Lightning Is the Only Way

"Arc, are you truly only helping me because you want our fight to be enjoyable?" Gravis asked, looking at the horizon.

"Why not?" Arc asked. "It would be boring otherwise."

Silence.

"Arc, are you not afraid of death?" Gravis asked.

"Death, huh?" Arc repeated with a distracted voice.

"Death is a distant concept for me, Gravis. I see death all around me, but I never felt like the concept had anything to do with me. It's like watching an animal. I'm not an animal, yet I know a lot about the animal."

"So, while I do know that death might even come for me, I don't feel like it will."

Silence.

"Isn't that how nearly everyone thinks?" Gravis asks.

"I guess so," Arc said with a slight chuckle. "Anyway, isn't it normal to temper yourself on your path to power? I haven't tempered myself in a really long time. What makes our fight any different from normal tempering?"

"The difference is that I don't want to kill you," Gravis answered, looking at Arc.

Silence.

Then, Arc sighed.

"I know," he said. "I also don't want to kill you."

"Sadly, there's nothing we can do. You need my Energy to become a Star God, and you won't give up your dream of freedom for my life. We both know that."

"The thing that forces you into this decision is my Creator, and you're not powerful enough to resist him yet. For now, you have no other choice but to follow his will," Arc explained.

Gravis also sighed.

"I know," he said with a bitter voice. "I might perceive myself as free, but that is only perceived reality. In physical reality, I'm not free. That's why I need power."

"See?" Arc asked with a smirk. "So, why ask that question? You can't change anything about physical reality anyway. You're a couple Realms short."

Silence.

"But why are you helping me, though?" Gravis asked again, looking into Arc's eyes. "Every living being has the drive to survive, and by helping me, you are specifically going against that drive. You are pushing me out of a burning pit by jumping into it. You can just decide not to jump into the burning pit. No one would fault you for that."

"We are friends, but we are not so close that we would sacrifice our lives for each other."

"So, why? Why continually walk closer to your death?"

Silence.

More silence.

"You misunderstood something, Gravis," Arc said with a neutral voice. For once, his voice didn't sound chipper or lighthearted.

Instead, it sounded serious and emotionless.

"You said that every living being strives for survival, but that isn't the case."

Gravis furrowed his brows at Arc.

"Living beings don't strive for survival but for life."

Gravis lifted an eyebrow.

"Someone that is captured and tortured for the remainder of their natural life is surviving, but not living. Don't forget that there is a famous phrase: I'll make you live a life worse than death."

"Living a life that's worse than death is surviving, not living."

"If you push a being too far into darkness, they will prefer death over survival."

"Tell me, Gravis."

"Am I living or surviving?"

Gravis' insides shook when he heard these emotionless words from Arc.

How would Gravis feel in Arc's shoes?

Forever being trapped in one world, unable to progress.

Not being around beings that know enough about the concepts of the Cosmos to truly talk with you.

Being trapped in the highest world was entirely different from being trapped in a higher world.

There were several beings in the highest world that knew all the Laws.

Several Heaven's Magnates probably knew all the Laws that the highest Heaven knew, except for the Major Law of Death and the highest Heaven's exclusive lightning element.

Only a single step separated the Heaven's Magnates and the highest Heaven.

Yet, what about this higher world?

Arc knew the Major Law of the True World.

The closest person to him had been Exar, who knew the Major Law of the Dead World.

He didn't know the Major Law of Life.

He didn't know the Major Law of Emotions.

He didn't know the Major Law of Perceived Reality.

Comprehending these Laws was integral to understanding the world.

Over ten billion years of being semi-alone.

Arc was not free.

Arc did not have anyone he could truly connect with except for Gravis.

Arc didn't feel any love for anyone.

The Opposer had his wife, his family, and the highest Heaven, even if he didn't like the latter.

The highest Heaven had the Opposer.

Whom did Arc have?

Gravis.

And Gravis would soon leave again.

For the first time, Gravis realized that Arc wasn't truly as carefree as he made himself appear.

In truth, the endless years of unchanging loneliness had probably ground him down.

In that situation, someone might actually prefer a battle to the death over the unchanging monotony.

"Are you seeking death, Arc?" Gravis asked, looking into Arc's eyes.

Arc smiled bitterly and slowly shook his head.

"Not really," he answered. "I just want to make the most of my time. Seeing someone else grow and teaching them about the world might appear interesting to you, but it isn't a life-changing event."

Arc looked at the horizon.

"Yet, when you have been in isolated darkness for an eternity, even the smallest glimmer of light shines as bright as a star."

A complex feeling appeared in Gravis' heart, but he wasn't able to decipher it completely.

Was it pity? Empathy? Sympathy? Sorrow? Guilt? Powerlessness?

Gravis wasn't sure.

The only thing he did know was that he didn't like that feeling one bit.

"So, you want this small light to shine as bright as possible, even if it puts you in mortal danger. If you survive, it will be a cherished memory, and if you die, you didn't die surrounded by nothingness."

"Is that it?"

Arc scratched the back of his head awkwardly with a bitter smile.

"I think you could phrase it like that."

These words made Gravis sigh again.

'Why must life be so complicated?'

'Emotions and situations can create terrible lives with basically no way of recovery.'

'How many people envy the Heavens and want to be them?'

'Yet, how many Heavens want to be just people?'

Gravis looked at the sky with furrowed brows.

'In essence, it's the highest Heaven that forced Arc into this misery.'

'Yet, even if I don't like the highest Heaven, I can't put all the blame on it.'

'One of the reasons why it is creating these worlds and Heavens is my father. After all, the highest Heaven and father are constantly at each others' throats.'

'Father said that there hadn't been any lower, middle, or higher worlds back when he had been cultivating. This means that the highest Heaven created these worlds because of my father.'

'It probably saw that it didn't have the full control over its own Cosmos anymore. Afraid of being killed by my father, it expanded its scope of harvesting Energy in order to rival father.'

Gravis had to sigh.

'It's funny, actually. Whenever I fight, thousands or millions of beings die around me. Every time that happens, I believe that it is only natural. After all, I can't look out for mortals while my life is on the line. If I did that, I would have already been killed many times over in my previous fights.'

'Yet, ironically enough, Arc is also one of the victims between the fight of the highest Heaven and father. Father wants to break free and take revenge on the being that wanted to kill him, and the highest Heaven wants to survive the revenge of father.'

'Are any of the two of them wrong?'

'Honestly, I don't know.'

'I know my father, and I can certainly see how he can take things a little too far, but it's also possible that he is completely in the right. After all, I don't know all the background information.'

'Sadly, I don't know the highest Heaven. I only know bits and pieces about it, but nothing concrete.'

'If I knew the highest Heaven, I might be able to get a clearer picture of everything.'

'However, that is far above my current level.'

"Yeah, the conversation kind of ended, and the silence is a bit awkward," Arc said with an awkward smile.

Then, he pointed towards the horizon.

"I think it's better if I'll just go."

Gravis sighed and nodded. "Sure, and sorry for bringing up this topic."

"It's fine! It's fine!" Arc said.

"Anyway, see ya later!"

SHING!

And Arc was gone.

Gravis remained on his spot for several more minutes, just thinking.

In the end, he sighed again and flew towards the Purist Sect.

He had thought enough about these things.

Today shouldn't be a day of depression but of exhilaration!

He had just survived his hardest fight yet, had comprehended the Major Law of Emotions, and had become the strongest in the world!

He needed to celebrate with Stella!

Like this, the three people had parted ways again, everyone feeling vastly different from the other two.

Mortis was currently wringing with the oppressive feeling of nothingness, aimlessness, and hopelessness.

Arc was finding solace in the slight glimmer of light in the perpetual darkness. In his mind, he felt quite happy right now.

Gravis quickly forgot these depressing issues and met up with Stella. Warmth and love filled his being as he felt at home.

Three vastly different outlooks on life.

Three vastly different emotional states.

Three vastly different ways of dealing with their problems.