Gravis was a bit nervous as he waited for an answer. Around a hundred years had passed for his friends. Anything could have happened to them during that time.
"All of them are still alive," his father said.
Gravis released a sigh of relief. "Is that true?"
"I wouldn't lie to you regarding that. Your will is powerful enough that the death of a friend won't affect your path," his father said.
"Why did you say, regarding that? Would you lie about other things?" Gravis asked with furrowed brows.
"Only to protect you from the old bastard. If I reveal some key secrets, he might just go directly after you. I can't protect you against everything, and this would put you in danger," his father explained evenly.
Gravis sighed again, but he understood. He couldn't know everything about the highest Heaven or the world yet. He simply was not powerful enough. "I understand," Gravis said.
"When will you be going to the middle world? You're finished with your preparations now," his father asked.
Gravis had already thought about that topic. So, he already knew the answer. "I'll go after my 23rd birthday. Spending my birthday with mom, Orpheus, and you, doesn't seem to be such a bad idea."
"According to the time dilation and your physical age, your birthday is in 13 days," his father said. Then, he nodded. "That seems to be a good starting point. I'll inform your brother and your mother on the date."
Gravis nodded and stood up. He stretched a bit and then walked to the door. "I'm going to talk to mom for a bit. Thank you for teaching me how to forge, father," Gravis said with a smile. Then, he turned to the door.
"Gravis, wait," his father said.
Gravis turned around to look at him. "What is it, father?" Gravis asked.
His father sighed, surprising Gravis. This could only mean something bad. Had he lied about his friends?
"There is something I need to tell you about the Natural Worlds," his father said.
Gravis furrowed his brows. "I'm guessing going through the middle world won't be as easy as I've imagined?" Gravis asked.
His father nodded solemnly. "There are different rules in a Natural World than in any other world. After all, beasts have a different purpose to the old bastard than humans. You must know that, even though I see you as a human, you would officially count as a beast as soon as you enter one's body."
"Meaning?" Gravis asked.
His father looked a bit conflicted, surprising Gravis. His father knew about Gravis' powerful will, and the fact that he didn't want to tell him showed how serious this issue was.
After some seconds, his father sighed again. "To be honest with you, I've decided against telling you the rules."
"Why?" Gravis asked.
"Because I fear that if I were to tell you, you would decide against going," his father said.
Gravis' eyes narrowed. If his father believed that, it had a genuine chance of actually being true. Yet, Gravis couldn't think about anything that would make him stop his path forward. Nothing that he could imagine could stop him.
Powerful enemies? He didn't care about that. Not being able to create bonds? He could deal with that. A longer required cultivation time? That also wouldn't be an issue. Gravis had also already expected that reaching the Immortal Realm might take thousands of years. He was willing to risk that too.
So, what did his father mean? What rule could possibly stop him? Even if he were forced to worship Heaven, he could probably deal with that. Gravis couldn't think of anything that could stop his path forward.
"I can't think of anything that could stop me in my path," Gravis said.
"You might think that now, but that's just because you haven't realized the rule. If you had, you wouldn't be so confident anymore," his father said.
"What? Will I be stuck at a low level for a long time or something?" Gravis asked.
His father shook his head. "No. You should be able to reach Unity again in a matter of days. This isn't the issue."
Gravis groaned in frustration. "You know, maybe instead of saying that you won't tell me about something, you just don't bring it up at all?" Gravis said with annoyance.
"I told you because, like this, you can prepare yourself. The fact that I let you go to a natural middle world shows that I believe you will be able to pull through," his father said.
"Yet, even though you believe in me, you won't tell me," Gravis said back.
"Because, in order to continue, you need to be directly confronted with the rule without a way out. If I were to tell you now, you might decide to take the much harder and longer route to temper your body just to evade that rule."
"You would think that you still have an alternative with that method, but this alternative only exists in theory. You would think that you could temper your human body to that level, but that's practically impossible. I'm absolutely sure about that due to my experience," his father said.
"So, stop asking. Just be prepared to go through very tough decisions."
Gravis remained silent for a bit. "If you were in my position, would that rule stop you?" he asked.
"No," his father answered. "This rule wouldn't be a problem for me, but that's got nothing to do with power, but with personality. This rule will force you to change your personality drastically, and you won't like it one bit."
Gravis closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Saying that Gravis wasn't nervous would be a lie. Gravis knew that his father was excellent in grasping his personality. If anyone else had said these words, Gravis would believe that they were underestimating him.
But not if they came from his father. His father had watched him grow and had seen what Gravis had gone through in the lower world. If his father said that Gravis might decide against going, it might actually be true.
On top of that, his father was making a sacrifice right now. If this rule was as tyrannical as his father said, Gravis might resent his father due to that. It could happen that he would feel betrayed by his father since he allowed him to take this path.
Right now, Gravis couldn't imagine thinking something like that, but he couldn't know how he would act in such a situation. The fact that his father didn't tell him could create resentment inside Gravis towards him. His father was ready to risk their relationship so that Gravis could continue becoming stronger.
"Thank you, father," Gravis said.
His father sighed again. "There is no reason to thank me. I am sending you on this path, knowing full well what awaits you. Yet, I still let you walk on it," his father said.
Gravis nodded. "But right now, I'm thankful because I've seen what you are trying to accomplish. Even though it doesn't look like it, you are protecting me and giving me a scapegoat. I don't know what the future holds, but right now, I'm thankful."
His father sighed again. "I'm sorry, Gravis," his father said, surprising Gravis. His father had never said sorry about anything.
"Don't be," Gravis said while shaking his head. "You do what you think is best for me. The future will show if that is true."
Gravis also released a sigh. "I'm going to talk to mom now. Bye!" Gravis said as he exited the room.
The Opposer only nodded at his son and closed his eyes. There was nothing else he could do.
Gravis spent the next 13 days talking to his mother, his brother and looking through the city. Nothing much happened, and Gravis felt relaxed during these days. Yet, he also felt a bit nervous.
Right now, he was safe, but soon, he would be thrust back into danger. His powerful position that he had held in the lower world would be reduced to nothing, and Gravis would only count as someone mediocre.
There would be a lot of beasts way more powerful than him that could annihilate him with a mere thought. This thought made Gravis nervous again.
The middle world encompassed everything between the Body Tempering Realm and the Immortal Realm. The Unity Realm was only in the middle. Gravis might not be part of the weakest group, but one could liken it to going to the lower world while being in the Energy Gathering Realm. There were still a lot of more powerful people or beasts out there.
Yet, going through hardships was necessary. Gravis might be nervous, but he was also excited. Finally, he could become stronger again. He had waited for a year, preparing himself. Now, he could finally continue.
And like this, his birthday arrived.
