Divine Emperor of Death

"Tia, you need to tell me more of a convincing lie than that, but I'm not playing. Tell me what happened. You seem to know something."

Davis didn't break character as he kept a stern expression.

"…"

Tia matched gazes with Davis, her gaze becoming slightly forlorn as she remembered something. It caused tears to form in her eyes, almost causing Davis to drop his stern attitude, but Tia rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and smiled.

"Big brother, have you ever thought you could time travel?"

"What?" Davis frowned, but Tia continued.

"This is a story about a certain man, a husband who had many wives, a cultivator who was said to be extremely powerful, adored by those around him and hated by those who were jealous of his prowess, wanting to end his legend no matter the cost."

"…?"

Ellia and Myria glanced at each other, thinking that this vaguely resembled someone, but since this was a story, it could be pointing to any successful young master as well.

"Tia, this is not the time for stor-"

"It all started when he obtained a treasure, but the breaking point was when he entered a secret realm with a few members of his family, intending to reap massive benefits, and he did reap, becoming so powerful that almost no one could match his prowess."

Davis tried to make her stop as he didn't have time, but then Tia continued, causing him to narrow his brows as he listened. She paused, inclining her head while still looking at him.

"However, that kind of prowess came at a price."

"At that time, he pursued another woman deeply—" Tia's gaze fell on a white-haired woman in a split second before returning to Davis "— she accepted his advances, but after the man gained power, a tumultuous change happened in the secret realm as it opened up to the other realms. One of their sworn enemies was sneaky and managed to kidnap the woman the man loved, causing him to become furious and unleash that treasure."

"The kidnapper died, the woman survived, and so did the man, but when they came back out of their reverie, the secret realm was already up in flames. His realization of the consequences of his actions came too late as the treasure he used invited a calamity, causing his family to be burned alive."

"Wait- wait… you are not talking about me, are you?"'

Davis interrupted Tia as he pointed lightly, causing her to blink innocently.

"No. This is a story you can find everywhere. I need to tell this in order to make sure my point is understood."

"…"

Despite what Tia said, Myria's gaze shook as she felt this story to be a bit familiar.

Meanwhile, Ellia also swirled her gaze at Davis and Myria, feeling something amiss as these two were acting strange while Tia narrated the story.

"However, the man was unwilling. He wanted to use the treasure again, wanting to save his family."

"How can that be? Didn't his family already die?" Ellia asked before Tia shrugged.

"Perhaps, but the man didn't want to believe that and used the treasure once again. The resulting change created a huge hole in spacetime that engulfed the entire burning realm, sending it out into the void. The consequences were so severe that he got also got sent along with it, but a mysterious entity observing him saves him and brings him back, only for him to know that the family he tried to save died in the void, excluding the woman he pursued because she was together with him."

"…"

Davis and Myria could not say anything despite the intentional pause Tia gave them. The latter appeared emotional as she held her hands between her bosoms.

"When everything settled down, that man realized he lost his treasure. However, he was no longer the same man, becoming vindictive towards enemies, unreasonable towards ordinary people, or indifferent to their plight and closed off his heart to this woman who wanted him as he never wanted to experience this pain again."

"However, thinking about the women he loved so far, he stops being vindictive anymore and momentarily chooses to live a life of peace, but the mysterious entity says that they don't have much time nor the strength to bear the man's fate, so warned him of sending him out along with his family."

"Forced out, he eventually becomes an Immortal Emperor. He is not left alone by his enemies, for his fate is cursed, causing him to seek revenge for the dead members of his family against the myriad of enemies they made during the secret realm, but eventually loses his mind when he loses his first— wife."

"!!!"

Davis took a step back when Myria came forward to hold him. Ellia saw them touch, but she had a blank expression as she was… starting to understand the story.

Tia looked solemn at this point, even slightly angered as she trembled ever so lightly. She closed her eyes and opened, appearing to be theatrical as she clenched her fist.

"When he was out for revenge, his family was located by his enemies. The first wife makes the ultimate sacrifice to save their children, which pushes him beyond the edge, making him berserk as he seeks to kill them then and there. The woman he pursued tried to save the first wife with her life-saving technique, but it was thwarted, finally ending up with her sacrificing her life to save him from the clutches of the Upp-per tiered enemies."

"…"

Davis and Myria's gaze shook. Did Tia not say Upper Realms just now? But she continued without a care in the world as she shook her head.

"The man begins to hate all lives in the universe. He knew the last love he had would be born again due to her physique, but even that was stopped with her soul essence sealed, which finally broke his very being, making him slaughter trillions, unleashing Vacuous Beasts in every realm, toppling empires, destroying clans and razing sects, becoming a true calamity that many people hoped to avoid."

"Eventually, he retreats as the enemies he faced become too powerful and cultivates further but fails to leave his immortal coil, causing him to be thrown out of the universe once again."

"His family waited for him hundreds and thousands of years, but eventually, they were also hunted down one by one, all murdered in cold blood. He didn't come back, so the surviving ones concluded that he died but still couldn't forget him, causing them to traverse back in time."

"After they traversed back in time, they finally spotted him and warned him."

Tia sighed, and then she held her breath, appearing to pause, but that went on for a few seconds.

"After that…. After that- what happens?" Ellia asked eagerly.

However, Davis and Myria were strangely silent. In fact, their expressions were slightly pale.

"I don't know." Tia stuck out her tongue, appearing comical, "The book I read for passing time while big brother was away ended right there, no volume to be released again for over hundreds and thousands of years. Perhaps the man listens to them, or the man headed forward, not listening to their warning. Either way, what I wanted to get across was that Clara could be saved, but the price could be as high as what that man paid."

"Big brother, you could end up losing everything," Tia uttered faintly before her voice turned loud.

"Let's say you lose everything upon saving your little sister, but you could go back in time and redo it all over again. Would you still choose to save your little sister?"

"…"