The Martial Unity

Both Dwight and Rui watched with interest as the Transcendent ignored the causal layer and focused on the layer of laws, editing them with his consciousness. Specifically, he edited the layer of laws that overlapped with the solid light projector module in his hands.

VMMM

The solid light projector module hummed in his hands with a metaphysical frequency. Its information hummed, affected by what the Transcendent was doing.

Rui could see what the Transcendent was doing.

He was changing the laws that affected the solid light module.

Specifically, he was changing one constant that governed light.

He reduced the electromagnetic permeability of free space within the module. Not by much, but enough that its functionality was reduced noticeably. With lower permeability, the functionality of the light module improved. Although Rui wasn’t proficient with this kind of niche technology, he could still understand that this would increase the produced light. It would create superluminal light.

This was different from how Rui altered reality.

He simply applied his phenomenology to the causal layer. If he wanted to create superluminal light, then he simply needed to change the causal layer to picture ’light flowing more freely like a gushing river,’ or something of the sort.

Argenton, however, didn’t apply his verse like that; he changed the underlying law itself.

It was the difference between breaking the speed limit on the highway and successfully escaping punishment from the cops and passing a new bill to raise the speed limit so that you wouldn’t be breaking it in the first place.

Rui was a career criminal in the eyes of the laws of reality while Argenton was a legislator who decided what the laws were.

This was the difference between what they did.

”Fascinating,” Rui’s eyes lit up. ”I didn’t realize that this was an alternative way to affect reality, but...”

He shook his head in disappointment. ”This is too weak. It takes too much energy to change reality by changing the laws, rather than simply breaking the laws to change reality. The latter is more efficient than the former. I can accelerate light ten times faster with my Martialverse.”

It was much easier to steal money and get away with it than to alter the laws of a jurisdiction to make theft legal. Rui didn’t see the point in trying to do the latter when he could easily do the former.

Argenton didn’t respond with words, but instead, another action.

He withdrew his Technoverse from the layer of laws completely. Ordinarily, this would mean that the solid light projector module would return to normal. But that was where the anomaly occurred.

Rui’s eyes widened with surprise as he realized that the reality-defying aspects of the light module remained in place even though the Technoverse had stopped acting on it. ”Wait, the affect is stuck.”

Dwight turned towards Argenton with stunned realization. ”You made a permanent change in the laws of reality governing this object.”

Argenton couldn’t help but smile smugly. ”This is an important path of power exercising for creators like ourselves. You didn’t fully realize it because you have been poisoned by his Martial perspective.”

He pointed at Rui, almost in an incriminating manner. Rui’s eyebrows furrowed at the accusation, but couldn’t strictly deny it. His Martialverse didn’t need to bother with trying to make permanent changes to the information governing an object simply because it was unnecessary. Why would a warrior try to carve out his own metaphysical legislation when he could just ignore it and force reality to bend the knee to him anyway?

However, he couldn’t deny that he might have imparted too much of this Martially-tinted view to Dwight.

Thankfully, Dwight had managed to discover consciousness engineering nonetheless, which was a permanent change to reality, so he wasn’t on the wrong path. But Rui could tell that this one crucial insight that Argenton had provided had opened a new world of potential for Dwight.

”If I can alter the laws of reality governing God’s Hammer, then...!” Dwight grew extremely excited. ”Then I can fully realize its true potential! I will have created a true Transcendent-grade artifact!”

Rui had to admit that even he found this possibility to be extremely exciting. The two of them would undoubtedly reach unprecedented heights if they could manifest this outcome to the very maximum.

He turned towards the solid light projector module with a curious expression, activating his Martialverse.

Suddenly, the world around them quivered. As if all of reality was an image upon the surface of a lake of water. Rui had noticed that Argenton’s Technoverse didn’t cause such an overwhelming change in reality.

Rui’s Martialverse was a loud Verse that forced reality to bend to his will in an acute and proximate manner.

Argenton’s Technoverse didn’t cause such an intense change in immediate reality. Even now, when it was active, it was nowhere near as prominent as Rui’s Martialverse. He suspected that this was a fundamental difference in Verse.

His consciousness moved into the information dimension, but this time he skipped out on the causal layer and moved to the layer of laws. This time, rather than defying the laws of reality, he tried editing them.

This was the first time he had done this as a Martial Transcendent. All this time, he had violated the laws of reality to produce impossible events on the battlefield, but never had he tried changing them.

Unfortunately, his consciousness struggled to edit them at all.

He could barely change the speed of light within the solid physics projection module. The effect was very small, and it took way more effort than Argenton needed.

”I’m surprised you can even do it,” Argenton frowned with genuine disbelief. ”I suppose this is a testament to how thoughtful and knowledgeable you are in the domain of science. I don’t think any other Martial Transcendent would be capable of such a thing.”

He was probably right. Rui was special in that his profoundly deep expertise in science was on par with tekvores and dwarves and, in some specific areas, even superior. But this was still not his specialty.

”Martial Artists exercise violence, and violence does not seek to leave a legacy, but to dominate those who defy them,” Rui remarked, withdrawing his Martialverse. ”I don’t need to make permanent changes to reality to win battles. But...”

His eyes lit up with excitement.

”I have found a new way to strengthen my Martial Body.”