Lightning Is the Only Way

Ferris told Gravis everything that had happened in the time since his last visit, and the longer Ferris talked, the more shocked Gravis grew.

The events themselves didn't really shock Gravis, but the sheer amount of what had happened shocked him deeply.

None of the things were that special. There were just some fights here and there and some restructurings.

However, there were just so many incidents. The sheer number of them was simply shocking to Gravis.

Ferris had talked to Gravis for nearly a week before he was done recounting the events, which left Gravis surprised.

'All of that happened while I was away?' Gravis thought. 'It doesn't feel that long to me. It feels more like I've only taken two naps, and that's it. It only feels like I've been away for only a couple of years. I don't even particularly miss everyone since I feel like I had just met everyone yesterday.'

'Is this the effect of using Samsara too often?' Gravis thought. 'Over 150,000 years passed, but 150,000 years doesn't actually feel that long. I went through much longer periods of time.'

'However, if I break it down with my actual, physical age, It would make more sense that so many things had happened. I'm about 950,000 years old, and 150,000 years is just a bit less than an entire sixth of my life.'

'For a mortal, it would probably feel like they would have been away from their family for ten years.'

'For mortals, a lot of things can happen in ten years.'

While Ferris was continuing to talk excitedly, Gravis looked around Manuel's faction with eyes reflecting complex emotions.

Now that Gravis actually focused on his surroundings, he noticed that the entire feeling of everyone was… off. It was like a lot of things had changed.

However, the surroundings weren't the issue. The issue was more with how Gravis' friends felt to him.

A good example would be Dorian. Gravis still remembered how he had talked to him the last time. Dorian hadn't appeared any different from normal, but right now, Dorian appeared far more serious.

Gravis could see how Dorian talked to many members of Manuel's faction with a serious tone. He was currently giving them a lot of advice for the off-chance that they would be outclassed by their enemy. He was telling them how to retreat and how to use the changing environment to take their enemies by surprise.

Surprisingly, Dorian didn't joke around while teaching these things to the members of Manuel's faction. Instead, he was teaching the members everything very methodically. It was like he had been doing that for an eternity.

Dorian had always had a peculiar personality. He had always been crass and didn't take many things seriously, but right now, it felt like he had grown up, for lack of a better word.

Gravis could feel the weight of responsibility Dorian carried on his shoulders.

Seeing Dorian like this reminded Gravis of Lazar, Dorian's grandson. Lazar had always appeared exhausted due to his job as a Sect Master. Lazar always only very rarely joked around since he had to uphold a certain aura.

Dorian was very similar to the Lazar from back then. It was like Dorian placed the importance of the effectiveness of his teachings above being himself. He would rather completely change himself to give others a better chance at understanding his lessons.

Stella didn't seem much different from usual, except for the absence of her jumping into Gravis' arms. She was reviewing a lot of Formation Arrays and was also changing the Formation Arrays on several pieces of equipment.

Ferris had told Gravis that Stella had become pretty good at handling Formation Arrays.

'150,000 years, huh?' Gravis thought with a worried expression. 'I think that should be enough to learn a lot about Formation Arrays.'

Stella had gone from a complete novice in Formation Arrays to being good enough to alter Formation Arrays that cost millions of God Stones.

'I've only been gone for a bit of Law Comprehension.'

Gravis also looked at Meadow, who quickly noticed that Gravis was looking at her.

"Oh, would you look at that. The great lord of Sitting-On-Your-Arse has returned to visit us," Meadow commented.

Gravis only chuckled a bit. "How have you been, Meadow?" Gravis asked with some concern.

"Ew, what's with that tone?" Meadow asked with disgust. "You're worried over me? I already have a boyfriend, you know. That's not cool!"

"You know how I meant that, Meadow," Gravis said.

"And you know how I meant that, dickwad. How about you don't bore me for only one second?" Meadow asked.

Gravis only smirked. "Lord Sitting-On-Your-Arse, eh? You're just jealous because you don't have an arse. Additionally, even if you had one, you wouldn't even sit on it. Normal people sit on the floor, but you're underground. In your case, the floor sits on you. That also explains why you have no arse. It's pointless on you."

"There ya go," Meadow answered, clapping in a very sarcastic manner with her roots. "Little baby boy finally got some teeth. Why didn't you show them earlier? You went all sappy and worried for me. You creeped me out for a second."

Gravis scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile. "Well, I fear I might have done something wrong."

"Huh? Again? What's it this time?" Meadow asked.

"Well, I think I shouldn't have skipped my last break," Gravis said. "I don't feel like a lot of time has passed, but not everyone might feel like that."

"That? Pffft!" Meadow snorted. "How long was it? 100,000, 200,000 years? Makes no difference to me. Has your sensitive little human brain received a small little ouchie?"

"I mean, you are even older than me," Gravis said. "It probably won't feel any different to you, but the others might not feel the same."

"For example: Take a look at Dorian or Stella. If you compare them to how they were 200,000 years ago, don't they feel different?" Gravis asked.

Meadow paused and looked at Dorian and Stella. "Sure, but that's normal. Humans and beasts change all the time. It's like I take a short nap, and everyone I know is already either dead or very different. That's just normal."

"Although," Meadow said slowly as her perception focused on Gravis again. "You don't feel different. It's like you haven't changed since the last time, which is surprising. You humans change all the time, but you didn't."

This worried Gravis. "So, everyone else feels different, but I don't feel any different?"

"That's what I said, you deaf fuck," Meadow answered.

Gravis remained silent for a while.

Everyone had changed, but he hadn't changed?

'It's like I was put in some sort of time capsule or something. It feels like no time has passed for me, but so long has passed for everyone else.'

Then, Gravis looked at Ferris, who was still excitedly narrating his exploits.

Gravis smiled a bit. 'Well, not everyone. Meadow, Narcissus, and Ferris haven't changed a bit. I think Meadow and Narcissus don't really undergo many changes since they are the oldest beings in our group. On top of that, they are plants, and time passes much slower for them, and Ferris is simply too simple and perfect. He has no reason to change. Ferris is just Ferris.'

"Where's Aris?" Gravis asked Ferris.

Ferris stopped talking to find the relevant information about Aris in his head. "It's Aris' turn to comprehend another level seven Law right now. He should be comprehending a Law somewhere in a Law Comprehension Area."

Gravis nodded.

Gravis had noticed Aris' absence while looking at Manuel's faction since nearly everyone else was present.

Manuel, Azure, and Exar were planning something right now.

Meadow and Narcissus were sitting below the faction, as always.

Ferris was talking Gravis' ear off.

Dorian was teaching some members.

Stella was going over Formation Arrays.

The others were absent.

"What about Yersi and Jake?" Gravis asked.

"They're at the frontlines with our other soldiers," Ferris answered. "Yersi and Jake aren't powerful enough yet to be placed here, and they need more tempering. They've been at the frontlines for about 100,000 years."

Gravis nodded. "What about Broad Walker?"

A confused expression appeared on Ferris' face for about five seconds.

Gravis looked at Ferris with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, right, Broad Walker!" Ferris suddenly said, proud that he remembered who that was. "I haven't thought about him in a long time."

"He died like 60,000 years ago."