Lightning Is the Only Way

Heavenly Senior only awkwardly smiled. "I know it's a bit hard to swallow, but that was the deal," he said with a persuading voice. "We had to leak the death of the Lightning Peak Sect's Core Plant to give you this opportunity. Without that, you might have never become a Heaven's Magnate."

"However, Heaven gave us the condition that we were only allowed to do so as long as you didn't kill anyone below the Peak Divine God Realm. I know it's hard to accept, but that was the only way."

Zero's Essence only narrowed her eyes. "You give me your so-called present without even asking me if I wanted one. I never asked for your help, and if I had known it beforehand, I wouldn't have accepted it. You forced me into a decision without even thinking about what I want."

"I hate being suppressed, and this is a form of suppression," she said coldly.

"I know, I know!" Heavenly Senior said. "However, that is the only thing we could do. We still think it was the best course of action. We need your cooperation this time."

Then, Heavenly Senior released a deep breath. "Listen, I was the one that accepted the condition, and I have to be the one that has to ensure that the condition is fulfilled. I am going to protect these weaker Cultivators from you whether you accept or not."

"Sure, you can break into the Heaven's Magnate Realm now and become powerful enough to break through my protection to kill these people. Yet, if you kill them, I will be the one that had broken his promise to Heaven, which means I will be killed by Heaven."

"I'm sorry, but I can't sacrifice my life so that you can do what you want. I wanted to give you a present, and I've done so. However, if you decide to still attack these weaker Cultivators, I am forced to protect my own life, which means… you know."

Zero's Essence evaluated Heavenly Senior's words.

Heavenly Senior felt unimaginably powerful, and she could even tell that Heavenly Senior knew a kind of Law that was just as powerful as the Law of the True World. This meant that she couldn't possibly fight him, even when she reached the Heaven's Magnate Realm.

Yet, the choice was still difficult.

Zero's Essence hated being suppressed, and her mindset had a great affinity for the Law of Freedom. Being suppressed was very similar to death in her mind.

Because of that, it wasn't easy for her to accept her current situation.

Heavenly Senior had given her a so-called present without her consent, and he had made promises for her without her knowledge.

In her mind, he had vastly overstepped her boundaries.

"Sister."

Zero's Essence looked with surprise at the ground.

On the ground stood Gravis with a complex expression on his face. He was currently hiding himself with his Law of Perceived Reality. None of the present Divine Gods had any attention to spare. They were all focusing on Zero's Essence, and they were in fear for their lives.

No one would come to the idea to question their own perception and inspect some random Peak Ancestral God at this moment.

"I know it's hard," Gravis said slowly. "You know my story, and you know that I know how it feels."

"I've constantly received these so-called presents."

"In the middle world, I have received the present of being forced to fight the middle Heaven for Law Comprehension. I never wanted that present."

"In the higher world, I had to accept the present to fight Arc."

"In this world, I had to accept the special treatment regarding my Sin Aura." Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

"I also had to accept Arc's present of unveiling my identity to the public."

"I have received these presents time and time again. Every single one of them had been given to me to push me further to the top."

"I never asked for any of them, but I have received them regardless."

"People beyond my power constantly dictate the direction my life goes."

"It sucks! I know that it sucks!"

Gravis took a deep breath.

"However, if I want to change the world, I have to accept these presents. If I want to gain true freedom, I have to survive until I have the power to claim true freedom."

"And even if I don't want to admit it, these presents have pushed me far beyond a point that I can reach on my own."

"I don't want to accept it, but I have to. Because, in the end, it will result in me becoming even more powerful, and that means that I will come closer to true freedom."

"So, sister, please endure it just this time. Yes, you never wanted this, but you have been thrown into that situation regardless. You can throw away your life and preserve your perceived freedom and autonomy."

"Yet, when you decide to do just that, you will throw the opportunity to gain true freedom and autonomy in the future."

"Think about what you want to do," Gravis finished.

Silence.

Zero's Essence only looked at Gravis.

Several seconds of silence passed.

Then, she took a deep breath.

SHING!

She teleported away.

Heavenly Senior's smile widened when he saw her leave.

She had listened to Gravis' words.

Gravis released a sigh when he saw her leave.

He knew that it sucked. After all, he had been in similar situations several times.

In the beginning, these kinds of things hadn't happened. After all, Gravis hadn't been very outstanding or powerful at that time.

There had been plenty of people even more powerful than him in the earlier Realms.

Even when Gravis had fought the middle Heaven, there had still been Cultivators in the different worlds that had been even more powerful than him.

The only reason how Gravis had become so powerful was Heaven's present back then.

The suppression of the middle Heaven had pushed Gravis to the absolute limit.

Then, the Black Magnate's teaching of the Law of Control had pushed Gravis beyond the limit.

Ever since then, Gravis had received these kinds of presents more and more frequently.

The more outstanding he became, the more these peak powers were interested in his development.

They all wanted him to succeed and become powerful, and they all supported Gravis in their own ways.

The Heaven's Magnates had gotten involved.

Arc had gotten involved.

Orthar had gotten involved.

Even his mother had given Gravis a present.

Every single power that could be counted as being above the normal world had gotten involved…

Except for one.

The Opposer.

The only thing the Opposer had done was to protect Gravis from these same powers.

If he hadn't protected Gravis, the other powers would have pushed Gravis even further, essentially making him a pawn or a pet.

Everyone was trying to push Gravis in the direction they wanted.

Yet, the Opposer pushed the others away so that they could only influence Gravis from afar.

Today, Zero's Essence had been in Gravis' shoes, and she didn't like it.

However, she followed Gravis' advice and left.

The normal world was already beyond her, and she had joined a new world.

From now on, the normal world would never see Zero's Essence again.