Timeless Assassin

Chapter 984: The New Cult Master

(Leo’s POV, Planet Ixtal)

It took Leo over a month to recover enough mobility to handle his day-to-day affairs without feeling completely impaired, and once he did, one of the first meetings he scheduled was a visit to the Dragon Aegon Veyr, who was undergoing rehabilitation on Ixtal under a separate team of physicians.

*Groan*

*Push*

For a while, Leo watched Veyr’s rehabilitation in silence, observing the Dragon strain beneath weights that would once have meant nothing to his Transcendent body, yet now demanded visible effort, making it clear just how far he still was from reclaiming his former strength.

’He must have suffered greatly in captivity.’

Leo thought, as the sight of Veyr’s weakened, atrophied muscles drove home just how prolonged and cruel that imprisonment must have been to leave him in such a state.

"All right, Lord Veyr, that will be all for today. I’ll see you again tomorrow."

The physician announced as the session concluded and Leo stepped into the hall.

*Bow*

The physician bowed in respect upon glancing at Leo before withdrawing quietly, as he left Leo and Veyr alone in the training hall to speak without interruption.

"Ayy Cuz, *pant*, I was wondering when you were going to pay me a visit.

Haha....

So you finally got time to visit me eh?"

Veyr began, as he visibly beamed ear to ear upon watching Leo walk in.

"You know..... I saw the entirety of your Cult Master Ascension ceremony live!

It was quite the affair.

Even better than when I was named Dragon.

I wish I could’ve been there, man.

But with all the controversy surrounding my name at the moment, I did not want to ruin your big moment."

Veyr explained, as Leo raised an eyebrow at his words, his expression more amused than angry as he shook his head.

The Cult Master Ascension Ceremony had indeed been a grandiose event, where Leo officially took over the mantle of the Cult roughly 23 days ago.

And while all of his close family and friends attended the event, Veyr chose not to show up, just because he did not want to ruin the moment by raising unnecessary questions regarding his loyalty to the Cult.

"Well, it’s not like I missed you either. My gorgeous wife and cute children were beside me so.....

It’s not like I missed the look of your sorry face."

Leo teased back, as Veyr laughed an easy laughter.

For a moment, he had been worried as to what Leo’s sudden visit to him could mean, however, listening to his cousin joke as usual, he felt some of his anxiety being put to ease.

"So, are you going to ask me the question or not?"

Veyr asked, letting out a deep sigh, as Leo’s expression turned slightly stiffer, the smile on his face reducing as he nodded his head with seriousness.

"Yes, I’ve been avoiding it for a long time, but I do need to know the truth.

Did you actually leak confidential Cult Secrets?"

Leo asked, as Veyr felt his heart skip a beat at the question.

For a moment, the Dragon lowered his head in shame, as if too ashamed to even look into Leo’s eyes.

However, then he looked straight into them, since he also understood that looking away was an admission of guilt, when he did not actually do something wrong.

"Yes. Yes I did."

He admitted, as Leo let out a long breath.

"I did leak Cult secrets.

However, I did not do it for nothing.

I traded them for arguably more important knowledge and materials.

And I stopped before I gave them anything significant.

You have to trust me when I say this Cuz, I am loyal to the Cult.

Everything I did, I did it for us.

And trust me when I say, we have come out the other side with more advantages than losses."

Veyr justified, as Leo closely watched his aura for any flicker of black, but found none.

"I now possess knowledge about the ingredients required to brew the lost Demi-God Potion!

And a rudimentary knowledge about the laws of the universe one needs to study and master to become a God!

I have also secured two of the three key ingredients needed to brew a Demi God Potion, which will be the key to your ascension Cuz....."

Veyr pleaded, as he tried to present his actions as a justified exchange and not treachery.

"You have to trust me when I say this, Cuz, I did everything I could to protect Cult secrets.

It wasn’t like Raymond said.

I wasn’t afraid of pain.

I did not trade information for living my last days in luxury.

I did it to obtain knowledge and ingredients we would not get our hands on otherwise."

Veyr concluded, as Leo listened intently to his arguments before nodding in understanding.

"Well, it is what it is, Cuz.

You did what you thought you needed to do, and I respect it from the perspective of an independent warrior.

However, as the Cult Master, I cannot simply let actions such as leaking confidential Cult Secrets go unpunished.

And hence, here is my tough verdict on the situation....."

Leo began, as Veyr gulped nervously in response.

*Gulp*

"I hereby banish you to the Time Stilled Realm for a duration of 1 outside world years, or 100 inside world years.

Whereby you will be expected to climb to the peak of Monarch-Hood and be ready to break through to the Demi-God realm.

During this isolation, I forbid you from attending any official Cult events, or hold the title ’Dragon’.

And only if you complete your banishment period as per my expectations, will I let you come out after 100 years, while I may extend it by another 20-50 otherwise.

I also expect you to write and document all your findings that you traded for official Cult secrets and submit them to me before your isolation starts.

And only once this atonement period is over will I reinstate you as the ’Dragon’."

Leo instructed, as Veyr bowed his head deep in reverence.

"I accept, Cult Master."

He said, as Leo nodded in appreciation and tapped on his shoulder in a show of affection.

"I need you for the wars that are about to follow, Cuz.

And I need you to be strong.

Time to put behind what happened in the past, and grow stronger for the future.

Big changes are soon about to happen to the universal landscape, and I need you by my side to take those challenges on."

Leo instructed, as Veyr finally looked up and nodded in agreement.

His own assessment was not too different from that of Leo, as he too realized that the current him was far too weak to achieve anything significant, and that the first thing he needed to focus on was growing stronger, which made this punishment the perfect opportunity for him to do so.