Chapter 997 - 997 – Equations

Silence returned to the ravaged craters that had been their battlefield.

Magma was spewing out of the ground, reaching the sky. The craters had reached a depth of several ten thousand kilometers, creating massive calderas. 

Who knew, maybe in the future, this place would become another Law Comprehension Area for the Law of Magma.

"Can you feel it, Mortis?" Gravis asked with a smile.

Mortis wasn't certain what Gravis meant.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"We know the Major Law of Emotions now, our first level seven Law," Gravis answered.

Mortis' eyes lost their focus for a bit.

The Major Law of Emotions.

Hadn't this Law been their goal for an eternity?

Mortis thought about all the Emotions, and he felt like he was seeing through the veil of life.

When Mortis looked at Gravis, he didn't see Gravis but all the Emotional Laws that defined his personality. 

However, there were still things missing.

Mortis couldn't completely see through Gravis for three reasons.

First of all, Gravis was made of Void Lightning. The Law of Emotions only explained how beings made of Energy worked. Since Gravis was made of Void Lightning, Mortis couldn't see through Gravis' emotions. 

This was also the reason why Arc and the Black Magnate weren't able to see through Gravis.

Second, the two of them only knew the Major Law of Emotions, not the True Law of Emotions. There were still a lot of things missing. 

Third, they were missing the Major Law of Perceived Reality. The level five Law of Perceived Reality wasn't nearly on the same level as the level seven Law of Emotions. 

The Law of Emotions dictated the personality of complex lifeforms.

However, the Law of Perceived Reality dictated the finer personality of a sentient being.

One was only an animal, while the other was a human or beast.

In order to see through all facets of such a complex and intelligent lifeform like a human, one needed the Law of Sentience, which was the combination of the Law of Emotions and Law of Perceived Reality.

After some seconds, Mortis concentrated on some Cultivators a couple million kilometers away. 

Right now, the Cultivators were hiding.

The explosions and shockwaves from their previous fight had frightened every living being for millions of kilometers around.

Mortis saw a Nascent Nourishing Cultivator, and Mortis couldn't look away for several seconds.

The level seven Law of Emotions and the level five Law of Perceived Reality were powerful enough to see through nearly every being below the Immortal Realm.

When Mortis saw the Cultivator, he didn't see the Cultivator.

It was like the Cultivator had become a walking… something.

What would be a fitting word?

Mechanism?

Equation?

Ruleset?

Algorithm?

Machine?

Formation Array?

None of these words quite fit. 

However, one thing was clear.

Mortis saw what the Cultivator thought.

Mortis even saw what the Cultivator would do.

If the Cultivator didn't leave the area of Mortis' Spirit Sense, Mortis would even be able to calculate exactly what the Cultivator would do, even years down the line.

However, that required Mortis to also calculate what every living being, every Element, and every piece of dead matter would do. After all, living beings were not static. They reacted to their surroundings.

Yet, who was Mortis?

Mortis was an Immortal Emperor!

Calculating the actions of a couple thousand middle world Cultivators wasn't nearly as draining as comprehending a powerful Law. 

The complete interaction of so many variables couldn't come close to the complexity of level five Laws.

"Can you see it, Gravis?" Mortis asked back.

"What do you mean?" Gravis asked.

"We can see whatever anyone will do for several years," Mortis said, his voice sounding serious. "Weaker lifeforms have become nothing but equations in our mind."

"When we are able to foresee whatever anyone will do for years, does freedom even exist?"

Mortis took a deep breath.

"Maybe the Black Magnate was right."

Pack!

Gravis lightly shoved Mortis' shoulder with a smirk.

"What's up with you? You know the Law of Freedom. So, why are you asking such a stupid question?"

Mortis frowned. "I know the Law of Freedom, but I don't see how this Law can guarantee freedom when all our paths are predestined."

Gravis chuckled a bit, annoying Mortis.

Mortis was not up for laughing right now.

"Mortis," Gravis said with a smirk. "Don't you see? It's not that you can't see their freedom. In fact, the opposite is true."

"The opposite?" Mortis asked with confusion.

"Yes," Gravis answered with a smirk. "You're seeing their freedom."

This took Mortis aback.

"What do you mean?"

"What is freedom?" Gravis asked. "Isn't it doing whatever we want to do? So, when that Cultivator does whatever he wants to do, isn't he free?"

"When we know what they want, isn't it natural that we also know what they will do?"

"Being free doesn't mean acting incomprehensibly or unpredictably. Emotions are what drive us forward. Emotions are the source of our happiness, sadness, rage, hatred, love, and so on. Freedom means doing whatever you want to do."

"You are watching them and think that they are not free just because you know what they will do. Yet, they all do whatever they want. In comparison, if they went against their very personality in order to not be foreseen, wouldn't they be going against their emotions? By definition, this would mean that they are not free."

Mortis listened to Gravis intently, but he was still a bit uncertain.

"What you're saying makes a lot of sense. In fact, I can't even argue with you."

"But?" Gravis asked with a smirk.

"But the Black Magnate knows far more about Emotions and Freedom than us. So, either this is not the correct answer, or the Black Magnate didn't find it. I know that we are powerful, but we can't compare to the comprehension of the Black Magnate. Because of that, I'm quite certain that the answer can't be that simple."

"Why not?" Gravis asked with a smirk.

Mortis frowned. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

"Sure, I did," Gravis answered. "However, this has nothing to do with comprehension or Laws. This is simply an outlook towards life. Understanding that we are witnessing the freedom of weaker lifeforms doesn't teach me more Laws, and on top of that, knowing more about the Laws of Emotion and Perceived Reality won't necessarily make it easier to see the answer."

"After all, I surprisingly don't mind being able to see what everyone will do in the future, while it has been a source of emotional turmoil of the Black Magnate."

Gravis looked at the Cultivator the two of them were watching.

"Can't you appreciate something that you already know? Just look at the beauty of the Laws. There are so many unique combinations that basically no human exists twice. All of them have their own numbers, rules, Laws, Emotions, and many other things."

"It's not impossible to enjoy something that you already know. After all, many humans like to hear or read the same story again, even though they already know how it ends."

Mortis couldn't find a counterargument.

However, he was still a bit uncertain.

Everything that Gravis had said sounded so simple, but was it really true?

"I can't find any counterarguments against your reasoning right now, but I'm still not certain if it's the truth," Mortis answered.

"Sure," Gravis said with a shrug. "It's your decision what you want to believe. If you're not sure, go search for the answer."

"Anyway," Gravis said. 

"Want me to cut off our emotional connection?"