Gravis wasn't sure how he should feel. He had just realized that the children he had fathered and loved for millions of years had actually never existed.
Yet, on the other hand, it only felt natural not to have strong emotional attachments to things that weren't real.
It was just like a long dream.
"How was it?" Mortis asked from the side.
Gravis looked at Mortis with a bitter smile. "Just like you would think. However, I really don't feel much attachment to the things I have experienced and the people I have met. It really feels like a dream."
Mortis took a deep breath.
He knew that Gravis' personality was very stable, and he knew that Gravis wouldn't feel any issues.
However, what about Mortis?
Would he react this calmly?
"Now, it's your turn," Orthar said to Mortis. "Are you ready?"
Mortis took another deep breath and nodded.
Orthar nodded and extended his hand towards Mortis.
And then, Mortis' eyes became vacant.
Gravis looked at Mortis with interest.
"I thought this was instantaneous," Gravis said.
"I can only make time move so fast," Orthar explained. "Samsara doesn't need to invent things. All the perceived realities are already there, and it only has to replay them. That's why Samsara is instantaneous."
"In comparison, I have to continually manage the perceived reality Mortis is currently experiencing. I can only make it move so fast without endangering the management of the actual Cosmos," Orthar explained.
"Huh, so even you can't do anything," Gravis added with a smirk.
"Of course not," Orthar said. "I'm not some omnipotent being. I'm a Cultivator, just like you and everyone else. The only difference is that you can create life via procreation, while I can create a Cosmos. It's not very different. It's only on a grander scale."
"Okay, so how long will Mortis take?" Gravis asked.
"About five years. That's how long it took you."
"Five years? That's pretty fast," Gravis answered.
Orthar didn't answer for several seconds.
"What did you feel during the end of your perceived reality?" Orthar suddenly asked.
"Tons of regret," Gravis answered immediately. "However, that's only natural. I want to cultivate anyway, and I knew from the beginning that I wouldn't truly be happy if things turned out this way."
"Sure, living a fulfilling life with all my friends and family is great, but it's simply too short. I want to cultivate, but when I have been in the perceived reality, it was like I've simply accepted that I wouldn't cultivate anymore."
"Now that I'm awake, it feels so stupid. Why wouldn't I just continue cultivating? That would've solved all my regrets," Gravis said. "In a sense, I feel like I've never had the chance to do what I wanted, which makes the entire dream feel surreal. It's like someone else has lived my life."
Orthar nodded. "That's a good response. Someone with strong convictions won't feel attached to the dream since it forces you into doing something you don't truly want to do. That's also why the dream has basically no effect on you."
"What about Mortis?" Gravis asked.
Orthar only looked at Mortis.
"Huh?" Mortis said in confusion as he opened his eyes.
Mortis was currently sitting on a beautiful cliff.
"Hey, are you paying attention?" Azure asked with a frown. "You said you wanted to see the sunset."
"Oh, yeah, right, sorry," Mortis quickly said as his memories returned.
He was now his own being.
Gravis' survival no longer hinged on Mortis.
Additionally, the Opposer and Orthar had gotten over their differences.
Gravis had decided to continue cultivating with Stella, while Mortis had decided to stop cultivating.
Mortis had planned to watch the sunset together with Azure to commemorate their future.
They finally never had to be apart again.
When the memories had returned to Mortis, he felt a deep calm.
The dream he had dreamed of in the past had finally become a reality.
He no longer needed to fear his future since he and Azure would spend their time together from now on.
The two of them spent many days on the cliff, just staying by each other's side. None of the two of them spoke during all of this. In comparison to Stella and Gravis, Mortis and Azure were on the quiet side.
Well, as long as Azure didn't have something to complain about. As soon as she could complain about something, she went off.
Mortis and Azure simply enjoyed being in each other's vicinity.
Eventually, the two of them moved to Opposer City. They didn't want to stay in Eternal Fire Sect since they wouldn't cultivate anymore. Staying in the Cultivation world would only invite danger, and the two of them only wanted peace.
Mortis and Azure traveled throughout the entire world, and they looked at all the different things in nature.
In the past, Mortis hadn't been interested in weaker beings, but as soon as he had decided to stop cultivating, he had become interested in them.
It was so interesting how the instincts of young and weak animals and beasts worked. It almost intrigued Mortis.
On top of that, Mortis started to think of them as cute and adorable.
"Let's have some children," Azure said at one point.
That's when Mortis had realized that all these thoughts about simple and weak beings had been a manifestation of his desire to have kids.
"Yes, let's," Mortis answered.
Azure had had plenty of children, but these new children would be completely different from the old ones.
Azure had had no emotional attachments to her children back then, but things were different now.
Azure and Mortis soon saw their first batch of children, and they watched them from a distance. Since Azure was a beast and Mortis counted as half a beast, the children were born with beast bodies, just like Gravis' previous three kids.
But this time, Azure and Mortis looked at their children together.
Eventually, they met them, and just like the last time, the kids didn't feel any kind of familial love towards them.
However, Azure and Mortis were used to that.
They only had to be there for them.
Love was a selfless feeling, and they didn't mind that their children basically ignored them.
Azure had also been like that in the past, and she had eventually changed.
And sure enough, while some of them had died, others managed to become Star Gods.
The ones that managed to become Star Gods apologized to Azure and Mortis for their previous conduct, and Azure and Mortis accepted their apology.
Then, one day, it was time for the two of them to become Ancestral Gods.
When it happened, Mortis felt a bit nervous.
'I only have 13 million years in total left, three million as an Ancestral God, and ten million as a Divine God,' Mortis thought.
'I still have a long life ahead of me.'
'However, at one point, it will end.'
Azure and Mortis spent their time together with their family, and eventually, it was time to become Divine Gods.
'About five million years of my total life have passed, and ten million are left.'
'I'm still young.'
However, as more time passed, Mortis felt more nervous.
Then, as the years passed and death came closer, Mortis felt more and more regret.
'I only have so much time left. I've already lived for so long, and only this little bit of time is left.'
Death was coming closer.
The last couple of years, Mortis and Azure only embraced each other.
They didn't want to let go.
They wanted to stay together forever.
However, they couldn't.
Whenever someone was experiencing a limited time of happiness, they would always look towards the end. School holidays and vacations were such things.
When it just started, people already looked towards the end, knowing that it would come.
Then, as time dragged on, they would keep in mind how long they had left.
As the end drew closer, the person would feel worse.
Mortis wasn't ready yet.
He still wanted to spend so much more time with Azure and his family.
However, there was no more time left.
'Was it worth it?' Mortis asked himself as he looked at his family and Azure.
'I could have had all these things with more time.'
'If I could become a Heaven Breaker, our time wouldn't need to end.'
'We could be together, forever.'
'Why is life so short?'
Eventually, Mortis and Azure died, and Mortis cried.
'Why did I throw my chance at eternal happiness away for easy, temporary happiness?' he asked himself in regret.
'I don't want to die!'
"Huh?" Mortis suddenly uttered as light returned to his eyes.
His dream shot through his mind, and Mortis felt a dark hole opening in his chest.
To him, the dream had been far more real than for Gravis.
Why?
Because Gravis had been forced into this decision, which made him feel a disconnect. It was like it hadn't been him that had lived this life.
In comparison, Mortis had genuinely considered to stop cultivating. The disconnect that Gravis felt didn't exist for Mortis.
Mortis remembered all the happiness he had felt with Azure and his family.
It had been so short.
Additionally, Mortis had realized that his family had never been real.
A dark feeling of loss appeared inside Mortis, but it wasn't overwhelming.
It still felt like a dream, just a more realistic one.
"You've dreamt to the end of your alternate path," Orthar said, pulling Mortis' gaze towards him.
"You've thought about walking it, and now you have. I didn't alter your perceived reality in any way."
"Tell me, what do you feel?" Orthar asked.
Mortis stayed quiet for a long time.
"Regret," Mortis said. "I wish I could have the things in my dream but forever."
"You have the chance now," Orthar said. "In a way, you have a second chance at life. You now know what you will regret. Work towards a future where you don't have these regrets."
Mortis took a deep breath.
He was still a bit beside himself because of the dream, but he also felt excited that he could rectify his regrets.
He didn't want to feel this feeling of approaching dread anymore.
He wanted to live forever and be happy forever.
"Thank you, Orthar," Mortis said.
Orthar nodded.
"The second trial has been complete. Take 10,000 years to recover. Then, you can enter the third trial."
And Orthar vanished.