(The Time Stilled World, Leo’s POV)
A hundred days passed in what felt like the blink of an eye for Leo inside the Time Stilled World. During which, his focus remained fixed on four primary objectives.
First, he devoted himself to improving the lives of the common people.
He strengthened governance, oversaw major expansion projects, and began consolidating power within his own circle.
His goal was simple: to place authority firmly in the hands of those he trusted while stripping it from those who had long abused it.
The Elders Council had once held the ability to sway the masses, but under his rule, that influence began to erode.
He studied their past actions carefully, identifying every weakness and inconsistency Chaosbringer had flagged, then moved methodically to eliminate them one by one.
He curtailed their power to hold public speeches or appear on mass media without prior approval, passed mandates requiring direct clearance for any major address, and outlawed private recruitment of soldiers or maintenance of public financial accounts by any member of the Elders Council.
Of course the Elders were not happy with these changes, however, they simply did not have the power or the political will to resist them, and hence, in the end, they were forced to accept them as is.
However, to further ensure that his point was driven home, Leo placed them under constant watch, assigning his most trusted men to shadow their every move.
No whisper, meeting, or message escaped unnoticed, as under such vigilance, even the boldest among them could no longer muster the courage to plot in secret.
Which in theory at least rendered the once-powerful Council nearly toothless.
"Lord Boss, it’s also important that these Elders not be allowed near the mana heart production facility, and not be given access to go outside the Time Stilled World.
Especially the Third Elder.
We must ensure that the secret of our people is not leaked through suspected spies."
Chaosbringer had warned him, which was why he had also placed secret travel restrictions on the Elders, but had not informed them about the same just yet.
Secondly, he turned his attention to locating the resting place of the Ancient Dragon, Moltherak.
Like his men, Leo too could not determine the source of the world’s taint, nor did he have any concrete clue about where to begin the search.
Yet he refused to abandon the task.
Each day, he dedicated an hour to poring over every available map of the region, tracing ley lines, and coming up with abstract theories on where the taint was growing stronger based on how powerful the monsters occupying that area were....
But even with all that effort, tangible progress remained painfully limited.
The world offered no obvious answers to where Moltherak rested, and the more he searched, the more the truth seemed to hide behind layers of dust and silence.
Thirdly, he focused on getting stronger himself and faster, as he dedicated most of his day to furthering his progress with the [Emperor Suppression Manual], with his progress now yielding visible results.
Unlike when he first tried to bend the flame of a candle to his will to no avail, he could now extinguish and reignite the flame, even when it was placed a full 20 meters away, as he learnt to push his aura much further away from his body, and have it interact with the physical world in a tangible fashion.
However, the meditation training was not all that he did, as he also spent a couple hours every day completing the Cult’s secret moveset, as he trained under the Elders he had yet to learn from and worked towards learning all twelve forbidden moves.
Finally, the last thing he focused on was learning how to be a family man and spending more time at home.
After losing Charles and seeing the aging faces of his parents, he began to understand that while his goals could wait for him, his family could not.
The mortality of those he loved was something he could no longer deny.
For even though their health thrived within the Time Stilled World, strengthened by the thick, clear mana they now processed, it was never going to be enough to elevate them to Transcendent or Monarch tier, at which point their lifespan would significantly improve.
At best, they had four to five decades left, before the inevitable came, and hence Leo decided to make them a priority in his life.
It hurt him to think about their deaths.
It really did.
However, he also understood that the stronger he grew, the more certain it was that he would have to work this universe alone someday.
For if he ever reached godhood, he would live for many millennia, while those who had shaped him would be long gone within a century.
And that was a truth that weighed on him more heavily than any battle ever had.
Hence, amid his busy training schedule, his role as the Sect Master, and his endless plans for the future, he decided to take a step back, to be a son, a brother, and an uncle while he still could.
Because someday, he knew he would look around and find only silence where laughter once was.
It was a bittersweet acceptance, one he slowly began to train his heart to endure.
On the brighter side, the Skyshard Mansion had grown livelier since the birth of his nephew, little Leonardo, as the child’s laughter now filled the corridors, washing away the weight of struggles and war that the family had seen a lot of.
And to Leo’s quiet surprise, the boy also adored him.
After a few shy days, he began running straight into his arms the moment he returned home, demanding to be carried around like a horse, a request Leo never once refused, as they began to bond deeply as time passed.
Overall, things were finally falling into place, but Leo could sense it, the universe was only giving him calm so it could take more later.