Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis wasn't sure how he should feel right now.

Joyce had definitely become someone that couldn't be saved anymore, and her actions were more than enough to kill her.

Yet, Gravis just couldn't forget the young girl he had met back then.

Joyce had traveled the lower world to hand out gifts for eventual repayment.

When Gravis had met Joyce again in her Clan, their start had been rough, but Joyce had even managed to convince Gravis somewhat that he was running away from his emotions.

Joyce had been a very kind girl back then, and she even had issues accepting when anyone died in front of her. She saw these deaths as unnecessary.

However, this was exactly one of the things that had drawn Gravis to her.

Gravis had been in a dark place back then, and he had acted like a cynical teenager. He had constantly told everyone how difficult he had it and how many bad things had happened to him.

In a sense, Joyce had been a pure and innocent light in a world of oppressive darkness for Gravis. Joyce had had something that Gravis had lost.

They had even promised each other that they would be together when they reached the highest world.

Sadly, they had both changed severely, and they were no longer compatible.

Mortis shared these same memories, and maybe that was also one of the reasons why he was even attracted to Joyce.

If Joyce and Mortis hadn't met each other before, they might not have ended up together. They weren't even truly that compatible.

'Maybe her extreme purity back then resulted in her becoming the other extreme,' Gravis thought with a sigh. 'Her innocence couldn't possibly have survived until now, even if she tried to preserve it.'

Joyce's death made Gravis think, but he didn't have any great emotional reaction to her death.

It was like Gravis had long accepted that Joyce would eventually die like this.

Because of that, Gravis' mind quickly went back to the deaths of his other friends.

Liam, Styr, Sary, Skye, Yi Lu, Siral.

them

feel guilty, dad," Aris said from beside Gravis. "They

at Joyce's corpse in the distance. "Everyone believes that they won't die. After all, it hasn't happened before. We

close to death is so normal that it doesn't feel as dangerous anymore.

if they knew that they would certainly

Aris didn't answer.

with risking my life for any of you, but if I had to sacrifice my life, I don't know if

Gravis looked at Aris.

sacrifice your life for me?" Gravis

and

Aris felt guilty when he

guilty. We are Cultivators, and we chase power so that we can

much pain and have lived for so long that we can't

for someone else are the ones that have given up on the

Gravis' words, and

guilty for feeling exactly

silence passed in which

by now, you are still able to teach me such things?" Aris asked

slightly. "Teaching isn't necessarily a superior instructing someone inferior. A Forger can teach an Alchemist about forging, and an Alchemist can teach a

lessons. In our case, I just know a lot about Sentience and, by extension,

asked with a

to just directly absorb Heavenly Lightning, you would know more about lightning than me. After all, you even have

he heard that, but he

Gravis had shown Aris how to use lightning properly, and even now, Gravis knew the level

Aris would be superior to Gravis right now in terms of Lightning

a sense, Aris had overtaken

he had truly

his father

that this wasn't actually worth that much. In the end, Battle-Strength was the most important thing, and

in the Sect?" Gravis asked, changing the topic. "Liam died. Do you have a new Vice-Sect

he said. "Broad Walker is still more powerful than me since he

"Makes sense," Gravis commented.