Chapter 16: Zzigg's Notes X Leaving the Mountain for the First Time
In the end, Zeno was unceremoniously ejected from the room.
He didn't look displeased, merely... surprised. He had never seen his grandfather act so possessive over a meal.
The brief encounter seemed to have an effect on him. Instead of heading back to his own quarters, Zeno turned and walked in the opposite direction. He moved with his hands clasped behind his back, his footsteps making no sound on the ancient stone floor. His mastery of Shadow Step had reached a point where sound itself seemed to avoid him.
He came to a stop outside Roy's window, a silent phantom in the night.
Inside, the boy was completely absorbed, his attention fixed on the book in his hands. He was totally unaware of the figure watching him.
"Nen is not some mystical, unknowable force," the book began.
"The Shingen-Ryu school defines the learning process with its own terms: Point, Tongue, Ren, and Release. The more commonly known principles are Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu. In truth, both are simply different ways to describe the same process of expression."
"The essence of Nen is this: through introspection, you give your life force—your aura—a language. You then shape that language with your imagination, and finally, you 'release' it. That is all there is to it."
"The advanced applications—Shu, Ken, En, In—are nothing more than deeper, more complex applications of that same imagination. For example, Zetsu, the art of concealing one's presence. All it does is pull the aura that naturally leaks from your body back inside. This lowers your presence to almost nothing, but it comes with a severe consequence: without the protective shroud of Ten, your body is completely vulnerable to an attack from another Nen user."
...
"In conclusion, the path to mastering Nen is not about learning a thousand different applications. It is about deepening your understanding of Nen itself. The two pillars upon which all true power is built are 'Shape Transformation' and 'Property Transformation.' These are what every Nen user must focus on."
The night wind rustled the curtains. At some point, Roy finally pulled his eyes away from the book. He glanced out the window, but Zeno was long gone. In his place, a bright moon hung in the sky. For a moment, it felt as if the moon were looking back at him, giving him a new perspective on himself.
This was the difference between guided instruction and fumbling in the dark. A systematic education might not guarantee greatness, but it would always prevent abject failure. A self-taught Nen user, unless they were a once-in-a-generation prodigy, would likely never even touch the level of a true master.
Roy closed the book, a new understanding dawning on him. After a moment of thought, he took out a pen and paper and wrote down three words:
Aura Quantity.
Application.
Mechanics.
Aura Quantity was his raw power. Application was his skill in using that power. And Mechanics represented the rules that governed it—Vows and Restrictions. For a complete Nen user, all three had to be honed to a razor's edge.
So his current path—strengthening his body to increase his Aura Quantity—was, at its core, the correct one.
DING...
The clock in the corner chimed ten, signaling it was time for sleep. To further master Sun Breathing and extend the time he could maintain Total Concentration, sleep was his most crucial training tool. Roy stretched, put away his notes, and threw himself onto the soft bed.
The chirping of cicadas was a familiar lullaby. As the moon climbed higher, the Zoldyck estate was alive in its own strange way. A certain boy with empty eyes was digging a hole in the garden. A certain pudgy child, dressed by his mother in frilly nightmares, was dreaming of chicken legs. And on the second floor, a woman's shriek echoed, the monitor in the master bedroom fuzzy with static.
Roy turned on his white noise app, folded his hands over his stomach, and cleared his mind.
Soon, he was drifting down the kaleidoscopic tunnel, back to the sea of his subconscious. He stood once more before the countless wooden doors rising from the water.
This time, instead of going straight to the Demon Slayer door, he took a moment to examine the others. One door was marked with a stylized whirlpool. Another had a folded paper insect pinned to it. A third was adorned with a single, unblinking eye. It looked familiar, and as he drew closer, he felt a wave of profound, vicarious pain.
It reminded him of a tragic figure. Someone like him, who could not control his own destiny. A sad soul trapped by his own immense power, a prisoner of a fate he could not escape.
So, I'm still not strong enough, Roy murmured to himself. True strength means imposing your will upon the world, so that its pain becomes your tool, not your burden.
He turned away from that sorrow and pushed open the door with the oni mask.
The familiar sensation of falling—
He opened his eyes to Tanjiro's face, the scar on his forehead looking just like a Demon Slayer Mark.
"Bro, wake up! We have to go sell the charcoal in town today!"
To spend one day mining and one day selling was the rhythm of their lives. If you were fast, you could make it back before nightfall. If not, you'd have to camp in the mountains or find a kind soul to take you in for the night.
"Why are you so close?" Roy grumbled, gently pushing Tanjiro's face away as he sat up.
Takeo and Shigeru were still fast asleep. He got out of bed quietly, his smaller, over-eager shadow following close behind. He pushed open the door and saw the familiar expanse of white, and the spot by the wall where his father had stood last night. The footprints were gone, but the memory of his words remained.
As if sensing his thoughts, he looked towards the main house. On the veranda, Tanjuro was looking back at him. A simple breakfast was already laid out by the stove. "Eiichiro, Tanjiro, come and eat."
"Coming!" Tanjiro chirped, his earlier grumpiness forgotten as he ran ahead.
Roy followed at a slower pace. In the main house, only Kie and Nezuko were up. Hanako must have been fussy last night, meaning their grandmother was still sleeping with her. They all spoke in hushed tones.
For breakfast, they had rice balls and a miso soup made with the leftover pork from last night's feast. Knowing the boys had a long journey ahead, Kie had made extra for them to take on the road.
As they ate, Roy noticed a neatly sewn patch on the sleeve of Nezuko's kimono. He took a sip of soup. "This trip down the mountain might take a couple of days," he announced. "First, I want to get some new clothes for Nezuko and the boys."
"And second," he added, his gaze distant. "I need to make a trip to Sagiri Mountain."
The retired Water Pillar, Sakonji Urokodaki, lived on Sagiri Mountain, training new recruits for the Demon Slayer Corps. Roy had decided to pay the old master a visit. If he could receive his personal guidance, it would be the best possible outcome.