They were determined to see through him from the inside out...
"He is young, yet his vitality is not weak."
"His mind is resolute, and his Nen ability is not weak."
"When he looked at us, he was only slightly surprised at first, but quickly relaxed. This shows his mind is agile and his reaction time is not bad."
"Even his hair color is the same as His Majesty's. In fact... the tips flow with a golden gleam, looking even more radiant than His Majesty's."
Gazes belonging to Brook Searle, Cyblus, and Blake Shaw converged on Roy one by one.
In just an instant, Roy felt as if he had been forced into the center of a stage, enduring the glare of thousands of spotlights.
Someone with a fragile heart might have felt their calves go weak on the spot, their knees buckling uncontrollably as they stumbled and collapsed to the ground.
But,
Roy did not.
The young man's back was as straight as a javelin. As soon as his front foot stepped past the final stone step, his back foot followed, planting firmly on the stone. Facing the scrutiny of thousands of gazes, he remained unmoved. Looking up, his line of sight passed through Brook Searle, Cyblus, and Railton Shaw, staring straight at the center of the royal court. There, on a mottled throne covered in the marks of time and epic history, quietly sat a shattered crown... Roy's eyes flickered, and a long sigh echoed leisurely in his ears...
"The world knows the glory of the divine, but alas... if you do not become a [God], you will ultimately be reduced to an ant..."
Netero stood on Roy's right as they ascended to the royal court. Seeing that the shattered crown had long lost its former luster, its top shaped like a mountain but missing a corner, he glanced sideways at Maha...
The little old man was expressionless, completely ignoring Netero. After muttering a curse at Zigg, he pulled Roy forward as if holding an exhibit, and spoke to Brook Searle, Cyblus, and the rest of his former subordinates: "Don't say I won't let you see him. Now you have met him. He,"
"Is my grandson... Roy Zoldyck." (Note: Maha is Roy's great-great-grandfather, but for the sake of convenience, he simply uses the term grandson.)
"Brook Searle greets the Young Master!"
"Cyblus greets the Young Master!"
*Rumble...* Led by the two burly giants at the front, the men and women lined up in two rows on the left and right of the royal court fell to one knee with overwhelming, majestic force. Placing their right hands over their chests, they respectfully bowed to Roy.
The sheer volume and majestic momentum nearly shook the already broken roof of the royal court, causing rubble to fall continuously...
'Believers...' Netero stood beside Roy and quietly stepped aside, making room for the grandfather and grandson. He was a man who understood the big picture; as a guest, he could not steal the spotlight from the host. This was a matter of cultivation and character.
The old man with white eyebrows and a white beard watched silently from the side. As his gaze shifted, he swept over the tall figures in the front row... With his piercing eyes, he instantly saw it... These leading generals who had once conquered the world with Maha were all incredibly strong... Especially the leaders...
Those two,
Brook Searle and Cyblus, faintly gave him a very dangerous feeling. He hadn't felt this way in many years; at the very least... Xiao Bo couldn't make him feel this way!
As Netero's thoughts surged, he narrowed his old eyes, a sharp light churning endlessly within them...
*Whoosh...* A gentle breeze blew past, sweeping across the lake of the mind and rustling the tall, wall-high green grass swaying in the wind on the ruined square of the royal court...
Roy spoke gently, "Please rise, uncles."
With a casual wave of his hand, he used [Wind Style] to summon dozens of gentle breezes. One split into ten, ten into a hundred, a hundred into a thousand... In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of gentle breezes materialized, lifting Brook Searle, Cyblus, and the others one by one...
Even though they had already guessed Roy's identity, and even... seen through the quality of Roy's projected spirit...
Roy's Nen capacity was extraordinary.
But with just this single move, ensuring everyone was taken care of equally,
Brook Searle and Cyblus turned their heads to exchange a glance. As they stood up, a sharp light flowed in their eyes, and their suppressed excitement and agitation were instantly revealed...
"Dare I ask, Young Master, have you also embarked on the... [Path of Faith] like His Majesty?"
Brook Searle was a rugged man with a thick red beard, a high nose, and deep-set eyes. He was extremely tall, standing at a full three meters. His chest, back, arms, and thighs were all covered in thick armor plates that clattered loudly as he spoke with his deafening, booming voice, drawing everyone's attention...
Hearing this, Roy did not answer immediately. He just quietly glanced at Maha beside him... He thought that as memories living in his great-grandfather's heart, Brook Searle, Cyblus, and the others might have already known that he had embarked on the Path of Faith. Who knew... his great-grandfather hadn't told them beforehand?
As Brook Searle finished speaking, Netero also turned his head to look over...
As one of the few surviving humans who had ventured deep into the Dark Continent alongside Zigg and Linne, and whose mind and body remained intact without being swallowed by disaster, he naturally knew many secrets.
Furthermore... as the Chairman of the Hunter Association, the front-stage organization—the "white gloves"—used by the V5 and other major nations to control Nen users, he was not entirely ignorant of the Dark Continent or the Path of Faith... In fact,
Decades ago,
On the day he was kicked and beaten by Maha and miserably expelled from the Zoldyck estate because of Zigg's affairs, Netero had already confirmed... Maha Zoldyck, Zigg's father and the true anchor of the Zoldyck family, was walking the exact same path as those entities revered as "Lords" that he had indirectly encountered on the Dark Continent. That is... the Path of Faith!
"No matter how strong an individual's power is, it is difficult to rival the power of the masses... This is also why a [God] is a [God]..." The words Zigg had spoken leisurely in the past still echoed in his ears... Netero remained silent, seemingly lost in his memories.
Beside him, Maha, who was being stared at by Roy, said expressionlessly, "Without hope, there will be no disappointment..."
Maha's dim, half-white gaze swept over Brook Searle and Cyblus one by one. At a certain moment, he reached out and grabbed Betty Zoldyck's hand, saying faintly, "They have all been dead for a long time. Even if I told them, what use would it be?"
Death is like a lamp going out; memories are ultimately just memories... In his silence, Roy looked up at the living faces of Brook Searle and Cyblus, standing before him as if they were real.
The young man raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and ran them through his hair. Just as he had once told Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni... truth and falsehood are nothing but fleeting illusions. A confident, shallow smile quietly formed on his lips as he said, "Great-grandfather, I cannot pretend I didn't hear that, nor can I... agree with it..."
The young man took a step forward, slightly raised his chin, and smiled at the two giants before him, as well as the men and women lined up behind them. He said, "That's right, I have indeed embarked on the [Path of Faith]. And—"
Roy paused. Under the gazes of Netero and Maha, and the excited, exchanging looks of Brook Searle, Cyblus, and the others, he declared decisively:
"I have a way to resurrect everyone."
*Boom!* A single stone had stirred up a thousand ripples.
Instantly,
The ruined hall of the royal court seemed to have been put on mute, losing all sound for a moment. Then... barely two breaths later, an uproar erupted!
It was visibly clear that many people were looking at each other, whispering and discussing among themselves!
In the world of Hunters, [Resurrection] was not an entirely impossible feat. At the very least, from Roy's perspective, there were three methods already shown in the original work.
First: Resurrection through [Post-Mortem Nen]. For example, Hisoka and Jed... by planting a strong emotional seed in themselves before death, they could activate [Post-Mortem Nen] or [Grudge Nen] to achieve resurrection.
Second: [Reincarnation]. Retaining all memories of the past life and reincarnating through another mother's womb. For example... Kite, and his passive Nen ability... [Absolute Survival].
Third: Making a wish to his unborn younger sister, Alluka. Using the twisted mechanics of [Nanika], one could "wish" for resurrection. For example... Gon...
In short, resurrection was not impossible.
"Your Majesty... is what the Young Master said... true?"
"Can we really see the light of day again?"
"Your Majesty... Young Master... I don't need to be resurrected... My life is cheap anyway, and living is meaningless. But my boy is still young. If there is a chance... I hope he can live another life and take a good look at our world..."
"Yes, Your Majesty... Young Master, my granddaughter is not even a year old. She doesn't understand anything. If resurrection is truly possible, can you give this old woman's spot to her? I'm old and can't walk anymore. I didn't help Your Majesty much when I was alive, and it's no pity that I died..."
*Whoosh...* Another gentle breeze swept across the lake, blowing in.
It stirred up the whispers, making them louder and more intense... Visibly, several memory entities living in Maha's heart, either holding infant granddaughters or holding the hands of their sons and daughters, bowed deeply to Maha and Roy...
Suddenly, a sharp shout, accompanied by the roar of a lightning dragon from the dome, exploded in the sky!
"Shut up!"
Then, Brook Searle abruptly turned around. His pre-mortem Nen aura, wrapped in killing intent, swept out explosively in the form of [Ren]... instantly obliterating all the pleas and clamor...
At that moment, the man turned back, placed his hand over his chest, and solemnly apologized to Maha and Roy, "This subordinate has failed in his management. Please punish me, Your Majesty, Young Master..."
Roy looked at Maha.
The old man was dry and shriveled, no longer possessing his former glory. If not for being so close, and faintly seeing through the [Eye of Truth] that could pierce through falsehoods, one wouldn't notice the terrifyingly abundant power hidden within his great-grandfather—a majestic power lying dormant like a volcano, demanding not to be ignored...
In his silence, Roy, along with Netero, quietly watched Maha. He slowly stepped forward, bowed his head with its few remaining strands of hair, bent his knees, and grasped Brook Searle's arm, personally helping him up. He said gently, "What is wrong with wanting to live?"
"Brook,"
"Cyblus,"
"Shaw,"
As Maha's gaze shifted, he gently called out the names of the others. He turned his head, looked deeply at Roy, and said, "You all died because of me back then. As your king, I should bear the mission of resurrecting you all."
"The blame lies with me for being too weak. I didn't have the ability, so I could only use this method to preserve a trace of everyone's true spirit. So, if anyone is at fault... the one at fault is not you, but... me..."
After saying this, Maha bowed solemnly in front of everyone... Perhaps he had held it in his heart for too long, or perhaps... he didn't want to revisit the pain of the past. The moment the old man bent his waist and lowered his head,
Roy faintly saw Maha quietly breathe a sigh of relief, as if he had spat out all the unpleasantness he had harbored for so many years all at once... leaving Roy and Netero overwhelmed with emotion for a time, unable to speak.
A nation dying for a cause was certainly heroic, but the tragedy and pain within were known only to Maha and the followers who believed in him and unconditionally saw him as their hope... Just like,
Gotoh was to Roy, the Hashira were to Roy, and Itachi, Shisui, and the other Uchiha were to Roy. The deeper the bond, the harder it was to let go, and the harder it was to sever!
'Do you actually have confidence in this, kid?' Quietly, a telepathic message infused with Nen aura drilled into Roy's ear.
Netero glanced sideways at the young man and kindly reminded him, 'Be careful not to make promises you cannot keep.'
Roy did not answer, nor did he speak. He merely opened his mind, inviting Netero to take a look...
Following that... within the [Mental World] formed by the intertwining clash of [Heart Drop · Fist Listen] and [Heart Drop · Sword Listen]...
Amidst the hazy chaos, a ray of light suddenly shot out from the fog...
At first, this light was very faint and hard to notice. But... as the mental fog was gradually pierced, the light grew brighter and more abundant. Soon, it attracted the attention of Netero, Maha, Brook Searle, Cyblus, and the others...
The men and women, who were still reeling from Maha's apology and hadn't fully reacted, instinctively looked toward the light...
At the end of the light, where the hazy chaos first opened, a red sun emerged from behind Roy. It recklessly radiated light and heat, surrounded by cosmic stars, slowly rising... making it impossible for anyone to look away...
"The sun... Mom, look, it's the sun..."
"Yeah... the sun, and it's... the morning sun!"
Heaven have mercy... how long had it been since they last saw the sun... Some opened their arms and tilted their heads back to embrace the sunlight...
Some closed their eyes, passionately feeling the warm sunlight hitting their faces, as if it were pouring into their hearts, injecting new energy into their dried-up fields...
Children broke free from the adults' hands, laughing and running toward the sun...
Old women hobbled along, pushed by their nephews, basking in the warmth...
When the last trace of fog dissipated, the red sun leaped above Roy's head, blooming with thousands of morning clouds and tens of thousands of rays of light, illuminating the resentment and darkness buried at the bottom of everyone's hearts...
*Squeak... Squeak...* Following Roy's thought, dozens of [Heart Bugs] slowly crawled along the threads of karma toward everyone's hearts...
System prompt...
Rapidly advancing... [Yin Style] leaps toward LV5...