The final night before Dean left for the Hunter Exam, he spent it in the Zoldyck mansion's library, surrounded by the books and scrolls that had taught him so much about the world, about power, about the nature of Nen. He walked through the familiar corridors one last time, saying goodbye in his mind to the places that had shaped his childhood, that had forged him into the person he had become.
The library was his favorite place. It was where he had discovered the knowledge that had helped him develop his Adaptive Evolution ability. It was where he had spent countless hours reading about Nen, about the history of Hunters, about the world beyond the Zoldyck mansion. And now, as he walked through it one last time, he felt a strange mixture of gratitude and relief.
Gratitude for what the family had taught him, for the training that had made him strong, for the knowledge that had been passed down through generations of Zoldycks. But relief that he was finally leaving, finally breaking free from the constraints that had held him back, finally embracing the path that his heart had been calling him toward all along.
He found a book he had read many times before—a history of the Hunter Association and the great Hunters of the past. He opened it to a page he had bookmarked years ago, a passage about a Hunter named Netero who had become the Chairman of the Hunter Association. The passage described how Netero had dedicated his life not to personal power, but to using his strength to protect and guide others. It was a vision of what a Hunter could be, and it had inspired Dean more than any other single thing.
As dawn broke over the Zoldyck mansion, Dean packed his few belongings. He didn't take much—just some clothes, some money, a small notebook where he had written down techniques and observations about Nen. He didn't need material possessions. He needed freedom, opportunity, and the chance to become something greater than what the family wanted him to be.
He left a note on the table in his room, addressed to Silva and Kikyo. It was brief, respectful, but firm:
"I am leaving to take the Hunter Exam. I understand the consequences of this choice. I accept that if I fail, I will be cast out from the family. But I also understand that if I succeed, I will have the freedom to forge my own path, to become who I am meant to be. I am grateful for the training the family has given me, but I cannot spend my life following orders that I did not choose. I hope that one day, you will understand this choice. And I hope that one day, Killua will have the courage to make a similar choice for himself."
He left the note on his pillow and walked out of the mansion without looking back. The guards at the gate didn't try to stop him—Silva had apparently given orders that Dean was free to leave. Perhaps Silva wanted to see if Dean would succeed or fail. Perhaps he was testing his son one last time.
As Dean walked down the mountain path away from the Zoldyck mansion, he felt the weight of his past beginning to lift from his shoulders. He was no longer the defective twin. He was no longer bound by the family's expectations. He was free.
And with that freedom came a sense of purpose that he had never felt before. He was going to become a Hunter. He was going to prove that there were paths to power beyond the family's narrow philosophy. And he was going to show Killua and anyone else who felt trapped by the family's way that there was another option, another path, another way to be strong.
The future stretched out before him, full of possibilities and challenges. And Dean walked toward it with absolute certainty that he was making the right choice.
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