"Not only that... 'This child will definitely have silver hair.'"
Silva wrapped his arm around Killua's waist, his large hand pressed against the woman's belly, watching Roy with a serious expression and said, "You shouldn't go out for the next few days. The baby is due any day now."
"You're the eldest brother, you should... be here."
"Of course."
Illumi silently walked up behind them....
On the first floor of the old castle, in that dim little room, great-grandfather was happily rocking in his chair while watching cartoons....
Behind him, with his white hair billowing, grandfather Zeno was massaging his shoulders... and not far in the garden was Milluki, who had been electrocuted unconscious....
The family must stick together, no one can be missing!
Roy nodded, and somehow he suddenly thought of Alluka and Nanika's ever-changing intertwined face, and what followed in his mind was the image of the "King's Skeleton" gently stroking the massive body of an elephant bat....
"Oh, even you failed?"
The skeleton spoke with a sigh, echoing across time... still vivid in the ear,
Silva, on catching a slight change in Roy's expression, remained composed while accompanying Killua for a stroll in the garden, and as he turned his back, he gravely said, "After seeing your grandfather and great-grandfather, come to my study."
Roy remained silent for a while, then softly responded, "Okay."
He took a step forward, and the next moment, he was in the castle's mottled and timeworn corridor, bathed in sunlight as he leisurely walked toward the small room.
"Father used the name you suggested, and named him Killua."
"Tap...tap..." A series of footsteps began, then ended....
Illumi stepped silently, hands in his pockets, following Roy as they strolled through the corridor, and said expressionlessly, "Father values your opinion greatly."
Roy gave a light nod without saying much.
Tilting his head to look at him, Illumi added, "He loves you very much."
"I know."
"I love you too."
"I know that too."
"You don't know, I love you more than I love myself."
"Illumi," Roy suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked over, "I'm not happy."
Illumi paused as well, furrowing his brows, "Why aren't you happy?"
"Because," Roy reached and held the younger boy's head in his arms, "my silly brother, you don't love yourself."
[En] was cast, the heart-bound connection penetrated Illumi's heart... in his daze, he glimpsed a corner of the future, the future belonging to him in the original work... at that time, he was too concerned about Killua, even using Nanika as a threat, wishing to die at Killua's hands... nearly twisted, almost deranged... yet completely ignoring one thing...
"I, father, mother, grandfather, great-grandfather... all those you care about and protect, wouldn't be able to bear your death either."
"Do you understand?"
Illumi: "I.... "
"Hush...." Roy placed a finger on Illumi's lips,
lost in his shock and daze, his pupils showed black dots trembling intensely......
Roy rubbed his head, and with two fingers made a point on Illumi's brow, leaving a "Wind Breathing" before turning away....
"Bang!" Just then, a fresh breeze blew in from the window, knocking Illumi to the ground,
The boy spread his arms, lying in a large 'X' in the mottled corridor, his heart pounding wildly, almost about to leap out of his chest.....
He was dizzy and confused... taking a long time to recover.....
Not far away, around a corner was...
The dim little room.
An old man was enjoying his grandson's head massage, humming softly with closed eyes. Beneath his lids, those old eyes seemed to wander beyond the world, casting everything into view. With a laugh, he said, "Zeno, did you see... he's better than you....."
"Grandfather, you're biased." Zeno protested, increasing the pressure, "I'm an only child, I don't have a brother to pamper."
The Zoldyck family had only one child per generation, until Silva's generation, they finally branched out... this was an objective fact, but...
Maha opened his eyes and glanced at Zeno, "With that argumentative nature of yours, you can't compare to Roy."
Zeno: "....."
He simply fell silent,
Comparisons are odious,
There's truth to the saying about skipping generations, much less... when several generations separate them.
"Hmph, don't be offended by an old man's harsh words; even your grandmother admitted that....."
"My grandmother?" Zeno was stunned,
looking down again at Maha... the old man's shriveled body carried a touch of desolation, only saying, "She said Roy is most like me, just like your father, neither are ones to put someone's mind at rest....."
Zeno's gaze flickered in agreement, "Grandmother was right."
"If only I could meet her face to face too, that would be nice."
"You?" Setting aside if Betty would agree to it, even 'meeting' itself... Maha chuckled coldly, "You'll have to ask your grandson to see if he's willing to take you."
The existence capable of connecting dreams... the Zoldyck family only has this one instance......
The breezy wind was blowing in through the window frame, the warm sun was shining into the corridor, Zeno's slightly raised eyebrows, and Roy's approaching footsteps.....
At nine o'clock in the morning,
the morning glow faded, and the red sun rose, climbing slowly and surely to noon,
outside the house, a boy approached and leaned against the window, looking at the two grandfathers inside, he smiled and said warmly, "Great-grandfather, grandfather, I'm back."
Maha sat up, the chair ceased its rocking, and he beckoned Roy with a swipe of his hand, "Good grandson, come here and massage your great-grandfather's back."
Zeno's eyes widened... So all the effort I spent massaging your back went to waste, right,
He patted Roy's shoulder with annoyance and stepped into the shadows, disappearing in an instant....
The eight large characters on his chest, "One kill a day, lifetime service," swayed in the wind... this time, Roy's gaze wavered, finally capturing a corner of his garment... the boy astonishedly said, "Grandfather seems to have some resentment."
"Ignore him." Maha snorted coldly, "Should he bear any resentment, I'll send him to meet your great-grandmother."
"She's lonely with no one to accompany her....."
"Cough... cough...." There came a faint cough from outside... a certain white-haired head seemed caught off guard, exposed a flaw, stumbled slightly, then hastened his pace, leaving swiftly....
Leading Roy to stay with Maha, he suddenly remembered seeing in the old man's dream, that endless forest of tombstones, with his great-grandmother's among them, weighing heavily on his heart, he started massaging the old man's back.
Seemingly sensing something... Maha closed his eyes, speaking no more.....
In this rare moment of sunshine, the two enjoyed their reunion... after a while, Maha softly said, "Child, your plan for Meteor Street is correct."
The old man tapped on the armrest with two fingers, "It is a breeding ground for evil, but it's also a good place to spread faith and revolution."
It's precisely because of chaos that there's a longing for order, precisely because of oppression that rebellion stirs... Roy followed along Maha's spine upwards, learning Zeno's technique, massaging the shoulders of this "old revolutionary," and said in agreement, "I didn't originally think so deeply, I was just intending to develop a few believers, but it turned out...."
"The darkness and filth there were far worse than I imagined....."
Human trafficking, casual killings, tearing down and selling, selling and tearing down again... this is just one street, one corner... it's hard to imagine how many more crimes and villains like Bolton and Ilya, who don't treat people as humans, lurk in other parts of Meteor Street!
"Ha ha... how many people and events have you actually seen?"
Roy said nothing, but when adding his experiences from Demon Slayer, and the sights witnessed in the world of Hokage....
He admitted, "Great-grandfather, I have indeed seen some things."
"Is that so?" Maha slyly stood up,
The old man, facing the boy with hands behind his back, "Is it time for great-grandfather's eyes to be opened?"