(Planet Vorthas, The Skyshard Mansion, Five Days After Juxta's Fall)

Leo sat alone on the porch of the abandoned Skyshard Mansion, his gaze empty as he stared at the lush green garden ahead.

Today marked the fifth day since Juxta's annihilation, and by now eighty five percent of the first phase of evacuations was already complete.

The Cult's most critical assets, whether they be military or artisans, were all safely transferred to the Time-Stilled World, while civil order that was once hanging by a thread, now held steady under his iron command.

Ever since he had confronted the first three Elders, the news about his mental instability had spread like wildfire amongst the Council, causing the other Elders to immediately fall in line like obedient soldiers, as they did not dare speak out or deviate from his instruction.

Conversely, he had also taken the initiative to weed out the trouble makers before they had a chance to rebel, as he sent all Elders and their most loyal men to the Time Stilled World except for Chaosbringer, as he ensured that his most brilliant tactician would have peace to work here when the real problems began.

However, while the world outside moved with discipline and efficiency, the storm within him only grew worse.

The crimson aura of bloodlust that had begun to faintly cling to his body since Charles's death no longer faded with meditation or rest, as instead, it became a constant accompaniment that although rose and fell with his mood, never completely disappeared regardless of what he did.

'I just want to kill all those that harmed you….'

He thought, as he looked towards the sky, the blood red aura around him deepening as he clenched his fists tight.

"Not only do I want to kill them, but I also want to absorb their life essences…."

He muttered, his voice low and restrained, as if speaking it aloud made it harder to control.

"But I can't understand why."

His breath hitched as he slowly opened his palm again, staring at it like it belonged to someone else.

Even without activating mana, the faint glow of power throbbed beneath his skin, as if something inside him refused to stay dormant.

Unbeknownst to him, the Life Essence he had sealed within the tattoos across his back and arms had already been fully reabsorbed into his body.

It began the moment his emotional stability faltered, when in the chaos of his unbalanced fury, instincts that had long lain dormant within his blood finally began to awaken.

At his core, he was an Emperor, and it was in his nature to dominate and suppress. Yet through years of Assassin training, those primal impulses had been subdued by discipline, precision, and restraint.

But as his mind fractured under the weight of grief and rage, those buried instincts began to resurface, slowly overpowering his conditioning, aligning him once more with his true nature and pushing him further along the path of meditation he had not even realized he was walking.

He could not sense it consciously, yet the truth remained: he had already achieved the first milestone of the [Emperor Suppression Manual]. His aura now responded to his will, expanding and contracting with such precision that even the flame of a candle bent to its influence.

"I don't want to know how you died…. Yet not knowing about your final moments has only filled me with endless fury and misery.

On one hand, I don't think I'm strong enough to hear what truly happened, because if I do, I'll never be able to unhear it.

While on the other hand, I can't feel at peace if I don't."

Leo muttered, as he talked to Charles as if he were high up in the skies and would come down for just a moment to guide him once again.

However, despite him staring at the blue sky for ages, no reply came.

"I will avenge you….. old man, In time, I promise I will."

He said, as the blood red aura around him deepened even more.

—----------------

*Step*

*Step*

*Step*

While Leo remained lost to his own thoughts, an informant cautiously approached.

"My Lord," he said, lowering his head respectfully, "I have an urgent report from the frontier planets.

Merdith, Rayon, and Nemo have all come under coordinated assault by Righteous Faction fleets. They are now approaching the planetary barriers and are expected to break through it within the next half hour."

The informant reported, as Leo turned his head slowly, his eyes unreadable, as he looked at the man without a flicker of change in expression.

"Understood. Send the report to the Seventh Elder and instruct the fleets scheduled to go back there and evacuate more citizens to now give up.

Tell them to instead redirect those efforts towards Koral, Vorthas and Buxar."

"Yes, my Lord."

The man bowed and hurried out, grateful for the permission to leave before Leo's oppressive aura crushed him, as silence returned to the Skyshard Mansion once more.

*Sigh*

Leo exhaled softly and set the data slate the informant had passed him back down, his reflection in the black screen staring back with lifeless calm.

"It's all as expected," he said to himself quietly. "If anything, I should be glad they're a day behind schedule."

He mused, as while he and Chaosbringer had expected the attacks on the frontier planets to begin just four days after Juxta's fall, the Righteous Faction instead took five.

But although his words were measured, his body betrayed him.

The veins in his neck and forehead bulged; the crimson aura that clung to him thickening into a violent red mist that made the air hum.

His breath grew heavier, his fingers twitching as he tried—once more—to suppress the bloodlust rising from somewhere deeper than thought.

"Arghhhh—"

He growled, as he grit his teeth and clenched his fists tighter.

He wanted to fight.

He wanted to kill.

And he wanted to do it now.

However, he was forced to hold back.

And as a result, slowly but surely his aura kept thickening, as every wave of anger pushed back only deepening the pool around him even more.

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