Ode suspects that someone is feeding the demons information. Even if the gods somehow repel the main plane, the demons will rip them apart. Their losses in the battle with the main plane, internal fighting, and desertion, coupled with their loss of faith have made them too weak to face their real enemies.

The main plane is never supposed to be their real enemy. Even if those from the main plane barge into the divine plane, they will be highly suppressed. This suppression is higher than that of the main plane. But the demons are not suppressed in the divine plane at all. So while the demons remain largely intact, the gods have become fractured and impoverished.

God King Ode began to stroll around his divine kingdom one last time. He looked at his vast wealth and sighed. "I'm going to miss you the most."