The Martial Unity

"…And thus, dear friends, the Rui campaign has effectively come to an end with a whole and complete victory in our hands." Rui smiled, raising a glass of alcohol. "Cheers!"

"CHEERS!"

An enormous hall of distinguished guests erupted in applause. Rui smiled and waved as he walked around, engaging with each of his donors, patrons, and benefactors who supported him.

An enormous wave of triumph and jubilation washed across all of them as they relished in their victory.

"Congratulations on your victory, Your Highness!"

"All hail the future Emperor of the Kandrian Empire!"

"Glory to the Kandrian Empire! Glory Emperor Rui Quarrier Kandria!"

Rui smiled with perfunctory pleasure as he acknowledged every single cheer from otherwise distinguished guests, taking the time to meet with each of them personally.

"You remind me of your father, Your Higness," one elderly smiled. "He, too, secured domineering victory before the throne was vacant. And, today, you have finalized your victory for the throne in a similar manner. Indeed, only such a man is worthy of succeeding the Emperor of Harmony."

"Your words flatter me, Minister Gregile," Rui smiled. "I would not have been able to secure the throne without your support."

"Hohoho, I believe you would have succeeded nonetheless, Your Highness," the elderly man smiled warmly at Rui. "Just as Rael had long ago."

The minister before him was one of the oldest and longest-serving high-ranking government officials. He had originally been one of the high-ranking government officials to officiate the coronation ceremony of the high-ranking government officials as the Chief Minister of the government that oversaw the cabinet of ministers.

PAT

"Rule this Empire well, Your Highness," he gazed into Rui's eyes with profound solemness. "It is the legacy that your father tirelessly dedicated his heart and soul to. Do not tarnish his legacy. Do not tarnish the name of Kandria."

Rui's grew steely. "Rest assured, I will not allow anything to disrupt the harmony of the Kandrian Empire."

"…Hm," the man nodded, satisfied with what he saw. "Indeed, there was never any need to say this. I shall retire for the night, Your Highness. An old man like me needs his rest."

"Of course, Minister Gregile, have a good night."

Soon enough, the many guests that had joined the celebration party that the Rui Faction had thrown began to retire and depart after paying their respects and regard to Rui. Soon enough, the party came to an end.

It had been organized for a month while Rui recovered, and it marked the final obligation that Rui had towards his faction.

"Huff…" Rui heaved a sigh once the final guest had left.

This marked the end of his responsibilities as faction leader.

"Anything else on my itinerary?"

"No, Your Highness," his secretary smiled. "All obligations, objectives, and agendas."

"Hm," Rui nodded, turning away. "I will be secluding myself in training in the Martial Union's absolute isolation chambers for several days. Ensure that I am not disturbed under any circumstances whatsoever, got it?"

"Understood, Your Highness, I shall ensure that nothing disturbs your training."

It wasn't long before Rui found himself sitting inside an isolated meditative training chamber, alone to himself and his thoughts.

He had memorized all the information on the Virodhabhasa Faith that he needed for later analysis when he was free.

He had only a few hours before Sage Sayfeel came to pick him up.

He was cutting it close, but he didn't want to waste any more time than he already had.

"Sayfeel was right…" Rui murmured as he skimmed through the data that he recorded in his Mind Palace.

Prophetants believed that the Antithesis was created by the prophecy rather than the prophecy emerging as a result of witnessing a pre-determined future of the Antithesis saving the world from a great apocalypse. Prophetants differed from fundamentalists in that they believed that the prophecy took primacy rather than the prophesized Antithesis.

In other words, while they believed that the Virodhabhasa was indeed a savior who would save the world, they believed that he could save the world because the prophecy prophesized that he would. The prophecy was the only reason they knew he would, and thus, in a sense, was the only reason that he would.

"It's basically a strange epistemological and ontological outlook on the nature of prophecy that believes prophecy to actually decide, rather than merely predict, the future," Rui sharply inferred, cleanly extracting the philosophy of their world-view from all the metaphorical and flowery theological literature that he memorized.

This was an important realization because it allowed him to understand how prophetants, like the Silas Clan, thought of prophecy. It affected the way that he needed to approach the Silas Clan.

Prophecy didn't merely see the future; it created the future in their eyes.

Rui frowned. "Does that mean the Silas Clan believes they are altering the literal future itself every time they use their prophetic Martial Art?"

That was a deeply narcissistic view.

Rui was proud of his pattern recognition system, but that didn't mean he was altering the fate of the universe every time he used it.

He was not a god.

He was a Martial Artist who had tapped into layers of potential that existed in his being.

Regardless, it didn't matter if he disapproved of their narcissistic self-image. The fact of the matter was that he needed their power. If he needed their power, then it was best not to offend any god complex that they might harbor.

'In fact,' Rui's eyes sharpened. 'It's best if I use it to gain what I need.'

Time passed as he began fleshing out his approach to the Silas Clan. He needed to play his cards just right when interacting with the Silas Clan. Countless considerations flashed through his mind as he created models of several strategies and tactics based on an incomplete profile.

Of course, because his profile was limited, he couldn't create anything with much precision. He would need to rely on his intuitive judgment.

Still, there still much he needed to think about beforehand.