The Martial Unity

The Emperor of Harmony commenced the planning for the operation to neutralize Sage Aggragor. It wasn’t easy formulating a plan that would use the Matriarch Nephi’s power to find the Underworld Sage.

This was because of the way that prophecy worked.

It wasn’t a know-it-all source of answers to any question.

It was a technique that allowed one to foresee the future.

However, if the Underworld wasn’t there in the future, then not even prophecy would be enough.

“What do you think, mother?” Emperor Rael gazed at Matriarch Nephi from his throne. “Do you think you can help us precisely locate the Underworld Sage with your prophecy?”

She glared at him. “I think you should stop calling me mother, for one.”

Emperor Rael smiled at her, amused, earning an exasperated huff from her.

“As long as you can direct my prophecy in the right direction, then it is possible to learn of his exact location and time.”

Emperor Rael’s eyes lit up with interest. “Right direction, you say? Interesting. Considering that this prophecy allowed you to find the Divine Doctor in the Beast Domain, I thought that finding the Underworld Sage would be rather easy for you.”

“It’s not that simple.” She shook her head. “The further into the future I peer, the more the scope of possibility increases. Finding the Divine Doctor was just one possible future that allowed me to find him in my visions of the future. In other words, Rui’s future was in the right direction. You need to find me the right direction to peer into the future that will allow me to foresee when and where the Underworld Sage will be.”

“Hm, that’s an interesting mechanism for how the technique works,” Emperor Rael pondered about the words of his mother-in-law. “I just need to find the right direction, don’t I?”

There were plenty of directions in which he could point his mother-in-law’s prophetic power towards. Unfortunately, there were drawbacks to this approach.

“You foresaw the Divine Doctor years into the future, did you not?” Emperor Rael inquired. “Does that mean that the same might happen with the Underworld Sage?”

She shrugged lightly. “Most likely, unless you can point me in the direction that will allow me to learn of his location in the next twenty-four hours.”

“Tsk.” Emperor Rael was displeased by this revelation. “I do not wish to find out where the Underworld Sage will be years in the future; I need to find out where he will be tomorrow.”

“That is possible, too, but as I said, it is entirely dependent on where I point my prophetic powers,” she calmly replied. “I can find out where he is right now if you point me in the direction of scrying the future of someone who is currently with him right now.

“What about looking into the future of the Underworld Sage himself?”

She stirred. “If you have enough data, then that works too. Mind you, it must be nothing less than a full profile. Without that, I cannot give you precise details. I generally recommend handing me physical subjects because these contain a lot of information that my senses can deliver to me. But, if you have rigorous documentation, then that is good enough as well.”

A smile emerged on Emperor Rael’s face. “That’s good to hear; rest assured, we can supply you with all the information that you need.”

Emperor Rael was familiar with the Underworld Sage on a personal basis. He had known the man from when he was a Martial Master. The Underworld was much younger than the Kandrian Empire, and there were days when the Martial Master, who went on to become the Underworld Sage, stood among his peers before the Martial Union even existed.

And now, it was finally time to drag the Underworld Sage from the darkness.

“I will also commission the Martial Masters of the Silas Clan to aid in tracking the Martial Masters of the Underworld,” Emperor Rael informed her. “The Underworld must be disarmed of all Martial Artists of the Upper Realms. Only then will I be able to assimilate its power into the Kandrian Empire and strengthen it to elevate us to a higher Realm of power.”

He was also wary of any desperate attempts from the Martial Masters to hold Kandrian population centers hostage by baring their Martial Embodiments far and wide, thereby causing immense damage to people of Kandria.

Emperor Rael could not allow that to happen.

While Rael possessed a lot of certainty in his plan, Matriarch Nephi had her compunctions about it.

“Even if you do capture him without any harm to Kandria, how can you possibly force him to slave for you?” She raised an eyebrow. “Martial Sages like myself cannot be restrained and forced.”

Emperor Rael smiled wryly. “You give him too much credit. That man…”

He shook his head. “He’s a coward unlike anyone else I’ve ever seen.”

Matriarch Nephi raised an eyebrow with surprise.

“He fears everyone and everything,” Emperor Rael explained. “He has what I would diagnose as Paranoid Personality Disorder. However, while this mental disorder shackles others, it became the source of an endless Martial Drive, allowing him to pursue his Martial Path in fear and eventually reach the Sage Realm. Frankly, I would have thought it would be impossible to attain the so-called ‘Martial Soul’ with a mental disorder, but he proved me wrong.”

Matriarch Nephi expressed a vague interest in the matter. “It is not impossible for one to attain moksha even if one has a mental disorder. Although, I cannot imagine that it doesn’t make it harder. He must have had a powerful drive if he discovered his inner self despite his mental disorder. It isn’t the most extreme condition that a Martial Sage has ever had in his entire life.”

“Hm,” Emperor Rael considered the matter. “Well, if someone with a mental disorder can reach that Sage Realm, then surely my son will as well.”

She shook her head. “He was more lost in regards to who he was than anybody I have ever seen. I do not know what the Divine Doctor told him, but it broke him spiritually. His path will be longer and more arduous than any before him.”

The two of them remained in silence.

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