The race, talent, and bloodline of a Human often manifest in the most direct way—through appearance.
"Only silver hair can inherit the Zoldyck name" isn't some empty line....
Maha noticed Roy's hair color, and Zeno, Silva, and Illumi also noticed the boy's abnormality at the same time, leaving Roy looking like the last one to know. He reached up, pinched a lock of hair, and brought it in front of his eyes, toying with it.
The dazzling gold at the tips was just like when he used Swordsmanship at night to reach LV5 and plunge into the sun, breaking through the corona and seeing that endless light and heat. While lost in thought, he vaguely sensed....
As he grew stronger and walked further down the path of Faith, the "genetic limits" he would break—or was already breaking—might become more and more numerous,
Right now it was only his hair color; in the future, there might well be other things.
Roy thought of the Demon Eye that had been modified when Grandpa Jager bent over him, thought of "God," then glanced at the back of his hand. He didn't know if his eyes were playing tricks on him, or if it was the strong light cast by the solar halo causing an illusion,
but the "hand" that looked like a clock on the back of his hand, counting down his life, seemed to be moving slower....
From "7 years 9 months 13 hours 33 minutes 45 seconds" to "7 years 9 months 13 hours 33 minutes 44 seconds"—what should've taken just 1 second actually took a full 2 seconds. Was this saying that——
that unknown existence dwelling on the Dark Continent, its "Gaze" on him, or its "influence" over him, was now gradually weakening?
Roy's eyes flickered, the corner of his mouth curving into a faint arc. He tilted his head, smiled at Zeno and Illumi, and said, "It's just hair color, don't mind it."
His figure flashed and he stepped directly into the car. Before Zeno and Illumi could react, he gripped the scarlet-gold glass rope and said softly, "Jinx, go."
"Gaa~oh~" The Golden Crow spread its wings with a shrill cry....
It suddenly fanned once toward the ground. A wild gale rose, lifting the Sun Chariot slowly into the sky. In the next instant, with Jinx soaring straight toward the horizon, it dragged Roy with it, turning them into an arrow of light that ripped through the darkness, wrapped in boundless desolation and mystery, rapidly shrinking into a single bright dot at the edge of the sky.....
"Whoosh~" The lingering gusts brushed past, making Zeno's white hair and Illumi's black hair sway.....
Two generations of Zoldyck grandfather and grandson tilted their heads back to stare at the sky. For a moment, they were silent, no one saying a word.
After a while, as a dry, shriveled figure with hands clasped behind his back slowly walked out from the castle, Maha chuckled, "Brat ran off pretty fast. Didn't even think to give the old man a lift."
Zeno and Illumi finally came back to themselves—one looking thoughtful, the other tilting his head to glance at Maha, saying, "Grandpa, did our ancestors ever have blond hair?"
Zeno's gaze was piercing.
Illumi stared at him with those hollow eyes as well....
The few stubborn strands of hair left on the old man's bald head swayed in the wind. He halted his steps and said, in a low voice, "No."
"What about you before, Grandpa?"
"I've always had silver hair."
Zeno's brows knit together, the "One Kill a Day, Active for Life" mark on his chest swaying in the wind, and he fell silent.....
In the Zoldyck Family there had only ever been "silver hair" and "black hair." And now… signs of a shift toward blond had appeared,
Zeno looked up again at that light dot in the sky, now gradually dimming. The boy's casual "just hair color" was obviously… not that simple!
"He's special," Illumi suddenly spoke up then.
The foolish Mamen Beans had his eyes full of the image of Roy riding off on the Sun Chariot into the solar halo, dazedly repeating, "I've always known he's special."
The boy tilted his head to look again at Zeno and Maha. "None of you can compare to him."
Maha looked up at the sky, his old face full of wrinkles and weathering expressionless, giving no hint of what he was thinking.
Zeno's white hair fluttered; he neither agreed nor refuted. He merely tilted his head, shot Illumi a sidelong look, and said lazily, "Illumi, don't always put all your focus on other people. Sometimes, remember to pay some attention to yourself."
With deep meaning, Zeno also clasped his hands behind his back like Maha. His words paused for a beat, then he suddenly added, "Don't end up really losing to Wutong someday and just make yourself a joke."
"You were eavesdropping on us?!" Illumi's cat-like eyes narrowed slightly, his long black hair hanging smoothly down his back, the ends slightly lifting as if bristling.
However,
Zeno turned his head away from him and only said, "My ears are right here. If they 'eavesdrop,' what's it got to do with me?"
Illumi: "...."
He stared at Zeno for a moment, then turned his head away, casting a distant glance toward the butler's villa halfway up the mountain. Calmly, he said, "Relax, I won't lose."
"Never, ever lose."
"Is that so." Zeno suddenly glanced up at the second-floor bedroom of the castle. He still remembered Silva saying something similar to him in the past. In terms of confidence, the father and son really were cut from the same cloth… just like he and Silva back then. In the end,
he still didn't know whether this was "confidence" or "arrogance".....
"Drip… drip..." The soft gurgle of water being released broke the immersion of the moment.
With dawn not yet broken, Maha unbuttoned his pants and started fertilizing the lawn right there. Wisps of steam rose along with the summer heat, bringing out a lot of bubbles. Clearly… the old man had been pretty "fiery" lately....
"Heh heh heh… what're you staring at me for?" After taking his nightly stroll under the moon and "walking the bird," the old man gave a shake, yanked his pants back up, then turned and flicked each of Zeno and Illumi a forehead flick. "Learn properly. When you can be as carefree as this old man, then even if I die, I can rest in peace."
"Dong~" Two dull thuds like two drumbeats....
The blows sent Zeno's and Illumi's skulls ringing as if their crowns flew off, while also hitting them like a bucket of cold water, leaving them frozen on the spot,