The air in the Central Highlands grew tense.
A profound sense of peril lingered in the atmosphere, tingling away at their extraordinary instincts.
A chilling quiet had overtaken their little makeshift base as they made their very final preparations.
They had rested extrely well for an entire month prior, ensuring they each got perfect sleep and had given their bodies enough ti to be able to bring out their absolute peak in the final battle.
It would be beyond foolish and irresponsible to carry the exhaustion of their training with them to the final battle. They ate well and healthily, nourishing their bodies with all the nutrients that they would need. They even spent more than a week in ntal conditioning, isolating themselves in ditation to bring out their hundred and ten percent.
It wasn't sothing they were accustod to doing, but in this final battle, they didn't dare to hold back even the slightest percentage of power. "You aren't going to join them?" Kane raised an eyebrow, gazing at Rui. The two of them sat beside each other on a pair of rocks at the very edge of the clearing that served as the makeshift base of the Martial Sage task force. They watched the various Martial Sages they had fought beside and trained beside in the past eleven years, doing everything in their force to maximize their chances of victory and survival.
Rui slowly turned to throw a knowing glance at Kane.
The man's green eyes had grown more intense in the past year as he prepared for the most intense battle of his entire life. The past eleven years had given him a stronger presence with a sharp edge to it. He was constantly alert and on the lookout, even though they had killed all the quasi-Transcendent beasts and monsters, it had beco very difficult to relax due to the perilous life in the Beast Domain.
"…I will hone my mind," Rui remarked. "Ever since I broke through to the Sage Realm, it has beco vastly easier to enter a state of absolute concentration and focus. It really doesn't take much effort anymore."
Kane nodded. "Makes sense, you've been doing it for so long that it has beco second nature to you now. You even spent a decade in that state of mind in the Beast Domain just training that prophecy technique. With the Martial Soul, you can tap into that state of mind very easily."
He huffed a shaky breath. "Man… if I don't make it…"
"Don't say that," Rui pointedly interrupted him. "I know, I know," Kane laughed mirthlessly. "But still, you gotta wonder, huh?"
Rui understood what he ant. "Miss Fae much?"
Kane snorted. "No thanks, life has been good without her nagging at ."
And yet, he couldn't hide the pang of lancholy in his green eyes.
Rui chuckled with a bittersweet tone. "I envy that."
His pitch-black eyes grew hazy as his thoughts drifted to Amare, as they frequently did.
He missed her.
Every ti he thought about her, his heart ached without reprieve.
And yet, he hadn't been able to stop.
Not even in a decade.
Not even in a decade of fighting countless beasts and monsters each waking day of his life. It had been eleven years since he last saw her, but he still missed her from the bottom of his heart.
It was a wound that had never healed.
And yet, he held out hope.
He never let go of his faith.
He trusted that she would return.
That was why he needed to win this final battle.
So that he would still be there when she returned.
So that the world would still be there when she returned.
"What do you think about our current force?" Kane asked with a pointed tone. "You think we can do it?"
A hint of uncertainty lingered in his voice.
Even a mild glint of fear.
Rui didn't bla him.
Only madn like Damian were entirely fearless and eager to comnce the battle. Anybody who had any sense of self-preservation would naturally be concerned about their life and everything that was at stake.
"…Yes."
Rui's tone was calm and composed.
He didn't project extre confidence and certainty because he wasn't extrely confident or certain.
They didn't even know what they were dealing with.
In the past month, Matriarch Nephi, Rui, and the third Martial Sage of the Silas Clan had worked together to coordinate their prophetic power to try and foresee what was in the very epicenter of the Beast Domain, and yet, they were simply unable to.
This was eerie as they knew the exact location of their target.
The certainty of that only made things more tense.
"It's ti…" Rui watched the various Martial Sages erge from the jets as he glanced at a pocket watch in his hand. The Martial Sages had each donned crisp, brand-new Martial attire, having consud certain special potions that gave them aningful performance boosts.
He closed his eyes as he drew upon the power of his Martial Soul.
He honed his focus.
He sharpened his concentration.
He gathered his mind.
On the spot, his presence underwent a profound change at a rapid pace.
His presence grew heavier, weighing down on the world even harder than it did in the past.
His being grew more intense.
It sent goosebumps across the skin of all those who beheld it even as they made their final preparations.
In the blink of an eye, he gained a nacing gravity that sent shivers down Kane's spine. When he opened his eyes, they ran deep with unfathomable power in their pitch-black depths. He gained a suffocatingly sharp aura that dissuaded anyone from approaching him.
STEP
They watched with awe as he brought out his absolute peak.
In that mont, he was stronger than he had ever been in his entire life.
The sum totality of every ounce of force he had ever cultivated in his seventy-six years of life.
He directed a sweeping gaze across all the Martial Sages of human civilization.
"It's ti."
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