Gravis wasn't sure how he should feel right now.
Joyce had definitely become someone that couldn't be saved anymore, and her actions were more than enough to kill her.
Yet, Gravis just couldn't forget the young girl he had met back then.
Joyce had traveled the lower world to hand out gifts for eventual repayment.
When Gravis had met Joyce again in her Clan, their start had been rough, but Joyce had even managed to convince Gravis somewhat that he was running away from his emotions.
Joyce had been a very kind girl back then, and she even had issues accepting when anyone died in front of her. She saw these deaths as unnecessary.
However, this was exactly one of the things that had drawn Gravis to her.
Gravis had been in a dark place back then, and he had acted like a cynical teenager. He had constantly told everyone how difficult he had it and how many bad things had happened to him.
In a sense, Joyce had been a pure and innocent light in a world of oppressive darkness for Gravis. Joyce had had something that Gravis had lost.
They had even promised each other that they would be together when they reached the highest world.
Sadly, they had both changed severely, and they were no longer compatible.
Mortis shared these same memories, and maybe that was also one of the reasons why he was even attracted to Joyce.
If Joyce and Mortis hadn't met each other before, they might not have ended up together. They weren't even truly that compatible.
'Maybe her extreme purity back then resulted in her becoming the other extreme,' Gravis thought with a sigh. 'Her innocence couldn't possibly have survived until now, even if she tried to preserve it.'
Joyce's death made Gravis think, but he didn't have any great emotional reaction to her death.
It was like Gravis had long accepted that Joyce would eventually die like this.
Because of that, Gravis' mind quickly went back to the deaths of his other friends.
Liam, Styr, Sary, Skye, Yi Lu, Siral.
All of them were gone.
"You shouldn't feel guilty, dad," Aris said from beside Gravis. "They made their choice, and they had known about the danger."
"But it has only been a chance," Gravis said while looking at Joyce's corpse in the distance. "Everyone believes that they won't die. After all, it hasn't happened before. We know in our minds that we can die, but our emotions don't truly accept that possibility."
"We've had so many close brushes with death that it has become normal. Being close to death is so normal that it doesn't feel as dangerous anymore. We've gone through it numerous times, and we have always managed to survive."
"Would they have fought if they knew that they would certainly die?"
Aris didn't answer.
"Our main priority is survival and power," Gravis added. "I have no problems with risking my life for any of you, but if I had to sacrifice my life, I don't know if I could do that for anyone, including you and Stella."
Gravis looked at Aris.
"Tell me, would you sacrifice your life for me?" Gravis asked.
Aris sighed and shook his head.
For some reason, Aris felt guilty when he gave his answer.
Gravis noticed and put his hand on Aris' shoulder. "Don't feel guilty. We are Cultivators, and we chase power so that we can survive. I don't want you to sacrifice your life for me. There is nothing to feel guilty about."
"Mortals might not understand, but it is different for us Cultivators. We've gone through so much pain and have lived for so long that we can't give up now. The more we survive, the more we have invested. Surviving has reached an unfathomable level of importance to us."
"The only Cultivators that can sacrifice their lives for someone else are the ones that have given up on the path to power," Gravis explained.
Aris listened to Gravis' words, and his guilt vanished.
He shouldn't feel guilty for feeling exactly like everyone else was feeling.
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Ten seconds of silence passed in which Aris was only thinking about Gravis' words.
"How come, even though our age difference is negligible by now, you are still able to teach me such things?" Aris asked with a slight smile.
Gravis also smiled slightly. "Teaching isn't necessarily a superior instructing someone inferior. A Forger can teach an Alchemist about forging, and an Alchemist can teach a Forger about alchemy."
"Everyone went through different things in their lives, and they learned different lessons. In our case, I just know a lot about Sentience and, by extension, intelligent life itself. That is simply my specialty," Gravis explained.
"Not lightning?" Aris asked with a smirk.
Gravis laughed a bit. "I know a lot about lightning, but that mostly comes from my Spirit's disposition. If I didn't have the ability to just directly absorb Heavenly Lightning, you would know more about lightning than me. After all, you even have a level seven Battle-Law for lightning. I don't have one."
Aris was a bit surprised when he heard that, but he quickly realized that Gravis was right.
In Aris' eyes, Gravis' usage and knowledge about lightning had always been far superior to his. He still remembered how Gravis had shown Aris how to use lightning properly, and even now, Gravis knew the level nine Law of Heavenly Lightning.
However, if it weren't for that ability, Aris would be superior to Gravis right now in terms of Lightning Laws.
In a sense, Aris had overtaken Gravis in that field.
Aris had realized that he had truly grown powerful.
He had even overtaken his father in one of his strongest fields.
However, Aris also knew that this wasn't actually worth that much. In the end, Battle-Strength was the most important thing, and Aris knew that he couldn't compare to Gravis.
"What are the new positions in the Sect?" Gravis asked, changing the topic. "Liam died. Do you have a new Vice-Sect Master?"
Aris nodded. "Broad Walker," he said. "Broad Walker is still more powerful than me since he knows two level seven Laws, and he's the perfect candidate."
"Makes sense," Gravis commented.
Gravis involuntarily thought about the remaining people he knew inside the Myriad Sect.
Manuel, Dorian, Ferris, Azure, Stella, Aris, Broad Walker, Exar.
They were the remaining ones.
As Gravis thought about it, he realized that he actually still had a lot of friends left. Six had died earlier, which was a lot, but there were still eight left.
After having that thought, Gravis realized that he actually wasn't alone. Hearing about all of his friend's death had awakened dark feelings inside Gravis, but parts of these dark feelings vanished when he thought about his remaining friends.
Even more, Gravis had just recovered from his Sin Aura. His life could finally return to normal, and the Myriad Sect could slowly recover.
The long war had ended.
The Will-Auras of nearly all the disciples were a level above their Realm or more.
The hard part was over, and now, it was time to concentrate on Laws and Realm.
A long time of peace was necessary.
However, would the other Sects allow the Myriad Sect to be peaceful?
The Myriad Sect was at its weakest right now, and it needed time to recover.
Gravis looked into the distance, and a cold light shone through his eyes.
'They have suffered for me, and I won't let them suffer even more,' Gravis thought.
"Manuel," Gravis said.
"Yes?" Manuel asked. He had still been in thought about his killing of Joyce.
"Accept me into the Myriad Sect," Gravis said.
Aris' and Manuel's eyes widened in shock.
"I'll give you enough time to grow."