Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1451: Remember this... If you do not kill her, YOU. SHALL. DIE!

”I escaped... didn’t I?”

”Oh?” The voice let out a low, unsettling chuckle.

”Leaving a piece of yourself behind is not escaping, No. 28.” The scrutiny in its tone felt invasive, ”Of all possible choices... You had to enter the ’IT’S’ Domain?”

The laughter that followed was hollow and cruel. ”Hahaha... how amusing. How endlessly amusing it is to watch the iterations that were always meant to meet it, no matter how they struggle... hahaha.”

Aether stood frozen, staring blankly into the endless void. ”What do you mean by that?”

”Haven’t you felt it yet?”

”Huh?” Aether muttered, confusion flickering across his face as he tried to understand what it was referring to.

”Your missing hand... feel it.”

Aether blinked and slowly looked down at his severed arm, stopping at the cut near his elbow. He stared at it in silence, for sensation, for anything at all... but there was nothing-

”SHIT!”

The shout tore from his throat as something suddenly tugged at him, violently and unmistakably, like a force reaching from deep within the core of his severed hand.

It felt as if invisible strings had latched onto his bones, muscles, and veins, pulling outward, dragging at his very essence.

He had no words to properly explain it... It was like someone trying to pull, but not him?

Since he was in ghost form, the cut wavered unnaturally, flickering like a dying flame caught near a vacuum. The edges distorted and stretched, as though something unseen was trying to drink him in, ever so slightly yet relentlessly.

He realised then that the sensation was subtle, so subtle that he would not have noticed it at all if he had not focused on it deliberately.

If the Eternal Prison was actually pulling his soul back... then why hadn’t he already been dragged into it?

”Because... I captured you here using a force greater than that thing.” The voice sounded certain, absolute, as if stating an unchangeable law.

Aether blinked slowly, the tension in his shoulders tightening before he finally nodded.

”So I am stuck here forever?”

”Ha... no. Once the temporary path is closed, it will stop entirely.

Aether raised his eyebrows slightly, ”Path?”

”Yes. Due to your irresponsible actions, a temporary connection between the realms has been created.”

Aether hummed quietly, ’Those chains shattered reality and forced a temporary link between the Empire and the Eternal Prison to reach me... because I grew powerful enough to trigger the laws governing that place. Once the connection disappears, it can no longer affect me... unless...’

”You idiotically opened the connection again.” The voice cut in sharply, finishing his thought with a chilling calm before shifting into an amused tone. ”Not bad. You still retain some functioning intelligence.”

Aether’s lips twitched as he let out a slow, controlled sigh, frustration mixing with bitter self-awareness. ”Then how long will it take?”

”... Don’t know.”

Aether clenched his lips, his hands curling into fists as panic surged through him.

”But I need to save Delphine. If the connection still exists, then I have to return to her side.” His voice rose despite himself, ”She is alone in that fucked up place, surrounded by horrors, and I am standing here doing nothing!” He struggled forward, fighting against forces he could not see.

”...”

The voice did not respond.

Aether trembled violently, his ghostly form flickering as desperation clawed through him.

”Let me go,” he pleaded, his voice shaking despite his effort to sound firm. ”I will take care of myself. I do not need you watching or protecting me like this.”

”Like when you got caught by those pathetic prison chains?” The voice scoffed, ”Haha.”

Aether clenched his fists, rage boiling over as the humiliation struck deep. His breath came heavier, his thoughts turning sharp and reckless. He was genuinely pissed off now.

Then the atmosphere shifted.

The voice turned deadly cold,

”Kill that woman.”

”...Huh?” Aether froze, his eyes widening as he stared into the void with a stunned expression. ”Who?”

”You know exactly who I am talking about.” The voice hissed, ”Kill her.... Otherwise, I will do it for you.”

Aether’s face flushed red with fury, his eyes blazing as his teeth ground together violently. ”The fuck you think you are doing?” he roared, his voice echoing wildly. ”Motherfucker!”

Crack!

Something around Aether’s ghostly body fractured.

”...”

The voice fell completely silent.

Aether screamed into the void, shouting and cursing until his throat pained, but the silence remained unbroken.

Time dragged on mercilessly, and eventually his rage collapsed into exhaustion. He stood there painfully still, realising the truth he had been refusing to accept.

No. 27 was not letting him go.

No matter how hard he struggled, his body refused to move more than an inch from where he was trapped.

After what felt like an eternity, Aether’s body began to vibrate. The sensation was subtle at first, then grew stronger, as if something had activated without his consent.

His form shimmered, starting from his lower body, breaking apart into countless glowing particles that slowly dispersed into the darkness.

They drifted like stars scattered across a black sky, beautiful and unsettling at the same time.

Aether blinked as he realised he was being released from the place that had held him captive.

Just as his face began to dissolve, the cold voice echoed through the void one final time.

”Remember this... If you do not kill her, YOU. SHALL. DIE!”

With those words, Aether’s body completely dispersed into a thin strand of particle-like dust. The stream slithered through the darkness like a serpent, flowing through the void.

Ahead of it, a white space appeared, glowing softly within the endless dark.

The light shimmered brighter and brighter, drawing the particles toward it before swallowing them whole. They passed through the rectangular shape and then appeared in white space and surging upward as though being launched into the sky itself.

And behind it all,

Thud!

The sound of a door closing echoed within the white space.

!~Ding~!

[Trinity: 15%↑]

****

One figure lay upon one of the two beds.

The body was covered beneath a thick quilt, its mouth connected to a thin tube that fed nutrient-rich liquid into a weakened form. The steady flow pulsed quietly, sustaining what little strength remained within the body resting beneath the sheets.

Warmth had returned to the skin, colour slowly reclaiming its presence, yet the muscles remained thin and strained. Veins still protruded unnaturally beneath the surface, as if the body had not yet remembered what true nourishment felt like.

Whatever strength had been lost had not fully returned.

For a moment, nothing happened.

The room remained still and silent until a gentle breeze slipped through the open balcony. The curtains stirred softly, fluttering with the faint whisper of air as the calm atmosphere shifted.

”Hmm.”

Aether slowly opened his eyes with a low groan.

His eyelids felt unbearably heavy, pain sparking faintly as the nerves within them twitched and strained. It felt as though his eyes were opening for the first time, resisting the simple act of movement.

His vision turned hazy the instant light reached his pupils.

The world before him distorted and swayed, shapes blurring and shifting as his mind struggled to process what it was seeing.

Reality felt confused and delayed, like his thoughts were arriving moments too late to keep up with his senses.

Something cold dripped against his lips.

Aether blinked sluggishly before raising his trembling hand, the movement unsteady as his fingers flinched midair.

Clang~

His fingers twitched as he tried to grasp the pipe connected to his mouth.

For a brief moment, he could not even grip it properly. The weakness felt overwhelming, as though he was attempting to crush a mountain with his bare hands.

Slowly, painfully, his fingers tightened. He pulled the tube free, liquid spilling down his cheeks as he sucked in air.

Clang~

Clang~

Clang~

He forced his body upright, sitting as his lungs struggled to adjust.

Breathing felt new, sharp pain blooming in his chest as it expanded for the first time. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled just as slowly, his thoughts beginning to clear with each breath.

His chest rose and fell again, still aching but steady.

As clarity returned, his eyes shifted to the empty bed beside him. Folded neatly atop it lay a set of clothes, with a small pair of spectacles resting carefully on top.

Aether stared at them blankly.

His gaze lingered as though his mind could not yet understand what he was seeing. Slowly, he raised his hand toward them, leaning forward as he prepared to stand.

Clang~

He frowned.

That metallic sound had been echoing ever since he woke up.

His expression darkened as he looked down... For the first time, he noticed it.

A chain was wrapped around his wrist, cold metal biting against his skin like a bracelet meant to restrain rather than adorn.

Aether’s eyes widened as he pushed himself to his feet.

Clang~

Clang~

His head snapped downward so sharply it almost sent pain shooting through his neck.

”O-Ouch...”

His breath caught when his eyes landed on his feet. Chains, just like those around his wrist, were bound around both ankles, secured tightly like shackles.

His legs trembled under the sudden weight of his body. His knees buckled under his weight, and He collapsed back onto the bed,

!~Ding~!

[❗LOG reboot sequence initiated following an unauthorised and abrupt interruption]

!~Ding~!

[Restoration Progress: 1%... 2%... 10%... 50%... 100%]

!~Ding~!

[❗Notice: LOG boot cycle completed. Commencing recollection and synchronisation of all recorded data accumulated during the LOG shutdown period]

!~Ding~!

[Data Reconstruction in progress: 1%... 2%... 3%... 100%]

!~Ding~!

[❗Notice: LOG 2.0 initialisation process reaching completion. Current status: 99.5%... ↟]

!~Ding~!

[Survival Rate: 90% ↡]

!~Ding~!

[‼️ALERT: Extreme External Restrictions detected on User state and operational parameters]

!~Ding~!

[‼️ALERT: Energy reserves remain present and stable. However, access to all energy channels has been forcibly sealed by detected external restrictions.]

!~Ding~!

[‼️ALERT: Manipulation of energies and access to all active skills have been restricted]

!~Ding~!

[‼️ALERT: User is strongly advised to remove all imposed restrictions as soon as possible]

!~Ding~!

[⚠️WARNING: Failure to reclaim the missing fragment of the User will result in irreversible collapse of the User’s Soul.]