The Martial Unity

The atmosphere tingled with tension as the sheer horror of her circumstances dawned upon the Emperor of Harmony.

It was a horrifying torture that would drive anybody insane.

Emperor Rael’s expression darkened.

It wasn’t that Amare was personally important to him directly.

As Emperor, a single peak Master of the Gen Temple was irrelevant to him.

However, he already knew.

He already knew just how much she meant to Rui.

He could already feel the boundless love that he had for her in his profound act of violating the natural order with resurrection.

He knew that he would suffer.

He would suffer because she suffered.

“Is there…” Emperor Rael’s tone was solemn, “…anything you can do?”

His voice harbored an ember of hope.

This man was the Divine Doctor.

A man said to have also cured death.

A man who cured his Eternal Dream disease that stumped the entire world, in a matter of hours.

The Emperor of Harmony knew that the Divine Doctor was an extraordinary man, having interacted with the man and seen the results that he had achieved.

And yet, he was not all-powerful in his ability to heal.

He simply shook his head. “This is outside of my purview. She is entirely healthy on a physiological and even neurochemical level. I am unable to restore the connection between her consciousness and the rest of her mind.”

The Emperor of Harmony’s eyes darkened. “Then… is there any hope?”

The Divine Doctor’s impassive eyes shifted towards him. “The Psycher.”

The Emperor of Harmony raised an eyebrow. “The Psycher…?”

“He is your only hope,” the Divine Doctor remarked with a frozen tone. “He is situated in the Esocline Federation at this very moment, working with the Esoterist on a joint research and development project.”

The Emperor of Harmony fell into thought as he pondered the prospects of the problem. He knew from the Beggar Sage that Rui already intended to visit the Esocline Federation and the Psycher at some point. His son had most likely already intended to attempt this solution, so there was no need to bring to his attention.

“Tell me more about the Psycher,” Emperor Rael raised an eyebrow, returning his attention to the Divine Doctor. “What kind of man is he? What will it take to earn his services?”

The Divine Doctor’s gaze shifted back to the floating form of Rui with a profound gaze.

“He is a man on a quest.”

His tone was solemn.

“A quest…?” the Emperor of Harmony remarked with a raised eyebrow. “What kind of quest?”

The Divine Doctor’s inhuman eyes turned back to the Emperor of Harmony. “A quest to unlock the secrets of the human soul.”

Emperor Rael knitted his eyebrows as he fell into thought. “You see, he seeks to understand the very fundamental nature of consciousness and experience,” the Divine Doctor remarked with a clinical tone. “He seeks to understand the ontology of the conscious experience. He wishes to understand why it exists. He seeks to decode the mind in its entirety. A level of knowledge and understanding and comprehension that is beyond even his extraordinary knowledge.”

His gaze shifted to Amare. “There is no greater expert on the mind and brain than him. Without him, we would not have achieved immortality.”

“…Will he agree to healing Amare? Is he transactional? Can we negotiate a price for the payment of his services?”

The Divine Doctor’s clinical smile widened. “I don’t think you’ll be able to give him what he wants. But your son, on the other hand…”

His eyes lit up with fascinated interest. “He just might have what the man seeks.”

The Emperor of Harmony’s expression grew a tad bit amused about Rui’s relationship with the two other two keepers of immortality.

One was, of course, the Divine Doctor.

He still didn’t know how his son had done it, but somehow he had managed to earn the unadulterated commitment of the Divine Doctor and the Beggar Sage. He seemed to have both these fellows in a spell where they were extremely obsessed with what he had to offer to them. These two sovereign and vaunted figures of legend, had grow completely smitten with Rui. These two, who didn’t even stir at the sight of gold, land, authority, or any other precious resources, seemed to have become extremely attached to him. He once heard the Divine Doctor mention something about a stethoscope, but he had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

The Beggar Sage acted like Rui had given him his greatest wish.

He couldn’t help but wonder whether Rui would be able to win over the Psycher to such an extent as well.

“I will try to make preliminary negotiations with the Psycher,” the Emperor of Harmony remarked. “I will try and see if I can win him over.”

With each passing day, the Kandrian Empire grew increasingly more powerful. With the destruction of the Gu upon Rui’s visit, every single nation in the world had gotten the implicit and unintended message.

Do not mess with the Kandrian Empire.

Of course, Emperor Rael had absolutely nothing to do with the destruction of the Gu. He was just as utterly bewildered when he heard of the news from his Martial Sages, but he had absolutely no problem using this to his benefit to get everything that he needed and wanted.

The Namgung Dynasty, the Marinaera Kingdom, and the Hive all fell into line obediently after this shocking display of dominance.

Politically, the world had already begun to fall in his hands.

He had become the de facto leader of human resistance against the Beast Incursion.

Against the Era of Darkness.

“I would not recommend that,” the Divine Doctor remarked. “He does not take well to whatever it is that you’re trying to do.”

Emperor Rael frowned. “Sera said that he helped her quite freely and willingly. He doesn’t strike me as an ungracious man.”

“That was because that one had a background in psychology and leveraged that knowledge in a deadly martial art,” the Divine Doctor clinically shot down his reasoning. “you will not receive his grace. Do not intervene or interfere.”

His eyes remained fixed on Rui. “I wouldn’t want you to ruin what might be.”

–