Chương 22: The Power of the Heart

If he could not solve the question immediately, Aren decided to stop forcing it. He would not run out of life force anyway. No matter how far he pushed a life-payment restriction, the Undying made the final bill almost meaningless to him. So he summarized what the known examples had in common. Kurapika. Gon. Franklin. The movie-only ability built from hatred toward Netero. The pattern slowly became clearer. The pursuit of power. Or hatred pushed to the extreme.

Kurapika wanted strength because he lacked it, and hatred because the Phantom Troupe had slaughtered the Kurta Clan. Gon wanted strength and carried a burning hatred for Neferpitou after Kite's fate became undeniable. Franklin had never been confirmed to use Restrictions and Pledges, but Nen bullets did not require him to cut off his fingertips and reshape them into gun barrels. Sacrificing his own fingers had almost certainly increased the force of the ability. Pursuit of power. A price paid with the self.

A narrow target born from hatred. Aren's eyes sharpened.

"Emotion," he said softly. Whether the road was power or hatred, the prerequisite was intense emotion. His previous attempts had failed because he was too satisfied. He did not hate Limitless Technique. He was not desperate for it to become stronger. Deep down, he was proud of it. He thought he had done something brilliant. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Nen was a terrifyingly subjective power. Shizuku's Blinky was a perfect example.

She believed it could not suck up living things, so that became its rule. Yet what counted as living depended on her understanding, not on scientific precision. A person's inner perception shaped the ability. Aren's perception was working against him. Sometimes he was deeply grateful he had studied psychology. His abilities depended too much on self-perception. Without self-hypnosis and mental construction, half his advantages would be duller than they should be. He closed his eyes.

Aren began building the emotion he needed. Outsiders saw him as successful, calm, and blessed with advantages. But he had his own old frustrations. Games, for one. From high school into working life, he had played League of Legends and still crawled around in Silver like a trapped insect. That helplessness. That irritation. The feeling of understanding what should be done and still failing to make his hands obey. Aren tied that frustration to Limitless Technique. The mental construction took shape.

Then the words rose naturally.

"I, Aren Voss, swear on my life. From this moment on, whenever I use Limitless Technique, I will consume a portion of my life force. The wider the area covered, the greater the cost. The farther the space is folded and extended, the greater the cost. The stronger the attack I face, the greater the cost." A subtle shock spread through his body. Aren felt his Nen change. Limitless Technique activated. The field that had barely covered his palm expanded across his entire body.

The folded space no longer stopped at one strained meter. It stretched wide and deep, ready to extend farther whenever he fed it more life. As for the life-force cost, he felt almost nothing. Infinity minus ten billion was still infinity.

"Success." A flash of satisfaction crossed his eyes. He had expected the result after enough analysis, so the joy did not explode. It settled into him instead, clean and certain.

"Mmm... ah." Aren stretched, then fell backward onto the bed with his arms spread. His body was not tired. His mind was. Frustration, analysis, mental construction, self-hypnosis, and a successful pledge had scraped his thoughts raw.

"A short rest, then." He closed his eyes and fell asleep in a second. When he woke again, the clock on the bedside table pointed to 15: 23. Aren sat up slowly. The pressure that had been building in his head was gone. Sleep remained one of the best tools for stress relief. There was a reason therapists loved couches. He opened the door. The door creaked open. Uvogin was sitting against the wall beside it.

"Aren! You're out!" The shout nearly shook the hallway.

"Uvogin? What are you doing here?" The big boy scratched his head with an honest grin.

"My shift." Aren understood at once. For safety, Machi and the others had been taking turns guarding his door. Warmth moved through his chest.

'Not bad. Seems treating them well was worth it.' Uvogin's voice carried through the house. A moment later, Machi and Nobunaga arrived at full speed.