Chapter 998 - 998 – Emotional Freedom (1/2)

Mortis nodded.

Both of them had wished to gain emotional independence for an extremely long time.

And now, they finally achieved it.

However, deep inside, Mortis felt nervous for some reason.

He didn't know why, but a part of him didn't want to sever this connection with Gravis.

Meanwhile, Gravis wasn't nervous in the least.

Instead, he was excited.

Finally, he could feel whatever he wanted without having to think about how his feelings would impact Mortis.

Gravis flew over to Mortis and put his hand on his chest.

”This might hurt a bit, but you should already know that,” Gravis said with a smile.

Mortis nodded, still uncertain.

Mortis closed his eyes and didn't resist.

Then, Gravis' hand exploded with Divine Lightning.

BANG!

Mortis was blown apart, leaving behind a grey ball that showed all the different facets of reality.

In essence, Mortis had died just now, leaving behind Gravis' Avatar.

As Mortis was destroyed, his personal concepts of Perceived Reality and his Emotions started vanishing into nothingness as they returned to Energy.

Gravis lifted his hand and clamped his fingers.

CRK!

All the Laws Mortis had been comprised of had been captured. It was impossible for them to escape now.

If it had been before, Gravis would have only been able to capture Mortis' ideology, but not his personality.

Yet, with the Major Law of Emotions, Gravis could also capture Mortis' Emotions.

Emotions and ideology created a personality.

So, in essence, Gravis held control over Mortis' entire personality right now.

Gravis downgraded the Law of Emotions since it was too powerful to be incorporated into his Avatar of Perceived Reality.

After that, Gravis fused the level four Law of Emotions with his Avatar.

Some seconds later, many concepts appeared inside Gravis' Avatar.

Freedom, Suppression, Control, Safety, Danger.

Yet, these concepts didn't exist on their own anymore.

Now, a complex mix of emotions was fused into every concept, pushing it further from Perceived Reality to physical reality.

Suppression could be used by the prideful to suppress the humble.

The humble could be suppressed by the prideful.

A father's love might suppress his child for their good, giving it an empathetic effect.

A ruthless ruler could suppress their soldiers to follow every order, even if it killed them. This gave Suppression an apathetic effect.

Someone could be suppressed out of revenge, which reflected rage.

Someone could seek solace in servitude, giving up all forms of control in exchange for safety. This reflected calm.

All the concepts of Perceived Reality were connected to the Emotions in some way, creating an infinite number of personalities and possibilities.

After some seconds, a colorful world appeared in Gravis' Avatar, representing all the Emotions and Perceived Realities.

BZZZZ!

Then, Gravis pushed all his Divine Lightning into his Avatar while fusing them with the fragments of Mortis' personality.

Just like the first time Mortis had been born, Mortis slowly took shape again.

Some seconds later, Mortis stood in front of Gravis with a complex expression.

”Everything alright?” Gravis asked.

Mortis nodded. ”I still remember everything, and I'm still myself,” Mortis answered as he looked at his right hand.

”Now, you not only have perceived freedom but also emotional freedom,” Gravis said with a grin. ”Now, we are literally only connected by our Spirit. The only things we share are our Laws and lives, nothing else.”

”So, how does it feel?” Gravis asked with a smile.

Mortis continued looking at his right hand.

”Not any different to before,” Mortis answered.

Gravis groaned. ”Can't you be excited for once?” he asked with some annoyance.

”I'm just honest,” Mortis answered evenly.

”Fine, fine!” Gravis said with exasperation. ”Well, if you're not excited, I will be! I'm glad that I finally got emotional freedom. Now, I can feel whatever I want without needing to think about what you will feel as a result.”

Mortis remained silent for some seconds.

”Was it so bad?” Mortis asked quietly.

Gravis noticed that Mortis was acting weirdly. ”What's with that question? Are you sure you are still yourself? You should be just as excited as I am. Do you not desire freedom?”

Mortis wasn't sure what he should feel right now.

Yes, he desired freedom.

However, why does this newfound freedom feel… dangerous?

Mortis felt like his newfound freedom wasn't good.

Yet, that made no sense in Mortis' mind.

He wanted to be free, right?

Gravis wanted to be free.

Lightning wanted to be free.

Mortis was both.

Mortis thought about Gravis' words.

'Gravis said that he no longer has to think about what he should feel in case it affects me,' Mortis thought to himself as he furrowed his brows.

'Yet, how come I can't empathize with this feeling?'

Silence.

'Have I ever cared about Gravis' feelings when I felt something?'

Mortis didn't think for a while.

Gravis looked at Mortis with concern since he hadn't answered Gravis' question yet.

'No, I never did,' Mortis thought as some kind of oppressive darkness appeared in his body.

'I never even thought about how Gravis feels when I'm feeling something.'

'Why?'

Mortis' right hand started shaking slightly.