Timeless Assassin

Chapter 1032 Sensing The Gradient Of Time

(Leo’s POV, the Fourth Dimension)

Leo stood perfectly still within the silent expanse of the Fourth Dimension, 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 environment.

Four hundred and thirty-two days had passed since he first began searching for the gradient of time.

Four hundred and thirty-two days of failure.

Four hundred and thirty-two days of uncertainty.

Yet today… something 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 Dimension itself, but rather a small irregularity in the way his aura expanded outward as time passed.

Initially he assumed that the inconsistency came 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 time itself.

For the longest time, Leo had been attempting to understand time using the wrong frame of reference.

He had been studying how his aura moved through time.

But that approach was fundamentally flawed.

Because time itself could not be observed directly.

It had no shape.

No form.

No visible motion.

Trying to measure time against itself was like trying to measure

darkness with darkness.

Which meant the only meaningful frame 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, something unexpected revealed itself.

The circle was no longer perfectly symmetrical.

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 meant the distortion could not have come from Leo’s aura.

It could only come from the medium the aura was moving through.

Time.

The realization struck him instantly.

Time was not flowing uniformly.

It possessed gradients.

Just like gravity.

Just like pressure.

Just like temperature.

And just like those forces, time could move differently depending on

direction.

Leo slowly opened his eyes as understanding spread through his

mind like lightning.

The Fourth Dimension was not a static environment.

It was a flowing field.

A field where the current of time moved through space in uneven directions, forming invisible slopes and valleys that subtly altered the rate at which events unfolded.

Which meant that if one could perceive those gradients…

Then time itself could be navigated.

Controlled.

Bent.

For the first time in four hundred and thirty-two days, Leo finally understood what the projection of the Timeless Assassin had been trying to teach him.

Time was not something that simply passed.

It was something 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 time 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 time.

Its gradient.

(Planet V Star, The Meditation Hut)

After completing his daily meditation session, Leo returned to the meditation hut where the projection was stationed for his daily two

minute chat with the man.

However, unlike usual days where he reported no measurable

progress, there was a spark in his eyes today that displayed

excitement.

“I sensed something today… it was different.”

Leo said as he stepped inside the quiet meditation hut, his voice

steady while the projection of the Timeless Assassin slowly opened

one eye to look at him.

For a brief moment the old assassin simply studied Leo’s face.

Then he let out a long sigh.

“About time,” 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 moment the projection said nothing.

“I stopped trying to measure my aura against time 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 deformed.”

The projection straightened slightly.

“Different directions expanded differently,” Leo continued calmly.

“Which means the medium itself was uneven.”

“Time 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 meet 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 meditation hut fell silent again.

For several moments 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 me over four thousand.”