The Martial Unity

”Hm…” Rui stared at the Armor of Flowing Wisdom.

’Don me, and we shall crush our opponent together.’ The voice of the armor flowed into his mind through the information dimension.

”Yeah… no, you’re going to sit this one out,” Rui told the armor, much to its displeasure. ”I don’t want to reveal more information than I have to.”

Rui ignored the complaints of the armor, changing from his royal attire into his Martial attire, tying his black belt atop his Martial coat, which was strapped on top of a Martial vest. The fabric was fashioned from a plant grown in the core of the Beast Domain, with Transcendent-grade esoteric matter in its fibers that allowed it to survive the extreme conditions of battle by transferring the impact to his body.

”Are you about this?” Ru asked when he emerged from the room. She clearly didn’t like this atypical sequence of events in what was supposed to be a diplomatic conference. But she was not the Empress, so she had no choice but to let it go through. Yet, she couldn’t help but be worried.

Words could not describe the catastrophe that human civilization and the Kandrian Empire would face if something were to happen to Rui.

”I’ll be fine.”

It wasn’t long before he exited the Golden Chariot, floating through space to meet his opponent. The two sized each other up as they drew closer.

The aquadite was interesting. This was the first time Rui had seen one in person up close. He was taller than Rui thought, despite having seen them in the memories of o-o-o-o. The trident in his hand drew Rui’s interest as he could distinctly sense that it was not a normal weapon.

But more than his appearance or his weapon, what drew Rui’s interest the most was the male aquadite’s verse.

It was not a Verse of Water like his.

Instead, it was closer to a…

”Oceanverse,” Rui muttered. ”That’s your phenomenological uniformity. A world of oceans.”

The aquadite heard his human words, even if he didn’t understand their meaning. Nonetheless, he could understand the meaning through the direct transmission of information that Transcendents were capable of.

”Correct, human Administrator,” the aquadite replied boldly. ”The universe and all within it is an ocean. A medium that fosters life. A medium that is alive. A medium for everything within it. Everything is an ocean unto itself and is a part of the Great Ocean.”

The Great Ocean. A rather interesting metaphor for the universe. Rui wondered how they thought of the cosmic virus, but this wasn’t the time to probe their intentions regarding it. The fish eyes of the aquadite bore deep into his. Rui could faintly sense contempt and condescension.

”You are not the Emperor of Water,” the aquadite remarked. ”Your Verse is pure water, devoid of the life, diversity, and ecosystem of change that separates merely large pools of water from a true ocean. At most, you are a Disciple of the Sea. But before a true Sovereign such as myself, you are no Emperor.”

The male aquadite’s Verse was more developed and stronger. Rui could feel that. This was a strength that came with centuries, if not millennia, of slow, painstaking growth. In comparison, Rui’s Martialverse was a little over thirteen years old. It was a teenager compared to what was a rich, experienced veteran.

The aquadite could clearly feel that, and that only solidified his certainty and confidence.

Yet, when he saw a smile emerge on Rui’s face, he felt a surge of uncertainty. He didn’t even know what the expression meant or corresponded with in human emotion, but he felt his heart tingle nervously.

As if he was staring into an abyss that knew no end.

His instincts whispered that he was making a mistake.

Rui’s smile was the smile of someone who knew something his opponent didn’t. He didn’t respond to the trash-talk, nor did he engage in it himself. He didn’t feel the need to.

Actions spoke louder than words ever could.

He simply took his stance.

He stood in outer space, his thin Martial footwear pressing into the fabric of space and time like it was solid land. His hands balled into fists, taking their positions before him while his feet separated.

The aquadite crushed his growing subconscious apprehension and forced an aggressive expression, gripping his trident with both arms, pointing it in Rui’s direction.

The two Administrators stared at each other, their power getting worked up. The other ships began to leave the environment, moving to the edge of the star system. Even though the technology their ships were built from was very durable, they didn’t want to test it against the power of two Administrators, even if they were going to be holding back.

Soon enough, it was time.

”It’s time to put you in your place!” Sovereign Ar’amado began the battle with a charge as his Oceanverse blazed to power.

Sovereigns weren’t born sovereigns, unlike the arakai’s Divine Mothers.

Sovereignty over reality was gained from shedding the unenlightened, mortal aspects of their being until the only thing that was left was the Ocean that was everything. That was how Oceanverses were born. Bouts of madness at the depths of a water world caused phenomenological uniformity.

Of course, the success rate was exponentially microscopic, quantum even. But the power gained was worth the losses.

”Behold the power of the Ocean!”

RUMBLE!!!

The world shifted as his maddened oceanic view of it took hold. The currents of the oceans expanded forth from him, occupying the entire star system. Rui’s eyes lit up as he relished in the novel experience.

The water of this Oceanverse was different from his. The most basic difference was that this water was salty and filled with countless substances and compounds, both organic and inorganic, that his Martialverse didn’t have. Additionally, the Oceanverse was filled with currents, which began converging on him.

There were countless lifeforms in his Oceanverse. Countless fish-like aliens. Squid-like creatures. Crab-like organisms. Convergent evolution meant that as long as the environments were similar, similar lifeforms would emerge because of bio-geometric optimizations.

The creatures spawned in his Oceanverse were immediately hostile to Rui, charging at him from all directions.

RUMBLE!!!!!