Published at 7th of July 2026 7:05 am

Chapter 4289: Digging Deeper

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Ria had come back to Gaia Prime for answers, but she hadn’t expected that she would only find herself asking more questions. She had sought the truth; now she wondered if that had been wise in the first place. She might have gone on living life normally for some time until the truth thrust itself upon her in a more unavoidable manner.

She gazed at the equation that her father had scrawled midair with light, trying to make sense of it. Martial Artists in the Era of Expansion didn’t just interact with the world intuitively; they were also educated in theory and science. Their Martial Minds had grown more sophisticated and complex, more mathematical and scientific, and with the help of their neural inlays, they could even rely on it for processing data.

Yet, the equation that supposedly described her condition was beyond her fathoming, relying on symbols, operators, and mathematical constructs that exceeded those of her Martial education.

She heaved a deep breath, trying to maintain her composure, before turning towards her father, who seemed to be engrossed in the mathematical formula. "So, what exactly does this mean? What does it mean for integrated information or whatever to be in quantum entanglement or whatever with each other? What does it mean for my mind to be connected to that of the Universalis Mensis?"

He turned towards her with thoughtful eyes. "I’m afraid I do not understand what it means either; these are matters of the information dimension so obscure that they elude even me. But there are several theories I have."

He raised a finger. "The first is that your Martial Path is most likely related to your entanglement with the information dimension."

She folded her arms with a frown. "What does Martial Causality have to do with the universe?"

Rui chuckled. "Everything, my precious baby girl. The universe is an amalgamation of all the causality there is, from the initial cause, the Big Bang, and everything that has happened since. I would tell you that it is all Water, but that is my reality, my perspective, my phenomenology. Although—"

He shrugged with a wry smile. "Everything is water."

"...So because I have some connection with the Universalis Mensis, you think it has improved my understanding of the universe, which manifests in the form of understanding of causality? Martial Causality?" Her amber eyes sharpened, wandering about in thought. "That would mean that my Martial Path isn’t merely Martial Causality. Causality is just... the universe examined from the perspective of a human being who observes cause and effect at a very microscale compared to the size of the universe."

"Correct." Rui smiled at her proudly. "What does that say about your journey down your Martial Path as you traverse it deeper and deeper?"

Realization dawned upon her. "...My Martial Path itself will evolve. No... my understanding of it will evolve."

"Indeed." Rui nodded. "That is the best way to arrive at answers about the relationship between your mind and that of the Universalis Mensis. You will need to travel down your path deeper and deeper. Then you will discover the answers for yourself. All I observe when I look at you is..."

He directed a deep gaze at her. "The flow of water from the universe through you, from you through the universe. But not even I have a complete understanding of what this entails. I suspect that not only does your Martial Path and your uncanny insights into the flow of causality emerge from this profound relationship between you and the universe, but also insights outside merely Martial Art, such as..."

Her eyes widened with realization. "The presence of infected worlds across the universe."

"Correct," Rui replied. "Your exposure to the virus on Planet Amadeus III was one that opened up your senses to the presence of the virus; it registered what the presence of the virus looks like, and your senses began picking it up across the entire universe from that point on through your connection with the universe."

"Wait, that would mean I’ve always sensed them, just never distinguished them from what normal feels like until I observed a specimen of the virus up close," she realized.

"Possible, but that’s still speculative," Rui said, considering her remark. "Regardless, your relationship with the universe has given you many boons, such as your uncanny familiarity with its causality and more direct senses such as your ability to sense the presence of infected worlds across the galaxy. It also, however, makes you a very valuable target to those who are aware of the truth of this relationship of your with the universe. This is the kind of thing probably worth starting wars for."

She huffed bitterly. "I’m already used to that, being the princess of the Kandrian Empire."

"That’s true," Rui replied, turning towards her with a serious expression. "It means you have great potential. But it also means you must be careful from this point on. You can’t share your talent with others very easily. Your ability to sense infected worlds that need to remain hidden."

She knitted her eyebrows. "Oh, come on Dad, if I have this ability, I’m going to use it to the fullest to hunt down infected worlds with my new party."

She had already told her teammates this. She had no intention of backing down on her words. Especially since they had traveled with her to Gaia Prime with the understanding that they were going to be a team taking on missions relating to infected worlds.

Rui smiled in an amused manner, ruffling her hair. "Well, that’s your prerogative."

His words surprised her. She had expected him to insist otherwise. That she couldn’t use her talents in such a manner. That she couldn’t have thrown herself into such danger every time.

"The Martial Path is a path of danger."

Her father’s words were ones of experience and wisdom. "You... discovered your Martial Path at a very young age. Before you could even fully comprehend what it meant to be a Martial Artist. That, on top of the additional risks you would face as a princess, your mother and I set the threshold of power for you to go out on your own to be that of the Master Realm, which you managed to clear at a shocking pace, and now, you are a powerful Martial Master, the strongest, even, and you are eighteen years of age."

He shrugged.

"You’re free to live your life as you please."

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