The Martial Unity

“A Martial Sage with a background in psychology…” A gentle murmur escaped the man before her. “Truly fascinating.”

An endless depths seemed to fill his white eyes.

As though his gaze extended into a dimension of reality that only he could perceive. As though he saw things that only he could see. The Psycher was different from what Sage Sera had imagined.

His atrophied hands strained with effort as he stirred his cup of tea with a serene smile on his face.

“…Would you like me to help you with that?” Sage Sera couldn’t help but raise her eyes with a hint of confusion.

His smile deepened.

“Do I seem that helpless to you?”

She glanced at the atrophied limbs that limited him to a wheelchair and his blind eyes that only saw endless darkness.

“Yes, actually.”

“In that case, I will gladly accept your help.”

She stirred his tea with a mixed expression and couldn’t help but feel once more that he was different from what she had imagined of him. “What did you imagine of me?”

She froze as he seemed to pluck her thoughts from within her head, narrowing her eyes.

Whatever she had imagined of him, it certainly wasn’t a crippled, blind man.

This was supposed to be one of the most powerful immortal sages?

She had come to him hoping that his endless knowledge and skill with mind would allow her to overcome her greatest challenge in the Sage Realm.

And now, she couldn’t help but—

“—wonder whether or not I can help you with your problem.” His tone was chillingly calm.

As though he didn’t just narrate her inner mental monologue.

Chills crawled across her skin as she realized that it wasn’t just a coincidence.

This crippled, blind man before her… He could read her mind.

He smiled at her knowingly.

“I can do more than just read.”

She felt a brushing sensation on her cheek.

Before she had realized it, his hand had reached forward to caress her face.

WHOOSH

She leaped away out of pure instinct and reflex.

Her nerves tingled.

They tingled with peril.

She didn’t understand.

She didn’t understand how he had just done that. And yet, she understood one thing.

This unsuspecting blind cripple was dangerous.

He shook his head.

“You think too highly of me.”

She simply stared at him with a wary expression.

Although she was among the weakest of her peers, the only other time she had ever felt chills from the presence of another human being was gazing into the inhuman, frozen eyes of the Divine Doctor.

This man was different from him. He was not inhuman in his mannerisms, nor was there an edge to his presence.

No, his presence was unfathomable.

It was like an abyss.

The depths of which she couldn’t even begin to parse.

When she gazed into the abyss in his eyes.

The abyss In his being.

It gazed back into her. In that moment, she couldn’t help but feel as though her Martial Art was even more ineffective against an unfathomable being of his caliber than it was against Martial Sages. Her systems of thought short-circuited when she tried applying it to him. As though his being defied the very fundamental model of the human being.

“Rarely is Enlightenment of Self a curse, yet you are one of the few Martial Sages who regards it as such.”

His voice was profound.

His tone was knowing.

He took a sip of his tea, turning back to her with his blind eyes.

“Now then, let us discuss what you came all the way to the Esocline Federation to discuss.”

His serene smile grew laced with amusement.

“My work to find a solution to the Beast Incursion is more important than it might seem, you know? Especially when we’re so close.”

She narrowed her eyes with consideration.

It was an important piece of intel that she needed to go back to report to the Martial Union and the Emperor of Harmony.

“Then, I shall not waste your time anymore.”

She stepped forward before him. “Help me find a way to restore the efficacy of my Martial Art against Martial Sages.”

He smiled. “What you seek was always there right before you. You need only reach out and harness it.”

Sage Sera scoffed. “That means absolutely nothing.”

The Psycher chuckled at her reaction. “I would give you the answer right away if not for the fact that I would merely be giving you my perspective. It would rob you of your individuality. If you are aware of what the path to Transcendence is, then you are surely aware that individuality is even more necessary than it ever has been.”

She heaved a sigh, shrugging. “Enlightenment of Self means absolute self-awareness of one’s being,” the Psycher continued. “One understands one’s self as a model of action and reaction. Of causality. That is why your attacks are no longer effective. You harness emotional weaknesses hidden away in the subconsciousness to destabilize the mind and exploit the battle vulnerabilities that that causes. And yet, because Martial Sages are always aware of their emotional weaknesses and have accepted them as a part of themselves, your words are simply moot.”

“Tsk, are you trying to use my own Martial Art against me? I already know the problem. Stop rubbing salt in my wound, you blind cripple.”

He chuckled at her words. “Then, let me explore an avenue of pursuit that might offer a solution.”

Her eyes lit up with interest.

“Everybody changes.” His tone was profoundly rich with wisdom. “Everybody is constantly changing every second. No matter how microscopically little. The answer to ‘who am I’ is constantly changing every second. So, what does that imply for the Enlightenment of Self?”

“It needs to grow with each second as well,” she replied knowingly. “Martial Sages must constantly discover who they are every moment for the rest of their lives. Otherwise…”

Her eyes narrowed.

“…They will lose their Enlightenment of Self. And they will lose their Martial Souls.”

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