After stepping out of the Orange Panthers store, Leo resumed his practice with the [Sevenfold Revelation Codex], continuing what had become a daily ritual of quietly funneling mana behind his eyes and walking the length of Twin Fang City without pause.
And yet, like every day prior to this one, he saw nothing of note.
He uncovered no hidden secrets of the universe, perceived no swirling aura's of emotion, and failed to pick up even the faintest hint of the revelations that the codex promised to lay bare.
His mind, tempered by [Monarch's Indifference], remained steady as always, but even so, there was a limit to how much he could pretend that this wasn't getting under his skin.
Because no matter how much mana he circulated or how long he let it settle behind his optic nerves, no matter how many faces he studied, footsteps he tracked, or interactions he witnessed, the results remained the same.
As in the end, he saw nothing.
'How the hell am I supposed to unlock hidden truths just by staring at people? Am I supposed to magically see into their soul or something?' he thought bitterly, jaw tightening as he made his way out of the merchant's district.
'Agh… fuck me. This technique is a scam.'
He cursed under his breath as he turned the corner, ready to return to his apartment and consider other methods of training, when suddenly, something caught his eye.
A flicker.
Just for a second.
In the glass pane of a shopfront he had just passed, a faint ripple of color shimmered against the reflection of his own body, a maroonish trail originating from his back.
It was gone the moment he turned to look, like a ghost slipping back into the void, but for that split second, he was certain of what he had seen.
Maroon.
A deep, simmering maroon that had appeared to pulse outward from his own silhouette.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, retracing his steps and staring at the glass again, but the color didn't return.
Still, the image lingered in his mind. And even if it had lasted for less than a breath, Leo knew better than to dismiss it entirely.
Especially since, for the first time since binding with the Codex, he had finally seen something.
And it hadn't come from the world around him.
It had come from within.
'I haven't gone insane… have I? I'm not manifesting colors just because my mind is so desperate to see them… right?' Leo wondered, his pace slowing ever so slightly as he kept glancing toward the nearest reflective surfaces…. windows, display screens, metal door panels, anything that might betray even the faintest echo of that maroon shimmer he had seen.
But the moment never repeated.
For the rest of the day, he roamed through the commercial lanes, circled the outer housing ring, even passed by the meditation gardens near the guild square, yet nowhere in his reflection, nor in the world around him, did the maroon pulse return.
—----------
It was nightfall by the time he returned to his apartment, where he immediately set about packing for the expedition scheduled for tomorrow, preferring to finish it all tonight so he could sleep without the burden of rushing through preparations come morning.
His movements were calm, precise, and nearly silent, as he folded spare robes into compression pouches, checked the tightness of his dagger straps, organized the various potions he had purchased earlier, and arranged his high-grade mana stones inside a reinforced, foam-lined case.
Everything had its place. Everything was accounted for.
And although he expected to see no change in the meditation manual laying around on the edge of his desk, as he picked it up to store away in his storage ring, he casually flipped it open, only to be shocked by what he found inside.
New text had appeared.
The pages, once blank after the last instruction, now pulsed faintly with a soft golden glow as words carved themselves across the parchment with slow, deliberate grace as if someone were writing it in real time.
> "You have seen the first glimmer."
> "Frustration. It clouded your aura in a shade only you could recognize— maroon, born from the dissonance between effort and expectation."
> "That is the nature of this path."
> "Before you seek the truth in others, you must first uncover it within yourself.
Each individual perceives emotion through a personal lens, and no two will see the same color for the same feeling."
> "Learn the spectrum of your own being."
Leo's eyes slowly narrowed as he kept reading, his back unconsciously straightening.
> "Map your moods. Observe your fluctuations.
Learn how guilt sits in your chest. How pride shifts your posture. How suspicion makes your breath pause."
> "You must see these changes not with instinct—
but with vision."
> "Only once you can track the shades of your own emotions, will you be able to pierce the veil around others."
The text slowly faded after that, as if it had never been there in the first place.
Only the gentle heat of the page beneath his fingertips remained, a subtle reminder that the Codex had indeed responded.
That it had actually acknowledged his progress.
*Tap*
Leo closed the manual gently, his expression unreadable, as he tossed it into his storage ring.
'So the maroon I saw was my frustration… and I wasn't hallucinating' He thought, as he got the confirmation he needed that he had indeed made some progress today.
He didn't know what would come next, or how long the road to mastering even the very first layer of the Sevenfold Revelation Codex would be.
But for the first time since binding with the manual… he felt like he had a tangible direction to work on.
'Observe emotions within your own body first….'
That was the first step.
—----------
The next morning arrived quickly, as Leo stirred from his light sleep and rose without a sound.
He stepped into the bathroom, washed his face, and changed swiftly into his assassin robes, the dark black fabric fitting snugly over his frame as he tightened the utility belts and concealed the inner daggers.
From the corner table, he retrieved the small black storage ring that contained all his personal supplies— mana stones, potions, maps, rations, and a few carefully chosen utility items such as ropes, torch, etc.
Looping a fine chain through the storage ring, he hung it around his neck and tucked it beneath his robes, pressing the fabric down flat so that no outline showed.
He knew better than to flaunt such an item openly, especially among fellow assassins, as hidden advantages were only useful if no one else knew you had them.
Once satisfied, he gave the apartment one final glance, then stepped out into the corridor and shut the door behind him, his footsteps quiet as ever.
With everything finally in place, he began making his way toward the docking area, where the rest of his team would probably be waiting for him to depart.
It was a 20 minute walk from his apartment, which could be cut down to 10 if he hurried, however, he did not.
Since there was no guarantee that any of them would return alive from that cursed world, Leo kept his pace unhurried and allowed himself to savor the crisp morning air for as long as it lasted, because he knew very well that once he stepped into that distorted realm, there was no guarantee on when, or if, he'd ever enjoy such a simple luxury of breathing fresh morning air ever again.