The Martial Unity

Chapter 3343: Moving Forward

One moment, Mother Maeria experienced the pure bliss and harmony of the state of Oneness she was in as she achieved permanent resonance with all of her sisters and all of nature.

The very next moment, the foundations upon which she set a single toe into a higher echelon of power crumbled.

The Mothers of Nature had ego.

They had individuality.

They had pride.

They were unable to maintain such a deep resonance for long.

And if they were unable to maintain it, then it dragged Mother Maeria down with them. The Nature Path only grew increasingly collectivist, as the opposite of the Martial Path that grew increasingly individualist.

The venture to Oneness was something that could only be done together.

They could elevate to Oneness with Nature together as all of them surrendered their minds and hearts to Nature, dissolving into Nature together.

It was a cessation of individual existence.

It was death.

That was the condition for Oneness with Nature.

The Mothers of Nature had to be prepared not just to lose their ego and individuality and pride.

They needed to dissolve their Separateness into the vaster expanse with Nature, becoming indistinguishable from it.

Who they were before would cease to exist.

It was a step that none of them were willing to exist.

They were too attached to their past.

To their identity.

To their individuality.

The resonance collapsed as Mother Maeria’s consciousness returned to its former state.

Her vessel open its eyes as her mind bloomed within it and her true body once more.

And yet, her eyes were different.

They were peaceful.

Serene.

Within them lingered boundless wisdom and a profound enlightenment that exceeded Rui’s fathoming.

He had felt this sensation before.

It was the same sensation he felt when he gazed into the eyes of the Martial Transcendents.

It was as though they could see a whole other dimension of reality that he was blind to.

”I have failed.”

Mother Maeria’s tone was gentle.

It bore no resentment nor disappointment.

She didn’t display any frustration.

She didn’t display even the slightest bit of sadness.

She was unmoved.

She was at peace.

And yet, the same could not be said for the other Mothers of Nature.

’No, Elder Sister! We have failed you!”

’Forgive us, Sister Maeria!’

’Because of our shortcomings...! Because of our inadequacy...! Because of us, you have been dragged down to Separateness once more!’

The Mothers of Nature were distraught.

They had already been a bad mood with the recent string of misfortune, and now the realization that their inadequacy had prevented Mother Maeria from reaching a higher state of life was one that put many of them in a state of despair.

Mother Maeria simply smiled at their words with a serene expression.

Her face had relaxed so much that she even looked different from how she had in the past.

”I do not hold you to blame for what has happened.” Mother Maeria’s words were calm and relaxed. ”While it is indeed true that the shortcomings lie within you. The fact of the matter is that the seeds of this failure were sown more than a thousand years ago when I first achieved Singularity of Nature.”

Her smile grew a little wry.

”In hindsight, it does not deserve that name. While we, Mothers of Nature, have indeed bonded with nature to a great extent, we have not yet bonded with it in the most important aspect, which is the root of our existence. That is the final and most important step. But more importantly...”

Her expression grew thoughtful.

”I was once the sole Mother of Nature and guided all of you to the Singularity of Nature, if I had been wiser. If I had known what I know now, I would have guided you differently. I would have cultivated a different mindset and a different objective with all of you when it comes to nature and your relationship with it. I would have done many things very differently. But alas...”

She shook her head.

”The past is the past. What has been done has been done. We can only move forward together into the future.”

The grace that Mother Maeria showed them was beyond anything they could have expected. Despite explicitly being the reason that she failed, that they failed, she did not hold it against them. She did not bear any resentment to them for having failed and even blamed herself as the ultimate cause of the failure.

Her grace moved them.

’What can we do...’ one Mother of Nature began with a shaky tone. ’What can we do to reach the state that you are in? How do we abandon our ego and individuality?’

”The fact that that is the first question you have asked me is a good sign in and of itself,” Mother Maeria remarked. ”Unfortunately, achieving Enlightenment of Oneness, as I have come to call it, is not easy. To abandon everything you have achieved is not easy. It will take a long and toiling process where you slowly sever your attachments to the world and resolve your emotions... that is what I have unknowingly done for the past century.”

The Fear had caused her to set aside everything.

It had also caused her to slowly shed her pride.

What kind of pride could she have when she was terrified?

It helped her unanchor herself from herself and from the world.

It helped her reach a state that was, inadvertently, suited for achieving Oneness.

The final push came from the insights that Rui had given her when he shared everything that he knew about Transcendence; it has proven to be the final step she needed.

”Return to your tasks,” Mother Maeria instructed them. ”You will have all the time in the world to ponder your shortcomings and how you can ameliorate them. We can overcome these hurdles together, as we should have from the start. I will take over the war against the giants, so your burden will be lowered and you may begin your journeys towards the Enlightenment of Oneness.”