The extermination of the Kurta Clan had once sent shockwaves through the world.
Yet no one knew that one boy had borne the weight of it all.
Unbearable grief and rage, the hollow numbness of a walking corpse...
The boy named Kurapika struggled and gasped for breath in this abyssal darkness.
The horrific deaths of his clansmen, seared into his memory, would often resurface as nightmares, tormenting his spirit.
In the first year after the massacre, Kurapika nearly broke.
But in the end, he wasn't defeated. Through the haze of despair, he gradually pulled himself together.
He would avenge his clan. He would reclaim their stolen eyes...
No matter how painful or arduous the path, he could never retreat.
At the very least, he had to give his clansmen's souls a place to return to.
Outside the bustling airport terminal.
The youthful-faced Kurapika adjusted the strap of his satchel, his dull eyes reflecting the figures passing before him.
He paused at the entrance, instinctively lowering his head to avoid any potential gazes before merging into the crowd streaming into the building.
The sudden revelation of his clansmen's eyes' whereabouts had driven this fourteen-year-old boy, still unwashed of his naivety, to make an impulsive decision; to head for Yorknew.
Perhaps he simply lacked the capacity to think further about how to locate or reclaim those eyes...
For a boy who had just clawed his way out of the mire, his mind and body already ravaged, such a goal requiring meticulous planning was undeniably harsh.
From a rational standpoint, he shouldn't have stepped through these airport doors that witnessed countless hellos and goodbyes every day.
But no matter how many times he relived this moment, he would likely still follow his emotions and walk through them.
Inside the spacious terminal, voices, footsteps, and the sound of luggage wheels blended into a noisy clamor.
Kurapika moved cautiously through the crowd, weaving an uneven path to avoid collisions as he headed for the check-in counter.
Passing the lounge area, his peripheral vision caught a golden-haired twin-tailed girl around his age standing alone by a magazine rack, but his gaze didn't linger.
At the magazine rack.
The twin-tailed girl's eyes sparkled as she pulled out a magazine featuring a handsome blond man on the cover.
To encounter such a delightful sight while waiting for her flight!
Overjoyed, she silently praised the airport's thoughtful amenities.
Slurp.
Wiping a glistening droplet from the corner of her mouth with a gloved hand, the girl giggled dreamily and eagerly flipped through the newly released magazine she hadn't had a chance to buy yet.
Passersby around her couldn't help but notice the odd behavior, casting puzzled glances her way.
But the twin-tailed girl paid no mind to the strange looks, utterly absorbed in the charms of the various heartthrobs gracing the pages.
In stark contrast, the other golden-haired boy walking away seemed all the more lonely, sensitive, even fragile.
—--
Southernpiece Auction House, VIP lounge.
Aksel, his face lined with wrinkles at over fifty years old, received Morrow here.
"Good stuff." Aksel held the emerald between his thumb and index finger, raising it overhead where the light revealed a vibrant green luster pulsing like life itself.
This was still just an untreated gemstone, unadulterated by human hands.
With quality like this, heat treatment could elevate its color and clarity to another level.
Yet Aksel had always preferred natural, unprocessed forms. Even knowing the potential for refinement, he felt no urge to alter it.
Placing the untreated emerald into a prepared box, he glanced at Morrow across from him and smiled. "It's been a long time since I've seen a natural gem of such quality. To think you discovered it hidden in an unremarkable clock, Mr. Morrow, quite the feat."
"You flatter me, Mr. Aksel."
Morrow's pulse quickened slightly.
He hadn't told Aksel about the emerald's origins, nor was he aware of any connection between Aksel and that antique shop. Most likely, the young proprietress had uploaded photos of the gem to some Yorknew exchange platform.
With the annual auction season in full swing, such things weren't unusual.
Many antique dealers and potential buyers actively exchanged information during this time, though most were just showing off.
It was a common trait among collectors.
They spent fortunes on acquisitions, partly for personal satisfaction, partly to flaunt among peers.
Aksel closed the box with deliberate care, his tone casual. "There is one thing that intrigues me, though. How did you know in advance that the clock contained a natural emerald, enough to promise it to me two days ago?"
"Mr. Aksel, I never specified an emerald. Even without this one, I could've acquired another gem to your satisfaction. I simply got lucky while browsing the shops and stumbled upon it."
Morrow maintained a composed smile, his voice steady. "This is Yorknew. With money, you can buy anything you desire, isn't that so?"
"Hah, true enough."
Recalling that Morrow had indeed only mentioned a gemstone earlier, Aksel let the matter drop, shifting the conversation to auction details for the Scarlet Eyes and other items.
Morrow had no objections to Southernpiece Auction House's decision to schedule the auction for the 10th.
Securing a mid-season slot for the Scarlet Eyes and other pieces was already the best possible outcome.
He'd be staying in Yorknew until the auction season ended anyway.
Once the arrangements were settled, Morrow didn't linger. Leaving Southernpiece, he headed straight for the city's Bull Market.
A relatively free, informal marketplace for the general public, its bargaining system mimicked auctions, a hybrid of bidding and flea-market haggling.
Here, stalls displayed all manner of goods, offering plenty of chances for hidden finds.
But even if you stumbled upon a bargain, the profit margins were slim.
Morrow wasn't here for money. He needed to charge Tree Rings.
A market like this, overflowing with variety, was bound to have some Nen-imbued objects carrying residual aura.
Especially at this time of year…
Two days later. Morrow visited the Bull Markets in various districts and found five Nen-imbued objects carrying aura.
The energy of the Tree Rings subsequently reached 26%.
Compared to this, Post-Mortem Nen was still more efficient for charging. Perhaps he could find some commissions specifically targeting sublimated Post-Mortem Nen through certain channels, that way, he could charge efficiently while making a fortune.
Walking along the market road, Morrow silently pondered.
"Oww~"
Suddenly, a self-proclaimed super-duper adorable blonde beauty "accidentally" twisted her ankle and pitifully collapsed right in front of Morrow on the path.
Then, the beauty slowly raised her head, eyes brimming with tears.
"Huh? Where'd he go?"
But the young man who had been lost in thought was nowhere in sight.
The beauty whipped her head around, only to see the boy sprinting away at full speed, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
"???"
Wait, why are you running?