The Martial Unity

"…Kane."

Rui's voice was detached.

Devoid of any emotion.

It was as though he simply uttered the word instead of greeting a friend.

Raw terror erupted from within his soul.

Kane's face grew horrified at what he saw.

Gone were the eyes lit with enthusiasm, excitement, and ecstasy. Where once would have been unyielding joy at having finally inherited priceless knowledge that would have revolutionized his Flowing Void Style against the Beast Domain, was…emptiness.

It was like he was looking at a corpse.

The Rui that Kane knew would have been beaming with energy, eager to test out his new power against various beasts and monsters.

Yet the man sitting before him was different.

He was detached.

His eyes were cold, devoid of the warmth that once was there.

"Why do you look at me like that?"

His tone was chilling.

It startled Kane.

Yet there was an ounce of sincerity, cold as it was.

It was as though he couldn't see why Kane would react the way he would.

Kane stared at him, his expression growing grave.

"…How do you feel?"

His eyes sharpened to slits as a smile appeared on his face.

A cold smile.

"I feel incredible."

In any other circumstance, Kane would have heaved a sigh of relief, cracked a few jokes, and moved on.

Yet he couldn't move.

He was frozen.

Frozen in horror.

"You seem unwell."

The edge in Rui's voice cut at Kane, making him wince.

Yet Rui didn't seem to notice, staring at Kane.

His eyes were reduced to sharpened slits.

They were dark.

"Perhaps you should get yourself checked out by the Elder Tree."

Kane stared at him with uncertainty and apprehension.

"I'm sure it'd be willing to conduct full medical examinations for free."

A hint of fear flickered in Kane's eyes.

"I don't mind trading a few extra favors if it wasn't willing to."

Kane felt his nerves tingle.

"Anything for a friend, right?"

His words were nice.

Yet, his voice and tone were chilling.

It was almost as if he was threatening Kane. Being friends with Rui had always been a crazy experience, yet Rui had never made Kane feel unsafe before.

STEP

Kane winced as Rui stood up, walking over to him slowly.

CLASP

Rui stared into his eyes, grasping his shoulder.

"Kane."

His eyes were reduced to sharp slits.

"Are you ok?"

The contrast between his words on paper and his demeanor and body language was almost dizzying.

Kane didn't know what to pay attention to.

He didn't know what was happening.

"Are you ok?" Kane furrowed his eyebrows with uncertainty.

Rui stared at him. "I told you, I feel great. I just finished inheriting the Elder Tree's knowledge of the biosphere of the Beast Domain. And now…"

The smile that crept up on his face was soft.

Yet, it sent chills across Kane's skin.

STEP

He walked past Kane.

"…now I shall manifest the Tree of Life within the depths of my mind."

Kane turned, watching the retreating figure of his friend with horror.

'What happened to him?!' Kane barked at the Elder Tree mentally.

I am not an expert on psychology. However, if I had to make an educated guess, I think his subconscious mind, in response to extreme emotion triggered by extreme stimuli, has astronomically elevated the threshold for triggering both negative and positive neurotransmitters.

'I legitimately have no idea what that means.'

…It takes far more for him to experience agony, ecstasy, and other emotions closely related to both of them.

'…He's basically a different person!'

I warned him. I warned him that he could suffer tremendous mental damage. But unfortunately, he was adamant about pursuing this course of action, as you know.

"Damn." Kane cursed out loud. "That's crazy!"

Kane had also heard the Elder Tree's warnings and Rui's stubbornness, so he knew that the Elder Tree was not lying whatsoever. Both of them had tried to convince him not to do it, but Rui's determination had never once wavered.

Now, Kane wondered if respecting his wishes had been the best course of action.

To say that Rui had undergone a shocking change was an understatement.

His demeanor had altered at its very root, becoming dispassionate and detached.

Cold.

The only time he smiled was…

Kane narrowed his eyes. "What was the Tree of Life thing he mentioned?"

He planned to condense all the information that he had inherited from me into a predictive model that could predict, based on their given traits, what environment was optimally antithetical to any monster or beast. He called it the Tree of Life.

Kane's eyebrows rose. "He must have planned to upgrade the Yggdrasil System with a new system of thought. No wonder. He must have been excited for that. But…"

Ordinarily, Rui would have been extremely boisterous and energetic in his enthusiasm for upgrading his Martial Art.

Yet, this time, he barely smiled.

It might be a temporary shock. He was enthusiastic about seeing his project to the very end.

"No…" Kane grew grave. "You don't get it. His Martial Art and Path are what brings him the most joy, fulfillment, and purpose in this world. More than anything else. The fact that even they could barely make him crack a smile…"

That was what terrified Kane.

How horrific was the suffering of the accelerated inheritance such that it desensitized him to the point where even the drive that persisted past death and across worlds struggled to move him?

Yet, he didn't strike Kane as though his drive was weaker.

If anything, being desensitized to the point where nothing else could possibly move him simply meant that his Martial Drive and Martial Path would take an even greater primacy over his life.

Kane shivered at the consequences of such a thing coming to pass, immersing himself in thought for quite a long time.

Rui was crazy enough in his decision-making even when he was sensitive to the consequences before.

What would happen if he became entirely desensitized to the consequences?

RUMBLE!

The Garden of Salvation shook, startling Kane out of his reverie.

"What the hell…?"