Chapter 661: Parents and Children (1/2)
Gravis appeared inside his father's room in his human form. The fight against Heaven had ended, and Gravis no longer needed to remain in his beast form.
Right now, Gravis had the appearance of a young adult, maybe in his middle twenties. He was clean-shaven with short black hair. Yet, the color of his clothing had changed. Gravis felt that being dressed entirely in black was no longer that fitting for his person. He preferred a light blue shirt with black pants.
Gravis noticed his father and also immediately noticed the Life Ring lying in front of him. After a short sigh of relief, Gravis only grinned at his father.
His father grinned back.
”Sorry that you had to see that, father,” Gravis said as he sat down in front of him.
”No problem, son,” the Opposer said as he summoned some coffee. ”I have to be honest. I felt some pain when the Old Bastard demonstrated his control over you, but you brought it back beautifully.”
Gravis sighed again. ”What could I have done? Just let my family stay isolated inside the Life Ring for hundreds or thousands of years? Some people would argue that this is worse than death. Heaven has proven that it doesn't want to hurt me.”
Gravis laid back. ”However, forcing me to first hand over my Life Ring to the middle Heaven and then transporting it was what brought me to the edge. If the highest Heaven had just taken the Life Ring after a verbal consent from my side, I would have never seen the suppression.”
Gravis sneered. ”But, come on, forcing me to hand over my Life Ring first? That was just a dick move.”
Gravis looked out of the window and saw Opposer City. ”But I have to thank the highest Heaven for that. Without this forced showing of control, I would not have realized what true freedom meant.”
Gravis chuckled a bit. ”Of course, I won't just feel indebted to the highest Heaven. I think it would be fair to just call it quits. As long as it doesn't try something like this again, I won't mind.”
”Gravis,” the Opposer said with a severe tone. ”I think there is something that you might not fully understand.”
Gravis noticed the serious tone of his father. ”Yes?” he asked.
”Would you want one of your three kids to fight against your middle Heaven because you had an enmity with it?” the Opposer asked.
”Of course not,” Gravis said. ”This is my fight, and my-”
And then, Gravis fell into silence.
He looked at his father and then back at the Life Ring. After that, Gravis began frowning.
”Is this also how you look at me?” Gravis asked.
The Opposer nodded as he pushed a cup of coffee over to Gravis. ”You are your own person, Gravis. If you have no enmity with the Old Bastard, you don't have to get involved in my fight. So, don't feel like a traitor when you decide to not act against the Old Bastard.”
”The only thing I wish for is that you don't directly go against your mother or me,” the Opposer said. ”But I don't need to say that.”
Gravis took a deep breath and looked out of the window again.
Gravis wasn't specifically targeting the highest Heaven because of his father, but it would be a lie to say that being the Opposer's child didn't influence the decision. Gravis always felt like he should help his family against their enemy. After all, wasn't this how family worked?
Gravis had also known that his father probably wouldn't force him to fight the highest Heaven, but there had always been a feeling in the back of Gravis' mind that it was his duty to help.
Yet, when his father related his feelings towards Gravis to Gravis' feelings towards his children, Gravis truly understood. If one of Gravis' three kids wanted to fight against the same enemy as him, he wouldn't stop them, but he would also never force them. It was entirely their own decision.
”When I saw the Life Ring in front of me,” the Opposer said, ”I felt pained, but that was not because I felt like you betrayed me. I felt pity for your situation. Back then, you had been fully under the Old Bastard's control without even noticing it. I felt sad for your situation, not my own.”