Lightning Is the Only Way

"Because I have a plan for you, Gravis," Orthar said.

Gravis was surprised that Orthar admitted it this openly.

"You're admitting it directly?" Gravis asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're not stupid, Gravis," Orthar said. "You know my personality since you know Orthar. Acting like I don't have a plan is meaningless."

"Okay, then what is your plan?" Gravis asked.

Orthar only continued looking at Gravis evenly.

"Not even your father knows that," Orthar commented.

Gravis glanced at his father and then looked at Orthar again.

Then, Gravis smirked.

"Well, has father ever asked you?" he asked.

The Opposer furrowed his brows.

Orthar only looked at Gravis.

Then, Orthar smirked, which was quite surprising.

The Orthar Gravis knew had never shown something like a smile or a smirk.

"No, he didn't," Orthar said.

"So, will you answer me?" Gravis asked.

Silence.

"It seems like, in some sense, you are already superior to your father," Orthar said, glancing at the Opposer. Gravis could see a glint of dislike in Orthar's eyes when he looked at the Opposer.

The Opposer only looked emotionlessly at Orthar.

"If I refuse to answer, it means that I have something planned for you that you don't like. So, if I have something planned for you that you wouldn't like, I would be forced to lie to you. However, a lie is a lie. You don't need to find out the truth to know that it is a lie. You only need to find a single inconsistency. As soon as it is exposed to be a lie, you will know that I have something planned that you don't like. Otherwise, I wouldn't have lied."

"If I had something planned for you that you were fine with, there would be no reason for me to keep it secret."

Orthar continued looking into the Opposer's eyes with a smirk as he talked to Gravis.

"In essence, you managed to somewhat force me into a corner with only a question. Someone else hasn't managed to achieve something like this before," Orthar said while looking at the Opposer.

Gravis could see that the Opposer and Orthar really didn't get along, which wasn't very surprising.

Orthar was using Gravis as an example to show the Opposer that a mere Immortal Emperor could do something he couldn't, the most powerful being other than him.

The Opposer didn't care.

Orthar looked back at Gravis.

"Luckily for me, I don't have anything bad planned for you. After all, if I had, I wouldn't think about your opinion on the matter."

Gravis only looked at Orthar. "And what is that plan?" he asked.

Not even the Opposer knew the plan Orthar had for Gravis.

This would be new, even for him.

"Alright, I'll tell you," Orthar said. "You knowing won't change anything."

Gravis listened with interest.

"You are a stabilizer," Orthar said.

"Stabilizer?" Gravis asked.

"Your purpose for becoming powerful is to protect me and this world," Orthar said.

The Opposer frowned.

Gravis also frowned.

"And why should I do that?" Gravis asked. "You should know that I won't go against my father."

"You don't have to," Orthar answered.

Gravis became a bit surprised.

"What do you mean I don't have to? You two are enemies."

"My plan for you is to stay neutral in this conflict," Orthar said. "I don't want you to kill me, and I also don't want you to kill your father. I only need you to stay at the sidelines."

"Obviously," Orthar continued, "if I ever attack your father, you will come to his aid. I'm in an inferior position here since I'm not part of your family. If I attacked your father, I would be attacked by both of you, and I would die."

"So, to survive, I simply have to not attack."

"You should be fine with that, right?" Orthar asked Gravis.

Gravis only frowned.

Orthar had helped Gravis a lot in the past.

Yes, he had used the child-Stella back then to use him to hurt the Opposer, but he had repaid that debt manifold.

He gave everyone Gravis cared about a ton of Karmic Luck to protect them.

If Orthar hadn't done that, Aris, Cera, and Yersi might have already died.

Even Stella might have died already.

Orthar had killed one life but saved many.

Was this reason enough to become friends with him?

No.

However, was this reason enough to not seek vengeance?

Yes.

So, if Orthar truly didn't act against any of Gravis' loved ones, Gravis would have no reason to go against him.

This would also be in Gravis' interest. After all, all of these dynamics were like this because this was how Gravis was. This was his personality.

Yet, Gravis didn't immediately accept this as the truth.

It could very well be a lie.

However, it perfectly fit everything that had happened to Gravis in his life.

Was this the truth?

Gravis couldn't be sure right now.

"So, you want to end the conflict between us. Is that it?" the Opposer asked, glaring at Orthar.

Orthar looked at the Opposer.

"Tell me, when have I attacked you after our initial clash?" Orthar asked.

"You didn't, but you used Gravis to attack me indirectly," the Opposer said.

"Yes, an action born out of 50 billion years of needing to protect myself from you with everything I got. I might consider emotions to be the bane of a correct decision, but I'm not immune to them. Even I will fall victim to their grasp after 50 billion years of frustration," Orthar said.

"And look what came of this one mistake. I acted one time out of frustration in 50 billion years, and I nearly died six years later when that same person decided to become one with lightning. And that wasn't even everything. After that, my actions resulted in the creation of someone that has the background and potential to also become a threat to me in the future, and even worse, that person doesn't have any goodwill towards me."

"In fact, we don't even need to go that far into the future. Your attack following the incident alone was already far more damaging than what little satisfaction I've gotten from this act of frustration."

"Yes, I fell victim to my frustration, and yes, I committed a mistake. This won't happen a second time," Orthar explained.

"I'm not the aggressor in this conflict. You are," Orthar said to the Opposer. "Except for this one incident, I didn't do anything to you or to any of your loved ones. I even gave you a perfectly compatible wife. What do you want me to do? Is passively being your punching bag for 50 billion years not enough for you?"

Orthar's words made a lot of sense to Gravis.

As far as he knew, that incident with the young Stella was the only thing that happened between them.

The Opposer looked at Orthar, unperturbed. "You know exactly what I want," he said.

Orthar snorted.

"And put my life in your hands? I'm not an idiot. I know how much you hate me, and I'm willing to find a compromise. However, I will not initiate the negotiation by putting my head in your hands," Orthar answered.

"Then this will only continue," the Opposer said.

"Will it?" Orthar asked with a slight smirk. "If you keep being the aggressor, your son might not like it."

"As soon as he reaches your Realm, even if he might not be your match, he will be a deterrent. I can finally focus on something other than gathering as much Energy as possible to defend myself from your aggression. Additionally, you might also get what you want when our relationship has sufficiently improved or if Gravis becomes powerful enough to protect my life from your saber," Orthar said.

Gravis only watched on as his father and Orthar argued.

"What do you want from Orthar?" Gravis asked his father.

The Opposer continued looking at Orthar.

"I'm fine with him knowing," Orthar said. "No more secrets."

Then, Orthar turned to Gravis.

"The answer to that question has something to do with the very makeup of the Cosmos and its true purpose."

"Do you want to know?"

"I can tell you."