Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1062: He... kind of looks familiar...

Wisherʼs Life.

Thatʼs whatʼs written on it.

Thatʼs what itʼs asking for.

There was no escape... There was no other way out of this cursed circle.

This was how it was always meant to be... how it was always going to be... A life in exchange for beginning the New World.

A sacrifice to trigger something greater.

Yet... it was asking for her life... His beloved.

The very thought sent a sharp twist through his chest.

Could he really do it?

Could he find a way to escape, even after promising with every breath in his body that he would protect her no matter what? Even after saying so proudly, so confidently, so blindly, that he would shield her from everything?

And yet... in the end... it demanded the one thing he couldnʼt give up.

A life?

How cruel could fate be?

Or maybe... how cruel was he, for falling in love with someone who was never meant to live, no matter what choices he made or what path he took?

His Log had warned him—clear, cold, and logical. It had told him not to get close to her. It had whispered that she was not worth the pain. It had warned him that the truth was something he could never handle. And still... he chose to follow his heart, to believe in something fragile and warm.

And now... the world wanted that heart in return.

”Aether?” Seraʼs voice was soft, trembling with worry as she stepped closer. Her eyes widened at the terror frozen in his gaze... He wasnʼt blinking. He wasnʼt moving. Just sitting there, completely numb, staring at the letters etched into the surface of the Final Ebon Stone like he had been swallowed by them.

”In the end... it wants a life... ah,” Aether muttered under his breath, his voice flat and drained. ”Now I get it... everything makes sense now... why Snape tried to get Sandra involved... why he moved so desperately. The stone... it doesnʼt just need any life. It wants her life. A Wisherʼs life. Thatʼs the condition.”

Sandra, from the very beginning... she was never meant to survive this.

Thatʼs why she was given a wish from the so-called Mother and Arcane. Not out of kindness. But because she was always the intended price.

”Weʼre... nothing but pawns,” Aether whispered, his voice cracking, growing fainter as his shoulders slumped. His eyes dulled, fading as if his spirit was being snuffed out from the inside.

”A-Aether,” Sera panicked, rushing forward and wrapping her arms tightly around him as she felt his weight begin to sag, ”Please! Donʼt say that! Donʼt give up now! I know this looks like the end, but weʼll find another way, thereʼs always something, always another path, another—”

”Sera...” Aetherʼs voice dropped low and heavy, and when he looked at her, his eyes were filled with a dark kind of exhaustion. ”Do you really think... I havenʼt already tried? You really think... I havenʼt thought of every damn possibility? You think... I HAVENʼT DONE A FUCKING THING TO STOP THIS?!”

He roared the words, his spit flying as his voice cracked from fury and helplessness, hands trembling, chest heaving.

He worked. He fought. He sacrificed. He bled.

He gave everything.

And yet... this damned stone wanted the one thing he could never give.

ʼLifeʼ... of all things?

How fucking laughable...!

It was like the world itself had twisted into his enemy. Not fate. Not gods. Just... the world. And it had made up its mind that he would suffer.

Sera flinched from the suddenness of his scream, but she didnʼt step back. She didnʼt run. She crouched there, holding him, because beyond the rage... she could see it.

The pain.

The heartbreak.

The empty, trembling despair hid behind his eyes like a dying flame.

”I... I just wanted everyone to be happy,” Aether choked out, his voice barely a whisper now. ”Thatʼs all I ever wanted... just some peace... some future where nobody had to cry or scream or sacrifice their soul. And now... this? This is how it ends? This is the reward for trying so hard?”

His head hung low.

”This is too cruel... too fucking cruel... Sera. I donʼt care if itʼs the Mother, or Arcane, or any higher being you believe in... they donʼt want to save us. They want me to suffer. Thatʼs all this has ever been.”

Sera stared at him, her heart aching.

No matter how strong ʼwillʼ he had...

No matter how powerful his magic became...

No matter how many battles he had won...

No matter how strong his body turned...

His heart... that fragile thing inside him, that stubborn, loving piece of him... it never hardened.

His heart was not hammered enough... His heart was not steeled enough... His heart... not enough to keep him together.

And that... that was his weakness.

But also... his greatest strength.

Because it was that same heart that made him step forward when others backed down. That heart that made him reach out to help, even when he was drowning.

That heart that still believed in light, even when the world turned pitch black.

That heart, no matter how wounded... was what made him truly human.

And painfully real.

He was... still a child in his heart.

Sera smiled gently, her fingers moving with tender care as she reached around and softly patted his back. Her gaze met his, warm and unwavering, like an anchor trying to keep him from drifting further into the storm of despair.

”Iʼm not putting my faith in any god.. Aether,” she said softly, her voice trembling slightly as she placed her hand gently against his chest. ”I believe in you.”

Her words landed like a quiet thunder in his chest.

Her palm stayed there, over his heart, grounding him.

”Now... just try to believe in yourself, even if it hurts.”

Aether stared at her, blinking slowly as if her touch had pulled him back to reality. His eyes dropped to his chest, to the place where her hand rested.

ʼBelieve in myself...ʼ he repeated in his mind.

But how?

What did he have left to believe in?

This stone... it didnʼt ask for blood. It didnʼt ask for bones or heads or some ceremonial ritual.

It only asked for one thing.

A life.

A Wisherʼs life.

Nothing else. Nothing more. Just... a single life.

He didnʼt have anything to get that lif--

ʼW-wait...ʼ

His brows furrowed as something flickered in his mind, like a light breaking through a dense fog.

His skill.

Rebirth.

He had completely forgotten about it.

Aether inhaled sharply, the breath rushing into his lungs like heʼd been suffocating for hours. His shoulders relaxed, his hands stopped shaking, and for the first time in what felt like ages, a spark of clarity returned to his eyes.

Sera noticed it instantly and smiled with visible relief. ”Looks like you thought of something...” she said with a hopeful grin.

Aether chuckled, a bit sheepish, rubbing the back of his head and nudging his forehead as if to scold himself. ”Honestly, sometimes I forget what Iʼm capable of. I mightʼve just had a whole breakdown for nothing,” he laughed awkwardly, the tension in his voice slowly easing away. A faint blush touched his cheeks, embarrassed by his own emotional spiral, but also... lighter.

There was still hope.

There was still a path.

It just required... a life.

Aether stood up straighter, his posture returning with newfound resolve. He clenched his fist, his jaw set. His eyes turned to the stone in front of them.

”All right...” he muttered, ”Letʼs call Sandra.”

Sera blinked, confused. ”Sandra? Why her? Isnʼt the Principal... I mean, the ex-Sovereign... didnʼt she receive the wish?”

Aether froze mid-thought, his eyes widening slightly. ”Oh... fuck,” he groaned as he facepalmed hard. ”Right. Dora. She was a Sovereign. She mustʼve received a wish too.”

He frowned, trying to organise the pieces in his head.

”Come to think of it...” he murmured, his eyes narrowing, deep in thought, ʼIn the previous iteration... didnʼt I hear that even after her head was cut off... Dora was still alive somehow, right?ʼ

The memory struck him like a crack of lightning.

That wasnʼt normal.

That wasnʼt just Sovereign power.

There was something more behind that.

His frown deepened as he turned to Sera. ”Yeah... I think we need to visit Dora first. Thereʼs something about her I need to understand. Something doesnʼt add up.”

Because if Dora survived decapitation... if she lived despite the odds...

Then maybe the key to bypassing the Wisherʼs death was hidden in her.

And there was something else.

He had read about the Fox race. According to records, they were almost completely extinct—far earlier than even the Moon Elves, like Maelona. And yet... here Dora was, alive and hiding in plain sight.

That couldnʼt be a coincidence.

Sera tilted her head, curious. ”Why did you think of Sandra though? You said her name first. Iʼm curious... can you tell me?”

Aether blinked. ”Well... itʼs kind of personal. Itʼs a bit complicated and I donʼt know if I should be the one to—”

”Fine, fine!” Sera rolled her eyes and shrugged playfully, waving off the question with a smile. ”I wonʼt pry. Just wondering.”

She stepped forward, reaching out and gently grabbed his hand.

”Letʼs go to the Academy. The Principal must be ther—”

”Are you... looking for me?” a voice called out from above, smooth and calm like silk over steel.

Aether and Sera instantly turned their heads upward.

Floating just above them, arms folded across her chest, stood Dora. Her long hair fluttered in the air, her sharp eyes fixed on them with a mixture of curiosity and caution—especially when her gaze landed on Aether.

A mischievous smile played on her lips.

ʼWhoʼs that guy?ʼ Dora thought, her eyes narrowing slightly. ʼHeʼs standing pretty close to the Archpriestess... Aetherʼs going to be pissed if he finds out... wait...ʼ

Her thoughts paused mid-track, her eyes narrowing even further.

ʼHe... kind of looks familiar...ʼ