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

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 know in

that it has become normal. Being close to death is so normal that it doesn't feel as dangerous anymore. We've gone through it

have fought 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 I

Gravis looked at Aris.

you sacrifice your life for me?" Gravis

sighed and

reason, Aris felt guilty when he

on Aris' shoulder. "Don't feel guilty. We are Cultivators, and we chase power so that we can survive. I don't want you to sacrifice your life for me. There is

is different for us Cultivators. We've gone through so much pain and have lived for so long that we can't give up now. The more we survive, the more we have invested. Surviving has reached an unfathomable level of

that can sacrifice their lives for someone else are the ones that have given up on the path to power," Gravis

listened to Gravis' words, and his guilt

feel guilty for feeling exactly like everyone

seconds of silence passed in which Aris

difference is negligible by now, you are still able to teach me such things?" Aris

A Forger can teach an Alchemist about forging, and an Alchemist can teach a Forger about

just know a lot about Sentience and, by extension, intelligent life itself. That is simply my specialty,"

asked with a

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

surprised when he heard that, but

He still remembered how Gravis had shown Aris how to use lightning properly, and even now, Gravis knew the

if it weren't for that ability, Aris would be superior to

a sense, Aris had

that he had truly grown

his father in one

the end, Battle-Strength was the most important thing, and

the Sect?" Gravis asked, changing the

is still more powerful than me

"Makes sense," Gravis commented.