(Leo's apartment, the outer housing ring, Twin Fang Planet)
Leo sat cross-legged at the center of his apartment, the lights dimmed and the room silent, save for the gentle rhythmic beating of his heart in his chest.
The only object before him was a thick, leather-bound meditation manual wrapped in layers of mana-sealed parchment, a copied replica of the legendary meditation guide known as the [Sevenfold Revelation Codex].
He had acquired it days ago. And yet, until now, he had delayed binding with it.
Whether due to instinct, uncertainty, or just the sheer weight of knowing the difficulty of mastering this manual, Leo had procrastinated starting on this path for a while, however, he couldn't delay it anymore.
His body had now stabilized at the Grandmaster realm and it was about time he started making his way towards becoming a Transcendent tier warrior.
Hence, with a quiet exhale, Leo brought his thumb to the edge of a dagger and let blood bead at its tip.
He then pressed it firmly onto the sigil etched into the manual's cover.
*Drip*
The moment the blood touched the surface, the manual responded.
A surge of pressure pulsed outward as the book lifted into the air on its own, its pages fluttering open as if caught in a phantom breeze.
A whirlpool of energy swirled around the room, as threads of mana began linking the manual to Leo's body, latching onto his mana pool like roots drinking from a buried spring.
And then—
The text began to appear.
Elegant script shimmered into existence on the first page, written in a firm, graceful hand that burned golden, as if freshly inked with light.
"To those who dare learn this codex," the words began. "I am Kaelith, a man who was once mortal, but is now divine."
"I created this manual not to show you young warriors how to improve your bodies, nor did I create it to help you expand your mana pool, but rather made it so that you can truly learn how to 'see' in this accursed universe.
The universe hides nothing from those who know how to ask the right questions and to master this manual you must do the same.
I climbed the ladder of power and glimpsed the true intent behind people's actions only after I became a Demi-God, but I now offer this opportunity to you as mortals, and if you do manage to walk this path with discipline, perhaps you can go further than even me."
"This is the Sevenfold Revelation Codex. It is my gift to all those who idolize me and wish to become like me. However, I must warn you, this method cannot be mastered in solitude.
Its secrets cannot be deciphered in the dark.
And only by opening your eyes and observing the universe can you learn what it truly wishes to show you—"
Leo narrowed his eyes slightly as the next set of instructions began forming beneath the preface.
---
"Begin by drawing upon your own mana pool. Do not circulate it through your entire body. Instead, guide it gently toward your eyes— not aggressively, but patiently.
Concentrate the energy there. Anchor it behind the pupils. Let your eyes become the nexus. The world you perceive must flow through this lens.
Once the mana stabilizes behind your optic nerves, do not retreat into stillness. Go outside. Walk among the living. Witness anger. Joy. Betrayal. Conviction. Observe the world and let the stimuli teach you.
Let intent become your instructor.
The first stage is simple: Recognize emotional intent by observing color. That is all. If you cannot do even this, you are trash unworthy of grasping this technique.
Progress in this codex is not measured in time. It is measured in comprehension. And comprehension is earned through experience.
For now, your task is to only observe, reflect, endure and repeat."
---
Leo stared at the glowing script for a long moment. There were no circulation charts. No posture diagrams. No breathing patterns. Nothing familiar that he was used to seeing in traditional meditation manuals.
Just one directive:
Let the world teach you.
He exhaled again, slower this time, then closed his eyes briefly as he began drawing from his internal mana pool, guiding it slowly and deliberately up toward his optic centers.
As the flow settled behind his eyes, he felt a warmth begin to build. It wasn't painful, but it surely did not feel comfortable to pool mana behind such a sensitive organ.
However, since this was what the manual required, he did it regardless.
And then, as he opened his eyes again, he half expected the world around him to have changed.
He expected to see colors he never saw before, or to see a jumbled mess of intents floating around him, however, he saw nothing of the sort.
There was nothing different about his surroundings, nor did his vision feel any sharper, as he raised his eyebrow in disappointment.
"Well that sure was anticlimactic—" he muttered to himself, before standing up and walking towards the door, as he followed the manual's instructions and decided to venture out into the world, hoping that perhaps going out would show him something that he could not find within his own apartment.
—--------
Leo walked the full length of the outer housing ring with mana still softly pulsing behind his eyes.
He observed everything.
He passed by open balconies where children of guild members laughed and fought over fruit peels.
He sat at a corner food stall and watched the merchant argue with a customer over price, but the argument revealed no hidden shade, no flare of anger given chromatic life.
He moved through crowded alleys, into silent meditative gardens, even through the bustling core plaza of the civilian sector… and still, nothing changed.
He saw no distortions, no anomalies, no hidden layers, as the world around him remained exactly the same.
Even when he focused—truly focused—on the subtle changes in people's posture, eye movement, gestures of frustration or tension… it all looked normal.
Unenhanced. Mundane.
And even when he somehow found a teenage couple locked in a heartfelt embrace, expecting a burst of joy to register in violet or gold around them, he saw nothing.
As no matter the emotion, he perceived nothing that he should have as per the manual.
'Is this manual truly what it claims to be?' Leo wondered, as he doubted if he had been sold a dupe.
Had Kaelith really mastered anything at all… or was this some philosophical drivel sold as mysticism?
The longer he walked, the more he questioned. Not just the manual— but his choice in choosing to master it.
As all the manual promised in the first place was a vague promise of revelation through observation… and that couldn't be quantified by time.
Eventually, as he crossed the final stretch of the outer ring and approached his apartment building again, he let out a slow breath, realizing that he had seen nothing useful today at all.
He perceived, no emotions painted in color, nor any flashes of intent that could reveal the secrets of the universe.
As at this point, he genuinely wondered if he'd made a mistake by choosing the [Sevenfold Revelation Codex].
However, although he momentarily panicked, he almost immediately stabilized as he understood that it was probably too early to judge the technique just yet.