Lightning Is The Only Way

A couple of tears left Gravis' eyes, but he didn't mind.

One of the biggest regrets in his life had lessened severely. He would still sometimes think that he did a subpar job, but at least his son managed to mature into a great man.

"Hey! Don't forget about me!"

PACK!

Another person jumped into the hug.

It was Yersi.

Gravis ruffled her hair and also pulled her closer to him.

"I missed you both," Gravis said. 

"We know," Yersi said with some tears in her eyes. "I've also missed you."

Stella looked at the scene with some tears in her eyes.

Gravis had often talked about his children and about how much he missed them.

When she met Aris and Yersi, the atmosphere between the three of them was rather awkward.

After all, she was technically the life companion of their father. 

Would she count as their mother?

However, Aris quickly smoothened everything over. He had a terrifying talent for de-escalating situations and dispersing awkward situations. 

In no time at all, the three of them had become rather close.

They didn't see each other as children and mother, but Stella basically counted as an aunt to them.

Aris had matured, but there were still some beast parts inside of himself. If Stella hadn't been more powerful than Aris, the atmosphere would still remain harmonious, but deep inside, he wouldn't truly accept Stella as an aunt.

Yersi and Stella had become rather close in that time. Their personalities were somewhat similar, but Yersi hadn't lived nearly as long as Stella due to the time dilation.

Only 27,000 years had passed for Yersi, which couldn't compare to over 200,000 years.

It had been much easier for Yersi to accept Stella into her life. After all, Stella was much older and much stronger than her. She was even far stronger than her husband, Jake.

Liam was more of a family friend than a family member, but he didn't mind. 

Liam was more interested in creating his own family.

Jake only smiled as he watched his wife embrace her father.

So many things had changed.

Jake's father-in-law had been an outstanding Immortal, but he had been only that, an Immortal.

In a sense, Jake still saw Gravis as a child due to the power difference. It was a bit awkward for him to acknowledge him as his father-in-law.

However, everything had changed now.

Gravis was so powerful that Jake couldn't even feel his Battle-Strength.

Just his wife was already so powerful that Jake couldn't even fight her, and from what she was saying, Gravis was unfathomably stronger.

Initially, it had been hard for Jake to accept something like that, but when he saw Gravis, he realized that it must be true.

He couldn't feel the truth himself since he couldn't feel Gravis' Battle-Strength, but he could discern the truth by the fact that Gravis felt supremely average to him.

However, he knew that it was impossible for Gravis to be average.

This could only mean that he couldn't feel Gravis' power, which was hard to accept but the only explanation that made sense.

After some minutes, the three of them parted again, but not completely.

Yersi hung onto Gravis' arm like a little girl, smiling the entire time.

Then, Gravis walked over to the other three people.

He embraced Stella deeply.

It was like they had never been apart from each other, which was essentially true.

For Stella, only a couple thousand years had passed, while Gravis had mostly been in comprehension during that time.

They had missed each other, but they hadn't been apart for long.

Their embrace ended quickly since they knew that they would have enough time with each other later.

Gravis nodded at Liam with a smile.

Liam also nodded back with a smile.

The awkward atmosphere between them had mostly died by now.

They were even friends by now.

Then, Gravis looked at Jake.

"Three level six Laws," Gravis commented. "Quite impressive."

Gravis saw the hidden doubt in Jake's Emotional Law fragments. 

Jake didn't want to doubt Gravis, but he couldn't help it, which was why Gravis didn't mind it much.

Jake was surprised when he heard that Gravis managed to see through him.

"How did you know?" Jake asked.

"Law of Sentience," Gravis said with a smile.

Jake's eyes widened in shock.

Stella and Liam had been the only ones that had known about Gravis' new power.

Liam only referred to Gravis as unfathomably powerful, and Stella only told him that Gravis' Laws were a secret.

She wanted to give Gravis an opportunity to show off.

"You know the Law of Sentience?" Jake asked in shock.

Gravis smiled and nodded. "Yep."

Jake became incredibly interested. "So, does that mean that you can see through every Immortal Emperor's being?"

"Except for their body, yes," Gravis said.

Jake paused for a while. "How does it feel?"

"The more powerful you get, the more you learn. How the power feels is up to you," Gravis answered. "To me, having the ability to see through every Immortal Emperor isn't very different from not having it."

"I know how things work and, logically, the world and humans should lose a lot of their charm and magic, but it isn't entirely true for my case. Seeing how every being works gives the world more magic instead. There are so many Laws working together in a complex and wonderful way, giving everyone a unique color and feel."

"For example, you feel like a deep blue with some hidden red. You are a calm person, but there are still a lot of doubts deep down. You know what the best decisions are, but you are often still not happy with these decisions. Deep down, you think that there has to be a better way."

If anyone else had said these words, they would be seen as an arrogant idiot that believed they could evaluate a complex being like a human with one glance. 

Immortal Emperors weren't stupid, and they knew that everyone could spout random, profound-sounding bullshit to seem more powerful than they actually were.

However, when Gravis said these words, Jake felt like Gravis knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You've been searching for the Law of Freedom for a long time," Gravis said. "You know that it's the most difficult Law to comprehend on your path to power. However, your obsession is stopping your progress. You're thinking too much. You should feel more."

Jake didn't get enlightened by these words, but he realized that Gravis was pointing out an important issue Jake had to deal with.

"Thank you, Gravis," Jake said with a slight bow.

"You don't have to thank me," Gravis said. "After all, I'm also doing this for myself. I don't fault you for doubting me since it's only natural, but it's still better if that doubt doesn't exist."

"I didn't doubt you," Jake said with conviction.

Jake didn't lie.

The doubt had been so small that he had been convinced that he hadn't doubted Gravis.

"That's exactly the problem I'm referring to," Gravis said. "Your logic is suppressing your emotional reason so much that your logic can't even see the fine details of your emotions anymore. 99% of your mind is filled with rationality and calm, and it is so overwhelming that it can't feel the tiny emotional fluctuations inside of your own being."

"Being rational is great since it helps you make the correct decisions, but sometimes, you have to make the incorrect choice. Your progress has slowed down, and it makes you anxious. If your progress slows down, it doesn't mean that you are not talented enough. No, you simply need to change your approach a bit."

"Think about that," Gravis said with a smile.

The last doubt in Jake vanished.

He didn't know what had changed inside of him, but something had changed.

Jake wanted to thank Gravis again, but he didn't since Gravis had said that he didn't need to thank him.

Instead, Jake only looked at Gravis with a smile.

"Welcome back."

"Thanks," Gravis said. "We'll be talking more from now on. There are no more worlds I have to go to, and I will stay in Opposer City for the foreseeable future. Eventually, I will join The Heaven Company, and I don't know what will happen then. But until then, I'll be here, with all of you guys."

"Oh? The Heaven Company?" Jake asked in surprise.

"I was once part of The Heaven Company."