The Martial Unity

Chapter 2574: So Be It

It was common knowledge in the highest echelons of the Martial World that Martial Embodiments were limited in range due to the erosion of information amid flux. By the time light and sound had traveled far enough, the information that they conveyed about their origin had been eroded too much for the passive hypnosis of the Martial Embodiment to take place.

And thus, it begged the question.

Was it possible for a Martial Embodiment to be so information-dense and heavy that even the immense erosion of information amid travel could not snuff the Embodiment? Was it possible for a Martial Embodiment to be so dense and heavy that not even the most powerful sensory isolation could halt its expansion?

The consequences and the implications of such a Martial Embodiment were truly terrifying. It would mean that such a Martial Embodiment could go as far as light itself could.

It would mean that such a Martial Embodiment could potentially cover the entirety of the surface of the planet.

It would mean that such a Martial Embodiment could potentially be everywhere.

Omnipresent.

Could such a Martial Embodiment exist?

In theory, yes.

Yet, the entirety of the Martial World unanimously came to agree that while it was possible in theory, it was too absurd to possibly occur in practice in the real world.

It was merely a thought experiment that would never come true.

They were wrong.

RUMBLE!!!

The world shook violently as the singularity of thought and information that formed in the depths of Ruiʼs mind unleashed an apocalypse that seemed to rival that of the Beast Incursion.

He unleashed an apocalypse of Water unto all of Sekigahara and beyond.

An ephemeral manifestation of Water, unlike anything the world had ever seen. It transcended the shackles of distance itself as Ruiʼs mind unleashed a supernova of information unlike anything the information-scape had ever been bombarded with in more than a thousand years.

The Water flowed as Water did.

It flowed beyond him and into the very canvas upon which all of heaven and earth rested.

It flowed beyond him and unto all sentience as far as the eye could see and beyond.

The Sekigahara Confederate was submerged in Water.

The entirety of the nation and the lands within its borders were consumed with endless Water that seemingly ravaged all infrastructure, seemingly killing all living beings within the nation in the blink of an eye.

The Water spread past the Sekigahara Confederate in the blink of an eye, flooding the entirety of the battle that raged on between the Beast Incursion and the Martial Artists that fought against it.

Pure horror consumed every single beast and Martial Artist who fought a battle for the future of all life as the limitless flood of Water emerged from the depths of the Sekigahara Confederate, spreading far beyond.

”RRROOOAAARRR!!!”

”KRRRIIIEEEKKK!!!”

”RRRAAAWWWRRR!!!”

The monsters and beasts halted their assaults as not even the ingrained command of the beast that roared could compel them to continue charging headfirst into one of the most devastating natural calamities that all of the fauna had come to fear from the depths of their hearts.

The Martial Artists, too, halted their battles as they were flooded by an endless flood of Water, unlike anything they had ever experienced in their entire life.

”WAAAHHH!!! What is this?”

”We donʼt even live near a water body!”

”Where is all this water coming from?”

Only the Martial Masters understood the true nature of the Water that had flooded the entire world.

And it was because they understood that they were even more shocked than the Martial Artists of the Lower Realms.

It was because they understood the sheer absurdity of a Martial Embodiment spreading through an entire nation, and beyond that, they were paralyzed by the sheer shock of what was happening.

”How...” one of them murmured with horror. ”Just how is this possible?”

The world mourned as the power of Water consumed everything and everyone.

Almost.

Thirteen Sages converged upon the inception of the apocalypse that had consumed the entirety of the Sekigahara Confederate with gritted teeth just moments after it had begun. They converged upon the infinite wellspring of Water that had formed in the depths of the Dawnbringerʼs chamber. The same chamber that failed to contain the supernova of information that emerged from the singularity of thought that had formed within his mind. In all their centuries, they had never ever seen anything like this.

In all their life, they had never beheld an anomaly so absurdly extraordinary.

In all the time they had trodden their Path, they had never witnessed power like this.

And yet, they knew what they had to do.

A dozen of them formed a perimeter around the chamber, exerting all their power to create a barrier so impenetrable that not even the most minuscule of quanta could have any hopes of

ever escaping.

They warped the very fabric of space itself to create a domain.

A domain of absolute isolation.

Instantly, the Water was snuffed from the entire world.

The gasping citizens of the Sekigahara Confederate froze as all the water disappeared. The hallucinations of the ravaged nation were gone, and the entirety of human establishment and

infrastructure was exactly the way it had always been.

The confused and dazed slowly got up with a horrified expression.

”Did we... all just have a collective nightmare?”

Outside the Sekigahara Confederate, the Martial Artists, too, gasped with air as the

apocalypse ceded in the blink of an eye.

The retreating monsters and beasts paused, turning around with confusion in their eyes. One

could practically hear them thinking, ʼWater there or not?ʼ

Having only lasted for a few moments, the damage was minimal.

Meanwhile, the thirteenth Sage did not partake in the barrier that isolated the singularity of

thought from the outside world.

Instead, she was inside the barrier.

Sage Himari was the newest and weakest Martial Sages of the Sekigahara Confederate, having broken through shortly after the Beast Incursion began.

She had but a single task. ”Prince Rui...” she gritted her teeth. ”You must halt this madness immediately!”

Rui opened his eyes once more.

Two extraordinarily bright blood-red suns shined with blinding brightness where his pupils

were.

And yet, his eyes were vacant.

Like he was in a trance.

He didnʼt acquiesce to her demands.

He didnʼt so much as utter a word.

Instead, his body moved.

He took his classic neutral Martial stance as the powerful red suns in his eyes remained fixed

on Sage Himari.

She narrowed her eyes.

”So be it.”