Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1290: Welcome to... THE BEGINNING

🔔~Ding~🔔

The sound of something ringing tore through the silence, echoing across every empire... it pierced the air, making people flinch.

Doors creaked open, and men, women, and children came out of their houses with confused expressions, staring at one another with unease.

”Did you hear something?” one man asked, his voice trembling.

”I did... it was like a temple bell, wasn’t it?” another answered, uncertain.

”Yes, but we don’t even have one in our area... so what could it be?” a woman whispered nervously.

”Then where did it come from?” someone muttered, eyes darting across the empty streets.

Everyone frowned, their faces darkened with bewilderment. The sound had echoed clearly, with no distance, no direction... it was everywhere, surrounding them. Yet there was nothing they could see.

It was confusing. Everyone heard it, everyone stepped outside, and still, no answer revealed itself.

🔔~Ding~🔔

”Did you hear that again?” someone shouted, flinching violently as the resonance shook their chests.

Faces turned pale, brows tightened, and still the question burned in their throats.

They definitely heard it, but where?

Where was it coming from?

The sound was endless, echoing from the heavens to the earth, from every stone and every shadow, as if the world itself had become a bell.

🔔~Ding~🔔

”What in the hell is happening here? Where is that sound coming from?” another voice roared, full of confusion, fear, and rage.

They had already suffered through bloodshed, yet now this strange, dreadful ringing invaded their lives, pressing dread into their hearts. Worry, fear, uneasiness... all tangled together in the air like chains tightening around their throats.

🔔~Ding~🔔

”Wait... I think... it’s coming from above?” someone muttered, his voice trembling but touched with a strange, fearful awe. Slowly, they lifted their heads, necks stiff as stone, and gazed toward the skies...

”OH... MY... GOD!!”

Cries erupted. They saw it—hovering above the great dome barrier—an enormous golden bell suspended in the sky.

Their hearts froze in horror. Their eyes widened!

The bell loomed vast and ancient, a colossal shape gleaming with divine radiance. Its sides were carved with intricate designs, patterns interwoven like endless knots, and words in a language none had ever seen before.

The golden bell did not sway with the wind. It hovered with unshakable majesty, held aloft by a force no eye could understand. A suffocating presence weighed down on them, as though the heavens themselves had opened and set judgment above their heads.

Murmurs broke into gasps... Some screamed... Some fell to their knees.

Some ran, unwilling to stand beneath that enormous mass of gold, fearing it might fall from the sky at any moment and crush them into nothing.

The bell stirred.

It moved.

A single shiver ran across its surface, and the world itself seemed to tighten. The air cracked, the earth trembled, and people covered their ears and crouched low, clutching their heads, their bodies trembling under that dreadful weight.

And then, the bell once more...

🔔~Ding~🔔

Rang!

Not only in the Naiadae Empire but also in every empire, the bells had appeared—ringing and echoing without mercy. Their sound resounded everywhere, pressing down on hearts and filling the skies. People were confused, horrified, their voices trembling as they asked questions no one could answer.

The horror was not finished, not even after all the suffering they had endured since the day had begun.

What now?

Another strange, twisted phenomenon coming to kill them?

Another disaster hidden in this endless day of disaster?

But then—

In the next second, the bell began to shimmer.

Its surface broke apart into streams of golden particles... it shimmered beneath the light of the sky, the fragments dispersing like rivers of light. They floated down and spread through the air, glowing, drifting, as if dancing with intention.

Slowly, they began to glide and connect, shaping themselves into words carved across the heavens.

Everyone froze, their eyes locked upward in awe and fear.

The gold particles moved with deliberate grace. With every swirl, they began to form words—clear, bright, written as if the heavens themselves were speaking.

Everyone frowned as they stared at the sky in reverence and dread:

Ssshhh~

A hushed silence fell. The words glimmered in the air.

What did it mean?

What was being declared?

The letters shimmered again, breaking apart into fragments before gathering once more, weaving into another sentence across the sky.

Ssshhh~

Gasps broke from the crowd. Some trembled, some clenched their fists, unable to understand.

Revenge? Take back? From whom? For what?

The letters broke apart again, swaying like fireflies before shaping into the next revelation.

Ssshhh~

Ssshhh~

Everyone’s faces turned pale, blood draining from their cheeks. Confusion and dread sank into their bones.

From the words, it was clear—something dangerous was coming toward them. Something they had no choice but to face.

The golden letters rippled again, like breathing light, before shaping the final decree.

Ssshhh~

Ssshhh~

Ssshhh~

The words burned in gold, filling every corner of the sky... No one spoke or dared breathe.

There was tense silence.

Nobody moved an inch, as if their bodies had turned to stone.

They were digesting every word, every revelation that had been carved into the sky. Yet even as the message pressed upon them, they could not truly understand it.

All they could feel was that something inevitable was about to descend upon them—and whatever it was, it would be deadly.

The letters shimmered again, breaking apart and reforming into the next set of words:

Ssshhh~

Seeing that, everyone—literally everyone—felt their faces twist into pure horror.

Mouths gaped, eyes widened, breath caught in their throats.

What in the heavens’ name was going on here?

Was this retribution from the gods?

But why?

What had they done to deserve this judgment?

Why were the gods so angry with them?

They were nothing but fragile beings, barely clinging to life with blood and toil... and yet...

Most of the people across every empire began to sink to their knees. Their bodies trembled as if their very bones had given up. It was as though they had already accepted defeat, as though they had endured too much.

They couldn’t suffer again and again without end.

One day, they had believed their rulers could shield them... but now, it was obvious. Their rulers could not stop this. No sword, no army, no throne could stand against divine will.

It was clear to them now... the gods hated them!!

”W-What did we do to deserve this, Arcane... please answer us!”

The cry tore from the throats of many, desperate and broken. They begged in horror, in despair, in fading hope.

For a long moment, nothing happened.

No answer.

No voice.

Only the cold words burning above their heads, merciless, written in the golden fire of judgment.

And then—

The letters shimmered again, glowing brighter before reshaping into another set of words.

Ssshhh~

Everyone flinched at once, a collective shudder running through the empires.

Two trials at the same time?

The hell was this?

The letters shimmered once more, preparing to carve their next decree into the sky:

Ssshhh~

Everyone blankly stared at those words... A strength? A growth? A hope?

What was it saying?

They were confused... what did it mean? What was going on?

Just... fucking tell them. They didn’t get it. They couldn’t understand it!

They were normal people... frightened people... they wanted something else. Not riddles, not mysteries.

Just give them what they needed.... peace!!

The letters shimmered again before forming another set of words:

Ssshhh~

Ssshhh~

🔔~Ding~🔔

The chiming sound rang out once more, echoing through every empire. At that exact moment, every person’s chest glowed with sudden radiance.

Everyone flinched, gasping in shock as their hands instinctively pressed to their chests. They felt it—a warm sensation, deep and soothing, as if someone was gently holding them... as if they were being cradled, pampered like children in the arms of a mother.

And then—

Their Arcane cards emerged.

The glowing cards popped out of their chests without being summoned, slipping free of their bodies like living sparks. They floated before them, suspended, each card turning slowly, swirling on its own axis in midair.

Confusion painted every face.... the child, the man, the woman, the elder... literally everyone’s card had risen.

Sssssssshhhhhhhhhh~

A thin, delicate thread of light began to stretch from each card, weaving outward like a serpent in flight. The white threads shimmered as they uncoiled, flowing up, slithering toward the heavens.

Pusss~

Pusss~

Pusss~

Pusss~

....

...

Countless threads shot into the sky, glowing brilliantly.

The heavens above were soon covered in endless lines of light, millions of radiant strings stretching upward from every empire. Each string shimmered like a tether!

Together they converged, shooting upward until they almost reached the barrier itself...

People were horrified, fearing the strings would shatter the barrier. But to their surprise, the glowing threads penetrated through as if nothing in existence could stop them.

All of them converged into... one single point.

PUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

And they fell upon the elevated... Origin Pillars!

Dora stood before the Origin Pillars, her eyes widening as billions of strings filled the sky above their Empire. They converged with unstoppable force, collapsing into a single burning point before plunging into the Pillars themselves.

The Origin Pillars glowed dangerously, white energy coursing along their towering forms.

”Principal?” Delphine’s voice trembled. She stood beside her, staring with confusion. Her eyes darted from the storm of strings to Dora. ”Why... why don’t you have a line like the others?”

Dora’s gaze turned to her. Delphine’s own card hovered in front of her, glowing, a thread of light already stretching upward and joining with others. Dora’s eyes flickered with something unreadable, her lips pressing into a faint frown.

She turned back toward the Pillars without answering.

The white light grew blinding. The Origin Pillars pulsed once.... violently!!

A wave spread across every empire, moving outward like a ripple across reality itself. It passed through stone, sky, even the barrier, yet none of them felt its weight... though it touched everything.

Until—

🔔~Ding~🔔

Their Arcane cards suddenly shattered into a swirl of particles. The fragments shimmered, golden, drifting and circling around their owners.

Dora’s eyes narrowed. She glanced at Delphine, whose body was enveloped by the golden particles. Delphine gasped as her feet lifted from the ground.

”What’s going on here?” Delphine cried, her voice trembling with worry. She struggled to move but couldn’t—her body frozen, as if something unseen had taken control.

All around them, people hovered in the air. Children, elders, soldiers, rulers—all surrounded by shimmering gold. The particles swirled like living currents, scanning their bodies, searching, weighing them with divine scrutiny.

Expect Aether just watched Sandra and Celestia being scanned by those particles.

Then—

Thud!

Everyone dropped back down to the ground.

The golden particles shimmered once more, glowing softly, as the Origin Pillars pulsed again.

In an instant, the particles reformed.

Back into cards.

But they were not the same cards.

They were changed.

These were not the ones they once held in their hands.

Delphine’s breathing quickened. She picked up her card, staring at it with wide eyes. Surprise flashed across her face.

The familiar stars were gone. In their place was something else—something she could not yet name.

She tilted the card, about to examine further, when—

”Look up,” Dora said.

Delphine’s head snapped upward. She gasped.

High above the skies, the golden letters shifted once more, morphing and solidifying into glowing names and numbers.

Ssshhh~

Every empire stared upward in shock. Above the doom barrier, glowing like divine decree, a strange scoreboard hovered over them all.

Ssshhh~