(Meanwhile, Planet V-Star, Leo's POV)
*FWOOSH*
The Fourth Dimension folded back into stillness as Leo stepped out of the Dimensional Portal and back into the quiet clearing before the hut, his aura settling unevenly around him as the strain of another fruitless session lingered in his nerves.
The projection of the Timeless Assassin stood waiting exactly where he always did, hands clasped behind his back as though not a single second had passed.
"No progress," Leo said, as he met the projection's eyes without pretense, the frustration in his tone restrained but unmistakable. "I still can't feel the slope of it. It's like I'm staring at a wall and pretending it's a horizon."
The projection nodded slowly, neither disappointed nor surprised.
"It is not easy to sense the gradient of time," he said, as he studied Leo with calm detachment. "What you are attempting to grasp is not movement, but deviation. Not speed, but distortion. Progress will come one day or another."
