The Martial Unity

"That will cause a civil war," Rui narrowed his eyes. "The Martial Union will not stand for being disenfranchised in such a manner."

"I shall not allow a war to unfold," The prince shook his head as he slowly extricated himself from the various sleeping children. "A civil war would harm the people of this nation more than anybody else."

"Then…"

"The path forward in this difficult dilemma is rather simple," He smiled, walking towards Rui, putting his hand on Rui's shoulder. "What is your name?"

"Rui. Rui Quarrier."

"Walk with me, Rui Quarrier," He told him.

As they walked through town, the many residents lined up the streets, calling out to him with loving adoration. He painstakingly took the time to smile and wave at them individually.

Rui eyed him with an intrigued expression.

Unlike the other prince, he didn't have a hint or shred of royal bearing. His chest wasn't puffed, nor was his chin raised high. He didn't have a measure of arrogance in his body language or demeanor. Yet it was difficult to take one's eyes off him. He possessed a strange luster about him that drew one's attention. He seemed to glow with light as though his skin was bioluminescent, as though the Sun's rays bounced off him harder and stronger than they did everything else. His mere presence was comforting and soothing.

His accepting, warm eyes conveyed welcoming love to everyone in the embrace of its gaze. A gaze that seemed to accept and forgive anybody and everybody it fixed on. It was as though any and everybody could find salvation in his grace.

Rui shook his head, putting aside such silly thoughts. He was here to evaluate the Prince's objectives as Emperor and whether they matched up with his own agendas.

"It must be tiring," His tone grew sympathetic as he directed a pained gaze. "To be bestowed with a mind such as yours."

"What?" Rui furrowed his eyebrows.

"You cannot help but think," The prince remarked. "About any and everything that captures your attention. Your mind cannot help but race into an endless chain of thoughts. It cannot help but furiously combust energy to sustain the sheer force of thought that undoubtedly drives forward your mind every second of every day of your life. You are unable to stop. You are unable to cease the torrents of thoughts that furiously ebby within the depths of your consciousness."

He paused, turning around as he faced Rui, standing before him.

His eyes were pained. His voice was ebbing with sorrow. "You cannot stop thinking. A storm of thoughts endlessly ravages your mind, never allowing it to settle in peace. Unable to exist in harmony. Unable to cease."

He shook his head. "It is not a curse I would wish upon anybody."

Rui's eyes widened with shock, shaken by the man's words. "…What?"

"I cannot help you harness the power of thought. That is something that you'll have to accomplish by yourself," The man remarked. "Perhaps it may be enough to assuage the hunger that rings in your eyes."

He turned back. "Come, let us head inside and speak in a more private setting."

Rui stared at him, startled. In all his life, he had regarded the double-evolved intellect that he had gained as a result of going through a second growth of mind when he had already been extremely gifted mentally, even in his previous life, as a gift. A boon. Never once had he considered it to be a curse. The thought had never once crossed his mind. It was so foreign that he was unable to even parse it.

He felt like somebody had just slapped him across the face.

His attention returned to the prince's figure as he entered the Kandrian Ruffian's main office in the town of Varmaria, where all the logistics of the town were maintained. Rui immediately followed him inside and through the various corridors until they wound up at a spacious but modest office.

"Have a seat," The prince smiled. "So where were we?"

"You said something about avoiding the civil war that your actions would cause," Rui remarked.

He didn't want to continue the conversation that had inadvertently begun after that.

The prince smiled knowingly. "Is that so? Hm. I do mean what I said. I will strive to create a nation where Martial Artists and people are equal. I will abolish the laws that unfairly favor Martial Artists at the cost of the safety and wellbeing of the people."

"And how exactly do you plan to go about that without causing a civil war with the Martial Union?" Rui raised an eyebrow. "By appealing to their better nature," The prince replied with a self-satisfied expression.

Rui stared at him with a confused expression. "Is that your attempt at a joke? You're bad at humor. Stick to being saintly."

"I was not joking, Rui Quarrier," The Prince heaved an exasperated sigh. "I shall personally speak to all the Martial Sages and Masters of the Martial Union. I hope that if we bear our hearts to each other, we can find a common path to the future."

Rui stared at him like he was a literal alien. "You have a rather elaborate and persistent sense of humor."

The prince was unperturbed by Rui's refusal to even acknowledge his words as legitimate. "I hope that my sincerity and love for them as citizens of Kandria and fellow human beings will be enough to convince them."

Rui stared at him with unadulterated bewilderment. Out of all the things that any prince and princess had ever uttered to him, this might have been the most absurd thing that Rui had ever heard. It put even Princess Ranea's ambition of creating a new age to shame as far as Rui was concerned. It was just so mind-bogglingly nonsensical that he was absolutely speechless. His voice failed him. He was unable to make even a single sound; he simply stared at Prince Raul like the man had just spontaneously combusted out of nowhere.