The Martial Unity

Rui narrowed his eyes as he heard the man respond to his thought while revealing his name.

It was a shocking conclusion.

One no one could have possibly ever realized.

One surely no one would ever come to know. There were many who had tried, yet they had all failed to grasp the true core of his Martial Art.

Ieyasu had intended for it to remain that way.

Yet, seeing Rui easily discover his greatest secret made him feel trivial. The arrogance that had long developed within him, centered around this secret, began unraveling.

He had run into the one Martial Artist who was capable of learning the truth with just the sheer brilliance of his mind.

Rui stared at him impassively.

The ODA System was a technique that was largely mental. It was not something that could be replicated simultaneously with Rui's first use of it in the battle just by copying his mind.

If he simply copied Transverse Resonance, he would not have been able to aim, simultaneously with Rui, at his attack and cancel it out.

That meant that he had to have access to Rui's aim, which existed within his head. He need only reverse the aim since he was on the other end of it. That inevitably meant that he was a Martial Artist who could read minds. That was most likely the source through which he copied people's movements so well.

"Yet just because you know the truth, doesn't mean you can do anything about it." Ieyasu whispered as he rushed forward with greater speed and power than before. "You are not my equal."

The air grew taut with peril as he drew closer.

Rui closed his eyes.

An opponent with a physicality that seemed to grow stronger the more he copied his opponent, which he did through mind reading.

Rui now fully understood why he was so invincible. Trying to defeat him was almost impossible for those within the same Realm as him.

Almost.

Ieyasu rushed forward, launching a powerful Flowing Canon straight at Rui's head.

A knockout blow.

BOOM!!!

Rui grimaced as he barely managed to block it in time. Yet not even the combination of Flux Earther, Inner Divergence, and Adamant Reforging was enough to dispel the impact of Rui's attack.

The attack launched him far away, crashing across the battle arena.

Yet Ieyasu ruthlessly rushed forward, racing to finish Rui off.

BAM BAM BAM!

He pounded Rui with a barrage of powerful blows.

Each attack rattled Rui harder than the previous one.

Each motion he made was quicker than the previous one.

Ieyasu grew more and more comfortable in the visage of Rui.

Becoming Rui.

One could stare at him, and yet, one merely saw Rui.

A stronger Rui.

A faster Rui.

A superior Rui.

The atmosphere of the battle shifted.

Everybody watched with grave expressions.

They clenched their fists.

Many of them had been beaten down by Ieyasu in a similar manner. He had become an unending source of trauma to most of them. Some had even become crippled as Martial Artists after facing him.

They had held a faint hope.

That maybe...

Just maybe... the mighty Squire Falken would be able to overcome him.

Yet it appeared reality was to crush their hopes once more.

The outcome seemed to become clearer with every maneuver.

The air grew chillier.

Darker.

They could feel it in their bones.

The end was nigh.

'Rui...' Tears started to fill Kane's eyes.

THUD

Rui fell down to one knee.

A powerful kick flew towards him, threatening to knock him out.

It was game over.

And yet.

WHOOSH!

Not a single person could contain their shock as Ieyasu found himself kicking empty air.

Rui had disappeared.

BOOM!!!

A mighty impact shook the colosseum, crashing into Ieyasu's back as it flung him away. Every single witness froze in shock as the sight of Rui flinging Ieyasu away shattered every expectation of what was to unfold.

His eyes drew all others'. They were gravitic. Not a single person was able to look away.

They were silver.

And yet...

They were not.

A limitless void emerged from deep within them.

He stared at Ieyasu, opening his mouth.

Three words escaped them.

"Not your equal...?" He started walking forward. 'You... are not capable of reflecting me.'

Ieyasu narrowed his eyes at that declaration.

He didn't bother retorting.

He didn't understand what had just happened.

Yet he didn't have time to understand.

Rui had already arrived.

BOOM!

He evaded a powerful high kick from Rui as he stared into the man's eyes, peering into his mind.

Deeper.

Further.

He stressed his Mind Eye technique to the absolute limit as he pushed himself to read Rui's mind to the absolute limit.

His eyes widened as he came across a palace.

A titanic palace spanned many kilometers in radius, encompassing many things.

It included places from all over Gaia.

As well as other strange places.

Alien places.

Places from another world.

'You...' His eyes widened as a shocking realization dawned on to him.

All kinds of images, sounds, smells, numbers, and other strange symbols were stored across the strange structure. They surged towards the center of the palace, converging in a single place.

At the center of the palace sat Rui, meditating. A vortex of more information than Ieyasu could ever imagine surged into the figure that consumed all of it voraciously.

Like a void.

He opened his eyes, staring at Ieyasu.

"Read all of this if you can."

BAM!

An attack in the real world crashed into him, flinging him away. As Rui surged forward, throwing a barrage of powerful attacks.

BAM BAM BAM!

Ieyasu's expression grew grave as he defended himself with Flux Earther. His eyes narrowed as he threw a swift kick, hoping to knock Rui out in an instant.

And yet...

WHOOSH!

BAM BAM BAM!

The two of them clashed identically.

A beautiful symmetry unfolded.

Every soul witnessing the battle wished from the bottom of their hearts that the battle would continue forever.

Endlessly, for all of eternity.

And yet...

The balance shifted quicker than anybody could have ever imagined.

SPLAT!