Infinite Lifespan

"White hair?"

Byakuya immediately realized something.

He hadn't paid much attention to his hair. Even though he looked in the mirror every day, he never really focused on it.

And due to the unique physiology of half-humans, the whitening of their hair happened at an accelerated rate.

In the original story, Arima Kishou's hair likely turned white overnight, whereas Kaneki's transformation was a different kind of trauma-induced change.

Byakuya quickly grabbed a small mirror from the counter and checked himself. From the front, it wasn't too noticeable, but when viewed from above, the change was obvious.

His once black hair had already begun to turn white in patches. At this rate, by tomorrow morning, it would probably be completely white.

Technically, he could still buy a lifespan pill from the system's store to stop the process, but Byakuya decided against it.

His appearance would be permanently frozen at the moment he took the pill. If he stopped it now, he'd be left with a half-black, half-white hairstyle, which would look worse.

He might as well let it go fully white.

After all, his physical condition was still at its peak—it was just that his hair was aging faster.

"..."

Yoshimura's expression turned slightly heavy with concern.

He knew that the half-humans raised by the garden never lived long. Byakuya's remaining lifespan was probably not even half of what it should be…

"Oh dear…"

Roma propped her chin on her hands.

The mood had suddenly become melancholic.

Come to think of it, this guy wouldn't even live long enough to reach her current age.

"What's wrong?"

Unlike Yoshimura and Roma, Hikari and the others had no idea that Byakuya was a half-human.

They just sensed that the atmosphere had suddenly shifted.

"Ah, right… you're a half-human."

Eto suddenly remembered that Byakuya, as a half-human, had a naturally short lifespan.

Still, she hadn't expected the aging to start this early.

Byakuya was only eighteen, and he was already showing signs of deterioration.

It was difficult to accept, but it was an unavoidable truth.

"Half-human?"

Hikari and Yomo clearly weren't familiar with the term.

"I've heard that when a human and a ghoul have a child, that child is usually a half-human. They possess physical abilities far beyond ordinary people, but their lifespans are tragically short."

Roma chimed in. "Of course, this is just what I've heard."

Hikari nodded slightly. "Oh, so Byakuya is actually a human-ghoul hybrid…"

Meanwhile, Minami suddenly thought of something.

If that were true… then didn't that mean Arima was also a half-human?

It made sense—his strength was on a whole other level, and his reflexes were inhuman.

A sense of worry crept into her heart.

"It's fine. I have a way to deal with it."

Byakuya reassured Eto.

"What way?"

Eto asked immediately.

"That's a secret for now."

Byakuya replied.

There were too many people around. Even though most of them were trustworthy, he wasn't about to reveal something like this in public.

"Ugh, always keeping secrets…"

Eto pouted slightly.

Still, knowing him, he wouldn't say something like that unless he actually had a solution.

That was enough to ease her worries.

—

Minami couldn't shake her curiosity about half-humans and eventually approached Byakuya.

She sat down across from him and asked in a quiet voice, "Um… um… is Arima a half-human too?"

"You should ask him yourself."

Byakuya responded.

"Yeah… you're right."

Minami realized that prying into someone's secrets behind their back wasn't exactly the best move.

She decided she'd ask Arima directly next time.

And as fate would have it—

Right at that moment, the man himself walked in.

Minami had previously invited Arima to drop by the café sometime.

Today, he actually showed up.

But what shocked her most—

His once blue hair had already turned completely white.

Seeing the drastic change, Byakuya wasn't surprised at all.

Minami, however, was at a loss for words.

Just by looking at him, she already knew the answer to her question.

"Arima, you're just in time. Come sit over here."

Byakuya called him over.

Arima gave a slight nod before taking a seat next to Minami.

"Arima… your hair…"

Minami's voice carried a hint of worry.

Arima immediately understood what she meant.

With his usual unreadable expression, he simply said: "It's normal. It doesn't affect anything."

But that wasn't the reassurance she was hoping for.

Leaning in closer, she whispered in his ear, "Arima… you're a half-human, aren't you?"

At those words, Arima's eyes flickered—an almost imperceptible shift.

Looking at her worried expression, he fell silent.

"I heard Byakuya is a half-human, so I was wondering if you were too…"

She added.

After a long pause—

"Yes."

Arima admitted it.

With the Washuu Clan destroyed and V dismantled, there was no longer any reason to hide it.

"As a half-human, my lifespan is limited. I've already entered the stage of aging."

He stated matter-of-factly.

"I see…"

Minami lowered her head slightly.

"..."

Arima didn't know what to say to comfort her.

"Don't worry, I've already found a solution to the lifespan issue."

Byakuya spoke up, addressing both of them. "At most, Arima's hair will stay white, but that's about it."

"Really?!"

Minami's eyes lit up in surprise.

But she couldn't help but feel skeptical.

Wasn't life expectancy something absolute? Birth, aging, sickness, and death—weren't those things unavoidable?

Even Arima looked somewhat shocked as he gazed at Byakuya.

He knew Byakuya well enough to know that he never made claims without certainty.

But still… it was hard to believe.

"Of course it's true."

Byakuya said with confidence.

After all—

Not only was there the lfespan pills from the system's store, but there was also the dragon toxin from the One-Eyed King which could extend a half-human's life to that of a normal human.

But compared to that, the system's method was far superior—because it could be repeatedly purchased.

As long as he had enough attribute points…

He could achieve infinite life.