The Martial Unity

He couldn’t.

Each attack was accelerated by a myriad of assimilated Martial Art.

Each attack was strengthened by a myriad of assimilated techniques.

Impossible to avoid and impossible to defend against under normal circumstances.

And yet, that was the day that Ieyasu learned the power of employing the right move at the right time. WHOOSH!

His eyes widened as his attack crashed into an empty image.

BOOOM!!

A thundering Yin-Yang Spear blasted his diaphragm, permeating devastating impacts to the muscle, completely paralyzing it shut.

It was a sensation that every Martial Artist had experienced at least once.

The inability to breathe when one’s solar plexus was struck with a heavy impact.

For a moment, he was paralyzed.

An opportunity Rui was not kind enough to miss. He surged forward with a full-powered blow. A blow powered with the full power of Yin-Yang Spear, Fire Breathing, and Outer Convergence, guided by his extraordinary mind.

A blow to end the battle once and for all. It flew forward with extraordinary power and blinding speeds even as their dark eyes met for the briefest of moments.

A mistake.

WHOOSH

Rui’s eyes widened with shock as the entire world around him shifted.

It was gone.

One moment, he stood before Ieyasu in an apocalyptic battlefield.

The very next moment, he was surrounded by darkness.

The only thing he could see was his own broken reflection in the cracked black mirror in front of him.

He saw himself.

He saw himself as he gazed into the dark abysses that were his eyes.

They were disturbing.

Yet, it was what he saw behind it that crushed his heart.

It was what he saw behind his image in the reflection that truly evoked despair.

He saw John Falken.

He saw John Falken gazing at the monster before him.

Gazing at him with an expression of horror.

“To think you would pay the price for your power in the form of an existential crisis.” A faint whisper escaped Ieyasu. “Delusional and brainwashed into believing he was someone he never was.”

Rui froze as Ieyasu’s cruel voice pierced him where it hurt most. Another mistake.

BOOOOOM!!!

A powerful blow blasted into him, catching him off-guard.

CRACK CRACK CRACK!!!

Rui’s expression grew grim as the attack mangled one side of his Body.

The only reason he had ever been able to not die to Ieyasu’s devastating offensive was because his extraordinary mind and systems of thought allowed him to extract the one-in-a-million outcome every single time, carefully dealing with his power in ways possible only when he dedicated every ounce of his being to the sole purpose of defensing against devastating onslaught.

If his focus was diverted, then that delicate and fragile house of cards would fall apart.

“Living everyday knowing your whole life was a lie…” A gentle whisper escaped Ieyasu. “It makes you make want to kill yourself.”

Rui’s expression crumbled as he felt the emotional turmoil that he had buried deep within himself resurface.

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM!!!!!

Rui grimaced as he barely managed to intercept and disperse each blow, yet the psychological sabotage had reduced his precision and accuracy, causing him to suffer with each blow.

He knew whose Martial Art this was. He knew that this was merely sabotage.

The words were not true.

He knew, rationally, that all of this was just an attempt to throw him off his game.

And unfortunately, it was working.

“What would John Falken say if he saw you today?”

BOOOM!!!!

A thundering flying knee blasted into Rui’s guard.

A sub-optimal move.

CRACK!

Rui leaped away with a grim and severe expression.

“What would your mother say if she knew of the truth?” Rage flared Rui’s eyes as a chilling expression of peril emerged on his face. He surged towards Ieyasu with an onslaught of Yin-Yang Spears, trying to shut him up.

Yet, Ieyasu knew exactly what he was doing.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

He evaded each and every single blow with the sum totality of all the assimilated evasive maneuvering he had ever copied.

“What would she say if she knew that the child that she had raised was a sick, delusional monster who had deceived her his entire life?”

Anger surged through Rui’s entire body as his eyes grew bloodshot.

He pushed himself to the very limit as he launched several more Yin-Yang Spears in desperation.

A mistake.

BAM BAM BAM!!!

Ieyasu calmly evaded the wild attacks, cleanly landing three painful blows on his ribs.

“Who knows, perhaps you wouldn’t be here.” Ieyasu’s tone was stoic and calm as he read Rui’s mind. “And then there’s your biological mother. The one who broke you in the first place.”

Rui froze where he stood as he felt his heart beating unstably.

BOOOM!!!

A powerful kick almost cracked his sternum as he barely managed to disperse it in time. “It must be horrifying.”

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!!!!!

Kick after kick almost crippled Rui’s legs.

“It must be horrifying living every day of your life knowing that your biological mother turned you into a monster.”

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

A barrage of devastating knee kicks crashed into his guard, cracking his arms even more. “It must give you nightmares.”

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!!!!!

A flurry of swift jabs peppered his entire body, coming ever so close to knocking him out. “It must churn your stomach knowing that your biological mother was a witch who gave birth to a disgusting monster with a delusional identity.”

BOOOM!!!

A thundering flying knee kick blasted past his dispersion, knocking him a great distance away.

“A mother who made a monster out of you and a father who uses that monster for political power.”

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!!!!!

His physical attacks were as relentless as his emotional attacks.

“With a family like that, I am glad mine’s dead.”

BOOOM!!!!!

A thundering attack blasted Rui. Yet it could never hurt as much as the words that crushed him.

Rage.

Despair.

Misery.

Bloodlust.

Malevolence.

They churned at his mind, depriving him of his greatest weapon and power.

“A broken man following a broken path.” Ieyasu’s voice grew chilling. “Allow me to put you out of your misery.”

RUMBLE!!!

A devastatingly powerful piercing throat surged for Rui’s throat, threatening to kill him then and there. –