Gravity - some mystical force that attracts masses together - turns out to be a completely fictional thing. Mass curves spacetime, objects actually move in straight lines, and the fact you can explain the results of that as an 'attractive force' turns out to just be a convenient invention. The idea of summing how all that works in terms of a simple inverse square force is just an ingenious human observation and invention.
Prior to Newton's conception of gravity as objects attracting one another, the primary model used was the Aristotelian one, in which things tended to go to the "zone" where they belong. Things composed of earth (like a rock) tended to sink towards the center of the earth, while things composed of fire or air tended to rise towards the sky.
Gravity - some mystical force that attracts masses together - turns out to be a completely fictional thing. Mass curves spacetime, objects actually move in straight lines, and the fact you can explain the results of that as an 'attractive force' turns out to just be a convenient invention. The idea of summing how all that works in terms of a simple inverse square force is just an ingenious human observation and invention.