Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis felt nervous.

The highest Heaven would appear right beside him? It was one thing to meet a Heaven, but it was something entirely different when meeting someone on his father's level. This was one of the two beings at the absolute peak of the Cosmos.

Gravis waited for some seconds while nothing happened. Meanwhile, his father started looking over to the side with narrowed eyes.

Clink!

The quiet sound of a cup being moved could be heard, and Gravis saw the third cup levitating seemingly out of its own volition. Then, it angled, and the coffee that poured out of the cup vanished into nothingness.

Obviously, the highest Heaven had already arrived, and it had just taken a sip of the coffee.

Yet, Gravis was unable to see the highest Heaven. He knew that it was beside him, but it was simply invisible to him. However, the fact that it was invisible made it appear only more frightening.

It was one thing to know that one was constantly watched from afar, but it was something entirely different when that mysterious being sat right beside him. Right now, the highest Heaven was sitting just beside Gravis. If he extended his arm, he could probably even feel it.

"Because I don't trust you," the Opposer seemingly said out of nowhere.

Gravis looked at his father, but his father was only looking coldly at the empty spot beside Gravis.

Some seconds passed.

"Better to be prepared and not need it than need it and not be prepared," his father said again.

Gravis realized that his father was speaking to the highest Heaven right now, but Gravis could not hear it. The highest Heaven had probably made a comment to his father about his pose and the fact that he carried his weapon in his hand.

"Because I will tell my son about the Brand," the Opposer said.

CLINK!

The third cup broke in two. Apparently, this so-called Brand was something special. Otherwise, the highest Heaven wouldn't have had such a reaction.

Some seconds passed.

"You were the one that showed that he was willing to go all-in," the Opposer said. "So, prove it. Show me that you honestly mean it and allow me to tell Gravis about the Brand."

Gravis grew more nervous. Yes, the highest Heaven had never shown any indication that it would attack him, but that didn't mean that it couldn't. Rules only worked for so long, and the highest Heaven could break and create the rules as much as it wanted.

Just because his father was there didn't mean that Gravis was safe. The Opposer and the highest Heaven had the same power but protecting something was far more difficult than destroying something. If the highest Heaven wanted, Gravis would die since his father couldn't defend himself and Gravis at the same time.

The only reason why the highest Heaven hadn't killed Gravis yet was that the Opposer would flip the entire world upside down, probably killing every being in existence. The billions of years of time investment would be wasted, just like that, all because the highest Heaven had killed a mere Immortal. This was obviously not worth the trade.

Gravis' potential was just that, potential. Having potential did not mean that one could achieve their full potential or live long enough to fulfill it. Gravis still had six major Realms in front of him before he was in striking distance of their power.

Gravis guessed that this Brand was probably something integral to reaching the Opposer's power. Otherwise, the Opposer wouldn't have invited the highest Heaven to talk. Just reaching the power of a Heaven's Magnate wouldn't be enough to warrant such measures.

"I'm not asking you to stop," the Opposer said.

Some seconds of silence.

"What I mean is that I want you to not do something if Gravis manages to become a Star God in the higher world. After all, he wouldn't be in the highest world, which means that you shouldn't get involved. Sounds fair, doesn't it?" the Opposer asked.

Some more seconds passed.

"Stop derailing the conversation," the Opposer said with a huff. "So what if he looks? He's in my house, and he's my son."

Gravis' heart raced for a second, and he averted his gaze. Without noticing, he had looked at the location of the highest Heaven without looking away. Gravis would also feel weirded out if someone kept looking at him that intensely.

"I don't care. Give me an answer," the Opposer said.

Some more seconds passed.

"Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," the Opposer said. "I am going to tell him, no matter what. Either you accept it and maybe add some conditions, or you are forced to kill him, but you know what will happen next."

Nearly 30 seconds of silence passed.

"Now look who's looking," the Opposer said with a huff. "You've just complained about my son looking at you, and now you're staring at him like he's a freak."

Gravis' heart and mind raced. The highest Heaven was looking at him intensely? It was one thing to know that he was being watched, but it was something else when the most powerful being looked directly at Gravis from such a short distance.

If Gravis simply turned to the highest Heaven, their eyes would probably even meet. For some reason, this thought was terrifying to Gravis.

"Name them," the Opposer said.

Some seconds passed.

"I wouldn't even try such an obvious plan on you. I hate you, but it doesn't mean that I think you're an idiot," the Opposer said as he carefully drank from his coffee. Obviously, he was fully on guard. Gravis had never seen his father so careful before.

Gravis could even feel a sense of doom and foreboding emanating from his father. It was like the apocalypse was being held at bay by a paper wall. Just one small poke and everything would explode!

For the first time, Gravis knew how the highest world felt. No matter what he did, his survival depended entirely on the whims of these two beings. Even if they didn't target him, just a careless move of theirs would kill him faster than he could comprehend.

No one in the world knew that a meeting took place that could result in everyone's death. If the highest Heaven decided not to cooperate or kill Gravis, the entire Cosmos would stop existing.

The mortals, Immortals, and Gods went about their day as always, not knowing that all their lives were currently hanging by a thread.

"I don't agree," the Opposer said with narrowed eyes.

Gravis balled his fists as he broke out in a sweat.

"Because it's impossible," the Opposer said after some seconds. "To reach that power, he would need to comprehend Laws for such a long time that your implemented soft longevity cap would easily reach the point where you can kill him while staying in the rules. If I agree to that, he will die."

Some seconds passed.

"So? One guy has billions of years while the other will be how old, 100,000, 200,000, 500,000 years? How about you give him 100 million years? That would only be around 1% of your firstborn's longevity. It would still be vastly unfair, but I'm willing to agree to that," the Opposer said.

Some seconds passed.

Then, the Opposer smirked. "Oh, now it's suddenly against your rules? Yet, wanting Gravis to fight your firstborn is not against the rules? Stop bullshitting! You only disagree because you know that after 100 million years, Gravis will easily wipe the floor with your firstborn."

Some seconds passed.

"What's with your constant dodging?" the Opposer asked. "Weren't you the one that forced the middle Heaven to train Gravis? Didn't you want him to become powerful?"

Some seconds passed.

"Oh, shut up," the Opposer said. "As if you care about that. Give me a better condition!"

The Opposer narrowed his eyes, and Gravis felt like the apocalypse was closing in. Right now, the Opposer was threatening Heaven with his aura.

Some seconds passed.

Then, the Opposer pulled back his power and fell into thought.

A minute passed.

"I can agree to this, but only if you change the soft longevity cap somewhat," the Opposer said. "Instead of using your privilege of doing it yourself, I want it to continue happening. I don't care where you get the people or beasts from, but his soft longevity cap should continue. Of course, he is not allowed to consume them."

Some seconds passed.

"I don't care from where you get them. Create them, summon someone from our world, or whatever. As long as their powers fit the usual criteria, I don't care," the Opposer said.

Some seconds passed.

"So what? Don't act like you can't protect the world. Just isolate them or something," the Opposer said.

Some seconds passed.

The Opposer nodded. "Obviously. If he does so, you can kill him."

Gravis' nervousness returned. His father had obviously referred to him.

"Then we have an agreement," the Opposer said. "Now, would you be so kind as to fuck off?"

The Opposer glared at the spot where the highest Heaven should be for a while.

Some seconds later, the Opposer huffed, crossed his legs, and put his saber away.

The highest Heaven had left.

Gravis released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. This entire conversation was far more stressful than he had believed.

Gravis looked with relief at his father, who summoned more coffee and drank it violently.

BANG!

The cup hit the ground with a loud bang, but it didn't break.

"I hate that guy!" the Opposer said with anger.