Timeless Assassin

(Leo's POV, from the ledge of a high-rise rooftop)

Leo quietly observed the soldiers below with peak curiosity, as he granted them a couple hours to decide whether they wished to stay back or surrender.

For him, this moment served as the perfect opportunity to delve deeper into the [SevenFold Revelation Codex].

As never before had he witnessed so many people feel so much, all at once, because in this precise window, where countless souls wrestled between duty and self-preservation, pride and survival, the emotions surging within them began leaking into the world in waves, causing the aura around their bodies to shift with almost every passing thought.

Nearly every soldier he saw was cloaked in either maroon, red, or blue, with those colors flickering, intensifying, and dimming as their inner conflicts grew louder.

And for the first time in his life, Leo could distinguish not just the familiar gradients of red, but the subtle shades within maroon and blue as well, as he unlocked the meaning behind the various layers of those colors that had always eluded him until now.

Almost every soldier he observed began their emotional spiral wrapped in the 'Maroon' shade, a color that symbolised frustration.

And so, it came as no surprise that nearly every man and woman, as they threw away their weapons, appeared cloaked in some variation of brown, before then slowly shifting into either red or blue.

The ones who managed to accept the truth of their circumstances, and found it within themselves to feel grateful for being given a chance to walk away from this conflict with their lives intact, began to radiate shades of blue.

They smiled as they walked.

They had tears of joy in their eyes.

And more than anger, they seemed relieved that this war was finally over.

On the other hand, those who could not come to terms with the outcome, and instead sank into self-pity and hatred for having chosen to surrender, gradually turned red, overwhelmed by a destructive urge to lash out at everything and everyone around them.

These were the soldiers who cursed the heavens for their fate.

The ones who asked, 'Why must I surrender so humiliatingly? Why won't the Su Clan come to our rescue? Why can't we win this war against the Cult?'

They were not thinking about making peace with what they had, but instead clung to what they wished had been, placing all their resentment on destiny and the cards they had been dealt.

As a soldier, Leo found himself respecting this second group more, because at the very least, they felt guilt over surrendering, and carried some pride in their identity as warriors.

But as people, he respected the first group far more.

He could see it clearly in their eyes, that these were the ones who would live long, happy, and prosperous lives.

Their ability to live in the present, to find gratitude even in loss, made them the kind of people others wanted to be around.

Though, from a soldier's perspective, they were a disgrace.

'It's interesting how I can almost discern their whole personality based on this one episode.

My mastery over the Codex is truly expanding, as although I don't know what the different shades of blue and maroon are supposed to mean for sure, I have a strong intuition as to what it should be….' Leo thought, as for the first time in his life, he could discern the meaning behind the colors he observed without having to cross-check with the Codex.

On one hand, there were countless shades of every color to count, and when observing thousands of people at once, almost every shade was visible.

But for his own simplicity, Leo broadly categorised maroon and blue into three distinct shades:- Base, Light and Dark.

For maroon, which signified frustration, the base shade appeared most often.

It pulsed around the average soldier, the one who felt bitter over the surrender, but whose emotions hadn't yet spiraled out of control.

The light maroon, in contrast, had a faded, almost copper-like quality, and Leo believed it belonged to those who were frustrated, but not at anyone in particular.

Their disappointment was rooted in circumstance. They were upset that they had lost, upset that their efforts had been wasted, but they held no deep anger in their hearts.

Then came the dark maroon, which clung to soldiers like rusted iron. Heavy and oppressive….. and Leo associated this with those whose frustration had begun to turn inward.

They blamed themselves, their commanders, the heavens, and was the kind of emotion that fermented into resentment and could, at any moment, tip into something far more dangerous.

As for blue, the color of hope and joy, Leo categorised that into three shades as well.

The base shade of blue was soft, almost serene.

And as per his understanding, it hovered over those who felt joy and releif for not having to fight in this war, while the lighter shade hovered around those who were just happy that this mess was over, so that they could start a new chapter of their life.

Conversely, the darker shade of blue lingered around those who were truly happy to be alive, or were very hopeful about their future since they survived this war.

'It seems like the lighter shade, shows a lesser intensity of the emotion, while a darker shade shows a higher intensity.

It was the same for killing intent, and it seems to be the same for other colors….'

Leo concluded, as after noticing a familiar pattern, he devised an educated guess of his own.

"Alright, we have given them enough time to surrender, the ones who still haven't made up their minds can all be labelled as the enemy," Leo said at the end, as he felt satisfied with having given everyone a fair chance to leave.

The ones who still lingered, had only red auras covering their bodies.

And they were the one's he felt no inkling to show any mercy.

"Master Ben…. Viper, Dumpy….. time to go wild. Let's send these fools to the afterlife while they don't expect it." Leo ordered, as he unsheathed his dagger and jumped down from the roof-top.