The Martial Unity

The Martial Sage simply stared at Rui silently, earning a frown from him.

"With all due respect, Your Sagehood, I am extremely busy."

Sage Sayfeel closed his eyes. "…I have one last thing to inform you."

His tone grew graver.

"I didn't think it was appropriate for me to be the one to inform you, but…"

A severity accompanied his gaze.

"…it's more important than all the aforementioned matters."

Rui raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "…and just what might it be—"

"—Your mother."

Sage Sayfeel cut into his question.

Rui's eyes sharpened.

"Which one?"

"…Your adoptive mother, Lashara."

"…I find it concerning that you felt the need to bring her up at all."

The endless darkness within Rui's eyes stirred.

"What about my mother?"

Sage Sayfeel's eyes closed.

"She passed awa—"

—A horrifying tsunami of bloodlust and peril flooded the Martial Sage, stunning him silent.

It was pure, unadulterated darkness.

"I'll kill you."

Rui's voice resonated with the emotional maelstrom within.

Yet, Sage Sayfeel's eyes only grew melancholic.

For all he could see was pain.

"…My condolences, Your Highness."

"No…" His voice shook. "…I don't believe it."

His eyes burned with defiance.

"I don't believe it."

BADUMP!

Rui's Martial Heart and Martial Mind blazed into full power even as his eyes flared with defiance.

WHOOSH!!!

In an instant, he flashed away from the medical ICU room that held the Emperor of Harmony. He shot away from the Royal Palace, surging through Kandria as he moved at extraordinary speeds, the likes of which he had never reached before, pushing his body to the very limit.

His flesh churned under the sheer stress he subjected it to, while muscles burned as his joints creaked under the sheer speed at which Rui moved at.

Yet, the pain in his body could not even begin to compare to the pain that he felt in his heart.

His expression crumpled with grief and defiance.

His heart refused to accept it.

Yet, his mind knew that Sage Sayfeel would never utter a falsehood about such a thing.

A single remark escaped him.

"No."

It was as though he was trying to will reality to his command.

WHOOSH!!!

With each step, he surged faster and faster.

With each step, he brought about greater pain.

For the first time since becoming a Martial Artist, he cursed the heightened perception of time that came with it.

Each passing second was an eternity.

An eternity of hell.

Yet, merely a minute later, he had arrived at the Quarrier Orphanage.

Unfortunately, the two Martial Masters in place for protection did not take kindly to the rapid arrival of what could only be interpreted as a hostile Martial Master.

Yet, the two of them were frozen stiff with shock when they saw the identity of said hostile Martial Master.

"…Your Highness…" They stared at him with unadulterated shock, emerging from their spots as they surged into the air to confirm what they were seeing. "You are a…"

"Move." Rui's voice was cold.

STEP

He arrived at the orphanage.

In an instant, his powerful senses scoured the entire place.

It had grown larger in the past three years, almost becoming its own little village as a new generation of young adults had also moved out of the orphanage. While many of them had moved to the town of Hajin, many had also chosen to take the steps of those before him, setting up small huts and little homes in and around the orphanage along the road that led to it.

His mother had never had children of her own yet had given birth to a small village.

Yet, he didn't care for that at the moment.

His eyes were only fixed on the original Quarrier orphanage house.

They scoured its depths.

He spotted many familiar faces, young and old.

Yet, he couldn't find his mother.

Try as he might, his powerful senses couldn't find her.

That didn't mean others didn't find him standing outside the orphanage.

"Look, it's Uncle Rui!"

"Woah, he's finally back!"

The adolescents noticed him first, growing more excited.

CLACK

"Rui…?" Alice opened the front door with an amazed smile. "You've truly returned…!"

She was visibly older.

Her energy had declined.

Previously, she would dive at him and hug him while yelling out his name with excitement. Yet her youth had long gone over the years. Before him was an older woman who was in her forties.

A single whisper escaped Rui.

"Alice…"

"Welcome bac—"

"Where's mom?"

Her expression collapsed with melancholy. "Oh Rui…"

She pulled him in for a hug.

He stood there, frozen.

Alice wordlessly embraced him not letting go.

"Alice."

Rui's tone was soft.

"…She passed away last year."

The air boiled tumultuously as the truth gripped his heart in a vice.

No amount of denial could ever undo it.

A single whisper escaped Rui.

"I should have never left."

Had he not left, he would have been by her side the entire time.

Had he not left, he would have been able to speak with her, with the woman who had raised him her as his mother.

"No."

Alice's voice was uncharacteristically firm.

"She was most proud of you. Proud of you for forging your own path. She would have never wanted you to throw away your life just to bring her comfort."

A soft, bittersweet smile cracked at the edge of Rui's frozen demeanor. "…That's true."

Perhaps Martial Art wasn't the only thing that could evoke emotions of old from him.

Yet, even then, his frosty demeanor had not gone unnoticed.

"Rui…?" Alice released as she peered into his eyes, getting a proper close look at him for the first time in a long time.

She frowned wordlessly.

She was unable to articulate herself well, yet, the more she studied him the more alarmed she grew.

"What happened…?" She asked as she gazed into his dark, frosty eyes.

Rui simply stared at her impassively.

Within his eyes stirred an endless darkness.

A void.

A new reality had set in.

One where he was no longer tethered by a mother's love.

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