Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

"Please, Your Excellency, don't burn us! We elves have always preferred burial and are not used to being burned; it hurts too much!"

In the capital city, at the crematorium, a huge furnace burns incessantly.

Clumps of trembling, twisting flesh were piled on bulldozers and sent into the furnace, truckload after truckload. Even as the flames burned their internal organs, dried their blood, and scorched their brains, they could not stop struggling and wailing for a moment.

After all, "death" has disappeared, but "pain" has not.

Desperate screams and the crackling of burning flesh filled the air, along with the aroma of burning grease and the stench of burning protein. The wailing only ceased when everything turned to ashes.

"But they didn't die."

The Minister of Revenue looked at the black smoke drifting in the air and the ashes piled up under the furnace, and sighed to Tong Chuxue beside him: "They were burned to ashes, but each grain of ashes still felt extreme pain, a thousand times more than before—the reason they didn't scream was simply because their mouths were burned away."

“If death does not return, they will be tormented in eternal agony until the end of the world.”

Tong Chuxue couldn't bear it and closed her eyes tightly.

When faced with power and torture, the cowardly will kneel and beg for mercy, while the brave will hold their heads high and say, "Death is the worst that can happen!"

But now, death has disappeared.

Torture, slow slicing, and death by a thousand cuts... all the cruel punishments that people can imagine can only torment the living. Everyone still has the final choice: to sleep peacefully in the cool summer night.

However, this final choice was completely taken away by a mere whim of the primordial demon after its descent.

Endless pain, endless wailing.

Even though these cremated "dead" suffered so much, it still couldn't stop other "dead" from flocking to join them and being burned to ashes.

After all, once the heart stops beating and breathing stops and the oxygen supply is interrupted, the cell lysosomes will rupture within minutes, releasing hydrolytic enzymes and beginning to digest their own cells.

Three to six hours after death, anaerobic bacteria in the intestines begin to produce gas. Around 12 hours later, a bluish-green lividity appears in the lower abdomen, and within 24 hours, decomposition officially begins—after all, death is gone, but decay has not—the deceased can only watch helplessly as their bodies rot and emit a foul stench.

Then, due to the blood pooling and sinking, the blood vessels throughout the body swell and ache, and the mucous membranes and internal organs suffer from burning pain due to lack of oxygen; the internal organs rupture, the abdominal and thoracic cavities continue to expand, the organs are torn apart by the gas, and dull pain runs through the torso; the gas compresses the nerves, causing continuous swelling and cramping pain throughout the body without interruption.

Finally, the soft tissue ulcerates, dissolves, and corrodes, and mosquitoes and maggots will gnaw at the flesh, causing stinging pain all over the body, with no place spared.

Rather than endure this near-desperate pain, it's better to be cremated at the crematorium and reduced to ashes; at least that looks "dignified."

"This scene reminds me of a long-ago story."

Beside Tong Chuxue, the priest Demuge sighed and began to tell a myth unknown to anyone in the world: "King Sisyphus of Corinth angered Zeus, who sent Thanatos, the god of death, to collect his soul—but in the end, Thanatos was tricked by the cunning and clever Sisyphus and put on his own chains, so he could not take anyone's soul, and from then on, death was no longer an option for humankind."

"War is endless slaughter as long as warriors do not die; the old, weak, sick and disabled suffer endless pain, their bodies decaying but unable to find release. Hades in the underworld cannot collect the souls of the dead, the cosmic order is on the verge of collapse, and the realm of gods is in panic."

"And how does the story end?" Tong Chuxue asked.

“Zeus commanded Ares, the god of war, to subdue Sisyphus and free Thanatos. Death regained its freedom, and the order of death was restored to the human world.” The priest’s tone became extremely strange at this point. “Poor, pitiful Sisyphus… The gods sentenced him to push a boulder up a mountain forever, but every time he pushed it to the top, the boulder would roll back down, an eternal cycle of torment and futile efforts.”

"Tong Xiuzhuan, do you think... this Sisyphus is happy?"

"He is a hero." After thinking for a long time, Tong Chuxue made this assessment.

"Yeah……"

The priest did not continue speaking, and Tong Chuxue turned to ask the Minister of Revenue: "Unlike the story of the priest, the Death Demon does not take away death, but gathers all the concepts of death in the world around itself... If these dead are sent into His domain, can they find peace?"

"Yes, but the Death Demon's domain is only a hundred miles in radius, and the outer perimeter is already full of them."

Even after the recent war, the global population remains around 10 billion—after all, in this world with advanced magical technology, every inch of land can support more than three times the population of Earth; and neither kingdoms nor empires have committed the virtuous act of massacring civilians during the war, and those who died on the battlefield were mostly young and strong.

Therefore, with such a large population, the number of people dying every day worldwide due to accidents, diseases, or organ failure reaches around 200,000.

In the capital city alone, the number of "deaths" every day can reach several hundred—and this is even with elves generally having long lifespans.

However, death disappeared.

Countless residents yearn for death but cannot find it; only the Death Demon can bring them peace. However, with such a massive population, the outer perimeter of the Death Demon's domain is already overflowing with the dead. And since no one can return alive after entering the domain, no one can send the dead to a place closer to death.

The Ministry of Revenue attempted to throw the dead deeper into the crater, but in His domain, even the "kinetic energy" and "inertia" that form the physical basis of the world would die, and the corpses would fall straight to the ground like heavy objects as soon as they touched the domain.

They also tried to retrieve the dead who had already found peace, but once they left the area, the dead would revive and suffer even more inhumane torture.

Finally, someone suggested using drones to drop the body from above the Death Demon.

The deadly zone is not a sphere with a radius of 100 meters, but a cylinder with no upper limit—even drones are "killed" after entering the zone, their circuits burn out, they crash to the ground, and they return empty-handed.

"Therefore, I propose that all the dead be cremated, and then His Majesty, the only one who can resist the realm of death, should bring the ashes close to death and give them a peaceful rest."

At this point, the Minister of Revenue turned and bowed deeply to the two men:

"Lord Divine Ritual Official, Compiler Tong, among the officials serving outside the capital, you two are the most favored by His Majesty. Therefore, I would like to request that you join me in submitting a joint memorial to His Majesty—"

…………

"No!"

The capital city, the Golden Palace.

Ji Yushen threw the memorial jointly submitted by Tong Chuxue and others on the ground, then looked at the three kneeling figures and sneered: "Amber God is oblivious to life and death. I am the only true god in the world today! How dare you expect a true god to be like a porter, shuttling back and forth to the side of the demon of death?"

"Utter disrespect!"

The Minister of Revenue knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing and pleading: "Your Majesty, today a total of 23721 people have died nationwide, including 1370 wounded soldiers; in the capital, a total of 532 people have died, including 43 wounded soldiers. The area within a hundred meters of the demon of death has been filled, and 107621 people nationwide have not yet found peace..."

"Then let them line up and wait!" Ji Yushen waved his hand. "Once I figure out a way to deal with death, everyone can die."

"This matter must not be reported again. I am the true God! How can a true God be asked to do such a thing? If someone in the Holy Kingdom dared to make such a request to God Amber, they would probably be burned at the stake by the Church long ago!"

"But……"

The Minister of Revenue gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with dejection, but in the end he didn't dare to refute.

He may not be a good person to have climbed to his current position. In his youth, he was proficient in drinking, gambling, and whoring. After becoming wealthy, he kept eighteen concubines, accepted bribes from his subordinates, and abused his power for personal gain. However, he still had a human heart and could not remain indifferent after witnessing the suffering of the dead.

But the might of Heaven is overwhelming, and what can one do?

The heads of those traitors and officials whom His Majesty killed after the war are still hanging on the city walls, enduring the agony of death day and night!

"Is there anything else to report? If not, the court is adjourned!"

Ji Yushen waved his hand, and the official in charge of rites stood up and reported, "The Ministry of Rites has received a request from the Kingdom's ambassador for the extradition of deceased persons. Approximately 230,000 Kingdom citizens are awaiting death..."

"No!"

Ji Yushen chuckled lightly: "We empires are too many to die, and the kingdoms want to get a share?"

"At the very least, let the kingdom's warriors, nobles, and tycoons receive the dignity they deserve," the priest continued. "Queen Freya has stated that the kingdom will contribute 500,000 credits per person as a death tax to request the burial of a number of the kingdom's warriors and deceased nobles."

This time, Ji Yushen tapped the dragon throne and pondered for a moment: "Approved, but the death tax will be increased to 700,000 per person."

"Yes."

"Gentlemen, let's not discuss such heavy topics as death." Ji Yushen took off her dragon boots, shifted to a more comfortable position on the dragon throne, and asked the Vice Minister of Works with interest, "How is the construction of my statue progressing?"

"Your Majesty, the bidding process for the statues of deities in major cities across the country is underway, but the gilded statue in the capital is nearing completion." The Vice Minister of Works stepped forward and congratulated Ji Yushen. "The citizens say they are incredibly fortunate to be able to see Your Majesty's image whenever they look up!"

"Hahaha, good! I am the first emperor of all time, the first god of all time. Only such a divine statue can demonstrate my power and make the world believe in me!"

Ji Yushen was overjoyed and praised him repeatedly: "Gentlemen, take a good look at him. This is what a loyal minister is! The ministers I need are those who can help me solve problems, not those who make demands of me! You should all learn from our Vice Minister!"

"No, no, I dare not." The Vice Minister of Works quickly knelt down. "Your Majesty, there is one more matter... The gold needed for the statue in the capital is insufficient, and the funds for building the statue..."

Ji Yushen waved his hand and said, "Approved. Go to the Ministry of Revenue and ask for it!"

"Your Majesty! Absolutely not!" the Minister of Revenue pleaded hastily. "The war has just ended, the empire is in dire need of rebuilding, and the Ministry of Revenue... has run out of credits!"

"Then deduct it from the death tax. Hasn't the Ministry of Revenue collected quite a bit recently?"

"This is precisely what I wish to request," said the Minister of Revenue. "The death tax is set too high... Many citizens have complained to the Ministry of Revenue that the inability to afford to die and the need for a slow death are the biggest demands of the capital's residents!"

In this world, if you cherish things enough, even death can become a business.

There is only one place in the world where one can die: the Death Demon Realm within the Empire. The Death Demon Realm is public property of the Empire, and of course, one has to pay to die there.

So here's the question—who dies first, and who dies last?

We can't expect the families of high-ranking officials, soldiers of the imperial army, and relatives of wealthy merchants and politicians to draw lots and queue up with ordinary people, can we?

Therefore, it all came down to money in the end.

Those with money and power can die first, while those without money and power can only wait to die slowly; people in the capital can die first, while people in other cities can only wait to die by lottery; people in the empire can wait to die by lottery, while people in the kingdom and even people around the world who die naturally every day can only wish for death but cannot.

The death tax rate is also rising rapidly, from a few thousand credits at the beginning to tens of thousands of credits later, making it extremely difficult to obtain even after death. There have even been cases of scalpers buying death passes and then reselling them at high prices, resulting in death passes not ending up in the hands of those who need to die, but instead being hoarded by the living.

"Look at you, I told you not to mention this. If you can't afford to die, then don't die!"

Ji Yushen scratched his head in exasperation and sighed, "They're not necessarily going to die, so let's just wait! Have they even reached the legal minimum lifespan? Do they want to die prematurely?"

"Your Majesty, we can't wait any longer! The pain of not being able to die is unimaginable to the living!" the Minister of Revenue wailed.

"It's just rotting, just put it in the freezer."

"But freezing is still torture..."

"Then let's get down to business!" Ji Yushen slammed his hand on the dragon table. "Moon sugar, anesthetics, painkillers, hallucinogenic magic circles—we're being allowed to be less strict now because of special circumstances. As long as the hospital confirms that the deceased needs pain relief, we can approve the use of these drugs unconditionally—is that alright?"

With the Empire's magical technology, today's potent painkillers can directly sever the brain's perception of pain. While releasing the pain might bring immense comfort to the deceased, it would also create more social problems...

But as Himegami said, there really is no better way now.

The Minister of Revenue sighed and finally accepted the order and withdrew.

"That's more like it. Now, no one in the world can die, only the empire can die, and instead of being grateful and saying thank you, you're criticizing me... What kind of behavior is this!" Ji Yushen also breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, is there anything else? If not, court is dismissed!"

"Your Majesty, the world is now deeply grateful for your immense kindness in vanquishing the demons of war. A lesson has been included in the new textbooks, and we hope Your Majesty will take a look." The Vice Minister of Rites stepped forward with a smile to offer his congratulations. "Her Majesty Princess Hime no Mikoto defeated the demons of war with stones. This article is exceptionally well written..."

After reading the text, Ji Yushen was overjoyed and chatted and laughed with the Vice Minister of Rites. The Golden Palace was filled with a harmonious scene between the emperor and his ministers.

However, among the courtiers, Tong Chuxue sighed, unable to smile... She couldn't quite understand Ji Yushen.

While some might call her a tyrant, she managed to keep her ministers firmly under her control. After ascending the throne, she achieved numerous accomplishments and even built upon the legacy of generations past to devise a grand historical drama of overthrowing the original ruler and ascending to the throne. Her talent and wisdom are among the best of all emperors throughout history.

She could be called a wise ruler, yet she ignored the suffering of the people, indulging in extravagance, building massive construction projects, waging wars, leaving the palaces empty, refusing to listen to advice, and neglecting her duties...

Now she has become the only true god in the world, and no one can control her will. Is this a blessing or a curse?

…………

Kingdom, Silvershine City.

Sylvia walked through the mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the slums, stepping over rotting, flesh-like pieces of flesh, her eyes already bloodshot.

It's so tragic, everything is so tragic.

Originally, after the Dungeon War, the first level of the dungeon, which sheltered the homeless, had disappeared, but the slums did not disappear; as the war ended after several months, more and more homeless people, those who had lost loved ones, and those who had broken their legs joined the ranks of the poor, and new slums were rebuilt in the dark corners of Silvershine City.

In chaotic places where order cannot be managed, there is never a shortage of people who attempt to restore order.