The Martial Unity

Rui knew what he was suggesting was extreme. But the truth was that Ria not only had the hyper-atunement treatment during the first five years of his life from him personally day in and day out, but she also got a Martial Path that was at least as high-grade as his own and an affinity for causality that was as overwhelming an advantage as his own retained memories and double-matured mind.

Even with the power of the Martialverse, allowing Runark to be able to compete with that was too difficult. Especially when the Martialverse was, as the name suggested, a Verse that was Martial in nature. As with all Realms, their effectiveness wore out the further the activity they were dedicated to was less related to Martial Art.

In other words, if Runark wanted the power to reach Ria, then he would have to pay a price.

”You mean…” His voice grew shaky. ”…If I choose to go with your path, then I will suffer from nyctophobia and my trauma for the rest of my life?”

”Correct,” Rui remarked. ”You haven’t started your treatment with the Psyker yet, have you?”

”No… no, he told me the first session is today,” Runark muttered with a grim expression.

”That’s good,” Rui replied. ”Because the Psyker is actually an extremely effective psychiatrist. He probably told you that it would take a long time for you to heal, but the reality is that with his methods, it would probably take one session. He just wanted to regulate your expectations so you don’t get gung ho about it. It would have an adverse impact and would stall your healing process.

Runark’s eyes widened. ”One session…?”

”There’s no doubt about it, his insight into the human mind is leagues beyond the field of psychology,” Rui replied calmly. ”He’s singlehandedly responsible for half of the industry’s breakthroughs even in the Era of Expansion.”

”So… I could be cured today, but you’re asking me to never be cured of my nyctophobia ever?” Runark asked with a grim tone and an expression crumpled with indecision.

”If you want to catch up to Ria, yes,” Rui remarked with a serious expression.

”…And how is my nyctophobia relevant to this solution of yours?”

”Because your trauma can form the basis of talent,” Rui said with a patient voice. ”Trauma and talent, you would be surprised how much these two things have in common. Normally trying to ’convert’ trauma into talent would be an impossible endeavor, even for the Psyker. But me…”

Rui smiled at his godson. ”The dams that are the laws of reality cannot contain the weight of my Water. I can get it done.”

Runark frowned, uncertain of what to think about those words. He knew his godfather was extraordinary, but what he was proposing sounded like fantasy fiction. It shouldn’t have even been remotely possible, but if his godfather said it was, then Runark believed him.

”And… if I go through with this conversion, my nyctophobia will remain as it is?”

”It will,” Rui confirmed. ”It will become the pillar upon which your talent will be founded.”

”And what kind of talent will be born atop my nyctophobia?” Runark asked with a serious expression.

”Why, an affinity for light, of course,” Rui smiled. ”You see, fear is the most primal emotion that we feel. It’s a neurological mechanism that demands change. When you’re afraid, you change your location, or the way you interact with the environment, or your exposure to whatever it is you’re afraid of. It induces an ever-changing neurological state that causes the subject to adapt to the source of its fear. In other words, Fear is Water.”

Rui explained to him one of the countless enlightenments he had that formed the basis of his phenomenological uniformity.

”We will use your nyctophobia to cultivate a talent for light,” Rui explained. ”Light manipulation, electromagnetic mastery more broadly. You are already a genius as far as your Martial Art talent goes, just like your father. Then, with the additional immense talent for light Martial Art stacked on top, you should be able to reach the ’monster’ territory of talent, and with some grinding in the manifold, that will be your best shot towards reaching Ria.”

When Runark heard his godfather’s explanation, he felt like it made sense on a very qualitative level, but not on an actual technical level.

”A fear of darkness can give me talent for light Martial Art? Really?”

”With my power, it certainly can,” Rui replied. ”I will use my power to exacerbate the ever-changing neurological state that your nyctophobia puts you in to accelerate the light talent cultivation process. It should give you a truly tremendous amount of Martial affinity. You will become a Martial machine geared towards maneuvering and light-oriented high principles. However…”

Rui directed a pointed gaze at his godson. ”Unless you yourself learn to integrate the talent I will be cultivating in you with your Martial Art and your Martial Path, you will not be able to reach her. A dissonant Martial Art stands no chance of catching up to my star of a daughter.”

Runark’s expression tightened. He liked the sound of what his godfather was offering, but the price was not something he could ignore.

The word nyctophobia didn’t do it justice. Even now, the Martial chamber he was in had all of its light turned to the maximum. He couldn’t even sleep at night with the lights turned off. Even closing his eyes was uncomfortable.

But if that got him closer to Ria, then…

”Then I’ll take it, Uncle Rui,” Runark directed a determined gaze at his godfather. ”Let’s get started right away.”

”No… I want you to talk about it with your parents,” Rui remarked. ”As a father myself and a friend of Kane, I know he would not appreciate you making such important decisions by yourself. Go home for now, speak with them, and make up your mind. If you still haven’t changed your mind and your parents have approved this, then we can start.”

WHOOSH

In the blink of an eye, Rui disappeared.