"The reason I ran away… we're from two different worlds. I was a coward." Ethan said with a sigh, but their hearts remained hardened, every single one of them still glaring at him with the same intensity as before. His words hadn't cracked a single wall.
"I pictured the day I die, leaving you all alone… I don't want to have anyone feel that pain. I would be shattered if someone I loved died… meanwhile, you would live for hundreds of years all alone. How can I put anyone through that?" Ethan asked softly, and despite themselves, their hearts softened at those words.
He was telling the truth—not a single hint of falsehood in his voice or in his expression. Every cultivator in the room could sense it. But they quickly hardened their hearts again, reminding themselves that this was Ethan. Even his honesty could be a weapon. Especially his honesty. Remembering that he might be trying to manipulate them—he had done it before, and he would do it again without a shred of hesitation.
"I read novels where lovers betray each other over jealousy. I feared one day that would be me. Die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain. I took those words to heart. I don't want to marry anyone just for later down the road, I become something I hate." Ethan said lightly, his gaze drifting downward as the words settled over the crowd.
"Trash." A pretty boy from the group of male cultivators spat in disdain, only to freeze solid as every female in the venue simultaneously turned their death glares on him.
His mouth shut almost instantly, the color draining from his face as he realized the magnitude of the mistake he had just made. Not a single woman in this room wanted to hear another man's opinion on Ethan right now.
"N-no, he is right. That's why, after Raven kidnapped me, I realized I needed to face my fears. I can't live the rest of my short life as a coward. I want to take responsibility," Ethan said, straightening his posture and puffing out his chest in a way that was almost reminiscent of the three-year-old boy who had once promised his mother he would become an immortal.
"S-so. No more running." Ethan said seriously, and the effect was immediate. Their hearts melted—not slowly, not reluctantly, but all at once, like ice thrown into a furnace. He was telling the truth. He was truly, genuinely, not going to run anymore.
The realization of that hit some of them so hard that their eyes began to water, tears forming at the edges of gazes that had been burning with killing intent only moments ago. He was so brave that it ached to look at him.
"Little rabbit. You're married to me, so what do you have to take responsibility for?" Raven asked, and the rage burning in her normally emotionless gaze was something that shouldn't have been possible for someone like her—yet there it was, blazing and undeniable.
"I…" Ethan's words failed to leave his mouth. He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing as he took a step backward on instinct. But then he stopped himself. He gritted his teeth, clenched his fists at his sides, and stepped forward instead, wearing a look on his face that said he was ready to face whatever came next, even if it was his death.
"I… I don't know. But how would I look at our future children if I can't look myself in the mirror?" Ethan asked, and instantly, Raven froze. Every thought in her head came to a screeching halt.
The words "our future children" echoed through her mind on repeat, bouncing off the walls of her consciousness until they were the only thing she could hear. Her pale face, which hadn't shown color in years, grew a faint but unmistakable hint of red.
"Children… our children…" Raven said softly, the words leaving her lips almost without her permission, her voice carrying a tenderness that sounded foreign coming from her. And with that, Ethan had handled her. Just like that.
"Haha! You bastard, you think I will fall for your tricks?" Blood Queen glared at Ethan, her blood-red hair lifting off her shoulders and floating into the sky as her aura flared with her anger. Ethan said nothing in response.
He simply looked at her—a steady, honest gaze that held nothing behind it except sincerity. No charm, no angle, no hidden motive. Just him, looking at her. And under the weight of that gaze, her glare slowly, reluctantly, began to soften despite every part of her screaming not to let it.
She tried to harden her heart. She reminded herself that this bastard couldn't be trusted, that he had proven that already, that she had been here before and it had nearly destroyed her. But Ethan spoke before her walls could finish rebuilding themselves.
"I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I was a coward for running away… but never again," Ethan said softly, and she gritted her teeth so hard that the muscles in her jaw visibly flexed. There was a voice inside of her—loud, desperate, and furious—screaming at her not to trust him, trying to remind her of what had happened last time, of the night he vanished, of the way her heart had shattered into pieces she was still putting back together. But her heart trumped everything.
"Then let's get married." She said softly, and the instant those words left her mouth, the killing intent from every other female in the venue exploded outward so violently that the air itself rippled and distorted.
"I can't," Ethan said, and the Blood Queen's killing intent detonated outward like a bomb, her single eye burning into him with a cold fury that could have melted steel.
"I can't marry, not when… well, you all want that. But I'm just one person… so it's best I live the rest of my life as a monk… a fitting punishment for my sins." Ethan said softly, and the venue fell into a stunned silence so complete that you could have heard a pin drop from a mile away.
Ethan gave them the warmest and most self-sacrificial smile he could muster—the kind of smile that made you feel like you were watching someone willingly walk toward their own end for the sake of the people they loved.
"I'm selfish for loving you all… I'm sorry." Ethan said sadly, and every heart in the room ached at the sight of the guilt and pain swimming behind his eyes.
"Little rabbit… are you trying to divorce me?" Raven asked coldly, and as the words left her mouth, her appearance began to change. Her features dissolved, her skin fading into nothing as pure darkness consumed her form.
Her face disappeared entirely, replaced by a silhouette of living shadow with two empty voids where her eyes should have been, each one deeper and blacker than anything the mortal mind was built to comprehend.
Her voice twisted along with her body, layering over itself until it sounded like darkness itself was speaking—ancient, hollow, and utterly devoid of anything resembling mercy. It was a sight that would have driven a lesser man to his knees... Ethan almost shitted himself at this sight. That wasn't an act; the sudden transformation scared the shit out of him.
"I-I don't know what to do to make you all happy… Y-you decide, and I will do it." Ethan said, throwing the responsibility onto them entirely and taking a full step back as he realized that even he—the man who had talked his way out of a Demi God kidnapping and seduced a Martial Emperor—had his limits. How was he supposed to get all of them to agree to him having a harem? The task was beyond even his capabilities.
Why did he even want a harem in the first place? Well, that had everything to do with what happened during his time in the cell.
***
Flashback — Within the Cell.
Ethan was lying on his back, staring up at the stone ceiling, thinking through his plans. He had contingencies for most things—backup plans layered on top of backup plans, each one accounting for variables that most people wouldn't even think to consider. But there was one thing he was still unsure about.
Should he build a force of followers to support his rise, or should he just walk the path to the peak on his own? He could do either. He had the resources and the capability for both, and he doubted that either approach would slow him down in any meaningful way.
But something about it made him uneasy. If he didn't have a force behind him, it meant he would have to personally display his capabilities whenever a problem arose, which would inevitably draw the attention of powerful people.
He was capable, far more capable than anyone at his level had any right to be, but he still needed time to reach his full potential. And yet, he didn't like the idea of being one of those novel protagonists who spent their entire journey hiding what they could do, suppressing their strength and pretending to be weaker than they were just to avoid attention.
He had power, and he wanted to show it off. That was just who he was. But what if a being stronger than an immortal turned their attention on him and descended to his level? At that point, he would be done for and would have no choice but to hide anyway.
He wanted to avoid that scenario entirely. He wanted his rise to power to be smooth—steady, controlled, and free of the kind of catastrophic setbacks that came from being noticed too early by the wrong people.
[Get a harem, and most likely it's best if you rule the lower realm.] The system said, and Ethan frowned as he failed to see the point of that suggestion.
'Why...? What could I gain from that? An army? I can just get an army of robots from you, and they would be infinitely better than the original. Resources? I have all of the resources I could ever want. Honestly, what could I possibly need?' Ethan asked with a frown.
[Remember, the only difference between you and other cultivation MCs is the fact that you're more overpowered, but you exist in a world where beings become infinitely close to becoming almost all-powerful. Don't act like you are already all-powerful. That would lead to your doom.] The system said, and Ethan paused at that. He went quiet for a good, long second, the words sinking in deeper than he expected them to.
Indeed, he was being a bit too arrogant right now. He wasn't worried at this point because, at any given moment, he could pull out a treasure from the system that could instantly kill anyone he faced.
In terms of raw destructive potential, he was already the strongest being in existence—and that was the trap. That confidence, that certainty, that feeling of being untouchable… it was exactly the kind of mindset that got people killed in a world like this.