The Martial Unity

WHOOSH

The environment around them completely changed. One moment, they were in the Royal Office of the Kandrian Empire. The very next moment, they found themselves surrounded by a lush, dark green forest dense with vegetation in all directions.

The bright morning sky above the Kandrian Empire changed into that of the dark night overseeing East Genora. The darkness of the night came alive, saturating the forest as a peaceful calm hung in the air.

The whistle of crickets hung in the air, along with the occasional chirp or roar of the native fauna.

Yet, what truly drew their attention was the colossally titanic tree that stood before them. The sheer height of the tree was so great that one would need to look straight up if one wanted to catch a glimpse of the top of the tree from even remotely near the tree.

It created a massive canopy at the very top, spreading almost a thousand kilometers in diameter, larger than any other tree in existence.

“It has been a while, Mother Maeria.” Rui smiled at the tree goodheartedly.

’Indeed, Rui Quarrier.’ A voice rang in both their heads. ’I did not think that we would ever meet on this continent again. But the future is always full of surprises

.’

Rui nodded. “It indeed is.”

Without negatron matter, he would have never been able to teleport directly to Mother Maeria. He, too, hadn’t expected to ever see her again on this continent. Any future meeting that they were destined to have would undoubtedly have been with an avatar of her leaving East Genora. Rui wouldn’t have dared to set foot in East Genora, considering how much the light elves wanted to exterminate him.

And indeed, they would have likely gotten their wish if not for the fact that Mother Maeria had protected him when he was knocked out and vulnerable.

He gazed at the magnificent tree that seemed to glimmer despite the darkness of the night, before gesturing to the Divine Doctor beside him with an apologetic tone. “I’m sorry for trespassing on light elven territory without authorization and also bringing with me an unauthorized person, but I wanted to introduce you to a person. Somebody who is quite important to human civilization and may be of importance to our personal mutual interests.”

Mother Maeria instantly understood what he was referring to, growing more intrigued by the strange human standing beside him. She could sense that he was extraordinary.

In his eyes lingered an experience that reached more than a thousand years of life, she sensed. This was truly extraordinary as humans were not supposed to live that long, and even Martial Sages like Rui were not that old yet.

’You do not need to apologize, Rui. It is good to know that the number of our compatriots has risen from two to three. The more the merrier. Bring him inside, I’m sure we have a lot to talk about.’

On the surface of her trunk, a portion of the bark opened up, creating a passage leading deeper into her body. Rui immediately teleported himself and the Divine Doctor to it.

WHOOSH

The Divine Doctor’s eyes lit up as he studied the wood with a curious expression. “The absence of esoterics has led to more complex biochemistry to compensate for the absence of exotic properties of esoteric matter. I can detect truly sophisticated applications of ordinary matter for energy generation, transmission, and consumption for metabolism and the biotechnology you have integrated into your body.”

’My body is composed of the entirety of the technological tree of my people,’ Mother Maeria remarked with a knowing expression. ’This is all technology that we have developed in-house, with some exchanges of technology with our western sisters over the eons. It has allowed Mothers of Nature to become coalesced titans of complexity in the very nature of our lifeforms.’

STEP

They arrived at a room at the end of the passage, featuring a simple table with several chairs around it, with windows facing the outside world. An elderly elven woman sat at the table, stirring tea in a living wooden cup, before directing a knowing glance at him.

Her sapphire eyes glinted with profound wisdom and harmony. Ever since she had achieved Enlightenment of Oneness, she had grown much more at peace with her place in the world and in East Genora. She was the equivalent of a Transcendent Candidate, but for the Nature Path.

Her eyes grew knowing as she bore deep into his eyes. “It seems that you, too, have reached the precipice.”

Rui nodded with a serious expression. “I’m not too far anymore. A higher Realm of power is within my reach.”

The Divine Doctor raised an eyebrow at Rui, revealing the existence of the Transcendent Realm. He hadn’t been present when Mother Maeria momentarily touched Transcendence, which had alerted all the powerhouses around the world to a higher echelon of power.

“That is good.” Mother Maeria gestured at the seats. “The more of us there are on the precipice, the likelier it is that we will get our hands on a being of Transcendent power and solve the fear that plagues us.”

“I’m afraid one Transcendent may not be enough if the source of the fear is as great as I suspect it is,” the Divine Doctor calmly interjected. “This is not a local phenomenon, from what I’m able to gather and what I have been able to infer. This is most likely a phenomenon that is much more universal and will require much more than a mere Transcendent.”

She turned towards the Divine Doctor with a curious expression as the man took a seat opposite her, studying her with a curious glint in his eyes.

“Are you able to experience the Fear?” She raised an eyebrow. “Pardon me, but you are far too weak, even with extraneous circumstances, to experience the dread.”

“He isn’t able to feel the Fear.” Rui grinned. “He just figured it out.”

Mother Maeria’s eyebrow rose at those words. “…’Figured it out?’”