Lightning Is the Only Way

For the next couple of centuries, Gravis only spent time with his family and the Black Magnate. He didn't need to do anything else since he only had to wait for the result.

Master Linus was consuming the fruits at this moment, and he would quickly follow through with everything.

Gravis wasn't afraid that Master Linus would pull back his words. After all, when he became a Heaven's Magnate, he wouldn't even need to invest much time into the things he had promised Gravis.

Master Linus knew the True Law of Matter, which meant that he could create all the different kinds of matter with his Energy. The reason for why that wouldn't have worked had been his Energy, but as a Heaven's Magnate, his Energy reserves would essentially be infinite as long as he wasn't fighting another Heaven's Magnate.

What would stop him from simply creating all the different kinds of things Gravis needed?

So, Gravis only waited patiently, and a couple of centuries later, it was finally time.

Gravis noticed reality shift. Something had affected the reality in Opposer City.

However, only very few people noticed the change.

Gravis, his father, his mother, and the Black Magnate were some of them. Gravis knew the True Law of Perceived Reality, which made him susceptible to reality changes, and the other three were vastly more powerful.

Another person that noticed the change had been the Child of Heaven in The Heaven Company.

When he felt the change in reality, the Child of Heaven focused on Master Linus' shop.

Then, he looked away again.

A new Heaven's Magnate was of interest to him, but he had seen enough Heaven's Magnates come and go.

This Heaven's Magnate wouldn't be different. He would be born soon, but he would also vanish before the Child of Heaven would.

They came and went.

Yet, the ascension of a new Heaven's Magnate was still an extreme rarity.

How often were new Heaven's Magnates born?

About once every ten million years.

Gravis had been alive for around three million years, but there hadn't been a single new Heaven's Magnate during that time.

"It's time," Gravis said to his father.

His father only nodded. "Watch closely," he said.

Gravis also nodded.

An instant later, Master Linus exited his store as he flew into the sky.

At this very moment, he was invisible.

Perceived reality warped around him as nearly everyone in the world couldn't perceive him.

Gravis wouldn't have been an exception, but his father kept Master Linus visible for Gravis.

In the air, Master Linus looked around the city.

Everyone went on their day-to-day life, and no one looked at him.

At this moment, Master Linus felt like he had left the world.

He existed, but no one saw him.

It was like he was only a visitor in this world.

Master Linus slowly extended his hand, and reality seemed to warp around him. The city was warping below him, becoming an unrecognizable mess of distortion.

The Child of Heaven opened his eyes as he looked at Master Linus.

If Master Linus willed it, Opposer City would collapse into different perceived realities, essentially being torn apart and strewn across a nothingness of irrelevancy.

However, Master Linus made the world turn back to normal. He had only wanted to test the feeling of unsurpassed power. He wanted to know what it felt like.

The people in Opposer City didn't notice any of it.

They hadn't noticed that they had all been warped and constricted into inhumane shapes.

To them, everything had been normal.

Master Linus looked at his right hand for a bit.

This power…

There was so much of it!

After some seconds, Master Linus looked up.

WHOOOM!

A black hole appeared behind Master Linus, vibrating violently and brutally.

"This is the Star of a Divine God," the Opposer explained. "It transforms into a black hole, sucking in every other Law in the surroundings."

Gravis nodded. He had already expected as much.

Not all Heaven's Magnates knew it, but the end goal was to create a Cosmos.

The first step in that direction was the creation of an Avatar.

An Avatar was only an illusory image of a concept.

Then, that Avatar transformed into a Star.

An Avatar was one concept in an illusory form, while a Star was one concept in a solid form.

The illusory concept had solidified and had become a real entity.

Ancestral Gods expanded their Star with their breakthrough. They needed a level eight Law to gather enough power in their Star for the next step.

The next step was the black hole. The black hole was the incubator or womb of the future Cosmos. The concept of the Star would be suppressed into a minuscule point. The black hole itself pulled a terrifying amount of Energy and Laws towards the center, feeding the unborn Cosmos.

The Cosmos was being created inside the black hole.

Gravis watched Master Linus with interest.

Master Linus closed his eyes as the black hole expanded.

First, it took up a couple of meters, but in no time at all, it took up several kilometers.

"They are here," the Opposer said, pulling Gravis' perception to a different spot.

Gravis saw several unknown people floating in the air.

They were all looking at Master Linus with interest.

"Are these the other Heaven's Magnates?" Gravis asked.

"Yeah, sadly," the Black Magnate said from behind Gravis. "See these three old men? They were my previous 'friends'. Friends, my ass! They are just a group of depressed and suicidal idiots that pull other people down with them!"

Gravis looked at them.

There was a group of three old men. One of them had black and white hair, and Gravis guessed that this person had probably once been a member of the Twilight Council.

Another guy had grey hair, and he looked at Master Linus with boredom. It was like time had become irrelevant to him. Gravis guessed that this Heaven's Magnate had once been a member of the Eternity Sect.

The last guy was a youngster with blonde hair and a smile. In a sense, this youngster reminded Gravis of Arc, but their smiles were very different. Arc had a carefree and calm smile, while the smile of this Heaven's Magnate looked more like an empty mask. It was like he wasn't actually smiling because he felt happy, but because he was used to it.

Gravis had no idea from which Sect this person had come from. Maybe he had been an unaffiliated Cultivator?

"They are the old foggies," the Black Magnate said with a snort. "They have been Heaven's Magnates for a long time, but they never managed to comprehend the Law of Energy. Instead, they always keep on fighting the new Heaven's Magnates when their tribulation comes. I have no idea how they managed to keep living for such a long time."

"They are also the only three that don't know the Law of Energy. I guess one reason for their downer-attitude is that they just can't progress anymore. Instead of striving for a better tomorrow, they just act like becoming more powerful is irrelevant."

"They say there is no way for us to ever reach the next Realm. They always say that there is no reason to become more powerful, that we have reached the end of our way."

"Tch," the Black Magnate spat to the side. "Cowards!"

Gravis looked at the Black Magnate with a complex look and then looked at his father.

The Opposer didn't react.

Gravis wasn't allowed to tell Heaven's secrets to anyone. Sadly, that included the Black Magnate.

In a way, these three old men were right. It was impossible for Heaven's Magnates to reach the next Realm.

They couldn't achieve it, no matter how much they fought.

It was simply impossible.

Instead, it was the Black Magnate that lived in an illusion.

He believed that there was a way forward.

Yet, there was no way forward.

Heaven would kill anyone that attempted to reach the next Realm.

With his recent breakthrough, the Black Magnate had newfound motivation for his future.

He finally stepped out of the shadow of his depressing friends.

Sadly, he didn't know that he was doing Heaven's bidding.

Progression and stagnation were irrelevant at this point.

If one didn't progress, one would die to their tribulation.

If one progressed, one would die to Heaven.

Both paths led to the same outcome.

Gravis wanted to tell the Black Magnate about everything, but he couldn't.

If he did, Heaven would kill the Black Magnate and Gravis.

Instead, Gravis focused on the other Heaven's Magnates.