The colorful dream tunnel opened up a path, with hazy dream mist surging around it...
Roy stepped in with his front foot, and his back foot followed. In an instant, it was as if heaven and earth had changed, and he arrived in a gray, hazy world.
According to Mameng's understanding of "dreams," the unconscious domain of an average person is completely unable to manifest anything substantial. Only those with strong "self-awareness" might be able to add some things to their own "dreams," such as... Kyojuro Rengoku's flame core symbolizing the "Flame Breathing," his father Silva's study... or Kastro, due to his intense desire, manifesting Gotoh just to pin him down and beat him...
Compared to them, Roy looked up at the gray mist. He couldn't see the boundary at a glance. Obviously...
Compared to his great-grandfather Maha, who directly manifested a small world through "self-awareness," whether it was Kyojuro Rengoku, Kastro, or even his father... they were all far behind!
People with powerful Nen abilities are not necessarily people of firm will. Conversely, people of firm will, whether they know Nen or not, are powerful people!
Roy walked in on the swirling wind. The ground was paved with withered leaves, rustling as he stepped...
Maha's dry and thin body stood under a dead weeping willow tree not far away. The willow tree seemed to have undergone a lightning tribulation in its early years, and parts of its trunk had carbonized to form lightning-struck wood.
Roy's nose twitched; he could even smell a "burnt" scent. As he got closer, he noticed a small cluster of flames quietly burning on it. He didn't know how long it had been burning. It reflected the endless cemetery below, desolate... and dead silent...
One block... two blocks... ten... a hundred... a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand... a million... ten million!
Countless tombstones extended to the horizon, the field of vision unable to contain them all. And Maha... stood with his hands behind his back in front of the foremost tombstone, his back to Roy as he said, "This is the price of walking the path of 'Faith'."
A light sentence fell from Maha's mouth, but it was as heavy as ten thousand jun, pressing on Roy's heart so heavily that he couldn't say a word. The boy remained silent, pacing to Maha's side, watching him extend a dry, thin hand to stroke the tall tombstone at the front, which read...
[Brooke Sale, my closest brother, comrade. Born in Continent Calendar 1874, Cybeles. Died in 1957, Frost Foothill Valley.]
[A great warrior... a pioneer of resistance... loyalty was his synonym... fearlessness was the portrayal of his life...]
[—1957, Maha Zoldyck]
Roy gradually realized something. His gaze followed Maha's hand as it lifted and fell, listening to him faintly narrate the life of this "Brooke Sale."
The old man said, "You guessed correctly. He used to be the number one general under my command."
"And him... her... it..." Maha's withered palm stroked tombstone after tombstone, slowly walking through the forest of steles. It was as if he was shuttling through the past, recounting to Roy each one... Randall, Mike Young, Rioen, Bellucci... In the past, they formed a group with him, then an organization, then a political party, and finally chose Frost Foothill Valley as a settlement to gather the abandoned people and resist magical beasts. Under the double attack of [God] and [Disaster], they sought a glimmer of a way out...
This was a story Roy had never heard before...
It was also the origin-tracing past belonging to all Zoldycks, including him!
"The world only knows that if one person becomes a god, even chickens and dogs will ascend to heaven, shedding their status as abandoned people and officially gaining a foothold on the Dark Continent... But what most people don't know is..."
Maha stopped in front of the last tombstone on the right in the first row. He gently stroked the tombstone. Unlike the others, there was a yellowed photo on the face of this stele... The photo was quite old, and its surface even had a crease, but it still couldn't conceal the gentle, bright, and smiling beauty of the woman in the photo...
Maha paused and said faintly, "Failure is the silent majority, and... it will always run through life from beginning to end."
Subsequently, he turned his head to look at Roy and said, "Come here, meet your great-grandmother."
Roy silently followed behind Maha. Below the yellowed photo, he clearly saw... [Beloved wife Betty Zoldyck, born in Continent Calendar 1895, Cybeles. Died in 1957, Frost Foothill Valley.]
His expression was solemn as he walked forward slowly... He bowed solemnly, then straightened his waist. He remembered the dream he had under the willow tree in the courtyard in the past. Grandfather Zigg clamored to go to the Dark Continent, but was dragged under the willow tree by Maha and beaten half to death. He took a breath and said, "Great-grandfather, Grandpa Zigg has been here too, right?"
"Did he... see Great-grandmother?"
Maha didn't answer. He hunched his body, squatted down, and pulled out a few weeds in front of the tombstone. "I didn't ask him to come; he insisted on barging in himself."
"[The Game of the Dead] can increase combat power by collecting 'items',"
"Back then, he relied on a 'Sleep' card to sneak in..."
That sounds like his style... Roy squatted down and accompanied Maha in pulling out the weeds on the side of the tombstone. "Do Grandpa and Father know?"
"They don't know."
Roy fell silent.
Maha held his waist as he stood up, looking up at the gray mist overflowing with loneliness and sorrow. After a long while, he said, "I thought you should come and take a look."
"Because I'm walking the same path as you, Great-grandfather, right?" Roy rose as well.
Maha did not answer.
The boy gazed at the forest of steles, catching a withered leaf drifting in the wind, and said distractedly, "So, were all these people killed because they followed you, Great-grandfather?"
"No,"
"It was, martyrdom."
"?!"
Ten million people martyred?!
Roy turned his head abruptly to look... Maha's gaze was distant. "Winners become kings, losers become bandits. The successful will seize everything from the failed..."
The old man paused, looking deeply at the boy: "There is no turning back on the path of 'Faith'. Even if you or your believers want to change allegiance halfway, the other side won't believe it, so..."
Maha said calmly, "The simplest way is—kill!"
"They... and... him... her... it... In the battle of Frost Foothill Valley, they chose to self-destruct, sacrificing their lives to preserve..."
"Me, this spark."
One person achieves the Dao, and his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven; one person fails, and the whole nation... is martyred...
Pain intense to the extreme manifested as a deep gray-black color, and the Nen aura naturally escaping from the top of Maha's head drilled out...
Roy opened his mouth but found himself speechless and choked with emotion.
He couldn't imagine how tragic a scene the martyrdom of ten million people was. He just stared blankly at Maha... Suddenly, he understood why, at such an old age, he still loved watching cartoons. Perhaps... only that sliver of not-so-abundant happiness from childhood could slightly alleviate the intense pain and guilt buried deep in his heart...
These negative emotions had been torturing him, reminding him every moment that ten million people died because of him... Roy even thought that if it were him, he probably... would have gone crazy!
And this... is—the price!
"Whoosh~" A gust of wind blew, driving the gray mist to wriggle...
Roy couldn't recover for a long time. He only felt his throat was dry. After being silent for a long while, he finally found a trace of focus and tried to say, "Great-grandfather, maybe I can help you."
Illumination from sunlight can dispel darkness... Using the characteristic of the [Sun], perhaps he could help Maha relieve some pain...
But the old man refused flatly, "This is what I deserve."
He said, "I called you here just to ask you,"
Maha looked straight into Roy's eyes, "Are you sure you still want to walk this path?"
"Didn't you say, Great-grandfather, that since I've already walked it, there is no turning back?"
"No, you have a way." Maha interrupted Roy with a chop of his hand: "You are just starting out. If you set a 'Restriction and Pledge' to swear to give up 'Faith'..."
"And the price?" The boy suddenly asked, "What is the price?"
Maha was silent... Roy gazed at the boundless forest of steles. In the silence, he had already understood everything.
He said, "Great-grandfather, you know that I am narrow-minded and can't bear to see others die because of me... If the price is sacrificing the lives of believers, and I have to choose between long-term pain and short-term pain, I choose long-term pain. At least... the pain will come later."
"You want to learn from me and walk one path into the dark?" Maha frowned.
The boy smiled freely, and two suns "poof~" ignited in his bright pupils: "No, Great-grandfather... I am the Sun..."
Roy blinked at Maha: "Where is there a 'dark' path under the sun?"
"If it really comes to the end and failure is destined..." The boy's face became solemn: "I will self-destruct!"
Decisively, without hesitation, he said: "I'll drag everyone to perish together!"
Maha was stunned... The boy's black hair swayed, his expression calm, just like when he first entered the Dark Continent back then, calling himself "Thunder," high-spirited and vigorous. Recalling the past... those eventful years, looking back again, how many sighs...
Looking rather lonely, he waved his hand and said, "Got it, get out."
"Yes." Roy stepped back, bowed solemnly to the endless forest of steles, then lifted his foot, nodded slightly to Maha, and turned to walk towards the entrance of the passage... Before leaving, he suddenly stopped, remembered something, turned his head and said, "Great-grandfather, when I act in the future, I don't plan to use the Zoldyck name."
Maha raised an eyebrow. The boy said calmly, "I don't want others to say that I am strong because I am a Zoldyck, rather than because of who I am."
"..."
Maha froze for a moment, bent down, took off his shoe and threw it, laughing and scolding: "If you have the ability, then make the Zoldycks live in your shadow!"
"Hehe... that's exactly the principle!" Roy dodged sideways, strode away, and leisurely left a sentence: "Great-grandfather, just you watch."
In a flash, he exited the dream and disappeared from Maha's view.
"Sizzle~" On the old willow tree that had been split into lightning-struck wood, the flame burned quietly...
Under the tree, in front of the countless tombstones, the dry, thin old man retrieved his shoe and put it back on his foot. He silently watched the boy's not-so-tall back depart, staring blankly for a long, long time. His right hand rested on his left shoulder, covering a fair, soft hand that had touched him from behind. He said warmly, "Betty, you saw him, right?"
A charming laugh rang out from behind Maha, followed by a pair of lotus-root-like arms encircling his waist... If Roy hadn't left, seeing the woman, he would have recognized her at a glance. She was the gentle woman in the photo on Great-grandmother's tombstone...
Betty Zoldyck rested her smooth chin on Maha's shoulder, rubbing against his face as she said, "That child is just like you, Maha... also a stubborn donkey."
"Betty has always been accurate about people. Maha, that child is indeed your seed!"
"Big Brother Brooke seems to like him very much. My Lord, what is the Little Lord's name?"
"I guess his surname must be Zoldyck, hahahahaha..."
Tombstones fell one by one... Graves opened one by one... Figures crawled out one by one... swarming... surrounding Maha...
The old man stood before the army of millions, his eyes narrowing into a slit as he smiled: "Roy... he is my great-grandson... Roy Zoldyck!"
"Whoosh~" A gust of wind blew, stirring up a clamor... Out of Maha's dream domain, Roy stood with his back to the colorful dream tunnel entrance, stopping to gaze at the azure "Sea of Cognition," where many doors stood like a forest, silently waiting for his favor...
So, the boy did not stay. He reached out and pushed a door, entering the Demon Slayer world.
At the same time, in the Hunter world.
Taiyi took Kastro, and after several twists and turns, transferred at Yorknew City. At noon the next day, they took a taxi and arrived at the outskirts of Meteor City.
The taxi driver was obviously knowledgeable. As soon as he heard Kastro mention going to Meteor City.
He didn't make a sound, asked no questions, and simply pretended not to have seen Roy (Taiyi) and Kastro. He took the money, dropped them off at the spot, slammed on the gas, and turned around to leave, running faster than a rabbit, truly verifying that saying...
"What kind of good cat would dig through a trash can?"
Guys who specifically ask to come to Meteor City... mostly have impure intentions. If not human traffickers, they are pretty close to it...
Roy (Taiyi) easily captured the driver's inner voice through [En]. The corners of his mouth always held a gentle smile. He politely thanked the other party, then looked up... watching Meteor City, which was surrounded by high electric fences stretching for who knew how many miles...
This place, abandoned by the world like garbage, was precisely because of its cruelty that it could, like "Gu raising," spawn elite Nen users such as Chrollo, Uvogin, Nobunaga, Feitan, and other Spiders, as well as Hisoka, the "Toilet War God."
"We accept everything, so don't take anything back from us..."
The whisper of the Spider seemed to linger in his ears...
Roy (Taiyi) saw two men in black armed with live ammunition guarding an iron gate. They were stretching their necks, looking suspiciously in this direction...
The boy said warmly to Kastro, "Let's go."
With short white hair looking neat, Kastro followed Roy (Taiyi) step by step, imitating Gotoh's appearance, falling half a body length behind him. He had specially researched this... this position appeared neither presumptuous, which would anger the master, nor too far to protect the young master in time if danger was detected... it was very particular!
"Step... step..."
One master and one servant strolled amidst the garbage piled up like mountains, unhurriedly approaching the iron fence gate...
The two men in black responsible for guarding the entrance and exit looked at each other. Their hands touched the inner pockets of their suits, slanting downwards to rest at the left side of their lower abdomens, and shouted sternly, "Stand still!"
Left and right, they blocked Roy's path!
"Who are you?"
"Do you have a permit?"
Meteor City wasn't truly a lawless place. The so-called "ownerless" status was only relative to great powers like the V5...
With their vast lands and abundant resources, they naturally looked down on this place. But... for gangs, for human traffickers, for drug dealers, for criminals, for all ill-intentioned "villains" and gangs, this place was no different from "Heaven"!
Therefore, Meteor City actually had a complex composition behind the scenes. Many blocks were nominally managed by the "Council of Elders" uniformly, but who was behind the Council of Elders... Roy (Taiyi) wasn't interested and didn't want to know. He answered truthfully, "No."
The two men in black looked stern. "What are you doing? You should know the rules!"
Trafficking, drug dealing... must be one of them... Kastro leaned his body forward, moving slightly closer to Roy (Taiyi)...
Dressed in a robe, holding a scripture in hand, and with a sun pendant hanging on his chest, the boy, who carried a hint of holiness, smiled and said, "Renting a room, charity."
?!
The two men in black froze, sizing up Roy (Taiyi) from head to toe, looking as if they had seen a ghost!