GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

Eternal life is a very long time. It is a blessing and a curse to live forever. The true immortals are suicidal and manic. Their immortality means they can do almost anything. Gods are not true immortals. There's no coming back from death for them so they have to live safely.

Their list of exciting things to do is limited by the rules that bind gods. They can't descend to the mortal realm in their main body and they can't live the plane even if it were not sealed shut. That small list gets reduced further by the rules of the Celestial Supreme. Playing war games is nice and all but it is to gods important that they enjoy their life. This is where Style and luxury come in.

Style is so important that the temple is taking up most of the space in the headquarters. That is after the headquarters has been expanded to accommodate the temple. The temple is large and built grandly to contain the hundred and one gods in total.

That number didn't happen by chance. The celestial supreme had a lot to do with it. The number 101 is pretty symmetrical and good to look at for someone who wants to control everything. Unfortunately, it had to be ruined by a new god. 102 is an eyesore, so the celestial supreme allowed only 101 seats in the temple. He won't suffer that ugliness in a number anymore. If the new god decides to attend their meeting, then he or she can stand.

"What is taking the dwarf sun so much time?" Someone asked in irritation.

The temple was built quickly, almost instantaneously. So the gods were seated before Helios arrived at the front lines. Their meeting ended when he came out of the ant mound. It didn't take him much time to reach them but some of them are already getting impatient with him.

"You're clearly in a bad mood, Harkam. Maybe you should keep quiet while he speaks." Stelios spoke from his front-row seat.

"You can't tell me what to do. I'll speak when I want and there's nothing you can do to stop me." Harkam barked.

"Silence." The Celestial supreme ordered and the hall was silenced.

He is someone that can tell all of them what to do and he ordered them to be silent.

The gods didn't become quiet because of fear or respect. They didn't stop talking because he asked them. They stopped talking because he made them. The celestial supreme's order forcefully shut down all sound and froze every means of communication in the temple. So nothing would be heard even if they continued talking.

'What a douche. Throwing his weight around. I was going to keep quiet anyway.' Harkam thought to himself.

Harkam became sullen on top of being impatient. Thankfully he didn't have to wait for long. Helios entered the temple. He entered in his empowered form with white skin, golden tattoos, and a faint glow around him.

He bowed to the gods and said in greeting, "Helios, the son of the sun god is here at the behest of the high and mighty gods."

Harkam felt like badgering the dwarf sun questions immediately but he held himself back. He has learned his lesson to be patient.

The celestial supreme smiled at Helios. "Welcome, son of the sun god. I was there the day you were born. It seems almost like yesterday. You have grown well."

The smile didn't seem sincere. Maybe it's the unsettling white pupils on the background of the black sclera of the celestial supreme's eyes. Helios continued to bow while the celestial supreme scanned him thoroughly.

"You may rise."

"I thank the Celestial Supreme for his Providence." He said graciously and stood straight.

The other gods began to scan him too now that the Celestial Supreme is done with him. He maintained his composure through it all. It is a violation of privacy to scan someone with your divine sense but the gods obviously don't care about Helios' opinion or privacy. After all, there is nothing he can do to them if he gets angry about it.

The God of order and justice asked him, "How do you find your experience in the divine dungeon?"

Helios answered. "It was terrifying."

"What was terrifying about it?"

"The royal guards."

"What about the royal guards?"

"They were strong and terrifying."

His answer didn't seem to satisfy the god of knowledge. "And yet you killed one on your own."

Helios nodded. "Yes, I did."

He didn't explain further than that. A statement stating the obvious shouldn't need more explanation unless a specific question is asked. Even then, his answer might not be what they want.

The Celestial Supreme and the gods became silent for a while before speaking again.

"It must have been tough on you to survive alone. I heard you didn't go with the strike team."

Helios answered, "I didn't have confidence in their plan so I didn't follow them. Now, I have come to realize that it is simply hubris that blinded me or I might not have failed."

The Celestial Supreme nodded and asked the question that they all wanted. "Tell us what you experienced in the ant tunnel."

Helios smiled shyly. He scratched his head awkwardly.

He said, "I'm sure the gods saw my whole trip. I would rather not retell the story of how I failed the heroic quest. I'm sure I am the only demigod that returned in failure. I am such a disappointment to my divine father. He had such high hopes for me but I blew them. I blame my inadequate skills and my pride. Maybe I should have trained more."

The gods looked around and shared a look with each other. They don't want to earn the Celestial Supreme's ire so they communicated a silent message amongst themselves. It is more of a question.

They asked each other, "If Helios is a failure, then what are the others?"