Kikyo Zoldyck wasted no time. She quickly circulated Liam's questionnaire notebook among the family members and announced three new, absolute rules.
First, starting today, all abnormal treatment and isolation of the fourth child, Alluka, would be lifted immediately.
Second, Alluka officially had a twin sister named Nanika Zoldyck.
Third, every single piece of information contained within the questionnaire was strictly classified and must never be leaked.
These rules applied exclusively to the direct bloodline of the Zoldyck family. The numerous butlers and servants who maintained the estate were not permitted to know a thing.
Illumi was the last family member to receive the circulated notepad. It was not because the family undervalued him, but rather because he had been designated as the one to destroy the evidence.
Standing in the dim light, Illumi slowly turned the pages, his dark, bottomless eyes scanning the questions and answers. He memorized every word, burning the information into his mind. When he reached the back cover, he simply rubbed his hands together. Under the sheer, crushing pressure of his aura, the notepad was instantly pulverized and ignited out of thin air. It burned away completely, leaving nothing behind but fine ash.
A black rain of cinders drifted down, landing softly near the feet of the youngest Zoldyck, Kalluto.
Raised almost exclusively by Kikyo and dressed in a dark kimono, Kalluto possessed a very quiet, observant nature. Upon learning that the fourth brother he rarely saw harbored such world-shaking secrets, Kalluto did not show much outward emotion. He simply stood near Illumi and stared at Alluka, who was now freely mingling with the group.
Alluka was currently being pestered by their second oldest brother, Milluki. Catching a glimpse of Kalluto standing quietly nearby, Alluka broke into a wide, bright smile and waved frantically.
"Kalluto! Do you still remember me?" Alluka called out, practically vibrating with excitement. "Do you want to meet Nanika? Nanika just got to talk to Mom. She is so happy right now!"
Alluka was so overjoyed that the shared joy from Nanika was bleeding through, leaving the child with a goofy, unbreakable smile.
Kalluto offered a small, hesitant nod. He spoke in a very soft voice. "Should I call her sister?"
Somewhere in that split second, the bright, innocent face shifted, replaced by the dark, hollow features of Nanika. The entity happened to hear Kalluto's question. Instantly, the dark, ink-like eyes watered, and thick, heavy tears of pure emotion began to pool and spill down her pale cheeks. She was incredibly moved.
Milluki crossed his thick arms, glaring at his siblings getting along. His large frame shifted with irritation. "Why does she ignore me when I tell her to come out?"
Killua, standing a protective step away from Alluka, shot Milluki a look of pure disgust. "Because you just want to use her. Nanika is not stupid. She would never like someone as selfish as you."
Milluki shifted his weight, his face flushing red. Although he actually had decent facial features beneath the layers of fat, his anger caused his eyes to narrow into tiny, threatening slits. "Excuse me? We are all her family. What makes you so special compared to me?"
Killua's expression shifted instantly. He offered Milluki a chillingly sweet, dead-eyed smile. "I know, right? It is such a mystery. I wonder what the difference could possibly be."
Milluki's face turned purple with rage. He spun around, pointing a thick finger at Killua. "Big brother! Killua seriously needs to be taught a lesson!"
Illumi slowly turned his head. He looked at Milluki with an expression so utterly blank and devoid of humanity that Milluki physically recoiled, the fat on his cheeks trembling. Milluki snapped his mouth shut, swallowing his complaints.
In this elite family of assassins, Milluki was a lazy, self-indulgent shut-in, a type of person even their mother often looked down upon. The only reason Illumi had not simply jammed needles into Milluki's brain to force him to lose weight and train was pure luck. Milluki had inherited Kikyo's natural talent for Manipulation. Because they fell into the same Nen category, Illumi could not easily control him.
Ignoring Milluki, Illumi walked smoothly toward the younger children. He knelt down gracefully in front of Nanika, his posture perfect.
"Nanika," Illumi ordered, his voice flat and authoritative. "Send Milluki back to his room."
The dark, eerie features vanished in an instant.
Alluka blinked, regaining control of his body. He immediately puffed out his cheeks and glared fiercely at his eldest brother. "You scared Nanika away! You are a bad brother!"
Illumi remained frozen in his kneeling position, genuinely speechless at the total rejection.
Milluki erupted into harsh, wheezing laughter. "Looks like our perfect big brother is in the same boat as me! She hates you too! Ha!"
Illumi slowly rose to his feet. He turned his head and gave Milluki a look that very clearly promised a slow, agonizing death.
Milluki choked on his laughter, taking a rapid step backward. "I am going back to my room now," he blurted out, sweating profusely. "I have a new game I need to finish anyway. See you."
Watching Milluki scurry away down the corridor, Killua crossed his arms and muttered to himself. "Does that count as Nanika fulfilling his request to go to his room?"
Illumi heard the remark and felt a rare spike of irritation, though his face remained a mask. He began analyzing the situation in his mind.
It seemed Killua was truly the only exception. Even blood relatives could not issue unconditional orders to Nanika. The affection in Nanika's eyes could clearly be divided into three distinct tiers.
The absolute highest tier was her love for Killua. Nanika would do literally anything for him, without hesitation or cost.
The second tier belonged to the parents and the rest of the siblings. Nanika would never subject them to her deadly requests. Whether this was to protect Alluka's family, to please Killua, or out of her own affection, the result was the same: she would not harm them. But equally, she refused to act as their obedient servant.
The lowest tier of love was the transactional kind, the kind bought through playing her games and fulfilling her requests. Only purely selfless love, like Killua's, could earn Nanika's selfless devotion in return.
Down the hall, inside a quiet parlor room, Liam, Silva, and Kikyo were having a private discussion.
Kikyo had just returned from her emotional breakthrough in the playroom. Her maternal grief and pity had mostly settled, replaced once again by cold, calculating composure.
She had realized that selfless love meant never treating Nanika as a tool for personal gain. On the flip side, anyone who harbored ambitions toward Nanika's limitless wishing power, even her own mother, could never force the entity to act. This reality only highlighted Killua's pure, passionate love for his sibling, a trait that gave him absolute authority over the wishes.
It was a beautiful, heartwarming sentiment. It was also a sentiment that was entirely incompatible with the life of a professional assassin.
Silva sat in a heavy leather chair, his majestic face carved from stone. He gave no indication of his thoughts, but he surely realized that Killua, the heir he had placed all his hopes on, might never walk the path the family had paved for him.
Kikyo reached up and secured her glowing electronic visor back over her eyes, fully transforming back into the untouchable, lethal matriarch of the Zoldyck family.
Neither Silva nor Kikyo cared much for the title of "an old friend of the Zoldycks" that Liam had jokingly requested. However, they were people of their word, and Liam had unraveled their greatest nightmare. They solemnly expressed their gratitude and promised to repay him.
Liam did not need money right now. What he really wanted was expert advice from Silva on how to navigate high-security government buildings without tripping cameras. He also realized he had a free wish in the bank. He had no idea what to wish for yet, but keeping it as a lifeline was a great asset.
After all, he could survive any gruesome request Nanika threw his way. If she asked for his spine or his head, his Star Mark would just stitch him back together. He had nothing to fear.
As the three of them discussed the mechanics of Nanika's power, Liam's mind wandered. If Nanika was fueled by a high-dimensional energy superior to standard aura, did that mean his Star Mark, with its impossible healing properties, was also drawing from a higher dimension?
Was he basically a version of Nanika too? Or, to put it in less flattering terms, was he just a walking anomaly?
Back in the hallway, Illumi had departed, leaving Killua, Alluka, and Kalluto to play together.
The heavy doors opened, and Kikyo stepped back into the area. She walked straight toward Alluka, her heavy dress brushing the floor.
Killua immediately tensed, stepping in front of his sibling. "Mom, you better not act like big brother and try to—"
He was sick and tired of this family treating Nanika like a machine. They used to treat her like a dangerous weapon, and now they wanted to treat her like a convenient household appliance. Nothing had really changed.
Kikyo ignored Killua's defensive posture. She knelt down gracefully on the carpet and gently took both of Alluka's small hands in hers.
"Alluka," Kikyo said, her voice softer than Killua had ever heard it. "I want you to act spoiled with me. Ask me for three things. Mom wants to ask Nanika for a favor, and I need you to help me."
She remembered her conversation with Silva and Liam, and she deliberately softened her tone into a gentle question. "Is that okay with you?"
Alluka blinked. He never made his deadly requests to his family. To be explicitly asked to do so was entirely new.
He stared at his mother for a moment, then broke into a wide smile and opened his arms. "Kikyo, hug me."
Killua stood frozen, a sudden realization hitting him. The one who calls me brother is Alluka. The one who calls me Killua is Nanika. She is calling Mom by her first name. That is Nanika making the request.
Kikyo smiled warmly. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the small child, pulling him into a tight embrace.
"Kikyo, lift me high," the child demanded happily.
Kikyo stood up effortlessly, lifting the child into the air and spinning him around until a bright giggle echoed through the hall.
"Kikyo, kiss." The child turned his head, shyly offering his cheek.
Kikyo leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to the soft skin.
Instantly, the innocent face melted away. The pitch-black eyes and crude, dark smile of the entity from the Dark Continent took its place. Nanika stared at Kikyo, waiting for the wish.
Kikyo set Nanika down on her feet but kept a firm, loving grip on one of her small, pale hands.
"Mom wants you and Alluka to be true siblings," Kikyo said slowly, her voice thick with emotion. "I want you to truly be part of this family. So, Nanika, can you use your power to create a physical body for yourself? That way, you and Alluka can stand in front of me at the exact same time."
The dark, terrifying features of the entity suddenly contorted. The eerie smile broke, shifting into a face of pure, overwhelming joy as thick tears began to stream down from the black voids of her eyes.
Kikyo reached out and gently wiped the dark tears from the entity's cheeks, a sight that would have sent any normal person screaming in terror.
Nanika beamed, her dark smile returning wider than ever.
"Ai," she chirped.
Killua watched in absolute shock as a brilliant, warm white light bloomed in the air right next to Alluka. The light swirled and condensed, rapidly taking the shape of a physical figure with the exact same height and build as his sibling.
A new Nen ability had been born, its absolute rules etched into reality.
Specialization: Friendship Lasts Forever.
Rule 1. Alluka can create a physical clone identical to his own body.
Rule 2. When the main body is controlled by Alluka, the clone is inhabited by Nanika, and vice versa.
Rule 3. Maintaining the physical clone requires absolutely zero aura consumption.
Rule 4. There is no maximum distance limit restricting the physical clone from the main body.
Rule 5. Alluka and Nanika can swap consciousness between the two bodies at any given time.
While the Zoldyck family experienced a miracle in the hallway, Liam was back in his guest room, completely unbothered by the emotional family drama.
On the other side of the world, Shizuku was still navigating the dangerous, heavily guarded headquarters of the Special Voyage Bureau.
It was still the dead of night. As long as the moon was in the sky, Liam's communication via the Moon Mark remained crystal clear. He needed to make sure Shizuku got out of that building safely before he could even think about sleeping.
Liam held his hand out over a low table. A dense sphere of aura gathered in his palm before stretching out into glowing, fine threads. The threads wove together in mid-air, constructing a detailed, three-dimensional wireframe blueprint of a building corridor. A tiny, glowing stick figure stood inside the model, representing Shizuku's exact position.
Having trained extensively with a Transmutation master like Biscuit Krueger, Liam had mastered the art of shaping his aura. Even if he could not change its fundamental properties like electricity or fire, bending it into a perfect 3D map was effortless. His proficiency in form manipulation was completely maxed out.
Silva stood beside the table, observing the glowing map in silence. He reached out with a single, massive finger and tapped the air. At his command, tiny specks of light flared into existence across the wireframe structure, pinpointing the exact locations of hidden cameras and security blind spots.
Together in the quiet room, the young anomaly and the veteran assassin began charting a safe path for the glowing stick figure to escape.