Ch. 991..1000

Chapter 991 - 991 – Arc's Authority

Gravis traveled to the northern continent in a couple of hours. With his current power, Gravis didn't need to hide anymore. His Will-Aura was powerful enough to hide his real body from nearly everyone in the world. Even more, over 150,000 years had passed since the incident. How many people that remembered the incident were actually still alive?

Gravis used his Law of Perceived Reality to make it appear like he didn't exist as he traveled towards the north.

No one stopped him.

No one even realized that he had passed by them.

As soon as Gravis reached the northern continent, he continued flying towards the northwest. His choice of direction was very deliberate.

Why?

Because Arc told Gravis where Nira was.

Nira's tribulation would be coming up in about 2,000 years, and Gravis was chosen as her tribulation.

This was actually a favorable outcome for Nira.

Every single Cultivator would rather sacrifice 2,000 years of their longevity in order to fight someone on their level instead of living for 2,000 years more but fighting someone an entire level above themselves.

Of course, Arc liked freedom. Because of that, he had not decided this on his own.

In fact, Arc directly contacted Nira, which was rare.

But wait, weren't Heavens forbidden from contacting Cultivators?

Sure, but Arc didn't care.

Arc broke that rule tons of times.

This was his world, and he did whatever the fuck he wanted.

Would the highest Heaven stop him?

Why should it?

Arc built up the best higher world that existed, and he was sending one outstanding Cultivator after another to the highest world.

The highest Heaven knew that Arc obviously knew what he was doing, which was why it let Arc do whatever he wanted in his world.

Only results were important.

The means and methods to achieve that result were irrelevant to the highest Heaven.

One also had to remember that the status of Arc was very different from weaker Heavens.

Back when Gravis basically destroyed a lower world, the highest Heaven didn't care. It just had to shove a Mid Unity Realm Cultivator's worth of Energy in there, and everything was fine again.

It wasn't very different for the middle world. Middle Heavens only needed a couple thousand years to become powerful enough to rule a middle world. Additionally, to create a middle world, a higher Heaven just had to shove a Late Minor Circulation Immortal Cultivator's worth of Energy into a new world. The highest Heaven wasn't even required to act.

However, higher worlds were directly below the highest Heaven. On top of that, to create another higher world, it would need to expend a Star God's worth of Energy. That was not as insignificant anymore.

Even more, higher worlds needed an exceedingly long time to become powerful enough to actually support the birth of Peak Immortal Emperors.

Lastly, this was the strongest higher world.

The highest Heaven was neither arrogant nor stupid. It knew exactly that creating such an insanely powerful higher world was beyond difficult. In fact, the highest Heaven even thought that it itself was probably not even able to create such a world.

There was something about Arc that made him even better at creating talented Cultivators than the highest Heaven, and it knew that very well. Forcing Arc to follow its rules in his own world might even weaken the world.

Because of that, the highest Heaven let Arc do whatever he wanted in his world.

That was why the highest Heaven didn't care when Arc directly contacted Nira.

So, how had Arc contacted Nira?

Simple, Arc had unleashed the pressure that only someone with the Law of the True World could unleash. Then, he sent Nira his message per feelings.

If he simply appeared before her, Nira might not have been as convinced since all the mystery about Heaven would have vanished. Yet, when she felt a kind of otherworldly, holy pressure that far eclipsed her own, she knew that something beyond this world had contacted her.

In Nira's mind, three pictures appeared.

The first one showed her body going through a portal.

This obviously represented her ascension to the highest world.

The second one showed her body disintegrating in two thousand years.

Nira had already reached the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm, and there was no one left in this world that could serve as tempering. Because of that, in 2,000 years, she would disintegrate into nothingness.

The third picture showed her fighting against two beasts.

After an immense shock, Nira's excitement exploded.

She knew that she was too close to her tribulation. Even if she went to the highest world, she doubted that she would be able to reach the next major Realm in only 2,000 years.

So, in Nira's mind, she knew that she couldn't survive.

That was why she had decided to stay in this world and take revenge on anyone that had mistreated her in the past.

She would vent all her frustration on everyone that deserved it!

Why?

Because that was what she wanted, and she was free!

However, before she could even begin, Heaven had contacted her.

One had to remember that not even a day had passed since she had killed the Highest Commander.

When Nira saw the third picture, she almost couldn't believe it.

She didn't need to die?

She could fight someone and survive?

The identities of the beasts in the pictures were unknown to her, but they were probably two other Peak Immortal Emperors.

Yet, what did she have to fear?

She had the Major Law of Suppression!

With that Law, she could definitely fight two Peak Immortal Emperors at the same time!

She accepted the fight, obviously.

It was simply too good to pass up.

After Nira accepted the proposal, the image of a gigantic desert appeared in her mind.

She felt like she had to go there to find her opponent.

The location of the desert also appeared in her mind.

So, Nira traveled to the desert with excitement.

The desert was towards the north of the northern continent, just outside the Core Region.

There, Nira waited for several hours for her opponents to arrive.

And then, Nira felt someone approach.

When she saw that person, Nira's eyes narrowed as hate filled her entire being.

'It's him!'

Chapter 992 - 992 – Opponents Meet

WHOOOOOM!

Suddenly, Gravis was assaulted with an apocalyptic pressure, making it impossible for him to move.

Even more, Gravis' level six Law of Freedom didn't help at all.

Why?

Because Suppression and Freedom were two sides of the same coin.

As long as they were on the same rank, The Law of Suppression and the Law of Freedom would nullify each other.

Therefore, the level six Law of Suppression from Nira became useless, but Gravis' level six Law of Freedom also became useless, leaving both of them with just their Will-Auras.

Yet, how much more powerful was Nira's Will-Aura?

Gravis' Will-Aura was on the level of a Late Major Circulation Immortal Emperor.

Nira's Will-Aura was on the level of a Peak Immortal Emperor.

Even if one completely ignored the insane level suppression of six levels, Nira would still be suppressing Gravis by quite a lot.

However, if one also factored in the level suppression, Gravis would be suppressed many times over.

"Hahaha!"

An insane laugh echoed throughout the heavens as Nira appeared in front of Gravis.

"I am truly blessed by Karmic Luck!" Nira shouted with exhilaration. "Not only am I allowed to go through a tribulation, but the very being that's responsible for my long years of pain is not only alive but also appears right in front of me!"

"Is this how it feels like to be blessed by the Heavens?" Nira shouted with a wide grin. "After my eternity of suppression, have I finally managed to become acknowledged by the Heavens?"

Gravis only looked at her evenly.

'Is she insane?'

"You!" Nira shouted as she pointed at Gravis. "Without you, nothing would have gone wrong!"

"Without you, my grandson would be the Holy Son of the Nine Elements Sect!"

"Without you, I would be the Ancestor of the Nine Elements Sect now!"

"Without you, I wouldn't have been suppressed for over 150,000 years!"

"You destroyed everything!"

"You destroyed my entire life!"

An intense mix of emotions could be heard in Nira's voice.

Hysteric excitement, boundless hate, endless anger.

It was like she was no longer a human but a walking bundle of exploding emotions.

SHING!

"You done?" Gravis asked coldly.

Nira's eyes widened in shock.

How was this insect able to move!?

That should be impossible!

Nira's mind was thrown into endless confusion, and all her emotions exploded again.

Normally, such an action would only be enough to shock someone, but Nira's mindset was obviously unstable beyond belief.

The many years of suppression had taken a gigantic toll on her rationality.

Even more, her rationality hadn't been great, to begin with.

After all, she had made several idiotic decisions based on her own selfish emotions.

She could have just let Stella go.

She could have just let Gravis go.

She could have just talked with Underworld.

Yet, due to her inability to control her own emotions, she had plunged further and further down into insanity.

However, more importantly, how was Gravis able to move under her Law of Suppression?

Well, the level six Law of Suppression nullified the level six Law of Freedom.

Yet, what about the level seven Law of Freedom?

The level seven Law of Freedom didn't actually exist, but Gravis' Avatar was comprised of the Law of Perceived Reality.

As long as Laws were subservient to the Avatar, they could be integrated into it, even if the Laws were of a higher level than the Avatar.

Back then, the middle Heaven had included the Major Law of Pure Elements into its Law of the Dead World. The Law of the Dead World only needed the level three Law of Mixed Elements. The Major Law of Pure Elements was not necessary.

However, a huge part of a dead world was composed of Elements. Elements were a part of a dead world. Because of that, it wasn't hard to upgrade the Elements inside the Law of the Dead World without upgrading the remaining parts.

In short, Avatars could be modified in a modular fashion, meaning it's possible to upgrade individual parts of it without destroying the entire thing.

Earlier, Gravis couldn't move because his Avatar wasn't by his side. After all, Mortis had been in Gravis' Life Ring.

Yet, when Mortis appeared, Gravis got the use of his Avatar back.

The level six Law of Suppression and the level six Law of Freedom had already been integrated into his Avatar. Because of that, the Suppression and Freedom Laws inside of Gravis' Avatar had reached the power of level seven Laws.

The Law of Freedom's function was not a gradient.

It was either useful or not useful.

And since the Law of Freedom had the power of a level seven Law now, it had become stronger than the level six Law of Suppression.

Cultivation Realm had nothing to do with it.

Now, if Nira had her level six Law of Suppression as her Avatar, Gravis' Law of Freedom would become useless.

However, getting a new Avatar required the destruction of the old Avatar.

Would the previous Sect Master of the Nine Elements Sect be willing to completely forget the very Elemental Law her entire fighting style was built around?

No, of course not.

SHING! SHING!

Gravis and Mortis both transformed into their beast form as they hovered in front of Nira.

"You act like I accidentally passed by here," Gravis said, unveiling his sharp teeth. "However, why would I come to such a godforsaken place without reason?"

"I'm obviously here because of you."

Just when Nira's mindset was about to recover, it received another shock.

This image!

These two beasts!

They looked exactly like the beasts inside her mind when Heaven had contacted her!

These were here opponents?

These ants!?

But both of them were only Late Minor Circulation Immortal Emperors!

She could kill them with a wave of her hand!

After a while, a sneer appeared on Nira's face as she laughed with disgust.

"You? You!?" she shouted with ridicule.

"You mere ants think you can kill me!? You!?"

"Yes, us," Gravis answered. "Is there a problem with that?"

Nira's sneer became more pronounced, and she wanted to answer.

BOOOOM!

Sadly, Mortis lost his patience and exploded forward.

Chapter 993 - 993 – Mortis' Power

Mortis directly charged at Nira without hesitation.

SHING!

Mortis took out a saber and attacked Nira with a Lightning Crescent.

Nira's eyes became enraged as she realized that this ant dared to strike her.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Over 10,000 kilometers of their surroundings were engulfed by the explosion, swallowing everything.

Gravis and Mortis absorbed a big part of the explosion, and Gravis funneled the Energy back into Mortis' body.

Then, Gravis activated his Law of Perceived Reality and moved to the side.

After the explosion vanished, Nira reappeared.

She was uninjured, a gigantic wheel behind her.

This wheel was the Weapon Technique of the Nine Elements Sect, and it wasn't the simplified version that Stella had shown Gravis back then.

Back then, Stella's wheel had only had nine shining crystals inside it, demonstrating the Pure Elements.

In comparison, Nira's wheel was far bigger.

The central nine crystals shone in different lights, but the other outcroppings were not all filled.

In total, there were 45 outcroppings in the wheel, but only 16 had been filled.

However, that was already quite terrifying since this meant that Nira knew seven level five Mixed Elemental Laws.

Obviously, Nira had used her Weapon Technique to defend herself from Mortis' attack.

In order to stop Mortis' attack from injuring her, Nira had had to use a terrifying amount of Energy.

Yet, what was the strength of humans?

Energy.

The terrifying amount that Nira had used to defend herself from Mortis was only 10% of her total storage.

Nira's eyes became cold as she glared at Mortis.

"Die!"

Four crystals lit up as a terrifying storm of different Elements mixed together.

BANG!

However, Nira aborted her attack and shot a small storm of Mixed Elements to her side.

Gravis had just struck with his Form Law from a distance.

Yet, Gravis only frowned.

'She should have been hit by that,' he thought. 'This means that she is already conscious of my Law of Perceived Reality. She probably doesn't know what exactly it is, but she doesn't trust her own perception.'

When Nira had seen Gravis' beast body, she had immediately realized that Gravis had played her for a fool back then.

There had to be a way how Gravis could have remained hidden.

This meant that Gravis had to know some sort of Illusion Law.

BANG! BRRRR!

Mortis reached Nira while she had defended herself from Gravis' attack, but Magma appeared around her, easily stopping the attack.

"Hmph!" Nira harrumphed with disgust.

Then, she took out her sword.

BANG!

And completely destroyed Mortis' saber.

The quality of Nira's weapon was far higher than Mortis' saber.

'Her weapon has been created with the level six Law of Matter,' Mortis thought with narrowed eyes.

Nira noticed that Mortis didn't receive a backlash when his weapon was destroyed, but she had expected as much. She had destroyed Gravis' weapons back then, and he had also not received a backlash.

This meant that these two beasts were not Weapon Cultivators.

'However, where are their Avatars?' Nira thought with narrowed eyes. 'Either they are not using them, or they are in some part of their equipment.'

Nira immediately shot at Mortis as her sword froze the atmosphere around it, leaving behind a frozen crack in the sky.

At the same time, Nira's wheel gathered the Elements and shot them at Gravis in the distance.

Nira was fast!

Mortis barely had any time to react to her attack, and the same thing was true for Gravis!

The storm of Elements was impossibly powerful, and Gravis had to find a way to deal with the attack.

Yet, Gravis' eyes narrowed as he looked at the storm of Elements.

'I know all of them!'

Gravis' Composition Laws became active, weakening nearly the entire attack by a level.

However, it was only nearly.

Gravis didn't weaken all parts of the attack.

Why?

Because two of the Mixed Elements had Punishment Lightning inside them.

As the attack flew at Gravis, he made the Punishment Lightning inside it explode.

BOOOOM!

The storm of the Elements was blown apart, creating a massive storm of mixed Energy.

But the attack had been stopped.

Meanwhile, Mortis had to deal with a physical attack from Nira.

Yes, beasts had more powerful bodies, but there was a limit to it.

Mortis' body was about as powerful as the average body of a human four levels above himself.

Yet, Nira was six levels above himself.

On top of that, Nira's weapon was loaded with her most powerful Element, which was also her Avatar, Blizzard.

Mortis couldn't block since Nira's weapon would simply cut through all his equipment like it didn't exist.

Mortis couldn't evade since he was a bit slower than Nira.

At that time, Gravis hadn't finished dealing with Nira's ranged attack.

While all of this was happening, Mortis and Gravis had the same thought.

'Does Gravis/Mortis need any help?'

As both attacks shot at them, both of them felt that the other person didn't feel any feelings of terror or helplessness.

This meant that both of them could deal with their attacks.

So, how could Mortis deal with that attack?

BZZZZZ!

A wave of lightning appeared.

It shot away from Mortis and swept over Nira.

Nira thought about blocking but realized that the lightning didn't have any offensive capabilities. So, she continued her attack.

However, her weapon suddenly started feeling resistance from the atmosphere.

It was like parts of the atmosphere were becoming harder and other parts softer.

At the same time, Mortis used his Law of Control to weaken the control of Nira's attack.

With all of this added together, Nira's attack missed Mortis, shocking her immensely.

Mortis had already realized that his fighting style wasn't as great as he had thought.

Was Mortis a person that would just ignore a weakness?

Of course not!

Mortis had created a ton of techniques during his long years of comprehension, and this was one of them.

It was called the Lightning Wave, and it created such chaotic magnetic fields that not even Mortis was able to foresee them.

SHING!

Gravis unleashed another attack with his Form Law from a distance, and Nira quickly blocked it with her sword.

Gravis' attacks were terrifying!

If she were hit by one of these casual strikes, she would receive severe injuries!

Even worse, Nira knew exactly that Gravis was only using a Form Law.

This meant that he was wasting no resources at all!

Gravis hadn't used any Energy!

Meanwhile, Nira had to use either her weapon or her Energy to block Gravis' attacks.

She had to deal with Gravis first!

BANG!

Nira shot at Gravis, and Mortis followed her.

BZZZZZ!

A pulse of lightning shot out of Mortis, engulfing Nira.

It didn't injure Nira, but she felt her world warping.

Magnetism was thrown into chaos.

Space was thrown into chaos.

Blinding light blocked her eyes.

Violent sounds assaulted her ears.

The direction of Nira's charge changed ever so slightly.

Suddenly, Nira's Law of Danger shouted at her.

BOOOOM!

A blizzard appeared around her, protecting her body.

CRK! CRK! CRK! CRK!

A cacophony of sounds assaulted Nira. It was like over ten spears had hit her barrier.

The distortion effect of Mortis' lightning vanished, and Nira saw ten spears shooting into the horizon.

Mortis had thrown over 20 spears into the violent lightning storm, and the chaotic flow of magnetism had shot them chaotically into Nira's general direction.

BANG!

Nira blocked another one of Gravis' attacks with her sword.

WHOOOM!

Nira unleashed another storm of Elements, but she shot it at Mortis this time.

Mortis' eyes narrowed when he saw the storm of Elements.

There was no lightning inside it!

Another explosion of lightning came out of Mortis, and it was like the atmosphere had shattered.

For a short moment, it appeared like the world had cracked like glass.

For a tiny instant, time and space didn't matter to the storm of Elements.

It was like Mortis had created a very short-lived space, isolated from the higher world.

Then, Mortis used the level three Law of Time to slow down the attack.

After that, something shocking happened.

The storm remained stationary!

It stopped moving completely.

Usually, something like this was impossible since the higher-ranked Laws of Time in this world suppressed the power of the level three Law of Time. Yet, in this isolated space, Mortis' concept of time was the only thing that existed.

Mortis used the tiny instant of frozen time to move to the side.

The isolated space was destroyed as everything returned to the higher world.

SHING!

The attack barely missed Mortis, but it still burned and froze off a huge part of Mortis' right arm.

The isolated space had only existed for a tiny instant.

This was another new technique Mortis had created.

Sadly, unleashing that technique cost him 20% of his total Energy storage.

He only had enough Energy left to block another two attacks from Nira.

The third attack would kill him.

How much Energy had Nira used with this attack?

Barely 3%.

The difference in Energy usage was terrifying.

Nira was shocked beyond belief for an instant when she had seen that technique.

How many Laws had to be used to achieve something like that?

She had no idea.

Mortis used the short moment of confusion to charge at Nira with his full speed.

BANG!

Nira blocked another one of Gravis' attacks with her sword.

Mortis reached Nira before she could unleash another attack.

SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!

Ten spears appeared around Mortis.

BZZZZZ!

Then, a powerful and mystical domain of lightning connected all the spears and Mortis together.

Mortis moved his hands quickly in some mystical ways, and then…

All the spears stabbed towards Nira like they were being wielded by gigantic invisible hands!

Chapter 994 - 994 – Avalanche

SHING! SHING! SHING!

The spears all shot at Nira, and she used her sword to block all of them.

SHING!

However, the spears suddenly stopped and then continued shooting forward, evading Nira's block.

Nira's eyes widened.

How!?

The spears closed in on her.

CRK! CRK! CRK!

Another explosion of Blizzard appeared, blocking all the spears.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Suddenly, something incredibly powerful hit Nira's Blizzard, completely destroying it as she was surrounded by lightning.

The skin across her body was incinerated in an instant, and only then was Nira able to create another Blizzard shield.

BANG!

A cut appeared in Nira's Blizzard, and the left side of her body exploded in blood.

Gravis had summoned a second saber with a preloaded Lightning Crescent, unleashed it, and followed it up with his Form Law.

It always took a bit of time for Gravis to unleash his Form Law. After all, he had to move perfectly, and that wasn't easy. He couldn't just shower Nira with attacks.

BOOOOOM!

Another powerful strike hit Nira's regenerated Blizzard.

Mortis had gathered all his spears together and had struck a single part of Nira's Blizzard, barely breaking through.

This attack didn't manage to injure Nira, but it forced her to use even more Energy.

SHING!

Another cut in the Blizzard and another cut on Nira's body.

Gravis had had enough time to unleash another strike with his Form Law.

BANG!

A hole appeared in Nira's Blizzard, and Mortis entered it with lightning-filled eyes.

Nira's sword destroyed Mortis' saber.

SHING!

Another cut in her Blizzard that reached her body.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

Several spears flew through the cut of Nira's Blizzard and shot at her body.

Nira's mind was going wild!

She knew that she would be exhausted to death if this continued!

"AAAAAHHHH!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Nira shouted with fury as the air around her turned red.

She had activated her level five Law of Rage!

Then, she used an entire 20% of her Energy storage to explode with all her Elements!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Mortis summoned a wall of armor in front of him, but it was all turned into nothingness in an instant.

The surrounding 10,000 kilometers exploded again as Magma exploded out of the earth due to the deep crater below them.

Gravis was far away, which made it easy to deal with the explosion, but Mortis didn't have it as easy.

Mortis had been blasted into the distance, and all his armor had been turned to nothingness.

He hadn't worn the armor on his body since it was basically useless against such an opponent.

Only half of Mortis' head and torso were left.

He had barely survived.

CRRRR!

Mortis' body was quickly regenerating, but his body was too powerful to make the regeneration instant.

Nira's rage-filled eyes noticed the severely injured Mortis in the distance, but she quickly turned to Gravis.

Gravis was far closer!

BANG!

Nira shot at Gravis.

Nira's injuries hadn't been very heavy. Because of that, she had already fully regenerated.

Gravis narrowed his eyes as he saw Nira shoot at him.

Mortis still needed a bit to regenerate.

Nira reached Gravis in an instant and slashed at him with her Blizzard-filled sword.

BZZZZ!

Gravis transformed into Void Lightning, and Nira's sword passed through him.

Nira's eyes widened in shock.

What!?

How!?

Gravis' Energy storage had still been full while transforming into Void Lightning, and when Nira's attack had passed through his body, Gravis had only lost 10% of his power.

Why?

Because Nira's attack had been too concentrated.

All of her power had been gathered on the edge of her sword, and everything that the sword had touched had vanished.

Yet, the sword hadn't touched very much.

Gravis transformed back into the starting stance of his Form Law.

Then, he struck at Nira's head!

Nira's sword couldn't block the attack this time!

Nira gritted her teeth.

BOOOOOOM!

Another powerful explosion of Mixed Elements, just as powerful as the last one.

Gravis had been so close to her!

He had to have died from that!

The elemental explosion had stopped Gravis' attack before it could be unleashed.

However, Gravis had expected something like that.

His goal in unleashing this attack hadn't been to kill Nira but to force her to waste even more Energy.

The Elements were weakened by a bit due to the Composition Laws.

Then, Gravis summoned a suit of armor and put his arms and legs in front of him.

BANG!

Gravis was shot into the distance, huge parts of his arms and legs missing.

However, he hadn't been nearly as injured as Mortis.

Why?

Because Gravis could use the level five Law of Physical Power, increasing the level of his body by one.

Yet, when Gravis was readying another attack, he saw Nira charge at Mortis.

Gravis saw this and gritted his teeth.

He unleashed his Form Law again and then charged after Nira.

CLANK!

Nira blocked the Form Law with her sword.

Then, she unleashed another storm of Mixed Elements at Mortis.

Mortis was still injured, but he could join the fight again.

BANG!

The world seemingly broke apart again as the storm stopped in the air.

In an instant, Mortis threw a lightning-filled spear at the attack.

He didn't evade.

The spear and the attack met in the air.

Sadly, this was not a hard, physical attack but a storm of Elements.

The spear passed through the attack, and the storm engulfed Mortis.

BOOOOOM!

Mortis' surroundings exploded.

Nira's eyes filled with exhilaration.

She got him!

However, she quickly noticed that the spear was shooting at her!

Nira narrowed her eyes and slashed at the spear.

SHING!

The spear was split apart.

However, her eyes widened in shock at what she saw.

Just before Nira's attack had destroyed the spear, Mortis appeared beside the spear.

It was like he had come out of the spear!

But how!?

He should be dead!

Well, Mortis was lightning, and lightning could be infused into the weapon.

So, when Mortis threw the spear, he had entered it, passing through the storm of Elements.

Sadly, this had required him to transform into lightning and back.

His Realm fell to the Mid Minor Circulation Immortal Emperor Realm.

Yet, just when his Realm fell, his Realm suddenly increased again.

Gravis and Mortis had entered the fight with some power to spare in case they needed to transform into lightning.

So, the saved-up progress to the Early Major Circulation Immortal Emperor Realm had been used up in order to allow Mortis to reach his full power again.

Mortis immediately created a Lightning Crescent and shot it at Nira.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

Nira had created another Blizzard around her, barely blocking the Lightning Crescent.

SHING!

Gravis' Form Law struck again.

Nira immediately noticed that she was back in the previous situation, and she couldn't allow herself to lose control over the fight again!

A storm of Mixed Elements gathered again, and she shot it at Mortis.

BANG!

Mortis broke the world again and evaded.

Yet, this time, Nira went all in!

She immediately unleashed four other storms.

SHING!

Her left arm was cut off as she let Gravis' Form Law hit her in order to finish Mortis.

Her surroundings exploded in a red light as she screamed in rage.

She was using a ton of Energy to bombard Mortis with attacks.

Mortis broke the world another four times and managed to barely stay alive.

However, he was already heavily injured again.

Gravis noticed the situation and gritted his teeth.

He knew exactly how this would end!

Mortis was already out of Energy!

Another attack and he would die!

The trick with the weapon only worked once, and even if Mortis managed to pull it off once again, both of them would fall to the Mid Minor Circulation Immortal Emperor Realm.

At that point, everything would be over!

The entire time, Gravis and Mortis had attacked Nira with an avalanche of attacks, making it appear like they were the ones in control.

However, Nira had managed to survive their avalanche of attacks.

Meanwhile, Mortis was out of Energy.

This meant that they were essentially out of resources since both of them needed to participate in the fight to survive.

If Nira managed to kill Mortis, Gravis would lose his Law of Perceived Reality.

At that point, he wouldn't even be able to resist Nira's Will-Aura anymore.

Gravis narrowed his eyes with determination.

"NOW!" Gravis shouted at Mortis with a voice transmission.

Mortis took out a saber crackling with lightning.

Mortis still had a saved-up Lightning Crescent!

Nira readied her attack.

She would be able to unleash her attack first!

WHOOOOOM!

Suddenly, the world turned for Nira.

The entire world was warping.

"Hey, Nira," a lovely voice said. "That's your name from now on, Nira."

"Do you like your name?"

Nira opened her eyes, and it was like her world broke down.

"Mom!?"

Gravis had unleashed Samsara to save Mortis.

Chapter 995 - 995 – Nira's Past

Nira's mind nearly broke with shock.

What was going on!?

Why was she in the body of her mother!?

And was there herself that she was holding in her arms!?

While Nira was going through one shock after the other, Gravis was preparing himself mentally.

Gravis couldn't close his eyes since he was taking the place of someone else.

Gravis couldn't let himself drift away.

He had to be conscious while all the perspectives of Nira that every person in the world had of her played before his eyes.

Nira was far older than Gravis, and the accumulated perspectives of all the people around her would stretch everything even more.

Gravis knew that he would have to force himself through around a million years of memories of someone else.

Gravis was 200,000 years old, but for how many years had Gravis actually remained conscious?

One couldn't really count the Law Comprehension time since Gravis' mind always entered a trance during those.

Gravis had maybe only been conscious for 50,000 years of his life, and those had been all the years he had spent with Stella.

Nira and Gravis watched as the young Nira slowly became older.

Everyone around her looked at her like she was the cutest treasure in the world.

The little Nira was so innocent and pure.

One couldn't connect this cute and innocent child with the bitter and angry Immortal Emperor she was bound to become.

Nira had started cultivating ever since she had been a small child.

Her father and mother were Cultivators in the Unity Realm.

Their grandfather, an Immortal King, had told them that this was too early to have a child. Cultivation was always opposed to family.

The grandfather wanted his son to also become a powerful Immortal King in the Nine Elements Sect.

Nira's father wasn't part of the Nine Elements Sect since the Nine Elements Sect strictly forbade nepotism. Everyone had to work for their position, even if they were related to an Elder.

Members of the Nine Elements Sect were only allowed to support their children with Sect resources for the first 100 years of their life.

Why?

First of all, it was cheap to support these weak rookies.

Second of all, they couldn't ask humans to directly throw their children away.

Third of all, there had to be some perks that a Sect offered, or the powerful members might join a different Sect.

Nira's father had become a Unity Realm Cultivator with the help of the Nine Elements Sect, but he had found the love of his life in a very short amount of time.

It was love at first sight, and Nira's father dropped everything to be with his wife.

Nira's grandfather was against it, but he didn't force his will onto his son.

If that was his son's decision, so be it.

The first 30 years of Nira's life consisted of happily Cultivating and fighting against weak, captured beasts for tempering.

She hadn't killed a single human in those 30 years.

When the two parents saw that their child was in the Spirit Forming Realm, they decided that they had waited long enough.

Seeing their daughter become powerful reawakened their desire for power.

So, the two of them joined a mock war with another Sect.

These Sects didn't even have any rankings in this higher world since they were simply too weak. Because of that, the more powerful Sects didn't mind it if those weaker Sects killed each other.

The Sects sent equally powerful forces into a life-and-death battle.

Sadly, Nira's parents would never return.

Even until the very end, Nira's parents had seen their child as the light of their life, and with good reason.

Nira had been a kind soul.

Yet, the death of her parents had taken a heavy toll on her.

Revenge clouded her mind, and her innocence died.

Nira ran away from her home and joined a power subservient to Underworld.

Why?

She wanted to become powerful, but the rules of the Sects didn't allow her to become powerful quickly.

Everyone had to work so much for everything!

She didn't have time for that!

She needed to kill the killers of her parents!

From this point forward, all the acquaintances Nira made looked at her like she was a bitter woman, poisoned by the desire for revenge.

She didn't make any friends.

Why?

In her mind, she thought that having friends was a weakness, but in reality, she was afraid of feeling the pain of losing someone dear to her again.

Eventually, Nira reached a sufficient Realm to annihilate the Sect that was responsible for killing her parents.

She went to the Sect and attacked them.

However, all the Sects united against her, including the Sect her parents had belonged to.

When Nira saw her parents' Sect go against her, her hatred exploded.

She had a deadly battle with several Cultivators and fled in the end, barely alive.

At this moment in time, Gravis had already viewed over a thousand years of memories even though Nira had barely reached 100 years of age.

Nira's past struggles resonated with Gravis.

He had struggled through very similar feelings in the past.

However, Gravis could still deal with 1,000 years of memories.

How did the actual Nira feel during all of this?

She had been pained when she saw the death of her parents again, but everything after that was to her liking.

The Nira of the past was acting just like Nira wanted, strengthening her own being.

Nira returned many years later, many times stronger.

She attacked the Sects again, and her power was so great that the Sects couldn't resist.

Yet, before she could kill anyone, someone from a superior Sect appeared that stopped her.

The Sects had not broken any rules, and this person wouldn't allow Nira to kill them.

Nira barely managed to survive again.

More time passed, and when Nira became an Immortal, she returned again for revenge.

However, all the members that had been alive during her parents' death had already died.

Too much time had passed.

To Nira, it hadn't felt very long, but in reality, many years had passed.

Her revenge became senseless.

Killing the Sect was also senseless.

Sadly, this didn't give Nira any closure. Instead, her grudge and hatred only festered.

Then, she returned to her grandfather for the first time since she had left her home.

Her grandfather had missed her dearly and had even cried when he saw her again.

To him, Nira was still that innocent girl.

When the actual Nira saw how her grandfather looked at her, her heart wavered.

The Nira in the memories showered her grandfather with love.

In turn, Nira had become the most important person in her grandfather's eyes.

Yet, exactly that was what hurt the actual Nira deep inside.

She knew exactly that she hadn't loved her grandfather.

No, she had used her grandfather to gain power.

The innocent Nira had vanished.

Yet, her grandfather still saw her as the innocent Nira.

The actual Nira felt a disconnect from her past self.

How could she have used her grandfather like this?

Her grandfather had loved her with all his heart!

By now, Gravis was repeatedly reminding himself of Freedom, Stella, his father, Arc, and everything important to him.

Over 50,000 years had already passed for him.

This was just as long as Gravis had been alive.

Gravis had noticed that his mindset had become more similar to Nira's mindset.

Gravis was changing into something he didn't want to become.

'Stay yourself!'

More years passed.

As more time passed, Nira's demands for her grandfather became more and more outrageous and frequent.

However, in the end, her grandfather always fulfilled them.

Nira's mindset had changed more and more.

Now, her biggest goal was not revenge.

Her biggest goal was power and status.

She wouldn't allow anyone in the world to stop her from doing what she wanted!

People had stopped her from taking her revenge, and she wouldn't allow anyone to do that to her again!

However, in comparison, her grandfather was going through more and more pains to fulfill whatever wish Nira had.

When the actual Nira saw her grandfather working so hard for her, she began crying.

She wanted to stop her past self.

How hadn't she seen what kind of monster she had become?

As the past Nira started to resemble the present Nira more and more, it also became easier for Gravis to resist.

However, resisting hundreds of thousands of years of memories was still grating on him.

Gravis wasn't sure if he even remembered all his life.

Some things of his past no longer seemed to be connected.

Parts of Nira's life seemed to have mixed with Gravis' memories.

Gravis wasn't sure who he was anymore.

Too much time has passed.

How did he even look like?

He hadn't seen himself in an eternity.

And when Nira became part of the actual Nine Elements Sect, she came into contact with the granddaughter of one of her grandfather's closest friends.

It was Stella.

When Gravis saw Stella, long-forgotten memories returned.

'Stella.'

All of Gravis' memories of his time with Stella struck him, and he remembered who he was.

If Nira hadn't known Stella or if Nira had met Stella much later, Gravis would have stopped existing.

The backlash of Samsara was terrifying.

In Stella's eyes, Nira was her kind aunt.

Stella had always looked up to Nira, and Nira had always supported her.

Sadly, she didn't know that Nira only wanted to build a connection with Stella in order to come into contact with the current Ancestor of the Nine Elements Sect.

All of Nira's kindness was fake.

This tore the actual Nira apart.

In her eyes, Stella was only a kid, and Stella looked at Nira with such shining eyes.

Why did she do that!?

Eventually, the current Ancestor of the Nine Elements Sect died, and the Holy Maiden returned.

Nira didn't have to fake her kindness anymore.

By now, her grandfather had realized what kind of person the actual Nira was.

Whenever he looked at Nira, he felt a deep pain in his heart.

And one day, many years later, Gravis appeared.

How did Gravis view Nira?

Arrogant. Sinister. Selfish. Idiotic.

Surprisingly, this had been the closest anyone's perception of Nira had ever gotten to the true her.

When Nira saw herself through Gravis' eyes, she felt herself resonate with him.

Yes, all of these things were true.

Meanwhile, Gravis' being was receiving a boost as he was back in his own perception.

Then, after Gravis left, everyone was looking at Nira like she was insane.

Everyone saw the situation clearly.

Yet, Nira wasn't able to see the truth and started to act irrationally.

Eventually, she became the slave of the Highest Commander.

How did he perceive her?

Sinner.

This was his perception of her.

Many, many years passed.

After nearly a million years of memories, they arrived at the present.

They were viewing Nira from Gravis' and Mortis' perspectives.

Danger. Potential power. Tempering.

This was how the two of them viewed Nira.

And when Samsara touched Nira again, Perceived Reality broke apart, only leaving behind physical reality.

Chapter 996 - 996 – Uncertainty

Gravis found himself back inside his own body, and he realized that he could move again.

'I'm still alive thanks to Stella,' he thought with a warm smile.

'I want to meet her again. It feels like forever.'

Nira's eyes had become empty.

Her consciousness hadn't fully returned.

Mortis' Lightning Crescent was still flying towards her.

But suddenly, Nira's eyes regained some clarity as comprehension filled them.

WHOOOOM!

The Lightning Crescent stopped in the air.

Time had been frozen!

After experiencing so much time, Nira had comprehended the level six Law of Time!

However, Nira looked with uncertainty at Gravis and Mortis.

Everything seemed… different.

Gravis narrowed his eyes and stretched his hand towards Nira.

BANG!

Time resumed again.

If Nira managed to comprehend the level six Law of Time, Gravis could do the same thing!

BOOOOOOOOM!

The Lightning Crescent exploded on Nira, destroying everything around them.

However, Gravis only gritted his teeth.

BZZZ!

Gravis shot a powerful bolt of Divine Lightning at Mortis, filled with half of his Energy.

The lightning bolt wouldn't have reached Mortis in time earlier, but now, Nira was distracted!

Mortis absorbed the lightning and regained 20% of his lightning storage.

When the explosion vanished, Nira reappeared.

She was heavily injured but still alive.

Her mind was beyond confused right now.

Her soul had received heavy damage due to the Law of Deep Wood's Destruction inside Samsara.

On top of that, after a million years, Nira was able to move again.

Lastly, her personality had changed severely as she had been forced to reflect on her past self.

Everything was chaotic.

While Nira was still confused, Gravis unleashed his Form Law.

Yet, nothing happened.

It had been too long since Gravis had had any kind of control over anything.

Moving his body, Energy, mind, and Laws was incredibly unfamiliar to him.

It was like he was inhabiting a stranger's body.

The same thing was true for Nira but to an even greater degree.

BANG!

Mortis shot forward.

Mortis knew the effects of Samsara, and he knew that both Gravis and Nira were severely weakened right now.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

Spears rotated around Mortis as he stabbed them all at Nira.

Nira's Law of Danger was screaming at her, and she readied her sword.

CLANK! CLANK!

She managed to block two of them, but she was completely unfamiliar with her body.

The other spears managed to penetrate her defenses.

BANG!

Nira activated her Blizzard again to block the attacks.

"Stop!" she shouted. "I don't want to fight you!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Would this shout stop Mortis?

No.

Nira unleashed more of her Elements and attacked Mortis with them.

However, her attack was no longer as coordinated as before, allowing Mortis to weaken them enough that they didn't kill him in one hit.

Gravis tried to unleash his Form Law again but failed.

Mortis continued assaulting Nira, but she slowly recovered her abilities, her attacks becoming more powerful.

Slowly, Mortis was being pushed back, and Mortis started to run out of Energy again.

Yet, Nira's expression was incredibly uncertain.

She had no idea what she was doing.

Why was she killing them?

Wasn't she at fault?

If she hadn't acted like this in the past, everything would still be fine.

Why hadn't she been smarter?

The killing intent in Nira's eyes vanished, but her instincts still continued fighting.

One should never underestimate the fighting instincts of an Immortal Emperor.

Every attack was created to take the life of the opponent.

Nira's attacks lacked a certain planning factor, but the power of her attacks had returned to her previous peak.

Gravis felt that Mortis started feeling genuine pressure.

Mortis tried to find a way to win the fight, but he was out of ideas.

Gravis couldn't use his Form Law since it was too complex.

'Fuck!'

Gravis shoved all his remaining Energy into his saber and unleashed the last Lightning Crescent at Nira.

Nira's eyes regained clarity as she felt a tremendous threat approaching her.

BOOOOOOOM!

Nira summoned her Blizzard again but not at full power.

She decided to only block the Lightning Crescent to such a degree that it wouldn't kill her.

Why?

She was also running out of Energy.

However, she still had some left.

After the explosion vanished, Nira reappeared with severe burns all over her body, but they quickly started healing.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

Mortis summoned more spears with his lightning. Thanks to the Lightning Crescent, he had absorbed some lightning and refilled a small part of his lightning storage.

Nira gritted her teeth, but not in rage.

She was gritting her teeth out of uncertainty.

She didn't want to kill the two of them.

Instead, she wanted to apologize.

However, she knew that she would die if she hesitated now.

She didn't want to die!

 

Nira destroyed several of Mortis' spears and managed to remain unharmed.

Mortis' eyes became bloodshot as he was throwing everything on one card.

Mortis used his saber and attacked once again.

Nira noticed Mortis' attack and immediately knew what he was doing.

He was trading lives!

He was going all-in!

Nira could kill Mortis now!

Yet, in exchange, she might also die.

She didn't know what to do!

Yet, her body moved on its own.

A small explosion appeared below her arms, shooting her sword upward.

Mortis' saber was destroyed.

Mortis was out of weapons.

Mortis was out of Energy.

Gravis was out of Energy.

An All-Out attack from a beast wouldn't be powerful enough to kill her since there were six levels between them.

Gravis looked helplessly as Nira's moved on its own.

And then, everything froze.

Gravis' mind was going through an uncountable number of thoughts per instant, and his mind searched for ways out of the situation.

Gravis' mind was going so fast that time seemed to no longer exist for him.

Then, everything connected.

Gravis' eyes became empty.

Then, in seemingly no time at all, Gravis lifted his saber.

SHING!

And slashed down.

Nira's sword impaled Mortis' chest, and Mortis' body froze due to the infused Blizzard in the sword.

WHOOOOOOOOOOM!

Nira vanished.

The lower half of her sword vanished.

She was no more.

BZZZZ!

Mortis transformed into lightning and then back.

Mortis had barely managed to survive, but he fell two entire levels.

As Mortis slowly calmed down, he realized that his gamble had paid off.

His last gamble hadn't been to exchange his life but to buy Gravis enough time to comprehend a Law.

This had been the only way out of this situation.

Mortis looked over at Gravis, scarcely being able to believe that he was still alive.

Gravis had an empty look in his eyes.

It was like he was dead.

Then, suddenly, the light in his eyes returned.

And then, Gravis smiled warmly.

The entire world looked different in Gravis' eyes.

All his uncertainty from before had vanished.

Who was he?

He was Gravis!

Nothing more, nothing less.

In the imaginary land of emotions, below the living part of the world, Humility had appeared.

Being too humble resulted in someone being so unknown and far away from everything else that no one knew that they existed. Yet, if someone was just humble enough, life could flourish.

Up in the air, a prideful sky appeared.

Being too prideful resulted in someone standing so far above everyone and everything else that no living being was allowed to come close. Yet, a little bit of pride was okay.

The land of Emotions had been completed.

And with it, the level seven Law of Emotions.

Chapter 997 - 997 – Equations

Silence returned to the ravaged craters that had been their battlefield.

Magma was spewing out of the ground, reaching the sky. The craters had reached a depth of several ten thousand kilometers, creating massive calderas.

Who knew, maybe in the future, this place would become another Law Comprehension Area for the Law of Magma.

"Can you feel it, Mortis?" Gravis asked with a smile.

Mortis wasn't certain what Gravis meant.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"We know the Major Law of Emotions now, our first level seven Law," Gravis answered.

Mortis' eyes lost their focus for a bit.

The Major Law of Emotions.

Hadn't this Law been their goal for an eternity?

Mortis thought about all the Emotions, and he felt like he was seeing through the veil of life.

When Mortis looked at Gravis, he didn't see Gravis but all the Emotional Laws that defined his personality.

However, there were still things missing.

Mortis couldn't completely see through Gravis for three reasons.

First of all, Gravis was made of Void Lightning. The Law of Emotions only explained how beings made of Energy worked. Since Gravis was made of Void Lightning, Mortis couldn't see through Gravis' emotions.

This was also the reason why Arc and the Black Magnate weren't able to see through Gravis.

Second, the two of them only knew the Major Law of Emotions, not the True Law of Emotions. There were still a lot of things missing.

Third, they were missing the Major Law of Perceived Reality. The level five Law of Perceived Reality wasn't nearly on the same level as the level seven Law of Emotions.

The Law of Emotions dictated the personality of complex lifeforms.

However, the Law of Perceived Reality dictated the finer personality of a sentient being.

One was only an animal, while the other was a human or beast.

In order to see through all facets of such a complex and intelligent lifeform like a human, one needed the Law of Sentience, which was the combination of the Law of Emotions and Law of Perceived Reality.

After some seconds, Mortis concentrated on some Cultivators a couple million kilometers away.

Right now, the Cultivators were hiding.

The explosions and shockwaves from their previous fight had frightened every living being for millions of kilometers around.

Mortis saw a Nascent Nourishing Cultivator, and Mortis couldn't look away for several seconds.

The level seven Law of Emotions and the level five Law of Perceived Reality were powerful enough to see through nearly every being below the Immortal Realm.

When Mortis saw the Cultivator, he didn't see the Cultivator.

It was like the Cultivator had become a walking… something.

What would be a fitting word?

Mechanism?

Equation?

Ruleset?

Algorithm?

Machine?

Formation Array?

None of these words quite fit.

However, one thing was clear.

Mortis saw what the Cultivator thought.

Mortis even saw what the Cultivator would do.

If the Cultivator didn't leave the area of Mortis' Spirit Sense, Mortis would even be able to calculate exactly what the Cultivator would do, even years down the line.

However, that required Mortis to also calculate what every living being, every Element, and every piece of dead matter would do. After all, living beings were not static. They reacted to their surroundings.

Yet, who was Mortis?

Mortis was an Immortal Emperor!

Calculating the actions of a couple thousand middle world Cultivators wasn't nearly as draining as comprehending a powerful Law.

The complete interaction of so many variables couldn't come close to the complexity of level five Laws.

"Can you see it, Gravis?" Mortis asked back.

"What do you mean?" Gravis asked.

"We can see whatever anyone will do for several years," Mortis said, his voice sounding serious. "Weaker lifeforms have become nothing but equations in our mind."

"When we are able to foresee whatever anyone will do for years, does freedom even exist?"

Mortis took a deep breath.

"Maybe the Black Magnate was right."

Pack!

Gravis lightly shoved Mortis' shoulder with a smirk.

"What's up with you? You know the Law of Freedom. So, why are you asking such a stupid question?"

Mortis frowned. "I know the Law of Freedom, but I don't see how this Law can guarantee freedom when all our paths are predestined."

Gravis chuckled a bit, annoying Mortis.

Mortis was not up for laughing right now.

"Mortis," Gravis said with a smirk. "Don't you see? It's not that you can't see their freedom. In fact, the opposite is true."

"The opposite?" Mortis asked with confusion.

"Yes," Gravis answered with a smirk. "You're seeing their freedom."

This took Mortis aback.

"What do you mean?"

"What is freedom?" Gravis asked. "Isn't it doing whatever we want to do? So, when that Cultivator does whatever he wants to do, isn't he free?"

"When we know what they want, isn't it natural that we also know what they will do?"

"Being free doesn't mean acting incomprehensibly or unpredictably. Emotions are what drive us forward. Emotions are the source of our happiness, sadness, rage, hatred, love, and so on. Freedom means doing whatever you want to do."

"You are watching them and think that they are not free just because you know what they will do. Yet, they all do whatever they want. In comparison, if they went against their very personality in order to not be foreseen, wouldn't they be going against their emotions? By definition, this would mean that they are not free."

Mortis listened to Gravis intently, but he was still a bit uncertain.

"What you're saying makes a lot of sense. In fact, I can't even argue with you."

"But?" Gravis asked with a smirk.

"But the Black Magnate knows far more about Emotions and Freedom than us. So, either this is not the correct answer, or the Black Magnate didn't find it. I know that we are powerful, but we can't compare to the comprehension of the Black Magnate. Because of that, I'm quite certain that the answer can't be that simple."

"Why not?" Gravis asked with a smirk.

Mortis frowned. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

"Sure, I did," Gravis answered. "However, this has nothing to do with comprehension or Laws. This is simply an outlook towards life. Understanding that we are witnessing the freedom of weaker lifeforms doesn't teach me more Laws, and on top of that, knowing more about the Laws of Emotion and Perceived Reality won't necessarily make it easier to see the answer."

"After all, I surprisingly don't mind being able to see what everyone will do in the future, while it has been a source of emotional turmoil of the Black Magnate."

Gravis looked at the Cultivator the two of them were watching.

"Can't you appreciate something that you already know? Just look at the beauty of the Laws. There are so many unique combinations that basically no human exists twice. All of them have their own numbers, rules, Laws, Emotions, and many other things."

"It's not impossible to enjoy something that you already know. After all, many humans like to hear or read the same story again, even though they already know how it ends."

Mortis couldn't find a counterargument.

However, he was still a bit uncertain.

Everything that Gravis had said sounded so simple, but was it really true?

"I can't find any counterarguments against your reasoning right now, but I'm still not certain if it's the truth," Mortis answered.

"Sure," Gravis said with a shrug. "It's your decision what you want to believe. If you're not sure, go search for the answer."

"Anyway," Gravis said.

"Want me to cut off our emotional connection?"

Chapter 998 - 998 – Emotional Freedom

Mortis nodded.

Both of them had wished to gain emotional independence for an extremely long time.

And now, they finally achieved it.

However, deep inside, Mortis felt nervous for some reason.

He didn't know why, but a part of him didn't want to sever this connection with Gravis.

Meanwhile, Gravis wasn't nervous in the least.

Instead, he was excited.

Finally, he could feel whatever he wanted without having to think about how his feelings would impact Mortis.

Gravis flew over to Mortis and put his hand on his chest.

"This might hurt a bit, but you should already know that," Gravis said with a smile.

Mortis nodded, still uncertain.

Mortis closed his eyes and didn't resist.

Then, Gravis' hand exploded with Divine Lightning.

BANG!

Mortis was blown apart, leaving behind a grey ball that showed all the different facets of reality.

In essence, Mortis had died just now, leaving behind Gravis' Avatar.

As Mortis was destroyed, his personal concepts of Perceived Reality and his Emotions started vanishing into nothingness as they returned to Energy.

Gravis lifted his hand and clamped his fingers.

CRK!

All the Laws Mortis had been comprised of had been captured. It was impossible for them to escape now.

If it had been before, Gravis would have only been able to capture Mortis' ideology, but not his personality.

Yet, with the Major Law of Emotions, Gravis could also capture Mortis' Emotions.

Emotions and ideology created a personality.

So, in essence, Gravis held control over Mortis' entire personality right now.

Gravis downgraded the Law of Emotions since it was too powerful to be incorporated into his Avatar of Perceived Reality.

After that, Gravis fused the level four Law of Emotions with his Avatar.

Some seconds later, many concepts appeared inside Gravis' Avatar.

Freedom, Suppression, Control, Safety, Danger.

Yet, these concepts didn't exist on their own anymore.

Now, a complex mix of emotions was fused into every concept, pushing it further from Perceived Reality to physical reality.

Suppression could be used by the prideful to suppress the humble.

The humble could be suppressed by the prideful.

A father's love might suppress his child for their good, giving it an empathetic effect.

A ruthless ruler could suppress their soldiers to follow every order, even if it killed them. This gave Suppression an apathetic effect.

Someone could be suppressed out of revenge, which reflected rage.

Someone could seek solace in servitude, giving up all forms of control in exchange for safety. This reflected calm.

All the concepts of Perceived Reality were connected to the Emotions in some way, creating an infinite number of personalities and possibilities.

After some seconds, a colorful world appeared in Gravis' Avatar, representing all the Emotions and Perceived Realities.

BZZZZ!

Then, Gravis pushed all his Divine Lightning into his Avatar while fusing them with the fragments of Mortis' personality.

Just like the first time Mortis had been born, Mortis slowly took shape again.

Some seconds later, Mortis stood in front of Gravis with a complex expression.

"Everything alright?" Gravis asked.

Mortis nodded. "I still remember everything, and I'm still myself," Mortis answered as he looked at his right hand.

"Now, you not only have perceived freedom but also emotional freedom," Gravis said with a grin. "Now, we are literally only connected by our Spirit. The only things we share are our Laws and lives, nothing else."

"So, how does it feel?" Gravis asked with a smile.

Mortis continued looking at his right hand.

"Not any different to before," Mortis answered.

Gravis groaned. "Can't you be excited for once?" he asked with some annoyance.

"I'm just honest," Mortis answered evenly.

"Fine, fine!" Gravis said with exasperation. "Well, if you're not excited, I will be! I'm glad that I finally got emotional freedom. Now, I can feel whatever I want without needing to think about what you will feel as a result."

Mortis remained silent for some seconds.

"Was it so bad?" Mortis asked quietly.

Gravis noticed that Mortis was acting weirdly. "What's with that question? Are you sure you are still yourself? You should be just as excited as I am. Do you not desire freedom?"

Mortis wasn't sure what he should feel right now.

Yes, he desired freedom.

However, why does this newfound freedom feel… dangerous?

Mortis felt like his newfound freedom wasn't good.

Yet, that made no sense in Mortis' mind.

He wanted to be free, right?

Gravis wanted to be free.

Lightning wanted to be free.

Mortis was both.

Mortis thought about Gravis' words.

'Gravis said that he no longer has to think about what he should feel in case it affects me,' Mortis thought to himself as he furrowed his brows.

'Yet, how come I can't empathize with this feeling?'

Silence.

'Have I ever cared about Gravis' feelings when I felt something?'

Mortis didn't think for a while.

Gravis looked at Mortis with concern since he hadn't answered Gravis' question yet.

'No, I never did,' Mortis thought as some kind of oppressive darkness appeared in his body.

'I never even thought about how Gravis feels when I'm feeling something.'

'Why?'

Mortis' right hand started shaking slightly.

'I know the answer, but I don't dare to accept it.'

Mortis clenched his right hand into a fist.

'Why?'

'Because I don't feel.'

The darkness inside Mortis' chest seemed to spread.

However, it wasn't darkness.

In fact, it was emptiness.

Mortis felt like a black hole had appeared in his chest and inside the black hole...

Was nothing.

'I'm empty inside.'

'I'm afraid of my newfound freedom because that means that I will never feel love or happiness again.'

'I always believed that Gravis' feelings of warmth, happiness, and love are a weakness.'

'Yet, only now, when I have lost them, do I recognize that I didn't despise them.'

'I wanted them.'

'I needed them.'

'It felt nice.'

'But now, these bursts of happiness and love will never return.'

'Gravis was the one that felt these feelings, not me.'

'Without him, everything only appears grey.'

'Law Comprehension day in and day out. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment, progress, and satisfaction.'

'Tempering. It gives me a feeling of excitement, accomplishment, and pride.'

'What else do I do?'

…

'I don't do anything else.'

'I only look at Laws and fight.'

'That's all I do.'

'That's all I am.'

'I only feel accomplishment, excitement, pride, progress, and satisfaction.'

'I don't feel happiness, sadness, love, friendship, warmth, or companionship.'

'My goal is not freedom.'

'It's power.'

'And power leads to emptiness.'

"Mortis?" Gravis asked with concern. Usually, Gravis would have looked into Mortis' emotions, but he didn't have that ability anymore.

On top of that, Mortis was made of Divine Lightning, making it impossible for Gravis to look through his emotions, even with the level seven Law of Emotions.

In fact, if Gravis hadn't captured Mortis' personality, he wouldn't have been able to recreate it.

He could only create things he understood.

Mortis glanced at the Cultivator the two of them had watched for a bit.

'What's the point of freedom when everything's only grey?'

'What's the point of life when everything's only grey?'

"Hey, Mortis!" Gravis shouted.

Mortis was taken out of his thoughts as he looked at Gravis, perplexed.

"What?" Mortis asked with uncertainty.

Gravis narrowed his eyes.

Was this truly Mortis?

"Something's wrong with you," Gravis said severely. "Did I make a mistake? What's going on?"

Gravis' voice sounded serious, but there was an unmistakable tone of concern in it.

When Mortis heard the concern in Gravis' voice, he felt guilty.

He knew how bright Gravis' life was, and Gravis had given him a bright life filled with warmth.

He didn't want to destroy that.

"No, it's fine," Mortis said, furrowing his brows. "I was just lost in thought. This new situation is… difficult to comprehend."

Gravis looked at Mortis with a lifted eyebrow, obviously feeling skeptical. "I don't know. You acted very strangely just now."

"Am I a person that lies?" Mortis asked evenly.

Gravis sighed.

"No."

"Then don't accuse me of lying to you," Mortis said.

"Fine," Gravis said with another sigh.

Yet, he wasn't sure if Mortis told the truth.

Something inside him told him that something was wrong with Mortis.

However, Mortis was definitely not a person that lied.

'Must be just my imagination. I don't think that Mortis would lie. It's completely unlike him,' Gravis thought.

"I need to comprehend more Laws," Mortis said.

"Sure, sure," Gravis said with a wave and an uncertain smile. "I've thought as much. Have fun!"

Mortis gave Gravis an unexplainable glance.

Then, Mortis teleported away.

Gravis wasn't sure why, but when Mortis left, he felt nervous.

Meanwhile, while Mortis was flying towards the beast territory, he had his own thoughts.

'Everything's grey.'

'Everything's empty.'

The hole in his chest seemingly became bigger.

'I don't know what to do.'

…

…

…

'I don't know.'

Chapter 999 - 999 – Strongest In The World

Gravis watched as Mortis left with a complex expression.

His mind was telling him that everything was fine with Mortis and that he hadn't lied.

Yet, his feelings were telling him that something was wrong.

'It's probably just my imagination,' Gravis thought as he scratched his chin. 'I have constantly felt Mortis' feelings whenever we talked. Since that's no longer the case, it's only logical that he appears stranger than before. After all, Mortis is his own being.'

Gravis sighed.

'Also, even if something were wrong, Mortis is an adult. He's not some child that constantly needs supervision and guidance.'

Gravis quickly shook his head to get these thoughts out of his mind.

'Anyway,' he thought as a smile appeared on his face. 'I wanna see my honey again!'

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Suddenly, several explosions appeared in the sky above Gravis.

Gravis looked up with confusion.

Why were there explosions in the sky?

Also, why did the explosions look so pretty?

"Congratulations!"

Gravis turned around and saw Arc floating just behind him with a wide grin.

"You're the strongest being in my world now," Arc said.

When Gravis heard that, he wasn't quite certain if that was right.

"It's true that I managed to kill a Peak Immortal Emperor together with Mortis, but the strongest? I'm not so certain," Gravis said.

Arc only laughed. "But you are."

Gravis lifted an eyebrow skeptically.

"First of all," Arc started explaining, "You now know the level seven Law of Emotions. You should know what kind of power that Law holds."

Gravis nodded. "It gives me all the positives of the Emotional Laws without the negatives."

"The Law of Calm increases the power of my concentration and my mind without requiring more concentration."

"The Law of Rage increases my power without lowering my control."

"The Law of Humility can keep my attacks hidden without weakening them."

"The Law of Pride increases the power of my attacks and my Will-Aura without sacrificing control."

"The Law of Empathy makes it easier for me to see my opponent's intent without me getting emotionally attached to them."

"My Law of Apathy increases the power of my Will-Aura without suppressing my Emotions."

Arc nodded.

"Exactly! This means that all of your attacks and even your Will-Aura are a full level higher than normal."

"A full level?" Gravis repeated with furrowed brows.

However, after he did some math, he found out that Arc was right.

The last attack that Gravis had unleashed had been his Form Law, supported by the Law of Emotions. His Form Law of the Saber had unleashed the power of a level seven Law without needing any Energy.

This single attack of Gravis' had been even more powerful than a fully powered Lightning Crescent.

Even more, he hadn't even used any Energy.

This meant that Gravis could basically unleash infinite Lightning Crescents in short bursts.

Nira had been able to defend against Gravis' attacks at the beginning of the fight, but she always had to either use her sword or use a ton of Energy.

At that time, Gravis' Form Law had only exhibited the power of a level six Law.

Now, with the power of a level seven law, she would have to evade the attack. After all, the power of a level seven Law could only be reached by someone that had a level six Law as their Avatar.

These kinds of attacks were the most powerful attacks any Immortal Emperor could use.

Yet, Gravis could unleash an endless amount of them.

'Have I truly become so powerful?' Gravis thought. 'Is there really no one left in this world that's more powerful than me? Well, except Arc, of course.'

"What about Narcissus?" Gravis asked.

Narcissus was truly powerful.

In the face of Narcissus, Nira could only have fled.

"Well, a fight between you and Narcissus would be equal if you only had the Law of Emotions to rely on," Arc said with a smile. "However, keep in mind that I'm not adding Mortis into the equation. With the Law of Emotions, Mortis' offensive capabilities have reached a terrifying level."

"But," Arc said, his smile widening, "what about your Will-Aura?"

"My Will-Aura?" Gravis asked with a bit of confusion.

Gravis activated his Will-Aura to check.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The world seemingly warped around Gravis.

The matter surrounding him wasn't destroyed, but it was warping. It was like time and space were trying to counteract an impossibly heavy weight that lay on them.

Gravis blinked a couple of times in wonder.

He hadn't seen such an effect before.

On top of that, when Gravis felt his Will-Aura, his eyes widened.

Infinite!

That was the only description Gravis could give his Will-Aura.

It felt absolutely endless!

'What if I…'

Gravis stretched his hand forward.

Then, he activated the level six Law of Suppression, the pride-aspect of the level seven Law of Emotions, the apathy-aspect of the level seven Law of Emotions, and the Minor Law of Death.

A part of the world was torn apart as a black hole appeared.

The black hole quickly started growing as it absorbed the matter and Energy around it.

Gravis' eyes widened in surprise.

He had seen that before!

In the lower world, when Gravis had fought the lower Heaven, Gravis had created these black holes with his Will-Aura.

In essence, Gravis had been tearing the world apart.

However, back then, Gravis had been in the Unity Realm with an insanely powerful Will-Aura for his Realm.

Yet, now, Gravis was only in the Late Minor Circulation Immortal Emperor Realm.

There were four Cultivation levels and six battle levels between his Realm and the peak of the world.

This could be likened to someone in the middle Spirit Forming Realm tearing a lower world apart.

It was an insane jump!

SSSHHH!

The black hole vanished shortly after as Arc waved his hand.

"Hey! Don't go around poking holes into my world, Gravis," Arc said with mock annoyance. "I have to fix all that stuff manually, you know?"

Gravis was still taken aback.

How had his Will-Aura become so powerful?

It had never grown this much before!

"How powerful is my Will-Aura?" Gravis asked.

"Probably the fourth level of a Star God," Arc said with a slight smirk.

"Star God," Gravis repeated absentmindedly.

Star God.

How distant had this Realm been?

Gravis remembered how his father had killed nearly every Star God in the highest world.

Back then, Gravis had had no concept of how powerful Star Gods were.

Yet, now, one of Gravis' powers had reached the power of a Star God.

Back then, Gravis' father had killed millions upon millions of people that had been even more powerful than the current him.

On top of that, Gravis remembered Orpheus.

Orpheus was also a Star God, and he had also gone through the lower, middle, and higher worlds.

Back then, this had appeared so distant to Gravis, but now, he was already stepping into that mystical Realm.

Star Gods were powerful.

Even in Opposer City, Star Gods were powerful beings.

They were the big players, and every one of them owned several buildings and shops.

Star Gods were rare in Opposer City.

When Gravis had been a child, he hadn't been able to comprehend the scope of Opposer City.

When Gravis had been in the Unity Realm, he finally had the ability to enter the Sky Community.

Yet, the actual city had still been far above his level.

When Gravis had been an Immortal, he had finally managed to become one of the average citizens of the city.

And now, Gravis had reached a power that allowed him to rule over huge parts of the city.

The places that Gravis hadn't even been able to comprehend in the past had now been left behind in the dust.

"It was Samsara," Gravis answered slowly.

"Exactly," Arc said with a smile. "You went through a million years of tempering. You were constantly fighting against losing yourself. Death and danger are complex concepts, aren't they? You don't necessarily need to stop living to die, and your life doesn't need to be under threat for you to be in danger."

"Sometimes, the danger to something we love feels heavier and more dangerous than something that endangers our life."

Gravis remained silent as he thought about Arc's words.

Then, Gravis sighed.

"I already know it, don't I?" he asked.

Arc's smile widened. "Yep."

"I just haven't realized it, right?" Gravis asked.

"Yep."

Gravis sighed again.

Several concepts in Gravis' mind clicked together as he realized that he already knew something.

He just hadn't known that he already knew them.

BOOOOM!

Gravis comprehended the level six Law of Danger.

Chapter 1000 - 1000 – Arc's Reason

"Arc, are you truly only helping me because you want our fight to be enjoyable?" Gravis asked, looking at the horizon.

"Why not?" Arc asked. "It would be boring otherwise."

Silence.

"Arc, are you not afraid of death?" Gravis asked.

"Death, huh?" Arc repeated with a distracted voice.

"Death is a distant concept for me, Gravis. I see death all around me, but I never felt like the concept had anything to do with me. It's like watching an animal. I'm not an animal, yet I know a lot about the animal."

"So, while I do know that death might even come for me, I don't feel like it will."

Silence.

"Isn't that how nearly everyone thinks?" Gravis asks.

"I guess so," Arc said with a slight chuckle. "Anyway, isn't it normal to temper yourself on your path to power? I haven't tempered myself in a really long time. What makes our fight any different from normal tempering?"

"The difference is that I don't want to kill you," Gravis answered, looking at Arc.

Silence.

Then, Arc sighed.

"I know," he said. "I also don't want to kill you."

"Sadly, there's nothing we can do. You need my Energy to become a Star God, and you won't give up your dream of freedom for my life. We both know that."

"The thing that forces you into this decision is my Creator, and you're not powerful enough to resist him yet. For now, you have no other choice but to follow his will," Arc explained.

Gravis also sighed.

"I know," he said with a bitter voice. "I might perceive myself as free, but that is only perceived reality. In physical reality, I'm not free. That's why I need power."

"See?" Arc asked with a smirk. "So, why ask that question? You can't change anything about physical reality anyway. You're a couple Realms short."

Silence.

"But why are you helping me, though?" Gravis asked again, looking into Arc's eyes. "Every living being has the drive to survive, and by helping me, you are specifically going against that drive. You are pushing me out of a burning pit by jumping into it. You can just decide not to jump into the burning pit. No one would fault you for that."

"We are friends, but we are not so close that we would sacrifice our lives for each other."

"So, why? Why continually walk closer to your death?"

Silence.

More silence.

"You misunderstood something, Gravis," Arc said with a neutral voice. For once, his voice didn't sound chipper or lighthearted.

Instead, it sounded serious and emotionless.

"You said that every living being strives for survival, but that isn't the case."

Gravis furrowed his brows at Arc.

"Living beings don't strive for survival but for life."

Gravis lifted an eyebrow.

"Someone that is captured and tortured for the remainder of their natural life is surviving, but not living. Don't forget that there is a famous phrase: I'll make you live a life worse than death."

"Living a life that's worse than death is surviving, not living."

"If you push a being too far into darkness, they will prefer death over survival."

"Tell me, Gravis."

"Am I living or surviving?"

Gravis' insides shook when he heard these emotionless words from Arc.

How would Gravis feel in Arc's shoes?

Forever being trapped in one world, unable to progress.

Not being around beings that know enough about the concepts of the Cosmos to truly talk with you.

Being trapped in the highest world was entirely different from being trapped in a higher world.

There were several beings in the highest world that knew all the Laws.

Several Heaven's Magnates probably knew all the Laws that the highest Heaven knew, except for the Major Law of Death and the highest Heaven's exclusive lightning element.

Only a single step separated the Heaven's Magnates and the highest Heaven.

Yet, what about this higher world?

Arc knew the Major Law of the True World.

The closest person to him had been Exar, who knew the Major Law of the Dead World.

He didn't know the Major Law of Life.

He didn't know the Major Law of Emotions.

He didn't know the Major Law of Perceived Reality.

Comprehending these Laws was integral to understanding the world.

Over ten billion years of being semi-alone.

Arc was not free.

Arc did not have anyone he could truly connect with except for Gravis.

Arc didn't feel any love for anyone.

The Opposer had his wife, his family, and the highest Heaven, even if he didn't like the latter.

The highest Heaven had the Opposer.

Whom did Arc have?

Gravis.

And Gravis would soon leave again.

For the first time, Gravis realized that Arc wasn't truly as carefree as he made himself appear.

In truth, the endless years of unchanging loneliness had probably ground him down.

In that situation, someone might actually prefer a battle to the death over the unchanging monotony.

"Are you seeking death, Arc?" Gravis asked, looking into Arc's eyes.

Arc smiled bitterly and slowly shook his head.

"Not really," he answered. "I just want to make the most of my time. Seeing someone else grow and teaching them about the world might appear interesting to you, but it isn't a life-changing event."

Arc looked at the horizon.

"Yet, when you have been in isolated darkness for an eternity, even the smallest glimmer of light shines as bright as a star."

A complex feeling appeared in Gravis' heart, but he wasn't able to decipher it completely.

Was it pity? Empathy? Sympathy? Sorrow? Guilt? Powerlessness?

Gravis wasn't sure.

The only thing he did know was that he didn't like that feeling one bit.

"So, you want this small light to shine as bright as possible, even if it puts you in mortal danger. If you survive, it will be a cherished memory, and if you die, you didn't die surrounded by nothingness."

"Is that it?"

Arc scratched the back of his head awkwardly with a bitter smile.

"I think you could phrase it like that."

These words made Gravis sigh again.

'Why must life be so complicated?'

'Emotions and situations can create terrible lives with basically no way of recovery.'

'How many people envy the Heavens and want to be them?'

'Yet, how many Heavens want to be just people?'

Gravis looked at the sky with furrowed brows.

'In essence, it's the highest Heaven that forced Arc into this misery.'

'Yet, even if I don't like the highest Heaven, I can't put all the blame on it.'

'One of the reasons why it is creating these worlds and Heavens is my father. After all, the highest Heaven and father are constantly at each others' throats.'

'Father said that there hadn't been any lower, middle, or higher worlds back when he had been cultivating. This means that the highest Heaven created these worlds because of my father.'

'It probably saw that it didn't have the full control over its own Cosmos anymore. Afraid of being killed by my father, it expanded its scope of harvesting Energy in order to rival father.'

Gravis had to sigh.

'It's funny, actually. Whenever I fight, thousands or millions of beings die around me. Every time that happens, I believe that it is only natural. After all, I can't look out for mortals while my life is on the line. If I did that, I would have already been killed many times over in my previous fights.'

'Yet, ironically enough, Arc is also one of the victims between the fight of the highest Heaven and father. Father wants to break free and take revenge on the being that wanted to kill him, and the highest Heaven wants to survive the revenge of father.'

'Are any of the two of them wrong?'

'Honestly, I don't know.'

'I know my father, and I can certainly see how he can take things a little too far, but it's also possible that he is completely in the right. After all, I don't know all the background information.'

'Sadly, I don't know the highest Heaven. I only know bits and pieces about it, but nothing concrete.'

'If I knew the highest Heaven, I might be able to get a clearer picture of everything.'

'However, that is far above my current level.'

"Yeah, the conversation kind of ended, and the silence is a bit awkward," Arc said with an awkward smile.

Then, he pointed towards the horizon.

"I think it's better if I'll just go."

Gravis sighed and nodded. "Sure, and sorry for bringing up this topic."

"It's fine! It's fine!" Arc said.

"Anyway, see ya later!"

SHING!

And Arc was gone.

Gravis remained on his spot for several more minutes, just thinking.

In the end, he sighed again and flew towards the Purist Sect.

He had thought enough about these things.

Today shouldn't be a day of depression but of exhilaration!

He had just survived his hardest fight yet, had comprehended the Major Law of Emotions, and had become the strongest in the world!

He needed to celebrate with Stella!

Like this, the three people had parted ways again, everyone feeling vastly different from the other two.

Mortis was currently wringing with the oppressive feeling of nothingness, aimlessness, and hopelessness.

Arc was finding solace in the slight glimmer of light in the perpetual darkness. In his mind, he felt quite happy right now.

Gravis quickly forgot these depressing issues and met up with Stella. Warmth and love filled his being as he felt at home.

Three vastly different outlooks on life.

Three vastly different emotional states.

Three vastly different ways of dealing with their problems.