The Martial Unity

It was almost magical how the flood of guilt that had plagued his heart was replaced with even more potent love from his mother in her final message.

It gave him closure.

He didn't know it was possible to love his mother even more than he already did.

He didn't know it was possible to feel more loved by her than he already did.

His mother was determined to ensure that Rui wouldn't spend the rest of his life hating himself for not being there.

And she had succeeded.

And he would always love her for that.

He exhaled heavily as he felt his stiff body loosen up and lighten up more than it ever had in the past five years.

He felt as though his heart had grown stronger.

It had grown stronger from the ever-present and eternal love that his mother always had for him.

"Grandmother…" Rui wiped away his tears. "Can you keep this letter for me?"

"Of course, my child," she replied with a smile. "I shall protect it with my life."

Her words made a soft, grateful smile appear on his face.

"That's better," she remarked approvingly as she studied him. "Perhaps now you are worthy to know."

His eyes lit up with interest at her words. "You mean…?"

"Yes."

Her answer was clear.

"But…" His eyebrows furrowed. "I just recently broke through to the Master Realm."

"…That is indeed true," Sage Nephi calmly replied. "However, I am not going to tell you the secret to the Sage Realm. Or rather, I cannot tell you. I am unable to."

Rui's powerful mind processed her words furiously as he recalled her earlier words.

"…You implied that the power of the Sage Realm is something that is beyond our understanding of it." He frowned.

"Mmm…" She stirred.

"…Well?" Rui asked impatiently. "How does one reach the Sage Realm and not know what it is?"

She shook her head. "I cannot say. But I can tell you a story."

He tilted his head in confusion. "Story?"

"…The story of the first Martial Sage."

"The Martial Primordial?" Rui grew eager.

The Martial Primordial.

The Martial Artist who discovered the Master, Sage, and Transcendent Realms. He was the first Martial Master, the first Martial Sage, and the first Martial Transcendent.

A man at the very pinnacle of all Martial Art.

Many Martial Artists across the vast Martial World regarded the Martial Primordial as the spiritual leader of Martial Art.

This was despite the fact that, as with all Transcendents, his involvement with the world mysteriously completely and entirely ceased.

Yet, every Martial Artist knew his name.

Rui was no different.

"Indeed." His grandmother quietly nodded. "After having scoured the length and breadth of the vast Master Realm, he came to a single conclusion…"

Her eyes sharpened. "…that he had reached the pinnacle of Martial Art."

Rui gazed at her silently.

"Had anyone else made that declaration, they would undoubtedly have been labeled as a narcissist, not uncommon amongst Martial Masters back then," Matriarch Nephi continued. "But when he, of all people, made that declaration, nobody could object."

Her tone grew severe.

"He was the strongest," she stated with certainty. "He came to the conclusion that he had reached the pinnacle of Martial Art and that Martial Art had nothing left to offer. Having mastered the depths of mind and body, he didn't see any path forward. He, who was driven to reach the pinnacle of Martial Art, was now devoid of drive. Dismayed by the Reign of the Master Realm yet powerless to stop it, he departed the Human Domain and left for the Beast Domain..."

Her eyes slowly turned to Rui. "…where he secluded himself atop the highest mountain he could find and isolated himself from the rest of the world."

Rui frowned, yet he didn't interrupt her.

"Devoid of drive, he found himself devoid of purpose and meaning," she remarked. "He began to wonder why he had chased the pinnacle of Martial Art his entire life. He began to wonder what it was about him that had caused him to be one who chased after the pinnacle of Martial Art. He found himself asking a single question, over and over."

Her powerful gaze bore itself into him.

"Do you know what that question is?"

Realization dawned on him. "'Who am I?'"

She nodded. "Precisely. He asked himself that very question fervently. He immersed himself in the endless depth of the question for every second of every day, of every year for an entire century…"

Her tone culminated with finality.

"…and only then did he gain enlightenment. He became an ascetic, an honored being, a sage. A Martial Sage," she remarked lightly. "That is the most discrete line I am able to draw to isolate what the Sage Realm is. It is the answer to the question that each Martial Master must ask themselves after reaching the end of their path."

"'…After reaching the end of their path?'" Rui's eyes widened, stunned.

The implications of her words were frightening.

"Correct."

Her voice was firm.

"After all…" She closed her eyes. "How can you know who you are when you do not know what you can do?"

A profound light lit up in her eyes as she opened them. "…And how can you know what you can do when you do not know what you cannot?"

Her tone grew profoundly deep. "Potential and actuality. Possibility and impossibility. The lines that separate these antithetical dualities also separate who you are from who you aren't."

"…I don't understand."

His voice was honest.

Frankly, if not for the fact that his own grandmother, a powerful Martial Sage, was the one informing him of this, he would have scoffed it off as philosophical and metaphorical nonsense.

He was unable to parse how 'who you are' had any relevance to Martial power.

It made no sense whatsoever.

Even if he somehow discovered evidence that he truly was John Falken or or even more evidence that he wasn't, how could that possibly elevate his Martial power?

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