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In the courtyard with grass as green as turf, the hazy moonlight sprinkled onto the surface of the small river, causing it to shimmer.
Illumi sat cross-legged on a patch of grass by the river, meditating. He wanted to dig out the deepest emotions from within his heart.
King Bradley silently stood guard behind him. An unknown amount of time passed – an hour, two hours, or perhaps even longer.
Finally, a thin layer of pale golden aura surged out from his body. It was very faint but covered his entire being.
"Pride."
But it wasn't over. Following Pride, Wrath, Envy, Greed, Lust, Sloth, and Gluttony all surged forth. Illumi alone bore all seven of these evil deeds. Among them, however, the largest mass of aura was the one representing Pride.
King Bradley looked at the terrifyingly vast amount of aura surging from Illumi's body, then looked up at the aura above Illumi's head, his brow deeply furrowed. The seven auras representing different negative emotions had divided Illumi's aura into seven parts, and they were constantly twisting and changing, sometimes taking human form, sometimes beastly form, as if they were alive.
King Bradley looked at those constantly changing auras, took a step forward, raised his arm, and the fingertip of his right hand touched one of the pale green masses of aura.
"Hmm?"
Illumi, who was meditating, suddenly opened his eyes. He sensed someone had touched his aura. Opening his eyes, he saw King Bradley in the act of touching his aura.
"You want my Wrath?"
"Then try it."
Hiss!
As Illumi's words fell, that extremely large mass of pale green aura suddenly transformed into a giant python. With a hiss, it rushed into King Bradley's body.
"It was absorbed so easily." His Wrath, like an imprisoned convict, eagerly wanted to escape Illumi's body and rush into King Bradley's.
Illumi sat where he was, watching King Bradley. A large amount of pale green aura erupted from Bradley's body, and the red glint in his eyes was even more intense than before, making him look like a bloodthirsty beast about to break free from its cage.
Illumi retracted the various auras filled with negative emotions from his body, and the aura on King Bradley's body also slowly receded. Illumi had a feeling that King Bradley's personality seemed to have become complete. He no longer possessed only that cold, taciturn temperament, but now exuded an air of natural authority.
After a long while, King Bradley slowly opened his eyes. The red glint in them faded, returning to normal.
"What do you feel?" Illumi's slightly immature yet steady voice sounded.
King Bradley closed his eyes for a moment to sense, then clenched his fists. "I feel... like I've been reborn."
"Before, I was merely a shell. But now, I am a complete individual."
Illumi slowly stood up. He felt as if a piece of his heart was missing; this was because his Wrath had been stripped away.
"Will I still be able to feel emotions like anger in the future?" Illumi wondered. He opened his palm upwards and condensed a mass of aura. On the surface, this aura didn't look any different from before.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, Illumi felt this aura seemed somewhat different. With a thought, the white, translucent aura sphere instantly transformed into a green sphere.
"This is..." Illumi turned to look at King Bradley, only to see pale green aura also erupting from Bradley's body, enveloping its surface.
Concentrating his aura into his eyes, he looked intently. The white thread that had originally linked Illumi and King Bradley had actually intertwined, becoming a coarse, pale green rope. Through this rope, he felt the connection between King Bradley and himself become even closer; he could even vaguely perceive Bradley's thoughts.
"So, after a Nen beast absorbs my negative emotions, it will form a very close connection with me."
"And then, I can possess the abilities of the Nen beast I created."
Illumi closed his eyes, focused for a moment, then suddenly opened them. The pupil of his left eye had already turned red, an Ouroboros mark appearing within it. He scanned his surroundings with this "Strongest Eye" that emitted a red glow – the mosquitoes flying past, the spiders between the branches, the mayflies flitting over the river surface.
Everything before his eyes slowed down. The defensive vulnerabilities of various creatures were all laid bare before him. At this moment, he could choose his attack mode at will.
"This feeling... is truly wonderful." Although it was power exchanged for his negative emotions, this feeling of having everything under his control was too good. This kind of power truly was addictive. It even made him feel that exchanging emotions for such power was worth it – an equivalent exchange.
"But, if I let the Nen beasts absorb all my negative emotions..." Illumi looked up at the night sky. What would be left of himself then? The red glint in his left eye gradually dimmed and faded.
"Illumi." At this moment, King Bradley placed his right hand on Illumi's shoulder, looking down at him.
"Don't worry about what you might lose. I will always be by your side."
"My strength is your strength."
Illumi looked up at King Bradley. He truly had a complete personality now, transformed into the Führer King Bradley from his memories.
"Do you remember anything?" Illumi asked. He remembered that the previous King Bradley had no memories, like a newborn. But now, King Bradley's eyes, those eyes full of worldly experience, looked as if he had already lived for most of a lifetime.
"I just feel like I experienced a lot in an instant, that's all." King Bradley removed his hand from Illumi's shoulder. Pale green aura surged from his body, connecting with Illumi's aura. An extremely vast amount of pale green aura enveloped both of them.
"Don't you want to become stronger?"
"My strength is your strength. I will always stand before you."
Illumi sensed this vast aura. Hidden within its gentleness was an extremely violent presence – that was his Wrath.
"Don't get it wrong. My strength is your strength!" Illumi chuckled lightly, and the aura on his body suddenly swelled, instantly surpassing the amount of aura on Bradley, like a fierce tiger suppressing a lone wolf.
At this moment, Illumi and King Bradley's minds were connected. Illumi wanted to become stronger. And Bradley wanted to elevate Illumi to godhood.
The auras on both of them startled the fish in the river, causing them to flick their tails and scatter. Ripples spread across the grass and the water surface from the fierce wind.
And in a dark corner not far from the two, Zeno Zoldyck leaned against a wall, watching the figure whose aura was erupting wantonly.
"Young and impetuous." Zeno Zoldyck shook his head, then turned and slowly disappeared into the darkness.
"When you reach my age, you'll understand."