The Origin Seed

The girl stared into his eyes as if she was scrutinizing him. She shook her head and sighed as she said, "Your ethereal core has something that should only belong to a god!"

Damien had an expression of disbelief on his face. His ethereal core had something which belonged to a god? How could he not know about such a mind-blowing thing if it's inside his own body?

Damien was speechless for a moment. He took in a deep breath as he asked, "What is it?"

"You have an Origin Seed!"

"An origin seed??" Damien's brows raised and curved with surprise.

"Ugh...how do I even explain this to you?" She shook her head in 

frustration. 

"It's a very profound and unfathomable concept that it's no use if I explain it to you now. For now, in simple words, I can say that an origin seed is like the power-source of your ethereal core. Like, if you consider the ethereal core as a whole body, what do you think would be at its root or its heart?" She asked rhetorically.

"The origin seed?" Damien answered as if realizing something.

He continued, "So, it's like the core of the ethereal core?"

"Yes, you can say it like that too. But actually, the ethereal core would have another name as soon as you reach a certain cultivation stage. Then you might find it less confusing, and things would start making sense slowly. But for now, you can think of it like that."

"But if it's the power source of the ethereal core, then how do cultivators in this world or mortals be able to use ethereal energy without the origin seed; in other words, the power source?"

"Haa...I told you origin seed is something that only gods could have. Mortals don't function the same way as gods. Like their ethereal core is too simple to even need a power-source like the origin seed. The origin seed is the embodiment of all the origin laws a god has comprehended. An origin seed won't even start to form in an entity unless they have at least comprehended Pseudo-Origin laws which are laws comparable to Origin Laws but still not powerful as them."

"I see…" Damien muttered as he narrowed his brows and continued, "But then, what I don't get is how do I have this origin seed? Which god gave it to me and why?"

The girl raised both her hands, showing a clueless expression as she said, "That's what I would like to know. Because it should be impossible for you or anyone to house someone else's origin seed even if you were a god. If someone tries to forcibly house another god's origin seed in their ethereal core, it would just lead to the collapse of their ethereal core itself. In other words, certain death.

"An origin seed is the unique identity of a god. It cannot even be passed down to anyone else as a legacy either. If it's taken out of them, they would die eventually or lose their godhood. This is why no god would even try to take another god's origin seed because even if they take it for some other purpose, all they would get is a dead origin seed which has absolutely no use; since the seed contains one's understanding of the origin laws which cannot be comprehended by another god.

"It's like trying to read something written in a language you don't know. That is why your situation seems too strange and confounding to me. So, I don't think any god gave it to you since that would be the same as suicide, and I am hundred percent sure that you were not born with it either. As except the origin seed and a strong soul, everything about you is mortal. So that means that your parents are not gods either. But you did house that origin seed after you were born."

The girl had a pondering expression, "But I wonder where you were born, though."

Damien shook his head as he said, "I have no idea about my biological family. My father said I was adopted and entrusted to him by some mysterious woman." 

He moved his hand towards his neck and held the black amulet hanging around his neck as he silently stared at it.

'Seems like I should find out about my real family if I want to get the answers to all my questions.''

"But is this why that god targeted and manipulated me?" Damien asked as his expression turned hardened.

The girl pinched her chin while thinking about what Damien said. "No, that doesn't make sense. As I said, he possibly has no use for the origin seed even if he took it from you. And besides, why go as far as manipulating a mortal like you? It's just too unnecessarily convoluted unless he had some other plans for you. But I don't think that's the case since you are not being manipulated now."

Damien frowned, hearing this as he couldn't make out the motive behind that god's actions. Why manipulate him for so long, only to let go of him?

'No, there's no use in thinking about this now. Not when I am crippled like this.'

Damien raised his eyebrows as he asked the girl, "By the way, if I have such a godly thing as the Origin seed inside me, then why am I still crippled?"

"Ha, it's because of that you were crippled." She scoffed.

"What??" Her words were like a clap of thunder to him, who thought that because of this godly seed, he would have some hopes of recovering.

But when he heard that it was the very thing which caused him to be crippled, his expression became downcast.

"B-but how?" he asked gloomily.

"What do you expect when a mortal possesses a god's origin seed? I am surprised that you are even alive. As I said, even gods can't house another god's origin seed, so how can a mortal be able to? It seems that the Origin seed rejected the energy being directed towards it when your ethereal core points tried to absorb ethereal energy and feed it to your ethereal core, which in turn caused a backlash as it destroyed your ethereal core points.

"You are lucky that the Origin seed is in a dead state. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened." She scoffed.

"So this godly thing is the reason my future is ruined?" Damien said as he smiled in a self-deprecating manner.

However, Damien cleared those unnecessary thoughts from his head as his gaze became determined and calm, "It doesn't matter. I will just find a way to fix my ethereal core points. If there are pills to even heal an almost torn off arm. Why can't there be pills to fix ethereal core points? Or maybe I can study and practice medicine in this world, which can help me come up with some solutions to my problem. I was good at it in my previous life, so there's no way I would be bad at it even if it was a different world."

"Ha-ha-ha!"

The girl's body was shaking as she tried to curtail her laughter with her hand.

"What's so funny? You think I am joking here?" Damien asked as he glared at the girl.

"Fix your ethereal core points?" the girl said calmly, a disdainful grin on her lips. Your ethereal core points have already piqued my interest. It was destroyed shortly after your birth, when your core points were still immature. And that means you couldn't be more crippled than this. Even if you somehow find a solution to fix your ethereal core points, you'll only be able to unlock three or four core points, including the one that wasn't destroyed.

"Furthermore, since you are already sixteen years old, you have already missed the thirteen-year-old critical period of the initial ethereal foundation. With this state, even after a decade, you won't still be able to break through the Initial Ethereal Realm! In addition, you will also not be able to break through the Nascent Ethereal Realm for your whole life and still remain, as before, useless trash!"

Damien's face became stiff and both of his hands clenched as a result of the girl's harsh words.

The girl's words pierced the reality he had been avoiding in his heart for so long. 

Just like she said, his ethereal core points were destroyed when it was in an immature stage. Even if he can fix it, it would only be a small portion of it, so he would still be half-crippled. And because of that, even if he cultivated day and night strenuously, the speed of his ethereal strength cultivation will be extremely slow compared to other people's by a multiplicative degree such that it would be even practically impossible for him to even break through the Spirit Ethereal Realm.

Damien's chest rose, "I'll find an answer for it all!" he said, tensing his jaws. 

"You wanted to make use of medicines or pills to fix yourself, right? Then how are you going to even procure those high-grade herbs with your crippled ethereal core? You will just be letting this goddess die along with you by trying to do something out of your league."

The girl crossed her arms and lifted her head as if she finally made a decision. "You can keep your dumb ideas with yourself. Since you have indirectly helped this goddess stay alive, this goddess shall indeed repay you. You only need to promise me three conditions and then this goddess shall immediately fix your ethereal core points and help you form an ethereal core, especially with the potential strength of a god!"