Timeless Assassin

'When the weak stumble and the candle trembles, then you will know the first step has been taken….'

Leo lingered on that last line for a long while, turning it over in his head, yet no matter how many times he repeated it, the meaning remained just out of reach, like smoke slipping through his fingers.

On the surface, he understood what the manual was pointing toward— the vague outline of the first stage, Aura Projection, which was the act of pushing his presence outward and letting it weigh upon the world.

But understanding the idea and knowing where to begin were two very different things, and at present, he had no clue how to take that first step.

"Well… I can always ask Charles for help. And if he can't figure it out, there's still Soron," Leo muttered, exhaling slowly as he leaned back against the turret's cold metal.

He knew from firsthand experience that aura manuals often felt like indecipherable riddles at the start, but once he immersed himself in practice, patterns revealed themselves, and what once felt impossible became manageable.

"I'll get a hang of it eventually…" he resigned, not out of defeat, but with the quiet confidence of someone who had broken through walls like this before and would do so again.

"Oye, oye, oye… aren't you getting a little too comfortable sitting in my spot, boy?"

A deep voice rumbled up from below, and when Leo glanced down, he found Charles standing there with his arms folded across his chest, as though trying to project that he did not approve of anyone else sitting on his spot.

Leo's grin spread instantly, wide and unrestrained, the kind that carried both mischief and relief, as he saw his mentor finally arrive.

*Leap*

Leaping off the top, and landing soundlessly, Leo clenched his fists and flexed his biceps as he said, "Guess who became a Transcendent today?"

To which Charles smiled and replied with a chuckling nod.

"Yeah, yeah, good job kid, you can finally be promoted to the rank of a Legion Commander on your own merit now." Charles said, as he checked Leo's body for abnormalities, but felt satisfied when he saw nothing wrong.

"Commander, quite a lot of developments have taken place recently, and even Veyr is here….. I'm afraid I'll have to borrow quite a lot of your time first thing tomorrow morning, for we have a lot to discuss." Leo informed, as Charles nodded with seriousness in his eyes.

Now that he was essentially the acting Cult Master, he needed to be responsible for every major development occurring within the Cult, and not just the military.

—----------------

(Meanwhile, Planet Granoda, Mauriss's POV)

Ever since Kaelith had slain Su Ren, Mauriss had devoted all his focus to monitoring the Cult's every movement, convinced that Soron would surely seize this moment to make a play, now that the balance of the Universal Order had been shaken.

Inwardly, he had even allowed himself a flicker of hope that Soron might finally step out of his isolation, rally allies among the Great Clans, and forge an anti-righteous faction coalition strong enough to challenge the Universal Government.

But to his disappointment, no such move came.

For days, the Old God remained cloistered within his castle on Ixtal, unmoved and seemingly unconcerned with the storm brewing across the universe.

Until today, when suddenly, Soron veiled his entire fortress beneath layers of anti-probing wards, a lattice of ancient barriers that smothered even the most refined divine sense, rendering the castle a void when looked through divine sense, making it a dark spot which no God could spy on anymore.

"Ha…hahahahaha—"

Mauriss chuckled, as he grabbed his own eyelids and pulled them down till they were ready to deform and break, as he felt an untamable excitement rise inside his chest.

"After 2200 years, you finally make a move.

So what is it…..

Is it a bait? Are you daring us to step on to Cult lands, so you can come forth and kill us?

Is it desperation?

Have you perhaps left Cult territory to refine your slab of Origin Metal?

Or is it something else?

And you're playing games with us, just to see how we would react?" Mauriss wondered out loud, as he felt his heart palpitate just at the thought of playing this wonderful game.

"Exciting…. This is all so exciting. I haven't had this much fun in forever.

Soron! I want to kill you with my own hands.

Please do something stupid so I can achieve my goal…." Mauriss said, as he began licking his own palms like a mentally unstable man.

For a while, he continued to laugh, louder and louder until his laughter began to echo across the whole rain covered planet, before suddenly pausing as a dangerous plan took root in his head.

"I know just how to confirm what Soron is up to….."

"Ten billion soldiers, two hundred thousand ships and fifteen Monarch Tier Commanders, if I mobilize a force so large, just to attack a single Cult planet like Juxta….. perhaps then, Soron would have no choice but to appear personally if he's back on Ixtal.

If not…. I'll confirm what I already suspect.

That he's away to refine Origin Metal, and that the Cult is defenseless…."

Mauriss strategized, as his eyes sharpened with schemery.

"If I'm wrong, we will lose quite a lot of troops, and perhaps a lot of face too.

However if I'm right, we can get rid of the Cult for once and for all.

This is such an exciting time!

I just hope Kaelith doesn't block my plan.

I just hope, after what happened back at the All God's Summit, he learns to trust me more." Mauriss muttered, as he began rubbing his palms like an excited toddler.

The lives of billions was nothing more than a game for him.

As in the end, he did not really care if his hunch was right or wrong.

All he cared about was his entertainment, and the potential drama that could unfold either way.