Gravis and Ferris traveled back to the Mountain of Pride. Before they went to the bulwark, they needed to ask the Empress for permission. After all, Gravis was still under the Realm Stop.
After they arrived at the Mountain of Pride, they didn't stop and simply flew up to the top of the mountain. Currently, only the Empress was on the mountain with the Grand Elder nowhere in sight. He probably also had things to do.
The Empress was surprised that Gravis returned so quickly. Had he caused trouble again? It had only been four years!
Yet, the Empress' eyes quickly turned from Gravis to the, now serious-looking, Ferris. First, her eyes squinted like she needed to take a closer look. Then, her head moved backward in surprise. After that, she closed her eyes and shook her head a little, and after opening her eyes again, she looked at Ferris again with an intense gaze.
Ferris felt a bit uncomfortable when the Empress looked at him like that while Gravis only smirked, but inside, he was laughing. Beasts could feel the pride and superior power of other beasts. Additionally, the Empress had probably also understood the Law of Danger since it was so common. She had surely been in her fair share of dangerous situations to become so powerful.
After some seconds, the Empress shook her head slightly like she couldn't believe what she was feeling.
"Elder Ferris, what happened to you?" she asked with her usual cold voice.
"I comprehended some Laws," Ferris answered neutrally and respectfully. His positive and excited demeanor was nowhere to be seen. Right now, he acted like a respectful Elder in front of their Emperor.
"How many?" The Empress asked.
"Five," Ferris answered.
The Empress' eyes widened in shock. Gravis noticed her reaction and managed to discern several things. Apparently, Ferris' rapid progress was not usual for Emperors. Gravis hadn't been sure if it was normal for Emperors to understand so many Laws in such a short amount of time, but judging by the Empress' reaction, it wasn't.
"Which ones?" the Empress asked. She appeared calm and prideful on the outside, but Gravis knew that she was agitated deep inside.
Ferris probably felt completely different to her. The last time Ferris appeared in front of her, he had only been a level one Emperor that was a tiny bit above average. Now, with a level three Law, he was probably the most powerful level one Emperor in the world. After all, how many level one Emperors managed to understand a level three Law?
"Steam, Wind move-"
"Steam?" the Empress interjected with shock. Elder Ferris had a fire affinity. Where did that Law of Steam suddenly come from?
"Yes, steam," Ferris answered with a serious voice.
"Why?" the Empress asked, truly confused.
"Learning more is better, and Gravis has taught me that it's bad to only focus on Laws that increase my Battle-Strength," Ferris answered.
The Empress couldn't believe what she had heard just now. Increasing one's Battle-Strength was bad? How was that bad!? Additionally, if Ferris didn't concentrate on his Battle-Strength, how did he suddenly become so incredibly powerful!?
The Empress' icy gaze turned to Gravis. "Explain," she demanded.
Yet, before Gravis could answer, the Empress' gaze suddenly snapped back to Ferris with shock. Right now, Ferris was looking at the Empress with a threatening stare, which shocked her to no end. What was going on!?
"Ferris! Calm down," Gravis said from the side. "The Empress isn't threatening me."
Immediately, everything calmed down as Ferris looked like he had realized that he had made a mistake. "Oh, okay," he said with his usual, excited self, but he quickly remembered that he was supposed to act respectfully in front of the Empress and composed himself again. Apparently, he had completely forgotten that he had just looked at the Empress with a threatening stare.
The shocks just didn't end for the Empress. One of her own Elders, who had been with her for over a thousand years, was ready to attack her after spending four years with Gravis. Where did all his usual loyalty suddenly go?
"Anyway," Gravis said, making the Empress look at him again. "Specialized Laws often require knowledge from completely different sources that don't seem connected to the Law in any way."
Gravis lifted his index finger. "For example: Steam. To make steam, you need fire. So, in order to learn about steam, you need to know a bit about fire. You don't need to know a lot, just a little bit. The same thing is true for level two and level three Laws."
The Empress had never heard such a thing. One element was one element, and another one was another one. Yet, Gravis' explanation also made sense. "How do you know that?" she asked.
"Because when my father told me about Laws, he had given me an example of a Law to explain it better. This entire Law is a gigantic amalgamation of Laws from different elements. Then, after Ferris had understood the Law of Steam, I realized that the same thing was true for the smaller Laws. Ferris, could you please explain to the Empress how you comprehended the Law of Steam?" Gravis said.
Ferris looked with respect at the Empress again. "I have realized that I have known more about steam than I had thought after looking at it. In my fights against beasts with the water element, I had seen a lot of steam from when our elements clashed. So, my understanding of the fire element has helped me to understand steam, which is a part of the water element."
The Empress fell into thought. Yet, she was not evaluating if that claim were true or not. Right now, she was only trying to come to terms with the fact that she hadn't seen such an obvious connection before. To her, it appeared so incredibly obvious. How hadn't she noticed that before!?
After a while, the Empress sighed, which was a rare show of emotion from her. "I see," she said silently, mainly to herself. "So, if our more powerful Laws can give us insights into other, weaker Laws, the weaker Laws can give us insight into our more powerful Laws."
"Exactly," Gravis said with a nod.
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"You've given me a lot to think about, Gravis," the Empress said. Then, she turned back to Ferris. "What were the other Laws?"
"Wind Movement, Earth Hardening, Soul Infusion, and Living Fire," Ferris said.
The Empress furrowed her scaly brows. Wind Movement made sense since fire made air move upwards. Earth Hardening also made sense since fire could harden clay and similar materials. Yet, what about the remaining two?
"What is this Soul Infusion?" the Empress asked. Apparently, even she didn't know of such a Law, which showed how rare it was.
"The Soul is the thing that differentiates dead from alive things," Ferris explained. "With Soul Infusion, I can take my Energy and infuse a dead object with a Soul."
The Empress took a deep breath when she heard that. Such a concept sounded very ethereal and powerful. Such a power almost felt like it shouldn't exist. Transforming something dead into something alive sounded like something that only a God could do.
"I presume that's a level two Law?" the Empress asked.
Ferris nodded.
"And you have created the Living Fire by combining your Law of Fire Manipulation with your Law of Soul Infusion?" she asked.
Ferris nodded again.
The Empress took another deep breath. She knew what that meant. Ferris had managed to comprehend a level three Law, something even she hadn't been able to comprehend. Ferris' status had shot up violently. From a normal Elder, he had risen to become a Pre-Ascender, a beast that was only missing food to ascend.
All of this had happened way too suddenly. One of her Elders had become a Pre-Ascender. Yet, due to something else that had happened, the Empress now knew the reason.
The Empress looked at Gravis intensely, making him raise an eyebrow. "You have a powerful influence that allows us beasts to comprehend powerful Laws."
Gravis squinted his eyes. "My talk with Ferris had some impact, sure, but don't you think you are overreacting?" Gravis asked.
The Empress simply continued to look at Gravis. "No, I'm not," she stated.
"What makes you think that?" Gravis asked.
"Elder Ferris had comprehended many more Laws. The Grand Elder managed to comprehend another level two Law regarding lightning after talking with you. The Inferno Emperor managed to comprehend a level three Law after coming in contact with you, and I have just comprehended another Law after talking with you," the Empress said.
"The only connection is you," she said.
Gravis was taken aback. The Grand Elder learned another level two Law after talking to him? The Empress just comprehended another one? Also, what was that other thing?
"I don't recall ever meeting the Inferno Emperor," Gravis said.
"Yes, you did," the Empress said. "His title when he had been a King was the Red King."
Gravis' eyes widened in recognition. The red hawk that had kept Gravis inside his Kingdom for five years! He was also the one that brought Gravis to the Empress.
Gravis' eyes shone coldly. He didn't forget his enmity with the Red King. He still wanted to kill the Red King for his year-long suppression. Yet, that goal seemed to be even more distant than Gravis had thought.
"He has comprehended a level three Law?" Gravis asked.
The Empress nodded. "After the meeting, he entered the Law Comprehension Area for Inferno, which is the fire equivalent to your Punishment Lightning. He exited as an Emperor and immediately attacked the sea beasts. He fought a level two Emperor evenly for hours."
The Empress narrowed her eyes. "You should know that this was before he comprehended the Law of Inferno," she said.
Gravis also narrowed his eyes. This meant that as a new level one Emperor, the Red King had already been powerful enough to jump an entire level as an Emperor. When he had been a level five King, the Red King had probably been even more powerful than an Inquisitor.
"During that fight," the Empress continued, "the Inferno Emperor managed to understand the Law of Inferno and killed the enemy Emperor. Shortly after, he killed another level two Emperor. Right now, the Inferno Emperor is a level two Emperor that can even fight a level four Emperor. He might be even more powerful than me."
Gravis took a deep breath with closed eyes. "Is he still part of the Icy Pride Empire?" Gravis asked.
"No, he left the Empire as soon as he exited the Law Comprehension Area. He also left his Kingdom behind, and it doesn't seem like he's interested in creating his own Empire. His goal is the higher world."
Gravis' eyes shone coldly. "So, he's up for grabs, right?"
The Empress looked into Gravis' eyes.
"Yes."