Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis walked through the corridor for a couple of minutes until he came to a big, open hall. In comparison to all the previous areas, this hall looked more majestic. There were some ornaments, and the whole hall was made out of gold. There were no lamps, but for some reason, the gold shone some light into the hall.

In the middle of the hall was a rotating orb with lots of symbols floating around it. Gravis guessed that this was probably the core of the whole Heaven's Trial. Behind the core were four closed treasure chests. The fact that there were four probably meant that everyone had survived.

Of course, Gravis didn't need to look at the treasure chests to know that. After all, all his companions were standing before the orb, looking at him with smiles. Everyone had survived.

Pack!

Joyce hugged Gravis. "I'm so happy that you survived," Joyce said with an elated voice. "When I saw my trial, I knew immediately that you were in mortal danger. I'm glad that you won against your copy!"

Gravis smiled a bit and, surprisingly, returned the hug. Joyce was shocked by Gravis hugging her. He had never done anything like that before. Was the thing he had said true? Did he really have a solution to their current situation that both could accept?

Manuel smirked at Gravis when he saw him hug her, while Nero only looked to the side like he didn't see anything. After some seconds, Gravis pushed Joyce away gently.

"Well, I don't know if I beat my copy or my original, but I survived," Gravis said with a slight laugh.

And like that, the whole group furrowed their brows. "What do you mean?" Joyce asked. "The fact that you are here means that you are the original."

Gravis only smiled and shook his head. "This Formation Array was way more complex than you think, and you also underestimate the power of Heaven."

"Would you mind explaining?" Manuel asked with furrowed brows.

"Well," Gravis said, "Heaven didn't create a simple copy. It created another one of us. The copy, as you call it, has a Spirit, a mind, a soul, memories, and everything that creates a human. So, it was not just some construct, but another living being that was identical to us."

Joyce and Manuel tried to wrap their heads around what Gravis had just said while Nero looked at one of his daggers. "So, I could be the copy?" he asked.

Gravis nodded. "Yes. Heaven created life, and with enough power, Heaven can just create another one of us. If Heaven is powerful enough, it can understand and see through our existence and then just sculpt another one of us. Of course, this lower Heaven doesn't know how to do that. This was the work of the Heaven from my homeworld."

The mood of the group became complex. They started doubting their own existence. When Gravis saw that, he only shook his head with a smile. "It doesn't matter if we are the copy or the original. All our ambitions, goals, dreams, memories, and everything about us is the same. Therefore, as long as one of you survived, you get to live on."

The group remained silent for a while. "But why would Heaven do such a thing?" Manuel asked, not shocked but curious.

"Heaven probably wanted to force a change in us," Gravis said.

Manuel frowned. "So, Heaven manipulated us?" he asked.

Gravis shook his head again. "No. When two of the same people meet under these conditions, one of them has to change. If they both stay identical, they will both die. I don't think that Heaven had any specific plan in mind but just wanted to force us to grow in some way. It doesn't matter what change would take place. It only mattered that one of us changed. This is also a kind of growth."

The group remained silent for a while again, lost in thought. If someone else claimed such ridiculous nonsense, they wouldn't believe that person, but Gravis knew a lot more about Heaven and how the worlds worked than everyone else in this world. In regards to Heaven, he was the supreme authority in the subject.

"Tell me, how did you all survive this trial?" Gravis asked.

Joyce and Nero stayed silent, so Manuel stepped forward. "We decided to do a sparring match. Whoever manages to inflict an injury on the other person that would endanger a mortal's life would be the winner. The loser would then commit suicide."

"And I guess you won?" Gravis asked.

Manuel nodded. "It was close. After many minutes of fighting, I saw an opening in my copy and delivered the blow. My copy was shocked at first but then laughed. After some well-wishes, it exploded."

Gravis also nodded. "Your path has been halted today, yet it still continues. You have been confronted with the possibility of failure, but you were only a watcher. I think this can strengthen your motivation."

Manuel's eyes widened a bit, and then he fell into thought. "I think you're right. Seeing myself die was a complex experience. It was like a mirror of what could happen."

Gravis nodded with a smile and then turned to Nero. "How about you?" he asked.

Nero didn't seem comfortable in answering, but he complied either way. After releasing a sigh, Nero started telling his experience in the fifth trial. "We decided on the same route as Manuel. Whoever managed to bury one dagger into the other's body would be the winner."

"And you won?" Gravis asked.

Nero released a shaky breath. "No. I lost."

Gravis' eyes shone. "Interesting. Tell me," he said.

Nero released another sigh. "After a long fight, we both managed to bury our daggers into the other. My copy was a split-second faster, so he had won." Nero looked with visible discomfort to the side. "But I couldn't let my path end, so I buried my second dagger into him, killing him. I can still see his look of shock and betrayal before my eyes."

Gravis nodded. "Don't beat yourself up over it," Gravis said nonchalantly, surprising Nero. Wasn't Gravis an advocate of justice? "Since your copy was shocked, it meant that it couldn't believe that you would do such a thing. Therefore, a change has taken place. You have differentiated yourself from your copy by throwing pride to the side to continue on your path. A readiness to sacrifice such a thing for your goal is good. Such an attitude will only help you on your journey."

Nero took another deep breath and continued looking to the side. He understood what Gravis was saying, but it still didn't feel comfortable. He felt dirty and guilty for what he had done. Gravis noticed this but didn't say anything else. Nero had to handle this problem by himself.

Then, Gravis turned to Joyce.

Joyce looked with discomfort to the ground. Her face radiated sadness, grief, and tragedy. "We decided on a life and death fight," Joyce said, surprising Gravis a bit. He had expected that they would solve this differently. It seemed like he still didn't know Joyce well enough.

Joyce sighed. "We mostly decided to do this to temper ourselves and to increase our battle experience. After a couple of exchanges, we had already healed ourselves multiple times. Yet, my copy and I never used any attacks that would kill each other. I just couldn't bring myself to kill her."

Gravis nodded. "So, how did it end?" he asked.

Joyce furrowed her brows, and some tears welled up in her eyes. "I used a horizontal attack to force her to evade towards the ground or air. At that point, I would be able to hit her. But instead of ducking or jumping, she smiled happily at me and let the strike bisect her," Joyce said.

Gravis also sighed. "I guess she thought that you were the original," Gravis said. "She had seen your resolve and thought that she was the copy. The change in your trial is complex. It could be that your copy has changed and died, or that you have changed and became more determined. Something like this is hard to discern," Gravis said.

Joyce released a trembling sigh. Her copy's death still weighed on her mind. Apparently, only Gravis and Manuel were alright with their outcomes.

"What happened to you?" Joyce asked after a bit.

Gravis smiled and started telling them what happened to him in the fifth trial.