A century passed since Gravis had finished his first job. After that, he had gotten around one job every three days. The world was gigantic, but there were not so many truly powerful Peak Immortal Emperors fighting.
Gravis' jobs for the next century were straightforward, and he hadn't met another Peak Immortal Emperor that knew a level seven Law again. He simply arrived at the location, watched over the fight, and left. In a sense, one could say it was boring, but one could also say that it was very interesting.
Why?
Because Gravis could watch other people use Laws that he himself didn't know.
Gravis learned quite a bit about several more levels six Laws, but 100 years was barely enough to make any headway in those Laws.
In those 100 years, Mortis also managed to get together with Joyce. They were finally "lovers".
How did he do it?
After a while of trying, Mortis became frustrated and angry and asked Joyce what her problem was. He liked her, and she obviously liked him. So, what was her problem? What did she want from him? Why was she wasting time with all of this shit?
Surprisingly, that was exactly what Joyce wanted to hear. Joyce was a very powerful woman, and she wanted an even more powerful and even more commanding man. She had no interest in these weaklings that were only willing to lick her boots and shower her with affection.
She was attracted to power.
Mortis had specifically not looked at Joyce's Emotional Laws since he didn't want to feel like he was taking advantage of her. That was why he hadn't realized this part about her.
Mortis straight-up asked what she wanted.
Joyce said that she wanted him to conquer her and that she refused to be with anyone that couldn't manage that.
Well, if she wanted that, sure.
'You want me to conquer you? Fine! Give me 30 minutes!'
Mortis grabbed her and pulled her away "against her will". Joyce quickly tried to break free, but Mortis was far too powerful.
Mortis pulled her into his apartment and threw her on a bed. "That what you want?" he asked coldly.
Joyce's inner will to fight reared its head, and she looked at Mortis with burning eyes.
However, she also became very excited at the same time.
"What's with that question?" she asked with narrowed eyes. "We both killed millions of innocent people, but now you're hesitating because I might not want this? What's with your favoritism and your weak conviction? You kill innocent people without batting an eye, but as soon as it comes to forcing yourself on someone, you suddenly get weak in the knees?"
If Gravis had seen this, he would have believed this to be so stupid.
Seriously? Joyce was into being a victim of sexual assault? Was she sure that it was about conviction and not just about her own fetish?
However, in comparison to Gravis, Mortis felt his body heat up.
Joyce was powerful, and she didn't allow anyone to just touch her. They first had to overcome her power and resistance. She also coldly looked down on anyone that acted soft towards her.
Due to Mortis' mindset, he was also attracted to power, and Joyce's conduct showed that she was someone powerful and hard to conquer.
Mortis' first time was very, very rough. However, Joyce didn't say "no" even once. She simply fought him with her Laws and weapons while they were doing the deed.
In essence, Joyce was trying to kill Mortis.
Why?
Because she enjoyed the loss of control.
She could only truly feel like she lost control if she tried absolutely everything in her power to get back control but being unable to.
After the deed was done, Joyce snorted. "Fine, you win," she said, "but don't expect me to swoon over you like some fangirl. If you want my affection, you have to earn it."
"Earn it, you say," Mortis said coldly from beside her. "You think you're in a position where you can demand affection? No, you'll be the one that's trying to get affection out of me. You won't get any love and affection until you beg me. Then, maybe I will give it to you."
Joyce snorted. "Me? Beg? In your dreams," she said arrogantly.
However, deep inside, Joyce felt even more attracted to Mortis.
This dominance!
This power!
Mortis felt the same towards Joyce.
However, Mortis felt nervous deep inside.
Mortis had spent all his time with Gravis, and Gravis' values and personality had rubbed off on him. Mortis wanted to hug Joyce and love her. He wanted her to just lay in his arms lovingly. Mortis had appeared confident, but he actually wasn't.
Could he actually follow through with his words? Could he act coldly towards Joyce until she cracked first?
It was difficult.
Yet, Mortis knew that this was the only way to truly create a long-lasting relationship with her.
Sadly, this also created a headache for Mortis. 'Why must this be so complicated?' he thought to himself in frustration. 'Yes, it's hot, but it's also troublesome. She acts like she doesn't want to be with me, but she obviously wants to. It's like I'm continually forced to force myself on her, even though that's exactly what she wants.'
'Why does all of this have to be so messed up? Can't we just talk and let things develop? Isn't this entire power-play thing a bit much for the very beginning of a relationship?'
Mortis looked at Joyce without her noticing.
'Honestly, if every other guy went through what I just went through, they would call her crazy. I mean, she literally tried to kill me the entire time while we were doing it. I mean, what am I supposed to do during all of this? I can't try to kill her, or she will die. I think she enjoyed the suppression of my Will-Aura, and she also seemed to enjoy when I became a bit physical.'
'It feels a bit weird, but sure, as long as she likes it, I'm fine with it.'
Mortis left directly after their talk since he had to appear like he didn't want to give any affection towards Joyce.
'I think this is a very elaborate form of roleplaying,' he thought. 'It's almost ridiculous.'
Joyce taunted him some more, but Mortis didn't answer.
After that, Mortis didn't talk to Joyce for several years.
Joyce appeared in front of Mortis several times, always taunting him and trying to anger him.
Mortis saw the lust in Joyce's Emotional Law, knowing that she only tried to rile him up so he would rail her.
Mortis always left without an answer, ignoring her.
Then, when Joyce didn't expect it and was busy doing something else, Mortis would appear.
In order to win this power game, he had to be the one taking the initiative.
In order to convince Joyce, everything had to happen on Mortis' accord.
All of this continued for a hundred years, and one day, after a particularly rough session, Mortis looked at Joyce.
Joyce was quite injured, and her Life Energy had already run out.
However, according to what her Emotional Laws were telling Mortis, this session was the most enjoyable one for Joyce.
Mortis took a shaking breath.
A little bit was fine, but this was honestly going too far.
Mortis didn't want to feel like he was killing his partner.
Yet, Joyce wanted it like this.
Mortis felt very guilty while being this rough.
Mortis put his head in his hands.
'This is so fucked up.'