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."

Stella, Azure, Manuel, Meadow, Narcissus, Yersi, and Orpheus. Without you, I would be

that I'm actually thanking someone that suppressed me in a way. Yet, the end result is a positive one, and

Arc," Gravis said

Arc only smiled brightly.

feel

nodded. "I know what you're referring to, and I can tell the

"Then, that's good. Seems like I worried over

Gravis also nodded.

So, I didn't only do this for you, but also because of them. I didn't want to see

a raised eyebrow. "You haven't even been

Arc asked with a knowing smile. "I've been around them more than you

were?" Gravis

nodded. "I like disguising myself and interacting with people. Sure, I went from Sect to Sect, but when

they are my friends. I don't

Arc said. "There are a couple of qualities that made

you, and everything around you tends to

do it, but many of

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

friends, I couldn't find anyone like that. Even more, since they were the leaders,

"Manuel is incredible as a

bit older and more experienced, he could very well rival me. In a way, I also feel a connection with him, but

two share the same goal.

it's more of a similarity in personalities. In a way, Manuel feels a bit like a younger version of myself. Because of that, I'm interested in seeing him become powerful,"

about. Manuel's and Arc's mannerisms were very similar. If they switched bodies, one wouldn't see

closer, one would feel the difference in their

Confidence.

of Freedom was worrying him. Additionally, Manuel was always worried about the people close to him, which made him constantly reevaluate his actions

worries. It was like Arc was accepting everything that came his way. However, that confidence stemmed from the fact that everything that came

could rival Arc in terms of controlling the

ten billion

that into perspective, Arc was literally over a thousand

was the same difference in magnitude as the current Gravis when compared to the Gravis that had just gone to the higher world for

then, Gravis had been

below the Heaven's Magnate