The Martial Unity

Kane and Fae spent some more time with Rui and Amare, admiring Ria and introducing her to Runark, who simply gazed at her with eyes of fascination. It wasn’t long before they had to leave, bidding Rui and Amare a hearty goodbye.

“We’ll be sure to visit often so that our kids can hang out.” Kane waved.

“Yeah, we’re looking forward to that.” Rui waved them goodbye with a sincere smile.

Soon enough, Kane and Fae walked out of the royal palace with Runark in their arms, heading back home to Hajin City from Vargard through their family aero-carriage.

“Ria is so cute,” Fae heaved a sigh as they traveled, hugging Runark dearly. “I do hope these two get along really well in the future.”

“Of course they will, isn’t that right, Runark?” Kane played with his son in a childish tone of voice. “You’re going to have lots of fun with her~”

“It was so nice seeing Rui after more than a year now,” Fae remarked, propping Runark on her lap. “He has… changed.”

She directed a pointed glance at her husband. “A lot.”

“Yeah, I was surprised too,” Kane grinned. “I’ve never seen him that moved ever. Ria’s birth has completely changed his life, and for the better, I think.”

Fae could agree with that, but it certainly wasn’t what she meant. “That’s actually the most normal change. I’m talking about the other changes. Why is his body translucent? And also, why does he talk like that? Saying ‘we’ instead of ‘I’? Has he really become that arrogant since ascending the throne? Ah, it breaks my heart to think the sweet and grounded Rui is gone because power corrupted him.”

“Hah!” Kane snorted with a hint of amusement. “If power were something that could corrupt him, it would have corrupted him long before he ascended the throne. The throne is actually an impediment, rather than something that gives him power. He was the most powerful man with or without it. But…”

He shrugged lightly. “It’s true that he has changed a lot. The translucent thing is because of a Martial project of his. He basically made radical changes to grow stronger, and he has gotten stronger as a result. As for the changes in the way he refers to himself. That’s also a Martial technique. He has multiple consciousnesses in his body that control him. So when he says we, that’s just both his mind and body talking together.”

Fae’s eyes widened with shock. “…Is such a thing even possible?”

“Anything is possible when Rui is involved,” Kane replied with a confident smile. “I’ve been watching that dude do the impossible for more than fifty years now. This is just a new entry on what is otherwise an already very long list of impossible feats.”

“…He truly is extraordinary,” Fae heaved a deep breath, smiling at Runark. “Our lives have changed so much because of him. In ways that we probably don’t even realize. Even though we have grown distant because of diverging lives and diverging power, I still cherish him as an important friend from my early life. And also…”

A proud smile emerged on her face. “I get to tell people that I once defeated Rui Quarrier.”

Kane scoffed at her with a mischievous grin. “When he wasn’t even a Martial Artist yet, yeah.”

“Huhu… I don’t need to tell people that part.”

Kane laughed approvingly before heaving a deep breath. “…The Martial Entrance Exam, huh?”

He closed his eyes as a gush of memories flooded him.

“It feels like a lifetime ago.”

He recalled the first time he met Rui.

It was in the second phase of the entrance exam, where they had to dodge numerous bouncing slimes. Back then, Kane, having realized he needed a teammate, had approached Rui to work together.

They were merely twelve years old.

That one interaction had sparked a friendship that Kane cherished as more important to him than his own life. The many, many adventures that they had gone through together had shaped him into the man he was today.

He had changed a lot since then, having gone through many ups and downs at Rui’s side, and having overcome some of his greatest challenges and hurdles to become who he was today.

“I’m happy to have met him.”

His tone was sincere, devoid of the light-hearted mirth he was accustomed to. “I’m happy that my life crossed paths with his.”

He gazed out the window, studying the vast expanse of Vargard City below them as they flew at an astonishing height, before directing a deep gaze at the auburn sky and the evening sun that rapidly dipped below the horizon, feeling a surge of emotion overtake him.

Fae smiled at him in a good-natured manner, overlapping his hand with hers, squeezing it. “You say that almost in a grieving manner.”

She gazed at Runark with a loving expression. “We have our whole lives ahead of us to make even more memories with him, with them. Who knows, we might even become a true family with each other.”

Kane smiled at her, pulling her in for a kiss to the side of the head. “You’re right. We have a whole life ahead of us. And our children give us a good excuse to visit them frequently, so I can hang around with them.”

Fae smiled at him suggestively. “Maybe we should have another child right away.”

Kane raised an eyebrow at Fae. “…that sounds fun.”

“For you, I’m sure it is.” She smiled coyly. Kane scratched his shaved chin as he pondered whether five minutes of fun were worth the trouble that came over the next nine months and one year after that. He shrugged. “Screw it, I’ll take it.”

“Huhu… I’m looking forward to getting home then.”

“Why wait until we get home? We can do it right here.”

Fae burst into laughter as he propped Runark away, pouncing on his wife with a mischievous smile. “Not in front of Runark!”

“We can have him sit with the maid in the other compartment. It won’t take long, I’m quite fast, you see?”

“I know how fast you are.”

“You’re about to find out once more.”

“You’ll destroy the carriage!”

“Martial Artists are efficient, you know?”

“Ah, stop, you fool!”

“Hehehe. The Kane-Train doesn’t stop once it starts, baby!”

RUMBLE…

That day, the driver of the aero-carriage gritted his teeth, wondering where all the turbulence was coming from as he drove the Dullahan Family back home.