GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

So you are saying, even after you blasted it with full force you still didn't see what it was?" An Origin god asked. The face of this Origin god was empty except for the gaping maw that split his face and a tongue too big to be contained in his mouth. The long and spiked tongue rolled around outside the confines of its mouth. He had a growth on his head that resembled antlers but flowers were growing on them. He wore a dark cloak that obscured everything about him except his head. He probably couldn't cover his head because his antlers are too big for it.

"Yes, I could only sense that something had invaded the divine plane but I couldn't make out what it was." Ode replied.

He didn't tell them that even that information was not acquired by his own strength, it was the plane that informed him. But what does that matter? Gods use borrowed power anyway. So it makes no difference how he did it.

The Antler Origin god looked at his comrades. There were two other Origin gods in the meeting. One was a rock with some small plants growing from the cracks between the joints. He had no features that could identify it as a living thing.

The other is a stick, a long hollow stick to be precise. Origin gods can change their shapes but they are limited by their minds. They can assume any shape as long as they are comfortable in it. Their existence is closer to immortal concepts than immortal living beings.

The three of them sat at the table with the God King. They had a quick chat amongst themselves. And the outcome of their chat wasn't favorable to the gods.

"It can be what I think it is, is it?" Rock origin god asked.

"It probably isn't. Someone on that level won't stoop to something like this. They will just barge in and end this farce. It must be someone that is about to reach that level." Big mouth replied.

"Even that isn't a good thing. It implies that the racial council of this plane is taking this seriously." Hollow stick said.

Big mouth made a sound of derision. "Of course, they are taking it seriously. Which realm council wouldn't take the liberation of their plane seriously?"

"Things are different now. The presence of someone like this means trouble, especially from the battle sage monkeys. Someone like that can just come here and kill us." Hollow stick maintained.

Big mouth shook his head. "It won't be that simple. This person has not reached that level so they can't disregard suppression yet. They will be suppressed in the main plane and the divine plane is going to suppress them more."

"You are right. What should we do now?" Rock asked.

"There's only one thing we can do if we are in our right mind." Hollow stick replied.

Big mouth sighed in agreement. There was only one thing they can do, if they don't want to be hunted down by this terrifying figure then they better do it now. The three of them stood up in silent agreement.

"We are done. We want no more part in this. You are on your own." Big mouth said before they started leaving.

Ode was flabbergasted. He wanted them to give him advice about what was going on, instead, they are packing up and leaving him. He would like to use force to make them stop but he had learned that lesson the hard way. So resorted to what he can safely do.

"You can't leave, you haven't even done anything." He shouted at them.

"You're wrong. We can leave anytime we want. It says so in the contract. We made that clear." One of the Origin gods called back without turning.

"Yes, but..." Ode slumped down in his seat. "It's like I invited you here and gave you money for nothing." He whispered, still in shock.

He had paid them some advance, a large advance too. There was no clause in the contract that required them to return it. The contract was too lax on them because he was desperate for some help. They could break the contract anytime without consequences. He expected that they will at least go through the motions and fight something before giving up. But now they are running away as if they are scared of something. Then it hit him, they must know what that terrifying invisible enemy is.

He rushed from his throne to catch up to them. Even if they will go, they should give him information about his current dilemma.

"What is that invisible enemy?" He asked when he caught up to them.

Big mouth considered for a while before replying. "We shouldn't say anything so that we can guarantee our safety. But since you've paid us, we will help you out just this once."

Ode became elated immediately. Then his mood dropped when he heard what he said next.

"When an Origin god is ready to become a world god. They undergo a sort of displacement in energy and spatial positioning. In other words, what you see and perceive about them is just the tip of an iceberg. The bulk of their being is in a dimension invisible to us and what they show you is more like a shadow of their existence. Once they fully connect to that dimension and build a world in it, they will become a world god. What you are facing is something you cannot see, something you cannot perceive, something you cannot touch but it can see you, perceive you, and hurt you. The perfect Hunter."

Big mouth continued. "I am not sure about the full details, we are still far from that level. I'll give you some advice, run, run and never look back."

Then the three of them warped away from the divine realm. When they had made the agreement to work for the Virut Pantheon, they had made it very clear that they would be unreliable allies. This was due to the binding contract they had to sign before they were employed and allowed entrance into the divine plane. If not, they would have cheated this sorry group of gods and even rob them. But the contract prevented them from intentionally causing the gods harm, either through their actions or thoughts. The contract was very strict when it came to guaranteeing the safety of the gods from them, but it was lax in their responsibilities.

Origin gods need resources more than ever and the resources they need are what fuels their conflict. They need resources to grow stronger and they need them to resurrect. It will take an origin god numerous cycles to resurrect without resources. Resources can shorten that time to a few days and in some cases, a few minutes.

They took this job because of their need for resources. Unlike in the mortal world, resources hardly change hands within the circle of immortals. They never die, odds are, when one of them grasps hold of a source of wealth, they will never let go of it. Even death can't make them let go. Because of that, Origin gods don't reduce in number, but the number of resources remains constant.

That's why new origin gods like them have to do odd jobs to get by. If you don't belong to a strong cosmic organization, then you are doomed to fighting for scrapes with other poor origin gods like you.

The racial council of the battle sage monkeys is one of such strong cosmic organizations. In fact, they are behemoths, the kind that you must not look in the eye. If the racial council of the battle sage monkeys happens to walk by, you stay still or pretend you're dead. That's the kind of predator that they are. An Origin god can't be dead, so playing dead will be seen through very easily. But it will convey your acceptance of their dominance in hopes that they will deem you insignificant and leave you alone.

The three of them were practically scathing at the edge by interfering in their affairs, but the job was too good to pass over.

The gods were filthy rich, it is like they had siphoned the wealth of their believers into a single spot. The gods were like banks that people can only deposit in and not withdraw. Even banks that allow withdrawal are vastly wealthy, but they can't compare to the gods.

For years, they have sucked on the lifeblood of their believers, like ticks and parasites. They had wealth that could tempt Origin gods, if not for the fear of the racial alliance many Origin gods would be lining up to fight for them. But that will end soon.

Things had changed. The racial council had brought in a big gun to a fist fight. The three of them won't play anymore and wouldn't be here to witness the downfall of the Virut Pantheon. They were going to play dead and hope they are left alone.