(Execution Livestream Continuation, The Pit, Leo’s POV)
Leo still remembered the day he had dauntingly infiltrated the Black Serpents Guild’s sealed vault, slipping past layers of security that had been designed to repel Monarchs and thieves alike, until he laid his hands on one of the Cult’s lost techniques, the fabled [Temporal Shift].
At its core, [Temporal Shift] was a movement technique that pushed a body to speeds approaching nearly half that of light.
And in execution, it was a technique that did not merely rely on raw velocity, but instead folded space inward around the user, compressing distance into something that could be crossed in a single step, making it the fastest form of movement that a mortal body could theoretically endure without instantly tearing itself apart.
According to the skill scroll, the technique was technically usable by those at the Monarch Tier or above, as beings at that level possessed bodies strong enough to survive the catastrophic backlash of performing the technique at least once.
Yet what had truly baffled Leo when he first studied the requirements for the move, was how one of the most important catalysts needed to ignite such an explosive motion was named to be— Divine Essence.
The scroll stated it plainly, as though it were obvious, explaining that the burst of acceleration required to fold space and momentarily override inertia could only be achieved through Divine Essence acting as the stabilizing and driving fuel behind the technique, which in practice rendered [Temporal Shift] unusable to anyone below the Demi-God tier.
As for a long time, it was this very contradiction that gnawed Leo’s mind and made him feel as though he could perhaps not learn this move as a Monarch.
’No... this can’t be right,’ he had thought at the time, as he pondered about the secrets of the move.
’If this is the strongest movement a mortal can perform, then why does it require Divine Essence to function at all?’
He wondered as the logic simply did not align, because a technique meant to define the upper limits of mortal capability should technically not have relied on a resource that mortals fundamentally lacked.
And yet, despite memorizing the circulation pattern, the spatial compression method, and every line of explanation within the scroll, Leo had never been able to bridge that gap, never able to see how one could perform [Temporal Shift] without first transcending into godhood, until the day he encountered the Second Elder and was imprinted with the Dragon’s Mark, granting him access to an entirely different form of energy called Life Essence.
It was only after that imprint, and after his exposure to the Cult’s second forbidden technique, that the puzzle began to resolve itself, as the second forbidden move acted as the conceptual key needed to unlock the deeper mechanics behind the fifteenth technique, a realization that did not fully crystallize until Leo began training under Moltherak himself.
"The tattoos on your body are funny, boy..."
The ancient Dragon had remarked casually one day, while the two were training to open a Fourth Dimensional Tunnel, his massive eyes tracing the faint gray markings beneath Leo’s skin.
"They remind me of young King-tier beasts who haven’t yet learned how to process Divine Essence properly, and end up suffering temporary circuit discoloration."
The Dragon had said, as while the comment had seemed offhand at first, somehow it stuck with Leo with the force of revelation, because in that moment he finally understood what Life Essence truly was.
’Maybe.... All Divine Essence is, is a more refined version of Life Essence.’
He conceptualized, as he shifted his perception of Divine Essence as something ethereal and started to see it as the purest fuel source possible.
’If it’s just refinement that I’m lacking then maybe, if I experiment with different dosages of life essence, I might be able to replicate desired effects.’
He theorized, as although he understood that it might not be easy, he kept trying again and again, until he eventually learnt how to perform [Temporal Shift] with Life Essence as the core fuel.
’So this is why the Cult’s second forbidden move was created, it wasn’t created to master other techniques faster or to tier up faster.
It was always meant to be fuel...
A means to learn [Temporal Shift] as a mortal.’
Leo realized at the end, as it was only after he unraveled the secret himself did he realise the true intention of the Timeless Assassin behind making the fifteen forbidden moves.
—--------
(Back at the Battlefield)
Back at the battlefield, as Leo saw Raymond mock him with the utmost confidence, he could not help but calculate through a myriad different scenarios to somehow stun the Demi God, as he knew deep down in his heart that if he played his cards right and performed [Temporal Shift] from close range.... That not even Raymond would ever see it coming.
’I just need to create a single opening, just one single micro-second of absolute certainty, where I know I can end him.’
Leo thought, as his gaze sharpened.
*Sigh*
[Parallel Processing]
Letting out a deep sigh, Leo activated parallel processing as the chaos of the battlefield dulled and was instead replaced by a picture of Raymond alone occupying his perception.
’I do not need to overpower him.
I do not need to outlast him.
All I need is one decisive attack.
[Temporal Shift] coupled with [Crown Fall] and I can end this bastard forever....’
Leo thought, his grip tightening around his daggers just as Raymond’s hand closed more securely around his own, both of them preparing for what would come next.
At this moment, Leo did not care for what Raymond said.
Did not care for whether or not Veyr had really betrayed the Cult or not?
Did not care about whether or not this whole war to come save Veyr was a mistake.
As all that really mattered to him was to end Raymond’s life and avenge Charles, because that was the least he could do for his dead mentor.