The Martial Unity

The two of them traveled throughout the Human Domain from nation to nation as Rui spread his breakthroughs while she spread her teachings.

The more they conversed with each other, the more they learned about each other.

They grew closer.

Rui found her personality and temperament to be heartwarming. He enjoyed speaking with someone who could find positivity everywhere and shared it with others, including him.

“This…” she murmured as they arrived at a site of ravaged ruins. “A former human village,” Rui calmly remarked. “They never stood a chance against the Beast Incursion. Unfortunately, most human casualties are from countless human settlements that once peppered the Human Domain, just like this.”

Amid the wreckage, esoteric flora had already begun growing, recolonizing a Human Domain and making it a part of the Beast Domain.

The esoterification of the Human Domain was well underway, slowed down only by two pillars of hope in the Era of Darkness.

Amare’s expression grew melancholic while she brought her palms together. “Amitabha. May these souls gain peace in their next life. May their deaths enrich their life.”

“…Does Gen philosophy believe in reincarnation?” Rui asked quietly. “Yes, we believe that our souls reincarnate amid the vegetation that emerges from the former shells of our souls,” she smiled warmly as she gazed at the beautiful exotic flora that emerged from their ruined village. “Ah… how peaceful they seem.”

And yet, Rui’s gaze was fixed on her. Only her. “You…” A whisper escaped him. “You remind me of my mother.”

She turned to him with a heartful smile. “That makes me feel wonderful.”

“She was just like you in many ways,” he murmured as he recalled all the memories he had of her. “Positive. Loving. Optimistic. Kind and warm…”

He heaved a deep breath. “She’s gone now.”

He continued on with their journey.

“She may be gone, but her love will reach you forever.” Amare’s voice was warm and gentle.

Her words evoked a surge of memories in the depths of his heart.

Memories of a letter.

I hope my love reaches you long after I pass.

I hope it reaches you forever.

A smile emerged on his face. “It does.”

He turned back as his extraordinary gaze fixed itself in the distance.

His eyes narrowed.

“There it is.”

Their next destination.

The Solaris Kingdom.

It had been more than a month since their departure from the Gen Temple, and they had finally made their way to the fifth Sage-level powerhouse in Rui’s journey across the Human Domain.

The air grew heavy as the two of them drew closer and closer to the mighty Sage-level powerhouse.

The land around them began to grow courser and courser.

The Solaris Kingdom inhabited the Suraj Desert.

A desert with white sand that reflected almost all the light of the sun, causing the land to quite literally shine and shimmer with light amid the day. The average person would go blind with sustained exposure to the intense reflected light.

And yet, the sol people had lived there for centuries without experiencing any problems.

According to the scholarly research on the matter that Rui had read up on, the sol had evolved to gain a much greater tolerance for light, possessing the ability to gaze at the Sun directly without experiencing any pain or damage to their eyes.

This racial trait played into the ethnoracial religious views that regarded them as the direct descendants of a god. It was only because the blood of the Sun God Solaris flowed through their veins and arteries that they could gain the power to gaze at the Sun without experiencing the backlash that those who didn’t have the blood of Solaris running through their veins experienced.

Rui gazed at the skies above the Solaris Kingdom the closer they drew to it. “Not a single cloud.”

Not even the briefest and most mild cloud formation could be detected by his Tempestuous Feel sense within ten thousand kilometers.

This was not a natural occurrence.

The Solaris Kingdom had invested a lot of capital in the procurement of esoteric substances that, when deployed, prevented cloud formation.

Why?

Because nothing was allowed to impede the divine majesty of the Sun God Solaris.

“That is partially why this place is so goddamn dry,” Rui cursed while he explained the insanity of the Solaris Kingdom. “They’re destroying nature by unshielding heaven and earth from the wrath of the Sun…” Amare’s tone grew uncomfortable. “The Sun is important, but the other elements are also equally important. The Solaris Kingdom is destroying the natural order and the sacred harmony of elements.”

Rui threw her a pointed glance. “You’d best keep that opinion to yourself when we enter the kingdom.”

“I know…” She murmured with greater discomfort. “I’m serious,” Rui insisted. “These people are just barely sane when dealing with outsiders. They understand trade and are able to engage in some measure of diplomacy. But only when you don’t insult their faith, their culture, or their god.”

He turned forward as he paused.

“There it is.”

The mighty walls of the Solaris Kingdom had risen above the horizon.

They were blindingly golden.

They reflected the Sun’s light even better. The architecture of the walls was such that it was designed to be blinding no matter what angle the walls were gazed upon. Curves and gradients replaced straight and parallel lines, creating a beautiful wall that shined from many, many kilometers away.

And yet, the harsh glare and reflection of intense sunlight also reflected the cruel arrogance of the Solaris Kingdom.

The architecture reflected the ethos of the nation.

It conveyed a single message to outsiders who beheld it.

You are not worthy to gaze upon our magnificence.

Of course, with their Martial Bodies, Rui And Amare could tolerate all of this quite well, but it still left a bad taste in their mouths.

RUMBLE… The world shook as a heavy presence warped heaven and earth under the weight of their existence.

Both Amare and Rui stiffened under the familiar aura of a Martial Sage.

They widened their eyes as a man carved out of gold descended before them. His eyes, glowing with a golden light, fixed themselves upon Rui.

“I am Golden Guardian of the Solaris Kingdom,” he spoke directly to him with a neutral tone. “I welcome the Void Prince of the Kandrian Empire to the Solaris Kingdom.”

–