Chapter 2015: Unable

"...That was more confident than I had expected."

"The question is a bit invalid," Rui replied calmly.

His tone was solid.

Unyielding.

"I feel as though... I cannot stop pursuing my Martial Path. I physically cannot stop pursuing Project Water," he murmured lightly. "It is an inability."

Kane frowned. "What do you mean? Isn't pursuing Project Water a choice?"

"I used to think so..." He closed his eyes. "...until three days ago."

Kane furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "I don't follow."

"My drive to pursue my Martial Path shook at the revelation but..." His eyes opened slowly. "...it didn't break."

Kane stared at him uncertainly.

Rui's eyes turned to him, meeting his gaze.

Within their depths stirred an endless darkness.

A void.

A single question escaped him.

"Do you know what I think that means?"

The air tingled.

It grew more tense.

It grew taut.

A soft smile emerged on Rui's face.

"It means that..." He closed his eyes. "...not even the revelation that my Martial Drive was not my own choice was able to make me choose otherwise."

Kane's eyes widened with shock as he finally understood what Rui was saying. "You..."

"That's right."

Rui's eyes grew more intense.

"I don't think it's a choice, at least not anymore." He gazed at his own hands.

He balled them into powerful fists. "It feels like it is beyond choice. Beyond my choice. I cannot stop. I am unable to stop. When I try imagining a life without my Martial Drive, my mind yields nothingness. Do you understand?"

A profound intensity accompanied his voice as he turned to Kane.

"I am not able to stop pursuing my Martial Path anymore than you are able to stop breathing."

"...Breathing?"

Rui nodded.

"Can you permanently stop breathing by choice?"

Kane's eyes widened with shock.

The answer was obviously not.

Breathing, while within conscious control, was not something that could permanently be stopped by choice.

No matter how hard one tried, the subconscious mind wrested away control from the conscious mind above a certain threshold and reflexively commenced breathing. It was impossible to stop breathing by choice.

"...That's absurd." Kane stared at him with shock.

"Project Water..." A bittersweet smile appeared on Rui's face. "...is something I cannot stop striving for. Every time I try, it's no different from trying to stop breathing. It is no different from trying to stop my heart from beating by choice."

His words sent shivers down Kane's spine.

"You..." Kane gazed at him, stunned into sheer silence.

A Martial Drive that was so incredibly powerful that it transcended conscious choice and was even more unshakable than breathing?

He had never heard of something like that in his entire life.

He had never heard of such an absurdly powerful choice.

He knew that Martial Drives were the fundamental driving force for progress down one's Martial Path. The stronger it was and the greater its scope, the further down one was likely to go.

How far would a man whose Martial Drive was stronger than the drive to breathe go?

Just what kinds of feats would such a person achieve?

Kane thought he had reached the end of the rope of how surprised he could get when it came to Martial Art and Rui once Rui shattered the record for the youngest Martial Master at the age of thirty-seven.

Yet, he was wrong.

In that moment, a single truth became clear to him.

"I don't think you'd stop pursuing your Martial Path even if you stopped breathing."

A soft smirk cracked at the edge of Rui's mouth. "Still... I don't know how far I'll go. Or whether I'll be able to master Project Water."

If 'who are you?' had some relevance to it in the higher Realms, then he suspected that he was truly in for a rough time crossing this hurdle.

Regardless, it was no longer relevant at the moment.

"Huff..." He heaved a sigh before finally turning around and actually beholding his environment fully since waking up.

"This..." Rui muttered as he eyed the shoddy sticks and leaves formed around him. "This is the Divine Doctor's makeshift hut..."

"Yeah." Kane nodded. "You needed a place to rest, after all..."

Rui glanced in the direction of the core of the Mellow Dungeon.

What was shrouded in darkness to the senses of a Martial Senior before was all but transparent to his gaze now.

From dozens of kilometers away, he beheld the Divine Doctor studying the alien flora lifeform. He had all but forgotten about Rui once the fascination for the revelations surrounding him wore off.

"Has he delayed dispelling the manifold because I was unconscious or because he wanted to study the alien lifeform?" Rui frowned.

"Both, I think." Kane shrugged. "...By the way, I forgot to ask since there were important matters, but why are you shouting? Are you doing that on purpose?"

"...Ah." Rui grew self-conscious. "No. It's just something from the breakthrough to the master Realm that increased the volume of my voice."

"That's really weird," Kane frowned.

"...Its efficiency of sound generation by my larynx," Rui calmly informed him.

Ever since he broke through to the Master Realm, it was as though the sheer cognition of his Martial Mind allowed him to preserve an enormous amount of energy that would otherwise be wasted.

Mechanical systems grew less wasteful with more computing power due to consequently more efficient choices. Even with his Martial Mind mostly passive at the moment, his efficiency in the systems of his body had grown tremendously. Even when he was speaking normally, his sound generation had risen to a level where he was basically shouting.

"I'm guessing every Martial Master must go through a phase of readjustment to reduce their effort because their efficiency has risen," Rui muttered impassively. "...Is this better?"

Rui started whispering.

"Yeah, that's perfect." Kane threw him a thumbs-up. "...Alright, so now what?

Rui considered the question before turning back in the direction of the core.

"I've had enough of this place. It's time to get out of here."