Lightning Is the Only Way

"Isn't the thought actually pretty terrifying that one of us thinks that he has existed for 22 years, even though he has not been alive for even a day?" Gravis B said.

They both sat in the middle of the "arena". It was rather hard to determine the middle of this ever-ongoing expanse of nothingness, but they decided that the middle should be where the distance to each door was about the same.

Gravis A nodded. "It really is terrifying," he said. "On top of that, if everything is the same for both the copy and the original, is there even a copy and an original?"

Gravis B rubbed his chin. "Well, one of them has actually lived for longer than the other, so an original should exist," he explained and then lifted a finger. "I think what you meant to say was that one might not be alive or a real human."

Gravis A also scratched his chin. "Yeah, that should be more accurate. One has been birthed by two people, while one has been created by Heaven."

Gravis B continued. "Yet, wasn't it Heaven that gave life to everything in the first place? So, isn't the origin of both of us the same? Is a human created by Heaven less of a human than a human birthed from two people?"

Gravis A furrowed his brows. "I see what you mean. I wonder, is it our memories, soul, and feelings that make a human? Is a life birthed from Heaven worth less than a life birthed from people?"

Gravis B thought for a while. "I don't think so. We both think we are the original, and if our path ends, we will both be just as hurt as the other. Emotions and the will are what makes a life, I think, at least."

Gravis A nodded. "I also think so. Even though I believe I am the original, I would still feel bad if I were to kill you. After all, you are me. This would be the same as killing myself, just without the direct repercussions to my own life."

Gravis B laughed a little. "Isn't that interesting? No matter if one or both of us die, Heaven would have successfully killed me. So, from a certain perspective, Heaven has won."

Gravis A furrowed his brows. "Is that really a win, though? I mean, if one of us survives, he will still be a danger to Heaven."

Gravis B scratched his chin more. "Speaking of," he said, "I wonder, would the copy still live on or just dissipate?"

Gravis A hadn't thought of that and also fell into thought now. "Honestly? I have no idea. It could be that the copy will vanish, but it could also be that the copy lives on, thinking it's the real Gravis."

Gravis B furrowed his brows again. "That actually sounds reasonable. I think the others are facing the same trial right now. If it doesn't matter which one survives, they will most likely survive this trial."

Gravis A nodded. "One of the Joyces will just kill herself for the other one. The Manuels will probably have a fair competition, but I'm unsure about Nero. He should be in a similar situation to us. After all, two attacks with the dagger would easily kill the other one."

Gravis B sighed. "So, this trial is specifically horrible for us because we have such an aggressive fighting style. The chances are incredibly high that both of us would die, which would be the only true way to fail this trial."

Gravis A ruffled his hair. "This is infuriating," he groaned. "We have already seen through the entirety of Heaven's scheme, but we still can't see a way out of this!"

"I know what you mean," Gravis B said as he leaned back. "Are we really forced to kill each other?" he mused.

Gravis B wasn't worried about a sudden attack from Gravis A. After all, Gravis B wouldn't do something like that, which meant that Gravis A thought the same. That was how it was even possible for them to talk to each other like this.

"I wonder," Gravis A said, also leaning back now. "Why didn't Heaven create a copy and modify it slightly so that it would attack? Like this, we would be forced to fight each other."

"What a stupid question," Gravis B said, bored. "You already know the answer, so why ask the question?"

Gravis A rolled his eyes. "I'm just making conversation, dude," he said. "But yes, I know the answer. If Heaven altered the second Gravis, the original Gravis would immediately know that he was the original. All hesitation would leave him."

Gravis B sighed. "Yes. On top of that, if the copy were the one to survive, it would be a completely different Gravis. I mean, Heaven basically has full control over everything in this trial, but at the core, this trial is still meant to temper people. The highest Heaven might have something against something like that happening. You know, directly altering the cultivator."

Gravis A nodded. "To be brutally honest, the highest Heaven hasn't proven to be such a bad guy until now."

Gravis B narrowed his eyes. "Have you already forgotten Stella?" he asked with coldness in his voice.

Gravis A sighed again. "I didn't. I just meant in comparison to this lower Heaven. Yes, the highest Heaven has still done something horrible with Stella, and I won't forgive it for that, but in comparison to this lower Heaven, it's many times more approachable."

Gravis B looked into the "sky" from his laying position. By now, both of them were lying on the floor, beside each other. "But in comparison to this lower Heaven, everything seems more approachable. I don't think that it can be used as a standard for judging others."

Gravis A snorted. "Yeah. What's the point of comparing everything to this lower Heaven, when everything will obviously be better than it?"

"True," Gravis B said.

After that word, a long period of silence emerged. None of the two said anything as they just remained silent, thinking about a way out of this situation.

BZZZ!

A small ball of lightning appeared in Gravis A's hand, and he chucked it over to Gravis B. Gravis B, who hadn't expected something like this, seized with surprise, but the ball of lightning just got harmlessly absorbed.

Gravis A snickered a little from the side when he saw Gravis B jerking up. Gravis B was at first, a bit annoyed, but then sighed. He could understand why that was funny. Seems like Gravis A got him.

BZZZ!

Gravis B threw a Lightning Spear over, but Gravis A didn't even react. "Oh, come on. You know that you can't surprise me with that. After all, I've already used it myself."

"I did it more for myself and less for you," Gravis B said.

"You mean for me?" Gravis A asked with a smirk.

Gravis B snorted. "I guess so."

BZZZZ!

Gravis A chucked another ball, but it got stopped before it could hit Gravis B. The ball harmlessly floated in the sky. "Yet, now you do the same thing again."

Yet, instead of answering, Gravis A looked with interest at the floating ball. "How can you make it hover like that?" he asked.

Gravis B was a bit taken aback by the stupid question. "Because it's lightning, and lightning is me."

Suddenly, both Gravises opened their eyes wide in realization. Then, they looked at each other and laughed loudly in happiness. Then, both of them stood up and looked at each other with grins.

"If Gravis A equals lightning," Gravis A said.

"And Gravis B equals lightning," Gravis B said.

"Then Gravis A equals Gravis B!" they both shouted at the same time as they charged at each other. At the same time, they summoned their sabers and threw them to the side.

BANG!

Both Gravises collided into each other.

Their lightning fused.

Their Spirits touched each other. Feeling that it was just more of itself, the Spirit combined into one, and the Spirit Spaces fused.

Their wills clashed for a bit but then mixed. The compression of the will went from 0.2% to 0.1%.

The lightning doubled. The Spirit doubled. The will doubled. The only thing that didn't double was the body.

The new Spirit and lighting gathered at the touching torsos of the two Gravises, and after some seconds, it randomly entered one of the two bodies.

BANG!

One Gravis opened his eyes, while the other fell over, dead.

"Heaven only allows one of us to survive. Yet, that doesn't mean that one of us has to die. We just have to become one," Gravis said with a smirk. Then, he laughed loudly.

"Thank you, Heaven! You've allowed me to become even more powerful! Not only is my Spirit now incredibly strong, but my lightning has also reached the Tree Stage now. You're too kind," Gravis shouted, performing a mock bow.

Whoop!

Gravis retrieved both sabers. His weapon had just doubled. So, that was nice.

Gravis looked at his trembling Spirit Space. His Spirit Space was way too large right now and had problems staying stable. Yet, Gravis only had to reach the Self Stage to solve that issue.

With a smirk, Gravis looked at the sky again. "You fucked up again, Heaven! You wanted to kill me, yet you increased my strength again. Man, it must suck to be you right now," Gravis shouted while chuckling.

Seeing that no answer came, Gravis entered his Spirit Space and looked at the Spirit Space filled to the brim with lightning.

"Time to reach the Self Stage."

Meanwhile, Heaven was preparing itself for its battle against Gravis. Its secret weapon had failed.

Now, nothing was standing between Heaven and Gravis anymore.

It had to win this fight!