Gravis was stunned.
He knew for a fact that Aris had a body that was just as powerful as a normal beast's body. If he had been born with a Spirit, he would have also been born with a weaker body. A Will-Aura required a Spirit to be used, which meant that Aris needed to have a Spirit.
Yet, Gravis would have noticed something like that.
So, how was it possible that Aris suddenly gained a Spirit?
"How does he suddenly have a Will-Aura and Spirit?" Gravis asked Ferris. "The last time I saw him, he hadn't had a Spirit or Will-Aura."
Ferris only smiled at Gravis with excitement. "He ate something," he said.
"Ate something?" Gravis asked in surprise.
"Gravis," Arc transmitted to Gravis. He made his transmission fluctuations obvious to show the others that he was talking to Gravis right now, but he hid the contents to the best of his ability.
"It's possible for humans to get a body as powerful as a beast body, right?" Arc transmitted. "You should have already noticed that Stella's body is more powerful than normal. So, it's only logical that there would be something similar for beasts."
Gravis looked at Arc with furrowed brows. "Sure, but why have I never heard of these kinds of things?" Gravis asked.
"Because I didn't use them in my world," Arc explained.
"Why?" Gravis asked.
"If I created a large quantity of natural treasures that allows humans to get bodies just as powerful as beasts, the humans would overwhelm the beasts. If I created a large quantity of natural treasures that allows beasts to build a Spirit and expand their Energy storage, they would overwhelm the humans."
"If I created both of them, the natural differences between beasts and humans would shrink considerably. At that point, it would be more difficult for the two sides to go to war. The war in my world is based on a difference of species. Other worlds have different reasons for their wars."
"On top of that, you have to realize how much it costs to condense these natural treasures and the benefit they would bring for my Creator. Creating some natural treasures that increase the physical power of humans doesn't cost much Energy. Making something like a physical body stronger isn't that hard."
"However, expanding the Energy storage of a beast costs many times more Energy, and condensing a Spirit takes even more. If the cost of giving a human the advantages of a beast is 1, the cost of giving a beast the advantages of a human would be 10,000. I could give 10,000 humans beast bodies for the Energy I would invest by elevating a single beast to the same level."
"Even more, you have to keep in mind that these changes don't give immediate rewards. None of these changes have any real significance to the amount of Energy the being pulls in. It, essentially, only increases their Battle-Strength."
"Yet, to increase their Battle-Strength, us Heavens have to invest a lot of Energy," Arc explained.
Gravis scratched his chin in thought.
Arc's words made a lot of sense.
However, he still had questions.
"Does it cost more to change these fundamentals as the being grows more powerful?" Gravis asked.
"Of course," Arc answered. "Giving a Body Tempering Cultivator a beast body doesn't cost much at all."
"Then why not give everyone a Spirit at birth?" Gravis asked.
Arc to chuckle a bit. "Gravis, that has already been explained to you in the past."
Gravis furrowed his brows but then remembered that he already knew that.
Beasts were used as a tool to increase the power of humans. Creating a beast was many times cheaper, which allowed Orthar to create a ton of them, giving the humans more opportunities for tempering. If Orthar gave all these beasts the advantages of humans at the very beginning, they would just be more humans, and they would cost just as much Energy.
"But then why am I only now hearing about this?" Gravis asked. "It sounds like these things don't exist for lower and middle worlds."
"That's true. They don't," Arc answered. "Every one of these natural treasures takes a lot of Energy to condense, and if the recipient of the natural treasure dies, all that Energy will go to waste. After all, they would have never reached a magnitude of power that makes them relevant to my Creator."
Gravis scratched his chin more.
"The reasons why humans are more important than beasts to your Creator is because of their Spirits, Energy, and Will-Aura. So, if there is a way to grant beasts the same thing, wouldn't that make them just as important as humans?" Gravis asked.
"It would, yes," Arc answered. "Beasts have to live their entire life with zero Karmic Luck, giving them a severe disadvantage over humans. However, if they manage to slog through this horrible time and manage to come out the other end, they show that their talent and Battle-Strength are incredibly powerful. At that point, it would be worth the investment of Energy."
"At what point is it worth it to invest in beasts for your Creator?" Gravis asked.
"You keep referring to my Creator with 'your Creator'. Usually, you call him the highest Heaven," Arc transmitted. "I guess the way you address my Creator has changed because you met him, right?"
Arc had been frozen in time when Orthar had talked with Gravis, and Gravis hadn't told him yet.
Gravis felt a bit uncomfortable.
Arc had guessed the truth this easily.
"Yes, I've met him, but I can't tell you anything about it," Gravis answered.
Arc only smiled. "Understandable. I only wanted to tease you. Anyway, back to your question. The point that decides if it's worth it to invest in a beast or not is when they are about to- "
WHOOOOOOOOM!
Arc's eyes opened widely in terror as his head violently shot to his right.
Arc was the only one that felt this apocalyptic pressure.
Arc and the Opposer looked into each other's eyes.
"Arcerius," the Opposer said, referring to Arc with his full name. "You are my son's friend, which is why I'm stopping you right there. You are no longer in your world. You might be able to hide the contents of your voice transmission in your own world, but this world has beings that can still decipher them."
"One of these beings is my wife."
"Be careful of what you're saying at all times because, if my wife heard your next words, your Creator and I might have another falling out."
"I won't just sit here as he kills my wife."
"Before this situation has a chance of occurring, your existence will have long since become an unknown part of history for this Cosmos," the Opposer said coldly.
The Opposer hadn't transmitted his thoughts but had voiced them.
Everyone in the room heard him, and they gulped nervously.
The Opposer always kept himself out and simply sat there like a decoration, but when he said something, people immediately remembered what kind of existence he was.
He was kind to his family, but that already encompassed all the kindness the Opposer had.
Arc took a deep breath.
Arc was insanely powerful, but in front of the Opposer, he was nothing.
"I apologize," Arc said with a bow. "I was too used to being in my world. I need to learn that I no longer have full control. I will never speak of any of these matters again until I have sufficient power to hide my transmissions from everyone."
The Opposer nodded. "It's better that way."
"I will continue the explanation from here on out," he said.
Arc nodded as he took a step back.
The Opposer looked at his son.
Gravis only furrowed his brows.
"You could have worded it a bit nicer," Gravis transmitted. "There's no reason to threaten Arc with annihilation, you know?"
"The severity of my words assures that he will not make this mistake again," the Opposer transmitted.
Gravis rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
"Sure," he said, but he obviously didn't fully mean it.
"What I told Arcerius also counts for you, Gravis," the Opposer transmitted. "Don't repeat the things I will say, even as a question. If you have a question, word it vaguely."
Gravis nodded.
"The point where beasts are considered to be worth the investment of Energy is the Star God Realm."