Primordial Villain with a Slave Harem

Chapter 1417  Concept Seeds

"What I call him," Lilyanna whispered quietly, "is Corruption Itself."

Quinlan felt a chill work its way up his spine for the second time despite the healing light.

"Corruption… Itself?" he repeated.

"Yes." Her voice steadied. "Just as I am 'a Goddess of Purity,' not 'the Goddess of Purity,' Sel'Ashra, Venthros, and the others are gods aligned to corruption. They embody aspects. Expressions. Limited authorities shaped by domains and rules."

Her hands shifted again, sealing the last remnants of backlash along his nerves.

"Xar'Zal is different."

Quinlan clenched his hands into fists. "Explain the difference."

"Purity, corruption, order, decay. These are not gods. They are conditions of existence. Forces that predate pantheons and outlast them. Gods align with them, borrow from them, filter them through identity and limitation."

Her fingers curled slightly against his back.

"Xar'Zal does not align with corruption. He is not borrowing it. He is not channeling it."

A pause came, one that Quinlan felt lasted much, much longer than it did in reality.

"He is the process by which systems rot. The principle that causes structure to fail over time. When law bends until it breaks. When intention erodes into appetite."

Quinlan's thoughts raced back unbidden.

"But Venthros… You called him the Corrupted Element. He felt… complete. Overwhelming. Like corruption given will."

"Yes," Lilyanna agreed. "To you, he might've appeared as corruption itself. But…"

Her hands tightened once more.

Then she shook her head. "No, I've already said too much."

Quinlan's jaw set. The lattice beneath him felt suddenly smaller, tighter, as if the space itself had drawn closer.

"You just told me there's something behind corrupted gods. Something that made even Venthros look like an echo. And now you want to stop."

"Do not push this," Lilyanna replied, tone clipped. "You will derive no benefit from knowing more."

Quinlan turned his head enough to look at her. "You seem to always say that right before giving me information anyway."

She scoffed. "Not this time. What you need to focus on is your journey in Thalorind, not fighting an Absolute. I already regret telling you as much as I have."

He exhaled sharply through his nose. "Why do you care so much? You act as if this will break me. I can take it."

"Is that so?" Lilyanna asked.

Her gaze dropped.

Quinlan followed it.

His right arm was shaking, showcasing a constant tremor running from fingers to elbow. He stared at it, confused, then flexed his hand.

The shaking didn't stop.

Seeing it, Lilyanna pulled her hands away from his back.

The light around them dimmed as the energy of purity receded from her fingers. The healing was completed.

Her hand lowered and closed gently around his trembling one.

The contact was firm. Grounding.

A measured pulse of her power flowed into him, not invasive, not overwhelming. It spread through his arm, into his chest, down his spine. The tremor faded as if smoothed flat by steady pressure.

"There…" Lilyanna whispered softly.

Quinlan swallowed.

"You are strong, stronger than any primordial at your stage. You have the potential to etch yourself into legend, to leave marks that will not be scrubbed away by time."

Her thumb pressed lightly against the back of his hand, anchoring him.

"But you cannot concern yourself with powers like those. Not now. Not ever." Her eyes lifted to his face. "Fight your own wars, Quinlan. Do not burden yourself with the concerns of others. While you do that, I'll be here, protecting you. Even if I have to lay my life down, I won't let outsiders harm you. Even if it's Xar'Zal himself, I'll stand between you and him until I am no more."

Silence settled between them.

"…Okay," Quinlan nodded at last.

He drew in a slow breath and sat up, rolling his shoulders, flexing his fingers. His body responded smoothly, cleanly. No pain. No drag. No lingering weakness.

He blinked once. "I feel great."

Lilyanna leaned back slightly, the severity easing from her expression. "You should. I worked hard to restore your body."

"My body that got to such a state because of your bratty decision to kidnap me."

"Because of your dumb decision to attack your protector."

"My protector shouldn't kidnap me."

"Not unless she wants to speak to you without those two interjecting all the time…"

As she said that, the Goddess's lips drooped.

"Speak well of me to your mothers, will you? I fear if you don't speak for me, I'll be… in a bad situation."

"Why don't you come back with me to the primordial realm?"

Her response was immediate. "I refuse."

Quinlan's lips curved. "I'll think about it."

Her smile widened just a touch. It wasn't as warm as Quinlan had hoped. "No, you'll do it."

"Are you blackmailing me?"

"No, of course not. I'm a Goddess of Purity, remember?"

"To be fair, I did corrupt you a bit, right?"

"Ah, I forgot!" she yelped and dragged a hand to her face.

"It's still there," Quinlan smiled.

Her fists clenched. "… While I am not one to blackmail…" The Goddess whispered ominously, "I might feel forced to give a divine decree to my Arch Priests to declare Quinlan Elysiar, the Primordial Villain, a heretic all across the World of Thalorind."

He shook his head disappointedly. "Truly a bratty goddess. What a horrible woman. Are you sure you're not a Goddess of Deceit?"

"Maybe your attack corrupted me~?" she mused. "So you blackmailing me is somehow my fault, huh…?" Quinlan couldn't help but exhale tiredly. "You truly are a woman."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You don't need me to spell it out for you. Instead, answer the second half of my original question, will you?"

"How to control the seed and how to fight back against Sel'Ashra should she invade your soul realm again?"

Quinlan nodded.

The Goddess shrugged. "I don't know."

"… What do you mean you don't know?"

"Godhood, or the state of divinity, can be achieved in two ways. One, be born a god. Two, become a god."

"Let me guess. You were born a god, so you have no clue. Useless, once again. What a shocker."

"… You're getting awfully comfortable speaking ill of me. You do realize I'm your Goddess, right?"

"Yes."

"… You, as a primordial, shouldn't be able to achieve godhood… Primordials can grow in strength to match gods through the mastery of their Primordial Class. But there's something very wrong with you. You have two Primordial Classes and two Concept Seeds. As far as I'm aware, no other primordial is like you."

"Thanks for the compliment, you're nicer than you appear."

"It's not a compliment. You're a weirdo, not a hero."

"…" Quinlan ignored her without pause. "I'm starting to understand," Quinlan stroked his chin. "Those not born as gods can still attain godhood. How so?"

"Can't tell you~"

"… But primordials are locked into their own path in life. I can follow both."

"Maybe so. Or maybe you will never be able to control the Concept Seeds and be overwhelmed by it all and explode from the inside out."

"Thanks for cheering me on."

"Any time," she smiled politely.

Quinlad sighed once again. He noticed he was sighing a lot when in the presence of this bratty goddess. "So you have no idea how to cultivate my concept seed and how I can fight back against Sel'Ashra?"