"Oh."
Illumi climbed out of the pit with a blank face, hooked his foot on a branch, and hung himself upside down from the willow. His long black hair dangled like a ghost's, and he stared straight at Roy.
"Are you going to whip me?"
A faint ripple stirred in the emptiness of his pupils… he actually looked like he was expecting it.
"If it's you," he said, "you can do anything you want to me."
Roy: "…"
He took a deep breath, said nothing, and simply walked away.
Out of sight, out of mind; what you don't hear can't bother you.
Honestly, with this dumb idiot, whipping him probably wasn't a punishment at all—it was more like a reward.
A gust of wind blew past, making the new buds on the willow's branches tremble. Roy's walking pace turned almost into a run; his feet flashed through a perfected Silent Gait, leaving afterimages where he stood. In an instant he vanished from the garden—and appeared again at the underground entrance.
"Young master."
"Young master."
Scarface and One-Eye bowed, then pulled open the heavy security door.
Roy stepped inside.
For the next few days, using Grandpa Jieg's Nen ability [re: Game of the Dead], he went in and out of the Dark Continent. One hand held Silva's strategy notes for reference as he gradually pushed deeper into the April Forest, exploring bit by bit.
As he broadened his knowledge, he also ran into all sorts of strange beasts and monsters.
[Monster Encyclopedia Updated...]
[1. Iron-Plated Rhino: D-class magical beast. (Rating scaled to ants: Elite Squad Captain = D, Division Commander = C, Royal Guard = B, King = B+)]
[Manifest Nen: D+ (7481/10000)]
[Potential Nen: C– (1250/100000)]
[Yield: Life Energy +7...]
[Innate Nen Ability: "Ironhide" (Note: when attacked, the Iron-Plated Rhino's outer skin "ironifies," boosting its offensive and defensive power)...]
[Notice: "Ironhide" extracted; strongly overlaps with [Ken]… [Ken]+10...]
…
[2. Deadleaf Chameleon: D-class magical beast.]
[Manifest Nen: D+ (4715/10000)]
[Potential Nen: C (72540/100000)]
[Yield: Life Energy +10...]
[Innate Nen Ability: "Backdrop" (Note: when threatened, the Deadleaf Chameleon blends into its surroundings, becoming one with the natural background, hiding itself to confuse enemies or ambush them)...]
[Notice: "Backdrop" extracted; strongly overlaps with [Zetsu]… [Zetsu]+10...]
…
3. Tyrant Porcupine, with an innate ability "Quill Burst" — under stress it mimics an emitter, firing its spines as Nen bullets and creating overwhelming suppressive fire.
4. "One-Square Fog," an amorphous mist-type phantom beast whose innate ability "Heat Haze" feeds on sexual desire. It releases a fine powdery mist that invades any life-form with reproductive instinct—human or beast—flooding them with lust. If they can't vent it in time, they fall into a manic frenzy and can't calm down…
That night,
Back in his room in the Zoldyck estate, a single lamp was lit.
Under the warm yellow light, Roy ate while Gotoh waited on him. At the same time he inventoried his recent gains, turning the pages of Silva's strategy booklet. By his calculations, he was now only two or three days' travel from the human settlement Silva had mentioned—"Home of the Disheartened," a fortified city called Ironfall.
"Young master, I've already arranged things with Kastro," Gotoh reported, pouring a glass of milk and setting it in front of him. "Flight leaves tomorrow at 9 p.m., arrives in Yorknew at 7 a.m. the next day. Then it's only a couple hours by bus heading north to reach Meteor City…"
He hesitated, then asked, "You're sure you don't want me to go along?"
Days had passed, but the young butler, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses, still hadn't forgotten Roy's meaningful "that me" from before.
Humans really couldn't picture anything beyond their own understanding.
Roy washed down the last piece of bread with milk and glanced at his internal timer. Less than a minute remained before the "clone" finished incubating.
Right on cue, the system's voice echoed in his mind:
[59… 45… 32… 10… 5, 3, 1, 0...]
[Notice: Life-form with temporary designation "?" has hatched. Please name the individual immediately...]
A powerful, dense sense of blood-bond surged through his chest.
Roy calmly dabbed his mouth with a napkin. "Come out, Taiichi."
Tai as in "sun," ichi as in "one and only."
"Boom!"
Milk-white Nen burst outward from him, exploding from his skin. The shockwave made Gotoh's face tighten under the pressure. The butler's eyes narrowed reflexively—and he saw it.
Roy's Nen, under the control of his imagination, split neatly in two and "congealed" into a human figure.
The figure glowed faintly at first, from blurry to clear, from misty to solid, until it took on the shape of a young man with shoulder-length black hair, a sharp jawline, a straight spine… his features the spitting image of the young master's.
Exactly like a copied Roy, down to the details.
It left Gotoh completely stunned.
"A… clone?"
"Mm. A clone," Roy agreed.
[Taiichi: bearing the name of "Sun," and the essence of a "clone," can wield 80% of the host's power.]
[Current Physique: 503.52 (Note: 1 = average human)]
[Manifest Nen: C– (14283/100000)]
[Potential Nen: C (54992/100000)]
[Nen Abilities:
① "Shared Link" — Taiichi can share the host's senses—sight, smell, taste, etc.—and access all of the host's Nen abilities.
② "Divine Descent" — Taiichi can silently call the host's name and channel 100% of the host's true power through his body. Duration: 10 seconds. Rebound: 1 day of complete shutdown.]
Roy tossed over a set of training clothes he'd prepared earlier. Taiichi caught them with one hand, slipped them on with practiced ease, and grinned.
"I'm going to take a walk, get familiar with things."
Roy waved him on.
Taiichi brushed past the still-dazed Gotoh, clapped him on the shoulder, and strolled out. Under the butler's fixed stare, he walked the worn stone corridor, savoring the joy of simple existence.
Tap… tap…
He met a maid and gave her a smile. Met Mike and ruffled the dog's head. Ran into Illumi—fresh back from a job with a suitcase full of money—and in three quick strides pulled him into a hug, gently patting his back.
"You've worked hard," he said softly.
The suitcase slipped from Illumi's limp fingers with a thump, bursting open and scattering bills everywhere. The wind outside the open hall swept them up into a whirlwind of cash. The idiot just stood there under the lamplight, completely thrown off-kilter.
By the time he blinked, Taiichi was already walking away, that warm smile still on his face. Soon enough, he'd arrived outside the dim little room.
"Great-grandpa."
The newly born youth, wearing Roy's face, bowed deeply into the doorway.
The old man, a blanket over his legs, rocking gently and half-napping to the sound of anime, grunted and rolled over, showing Taiichi his bony back.
Taiichi chuckled, straightened up, and started to move on—when a voice drifted into his ear.
"Boy, you name him yet?"
"Yeah. Taiichi. Tai for 'sun,' ichi for 'only one.'"
"Heh heh heh… good. Good name. Now scram. And remember: don't go out there and shame your master's name."
"Yes, sir."
Taiichi paused, then said calmly, "If my lord is shamed, I die."
"Bullshit! You are not allowed to die!"
"…Yes."
Taiichi drew a deep breath and headed down the corridor. He passed through the main hall and out the front gate, took the mountain road down. Passing the garden, he saw—as always—Silva supporting Kikyo as they walked after dinner.
He stopped and bowed from the path.
"Dad… Mom…"
Silva froze. Kikyo, belly round and taut, her cybernetic eyes flickering a bright "?!", stared at Taiichi in disbelief.
"What did you just call me?"
"Mom."
"Kikyo," she gasped, clutching Silva's arm. "Something's wrong! He smiled at me… he must be sick!"
"He's not Roy," Silva said quietly, rubbing her back. His gaze was like a blade as he looked down at Taiichi. After a beat, his eyes flicked past him, toward the depths of the mansion.
"Roy," he called evenly, "aren't you going to come out and explain this?"
"There's nothing to explain, and you know it," Taiichi answered. The warm softness faded from his eyes like a curtain falling; in an instant, he was all steel again—just like Silva—hard lines, hard stare.
"He is me, and he isn't," he said calmly. "Just like you are you… and not the same father from the dream. Isn't that right?"
Silva: "…"
His tall frame stiffened.
Then Taiichi's gaze softened again; he smiled lightly, bid the two a good night, and lifted his foot to head down the mountain.
A breeze blew through, carrying a faint chill.
Kikyo squeezed closer into Silva's side.
"What is it, Silva?"
The man stood in place like a statue for a long, long moment. Finally he looked one last time in the direction Taiichi had gone.
"It's nothing," he said.
"It's getting cold. Let's go in, don't let the baby catch a chill."
"…Mm."
They turned and left the garden, returning to their room. As they passed a darkened corner, Silva's eye flicked sideways. Illumi, hiding in the shadows, darted out of sight and watched Taiichi leave the grounds. Then he made his way toward Roy's room.
Dong.
Eight o'clock. The wooden clock in the corner chimed the hour.
Roy had finished eating and was hunched over his desk, nursing a cup of hot tea while pondering doctrine. Every so often his pen scratched a few words onto the blank sheet in front of him. His ears pricked at approaching footsteps; he looked out the window.
Illumi's entire face was pressed against the glass, staring straight at him.
"You say one thing and think another," Illumi said.
"…," Roy replied.
"You ignore me, but you still want to hug me."
"That wasn't me."
"It was you."
"It wasn't me!"
"It was you. It was you. It was definitely you. It was your clone." Illumi lifted his chin. "Father said so."
"…"
"That clone is manifested from your Nen," Illumi continued. "It represents your true inner feelings. Therefore…"
A rare, fragile-looking smile tugged at his lips as he gazed seriously at Roy.
"You care about me. In your heart."
"Come here," Roy said.
Illumi slid the window open and leaned his head inside.
"Closer."
Illumi obediently closed his eyes.
And then—
Thud!
Pain exploded in his skull and his body lifted off the ground, flying off into the night sky.
Roy shook out his fist, face dark.
"Now it's not me anymore."
He hadn't expected Taiichi to stir up trouble this quickly.
As Illumi had said, a clone carried Roy's will; it reflected his truest, unfiltered instincts. With the Sun as his "concept", Roy had poured his expectations into Taiichi: that he would be as warm and gentle as sunlight to those close to them, and just as ruthless to enemies and darkness.
Because Illumi was his younger brother, Taiichi had slipped straight into the "warm sunshine" role the moment he was born.
Clearly, it was time to lay down some boundaries.
The night was hazy and cool, stars scattered like frost.
After letting Taiichi run wild for a short while, Roy recalled him with a single thought and gave him a proper lecture about limits and restraint.
Then he rolled up Taiichi's sleeve and saw it: the curse mark had duplicated itself and now burned on his clone's hand as well, counting down his life.
Unsurprised, Roy sent him off to bed; tomorrow, Taiichi would head to Meteor City with Kastro to begin the "missionary work."
Roy himself sat alone under the lamp, idly twirling his pen and drifting through thoughts.
God's gaze wasn't something that could be shaken off by splitting off a clone or two. It was like how Nanika's fixation was tied to the Zoldyck bloodline itself; since Taiichi was born from Roy's blood, built from his Nen, there was no dodging the mark.
But it wasn't all that bad. Taiichi wasn't him, and he wasn't Taiichi. If he really did transfer his core consciousness into his clone, that would be no different from killing Taiichi and killing himself.
His thoughts spiraled in a thousand directions as the spring night blew cold against the walls.
Eventually he pulled himself back, stopped thinking, and snapped off the light.
He flopped onto the soft mattress and let his mind drift. Before long, sleep pulled him under.
A soft snore filled the dark.
In the spare room Gotoh had prepared, Taiichi slept as well. Through deep sleep, he slipped into the familiar dream-tunnel and emerged above the azure of the Cognition Sea.
This time, he did not—as he usually would—immediately push open the Door to Demon Slayer World. Instead…
With a flicker of intent, he stepped into his own unconscious field and, through dreams, rewrote the sky and earth.
He began to test the second Blood Demon Art he'd taken from Enmu and woven into his own Nen—a skill which had been upgraded and transformed:
[Broad Dream Gate]
Note: Broad Dream Gate allows the user to open doors via dreams, pulling random targets into a shared dream. The targets are chosen at random; the user has no control over who it will be...
Which meant… whoever was on the other side, and wherever they came from, was entirely up to the "broad" randomness of the dream.
Eyes glinting, Roy whispered,
"Open."
The waves crashed against the rocks, bursting into sprays of white.
A formless mist melted into the collective subconscious ocean, split into two currents, and drifted off in two different directions…
~~~
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