Lightning Is the Only Way

Mortis nodded.

Both of them had wished to gain emotional independence for an extremely long time.

And now, they finally achieved it.

However, deep inside, Mortis felt nervous for some reason.

He didn't know why, but a part of him didn't want to sever this connection with Gravis.

Meanwhile, Gravis wasn't nervous in the least.

Instead, he was excited.

Finally, he could feel whatever he wanted without having to think about how his feelings would impact Mortis.

Gravis flew over to Mortis and put his hand on his chest.

"This might hurt a bit, but you should already know that," Gravis said with a smile.

Mortis nodded, still uncertain.

Mortis closed his eyes and didn't resist.

Then, Gravis' hand exploded with Divine Lightning.

BANG!

Mortis was blown apart, leaving behind a grey ball that showed all the different facets of reality.

In essence, Mortis had died just now, leaving behind Gravis' Avatar.

As Mortis was destroyed, his personal concepts of Perceived Reality and his Emotions started vanishing into nothingness as they returned to Energy.

Gravis lifted his hand and clamped his fingers.

CRK!

All the Laws Mortis had been comprised of had been captured. It was impossible for them to escape now.

If it had been before, Gravis would have only been able to capture Mortis' ideology, but not his personality. 

Yet, with the Major Law of Emotions, Gravis could also capture Mortis' Emotions.

Emotions and ideology created a personality.

So, in essence, Gravis held control over Mortis' entire personality right now.

Gravis downgraded the Law of Emotions since it was too powerful to be incorporated into his Avatar of Perceived Reality. 

After that, Gravis fused the level four Law of Emotions with his Avatar.

Some seconds later, many concepts appeared inside Gravis' Avatar.

Freedom, Suppression, Control, Safety, Danger.

Yet, these concepts didn't exist on their own anymore.

Now, a complex mix of emotions was fused into every concept, pushing it further from Perceived Reality to physical reality.

Suppression could be used by the prideful to suppress the humble.

The humble could be suppressed by the prideful.

A father's love might suppress his child for their good, giving it an empathetic effect.

A ruthless ruler could suppress their soldiers to follow every order, even if it killed them. This gave Suppression an apathetic effect.

Someone could be suppressed out of revenge, which reflected rage.

Someone could seek solace in servitude, giving up all forms of control in exchange for safety. This reflected calm.

All the concepts of Perceived Reality were connected to the Emotions in some way, creating an infinite number of personalities and possibilities.

After some seconds, a colorful world appeared in Gravis' Avatar, representing all the Emotions and Perceived Realities.

BZZZZ!

Then, Gravis pushed all his Divine Lightning into his Avatar while fusing them with the fragments of Mortis' personality.

Just like the first time Mortis had been born, Mortis slowly took shape again.

Some seconds later, Mortis stood in front of Gravis with a complex expression.

"Everything alright?" Gravis asked.

Mortis nodded. "I still remember everything, and I'm still myself," Mortis answered as he looked at his right hand.

"Now, you not only have perceived freedom but also emotional freedom," Gravis said with a grin. "Now, we are literally only connected by our Spirit. The only things we share are our Laws and lives, nothing else."

"So, how does it feel?" Gravis asked with a smile.

Mortis continued looking at his right hand.

"Not any different to before," Mortis answered.

Gravis groaned. "Can't you be excited for once?" he asked with some annoyance.

"I'm just honest," Mortis answered evenly.

"Fine, fine!" Gravis said with exasperation. "Well, if you're not excited, I will be! I'm glad that I finally got emotional freedom. Now, I can feel whatever I want without needing to think about what you will feel as a result."

Mortis remained silent for some seconds.

"Was it so bad?" Mortis asked quietly.

Gravis noticed that Mortis was acting weirdly. "What's with that question? Are you sure you are still yourself? You should be just as excited as I am. Do you not desire freedom?"

Mortis wasn't sure what he should feel right now.

Yes, he desired freedom.

However, why does this newfound freedom feel… dangerous?

Mortis felt like his newfound freedom wasn't good.

Yet, that made no sense in Mortis' mind. 

He wanted to be free, right?

Gravis wanted to be free.

Lightning wanted to be free.

Mortis was both.

Mortis thought about Gravis' words.

'Gravis said that he no longer has to think about what he should feel in case it affects me,' Mortis thought to himself as he furrowed his brows.

'Yet, how come I can't empathize with this feeling?'

Silence.

'Have I ever cared about Gravis' feelings when I felt something?'

Mortis didn't think for a while.

Gravis looked at Mortis with concern since he hadn't answered Gravis' question yet.

'No, I never did,' Mortis thought as some kind of oppressive darkness appeared in his body.

'I never even thought about how Gravis feels when I'm feeling something.'

'Why?'

Mortis' right hand started shaking slightly.

'I know the answer, but I don't dare to accept it.'

Mortis clenched his right hand into a fist.

'Why?'

'Because I don't feel.'

The darkness inside Mortis' chest seemed to spread.

However, it wasn't darkness.

In fact, it was emptiness.

Mortis felt like a black hole had appeared in his chest and inside the black hole... 

Was nothing.

'I'm empty inside.'

'I'm afraid of my newfound freedom because that means that I will never feel love or happiness again.'

'I always believed that Gravis' feelings of warmth, happiness, and love are a weakness.'

'Yet, only now, when I have lost them, do I recognize that I didn't despise them.'

'I wanted them.'

'I needed them.'

'It felt nice.'

'But now, these bursts of happiness and love will never return.'

'Gravis was the one that felt these feelings, not me.'

'Without him, everything only appears grey.'

'Law Comprehension day in and day out. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment, progress, and satisfaction.'

'Tempering. It gives me a feeling of excitement, accomplishment, and pride.'

'What else do I do?'

…

'I don't do anything else.'

'I only look at Laws and fight.'

'That's all I do.'

'That's all I am.'

'I only feel accomplishment, excitement, pride, progress, and satisfaction.'

'I don't feel happiness, sadness, love, friendship, warmth, or companionship.'

'My goal is not freedom.'

'It's power.'

'And power leads to emptiness.'

"Mortis?" Gravis asked with concern. Usually, Gravis would have looked into Mortis' emotions, but he didn't have that ability anymore.

On top of that, Mortis was made of Divine Lightning, making it impossible for Gravis to look through his emotions, even with the level seven Law of Emotions.

In fact, if Gravis hadn't captured Mortis' personality, he wouldn't have been able to recreate it.

He could only create things he understood.

Mortis glanced at the Cultivator the two of them had watched for a bit.

'What's the point of freedom when everything's only grey?'

'What's the point of life when everything's only grey?'

"Hey, Mortis!" Gravis shouted.

Mortis was taken out of his thoughts as he looked at Gravis, perplexed.

"What?" Mortis asked with uncertainty.

Gravis narrowed his eyes.

Was this truly Mortis?

"Something's wrong with you," Gravis said severely. "Did I make a mistake? What's going on?"

Gravis' voice sounded serious, but there was an unmistakable tone of concern in it.

When Mortis heard the concern in Gravis' voice, he felt guilty.

He knew how bright Gravis' life was, and Gravis had given him a bright life filled with warmth.

He didn't want to destroy that.

"No, it's fine," Mortis said, furrowing his brows. "I was just lost in thought. This new situation is… difficult to comprehend."

Gravis looked at Mortis with a lifted eyebrow, obviously feeling skeptical. "I don't know. You acted very strangely just now."

"Am I a person that lies?" Mortis asked evenly.

Gravis sighed.

"No."

"Then don't accuse me of lying to you," Mortis said.

"Fine," Gravis said with another sigh.

Yet, he wasn't sure if Mortis told the truth. 

Something inside him told him that something was wrong with Mortis.

However, Mortis was definitely not a person that lied. 

'Must be just my imagination. I don't think that Mortis would lie. It's completely unlike him,' Gravis thought.

"I need to comprehend more Laws," Mortis said. 

"Sure, sure," Gravis said with a wave and an uncertain smile. "I've thought as much. Have fun!"

Mortis gave Gravis an unexplainable glance.

Then, Mortis teleported away.

Gravis wasn't sure why, but when Mortis left, he felt nervous.

Meanwhile, while Mortis was flying towards the beast territory, he had his own thoughts.

'Everything's grey.'

'Everything's empty.'

The hole in his chest seemingly became bigger.

'I don't know what to do.'

…

…

…

'I don't know.'