The Martial Unity

Rui wasn't sure what to expect, but what he went through was beyond his expectations.

The worst part about the Mindmirror Symbiote was that the information on the experience of having your mind invaded was scarce. The doctors could explain the process technically, but no one could tell him what he was going to experience inside his mind. No one could tell him that. Because no one alive had undergone the process and survived it.

The only information was records of the recounting of Apprentice Valem Deen, the only other confirmed and recorded Martial Apprentice to ever master the Mindmirror Symbiote in the Kandrian Empire. His recountings of the mental takeover phase were incoherent. He used vague flowery language to describe it and wasn't very informative.

He had described the process as a loss of everything, including himself as he fought a battle against the shadow of the symbiote until he finally woke up to realize he was still alive.

Rui wasn't sure what he meant but he tried to prepare himself by at the very least not being surprised and flustered regardless of what happened.

But he failed.

It happened out of nowhere.

His vision blackened and the world disappeared. His remaining senses were still functioning, but he had lost his vision. Thankfully, he could still perceive his environment perfectly with the help of his remaining senses.

But soon they dimmed quickly too.

Sense of hearing.

Sense of smell.

Touch.

He tried moving his body, but he couldn't even feel it. It was as though he had become a ghost floating in empty darkness.

Even more passive senses like his sense of balance and time were fading as well, bit by bit. Rui tried not to panic, his state of mind was relevant to whether or not the process would be a success, and he knew that. Yet before he could even fully regain his composure.

He felt something.

It was strange because all he could sense was darkness.

Yet, there was something in the darkness.

He could feel it.

Suddenly, a pair of eyes opened in front of him in the darkness.

They were inhuman. Mindless. But they stared, nonetheless.

('Is that... the symbiote?') Rui wondered with fear.

Before he could even ponder the matter, the darkness converged and gathered around the eyes, forming a pitch-black silhouette that resembled Rui.

Rui was finally able to see with the darkness around them having suddenly gathered into the silhouette. His eyes widened as he saw vision around him. What shocked him was that he recognized all of the visions around him.

They were visions of when he was first diagnosed with asthama, when he watched his first Bruce Lee movie, when he finished his degree when he began research on combat sports and of Project Water and the VOID algorithm, and when he died and was reborn in this world and when he discovered his Martial Path.

('These are my memories!') His eyes widened in shock.

Wait.

Eyes?

He glanced down in relief. His body had returned!

The shadow Rui, which had now fully formed, did not give him any time to process his situation. It lashed out against him moving and sprinting towards him as it launched a powerful blow.

The shock of the event hit him greater as he recognized the technique the shadow Rui used against him.

('Flowing Canon!') He gaped, grimacing in pain.

The very last thing he came into this procedure expecting was a physical fight. But that didn't mean he wasn't prepared for one. What shocked him, even more, was the fact that the shadow clone of himself was using his techniques.

He didn't understand the details of what was happening, but it was clear that he was experiencing a dream or a psychedelic illusion of sorts.

Still. He wasn't going to not fight back. If his state of mind was vital to the success of the procedure, then he had to go all out and fight back with everything he had. If he could do that, he would at the very least not be reducing the probability of the procedure being a success.

The worst part was that he had no idea how much time was left. Not only was the time period of the mental takeover phase undetermined and variable, but also, his sense of time was warped. He had no idea how much time had passed since he blacked out.

This was a psychological impediment, to some degree. If he knew exactly how long he needed to last then he would be able to mentally prepare himself for it and build up his resolve. But this was harder to do when he didn't know how long he needed to last. The sheer uncertainty regarding how long the ordeal would last could drive a man insane.

He felt a little pissed off at Apprentice Valem Deen, the only recorded Martial Apprentice of the Mindmirror Symbiote.

Couldn't he have been more clear and specific that there literally would be a very physical fight inside the mind? Rui swore he would have beaten the man black and blue if he was still alive. He intended to look into the man after the procedure regardless. 𝒃𝙚𝒅𝒏𝒐𝙫𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝙤𝒎

All these thoughts and considerations flashed across his mind instantly as the shadow clone of himself rushed at him with remarkable swiftness. Rui recognized the maneuvering techniques it used; Parallel Walk, Wind Breathing, and Balanced Direction.

Rui had no idea how the Symbiote got a hand of his techniques, but he didn't particularly have time to consider it.

The shadow clone rushed towards him launching yet another Flowing Canon.

WHOOSH

Rui dodged it this time, spiraling out of the way as he threw a flurry of strikes. The shadow Rui dodged all of the attacks with great agility and maneuvering before. It threw a swift kick at Rui, which Rui cleanly dodged. Yet;

BAM!

Another strike landed immediately after on him, having already reached the location he had dodged to!

Rui's eyes widened as he barely blocked the attack.

('It knew where I was going to move before I did!') He realized. ('Don't tell me it can use the VOID algorithm as well?!')