Lightning Is The Only Way

Gravis and Mortis leisurely walked along the hallway for a while, but eventually, Mortis got impatient and started teleporting.

Gravis groaned and followed Mortis.

However, surprisingly, they only needed a single teleportation to reach the end of the hallway.

It wasn't as far as they had imagined it to be.

By now, the hallway had become narrow again, and the two of them fell into nostalgia. 

The narrow hallway and the gate in front of them reminded them of the Heaven's Trial in the lower world.

"Do you think Orthar only has one level for us, or are there multiple again?" Gravis asked.

"Probably as many as he thinks is optimal to make us more powerful. He wants us to become powerful, and we are in his domain now," Mortis answered.

"So, the Cosmos isn't his domain?" Gravis asked.

"You know what I meant," Mortis answered.

"Sure," Gravis answered.

Then, he took a deep breath and readied himself.

"Well, here we go," Gravis said as he pushed open the gate.

The gate wasn't nearly as heavy as the front gate, and it wasn't hard for Gravis to push it open.

When the gate fully opened, Gravis looked at the room behind it.

It was rather small.

It just looked like a small burial chamber, about ten meters wide. There were no lamps or torches in the room, but the room was well lit, thanks to Mortis.

"So, I guess we don't have to fight in this one, which means that there are more levels, right?" Gravis asked.

"Correct," Orthar said from the middle of the room.

Surprisingly, Orthar had been in the middle of the room this entire time, and Gravis had spotted him. 

"So, how many are there?" Gravis asked as he and Mortis entered the room.

BANG!

The gate behind Gravis closed violently.

"Do you have to be so dramatic?" Gravis asked.

"It does that automatically," Orthar answered with a polite smile.

Every time Gravis saw Orthar smile, he felt confused. The Orthar he had known had never smiled, but then, Gravis remembered that Orthar had changed.

This Orthar was no longer the friend he had met in the middle world but the highest Heaven.

They were certainly similar, but this version of Orthar had had billions of years to gain experience.

"You've become accustomed to the uneven passage of perceived time, Gravis," Orthar answered. "You don't have to be surprised every time you see me doing something as simple as showing a smile."

"As I've said previously, I'm not a different person to the Orthar you knew. If you were to differentiate us, you could say that I am simply the version of him after having been alive for a very long time. Your version of Orthar would have eventually become me since he is me."

"So, don't act like you don't know me. In fact, I'm still the same Orthar, except for the fact that I've grown a lot since we parted ways. Just think of it like you have been comprehending Laws for the last couple of billion years," Orthar explained with a calm voice.

"Sorry, it's just weird, and I'm not used to you being like this," Gravis said. 

"People change, and that's normal," Orthar answered. "I designed them that way. Without growth, you can't have power. You can become more powerful by staying the same, but that means that your adaptability will be severely lacking. You will only be powerful in one situation and helpless in a hundred others."

"Anyway, you asked about the number of levels," Orthar said as he looked at Gravis and Mortis.

Gravis nodded.

Mortis didn't really talk much since Gravis was basically always asking the very things Mortis wanted to ask. 

"The same as the time before last time," Orthar answered.

"Time before last time?" Gravis asked with confusion.

"We also went through one when we comprehended the Major Law of Humility," Mortis commented from the side.

"Oh, right! I nearly forgot about that!" Gravis answered as he remembered the time he had been in the body of some ruler in the Unity Realm.

"So, five, right?" Gravis asked.

"How many levels had there been?" asked Orthar.

"Five?" Gravis asked, unsure about the question.

"Then why are you asking for confirmation? I already gave you your answer," Orthar said evenly.

Gravis released an annoyed sigh and looked to the side. "Man, you and Mortis could be best buddies."

"And what about you?" Orthar asked.

"What?" Gravis asked, taken aback by the question.

"You and Mortis are the only beings that I could theoretically call friends. Everyone else either doesn't know anything about me, is one of my descendants, or is your father."

Gravis scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"I don't see the problem," Mortis said from the side. "We've been friends, and we still are friends, and it will stay like this as long as you don't start doing something behind our backs."

Gravis nodded in agreement.

Then, Orthar smiled again. "Then, we are friends," he said. "Quite a weird feeling, actually."

"Anyway, we should get back to the topic," Orthar said as his smile vanished.

Gravis and Mortis listened to Orthar closely.

"Gravis," Orthar said as he looked at Gravis. "You have your goals."

Gravis nodded.

"You have your priorities, and you know what you want. Knowing your goal and having the conviction to reach your goal is one of the most integral parts of becoming powerful."

"As you know, at one time, your brother had lost that conviction, which resulted in him stagnating for over a million years. Someone as talented as your brother had stagnated for so long, just because he was lacking conviction," Orthar said.

Gravis frowned. "I don't think that's correct," Gravis answered. "His goal was happiness, and the fact that he managed to bring himself to stop cultivating is a testament to his conviction."

"Then how did his conviction change?" Orthar asked.

"What do you mean?" Gravis asked.

"You said your brother stopped cultivating because his conviction was strong enough to stop him from doing so. Yet, when you popped up, he continued cultivating."

"If his conviction was so powerful, why did he suddenly change his goals?" Orthar asked.

"Goals can change," Gravis answered.

"The thing you describe as changing goals is something I wouldn't describe as such."

Gravis lifted an eyebrow.

"Your main goal is happiness," Orthar said. "You want to spend time with your partner, your family, and have some children. That's the main reason why you want to become powerful. You want to secure the longevity of your happiness."

Gravis nodded.

"What if you stop Cultivating to be happy right now? As long as you retreat from the world of Cultivation and give away all your valuables, no one will hunt you. You can live out your life of happiness without anyone interfering," Orthar said. "Why don't you do so?"

"Because that would be too short," Gravis said. "As you've said, I want to secure the longevity of my happiness with freedom and power."

"Exactly," Orthar said. "That's what I meant with having conviction for a goal. You are willing to go through the momentous task of becoming the most powerful for your goal."

"Now, think back to your brother. Wasn't his goal also happiness? If so, how did it change?"

"It didn't exactly change," Gravis answered. "I'm pretty sure Orpheus also chases happiness, but he realized he needed strength."

"So, has his goal changed or not?"

"Not," Gravis answered.

"And that's where your definition differs from mine," Orthar explained. "His previous goal has been happiness, but now, his goal is happiness and power. These two things are intrinsically connected. You can have one or the other, but if you want to keep one of them for a long time, you need the other as well."

"You can become the most powerful, but if you are not happy, nothing will keep you alive after a certain amount of time passes. You can become happy, but if you are not powerful, you will die too soon for your liking."

"Your brother chased happiness, but his conviction wasn't strong enough to also chase power. That's what I meant when I said that his conviction wasn't powerful enough."

Gravis raised an eyebrow. "So, only when someone chases power is their conviction strong enough in your opinion?"

"No," Orthar answered. "Someone that only chases power is also destined to not live for a long time. I don't want to invest so much into a new Heaven's Magnate just to have them kill themselves after surviving two temperings."

"A strong conviction includes power and at least one other goal," Orthar explained.

Then, he looked into Gravis' eyes.

"You have that."

Then, Orthar looked at Mortis.

"And you don't."