GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

The sage replied as if empathizing with him. "It is unfortunate. Fate works in mysterious ways. It seems you were not fated to defend the plane during the era of conquest. It seems you were fated to serve another purpose and be replaced after you have served your purpose."

"Fate is very fickle. All in all, the child of the plane is irrelevant to the survival of the plane during the era of conquest. The plane is strong enough to thrive without the child of the plane. It is a good thing too. The lives of so many should not rely on the one. That is just too much responsibility for a single person to bear. Don't you think so?" The sage asked him.

"Oh. I see." That is all he could say.

Soverick understood what the sage is trying to tell him. He wasn't made the child of the plane to defend the plane. He was created to win that competition and be replaced. His existence wasn't needed for the era of conquest. The plane would have survived without him then so they replaced him as soon as he served his purpose. He shouldn't think so highly of himself that the entire plane needs him to survive. It is as the sage said, the lives of the many should not rely on the one no matter how special or unique that one person is.

He shook his head and said, "But that's no way to treat a sage of the plane. You destroyed my good name and took my title away. I am a very reasonable person. I am sure I would have agreed to give up the title if I was asked nicely and offered a worthy price."

"That might not be what fate wanted. You would still be alive in that case, and the title will always be yours as long as you're still alive. So it was rather fortunate that you died the way you died. It eliminated a lot of problems which have only now arisen again." The sage said with that same sharp glint in his eye.

The sage is honestly unnerved by the current situation. Soverick is alive and Soverick is in front of him. But the Soverick in front of him is not Soverick. It is also not a clone either or an avatar. It is Soverick in body and mind. They are completely the same in consciousness, mind, memory, and energy fluctuations but this isn't Soverick. He honestly doesn't know what he is looking at.

He is right too. Soverick being alive has brought up a lot of problems that should be dead. The first sage would like to eliminate them now. He would like to move to kill this Soverick or whatever it is immediately. But he doesn't know if it will work. If it doesn't work, then he would have aggravated the situation.

So he calmed down. But he did speak his mind. "It is bad that you are alive."

Soverick nodded. "That's true. I am alive. That means the title is still mine. And I also have to bear the shame of the story of my death. What will I tell people when they see that I am alive and that I am still the child of the plane?"

The sage decided to call his bluff. "Why don't you take your title back? I am sure the people of the plane will be excited to know that you're still alive. It shouldn't be a problem for you to do if you're the Soverick that became the child of the plane."

Soverick shook his head, "You know what would have happened if I had done that before calling you. I am not a fool and as I said, I can be very reasonable. For the right price of course."

If he really is Soverick then he would be able to call back his connection to the will of the plane. But that will be impossible if he is an imposter. The sage wants to see if he is really Soverick by using it as a test but Soverick doesn't want to. If he tries and succeeds, then he will become the child of the plane. That will undermine the story that has been woven about him and put him firmly against the sage bloodline. The sage might just decide to make his death true again. 

He is not afraid that the sage will succeed since another Soverick can come and pick things up where they left them. He is just afraid to die. No one wants to die. He can still feel the pain from the last death. And that is just the best outcome. The first sage is not the serpentine world god. The first sage is greater and also a user of fate. The first sage might be able to track other Legions through him. So no, he doesn't want his title back. 

The sage insisted, "Sadly, I find it difficult to believe you are the child of the plane. You will have to show me proof."

The sage highly suspects that this being in front of it can recall the title of child of the plane back to himself. But he isn't sure of it. This Soverick is trying to fleece him by blackmailing him. His claims will amount to nothing if he is fake. The sage won't pay the price that Soverick is asking for until he sees some hard evidence that the original child of the plane is alive. He won't be fooled by some theatrics. He has to be sure. He can't just capitulate to anyone that comes up and claims to be Soverick. 

Soverick rolled his eyes and said, "Fine. But your payment has increased. I will be collecting payment for the damages that I am about to incur."

He activated the call of support after speaking. He used the connection he has with Salvini. It is the connection that every person born in the plane below the level of origin god has with the child of the plane. If it responds to him, then he is the rightful child of the plane. If not, then he is dead meat. Or the equivalent of one.

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