The void trembled, rife with turbulent currents...
Suddenly, two sharp gazes shot over like lightning.
Roy's vision blurred. Just as he used [Targeted Tracking] to probe a corner deep within the void, his consciousness felt as if it had been pricked by a needle. With a heavy thud, it slammed into an invisible wall and bounced back, forcing him to return to reality...
*Buzz...* Without the support of his line of sight, the image that had surfaced in his mind instantly collapsed...
That faint, lingering sense of being watched faded away...
The void closed up... leaving only a skeleton, an Elephant Baku, and a shriveled old man standing stunned deep within the void, completely silent...
It was him... Roy!
"Hehehe..." Maha suddenly laughed. His laughter grew louder, filled with unbridled relief and delight. He cast a sidelong glance at the skeleton, dug at his ear, and said, "Three to five years really is quite short, huh."
The pale green ghost fire in the skeleton's hollow eye sockets visibly flickered. It seemed to be shaking its head with a chuckle, or perhaps readjusting its own understanding. Its tone carried an inevitable hint of surprise. "Those were the exact words of my old friend back then."
Pretending not to hear the mockery in Maha's words, the skeleton reminisced, "He was a proud fellow, and he certainly had the right to be. On the eve of his fall, he found me and told me plainly that across the entire Dark Continent... even if a demigod or the children of those gods came, it would take them at least two years to learn his ability..."
"That's my, Maha's, grandson!" Maha said, resting his hands on his hips.
"But you are not a god, and... you have long since fallen from the altar..." The skeleton looked deeply at Maha. "I can feel that, just like me, your divinity is nearly depleted. It is a miracle you are even alive."
Maha remained silent. The skeleton's words seemed to have torn open the scars of both men, leaving absolutely no room for rebuttal...
The two remained in silence. It was as if they had more to say, yet as if everything had already been said, all understood without words. That was until... the void trembled. The turbulent spatial currents, enraged by the intrusion of two "bugs," surged even more violently. Both Maha and the skeleton knew it was time to part ways...
Maha stood with his hands behind his back, gazing quietly into the endless void ahead. "Leave your name..."
A faint sorrow filled the air... The old man sighed and said, "On the day you truly die, if I am still alive, tell me the location. I will go and collect your corpse."
"There is no need." The skeleton gently stroked the Elephant Baku, which curled its long trunk and affectionately nuzzled against him. The ghost fire in the man's hollow eye sockets flickered. With a soft *whoosh*, it reflected the glorious, turbulent years of the past. He said, "When I, Leon Zeppeli, die, my body will be shattered to dust. You won't be able to collect my corpse even if you tried!"
"Leon Zeppeli..." Maha muttered the name once and nodded silently. He then turned to leave, stepping forward and crushing a surging spatial current underfoot. "Since you were able to find your way here, I suppose I don't need to tell you anything else, Leon Zeppeli..."
"If there is a next life,"
"We shall meet again!"
His hand glowing with a faint light, Maha raised his arm, aimed forward, and suddenly tore at the space again. A rift opened in the void, revealing the vibrant, sunlit world outside—a world containing Zeno, Silva, Roy, and the other children...
The skeleton turned its head, faintly catching a glimpse of the daylight outside. Watching Maha step forward, half his body already through the rift, it suddenly asked, "You know how difficult this path is. One wrong step leads to a bottomless abyss. Why do you still let your young friend walk this path?"
Maha paused, then lifted his foot again, stepping through without looking back. "The youth have their own choices to make. We remnants of the old era shouldn't worry about them, nor... can we control them..."
*Riiiip.* The void tore open and then sealed shut. In the desolate space, only Leon Zeppeli and his old companion remained. After standing in a daze for a moment, they turned around, putting their backs to the direction Maha had left, and vanished into the deeper void...
"So, it really is good to be young... Youth means everything..."
A faint, profound sigh was stirred by the spatial turbulence and completely annihilated.
Republic of Padokea, Kukuroo Mountain, Zoldyck Family Estate.
Ripples formed in the void, and Maha stepped out. The hearts of the Zoldyck family members, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled.
"Grandfather / Great-grandfather / Ancestor..."
"Mm." Maha landed lightly in the corridor. He gave a noncommittal nod to Zeno and Silva, then swept his old eyes around. "Where is Killua?"
"He was taken inside to be nursed."
Infants did nothing but eat and sleep... With his back to the bedroom door, Maha knew without even looking that with Kikyo there, nothing would happen to Killua. He stepped past Zeno and Silva, walked straight up to Roy, raised a finger, and flicked him on the forehead. "You've got a lot of nerve!"
"Looking at things you shouldn't be looking at. Are you trying to turn the world upside down?"
Roy winced at the pain in his forehead. Clutching the wooden box gifted by Leon Zeppeli, he offered a sheepish smile. "I had a sudden flash of insight and couldn't control myself for a moment..."
Besides, everyone had been worried about the old man's safety. Knowing he could use [Targeted Tracking Technique] to see the other party through the "threads of karma" connecting him and Maha, it would have been stranger if he had managed to hold back.
"Hmph."
"Did you learn it?"
"Yeah," Roy said, looking deeply at the wooden box in his hands. "It's a miraculous feeling. Just the textures attached to its surface possess unimaginable power. Great-grandfather... this wooden box is incredibly precious..."
The A-Class Rare Beast "Targeted Grass" had a potential status of "S". He wondered... what rank of existence it would be considered on the Dark Continent. How would it compare to... the Sandworm that attacked Netero, or even [God]...
"If someone is willing to give it, just accept it with peace of mind." Maha glanced at the wooden box, a complex look flashing deep in his eyes. "At the very least, it is the slough of a [Demigod]. For it to end up in your hands, that can be considered your own skill..."
[Demigod]? Zeno and Silva exchanged a glance, their eyes falling on the quaint wooden box with solemn expressions.
Not walking the [Path of Faith] didn't mean they didn't know what [Faith] was... Harvesting the "Nen" of countless believers to ignite the "Divine Fire" and become a god... Having spent so many years being trained by Zigg in [re; The Game of the Dead], Silva and Zeno knew a thing or two... Not to mention the snippets of information they occasionally overheard from Maha...
Zeno's white hair swayed slightly as he narrowed his eyes. "To give away something like this... Grandfather, it seems the other party values Roy quite highly."
Silva remained silent. With his arms crossed over his chest, he frowned at the wooden box. His gaze shifted upward, lingering for a moment on the thoughtful Roy, before he quietly heard Maha say, "That's why I said, it's this brat's own skill."
The old man shoved his hands into his pockets. "Roy, come with me."
He then brushed past Zeno and Silva's shoulders, walking unhurriedly toward the staircase...
Roy looked at Zeno, looked at Silva, and cast a glance at Illumi. Flipping his hand, he tucked the wooden box into his jacket. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he followed right behind... One old and one young, one tall and one short. On this morning filled with rosy clouds, accompanied by the red sun leaping over the horizon, they cast two moderate shadows down the mottled, ancient stone corridor...
*Whoosh.* A gentle breeze picked up, carrying the scent of flowers and the chirping of birds...
Zeno stood with his hands behind his back, watching the old and young depart. He said quietly, "Silva, Killua can be the family head, but Grandfather's legacy can only be inherited by Roy."
Silva said nothing, merely staring blankly at the boy's retreating back...
Zeno turned his head to look at him. "You disagree?"
The man snapped out of his daze a moment later. Without a word, he pushed open the bedroom door to go see Killua. "We'll talk about it when he can actually beat me."
*Bang.* The bedroom door slammed shut.
Zeno, having the door shut in his face, swept his gaze past Milluki, who was trying to sneak away, and turned to look at Illumi. "What about you?"
Illumi tucked the [Divine Spear Wooden Nail] safely into his coat, shoved his hands into his pockets, and turned to head downstairs toward the basement... Since Great-great-grandfather was being monopolized by his older brother... he would go find Great-grandfather...
*Tap, tap...* Footsteps echoed... After Silva, Zeno watched Illumi walk away as well, shaking his head to himself. "Every single one of them..."
He then faded into the shadows of the corner and disappeared...
It was a bright and tranquil morning. With Killua's birth, everyone dispersed to their own devices. Aside from the occasional cry of a baby, the Zoldyck estate quickly returned to its usual peace and quiet...
Roy followed Maha step by step toward the dimly lit small room, turning the word [Demigod] over and over in his mind. At one point, he looked up and asked Maha, "Great-grandfather, how strong is a [God], and how strong is a [Demigod]?"
Maha suddenly stopped in his tracks. Right in front of him was the bedroom where he had intended to linger on and end his days. Turning his head... he looked at Roy's youthful face, which was gradually showing traces of maturity, and chuckled, "Hehehe..."
"Hehehe... How strong?"
"When the day comes... that Gotoh can beat Netero,"
"You will naturally know the answer."