Under the sun, there's no room for darkness.
So should Roy be called fortunate—or unlucky?
"Using 'faith' as a path to borrow other people's Nen… it really is way too dangerous…"
After Roy finished describing how Nature had dumped all that negative emotion into him—how he'd sunk into depression and almost killed himself—Zeno glanced nervously at Maha.
"Your great-grandfather had his reasons for forbidding this road," he said.
Actively spreading faith and passively spreading reputation were two very different things. The former was a broad, fast highway—but riddled with traps. The latter was slow, like water wearing down stone, much safer but far less efficient than harvesting faith.
"That was the path Zigg took back then."
Maha calmly finished his sandwich.
Zeno and Silva didn't say anything. No one understood how that story ended better than they did.
But—
"Grandpa's 'object of visualization' wasn't the sun."
Silva shot Roy a sidelong glance.
"That makes dealing with backlash a lot harder for him than for you," he said.
Roy's Sun came with a built-in "dispel darkness" trait. Zeno stroked his white goatee, quietly agreeing.
"Might be worth testing."
"What's there to test? He's already halfway down that road," Maha snorted. "Get lost. All of you."
Food was already barely enough for one; ever heard of respect your elders?
Silva fixed Roy with another glare, pushed back his chair, and stood.
Zeno shook his head, stooped shoulders and hands behind his back as he followed Silva out. Father and son vanished in moments, and by the time Gotoh came back pushing the meal cart, all the food had been cleared by one very skinny old man.
No one knew where he put it all. Only after licking the plates clean did Maha finally glance Roy's way.
"You think I was joking?"
His expression tightened.
"I was really here to collect your corpse."
Roy dropped his gaze and stayed quiet.
The old man just looked at him for a long moment, then reached out and knocked him on the forehead three times.
"Didn't you say you can walk into people's dreams?"
"Tonight," Maha said, "meet me in the dream."
Roy blinked in surprise.
Maha slid off the chair, turned to leave, and tossed over his shoulder, "Don't stare at me. Your dad said we should all be on guard, so we don't all fall for your tricks."
Roy: "…"
"Yes, sir."
He watched Maha go, then turned toward the window, zoning out in thought.
"Master…"
"Master…"
The clock struck seven.
Two soft calls pulled Roy back from his thoughts.
Gotoh reminded him, "Kastro's here."
The half-open door creaked wider on a gust of wind, revealing the white-haired boy bowing in the hallway.
"Master, Kastro reporting in!"
It was his first time going out on a mission with Roy. Compared to usual, he was visibly stiff and tense.
Back in Heaven's Arena, he'd been the cocky successor of Tiger Bite Fist. After arriving at Kukuroo Mountain, he'd trained nonstop. Now, he'd finally gotten a chance to accompany Roy on an assignment. For the past few days, Kastro's nerves had been pulled taut, constantly reminding himself not to screw up. The pressure he was putting on himself wasn't small.
"Relax."
Roy glanced at him once and could read his thoughts without even using Nen.
"I've already briefed Taiichi," he said with a small smile. "You just have to listen to his orders."
Kastro froze.
"…Aren't I going with you, Master?"
Who was Taiichi?
"You are going with me."
A patch of marshy ground spread open behind Kastro. Thick, viscous darkness welled up from beneath the floor, and another Roy stepped out of the "swamp."
That Roy had the same face, same build, but with a warm, gentle smile on his lips. He clapped the boy on the shoulder.
Kastro turned to look, then, on reflex, turned his head back. Inside the room, Roy was still sitting at the table, listening as Gotoh ran through the travel plans.
The boy stared between the two for a few seconds.
His eyes started glowing.
So cool.
A clone.
'If I could split into two, then next time… it'd be two of me beating up Gotoh,' he thought.
He sneaked a look at Gotoh. Just imagining it, it felt good—watching the butler get turned into a pig-headed punching bag.
"Stop dreaming."
Even without 'En', Roy could practically hear it written all over his face. He didn't bother looking up.
"Trying to force a clone as a Transmuter," he said, "is how you end up walking off a cliff."
"Taiichi, take him down."
"Let's go." Taiichi smiled. "We'll talk after you've awakened your Nen."
"Yes, sir."
Kastro ducked his head and bowed, swallowing his impatience. He followed a step behind Taiichi, leaving the room and heading down the mountain.
A breeze rolled in, carrying the sunrise with it.
The red sun leapt over the horizon, spilling light across the stone steps. Master and servant walked side by side; their shadows stretched long behind them.
Taiichi wore a long robe and a hanging prayer book, a sun pendant resting on his chest. Compared to Roy's daily look, he seemed a touch more "sacred," and a bit softer around the edges.
As he walked down the steps ahead of Kastro, he said, "If you've got something to say, say it."
Kastro shook his head to clear out the image of two Roys, pondered his words, then carefully asked,
"Master, what do I have to do… to earn your approval?"
"You're already doing fine as you are."
"No," Kastro took a deep breath and pushed the words out. "I want to be like Butler Gotoh. I want to be your right hand. I want your reward."
"You peeked on Gotoh's training?" Roy—Taiichi—stopped and looked at him, eyes crinkling.
Kastro's ears turned red.
"I didn't peek," he protested. "I watched openly."
Water Breathing… Infinite Handgun…
He thought back to Gotoh practicing at the pond every day, blithely showing off his "Water Breathing" forms while firing the gun.
"He knew I was watching," Kastro muttered.
"Which is exactly why he did it," Roy thought, amused.
"So which is it?" Taiichi asked gently. "My approval, or my reward?"
"I want both!"
The boy clenched his fists without hesitation.
"I want your reward, and I want to be your personal head butler!"
A new notification flashed across Roy's panel:
[Detected: Potential Follower – Kastro]
[Loyalty: Absolute]
[Note: By granting "Grace," strengthen the bond and further increase loyalty.]
If Gotoh was "overflowing loyalty," this kid was just one step behind.
Roy—Taiichi—curled his fingers around the sun pendant.
His gaze sharpened.
"Do you believe in the Sun?" he asked.
Kastro blinked, then drew in a breath and met his eyes head-on.
"If you're the Sun, Master," he said, "then I believe."
"…Good."
Taiichi raised two fingers and gently tapped the boy's forehead.
"It's yours."
Light bloomed in Kastro's mind—information unfurling like a scroll.
Its name was: Flame Breathing.
The white-haired youth froze in place.
Then he shouted, "Master, wait for me!"
And sprinted after Taiichi down the mountain.
…
That night.
Aboard a blimp flying toward Yorknew, away from the Republic of Padokea.
"Master, they should be on their way by now."
Eight in the evening. A single lamp glowed on the desk.
In the Zoldyck estate, Gotoh had just finished clearing the dishes away from dinner. He glanced at the clock and reported the update.
Roy made a quiet sound of acknowledgment, his mind elsewhere.
He drifted through the night half-absent, laid down, and eventually remembered Maha's words from that morning.
He slipped into sleep with that thought.
Passing once more through the shimmering, multicolored tunnel of dreams, he returned to the familiar cognitive sea.
This time, he didn't head straight for the Gate to the Demon Slayer world.
Instead, he engaged [Dream Hopping], searching out the dream passage that belonged solely to Maha, and stepped into it without hesitation.
"You came?"
"I came."
~~~
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