The Martial Unity

Rui opened his eyes slowly. An clear sky entered his field of vision.

He frowned.

Where was he?

He got up to his feet as he gazed forward, squinting as his eyes adjusted. A beautiful landscape extended as far as the eye could see as he gazed down at the breathtaking sight, appreciating its beauty.

But he was still confused.

He turned around, glancing at what was behind him, yet what he saw shook him to his very core.

He saw a path.

A path with profound depth.

A path he was on.

Yet what shook him wasn't the path itself.

No.

What truly shook him was treacherous calamities the path winded through.

Monsters.

Earthquakes.

Meteorites.

Land-breaks.

A torrent of devastating catastrophes littered his path.

It was a horrifying sight that inspired primal terror.

And yet, it inspired awe.

Through his terror, he could see profound boundless beauty in that path.

him, mesmerizing

he wanted to

his first step, the world shattered into countless

a shock, jerking upright as he gasped for

around spotting his

dazed, completely confused. It took him a few moments

same dream again...') He thought to

what happened to my match?" His eyes widened as he glanced

both silent for

him impassively. "You managed to get her with the Stinger, inflicting a critical wound. But the damage you took from her last strike had crossed the threshold, you fell unconscious

Rui sighed, closing

disappointment and frustration. He had given that fight his everything, but not

took a deep breath as he

Dylon said. "Your performance surpassed my every expectation. You're not even a two-year-old Martial Apprentice and you went against a monstrous prodigy that has been cultivating techniques for six years. The odds were stacked against you in every way, in every possible parameter, yet you managed to not only push her going all-out but inflicted a critical wound that threatened to

his words. "Remember what I told you before the preliminary contest. Your Martial Path extends far beyond the Martial Contest, this is merely a checkpoint in your life. Do not let this halt or hinder

half-way to being a Squire Candidate at the age of fourteen was truly astonishing. Furthermore, he had fulfilled the harder and more important condition of Squire

era,

She

of you. However, I do not intend to let this failure hold me back." he said solemnly. "Instead, this failure will

hands, as a slight smile cracked past his

Contest had shattered and reforged his world view of what was possible

he thought of all the various techniques he would master

dark eyes had already left the past,

* *

as she gazed outside the window of her room, as she

cup sat atop a table some distance away, drawing her

a matter of boundless prestige, yet she didn't

in a pensive mood, unsure of

she knew what she felt. She wasn't sure about how she felt of what she

the match ended, she was declared the Martial Champion and given that cup as the crowd went berserk with

KNOCK KNOCK

in~" She absentmindedly

"Miss." Her butler bowed.

"What is it?"

has summoned

simply nodded, having expected

as she walked towards the center of the Roschem Family

center, where the study of