The Martial Unity

Rui didn't even know if she could be saved. Losing a heart was usually a nigh-instant death. It all depended on how good her body's endurance and healing were. Those were the factors that would determine whether the medical team made it in time.

 He turned back towards Meera with narrowed eyes. 'She's a lot less sane than she looks.'

It was an eerie realization.

Earlier, she had struck Rui as a quirky and eccentric Martial Artist. Now she was clinically insane in his eyes. 

However, her strength was real. Squire Feoul's technique was easily grade ten. She was an incredibly powerful Martial Squire who definitely belonged in the top eight based on the power she displayed. 

Rui was confident he would have been able to definitively defeat her, it was still extremely impressive for Meera to be able to take her down so quickly.

Her match had impacted all those who witnessed it.

This was the strength of a champion, one who stood at the very pinnacle, above hundreds of thousands of Martial Squires.

It was overwhelming.

Almost none of the remaining contestants possessed the confidence to win against her. Not even Squire Janeau's aggression seemed to be able to retain its vigor after witnessing that overwhelming performance.

Only one of them retained his confidence.

Not only did he retain his confidence, he retained his hope. It even grew stronger after witnessing that performance.

Rui's hand inadvertently pressed against his chest as he felt his excited heartbeat. It was a reflection of his true emotions on the matter. 

'If anyone can push me to the limit...' 

He eyed her longingly.

Yet, he had another obstacle to overcome before he could reach her.

It was only after several seconds that the announcer once again recalled what he was hired for.

"And the winner is Champion Meera! She moves to the second round with a shocking performance!"

Meera simply turned around as she simply returned to the contestant waiting room, unperturbed by the eyes that fixated on her.

Rui, however, no longer focused on her.

His attention had turned back to his next opponent.

"And now we move on to the semi-finals! We have four remaining contestants. Squire Falken! Squire Frinjschia! Squire Janeau! and Champion Meera!"

The crowd roared with approval and enthusiasm.

The fights thus far had been quite special. Not a single person in the spectators wished for a refund. They got to witness shocking spectacles that they would seldom get to witness otherwise!

"Without further ado, let us jump into the first match of the semi-finals!" The announcement exclaimed. "We have the domineering newcomer Contestant Falken! and the eldest veteran Contestant Frinjschia!"

Rui and Squire Frinjscia headed towards the colosseum together.

"May I ask you something?" Rui asked, politely.

She glanced at Rui. "...'Why do you persevere after all this time?'"

"...Yes."

She faced the colosseum ahead of them. "It's all I have ever known. It's all I know to do. It's all I will do until I pass away."

Rui raised an eyebrow.

That was unexpected.

He thought she would have persevered for a specific goal of some sort. Maybe she had a family she wanted to obtain the power to protect, or maybe she wanted to obtain the power needed to extend her lifespan a bit. 

But it appeared that he had a wrong read on the situation.

She did not need a reason to persevere.

She needed a reason not to.

'Behavioral inertia.' Rui mused inwardly.

Certain behaviors, when religiously engaged in over extremely long periods of time, became highly ingrained within a person. 

Her words indicated that she had dedicated her entire life to persevering for power singlemindedly. If that was the case, then he could see why the very act of pursuing power was the reason she pursued power. 

Perhaps it was the only normal she had ever known. Perhaps this was the only thing that could bring her comfort and happiness, regardless of the success.

'But is it enough to break into a higher Realm of power?' Rui wondered.

He didn't know, he still didn't understand the most detailed nuances of the breakthrough to the Senior Realm.

Was pursuing power because it was the only way of life that anchored her mind and staved off despair strong enough of a desire to activate the Martial Heart?

He didn't know.

'It could also be that it is strong enough, but that she simply hasn't met anything that could challenge that threaten and challenge that desire. After all, the worst thing that could generally happen in a fight is death.' Rui mused.

He turned back towards her. "Do you fear death?"

"Hmph," She snorted mirthfully. "I fear life. Death is peace."

'Figured. So even the threat of death or loss isn't enough to challenge her Martial Heart. No wonder she is still a Martial Squire after all these decades.'

He started to understand her predicament. She was just in an unfortunate position of pursuing her Martial Path for a reason that was particularly difficult to challenge. It didn't help that she didn't seem to have a strong attachment to life on top of that.

'For a circumstance to help her activate her Martial Heart... It would need to threaten her ability to pursue her Martial Path without actually killing her.' 

A grave thought entered his mind. 

He was inadvertently faced with a choice. One that he had never expected he would be faced with in his entire life. He didn't know which one of them was the right choice to make. He could consider the choice as rationally as he wanted, but unfortunately, he was unable to separate his emotions from his considerations this time.

He entered the colosseum with a clouded mind, his eyes wandering in uncertainty.

"Take your stances."

She adopted the same neutral stance she did last time.

"Focus." She instructed him with a sharp glare. "You cannot overcome me with a scattered mind, young man."

Rui stared at her for a moment, before a small smile bloomed on his face.

He made up his mind.