GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?



A red aura appeared over his white-furred body. He rose from the ground when he shouldn't be standing. He had broken bones in several places in his limbs. Some patches of his skin are flapping loose, and some of his organs have come free. His body is nowhere capable of performing the feat of standing. 

He should be crippled by pain and the actual physical disabilities that he has acquired this night, but his mind is too worn out to care. Besides, that doesn't matter anymore. What does it matter if the structural integrity of his entire body has been severely compromised when he has power? 

He has power, and that is what he needs. He sacrificed the lost skin and organs for power. He doesn't need them, just like the dead do not need their organs. His body became lighter as death force accumulated within him. He became a literal dead man walking. 

The death force managed to breach his unresponsive mind, for him to feel a searing pain. It is a warning that what he is doing is very dangerous, but he doesn't mind. What does a little pain matter to someone that is ready to die? 

He took a step forward, and he stumbled. He snarled in anger. He has power, but his body is failing him. He became angry again, and everything else didn't matter. He became focused again. All that remained in his mind was his aim. He has to finish his part of the plan so that they can win.

He willed it, and his body answered. The red aura thickened and stuck to his body. His body knitted itself back together. The red aura turned into a tangible force that strapped his broken parts onto each other. Death force became the glue that held him together. It is just a temporary solution. His body will fall apart soon. So he has to achieve his aim in the meantime.

The details of his part of the plan flashed in his mind before he blacked out. He is to join a squad, and several of that squad will assault a small tribe of Vipers. The mana entities like him that form the squads are to kill everyone in the village so that the paragon will be weakened. The paragon will become easily killable after it has lost all members of its tribe. 

So his part is to kill every Viper. That is his mission as a soldier. That's what he must achieve until he dies and life leaves his body completely. His mind narrowed down on that and only that. He lost his reasoning as he focused on that primal objective. His mind blanked out while his body moved to fulfill the duty of a soldier.

"Every Viper Must Die." He muttered.

Then he turned into a crimson blur in the forest as he rushed towards the village. Both children and the elderly have to be killed. Every Viper must die. He kept repeating that to himself. Every Viper must die. Every Viper must die. Every Viper must die. That's what he remembered about the rest of the night.

Back In The Present.

Ghaster was muttering it to himself too. "Every Viper must die. Every Viper must die. Every Viper must die."

His eyes became bloodshot as his body continued to vibrate. His bloodline woke up with that ancient promise. Every Viper must die. His mission is not complete as long as he lives and breathes and as long as any Vipers exist. He is a soldier, and he must complete his mission. 

He may be battered. He may be broken. But as long as that promise is not fulfilled, then he cannot rest. His bloodline will see to it that the promise is fulfilled. Too many people have died for the freedom of the race for him to relax while Vipers exist. Their sacrifice will not be in vain.

"Every Viper Must Die." He roared it to the sky, and lightning erupted from him. 

He became a blue maelstrom of blue lightning. A storm of energy whipped about in a frenzy around him. Then the blue lightning turned crimson too as he became agitated. A red hue appeared on his body. His blue fur straightened and became red sharp lightning-infused spikes. 

He was on the verge of losing his mind when his mind suddenly caught fire, and his emotions burned out. He became dull and listless. He couldn't feel anything. But that wouldn't stop his bloodline. A wave of blazing anger burned in his eyes. That anger took over his psyche. He could only focus on one thing. He began looking around for his targets. He searched, but he couldn't see them, and it was causing him to become frustrated.

"Where are they?" He shouted. "Where are the Vipers?"

Someone replied to his question, but he didn't understand what they said. His mind can't parse the information contained in the mental transmission. Then he realized that he recognized the mental fluctuations of the person. The faint recognition made him shift his attention to the person. His mind began to clear up with the change of focus.

"Think about something else." The voice said to him, "Think about something fun to distract yourself. I thought about the eldest and his stupid face. I thought about beating him, if only once. What do you think about that? Do you want to beat the eldest too?"

Litori's soft mummers drew his attention, and he couldn't help but nod. Sure, Vipers are to be killed, but beating the eldest is also good. In fact, beating the eldest is his lifelong dream. Punching the eldest' smug face will be very fun. Besides, Vipers don't exist anymore. They are all dead. So the mission has been completed while Soverick is still too much of a talented freak. 

His eyes began to clear up. He realized that his mission was over. He is not a soldier anymore, and the war has ended. The oppressed ocular monkeys are no more. They are battle sage monkeys now. And they are in complete control of the plane. There is no more threat to him apart from Soverick.