GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?



The child of the plane smirked when he saw the reaction of the 9 paragons. He too was a little rattled by the knowledge that the furries that just beat them are real. It shook his worldview if he was being honest. It really drove home the need not to underestimate anyone. Not even the weak creatures that they hunt for sport in his plane. 

He has always been extraordinary all his life so he looks down on others a lot. First of all, he was born a paragon. That is special in and of itself. He was born above normal Vipers. He was born unique and made to achieve great things.

Being born a paragon of Vipers is special because paragons don't give birth to paragons. It is not a matter of bloodline or ancestry. Anyone can be born a paragon. Normal vipers can give birth to paragons and origin gods can give birth to normal vipers so it is very special to be born a paragon. 

He wasn't born in the lineage of an origin god so he wasn't like the deviant paragons. He didn't have any bloodline so his divine ability was not diluted or changed. His humble origin made him an immortal power. Being an Immortal power is both a curse and a blessing. In both cases, it is an honor. He decided it was a blessing.

Unlike others who lamented their fate, he considered it his fortune to be alive when the previous child of the plane became an origin god and left the plane. That left the mantle available for him to take. He was very confident, but to other immortal powers, they were worried that they were probably going to die in the struggle to become the next child of the plane. 

Some immortal powers left the plane and gave up all their connections to become as weak as normal vipers in order to preserve their lives. He didn't and his confidence was proven not to be unfounded bluster when he managed to be the last Viper standing in a battle royale of immortal powers between titans of law and Sovereigns throughout the plane.

He has always been confident in himself. He always thought himself above others and he was rewarded with the title of the child of the plane. His pride was justified when he got the title and his pride was further elevated because of the title. The title meant that while the other paragons are limited to having connections with just the Viper race, he has connections with all the races in the plane including the races that hate him like the furries. So he is truly above every other paragon.

He became unmatched in the lower realm. Only origin gods could threaten him. Origin gods have been known to put the immortality of some headstrong immortal powers to the test. Those immortal powers found their ability to resurrect wanting. Many child of the plane met their ends that way. That's why he stays in the plane even though he can fight Origin gods. 

He learned to fear and never underestimate an Origin god. But those are origin gods. They deserve to be feared. But now, he is learning not to underestimate something that he has killed and eaten several times. He still remembers the taste of furries in his mouth. It is a memory that he associates with the mere mention of furries. He thinks of them as food. So yes, it rocked his worldview that there is a real child of the plane out there that is also a furry. 

But he accepted the reality of the situation and moved on. He didn't remain stubborn or let the knowledge harm him. Instead, he learned a lesson from it and made it his life's mission to kill that furry that has made a mockery of the title of child of the plane. 

He continued solemnly, "I too am shocked to realize that the furries are capable of reaching such great heights. They are currently no match to paragons on their level but they can be if they somehow get the boost from the plane. Then they will be like their champion. What set's us apart from them is our ability as paragons. Beyond that, then we will grovel at their feet. We as paragons are better than them, but how many paragons are there compared to the number of furries in the plane? We are surrounded by all these white furries with the potential to be a danger to us."

His words unsettled his listeners but no one complained. He is the child of the plane so he can compare a prey species to them however he wants. Besides, if they are being reasonable, which most of them are, they have to admit that the three white furries are truly remarkable. They have to admit to this fact because their opinion of the situation doesn't change the fact that those three white furries are truly remarkable. 

There are other notable furries in the competition but those white furries show them what the furries in their plane without bloodlines are capable of. The little they have seen of them shows that only the boost from their connection makes paragons better than them. 

Even so, paragons are better. The furries might have potential but they have actual power. And that potential is all conjecture. Why will there be only three white furries among 3 million furries? Why weren't there more white furries participating in the competition? Surely there has to be a lot of white furries in their plane too. This indicates that those three white furries are special. If they are special, then even if the furries have potential, there is a 3 in a 3 million chance that they will amount to anything remarkable. 

Meanwhile, the chances of being a paragon in the Viper race are 1 to 1000. The Vipers obviously have a better chance of being superior to the furries. So the titans of law and other sovereigns didn't feel as strongly as the child of the plane about the threat that the furries might pose to them.