So many gazes gathered on him at once, intent on seeing straight through him, inside and out…
"He's young, but his blood and vitality are strong."
"His mind is steady, and his Nen ability isn't weak."
"When he first looked at us, he was only slightly surprised, and then he quickly composed himself. That means… he's quick-witted and reacts fast."
"Even his hair color resembles His Majesty's. In fact… with that golden glow at the ends, it looks even more dazzling than the king's."
One gaze after another—some belonging to Brooke Seil, some to Severus, some to Blake Shaw—converged on Roy.
For a moment, Roy felt as though he had been thrown onto the center of a stage, forced to endure the glare of countless spotlights.
If his heart had been any weaker, his legs might have gone soft on the spot. His knees might have buckled, and he might have collapsed right there.
But Roy did not.
The boy's back was as straight as a spear. One foot had only just emerged over the final step, and the next moment it landed firmly on the stone stair. He faced the scrutiny of all those eyes without flinching, then raised his head.
His gaze passed over Brooke Seil, over Severus, over Ralton Shaw, and fixed straight on the center of the royal hall—on that weathered throne steeped in age and legend, where a broken crown rested quietly.
Roy's eyes shifted.
Then a sigh drifted into his ears.
"The whole world knows it's good to be divine… but what a pity. If one fails to become a god, one will still end up no more than an ant…"
Netero stood to Roy's right. As the boy climbed up into the royal court with him, the old man looked at the broken crown that had long since lost its former radiance. Its crest was shaped like the character for "mountain," but one corner had been cut away. Netero turned and glanced at Maha…
The little old man remained expressionless and flatly ignored him. After cursing Zigg under his breath, he grabbed Roy like he was holding up an exhibit and announced to Brooke Seil, Severus, and the others who had once followed him:
"Don't say I never let you see him. Now you've seen it for yourselves. He…"
"is my grandson, Roy Zoldyck."
(Note: Maha is Roy's great-great-grandfather, that is, his grandfather's grandfather. For convenience, "grandson" is used here.)
"Brooke Seil greets the young master!"
"Severus greets the young master!"
Rumble—
The men and women standing in two rows to either side of the royal hall, led by the two massive figures at the front, all dropped in unison like mountains collapsing and jade pillars falling. They pressed their right hands to their chests, knelt on one knee, and respectfully saluted Roy.
The sheer volume and weight of their voices shook the already-broken roof of the royal hall, knocking rubble loose in an unending shower…
Believers, then…
Netero stood beside Roy and quietly shifted a little farther to the side, making room for grandfather and grandson. He had tact, at least. As a guest, he could not steal the host's place in the light. That was both manners and breeding.
The old man stood there with white brows and beard, silently watching. His gaze moved across the tall figures in the front row… and with the sharpness of his insight, he saw it instantly.
These men—those former generals who had once fought under Maha—were all powerful. And especially the two in front of them…
Brooke Seil and Severus gave him a deeply dangerous feeling.
It had been a very long time since Netero had felt anything like that.
At the very least… "little Bo"—Botobai—couldn't do it.
As Netero's thoughts churned, his old eyes narrowed slightly, gleaming with restless light…
Whoosh—
A breeze crossed the lake, stirring the waist-high grass in the ruined square of the royal court.
Roy spoke gently.
"Please, uncles, rise."
With a casual wave of his hand, he called up dozens of currents through [Wind Release]. Ten became a hundred, a hundred became a thousand… and in the blink of an eye, countless soft gusts of wind spread out, lifting Brooke Seil, Severus, and the others one by one to their feet.
Even though they had already guessed Roy's identity—
and had even seen through his out-of-body mental form to tell that his Nen reserves were extraordinary—
that single gesture, in which he evenly and effortlessly supported every last one of them, still made Brooke Seil and Severus exchange a glance.
When they stood back up, the light in their eyes could no longer hide their excitement.
"May I ask, Young Master… have you, like His Majesty, also stepped onto the [Path of Faith]?"
Brooke Seil was a rough-featured man with a thick red beard, high nose, and deep-set eyes. He was enormous, nearly three meters tall, with heavy armor plating covering his chest, back, arms, and thighs. When he spoke, his armor rattled loudly enough to turn every eye his way.
Roy did not answer at once.
Instead, he quietly glanced at Maha beside him.
He had assumed that, as memories living inside his great-grandfather's heart, Brooke Seil, Severus, and the others already knew that he had stepped onto the Path of Faith.
Who would have thought… Maha had never told them?
The moment Brooke Seil spoke, Netero turned his head as well.
As one of the very few humans still alive who had ventured into the Dark Continent alongside Zigg and Linnet and returned without being devoured by calamity—still sane, still whole—Netero naturally knew more than a few hidden truths.
What was more, as chairman of the Hunter Association—the public "white glove" through which the V5 and other great nations controlled Nen users—he was hardly ignorant of the Dark Continent or the so-called Path of Faith.
In fact—
many decades ago,
on the very day he was kicked and beaten out of the Zoldyck estate by Maha over the matter of Zigg, Netero had already concluded that Maha Zoldyck—Zigg's father, the true pillar of the Zoldyck family—was walking the very same road as those beings on the Dark Continent once worshipped as "Lords."
That is to say… the Path of Faith.
"No matter how strong individual power may be, it still cannot equal the strength of the multitudes. That is why a [god] is a [god]…"
Zigg's old words echoed in his ears.
Netero said nothing, as though he had fallen into memory again.
At the same time, Maha, who had been caught beneath Roy's sidelong glance, said flatly,
"If there's no hope, then there's no disappointment."
Maha's cloudy, aged gaze swept over Brooke Seil, Severus, and the others. At one point, he reached out, took Betty Zoldyck's hand, and continued quietly,
"They're already dead. Even if I had told them, what would have changed?"
When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. A memory remains only a memory.
Roy fell silent.
Looking at Brooke Seil, Severus, and all the other vividly alive faces before him—faces so real they might as well have truly been standing there—he raised his right hand and ran all five fingers through his hair.
Just as he had once said to Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni—truth and falsehood were no more than flowers in the mirror, moonlight on water.
A confident little smile formed at the corner of his mouth.
"Great-grandfather, I can't pretend I didn't hear that. And I don't agree with it, either."
The boy stepped forward, lifted his chin slightly, and smiled at the two towering men before him, then at the others lined up behind them.
"That's right. I really have stepped onto the [Path of Faith]."
"And—"
Roy paused.
Under Netero's gaze, under Maha's gaze, under the excited stares of Brooke Seil, Severus, and the rest, he declared firmly:
"I have a way to bring all of you back to life."
Boom—
One stone raised a thousand waves.
At once,
the ruined throne room seemed to be struck mute.
Then, less than two breaths later, it erupted into chaos.
It was visible to the naked eye—people were turning to each other, whispering furiously, speaking over one another in low, urgent voices.
In the world of Hunter x Hunter, [resurrection] was not entirely impossible. At the very least, Roy could already name three ways it had appeared in canon.
First: revival through [Post-Mortem Nen], like Hisoka or Jed—by planting an intense emotional seed in oneself while alive, then using Post-Mortem Nen or lingering resentment to revive after death.
Second: [Reincarnation], preserving all memories from a previous life and being reborn through another woman's womb—like Kite, aided by his Nen ability [Crazy Slots] and the passive effect sometimes described as [Absolute Survival].
Third: making a wish to Roy's not-yet-born younger sibling Alluka and using Nanika's broken wish-granting rules to restore the dead—for example… Gon.
In short, resurrection was not impossible.
"Your Majesty… Young Master… is what he said true?"
"Can we really see the sun again?"
"Your Majesty… Young Master… I don't need to come back myself. I'm not worth much anyway. But my son was still young… if there really is a chance… I want him to live again, to truly see our world…"
"Yes, Your Majesty… Young Master… my granddaughter wasn't even one year old. She knew nothing. If someone can be brought back, then can my place go to her? I'm old. I couldn't help Your Majesty when I was alive. If I died, then so be it. I don't regret it…"
Whoosh—
Another gust of wind crossed the lake.
The whispering only grew louder and louder.
Several of the memory-forms living in Maha's heart—some holding babies, some clutching their daughters or sons—dropped to their knees and bowed deeply to Maha and Roy…
Then a sharp shout cut through everything.
And with it, a thunder dragon above the dome roared, shaking the heavens.
"Silence!"
At once, Brooke Seil turned around. The Nen he had possessed in life exploded outward together with killing intent, released in the form of [Ren], sweeping across the hall—
and in an instant, the pleas and clamor died away.
Then he turned back, pressed a hand to his chest, and solemnly apologized to Maha and Roy.
"It is my failure to keep order. Your Majesty, Young Master, please punish me…"
Roy looked toward Maha.
The old man was dried-up and withered now, far from the glory of his youth. And yet, standing this close, Roy's [True Eye] could still vaguely see the terrifyingly immense power sleeping inside him, like a volcano quiet on the surface but impossible to ignore.
Roy stood there in silence, together with Netero, both of them quietly watching Maha.
The old man stepped forward, bald crown and all, bent his back and knees, took Brooke Seil by the arm, and personally helped him stand.
Then he said gently,
"What's wrong with wanting to live?"
"Brooke."
"Severus."
"Shaw."
Maha's eyes moved from one face to the next, calling the others by name as well. Then he turned and gave Roy a long, deep look before continuing:
"You died because of me. As your king, it should have been my duty to shoulder the burden of bringing you back to life."
"If anyone is to blame, then blame me for being too weak. I didn't have the power. All I could do was preserve a thread of each of your true spirits in this way. So if there is fault…"
"…then the one at fault was never you."
"It was me."
And after saying that, Maha bowed solemnly before them all.
Perhaps he had held it in for too many years.
Perhaps he had simply never wanted to touch the wound again.
But when the old man bent and lowered his head, Roy could vaguely see him let out a breath, as though he had finally forced out everything he had been unable to say for all those long years.
For a time, Roy and Netero could only stand there, full of emotion, unable to speak.
To die with a nation was noble.
But only Maha and those who had followed him, trusted him, and unconditionally treated him as their hope knew the pain and misery hidden inside that glory.
Just as—
Gotoh was to Roy.
The Hashira were to Roy.
Itachi, Shisui, and the rest of the Uchiha were to Roy.
The deeper the bond, the harder it was to cut, the harder it was to sever.
"Do you actually know what you're doing?"
A quiet Nen-assisted voice slipped into Roy's ear.
Netero turned his head slightly, glanced at the boy, and said kindly,
"Be careful this doesn't get out of hand."
Then—
inside the [Mind World] formed by the collision of [Heart's Drop: Fist Listening] and [Heart's Drop: Sword Listening]…
Within the hazy confusion, a faint light suddenly pierced out through the mist.
At first, the light was weak, barely noticeable.
But as the mental fog began to part, the light grew brighter and brighter, multiplying rapidly, until it drew the attention of Netero, Maha, Brooke Seil, Severus, and all the others.
Those men and women who had still been lost in the aftermath of Maha's apology instinctively turned to look.
At the end of that light, as if primal chaos itself were splitting open, a red sun slowly rose from behind Roy, radiating light and heat with wild abandon.
Around it circled the stars of the universe.
It rose higher and higher—
impossible to look away from.
"The sun… Mother, look, it's the sun…"
"Yes… the sun. And it's… a dawn sun."
Good heavens…
How long had it been since they'd seen the sun?
Some spread their arms and tilted their heads back, embracing the sunlight.
Some closed their eyes and simply let the warm light wash over their faces, as though it were pouring life back into the dried-up fields of their hearts.
Some children broke free from their parents' hands and ran laughing toward the sun.
Some old women, helped along by their children and grandchildren, stepped forward into the warmth.
And when the last trace of fog finally dispersed, the red sun leapt fully above Roy's head, scattering thousands of rays and ten thousand streams of light, illuminating every grievance and shadow buried deep inside all those hearts.
Chit… chit…
At Roy's thought, dozens of [Heart Worms] moved out, crawling slowly along the lines of causality toward each person's heart.
The panel flashed.
[Negative emotions +1 +1 +1…]
And at once, [Yin Release] began racing toward Lv. 5.
[Notice…]
[Yin Release: Lv4 98256/100000…]
[1744 points remain before unlocking the Mangekyō Sharingan…]
~~~
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