Some seconds of silence passed as Gravis calmed down. The past minutes had felt like he stood at the edge of chaos. Just one wrong step and he would stop existing.
"So, what is this Brand?" Gravis asked.
The Opposer looked at his son. "What I am about to tell you will never be repeated again, and you are not allowed to talk about these things with anyone, including your mother. Don't even talk to me about it with a voice transmission after our talk is over since the danger is too great that someone will overhear your voice transmission."
"If anyone ever hears of this, no matter who, they and you will be immediately extinguished by the old bastard. Absolutely no one can hear about this," the Opposer said severely.
Gravis felt like a colossal weight pressed on his entire being. This was obviously something of paramount importance, which the Opposer had never shared with anyone, including his wife. Probably only two beings in existence knew of this thing, and Gravis was about to become the third one.
Gravis took a deep breath and released it. Then, he looked at his father with conviction and nodded. "I will never repeat anything you will say to me during this talk."
The Opposer nodded. "You are only allowed to speak of this when you are directly in front of me and only when I give you permission to. If you handle this incorrectly, you will stop existing. Understood?"
Gravis nodded again. "Yes, father."
The Opposer looked at his son for several seconds.
"Good," the Opposer said. "I will now tell you why it is impossible for a second Opposer to exist."
'Impossible?' Gravis thought. It was one thing that reaching this power was very hard, but straight up impossible?
"This will also explain to you why I specifically targeted the Star Gods back then, and not the more powerful Gods," the Opposer said.
Gravis nodded again.
"When a Heaven's Magnate steps into the next Realm, they will be able to somewhat resist the Old Bastard's power. I won't tell you the details since that power level is simply too far away from you and might move your cultivation into a different direction," the Opposer said.
"When I reached that Realm around 50 billion years ago, the Old Bastard immediately tried to kill me. That had always worked, and he thought that this would continue to work."
Then, the Opposer smirked. "But he underestimated me. I managed to resist him just long enough to ensure my survival. With my survival ensured, I managed to cultivate in peace until I broke through again and reached the power of the Old Bastard. That's when I returned and fought him."
'Broke through again?' Gravis thought with surprise. 'Does this mean that father is not only one Realm higher than a Heaven's Magnate but two Realms? That's insane! No wonder they are so powerful!'
"The Old Bastard realized that he had committed a fatal mistake and vowed that nothing like this would ever happen again. Because of that, he implemented the Brand," the Opposer said.
"A Star God is called a Star God because they condense a star inside their being. They become connected to that star, and it will act as the embryo for all their future advancement. The star is the very thing that allows them to become stronger."
"As their power increases, their star transforms multiple times until it finally gives you the ability to retreat into your own space, absent from the Old Bastard's control. That's when you reach the Realm after a Heaven's Magnate."
"The Brand is an infusion of the Old Bastard's essence and control into your star when it condenses, and its purpose is to grant him access to your star when necessary. This means that the protection of the Realm after the Heaven's Magnate Realm doesn't work anymore. Because of this, you can't protect yourself against the Old Bastard. You can imagine the rest," the Opposer said.
Gravis nodded. Not being able to run from someone an entire major Realm above themselves spelled certain death. Battle-Strength also didn't matter since the highest Heaven probably had the most powerful Battle-Strength out of anyone alive, except for the Opposer, maybe. Additionally, the highest Heaven would be an entire Realm higher.
That was why the Opposer said that it was impossible to reach the Realm after the Heaven's Magnate Realm. No one could escape from the highest Heaven.
"Infusing a star with this Brand costs the Old Bastard a lot of Energy, and that Energy will only be reclaimed when the Star God becomes an Ancestral God," the Opposer said.
'That's a lot of Energy,' Gravis thought. Yet, he still had a question.
"Then doesn't it mean that the highest Heaven loses most of its Energy? After all, only a select few will ever become Ancestral Gods," Gravis said.
The Opposer nodded. "Correct. Just this Brand alone probably slows down the growth of Energy in the Cosmos to 80% of its full potential. It's a significant expenditure of Energy. Yet, the Old Bastard would rather waste this much Energy instead of allowing a second Opposer to appear."
Now, Gravis understood why the highest Heaven became so enraged when the Opposer killed the Star Gods. The highest Heaven had just used an incredible amount of Energy to brand the Star Gods, but not even one of them would ever be able to repay that Energy. Additionally, the Opposer had probably killed future Ancestral Gods, Divine Gods, and maybe even future Heaven's Magnates.
This was a truly devastating strike.
"This is also the reason why Cultivators reach the highest world at the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm instead of the Star God Realm. The higher worlds can't bring up the sheer amount of power required to infuse the stars with the Brand. Additionally, the Old Bastard would never trust any of his children with something that important. As long as he deals with everything himself, nothing can go wrong," the Opposer said.
Gravis had already thought it unusual that the higher worlds didn't follow the ascension pattern of the lower and middle worlds. Now, he knew the answer to the question of why.
"If anyone finds out about the Brand, the entire purpose of cultivation will vanish from the world," the Opposer said. "Everyone believes that there is a chance to reach my power, even if it is slim. Additionally, the Heaven's Magnates have not given up hope. Yet, if they know that it is straight-up impossible, the entire goal would be put into jeopardy. Far more people would decide to not continue on their path."
"That is why the Old Bastard is so adamant about keeping the Brand secret. It not only endangers his own survival but also the growth of his Cosmos. If anyone hears of this, the Old Bastard won't stop until they stop existing," the Opposer said with severity.
Gravis took a deep breath. This piece of information was truly heavy. Just knowing it felt like Gravis was weighed down by a heavy burden.
"I understand, father," Gravis said solemnly.
"Good," the Opposer said. "Right now, by knowing about the Brand, you are the second most dangerous being to the Old Bastard. Even if he had to kill all Heaven's Magnates to kill you, he would do it without hesitation. The only thing protecting your life is my threat right now, and that also only because I keep my word. As soon as I break my word, it would mean that the Old Bastard can't negotiate with me."
"And when he sees that he can't negotiate with me, he has to get rid of me, even if it means sacrificing billions of years of Energy. If this gets out, I am forced to let you get killed. Otherwise, everyone I love will die, and maybe even I will die."
Gravis nodded again. "I understand," he said again.
The Opposer nodded. "Now, in order to reach my power in the future, you obviously need to avoid getting that Brand. Yet, if you reach the Star God Realm in the highest world, you will be branded. Because of that, you need to reach it in the higher world."
"Of course, the higher world doesn't have enough Energy to create a Star God. Even if you consumed the entire world, you wouldn't be able to become a Star God."
"But there is one being in each higher world that has enough Energy to push you to the Star God Realm," the Opposer said.
Gravis nodded. "Heaven," Gravis said.
The Opposer nodded. "This means that to ever have the chance of reaching my power, you need to kill and consume a higher Heaven. You know how powerful the middle Heaven was, and you might be able to imagine the power of a higher Heaven. Yet, this time, no one will protect you when you initiate the fight too early."
"Additionally, the Old Bastard wants you to fight his firstborn, the most powerful higher Heaven. Otherwise, he wouldn't agree."
"Gravis," the Opposer said. "You believe that you know the power of the higher Heavens, but you are still far off."
"To put it into perspective for you, the firstborn of the Old Bastard has lived for over 10 billion years, and it has comprehended every single Law that exists in the higher worlds."
"Every single one?" Gravis asked as he took a deep breath. "But doesn't that mean…" he said as he trailed off.
The Opposer nodded.
"Yes, Gravis."
"It even knows the Higher Law of the True World."
"This thing is an absolute monster, even for my standards."
