Path, purpose and will.

“It can’t be…” muttered Hollie, falling to her knees while watching the destroyed world turn into a small dark-red crown that started floating towards Seth.

“Let’s leave. My divinity will be able to feel you prying.” Said Seth, the space around them crumbling with his words.

Hollie returned to Seth’s room the next moment, his rod still inside her. Moving up, she ignored the sperm flowing down her thighs as she knelt by the sides of the bed and started to gag.

Her body wanted to throw up, but she had not eaten anything in a long time and only managed to make gagging sounds. Seth remained on the bed and watched her with a downcast face but didn’t move to help her.

Hollie finished gagging after ten or so minutes and looked up at Seth. Her eyes were filled with fear, and her entire body shook out of terror.

She took 20 more minutes to calm her terror-stricken soul and ask: “How many more worlds have you destroyed?”

“Eight besides this one.” Replied Seth.

“Why eight more?” asked Hollie.

“Because I inhabited the Will of Destruction. It was born to destroy.”

“So it was meaningless…” muttered Hollie, her entire body shuddering.

“I wouldn’t call it meaningless. It was cruel, but it was also what separated my will from that of my divinity….”

Seeing Hollie looking at him with a questioning look, Seth said: “You already know how the will of your energy and source will start imposing over your own will. Can you imagine what a divinity will do to you?”

Hollie lowered her head in realization and asked: “Will it take over completely?”

“Take over?” asked Seth with a slight ironic chortle. “I wouldn’t call it that, but it’s not that far away. You will not lose consciousness as you continue following it, but you will want to do it. You will like it. You will live for it.”

“I think the better term would be corruption. It will corrupt you.”

“Corruption…” muttered Hollie. “Then how did the destruction of those eight more words split your will from your divinity’s?”

Deep anger joined the sadness in Seth’s eyes as he said: “Because it never gave me what I sacrificed everything for. What I walked that cursed and lonely path filled with sadness, death, and destruction for…. “

“But you were already a God? Wasn’t that what you wanted?” asked Hollie, unable to understand where Seth’s anger was coming from.

“I was a God, yes, but was I really the same as what I desired? What is a God in this fake word? What is a God that is subject to the whims of his own power? Can you even call that a God?”

“I was nothing more than a glorified slave. I was stuck inside this damned universe, cursed to follow the will of my own power. What is that if not a slave?”

Hollie lowered her head, the mark on her womb filling her with uncontrolled anger and hatred. Her nails started digging into the palm of her hands as her teeth began grinding so loud that their sound resounded throughout the room.

Blood started spilling through her clenched teeth, and she barely managed to whisper: “Stop..”

<Host. Your divinity is awakening, and your lust source is sharing your resentment.>

Seth noticed what was happening and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm his turbulent feelings.

Hollie, soon released from the feelings that were flowing inside her body, heaved a sigh of relief as her body lost consciousness and she fell flat on the floor.

Seth quickly teleported to her side and cleaned her up before teleporting to Caitlin’s room.

Caitlin was already busy treating a bloodied Henrietta and was stunned to notice Seth carrying an equally bloodied Hollie in her room. The fact that Seth was naked also didn’t help her as she blushed fiercely and lowered her head.

She didn’t even have the chance to say something as Seth placed Hollie next to Henrietta and teleported away.

Caitlin looked between the two and muttered: “What happened? Are we under attack?”, but before she could wrap her mind around what was happening, Seth appeared again, this time carrying Maya, whose condition was the same as the other two.

Three more teleportations and the room was packed, Seth having brought Tiana, Aleena, and Katy as well.

Caitlin put her questions in the back of her head and started revolving her source as fast as possible, working to heal the internal injuries of everyone.

‘What a troublesome source.’ Thought Seth as he covered himself and waited patiently by Caitlin’s side.

<Host should avoid losing control like that. Eons of bottled anger and hatred are not something everyone’s heart can take. Luckily Katy passed out instantly, or...>

‘I know, but watching Hollie experience my former life brought all those feelings back... How are they?’

<The ascended will be fine, but Katy’s condition can’t be treated by Caitlin.>

And Caitlin immediately agreed with the system. “Seth, who is this girl?” she asked after she noticed that Katy’s pulse only turned weaker the more energy she fed inside.

Seth’s eyes widened, teleported to Katy’s side before turning towards Caitlin: “Take care of the others. I’ll be right back.”

He didn’t wait for an answer as he teleported away with Katy, arriving in his room.

He pulled a small vial of lust energy and was about to feed her when a notification appeared in his vision.

<Vial feeding is not optimal.>

After muttering a short: “Sorry.” Seth removed both their clothes and impaled her on his dick, forcing himself to cum inside her while revolving his lust source to feed her lust energy.

‘I understand that I’m an idiot, but what am I carrying you around for?’ asked Seth, doing his best to keep his mixed feeling in check. The last thing he wanted now was another accident.

<I didn’t expect host would not realize sooner…>

Seth shook his head and took a deep breath. ‘How is she?’

<Her body has started absorbing the lust energy, and she’s already healing.>

After the system informed him he could stop, Seth cleaned himself and Katy before getting dressed and teleporting to Caitlin’s room.

Caitlin looked at the passed-out women with a frown and turned towards Seth as soon as he arrived.

“What happened?”

Seth placed Katy next to the others on the bed and shook his head.

“It’s too much to explain. Thank you for taking care of them.”

Caitlin nodded and moved towards the door: “They are fine now and should wake up in a while. I’m going to rest.”. She didn’t wait for Seth to answer as she opened the door and walked out.

Seth kept watching the girls; the first one to wake up was Maya. She looked confused before noticing Seth looking at her from the desk.

She was about to stand up when she spotted the other women sharing a bed with her and frowned as she asked: “Did we all have an orgy, and I just forgot?”

Seth smiled wryly and shook his head as he saw Maya sitting up from the bed, careful not to bother the others, and walking up to him.

As he was about to speak, she lifted a finger, and a wave of water flew out of her finger, drenching Seth completely.

While Seth had a dumbfounded face, not understanding what Maya was trying to do, she smiled at him and said: “Sorry.”

“What was that for?” asked Seth, looking like a wet dog.

Maya split his legs apart to sit down on one of them before hugging his face into her massive chest.

“It’s been tough, hasn’t it.” She said softly, none of her usual cheekiness showing up in the tone of her voice.

She could feel Seth’s body shudder, and her smile disappeared, pulling his face deeper into her chest while slowly massaging the back of his head with her soft hands.

“I imagine they all felt it, just as I did. The weight of an entire world crushing on my very heart. Resentment, anger, pain, frustration, loss….”

“More than I think I’ve ever experienced in all my years of life. I lost both my parents, friends, lovers… I lost a lot, but I never felt anything like that.”

Feeling Seth’s hands holding harder onto her back, she rested her chin on Seth’s head and continued: “I won’t ask why, how, and what. Just rest and let some of it out. You’re not alone anymore.”

A small water barrier formed out of all the water drenching the ground, surrounding the two as they remained unmoving for a long time.

Neither Maya nor Seth had said a word for a long time, and the only sound inside the bubble was made by Maya’s hands softly rubbing against Seth’s hair.

When she felt Seth stop shaking and his hold on her back finally loosened, Maya stopped pressing his head into her chest and lifted her own head.

“I’ll clean us both now.” Said Maya, using her energy to slowly lift the water soaking both of them, gathering it into a ball and making it disappear. Once she was done, she ruffled Seth’s hair and allowed him to finally leave the warm embrace of her chest.

Seth shook his head and looked into her kind eyes, a small smile donning the corner of his lips.

“You really are the best thing that ever happened to me. In both of my lives.” Said Seth softly.

“And you mine.” Muttered Maya before turning to look back. “The others must be awake by now. Are you better?”

“I am. Thank you.” Said Seth, and Maya sat up, popping the small water barrier.

The other girls were almost all already up, chatting on the bed, all besides Katy, who was still sleeping. The moment the bubble broke, Henrietta smiled at the two and looked at Maya: “That’s not fair. You once more took the lead.”

Tiana lowered her head while Aleena giggled and looked between the two with a wide smile.

Hollie was the only one who remained quiet, her head lowered as she stared at the ground. She was also a little further away from the rest.

Maya poked her tongue out and said: “I’ll have to go. We can’t all be lazying around here and leave the palace empty.”

As she spoke, she winked at Henrietta. Henrietta got the point and stood up, grabbing Aleena and Tiana’s hands.

“Hey, where are -“ before Aleena could finish her words, Henrietta’s energy started revolving, and they all disappeared from the room, leaving only Seth, Hollie, and the passed-out Katy inside.

Seth shook his head and muttered: “I planned to apologize to everyone….”

Noticing Hollie still had her head lowered, Seth decided to take what he could for now and said softly: “Sorry for losing control like that. I must also apologize for everything you saw during the soul link….”

Hollie nodded while rubbing one of her arms with her hand and said: “I’m sorry for reacting as I did before as well… after following you for so many years, I only thought how hard it was for everyone else but didn’t consider how hard it must have been for you too….”

“Why did you let me watch all that?” she asked at the end, finally looking toward Seth’s face as she waited for him to answer.

“Because you have the highest chance of ending up in the same situation as I did.” Said Seth, walking to sit on the bed next to Katy. Playing with her pink hair, he smiled, lowered his head, and continued.

“Maya’s will of water will only make her more gentle. It will ease her soul as she reaches higher peaks and in the end, when she feels the calling of Razim’s throne, she’s probably just end up letting it go, marking the end of her journey.”

“Henrietta’s kindness will never crumble under the will of her sources. Her creation and destruction wills will keep themselves in check, as will her space and time.”

“Allena’s free spirit will never be chained down by her earth will. She will always fight its instincts in search of further and greater places.”

“Tiana’s will of fire is already burning brightly, but it does so only for me. Her will is already revolving around mine just as the sun does around our world. Dukbium’s crown will probably never call out to her, but even if it were to fall on her head, she would never bend under its will.” Seth chuckled and added: “She might not look it, but she’s the stronger out of all of us.”

Seth finally looked towards Hollie and said: “And then we have you. A will that will always strive to know more. To travel further. To grow stronger.”

“You must have realized it too during that journey...”

“You’ve hidden it well, but I already know you don’t only strive to get knowledge for the sake of knowledge. You want power just as much. You chose to follow me because you were attracted to both my knowledge and power.”

Seeing Hollie lower her eyes, Seth continued: “I don’t mind it. I never did. After all, I was the same. Still am…”

With a sigh, Seth continued: “When you break the ninth shell and become a demigod, Vayu’s throne will unquestionably call out to you. Its will shall whisper into your ear through the soft wind, enticing you with your deepest desires. Your source will resonate its words, and it will consume and corrupt you, just as it did me.”

“We’re the kind of people that will never stop flying towards the sun, no matter how many times it burns our wings.”

“I initially planned on having this talk with you once you broke the seventh shell, but as I saw our experiment work, I knew that there would never be a better way to make you understand than to allow you to follow my journey toward Godhood.”

Sitting up, Seth walked towards the window and looked at the city beyond as he said: “When I reached the gate of that tower, my mind was already in chaos, struggling between the desire to destroy everything and the will to push forward, reaching for greatest highs.”

“You want to know what question I asked at the end of that path? What answer made me throw it all away and turn time back?”

Hollie looked at Seth’s back, the dim rays of the sun painting that lonely back she had followed for eons in the grandest light she had ever seen. She understood that the Seth in front of her was someone even greater than the god she had seen in those memories.

The temptation of that answer made her lips part even if she somehow feared the answer her ears might hear.

“What?”

Seth didn’t turn as he said: “When I met that being that was closer to being a true god than I even was, I asked, ‘What is the purpose of this world?’. “

“I didn’t care much about the world’s purpose, but what I wanted to find was my purpose. I wanted to know for what have I suffered so much, destroyed so many. If there were truly no more heights for me to reach?”

“The tower fought back against my question, so I asked it again, and again, and again. Until it finally answered.”

“Permodium, world simulation #401242. Created by the World Sovereign ~6 eons ago. Purpose: Breaking through the void barrier. Spirit essence availability: unlimited, energy concentration: abundant, Divine crowns claimed: 7.”

Hollie lowered her head and repeated the words Seth had said under her breath. The more she repeated the tower’s answer, the more questions popped into her mind.

“That’s right.” Said Seth. “It was an answer as much as there were other questions. Who was this World Sovereign? How did he create an entire world? Was this world even real? Is there another world outside this world that we know? How can I get there? Will I be able to grow stronger if I get there?”

Seth sighed and continued: “Because the tower suppressed one’s divinity, my mind was clearer than it had been in the last few eons, and I felt my sense of purpose reignited. I asked the tower to send me out. Instead of going aimlessly in circles, I wanted to start walking upwards again.”

“‘Wish exceeding World Records capabilities. Calculating Alternatives… alternative found: the destruction of fleshly body and evacuation through spirit veins into the outside universe’s spirit pool.’ - was what it said.”

“The only being stronger than me in this entire simulation couldn’t do it, so how could I when I couldn’t even find a way to grow stronger. It simply told me the only way forward was to die.”

“I crumbled. That was the moment I fell. That was when all my path played back across my eyes, and all of it felt meaningless. For the first time, that fire inside me had died out. The most powerful being in the simulation had destroyed my will with only a few words.”

“Once my will shattered, all that was left was the pain, anguish, regret, and hatred you have all felt earlier. The feelings I had left behind on my path finally caught up to me as I stopped to stare at the impenetrable wall that had appeared in front of me.”

“I even thought about accepting the tower’s offer. Let my soul get cleansed into the spirit well and be free from that.”

“But as I thought back at the people I had left behind on my path, a desire to make it right by them started growing from the pieces of my crumbled ambition, giving birth to a new one.”

Hollie’s voice resounded in Seth’s ear, interrupting his monologue: “Your path might differ, but won’t the end be the same?”

Seth smiled and finally turned around, the look in his eyes sending shivers down Hollie’s spine as she took a step back on instinct.

It was like the man she had followed for eons in those memories, and the man she had watched create a whole kingdom out of nothing were nothing but small children playing around before the man in front of her.

A pressure akin to nothing like she had ever felt before washed over her, and even keeping her knees from bending felt harder than every endeavor she had taken in her very life.

“It is the same, but the Seth heading towards that wall won’t have to look up at it anymore. He won’t be a slave to destruction or any greater will like before.”

“They will be nothing more than stepping stones under our feet. We’ll step on those wills, the tower, and even the World Sovereign if he comes down to stop us. We’ll climb over that wall and see the great beyond together.”

“That is my new path, purpose, and will.”