(One month later, The Time Stilled World, Leo's POV)
Time, within the Time Stilled World, had always behaved differently, yet even then, the past month seemed to vanish in the span of a single breath, as Leo found himself standing at the end of his preparation, having run through every variation, every sequence, and every possible outcome that his mind could conceive.
Day after day, he had sparred relentlessly, as Shadow Number One, Shadow Number Two, and even Veyr rotated through the role of his opponent, each bringing their own style, their own unpredictability, and their own attempts to break the system he had created.
And while those sessions had sharpened him, refining his understanding of the game to a level where he could now anticipate most patterns and counter most strategies, there remained a quiet unease within him, as no matter how many times he won, or how thoroughly he prepared, the fact that he was facing a lunatic like Mauriss kept bothering him to his core.
