NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 78 - The Sword of Epiphany
It transpired within an instantaneous flicker – a negligible span so infinitesimal that questioning whether anyone could even perceive its occurrence felt absurd.
Yet if one existed capable of purposefully harnessing such a transient moment, who could possibly obstruct their intended endeavor?
And Sophia’s longsword had just achieved precisely that frozen slice of eternity.
By the time everyone comprehended the unfolding circumstances, Kukunnis’ severed finger had already struck the ground, kicking up a puff of displaced soil.
{This…what sorcery…?!}
Rendered utterly speechless by that surreal sight, Kukunnis had failed to even register the precise instant his finger detached.
Only his deeply ingrained combat instincts had reflexively reacted enough to spare any truly vital digits from that unanticipated strike. Yet Kukunnis remained utterly oblivious to the severed finger’s searing anguish – merely an inexplicable chill creeping across his skin.
“Tch, you managed to evade that?”
Sophia clicked her tongue disappointedly. Until that moment, she had focused her heightened senses upon pinpointing this dungeon’s core catalyst behind Menorca’s island-wide conversion.
And her superhuman perceptiveness had only just localized that emanation’s epicenter – Lord Haidrine’s signet ring adorning Kukunnis’ remaining left index finger, whose gemstone clearly represented the dungeon core itself.
Most likely, Haidrine’s progenitor founder – having initially established this pirate haven upon Menorca – had simply mistaken that dormant dungeon core as a mere precious gemstone before incorporating it into his signet ring without comprehending its true mystical nature.
As Sophia’s brow furrowed contemplatively, Kukunnis instantly lost another finger from his left hand – the desperate reflex preserving that all-important core-containing digit costing him severe arterial hemorrhaging alongside excruciating phantom pains.
‘Once again, I failed to even sense that strike until after its conclusion. Only the subsequent bleeding and searing agony registered…’
Unnerved by this anomalous situation, an intense trepidation overcame Kukunnis that he had not experienced in ages.
Observing his bewilderment, Sophia tutted chidingly.
“I had intended a clean and painless conclusion. But you insist on making this difficult.”
{You insolent whelp, what precisely did you employ against me? That technique produced no discernible precursor – as if directly manifesting the final outcome without any transitional process whatsoever!}
Superseding any physical torment or mortal terror, Kukunnis’ overwhelming priority centered upon identifying his assailant’s mysterious attack methodology – recognizing that failing to do so meant inevitably losing his final finger before suffering complete obliteration.
Some part of him accepted that even comprehending it might not significantly alter that eventuality. Yet Sophia indulged him by nodding acquiescence – respecting his evident mastery by deigning to clarify the nature of her Sword of Epiphany technique against an opponent incapable of perceiving its fundamental mechanisms.
“There exist three essential components for a warrior to cultivate and manifest martial prowess. Do you know them?”
{Do you take me for a fool? Fighting technique, the combatant’s physicality, and their mentality – are these not the quintessential elements?}
“Precisely. Clearly, you once qualified as a heroically peerless master to discern them so distinctly – few others ever reach such refined discriminations.”
Complimenting Kukunnis’ evident mastery, Sophia continued her elucidation:
“That cohesively integrated state where technique, body and mind seamlessly converge without internal contradictions represents the pinnacle level dubbed ‘mastery’. However, that very term simultaneously acknowledges how those three components can inherently limit and constrain each other as countervailing factors.”
{You claim those elements restrict a warrior’s potential capacities? Yet without them, one could never establish the fundamental bedrock for martial cultivation to even begin.}
“Hahah, undoubtedly so. They cannot simply be discarded. But purifying them into their most pristine essences by stripping away all impurities and superfluities remains entirely possible.”
Sophia referred to the Buddhist concept of emptiness – systematically filtering away the delusory sensory entanglements of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and cognition alongside their associated physical manifestations of form, fragrance, flavor and tactility.
By shedding those debilitating attachments alongside self-grasping ego and covetous desire, only the most immaculate core of pure awareness remained – the ‘true self’ or Buddha nature.
Sophia stated this purificatory process could apply equally toward technique, physicality or mentality. Once refined into their quintessential states, those elements no longer obstructed or constrained each other.
Free from technical limitations, bodily constraints or mental projections, one could spontaneously respond with perfect appropriateness preceding any conscious recognition once achieving that seamlessly unified integration.
“Martial arts ultimately function as a path for manifesting the sub-observational micro-reality into the world before us.”
The Sword of Epiphany operated at that primordial threshold – first establishing the desired outcome in one’s heart-mind as an immediate existential fact, thus rendering any transitional process entirely superfluous since its culmination had already actualized at the pre-cognitive possibility stage.
{So the extinguished flame fails to perceive the very moment of its own snuffing…is that your meaning?}
Kukunnis sighed heavily, realizing that even comprehending his opponent’s methodology offered no viable solution for counteracting it.
The only recourse involved evading Sophia’s heightened senses to constantly relocate his left index finger – preventing her focused intent from manifesting that decisive strike. Yet the azure luminescence flickering from her eyes represented some form of mystic perception, utterly precluding that desperate gambit.
Even relying upon pure reactive instincts to deflect her blows could only postpone the inevitable once his opponent had thoroughly analyzed those reflexive patterns, as she undoubtedly had by now.
“Then allow me to conclude this.”
Accompanying those words, Sophia’s gaze pierced Kukunnis once more – that very instant heralding an unprecedented turn of events.
Slrrnng – the distinctive metallic shriek of intersecting blades rang out as Kukunnis’ abruptly swung spatha unexpectedly parried Sophia’s sword manifesting through her Epiphanic strike.
{If evading your incomprehensible technique through ordinary perception proves impossible, then I must simply commit to attacking preemptively without requiring any precognition whatsoever!}
Kukunnis’ swordplay appeared excessively sluggish and amateurish – yet his blade undeniably deflected Sophia’s longsword that very moment.
A glint of intrigue flickered across her eyes.
‘Hoh? So you can instinctively respond to the Sword of Epiphany after all?’
The next instant, nearly five subsequent sword strikes simultaneously converged upon Kukunnis from every direction. He successfully parried the first three – but the fourth scored a shallow gash across his right outer thigh while the fifth bit into his left forearm.
Yet even those superficial hits allowed Sophia to ascertain precisely how her opponent had achieved that startling feat.
“Preposterous! To derive insights into the sub-observational micro-reality from our mere conversational tangents?”
{You have my gratitude for providing those elucidations. However, this newfound ‘sword’ remains unwieldy – akin to unexpectedly taking the helm of an unfamiliar, newly commissioned ship and setting sail into uncharted waters.}
While impressed by Kukunnis’ innate genius, Sophia found herself unexpectedly relishing this developmeng. Despite generating her primordial spirit alongside mastering the inverse physical and cerebral cultivation methods up to their fourth inner bindings, even attaining the Sword of Epiphany’s transcendent swordsmanship – she still lacked complete confidence in her ability to overcome the Demon Lord’s forewarned resurgence of their demonic brethren.
To regain that assurance, Sophia required recovering more of her previous life’s insights and faculties.
And the most effective catalyst for regaining those elevated spiritual plateaus involved experiencing challenges against formidable adversaries capable of pushing her own capacities to their utmost limits.
Each grueling struggle against opponents whose prowess matched her own forced Sophia to exhaust every potential stratagem – that simultaneous pressure catalyzing innovative breakthroughs to transcend her previous limitations as her past life’s enlightenment gradually materialized from hazy recollections into tangible manifestations within this present existence.
Ironically, the very act of achieving the Sword of Epiphany’s sublime mastery had increasingly deprived Sophia of opponents formidable enough to push her toward expending absolute totality.
Liberating herself from the constraints of technique, body and mind by spontaneously responding before conscious perception allowed her combat arts to operate on a plane mortal kung fu practitioners bound to those three elements could scarcely comprehend, let alone replicate.
Hence the appearance of an entity capable of crudely parrying her sword strokes, if only at an amateurish level, represented a tantalizing opportunity Sophia deeply appreciated – regardless of that challenger being a dungeon boss adversary rather than a contemporary peer.
“Well then, let’s gauge how far you can follow.”
Slrrnng – that rippling, serpentine motion her longsword previously exhibited suddenly erupted into explosively creative, perpetually evolving kaleidoscopic transformations. Sounds of clanging intersecting blades began echoing simultaneously from every direction surrounding Kukunnis as Sophia unleashed her full onslaught.
Crudely yet tenaciously, Kukunnis endeavored to emulate Sophia’s intricate swordplay with increasing smoothness – suffering numerous superficial wounds yet never sustaining any decisively crippling trauma as he steadily refined his movements through that practical full-immersion baptism of progressively adapting in real-time against her relentless continuous volley.
Sophia quickly deduced the source behind his rapidly developing swordsmanship:
‘The ancient pirates’ numbers have definitely dwindled.’
According to Esras-Hermes’ prior warning, Kukunnis gained enhancements whenever one of his marshaled ancient mariners perished.
Under typical circumstances, those incremental improvements would likely manifest as enhanced physical attributes. Yet by simultaneously gaining direct insights into the Sword of Epiphany’s quintessence while forced to adapt against her overwhelming assaults, his empowerments seemingly prioritized technical mastery over mere hardware upgrades.
In any case, Kukunnis’ movements had grown remarkably fluid and naturalistic despite still exhibiting occasional abrupt cessations characteristic of mentally-directed sword techniques lacking inherent bodily integration. The formerly glaring discontinuities between his motions had diminished to an astonishingly seamless flow.
While inwardly lamenting that such rapid progress necessitated an imminent conclusion, Sophia equally recognized the pressing need to render her decisive judgment as the presiding dungeon’s arbiter.
Composing herself through measured breaths, she allowed time to subjectively decelerate as her senses achieved their zenith – that heightened awareness slowing the world’s unfolding moments into a near-motionless nayu stasis.
Within that infinitely protracted instant, Sophia had already materialized directly before Kukunnis with her longsword grasped firmly, the oscillating sword-mind she had momentarily allowed to waver now realigning into a keen, uncompromising focus.