Gravis told them how he met up with his copy and how they first tried to destroy the trial. The group was a bit surprised since they hadn't thought about doing anything like that. They had just accepted their trial without trying to break it.
Well, it was understandable, actually. After all, everyone in the group was only in the initial Stage of Spirit Forming. Breaking something like the Heaven's Trial required just too much power. Gravis was in a different situation since he had enough power to fight something like that.
Together with his copy, Gravis could have annihilated the area of every previous trial. The power of two Gravises was just too great. Of course, Heaven had anticipated something like this, which was why it made the area for the fifth trial special.
When Gravis told them about the solution he had found for the trial, the group's eyes widened. Something like this was possible?
"Could we also have done this?" Nero asked nervously. He still felt terrible about how he had won the fifth trial.
Gravis scratched his chin. "You could not have done the same," he said. "You don't have the ability to change yourself into something that can be fused. Two Spirits can't fuse under normal circumstances. The only reason why this was possible for me was that my Spirit could be converted into lightning. At most, you would have been able to fuse your Energy."
Nero sighed. "And since the Spirit is the core of a person, we would have still been forced to kill each other."
Gravis nodded. "Sadly, yes."
"By the way," Joyce said with interest. "I can't feel your Spirit. Does that mean that you have reached the Self Stage?" she asked.
Gravis smirked and nodded.
Instead of being excited and happy, Joyce sighed in sadness. "That means you will leave us soon, right?" she asked.
Gravis also sighed but walked closer to Joyce and put his hand on her shoulder. "It was bound to happen eventually, but let me first tell you about the solution I came up with regarding our situation."
Joyce perked up and looked into Gravis' eyes with expectation.
"Right now, we can't get together," Gravis said, destroying Joyce's hopes, "but that won't be the case forever, right?" he asked.
Joyce furrowed her brows. "I'm not sure what you mean," she said.
Gravis only shook his head gently and looked at Manuel and Nero. "I need to talk to her privately," he said to them.
Manuel just waved dismissively while Nero walked to the side.
Gravis turned back to Joyce and used his Voice Transmission from now on. "I can tell you about the levels of the worlds and my homeworld because if you keep ascending, you will reach it eventually. At that point, we will be in the same world. When that time happens, and if you are still interested, we can be together," Gravis transmitted.
Joyce's eyes widened. "I will reach your homeworld? I thought that our worlds have no connection," she transmitted.
"Before I tell you more about this, I want to know if you really want to go through with this. Some of the knowledge I am about to transmit to you can be dangerous for your path. If you are not fully committed, it would be better not to know these things," Gravis transmitted.
Joyce remained silent for a couple of seconds. She was thinking through these things seriously. If Gravis said that this knowledge was dangerous, then it was probably really dangerous to her. Gravis never exaggerated.
Yet, was her path, will, and motivation so weak that it could be damaged just because someone said something?
"I want to know," Joyce transmitted, "because my path won't be influenced just because someone said something. My path is more stable than that. So, you can tell me."
Gravis smiled when he heard that. That's what he wanted to hear! If his words actually swayed her, he would have given up on her. Only such a powerful will would be able to keep her going until she reached his homeworld.
"Alright, then please pay attention and don't tell the others about what I'm going to say now. You have a goal now, so you can deal with this mountain that I am about to drop on you while the others can't," Gravis transmitted.
Joyce nodded with motivated eyes. "I won't!"
Gravis also nodded. "We are currently in a lower world. This is the lowest kind of world," Gravis transmitted, and Joyce nodded. This was no new information. After all, no one ascended to their world.
"The world above this one is the middle world. After that come the higher worlds, and after that comes the highest world, my homeworld. In total, you have to ascend three times," Gravis said, shocking Joyce into silence.
Most people believed that the next world was already the highest world. Joyce had thought that there would still be a world after the next world. The way Gravis had spoken about his homeworld and about his knowledge, Joyce had already anticipated something like this. Yet, there was still another level?
Joyce realized how weak everyone actually was in the grand scheme of things. What status would they even have in Gravis' homeworld?
"If you reach my homeworld, we can be together," Gravis said.
Joyce wasn't sure how to react. How long would it take for her to reach Gravis' homeworld? It already took decades to reach the Unity Realm. What about the next Realm, or the Realm after that?
Yet, Joyce just clenched her fists. This was really destructive for someone's path, but she wouldn't get disheartened by this! "I understand!" Joyce transmitted with motivation. "The only thing I have to do is get stronger! I have been doing that until now, so I just need to continue doing that, right?"
Gravis smiled when he heard that. Gravis actually told her this for two reasons. One reason was to give her a goal if she really wanted to pursue Gravis, and the other reason was to show her how far the distance was between them. If, after thousands of years, she still wanted to be with him, it would show her love for him. At that time, Gravis would reciprocate her feelings.
Yet, no one knew what the future would bring. Maybe this was all a fancy crush of a young adult. If she grew out of it, that would also be fine. There were many outstanding individuals in the world, and some of them might even be able to grasp Joyce's heart.
"I will pursue you! I will reach your homeworld!" Joyce transmitted with determination, but Gravis could also hear a slight nervousness in her voice. "But…" Joyce hesitated.
Gravis smiled. "What? You can tell me."
Joyce clenched her fists again. "I want a down payment for my investment!" she transmitted, her voice shaking in Gravis' mind.
Gravis raised an eyebrow. "What do you-"
Suddenly, Joyce lunged forward and planted her lips on Gravis'. Gravis froze. He had not seen that coming. Yet, with an internal sigh, Gravis reciprocated her kiss. They stood there for some seconds until they parted.
Joyce seemed to be out of breath, and her face had completely reddened. Manuel whistled from the side when he saw that, eliciting a side-eye from Gravis.
Gravis was still shaken by this, but he quickly regained his bearings. His heart fluttered, and for the first time in a long while, he felt his feelings go out of control. Usually, he had a firm hold on his feelings, but this time, he felt genuine warmth course through his chest.
Gravis scratched his chin as he fell into thought. This situation was something entirely new for him, and the things he felt interested him.
"Argh," Joyce groaned after some seconds. Then, she stomped her feet in frustration. "I went ahead and kissed you, but what do you do? You just fall into thought! At least say something!" she shouted with a red face.
Gravis' thoughts were rudely interrupted by her voice. Yet, he only smiled and laughed. "Sorry," he said with embarrassment, scratching the back of his neck.
Joyce thought she saw the young boy from the Hunting Guild again as she saw Gravis' embarrassment. He had been just as embarrassed when he met her back then. Joyce just laughed and walked away. By being able to make Gravis embarrassed, she had achieved her goal! This reaction showed that he genuinely cared for her. That was all that she needed to know.
Gravis looked with confusion at the retreating Joyce. Why was she laughing?
Did he make a mistake?
