"Oh?"
Soul Emperor Yama lifted his bony head and spoke with a trace of amusement crept into his voice.
"It seems… we have a new guest today."
If one were to judge by his appearance alone, they would expect a hoarse, ghostly rasp to emerge from that skeletal frame. Yet contrary to expectation, his voice was calm and composed, resembling that of a middle-aged man in his forties… soft, steady, and strangely gentle.
"Hmm…" he continued, tone unhurried.
"Little girl, are you certain you haven't lost your way? This is not a place the living should wander into so casually."
Lilith's expression did not change.
She casually produced a golden token, its surface engraved with intertwining dragon and phoenix patterns. With a lazy flick of her wrist, the token vanished… only to reappear suspended in midair before the hundredth floor of the tower.
Only then did she speak, her voice indifferent and faintly cold.
"Old man… don't waste my time."
"I'm here to retrieve what you've been keeping for those old fogies."
"Oh?"
Soul Emperor Yama tilted his skull slightly, the cyan-blue flames within his eye sockets flickering with amusement.
"Little girl… before that," he said gently, his voice warm and teasing,
"why don't you smile a little? You look so cold all the time… Perhaps if you did, this gloomy Netherworld might brighten up a bit."
Lilith shot him a sideways glance. She smiled… but the smile was cold and dark.
"Old man…" she replied flatly,
"if this place actually brightened, wouldn't all the souls get a clearer look at your sinister skeletal body? Won't they just die again?"
She scoffed.
"Do you really want to traumatise them before they're reborn?"
Her gaze swept around the hall.
"They'd stop lining up for reincarnation and judgement altogether. Then what? This shabby tower of yours would become completely useless."
She paused, her tone suddenly turning serious.
"…Do you want to destroy the cycle of reincarnation?"
For the first time in thousands of years, Soul Emperor Yama's soul fire flickered violently.
He froze.
A rare, heavy silence filled the hall.
He felt silent, not knowing what to say.
He stared at her serious expression and couldn't help but think,
'If you don't want to smile, then don't smile… why smile so dangerously? And if you don't want to talk, then don't talk… why be so fierce…'
"…Cough. Cough."
He cleared his throat out of habit, even though he no longer possessed lungs.
"Little girl," he said again, forcibly regaining composure,
"how can you speak so rudely to this Emperor? Do you even know…"
"Enough, old man."
Lilith cut him off without even looking his way.
"I know exactly who you are," she said indifferently.
"And I already know every single word you're about to say next."
She waved her hand dismissively.
"My ears started bleeding the last few times you recited that same speech."
"Y-You..!"
Soul Emperor Yama stammered, lifting his staff,
"What? You! You!" Lilith mocked, turning back with a smirk.
"Cat got your tongue?"
She tilted her head slightly.
"Oh, wait… you don't even have one."
Her lips curled faintly.
"Why don't you do something meaningful for once?" she continued coolly.
"Instead of sitting on that lousy throne all day and bullying poor souls who can't even fight back."
She gestured toward the tower's entrance far below.
"And don't get me started on this place. Look at those guards…"
At the main entrance of the first floor stood two colossal figures, each ten thousand kilometres tall.
One bore the head of a bull, the other the face of a horse. Their massive arms were crossed, eyes shut tight, expressions solemn as if comprehending profound Dao truths…
Yet thin strands of drool slipped shamelessly from the corners of their mouths.
"They're sleeping like fat cows," Lilith muttered.
"Is this how an Emperor runs his domain?"
Her expression darkened briefly.
'Damn it… I was peacefully lazing around, enjoying myself… But those two old fogies just had to drag me here and boss me around.'
Her eyes sharpened with resolve.
'Hmph... Once I deliver what they asked and go back… I'm running away. Far away.
Somewhere they'll never find me again…'
A faint spark of excitement flickered in her gaze.
'Somewhere I can laze around quietly… all the time.'
Soul Emperor Yama inhaled deeply… his ribcage rising and falling despite the absence of breath.
"You little girl…" he growled.
"Hmph!"
"Do you have any idea how much work I do?" he snapped, clearly flustered like a stressed-out office worker.
"There are billions upon billions of souls seeking reincarnation every day!"
He slammed the butt of his staff lightly against the floor.
"All of them must be judged… every sin, every merit, every karmic thread!"
"No shortcuts and mistakes."
The cyan flames in his eye sockets flared irritably.
"And don't think I can just laze around like those two idiots at the gate!"
He waved his staff sharply.
A compressed burst of Death Qi shot downward, piercing straight through the tower floor and striking the base where the two guards stood… right in their butts.
"NEIIIGH…!!"
the horse-headed giant screamed, hopping wildly.
"MOOOOO…!!"
the bull-headed giant roared in pain.
The two colossal figures immediately jumped upright, clutching their butts as they cried out, rubbing the scorched spots with miserable expressions.
"Here I am, doing overtime and haven't had a proper rest in ten thousand years!" Soul Emperor Yama glared at them.
"And you… are sleeping soundly like the dead" He huffed, his voice lowering, losing its edge.
For a brief moment, the Nether Hall fell quiet.
"No one even notices… no one cares how much I work…"
"Whether this Emperor toils day and night… or collapses into dust tomorrow."
He straightened his back and tapped his staff against the ground, releasing a small wave of authority.
"Hmph. Every burden, every responsibility of the Netherworld…"
"rests upon this Emperor alone."
Not wishing to be humiliated further by this little devil, Soul Emperor Yama raised his staff and waved it gently.
The air rippled.
A pure soul appeared above the skull at the staff's peak… a white, luminous, translucent orb, warm and gentle, pulsing softly like a newborn star.
It drifted quietly, radiating serenity.
"Hmph," Yama snorted, regaining his dignity.
He looked at the pure soul and spoke,
"Let me give you a gift, as your senior."
He waved his hand, a bright yellow flower bloomed into existence in his palm.
Its petals shimmered like condensed sunlight, glowing vividly against the dark hall.
'Heh… I'll trade this for some good wine from him next time', he chuckled inwardly but not showing outside.
'Brilliant plan.'
"Cough…"
He straightened, his voice turning solemn.
"This is the Samsara Sunflower," he declared.
"In the Netherworld, it blooms once every hundred thousand years, nurtured by rich Yin Death Qi."
He lifted his staff.
The pure soul trembled gently, as if responding to an unseen call.
Slowly, it drifted toward the Samsara Sunflower.
The moment it touched the petals… golden light erupted.
The pure soul was absorbed into the flower, vanishing within it.
Countless fragments of memories, emotions, regrets, joys, and karmic ties dissolved into the petals.
A faint hum echoed through the hall.
The flower pulsed once…
twice…
Then stabilised… its glow now deeper, warmer, more profound.
It felt as though the flower had gained a faint trace of sentience.
"This soul," Yama said quietly,
"will be reborn with the foundational essence of the Samsara Sunflower, cleansed of impurities."
He wrapped the sunflower in a slowly rotating sphere of dense Yin Death Qi, sealing it carefully.