The ruins were quiet after the Covenant's first trial, but silence never lasted long in a world unraveling. Wrath's storm still raged on the horizon, Envy's fissures whispered in the depths, and Pride stirred in the Western Spires. Now, the System trembled with a new warning.
[System Notice]: Entity Awakening.
Designation: Greed.
Location: Southern Vaults.
Directive: Null must be terminated.
Kael's face tightened as the words burned into our minds. "Greed… what does it want?"
I looked toward the south, where the earth glowed faintly with golden light. "Everything. Greed doesn't hunger like Envy or rage like Wrath. It takes. It hoards. It consumes until nothing remains."
The scarred woman stepped forward, her blade still stained from the trial. "Then we go south. If Greed awakens fully, it will strip the world bare."
The Covenant murmured agreement, though fear lingered in their eyes. They were still new, still fragile, but the bond had begun.
We moved through the ruins, the beacon of Origin dimming behind us. The air grew heavier with each step, thick with desire. Shattered coins littered the ground, glowing faintly, whispering promises of wealth and power.
Kael bent to pick one up, but I caught his wrist. "Don't. Greed's touch corrupts through temptation. Even a fragment can hollow you out."
He swallowed hard, dropping the coin. "It feels… like it wants me to believe I deserve more."
"That's how it spreads," I said. "Greed convinces you that what you have is never enough."
The scarred woman spat on the ground. "Then we'll show it that freedom is enough."
The System trembled again.
[System Notice]: Influence spreading.
Greed corruption detected.
Warning: Null Covenant at risk.
Figures emerged from the vaults—citizens twisted by desire, clutching coins, jewels, scraps of gold. Their eyes glowed with sickly light, their voices desperate.
"Give us your power…"
"Share your Origin…"
"You have more than us… give it…"
Kael recoiled. "They're worse than Envy's husks. They don't just want—they demand."
I raised my hand, Origin Power swirling. Light and shadow twisted together, forming a barrier. The corrupted slammed against it, their hunger gnawing at the edges.
The scarred woman struck, her blade cutting through the corrupted. The one-armed man's staff cracked skulls, Kael's crystal pulsed with defiance. The Covenant fought, but Greed's corruption was relentless.
Then the vault doors groaned, splitting open. A figure stepped out—taller, heavier, its body draped in chains of gold. Its eyes burned with endless desire, its voice a whisper that echoed like thunder.
"I am Greed. You are Null. You have what I do not. And I will take it."
The System screamed.
[System Notice]: Critical Error.
Multiple Entities active.
Cycle collapse accelerating.
Directive: Null must be terminated.
I clenched my fists, Origin Power surging. "Then come and try."
The Covenant stood beside me, battered but unyielding. Wrath roared in the distance, Envy whispered in the depths, Pride stirred in the spires. And now Greed stepped into the world.
The storm was no longer just fury. It was hunger. It was desire. It was the cycle breaking apart.
And I smiled. "The Origin Path was never meant to be easy. But it was meant to be free."