The Martial Unity

Rui was not pleased to see himself dying in countless different scenarios. It was actually deeply disturbing and unpleasant to find himself in situations that were too much for him to survive.

He stared at Matriarch Nephi with indignant askance.

Yet, a single question escaped her in response.

"You've never been to the Beast Domain, have you?"

"…No," Rui admitted honestly.

"That is why I needed to give you a proper preview of what was to come," She calmly remarked. "The Beast Domain is different. It's different from most likely anything that you have ever experienced in your entire life."

Unfortunately, Rui knew that she had a point.

Outside of the Great Forest of Hynonarak, he had probably never experienced something even remotely similar to the Beast Domain.

"I took the liberty to show you the powerfully-fated futures where your death was high because such is the future," She remarked. "The more you know about these fates, the likelier it is that you will be able to avert them."

Rui considered her words, nodding slowly.

"It is more important to me that you survive than succeed," She explained gently. "As long as you survive, everything has a solution. Yet, if you die, then that is truly the end."

She heaved a sigh. "The Beast Domain is an environment that truly embodies the survival of the fittest. This has especially been true over the past five hundred years as the Human Domain has pushed and squeezed the denizens of the Beast Domain into a smaller and smaller area."

Rui narrowed his eyes. "Has it gotten that bad?"

"It has, unfortunately," Matriarch Nephi affirmed gravely. "The density of life has increased while resources have depleted due to the lesser lands available to them. There is constant war and conflict within the Beast Domain between the countless species in the Beast Domain that have been pushed together. It has gotten so bad that even the saying 'survival of the fittest' does not do it justice. Sometimes, things are so harsh that not even the fittest survive."

Rui's expression grew grim at her words.

"Do you understand?" Matriarch Nephi calmly asked. "It's not enough to just be strong. You need to be able to survive with heavily strained resources in extremely harsh ecosystems and environments for prolonged periods of time while you look for the Divine Doctor."

The air grew heavy as she warned of the perils of the Beast Domain.

"The voyage that you will be making is deeply dangerous," she replied. "One that will only continue to become increasingly dangerous as humanity pushes and pushes the Beast Domain, further straining the Beast Domain."

"…I understand."

"I don't think you do," Matriarch Nephi remarked. "Picking fights in the Beast Domain is losing. Since, with every fight you pick, you will drain your power and stamina, requiring rest and food even sooner than usual. On top of that, you will be weakened after each fight, making you easier prey for other predators."

Rui nodded, understanding her words carefully.

"In other words, those who avoid conflict win," she remarked. "The beasts that continuously engage in territorial conflicts are the ultimate losers. It is people who are able to slip through all of that, like the Divine Doctor, who are able to survive the Beast Domain, you understand?"

"I do, grandmother," Rui replied sincerely. "Thank you for warning me and teaching me."

"Mmm, it's the least I could do," she replied, softening her eyes.

"Can you show me about fates relating to the Divine Doctor?" Rui asked.

"I have already shown you everything that I could," she remarked, closing her eyes and heaving a sigh. "I don't know what it is, but wherever the Divine Doctor is…my instincts are unable to peer much into fates relating to him. Otherwise, I would have been able to show you a definitive future that would have occurred had you not seen this prophecy."

Rui raised an eyebrow with interest. "Is that how it works?"

"Indeed," she remarked. "There is a certain amount of information we need to be certain about the future. In regard to the Beast Domain, there's too much information for my subconscious instinct to process. That is why I am forced to reduce my precision and show you the most fated, most likely, futures."

"I thought that prophetants believed that prophecy determined the future rather than predicted it," Rui asked with a careful tone.

"Of course we do!" Her eyes intensified. "Once we divine the future, the future changes from what it would have been had we not divined it. We, who know the future, can change it to our will. In other words, prophecy allows for the controlling of the future!"

In other words, it wasn't as though the prophecy directly altered the future, but more so indirectly altered it simply by virtue of people acting differently and more optimally. This was a more grounded explanation for the belief that Rui wasn't unamenable to.

"Interesting," Rui murmured. "Did you scry the future before you joined the Kandrian Empire?"

"Of course I did," she snorted. "You alone are not enough in and of yourself for me to make such a drastic decision that quickly."

That partly explained why she made her decision so quickly and firmly. She must have foreseen that her grandson would adhere to his tall promises and secure them a better future.

"Wherever the Divine Doctor is… is most likely a region that is deeply cut off from this world," she remarked. "That is the only way I can explain how difficult it is to divine even basic visions of the future relating to him."

She gazed at Rui deeply. "I'm afraid that is all I am able to help you with, my grandson. You will have to find him with the information that you have, along with the other sources that you are pursuing. Good luck, and more than anything, do not perish in your pursuit of the Divine Doctor, no matter what."