GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

"Let me see what this is all about?" He said and resumed his journey.

He decided to continue going forward since he didn't sense any threat or danger from the life forces. His fear melted while his curiosity peaked. He moved closer to the source of life and came upon a tall mountain.

He muttered thoughtfully. "This is weird. They are within the mountain and they are also calling to me."

He examined the mountain so he is sure that the mountain is the largest mountain that he has ever seen. He is also sure that the source of life is coming from within the mountain. It is coming from its base to be precise. He can't find any entrance be they tunnels or caves into the mountain. It is one solid block of frozen colossal rock. He would have turned away if he hadn't sensed something calling to him from within the mountain.

"This isn't a trap is it?" He asked himself. "I can't sense danger. Also, what are Warrogs doing so far to the north?"

Someone is calling to him from within the mountain. It is a mental call using the connection unique to his race so the call seems to be coming from a Warrog. He is clear about the call but it doesn't seem right. Warrogs should not be this far north. He wants to know what's at the bottom of the mountain but he is weary of traps. 

"I will just take a peek." 

His curiosity won over quickly when he didn't sense any danger. He promised himself to run at the first sight of danger. Then he began tunneling into the mountain. He activated his Doom Chomp. A large and black phantom bony jaws materialized from his mouth. He directed it at the mountain and took a large bite out of it. 

The phantom bony jaws carved into the mountain and crushed the rocks creating space there. He created more Doom Chomps one after the other to dig his way into the mountain. He made quick progress with his method of digging. But the mountain is incredibly large. It is almost 1,000 kilometers thick at the bottom. That means he has to dig about 500 kilometers worth of rocks if he wants to get to the center of the base. 

It didn't help when the tunnel he created closed up behind him.

"Great. Now I have to dig my way up again. Maybe this is why some people got stuck within the mountain in the first place. This had better be good."

He thought about giving up and going back to his dreary life as a fugitive. But he didn't give up. The call was compelling him to come. He noticed the subtle effect of the call on his inner beast. He feels that it is very important to find out what is within the mountain so he decided to indulge his curiosity since there is no danger in sight.

Digging is more taxing work than flying. What's worse is that the mountain can heal itself. The crushed rocks reassembled themselves and filled in the tunnel. Then the cracks healed soon after. He has to continue digging or risk being entombed by the mountain. It is all very discouraging. But he didn't give up. 

It may be clear to others that this mountain is not natural at all. No natural mountain heals itself. It didn't scare him though. Neither did it seem odd. He has seen more peculiar phenomena than a mountain that heals. It only made his curiosity increase. He wants to know what's at the base of the mountain and why some people are stuck within it. 

So he continued digging even when it took weeks. The farther along he went, the more he couldn't give up without finding out because he would have to dig his way out again and all his work would be for nothing.

Fortunately, nothing bad happened to him during the digging. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred apart from the healing mountain. In fact, it was a boring and uneventful dig. It is all thanks to the understanding of the entities that he is digging through. These entities didn't move or make a fuss as he dug. They simply healed the damage that he did while continuing to watch him silently.

Ragnarok dug into the mountain unaware of the entities surrounding him. According to his senses, he is surrounded by no living things. He didn't consider that the mountain is a living thing despite the fact that it can heal. 

The ability to heal is not limited to living things. Artifacts can be imbued with the ability to restore themselves and some natural substances have a sort of imprint or memory about their previous state and seek to restore it by healing, so his mistake is understandable. 

Victory goes to the strong. He is strong and very determined so the victory of reaching the middle of the base of the mountain came to him after 9 weeks of digging. He found himself in a dark cavern. 

He stepped out of the small shrinking tunnel he dug into a large open space. His examination revealed a rough surface of the inner side of the mountain. He also found the source of life that he has been sensing. The life force is coming from several giant beasts that have been shackled with numerous white chains. The chains are white like the frozen rock. 

These beasts have horns on their head. They have protruded jaws that reveal some canines on both sides. Their fore limbs end in large clawed paws while their hind limbs end in hooves. The beasts all have different colored thick fur. They have also all been forced to lie flat with their arms and legs spread apart by the chains that pinned them to the ground. This is the most pertinent feature he observed apart from their familiarity.

His eyes shrunk at the sight. "This is a prison." He said to himself in understanding.