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Chapter 6: The Weight of the Sun X A Debate of Men and Dogs
🕑 Added 2025-10-19 10:18:27 +0000 UTCChapter 6: The Weight of the Sun X A Debate of Men and Dogs
After a moment, a sharp clarity cut through the lingering haze of sleep in his eyes.
Right. Why agonize over what was real and what was illusion?
What did it matter? The person he was on Earth was real. The Roy Zoldyck he was now was real. The Eiichiro Kamado he had just been was also real. They were all facets of a single existence. All he needed to do was focus on the here and now, on the people in front of him.
A faint smile returned to Roy's lips as he got up and began to dress.
It was nearly four in the morning. His daily run couldn't be skipped; he would use it as a warm-up for his first attempt at Sun Breathing in this world.
The moment he had woken up, Roy was thrilled to find that his system interface now listed [Sun Breathing]. The skill was greyed out, however, with a single note: Activation requires withstanding the 'Weight of the Sun'.
The Weight of the Sun...
Roy pulled on his tank top and shorts and gazed out the window. A pale, fish-belly white was beginning to tear at the edges of the night's darkness. The raw, searing power contained within that light would undoubtedly be a trial of the mind and spirit.
He wasn't certain he could pass, but there was only one way to find out.
The boy took a deep breath, opened his door, and began to run.
As he moved, the Zoldyck estate was a world of its own quiet activity. In one room, a certain old man on a rocking chair continued to snore to the sound of his cartoons. In a darkened bedroom down the hall, a pale, doll-like face suddenly opened its eyes in the blackness. And in the master bedroom on the second floor, a man's powerful shadow moved with brutal dominance against a floor-to-ceiling window.
Everyone was busy with their own urgent matters. Roy, likewise, would not allow himself a moment of slack.
From the peak of the mountain to the base and back up again. His ten-kilometer run was over in what felt like an instant.
By the time he returned to his room, a brilliant dawn was breaking. The sun, a blazing crimson orb, crested the horizon, washing over him with an aura of primordial power and boundless life.
Roy felt a resonance deep within him. He closed his eyes and began to practice the forms of the Sun Breathing.
But unlike Tanjuro, this time, he moved with Nen. Using the breathing style as a conduit, he began to circulate his aura through his body.
Immediately, he felt a searing heat.
The heat intensified with every movement. As he transitioned from "Dance" to "Blue Heaven" and "Raging Sun," the heat grew into an inferno, igniting him from head to toe.
Pain. Blinding, absolute pain. It felt as if he were being burned alive on a pyre, a torment so excruciating he nearly lost consciousness. He braced himself against the doorframe, the only thing keeping him from collapsing.
It was in that moment he truly understood the weight of the feat: from the Sengoku period to the present, a span of centuries, only a single person, Tanjiro Kamado, had ever mastered this power.
'This rotten world must be reduced to ash...'
'I will let the sun shine down and leave no shadow for the wicked to hide in...'
'With the true fire of the sun, I will incinerate all darkness and slay every last demon...'
In the depths of his agony, on the verge of blacking out, Roy thought he heard someone's voice echoing across time. An image formed in his mind's eye.
It was a swordsman with a flute tucked into his belt. He had deep crimson hair and a flame-like mark spreading across his forehead. He stood silently at the end of time, watching Roy with a gentle expression, his lips moving. The words sounded like...
"Those who seek the ultimate truth will arrive at the same destination, though they walk different paths."
"Brother... I told you not to worry. The breathing style would not be lost. Now you see, don't you?"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni... It had to be him.
As Roy recognized the face from his memories, his body finally gave out. He slid down the doorframe and collapsed onto the floor.
Instantly, the soul-rending heat vanished. Roy was free. He gasped for breath, his entire body feeling hollowed out and weak.
But the suffering had not been in vain. A familiar chime from his system offered its reward.
[Notice: 'Sun Breathing' has been activated.]
[Current Mastery: Novice (1/100)]
Finally... I did it.
A triumphant grin spread across Roy's face. The red sun bathed his features in its morning light, and he instinctively spread his arms, embracing the moment.
It was now five in the morning. As the old grandfather clock chimed the hour, Gotoh arrived as usual, pushing the breakfast cart. He knocked habitually on the door, then paused, seeing it was already open with Roy sitting slumped against the frame.
Frowning in concern, Gotoh walked over and reached down to help him up.
Just then, Roy opened his eyes.
In that instant, Gotoh felt a spike of agony in his vision. It was like staring directly into the sun, or having a high-powered laser aimed straight into his pupils. His sight exploded into a white haze.
"AAGGHHH—!"
His scream echoed through the stone halls.
After that incident, Roy's personal butler was changed from Gotoh to the formidable Tsubone.
"How is he?"
"The doctors said it's a temporary, stress-induced blindness. His sight should return in a few days."
"That's good to hear."
Gotoh was taken away for treatment. After finishing his morning training, Roy sat down for lunch, listening to Tsubone's report.
He speared a piece of steak with his fork, his brow furrowed. "Give him double his salary for the month."
"There is no precedent for such a thing," the old butler stated, her hands crossed before her, her face an emotionless mask. "He is a dog of the Zoldyck family. A bowl of food is sufficient."
"As for you, Young Master..."
Tsubone leaned forward, her massive, cyborg-like frame looming over him, casting him completely in her shadow. Her expression was severe. "The Master has instructed me to ask you how, precisely, Gotoh was injured."
Roy knew Silva wanted an answer. Tsubone wanted an answer. But Gotoh hadn't betrayed him. Roy intended to honor that loyalty.
He calmly picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. "I believe that as his master, I have no obligation to explain myself to a dog."
He then looked her in the eye. "You call Gotoh a dog. Are you not one as well?"
Tsubone nodded, as if stating a simple fact. "Of course I am." Her tone shifted, becoming as sharp as steel. "But the Master is not."
"Then he can come and ask me himself."
Roy pushed his chair back and stood up. He had respect for the butlers who were willing to die for his family, but he could never accept their dehumanizing view of themselves.
He walked past Tsubone, heading for the door.
As he did, he passed a ghost with empty, lifeless eyes. Illumi must have just returned from a job; the thick, cloying stench of blood clung to him.
His older brother walked towards him, hands in his pockets. As they were about to pass each other, Illumi suddenly stopped. He turned his head, his black eyes fixing on Roy. "A dog is a dog," he said, his voice flat and devoid of inflection. "A person is also a dog. Killing a person is as simple as killing a dog."
"Is that so?" Roy shot back with a cold smirk, not bothering to turn around. He left Illumi with the sight of his back—not yet broad, but radiating a defiant light.
"Then congratulations, my canine little brother. At least you're self-aware."
Illumi's expression did not change, but the air around him dropped twenty degrees.
Shing.
His hand blurred, his fingers stiffening into a deadly blade.
