Lightning Is The Only Way

Mortis only looked evenly at Orthar.

"You think I don't have the conviction?" he asked neutrally.

"I don't think, I know," Orthar answered. "Just like every living being in this world, I am your designer, and I can see through all your Laws."

If anyone else had said that, Mortis would only despise their arrogance, but this was Orthar.

Orthar was the literal creator of this entire Cosmos and everything in it.

So, Mortis actually started to doubt his own conviction at this moment. 

"However, do not misunderstand," Orthar said with a more relaxed tone. "Your conviction has already become stronger than it has been previously."

Orthar gestured to the hall.

"As you both know, I need more Energy and power to resist your father. If I relax for even a moment, he will drain my Cosmos. Your father doesn't pull the Energy out of the Primordial Chaos like my Cosmos but directly from my Cosmos."

"Theoretically, let's assume I have 100 units of Energy in my Cosmos, and your father has 10. Now, imagine your father absorbing one unit of Energy per one unit of time. If I didn't do anything during that one unit of time, your father would have 11 units of Energy while I only have 99."

"That still doesn't sound that bad, but keep in mind that your father can use Energy in a more destructive way than me. It's not an overstatement to say that if your father had 10 units of Energy and I had 100, we would be of equal power. This means that his 10 units of Energy equal my 100 units of Energy when we compare power."

"Now, if he only absorbed one unit of Energy and reached 11 units of Energy, I would need 110 units of Energy to resist him."

"This means that I have to grow more than ten times as quickly as him."

Orthar narrowed eyes.

"And he's getting faster and faster in absorbing Energy."

"And what does that have to do with my conviction?" Mortis asked.

Many people would have gotten annoyed at such a sudden interruption, but Orthar knew Mortis. 

"The point is that I can't waste any Energy," Orthar said. "Because of that, I need to be certain that everyone that reaches the Heaven's Magnate Realm stays in that Realm for as long as they can."

"The bodies of Heaven's Magnates are already at the peak of compression regarding Energy, which means that they can't absorb more Energy. If a Heaven's Magnate that has lived for 100 million years dies, they will give the Cosmos just as much Energy as a Heaven's Magnate that died directly after their breakthrough."

"However, the value in the Heaven's Magnates is that their intense density of Energy pulls in more Energy from the Primordial Chaos. Therefore, even if a Heaven's Magnate that has lived for longer has just as much Energy as a young one, the older Heaven's Magnate has still pulled in several times their own worth in Energy from the Primordial Chaos."

"And that's when you have to confront the actual enemy," Orthar said as he looked at Mortis.

"Yourself."

Mortis looked with furrowed brows at Orthar, but he still felt a bit nervous.

"When you reach that power, no one will threaten your life anymore. There are no enemies since the other Heaven's Magnates don't gain anything by fighting. They would much rather live out their life and eventually fight when their tribulation arrives."

"The Black Magnate also only has killed the Undying Doctor because they were fated to fight anyway in about two million years. They were the closest in power to each other, and they would have ended up as each other's enemies."

"In such a short amount of time, it's impossible to increase one's strength when one has already reached such heights. That's why the outcome of the fight wouldn't have changed, even if the Black Magnate had waited for another two or three million years."

"Yet, is that the only thing that can kill him?" Orthar asked.

Gravis remembered the time Mortis had sacrificed himself in the Gate of Death. Sure, if Gravis had died, Mortis would have also died, but he would have at least tried to find another solution instead of directly giving up.

However, Gravis didn't comment.

"The other enemy is you," Orthar explained. "As I've explained previously, you can reach supreme power without another goal, but you won't be able to survive for long. Even if it didn't appear like it, the Black Magnate also had another reason to become powerful, which was curiosity and trying to understand everything."

"He also wants to know what's beyond this Cosmos and how to reach your father's Realm. Power wasn't his only goal. That's also why he is still alive."

"Now, let's come to you," Orthar said as he looked at Mortis.

"In the past, you have only chased power. Only chasing power wouldn't have been a problem until you reach supreme power, but due to your proximity to Gravis, you have been confronted with the problem prematurely."

"Then, after you met with your partner, your goals have changed. You don't only chase power anymore. Now, you also chase happiness."

"That's a step in the correct direction, but it's not enough since you have been confronted with a new issue."

"Now your priorities clash," Orthar said. "You are like your brother, Orpheus."

"You are dreaming about giving up on Cultivation."

Gravis looked at Mortis with surprise.

Mortis didn't appear that different from how he had been in the past.

Yet, Mortis had already severely changed inside.

However, Gravis had still been surprised that Mortis had changed to such a degree.

As far as Gravis remembered, Mortis had always chased power fervently, but now, his feelings for Azure had reached such a level that it had overtaken his thirst for power by that much?

"I'm not considering it," Mortis said.

"I said you're dreaming about it," Orthar said. "You're not planning on going through with it, but you wish you could. Continuing on the journey of Cultivation feels like something you have to do instead of something you want to do. It feels like a responsibility."

"Right now, it feels unimaginable to you that you would ever stop cultivating, but that will change very quickly. At the latest, when you inevitably comprehend the True Law of Freedom."

Mortis furrowed his brows.

"However, the True Law of Freedom is not perfect," Orthar explained. "One Law on its own can't decide your entire path."

"If you only follow the True Law of Freedom, you will refuse to take responsibility for anything. Your partner and your family will distance themselves more and more from you since you will never do anything you don't want."

"At the same time, only following the True Law of Freedom won't make you powerful. You want to become more powerful, but you have to go through tempering, which is something you don't want. So, logically, you won't go through tempering. After all, why would you? You don't want to."

"You need to follow all the Laws, not just one. Following one might not be the wrong choice, but it might also not be the correct choice."

"And what's your plan?" Mortis asked suddenly, interrupting Orthar again.

Orthar looked at Mortis.