The Martial Unity

“He…” she gasped with horror. “He’s dying! And also… that Sage!”

“Mmm.” The Transcendent smiled at the fretting woman. “If someone doesn’t intervene, then…” her eyes widened with frantic panic. “Then he’ll be killed! That other Sage won’t make it in time!”

“Then, what will you do?” His voice was calm.

“I…” her eyes grew determined and driven. “I can’t let him die! But won’t make it in time.”

Her words evoked a boisterous laughter from the Martial Transcendent.

“Won’t make it in time?” He smiled. “But you are already connected to him, as you are to me and to every other being in this world.”

She frowned, tilting her head. “…Connected?”

“Through heaven and earth, of course.” His tone was wise. “The earth beneath your feet is the same as the earth beneath his feet. Gaia is the connection between all living beings in this world, dear Amare.”

“You mean…” her eyes widened with shock. “You mean I can help him from all the way down here?”

He smiled. “Can you?”

Her gaze returned to the land above her head, the very bedrock that the Nest of Terra and everything else around and beneath it. There was not only a great distance between him and her but also a huge landmass of immense rock and earth that blocked him away from her. “I…” her tone grew immersed. “I will.”

She closed her eyes as she began dancing immersively. Her body swayed in a slow and smooth manner as she activated her Realms of power. The Dance of Terra allowed her to impress upon Gaia her will and her desire. It was an art form, one that allowed her to express her heartfelt emotions.

At that moment, her most heartfelt emotion was her desire to save her companion and friend.

“I won’t allow any harm to befall him!” her palm flew upwards as she unleashed a tremendous palm blow to the land, relying on powerful vibrations and temperatures to transmit a powerful displacement of rock, gravel, and soil.

It surged upward at a tremendous speed through a tremendous amount of land.

Eventually, it found its mark, nailing the flayed Terrampager on his jaw and knocking him out then and there. Her expression bloomed with delight and ecstasy. “Yes! I did it! Bad Bodhisattva!”

She celebrated her success boisterously while Shield of Gaia simply chuckled at her heartfelt happiness at having protected. “Our time has come to an end, dear Amare.”

His voice was calm and gentle.

“Eh…?” she turned to him with a hint of glum confusion. “Are you going somewhere?”

The elderly man simply smiled at her. “Not yet. But, I suspect that you will be.”

“Me? Going where?”

“Forth, of course,” the Martial Transcendent replied simply. “This world needs you to go forth. Gaia needs you to go forth and achieve Nirvana. You will not discover who you are sitting here underneath the Nest of Terra with me. The truth lies elsewhere, and I cannot help you find it. I merely pray you to overcome what you failed to last time. I pray that you overcome the dead-end that halted Her progress.”

“I… I don’t understand.” she frowned with even greater confusion. “What are you saying?”

The elder Martial Transcendent merely shook his head, much to her dismay.

“Your friend needs you, does he not? Go to his side. I’m sure that he will appreciate your presence.”

His voice reached her even while his mouth remained shut.

Amare stirred at his words, relenting. “Alright, I was thinking of visiting him because he is injured very badly, anyway. I just wanted to hear more stories about the Progenitor.”

“Her life is sealed within you.” He smiled. “If you seek to learn more, then you need only unravel who you are.”

She nodded. “I promise I will. And when I do, I will come to reminisce!”

Her words evoked even more laughter from the elderly man. “Then, I shall look forward to that day.”

She nodded with a friendly smile. “Don’t get lonely while you sit down here by yourself.”

“I am not alone.” He smiled. “Gaia keeps me company, you see.”

“Ah, I see.”

“…”

“Ok, then goodbye!”

She swiftly departed from the underground space before heading upwards at an eager and impatient pace.

The Shield of Gaia smiled as he closed his eyes.

A single whisper escaped him.

“S̴̡̤̰̭͕̯̳̻͙̙͉̆̐̂̄̆̿o̵͚̮̫̰͖̰̲̻͚͚̲̓͛̑͌̇̆̒̓͝ͅͅo̸̰̺̰̘̞͚͎̝̟̪̞͈̞͆̈̊͠ͅṇ̵̡̧̤͉̱͖̟̒̑͗͒̅̐͒.”

He had waited a long time for what was to come, and now he wouldn’t have to wait too much longer. He was happy he gained the opportunity to speak and teach the living legacy of his own teacher and mentor.

And thus, his little spot regained the silence and darkness that had been dispelled by Amare’s bright presence.

Admittedly, he felt a tad bit lonely by her departure.

Meanwhile, Amare raced up the Nest of Terra to get to Rui with a hint of concern. Even though she had saved him, he was in a very bad state, as was the bad Bodhisattva who had tried hurting him. After all, she would have never been able to knock a Bodhisattva out under any other circumstances.

Thankfully, she could see that Rui’s healing factor ensured that his blood loss was minimized while the worst and most pressing of wounds were being rapidly ameliorated by his Martial Body. With autophagy at his disposal, his survivability was much greater than that of most Martial Masters.

On top of that, she could see that a Martial Sage was rapidly approaching both of them as fast as she could and would surely secure their lives when she got there. She had absolutely no idea why the two of them had started fighting and why Rui had done something as crazy as he did, but she was sure that she ought to be by his side so that she could protect him when he was knocked out cold.

“This nation is strange. I must protect Rui while he sleeps to make sure that nobody tries to harm him when he is asleep.”

–