Gravis told Ferris about what had happened at the Ultimate's Meet, and Ferris became shocked beyond belief as more time passed. Apparently, he hadn't known about anything that had been going on. He had seen Meadow's display, but he didn't go there because of all the Ultimates.
Ferris had no idea that he had just killed the last Ultimate of the land beasts. He thought that there were still the three other ones, not counting Meadow.
"So, I killed the last land beast Ultimate?" Ferris asked.
Gravis nodded.
"Wow," Ferris said. "That's awesome! I'm responsible for the world changing. That's so cool."
Gravis chuckled a bit. "You don't care about what will happen to the land beasts?"
Ferris looked at Gravis with genuine confusion. "No? Should I? I'm not part of the land beasts anymore."
Gravis chuckled some more. "You're right. It doesn't matter."
Then, Gravis remembered something. "By the way, what did you think about the Lightning Ultimate when you saw him?" he asked.
Ferris sneered. "As soon as I saw him, I immediately disliked him. His whole demeanor and being just rubbed me the wrong way. He felt like the sneaky snakey kind. I don't like the sneaky snakey kind."
Gravis nodded. 'As expected. Ferris has an excellent intuition regarding other beasts.'
Then, Gravis told Ferris about the ruler change in the Icy Pride Empire, and Ferris wasn't surprised at all about that.
After that, Gravis came to the heavy part. He decided to tell Ferris about his problems and what he was currently thinking about.
After Gravis was done, silence reigned.
"I don't get it," Ferris said in confusion. "I don't get the problem."
Gravis sighed when he heard that. "I didn't expect you to. You know that I'm a human and that I think differently from beasts. I just wanted to share my problems with someone else."
"No, no," Ferris quickly answered. "That's not what I meant. I can just replace your family with some dear companions, like you, for example. I get what you mean with wanting to stay with your companions, but I don't get how this decision can be so hard. It seems pretty obvious to me."
Gravis chuckled a bit. "Tell me, Ferris." He didn't expect much from Ferris' input, but he was still interested in what Ferris was about to say.
"I mean, who cares about the world? We need to change worlds anyway," Ferris said. "First of all, if you want to stay here, you must stop cultivating and die here. That's already a big sacrifice."
"Then, I also don't get your attachment to this world. It's just a place. Earth, fire, water, air, and stuff is cool and all, but the higher world also has all these things."
"Lastly, I don't get why you call this world your home. That makes no sense," Ferris said.
Gravis frowned. "What do you mean with it makes no sense? I lived here for 90% of my life. Isn't a place where you stay for a long time your home?"
Ferris shook his head. "No," he said directly. "My home is where my companions are. If I become too powerful and must leave my companions behind, I just have to search for new ones."
"You said that you came from a different world than this one. So, you should have had no one when you arrived here. But now, you have a lot of companions. You can just do the same thing in the next world."
"Besides," Ferris said carelessly. "Aren't all of your companions about to ascend soon anyway? When I'm gone, Azure is gone, Styr is gone, your one octopus friend is gone, who will be left? So, your home is not even staying in this world, but moving to another one."
Gravis remained silent as he listened to Ferris.
Inside, Gravis felt shaken. How had he not seen that? How had he not seen something so obvious!?
Yes, leaving his companions and family behind would be horrible, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't leave him behind. Gravis was sure that his companions wouldn't abort their cultivation just to stay with him. Gravis also didn't want them to. He wanted them to become powerful.
His children? They would either die or also ascend. They had already shown quite some talent regarding Laws. At some point, they would also learn a level three Law and ascend. Would they stop for him? Of course not! Additionally, Gravis also didn't want them to give up their dreams because of him.
Gravis looked at the Grand Lake.
'I'm so stupid,' he thought.
'Yes, my home is currently here with my family and friends, but my home won't stay here. All of my companions will become more powerful in the future and leave this world. So, even if this is my home, it is only my temporary home.'
Then, Gravis looked at the sky.
'My true home is the highest world because most of the beings I care about will end up there. Even though I don't care much about my friends from the lower world anymore, we still have a connection. Maybe they have changed beyond recognition, but I still want to see them again.'
'Ferris, Azure, and Styr are seedlings of Heaven. This world specifically exists to create food for the highest world. Their next world probably poses nearly no danger to them since they will be the most powerful beasts in there in regards to Battle-Strength. All three of them will end up in the highest world with a high probability.'
'All my temporary homes will converge in the highest world, which is my permanent home.'
'I'm truly stupid,' Gravis thought bitterly, but also with relief.
The difficult decision had become easy. Sometimes, the correct answer was the most obvious one. Overcomplicating issues could make them harder than they actually were.
'And I've wasted three months on this stupid shit,' Gravis thought with frustration. 'I shouldn't stay here and mope around. I should comprehend Laws so that I can achieve my goal and return home. So what if I don't remember my father or mother's face and voice? I can just relearn them!'
"Ferris, thank you," Gravis said with a heartfelt voice. "Your advice has saved me from making a wrong decision and wasting unnecessary time."
Now, Ferris became even more confused. "You're weird. You're so super smart normally. Shouldn't you have already realized all that I've said? Am I the smart one now?" Ferris asked.
Gravis chuckled a bit. "I'm not smart, and you're not stupid. We just have different experiences that have taught us different things. Your knowledge about home and companions is simply better than mine. So, yes, in this case, you are the smart one."
"Cool," Ferris said. "No one has ever called me smart. It feels unreal."
"You have become an Ascender while nearly all other beasts can't accomplish that. This basically makes it impossible for you to be stupid. Even if you sometimes talk like you have no idea about anything, you still have a ton of knowledge hidden away," Gravis said with a chuckle.
"Hey!" Ferris said. "That sounds like an insult! I don't talk stupid!"
Gravis had to laugh at that.
Gravis and Ferris spent some more days together until Ferris decided that it was time for him to leave this world. Yet, the goodbyes were not painful. They were simply two friends who have met outside their homes but would return home later together.
Ferris ate all the Striders he needed and transformed into a young teenager with curious eyes. The human bodies of beasts were created on how the beast perceived themselves. Apparently, Ferris thought of himself as a curious teenager with a lot of energy.
"See you later!" Ferris said with a wave.
"See you soon, Ferris," Gravis said.
Then, Ferris ascended to the next world.
Yet, Gravis was not distraught. Now, he had realized that this world wasn't his home and that Ferris won't be the first being that would leave him behind for now. Azure had said that she would start tempering herself crazily as soon as Gravis went into seclusion. With her knowledge about Laws and Gravis' influence, she would probably learn a level three Law soon.
Then, Styr and Azure would quickly become level five Emperors and ascend. This would probably happen before Gravis even left his seclusion. At that point, only Orthar and his children would be left.
Gravis could see his home moving, and instead of feeling like he was left behind, he was happy.
He would see all of them or most of them again in the future.
With newfound motivation, Gravis finally started to concentrate on learning Laws.