Gravis pulled the thing out and looked at it.
"CREEEEEE"
It released a maddened and enraged shriek, but Gravis didn't falter. It was a long, black worm with eyes completely covering its body. It looked like an abomination that parents would make up to scare their children into behaving.
More spires shot at Gravis, but Gravis only tightened his hold on the worm. The spires broke down before they could reach him.
"You look really disgusting, Heaven," Gravis said evenly. "Who would have expected that the thing that has haunted me for six whole years was such a disgusting worm? Would you have ever expected that this day would come?"
"You meddling ant!" it shouted in its screechy voice. "Why won't you just die!? If your father weren't there to protect you, you would have died long ago!"
"And if you weren't born from Heaven, you would have also died many times over. Background is also a part of strength," Gravis said.
"CREEEEEE!"
It shouted as Gravis used more of his strength. This was a shout of pain, and Gravis enjoyed it. Finally, Heaven felt a sliver of what he had felt for the past six years.
"Is it infuriating to be suppressed? Isn't it horrible when someone stronger than you can control your life?" Gravis asked.
"You won't dare to kill me! If I die, this whole world will be destroyed!" it screeched.
Gravis looked at the world as the black holes were devouring it. Then, he turned back to the black worm.
"Sorry, but this world is more important than your life," he said.
The worm became happy, but then, the Void-Stone Saber stabbed through its mouth. It released another high-pitched screech, and Gravis started turning the saber slowly inside Heaven's body. After around a minute, the worm fell silent.
BOOOOOOOM!
A shower of Energy exploded out of the worm as all its saved-up Energy was released into the world. Luckily, the corpse remained in one piece. Without someone guiding the Energy, it merely entered the holes without repairing them. Gravis remained calm as the world was ending around him.
"Don't play jokes on me. You won't let this world go to waste," Gravis said.
Whooosh!
All the holes vanished instantaneously. The destroyed continents were also restored to their status before the fight had begun. Yet, the dead remained dead. Everything recovered, except life.
Whoooosh!
Energy reappeared in the atmosphere, and in no time, it regained its old density. If there weren't so many dead people and beasts, one would believe that everything had been a dream.
If Gravis hadn't seen the highest Heaven repair the highest world before, he might have believed this lower Heaven. At that point, he would have hesitated. Yet, what was a lower world to the highest Heaven? Even if there were only one lifeless grain of sand remaining, the highest Heaven would still be able to recreate the world easily.
The survivors noticed that everything had ended, and they could scarcely believe that they were still alive. Yet, the sadness of their dead loved ones immediately hit them. They were happy that they were still alive but sad that so many had died.
By the end, millions had died. The Middle and Outer-Continent had been spared from the massacre. They only felt the Energy reducing and felt the earthquakes ravaging the land.
The Core-Continent had been the battleground, and most people in the Core-Continent had died. The Sects managed to keep themselves alive since they were fast enough to escape the destruction. Initially, they had believed that their homes would be destroyed, but with the highest Heaven's help, their homes had been rebuilt.
Nearly no one in the Spirit Forming Realm had died, while only some in the Energy Gathering Realm died. The people that had it the worst were the Body Tempering disciples and the mortals. Body Tempering cultivators had now become even rarer than Spirit Forming cultivators in the Core-Continent.
Whoop!
Gravis sent his saber and Heaven's body into his Spirit Space. He might have a use for Heaven's body, so he kept it.
Slowly, Gravis released a sigh. Heaven had died, and his enmity had been avenged. Looking across the restored world, Gravis felt a feeling of emptiness. "Was it worth it?" he asked himself.
He saw the grieving people all over the world. He knew that his fight with Heaven would create collateral damage, but not this much. Yet, what could he do? His lightning demanded justice, and if he didn't kill Heaven, he would ultimately lose his lightning. The enmity had been too enormous to forget.
"Lasar, do you think I am a monster?" Gravis asked Lasar.
Lasar had a complicated look on his face but then sighed. "I can't fault you for what you did. I know lightning, and it demands justice."
Gravis sighed again. He had noticed that Lasar had dodged the question.
Gravis looked towards the Freya Clan and saw Joyce crying. She had been excited for Gravis' fight with Heaven, but she hadn't expected that the world would suffer that much. She was an empathic and emotional person, so she felt for people, even if she didn't know them.
'If we ever see each other again, you can tell me honestly what you think of me,' Gravis wanted to say to her but couldn't. He didn't want to hear her answer.
Gravis shot into the distance. There was one last thing that he had to do.
After a couple of minutes, he arrived at the edge of the Middle-Continent. Gravis stopped as he looked at something, which was hovering right before him.
It was a green, 90-meter-long hurricane hawk. It was a middle-grade Spirit Beast.
Skye looked back at Gravis and almost couldn't believe its eyes. It didn't know this human, but the human's aura seemed incredibly familiar. It quickly recognized Gravis.
Snort!
Skye snorted and then flew away. When Gravis saw that, he sighed again as a lump of guilt formed in his throat. Skye also believed him to be a monster.
Noticing that Gravis didn't follow it, the bird grew angry, turned around, and shot towards him.
PACK!
Skye slapped Gravis to the side with its mighty wing. Gravis' body wasn't entirely without strength while flying. Having a body at the Seed Stage was light enough to fly with. Otherwise, his own speed might kill him. Yet, the slap still hurt, and he got shot away.
Plop!
And landed on Skye's back.
"That's what you get for leaving me like this!" Skye transmitted to Gravis with an angry voice. As a Spirit Beast, Skye had the capability to transmit its thoughts. On top of that, it had always been smart for a beast. The fact that it transmitted a complete sentence showed its intelligence.
Gravis was shocked for a second but then smiled warmly. Skye hadn't been angry because of what he had done, but because he had left it.
"I'm sorry, Skye," Gravis said, hugging the gigantic bird.
"It's alright. I understand," it said. "I was too dependent on you. Thank you," it transmitted.
They talked for many hours like they had never been separated. Skye told Gravis its story, and Gravis told Skye his story. Skye hadn't known that it was Gravis who had nearly ended the world. After all, Gravis' voice had only been transmitted to the humans.
When Gravis realized that Skye didn't know, he grew nervous again. He didn't want his best friend to think of him as a monster.
"Well done!" it shouted in excitement as Gravis finished his tale. "I'm honored to call you my brother!"
Gravis sighed. "You don't mind that I have killed millions of mortals and beasts?" he asked.
"What's so bad about that?" it sent back, legitimately confused. "We become stronger, and that automatically makes weaker beings suffer. It's how the world works. Why should you be guilty about how the world works?" Skye asked.
When Gravis heard that, his eyes widened. The reasoning was simple, but it rang true. Hadn't Gravis thought the same thing after he had realized the change he had brought to the world after he had destroyed the Darkness Sect? How did he forget that?
"Thank you, Skye," Gravis said warmly.
"Why?" Skye asked.
"You might not understand, but your sentence has helped me immensely," Gravis said back. Then, he realized something. "You said I'm your brother, right?"
"Yes, are you not?" Skye asked back.
"Sure, I am, but what are you? Are you my sister or my brother?" he asked.
Skye snickered a bit. "You can call me big sister!" it sent back.
Now, Gravis knew Skye's gender. Apparently, she was female. Gravis didn't mind that Skye wanted to be called big sister. "Okay, big sister," Gravis said with a laugh in his voice.
"Hey! I heard that laugh!" Skye transmitted back. "Are you not taking me seriously anymore after you've become so powerful?"
Gravis shook his head with a laugh. "No, no, that's not it!"
Gravis and Skye bantered for a bit and then fell into silence.
"Skye, do you want to ascend to a higher world?" Gravis asked.
Skye's eyes widened in excitement. "That's possible?" it asked.
Gravis smiled. "Yes, it is, but you have to leave this world with me," he said back.
Gravis had already told Skye about her parent's death, but she had taken it remarkably well. She looked at cultivation similarly to Gravis. It had been a fair fight, and death was normal. Skye didn't really grieve for her parent. Beasts were really different from humans.
"Sure thing! Nothing is keeping me in this world. I'd take the chance to ascend any day," she said without hesitation.
"Great! Though, we have to separate again. Don't take this the wrong way, but I'd rather we stay in different worlds," Gravis said.
"I understand," Skye said. "You cultivate much faster than me, and if we stay together, I will involuntarily rely on you again. I need to forge my own path!"
Gravis nodded. "Thank you. Don't worry, as long as you keep ascending, we will meet each other again. Then we can stay together."
Skye nodded back.
"Please wait for a second," Gravis said as Skye started hovering in the air.
With his newfound happiness, Gravis contacted Joyce. "I will leave the world now. You can forget me if you want. I'm fine with that, but if you are still interested in our deal, I will wait for you in the highest world."
Joyce didn't answer Gravis. She continued crying and acted like she didn't hear him. When Gravis saw that, he sighed again. There was nothing he could do about that.
"Father, bring us home," Gravis said.
Whooooom!
A humongous portal appeared before them, surprising Skye. "Fly into it. This portal leads to my homeworld."
With a loud cry, Skye shot forward into the portal.
And with this, Gravis left the lower world in which he had lived for six whole years.
It was time to return home.
