The piercing sound waves penetrated his eardrums, rattling his skull. Roy struggled to get up from the ground. Seeing the sandworm, his pupils contracted as he recalled something.
This was clearly the monster that Netero, Linne, and Grandfather Zigg encountered when they first landed on the Dark Continent!
'No wonder it feels familiar.' Roy instinctively turned his head. Beside him stood three figures: Netero, Linne, and Zigg!
'So did I travel back in time, or was I forcibly pulled into Grandfather Zigg's memories?'
Roy had no time to ponder. The endless sandworm blocked out the sun. A tail swept over. Then a shout came from beside him. "Get down now!"
He hurriedly threw himself flat. But while he could dodge the tail, the violent wind carrying overwhelmingly powerful Ren overturned the earth's surface, uprooting people and trees together. This was impossible to avoid.
He could only fight fire with fire, using Ren to counter! Racing against time, Roy focused. Imagining opening all his body's aura nodes instantly, forcibly expelling his "visible aura output." He barely grasped the feeling, releasing a "Nen shroud" to cover himself. Then a flying uprooted tree struck him, sending him backward.
His internal organs felt shattered. Two seconds. He'd just arrived in this world and was already dying?
Roy's throat burned. He coughed up a mouthful of blood before his head tilted and he lost consciousness.
[Warning: Detecting "Unknown Consciousness" connection]
[Early warning mechanism activated. "Gate of Cognition" opening]
The familiar falling sensation came. He heard familiar sounds again, hazily. Roy drowsily opened his eyes. What met his gaze was the familiar cognitive sea, with numerous wooden doors floating on its surface. He hadn't returned to reality but had come to the cognitive world instead!
Struggling to get up from the beach, he first checked his body. Good, no injuries. Internal organs are performing their duties, operating well. Everything indicated that the tentacle encounter and everything that followed was merely a dream.
He thought this as he rolled up his pants as usual, letting seawater wash away his fatigue. Suddenly glancing over, he froze. Beside the Demon Slayer door, another pitch-black door had appeared from nowhere. The door stood ajar, revealing a crack. Faintly, he heard strange beasts' roars and human screams.
"Re: Game of the Dead." "Unknown consciousness connection." Zigg, Linne, Netero. Numerous words wove through his mind, forming an incredible theory.
Roy gradually realized the truth. Whether passively or accidentally, through his Nen ability "Gate of Cognition," he'd connected to Grandfather Zigg's consciousness, or rather, his memory of the Dark Continent journey!
So this extra door led to the Dark Continent in Zigg's memories! His thoughts gradually clearing, Roy finally understood what Great-grandfather meant by "Your Grandfather Zigg loves sausages." Turns out some people died, yet their consciousness remained, still unforgotten by the world.
Then the question was, should he continue? The young man hesitated in place. Gritting his teeth, he waded through the shallows, pushing the door to enter again!
"Get down!" The memory repeated. Roy heard that shout again. Without thinking, he threw himself to the ground, summoning Ren. Still the same feeling, forcing himself to expel all "visible aura output" from his aura nodes, forming a "Nen shroud" to protect himself, weathering wave after wave of impact.
This time, Roy was struck by a flying stone and knocked backward. He lasted 2.5 seconds.
The splash of seawater strikes the reef. The familiar falling sensation again. As expected, Roy awakened completely intact back in the familiar cognitive world. This time, he slapped his face.
Without hesitation, he continued pushing open the black door, charging in stubbornly. Still, that "Get down!" Forcing his "visible aura output" to form a "Nen shroud" to protect himself. This time, he lasted 3 seconds before being struck by a flying boat, losing consciousness.
Next came a cycle: entering the Dark Continent, returning to the cognitive world, re-entering the Dark Continent, returning to the cognitive world, over and over. Finally, after seven or eight attempts, thick drowsiness struck. On Roy's tenth return to the cognitive sea, he struggled to turn over, collapsing on the beach. His heart understood this was his limit!
15 seconds. This time, he'd lasted a full fifteen seconds.
Castle, underground room. Watching Roy push the food cart into the passage, Tsubone took advantage of Scarface and One-Eye closing the security door to unhurriedly pull out a pocket watch. Seeing it, her memory returned to the past. This was her third time here. Previously, it had been Zeno and Silva.
She was a Zoldyck house-born child, adopted by Maha since childhood, accompanying Zeno as he grew up, watching Silva as a baby. She clearly remembered how long each of them stayed inside. She'd also seen Zigg, even served him for several years. When he died, she was there, so she also knew what was inside.
Three seconds was Zeno's answer. Three and a half seconds was Silva's limit. Now the old butler stared at the passage, releasing her En. The moment she detected Nen fluctuations, she pressed the watch to start timing.
Scarface and One-Eye stood like two door gods to her sides, guarding her flanks, preventing anything or anyone from distracting her.
Tsubone silently counted. "One, one point five, two." Her eyebrow raised. "Two point five, three." Her pupils enlarged in surprise as she continued. "Three point five, four, five, six!"
This was impossible. Two pink twin tails, blown by the wind, began to dishevel. Tsubone furrowed her brow, continuing. "Eight, nine, ten, eleven, fifteen!"
Abruptly pressing the watch, she noticed that the unique Nen fluctuation had disappeared. She froze!
"Seems Master truly likes him," Scarface said gravely.
"Because he stayed the longest." One-Eye honestly added. They were all children adopted by Zigg, playmates who'd grown up alongside Zeno. Among them, Scarface was Tsubone's husband, Holt's father, and Amane's grandfather.
Seeing Tsubone dazing, he reminded her, "You should report truthfully."
Tsubone snapped back. The watch still in hand, she pulled out her phone with the other, calling Silva. Not delaying even one second, saving even walking time.
Second-floor master bedroom. The soft bed shook, protesting under the impact, groaning.
A ringtone sounded. The bed quieted. The man frowned, grabbing his phone, pressing answer, displeased. "What is it?"
"Master's requested time is up."
"How many seconds?"
"Fifteen seconds."
"What?!"
Silva leaped from bed, revealing muscles forged like steel! "You know this isn't a joke."
On the phone, Tsubone faintly heard footsteps. Looking up toward the passage, Roy pushed the food cart unhurriedly out. That bouquet of chrysanthemums remained before the airtight door, quietly blooming.
"You know I don't joke."
Silva fell into long silence.