Illumi was stubborn.
He returned with a limp.
Along that same corridor, by that same window, stood the same withered old man with his hands behind his back, looking at him in the garden. The youth slowly walked up to Maha's side.
"I know I am not as good as him," he insisted.
'Is it a matter of being "not as good"...? It is because your heart is so full of him that there is no room left for yourself!'
Maha watched Roy's silhouette cast a slanted shadow in the sunlight. Without even glancing at Illumi, he said, "You are indeed inferior to him. He carries worlds within him, but what do you..."
"...have?"
"Don't talk to me about love. The Zoldycks don't lack love. We didn't in the past, we don't now, and we never will in the future!"
"Illumi,"
The old man reached up and grabbed the youth's head. It was strange; despite his small stature and the fact that he had to stand on his tiptoes to reach Illumi's shoulder, he still managed to hold his head firmly, rubbing it harshly. "Stop being so obsessed!"
"If you don't want your elder brother to leave you in the dust, you have to start thinking more for yourself."
"The Buddha said... 'One must save oneself before saving others.' Is that what you mean?" Illumi asked. He allowed himself to be swayed by the old man's grip, his expression as blank as a puppet's. He suddenly blurted out those words. Maha stopped immediately, looking at him as if he were a different person. "Who did you learn that from?" he asked in surprise.
Illumi calmly brushed away Maha's large hand and pointed at Roy. "I peeked at his notes. The Shingen-ryu school, Biscuit."
"He doesn't know?"
"He knows," Illumi said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I sneak into his room every night. He knows, and his bird knows too."
"Then he truly dotes on you."
"You knew as well, Great-Great-Grandfather." Illumi looked at Maha intently. "You did it on purpose."
Maha remained silent.
After a long while, he sighed softly. "I had no brothers. Neither did your grandfather Zigg, nor your grandfather, nor your father..."
"I am merely reminding you,"
"And also envying you."
"Envying me for having a good brother?" Illumi leaned against the window, staring blankly at Roy's back, which wasn't particularly tall. After a long moment, he squeezed out a few words through his teeth. "Great-Great-Grandfather is right. I will consider myself more. It's just..."
"Him first, me second,"
"The order,"
"Cannot change."
Maha glanced at him sideways. "Why not do it for Milluki? Or for your soon-to-be-born brother? Who knows... he might have white hair and become the next heir to the Zoldyck family."
"Milluki?"
"He is a pig, not a person."
As for the unborn brother... Illumi looked at Maha expressionlessly. "As you said... 'who knows.' In the future, the head of the family might have nothing to do with hair color."
"I can't win an argument with you." Maha neither admitted nor denied it, turning his head away. "It's rare for you to speak so much. Tell me, what do you want?"
Illumi took a step back. Like a stiff zombie, he gave a ninety-degree bow, showing deep respect to Maha. "I would like to ask for your guidance. I want to become Great-Great-Grandfather's disciple!"
"Whoosh!"
A gust of wind swirled in, sweeping up a green leaf and carrying away the clamor within the corridor...
Maha was stunned.
This was a development he never could have anticipated. When things were this unusual, there was bound to be a catch.
But this catch seemed to exceed all imagination.
"You've certainly put yourself in a difficult position." The old man looked at his great-great-grandson with a strange expression, as if seeing him for the first time. "What made you..."
"...decide to do this?"
Illumi lowered his head and touched his chest, where the [Divine Spear Wooden Nail] was kept close to his body.
The youth uttered each word distinctly. "Myself."
"I am too weak. That is why he gave me a Nen tool and taught me a Breathing Style to protect me."
"You don't like it?" Maha asked.
"I like it, and I don't." Illumi looked directly into the old man's eyes and said calmly, "He thinks I'm weak..."
'So... you just couldn't accept that?'
Maha understood perfectly. He sized up the youth from head to toe before finally waving him off. "Get out of here."
"Step... step..." Illumi turned and left.
...
Sunlight streamed through the window, hitting the youth and stretching his shadow until it reached Maha's feet.
The old man said expressionlessly, "One hour before lunch every day. No more. You know..."
"...this old man finds it bothersome."
Illumi stopped abruptly. "Deal."
"Don't you know how to say thank you?" Maha glared at him, his voice rising.
Illumi looked back at him blankly. "Great-Great-Grandfather, you should."
"I should?" Pop! A prominent vein throbbed on Maha's nearly bald head. The old man silently bent down...
...to take off his shoe...
Illumi backed away, half of his face merging into the shadows as he slipped around the corner and vanished without a sound.
Whether it was because he ran fast or because he knew an hour awaited him every day... seeing him make a quick escape, Maha let him go. He looked back at the garden at the youth who was silently sitting cross-legged in the sun, eyes closed in meditation, hand resting on his blade.
Because of his presence, everyone in the Zoldyck family seemed to have changed significantly. Sometimes... even he himself... Maha couldn't help but wonder.
Had he been acting too much on emotion lately?
To actually agree to such a ridiculous request from Illumi?
White clouds drifted by, partially obscuring the sunlight and casting large shadows. Maha snapped back to reality, put his hands behind his back, and quietly watched Roy...
...lost in thought.
After his great-great-grandfather pointed out the keyword "gratitude,"
Roy immediately entered a meditative state. He began to ponder how to offer his most sincere and devout gratitude to the swordsmanship that had nurtured him.
Should he be like Netero, responding to martial arts with every "straight punch" preceded by a prayer?
Or like Yoriichi Tsugikuni, using his innate talent for the way of the sword, coupled with the Transparent World and his birthmark, to manifest a powerful...
...gift that made swordsmanship bow to him?
As Roy pondered, he listened to his heart. Intuition told him... it was neither.
Whether it was Netero or Yoriichi Tsugikuni, they were people first, and their fists and swords came second. As his great-great-grandfather said, they had their own paths to invincibility.
They had their own strong personal styles, but those were not Roy's...
Therefore,
'What is my style?'
'What should I do?'
'Why did I learn the sword in the beginning? Why did I run all the way to Mount Sagiri to take Sakonji Urokodaki as my master?'
...
"To become stronger."
"For the sun in my heart."
"To be the sole honored one throughout heaven and earth, with ultimate arrogance!"
"And also... to become that sliver of light that brings warmth to the world!"
Roy suddenly opened his eyes and whispered, "Let there be light."
"Whish!" The blade rang sharply!
[Solar Eclipse] was unsheathed, its straight blade pointing forward. The moment the cold light flashed...
The clouds above split apart, casting down ten thousand rays of light that converged onto the blade, causing it to glow, heat up, and shine!
It transformed into a blade of light, piercing through the inside and outside of Nen, transcending perception...
It stirred up sudden waves...
Deep within the sea of perception, the great gate adorned with the head of a horned demon trembled violently. As if sensing something, it once again creaked open a...
...sliver.
A corner was revealed through the crack...
It was that same familiar small courtyard, the corridor, an old man, a middle-aged man, and the cats—one orange, one tan—each at peace. However, as the old man sitting cross-legged on the corridor, his long gray beard trailing down and his hands resting on a wooden cane, slowly opened his eyes...
Everything changed!