The beasts were shocked when they heard Gravis' words. What did he mean by dissolving the River Tribe? Could he do that? What about them?
"Why?" Silva asked. "Why are you dissolving the River Tribe?" he asked in shock.
Gravis only sighed. "I have realized that my feeling of companionship has blinded me. I wanted for everyone to stay until the end. Yet, this desire has blinded me to the truth, and the truth is that the end is not far off."
The beasts were shocked again when they heard that. What did the Leader mean by that the end wasn't far away?
"Silva is right. We have angered not only Tribes but Kingdoms too. They won't just send some level three Lords. They will also probably send several level four Lords. I can fight against one of them, but not against two. So, as soon as the enemy arrives, everyone will die."
Suddenly, the beasts felt like they were dropped into hell. Their Leader had said that they were about to die. As soon as Gravis said that, it felt like they woke up from their dream. They had been blinded by their ridiculous growth and had ignored the reality. The insane expansion of their Tribe couldn't remain secret forever.
"Silva, you can lead the beasts that want it safe to a different land," Gravis said.
"Orthar, you can lead the more extreme beasts to a less dangerous land."
"The River Tribe is no more. The beasts that want to temper themselves can leave with Orthar while the other members can join Silva. It's your decision. I will remain here and wait for the enemy. If the enemy finds nothing here, they will search for you. If they find me, they probably won't look for you."
"I wish you all the best," Gravis finished and then flew to the Spire, leaving the beasts alone.
Right now, the beasts were helpless and indecisive. Should they follow Silva or Orthar?
Silva only sighed. "Thank you, Gravis," he said silently. Silva knew that Gravis was protecting them by staying here. It was unknown what army awaited him. Death was not only a possibility but a certainty in Silva's mind. To him, it felt like Gravis was sacrificing himself so that they could live.
"I will allow tempering, but we won't make enemies with any Tribes that are too powerful for us. Yet, I won't allow the mindless killing amongst each other. Every beast that wants to follow my path can follow me," Silva declared.
Meanwhile, Orthar sighed. "Even until the end, I have still considered you a companion, Silva," Orthar said.
Silva only smiled. "Thank you. I also didn't want to fight you. Yet, if our paths clash, there is no other way. But, of course, if there is a way to resolve this peacefully, I will always take it."
"Thank you," Orthar answered. Then, he also turned to the beasts. "Silva might have forgotten something. Since we are no longer enemies, I don't want you to die. So, I will tell you."
Silva looked annoyed again. Had Orthar's words been empty?
"A mix of land and sea beasts is an abomination in the eyes of other Tribes. If the sea beasts follow Silva, the future Tribe will only attract more enemies. This is not what Silva wants. Therefore, I will follow this path and will create a Tribe for all willing sea beasts," Orthar said.
Silva's eyes widened in realization. Yes, he had completely forgotten that fact. By taking as many of his companions with him as he could, he would have doomed all of them to die. Nearly all beasts outside the River Tribe wanted their line to remain pure. By having both kinds of beasts inside their Tribe, they would become the enemy of everyone.
Silva only sighed. "Orthar is right. I'm sorry, companions from the Sea Camp, but I can only take the Land Camp with me. Otherwise, I risk the death of all my companions."
Many of the sea beasts felt sad when they heard that, but they understood Silva's point.
"My Tribe will temper themselves more aggressively than Silva's Tribe," Orthar said. "Of course, all the beasts that want to live peacefully can establish their own Tribe. With your Battle-Strength, nearly no beast will be able to kill you," Orthar said.
With that said, the beasts all went their separate ways. Nearly every land beast decided to follow Silva, while less than half of the sea beasts decided to follow Orthar. Yet, that was still plenty. After all, all beasts that stayed here were level two Lords.
After every beast decided their future path, Silva looked at Orthar one last time. "Goodbye, friend. It has been a blast with you."
"Goodbye, friend," Orthar answered. "I wish you peace and quiet."
Silva smiled. "Thank you." Then, he looked at the lone Spire. "Goodbye, Gravis," he said quietly.
Then, Silva left with his new Tribe.
Meanwhile, Orthar flew closer to Gravis. "I'm expecting that you don't want me by your side anymore?" he asked.
Gravis felt awful when he heard that. "That's not it. You're my closest friend in this world, and I want to stay with you. Yet, the enemies I will face are beyond your current power. If you follow me, you will only die. Instead, I wish for you to temper yourself against enemies that you can actually win against."
Orthar remained silent for a while. Then, he flew to Gravis' side and looked into the distance. "You have opened my eyes to a new path forward. I am no longer content with remaining inside my own enclosed space. I want to become powerful and dominate this world."
Then, Orthar hesitated. "Yet, if that path is cut short by staying with you, I will leave. I'm sorry, but my path is more important to me than your companionship or life, Gravis."
Gravis only laughed bitterly. "Don't be sorry. Isn't it the same thing for me? If I were more important than your path, then we couldn't be friends anymore. At that point, you would only become a follower, and that's not what I want."
Orthar remained silent for a bit. "If there ever comes a day when my strength can reach yours, I will accompany you. Right now, I am too weak for your opponents. I only need to become powerful enough so that we need the same enemies for tempering."
Gravis smiled. "That sounds good to me, Orthar," Gravis said.
Then, Orthar turned around to leave. "I'll keep an eye out for any appearance of you. I refuse to believe that you will die to the coming enemies. My power will increase, just like yours, and at some point, we will meet again. After all, there is only one beast in this world that can be considered the most powerful. If we both reach the top, we will meet each other again."
Gravis looked at the sky. "Yes, we will. Goodbye, Orthar."
"Goodbye, Gravis. Until we meet again!"
And with that, Orthar left the Spire. A couple of minutes later, he left Gravis' territory with his new following. Some stragglers that still weren't sure what to do also started leaving. After all, Gravis had said that he would kill them if they remained.
Nearly every beast shot one last, sad look at the lone Spire. They had become incredibly powerful inside the River Tribe, but not all good things would last. It was time for them to leave the Tribe and make their own legacy. Yet, they would always remember the River Tribe and their mysterious and powerful Leader.
Some hours later, Gravis was completely alone.
As soon as he saw no more beasts, he sighed again. Goodbyes were painful, and Gravis didn't want his companions and friends to leave. Yet, he also realized that they needed appropriate enemies. Nearly no beast could keep up with Gravis' growth. By pulling them along forcefully, he would sooner or later kill everyone.
Day turned to night as Gravis only looked at the sky. "The hardest decisions are often the right ones, huh?" Gravis muttered to himself.
A silent and cold wind blew over the lonely Spire. Nothing else could reach the Spire's height or power as far as the eye could see. Yet, that made the Spire appear solitary and isolated.
"My enemies will arrive soon," Gravis said to himself. "Father, there is a high chance that I will die. I hope you can understand my decision to remain here."
As time passed, Gravis felt cold and uneasy. Yet, he remained.
"I haven't been in such a situation before," Gravis said silently. "I know that the enemy won't send only one level four Lord. Such a fight seems completely hopeless. It doesn't feel like I am waiting for a fight, but waiting for my death."
"Yet," Gravis said, "isn't this the same feeling that Orthar, Morn, and Silva had felt when they fought their first level three Lord? They thought that they would die, but they still won."
Whoop!
A couple of pictures appeared in front of Gravis. These were the pictures of his friends from the lower world, and he wanted to look at them.
"They probably went through something similar. Yet, they have all survived such things. I have taught them to take risks, and I'm sure that they followed that philosophy," Gravis said with a smile as he looked at the pictures.
Whoop!
The pictures vanished, and Gravis stood up with a fiery sparkle in his eyes. "Even if my enemy is many times more powerful than me, I will persevere! Even if I am meant to die, I will die while giving it my all!"
Then, he looked into the horizon with narrowed eyes.
"Whoever comes will die!" Gravis said with a deep and powerful voice.