Lightning Is the Only Way

Jake was unsure what Gravis was planning, but Gravis just wouldn't say what he was planning. Gravis only said that it would be fun.

After that event, the group went shopping for a while, and Gravis bought a ton of stuff for Yersi and Stella. He also asked Aris what he wanted, but Aris adamantly refused. In Aris' mind, Gravis had already done more than enough for him. It was time for him to pay Gravis back.

This was one thing where Aris and Gravis just couldn't agree on. Gravis wanted to help Aris, but Aris wanted to help Gravis.

It was kind of sweet but also annoying.

"How is Cera?" Gravis asked after a while.

The atmosphere immediately turned strange.

"Dad, you know that Cera is more beast than human," Aris said.

Gravis nodded.

"Cera has been amongst beasts for nearly her entire life, and her inner conflicts have vanished just like mine. However, a resolution of an inner conflict might not always be the best for the surrounding people."

Gravis had already expected something like that, which was why he hadn't immediately asked about her.

"Cera is not interested in us," Aris said.

Gravis took a shaky breath. He had expected something like this, but it was still difficult to hear.

"How is she?" Gravis asked.

"She seems to be doing well," Aris answered. "She embraced being a beast, and there are no inner conflicts left. She believes that something like love or familial bonds don't exist, which is true in her case. After all, she doesn't have the ability to feel the associated emotions."

"Because of that, it doesn't matter whether we are family or not. She only sees us as some companions that haven't met for a long time."

"Originally, she wanted to join our group due to this companionship, but after the tournament, she left in shame. She came in last in the tournament, and she felt too ashamed to join a group where every single being was more powerful than her."

"I think she wants to join everyone in their endeavor since she doesn't have any other companions in the highest world, but she will only do so when her strength is no longer in the bottom of the group."

Gravis sighed. He felt bad for Cera, but one member of the group had to be the weakest. Sadly, it just had to be Cera. If Styr or Manuel had come in last, they wouldn't have minded much, but it had been Cera.

Manuel had already technically come in last since he was hiding his power and since Ferris never unleashed his full power. However, even when Manuel hid his power, he had still won against Yersi.

"How come Cera came in last?" Gravis asked. "She is a Black Demon, and she should have been quite powerful."

Aris sighed. "That's exactly the issue. Cera relied on being a Black Demon to ascend. She comprehended Divine Lightning as her level six Law, and she immediately ascended after comprehending it. In fact, Cera was the first of everyone that ascended. From what I know, she isn't even 100,000 years old."

Gravis nodded. Now, everything made sense.

Cera had embraced being a beast, but with that also came the beast mindset. Gravis still remembered how difficult it had been for the three of them to stop raising their Realm.

Back in the middle world, Gravis had informed the three of them that they should spend more time in their Realm to comprehend more Laws to increase their Battle-Strength. Back then, the three of them felt that doing something like this was unnatural.

Yersi had no problem accepting Gravis' advice. Aris had had some issues, but they got resolved in the higher world.

Sadly, Cera had embraced being a beast, which meant she chased the next Realm.

After all, beasts were supposed to act as tempering for humans. If every beast spent more time to increase their Battle-Strength, they would kill more humans, defeating the very purpose of their existence.

Azure, Styr, and Ferris had also immediately ascended as soon as they comprehended their level three Laws back then. The reason why they were more powerful than Cera was that they had all waited for each other. They waited until every one of the group became able to ascend, which meant that everyone had time to comprehend more Laws.

Styr had been the last one that comprehended a level six Law, which meant that he was also the weakest of the group. However, he knew several other Laws due to his surroundings and resources. After all, he had been the leader of a powerful Tribe, which meant that he had consumed many resources that increased his power.

That was why he had been more powerful than Cera.

Cera was someone that acted alone, even more so than normal beasts.

Why?

It was precisely because of her past inner conflicts.

When someone had an inner conflict about something, as soon as they made their decision, they often resented the other side since it had been a source of negativity in their life.

So, when Cera had discarded her humanity, she started to resent the aspects of humanity that separated it from beasts. She thought these emotions of love, empathy, and companionship as weakness and refused to feel anything remotely similar to them.

Because of that, Cera had fought everything and everyone on her own. She probably became the target of several Tribes, forcing her to increase her Realm to resist the ever-growing power of her hunters.

That's how and why Cera had become a Peak Immortal Emperor so quickly.

Sadly, it meant that her Battle-Strength was only slightly above-average and also only because she was a Black Demon. If she were no Black Demon, her Battle-Strength would be very average, maybe even a bit below-average.

She was a beast, and beasts were supposed to be weaker than humans.

These things only changed when beasts reached the Star God Realm and received their Spirit. Before that, they would all be bound by the beasts' philosophy.

Gravis still remembered how the Black Magnate had resurrected his mate and had killed her to show how nothing had any value anymore.

If the Black Magnate hadn't held deep feelings for his mate, he wouldn't have used her as proof. After all, to make the demonstration as effective as possible, he would have summoned the thing that had been the most important thing in his past.

If he hadn't cared deeply for his mate, he wouldn't have summoned her.

"Where is she?" Gravis asked.

"She left after the tournament," Aris said. "She is somewhere in the world, trying to become more powerful. I think she will join an organization that's more on her level and will remain there until she either dies or becomes the leader of said organization."

"If she manages to become a Star God, she might return. I don't know to what extent becoming a Star God will change beasts, but there has to be some change."

"Sadly, I'm not sure if she will ever manage to reach the Star God Realm. Right now, her power isn't enough. I'm also unsure if she is willing to use the wealth of her enemies to further her own strength by exchanging said wealth for resources with humans. Beasts from natural worlds rarely trade since it's more of a human thing. Cera might also believe that trading for something is somehow not pure enough for her," Aris explained.

Gravis sighed and rubbed his forehead in worry.

Aris had stopped being the problem child, but the position had been replaced with Cera.

Sadly, there wasn't much he could do.

He could ask his father to tell him where Cera is, but that won't change anything. Meeting her might even make things worse.

Cera might believe that Gravis would want to convert her to humanity, which would not only strengthen her resentment towards humanity, but it would also build resentment towards Gravis, making it even harder for him to help her in the future.

The only thing Gravis could do right now was to let Cera walk her path alone until she became a Star God.

Yet, the chances were not very high for her to reach the Star God Realm.

Right now, Gravis felt an intense feeling of conflict inside of himself. He wanted to help Cera but helping Cera meant not helping Cera.

Both choices were bad.

One choice would push Cera further away, and the other one would make Gravis feel guilty.

Of course, Gravis chose to trust Cera and wait for her, even if that made him feel guilty.

As long as Cera was fine, he was willing to bear the guilt.

Even if she didn't care for him, he still cared for her.