(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 etings 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 ant nothing to his Transcendent body, yet now demanded visible effort, making it clear just how far he still was from reclaiming his forr strength.
'He must have suffered greatly in captivity!
Leo thought, as the sight of Veyr's weakened, atrophied muscles drove ho just how prolonged and cruel that imprisonnt 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 a visit.
Haha....
So you finally got ti to visit eh?"
Veyr began, as he visibly bead 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 nad Dragon.
I wish I could've been there, man.
But with all the controversy surrounding my na at the mont, I did not want to ruin your big mont."
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 mont 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 so.....
It's not like I missed the look of your sorry face."
Leo teased back, as Veyr laughed an easy laughter.
For a mont, he had been worried as to what Leo's sudden visit to him could an, however, listening to his cousin joke as usual, he felt so of his anxiety being put to ease.
"So, are you going to ask 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 ti, 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 mont, the Dragon lowered his head in sha, as if too
ashad 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 sothing 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 when I say this Cuz, I am loyal to the Cult.
Everything I did, I did it for us.
And trust when I say, we have co 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 rudintary knowledge about the laws of the universe one needs to study and master to beco 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 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 argunts 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 Ti 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 banishnt period as per my expectations, will I let you co out after 100 years, while I may extend it by another 20-50 otherwise.
I also expect you to write and docunt all your findings that you
traded for official Cult secrets and submit them to before your
isolation starts.
And only once this atonent 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.
Ti 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 agreent.
His own assessnt 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 punishnt the perfect opportunity for him to do so.
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