Lightning Is the Only Way

"You need to become a level four Star God again first," Orthar answered directly. "I've already prepared your opponent, and you can't win as long as you are not a level four Star God."

"Additionally, don't jump into a fight while feeling this confident. Confidence is good, but you can't commit any mistakes against your next opponent. If you do, you will die, and your suffering will have been for naught."

Mortis only looked at Orthar with fiery eyes, but Orthar's gaze didn't waver.

"He's right, Mortis," Gravis said from the side. "Calm down first. Orthar knows our power perfectly, and he will give us an opponent that will push us to our absolute limits. One wrong move, and we will die."

"After all, if we can't even prepare ourselves adequately for a fight, how will we ever reach the power of father?"

Mortis' gaze went from Orthar to Gravis.

"I won't make a mistake," Mortis said.

Gravis frowned.

"However, I trust in your judgment," Mortis said after he relaxed. "You might see things in me that I can't see."

Gravis' smile returned. "Thanks," he said.

The two of them looked at Orthar again and nodded.

Orthar nodded back.

Then, Orthar vanished.

After that, Mortis and Gravis sat down.

Gravis asked his father for another delivery of coffee, and his father delivered.

"I'm proud of you, Mortis," the Opposer said to Mortis.

When Mortis heard these words, something inside him shook.

"Thanks," was all Mortis said.

His thanks only sounded polite, but all of Mortis' feelings had been summarized in it.

Mortis had felt the deep feeling of pride his father held for him, and his father heard the appreciation in Mortis' voice.

Gravis gave Mortis some of the coffee, and the two of them started talking again.

They mostly talked about the Sin Monster, and the incredible amount of suffering it brought with it.

Gravis said that he was impressed by Mortis. Back then, Gravis had only had so many Sin Monsters on his body near the end, but Mortis managed to survive against so many of them for such a long time.

However, Mortis said the opposite.

Mortis said that Gravis had it harder than him. Back then, Gravis had been subject to an ever-increasing load of suffering. This meant that Gravis had also known that it would become harder and harder the longer it dragged on, which added a feeling of approaching dread. Additionally, Gravis hadn't been entirely sure for how long it would continue.

"Yes, but I had you to vent to," Gravis answered. "I could always shout at you, and you always supported me during these trying times. Meanwhile, you have been alone the entire time. I couldn't help you. The only thing I could do was watch."

Eventually, both of them relented.

It was impossible to quantify Suffering to such a minute degree.

They agreed that they had gone through similar levels of it, and they were fine with that.

Eventually, Gravis and Mortis had talked enough.

By now, Mortis had fully calmed down again, and he seemingly hadn't changed from his previous self before the trials.

Yet, there was also something different about him.

There was a certain maturity and confidence inside Mortis, which hadn't been there before.

It was like Mortis truly was Mortis at this moment. It was difficult to put this feeling into words, but that was the most accurate description.

Gravis and Mortis slowly absorbed God Stones until they both reached the fourth level of the Star God Realm again.

Then, the two of them stood up and looked at each other.

Both of them nodded at each other.

From now on, the trials would be for both of them, and they had to work together.

After preparing themselves mentally, Gravis and Mortis left the hall through the opened gate.

They slowly walked to the next trial along the narrow and long hallway.

Their momentum slowly increased as their minds entered a battle-ready state.

Eventually, they arrived at the next gate.

Gravis and Mortis each put their hands on one half of the gate and pushed.

As the gate opened and the two of them walked into their new trial, their eyes fixated on one being in front of them.

Gravis and Mortis had entered into endless space. There were no walls, ceiling, or floor in this vast nothingness. The gate they walked through just hovered in the emptiness, and the two of them could see another gate several kilometers away.

The two gates were simply standing in the void.

The nothingness around them peacefully shone with dark colors of purple, blue, and black. It was like they were in space, among the stars. However, there were no stars in this space.

It was just endless nothingness.

As soon as the two of them entered, they saw two figures.

One of them was Orthar, and the other one could only be their opponent.

However, when they saw their opponent, their bodies shook.

This was not what they had expected.

Their battle-ready states immediately dissolved as shock replaced them.

"The fourth trial will push you to your limits," Orthar said from in front of them.

"If you can't comprehend several Laws during the fight, you will die."

"I specifically created this trial to push you towards true power, and this trial will give you valuable experiences for when you reach the Heaven's Magnate Realm."

"The Heaven's Magnate Realm isn't the end, and you will still need to fight some of them to comprehend the Law of Energy and the Law of the Cosmos."

"This is why you will fight him today."

Gravis and Mortis only barely registered Orthar's words as their minds tried to process that they had to fight against him.

"Is this the real one?" Gravis asked.

"No, he's only a copy," Orthar answered. "I know every being in my Cosmos, and I can recreate and change them all, except for your father. Your opponent is not an exception."

"The personality of this copy has been erased, which takes away from his creativity and adaptability. However, this current strength remains unchanged," Orthar explained.

Gravis and Mortis looked silently at their opponent.

"Has Orthar spoken the truth?" Gravis asked his father through his mind.

"He was honest," the Opposer answered. "This is only a copy without the personality."

Gravis and Mortis took deep breaths.

They hadn't expected to fight him.

Who stood in front of them?

In front of the two of them, beside Orthar, stood a level three Star God.

Gravis and Mortis were level four Star Gods, and level three Star Gods were two battle-levels below level four Star Gods. After all, a level three Star God was a Low-Level Star God, while a level four Star God was a Mid-Level Star God.

This opponent was below Gravis and Mortis in Realm.

Yet, Gravis and Mortis didn't underestimate him.

In fact, they believed that a level nine Star God would have been easier to kill.

Who was it?

Who was this person that could jump two levels against Gravis and Mortis?

There was only one possible person.

There was only one Star God that had a stronger Battle-Strength than Gravis.

Besides Orthar stood a blonde man with five eyes and a long sword.

Arc's five, emotionless eyes focused on Gravis and Mortis.

Orthar said one last thing before he went to the side.

"His Laws have not been suppressed."

"He has access to everything."