Roy tapped two fingers against the armrest of the throne.
Tap... tap...
Then he sent a thought to Taiyi.
The young priest swept his sleeves and drifted down onto the cloud platform. He helped Vanessa and old Koller up, one on each side.
"Praise the Sun..."
"Your sincerity is received."
"Lord Divine Envoy, am I too weak?" Vanessa, always sharp-minded, sensed the tactful refusal in Taiyi's words.
The beautiful snake-woman lowered her head in shame and sighed inwardly.
Indeed, to a god, she was nothing more than a small serpentfolk from Valentia in the Nation of Hot Springs. If she truly wanted to help the Divine Envoy or even God Himself, perhaps only the Great Siren Queen could barely enter "my Lord's" sight.
"Woof... Koller is ashamed too..."
Old Koller's ears drooped, and he simply apologized.
He knew very well how much he was worth. Back then, if Roy had not granted him Water Breathing, helping him expel his hidden injuries and restore his strength, whether the pups at home could even drink a mouthful of milk powder right now would still be uncertain.
Buzz...
The aura naturally rising from the two of them instantly changed color, shifting from excited red to dejected black...
Roy saw everything through the mist. With the sky above his head, mist-clouds under his feet, and a great sun wheel behind him, he raised a finger and pointed at them.
The Sun in the Heart activated.
It instantly transformed into two gentle strands of sunlight that shone into Vanessa and old Koller's hearts, smashing apart and completely burning away the trace of darkness that had just been born there.
"There is no need to be discouraged... Strive upward, and wait quietly for my summons..."
That leisurely oracle entered Vanessa and old Koller's minds along with the sunlight.
Their bodies visibly trembled. Their emotions surged like storm-tossed waves. The aura naturally rising from their heads changed rapidly, like a weather gauge knocked over.
What was that?
Light?
A turn of sunlight erased all the negative emotion inside me?
Then what do I even need qin pills for? Why would I need to apply to the guild for potions?
No one present was ignorant, especially Vanessa.
Her business—and the very foundation of the entire Nation of Hot Springs—was helping customers transfer backlash.
So when she realized that the trace of dejection that had just risen deep in her heart had been instantly burned away by a single ray of sunlight from Roy's finger, Vanessa froze on the spot.
She checked again and again before confirming it—
"My Lord, the great Sun God... possesses greater authority than the great Siren in the path of removing backlash!"
After countless thoughts rushed through her mind, Vanessa finally reacted. She exchanged a quiet glance with old Koller and saw the same shock and excitement in his dog eyes.
Clearly, this kobold, who had gotten lucky just like her, had also understood what had just happened.
"Praise the Sun."
The two took a deep breath and answered respectfully. If Taiyi had not been there to stop them, they might have fallen prostrate to the ground again and kowtowed devoutly.
[Notice: Your followers Vanessa Siren / Koller Spencer are shocked by your ability to clear backlash. In their excitement, Loyalty +50... Power of Faith +10...]
[Note: Vanessa Siren / Koller Spencer's current Loyalty: overflowing loyalty, infinitely close to your butler... Gotoh...]
A faint smile curved at Roy's lips. He crooked his finger.
Sunlight cut through the mist, instantly turning into two strands of aura and returning to his body.
Vanessa and old Koller lowered their eyes. They could instinctively feel that warmth leave, and they didn't dare breathe loudly.
Only when Taiyi gently patted their shoulders and said warmly, "Weakness is not a sin. It is enough to become stronger. Believe in my Lord, and there will always come a day when you are needed..."
Vanessa and old Koller nodded solemnly and said together, "We will."
Then they straightened and quietly glanced up at Roy on the throne with worshipful eyes.
With a wave of Roy's hand, they fell into the whirlpools, left the dream, and returned to the real world.
"Go..."
"Go and pursue the light within your hearts..."
Two hazy clouds of mist carried the two consciousnesses out of the collective unconscious sea, one heading north, the other west.
When Vanessa and old Koller woke from their dreams deep in the night, both of them suddenly opened their eyes, touched their chests, and felt the lingering warmth and excitement there. In silence, faint smiles slowly rose on their lips.
Unfortunately, it was late at night. The bright moon hung high, and there was no sun to be seen.
But just as my Lord had said...
Light exists forever. No matter what, the sun will eventually pierce through darkness and filth, leap above the horizon, rise slowly, and shine across the land.
"Praise the Sun..."
Behind her smile, Vanessa embraced her younger sister a moment later.
"Praise the Sun..."
In a wooden house in Yellow Village, old Koller got up and tucked the blanket around his pup.
On this deep night, across the vast, boundless Dark Continent where anything could happen, two seeds named "light" were quietly planted.
And the sower—
the boy with beautiful silver hair, the tips and middle flowing with glass-gold light—stayed for a short while longer in his unconscious domain. With a wave of his hand, he changed heaven and earth, withdrew the divine temple, and slowly landed with Taiyi at the entrance of the dazzling dream corridor.
"You should go back too."
The young Spiders still needed guidance.
People like Chrollo, Uvogin, and Nobunaga were rare talents.
"Before, they had no choice. Now that you're there, you must guide them toward the right path..."
Roy patted Taiyi on the shoulder.
Unlike the Multiple Shadow Clones, the young priest was his genuine flesh-and-blood clone. He inherited nearly eighty percent of Roy's full strength, and now he had already broken through the restraints of C-rank and reached B-rank.
Taiyi nodded, holding a scripture in his hand. Before leaving, he seemed to remember something and turned to ask, "Meteor City's monthly elder council will soon be held. Next Door reminded me that someone will likely come looking for us in the next few days..."
"The boss Chrollo mentioned... Belus?"
"Yes."
"He's an obsessive one. He actually dreams of changing Meteor City through industry." Roy's eyes flashed, and he smiled as he asked Taiyi, "What do you think?"
"I think we can meet him."
"Then meet him."
"Yes."
Taiyi answered respectfully. Finally, he nodded slightly to Roy, then turned into a streak of light and returned to Meteor City through the Gate of Cognition.
Crash...
The sea washed against the sand.
In the vast cognition world, only Roy remained. He stood alone in the sea breeze, quietly enjoying a rare moment of peace.
Then, following Taiyi, he stepped into the dream corridor and headed toward reality.
Buzz...
The familiar sensation of falling returned.
At four in the morning, as the clock in the corner struck the hour,
Roy left the dream as usual and returned to the Hunter world. He slowly opened his eyes, lying on the bed like a starfish and staring at the ceiling for a while before rolling over and sitting up.
"Gao..."
A muffled crow call sounded.
Goldie's plump body lay on its back beside Roy's pillow, drooling as it slept like a dead pig.
Roy rolled his eyes at it.
His hopes of having it keep watch had completely fallen apart. He didn't even bother waking it. He got out of bed, put on his sportswear, and began his morning run.
"Cicada... cicada..."
Early morning in midsummer came with waves of cicada cries.
Dawn had not yet broken. The cool wind blew gently, stirring the boy's silver hair and the gold light flowing through it.
Roy moved at an unhurried pace, controlling his rhythm. Wearing running shoes, he closed the door behind him and passed through the corridor, the main gate, and the garden, heading down the mountain.
Halfway through, he saw light in one corner of the training room. Two shadows and a volleyball flew back and forth inside, mixed with scattering aura.
The boy merely swept one glance over Netero and Grandpa Zeno before disappearing into the mountain forest.
Bang... bang... bang...
The volleyball flew around the training room like a cannonball.
Netero had finally found a suitable opponent, and over the past few days, he had not spared Zeno at all.
The old man's topknot was tied up. His fist struck the center of the volleyball and smashed it back fiercely. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Roy enter Kukuroo Mountain and run down the steps toward the mountain gate. Laughing, he asked Zeno, "Does he work this hard every day?"
Starting a run at four in the morning—
it made Netero think of that day during the Hunter Exam, when he and the boy had raced along the riverbank in Saba City with the wind in their faces.
Two years had passed. That green youth from back then had already transformed into a powerful Nen user who could defeat Silva.
Netero felt something stir in his heart. He remembered a phrase he had seen yesterday in a corner bookshelf of the boy's bedroom.
Truly...
Things remain, but people change, and all comes to an end.
Bang!
The volleyball came flying over again and was cut back by a sideways hand blade from Zeno, spinning as it tore through the air.
Zeno's white hair swayed as he flicked his hand and said, "You know better than I do that hard work is also a kind of talent."
"Wow, wow... that's true too. Unfortunately..."
Netero raised a hand and guided the ball in. A Buddha hand appeared, catching the volleyball and placing it on the old man's fingertip. Netero stood with one hand on his hip, spinning the ball on one finger.
"You also know better than I do that hard work alone cannot create a child like Roy..."
Putting everything else aside, just within the Hunter Association, Netero had seen far too many hardworking Hunters.
In the eyes of ordinary people, awakening Nen and becoming a Nen user already made them geniuses found once in ten thousand or even a hundred thousand.
But even so, for their entire lives, they would never reach the heights of Ging, Botobai, or even that recently emerged little fellow named Pariston.
That was talent.
Something already decided at birth.
Zeno said nothing.
He had to admit Netero was right.
But before that...
as Roy's grandfather, he knew even more clearly that before Roy opened his aura nodes and truly took that first step, his talent among the Zoldycks wasn't even as good as that of his younger brothers, Illumi and Milluki.
The reason things had become what they were now all began from the moment Roy asked to have his aura nodes opened.
At that moment, Zeno turned and glanced toward the door.
Creak.
The training room door opened inward.
Then Silva's tall, imposing figure entered Netero and Zeno's view.
"Add me."
The man expressionlessly rolled up his sleeves.
"No ball. Real fight."
Netero and Zeno looked at each other.
Then Netero suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
"Ho ho ho... don't tell me this old man still has to work hard at my age?"
Zeno snorted coldly with his hands behind his back.
"Hard to say. I remember someone's next target is you..."
"Ho ho ho... scary, scary..."
Netero's white brows fluttered. His body moved, and he smashed straight through the window, vanishing into the night.
"The space is too small. Hard to move around. If you want to fight, follow me!"
Rustle.
The window opened wide, and the curtains swayed.
Silva walked expressionlessly toward the window. As he passed Zeno, he suddenly heard him ask, "Are you unwilling to accept it?"
The man's silver hair spilled down like liquid mercury. He stopped and was silent for a while before saying in a low voice, "Yes, and no."
"How so?" Zeno frowned.
Silva looked into the night with hawk-like eyes, following Netero's retreating back. After a while, he said in a deep voice, "I don't know."
"I only know that I feel both relieved and angry."
"What are you relieved about? And why angry?"
"I'm relieved because of Roy. Angry because of myself."
Silva turned his head and looked down at Zeno. Rarely, he smiled.
"Dad... I think you probably felt the same back then."
Zeno froze for a moment.
He had watched Silva grow up since childhood, and had rarely ever seen him smile. Now, facing Silva's gentle gaze, the old man hunched over, stood on tiptoe, and said nothing more.
He simply reached out and patted Silva's shoulder.
"Go."
Then he watched as Silva leapt out, following Netero into Kukuroo Mountain.
A look of relief flashed through Zeno's eyes.
Whoosh.
A gust of wind rose, stirring the tree shadows and making the leaves rustle.
On this ordinary morning, some people were disguising themselves in the mirror as their older brother.
Some lay on the bed with bellies exposed, sleeping like dead pigs, with torn chip bags scattered all over the headboard.
Some forced themselves awake on time to feed the baby, afraid the child might go hungry.
And someone else was breathing in the scent of earth, facing the mountain wind, taking in fresh air, and dancing with life itself—one step at a time, unhurriedly advancing toward the mountain gate and toward dawn.
"Young Master."
Halfway down the mountain, the butler villa flashed past.
At the mountain path entrance, Roy could already see a golden ponytail in the distance. Holding a staff, Kuraging bowed point by point, saluting him.
Roy slowly slowed down, smiled, and nodded to Kuraging as a symbolic greeting.
"Where's Pika?"
Kuraging sighed helplessly.
"He had insomnia last night and couldn't get up this morning."
"What, homesick?" Roy asked with a surprised smile.
Kuraging's face turned serious. She slowly shook her head.
"Yes and no. He kept muttering something yesterday."
"What?"
"Isolation won't save the Kurta."