Divine Emperor of Death

The moment Davis entered, he sensed an aura that was vastly different from what he was familiar with. Of course, it felt familiar, but rather than calm, it was raging and violent, filled with anger and hate. He opened his eyes, gazing at a white-robed woman seated on the cold surface.

The cushion for sitting was ripped apart, and even the wooden bed appeared to be crushed beyond compare as numerous splinters lay around, sharp and deadly when stepped on. However, the white-robed woman seemed to be sitting on it, harming herself as she seemed to use the pain to stay awake; her beautiful eyelids kept drooping as though she was exhausted but forcefully widened each time they were about to shut close.

When those pair of eyes spotted him, she was fully awake, a maddened look creeping up her expression as her lips moved.

"Brother… you're back." Resounded a voice full of spite.

"Why won't you just die…? I'm disgusted to have such an evil fiend like you as my big brother."

Davis walked closer. He stopped at the edge of the barrier, hearing Clara say such piercing words to him with a smirk on her lips.

"This family… everyone… even me… we're all tainted by your aura… You keep mingling with other Divergents and Anarchic Divergents like Myria… so even if I want to keep you alive, locked up and sealed, never to harm the innocents until the day you die, I can't… because you're too evil to be kept alive…"

Clara's eyes teared up as she lowered her head, a wave of drowsiness hitting her again. She slowly breathed in and breathed out, lifting her head.

"Release me… so I can end this by beheading you…"

Her head dropped again, and she stayed like that for a few seconds, appearing to have completely pulled into sleep.

From start to end, Davis said nothing other than having his eyes narrowed.

He saw his little sister become self-righteous and vindictive enough to want to kill him and everyone here to get rid of the plague that was him. A logical part of him knew this wasn't Clara but a Clara who was receiving the wrong influence from the heavens, causing her to see every Divergent as her enemy, as though they killed her own parents.

"…"

However, for the strangest reason, he couldn't feel much sorrow while looking at the current state of Clara.

It was like he was already overwhelmed by another bout of sorrow that he couldn't truly place his hand on where it was coming from other than his encounter with the four souls. That emotion still didn't leave him, making him rather frustrated and angered at himself that he could empathize when his little sister was suffering this much.

He wondered when he became so cold and indifferent as he didn't panic much when he heard about Clara and Tia's situation but eventually placed the blame on the mysterious black-robed woman for screwing with his emotions somehow.

Nonetheless, his mind was rapidly working on a solution to get rid of this influence.

Usually, if she was influenced, it would be nothing but temporary at her level, but for this to last for hours and possibly even days from this moment onwards, he couldn't tell what went wrong or the solution to it. Regardless, he didn't want to make any hasty decisions, causing him to deactivate the barrier and lift her up as he summoned a new bed and placed her on it.

He could see her eyelids quiver as though she was going to wake up but knew that could not happen as she heavily dozed. He could understand this was to prevent this influenced persona from solidifying, giving them enough time to find a solution, but it could also backfire and muddle Clara's genuine thoughts, causing her self to completely transform into a cold ruler who wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice one's own family for the greater good, to appease the heavens.

"Clara… your big brother didn't take your words to heart… so don't fret over it later on… okay?"

He smiled, gently caressing her blonde hair after he laid her to bed, letting her sleep.

Perhaps she would awaken soon and begin spouting a wave of genocidal quotes, but he wanted her to sleep in peace as much as she could.

Leaving her sleeping and reactivating the barrier, he stepped out of the chamber when Logan appeared before him again.

"What's the treatment method?"

"How would I know?"

Davis shrugged, almost causing Logan to lose his footing. The latter took a deep breath before he smiled.

"That's fine. It's only normal that you wouldn't know how to tackle this problem in the beginning. We'll go slow, but as far as I've seen, Clara isn't Clara anymore, so we may have little time."

Hearing Logan's words, Davis solemnly nodded, "Considering Tia was likewise strangely affected during this treatment, she might have some answers. I don't think she woke up after going to sleep, unlike Clara, who's vindictive and passionate about killing us for the sake of the universe, but I'll try to get some answers."

"Alright. Tia is still your aunt, so be respectful and caring."

Logan knew Davis might kill an innocent for Clara, so he warned him, causing Davis to laugh.

"I won't harm Tia even if she's possessed. After all, she's the owner of the Karmic Guardian Physique, which makes it unlikely for her to be possessed as she's impervious to karmic takeover unless the enemy is at the Empyrean Stage. Even if someone of lower cultivation managed to possess her, it would be difficult for them to completely take over her soul."

"Empyrean…" Logan repeated the term that made his eyes flash.

'That's right… there's no way the World Master would allow an Empyrean inside this world, not unless they're in their seed form…'

Davis was confident of his speculation as those three vile humans always needed to lower their cultivation and enter in some way that didn't put them on the radar of the World Master so that they could move somewhat freely.

Therefore, he hoped that Tia wasn't possessed but just passed out from knowing something, something that may very well be related to the mysterious black-robed woman.

"Did Tia use some kind of diviner art at that time…?" Davis asked, causing Logan to shake his head.

"No, she was a reserve, only needed in the event that Evelynn actually failed in the treatment process, but her turn never came up."

"I see…"

Davis pursed his lips. His thoughts were being overturned as the reality was different from his speculation, causing him to think more, but he knew nothing would move forward if he didn't go meet Tia.

He told Logan to take care of Clara and moved to meet Yotan to lead him to where Tia was located, who was currently being taken care of by Ellia.

They were located in Ellia's mansion located at the northwestern corner of the island.

It was a beautiful place that Davis rarely visited as Ellia was always with him, making him think about her. Perhaps Ellia knew that Tia held the key to the strangeness of the situation and stayed with her, hoping to get some information, but even before Tia woke up, he got here.

"My prince…"

Ellia bit her lips as she saw him appear at the doorstep, causing her to leap and hug him. She extracted all the warmth she needed from him with a firm cuddle as though restoring her energy before pulling herself back and reporting.

Davis had his sullen mood restored by Ellia's bright, infectious smile. He very much wanted to declare he bagged her mother, wanting to see her reaction, but sadly, the situation was so serious that he didn't think about it, quickly asking her for her side of the story seen in her own eyes.

Ellia's explanation was practically the same except for a few things.

"So you're telling me that this possessed Tia could've possibly saved Clara from something instead of harming her like my father and Evelynn think?"

Davis had his hands folded as he asked, causing Ellia to nod with a bit of hesitation.

"That's right. Otherwise-"