Lightning Is the Only Way

"That thing, huh?" Arc asked with an awkward smile.

Gravis nodded. "You know, when you unveiled me, I was a bit confused for a bit, but I quickly saw through the intentions of your actions."

"In a way, you were right. If I had remained hidden, sooner or later, one of the powerful Sects would notice me. At that point, I might not even know that I was already targeted. A Divine God might have appeared out of nowhere, and when that happened, they would have already sufficiently prepared themselves."

"They would have found out about my family and friends, and they would have made sure that I wouldn't be able to escape. Of course, I also knew that something like this could happen. Yet, I didn't do anything."

"Why? Because I grew complacent. I felt like, no matter what the world would throw at me, I could deal with it. After all, I have been able to deal with it every time it had occurred in the past."

"However, you were right," Gravis said. "Just because I was able to deal with it in the past didn't mean that I would be able to deal with it in the future. If I had continued like this, I might have been suppressed into nothingness."

Gravis released a sigh. "But that doesn't change the fact that you essentially threw me into one of the most dangerous situations of my entire life. Additionally, I have been forced away from my loved ones for three million years. Even my son died during that time."

Arc only looked at Gravis with an uncomfortable smile. "So, what're you going to do now?" he asked.

Gravis looked at Arc for a bit.

"Nothing," Gravis said. "Yes, I missed a huge chunk of my loved ones' lives, but they are still alive, and I can build new memories. Many of them have died, but if I had been noticed, none of them would be as powerful as they are now."

"They might even all be dead," Gravis said with a quiet voice. "If one of the Peak Sects took all my loved ones into custody, I didn't know what I would have done."

"I'm not only living for myself, but I'm also not only living for them. Yes, I would feel incredibly guilty, and this would have been the hardest decision in my life, but…"

"I think I would have still escaped, even if it meant the death of everyone I loved," Gravis said with a pained expression.

"If I gave myself up, I would never have the opportunity to gain true freedom and true power. In essence, I would have sacrificed my life so that everyone else could live for a little longer."

"However, none of them would have ever been allowed to become powerful Divine Gods."

"In essence, if any of that happened, the path of everyone I loved and my own would have been cut off."

"So, if you hadn't interfered, either all of my friends would have died, including my children and Stella, or everyone, including myself, would have died. After all, it's not certain that I could have escaped."

Gravis took a deep breath.

"I don't like to admit it. You went against my freedom, and you forced a decision upon me."

still have Stella, Azure, Manuel, Meadow, Narcissus, Yersi, and Orpheus. Without

Arc. "It's hard to believe that I'm actually thanking someone that suppressed me in a way. Yet, the end result is a positive one, and you have

Arc," Gravis said with

Arc only smiled brightly.

it feel familiar?" he

I

good. Seems

Gravis also nodded.

your friends are also my friends. So, I didn't only do this for you, but

asked with a raised eyebrow. "You haven't even

a knowing smile. "I've been around them

were?" Gravis asked in

people. Sure, I went from Sect to Sect, but

because they are my friends. I

a couple of qualities that made it very interesting

of all, they are around you, and everything around

good. Not sure how you managed to do it, but

that I liked to go around and bait people into attacking me. That's mainly because I enjoy

were the leaders, the normal disciples also didn't reflect these qualities. I think all of that was mostly

nodded. "Manuel is incredible as a

is," Arc said. "If he were a bit older and more experienced, he could very well rival me. In a way, I also feel a connection with him, but

the same goal.

In a way, Manuel feels a bit like a

mannerisms were very similar. If they switched bodies, one wouldn't see a difference with only a short

one would feel the

Confidence.

Freedom was worrying him. Additionally, Manuel was always worried about the people close to

worries. It was like Arc was accepting everything that came his way. However, that

Orthar or the Opposer could rival Arc in terms

over ten billion years

perspective, Arc was literally over a thousand times older than

Gravis when compared to the Gravis that had just

had been

below the