Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis took ahold of the Life Ring but started frowning. There was something he had just remembered.

"Hey, father," Gravis said. "Could you do me a solid?"

"What?" his father asked.

"I don't really want to see Morus again. Somehow, the guy just rubs me the wrong way. Could you send him to the Sky Community or something?" Gravis asked.

"Already done," his father said.

"When?" Gravis asked in surprise.

"Just now," his father said.

"Then why don't you just say done?"

"Because it is already done."

Gravis looked at his father like he didn't fully agree but just let it slide. Gravis turned back to the Life Ring and summoned the occupants.

Whoop!

And the sizable room immediately got cramped by scales and flesh.

Gravis had forgotten to tell them that they would be summoned into a small room. Because of that, they all walked around with their true sizes. Gravis got pushed to the side by a wall of scales while his father didn't seem to react at all. His body was probably far too heavy to be moved by something like that.

Whoop!

The four of them quickly realized what was happening and shrunk to normal sizes again. Surprisingly, the room took absolutely no damage during all of this. Even the flower vases, courtesy of Gravis' mother, hadn't been moved.

Sure enough, nothing inside the Opposer's room was simple.

The four of them looked around the room with different expressions. Yersi quickly searched for Gravis and sighed in relief when she found him. Aris looked around in skepticism. Cera looked more nervous like she expected that enemies were around, while Orthar only looked transfixed at the Opposer.

"Hey, everyone," Gravis said with embarrassment. This whole awkward situation was his fault. "So, everyone's alive, and you're in the highest world currently. So, welcome to my home, I suppose."

Yersi smiled at Gravis. "I'm relieved that you're alive, father," she said.

Meanwhile, Cera and Aris were busy being shocked at the ridiculous density of Energy. To them, it felt like the Energy had become a thick liquid that suppressed their movement. This was thousands, if not millions of times denser than the core of the middle world.

Well, one had to consider where they currently were. This was the highest world, and on top of that, they were in the room of the Opposer. The Opposer was pulling all the Energy in the world to him, and his room probably had more Energy inside it than if one filled this room with Immortal Stones.

Surprisingly, none of Gravis' children seemed to notice the Opposer sitting in the middle of the room. Only Orthar looked at him with an unreadable expression. Well, it was rather hard to determine the expression of an octopus with a ton of eyes.

The Opposer looked back at Orthar, and Orthar seemed to freeze.

The three children looked around in wonder while the staring contest between Orthar and the Opposer kept going.

"Hi," the Opposer said with his usual voice to Orthar.

One wouldn't see it, but the Opposer felt a bit awkward with Orthar constantly staring at him. It was one thing when strangers looked at him, but this was one of his son's closest friends.

The three kids noticed that another person was here. They glanced at the Opposer but quickly ignored him again as they looked around the room. He felt like a mortal to them.

One couldn't fault them for that. After all, Skye had also reacted like this when she saw that one clerk back then. They had always been able to feel the power of others, and when someone exhibited no power, it meant that this someone was weak.

Obviously, the Opposer kept his aura in check. He didn't want to scare his grandchildren to death.

"Greetings," Orthar said very politely.

When one only glanced at the Opposer, they wouldn't feel anything right now. Yet, if one looked closer, one would be able to feel… something indescribable. It was like the Opposer was the world, but also like he wasn't the world. It was a unique feeling that only the Opposer was able to elicit in others. It was like he was as powerful as all worlds combined but also not part of the world.

The three kids looked with confusion at Orthar's behavior, but Gravis claimed their attention with a cough.

"This is my father, your grandfather," Gravis said as he gestured to the Opposer. "Father, these are my three kids."

Yersi looked at the Opposer, and her eyes widened. "Hello, grandfather!" she said with a slight bow.

Aris also bowed politely. He wouldn't do that to anyone, but he trusted that his father's father was probably more powerful than his father. "Hello, grandfather."

Cera noticed how the other two acted and also nodded her head. "Hello, grandfather."

Gravis' brows furrowed while the Opposer sighed.

WHOOOOOOOM!

Everyone in the room but Gravis felt like they had been condemned by the Heavens. It was like they had been thrown into hell. The sheer pressure they felt for a split second was indescribable.

Gravis rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration as he sighed.

Beasts.

Beasts always needed a show of force to truly realize that someone more powerful than them stood in front of them. The three of them had only acted respectfully but didn't truly feel it.

Yet, this couldn't be blamed on the three of them. This was simply how beasts were, and no amount of teaching could change that. It was deeply ingrained in their instincts.

Gravis also felt the pressure, and surprisingly, he was able to pinpoint the power. "Was that the pressure of an Immortal King?" Gravis asked. According to the pressure, he felt like the person able to exhibit this pressure was far more powerful than him but was still inside a Realm he could see with his eyes.

"Correct," the Opposer said as the four beasts looked at him with terrified eyes. "You should realize that showing some power before beasts is the best way to communicate with them."

It felt weird to Gravis to talk about his children like this. It was like his father was talking about animals, but it was also true. It just felt weird.

"I apologize for my disrespect," the three of them said, genuinely feeling sorry now.

"It's alright," the Opposer said.

WHOOOM!

And then, something appeared beside the Opposer, and Gravis was immediately pulled over to that spot without his control.

"Gravis!" a female voice shouted as Gravis felt himself being pulled into a tight embrace.

His mother had arrived.

"Aw, I missed you!" Gravis' mom said with exhilaration as Gravis was thrown around in her embrace. "It's been 20 years!"

Only 20 years…

Gravis had spent about 2.000 years in the middle world, but in the highest world, only 20 years had passed.

"Hi, mom," Gravis said as he became red in the face. Did she have to do that in front of his three children? What about his image as a father?

Then, Gravis realized it.

This was not a mere coincidence!

His mother knew precisely what was happening, but she still decided to appear only now.

Gravis had fallen for his mother's scheme!