Divine Emperor of Death



"…!?"

Davis watched the translucent image of Nadia grow and fill the shelter. The sudden growth also startled him, causing him to take a few steps back from pure reaction, but he couldn't get away from it as it was obviously occurring in his soul sea.

Seeing him flinch and move back, Yilla became worried, but she saw him stop and then close his eyes, his brows frowning as though he was deep in concentration.

Indeed, Davis began to observe this strange phenomenon happening in the beast pact's shelter. Although it was completely alarming for him to feel something as ruinous as its aura pop up in his soul sea, he was fairly able to reclaim himself back from complete panic and began to form defenses around the shelter.

But contrary to his expectations, it didn't explode, ending his life.

Instead, when it reached a size comparable to that of the shelter, it stopped growing, and the changes occurring in their beast pact came to an end.

"Nadia, are you fine…?"

"Ma-Master…"

A weak voice emerged from the soul link, causing Davis to be stunned.

Little did he know that on the other side; Nadia was rushed away in an emergency to a private room by her fellow sisters.

"- if you'll excuse us, we will appreciate it."

Isabella cupped her hands towards the Starlight Jade Wolf King and the others, an awkward smile lingering on her lips behind the golden veil.

The Starlight Jade Wolf King and the others could only stand there stunned as they saw Shirley pull Nadia into a life ring and demand a private room from them before taking her away as Renfa Jadelight allowed them that luxury without asking why.

Isabella also left towards the guest room and closed the door on everyone who seemed concerned about Nadia's health.

Davis was also the same, but he was confused.

Why did Nadia sound so weak yet lewd right now…?

Quickly, he focused his gaze on the translucent image, seeping his own sense into it, feeling the need to hurriedly investigate it before something happened to Nadia.

However, the moment the focused tip of his senses touched the translucent image of Nadia, he greatly shivered.

'No way… is this the essence of… karmic burden…?'

This feeling… he felt it to be very similar to the karmic burden when he received them in huge amounts back when being titled 'Divine'. However, it wasn't entirely the same as it was more tame, less or non-aggressive, and seemed to be a part of oneself.

It didn't exude the aura of overbearingness that karmic burden would usually have from what he could tell.

'Don't tell me… this is an ability to remove karmic burden…?'

Davis appeared shocked and perplexed, unable to tell what it was as he felt like it wasn't possible to remove the arbitrating ruler of the heavens. It seemed like it removed karmic burden, but he wasn't sure as he had never seen it in its essence, unlike karmic sin and karmic virtue.

"Fallen Heaven… from whom did you obtain the Transitory Beast Taming Pact Technique…?" He quickly asked.

"As I said. I don't remember…"

But the reply he elicited from Fallen Heaven was as vague and little as ever, making him want to scream.

The Transitory Beast Taming Pact Technique was incomplete! He never knew what it was capable of from the very beginning.

However, it seemed to have the quality of growing along with him as though it was an innate or racial technique, but there was no way it could be a racial technique as it was just a taming technique used to tame magical beasts.

With that established, he began to think of the meaning of its name.

'Transitory… transitory… means fleeting… what's fleeting…? The clouds? No… in this cultivation world, life is fleeting… millions die, and millions are birthed...'

'Life and death… life is more fleeting, leading to death...'

Davis felt like he was on the edge of grasping something but hearing a moan, he turned his attention to Nadia.

"Nadia, how do you feel right now?"

"Master… I'm embarrassed…"

Nadia finally seemed out of it on whatever she was, as she sounded fine. However, she sounded quite mortified.

"I think… I think I momentarily went into heat when the changes in our beast pact occurred..."

"What…?"

Davis became dumbfounded.

"Yes… I felt as though something was ripped apart from me… making me feel this lightness I never knew..."

Davis's brows frowned. Hearing Nadia's words, he suddenly felt like he must research it more, but the most likely conclusion that he could arrive at based on Nadia's reaction was that it took her life's essence-

'Wait! It can't be...'

Abruptly, Davis trembled as he thought of the words the death-attributed Paragon Magical Beast Wolf relayed to him.

[You… you have my descendant's mark within you…? … Help… our descendants… free from the suppressive curse…!]

Nadia was a Nether Springs Death Wolf at the moment, an immortal beast that didn't seem to be recorded in any texts whatsoever. This gave more credibility to Paragon Magical Beast Wolf's words that there was a suppressive curse on its descendants.

And the fact that he couldn't dual cultivate with Nadia back in the Mercurial Blitz Ice Valley when he was actually about to get it with her, but it started causing disasters, making them stop, was very likely a sign of this suppressive curse.

'Couldn't this suppressive curse be a kind of karmic burden… burdened on the Nether Springs Death Wolf…?'

Davis wondered as he saw the translucent image, suddenly feeling an epiphany.

'Could this… could this essence ripped from Nadia be the limiter the heavens put on reproduction of all lifeforms…? Especially higher lifefor- wait!'

He instantly could guess that this wasn't entirely karmic burden! It was a curse or retribution to maintain the balance of the universe! And his Transitory Beast Taming Pact had just removed something of that mystical nature!

To him, it felt a bit similar to karmic burden, so he wondered if it belonged to that kind of category, an innate karmic burden placed on every lifeform, every stage, and every object present in the world.

'No way… if this beast-taming pact is what I think it is… then it should be able to remove the curse of copulation that impacts her race, a magical beast's race...'

Davis wondered why this technique was named Transitory, and now he felt like he finally got his answer.

Since life was fleeting, it removed that aspect, becoming able to continue on for generations and generations.

'Then that means… this is a beast-taming pact designed to impregnate magical beasts with a high chance of pregnancy at even higher levels…?'

Suddenly, Davis felt like he lost respect for the owner of this technique, instead replaced with a lewd smile of friendliness.

"Who was that man of culture? Hmm, I want to know…"

"…"

Yilla could only stare at him, displaying all kinds of emotions as though he had gone crazy.

"…!"

"What now…?"

Suddenly, she saw him jump, causing her to finally become worried as she captured his hand and tried to calm him.

"I understand… I understand. The Transitory Beast Taming Pact was meant to keep the impregnated magical beast inside the shelter so as to receive the best kind of nurturing using the father's own soul. This technique was made with love and affection for the mother and child. Most likely, some immortal couple was suffering under the penalty the heavens imposed to keep the universe in balance. It wasn't necessarily evil, but it wasn't justified to the ones who are suffering under it either."

Davis expounded with excitement visible on his face as though he solved a puzzle that had been on his mind for years.

He finally knew that's why this technique's shelter could accommodate Fallen Heaven or his powers and imbue them onto the magical beast present inside. The shelter was essentially a cushion for the harsh limitations present on magical beasts, but since the technique could be ancient as it came from Fallen Heaven picking up some random knowledge from one of its possessors-

'In that case… this technique could be dated long back to the time where humans and magical beasts were yet to be able to copulate, like in the mortal realm…' Davis imagined.

"…" On the other hand, Yilla saw that he had finally calmed and lightly heaved a sigh of relief.

"I'm not sure I'm following you, but I understand that it has to do something with a beast-taming pact, and you understood its essence, allowing you to cultivate it better."

She uttered, still having her arms wrapped around him tightly as she relaxed.

'More than anything, I'm glad that you can still smile like this after that kind of tribulation...'

He seemed mysterious to her, as though nothing could cause him to collapse, not even the heavens, causing her to be deeply attracted.

"…"

Davis also finally came back to himself and saw that Yilla was clinging to him. He couldn't help but smile and pat her head as he got back to Nadia.

"How do you feel now?"

"Master, I feel perfectly fine," Nadia answered, her voice no longer shaky or lewd.

"Instead, I still want to come for you, master. Let's go back home together."

Davis made a complicated expression on his face, not knowing how to reply to her pleading tone, but eventually, he made his decision.