Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1559: Got a Metallic Hand

It’s been two days since the first attack,

After stabilising the situation across the Empires and forcing the first fragile steps of rebuilding, a quiet, heavy truth settled over the people... Hope had not vanished, but it had begun to crack, like glass under slow pressure.

Even so, they clung to a single belief, a final thread refusing to snap, that their future generations would be safe, held together by the will of one man.

Aether sat within Lyirrs lab, surrounded by dimly glowing instruments and silent machines that hummed like restrained beasts.

Cold light reflected off polished metal and glass, painting his figure in pale silver. His gaze remained fixed on the recording device before him... This was the moment before everything broke. The calm before a world was carved open.

The recording crackled to life, distorted voices struggling through static, as though clawing their way across a great distance.

[S-Sir... Connected... W... We... finally... them...]

[Are... sure?... Yes... We... signal!]

Movement, hurried footsteps, the distant clatter of equipment.

[Inform the President immediately!]

[Tell them we finally made contact with the other Empires... after an entire year... we did it!]

[What? We have an Announcement for them?]

”Who are you?”

[Shit... they responded. They can hear us.]

”Of course I can speak. I am not a monster.”

[Call the President now. This is urgent. They are communicating directly with us.]

”Can you speak slower? We are unable to understand yours.”

[President, we have received their signal— Turn on the translator now.]

The transmission cut with a cold mechanical voice.

[!@!@#@ ee’kai?]

[TH@# Vae@@ in ee’kai?”]

[Thul vaerin ee’kai?]==[Can you hear me?]

[A/N: From here on, Lycorian Language for this world]

”Yes, I can.”

[Good. Am I speaking to the Ruler or Representative of your world?]

”Yes. I am the Representative of my world. Identify yourself.”

[Good. As per Arcane’s Order, we have given you sufficient time to prepare. As per Arcane’s Order, we arrive to present two options.

Live under our banners... or Die beneath your own soil.]

[What is your answer, Plagues?]

”Unfortunately, we cannot accept your terms. However, we are open to negotiation—”

[By Order of Arcane, an ultimatum was granted. You have refused to answer. Therefore, we, Gaius Terravita, commence the War of Reclamation.]

”Wait! We can discuss this—”

[Our world will return to its rightful heirs.]

...

..

Aether remained still, his expression hollow as the final echoes faded into silence.

His left arm rested within Lyirrs intricate mechanism, metal segments carefully aligning with flesh, each connection precise. Thin arcs of light flickered along the artificial limb as it fused into place.

He did not react to the process.

His eyes remained fixed ahead, lost somewhere between memory and reality, as if he were still standing in that moment, hearing those words for the first time, watching a world unknowingly step into its own ruin.

Lyirrs did not say anything. She kept working in focused silence, carefully aligning the cold metallic arm with the jagged remains of his half-cut limb. Fine instruments glowed in her hands as she adjusted each connection with steady precision. Sparks flickered faintly where metal met flesh, and though her movements remained controlled, she could feel it, the atmosphere pressing down on the room, heavy and suffocating.

Aether’s eyes were cold as ice, so distant and unfeeling that, for a fleeting moment, Lyirrs almost mistook him for Her Majesty.

That same depth, that same terrifying stillness.

He stared at the recording before his voice finally broke the silence.

”When was this metallic figure captured?”

Xara stood behind him, ”It has been a month.”

Aether let out a quiet hum, his gaze never leaving the crystal recording sphere.

”Exactly after you pulled me out of the Eternal Prison, right?”

Xara gave a small nod in confirmation.

Aether’s eyes remained fixed on the glowing surface of the crystal, though it was clear he was not truly seeing it.

Xara stayed silent, watching him, waiting. Nearly a minute passed, each second stretching thin, before Aether finally spoke again.

”Time variation... oath... Arcane’s involvement.”

Xara blinked.

”What do you mean?”

Aether exhaled slowly, piecing his thoughts together as he spoke.

”They said it took a whole year for them to establish contact with us. But for us, it has only been a month. That means the flow of time between their world and ours is... different.”

Both Xara and Lyirrs paused.

Aether continued,

”And there is something else. It feels like they were waiting for us to initiate contact first. Almost as if it was required... like an oath, or a condition that had to be fulfilled.”

Xara frowned, her brows knitting together as she leaned slightly closer.

”What are you implying?”

Aether hummed faintly before answering.

”When they mentioned ’by Arcane’s Order’ that they had given us time... it does not sound like generosity. It sounds like a delay enforced by something binding. Arcane may have created that time gap... especially while I was in a coma.”

Xara’s expression darkened as the pieces began to connect.

”So the previous metallic figure... it was part of their plan?” she said slowly. ”That is why we captured it alive... decoded it... and used it to establish contact. We triggered this ourselves... and gave them the opening to start the war?”

Aether gave a slight nod.

Xara’s face paled. Her teeth clenched as frustration and anger surged through her.

”So all this time... we were just playing into their hands.”

Aether let out a quiet sigh, his gaze finally lowering for a brief moment.

”This is far more serious than I initially thought. They are not hesitating. They are fully prepared to wipe us out just to reclaim whatever they believe belongs to them.”

Lyirrs spoke without looking up from her work, her hands still moving with careful precision.

”And even if we fight them head-on, we will suffer massive losses. In our current state... we barely survived as it is... We cannot have another attack!”

Aether’s face turned pale at her words, a shadow passing through his expression as memories from two days ago surfaced.

Xara frowned, ”Then why has there not been another attack yet?”

None of them spoke... None of them could.

Because without understanding what the other side was thinking, grasping the truth remained impossible.

Every moment could be war!

Aether clenched his fist... His gaze shifted toward Xara,

”Have you completed the progress?”

Xara let out a quiet sigh, shaking her head slightly. The exhaustion in her eyes was evident.

”I have been working on that bloody, skinless body. I did not have much time to spend on the research.”

She paused briefly before adding, her tone firm despite the fatigue,

”I will work on it—”

”No.”

”First, wake that bastard up. I need to talk to him.”

Xara blinked, then nodded without resistance.

”Okay.”

A faint smile curved along her lips, subtle yet unsettling, as if she found some twisted enjoyment in what was about to come.

”Now everything is done,” Lyirrs said, her voice steady as she placed a small metallic device near the right side of Aether’s ear.

Aether took a slow breath, his attention drifting to his left arm. The metallic limb rested where flesh once had been.

Lyirrs glanced at him, then explained calmly,

”Try to move it. Just think of how you would normally move your arm.”

Aether gave a small nod before closing his eyes. He focused, reaching inward, searching for that instinctive command his body once obeyed without thought. Slowly, carefully, he attempted to move the metallic arm.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then,

Creak.

The sharp metallic sound echoed through the lab, breaking the stillness.

Xara’s eyes lit with curiosity as she leaned forward slightly, watching the arm with intense focus. The mechanical fingers twitched, then began to move one by one, stiff yet deliberate.

Ssnngg~ Ssnn~ Snngg~

A low hum followed as the entire arm responded, slowly lifting, the joints aligning with growing precision.

A bright smile spread across Xara’s face as she slapped Lyirrs on the shoulder.

”Damn, girl. You are freaking incredible!!”

Lyirrs flushed slightly, a shy smile forming despite herself.

”Thank you.”

Aether opened his eyes. Without a word, he raised the metallic arm, staring at it for a brief second.

Then, suddenly,

Boom!

His fist slammed into the table with overwhelming force, shattering it into fragments that scattered across the floor.

Both women flinched, stepping back instinctively.

Aether slowly curled his fingers, testing the strength, a wicked smirk forming on his lips.

”Well, since it has come to this...” he said, his voice low and dangerous, ”I might as well abandon hesitation and do things... my own way.”

His metallic hand clenched tightly.

A sharp, dangerous glint passed through his eyes, cold and decisive.

Meanwhile, in the Naiadae Empire, within the Frostblade Mansion,

Vesperine lay lazily on her bed, letting out a long yawn as she turned her gaze toward the window. The city beyond stretched under a pale sky, its streets filled with slow, careful movement as people rebuilt what had been lost.

”Damn... they still have not recovered, huh...” she muttered, her voice laced with mild boredom as she observed the cautious pace of reconstruction. It was as if the people feared everything might collapse again at any moment.

A faint smirk tugged at her lips.

”Well, that is what happens when you act like a big shot... fu~fu~”

Her husbands were out there, helping with the recovery, leaving her alone in the quiet room.

She let out a soft sigh, stretching slightly.

”I am so bored. I might as well go and play with those little puppies.”

A soft giggle escaped her as she remembered them, three adorable creatures that would undoubtedly be overjoyed to see her after such a long time.

Just as she began to rise from the bed,

”Hisss~”

”Shit!”

Vesperine flinched, her body tensing instantly as her eyes snapped toward the window. A white snake rested there.

”What the fu—”

”My Master, the Dragon Emperor, wishes to meet you,” The snake said in a proud tone.

”...Beg your fucking pardon?”

Vesperine stared at it, utterly confused, shock written plainly across her face as the absurdity of the situation settled in.