Lightning Is the Only Way

Around Gravis, eight balls appeared.

To his top right was a ball of fire.

To his top left was a ball of water.

To his high-middle right was a ball of earth.

To his high-middle left was a ball of air.

To his lower-middle right was a ball of metal.

To his lower-middle left was a warping ball of wood.

To his lower right was a ball of darkness.

To his lower left was a ball of light.

Eight elements appeared around Gravis, but all nine elements were present.

Gravis was the lightning.

Yet, that wasn't the end.

Even further outside was a gigantic ring with the ten mixed elements.

Eighteen elemental balls could be seen hovering around Gravis as he smiled.

CRRRRK!

At the same time, his evolution finished, and with it came two new arms.

Back then, Gravis saw no point in having more than two arms. After all, he could only put his entire muscles behind two of them. Yet, that had only been a fitting body for his old fighting style, which had pursued powerful and explosive strikes.

Now, Gravis' fighting style had changed to one filled with variety and complexity, and with this fighting style, a new body was required to perfectly utilize it.

If Gravis could only control one element, he wouldn't need more than one arm for a shield and one arm for his saber, but that was no longer the case.

Now, Gravis could control all the elements.

'An Elemental Seed is just that, an Elemental Seed,' Gravis thought. 'An Elemental Seed is something that humans use to convert Energy into the elements, and creating such an Elemental Seed is not difficult at all.'

"I know the elements," Gravis said to himself. "Only beasts need an affinity to control an element. We humans can control any element we want. We only have to understand it first."

Gravis' humongous, 20-kilometer-tall body shrunk until it was only two meters tall.

'Sure enough, even with this size, I can feel the full power of my body,' he thought.

His evolution had finished, and he had changed. The Laws were clearer, his lightning had fused with his Spirit, and he had grown two additional arms.

But more than that, Gravis felt calmer.

Yet, that didn't come from his evolution. That change came from his understanding of time.

Time itself was unchanging, but it changed everything it came into contact with. At this moment, Gravis remembered something he had said casually once, which had been thrown back at him by his father.

"I am me, and that won't change, no matter how much I'll change," Gravis said with a smile. "It sounds cheesy, but it has some truth to it. Enemies come and go. Friends come and go. Family comes and goes. Even my home changes constantly."

"Yet, my current relationships, home, and being are just temporary. As I change, everything else changes, and that's how the world works. Who cares about losing your home when you will automatically find a new one with time?" Gravis asked himself.

"How dare you destroy my southern region!?" a violent transmission suddenly came from a distance.

Shortly after that, a mighty rhinoceros appeared near Gravis.

This was the leader of the southern region, the only level four Emperor.

Gravis didn't look at the rhinoceros. Instead, he dispersed his elements and looked at the ground.

"Do you feel it?" Gravis asked.

For some reason, Gravis' words intrigued the rhinoceros. "What?"

"Gravity," Gravis said. "It permeates everything, no matter if it is living, dead, an element, or a force. It doesn't matter. Everything is affected by gravity, no matter what it is."

"I feel it," Gravis said with a smile. "Gravity is a force acting upon time and space itself, and since everything lives inside space and time, gravity also affects everything."

BOOOOM!

BOOOOM!

Gravis understood the Law of Gravity, and with him, the rhinoceros also understood the Law of Gravity. The rhinoceros was a beast with an earth affinity, and it had quite some connection with the concept of gravity. Gravis' words had enlightened the rhinoceros, making it understand a level three Law.

The rhinoceros became shocked as it suddenly comprehended a level three Law. He had become an Ascender? He had managed to reach this step?

The rhinoceros closed his eyes as he reveled in the feeling of understanding.

Then, Gravis appeared directly in front of the rhinoceros.

"Sorry, but I need food, and your mismanagement of the southern region is the best reason I can find," Gravis said sheepishly.

The rhinoceros became confused. "Wha-"

SHING!

And the rhinoceros was dead.

Gravis knew that he wouldn't be able to find any enemy in this world anymore. Everyone knew him, and no one would attack him. Yet, Gravis needed food to become a level three Emperor. At that time, he could take on the Striders.

This meant that he had to be morally flexible and consume beasts that hadn't attacked him previously. He didn't enjoy it, but when it came to his path to power, he could also do cruel things, if necessary. He wasn't about to waste thousands of years just to wait for someone to attack him.

With this strike, Gravis had doomed the southern region to fall to the sea beasts. Of course, Gravis had already accepted that every action of his would have devastating consequences to the weaker beings.

Yet, that didn't mean that Gravis wouldn't try to minimalize his negative impact upon the world.

His Spirit encompassed a huge part of the southern region as he spoke to every Emperor.

"I am Gravis, and I have killed the Tornado Emperor and your level four Emperor. If you want to survive, you will gather at the north-western border with your entire following in three days," Gravis announced.

The Emperors couldn't believe what they were hearing, but if their level four Emperor didn't speak up, it had to be true. Beasts were not as skeptical as humans. The powerful were right, and Gravis had shown to be the most powerful. Because of that, nearly all Emperors immediately followed Gravis' orders.

Then, Gravis looked at Aris, who had left his cave by now.

Aris was looking at Gravis with awe. Today, he had seen what supreme power was. Additionally, he had never seen his father truly fight someone. Back when Gravis had fought Morus for the first time, the three of them had retreated and couldn't watch the fight.

Gravis' fighting style and usage of the Laws had awed and inspired Aris. Especially the last display of the many elements had shocked him beyond belief.

Aris looked bitterly at his hand.

BZZZZZ!

A small lightning bolt appeared inside his hand, and he looked at it with a lost expression.

"What's the use of this Punishment Lightning when someone can just comprehend all elements?" Aris asked himself.

"Oh, you know Punishment Lightning," Gravis said with a smile as he appeared in front of Aris with a smile. "That's great! But I'm not a fan of your words. Don't you know that if you push something to the limit, no amount of variety can protect your enemy? You should know that as an Emperor."

Aris sighed as he closed his hand. "I know," he said. "I only felt melancholy about my current lack of power. Yet, it is only that, current."

Gravis was a bit taken aback, but his smile quickly returned.

Then, he put his hand on Aris' head and stroked his scales.

"You've truly grown, Aris," Gravis said with a loving tone.

Aris felt something stir inside him as he heard his father's voice. For some reason, these words made him happy.

Then, Gravis lightly slapped Aris' shoulder. Gravis had to control his power to not injure his son since he had just become a level two Emperor after absorbing the rhinoceros.

"Come on, let's get your sisters. Then, we'll have a proper reunion," Gravis said with a laugh.

Aris sighed with a bitter smile.

"Yes, father."