Corrupt Creations

"Alert? Is there anything dangerous happening?"

"Sigh... I cannot disclose too much information, since it is a secret and it is not yet confirmed, but... There seems to be many humans infiltrating inside the Ereinrith city these days and we did not discover their identity yet. We were able to find some traces left behind by them, but none of those traces were enough for us to discover their location. It is needless to say, that the motive behind their infiltration is unknown too."

"Hm that is strange. With the quantity of experts inside the city, it should have been very easy to discover them."

"That\'s right. That is why we have some theories, but they are just theories, since they can\'t be confirmed yet. All in all, do not let your guard down. We must be friendly with that human, but never expose any weakness."

"My daughter, I understand. You can let us deal with that human, unconcerned. We will treat him cordially, but we won\'t expose any flaws."

"That\'s good." The woman suddenly vanished and only the twin brothers were left behind in the room.

"Sigh... Brother. I don\'t know if it is my business man instincts kicking in, but I have a hunch that the human called Seth is visiting our territory for personal business. I feel like we don\'t need to be too conscious of him, however I can\'t help but follow your daughter words."

"I know where you\'re trying to get, brother. Don\'t worry, I will not force anything or try to pressure him. He will live peacefully here, but keep in mind to never let him step outside of his boundaries."

"Alright. I\'ll be leaving then, brother."

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Seth entered his guest luxurious house and the first thing he did, was to create a very thick barrier around it. It contained his Mana Control initial-stage energy and could pretty much block anyone below that level from spying or passing through it.

He was pretty sure that no one would try to spy or bother him there, but he still took those measures, because he would be doing something related to his soul. Matters pertaining the soul were very delicate and needed a special care.

"Lexi, everything is settled. We can start now."

"What took you so long? Didn\'t you see that I was eager to do it, all this time?"

"Eh? Sorry, it\'s just that I had many things to resolve before getting a peaceful time."

"Ahh... It doesn\'t matter anymore, let\'s start right away. When I was absorbing the spiritual energy all this while, I managed to recover some of my memories. Actually, that is not the proper thing I should be calling it."

"If it\'s not the proper thing, then what is it? Weren\'t you recovering your memories all this while?" Seth was getting confused. Lexi has always been a mystery on his life, a pleasant mystery.

"No, not even close. I was not remembering my memories or abilities. I was unlocking them."

"Unlocking?"

"You can pretty much call it as remembering, but in truth, when my strength grows, they are unlocked. I finally understood a little bit about the source of my powers... I\'m indeed a spirit of an artifact... A very ancient and powerful artifact."

"If it is like that, then how the heck are you inside me?"

"Calm down, I did not understand it all yet, just a tiny bit, but I might know some things about it now. Listen, every time I absorb enough spiritual energy, I suddenly remember or unlock some of my memories or abilities and that process was actually something planned by someone. But before explaining you how that process works, I will have to say some things. Do you remember the Elemental Goddess that the Phoenix Spirit told you about? One of the six Creators?"

"I do remember her, but what does she have to do with you?"

"She has nothing to do with me, but one of those six Creators have. There was a goddess that just like the Elemental Goddess was considered one of the six Creators of All Things. Her title was Beyond Nihility and she was the most mystical of the six creators. She was responsible for creating the spirits, the souls and finally every kind of energy we use for cultivation."

"What? She created Mana and Qi? What the heck?!"

"I didn\'t completely believe the Phoenix Spirit words when he told you that story, but now, with the knowledge coming directly from inside my head, I have no doubts that it was the truth. Beyond Nihility created all those impossible to describe things and it is possible that she has created stronger energies than those you know of. What I discovered is that every single kind of energy, drink from the same fountain; they share the same principle. Nihility."

"Nihility? What is it?"

"I don\'t know how to explain certainly, but it serves as a mold, where she used to shape every single kind of energy that exists. She built that mold in the form of an artifact. An artifact called Null Stone. That artifact had two different functions, to null and to purify, and there was nothing it could not annul or purify. Essentially, she devised the Primordial Energy Law and molded it using the null stone, creating Mana and Qi afterwards."

"Does it mean it could nullify any kind of attack or ability that was based in Mana or Qi?" Seth asked puzzled. How strong would an artifact like that be? Outside of physical and pure elemental attacks, nothing would be able to work on the user. But the problem is that pure elemental attacks were unheard of. Someone got to create elemental particles using their Mana.

Lexi nodded and continued: "It could in the past, but for some reason, the function to nullify was permanently lost and it was only able to purify things. The purification power was getting unstable and it started to purify things that it should not, so the goddess decided to destroy the mold, destroy the artifact. However, there was a spirit living inside it and she couldn\'t bring herself to end the life of that spirit, so she extracted it with an unknow method, turning it into a spirt that didn\'t have a host."

"Wait... Are you trying to tell me that you are the spirit of that artifact?"

"Yes. I am Lexi, the spirit of the Null Stone, a spirit without an artifact. I can purify, but I can\'t nullify. Actually, with my strength, it can\'t even be considered as purification, what I have been doing until now."

"I don\'t know what to say. Everything you told me, seems like a fairy tale, however I trust you and I know you would never lie to me. It\'s just that it is so different and complicated that I don\'t even know how to react to it all." Seth was really lost with all that information.

"I know. I\'m as lost as you too, because everything that I told you, seems just like a bunch of memories that had been implanted in my mind, and nothing like vivid memories that I lived. It is so confusing."

"Wait... You said that that artifact was a mold for shaping energy, so... It means that you have shaped different kinds of energy before, right?"

"Yes. Purification is not just cleansing impurities, but it is a very specific part of the concept of transformation. I have done it before, it\'s just that I can\'t remember purifying anything other than Qi, Mana, Soul and Spiritual energies for now. However, after absorbing all that energy this time, I didn\'t get a new ability or power. What I remembered is just how to thoroughly purify a soul."

Lexi remembered how she helped Seth on getting rid of the Seed of Tyranny influence and ironically laughed. At that time, she didn\'t understand a single process of purification. She did things by instinct.

Lexi continued: "While purifying a soul, I had to know how to purify each stage of cultivation, form high to low. That means I had to know how those stages actually worked, in orders to purify them properly. That is why, right now, I kind of remembered how to cultivate the first stages of the soul."

"Soul cultivation? Is it real?" That kind of cultivation was never heard before, so it was something Seth found incredible.

"It is. That is why I asked you to hurry up and find a quiet place. I will tell you how to cultivate your soul, something only you can do. As a spirit I don\'t have that kind of ability, I can only rely on you to get stronger. That is why, I will be able to tell you how to do it, but not directly guide you through your soul cultivation. That is something you will have to discover by your own, but since you will be treading this path alone, it is very likely, that you hurt your own soul." Lexi said with seriousness.

An injury to the soul was something grave and it could even destroy a person\'s talents.

"Come on, Lexi. You know that comprehending things is my forte. Don\'t worry, I will not disappoint you."

"Hmph! I don\'t know how did I get stuck with a person like you yet, but if I found who tied us together, I will make sure to make him or her regret putting me with an overly confident and pervert person like you."

"Ahaha, at last your unruly way returned. You seemed too serious while talking about all that complicated stuff. Come on, don\'t worry, I\'m ready for anything."

"Sigh... Close your eyes and sit down. Enter your soul space after you have evened your breathing. I will transfer the information to you."

Seth did as she told and entered his soul space. He immediately saw that blue lake made of soul essence in front of him.. However, this time, a white mass of energy slowly surged from the middle of the lake.