(Leo's POV, the Fourth Dinsion)
Leo stood perfectly still within the silent expanse of the Fourth Dinsion, his eyes closed as his consciousness spread outward while a thin veil of aura slowly dispersed from his body, forming a faint circular ring around him as he allowed it to drift naturally through the strange environnt.
Four hundred and thirty-two days had passed since he first began searching for the gradient of ti.
Four hundred and thirty-two days of failure.
Four hundred and thirty-two days of uncertainty.
Yet today... sothing finally felt different.
At first the sensation was so subtle that Leo almost dismissed it entirely, because what he noticed was not a sudden distortion in space, nor any visible ripple within the Fourth Dinsion itself, but rather a small irregularity in the way his aura expanded outward as ti passed.
Initially he assud that the inconsistency ca from his own aura control.
However, the more he observed it, the more the pattern refused to disappear.
Which made him pause.
Because the distortion did not originate from him.
It originated from ti itself.
For the longest ti, Leo had been attempting to understand ti using the wrong fra of reference.
He had been studying how his aura moved through ti.
But that approach was fundantally flawed.
Because ti itself could not be observed directly.
It had no shape.
No form.
No visible motion.
Trying to asure ti against itself was like trying to asure
darkness with darkness.
Which ant the only aningful fra of reference available to him was direction.
Realizing this, Leo altered his approach completely.
Instead of actively controlling his aura, he allowed it to disperse naturally into a thin circular ring around his body while he remained perfectly stationary, ensuring that the aura spread evenly in every direction without interference from his own will.
Then he waited.
Minutes passed.
Then dozens of minutes.
Until eventually the faint ring of aura drifted farther outward.
At first the expansion appeared uniform.
But when Leo observed the ring again after a fixed interval, sothing unexpected revealed itself.
The circle was no longer perfectly symtrical.
In certain directions the aura had stretched slightly farther.
In other directions it lagged behind.
The deformation was incredibly subtle, yet it was undeniable.
Which ant the distortion could not have co from Leo's aura.
It could only co from the dium the aura was moving through.
Ti.
The realization struck him instantly.
Ti was not flowing uniformly.
It possessed gradients.
Just like gravity.
Just like pressure.
Just like temperature.
And just like those forces, ti could move differently depending on
direction.
Leo slowly opened his eyes as understanding spread through his
mind like lightning.
The Fourth Dinsion was not a static environnt.
It was a flowing field.
A field where the current of ti moved through space in uneven directions, forming invisible slopes and valleys that subtly altered the rate at which events unfolded.
Which ant that if one could perceive those gradients...
Then ti itself could be navigated.
Controlled.
Bent.
For the first ti in four hundred and thirty-two days, Leo finally understood what the projection of the Tiless Assassin had been trying to teach him.
Ti was not sothing that simply passed.
It was sothing that flowed.
And like any flow, it possessed direction, resistance, and gradients.
Leo's aura ring continued drifting outward around him as he silently observed its deformation, the once invisible structure of ti now faintly visible through the way reality itself subtly bent around him, as a slow smile spread across his face.
Because after more than a year of searching blindly...
He had finally discovered the first observable property of ti.
Its gradient.
(Planet V Star, The ditation Hut)
After completing his daily ditation session, Leo returned to the ditation hut where the projection was stationed for his daily two
minute chat with the man.
However, unlike usual days where he reported no asurable
progress, there was a spark in his eyes today that displayed
excitent.
"I sensed sothing today... it was different."
Leo said as he stepped inside the quiet ditation hut, his voice
steady while the projection of the Tiless Assassin slowly opened
one eye to look at him.
For a brief mont the old assassin simply studied Leo's face.
Then he let out a long sigh.
"About ti," the projection muttered dryly while rubbing his temple. "I was starting to think you were senile and useless."
Leo snorted softly at the remark as he leaned one shoulder against
the wooden pillar beside him.
"Haha, nice joke, old man," he replied calmly. "But I'm not quite like
you just yet."
The projection's brow twitched faintly at that.
"Oh?" he said, raising an eyebrow slightly. "And what exactly did you
sense?"
Leo folded his arms across his chest as he answered.
"The gradient."
For a mont the projection said nothing.
"I stopped trying to asure my aura against ti itself," Leo
continued. "Instead I scattered it evenly in every direction and let it drift naturally."
He paused briefly.
"When I observed it later... the ring had deford."
The projection straightened slightly.
"Different directions expanded differently," Leo continued calmly.
"Which ans the dium itself was uneven."
"Ti flows," he finished simply. "And it doesn't flow uniformly."
The hut fell quiet.
For several long seconds the projection stared at him without
speaking.
Then he scoffed.
"Well," he said lazily, waving his hand dismissively. "Looks like you're
not completely hopeless after all."
Leo chuckled softly as he pushed himself off the pillar.
"Glad to hear I finally et your expectations."
"Don't get ahead of yourself," the projection replied. "You've barely
scratched the surface."
Leo simply shrugged.
"Maybe."
Then he turned toward the doorway.
"Anyway, that's all for today."
The projection frowned slightly.
"That's it?"
Leo nodded as he stepped outside.
"I've got two boys waiting for training," he said. "Unlike you, I actually
have responsibilities."
"Brat," the projection muttered under his breath.
Leo laughed as he walked away.
The ditation hut fell silent again.
For several monts the projection remained seated as he stared at
the empty doorway where Leo had disappeared.
Then slowly a crooked smile appeared on his face.
"Just four hundred and thirty-two days to sense the gradient..." he
murmured quietly.
He leaned back slightly, shaking his head.
"Hahaha."
"It took over four thousand."
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