The Unbereaved

[There may be childbirth; the final decision will depend on the story when it starts.]

The foremost figure of the immortal path is a towering peak, a pillar that steadies the world, and the moonlight in the hearts of all under heaven.

The foremost figure of the demonic path is unrestrained and wild, bringing storms of blood and violence, and is the great demon in the hearts of all under heaven.

Yet when a calamity threatened the world, it was the Demon Lord who stepped forward and protected all living beings.

The Immortal Lord arrived late. In full view of everyone, he held the Demon Lord's corpse and wept, vomiting blood without end.

Only then did the world learn that the foremost Daoist and the foremost demon seemed to have shared a love affair.

After the Demon Lord died, the demonic sect fell into chaos.

Some saw the foremost figure of the immortal path arrive in the thirty-two cities of the Demon Realm with a long sword in hand, using thunderous methods to protect the Demon Lord's disciple as he ascended the throne. Others saw the Immortal Lord reduced to skin and bones, his face pale as paper, his frail body revealing a life nearly extinguished despite the power of his cultivation.

Was he immortal or demon? Doubts gradually arose throughout the world.

The Immortal Lord paid them no mind. He passed the sect leader's position to his disciple, then went alone to an old villa. There, he fashioned a dummy to keep him company, intending to lose himself in a dream from which he would never wake.

Though he had never cultivated the merciless path, his Daoist heart had always been calm and undisturbed. When had he ever felt so utterly hopeless?

That man had simply left, making his arrangements neatly and letting go without a care, leaving him to struggle on alone in this vast mortal world.

What he did not know was that not long after he settled in, a rumor had spread throughout the entire Demon Realm: the Demon Lord had survived.

But, unfortunately, he had lost nearly ten years of memories.

Ten years ago, the immortal path and the demonic sect were still at odds, and the Daoist Lord and Demon Lord were mortal enemies.

*

The Demon Lord, who had traveled here from a hundred years in the future and had only recently woken up, wandered to his own manor and spotted an archenemy lying in his bed, seemingly so sick he was about to die.

Tsk, tsk, what a miserable sight, injured this badly.

The Demon Lord burst out laughing, immediately abducted him back to the Demonic Palace, and planned to have some fun with him.

Strangely, before he had even done much, the man seemed to have gone silly. He neither stabbed him with a sword nor sent word to the immortal path.

He only stared blankly or raved while clutching a memorial tablet for the dead. As time passed, he ate and drank as usual and even gained some weight.

The Demon Lord was puzzled and baffled.

When he noticed the man's belly growing bigger and bigger, his bewilderment turned to fury.

With his last shred of reason, he asked his disciple, "This can't be a fake Immortal Lord, can it?"

His disciple: ...I'll just quietly watch you dig your own grave.

Theme: Keep striving to live, and you'll see the warmth of spring and flowers in bloom.