Germain stepped into the room and was immediately met with a complex mix of smoky and dusty scents. Only then did he notice an antique incense burner on the square table.
"Cough, cough."
A muffled cough came from behind a screen adorned with strange patterns. Germain walked around it.
"Cough, cough… cough, cough…"
The sound drifted from the open balcony. The warm sunlight outside streamed in at odd angles, cutting through the dim shadows of the room like geometric shapes.
"Germain… cough, cough… come over here… to the balcony… Sorry, but it would be quite troublesome for me to move. It's easier if you come to me."
Germain gripped the tricorn hat in his hand and carefully navigated his way to the balcony, avoiding the towering piles of books stacked across the floor.
Some books had old, worn covers, while others were brand new. But all of them had dog-eared pages from frequent reading.
On the balcony, Germain saw a frail, elderly man in a wheelchair—his body thin to the bone, his limbs incomplete.
Strangely enough, this was the second time in recent days that Germain had encountered someone in a wheelchair with missing limbs.
Zigg Zoldyck's skeletal right hand picked up a handkerchief, pressing it to his wrinkled lips as he let out a few violent coughs. Only after a moment did he lower it.
"I must be a disappointment to you, seeing me like this."
"The man who once stood alongside Chairman Netero… reduced to such a pitiful state."
Zigg waved his right hand with a self-deprecating chuckle, gesturing toward his body—his left arm and right leg were gone.
Old age had taken hold of him. His voice rasped, his chest rattling as if something was stuck deep inside.
But something seemed off.
Germain noticed a strange detail.
Unlike Chrollo's, Zigg's missing limbs had no scars at the severed points. Instead, where flesh should have been, there was only a smooth, featureless darkness.
If one had to describe it, that place was like the shadow effect in a still-life sketch.
It was anything but normal.
"Sit down, Germain."
Germain took a seat in the rocking chair, positioned diagonally across from Zigg's wheelchair.
That chair was clearly prepared for visitors—perhaps for Netero, Maha, or another member of the Zoldyck family.
"Netero has visited more than once. He told me about you. I know enough already, so let's skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point."
Zigg looked older than both Netero and Maha, but his firm tone and sharp, piercing eyes proved that he was still resisting the weight of time.
Germain didn't judge by appearance—he wouldn't dare underestimate the old man before him.
"You're right. Let's be direct." Germain met his gaze. "Zigg, I want to know more about you. Chairman Netero specifically sent me here to meet you—there must be a reason."
Zigg let out a dry laugh, revealing the few teeth he had left.
"When I heard that someone had pulled off what we did back then—evading V5's surveillance and venturing into the Dark Continent without leaving a single written record—I couldn't help but take an interest."
"I told Netero long ago, the rules he put in place were just like V5's restrictions—they could never stop the truly determined madmen. And here we are."
"Netero told me you've done even better than us. You actually brought back two 'hopes.'"
"Unfortunately, neither the 'Herb for All-illnesses' nor the 'Alchemical Plant Metallion' can fix my… condition."
"To be fair, the 'Herb for All-illnesses' did restore my body quite a bit. But it could never stop the march of time. Its effects are weakening."
"And the reason I'm aging so quickly… lies in the very nature of my body itself."
"You must have already noticed the abnormalities in my body. To be precise, my left hand and right leg weren't just severed—they were taken."
"Taken?"
Germain had been silently listening the whole time. This was the first time he interrupted Zigg.
Zigg nodded, swallowing with difficulty, as if forcing down a large piece of bread without chewing.
"Back then, Netero, Linne, and I trespassed into the territory of the 'Gaseous Lifeform: Ai,' trying to take the 'Trinity Elixir.'"
"But not only did we fail, we ended up being relentlessly entangled by the 'Gaseous Lifeform: Ai.'"
"In order to escape and survive, Chairman Netero had no choice but to seek help from one of the 'Gaseous Lifeforms.'"
"Looking back, given the situation, he had no other option. If it had been me, I would have done the same."
"But we underestimated the 'Gaseous Lifeform: Ai.' Making a wish to it without understanding its nature… comes at a price."
"Although we managed to escape, not long after, I paid the price—my left hand and right leg were permanently taken, along with all the blood in my body…"
Germain sat up slightly in his rocking chair, his breathing quickening in disbelief.
Losing a hand and a leg was one thing, but losing all his blood? How was Zigg still alive?
Zigg knew exactly what Germain was wondering. He quickly explained.
"But as you can see, I didn't die. I made it back from the Dark Continent alive, though I could never continue as an assassin. I had no choice but to retire early."
"Chairman Netero never said much about it, but for decades, whenever he had free time, he would come to see me."
"Maybe, deep down, he felt guilty about what happened to me, even though I never blamed him."
"I've never regretted it. The journey to the Dark Continent was the most legendary experience of my life. If I had the chance to do it again, I wouldn't hesitate."
"Of course, I soon realized something was wrong with my body."
"I cut open my skin and veins, but nothing like blood came out—only pure darkness, like a severed void. And those wounds would heal almost instantly."
"My aura leaked out like a river bursting its banks. I had to constantly suppress it, but even then, I could only slow it down."
"I aged faster than Chairman Netero and Linne, which shouldn't have happened to someone with Nen abilities."
"But after some time, I noticed that my Nen had actually grown stronger because of it."
"Then, one day, I finally discovered the truth behind all these strange changes."
"Without me even realizing it, an uninvited guest had taken residence inside my body."
"It was the very being Chairman Netero once wished to—the 'Gaseous Lifeform: Ai.' It had followed me back from the Dark Continent."
"If it hadn't suddenly decided to take a look at the outside world, I might have never even noticed its presence."
"My body had become its hiding place, my veins its pathways, and the severed openings of my left hand and right leg its two gateways in and out."
"That was when I understood—my body had been transformed into a dark space, a home for it to dwell in."
"And the only reason I was still alive was because my blood, my left hand, and my right leg existed in a bizarre state—both a part of me and separate from me at the same time."
Germain couldn't help but ask, "A dark space…? What does that mean?"
Zigg coughed a few times, quickly covering his mouth with a handkerchief.
After a moment, he steadied himself and took a breath, carefully considering how to respond.
********
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