Lightning Is the Only Way

'I'm so sorry, Azure!'

'I'm so sorry I can't be with you anymore.'

'Please, forgive me!'

These were all the things Mortis was thinking.

He was planning to end his life to end the suffering.

He didn't know how long he had already survived, but it didn't matter anymore.

He only wanted to end it.

'I can't live like this.'

'I'm sorry!'

Mortis continued thinking these thoughts.

He continued repeating them.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Yet, for some reason, he never actually went through with it.

Something inside of him was telling him to hang on just a bit longer.

He only had to hang on a bit longer.

Just a little bit.

Azure's face shot through Mortis' mind.

He imagined her crying after realizing that she wouldn't see him again.

He imagined her choosing death over a lonely life.

He imagined the kids he could have in the future.

And whenever these images shot through his head, Mortis hung on just a bit more.

All of these instances only bought him seconds, but they kept on coming without end.

Just one more second.

Just a bit more.

Mortis had said his goodbyes a million times by now, but he actually never did it.

Mortis didn't realize it, but he was essentially venting his fear.

He knew that he could end his suffering, and that gave him hope.

Mortis knew that he wasn't forced to go through all this suffering.

He could always just end it.

Then, it would end.

This thought gave him solace.

There was a way out.

Mortis was like a mortal on the bottom of their life. Every single day was agony, and that person had a noose hanging in their attic, which they would watch in the evenings after the day was over.

Sometimes, that mortal would stand in front of the noose.

Sometimes, they would just look at it.

Sometimes, they would put their head through it and play around with the chair under their feet.

So close.

Salvation was so close.

Only one last step.

They would spend a couple of minutes in hollow suffering, just feeling the closeness of release.

Just a bit more.

If they slipped right now, everything would be over.

Yet, after just some minutes, the mortal would step away from the rope and go to sleep in their bed.

If things didn't improve, they could always come back to it.

If things worsened even more, they had a final solution.

But for now, it didn't feel like it was time.

Mortis was like this mortal.

He was so close to ending it all. It only needed a thought, and Mortis' life would end.

Yet, every second, minute, or hour, Mortis would say his goodbyes to everyone he loved, fully intent on ending it.

And then, he would just wait.

Time would drag on, and the process would repeat.

There had to be an end to this agony at some point.

Mortis knew that it had to end after 10,000 years.

There was an end in sight.

He only had to wait.

After uncountable times of trying to end it, Mortis eventually gritted his teeth and gave up giving up.

One last push of motivation hit Mortis, and his eyes reddened with battle intent.

For years, he fought against the agony.

'I will not die!'

'I will not die!'

'I will not die!'

Yet, the agony continued without pause.

It continued and continued.

It never ended.

Slowly, Mortis lost his motivation again.

'Why fight?'

'Why do this?'

'This is all just so exhausting.'

'I only want to rest.'

'I only want to- '

And that's when the agony ended.

The next bite didn't arrive.

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Mortis only lay on the ground, looking at the sky.

He didn't feel pain.

He didn't feel dread.

He only felt nothing.

Mortis' eyes widened in shock and confusion.

'The agony… it ended?' Mortis thought in surprise.

Mortis didn't dare to believe that it was over.

However, it truly was over.

10,000 years had passed.

Suddenly, Mortis' body jerked to the side as he felt something touch him.

Mortis looked with fear over, and he saw Gravis look at him with care.

"You did it," Gravis said slowly. "You survived."

Mortis only looked with shock at Gravis.

"I survived?" he repeated with a hoarse voice.

His body was absolutely wrecked, and huge parts of it had been eaten by the Sin Monster.

Mortis had been planning to let the Sin Monster just consume him without healing himself.

Like this, he would be gone in a couple of years.

However, the agony had ended before the Sin Monster could fully consume him.

Mortis still had plenty of Life Energy remaining.

However, Mortis' Realm had already severely fallen.

Right now, Mortis was in the second level of the Star God Realm, and his Will-Aura had fallen to the level of a level seven Star God.

The Sin Monster had already been destroyed by Orthar, and he only looked at Mortis with an appreciating expression.

Mortis had finally proven that he was as powerful as Gravis, both in the form of combat and his personality.

The only thing keeping both Mortis and Gravis from the Heaven Breaker Realm was time.

They were now truly on the same level.

After some seconds, Orthar extended his hand towards Gravis' Star.

Gravis felt a force touching his Star, and he looked over.

Then, Gravis' Star slowly floated over to Mortis and entered him.

Mortis' body began shining again, and Gravis felt something pull on his being.

Gravis felt like something was siphoning the Energy out of his being.

However, Gravis didn't panic.

Mortis was now connected to him again, and he had fallen by two levels.

Gravis' higher Realm was equalizing itself with Mortis' Realm.

Eventually, Gravis fell to the third level of the Star God Realm, and Mortis rose to the third level of the Star God Realm.

At the same time, Gravis' Will-Aura entered Mortis and replaced it.

Energy was finite, but the force of a will was endless.

Mortis' Will-Aura was increased to the ninth level of the Star God Realm without draining Gravis' Will-Aura.

Mortis' eyes widened as he felt power return to him.

'Power,' Mortis thought as he felt himself become more powerful.

Then, he felt his mind become more resilient and more powerful.

The agony of slowly and painfully wasting away left Mortis.

Mortis gritted his fists as a fire seemingly shone in his eyes.

'I survived!'

'I went through the worst agony imaginable, and I survived.'

'If something like this can't stop me, nothing ever will!'

'I'm done being indecisive and weak!'

'I know what I want, and I will get it!'

'No matter what I need to do!'

BANG!

Gravis felt his Will-Aura increase, and a smile graced his face as he looked at Mortis.

It had always been Gravis that increased their Will-Aura, but now, Mortis was increasing their Will-Aura.

BANG!

Their Will-Aura shot through two levels, and it eventually stopped at the second level of the Ancestral God Realm.

Finally, their Will-Aura was no longer beneath their friends' Will-Auras.

"The third trial has been completed," Orthar said.

Mortis slowly sat up as he looked at Orthar with fiery eyes.

"You have proven yourself, Mortis. You are no longer weaker than Gravis."

"You are now true equals."

"I don't need to test your character anymore."

"The last two tests are for your Battle-Strength."

"You can take the next 10,000-"

"Forget it," Mortis interrupted Orthar. "I don't need a break."

Orthar looked at Mortis.

Mortis slowly stood up, a fire burning inside his eyes.

Gravis only smiled as he saw Mortis like this.

"Let's start right now."