Alexia

“You have several things to ask me,” the Architect says while closing his eyes. “Ask.”

Oh, well that makes things easier for me.

“Alright, first and foremost, are quantum beings weak to quantum magic?” I ask, unsure of the answer to this question. Because, while I doubt it, it is a possibility.

The Architect shakes his head and answers right away, “No. We are not weak to quantum magic.”

In that case, I go ahead and follow the question up with a quick, “Then is my quantum magic unique in some way?”

He slowly opens his eyes without a change in his expression other than that. Then he closes his eyes again and answers, “All quantum beings have their own unique quantum magic that helps them with their role. You’re no exception to this.”

Hmm. So my magic is basically the bane of any quantum beings, and it’s like that because I’m the Quantum Reaper.

Pretty much what I expected.

Not exactly pleased that it’s my own bane as well, but whatever.

Moving on to the next question.

I frown as I ask, “What does the term ‘Corruption’ actually mean? I’ve heard it mentioned more times than I can remember, but no one has ever fully explained it.”

That question makes him open his eyes again, briefly making me wonder just why he’s sitting there with his eyes closed in the first place.

Is he meditating or something? Or maybe working on his own Energy Manipulation…

His eyebrow twitches, no doubt at my thoughts. But he answers my question regardless, “The corruption is what happens when a creature is infected by the quantum without having the affinity for it. And it’s highly contagious from one corrupted being to another.”

Huh. That doesn’t sound good.

The Architect waves his hand, making some sort of illusion appear in front of me.

A rather glitchy one at that.

In it are several different creatures ranging from spiders, to apes, and even fish. Piranhas.

I glance at him, my eyes narrowing slightly at that last one, but my gaze quickly returns to the illusion.

Each of the creatures in the illusion appear to be glitching out, with parts of their body being unclear and disconnecting and reconnecting. Just like the usual for the quantum element’s glitchyness. But throughout random patches of their body.

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And sometimes their entire body might vanish and reappear.

“These creatures are all corrupted,” the Architect states, bringing my attention back to him again. “The Corruption eliminates all intelligence in sapient corrupted, and it replaces it with an urge to destroy. And to spread the Corruption to others.” His eyes narrow a little. “Whether those ‘others’ are living creatures or inanimate objects.”

Another thing appears above the illusion as an illusion of its own. And the sight of it sends a chill down my spine.

Because it’s an entire planet that appears to be glitching out just like the creatures.

A corrupted planet.

“The older a corrupted being is, the longer it can recover and regain sapience,” the Architect continues, surprising me with that bit. “But their sapience is only regained at the cost of their own free will. They are nothing but servants at that point. Ones bound to the Corrupted One.”

I blink at that before tilting my head and asking, “Who’s the Corrupted One?”

The Architect meets my eyes again and answers, sending a chill down my spine in the process, “A corrupted quantum being.”

Wait… what?

“How could…” I begin, only to trail off when he shakes his head.

“We don’t know how he became corrupted,” the Architect says, a frown of his own on his face. “I’ve personally never even met him before. All I know is that he’s the Quantum Ruler’s brother. And he was corrupted long before I was born.”

Oh.

Wait a second, the Ruler’s brother? Doesn’t that make him my granduncle?

Or something like that.

The Architect doesn’t answer. Which makes sense, considering his poor relationship with his father.

He turns to look at the illusions as he continues, “The Corrupted One corrupted half of reality on his own before he was forced back by the Quantum Ruler. And he hasn’t shown himself since. But all of the corrupted beings and objects from the other side of reality still continue their attempts to spread to this day.”

That’s bad.

Wait, I wonder…

My frown grows wider when I think about the possible reasons for the Quantum Reaper role to be in place. That and the quantum beings weakness to my magic.

A corrupted quantum being…

I spot the corner of the Architect’s lips quirking ever so slightly upwards, leading me to think that my current line of thought might be correct. Or at least close.

“The Quantum Vanguard and Cleaner work together to protect this side of reality from the corruption, and it hasn’t managed to spread much in the last million years,” the Architect says, reminding me of those two roles. The Vanguard who fights against the corruption and the cleaner who erases corrupted galaxies. “But the Corrupted One has still yet to show himself, even after the period of time it should’ve taken him to recover.”

My thoughts return to the new skills I get when I’m in my True Form.

Corruption Immunity.

“Has the Quantum Ru-” I begin, only for a bolt of purple lightning to strike nearby, startling me into almost jumping back a step. But I just continue, “Has the Quantum Rul-” Another bolt of purple lightning strikes.

My eyes narrow.

Seriously? How long has the Ruler been listening in?

And is he still being petty about being called grandfather?

The Architect doesn’t look particularly amused by this either.

I let out a sigh before continuing, “Has anyone gone searching for the Corrupted One?”

Both the Architect and I glance around for a second, waiting to see if some lightning will strike. But nothing happens. So the Architect looks at me again and answers, “The Ruler has. But he hasn’t been able to find him no matter how hard he’s searched.”

Oh.

That’s not good.

Just where could he be hiding that not even the most powerful being in reality can find him?