Time

Roesia's gaze drifted to Leonel once again. But, even now, his gaze was still trained outside the tall windows. He didn't seem to have heard anything Roesia said, but Roesia didn't decide to push the matter. She didn't know what it was that Leonel was going through, but she felt like she didn't have the right to ask. She hadn't been able to be a part of her grandson's life for so long, so how could she just appear now and expect him to bare his soul to her?

"… Soon after these matters, Velasco took Little Leo to Earth. I'm not certain of what his reasoning was entirely, but it was likely that the combination of friendly atmosphere plus Low Dimensional world was the best environment for Little Leo's recovery.

"In his weakened state, staying in a Sixth Dimensional world was more of a detriment to Little Leo than anything else… But as for the specifics of how Little Leo was cured, I'm not sure. I can only say that it's good that you've grown up so strong and powerful."

A calm silence fell over the penthouse suite.

The truth was that Leonel was listening, though not actively. With the way his mind worked, unless he used Dream Sense, it was impossible for him not to capture every little detail within hundreds of meters of himself. The only question was whether he would acknowledge it now, or later.

But, after what he experienced today, this benefit seemed more like a curse than anything else.

Leonel didn't really know what he was feeling right now. In reality, maybe his grandmother was the only one able to tell that he was feeling much of anything at all. To everyone else, his face was quite indifferent and placid, as though he didn't have any emotions to speak of at all. Who knew, maybe it was a mother's intuition refined over two generations. They always say that a woman's intuition is strong.

It would be one thing if Leonel had chosen to cut Aina off completely. But, according to his balance scale, she had just barely managed to stay in his heart. The issue with that was now he had to drag all of this baggage around.

He didn't feel like doing much of anything. The moment he had seen her, it was like all the accumulated momentum and drive he had built up over this last year had vanished in an instant, drained out of him by a single look.

If he was honest… It was mildly infuriating.

It wasn't an anger he felt toward Aina, it was one he felt toward himself. He might have been fine with this feeling had he still had no goals or aspirations, but the current him wanted to accomplish something far bigger and larger than himself.

To be weighed down by such emotion, such useless trash, it pissed him off. He almost wanted a reason, any reason at all, to cut this all away from himself like it was some sort of malignant tumor.

Due to all of this, he hadn't even been able to properly react to the truth of his history with the Luxnix. Was he more mad now? Indifferent, maybe? He didn't really know, it was like his emotions were on a delayed timer, but now that the proper moment to react had passed, it was already too late to do much of anything about it.

Did he want to vent?

Not really. If it was about venting, wouldn't the best place to do so have been the Luxnix estate? He couldn't very well go back.

Did he want to speak with Aina?

He didn't particularly want to do this either. They say a picture spoke a thousand words, well a snapshot of Leonel's memory spoke millions. He didn't feel there would be anything to gain from speaking with her.

Did he want to replace her?

He felt no drive to do such a thing. Maybe a woman would help him clear his mind and focus, but whoever that woman was would only end up being a tool. At best, they'd be a prostitute, such a person wouldn't be a replacement to begin with.

Then what did he want to do?

Well… Sitting here felt alright.

Leonel's eyes drifted close, an odd peace overcoming him. In all his calculations, the one thing he didn't note was exactly how long it had been since he simply… rested.

When Leonel was with Aina, even when they didn't need to sleep, they would do so. Of course, a part of that was due to their shenanigans in the bedroom, but Aina was always a reminder for him to rest as well.

If there were two things Aina loved to do, the first was to eat a lot, and the second was to sleep. With her ability, she always knew exactly what her body needed to maximize her growth into the future, so rest and food were two of her biggest appetites.

Ironically, it was meeting with Aina again after so long that seemed to hit Leonel like a Pavlovian response. Before he realized what was happening, his mind sank into darkness and, for the first time in a long while, his thoughts finally came to a stop.

As fast as Leonel's mind moved, he hadn't realized just how much he needed sleep. He had taken on so much weight onto his shoulders in such a short time that he didn't realize just how much it was all weighing him down.

What he and no one else could have possibly expected was that this rest of his would last an entire month. His mind and body both entered a state of hibernation.

However, what was unique about it all was that with the Second Awakening of his Healing Branch, rest for Leonel was far different than rest for others. Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

In the past, when Leonel rested, he would use Dream Sense to multiply the effect of his sleep. But, that was ultimately just a parlor trick. While it would refresh his mind, his body was only falling further and further behind in its rest.

This time, though, Leonel didn't have the time to activate Dream Sense as he wasn't even aware he was drifting asleep. The result was both his mind and body shutting down.

Under the Second Awakening of the Healing Branch, after not having a proper rest in years, it was like Leonel's body was being refreshed and rebooted. It was impossible to tell just what changes there would be when he awoke.

By then, though, it would be time for the Selection to begin.