The middle Heaven truly hadn't considered or noticed that. Gravis' cultivation was very special and often deviated from the intended path. It was not an overstatement to call Gravis' cultivation unique. He was the only one in all the worlds who had a Spirit attuned to something other than Energy.
Theoretically, the middle Heaven could have extrapolated this fact by all the knowledge it had received from the highest Heaven about Gravis. Yet, it had taken him too lightly.
However, the middle Heaven had made its decision. Wasn't the fact that Gravis was growing even more powerful even better? Yet, the middle Heaven just couldn't like this fact for some reason. It didn't know why, but it got a bit nervous when it heard that Gravis' Will-Aura would become even more powerful.
Maybe, deep in the middle Heaven's mind, it still thought that it could just throw Gravis out of its world if he became too powerful. Yet, if his Will-Aura became too powerful, this would become impossible. It had decided to give its life for the highest Heaven's goal, but when confronted with the actual reality, it didn't feel as calm and acceptant as it had expected.
Gravis waited for some seconds, but nothing happened. "That's also a no then," Gravis muttered to himself.
"Grand Elder," Gravis transmitted to the Grand Elder.
The Grand Elder was still shocked by everything that had happened. However, he didn't dare to interfere with what Gravis was doing. This display of the middle Heaven had scared him, and he wanted to keep himself out of this.
"Yes?" he asked nervously after Gravis had contacted him.
"You don't need to be afraid. Nothing will happen to anyone in the Empire," Gravis said. "I will remain here for a couple of years due to a special reason. Don't worry. I won't damage the Law Comprehension Area in any way."
"And," Gravis said after some hesitation. "As soon as we return to the Empress, I will tell you two everything about myself. Then, you will understand why all of this has happened."
The Grand Elder still wasn't sure about anything regarding this situation, but he decided to go along with what Gravis had said. "Alright," he transmitted after a sigh. "I will wait here for the time when you're ready to return."
"Thank you, Grand Elder," Gravis said. Then, he closed his eyes.
Gravis still felt like his being was spread over too vast of an area. This was the feeling of having too much lightning inside of him. Normally, if he had so much lightning inside of him, his body and Spirit would simply absorb its power until he reached the next Realm. Yet, with the middle Heaven's suppression, this became impossible.
Gravis chuckled a bit. "You wanted this. You wanted me to become as powerful as possible, middle Heaven. I hope you don't regret your decision in the future."
No answer came.
Gravis concentrated on his being and shut himself off from his surroundings. The Grand Elder was present, which allowed him to do that. Anything weaker than the Grand Elder wouldn't be able to kill him during this, and if something stronger than the Grand Elder appeared, Gravis would be helpless either way.
Time lost its meaning as Gravis lost himself in his own being. To Gravis' Spirit, his being looked like a pool. His Will-Aura was the size of the pool, while the lightning was the water inside it. Right now, it looked like the lightning was incredibly close to flowing over.
A faint feeling of fear and anxiety appeared inside Gravis as he looked at the filled pool. This was only a metaphorical picture for his current situation, but as soon as the pool flowed over, Gravis knew that he would cease to exist.
Gravis knew that even though he was not in a dangerous fight right now, managing this situation badly would also result in his death. The tempering of the will was always a dangerous affair.
Time passed in which Gravis tried his best to stop the lightning from overflowing. It wasn't easy, but as more and more time passed, it became easier. Gravis didn't know how much time passed, but as soon as it became manageable, Gravis summoned a bit more lightning.
BZZ!
Inside Gravis' mind, he saw more water appear inside the pool. The water in the pool started vibrating as waves appeared. Gravis felt a deep feeling of emptiness, like he was about to lose consciousness. Thinking became harder, and his focus started waning.
He changed the shape of the pool to counteract the waves of the pool. Waves made the water rise and fall, which meant that its volume moved around. If one of the waves hit the edges of the pool, the water would leave it, and Gravis would cease to exist.
By changing the pool's shape, Gravis adjusted his Will-Aura to the concentrated points of the lightning inside him. It was like the lightning wanted to break out of its prison as it tried to strike everything around it. This action of wanting to escape was reflected in the waves of the pool.
Lightning became weaker at some spots and stronger at others. Gravis' Will-Aura was currently just as strong as the will of the lightning to escape. The lightning's will to escape would never leave it. This situation would just go on forever until it either managed to escape, or Gravis managed to adapt.
A very long time passed. Gravis had no idea how long it was, but he knew that it was long. Yet, by now, the pool had calmed down. No more waves appeared in the pool.
Why was that?
The lightning still wanted to escape, but the size of Gravis' pool had increased over time. Gravis had managed to adapt.
Splash!
More water appeared in the pool as Gravis absorbed some more lightning. A pause was unnecessary when training one's will. Gravis' body and Spirit were in a state of relaxation while his will fully focused on this.
The water became restless again as Gravis needed to adapt to its changes again. The waves became more violent and higher in number. Yet, this time, Gravis was not feeling any anxiety or fear. It wasn't because of his confidence but that he couldn't afford to feel fear or anxiety right now. His entire being was focused on only the pool.
A lot of time passed, and Gravis added more water.
The cycle repeated itself again and again.
An unknown amount of time later, Gravis had forgotten who or what he was. He even forgot why he was doing all of this. Right now, only keeping and growing the pool was inside his mind. It was like he was made for this purpose. It was like he was a Formation Array that had been designed for only a single purpose.
No thoughts unrelated to the pool appeared in his mind. His self didn't even recognize itself anymore as it only felt like it was the pool right now. The pool needed to become bigger, and that was everything that mattered. Nothing else existed outside this pool.
Gravis forgot that the pool only represented his Will-Aura and that the water represented his lightning. He only knew that he could pull water from somewhere outside this space. He didn't know what this space was, but he knew that he needed to grow the pool.
The pool grew and grew.
Suddenly, a feeling of incomprehensible fear assaulted his being as he was about to add more water. He felt like the next drop of water would be his end. Gravis hesitated.
WHOOOOOM!
When Gravis hesitated, he started remembering everything. He remembered who he was and what he was doing here. After a minute, Gravis sighed. "Now, I know what is happening," Gravis said to himself.
"I have reached the peak of a Unity Will, or Nascent Nourishing Will as it's called in my homeworld. Such a soft method of training my Will-Aura won't allow me to break through the shackles. If I add more water, I will undoubtedly die."
Gravis took a deep breath as he threw the drop of water in his hand to the side. The drop of water vanished as some lightning left his physical body.
"It's time. This is as far as it goes," Gravis said.
Then, he opened his physical eyes as he returned to the real world.
PSSSHHH!
A mountain of dust and sand fell off his body as he stood up. He had remained still for a long time.
BZZZZ!
Gravis transformed into lightning and immediately transformed back to get rid of the soreness in his body. This was way easier than stretching himself. Then, he looked at the lightning inside his body.
"799%," Gravis said to himself. "So, this is as far as it goes, huh?"
Gravis concentrated his Will-Aura and looked at its fully compressed form. "Sure enough, I managed to compress it to the same size as my Spirit. This is truly the peak. One more step, and my Will-Aura will reach the Law Comprehension Realm."
Gravis smirked. "With such a powerful Will-Aura, I might even be able to win against a level four King as soon as I become a King myself. However, such a fight will still be incredibly difficult. The last time, I only managed to defeat a level one King because of the ongoing war beside me."
"How much time has passed, Grand Elder?" Gravis asked as he found the Grand Elder with his Spirit.
The Grand Elder opened his eyes in surprise. "Oh, you're awake?" he asked.
"Yes, how much time has passed?" Gravis asked.
"You've been on top of this mountain for quite a while. Ever since you have stopped moving, over 20 years have passed."
Gravis blinked a couple of times. "Okay, that's longer than I had thought."
