Lightning Is The Only Way

Gravis thought about what the Empress had said for a while. 'I'm absolutely sure that no human would get something like that as soon as they reach the Nascent Nourishing Realm. Father said that there is some kind of secret weapon that humans get when they reach the Nascent Nourishing Realm, but this surely isn't it.'

Gravis looked at the horizon with narrowed eyes. 'I think this is another one of Heaven's ways to keep the beasts powerful enough to serve as tempering. The beasts probably don't have access to this secret weapon that humans have, which is why Heaven bestows a Law upon the beasts.'

'Additionally, for beasts that haven't come into contact with the Laws before, understanding a Law might give them the start they need to understand more. I'm pretty sure that Heaven teaches the Laws differently than when I have absorbed the Punishment Lightning. Otherwise, this would make no sense,' Gravis thought.

Then, Gravis looked at the Empress again. "I've got another question."

"Go ahead," the Empress said. She didn't really mind talking to Gravis. After all, the whole matter with the competition had passed, and now she had way too much time on her hands again.

"Are there situations where beasts immediately die as soon as they become Kings?" Gravis asked.

The eyes of the Empress widened. "How did you know?" she asked.

Gravis had already put his armor away and scratched his chin in thought. "So, there is. That's what I have expected."

'This is a double-edged sword,' Gravis thought. 'The Law of Punishment Lightning has basically been granted to me by the lightning itself, not by Heaven. Father has said that this might make it harder for me to understand my first other Law, which had been proven true. Without my father's guidance and the unreal pressure in my fight against the Golden Dragon, I wouldn't have understood the Law regarding the materials.'

'I'm sure that Heaven wouldn't give beasts this same disadvantage. After all, Heaven wants all the beasts to become powerful. Therefore, Heaven must transport the minds of the beasts into some kind of plane where they can fully concentrate on the Law that fits them the most.'

Gravis narrowed his eyes. 'Yet, not all beasts are able to comprehend Laws. This means that some beasts just wouldn't be able to leave this space. According to what I know of Heaven's conduct, it wouldn't allow such inferior beasts to survive.'

"Hey," the Empress said with some annoyance, "I asked you how you knew that." She had watched Gravis looking at the horizon for a while now, even though she had asked him a question.

The Empress' words had pulled Gravis out of his thoughts, and he looked back at her. "I was lost in thought. I didn't know that specifically, but it made sense in my mind," Gravis answered.

The Empress furrowed her brows. "How does this make sense? If you don't know about this, there is no way to extrapolate something like this from context clues. So, how did you know?" she asked again.

Gravis sighed. "I have a lot of secrets, and I don't want to tell just anyone about that. I'm sorry for that," Gravis said.

The Empress grew more annoyed. "I've been answering your questions with patience, but you say you can't answer my own?" she asked with annoyance.

Gravis sighed again. "It's complicated," he answered. "Due to my background, I know a lot about the workings of the world, but that knowledge is precious. I can tell you with certainty that I know things about the world that no other beast in this world knows."

If any other beast had said these things to the Empress, she would have scoffed at them. Yet, Gravis' powers and conduct were incredibly strange and atypical. He had shown powers that could be considered impossible.

"What do you want in exchange for these secrets?" the Empress asked. She had thought about threatening Gravis, but as far as she had seen, Gravis didn't appear to be a beast that was susceptible to threats. So, she approached with a trade.

Gravis' eyes shone as he looked at the Empress. "There is something that has been bothering me for the longest time, and if you can accept this condition, I will tell you as much about my secrets as I'm allowed to share."

The Empress' brows furrowed some more. "As much as you're allowed to share? Who can force you to keep your secrets with me present? You said yourself that you are not part of any stronger Empire."

Gravis had a complicated expression on his face. "Sadly, that's part of my secrets. I can only tell you that I haven't lied to you once," he said.

The Empress grew frustrated when she heard that. Why was Gravis so secretive all of a sudden? On top of that, she remembered that he was still a Lord. Why did it feel like she was speaking to an equal rather than someone way weaker than her? This whole situation felt surreal to her.

After some seconds, the Empress sighed again. She decided to concede. It felt weird to her to concede to some Lord, but the potential gains may be worth the loss. If Gravis' secrets were bullshit, she could still kill him out of anger later.

"Alright, what's your condition?" she asked.

'This is it!' Gravis thought with motivation.

"You have probably noticed that I'm very different from other beasts," Gravis said.

The Empress sneered. That much was obvious.

"One of these differences is my relationship in regards to a life companion and offspring," Gravis said.

The Empress lifted one of her eyebrows in interest but didn't say anything.

"To me, children are something that may be even more important than my path to power. I don't want to have children currently since I will be forced to establish an emotional connection with them. As long as they are present, I won't be able to easily move forward on my path anymore."

"That's why," Gravis said with a sigh, "I don't want to have any offspring while I'm in this world. This is my condition."