Chapter 135 - Forlorn Memories (Final Part)

The throne room came to a screeching halt. From the consorts to the princes, from the princes to the elders, none had seen those words coming. But while some grew unsettled, several remained stoic. All eyes turned toward a slender young man with mid-long white hair and slit, blue eyes: the sixth's prince, Siegfried. On this occasion, the exuberance with which he usually approached the world didn't stand out, making several wonder what went on within his mind. 

"I disagree," the second Devil Prince, a white-haired man with loosely tied dreadlocks broke the silence. "Father, while I understand that you're free to do as you please, and are too extreme to care about logic, I will still try to be honest. There is no scenario where this succession choice ends well for Siegfried or the Myriad Devil Palace," the second prince started, echoing many of the devils' thoughts. Stepping out of the ranks, the second prince glanced at Siegfried, who silently stared at the ground, then shifted back to his fiendish father.

"I believe that, at the very least, every single one of us has heard rumors about your next project. So I'm sure your departure doesn't surprise that many. I won't try to dissuade you—I can't. But father, please have mercy on us. I will be the first to admit that Siegfried's cultivation talent exceeds all past, present, and future experts. Your elder brother, your father, our imperial mother, eldest brother and even you. Though he may not have the tools to reach your level, given enough time, Siegfried will surpass us all. Of that I have no doubts. But time, father, is all the problem here. 

Should you leave today and carry all your consorts with you, the Myriad Devil Palace will automatically lose one-third its Ancestors. That still makes us the most dreadful faction across the omniverse, but should all the Ancestral Sects and Preeminent Houses unite against us—and they will—controlling the entire Omniverse is impossible. At best, we will give up several Landverses. At worst, we face a global war. 

Now let's assume that the outside forces don't realize your departure for several centuries. We would still have plenty of internal problems to confront." Here, the second prince paused, and pointed at Siegfried with his left hand. "Everyone loves the sixth prince, but few would tolerate the second Devil Sovereign. This is the world of devils, you and elder brother aside, no one can keep us all in line. Among us princes, eldest brother is the only one with enough strength and prestige to maintain order. But if he ever showed the potential to become omnipotent, his supporters would be the first to cut him down. No one wants to trade you for another you. You could have the Empyrean and Slaughter Ancestors protect him that Siegfried would still not survive 300 years—a civil war will inevitably follow." The second prince spoke his peers' mind. Unless their sovereign delayed his abdication by one thousand year, the eldest prince was the most qualified to take on the burdens of the throne. Siegfried was both too imm.a.t.u.r.e and frightening for a smooth transition to occur. 

"Oh…is that so? Do you also feel that way?" The Devil Ancestor asked his eldest son, a tall and muscular youth with short, neatly combed hair sitting on a martial figure. Closing his eyes, the eldest prince folded his arms below his c.h.e.s.t and replied: "Your throne, your rules." And again, the room fell silent. With those four words, the eldest prince had made his stance clear. But even if he had no visible interest in the most exalted of seats, more than one Ancestor were ready to clear all obstacles for him. Amused by his children and subordinates' reactions, the Devil Ancestor shifted his attention to Siegfried, who'd yet to speak a word. "Old man, I usually support you doing whatever you please but…Siegfried has not exactly been right since he returned from his trip. This is the first time in 100 years that he stays silent for over 10 seconds. That alone should tell you how bad things are. Maybe we should address that before handing him the omniverse?" The third prince chimed in, attempting to bring the Devil's attention to this overlooked fact. 

Indeed, compared to his eccentric exuberance and mad antics, the sixth prince's cultivation talent was secondary. Calling him the number one rascal of the Ancestral Land was no exaggeration. However, following his omni-exploration, that same rogue seemed to have lost his spark. "What about you, Siegfried? Who do you think is more appropriate? Don't hesitate to vote for yourself," the Devil Ancestor jested. At first, Siegfried didn't respond. Harun, who observed the scene by his side, fused with Siegfried, and now experienced all he did. 

Memories of a blessed childhood clashed with recent discoveries to conjure a vision of the sordid future this throne would grant him. Shame, disgust, rage, sorrow and helplessness flickered in the sixth prince's eyes, intensifying the tension across the room. "I don't think I can do this anymore," Siegfried stated, and lifted his eyes at the ceiling. "Yep, I'm done with this. Sorry fellas, I quit," the youth chortled, and slammed his right palm against his c.h.e.s.t.

Jet-black energies unfurled, a single blood drop flew out of Siegfried's c.h.e.s.t, surrounded by swirling arcs of Devil Essence. Before the surrounding Devils could make sense of the move, Siegfried closed his fist around the blood drop—crushing it instantly. 

The Devil Ancestor's smile vanished, the princes' faces twisted uncontrollably, the elders rose to maximum alert, and among the consorts, several recoiled in fright. However, Siegfried was merely getting started, and to his family's horror, extracted all his cultivation to form an orb of foul energies which he subsequently blasted into pieces.

In one breath, the sixth prince had destroyed both his Blood Origin and cultivation base. The former carried his bloodline abilities while the latter resulted from decades of hard work. His hair and eyes became a dull black, and his skin lost all l.u.s.ter. "What…have you done?" A ravishing woman with an enchanting pair of slit blue eyes stepped out of the top consorts' rank and grabbed Siegfried by the collar. 

Although it'd leave them badly weakened, cultivators could survive without their Blood Origin. Mortals, however, would wither and perish within several months. By destroying those two parts of himself, the sixth prince had virtually doomed himself to destruction. And considering the implications of his move, no one, not even close-kin, would save him. 

Most would never understand why the sixth prince took such extreme actions, but at the end of the catastrophic gathering, Siegfried left the Myriad Devil Palace, and was never heard of again. Scattered images of Siegfried's past flashed before Harun, failing to form a coherent picture. The memories blurred and stopped here. 

…

Back to the Blood Matron's side, Harun kneeled before the stele, as breathless as bewildered. The belief that he missed several crutial pieces of the puzzle rattled his limbs. Still, those scattered images remained, convincing him that given enough time, he could figure out the rest. The Blood Matron, who'd not expected such an extreme reaction, narrowed her eyes at Harun. Intense curiosity flashed in her crimson eyes and, crouching beside him, she watched out for all the changes in Harun's heterochromatic eyes--both blazed life flaming stones.