Show menu Novel BinNovel Timeless Assassin Chapter 391: Shock, Anger, Devotion.Timeless AssassinChapter 391: Shock, Anger, Devotion.Chapter 391: Shock, Anger, Devotion.(Next Morning, Rodova Military Academy, Su Yang's Dorm Room)
Su Yang stared at the school newspaper in front of him, the looping headline pulsing like a wound he couldn't close.
LEO SKYSHARD: CONFIRMED CULT OPERATIVE
700 MILLION MP BOUNTY ISSUED : KILL ON SIGHT
He had read it a dozen times. But no matter how many times the words appeared, his mind refused to accept them.
"No... no, that's not right," he whispered, pacing the length of his room, hands clenched so tightly that his nails bit into his palms.
"He wouldn't. He couldn't."
He stopped before the mirror, staring at his reflection—red-eyed, breath ragged, veins throbbing on his neck.
Leo, his brother in all but blood.
Leo, the boy who was his partner in crime during their worst days at the Academy.
Leo, the betrayer who had now sided with the Evil Cult.
His thoughts became a storm. A thousand memories of them training together, bleeding together, laughing, arguing, risking everything for victory played through his mind, however they suddenly felt tainted, as if rewritten by that single word: traitor.
"Was I the fool this entire time...?" he muttered, sinking into the chair, clutching his head. "Did our friendship never really mean anything to him?"
He stared at the picture pinned above his bed. A team photo taken after they won the circuits. Su Yang and Leo stood in the middle, fists raised, grinning like they were invincible.
Now, it felt like a joke, as Su Yang's breath grew heavier, uneven.
For the first time in years, his aura destabilized, flickering erratically as his emotions ran wild.
He didn't know whether he wanted to cry, scream, or destroy something. Because no matter what anyone said, Leo wasn't just another teammate to him.
He was his rival, someone he aspired to be like and surpass.
But now that his rival had taken a dark turn, he did not even know who to chase after anymore.
———
(Planet Terra Nova, Uprising Guild Headquarters, Chaosbringer's Office)
Chaosbringer sat at the edge of his desk with his legs crossed, as he watched the morning broadcast of Leo's dark turn play on TV, with an evil grin on his face.
"You think Lord Boss will be tracked down and killed within the next seven days? Seriously woman? Did you leave your brain back at home when you showed up for work? The Lord Boss I know is simply invincible! You can't catch him," Chaosbringer said in a light tone, as unlike Su Yang, he wasn't fazed by the news at all.
The universe's perception of Leo did not matter to him at all, as regardless of whether the universe loved him or hated him, Chaosbringer's faith in him remained the same.
"The high bounty is no surprise.... It's reasonable to place a 700 million bounty on My Lord, but to be fair it should have been higher than a billion at the least" Chaosbringer suggested, as the part that bothered him the most in the news was the fact that the bounty on his Lord's head was not par with his status.
"Well, time to tell the other idiots in the guild that we no longer support the righteous faction" he muttered, as with a flourish, he stood up, his long nails glinting properly again under his office lights, now that he had found a purpose in life once again.
He strutted out into the guild hall, where dozens of Uprising members were gathered around the broadcast, whispering casually about the news.
None of them had any idea that Leo Skyshard was the 'Lord Boss' they all loved and worshipped, and hence they talked about his turn to the dark side as nothing more than entertaining news that did not affect them on a personal level.
However, all that changed when Chaosbringer came out.
"HEY YO, BOZOS!" Chaosbringer shouted, loud enough to silence the room instantly.
All eyes turned to him.
"From today onwards, we are all working for the Evil Cult. You heard me. Fuck the Righteous Faction. What have they ever done for us?"
He pointed to the hologram of Leo on the big screen.
"That man? That's the actual identity of Lord Boss behind his awesome mask. So if the righteous faction wants to dare call him a traitor..."
He raised his middle finger to the ceiling.
"Then we'll be traitors too."
A pause.
"From today onwards, we are enemies of the state."
The guild hall didn't erupt—not right away.
But one by one, heads began to nod. Eyes sharpened and cheers began to ring out!
"FUCK THE RIGHTEOUS FACTION!"
"WE ARE WITH LORD BOSS!"
"I HAD NO IDEA LORD BOSS WAS A CIRCUIT CHAMPION! HE'S AMAZING"
"Lord Boss is worth 700 million MP, he's so cool!"
One by one the guild members began to lose their minds, as under Chaosbringers lead, they made the shift from supporting the Righteous Faction to the Evil Cult in a split second.
"ALSO...." Chaosbringer shouted, cutting the celebrations off.
"Don't say 'fuck the righteous faction' out loud when you're outside the guild headquarters, we still live amongst them.... So, just keep it in your hearts—" Chaosbringer reminded, as he did not trust the idiots of the guild one bit to keep their thoughts to themselves in public.
—--------
(Meanwhile Mu Fan)
Just like Leo, Mu Fan had also departed for Planet Tithia just minutes after her final call with the Twelfth Elder had ended.
She was well aware that her ties with Leo were too deep and too publicly known for her to avoid being branded a traitor once his identity as a cult operative was exposed. Therefore, after gathering everything she held dear, she left the Mu Clan-controlled planet she had been residing on and set her course for Planet Tithia, prepared to permanently join the Cult's fold.
"So... this is our life as a righteous faction citizen coming to an end," she murmured, scrolling through the endless stream of online articles about Leo flooding the galaxy net forums, as by now a billion conspiracy theories had already begun to circulate among the general populace.
Since Leo was an immensely recognizable figure across the galaxy due to his performance in last year's interstellar circuit, the weight of his betrayal had struck even harder.
Although many individuals unhappy with the Universal Government defected to the Evil Cult on a regular basis, none of them had ever been as popular as Leo, the literal golden boy who had been adored by teenagers across the stars.
This current situation had made the 700 million MP bounty on Leo's head feel like nothing more than an added bonus, for the real prize in the eyes of many glory hunters was the fame and recognition they stood to gain if they were the ones to bring down such a notorious cult operative.
At present, there was a large portion of the universe that wanted nothing more than to see a photo of his decapitated corpse shared across their private chat groups, driven by the need to see him punished for switching sides and betraying their love and admiration.
"Yeah... I hope you learned everything you needed to learn from the righteous faction while you still could.
Because you will never be allowed back into their fold again, even after you've become a corpse," Fan concluded, her lips curling into a concerned smile that concealed the anxiety pounding quietly in her chest.
Timeless AssassinC392: Angry Politician
Chapter 392: Angry Politician
(The Twelfth Elder's POV, Planet Tithia)
The Twelfth Elder waited eagerly for the good news from the heist team that they had successfully collected the scroll.
After all, what could go wrong?
They had guaranteed access to the vault,
and a secure way back out.
This was as easy a mission as they could get, and Noir did not believe that Jayden or his team would mess it up.
"Well, I wonder how much additional loot they are going to carry apart from the scroll? Must be worth tens of billions of MP at the least," Noir thought excitedly, as he really couldn't wait to get his hands on some much-needed extra money to fill his coffers and get some infrastructure projects started on Planet Vorthas.
*Buzzzz*
*Bzzzzz*
His private communication crystal vibrated, and he picked it up with a big smile on his face.
"Jayden! You called back... I hope everything went well?" he said as soon as he answered. However, the face that stared back at him was not that of Jayden, but instead Officer Bell.
"Bell? What happened? Why are you calling me instead of Jayden? Is he injured or something?" Noir asked in a surprised voice, but received no immediate answer from the other side.
"Officer Jayden... he, um," Bell began but could not finish, looking away from the communication crystal, as if trying his best to hold back tears.
"Officer Jayden couldn't make it back, Twelfth Elder... We don't know if he's dead or captured. But he's behind enemy lines," Bell said with much difficulty, and Noir's face began to drop.
"What do you mean he's behind enemy lines? What happened to the mission? Did you guys manage to take the scroll or not?" Noir asked in panic, as Officer Bell hung his head in shame.
"No, my Lord, we— umm, we managed to take every single treasure inside that vault, except the scroll.
It was reinforced behind seven layers of protective casing, and we did not have enough time nor the proper tools to break through it.
Officer Jayden stayed back and tried to bring it home while the rest of us escaped, but in the end he could not make it back before the portal collapsed.
We are currently in the clear and heading back towards Planet Tithia, but the mission has been a failure.
We have looted the Serpents, but we couldn't bring back the scroll," Bell reported, as the silence that followed clung to the room like a thick fog, only broken by the low grinding sound of the Twelfth Elder's teeth clenching behind tight lips.
For a moment, Noir said nothing.
He just stared.
Stared at Bell's bowed head on the screen, at the way the soldier avoided eye contact, at the tremble in his voice while reporting the loss.
Then slowly, Noir leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing, fingers steepled in front of his lips as his mind began to tick.
What did this loss mean for his political career?
The scroll was the goal.
Without it, the operation was incomplete. Inexcusable.
But billions of MP worth of treasure... that was enough to fund new recruitment campaigns, weapons upgrades, and even complete the stalled infrastructure work on Planet Vorthas.
If he presented it right, if he spun it as a crippling blow to the Serpents, the Elders Council might just call it a partial win.
He'd still get some credit. Still avoid public backlash from the citizens of his planet.
'Maybe, this isn't all bad,' he thought momentarily. But then his eyes flicked back to Bell's face, and the temporary calm vanished.
He slammed both palms down on the desk, causing the crystal interface to flicker violently as he exploded, his voice echoing like a thunderclap across the chamber.
"You miserable pack of gutless cowards!" he roared, venom dripping from every syllable.
"Do you even comprehend what you've done? Do you understand what that scroll was worth to the cult? And you left it behind! You left it behind for Jayden to deal with alone because what— what, it was hard to break?"
Bell flinched, but said nothing.
"Jayden died for nothing. His death gained us nothing but trinkets. And you have the audacity to return empty-handed and call this a report?"
Noir stood up now, pacing.
"You had guaranteed access. Do you know how rare that is?
Do you have any idea what the Dragon Candidate went through to give you this opportunity to raid the Serpents' vault?
It was the perfect mission, and somehow, you lot still managed to botch it beyond belief!"
He jabbed a finger at the screen.
"Look at you! Sulking like you lost a puppy. You failed a mission your little sisters could've pulled off if given the chance, and now you want my sympathy?"
He let out a bitter laugh and waved his hand in disgust.
"I don't want your tears, Bell. I want results. And next time— if there even is a next time— you better deliver me the mission objective and not your excuses."
He leaned in close, his voice now a deadly whisper.
"Tell the rest of your pathetic team to report in as soon as they land. I want a debriefing. I want details. And by the stars above, I better not hear that you lost even a single piece of that stolen treasure in transit. Because if you did...."
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't have to.
The screen went black as Noir forcefully cut the connection, standing in the middle of the room, chest heaving, eyes gleaming with a furious mix of rage and calculation.
This wasn't over.
Not by a long shot.
He could still spin this as a half-win.
Sure, it would be harder for him to directly name Leo the next Dragon with this, as this half-success was not good enough to convince all Elders of his potential.
However, with a bit of sympathetic storytelling, Noir was confident he could still keep Leo alive in that race to become Dragon at the very least.
Contact - ToS
Show menu Novel BinNovel Timeless Assassin Chapter 393: Glee And PityTimeless AssassinChapter 393: Glee And PityChapter 393: Glee And Pity(First Elder's POV, Planet Tithia)
The First Elder's reaction mirrored that of the Twelfth when he found out that their recovery team had proven so utterly incompetent.
"This failure severely damages our chances of making Leo Skyshard the next Dragon. If Aegon Veyr manages to reach the Transcendent Tier in the coming weeks, just before the annual summit on Planet FrostBurn, then the Fourth Elder will push with everything he has to name him Dragon on the spot..." the First Elder mused, slowly stroking his aged gray beard.
"To be fair to Leo, this wasn't his fault. Any reasonable Elder would see that.
But on the other hand... a deal is a deal. I can't go back on my word unless I have a justifiable reason, one the other Elders will accept," he reasoned, as he began to pace agitatedly around his office.
For a while, he tried to think of a way out of this mess, but nothing promising came to mind just yet.
"Well... forget it. I'll deal with this after a proper one-on-one sit-down with the boy once he arrives on Tithia," the First Elder concluded, deciding to let the matter rest for now, since Leo was set to arrive on Tithia in a few hours anyways.
—------------
(Meanwhile, The Fourth Elder's POV, Planet Tithia)
Loud laughing noises could be heard from within the Fourth Elder's private office, as he read through the heist report with watery eyes and a chest heaving from amusement.
He simply could not believe how grossly incompetent the Twelfth Elder's team had proven to be.
"Why bother with making plans to destroy your opponents, when your opponents are stupid fools who are busy destroying themselves?" he said between fits of laughter, slamming the parchment against his desk as he wiped the tears from his cheeks.
"To think that brat Leo actually trusted the young and green Twelfth to keep his end of the bargain," he chuckled again, shaking his head with mock sympathy. "Poor boy... If only you were under me. This mission would've been executed to perfection. The scroll would be within the cult's fold by now, and your rise would've been inevitable."
He stood and walked toward the wide window of his chamber, gazing out at the horizon with a gleam in his eye.
"But alas... fate has other plans," he whispered, a slow smile curving across his lips. "With this, nothing stands in Veyr's way now. The path to becoming the next Dragon is clear."
His tone grew deeper, laced with ambition as his thoughts raced ahead.
"And once Veyr becomes Dragon... it will be me, not that old Lord First, who controls a Dragon.
It will be me, who will hold sway over the Council!
Me, who will be the youngest Elder to challenge for the First Seat." He said as he turned and strode back to his desk, retrieving a crystal communicator from within.
"Tell Veyr to push like hell for the next two weeks and reach the Transcendent Tier anyhow.
Tell him that we will provide him with all the help he needs, but he just needs to reach the Transcendent Tier in the next two weeks and the title of Dragon is surely his," The Fourth Elder said, as he informed his assistant to relay his message to Veyr.
—----------
(Meanwhile onboard the Cult Ship, Leo's POV)
The next 24 hours passed very smoothly for Leo aboard the Cult Ship, as he did little more than eat, sleep, and unwind.
Every few hours, a fresh delicacy would arrive for him, with the dishes ranging from a steaming bowl of savory stew to an intricately plated dessert that looked almost too pretty to eat.
The chefs onboard seemed to be pulling out all the stops, doing everything in their power to appease his palate and gain his approval.
The ship crew served him in rotating shifts, each team arriving with the same practiced politeness and quiet reverence. Yet, despite the change in faces, a strange pattern began to emerge.
Every single server who entered his room, regardless of gender, age, or rank, was wrapped in a faint blue aura that Leo recognized from the codex as the color of 'Joy and Hope'.
It was a visible manifestation of their inner spirit, a reflection of how much faith they placed in him, as if they genuinely believed he was the one who would lead them to a better future.
On one hand, it wasn't the first time Leo had found himself at the center of blind adoration.
During his time as 'TheBoss', when he led 'The Uprising', every guild member under him had more or less looked at him in the same way. However, the circumstances back then were different. That role, that image, that burden—they were all chosen by him as he had willingly stepped into it.
But this time, he did not.
And that distinction, subtle as it may seem, made all the difference to him.
As when the hopeful gazes of the staff fell on him unwarranted, it made him uncomfortable.
He wasn't used to people smiling at him like he was the light at the end of a tunnel.
He didn't see himself as a beacon of hope. He never had.
Messiahs, saviors, champions of the people—those titles were meant for someone else. Someone nobler. Someone who genuinely believed in ideals like peace, unity, or the so-called greater good.
But not him.
He was not one such individual.
He wasn't a leader. He wasn't a symbol. He wasn't a legend in the making.
At his core, he was just another ruthless warrior. A survivor. A man who had walked through blood and fire. An incredibly selfish one at that, who cared for little beyond his own strength and the safety of his family.
So when he looked at these people and watched their eyes light up with gratitude for him simply being alive and existing as if they were basking in the presence of destiny itself, all he could feel for them was pity.
Pity, that of all people, they had chosen someone as selfish as him to be their savior.
Because sooner or later, they were going to realize that the man they had pinned their dreams on was not the person they believed him to be.
"Well, it gives me no joy to disappoint innocent people," Leo mused, leaning back in his bed as the aroma of fresh pastries wafted through the air, "but I'm not the one who told them I was their messiah."
He shrugged his shoulders and exhaled slowly, letting the weight of their misplaced faith roll off his back like water off stone.
If they were looking for a hero, they would have to find one somewhere else.
For he was simply not interested in carrying their hopes and dreams.
As he strongly believed that it was not his burden to bear.
*Knock*
*Knock*
Just as he began enjoying his pastry, a soft knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, as Landen the guard on his door popped his head in, waiting for permission to speak.
"Go on..." Leo said, as Landen gave him a curt salute before saying.
"We will enter Planet Tithia's atmosphere in 20 minutes, so please call for me before that to come clear your food plates, My Lord, I wouldn't want landing turbulence to soil your robes," Landen said innocently, however, his words pricked at Leo.
"Planet Tithia?" He asked, sounding confused, as he could swear that the planet he was told his family was being held at was one called 'Vorthas'.
Timeless AssassinC394: Cornered Mouse
Chapter 394: Cornered Mouse
"Planet Tithia? What do you mean we will land on Tithia? I was told I'm being carried to Vorthas..." Leo snapped, rising from his bed with furrowed brows as his gaze locked onto Landen.
"I—I... um, I don't know why you'd think we were headed to Vorthas, my Lord, but I'll fetch the Captain right away. He might know more about this than I do," Landen stammered, bowing quickly before dashing off without waiting for permission.
Moments later, he returned with the ship's Captain in tow, both of them slightly breathless from their hurried pace.
"My Lord," the Captain began respectfully, "our orders were always to transport you to Planet Tithia. Lord Twelfth will personally receive you once we arrive."
He paused, as if carefully choosing his next words.
"I'm not sure why you're under the impression that Vorthas was your destination, but I've double-checked the written orders we received myself. Everything we've received from Command has consistently stated 'Tithia' as the end-point."
Leo stared at him silently, his jaw tightening as he processed the explanation.
"Please, I ask for your patience," the Captain added, bowing slightly. "I'm sure Lord Twelfth will clear up any confusion the moment you arrive."
Leo let out a long sigh, lifting a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose as a dull headache formed behind his eyes. Part of him wanted to lash out, but the other part knew it would accomplish nothing.
He was tired of the Cult.
Tired of their manipulative half-truths and their constant shifting of the goalpost.
But shouting at a low-level crewman or a flight Captain wouldn't solve anything.
'Maybe my family will be waiting when I land...' Leo thought, choosing optimism in spite of everything. 'Maybe they were brought to Tithia to greet me.'
Giving the two men a restrained nod, Leo stepped back, folding his arms as he waited for the ship to descend.
For now, he decided to hold his patience.
—-----------
(A few minutes later, Planet Tithia, The Hangar Bay)
The massive Cult ship touched down with a low rumble, steam hissing from its sides as the exit doors opened wide, releasing a wave of pressure that gently swept across the hangar bay.
Leo walked to the exit with a composed stride and found a line of attendants waiting to formally receive him on the other side.
They were all dressed in light-colored robes, their heads bowed respectfully, forming a symmetrical path of deference and ceremony.
At the center of it all, draped in elaborate ceremonial garb and surrounded by his personal entourage, stood the Twelfth Elder himself.
His face was concealed behind a smooth, expressionless mask, and his arms were spread wide as he stepped forward, the gesture clearly intending to welcome the guest of honor.
"Dragon Candidate Leo... we have been eagerly awaiting your arrival here at the Cult Of Ascension," the Twelfth Elder greeted warmly, his voice carrying a calm, practiced resonance as he extended the invitation for an embrace.
But Leo didn't move.
"Where's my family?" he asked coldly, his eyes sweeping the bay in a single sharp glance as he hoped to catch a glimpse of a familiar face amongst the crowd.
But there was no one.
The hangar, though full of faces, felt completely empty, as no-one from his family seemed to be present here.
"I will answer all questions in due time. For now, be patient," the Twelfth Elder replied, his voice steady and unmoved.
Leo's patience, however, had long since worn thin. Without a flicker of hesitation, he drew his weapon and leveled it at the Elder's chest, the polished blade gleaming beneath the natural sunlight of Tithia.
"I was promised a meeting with my family once I completed the mission," he said, his voice tight with anger and conviction.
"My brother appears to be severely injured, and I demand to see him immediately. Either honor our agreement or I will hijack this ship myself and fly it straight to Vorthas." Leo threatened, as the mood in the hangar bay shifted instantly.
Gasps rang out among the attendants. The guards flanking the Twelfth Elder stiffened as unease passed between them like a wave.
Even the flight crew at the ship's ramp froze, looking stunned at the sight of a Dragon Candidate drawing his weapon on a sitting Elder.
Only Mu Fan, positioned behind the Twelfth Elder, remained composed. She exhaled quietly, as though this confrontation had already played out in her mind a hundred times already.
However, despite the rising tension, the Twelfth Elder showed no fear.
He didn't flinch at the sight of Leo's dagger and instead let out a low chuckle before speaking again.
"Child, I am a Transcendent-tier warrior. Even if I stood alone, you would not be able to lay a scratch on me..... So I do not fear the dagger you aim at my chest," he said plainly, his tone firm and measured.
"And even if, by some miracle, you managed to slip past me and hijack a ship to Vorthas, what exactly would you achieve? You would still be denied access to your family. Because whether you accept it or not, I oversee Vorthas. It is under my jurisdiction."
He took a step closer, his voice gaining weight with every word.
"You are now within the Cult's fold. This is my domain. And if you believe that you can do as you please here, I will be more than happy to strip away that illusion.
Should you act out, I will not hesitate to put you in chains.....
Make no mistake, Leo, you hold no cards in this game.
You will follow orders and you will do exactly as I say, and only then will you meet your family."
His words rang with authority, heavy enough to crush any thoughts of rebellion in a normal person, however, Leo's grip on his blade only tightened in response to his threats.
'Can I take him on?' he wondered, as his eyes flicked toward the figures surrounding the Elder.
However, to his dismay, each of them emanated a quiet, dangerous pressure, as they all seemed to be transcendent tier warriors at the least.
'Fuck!' Leo thought, as at that moment, the harsh truth finally settled.
He could not win here.
Nothing he could do would change the outcome.
And even if he somehow managed to escape, he would still not be able to reunite with his family, which made even attempting the hijack meaningless.
The Cult held all the leverage here....
They had his family, his home under surveillance, and the planet's entire security force at their command.
While he had nothing!
He was simply a cornered mouse.
'Damn it. The bastard played me,' Leo thought, his jaw tightening as he slowly lowered his weapon. The gesture was deliberate and calm, though each inch of descent felt like a submission he loathed to offer.
The Twelfth Elder gave a satisfied nod, his mask tilting ever so slightly.
"Don't overthink it. I don't plan to keep you here long. I gave my word that you would meet your family, and I fully intend to keep that promise," he said, turning away with a graceful sweep of his robe.
"But before that happens, there are a few scheduled meetings you must attend here on Tithia. They will not take more than four hours. And the sooner we begin, the sooner we can conclude them. So I advise you not to waste any more time."
Leo exhaled through his nose and followed, his steps slow, steady, and filled with quiet contempt, as the hangar doors behind him slowly began to close.
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC395: The Sit-Down
Chapter 395: The Sit-Down
(Somewhere within the mountainous interior of Planet Tithia)
After disembarking the ship, Leo was wordlessly escorted away, flanked on either side by unfamiliar guards whose eyes betrayed a strange blend of weariness and reverence.
Their expressions hovered somewhere between cautious respect and quiet fear, as if unsure whether to salute him or arrest him.
The Twelfth Elder walked just ahead, offering no explanation and no words, his silence as deliberate as it was oppressive.
Their route wound through multiple checkpoints, each more fortified than the last, with layers of magical wards, sentry constructs, and elite personnel standing watch, as eventually, they boarded a hovercraft that veered off the main path and entered a concealed passage carved between the mountains.
It was only then that Leo began to grasp the gravity of where they were going, for the terrain they travelled through now became eerily silent.
After every couple dozen trees that they passed Leo spotted a new surveillance artifact mounted on a metal pole, as well as the presence of increased numbers of human sentries.
'I'm probably going to meet someone very important,' Leo deduced, as the layers of security had made it clear to him that no-one passed this area unless they were supposed to.
Eventually, he found himself arriving at a small cottage built in the lowest point of a scenic valley that was surrounded on all four sides by tall mountain peaks, in what had to be the ultimate spot for a recluse to live his life.
The structure itself was simple, it looked like a peaceful retreat from the outside that was made from white stone and natural cement, with quiet waterfalls flowing nearby.
However, although it seemed like a place housing a quiet sage who would be immensely powerful, Leo felt underwhelmed when he finally came face to face with the owner of the house who was a luxuriously dressed old man barely a bit more powerful than the Twelfth Elder at the Transcendent Tier.
"Greetings, First Elder..." The Twelfth Elder said, as he removed his ceremonial mask and revealed the sharp, calculating eyes behind it.
The other man, an elder with gray eyebrows and a broad, tranquil face, nodded in response.
His posture was upright, dignified, and completely relaxed, as if Leo's arrival did not excite or faze him at all.
"Greetings Lord Twelfth, you're right on time," He replied with a smile, as he gestured for the two to follow him to the back garden, where the three of them took a seat around a small teakwood table that housed a very expensive tea set.
The duo said nothing at first.
Not to each other. Not to him.
Instead, they exchanged a few looks and small nods, silently communicating as they poured hot water, adjusted the leaves, and gently stirred the cups.
Their movements were slow, methodical, and precise, reflecting years of practiced coordination, as they moved like old generals who had fought a hundred wars together.
Leo sat stiffly, watching them from across the table, his expression blank but his patience fading.
He didn't want tea.
He wanted to be done with this bullshit meeting as fast as humanly possible and be on his way to meet his family, but the two pricks were testing his patience with their slow movements and long silence.
"Done..." The old man eventually said, as he passed Leo a cup of freshly prepared tea with a calm, polite smile.
"Sorry for the wait," the man said softly, his voice unhurried and composed. "Please enjoy my hospitality."
Leo accepted it, his fingers curling around the cup.
He didn't take a sip, but he didn't refuse it either.
"We're pleased to have you here, Leo," the first elder continued, as he took his own cup of tea in his hands and gently inhaled the aroma.
"I apologise for insisting that you come and meet me first before meeting your family, but trust me when I say that I hope you won't hold it against me, for it will be best for both of us if we put this behind us.
Going forward, we must learn to function not as adversaries but as allies, joined at the hip, so to speak, so it's best for us to put such hostilities behind us as fast as we can."
He paused and nodded once to the Twelfth Elder, who cleared his throat and continued from there.
"I'm sure you have your doubts. Your questions. And plenty of frustration," the Twelfth Elder said with a practiced tone. "We won't pretend otherwise. But we've invited you here so we can address those feelings openly. Because, like it or not, from this moment on, our futures are linked far more deeply than you may realize."
He leaned slightly forward.
"As you've likely been told, the bloodline you carry is not ordinary. In this universe, talent is impossible to improve after birth. It is inherited, shaped by ancestry, and refined through training."
"I could father a million children and not one might surpass the Monarch tier. But your lineage, your inheritance, is different. You are a direct descendant of the Timeless Assassin."
Leo didn't react outwardly, but his silence was no longer passive, as he began to listen intently.
"Within the current generation of our Cult," the Twelfth Elder continued, "there are only a handful of individuals who share that bloodline..... seven to be exact.
Lord Soron and his two children.
An orphan boy named Aegon Veyr.
Your father. Your brother. And you."
He paused and let the implications settle.
"Lord Soron's children, though promising, lack the capacity to reach the pinnacle. Your father and brother, we believe their potential has already hit its ceiling. Which means there are only two individuals truly qualified to be named Dragon: Aegon Veyr and you." The Twelfth Elder explained, as the first elder, who had remained silent during this explanation, finally spoke again, this time with a sharpness in his voice.
"Veyr is a genius. A terrifying one. But he has no morality. No empathy. He sees the Cult's people as pieces to be moved, tools to be used and we cannot entrust the Cult's future to someone like that." The First Elder said, as he locked eyes with Leo and stared into him with an intense gaze.
"Aegon's bad attitude is the reason behind why we are here today, because instead of him, we want YOU to be the next Dragon."
The First Elder said, as he let those words sink in for a while.
"We understand that you are not motivated by glory or by loyalty," The Twelfth Elder picked back up.
"So let me speak your language."
He leaned closer across the table, his voice growing firm.
"The Dragon is the Cult's ultimate warrior. The hope of its people."
"There are twelve secret techniques within the Cult of Ascension. Each one mastered and preserved by one Elder, who passes that technique down to only their successor, the cult's next patriarch, or the Dragon.
With only the Patriarch or the Dragon, getting the opportunity to learn all twelve..." The Twelfth Elder explained, as Leo formed a mental image in his mind.
"Each technique is like a star in a constellation..... Individually powerful, but absolute together!" He said as he clasped his hands together.
"If you are named Dragon, you will inherit them. You will be trained in all twelve, and you will become the ultimate warrior that is unrivaled at the same tier.
You will become an assassin unlike no other, and you will have capabilities that far surpass even the most genius warriors of the righteous faction!"
Leo's brow furrowed slightly, but his interest was no longer hidden. The shift in his gaze was subtle, but both elders noticed it.
Personal strength mattered to him, as it was the one of the things that he actively strived for in life.
"We know power is your priority," the First Elder said, almost gently. "And if you join us, truly join us, we will help you become the strongest being in the universe, that much I promise."
"And that's only part of it," the Twelfth Elder added, smoothly stepping back in. "Cooperate with us, and your family will be treated like royalty. They will be protected, cherished and given resources beyond imagination.
Their safety and their status within the Cult will be unparalleled."
"As long as the Dragon walks among us, his family will be considered sacred."
The two of them let the words sit there for a moment, heavy in the air.
"We know from Mu Fan's assessment of you that there are only two things you care about in this universe, which are personal strength and family....."
".... And we are offering you a chance to get the best for both," the First Elder finished, his voice calm but unwavering. "All we ask for in return is for you to beat Veyr and become the next Dragon at any cost necessary...."
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC396: Cross Roads
Chapter 396: Cross Roads
Leo listened to everything the elders had to say with a sharp, calculating gaze, his fingers absently curled around the warm porcelain of his tea cup.
He made a genuine effort to keep an open mind and assess their offers pragmatically, reminding himself that his family's safety was on the line and that raw power often came bundled with compromise. But that didn't mean he was naïve enough to buy into everything they were saying.
Not even close.
He could smell their veiled intentions from a mile away.
They wanted him to become the next Dragon of the Cult. That much was clear.
But what wasn't clear, what reeked of omission, was the real reason behind why they were pushing so hard for it to be him and not this so-called Veyr to become Dragon, as Leo refused to believe their reasoning was as noble or simple as "Veyr is unsuitable."
That kind of explanation didn't hold up under scrutiny.
If Veyr was truly unfit, then why was there still a competition? Why allow him to remain a contender at all?
If he was as flawed as they claimed, the Elders Council should have disqualified him outright, and the very fact that Veyr remained in the running told Leo everything he needed to know.
There was more to this story than what the elders were willing to say.
Leo's eyes flicked from one elder to the other, and finally, he leaned back slightly in his chair and spoke.
"So... let me get this straight," he began, taking a slow sip of the fragrant tea, letting the taste linger before setting the cup back on the table. His tone was calm, almost amused, but the steel in his voice was unmistakable.
"I agree to become your Dragon, and in return, you give me everything you just promised. Power, techniques, protection for my family... all of that. But what exactly do I have to do?"
His gaze shifted deliberately between them.
"What does a Dragon actually do on a day-to-day basis? Am I supposed to be some kind of priest, giving sermons and blessing crops? Or am I a warrior for show who goes around putting on exhibitions to boost morale?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"What exactly is it that you expect from me?"
The question, simple though it was, landed like a hammer, making both elders visibly stiffen.
Their previously calm expressions shifted just enough to betray the fact that they had been hoping he wouldn't ask that so directly.
They looked down into their teacups at the same time, as though stalling for the right words. The silence lingered just long enough to feel awkward, until the Twelfth Elder finally spoke, his voice quieter than before.
"The Dragon does whatever the Elders Council requires the Dragon to do," he began cautiously. "That may include public appearances, diplomatic speeches, critical missions into righteous faction territories, and occasionally, leading raids to capture or destabilize hostile planets."
He paused briefly, then continued.
"The exact nature of your tasks will vary. There is no fixed schedule, but you can expect to be assigned to active field missions for somewhere between fifty to a hundred days a year and spend another two hundred or so training under various elders and specialists."
Leo narrowed his eyes. He heard the deliberate vagueness in that answer. The Twelfth Elder was clearly trying to soften the edges of a brutal reality.
"So what you're really saying," Leo replied, his voice cool and edged with mock politeness, "is that I'll be your glorified puppet who is sent on suicide missions when it suits you..... Told to smile and wave for the masses regardless of whether I want to. And be pretty much bound to a life of dancing to the Elder Council's whims..... Am I right?"
The First Elder chuckled, deep and unbothered.
"That's a crude way of putting it," he said, "but yes. That's more or less what the role entails."
His expression remained composed, though there was a flicker of admiration in his eyes, perhaps for Leo's clarity or for his unwillingness to be duped.
"You'll be the face of the Cult. Our symbol. Our sword and shield. You'll be required to act with dignity in public, tact in private, and bear the hopes of billions upon your back. It is a heavy life, yes. A dangerous one. But it has its rewards as well."
Leo exhaled slowly through his nose and gave a humorless smile.
At least the first elder was being somewhat honest now, as oddly, that honesty made him feel slightly more at ease.
He preferred this harsh truth, over false promises any day.
"And I'm guessing the reason you want me to be Dragon," Leo said, locking eyes with the First Elder, "is because you hold no real influence over Aegon Veyr?"
The First Elder didn't blink. He nodded.
"Correct. Veyr is the golden boy of the rival faction within the Elders Council. If he wins, it will severely damage the standing and political influence of both myself and the Twelfth Elder, which is why, that is a future we're determined to prevent, whatever the cost."
The elder's tone had shifted. His mask of politeness had dropped just slightly, revealing a shrewdness and hunger beneath that made Leo instinctively wary.
The fake polite smile was gone, and in its place were sharp, calculating eyes.
Leo said nothing for a long moment. He simply stared back.
So that was it.
They didn't want a Dragon.
They wanted their Dragon.
One they could rely on to further their influence in the council.
One they could parade as their asset.
He wasn't a candidate.
He was a counterweight.
And Veyr... Veyr wasn't just some reckless genius with bad morals. He was the figurehead of the opposite side in this cold war.
Leo understood now.
This wasn't just politics.
It was a power struggle wrapped in tradition and bloodlines.
And he had just been tossed into the very heart of it.
"Interesting....Very, Very interesting," Leo said at last, as he saw the Golden Aura of Fate burst out of the First Elder at this moment, the thick aura enveloping them both.
'Seems like I'm at a crossroads yet again,'
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC397: Lifeline
Chapter 397: Lifeline
By now, Leo understood all too well that the Golden Aura of Fate was a double-edged sword.
It did not reward cowardice, nor did it forgive recklessness, and making a choice when it appeared could permanently alter the trajectory of his life.
On one hand, he didn't particularly like the Evil Cult, nor the two elders seated before him, cloaked in their masks of civility and half-truths.
But on the other hand, he was no longer the naive, hot-headed fool who had once arrived on Terra Nova from Earth, burning with the illusion that he could conquer the universe alone without ever facing setbacks.
That version of himself was long gone, buried under years of war, failure, heartbreak, and quiet realization.
He had matured over time, grown sharper, colder, and more calculated in how he weighed risk against reward.
No longer did he see himself as some unbeatable prodigy fated to walk unchallenged beneath the heavens, because in the grand scheme of things, he knew the truth.
He was just a Grandmaster-tier warrior, one among hundreds of billions scattered across the cosmos, and no matter how talented or fast he advanced, he remained far from invincible and even farther from self-sufficient.
Starting his own faction and being self-reliant was a fantasy for when he had the power to be independent, but he wasn't there yet....
And he understood that all too well.
'The smartest course of action for now is to grow stronger using the Cult's vast resources, even if it means playing the part of their loyal pawn for a little while.
Of course, that doesn't mean I'll stay under their thumb forever. It's only wise to begin planning for independence now, so that when the time comes, I'll have my own exit route ready if things go south.
But with Luke still injured and my own strength not yet enough to protect an entire faction from the monsters lurking out there, I'd be a fool to reject the elders outright.' Leo thought, as he calmly assessed the truth behind his current situation.
His ego, ever restless and aggressive, screamed for him to stand up right now, insult the old bastards to their faces, and walk away with his pride intact.
But pride, Leo reminded himself, was a luxury best afforded by those who had the power to back it.
And right now, he did not.
"At this point, I need clarity," Leo said calmly, narrowing his eyes. "When you say I have to compete with Aegon Veyr for the title of Dragon, what exactly do you mean by that?"
His question earned a visible grimace from the Twelfth Elder, who instinctively pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration before responding.
"Well... that..." the elder began, clearly trying to suppress the irritation bubbling beneath the surface, "that's a headache you were never supposed to deal with in the first place.
We had an arrangement that would've guaranteed your ascension to the Dragon title with unanimous backing from the Elders Council, as long as we recovered Noah's scroll. But the fools I sent to retrieve it failed spectacularly, even after you gave them direct access to the vault."
The elder's voice wavered slightly with shame as Leo blinked in confusion.
"Failed? What happened? Did the portal not function properly?" Leo asked, brow raised in disbelief.
"No," the Twelfth Elder admitted, sighing deeply. "The portal worked perfectly. And the stupid team brought back every single treasure from that vault... except the scroll."
There was a beat of silence as Leo simply stared at him.
Then his eye twitched.
'The fuck?'
It took a few seconds for that fact to settle in, as his mind involuntarily drifted back to the all the hardships and near impossible odds he had to overcome just to gain access to that vault and somehow place the frame in there, only for the Cult to screw up the golden opportunity he provided them, in what was supposed to be one of the most straightforward and easiest missions ever.
"Well... damn," he muttered at last, letting out a dry, self-deprecating chuckle.
"You people managed to abduct Darnell from an arena crawling with elite security personnel and his own father watching from the stands, but you could not retrieve a simple scroll from an unguarded vault?" he asked incredulously, his voice tinged with sarcasm and amusement.
The question landed hard, making both elders flinch ever so slightly, as shame returned to their faces like a shadow creeping back under the sun.
The abduction was the Fourth Elder's mission, and he had executed it perfectly, while the two of them could not even coordinate a simple heist.
"Well, we can't change what has already come to pass," the First Elder interjected firmly, cutting the conversation short before it could spiral further. "What matters now is figuring out a way to convince the Council to name you Dragon, even without the scroll."
His words were laced with urgency, and as they left his lips, the Golden Aura flared in Leo's vision once more, almost blinding in its brilliance as it settled like a cloudy fog around the three of them.
This was it.
A fork in the road. A life-altering choice that would shape everything moving forward.
'What do I do?' Leo asked himself, heart thudding once as he stared at the shimmering golden mist surrounding the table. 'Do I tell them I memorized the scroll's contents? That I might be able to self-learn the technique once I reach a higher tier and gain access to Divine Essence?'
'Or do I hold onto it? Let the fact that I can self-learn it remain a secret weapon? An ace card that I can leverage later if the Cult ever betrays me or threatens my family?'
It wasn't an easy call to make.
Revealing the secret now meant giving up one of his rare advantages. Yet, if the mission had succeeded as originally planned, the scroll would've been in their possession already, rendering that card unplayable anyway.
Maybe, just maybe, this was never a card he was meant to hold onto in the first place.
After a long pause, Leo exhaled and made his decision.
"I don't actually need the scroll," he said, his voice steady and confident. "I memorized its contents while I was inside the vault. The technique requires mastery of both mana and Divine Essence to activate, so I can't use it just yet, but once I advance to a high enough tier, I should be able to."
The moment he finished speaking, he noticed the change instantly.
A spark lit up in both elders' eyes like twin lanterns flickering to life. The First Elder shot up from his seat, practically glowing with relief and excitement as he reached out and clasped Leo's hands.
"What did you say? You memorized the scroll? Are you absolutely certain you can recreate the technique from memory?" he asked, his voice practically trembling with hope.
Leo nodded.
"I am."
The First Elder's grip tightened slightly, as if anchoring himself to the promise of that answer. Then, with a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips, he looked skyward, gazing up at the bright blue expanse above them as though it finally held answers instead of questions.
As though the heavens themselves had just handed him a lifeline.
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC398: What It Means To Be Dragon?
Chapter 398: What It Means To Be Dragon?
(30 Minutes Later, The Same Hidden Retreat)
Roughly half an hour after Leo had revealed that he had already memorized the contents of the lost scroll, the two elders finally decided to excuse him, sending him on his way back to the Hangar Bay area, under the guise that his role here was done.
However, in truth, they simply needed some privacy to candidly talk about future strategy without the boy's piercing eyes weighing on their words.
Hence, with Leo gone, the room, once tense with underlying political undertones, now settled into a soft stillness as the First Elder reached for a fresh pouch of tea leaves and began preparing a new batch with deliberate, steady hands.
"So, what do you think about the boy?" the Twelfth Elder asked, breaking the silence as he leaned back slightly, arms crossed, his tone casual, though there was a faint edge of concern beneath it.
The First Elder did not answer immediately. Instead, he stirred the pot gently, watching the swirling steam rise before finally speaking, his voice calm and reflective.
"I think the boy walks a fine line between passion and restraint. He gives off the illusion of detachment, but every so often, you can see his expression crack... just for a fraction of a second.
So I think, behind those calm responses and cold stares, he actually burns.
There's fire in him and he's far more passionate than he lets on."
He paused for a moment, pouring the tea with a smooth hand before continuing.
"That said, he's measured. Thoughtful. He never reacts before calculating the consequences, and even when the board is stacked against him, he doesn't lose the will to continue fighting.
In my eyes, that alone sets him apart from most of the young fools who don't know how high Mount Tai is."
He placed a cup before the Twelfth Elder, then sat down across from him with his own.
"Of course, he won't be easy to control. He's not the kind to nod blindly and follow orders. He'll question everything. Push back on the little details. Argue over methods, over meaning. If we think we can keep him in line like any of our pawns, we'll be disappointed."
The First Elder sipped slowly, then lowered his cup.
"But even with that rebellious streak, he's still a good candidate to become Dragon. Perhaps even the best one we've had in decades. He has the quick wit the role demands, but also the arrogance that makes people rally behind him. That blend of intelligence and pride is rare, and it's what can make others believe in his strength."
His tone darkened slightly.
"Still, let's not kid ourselves. We only have him under our thumb because we control his family. That is our leash. And the day we lose it... is the day he stops listening. So we must remain careful not to overplay that hand."
There was a pause, long and thoughtful, as the statement lingered in the air like a stern warning.
"I agree. I'll be careful," the Twelfth Elder said after a while, his fingers wrapped around the warm ceramic as he took a careful sip. "I won't rely on the family card unless I absolutely have to. If we push too hard, he'll start planning around it. And if he starts planning around it... we'll have already lost him."
Silence returned for a few seconds, broken only by the faint trickling of a nearby stream outside the retreat walls.
"What about the upcoming annual meeting on Planet FrostBurn?" the Twelfth Elder asked, shifting topics with a note of tension in his voice. "Do you have a strategy in mind for how you're going to play this?"
The First Elder looked upward once more, eyes drifting toward the open skylight above as a soft breeze rustled the leaves outside.
His expression was relaxed, as a rare, almost amused smile appeared on his lips.
"Yes, I already know how to play it."
He leaned forward slightly, his tone growing more deliberate.
"If the boy truly has the scroll memorized, then I can make a strong case for him to be named Dragon despite the physical artifact being missing. I'll paint it as divine providence, the boy's prodigious mind making up for our tactical failures."
He paused again, swirling the last of his tea before taking another sip.
"But to make that speech land properly... I may need to admonish you in public," he said with a glance toward his counterpart, his words neither cruel nor mocking, but pragmatic.
The Twelfth Elder's face tightened, frown lines appearing at the edge of his eyes. Being publicly scolded in the Council Chamber was never pleasant, and certainly not good for appearances, but he knew it was necessary.
Pride had to take a back seat when political influence was at play, and hence he nodded without protest.
"If that's what it takes, I'll bear it."
The First Elder leaned back, satisfied.
"Don't worry. Even if I can't get Skyshard appointed as Dragon in this upcoming session, I'll ensure Veyr isn't either. The last thing we can afford is allowing the Fourth Elder's faction to gain momentum. As long as we delay that outcome, we stay alive in this race."
He placed his now-empty cup gently on the wooden table, the sound crisp in the quiet retreat.
Then he closed his eyes, took a slow, deep breath, and smiled once more, looking calm, calculating, and ready.
The game had begun. And for now, the board still favored them because of Leo's stroke of genius to memorize the scroll when he had the chance.
—--------
(Meanwhile, Leo)
After his brief meeting with the First Elder concluded, Leo was promptly escorted back to the Hangar Bay Area, where he was placed on the first available flight bound for Planet Vorthas.
This time, he flew aboard a small private carrier designed to accommodate a single pilot and no more than seven passengers.
Sharing the space with him apart from the pilot were a security guard assigned for his protection and a lone civilian who happened to be traveling to Vorthas as well.
There were only four of them onboard the aircraft, and with the scheduled flight time being less than two hours, Leo didn't mind the limited legroom or confined interior.
He simply leaned back, closed his eyes, and waited patiently for the flight to arrive at its destination.
*Tap*
*Tap*
A few minutes into the flight, Leo felt someone gently poking him with a stick.
He stirred, eyes blinking open in mild confusion, and turned to look behind him, only to find the elderly man seated in the row behind, the sole civilian on the craft, peering at him with a curious gleam in his eye.
"Yes?" Leo asked, voice neutral but not unkind.
The old man, visibly trembling with age, opened his mouth to respond, but first had to wipe away the bit of spittle gathering near his lips, as he tried his best to speak clearly.
"Young man... has anyone ever told you that you bear a striking resemblance to Dragon Kevin?" the man asked with a kind smile, already reaching into his coat pocket. A moment later, he pulled out a faded, worn leather wallet, its edges fraying from decades of use.
"I met Dragon Kevin when I was just seven years old... and I even kept a photo to commemorate the day. Seeing you now brought that memory rushing back," the man continued warmly, extending the wallet toward Leo.
Inside was a photograph—yellowed with time—showing a young version of the old man standing proudly beside a figure who bore an uncanny resemblance to Leo's father, Jacob.
In fact, the man in the picture looked about 80% similar to Jacob and, by extension, to Leo himself, which even made Leo take a double glance just to be sure.
'Oh yeah, he does look like me...' Leo thought, as if he superimposed his own face over the photo, and adopted the same hairstyle and beard cut, he would definitely look like a brother or a relative of the man.
"That's very cool," Leo said sincerely, offering a polite smile. "Must've been an amazing experience to meet the Dragon."
He gently handed the wallet back, but instead of tucking it away, the old man clutched it to his chest with trembling hands, his eyes misting with emotion.
"I couldn't serve Dragon Kevin... I couldn't serve Dragon Noah... my life amounted to nothing in the end," the old man said, his voice cracking. "The only wish I have left is to see a new Dragon named before I pass on... but the Elders Council hasn't found a worthy candidate in decades."
The grief in his tone was so raw, so genuine, that it caught Leo slightly off-guard.
For the first time in a long while, he felt a pang in his heart, as he felt a quiet, unexpected pinch of empathy.
"Hang on tight, old man," Leo said with a half-smile, his tone lighter as he tried to lift the mood. "The future Dragon might still need your services."
The man chuckled at that, visibly brightening.
"If the Dragon calls for me, I'll be there. These old bones still have enough strength left to take on a few righteous faction bastards! You better believe it!" he said, his spirit rising as his voice grew stronger.
Leo gave him a respectful nod, then turned forward once again, his eyes settling on the empty craft wall ahead.
'The Dragon... What does that title really mean to these people? For this old man to carry such deep emotion for it, even after all these years?'
That question lingered in his mind, echoing softly as he sat in silence.
Between this brief encounter and the reverent treatment he had received aboard the Cult ship, Leo couldn't help but wonder—
What did it truly mean to be the Dragon?
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC399: Emotional Reunion(1)
Chapter 399: Emotional Reunion(1)
While Leo made his way to Planet Vorthas, his competitor for the Dragon title, Aegon Veyr, completed the final steps of his preparation to break through to the Transcendent Tier.
"No matter how hard I train, my body refuses to grow any stronger. It seems like I've hit my limits," Veyr muttered to himself, feeling the unmistakable presence of a wall he could not breach.
No matter the intensity of his training, his body simply would not improve any further, for it had already reached the peak of Grandmaster potential with further training yielding no results.
"Inform the Fourth Elder that I'm ready for the breakthrough. Tell him to freshly prepare a high-quality Transcendent Grade breakthrough potion for me. I'll take it the day after tomorrow," Veyr instructed calmly, his tone demanding that there be no unexpected delays, as his assistant bowed deeply and immediately rushed out to deliver the message without hesitation.
With the annual Elder's Council meeting on planet FrostBurn less than fourteen days away now, the announcement that Veyr was finally ready to ascend had long been anticipated by the Fourth Elder, who was sure to be elated at receiving confirmation.
—-----------
(Meanwhile on Planet Vorthas, Leo's POV)
Upon landing on Planet Vorthas, Leo instinctively searched for his family members around the hangar bay area, scanning every corner and shadow in the hopes of catching a familiar face, however, he was once again left disappointed when he found no one waiting to receive him.
'No worries, I guess I'll see them soon enough...' he thought, brushing the disappointment aside, as the guard who had boarded the flight with him back on Planet Tithia wordlessly motioned toward yet another transport hovercraft meant to bring him swiftly to his new residence.
The two of them flew through a sprawling, densely populated city that, for a moment, reminded Leo of home back on Earth if it had been brighter, greener, and far more beautiful, as the sleek skyline, clean air, and golden sunlight bathed the city structures in warmth.
Eventually, the hovercraft slowed before pulling to a stop in front of an old estate, the same one that Leo had glimpsed in the communication crystal just a few days prior.
Now, seeing it in person, the structure loomed even larger and carried an undeniable aura of age and authority, with its vintage architecture standing in stark contrast to the modern, urban households surrounding it.
Unlike the clean-cut and minimalistic manors nearby, this one had trimmed hedges, thick creeping vines, and stone columns that made up its boundary walls, giving it a sense of timelessness that seemed to defy the passing years, as despite the surrounding houses being much more modern, none of them had the same aesthetic beauty.
*Step*
As Leo stepped down from the hovercraft, the guard beside him tapped his wrist-mounted communicator and spoke a quick confirmation code.
Within seconds, the towering iron gates groaned to life, swinging open to reveal a long stone pathway flanked by ancient trees and an inner courtyard that stretched deep into the estate grounds.
Two more layers of security checks followed.
First came the biometric scanner embedded in the pathway tiles, which read his mana signature and confirmed his identity.
Then came a brief yet meticulous scan by an automated turret array stationed beyond the main corridor, as their lenses flickered with red light before dimming once more, signaling acceptance.
As only after passing the second and final check did the inner doors part with a hiss, allowing Leo to step through.
'They're thorough about my family's security. That's good,' Leo thought, nodding to himself as he silently approved of the security protocols.
However, his gaze soon narrowed when he spotted uniformed soldiers patrolling the garden pathways, their rigid steps and stern expressions making the estate feel more like a restricted military compound than a personal residence.
'I'll ask them to stay concealed in the future,' he noted internally, as he walked swiftly toward the front porch of the mansion, his fingers brushing along the aged wooden railing, rough with time yet still sturdy, until he looked up... and forgot how to breathe.
Seated there, on the old swing beneath the porch awning, was Elena, his mother.
Her head was bowed, her fingers nervously fidgeting in her lap, her entire posture radiating unease, as though she were holding herself still to prevent shattering.
But the moment she looked up and saw him standing there, everything changed.
Her eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat, and her hands shot up to cover her trembling mouth, as disbelief and emotion poured from her in equal measure.
"Leo...?"
Her voice was barely a whisper, more breath than sound, yet it sliced through the quiet like lightning.
By the time Leo heard her, she was already on her feet, rushing down the porch steps with stumbling, frantic movements, her grace forgotten, her pride abandoned as her only thought seemed to be to desperately reach her son.
Leo didn't move. He just stood there, frozen like a statue, afraid that if he reached out or blinked too fast, the moment would vanish like a dream too perfect to be real.
Then she was in his arms.
She crashed into him with the full weight of her motherly love and longing, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso as if afraid he might slip away again if she let go.
*Sob*
*Sob*
Her sobs were raw, her tears warm as they soaked into his robes, as it was only when he felt her cry that he tightened his embrace around her, as he pulled her closer and felt her pounding heartbeat pulse against his.
A strange warmth burst from within him, swelling in his chest before rising outward as a soft pink aura flowed from his body like a quiet mist, swirling gently until it encircled both mother and son, creating a shimmering cocoon of pink light in the glowing afternoon sun.
For a moment, nothing else existed.
No assassins, no missions, no Cult orders, no ambition, no hatred, only the feeling of being loved and protected in a way he had almost forgotten.
For only in his mother's embrace, did he feel truly whole and safe.
For him, there was no love purer in this universe than that of his mother, as for all the power he had acquired and for all the strength he carried in his limbs, in her arms, he still felt like a child all over again, that was vulnerable, small, and strangely comforted.
Over the past few years, he had endured agony that would have shattered other men.
He had walked through impossible trials, stood over the corpses of enemies, betrayed and been betrayed, killed and nearly been killed.
But right now, he was simply her boy.
His throat tightened, his breathing hitched, and despite all his efforts to stay composed, his voice cracked when he finally managed to say it, softly, brokenly, but with more sincerity than anything else he'd spoken in recent memory.
"Mother..."
Elena looked up at him through her tears, her hands rising to cup his face with the same gentleness she had shown him when he was a child, brushing her thumbs across his cheeks with such tenderness it made his heart ache.
"You're home, my baby boy... you're finally home," she whispered in a cracked voice of her own, her lips trembling even as she smiled.
And for the first time in months, Leo let tears gather at the corner of his eyes, tears of joy, of longing fulfilled, of an ache soothed.
As through the watery blur of his vision, he saw the aura around them shift, a soft mix of pink and blue twining together like two flavours of cotton candy, as despite the emotional occasion, he couldn't help but chuckle when he spotted the oddity.
Contact - ToS
Timeless AssassinC400: Emotional Reunion (2)
Chapter 400: Emotional Reunion (2)
"How have you been? Are you okay? Do you have any limbs missing?" Elena asked breathlessly after hugging Leo for a few seconds, her hands moving frantically over his body in search of any injuries, only letting out a long, shaky sigh of relief once she confirmed that he was indeed whole.
"I'm fine. I'm taller and stronger than I've ever been," Leo replied with a soft smile, stiffening his muscles slightly to demonstrate the progress he had made, a subtle invitation for her to notice how much he had grown.
However, his mother heard none of it.
"Taller and stronger my foot," she scolded, her brow creasing in concern. "Look at how skinny you look. There's not an ounce of fat on those muscles, and your skin is so thin and veiny... did you not eat properly these past few years?" she asked in a voice full of worry, as if his physical appearance alone confirmed her worst fears.
*Chuckle*
Faced with her irrational maternal concerns, Leo could do nothing but chuckle quietly to himself, as he did not dignify her concerns with a response.
"Leo!"
A sudden male voice cut through the emotional reunion, causing both mother and son to turn as Jacob stepped out of the house. He had heard Elena's sobbing and came to check what was wrong, only to be stunned into a pause by the sight of Leo standing there.
"Fa..., Jacob–" Leo began, instinctively starting to call him father, only to catch himself and replace the word with Jacob at the last second.
"Jacob, look! Our boy is home!" Elena exclaimed joyfully, brushing away a fresh tear from her cheek as she turned to beam at her husband with a radiant smile.
"Good..." Jacob said softly, his voice barely above a whisper, as he quickly swiped his nose and looked away.
It was clear he was trying to hide the emotions building behind his eyes, as although every part of him ached to rush forward and embrace his wife and child, he restrained himself, knowing full well that Leo's feelings toward him had been complicated, strained by years of estrangement.
Despite his physical restraint, Jacob's aura betrayed everything he was feeling. A soft pink hue floated around him, unbidden, telling Leo all he needed to know about how the man truly felt inside.
Jacob had left their family back on Earth to serve in the military, and Leo had never fully forgiven him for that choice.
Yet, in the years that followed, Jacob had tried—truly tried—to make amends, slowly chipping away at the wall Leo had built between them. And now, seeing the honesty and love radiating from the man's aura, Leo finally exhaled a deep breath and decided, at long last, to let the old grudge go.
"What happened to your eye? Father?" Leo asked, his voice steady and deeper now, his composure returning as he addressed Jacob with a title that hadn't passed his lips in nearly two decades.
Jacob's eyes widened slightly—not because of the question about his eye, but because of the word 'Father'. It was a title he had not been called since Leo was just three years old.
"I—I, th..." Jacob started, but stumbled over his words, his voice cracking as a small tear welled up in the corner of his eye.
At fifty-seven years old, he no longer possessed the emotional control he once had in his youth. And while he wished desperately to hold it together, something about being called 'Father' again pierced straight through his composure.
That one word was enough. It was confirmation that, after all these years, Leo had finally decided to forgive him. That his son once again saw him as part of the family.
It was a dream Jacob had once feared might never come true, but miraculously, it came true today.
"Aww, come on! Do you need a special invite to come hug him? Get over here!" Elena scolded playfully, her voice tearful and firm at once as she reached for Jacob's wrist and tugged him down the porch steps.
With misted eyes and trembling hands, Jacob obeyed, stepping into the embrace that Elena initiated, as the two of them wrapped their arms around Leo together.
Leo, for his part, placed his arm only around Elena. He didn't return Jacob's gesture of affection, but he also didn't push him away.
For now, Leo had accepted the man back into the family fold, but that did not mean they were back on affectionate terms just yet.
That would take more time.
"My eye is going to be fine," Jacob said after pulling away slightly, answering the question Leo had posed earlier.
"I lost it in battle, but they're going to find a replacement soon. They've promised me a new one in about thirty days, and if not a living tissue eye, then they'll give me a cybernetic one. Either way, I'm going to be fine."
"Very well," Leo acknowledged, giving him a curt nod, his tone clipped but civil, as with that, he turned and began ascending the porch steps, intending to enter the house and make his way to meet Luke.
However, he was stopped dead in his tracks almost as soon as he entered, as not even two steps inside the house, Leo was met with the sight of a small figure prostrating itself on the floor.
"This lowly creature greets Lord Father..." came a familiar voice from the ground. "It has endured a gruelling two years of separation and has grown stronger to the Transcendent Tier so as not to disappoint the Lord Father's expectations. However, these two years of Lord Father's absence have been the most difficult of its existence."
Leo chuckled, having almost forgotten about how formally the little frog usually addressed him.
"Living without Lord Father's wisdom has proven to be extremely challenging," Dumpy continued, "as lowly mongrels kept trying to harvest my poison from me. Needless to say, they never succeeded. For I only spit poison on Lord Father's command.
However, my refusal did put me in much trouble. I was turned into a combat frog, forced into arena battles for the entertainment of strangers."
He paused, lifting his head slightly to look up at Leo's face, his voice growing prouder.
"And I am proud to report that after two years, three hundred and four battles, and countless dead opponents, this lowly creature named Dumpy is still undefeated!"
"Lord Father, if you believe I am worthy enough to return to your side, and if you feel I have not dishonored your name in your absence, please allow me to hop back onto your shoulder where I belong.
For I have longed for this moment for a very, very long time," Dumpy said, his tone reverent and full of hopeful anticipation.
Leo smiled, a quiet warmth stirring in his chest as he gave a small nod.
"You have done well. You have not disappointed me. You may return to your designated spot on my shoulder, my genius pet," Leo said calmly, as Dumpy beamed with joy.
*Ribbit–*
With a proud little croak, Dumpy leapt off the ground and landed smoothly on Leo's shoulder, his pride practically radiating from his tiny frame as he reclaimed his rightful place beside his master.
Contact - ToS