Gravis reminisced about his homeworld and about everything that happened back then. This fight reminded him of the past, and he wanted to enjoy every moment of it. Times were simpler back then, and he only had to think about getting stronger. There was no guilt or schemes, just a goal to increase his strength.
"SCREE!" shouted Skye as it excitedly flew around Gravis while the parent bird left and flew back up to its nest.
Gravis got torn out of his reverie by Skye's shout, and he could only smile bitterly. "No sense in dwelling on the past. I am on my journey to become stronger now, and I need to remain stalwart. I can't falter just because it was easier back then. If it were still as easy now, as back then, then my will wouldn't be as tempered," he said to himself with a smile.
Gravis went through Silvio's belongings and found about 30 Energy Stones, and Gravis could only grimace when he saw that. Of course, the strong enemy he had killed didn't have much wealth. Why had he expected anything else? The other disciples' bodies were probably already fully eaten, and they weren't even his kills. Just like the parent bird left this corpse for him, Gravis would leave the other corpses for it.
The only other thing of note was Silvio's weapon. Gravis grabbed it and felt its weight. "This weapon is probably better than mine," he smiled bitterly. "Sadly, I don't use spears," he said as he put it on his back. He could surely sell it at some point.
"Scree!" shouted the parent bird from the treetop, and Skye quickly went to it. Gravis also had nothing else to do and followed. Gravis went up the tree and saw the corpses inside the Formation Array, surprised that they weren't eaten yet. They were also surprisingly still in one piece. Gravis didn't know how the parent bird had done this, but it surely had a reason for that.
Gravis forgot that the parent bird couldn't retrieve the corpses since they were still inside the Formation Array. Gravis willed for the corpses to leave the Formation Array and caught them. He then carried them up the tree and threw them in front of the parent bird. He didn't look through their belongings, because they were not his spoils. Gravis also couldn't exclude the possibility that Energy weapons and Energy Stones were useful for beasts too.
The parent bird looked at the corpses and nudged Skye, which was right beside it. Skye started growing excited and devoured them with glee. Gravis didn't mind the sight, because this was just nature. Just how humans ate beasts, beasts ate humans. There was nothing wrong with that.
Gravis also saw how Skye devoured the sacks with Energy Stones, and now he could be sure that those stones were also useful to beasts. While Skye was devouring the corpses, the parent bird looked into the distance. Gravis was not sure if he judged its mood correctly, but he believed that the parent bird was thinking about something.
When he saw that, Gravis also started thinking about his current situation. This time, the Lightning Guild had sent three people at the eighth level of Energy Gathering and one at the seventh. They obviously came prepared and knew exactly where he was. Gravis guessed that someone had probably survived in the last fight and told them everything. Their preparations were just too thorough.
If they realized that those disciples also wouldn't return, the next wave would probably include multiple people at the ninth level of Energy Gathering or maybe even someone in the Spirit Forming Realm. Even with the bird, Gravis wouldn't be able to survive that.
When disciples reached the Spirit Forming Realm, they would leave for the Core-Continent, and Gravis knew that. So, killing three people at the eighth level of Energy Gathering was probably an incredible hit to the Lightning Guild's overall strength in the Middle-Continent.
They would not let that remain unavenged, and Gravis knew that he couldn't remain here. The next wave would overwhelm them, and everything in the Energy Gathering Realm would probably be exterminated in the surroundings, including beasts.
The parent bird might not be as smart as Gravis, but it had seen how new enemies appeared and how they were even stronger than the previous ones. It started to feel agitated and had already decided to leave the tree. Yet, there was still another decision it was unsure about…
When Skye finished eating the corpses, it started screeching loudly in excitement. After that, it enveloped itself in its wings, and its body started pulsing. Gravis could see the Energy of its Core spreading around its body and violently being absorbed.
"It's advancing!" Gravis concluded and was excited to watch. The Energy Stones and the powerful corpses were an incredible tonic for a beast, and it allowed Skye to advance to a middle-grade Energy Beast.
Its body started expanding, and the process took about an hour. After the hour was over, its wingspan had increased from 30 meters to about 60 meters. Skye still looked the same, but its size had increased tremendously.
"SCREE!" Skye shouted excitedly to the world as it proclaimed its happiness and dominance. The shout also shook Gravis' body slightly, but it wasn't nearly as strong as its parent. Yet, Gravis could judge from the loud shout that it was probably more powerful than him now.
Its body was definitely stronger than Silvio's or Gravis', and a stronger body also came with faster speed, and that was not counting its wind element. Gravis guessed that he would only have a slight chance against it if they fought to the death. In a spar, Gravis couldn't bring out his whole strength because using extremely powerful attacks affected his control.
CLANK!
Gravis heard a rustling of metal and turned to his side. The parent bird had pushed the remaining weapons to Gravis, showing that he could have them. Apparently, Energy weapons were not useful to beasts. Gravis smiled at the bird and picked them up.
They were two spears and one sword. They all seemed to be of the same quality as Silvio's spear, and Gravis also tied them to his back. "Carrying all this stuff is a bother, but its worth a lot," he playfully complained. "Well, I only have to reach the Spirit Forming Realm. Then I can just put all this clutter into my Spirit Space."
Gravis stood up and did some practice jumps. The Energy weapons were heavy, and Gravis' speed was slightly lowered. His flexibility would also suffer under the weight, but it was worth it if he could sell them. In the worst case, he could just throw the weapons away.
"Scree!" the parent shouted again, and Skye returned to it. The parent then started cawing in different tones and pointed with one of its wings at Gravis. Gravis was unsure what it was saying, but he could make a guess, and he didn't know how he should feel about it.
After a while, Skye looked at the ground, obviously in thought. Some seconds later, it looked back at its parent, and Gravis could hear an affirmative caw. The two birds then turned to Gravis, and the parent shoved Skye towards Gravis with one of its wings. Skye walked closer and extended its head to Gravis.
Gravis smiled, and all his earlier doubts vanished. He started ruffling its feathers and scratched its skin. Skye liked it and released some quiet caws of pleasure. Gravis didn't notice that his face had the same innocent smile as back when he was still playing with Stella. All his worries disappeared, and Gravis just couldn't stop smiling as some tears ran down his face.
He was not alone anymore.
