Pin-drop silence spread throughout the chamber. Michael held Devil’s gaze, his expression unreadable, while Devil studied him closely, searching for even the slightest crack.
"I suppose I should ask what gave away..." Michael exhaled slowly. "Though, when I think about it, there were probably too many signs to count."
Devil scoffed.
"You want to know where you slipped up? Despite what you might think, it wasn’t your ability to sohow bullshit a victory out of any impossible-to-win situation... It was your deanor. A young man such as yourself shouldn’t be able to control his primal desires to such a degree. Especially when you are surrounded by so many beautiful won that are ready to jump on you at every opportunity."
Michael stared blankly at Devil before erupting into laughter.
"Incredible..." He praised. "You really have a knack for making any tense situation utterly ridiculous."
Michael’s laughter gradually died down, the silence returning.
"Yes. I am a Regressor."
Devil leaned back, releasing a long breath as the tension finally left him. Relief washed over his face. Finally, he had confirmation that he wasn’t insane! Michael had rightfully appeared the mad one all along... he was, after all, from the future!
"There are countless questions I need answers to." Devil said, his gaze refocused on Michael’s gaze.
Sensing the questions before they were even asked, Michael spoke before Devil could voice them.
"We died. Humankind was exterminated by intensified alien attacks and... so unfortunate circumstances I played a major part in. Left utterly alone, I wasn’t exactly there ntally... not that I am now. I began slaughtering every alien I ca across, growing far more powerful than you can imagine."
He paused briefly.
"There are countless alien races, but the only ones worth rembering are those led by Primordials, or Gods, as so call them. In my previous life, I killed them all... at least, I believe I did. In the end, I stole a Celestial treasure, a black hole called Singularis, and returned to fix my mistakes."
He let that settle before continuing.
"If my hypothesis is correct, Singularis no longer exists in this tiline, which ans the Primordials have likely concluded there is a Regressor sowhere in the vast universe and are doing everything they can to find and kill before I reclaim my forr strength."
Michael observed Devil’s expression.
"Before you ask, I don’t know how old I am. We humans asure age by how many tis Earth orbits the Sun. When you’re far from the solar system, with no access to a calendar and no one left to keep track, age becos a aningless concept. For all I know, I could be a thousand or a trillion years old, and there would be no way to tell."
Suddenly it all clicked in Devil’s head. The detachnt, the disorders the therapist had diagnosed Michael with, and his overprotectiveness over the few close to him.
"What happened to your family?" Devil asked, though part of him already knew the answer.
"Dead. All of them."
Devil wasn’t surprised.
"But what about creating a family of your own? Did you have a wife and children—"
"Never ask that again." Michael’s voice grew so cold, it made even Devil shudder.
’Figures...’ Devil stroked his chin. He had been forbidden from sharing what was to happen in this cave, not that he had any intention of doing so anyway. Perhaps that was why Michael was so willing to answer his questions, while choosing to keep so things unspoken.
"Did that satisfy your curiosity, or are you going to pester more?" Michael asked. His ti for cultivation was limited, and he had yet to reach the Lord realm.
Devil was conflicted for a few monts.
"For fuck’s sake! You being so honest makes look terrible if I don’t do the sa."
Devil cursed.
"Because of that, I will confess. Since I don’t agree with your stance of not training your sister, I began to do so in secret."
Veins bulged over Michael’s neck in fury.
"You did what?!"
Devil shrugged.
"Don’t give that look, brat! You admitted it yourself. You ca back to fix your mistakes! Well, you better appreciate ! Like it or not, if you don’t train your sister in the ways of war, she’ll die, believe !"
Michael gritted his teeth.
"Do you think any soldier going to war wishes the sa suffering on his family, let alone his little sister? Do you think I want her to endure the sa hardships?!"
Devil scoffed.
"Whether you like it or not, this is the real world. You can’t be perfect or everywhere all the ti. Even if you don’t want to admit it, the only way to guarantee your sister’s safety is by training her! Fortunately, she’s similar to you in that aspect. Like a sponge, she is absorbing my lessons, slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with on her own."
Suddenly, Scarlett’s clinginess toward Michael began to make sense. She must have faced the real threat of death during her training, which made her affection for her brother grow so rapidly.
Breathing deeply, Michael allowed his anger to pass.
"I have no ti to argue now. But know this... once this is over, , you, and Scarlett will have a very long discussion about this."
Devil shook his head in dejection.
"Go easy on the poor girl. She just doesn’t want to be a burden to her brother, and you should be proud of that."
Closing his eyes, Michael returned to cultivation.
"Honestly, I can’t fathom a way for this whole thing to beco even more ridiculous..." He muttered.
anwhile, Queen Seer had used the ti to travel to the edge of the solar system.
Residing on the dwarf planet Pluto, she rested in a seated position, her slender legs stretched before her. Her dress shifted slightly, revealing pale, milky skin, while her blindfold seed locked on the abyssal darkness of the boundless universe.
"It appears that fate has spoken the truth." She whispered, sensing several presences far more powerful than the Emperor near.
"At long last... They have co."
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