GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

Maybe Mihila knew her future, maybe she didn't. It was not Soverick's place to speak about such matters, especially in a situation like this. He might be indifferent at times but even he could read the atmosphere. It was a happy one, there was no need for such sad news. Besides, he would rather focus on more important matters, like how to make Ghoto pay for his infraction. It was a more pressing matter, even if he was right about the death of Mihila, it would not occur for the next 10 origin cycles. And even if it occurred, it wouldn't be a strange thing. People die all the time. Long-life has made witnessing death a common thing. It is ironic that the availability of eternal life has made people more accustomed to death. Mihila and Ghoto are both older than him anyway, so it was okay if they died.

Soverick stood out among the family because he didn't go forward to greet Mihila. The others were hugging and laughing but he stood aside waiting for all of it to be over as soon as possible. He didn't want to rush them, that would just be unreasonable. He had made a deal with the old man to come and meet his wife and he was a man of his word. So he would have to be unreasonable another time.

"Who is this shy fella?" Mihila said as she approached soverick. The closer she walked to him the more she could feel the pull on her. She was intelligent, she had suspected such. Meeting soverick had just confirmed her suspicions. There were a lot of weird points that she had noticed. There was no bloodline memory within her bloodline imprints. Then there was the similarity between the color scheme of his eyes and her fur. Her eldest son was the Source of her bloodline. She knew that she gained a bloodline through her pregnancy but she didn't know which one of her children was the cause of it. She didn't feel fear from this fact, she didn't think such a weak boy could compel her to do anything considering their difference in strength. If only she knew how wrong she was about their strength difference, maybe that would change her opinion of him. Currently, she only felt pity for her first son. He wouldn't have the other advantages that came with the bloodline since it was just starting with him.

"My, how much you've grown. Ghoto and Kayla must have taken good care of you." Mihila exclaimed as she examined him. Ghoto smiled awkwardly while Kayla coughed.

"It was all my effort. They had nothing to do with it." Soverick didn't want to give them the credit for his growth.

"What do you mean?" Mihila asked with mirth. She didn't take soverick seriously, she was only asking to entertain him. He was simply a child to her, no matter how quirky. Soverick could tell, and he refused to continue. He looked toward Ghoto and asked "Are we done here? If yes let's go."

Mihila was taken aback a little. She expected him to brag and show off to impress his mother. Ghoto laughed to ease the awkward atmosphere. "Soverick is right. We are creating a scene. Let's go home and talk more."

"You are right, let's go." Mihila agreed. She stretched her hand to rub Soverick's head. She used brief physical contact to inspect his condition. She wanted to make sure he was healthy and strong. But what she saw made her face darken.

"Why is Soverick still in the body forging stage?" She asked icily.

"I don't know. His progress might seem slow but he is strong." Ghoto tried to explain. Ghaster and Litori had broken through to the vitality stage but Soverick was still stronger than them. Ghaster had made several challenges after his first failure only to add more defeat to his streak.

"How strong can he be when he still hasn't formed a vitality Core?" Mihila didn't accept his explanation.

"It has only been a year." Ghoto tried to calm her rising anger.

"But his younger ones have already formed theirs." Mihila was very troubled about the refinement progress of her eldest son. He was lagging and she didn't like it.

"Relax. You will soon find out that he is stronger than them. Soverick might be lazy and possess an unruly mouth but he is stronger than his siblings."

"Is that true?" She turned to ask soverick but he was unresponsive, he just wanted to be back in his room. So she turned to ask the younger siblings but they didn't meet her eyes. Only Kayla gave a nod of confirmation.

"That's good." She calmed down a little, but she was not convinced yet. "You two must be slacking off. What techniques are you training in?" She asked, but Ghaster and Litori looked confused.

"They don't train in any techniques," Ghoto replied. He had a bad feeling.

"Why?" Mihila asked. Her tone was calm but her divine sense caused mana to ripple out in waves. Ghoto knew trouble was coming immediately after he heard that question. He decided to tread carefully. He searched for an answer that won't result in her blowing her lid up, but the time to achieve that was fast closing. The only reply that came to his mind is the excuse he would inadvertently have to give her so that she wouldn't get angry.

"It's been only two months." He said in the most soothing tone he could muster, but all Mihila could hear was everything he hadn't said about the cause of the delay.

She heard. "I have already requested the survey. But I have received no response since then. Someone must be delaying the procedures, but It has only been two months. We can wait for some more." Mihila became angry because she couldn't wait for some more time. She was gone before Ghoto's next words.

"Please don't be angry." Ghoto's pleas missed its target.

"Guess you didn't see that coming?" Soverick taunted.

"Oh, that? It isn't completely unexpected. It is totally like Mihila. I just hadn't considered this scenario because she came so fast. I would have prepared otherwise."

"I told you that you've been slacking off. It is good that your superior has returned and she seems more proactive than you. She will put an end to that." Soverick admonished his father.

"Stop calling her my superior, we are equals."

"She is stronger than you," Soverick smirked.

"Let's go home, your mother will meet us there." He said before he bent down to lift Soverick.

"How does it feel to have a wife that is at least 10 times stronger than you old man?"

"It is not new to me. I am used to it. This is so nostalgic. Have I told you how I met your mother? It was..."

Soverick interrupted him immediately "Yes, yes, we've heard enough of that story. I shouldn't have asked."

They returned the way they came. Ghoto created a translucent platform for them to stand on with his mind. His mind was powerful enough to bend nature to do something like this. They don't have to walk because the platform lifted them and carried them forward. Even so, Soverick insisted on being carried.

Meanwhile,, Mihika had flown to the Division of Family Affairs building to have a short chat with the supervisor. And like all reasonable people, she began the negotiations with a show of force. She broke through all the barriers and doors between her and the puny transcendent. Nothing could stop or hinder her path. She was like a wrecking ball, a being meant for wrathful retribution. When she got to him she asked, like a reasonable person always does, "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now?"

The transcendent sat behind his desk sweating all over. He was just someone that had given up on the path of refinement and became a desk pusher. He was in no way equipped to deal with the wrath of a titan of law. There's this thing any informed person knows, people at the titan level of power and above must not get angry. You will be safe if someone beneath that level becomes angry at you, as long as they don't intend to harm you, things can still be sorted out. Titans on the other hand have begun to fuse with nature. They start to become an expression of the forces of nature. Their every movement and emotion triggers the ocean of mana around them to do their bidding. So when they are angry at you nature is angry with you, and the world is angry at you. The world doesn't have complicated thoughts, when it is angry at something it will get rid of it. Nature doesn't need the permission of the titan of law that evoked it to get rid of the target of its fury. It will go ahead on its own to destroy the target. That is why titans of law must not get angry at you.