"The first level of the Heaven's Trial," Orthar said, "only involves you, Mortis."
"Why only me?" Mortis asked.
"Because you and Gravis are not equal."
Gravis and Mortis furrowed their brows.
This was a sore spot for them, and they would take this as a provocation if any other person had said that.
However, it was hard to argue with the very being that knew absolutely everything.
"Your power is about equal, but everything else isn't," Orthar explained.
"Gravis' conviction is far above yours, and if you also want to become powerful, your conviction has to reach his level."
"Why do you care?" Mortis suddenly asked. "From what I've heard, the entire deal with Gravis being some sort of mediator between you and our father only includes Gravis, not me."
"You said previously that someone that only chases power won't face any issues before they become Heaven's Magnates. Yet, when we reach that Realm, he and I would have already been split into separate beings. After all, we only need the True Law of Sentient Life."
"At that point, he is he, and I am I," Mortis said. "So, why would you care that I survive for a long time?"
Orthar only looked at Mortis.
"You are even more trustworthy than Gravis, in my opinion," Orthar said.
Gravis raised an eyebrow, but eventually, he nodded in understanding.
Mortis was generally more coldhearted, but Mortis also put fairness above nearly everything. Orthar hadn't gone against Mortis in the past, and with Mortis' fairness-oriented mindset, it would be very likely that he wouldn't go against Orthar.
"There's a possibility that Gravis will turn a blind eye to a sudden attack of his father, but I know that you won't."
"I'm using Gravis as insurance against your father, but I want to use you as insurance against Gravis."
"If Gravis ever breaks his word without a good reason, you won't just stand idly by, and Gravis knows that. That's why the chances of him breaking his word will be several times smaller," Orthar explained.
'That really reminds me of the old Orthar,' Gravis thought. 'He has insurances for insurances just to be prepared for every possible eventuality.'
Mortis looked at Gravis for some seconds.
Gravis wasn't sure what to express right now.
"Understandable," Mortis said, looking back at Orthar.
"Dick," Gravis muttered.
Mortis and the current Gravis came from the same Gravis, but they had developed in very different directions. By now, if one ignored their appearance, one wouldn't even think that the two of them were related. They were simply way too different.
So, obviously, the two of them also had disagreements.
If one were to exaggerate the negative images the two had of each other, Gravis would appear like an uncaring, lazy bum in Mortis' mind, while Mortis would appear like a way-too-serious stickler for the rules that can't get that stick out of his ass in Gravis' mind.
Of course, the two of them were very close friends. These thoughts were, at most, some annoyances they had with each other.
"Alright, so what do you want to do?" Mortis asked Orthar.
"First, the time you have been alive must be extended. Gravis has lived for millions of years more, which has given him ample opportunities to think about himself and his life, which resulted in him affirming his beliefs."
"You didn't have these millions of years."
Gravis raised an eyebrow. He knew that Orthar was referring to Samsara.
Mortis had never used Samsara.
Why?
Because he couldn't.
Samsara had been designed by Gravis for his Void Lightning, while Mortis was entirely made out of Heavenly Lightning. Mortis couldn't use Void Lightning, even if he wanted to.
Because of that, he also couldn't use Samsara.
"And how am I supposed to gather this experience?" Mortis asked.
Orthar pointed at Mortis.
Suddenly, Mortis' eyes widened in shock.
Mortis absentmindedly extended his right arm.
BZZZ!
Black lightning devoid of Laws appeared on his hands. It was Void Lightning!
When Gravis saw the Void Lightning, he was a bit surprised.
He had expected that his Void Lightning was unique to him, but he also quickly realized that it was also logical that Orthar could use it. After all, Gravis had created Void Lightning out of the absence of Laws. Couldn't Orthar just do the same thing?
Mortis took out his saber, and a second later, the area around his saber shook in grey waves, all reflecting different perceived realities.
Since Gravis knew how to use Samsara, Mortis also knew how to use it.
"You want me to use Samsara?" Mortis asked as he looked at Orthar again.
"Correct, but I have to do some other things before that," Orthar explained.
Then, Orthar stretched his right hand towards Mortis and clenched it into a fist.
Mortis' body seized and froze as a shocked expression appeared on his face.
Gravis looked at Mortis with narrowed eyes.
"If he tries anything, I will intervene," the Opposer spoke into Gravis' and Mortis' minds.
Gravis only nodded.
Then, Orthar pulled his right arm to the side.
BANG!
Mortis' body shook, but after a second, he regained control over his body.
Meanwhile, Gravis looked with shock at the place beside Mortis.
Besides Mortis was a multicolored Star now, which shone in endless, colorful images of different realities.
This was Gravis' Star.
Mortis looked at his body, which had stopped shining, in shock.
They both knew what this meant.
Mortis was no longer connected to Gravis.
Mortis was his own being!
"This is only temporary," Orthar said. "I want you to gain freedom with your own power, but for now, I need to split you two."
"Because if you die, your death will impact Gravis' growth, and I can't allow that."
Mortis looked at Orthar with skepticism. "If I die? Do you mean that you don't know?" he asked.
"I can calculate the future, but not to the tiniest of details to the extent of millions of years. There are simply too many calculations I have to do at once," Orthar explained. "I can only make an educated guess, but that guess isn't reliable. My predictions have been proven wrong more than once already."
"So, there's a chance I can die," Mortis said slowly.
"The chances are relatively high," Orthar said. "However, I would rather take these chances right now than take the chance that you won't be around when Gravis finally reaches the power to do his duty in the future."
Then, Orthar snapped his fingers.
SHING!
A person appeared in the hall with vacant eyes. He was a man with grey hair, and he wore the robes of the Darkest Stygian Sect.
On top of that, he was an Ancestral God.
When Gravis saw the Ancestral God, he took a deep breath.
Gravis knew that he could go through a Samsara spanning a couple million years, but Mortis?
Mortis had never gone through Samsara before.
Mortis might even spend over five million years living through a life that wasn't his own.
Now, Gravis knew why Orthar wasn't sure if Mortis could survive.
Mortis looked at the Ancestral God with narrowed eyes.
Mortis wasn't nervous, which was logical. After all, if someone hadn't gone through Samsara themselves, they wouldn't know how terrifying it was.
"You can start at any time," Orthar said.
Gravis only looked at Mortis with uncertainty.
Mortis lifted his saber and struck down without hesitation.
And then, Mortis entered his first Samsara.
