Timeless AssassinC321 321: Indulging Moltherak
(Inside the Mural, Speaking with King Moltherak, Leo's POV)
"*Cough*, *Cough*... So tell me, kid, on a more serious note… how do you have a mana heart? I've never seen a human with one before in my life! And I've lived a long time!" Moltherak asked, trying his best to be accommodating of Leo and his larger than life attitude.
"To be honest, I don't know either… I was just having my fifth and final Genetic Awakening shot when this organ just formed out of nowhere inside my body… I was honestly hoping you'd tell me more about it? And maybe even explain why I got sucked into this painting?" Leo replied, as he tamed down the arrogance and spoke normally for a change.
"Wait, let's do this. I'll ask my doubts first, then you go next, so this doesn't turn into a cross-questioning contest," Moltherak proposed, pausing until Leo gave a nod of agreement before continuing.
"What do you mean it just formed? Were you not born with it? And what the hell is a Genetic Awakening shot?" the former dragon king asked, as Leo sucked in a deep breath and began explaining everything Moltherak lacked context for.
He walked him through how humans in the modern world had developed a serum that could awaken dormant potential in one's bloodline, and how during his fifth and final awakening shot at Rodova, something unexpected happened, when his mana heart spontaneously formed inside his body.
The concept was, of course, entirely foreign to Moltherak, who blinked in disbelief at the idea of altering one's bloodline potential after birth, but even so, he looked thoroughly fascinated.
"Interesting… interesting, the modern world has indeed progressed a lot since I've been gone.
Hahaha! Last I saw humans, they were still worshipping their beastmasters and offering them food and sacrifices. You lot have grown a lot since then–" Moltherak said while nodding, as he seemed genuinely impressed by this breakthrough.
"What about your soul cultivation? How do you cultivate your soul when you don't even know how to use your mana heart?" The former Dragon King asked, as Leo blinked at him in confusion.
"What the fuck is soul cultivation?" He asked back, as it was the Dragon that was confused now.
"You… you're clearly a Golden Core warrior, on your way to becoming a nascent soul. What do you mean you have no idea about soul cultivation?" Moltherak asked, his tone caught somewhere between disbelief and concern, as Leo squinted slightly in response.
"You mean Grandmaster?" he replied, sounding confused, as Moltherak abruptly went silent.
The silence lingered for a moment before the dragon blinked his massive red eyes and leaned in with unexpected curiosity. "Tell me again… how do you tier up as a warrior?" he asked, voice lower now, not as a teacher, but as a student genuinely interested in learning.
Leo let out a deep breath, mentally bracing himself for how ridiculous this was starting to feel, and began walking the ancient dragon through the tier system of the modern world.
He started with the amateur realm, then moved up through master, and grandmaster—before explaining the rarer levels beyond, like Transcendent, Monarch, Demi-God, and finally, God.
Moltherak listened quietly, his expression unreadable as he absorbed every word with patience.
The modern practice to tier up was completely different from how Moltherak and the people living in his era used to cultivate, however, he still found it to be most fascinating.
"In our time," Moltherak began, his voice tinged with a mix of nostalgia and pride, "we followed a far more organic path. Our tiers began with Body Refining, moved to Foundation Establishment, followed by Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Monarch, King, and finally Emperor."
He paused for a moment, letting the names linger in the air.
"But unlike your world, where you have set rules and three clear criteria to break into each tier, we had only one… the strength of the soul. That was the ultimate judge of one's worth."
Leo blinked slowly, listening with interest as the dragon continued.
"The method was simple in name but difficult in practice, as the only thing we focused on was cultivation, or what you modern people call meditation.
Hours, days, even years spent in stillness, listening to one's breath, separating body from thought, and merging with the essence of the world.
When we reached bottlenecks, we turned to comprehension. Not of mana control, but of technique. We would seek to refine our swordplay, our battle arts, or our understanding of natural law to trigger breakthroughs in the soul."
"So… basically the same thing, but instead of learning skill moves you basically comprehended laws of the universe " Leo muttered, tilting his head as Moltherak nodded in agreement.
"Yes… in practice, it seems quite similar. Mastery of skill. Mental fortitude. Reflection. However, we lacked the structure and safety nets you possess now.
The criteria for breakthrough weren't clearly defined, and failing to break through often meant more than just failure—it meant backlash. Qi-deviation. Permanent regression. Sometimes death."
Leo frowned slightly at that, realizing how much more risk the ancients had carried with each step.
"We had no idea if our souls were ready to ascend or not. We had no checklist to fulfill before attempting a breakthrough, and so every breakthrough was a gamble for us.
But perhaps… that gamble is what made us fight with such desperation."
He lowered his gaze back toward Leo.
"Tell me… in your modern world, do they still value desperation? Or has the safety of knowing when you've done enough to ascend made you go soft while training?" He asked, as Leo chuckled at his question.
"Desperation has taken the face of ambition in the modern world.
And those who are the most ambitious are also the ones who are most often the most desperate for success.
I'm neither tho….. for success comes naturally to me, as I am 'TheBoss'," Leo replied, as this time Moltherak outright rolled his eyes at Leo's response, clearly fed-up of his ridiculous narcissistic attitude.
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Timeless AssassinC322: Earning Moltherak's Respect
"Don't roll your pretty red eyes at me, Old Dragon. Unlike you, I'm still alive, with a beating heart and actual feelings that can get hurt…" Leo said, eyeing Moltherak as the dragon exhaled in exasperation.
*Snort*
Moltherak let out a puff of smoke through his nostrils, visibly reining in his temper before shifting gears and presenting his final question.
"Very well. One last thing before I allow you your turn—tell me more about your cultivation manual. How do you circulate mana in the modern age, and how do you track your progress?" the dragon asked, his tone calm but genuinely curious.
Leo nodded, then began explaining the [Sevenfold Revelation Codex] in detail.
Moltherak listened in absolute silence, his expression unreadable, until Leo mentioned his brief success in observing his own aura. That's when the dragon's eyes widened in visible shock.
"You mean to say… you, a golden core cultivator, managed to perceive your own aura?" Moltherak asked, stunned, as he still couldn't wrap his head around Leo spotting the color maroon when exiting the merchant district.
"I mean, yeah… I only managed it once and haven't had a chance to train the technique since, but yeah. Why?" Leo replied, as Moltherak suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha—!"
The dragon laughed like a madman, his deep voice echoing through the mural space, while Leo tilted his head in visible confusion.
"Who are you, kid? No, seriously—who are you?" Moltherak asked, his gaze shifting into something almost reverent, as for the first time, he recognized that Leo wasn't just arrogant—he was genuinely extraordinary.
"Being able to observe the aura of living beings is one of the most elusive daos in the universe.
Even I, the Great Moltherak, only brushed the surface of that path after becoming a Monarch Tier Beast. And it wasn't until I ascended to King that I fully mastered it.
For you to comprehend aura at such an early stage… it suggests your affinity with that dao is remarkably high.
What you achieved is not just rare—it's something I wouldn't have believed possible back in my time." Moltherak said, as Leo blinked his eyes in confusion.
"Do you even have any idea what you could achieve if you manage to master this method at your current stage?" Moltherak asked, his voice cracking with excitement.
"What?" Leo asked, his expression curious, as Moltherak burst into laughter once more.
For a while, the ancient dragon couldn't contain his disbelief. He shook his head again and again, as if the very idea of a golden core cultivator grasping the aura dao was beyond comprehension. But eventually, he pulled himself together, his gaze sharpening as the smirk on his face widened.
"You will become unstoppable," he said in a low voice, this time with the full weight and sincerity of an ancient beast who truly believed it.
Leo raised an eyebrow at the dragon's words, unsure whether to laugh or take it seriously, but the intensity in Moltherak's gaze gave him pause, as he realized that the dragon wasn't flattering him and that what he was saying was indeed a fact.
"Do you have any tips on how I can master this technique faster?" Leo asked, his voice growing more excited, as he hoped that Moltherak could give him some insights that the damn manual did not.
Moltherak didn't respond immediately. He paused, thinking, before his eyes flicked to the dagger strapped to Leo's waist.
"Pull out that blade of yours," he said calmly, as Leo obeyed.
"Now, I want you to focus your mind. Pick a part of my body to attack, there's no need to actually attack me…. just choose a target and lock onto it with intent. Do not speak it aloud. Think it. Resolve to attack it. Fix it as your target."
Leo did as instructed, as he locked his focus on Moltherak's left foot, but to throw the dragon off, he kept his eyes on the right, while also turning his body towards it.
"You want to target my left foot," Moltherak said calmly.
Leo blinked. "What?"
"I can see it," the dragon continued, tilting his head slightly. "A thin thread of killing intent, linking your blade to my left leg. It's invisible to your eyes, but not to mine. It's connected like a string, drawn by thought and anchored by will."
Leo stared at him in disbelief as Moltherak folded his claws behind his back.
"This is the essence of aura perception. When you master it, you won't just feel killing intent—you'll see it. You'll trace its origin, its trajectory, and its endpoint before the blade is even swung.
Imagine being able to see the exact path of your enemy's attack before they move.
Imagine knowing where they will strike before their muscles even contract.
That is why I say you will become unstoppable. Because aura perception does not merely reveal threats—it reveals structure, weakness, intent. It is the one thing all warriors at my level rely upon.
We use it for defence, and we also use it for offence, to find gaps in our opponents stance,"
Leo's grip on his dagger loosened slightly, the weight of those words slowly sinking in.
"It's not just about reacting faster," Moltherak said, voice lowering. "It's about understanding more. Seeing more. Aura opens the battlefield. It unmasks your enemies. It speaks truth when eyes lie. Once you can see it clearly… the rest is just execution."
And for the first time since discovering the [Sevenfold Revelation Codex], Leo finally saw what this technique could become. Not just a passive meditation tool. Not just a weird aura drill.
But a gateway.
A door into a realm of combat only those with true instincts, vision, and talent could walk through.
A realm where he could be—just as the dragon said—unstoppable.
"And it's not just useful for offence or defence, it's useful for life as a whole.
If someone loves you dearly, you will see the thread of love connecting you both.
If someone hates you, you will see the thread of hate connecting you.
If someone lies before you, their aura will flicker slightly
And if they say the truth, it will glow.
Your life will change on a fundamental level, and the information you will have at your disposal to make better decisions will be leaps and bounds better than any other mortal around you…." Moltherak spoke, as Leo could feel his heart beating louder and louder from the implications behind his words.
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Timeless AssassinC323: Godly Lore
"So… do you have any tips for me on how to train this technique? How can I attain mastery faster?" Leo asked, hopeful that Moltherak would have some practical advice. However, the ancient dragon offered no simple solution.
"It is impossible for me to guide you directly on this path, because every person perceives and understands aura differently.
The colors I see, and what they mean to me, might not be the same as what you will see. That is why it is crucial to first observe yourself and understand what each color represents within you, before looking outward to see how those same colors resonate in the world around you," Moltherak explained, his voice steady as he tempered Leo's excitement.
"The fact that you were able to see even one color means you are capable of seeing many more. If you continue training relentlessly with the same method, the rest will follow.
Do not stop pooling mana behind your eyes, not even while you sleep. If you stay consistent, you will soon be able to perceive the seven basic emotions.
And once you pass that stage and enter the string world, you will already be a quarter of the way toward mastering Aura," Moltherak added, as Leo nodded, a bit deflated but still absorbing every word.
What Moltherak said mirrored the teachings described in the codex, making Leo realize that mastering Aura was a path one had to walk alone. It could not be handed down through instructions or copied from another's notes.
It was not something to be taught through diagrams or rigid explanations. It had to be felt, experienced, and gradually grasped through repeated, personal exploration.
Still, if there was one thing he took from their conversation, it was that he had been wasting valuable time.
Every hour spent in this time-stilled world was a gift he could no longer afford to ignore.
If he was truly serious about mastering the codex, then he needed to dedicate himself completely and train with unrelenting focus until the technique became as natural as breathing.
"It seems you have reached some important internal conclusion… good. Always thinking about how to improve is the only way to become a Supreme Warrior," Moltherak said with approval, as Leo gave him a thumbs up.
"Alright, old bones… my turn to ask questions.
Why was I pulled into this painting? And what exactly happened to you Beast Gods of the old?" Leo asked, eyes sharp and tone serious, as he seemed to be ready to finally get the answers he had been waiting for.
Moltherak inhaled deeply, steadying his thoughts before beginning his tale.
"This mural once stood within a shrine built in honor of the gods, back when this world was still alive with mortals and civilizations.
People would gather before it, kneel, offer sacrifices, and pray. And on rare occasions, when the stars aligned or our moods allowed, one of us might listen.
But for the most part, we were far too preoccupied to bother with mortal whims.
After our generation of gods was toppled, I stopped receiving prayers altogether.
It has been several millennia since I last felt a single soul reach out through this shrine—until today, when I sensed your presence and used the last traces of my power to call you in," Moltherak said, as he finally began to reveal how Leo had ended up here.
"As for what happened to us beasts of old? Well… that's a kind of tragic tale," Moltherak said, his voice quiet now, filled with the weight of memories far older than Leo could grasp.
"There was a time when we were at the peak of our power. The twelve of us—each ruling vast swathes of the cosmos. We didn't ask. We didn't negotiate. We took what we wanted and destroyed what we didn't. If a planet held a resource we needed, it was razed. If a civilization dared to defy us, it was wiped from history."
Moltherak paused, the glow in his eyes flickering as if reliving those long-gone moments.
"I myself destroyed an entire galaxy once. Thirty-seven planets, turned to ash in less than a month. No war. No reason. Just arrogance. Just because I could."
He fell silent again, and for a moment, the only sound was the faint hum of the space around them.
"It was that very arrogance… that bad karma… that made certain mortals rise. Vengeful ones. Brilliant ones. Relentless in their will to strike us down."
"They weren't gods. Not yet. But they were close. King-tier warriors—what your kind now calls Demi-Gods. They had cultivated their souls to the brink of godhood, and unlike us, they were unified. Strategists. Thinkers. Crusaders."
Moltherak exhaled slowly, smoke trailing from his nostrils.
"You see, we were immortal in the sense that we could not die. Our souls had already reached the Emperor tier… but our bodies had not. We were invincible in flesh, but not untouchable. And when the first King-Ranked humans came to power, the retribution we had long evaded finally came calling."
Leo stayed silent, listening with a strange tightness forming in his chest.
"They couldn't kill our souls. No one could. So they devised something worse. They bound us. Each of us was sealed inside one of these soul prisons… cut off from the rest of the universe. They used the energy of entire planets, entire suns, to anchor the spellwork… and the result was what you call today Time-Stilled Worlds."
"They took our powers, they absorbed what they could from us to breakthrough to the Emperor stage and become completely untouchable, however, in doing so, they inherited some of our characteristics….. and they were usually the worst one's,"
Moltherak's gaze lowered.
"Some say we deserved it. That it was justice for us to be hunted down, and maybe… maybe they're right."
"But the ones who replaced us? The new pantheon that rose to power after we fell?"
He snorted again, this time not in amusement but in bitter contempt.
"They were worse. Far worse. The universe did not find peace after we were gone. It didn't heal. It simply changed hands—from one tyrant to another."
He looked back at Leo, voice quieter now.
"We were beasts. Monsters, some might say. But we were honest in what we were, and did not hurt those who believed in us.
The new gods however wear masks. Smile while they slit throats. And that… makes them infinitely more dangerous." Moltherak concluded, as he seemed disgusted by the beings that once claimed his life.
"…And to make matters worse, they are completely immortal," Moltherak added, his voice darkening further.
"They have mastered the dao of time— transcended the third dimension entirely and ascended into something higher.
They are now beings of a realm where death has no reach and time holds no meaning. Which means… they cannot be killed, not by blade, nor poison, nor spell. Only one who exists on the same plane as them can even hope to bring them down.
But all the modern Emperors are cowards who do nothing but finger one another in their asses.
They don't like each other, but they're too scared to go against the other.
Fucking cowards…. Every last one of them!" Moltherak said, as he seemed to get more agitated the more he spoke.
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Timeless AssassinC324 324: Benefits of having a mana heart
There was a lot in Moltherak's long-winded explanation that Leo couldn't quite understand yet, but there was also plenty he did grasp.
For one, Moltherak seemed to have been humbled by time.
He spoke of his past slaughters not with pride, but with a distant heaviness, as though they were once achievements he flaunted….. yet were actions that he now looked back with regret.
He looked quite pitiful when he talked like that, however, Leo only thought of him as a 'Whiny Bitch', when he suddenly went all monk mode on him.
However, apart from that, everything else he talked about was quite fascinating.
For one, all the ancient beasts were Demi-God tier beings, whose souls had attained godhood, but bodies had not.
Hence, after their bodies were destroyed, their souls had to be sealed in time-stilled worlds, which now acted as their prisons for eternity.
Moltherak also mentioned how the next pantheon of Gods had absorbed fragments of their power—traits, abilities, or remnants of their essence—and used them to grow stronger.
Leo didn't fully understand the implications of that yet, but it intrigued him all the same.
And finally, there was the most baffling revelation: the current gods had transcended the third dimension and mastered the Dao of Time.
It was a simple enough thing to say, but hard to even begin to comprehend.
"So basically what you're saying is… the current gods can't be killed unless another god does it? And they don't fight among themselves anymore?" Leo asked, trying to piece it together.
Moltherak nodded. "That's the gist of it… yes," he said, letting out another puff of smoke through his nostrils.
"If I ever get my hands on a proper body to take over someday… mark my words, kid, I'm going to make those gods pay. I may not look like much now, but if I return to the modern world, the universe will once again remember the terror of Moltherak. That much I promise."
"Agh, die already, old Dragon. Leave some fun for us youngsters, will you? You've destroyed enough galaxies—let us have the privilege of being tyrants now," Leo said with a smirk, waving him off casually.
Moltherak scoffed. "Don't make that mistake, boy. Karma is a powerful force. You may laugh now, but the bigger the crime, the heavier the punishment. That's a law even the strongest can't escape.
I slaughtered hundreds of millions when I was alive. And now I'm paying for it with eternal imprisonment. If I were mortal, I could have died and moved on. Been absolved of my crimes the moment my body crumbled.
But being an immortal? That means I get to carry the weight of my karma forever. My reign lasted a single millennium… but my punishment has been ongoing for over three."
He paused, his tone shifting from grim to solemn.
"Be a force for good. Be someone the universe remembers with gratitude. If you do that, you will become more powerful than you can even imagine."
Leo shrugged. He was too young to care about all that, too grounded in the now. Moltherak's wisdom, while genuine, bounced off him like raindrops sliding off marble.
"Well… thanks for the lecture, old dragon. But let's move on to stuff I actually need your help with.
Can you tell me more about this mana heart and what it's really supposed to do?
I've noticed it acts like a mana filter of sorts, but since you're a dragon and all, I figured you'd know what it's actually meant for," Leo asked, leaning forward, as Moltherak let out a soft chuckle.
"A mana heart… is the greatest blessing a dragon can be born with. It is not just a filter for impurities, boy. It is far more than that."
He paused, then leaned slightly forward, his tone grave.
"It is an engine. A mana core that never sleeps. Unlike ordinary cultivation, which requires effort, meditation, discipline, this organ works silently, without your command. It constantly pushes mana through your circuits, not just to keep them active… but to refine them."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Refine how?"
Moltherak's eyes gleamed faintly. "Every time mana flows through your body, it leaves traces—tiny imperfections, minute scratches along the path. Over time, they build up and limit how much power you can safely channel. But a mana heart? It smooths those out. Gradually. Constantly. Without rest. It polishes your circuits endlessly until they become flawless. Until they become worthy of divine power."
"So it's like… passive body cultivation?" Leo asked, trying to piece it together.
"Yes. And more than that. It enhances recovery, amplifies your resistance to mana strain, and drastically shortens the time required to adapt to new techniques or breakthrough levels. Your foundation becomes sturdier every second, simply by being alive. That's why dragons born with a mana heart were considered blessed by the stars themselves in the old times."
Leo slowly nodded, beginning to understand. "So basically, even if I don't do anything… I'm still progressing?"
Moltherak smirked. "Yes. But if you do train, if you actively push your limits while this mana engine is running… then your growth becomes monstrous."
"If you were a Dragon, I would have imparted to you my most wonderful cultivation techniques, but since you're a human, they won't work for you.
However, what I would advise you to do is, while you are inside this time-stilled world, just find monsters you want to kill and start stalking and hunting them like they're prey."
He paused, watching Leo closely.
"You don't need to worry about the tainted mana here. It cannot affect you. But the richness of the mana in this place, its density and purity, will help you progress much faster than the diluted streams out there in the regular universe. Think of it as a substitute for meditation. With enough circulation and an active mana heart constantly at work, you will reach the threshold for the nascent soul stage long before you ever master that codex of yours."
Leo grabbed his chin thoughtfully and gave a small nod. "So basically what you're saying is... with an active mana heart, all I need to do is strain it to the limit every day and I'll eventually reach the Transcendent tier, even if I make no progress with my meditation manual?"
"Yes, you foolish boy, exactly that. Like I already explained… yes!" Moltherak snapped, shaking his massive head.
"The mana heart is a cultivation engine. It purifies, it pumps, and it circulates mana without pause, allowing you to grow stronger just by staying alive. Why do you think the older dragons always grow more powerful with time?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"It is because our mana hearts never stop working. Just existing is enough to push you through the mortal ranks all the way up to the boundary of Monarch Realm. Only then does the advantage begin to fade, because past that, true growth requires intent, experience, and mastery."
Moltherak exhaled slowly, his tone softening.
"But until then, this is the greatest blessing you could have ever hoped for."
He explained, as a massive grin broke across Leo's face, with the truth about the benefits of having a mana heart finally sinking in.
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC325 325: Goodbye
"Alright, I do have one last thing to ask you…" Leo said in a serious tone.
"I'm supposed to retrieve some sort of gray metal alloy from a fort-like place somewhere in this world. Do you know how safe it is for me to approach that area? And what exactly am I supposed to retrieve?" he asked, finally inquiring about his mission.
"Hmm… that's a tough one," Moltherak replied, his expression shifting to something far more cautious as Leo mentioned the task.
"If I'm not mistaken, what you're after is likely origin metal. It's the rarest resource in the universe, and it's buried deep within Castle Bravo—the very place where Zharnok's soul is anchored."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"The closer you get to that castle, the stronger the threats you'll face. And if you actually try to steal Zharnok's treasure, there's a very high chance that the sly old lizard's remnant soul will awaken and come after you himself.
So if I were you, I wouldn't attempt it." Moltherak warned, as he advised Leo against carrying out this mission.
However, Leo only shook his head in response.
"What if I absolutely had to? What if I had no other choice but to steal this origin metal or whatever it is?" He insisted, as Moltherak went quiet for a moment, clearly mulling over the practicality of attempting such a theft before letting out a heavy sigh.
"You cannot do it. Not at your current level, you simply can't. Zharnok will not pay attention to you until you enter the castle, but the moment you touch his treasure—the origin metal—his soul will begin to stir."
He looked directly at Leo, his tone hardening.
"If he's in deep slumber, it might take him anywhere from thirty to seventy seconds to fully awaken and respond to the disturbance. But you are not a Demi-God, nor a Monarch. There's no way you could grab the metal and cover the distance of over a thousand kilometers back to the exit of this world in such a short time."
Moltherak paused again, then repeated himself with finality.
"So like I said… it's impossible."
There was a silence before he continued, his tone softening slightly.
"However, there is one method you might be able to use. In ancient times, this world was connected by a network of mana gates—portals that linked major empires and cities together for rapid transport."
He turned his eyes back to Leo.
"There should still be an old gate that links Castle Bravo to an area near the exit gate of this world. But those gates haven't been operational for a millennia. No one knows if they still work… or if you'll even be able to find one."
Although Moltherak dismissed the idea outright, he still offered Leo a sliver of hope.
A long shot.
A nearly forgotten possibility.
One that could perhaps make this impossible mission possible, if everything went exactly right.
"Alright, that's all I wanted to know Old Dragon, thank-you for your time, it has been a pleasure to meet you—" Leo said once Moltherak completed his speech, as he extended his hand for Moltherak to grab.
"Likewise puny human…. It was a pleasure for me as well to talk to someone after such a long time.
I wish you success and good fortune for all your future endeavours.
And if in the future, if you grow strong enough to free me from my imprisonment, I promise to you that I shall forever be indebted to you, and shall become an ally by your side.
It's not like I have too many hopes for it.
But in-case it does come true, I will be grateful for it nonetheless—" Moltherak said, as he placed his dragon paw into Leo's hands, completing the handshake, before sending Leo out of the mural world and back to the Time-Stilled world.
—--------
(Back to the conclave room)
As the light faded and the warmth of the mural world vanished, Leo found himself standing once again inside the cold, dust-laden conclave, the cracked marble floor beneath his feet and the faint torchlight in his hands, as it cast an illumination on the mural in front.
The silence returned.
And with it, the painted stillness of the mural returned as well, just as it had been before.
The beasts were frozen in place, their eyes lifeless, their poses unmoving, while the dragon's eyes were once again closed, its massive wings draped around it like a shroud.
Leo took a long breath and walked forward, until he stood in front of the dragon again.
This time, he wasn't wary.
He wasn't confused.
He wasn't trying to decipher it.
He simply looked at it, quietly, calmly, with a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"I'll save you someday if I can, old dragon…" he murmured softly, voice low and honest, not laced with sarcasm or showmanship. "I like you…. And if I have it in me to save you… I'll do it for sure."
He lifted his hand and rested his palm gently on the mural, just where the dragon's chest had been.
Moltherak did not need to speak with him today.
He didn't need to explain the truth behind time-stilled worlds, or share the secret of the mana heart, or offer strategies for survival inside a sealed graveyard of gods.
But he did.
For no reason other than the fact that he chose to.
And that choice mattered to Leo.
As he understood that Moltherak had been generous to him with no hopes of him ever repaying the favor.
While he wasn't the kind to say it aloud, but in his own silent way, Leo made a promise to himself—that if fate ever gave him the power, if the stars ever aligned and the path opened up before him, then he would do for Moltherak what the old dragon never expected anyone to do.
Which was to return the favor.
As he planned to repay the kindness of the old dragon thousandfold by freeing him someday.
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC326: Countdown to War
Chapter 326: Countdown to War
After returning to the Conclave, Leo did not rush to leave the place immediately.
Instead, he calmly spent a few more days going through additional books, hoping to gather more information about the ancient teleportation gate system Moltherak had mentioned, as well as learning more about this world's terrain.
He dove into a few old geography scrolls, trying to piece together what the world used to look like before it was sealed in time, and managed to successfully duplicate a perfect map of the whole world.
It took a couple of days, but by the end of it, he managed to cross-reference the world map with the gate network that once existed.
As he located the precise gate that linked Castle Bravo to a location just twenty miles from the exit point of this world.
'If I can time my raid on the castle with a rescue plane coming in, and flare a signal from just twenty miles out... there's a high chance I could be evacuated in time,' Leo thought, as a rough and risky plan began forming in his head.
However, with how tight the escape window was, and how uncertain it was to reactivate a teleportation gate that hadn't been used in millennia, Leo had no intentions of putting the plan into motion just yet.
'First priority is strength. This world is a training ground... and since the old dragon suggested I track, stalk, and hunt beasts—then that's exactly what I should do for now,' Leo mused, as he began pooling mana behind his eyes and resumed practicing the [Sevenfold Revelation Codex] at once.
"From now on.... I will spend my days here slowly making my way towards Castle Bravo, while killing beasts and training the [Sevenfold Revelation Codex] at the same time—" Leo talked to himself, as he packed everything valuable he could find in the Conclave into his storage ring, before locating a separate exit, that led him to a new section of the underground tunnel system.
**************
(Border Planet Juxta, Outer Defensive Ring, Cult Military Base)
A man sat quietly on top of a huge anti–Arc Ship cannon, his eyes locked on the star-filled sky above.
He did not look like he was gazing at anything in particular, however, then again, his gaze did peer far beyond what the mortal eye could see.
A cigarette rested between his fingers, its tip glowing faintly in the dark. Bits of ash fell near his boots, but he didn't notice, as his coat continued to flap gently in the wind, marked with the crimson symbol of the Cult.
He was Vice-Cult Leader Charles.
The strongest active warrior the Cult currently had.
A Monarch-tier fighter who could have easily been one of the twelve elders, but chose to stay on the frontlines, for he did not care for politics.
His job was to protect the Cult's borders— and he liked it that way.
"Sir! I have an urgent report, sir!" a soldier ran up and saluted, his chest rising fast from the sprint.
Charles did not look at him. He didn't say a word. He just flicked some ash off the cigarette and raised two fingers without taking his eyes off the sky.
As the soldier took a breath and continued.
"Sir, the First Elder has sent emergency rations, thirty tonnes of gunpowder reserves, and all the extra artillery he could find.
Apart from him, the Third, Sixth, Tenth, and Twelfth Elders have sent backup too. A few hundred thousand troops, several thousand crates of healing potions, and about two dozen anti Arc Ship missiles."
He hesitated, then added, "But that's all we've got. If the righteous faction attacks in full force... this won't be enough. We need more, sir. Much more."
Charles finally smiled.
"Thirty two planets under the Cult's control," he said softly. "Thirty three if we count Ixtal."
He slowly turned his head toward the soldier, speaking in a calm voice.
"Twelve elders on the council. Each one running between one and four planets. And all they could send to protect three of their frontier planets... is this?"
He let out a small laugh and stood up on the cannon. Then, without effort, he jumped down to the ground, as he landed without a sound.
"I always told you Fred, the council is made of a bunch of brain dead idiots.... If Lord Soron allowed me, I'd kill them all tomorrow, including the kind and intelligent first elder.
However, I can't—" Charles complained, before letting out a deep sigh.
"So what can we do but whine, Lieutenant Fred?" he said with a shrug. "We make do with what we have—"
"But sir... if what the first elder fears will come true, then we need more forces and ammunition to secure our borders! Please Sir, if you write a letter to the other elders, perhaps they will arm us better...." Fred begged, however, Charles only patted him on the shoulders in response.
"It's already too late for that, Fred..." Charles said, as his face turned serious.
"Tell everyone to prepare for war....." He said, as he glanced towards the night sky once again.
"I can see enemy Arc Ships entering our solar system,"
"We make contact in two hours."
—---------
Alarms blared, and all men took their battle stations, as the Cult operatives prepared for an imminent war.
Soldiers scrambled across the base, retaliatory ships powered up, mana shields flickered to life, and long-range cannons turned skyward in perfect sync.
Vice-Cult Leader Charles stood silently at the edge of the base, coat billowing behind him, eyes locked on the dark horizon where dozens of enemy Arc Ships had begun appearing in the distance.
A slow grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Let them come," he muttered under his breath, voice low and sharp.
"It's been a while since I've washed my hands with righteous faction blood."
The ground rumbled softly beneath his feet as mana surged through the base's core defenses.
And thus, the countdown to war began.
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC327: A war of attrition
Chapter 327: A war of attrition
(Meanwhile On A Righteous Faction, Arc Ship, Command Deck, General Davian's POV)
The control deck buzzed with quiet tension. Rows of operators worked at glowing panels, scanning spatial readouts and fielding encrypted transmissions.
Far ahead, through the reinforced viewing glass, the vast expanse of stars framed the distant silhouette of Planet Juxta.
Captain Davian stood with arms crossed behind his back, his sharp blue uniform pressed to perfection, as his eyes scanned the radar projections in silence.
He didn't speak until his second-in-command, Lieutenant Commander Renna, approached with a datapad.
"All units are in position, General. Our second wave of fodder crafts is prepped and ready. We've also started filming all deployment footage as instructed by central command, with propaganda teams on standby, waiting for your instructions on how to shoot the deployment.
The central command has given this operation the title 'Retribution Has Begun', and they want us to produce some stellar shots as soon as possible, which is the only goal of phase one" she said, handing him the pad.
Davian didn't look at it.
Instead, his gaze remained fixed on the distant planet.
"So this is how they want to start it," he muttered, voice low. "A war choreographed like a stage play. With cameras rolling and smoke machines hissing while people die in the background."
He finally glanced at the pad, then handed it back.
"Any updates from Mission Control?" he asked.
"Same as before. We don't have the greenlight to send in anything higher than a Valor class ship into Planet Juxta's atmosphere.
They want us to wear down the Cult's defenses... bait out their anti-air artillery and mana cannons with empty fodder ships and disposable troops, while making no elite troop deployment until the second phase begins," Renna replied, as Davian let out a small breath through his nose.
"They know we can't match the Cult's defensive tech, so they want us to throw bodies and scrap metal at them until they overheat their cannons."
"A sound strategy," Renna said.
"A dirty one," Davian corrected, before turning to walk toward the tactical map table.
"We'll send waves of unmanned aircrafts first. Half of them will carry reflective signal cores to look like they're piloted. The rest, fill them with Master and Grandmaster-ranked volunteers. They'll know it's a suicide run, but someone has to set the tone."
"And the survivors?" she asked.
"Make sure they're on camera," Davian said coldly. "The universe doesn't care about silent martyrs. They want faces. Heroes. Blood."
He paused, turning back toward the wide view of the looming planet.
"Begin deployment. Phase One starts now."
Renna saluted, her boots clicking against the floor. "Yes, General."
And just like that, the first arc of war began not with a battle cry, but with the quiet, surgical detachment of a machine that had done this a thousand times before.
As from the edge of space, metallic wings began to descend.
—----------
Davian watched as thousands of ships rode in formation and descended toward the surface of Planet Juxta, their engines humming with controlled aggression, as they pointed their guns towards the planet.
And then—one by one—they began to die.
The first wave of glider-class scouts disintegrated the moment they touched the shimmering curve of the planet's mana shield.
There was no fire, no grand explosions, just instant vaporization—like chalk dust hitting a wall of lightning.
The cannon carriers came next, which were competitively much larger, slower, bulkier ships with enough firepower to hopefully punch a hole through the planet's mana shield with raw force.
However, although thousands of them fired towards Juxta's defensive shield at once, not one of them managed to scratch it, as the shield reacted before contact, crackling with raw divine energy as brilliant arcs of blue light reached out and tore them apart mid-air.
Some cannon carriers exploded. Some twisted into debris. While some got instantly vaporized.
A handful of striker pods, their trajectories wild and unstable, managed to breach the barrier—but their engines sputtered on entry, their hulls catching flame as Juxta's dense atmosphere dragged them down like insects into a furnace.
As in the end, none of them managed to make it to the surface.
Davian didn't blink. He just stood there and watched.
"First wave... one hundred percent loss," Renna muttered, stunned, as although she expected this outcome, she hoped that at least a couple ships would make it to the surface intact, however, none did.
"What do we do now sir?" She asked, as Davian just let out a deep sigh.
"Now we camp outside their planet, and send the first footage back home as nothing but our base ships camping outside their atmosphere.
Central command will have to make do with it for today.
Tomorrow, we send another wave of dummy crafts to test their defences.
This is a war of attrition, Renna.
There are no winners or losers in this stage of the war, just resources being depleted.
We lost a few men and a few ships today, while they lost millions of mana stones to power up that shield.
Let's see, which one of us bleeds out first..." Davian said, as he turned and left the command station.
—--------
(Meanwhile on the surface of Planet Juxta)
It was a festival down below for the Cult soldiers, who cheered loudly every time an enemy ship got vaporized.
The sky lit up like fireworks, arcs of divine mana exploding with every failed entry attempt, as vessel after vessel was shredded, burned, or erased entirely before even breaching the upper atmosphere.
Men clapped. Officers smirked. Some even began placing bets on how many ships would manage to pass through the mana shield. Most bets stayed at zero.
"Boom! That's forty-seven in a row!" one soldier laughed, pumping his fist in the air as another massive Arc Ship turned into little more than molten debris.
"The sky's raining metal, boys! Keep your helmets on!" another shouted, raising his shield toward the glowing clouds as scraps rained down like hail.
Even the defensive outpost's loudspeakers joined in, blaring old wartime anthems while squad commanders stood with arms crossed, amused but not surprised.
For them, this wasn't war.
This was a show.
And the Cult owned the stage.
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Timeless AssassinC328: The Rift Deepens
Chapter 328: The Rift Deepens
(Meanwhile, Fourth Elder's Office, Planet Tithia)
The crystal tablet slammed against the edge of the marble desk, cracking on impact as its flickering screen continued to display the live feed from Planet Juxta.
The Fourth Elder stood frozen, fingers twitching at his side, as he watched ship after ship explode against the mana shield.
The report he had received was brief. And the footage was mostly positive for the cult as a whole, however, for him personally, it was devastating.
The righteous faction had attacked.
And they'd attacked hard.
Just two days ago, he'd stood before the council and laughed off the First Elder's warnings, calling them nothing more than empty words.
He had Accused the First Elder of fear-mongering and wasting resources.
But now?
Now the frontlines were burning, and he looked like a complete fool because of it.
*Step*
*Step*
He paced slowly through his lavish chamber, the carpet muffling his footsteps as his aura simmered with rage.
"This can't possibly be a coincidence," he muttered, voice low. "This was a setup..."
His eyes narrowed as he stared into the distance.
"Lord First... Did you have concrete intel? Did you know for sure that this attack was going to happen? And did you conceal it, just to watch me fall?"
The thought poisoned him.
There had been no prior indication about the righteous faction planning an attack before the First Elder called for an emergency meeting.
And yet just two days after the first elder called for a meeting, the attack already happened.
Coincidentally, the First Elder's shipments of aid had already been delivered just this morning, alongside those who heeded his warning.
However, those that did not choose to heed it, now looked like absolute jackasses.
The troops on the frontline as well as the citizens of planet Juxta were sure to develop a positive image of the first elder after today, praising him as their most benevolent benefactor, while the rest of the council seemed immature and uncaring in comparison.
In his mind, the Fourth Elder strongly believed that this couldn't be just a coincidence, and that the First Elder had probably set him up, as he hated himself for being outmaneuvered.
'Now I look like a jackass and a hothead in front of the other elders....' The fourth elder thought, as he clenched his fist, jaw tight.
If this war dragged on—and he was remembered as the fool who denied it—then his influence within the council would surely crumble, which would be devastating for his future ambitions to slowly rise to the post of first elder, as if he screwed up his momentum now, he would probably never get another chance to usurp him for a decade.
—---------
(Meanwhile, within the First Elder's office, Planet Tithia)
*Step*
*Step*
The First Elder also paced around his office with equal anger and intensity as the fourth, as he couldn't believe that the righteous faction would attack so soon.
'It's not enough.... We aren't ready. We need much more artillery output if we are to keep Juxta safe for a long time....' The First Elder thought, as he clenched his fists in anger.
The Second Elder was the one that controlled the biggest forges within the Cult, and it was his duty to supply the frontlines with ammunition in times of war.
However, with the Second Elder being heavily influenced by the Fourth Elder's stupidity, he chose not to send arms to the front lines after the emergency meeting.
"Tch... idiot"
The First Elder clicked his tongue and stopped pacing, placing his palm against the windowpane as he looked out over the quiet skyline of Tithia.
The cityscape shimmered under the mix sized sun, calm and oblivious to the madness that had begun a few solar systems away.
'There is no war. If we are going to theorize things without proof, then I theorize that the righteous faction will not attack!'
The Fourth Elder's arrogant voice still echoed in his head.
'You're trying to scare the council, Lord First.'
'You're growing old. And paranoid.'
The fool had said, as thinking back upon it, The First Elder couldn't help but grit his teeth in anger now.
That bastard had undermined him in front of everyone—mocked him, discredited his years of wisdom , and painted his warnings as senile fear mongering.
But now?
Now the Fourth Elder's smug face was probably buried behind closed doors, red with shame as the headlines came flooding in from Juxta.
And although part of the First Elder burned with justified anger—he couldn't deny the slight relief he felt, either.
Because in a twisted way... this attack had proved him right.
Juxta hadn't suffered any meaningful losses. The mana shield held strong. The artillery that did make it through the blockade was handled cleanly and the cult's soldiers were on guard and ready for this attack.
Which meant, all things considered, today had been a win.
It had been a warning shot.
A start of a possibly long war.
However, it wasn't the all out attack that wiped out Juxta, which it could very well have been.
'I hope the others wake up after today....' The first elder thought, as he hoped, deeply hoped—that the council's more stubborn voices would finally wake up after watching the footage of today's attack and start taking things seriously.
Because they wouldn't get another grace period like this again.
As of today, they could still contribute towards the security of the border planets and start increasing their industrial output to support war-time needs.
However, if they did not mend their ways even now, and continued to senselessly challenge the righteous faction, then they would very well be the architects of their own downfall.
"This is exactly why I can't let the Fourth Elder's candidate become the next dragon.
That idiot doesn't have the composure, nor the common sense, to know what's best for this cult in the long term.
He thinks with a hot head and doesn't care about the consequences of his actions.
He thinks shouting louder inside the council room makes him right. But when it mattered—when a real threat stood at our gates—he did not have the foresight to predict it.
If someone like him were ever to lead the council... it wouldn't just be Juxta that falls. It would be all of us." The First Elder muttered, as this was the final straw he needed to convince himself that the Fourth was not suitable to be a voice of reason within the council and that he needed to be booted out at the earliest.
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Timeless AssassinC329: Hunter
Chapter 329: Hunter
(Leo's POV, Time-Stilled World)
Leo exited the Conclave with a mindset completely different from when he had first entered.
He had entered the tunnel as a hesitant and broken man, however, he came out of it a confident warrior.
With a clear understanding of the surrounding geography and his body restored to its peak, Leo began actively seeking out beasts to hunt, using every encounter as a way to push his mana heart closer to its limits.
He did not get reckless or start attacking any random beast that he came across, but rather remained cautious with every step he took, never entering a tunnel without thoroughly scanning for danger first.
But once a beast beneath the Transcendent tier came into view, he immediately marked it for death, as he tracked, stalked, and executed each of them with cold, clinical precision— refining both his instincts and his power with every kill.
Once the psychological horror of the Time-Stilled world began to fade for him, he started to truly enjoy this world for all the unique experiences it offered, and in particular the hunting opportunities it presented.
—-------
'That's the second Giant Rock Beetle I've seen today....' Leo thought, as he silently stalked a Giant Rock Beetle that was making its way through the tunnel system, trying to find prey of its own.
Had he still had the old mindset, where he viewed every monster in this world as something grotesque and extremely dangerous, he could have probably found a million reasons to avoid fighting this rock beetle, however, with his mentality changed, he just saw it as a juicy challenge, more than an abhorrent monster.
The pitch black armor on the body of the Rock Beetle was so tough, that he had broken two daggers trying to kill the first one he encountered today— and that one looked half the size of this one.
It was a monstrous creature, coated in thick plates of stone-hard shell, with foul green pus dripping between its joints and a thick stench clinging to its every movement.
Its mandibles could easily crush bones, and its screech was loud enough to make the weaker beasts flee without a fight.
In the time-stilled world, it had evolved—or rather twisted—into something far more repulsive than what the old bestiaries described.
And yet, Leo didn't feel repulsed, but rather excited by the opportunity to kill it when he encountered one.
*Thrum*
*Thrum*
His heart beat with a steady rhythm—not with fear, but with focus—as he stalked it like a predator through the tunnels, observing its sluggish movement and lack of alertness.
The beetle's thick hide seemed to give it confidence to hunt prey, however, its senses were surely not the sharpest, for it did not notice Leo crawling just a few paces behind, nor the way he eyed its movement to see which tunnel it would take.
And then, it made a mistake.
It entered a narrow tunnel, one barely wide enough for its body to scrape through.
And it was here, where its mandibles were pinned forward, and the beast was unable to turn or twist, that Leo saw his opportunity to attack.
He dashed into the tunnel with silent steps, slid in behind the beetle, and launched himself forward with a burst of mana behind his legs.
*CLANG*
His first strike was clean, but useless.
The dagger hit the shell with a sharp clang and bounced off. A thin scratch marked the impact zone, but that was all.
*SCREEECH!*
The beast screeched in panic, as it increased its pace and began running at full speed, however, Leo did not allow it to escape unscratched.
*SHING!*
*SHING!*
He kept slamming the same spot again and again, gripping the writhing creature's back as it tried to shake him off, its limbs thrashing against the tunnel walls as dust and rock exploded around them.
"Come on... Come on..." Leo muttered, gritting his teeth, as he landed another stab on the beast's back, then another, and another.
Then, with his mana coiled into the blade and all the pressure focused on a single fracture, he activated [Kill Strike].
A low pulse of force surged through the dagger as it plunged deep—finally breaking through the armor.
The beetle let out a shrill, ear-piercing scream as its body spasmed beneath him, but by then, it was already too late.
Leo twisted the blade and detonated the mana charge inside its body, as with a muffled *BOOM*, he destroyed the beast's innards with a single attack.
*PLOP*
The beetle collapsed before him, its mandibles still twitching at the front as acid drooled from its mouth—but it was all in vain.
With its innards shredded and back legs ruined, the creature could no longer move. It could only lie there, waiting for death to arrive, slow and agonizing, while Leo stood above it with the quiet smile of a conqueror.
"Die, beast... die," he muttered under his breath, watching it writhe beneath his feet.
And it was in that moment—just for a second—that he saw it.
A faint new aura beginning to wrap around his body.
It lasted only a breath, and under the soft glow of the surrounding blue mana crystals, he couldn't be fully sure of the exact shade, but to him, it looked... blood red.
'Blood red... could that be my killing intent?' he wondered, his gaze falling to his hands.
The aura had vanished, yet he kept staring at his palms, searching for answers in the lingering stillness.
And the more he thought about it, the more certain he became.
He had felt one emotion in that moment—raw, unfiltered bloodlust.
The desire to kill.
And if his instincts were right, then he had just witnessed the manifestation of his own 'Killing Intent'—the second aura color he had awakened.
'I wonder what the [Sevenfold Revelation Codex] has to say about this?' Leo wondered, as he immediately pulled out the meditation manual and a torchlight, to read what it had to say about this situation.
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Timeless AssassinC330: Time-Skip (1)
Chapter 330: Time-Skip (1)
(Time-Stilled World, an unknown underground tunnel, Leo's POV)
As soon as Leo opened the Codex, a new text began appearing on its pages, glowing faintly under the beam of his flashlight.
> "You have now perceived the second glimmer."
> "Blood Red—born from the ancient instinct to dominate and destroy."
> "This is the hue of pure killing intent. Unfiltered. Undiluted. A force that exists beyond emotion, and is an intent so sharp it etches itself onto the world around you."
> "Unlike frustration, which clouds the aura inward, killing intent extends outward. It touches your surroundings. It leaves trails, scars, and pressure."
> "You saw this color not because you wished to kill... but because you meant it."
> "Recognize this difference. Track it. Study how it pulses when you're calm, how it sharpens when you're cornered, and how it fades when doubt seeps in."
> "Only by mapping its fluctuations will you learn to bend it—to cloak it, to mask it, or to turn it into a blade sharper than any weapon you wield."
The words faded, but Leo's eyes lingered on the empty page.
The fact that the codex acknowledged it means that he hadn't imagined it.
The blood-red shimmer had been real.
'So that's two now... Maroon and Blood Red. Frustration and killing intent,' he thought, closing the Codex slowly as he stared down at his open palm.
He had somehow managed to spot two of the seven primal aura colors now, albeit holding limited understanding in them.
"The Codex told me to observe my killing intent.... How it interacts with my surroundings... how it shifts when I simply want to kill versus when I truly mean it. And how it changes when doubt creeps into my mind—" Leo muttered out loud, repeating the instructions the Codex had given him.
For now, he had only managed to observe the shade itself, but he hadn't yet grasped how it fluctuated under different mental states.
He still had a long way to go before he could claim any real understanding—let alone mastery—over his own killing intent, as this was a journey that he had still only barely started.
—-------------
200 days passed quickly for Leo, with him taking that long to finally make his way out of the endless tunnel system and reach the surface once again.
During this time, his body underwent drastic changes.
His muscle density had increased significantly, while his mana capacity and spell output were now nearly fifty percent higher than when he had first entered this world.
The denser, richer mana of the Time-Stilled world had rebuilt his blood from the inside out, making each cell in his body stronger, larger, and more efficient.
It took him a while to notice it.
The improvement was subtle at first..... such as barely perceptible changes in his stamina, recovery rate, and endurance—but over time, the effects of the Mana Heart enriched body became impossible to ignore.
His mana circuits, which had once resisted and strained under high-speed circulation, now felt almost frictionless. The micro-imperfections that previously slowed his casting were gone, refined away by the passive work of the Mana Heart.
If before he could activate [Vanish] in 0.8 seconds at Perfect mastery, he could now do it in 0.4.
It was still categorized under the same grade, but in practice, the difference was massive. That split second could mean the difference between life and death in close quarter combat, and with all of his skills seeing a massive casting time boost, it was safe to say that his combat ability had improved by leaps and bounds.
And yet, despite all his progress in terms of his physical abilities and his skill moves, if there was one area where he did not make any improvements at all, it was the [Sevenfold Revelation Codex], as he saw no progress made beyond the colors he had already uncovered.
In all of the past 200 days, he had not seen a single new color, as the Blood Red of his killing intent remained the only aura he had observed after Maroon.
He had seen it flare around him three more times in the past 200 days, and on one rare occasion, he even noticed the faint imprint of his own aura still lingering on a beast he had just killed, like a shadow that hadn't caught up with its source.
But beyond that, there was nothing.
No new colors. No new insights.
As even within the blood red shade he had observed, there was nothing new to draw a conclusive insight from, regarding how his mental state affected his killing intent.
The codex remained frustratingly silent, with no new texts appearing on its surface, no matter how many times Leo opened the manual.
But still, Leo didn't stop.
Every beast he hunted, every breath of mana he absorbed, every emotion he felt whether it was joy, hate, love or anxiety.... he kept checking his body for signs of a new color, as although he saw nothing, he could feel himself getting closer to something.
For now, he wasn't sure as to what it was, but he had a firm belief that he was on the right track.
And so, after nearly seven months of crawling, killing, training, and growing stronger beneath the earth...
As he finally saw the muted gray-orange sky once again, he couldn't help but feel a small feeling of joy enveloping his body, as the journey to the surface had been nothing but difficult.
"I'm finally back to the surface..." Leo muttered, as he gazed towards the twilight sky and let out a sigh of relief, when something unexpected happened.
For a brief moment, he saw the color sky-blue enveloping his body. It was vibrant and light, but it disappeared almost as fast as it appeared, as it blended into the twilight sky.
'Huh? A new color?' Leo wondered, as he tried to find the traces of the sky blue all over his body, however, it was too late.
The color was gone, and the only way to confirm what he had seen was to seek validation from the [Sevenfold Revelation Codex], which was exactly what he did as he opened the book yet again.
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