"..."
Davis was thoroughly stunned as he saw the entrance to his island appear packed with a huge crowd. Although none were given entry, they were all hovering outside, and some disciples were broadcasting this entire thing through highly advanced equipment that he had never seen.
It was unknown how many pieces of equipment that could be considered intermediary relays were required for them to be able to broadcast all the way here and probably beyond. In fact, he didn't expect his funeral to be broadcasted at all, leaving him speechless.
Did the Aurora Cloud Gate actually allow this to happen?
However, going through the rule book in his mind once again, he saw that there were no rules regarding this scenario.
"Did he truly die?"
Abruptly, the Starlight Jade Wolf King's voice echoed beside him.
Davis didn't respond but continued watching the huge projection displayed on all four sides. He saw his women all wear white robes without a single difference, leaving him amazed. There was also the Reaper Soul Legion present, wearing a similar traditional funeral attire, with plain white robes and mourning bands around their arms.
They ran to his women and collected the casket that was in the middle, boarding a flying boat before opening the casket to reveal his own face to the world.
*!!!~~~*
Clamor erupted within the Zyrus Family's Palace as they saw the Emperor appear deader than dead with his pale face and unmoving body. The onlookers in front of the island were shocked and echoed how it was really the Emperor of Death, Davis Alstreim, as they could feel his decaying remnant aura but not his undulations.
Their words basically confirmed some people's worst fears and made some people's day.
"It's true, Patriarch. I can also sense that the Emperor of Death is dead."
Resounded a loud voice from the projection, most likely from the one who was projecting these images.
"Sigh, is this a loss or a good thing for the world? That Divergent did not commit any particular sort of crimes, did he?"
The Lumin Family Patriarch lightly sighed and shook his head as he asked.
"Well, he stole the Earth Dragon Clan and Fire Phoenix Clan's inheritors." Replied the Cyan Soul Rat Clan's Patriarch.
"Love is not a crime."
The Blazing Thunderlight's Founder couldn't help but giggle, "If anything, I'd praise him for being able to seduce two inheritors even if he fooled them. After all, the primary fault is with the one being fooled. Take some personal responsibility for your actions, will you, people? Or if the alliance falls someday, are you going to point at each other for not doing things properly?"
"..."
Her questions left the leaders of the powers that had gathered her speechless.
'Of course, you would say that... who many know how many you have fooled, but....'
Even Davis looked at her, agreeing and disagreeing at the same time as he felt that there was some personal responsibility in the victim, but it would ultimately be secondary. After all, the ones who were trying to fool other people were the primary source of wickedness.
Nonetheless, he returned his gaze and saw his people on his island moving.
Swiftly, the funeral procession began with all his people boarding a fleet of ornate, dragon-shaped flying boats. Each flying boat is adorned with cyan banners and lanterns, giving off a solemn and eerie vibe.
As the flying boats rose higher and higher into the sky, leaving the island and embarking somewhere, the mourners lit up incense sticks and offered prayers for the Emperor of Death.
The air became filled with the sweet fragrance of the incense, which drifted on the wind like a trail of smoke, and following that trail of smoke were thousands of people, recording these scenes in Imagery Stones and similar types of equipment like it was a massive affair.
However, Davis didn't feel good at this moment, his expression turning somber as he saw his women mourn him by shedding tears, sobs, and deep sighs.
Some looked as though they were overcome by emotion and found it difficult to speak, while others may feel a need to express their thoughts and feelings aloud, seemingly looking around to shout their grievances.
It was as though they felt anger or resentment towards the circumstances of their loved one's passing. They appeared as though wanting to express frustration or bitterness about the unfairness of life or the perceived injustice of this depressing situation, where the departed soul left them behind as though breaking his promise.
But despite displaying different expressions of grief, they all appeared to share a sense of loss and longing for their loved one as they held each other, consoling as they wiped their tears.
Davis didn't know what pills or acting classes they took to look this authentic, but their expressions were so realistic that they hurt his psyche.
The lengths that they went to participate in his ridiculous plans, he found them all to be his own endearing, precious souls and significant others, making him want to do all kinds of things to make them the happiest wives in the universe.
"Woah... he really didn't enact a Blood Soul Contract with his women. Did he love them so much, unafraid that they would not have second thoughts to bind them to his life? Or did he really not die?"
The Blazing Thunderlight Sect's Founder couldn't help but ask, causing a discussion to erupt again.
However, the consensus clearly was that he was dead.
After all, the Emperor of Death's corpse was plain to be seen and discerned. Moreover, to Davis's shock, there were even statements from disciples who had comprehended Enigmatic Heart Laws, announcing that they inspected his people's emotions, only to confirm that they were truly feeling an intense sense of loss.
'Fuck... they even have their memories altered...?'
And then, he saw Ellia stand like a statue with her head lowered. It was unknown what she was feeling, but he was sure that she altered their memories for this event, allowing them to display genuine emotions.
'Damn it... something might go bad...'
Davis was intensely worried about his women as he imagined that they added on some extra without him authorizing this kind of acting. But then, he recognized that Natalya, Tina, and Dalila were not present, causing him to feel some relief.
'Phew... Ellia... I understand what you're doing, but this...'
He inwardly hoped that Ellia knew what she was doing, as the consequences could be dire. After all, the sense of loss they were feeling could be true to them at this moment. He didn't want to make them feel this way, not for the fucking second time, but he also understood that if they didn't do this, then they could've been found by the probes of the disciples possessing Heart Intent.
After all, the Aurora Cloud Gate was the place with almost all the true heavenly geniuses having gathered in the world. He didn't find it suspicious that they would have one or two disciples with Heart Intent, but he didn't mind his women being probed to find out their emotions were false as it would only create more questions as they were really going to burn his corpse in front of everyone and deposit the ashes in some hidden location.
Therefore, he thought altering memories was unneeded, but clearly, Ellia or some other individual decided otherwise.
'Could it be Myria...? I don't see her there, but she could be helping or even overseeing this procession...'
Davis felt there was more to it than meets the eye, just like how Mingzhi revealed her powers that he didn't expect to see.
Nonetheless, he was still worried as he saw his women grieve him for real. Their expressions were heartbreaking to him, making him feel somewhat restless.
"Strange, I don't see Everlight."
Abruptly, the Starlight Jade Wolf King's voice resounded beside him, causing Davis to be startled out of his reverie.
"Who?" He couldn't help but blink at the Starlight Jade Wolf King, causing him to sigh gently.
"She's one of our people my clan granted to him to improve relations. But... after the last contact yesterday, she's not responding to our transmissions anymore. Could it be that she was treated badly and sealed in some place?"
"..." Davis had his brows raised, seemingly thinking, but he returned a question.
"What do you think?"
"Well, I don't think he is such a person, but that death-attributed wolf beside him called Nadia. I presume she might've gotten jealous and locked Everlight up. After all, even my own women fight over my noble stature, and I have to step up each and every time they do that in order to stop them."
"Wolves get jealous too?"
"Heavily."
"..."
Davis had no counter to that, as he had indeed seen Nadia get jealous wherever there was another wolf involved. She was particularly fixated on Everlight, even after the latter became a fox, perhaps because they shared an opposing nature.
Nonetheless, he opened his mouth.
"Perhaps, this may merely be a farce."
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
The Starlight Jade Wolf King raised his brows, making Davis wonder if he should drop the bomb now. But just then, he saw the Starlight Jade Wolf King narrow his brows.
At the same time, Davis noticed that a few other leaders here narrowed their eyes simultaneously, and the one common thing among them was the message transmission talisman entrenched in their hands.
"Bring him here."
Davis heard the Starlight Jade Wolf King say, causing his heart to churn.
'Someone from the Grand Beginnings Continent is here...!'
