The Martial Unity

That day, the truth rapidly blazed through the continent of Sirinwel shortly after the Emperor of Water took his leave. The dwarves quickly learned of Dwight’s breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm, thoroughly stunned and overjoyed by the event. Ever since the Emperor of Water had broken through to the Transcendent Realm, the dwarves had been waiting for the day that they would catch up.

After all, they could deal with all manner of threat and force, but the power of a Martial Transcendent was absolute. If the Emperor had wanted, he could have chosen to enslave all of dwarvenkind, and there was nothing that they would have been able to do. Even if the Emperor of Water wasn’t the kind of man to do that, it was not pleasant knowing that they had no way to stop it.

Now, however, things had changed. They had acquired a Transcendent of their own. Dwight, on the other hand, enjoyed a substantial rise in his status within the Bournyvrne Empire. Of course, being one of the eldest craftsmen in the empire, he had always served as one of their most exalted pathwalkers, but it was on a whole other level now.

”Elder Sage Dwight, as the Emperor of the dwarves, I am deeply overjoyed at your breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm,” Emperor Ranoua El Bournvyrne declared with a firm tone and a relieved expression. ”I congratulate you on your breakthrough from the bottom of my heart and, on behalf of the Bournvyrne Empire, offer you gratitude to you for your many contributions to our empire and to dwarvenkind.

He sat upon an extravagant throne much larger than the minor physique of his dwarven body, with the backrest rising to nearly ten meters high in an ostentatiously massive throne room. He was even older than Dwight, who was already a thousand years old. His elder eyes were calm, yet focused. He gazed at Dwight, who, despite his ascended status, chose to kneel before the Emperor.

The difference in the dwarf was entirely evident to each and every single one of their senses. The very world had been changed in his presence. It grew harmonious. The countless disturbances, the vibrations, the disruptions in the environment around them from all manner of sources had disappeared.

In his presence, all of heaven and earth became harmonious.

It was an unfathomable kind of power, one that didn’t even feel like it existed in the same universe as their flesh and bodies. It was the same kind of absolution that the law of gravity or of motion held. It was difficult to even fathom violating them.

He may have knelt before the king, but all of reality knelt before him, so who truly was the Emperor and who was the subject?

”I am honored, Emperor Ranoua,” Dwight spoke with a deeply grateful tone. ”Now that I have become a Transcendent Craftsman, I can do more for our kind, for our Empire, and for human civilization. My power is greater than anything I could have imagined possible, and I look forward to exercising it.”

Emperor Ranoua’s eyes widened.

Dwight appeared to have no issue with the hierarchy of power and authority of the Bournvyrne Empire despite his rise in power and status. The emperor had been prepared for Dwight to no longer be willing to bend the knee or bow his head to him. He had even been prepared to negotiate with the man as if he was his own entity. But Dwight appeared not to care about using his pathwalker power to haggle for more political power even though he very easily could have.

He intentionally knelt before the Emperor to signal that he was fine with the status quo, to serve in the Bournvyrne Empire as one of its most valued craftsmen and creators.

This was an advantage that the dwarves had over the other races. Dwarven pathwalkers did not develop the kind of ego and pride that a lot of the other races inevitably did when they gained power.

Among the Martial Artists of the Panama Continent, a large portion of polities were ruled by Martial Artists, evidently a trend that was accelerated by the Era of Darkness. The same was true for tekvores, for evolutionaries, for therianthropes, and even giants.

Inevitably, when they gained more power, they sought to ensure that their status and their political power reflected as much. Perhaps it was because of how direct and personal their combat power was.

The power of a creator was not directly useful in combat. They needed to create war machines that could fight on their behalf, usually operated by others, to make an impact. This prevented their psychology from being warped by their power to an extent, and allowed them to live in their nations and civilizations more harmoniously.

And as someone whose phenomenological uniformity was centered around Harmony, Dwight had no inclination of acting disharmoniously either. There was no time for it even if he did have that inclination. Human civilization urgently needed his services, and he needed to dedicate every ounce of time to helping humanity survive its impending trial.

”You may rise, Dwight. Your selfless decision to aid human civilization is deeply assuring, Transcendent,” Emperor Ranoua chose to speak to the dwarf with great respect despite Dwight’s willingness to submit to his authority. ”The Bournvyrne Empire does not dare to tell you how to use your power. Know that we will support you no matter what decision you make, and what aid you may need from us.”

”Thank you, Your Majesty. Your support means a lot to me.” The elder dwarf replied, standing up.

”Have you decided how you intend to deploy your power and spend your time?” Emperor Ranoua asked with a curious tone.

”Yes, Your Majesty,” Dwight replied thoughtfully. ”Frankly, I have so many products that I want to indulge in that it’s hard to sort them. But there are some projects that are clearly among the most important. One of the things that comes to mind is, of course, God’s Hammer. Now that I have become a Transcendent, I must upgrade its power.”